Wow almost Christmas ... again?  How time flies, and the older I get the quicker it seems to pass.  I had a hard time this year getting through the month of November.  Memories of Karen were so vivid and the more I thought about her the more I missed her!  I kept asking myself, will this ever really get better?  It has been so long now, and yet it is always an ever present memory and a sad ache inside that just stays there year in and year out.  I miss her constantly, and wonder what her life would have been like now, had she still been with us.  But then I comfort myself with thoughts of all the sad things that have happened over the years, and think to myself - Karen missed them all .... but then I rock to the other side of great and wonderful things that have happened and think again - she missed all of this as well.  I often find myself wanting to tell or show her something .... often wondering what her comment would have been on certain issues!

But, life goes on regardless - and so I pick the pieces up every now and then and move forward.  This is what she would expect of me - she loved life and lived it to the fullest and would want me, us all to do the same!

Life on the farm is busy, busy, busy.  It is planting time and harvest time for peaches.  Danie has already picked thousands of crates of peaches - maize has been planted, tomatoes are in and very soon he will be starting to plant cabbage for the winter.  What an amazing man he is!  To still be so on the go and work so hard at the age of 71!  He loves his farming, and I would not have it any other way!  I love this time of the year when we have plenty of peaches ...... time for jam making, not forgetting the figs, which are almost ready!

I have been very busy with a lot of my craft work and have so much fun with new ideas.  I also created a website for my self where my craft work can be seen - Go check it out and keep coming back as I keep adding new things!  www.ucanbcreative.webnode.com.  I also went a step further and started taking art classes - my first attempt was at Folk Art and then I painted my first picture!  Never thought I could ever do this, but hey I did it!  Next year I want to concentrate on the Folk Art, it is such a challenge!

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A short blog, just so that you know I am still alive and kicking!!  Hoping to be back soon, and perhaps in the new year be more regular - Yeah sure!  I keep saying this but so much happens in between.  While some are afraid of the world coming to an end on 21st December ..... hahahah I am planning on what to do next year! 

So proud of my sister, she is a very much inspired writer and hopes to one day get her work published!  At the moment she is busy with an awesome book - The Piano.  I am totally addicted to the story and am sure - this is the one that will hit the market!

Keep well, May the Blessings of our Father be with you and all your families during this season - when we remember a Saviour who was born for us!

 I cannot believe how time and life passes by so quickly!  I have come to the conclusion that there are two factors which affect us - Technology and age....  Technology has its pro's and con's for sure - but has invaded our privacy in life!  No longer do we need to wait a week or two for a letter to be delivered in our post box .. Email is immediate!  No longer do we need to ask the operator to connect us to a certain number, it is immediate via cell phone. A sms message, a BBM, Face book, Twitter, Whatsapp (just to mention a few) beep and someone has found you - whether it be on holiday, on the road or perhaps even in church on a Sunday when you have forgotten to turn the cell off!  Everything is instant today, quick and fast and so we get so much more done in less time, but then so much more is expected of us due to technology!  Anyone can contact you at any time of day or night ... Come on now, give me a break!!  How many lotteries am I still going to win, without having even bought a ticket ... and how many times must I be the beneficiary to millions to some or other poor departed soul who has no family ... even the scumbags can get a hold of us via technology!!

Then on the other hand, I would rather agree that age has a lot to do with why I do not get so much done as I did ten years ago - I am older and slower and time is of no essence to me!  Tomorrow is another day!  I so want to keep the blog up to date, and must still finish Karen's story!  However, I have been keeping myself busy with a number of creative things I do ... taking old and making it new again.  This has become a favourite pastime for me and you can go check out the goodies I have done by clicking on this link:  

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150539784728072.434947.581228071&type=3&l=106d5cd988

Until next time ... when I get time ........ Whatever I will be back !!!  Till then take care and God Bless xxx

ICU

On opening my blog I notice that the last time I blogged was the 19th of December! How ironic .... little did I know that exactly one month from this day I would fall violently ill and almost die! 2012 made its' appearance as every other new year, with the hope of a better year than 2011. I am sure this is everyone's hope, while we make resolutions and turn over new leaves! It was 4pm, 17th January 2012. Danie and I were sitting outside watching the new Rottweiler puppies, and just enjoying the setting sun and peacefulness of the farm. I suddenly felt very strange and told him I feel sick and was going to lie down. Fever raged the whole night through, with Danie trying to break it with Disprins. The next morning I still felt rotten, but put it down to the normal 24hour bug that normally goes around. Danie kept wanting to take me to the doctor, as he could not break my temperature and every fiber of my body ached! I kept assuring him that I would be fine if I could just spend the day in bed and sleep it off. Another night of fever, wet pajamas and chills passed, and when morning broke I told him I needed to get to a doctor and fast ... it was exactly one month from my last blog - 19th January 2012!

From this moment I remember very little except a flash here and there, vomiting in the doctors rooms, lying on a bed at the consulting rooms on a drip, and then in a bed in hospital. I vaguely remember my parents, Danie and children around me and then being wheeled to ICU late that night. I had somehow developed and extremely serious lung infection and was coughing up bright red blood and having extreme difficulty breathing. The first seven days in ICU are a blur of beeping machines, pipes and needles stuck in my arms, a catheter and a drain in my right lung.

I was put on some or other weird machine that helped me to breathe but looked more like a fighter pilot with the contraption strapped to my face. I had to sleep like this every night but was thankful for the strong medication which knocked me out. In the day it was one hour off the machine and four hours on !! What a nightmare!

As the days dragged on, each day I got a little better and began to regain my strength. After much prayer from family and friends I was sent home after 12 days in ICU. I have now regained my strength, am back to myself again. In the interim, my 85 year old mother got ill and had an emergency operation to remove her gall bladder which had gone rotten and was poisoning her body - she was in ICU for a week! A month later a close and much loved family member died of aggressive cancer.

However amid all the sadness, my two daughters and I, went on a long awaited dream come true - cruised on the Sinfonia to Maputo, Portuguese Island and back to Durban - awesome time!

For those who have been following Karen's story .... I will start blogging again and hopefully on a more regular basis! Today my father turned 84 and my mother is now 85. How blessed am I?? So blessed that I can wake up each day with a song in my heart, grateful to my Heavenly Father for all His amazing blessings he has bestowed on me! I would have loved to have seen Karen again, but realise that my other two children, my husband, parents and family still need this crazy nut to be around! Thank you Jesus for restoring my health, and giving me a new lease on life, help me NOT to waste it!