Happy birthday, Granny...

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by Mrs Plod

Today we woke up at Onse Rus, the home where Granny lived as a child. It is her birthday today! Dad surprised us with a call right before breakfast. He was a little worried that he hadn't heard from us in a while, and wanted to let us know that Aunty Frieda was worried that she hadn't heard from us either. It was nice to hear his voice! We had another delicious breakfast (got your meusli recipe, Boo) and then pack up and headed out of town. On the way out, I realized that I had not bought any postcards, so we U-turned back to the Lazy Lizard, a coffe/curio shop and internet cafe. We thought we'd have quick e-mail check and a cup of coffee, but we were wrong. I think the Lazy Lizard name refers to the internet speed which was so slow, that Hotmail just could not make a connection. I was almost in tears--paying to sit and watch your computer do nothing is annoying, especially when there is e-mail to check and a blog to catch up!! I did get a very cute guinea fowl fabric tea cosy, though, so Ross thinks the stop was worth it!
Then we headed out of town again, taking the Meiringspoort Pass this time. It seemed to be a little more modern and a little less hairy than the Swartberg. Several times Ross and I commented that it reminded us so much of Glenwood Canyon (only waaaaaaaaaaay longer) in Colorado. After a good while, we were on the way to Montagu to see Aunty Frieda. For some reason, I felt unsettled and a little anxious most of the day. We snacked on droewors, biltong, and dried fruit in the car, listened to David Kramer, and got to Montagu about 4:30. We checked into our guesthouse--another beautiful suite, elegantly decorated and invitingly cosy. We had supper with Aunty Frieda--we were there for 5 hours--bobotie, yellow rice, vegies and apple crumble with custard. When Owen started drooping, we decided to go, even though chatting to Aunty Frieda had been lots of fun. Our beds were turned down, the heater was on, and there were chocolates on our pillows when we got back to Airlies. We tucked in for a comfy night of sleep, most content!

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