One evening after coming home from a show at Grahamstown we decided to drink some red wine.
Sandra kept balancing her glass all evening in precarious positions on the bed. It made me feel very nervous, seeing all the bedding was in a very pale cream color.
But, somehow, the glass never actually tipped enough to spill anything. I eventually went to sleep to Sandra's disgruntlement - as she thought I should not be asleep. And so she kept waking me up. And I kept falling asleep. And she kept waking me up.
And then.... I got woken up and I moved my arm; and I felt my arm knock her arm in which she had a full glass of merlot red wine... and it was all over a pillow, and a sheet and a bed.
Well... for the rest of the night we accused each other of being the one who actually spilled the red wine. We did not get much sleep. (In fact to this day there is absolutely no agreement on who was the one to blame. I don't see how it can be my fault as I was asleep, but anyhows Sandra, I am sure, can provide you with a twenty minute monologue on why it could not possibly have been her fault in any way whatsoever.)
The red wine stain looked quite bad. The bedding was clearly new; and it looked like it may have soaked into the new bed as well. We immediately had reacted by putting vast amounts of salt on the marks... but still...
The next morning we showed the char what we had done. She looked very disturbed.
And so were we... How much were we going to have to pay to for the damage? Would it just be one duvet cover and pillow case, or a whole set? Sandra believed we may have to buy a new bed!
We saw a very good play that morning by Berkoff about a poor working class girl in London whose life was pretty sad and self-destructive. Sandra thoroughly enjoyed it.
We then went back to the garden cottage to see how bad the damage was after the char had tried to see if she could salvage the situation.
...and...
the wine stains had been completely removed. OK. There was some tiny discolouration on the bed mattress itself, but very minor (almost to the point of non-existence). And the sheet, pillows, pillowcase, duvet were just like new.
We were shocked.
We were amazed.
The char said she used Preen Vanish.
I gave her a big tip as a thank-you for her amazing act of washing skill.
later...
Friday, July 29, 2005
time goes by
hmm. It feels like I have been back at work for ages. The last week I have been going to sleep after midnight every night as I have been working hard at the last assignment in the one computer programming course I am studying this year. I have been writing funny little programmes in Java. I have been trying to find a way to put them on the internet but have not yet found a suitable server yet.
Sandra has also been up late studying, as she had three difficult tests this week. Its been a very stressful week for her, but she is enjoying the work and the pressure. This semester she starts learning about homeopathic remedies; and if she passes this particular course she will get to have her own homeopathic first-aid kit to take home. She really wants this kit; and is very excited about it.
We went to see Charlie and the Chocalate factory last night. I really enjoyed Johnny Depp. He is from another world.
There is something wrong with out kitchen sink. Something is blocked somewhere in the pipes. I have no idea about how plumbing works - ugggg.
This weekend I will be working on assignments most of the time.
later...
Sandra has also been up late studying, as she had three difficult tests this week. Its been a very stressful week for her, but she is enjoying the work and the pressure. This semester she starts learning about homeopathic remedies; and if she passes this particular course she will get to have her own homeopathic first-aid kit to take home. She really wants this kit; and is very excited about it.
We went to see Charlie and the Chocalate factory last night. I really enjoyed Johnny Depp. He is from another world.
There is something wrong with out kitchen sink. Something is blocked somewhere in the pipes. I have no idea about how plumbing works - ugggg.
This weekend I will be working on assignments most of the time.
later...
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
holiday memories: the first surprise
Well, as promised some memories from our recent holidays.
I successfully woke up at 4am and managed somehow to get us on the road by just after 5am. I was very pleased with this.
Then, about 30 minutes out of Durban, I turned to Sandra and said.
"You did pack the tickets and booking confirmations and important telephone numbers?"
"No. Did you?"
"No."
"umm.. I guess we had better turn around then."
"Yes."
So, we ended up leaving Durban well after 6am.
Luckily I had padded my intinerary for unforeseen delays and we still reached Grahamstown before nightfall.
later...
I successfully woke up at 4am and managed somehow to get us on the road by just after 5am. I was very pleased with this.
Then, about 30 minutes out of Durban, I turned to Sandra and said.
"You did pack the tickets and booking confirmations and important telephone numbers?"
"No. Did you?"
"No."
"umm.. I guess we had better turn around then."
"Yes."
So, we ended up leaving Durban well after 6am.
Luckily I had padded my intinerary for unforeseen delays and we still reached Grahamstown before nightfall.
later...
Monday, July 11, 2005
We are back from our holiday
We are now back from our holiday and I am back at work. Sandra still has one week of holidays left. But she says she has some intense studying to do, for the upcoming semester.
We had a great time and here is a slideshow of some photographs from our holiday. (Click here to see the slideshow.)
I will post some little stories in the next few days about highlights of the holiday which will include the "Red Wine Stain" story, the "Tsotsi" story and the "Sleeping in the car" story (amongst others....) I will put on one story a night for the next few days, so something to anticipate for my avid readership.
later...
We had a great time and here is a slideshow of some photographs from our holiday. (Click here to see the slideshow.)
I will post some little stories in the next few days about highlights of the holiday which will include the "Red Wine Stain" story, the "Tsotsi" story and the "Sleeping in the car" story (amongst others....) I will put on one story a night for the next few days, so something to anticipate for my avid readership.
later...
Friday, July 01, 2005
Sandra has passed both her semesterised courses!
Sandra just phoned me breathless with excitement to tell me that she had passed physiology.
Physiology is a one semester course on complex medical knowledge about the make-up of the human body. It is a required course to have passed to be permitted to continue to second year in Homeopathy. Or in other words, if she had failed this course it would have meant that an extra year would need to be added to her entire course; as certain necessary second year courses require the completion of this course.
I glanced at her text book; and I did not know most words; as it is written in scientific jargon.
So Sandra, not only had to learn academic English in order to understand the material; not only to follow along in lectures in a language that is not her mother tongue; but she had to learn long strange words that to me seem unpronounceable.
She did all of that; against very difficult odds!
Not only this....
In her other semesterised course - philosophy of homeopathay - she got a first!
This means that not only did she excel in understanding philosophical ideas taught in English; but also, that she could successfully express and demonstrate in depth and accurate knowledge about these ideas in English.
Anyway, since she got this information phoned through to her by one of the other students; she says she needs to go down to the technikon this afternoon to see for herself these wonderful marks. She was so excited that her voice was wobbling a little bit.
Quite a nice way to start our holiday.
...later
Physiology is a one semester course on complex medical knowledge about the make-up of the human body. It is a required course to have passed to be permitted to continue to second year in Homeopathy. Or in other words, if she had failed this course it would have meant that an extra year would need to be added to her entire course; as certain necessary second year courses require the completion of this course.
I glanced at her text book; and I did not know most words; as it is written in scientific jargon.
So Sandra, not only had to learn academic English in order to understand the material; not only to follow along in lectures in a language that is not her mother tongue; but she had to learn long strange words that to me seem unpronounceable.
She did all of that; against very difficult odds!
Not only this....
In her other semesterised course - philosophy of homeopathay - she got a first!
This means that not only did she excel in understanding philosophical ideas taught in English; but also, that she could successfully express and demonstrate in depth and accurate knowledge about these ideas in English.
Anyway, since she got this information phoned through to her by one of the other students; she says she needs to go down to the technikon this afternoon to see for herself these wonderful marks. She was so excited that her voice was wobbling a little bit.
Quite a nice way to start our holiday.
...later
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