Working from bed

Working from home is not new to me. I have been doing it intermittently for the past three decades.
      But working from bed is a new concept at the Verandah. A insect-bite seven months ago turned nasty and the result is a leg ulcer that needs bedrest.  I am "listening" to the surgeon because he charges R420 a shot just for peeping in under the wound dressing (done daily by me-self!) and prescribing conservative horizontal medicine.
      My technical advisor/messenger has set up my office in bed as I have to translate a hefty document for an international company. It could take days because working from/in bed takes a lot of willpower. It is also  not ergonomically-friendly:  a squash and bend business...
     In order to make my new office life bearable, I have to consume large quantities of chocolate.
    Yesterday, I drew up a rental agreement in bed. It went well and techo-Kia created a fax-to-e-mail number for me as the receiver of the document did not have an e-address. Today the contract came back signed!    In bed ... what next?
 
   

A brand-new experience: working from bed!

Kia on her way to fetch, deliver or shop for the bedworker

Festive lunch table

Always a pleasure to sit at someone else's table - especially when the occasion is a celebration!
   My friend Ina celebrated her birthday yesterday and set a long table to accommodate all the guests, giving the lunch a feeling of festivity.

My place setting ..

Ina's gorgeous autumn fare 

Ina and her long-time friend Nerina

Pavlova at its best. What a way to end a meal!

A visitor from the Northern Cape

On a recent visit to Upington, I was shown an Amethyst mine on the farm Vryheid about ten kilometres from the town.
    After viewing the "crack in the earth" where the amethyst is mined from, farmer Stirling Strauss invited me to take a stone with me. I picked up this one and you can see the lilac lines running through the stone.
 

     It has found a temporary place in the entrance hall but I will relocate my semi-precious gift to the book room soon.

Autumn eased into winter

Our street sings the music of late autumn.  The plane trees are losing leaves and the wind blows them around like drunken dancers.
     In a way I like it when they assemble in the small front garden. Occasionally I would ask a beggar to pick some up while he waits for his take-away food parcel. But it does not upset me. It is part of life.

The dead and the living in my garden: Autumn leaves and scented geranium. 

Vintage in Keimoes

On a recent trip to the Northern Cape, I went into the information office in the small town of Keimoes on the Orange River and found much more than tourist information there.  
        For a start, the office is situated in an old church building on the main street across the road from an historical water wheel.
    . At the back of the building is a quaint coffee shop and historical exhibition. I immediately donned a vintage hat and while strolling around the exhibit felt like being in my own house!

"Pancake" hat worn by Dior models in the 40's and 50's. 

Gloves and shoes - but not for sale!

A Jones sewing machine and some crocheted squares for a knee blanket