Well, here we are again – another year done and dusted. And again it passed by at the speed of light? Now as we approach our fifties (!!!) I guess that is the way things will be.
You would think we would be tired of eating and celebrating, but January is also a big birthday month for us, and first up was Simon turning 21! Since he would already be back in Statesboro at college for this big event, the four of us celebrated early with a dinner at Bare Bones, our all-time favorite steak restaurant. Besides the best steak you can get in the USA (according to a steak survey Pieter conducted some years ago), they also have the most amazing onion rings. We have had many celebrations and great dinners out with friends and family at this restaurant.
That weekend, Simon returned to Statesboro and celebrated his big milestone birthday away from us. We celebrated Sidney’s boyfriend’s birthday with another dinner out, and then Pieter and David’s birthdays with another round of partying on Dave and Ilse’s back porch.
In the meantime, I started a deep clean of our house, hoping to get to every nook and cranny, top to bottom. I made a plan and for the most part, stuck to it, and it felt terrific to get that done over the next couple of weeks. And yes, our house really needed it too! A Clean House to Start the New Year
In February we celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary and celebrated with David and Ilse, who also have the same wedding anniversary date. Fondue by the fire for this event has become a tradition and it was another successful evening.
I squeezed in some additional organizational/cleanup projects in February as well. Besides finally sealing the wood shelves and desk in Simon’s room, I also cleared out the board game cabinet, reorganized what was left and donated the rest. The pantry got a good cleaning and I was able to donate two large boxes of unwanted food items. My office/craft room was last on my list and again I was able to donate a lot of extra office supplies.
By March things started turning green again outside and I was itching to do some gardening (crazy garden lady alert). The first warmish Saturday, I cleaned up the area next to our deck and put down some new mulch. I also got to work on the areas near the front porch and cleaned it up a bit. Back inside, my office got a much-needed organizational item, with a cord management solution that I couldn’t believe was so easy and took me so long to get around to! Strange how some things bother you for a long time (like seeing a pile of cords on the floor) and then you just get used to it and stop seeing it.
Carmen and I have been talking about a trip to South Africa and it was time to get it on the calendar. We booked our tickets for the direct flight between Atlanta and Cape Town and started looking at what we would like to do and see while also visiting with friends and family. I couldn’t wait to go back, see my family and show Carmen the sights. Our trip was still a couple of weeks away, so to keep busy, my linen closet got an extreme purge and again I was able to donate blankets, comforters, linens, shower curtains and tablecloths. I really believe two sets of linens per bed are more than enough.
Spring
April brought beautiful flowers and color to our garden again. My goal was to get as much garden work done before I left for South Africa at the end of the month. Flowerbed cleanup, vegetable garden prep and mulching were top priorities. Besides gardening, I started shopping for gifts to take with me too. It was a busy month indeed! Preparing for a Visit Home
The day finally arrived and Carmen and I left Atlanta for our South African adventure. The first two days were rough – a delay at the gate in Atlanta right after boarding put us 3 hours behind scheduled landing, which got us to Paarl right at midnight, in rainy weather without any idea how we needed to check into our guest house so late at night. But we bounced back the next morning and our almost three weeks in South Africa was a blast. Read more about that adventure (link coming soon), and don’t miss the special post about our mini safari at Aquila: Aquila Game Reserve – South Africa May 2023
All good things must come to an end and we arrived back home on the 10th of May. While I was away, both kids finished their college semesters and moved back home for the summer holidays. About a week after I got back, it was Pieter and Simon’s turn to take a quick trip to Las Vegas. Simon has never been and they had a great time in and around town for 5 days. They returned just in time to see Sidney and Jan off on their month-long summer trip – visiting Jan’s family in Austria.
Summer
The garden kept me busy and whenever I had a spare moment over a weekend, I would get out there to clear more flowerbeds or clean up where I could. I already had some blueberries and strawberries and loved seeing all the flowers in the rest of the garden. The deer stopped by often and I am always amazed at how comfortable they are in our urban environment. Not even Ben can scare them away.
July was the month for visitors. Pieter and Ilse’s niece and her husband came to visit and the family planned a great tourist itinerary for them, that included NASCAR and baseball. I have never been to a NASCAR race before and was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it! The noise, the crowds and the excitement were great fun. As usual, we mixed in plenty of eating and drinking together, including a cocktail night downstairs in Joe Rocket’s bar. As we said goodbye to Anelia and Marcus, our friends from England arrived for a week’s stay. And the fun continued :) It was great to spend time together and many late nights were had around some beverages.
We decided to have our house painted – something Pieter wanted to do right away after buying it – and painters started the first week of August, right as Pieter got ready to leave on his bucket list bike trip with a friend from South Africa. Herve arrived on Thursday and after spending a couple of days with us in Suwanee, the two of them flew to Salt Lake City to collect their bikes and start their Sturgis 2023 adventure on the Monday. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime trip for both of them. On the same day that Pieter and Herve left for their trip, both kids left as well to go back to college after the summer vacations and start their new school years. So I was suddenly home alone again with only the dog and cats for company.
Towards the end of Pieter’s bike trip, we got the news that his dad wasn’t doing well health-wise. And so, almost exactly like 2022, Pieter arrived back from Salt Lake City with one day home before flying to South Africa to see his dad and sisters. I had the garden to keep up with, and the pets for company, and as usual, kept myself busy with not only work but all my little house projects. There was also time to catch up on romantic comedies – a movie genre that is not much appreciated by Pieter.
Sadly, Pieter’s dad passed away not long after Pieter visited him in South Africa. I am grateful that Carmen and I got to see Schalk when we visited in May, and that Pieter was able to see him in August. When things like this happen, it hits us expats extra hard and the miles away from friends and family are felt more deeply. Schalk and Elaine Joubert – you will both be missed…
Autumn and Winter
We took a quick trip to visit Simon in Statesboro. He moved into a new house with roommates at the beginning of the semester and we got to see his new place and spend some time together out on the town. He joined a fraternity beginning of the year, and we met some of his fraternity brothers and attended family weekend at their chapter house. I don’t often stay out at clubs and bars till after 2 in the morning, but it seemed like a fun idea at the time. A little less so the next morning… Georgia Southern had a big football game Saturday evening and it was great fun to see them beat one of their big rivals. The weekend was way too short and we headed back home again on Sunday.
Pieter started helping Sidney’s college rugby teams with some coaching and we were able to attend some of their games over weekends. While we saw Sidney in action earlier the year, she injured her knee during practice and was out for the second part of their season. It still allowed her to spend lots of one-on-one time with Coach Dad.
A recap of 2023 will probably not be complete without some more health updates. Pieter’s heart condition seemed to be under control after the last procedure in 2022 but went out of rhythm again in June. He ended up getting three (!) cardioversions again during the second half of 2023. The Covid germ finally caught up with me too, and put me in bed for 3 days straight. I don’t normally get sick, so this was a very new experience for me. The no smell or taste part of it was a very strange feeling, but luckily I was back to normal again within a couple of weeks.
Soon it was time to prepare the house for Halloween (one of my yearly highlights). It was our first really cold night of the season, and although we still got a lot of trick-or-treaters, they were mostly all done by 9pm. I just love Halloween!
Both kids visited for their Thanksgiving break and we had a quiet dinner together to celebrate the beginning of the Holiday Season. On Thanksgiving Day, we left for the airport with David and Ilse and travelled to Miami and to the Florida Keys for a weeklong getaway. While everyone back home was dealing with the first frost of winter and below-freezing temperatures, we enjoyed the sunshine and lovely Florida sunsets, along with plenty of cocktails and much-needed rest.
I have to confess – December was just a blur. Between work, and decorating the house for the holidays, I did not accomplish much else. Sidney turned 21 on the 11th and we celebrated with the family by going to Drag Bingo in Atlanta. It was a surprisingly fun evening and we had lots of laughs, great food and excellent cocktails – which Sidney can now legally order and enjoy!
I love fondues, and this year we had our December fondue with our friends the Gilleys. We spent a lovely Saturday night around the fondue pots and everyone was happy and relaxed and enjoyed each other’s company. Christmas Lunch was at David and Ilse’s and we all brought over a couple of dishes to share. It was another great day and we were ready for naps by the time the sun went down.
And that is how we got to today and are ready to welcome 2024 and all it will bring. Unlike last year, it will be a quiet and relaxed evening at home. Cheers to 2024 and hope it is a good one!
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