yet another one about camping

We're happy campers. I've said this before once or twice.

And just back from a fabulous little camping trip - our first in over a year (bit of a record for us) and our first with Stella - I've a couple more thoughts ...

~ how is it that the loudest voice in the campsite, or at least the one that carries the clearest, is always the most boring?
This is not when you overhear a revelatory explanation of Derrida, a fascinating political theory or a hilarious anecdote. No, the voice that wafts across to your fireplace is money down bitching about the state of SA sports. Or who should have won a recent reality chef contest. Or rehashing boring previous holiday stories, exactly how many kilometres were traveled between one boring destination and another, how many boring meals were eaten and at what price.
Also, you quickly realise the correlation between how many glasses of wine The Voice has had and how boring it becomes. By the 3rd evening you can almost set your watch by it.
If you were wearing one.

~ this is of course only a problem when you're staying in one of those camping spots where the sites seem to be right on top of each other, just the merest hedge - if you're lucky - separating you from your neighbours. At Addo this last week this is as tastefully done as possible, but none-the-less you are likely to learn far more about your neighbours then you may have chosen to. As no doubt they did about us.
'Are you going to give Stella some boob now Mum?'

~ when you go somewhere like Addo, out of season, mid week, you find all your fellow campers are retirees, living the dream wandering round the country in their camper vans - replete with satellite dishes, fold-out dish-washing racks, homemade curtains and high tech camping chairs. We were surrounded by these and I was imagining their hearts sinking as we pulled up with two kiddies live-wired on the back seat.
But of course this combination of olds and smalls worked surprisingly well. The oldies missed their grandkids and smiled indulgently at our girls. And they kept the same hours - early to bed and early to rise. No loud music keeping our kids awake, and no need to hush the children's excited early morning shenanigans.

~ when camping one can often expect strange night time adventures ... Pre-babies Husband and I once lay tense and awake in our tent for long minutes convinced someone wearing flip-flops was creeping around our campsite. Eventually we shone our torch beam out, only to catch the small glinting eyes of a tiny little hopper mouse.
On arriving at Addo I taught Frieda to read the different signs for the Men's and Ladies toilets. We were later to rue the pedanticness of a 3 year old when Husband carried her off to the loo at 1am only to return unsuccessful, even half-asleep she wouldn't let him take her into the Men's, and he didn't want to go into the Ladies for fear of encountering a weak-bladdered Granny. We had to stifle our giggles in the silent dark.
But my favourite nocturnal adventure of this recent trip happened to Husband on the night he spent camping alone on his drive up. The place he stayed at had two horses roaming around the campsite. They were friendly and seemingly inconcerned by him. In the night however he woke to a really strange and undecipherable noise. He could tell the horses were distressed, but what was that clanking?
One of the horses, overcome with curiousity, had become entangled in his camping chair and was getting more and more freaked out, eventually running wildly around the campsite, whinnying and tossing its head. Husband was just wandering what(tf) to do when the horse shook itself free, leaving the chair unscathed in a muddy heap, nothing damaged but equine pride.

Fun times. I like to camp. And we're so happy that our daughters seem to too.

25 things about right now*

1. From famine to feast - I've got so much work!
2. Just in time for Spring school holidays and the MOST glorious summers days.
3. It's a good life when one is able to spend 3 hours on the beach in the middle of your work day ...

4. Spring at the lake is not all fluffy goslings and pretty flowers though, it's also territorial Egyptian geese trying to drown those goslings and disembowel their parents.
5. My daughters have both had nightmares recently that 'something' has taken me away from them. Related?
6. In the next few months that 'something' will be work, but fortuitously the fantastic au pair I had earlier in the year is available again - she starts next week!
7. I wonder how she is at crafts? I'm still feeling badly about not initiating crafts.
8. Frieda in particular misses it as her school days are so much more academically focused now.
9. But they had a little ceramics painting session at a friend's studio recently, and actually they're really good at getting crafty all by themselves.

10. Husband's been providing some 'crafting' opportunities too ..

How long 'til she designs her own tag you think?

11. This pup is just growing and growing. We got him de-knackered last week poor guy.

12. This hasn't stopped him 'trying to have a piggy-back' on Lego though ... hopefully that urge will recede with his shrinking balls.

13. The day I took him to the vet the traffic was murder and I ended up walking the last block or two to get there on time. He was freaked out by all the cars and I had to cajole and drag him along, the bright red lead in this picture reduced to a short, dirty, knotted thing after our camping weekend. It suddenly struck me that had I been black, most of the people witnessing us would've assumed I'd stolen him. That's #whiteprivilege right there folks.

14. On the subject of privilege, Albert is still not back. As my workload increases our house descends into disheveled madness.

15. Not helped by a couple of mad DIY projects I've started and ... have I mentioned my completion problem?

16. We went camping!

17. Have I mentioned how much I love camping?
18. I LOVE camping. Even with strep throat. And one sick child. And a crazed puppy. And a pig which wandered around driving both dogs to new heights of craziness. And it rained a little. But still: LOVE camping.
19. When else do you find time to just lie about together? Especially the girls with their Dad.
20. Because honestly we're pretty good at lying around together in general. I sometimes wish we were a 'climb every mountain ford every stream' family, but truthfully, we're pretty slothful!

21. I am in awe at the beauty of my girls these days. I know this is a parental prerogative but seriously, how flawless the skin, how clear the eyes, how shiny the hair? How uninhibited? Magic.
22. This one has been throwing some interesting thoughts at me lately ... 'Mum, if a boy marries a boy they can't have the sex hey, because - too bad - no vaginas!' Luckily she didn't really pose this as a question, and wandered off afterwards. Am I prude for not wanting to discuss homosexual sex with my 4 yr old?
23. We've been reading a lot of Famous Five. I was worried that it would all be too old-fashioned and sexist but actually it's been a big hit. The girl/boy George is particularly topical and they're all jolly good sports which is good right?

Photo by Stella, dirty thumbnail (not mine!) courtesy of camping.

24. But Five Run Away Together revealed some troublesome classism - a lot of good servant/bad servant stuff - luckily as the primary readers we still get to skip read problematic lines.

25. Excitingly there's lots of this happening though. She's got the Reading Fever - can't help but read everything her eyes fall upon. Soon we won't be able to censor her texts as much, but how wonderful to see her embark on this life-long joy!

And a bonus one ... what is it which draws us to photograph food? Even when camping!

*because that's how busy I am!

lately

Our new (to us) Flying Dutchman sail boat is moored off the lawn, all the shiny bells and whistles clapping in the wind. Well done, well done.
Husband spent the WHOLE of Sunday rigging it and at 18:30, as the evening drew in, we set off on our maiden voyage - a fast clip around the lake. And this in just a light breeze! We LOVED it!
Nearly 5 yrs on and life at the lake still has adventures in store.

I could do without the tinkling though, we're going to have to do something about that ...

Our little dog Lego is in tatters ... she went under the knife yesterday to have two cancerous growths removed and she looks like she's been in a dog fight with a hatchet :-(
We've not had the pathology results yet but we're hoping the vet got it all and that we still have much more time with this sweet furkid.
She really looks like Frankenweenie now ...

Recovery includes treats with her meds, grated apple served to her in bed and lots and lots of snuggle time on the couch (which means I've been watching a lot of TV!).

There's another new baby!

He's not a blood relation this one, but as close as ... first son to some of our dearest friends.

We're coming to the end of the first school term of the year. It's been a long one and the girls are tired. So am I. Not that there's a holiday in the works for me, I'm got an event on in Joburg in two weeks time, but ... just the not having to wake early on these ever-darkening mornings will bring some relief.

But we did get out of town a couple of weekends back - a short mums and kids camping trip to one of our favourite places. It was hellishly hot and the time flew by in a haze of endlessly refilling juice bottles and reapplying sunscreen but we spent a lot of time in the softest, most delectably gentle and soothing mountain river water I've ever known, which made it all worthwhile.
I took no photos.
We've done this a few times before, no-husband camping trips, and I must say we love it. Not that we don't love camping with our partners, but there is something simpler about girl-camping - feed the kids, eat crackers and cheese, go to bed early with our books. OR feed the kids, eat crackers and cheese, sit up late 'round the fire drinking wine and cackling.
My favourite thing about it is showing my kids that we can. Pitch tents, light a fire, handle a massive thunderstorm and unexpected rain (that happened). That we can drive off-road and jump start a car and you know, be ballsy. Except is it not the most unfeminist thing ever to think you have to prove that you can? I'm so tempted always to tell the girls: Look, look what we're doing, aren't your mum's awesome? But I don't.
Far better to just do it right? To just let this be a normal thing for them.
I do hope they remember though, I hope taking their kids on road trips and camping without waiting for a man to be available to accompany them, I hope this will just be a normal thing for them too.

Oh and one last thing, a Pixies concert.

A throwback to our wild youth on a magnificent summers evening in the most beautiful garden in the world, surrounded by many friends - from then and now - listening to a bunch of aged rockers as tight and magnificent as they were then.

There was magnificent merch too.

late season camping

I'm not sure how it is that we often end up camping in April. It seems quite late in the season and the chances of being rained on (we were) or it getting really cold at night (it did) are fairly high.
Nevertheless, we often camp in April.

We are of the get dirty, don't brush hair, sleep in, play with bugs school of campers. It wasn't camping if we don't come home reeking of wood smoke, with mountains of laundry and a couple of scrapes and bruises.

However I've also always come home really, really tired. The one thing I don't do well camping is sleeping - this despite us having a super-comfy mattress in our trailer tent - far more comfortable than most people would be on hiking mattresses and the like - but I still struggle. I worry in the night if my babies are cold, if a dog's going to slip away and cause a nuisance in the campsite. I listen to the wind and wonder if we extinguished the fire well enough. I strain to remember if we put the milk away, or imagine I hear the rustle of a small creature in our bread rolls. I wonder if I need a wee and then balk at the thought of getting up and finding shoes ... I wonder if anyone else needs a wee...

But this time, in addition to tons of food and warm clothes and swimsuits and first aid and and and ... all the other camping clobber, I packed ...  sleeping pills.

And that my friends, made all the difference.

Fabulous long weekend camp with old friends, lots of sleep, great food, some sunshine, some rain (ha ha quite a lot of rain), one stinky sewer, a full moon, some cows and a chameleon named Steve.

the other one about camping

The thing about camping is ... you never know what you're going to get.

A good camp is a thing of wondrous beauty and infinite soul-delight. A bad camp is, well, pretty shitty.

This was a bad camp. And extremely shitty.

Herewith a seasoned camper's guide to seasonal camping:

1. Rule 1: Be Game.

Big storms predicted? Bah. Potential very cold conditions? Bah. Arriving after dark and setting up camp with a small child? Whatever.

What's the thing about camping? Yup, you never know what you're going to get. But if you don't leave the house, you'll never find out.

Turns out - in this case - that what we got was a dark dank field, miles from anywhere, with no proper signage, no hot water (which we were promised), no running water (except from the sky - in buckets), and a veritable CARPET of cow shit. Which the puppy thought was delicious.

The next morning. Still raining. We'd picked up a lot of poo. 

Made me view those brownies a little askance. But only for a minute.

2. Rule 2: Be Prepared.

And if not, be innovative.

Such as, when feeding your small child a picnic supper on the front seat of the Jeep in the dark and pissing rain, and on discovering that you have no spoon and that to get one would involve getting wet and covered in cow shit and maybe the dissolution of your marriage, make a plan by locating said child's toy box in the back of said Jeep and feeding her yoghurt off a small plastic spade. 

3. Rule 3: Stay Upbeat.

I mean, it's not like you're going to turn around and drive home right? Not after packing all afternoon and driving for hours and getting all excited and finding someone to feed the cats. And bah-humbugging in the face of everyone's dire predictions that you'd be rained out ... cough ...

Nah, you push through the rough patch and the next thing you know the tent is pitched, the child is peacefully asleep, it's stopped raining, someone's gotten a bonfire going and you're holding a glass of wine. And right then you're really happy to be there.

Of course the puppy's still eating cow shit but hey ...

4. Rule 4: See the Beauty.

Protea Aurea - isn't she utterly beautiful?

'Cos regardless of what kind of camping experience you're having, you're outdoors see, and ergo there'll always be something beautiful. 

5. Rule 5: Know when to Quit.

And pack up the kid, the dog, the wet and shit-bespattered tent, and make haste to a friend's beach-house for the rest of of the weekend.

2024

2024 had some profoundly magical moments, and I'm wondering whether I can find one a month to remember here...

January 2024

Red tide had been spotted in False Bay for a few days, and one evening - past 9 o'clock - we heard there was phosphorescence down at the beach and headed down.

The night was warm, wind-free and moonless. The waves breaking in perfect rhythm, each one of them blue-capped and a-glow, the phosphorescence cracking and spreading down the breaking waves like glow-sticks coming alive. Around our feet in the wet sand, whorls of sparkles and galaxies of glitter.

The girls swam far out - in their pyjamas - we waded in thigh-high, the beach filled with people basking in the splendour. 

Also in January:

We proudly took Israel to the ICC for crimes against humanity. We celebrated my parents 50th wedding anniversary, and our youngest started high school, and the beginning of two years together at the same school.

February 2024

In February, as in most February's, it was Galentines.

Galentines is an annual tradition, this was our 4th year. I waxed lyrical about it in 2022 and it has not yet failed us as the most perfect, most magic day (maybe even of the YEAR?).

In February we also:

Appreciated art, kept protesting genocide, enjoyed the fruits of our renovation labour, and leaned in to the light.

March 2024

One weekend we packed up all our camping gear, prepped all the things, got dog-sitters, hitched up our camping trailer - and drove 30 minutes down the road to camp on the other side of the bay from where we live. It seemed slightly bonkers, but it was so lovely to be visitors at home so to speak. We snorkeled and swam and endured some big wind and flexed our camping skills for the first time that summer.

We also:

Celebrated our 14 yr old with cupcakes in her own image, walked 20km for Palestine, I spent an evening with my two oldest friends from high school celebrating a 50th, and the summer vibes persisted.

April 2024

The magic moment in April was taking the backing board off this old frame (found in my mother's garden shed) to repurpose it, and discovering this lovely watercolour obscured there. The peak looked so familiar... I lifted my eyes from the task (I was outside on the lawn - the frame was dusty) and realised it was the peak I look at every day.

Further research leads us to believe it was painted by a great aunt. The picture has been framed with the correct reverence and I look at, and love it, every day.

Also in April...

 

  

I really hit my stride with strength training - and how good it makes me feel, the weather started turning, I found a new artist to continue my leg tatt journey, and our doggo's got the sinking feeling we were packing for something...

May 2024

... we were packing for 5 days in the desert at Africa Burn. What a big family adventure.

Our friends got married there, and had a theme camp (more space, slightly better infrastructure) that we could chip in on. We went in a big gang of our camping buddies and had the BEST time. Minds blown, hearts opened, eyes and imaginations filled. As I said at the time, who knew the desert could be so refreshing?

More from the Burn, because it's too much to be limited to one pic...

And also in May, I turned 49. Yikes.

 

June 2024

In June our eldest turned 17 and as always for her mid-winter birthday we were blessed with the most beautiful sunny day. The girls and I went to the city to look at art and have a grown up ladies lunch in which real food was ordered and eaten, and real conversations were had. My mantra on repeat at the moment is that these teen years are the reward for all the hard work years of raising them 'til here - I mean, I loved those years too but this, this is a golden era of parenting for sure.

In June I also...

Lost the exhaust off my motorbike during a big ride out and received roadside assistance from a passing good Samaritan, photographed a garden gnome (my Dad) painting a mural on their garden wall, admired a particularly impressive year for aloes, and had a Homer-in-the-hedge moment in Joburg on a job.

Turns out June was quite green!

July 2024

One of my (many) posts in drafts here was entitled 'In Dust We Trust' and was supposed to be about our time at Africa Burn and then this, a 10 day holiday in Namibia. It was a year of dusty getaways...

The is Dead Vlei, or Verloren Pan, in central Namibia and is a magical place. These trees have been dead for hundreds of years, but are still standing due to the extreme dryness of the region and the pan in which they once grew, protected in a circle of these red, red dunes. Dead Vlei is one of those unofficial wonders of the world, despite how deserted this photo looks there were teems of tourists here - we heard so many languages spoken. It's a schlep to get to, it's literally in the middle of nowhere, you drive and then walk far to get into it, but when you're there it thrums with that feeling of being in an exceptional and sacred place. We loved it. Namibia was exceptional.

Also in July...

A much cooler, and more water-based, girls birthday weekend on a houseboat... in which we learned once again that regardless of the obstacles (and there were some pretty big ones), good food, bubbly and the company of one's besties can turn any experience into the most fun ever.

August 2024

My magic moment in August was one in retrospect. A very cold, little bit rainy, walk around the dam in the Cederberg with my Dad. Just 3 weeks later he went to the doctor for a fairly routine check-up and started a currently-at-three-month journey of surgeries and treatments. 

My parents spend 2-3 months in the Cederberg every winter, and we've had some wonderful weekends up there with them. As we packed for this one I got a bit of  foreshadowing that there might not be many more of these ahead. He's in a good place at the moment, but a walk like this seems very far from our reality right now.

September 2024

September was a rough one. Concern for my Dad and our own heartbreak - we had to very suddenly say goodbye to our lovely, lovely dog Orca the month before. We were bereaved. And sought solace on motorbikes.

We went to the annual Canola Run out in the farm lands. A dusty ride through the early spring flowering canola fields, the girls taking turns behind their Dad with me riding shotgun with snacks and Nacho.

Also in September:

The motorbike bug bit deep and lessons continued at home. The cats snuggled into their deep winter floof (Spring is an illusion here, as the days turn towards the sun the weather gets fouler and fouler). And I had a fun quiz night out pretending to be literary whizzes and learning that we really aren't at all.

October 2024

My Dad still in hospital, still grieving the loss of our big baby boy + working crazy hours on a massive contract, October is a bit of a blur - but we celebrated 21 years of marriage and went for an amazing bike ride around the Cape Peninsula with our youngest as pillion and head photographer.

21 years married, 33 years together. Wild.

In October I also...

...continued advocating for Palestine whenever I could, producing cute creative snack platters as I have nearly 18 years... did a small nod to Halloween with eyeball ice, and enjoyed the burgeoning friendship (friendship? more like friendly situationship) between Nacho and the cats.

November 2024

In November I had the great privilege of working on a second in-country meeting for this international group of philanthropy Fellows. The last one in Johannesburg provided the material for my last post here. This one was not as eventful but still a massive amount of logistical planning, long hours and creative thinking went into it. 

It was emotional too. The Americans arrived fresh off their elections, reeling in disbelief. The Middle Easterns arrived reeling from their horrors, our Palestinian-in-exile colleagues, and one brave Lebanese chap who had had to time his departure between Israeli strikes - he arrived, said hello and we all burst into tears.

Some more of the week...

   

Dinner under the whale skeletons at the Museum, the very non-conference set-up, walking through the Company Gardens at dusk to the farewell event, Table Mountain showing off for our guests.

The rest of the month was recovery. Of course I got Covid, and was exhausted. My Dad was in and out of ICU after another round of surgeries, our girls were writing exams... it was a another blur but...

  

...there was also pets and art.

December 2024

It's the 27th, but I'm calling it - magic moment of the month was yesterday, Boxing Day, best day of the year. It was a hot, still day in which we did nothing, but loll (and lol) on the deck, by the pool, drinking wine and eating leftovers and chilling hard.

But also in December...

... Christmas, and cats, a magical dinner in a beautiful house in our neighbourhood, a nerdy gaming festival with the girls...

...new art, festive vibes, a playgroup reunion full of giant teens, and a great big 17 and half yr old daughter who requested a sword for Christmas and is maybe the happiest child on the planet right now.

2024 was a mixed bag. We end it with my Dad home, but a still very much in recovery, my lovely parents reeling from 4 months of stress and worry, all of us wearing big girl (and boy) pants more regularly than we'd like to. But through that, and beyond that, it was a year of big family love and care, bonding and fun. It was a good year.

With just one last, most special mention:

Orca 2014 - 2024

RIP big guy