Housesitting Heaven

So I'm sitting in the lap of luxury, sipping a latte and eating cookies. I'm housesitting with my best friend Nancy, (whose been my friend since we were 9 years old), at her brother's house. Her brother, Paul and his wife, Esme are some of the most wonderful people that I have ever met, and their home is a reflection of them. Being both high-level engineers, they have an immaculate yet very comfy home with three, "B&B" type guest bedrooms, and I am lazying around in bed in one of them! I call it the "violin room" as that seems to be the theme. Almost 10:30am on a Sunday morning...and I am still in bed!!! Awesome! As P&E said it was okay, (they also have two house dogs)I brought Shelbie with me, and she is curled up in a ball on the floor next to the bed...she also, looking as if she were in heaven. Yesterday when we arrived she trotted around the mansion (as I call it), wagging her tail and inspecting every room and looking at me as if to say:"yeah Mom, now this is what I call living!" We'll be vacationing--oops, I mean housesitting, for the whole week. Woo hoo!!!

The Job

Ok…so here’s the skinny on the job. I’m helping my good friend Nico get his commodities trading company up and running. We struck a 5-year deal selling iron ore from a mine in the Northern Cape and have a signed contract from the buyer; just waiting for the bank guarantees to reach us before I feel safe to say I have a job. Once they do, Im looking at a job that includes travel, a company car, great salary! Keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well!!!
Last week we visited the mine in the Northern Cape, which is an area on the outskirts of the Kalahari just south of Botswana. Imagine red dirt, and golden grass. The mine is located near this little town called Kuruman, which also boasts the largest natural spring in the Southern hemisphere called “The Eye of Kuruman”. Ok, in all honesty it was a bit of a joke. You couldn’t see a spring of any sort…just a huge pond full of fish. And you had to pay to get in. We had a good laugh at ourselves about it….
Met with Johan the mine manager and inspected the product, which was in essence piles of rocks stacked into mini-mountains. Titan bulldozers-ever know what its like to feel small? I felt like I was on the set of Transformers (God I wish!) Great product, great meeting, and Johan even expressed an interest in buying my Mustang! Apparently you have to bring them in through Namibia. Not my problem though, as I will probably just sell it to him and let him worry about all the import logistics as he’s done it a couple of times already. That is if I can bring myself to let it go….my Mustang and I have had so many adventures together. I can’t bear the thought of someone else behind the wheel…like a jealous lover!
By the way, anyone thinking of coming over in 2010 for the world cup?

Bokmakerie

A little over a month ago I woke to the sound of a bokmakerie singing outside my window and smiled lazily at the thought of being back in my beloved South Africa with my lab, Shelbie curled up at my feet in a ball of warmth. Its round two of trying to build my life in South Africa and so far its been much better than the last time. Not only do I have my favorite companion and bodyguard at my side, but I also have some of my most beloved friends helping me get my feet on the ground. Result: Got the place to live – check. Got the car – check. Got the internet connection – check. Got the job- well, just about. Almost there on that one….should know for sure in the next couple of days.
Have a couple of adventures to tell you about….