Day 30: Chinese Foot Massage

Day 29: ouch!

I'm nursing a couple of injuries today, so there isn't much to report. So, here are a few pictures I hadn't yet shared. Enjoy!

Day 28: Big Five plus Wine

Today we got an early start. Mark picked me up at 6am and we headed out to a big five game preserve. The morning drive want very scenic because it was dark and rainy. However, when we arrived we were greeted with a wonderful breakfast. While waiting for our ranger to arrive after breakfast, I had my face painted in the tradition of Xhosa tribal women preparing for marriage (why? It just sounded cool). 

Once our ranger arrived, he took us and a group of 15 Chatty Cathy's from the US (here on a church mission trip) out on the preserve. The preserve was actually fairly small (22,000 acres), so the animals weren't exactly in the wild. It was really more like a zoo with a drive thru. 

Wikipedia says the African big five are as follows:

Cape Buffalo

These guys were in an enclosure because apparently they don't play nicely with the other animals. 

African Elephant:

Our ranger said these two males get angry at times and charge without warning. They seemed to be mellow today. 

African Leopard:

The only one of these I saw was stuffed and behind glass. The sign said it died of a snake bite. I forgot to take a picture. 

African Lion:

We saw two different types of these. Both sets were in enclosures -- sandbox issues again. Our guide mentioned that lions mate 20 times per day. To that, one of the Cathy's shouted out "ain't nobody got time for that!" Moving on...

African Rhino:

These guys (Higgins and Lady) had been poached for their horns a few years ago. It was kind of sad to see the reddish holes where their horns used to be. Our guide commented on how much of a problem poaching is and the lure of money for items such as rhino horns and elephant tusks. 

So after a morning with the animals, we headed off for a little wine before calling it a day. We made it just in time for the tail end of a wine tasting not far from my cottage. I'm so glad we did. It was just enough wine with excellent food pairings to top off a wonderful day with a great friend. 

And now I'm exhausted!  Cheers!

Day 27: Care Package

Moms are the best and mine is exceptional. On day 27 I received my care package from mom. It had actually been at the post office for almost two weeks, but that's my fault for not checking sooner. 

After complaining about not being able to find quick and easy food that I like at the grocery store, my mom was on a mission to take care of her baby. There's nothing like a package from home to brighten your day. 

My box was filled with breakfast items and snack foods to keep me going for the duration of my visit. Best of all (and my Cincinnati friends will understand), she sent me my absolute favorite cookies from home:  Busken Bakery tea cookies. 

Mom, I love you more than words can express!

Day 26: The Seven Dwarfs

Today I'm feeling like quite a few of Snow White's seven dwarfs all rolled up in one. If you don't remember them all, let me recap:

Dopey:  this was the sweet and silly one. While my typical demeanor might be characterized that way, I'm feeling dopey because it's taking FOREVER to get my models to run properly. 

Grumpy:  with power outages, petty theft and daily stomach aches to deal with, I've been a little testy lately. 

Happy:  despite the setbacks and the homesickness, I'm still quite happy overall and thankful for my many blessings. 

Doc:  well I am "Dr. Yates" right?

Sneezy:  although I'm not walking around with my finger under my nose, my stomach and my lightheadedness are telling me something is not quite right. 

Bashful:  I am amazed that I can go entire days without having actual conversation with another human. Maybe I should be just a little more outgoing. 

Sleepy:  and this is where we end this story -- once I can find some room in my bed!!

Good night!!

Day 25: Technology

I had a grumpy belly today so I decided to work from 'home'. Unfortunately, between power and internet outages, it was a day of frustrations. In fact, I'd better type quickly before I lose my internet signal yet again. I did get a chance to enjoy the beautiful day though. When the power was out, I took a walk to grab some lunch. Something was missing though:

Oh well, I did get a lot of work done though. It was slow and tedious work today, but at least I'm making progress. Tomorrow will be even better, right?

Day 24: A Day of Ups and Downs

Up:  I woke up this morning. 

Down:  I woke up at 3:30 and never went back to sleep. 

Up:  My baby boy sent me a series of text messages blowing me kisses and telling me how much he loves me and how special I am. He'll never know how much I needed that at that moment!

Down:  I went to a lunchtime presentation mainly because they were serving lunch and the lunch was tomato, cucumber and cheese sandwiches on white bread. 

Up:  I was finally able to borrow a laptop to use for my statistical modeling. 

Down:  I still have a bundle of issues to work out with my models. 

Up:  After the presentation, Mark suggested we sneak off and take the funicular to the top of Table Mountain. 

Down:  When we got there it was closed for annual maintenance. 

Up:  Mark suggested we go to the beach. 

Down:  After finally finding the perfect piece of art for my girlfriend Carol (and a matching piece for me) it was (they were) stolen from me while I was taking a picture of the ocean. 

Up:  Mark suggested that we watch the sun set over the ocean while having dinner and splitting a bottle of wine. 

Down:  I'm now in no shape to do any modeling. Ok, that one is my fault!

I'm done. Goodnight!!