So far all the indicators are that Dorje’s not going to be a soccer star. A little too William Webb-Ellis to follow the rules perhaps. And he’s unlikely to make it as a rugby player either, thanks to both strict instructions from his mom, and his rather un-prop forward-like build.

So, perhaps inspired by Louis Oosthuizen’s arrival from nowhere, I took Dorje to play Putt-Putt for the first time yesterday.

He’d never played, nor so much as picked up a golf club, and his first attempt was to wield it like a cross between a hockey stick and a broom. After some emergency tutoring, we settled down to play. The course was empty, so I decided to allow him a maximum of 10 shots, at least giving him a chance to feel the thrill of holing the ball after all that hacking.

He started with a 5, a 6 and a 10. A 3 on hole 4 seemed to have turned the tide, but it was followed up by a 10, a 6 and a 9. He ended the first 9 holes on a 41 over par 59.

He wasn’t helped in his instruction by watching two children, about his age, who really did dribble the ball into the hole.

Hole 10 kicked off the last 9 with a 7.

At that point the spirit of Louis descended, and my visions of him lifting the claret jug began. He went on a remarkable run of 4 consecutive 2’s. A wobble at hole 15, a 4, was followed by another 2 consecutive 2’s. However, he needs to work on his ability to handle pressure, as hole 18, with a free ticket beckoning, was a blow-out.

Hole 18 has a very steep, long slope, so one needs to hit the ball hard to even make it up the slope. His first attempt to make it up saw the ball fly airborne into the wooden shed behind the course. Not a bad drive for a putter. His second attempt at least stayed on the ground, but didn’t quite have enough power to make it all the way. The third time was successful.

However, the course hasn’t aged well, and there are dips and cracks in the concrete base, so many of the surfaces are quite skew. Hole 18 is one such, and is so skew that if you don’t sink the putt, the ball glides slowly all the way to the far side of the ‘green’, leaving a long, tricky putt. A few failed attempts, all ending with the ball flat against the far surface, centimetres from where it had started, saw him disheartened and he ended with a 10.

But there was enough shown that I’m investigating pulling him from his school and sending him to the Ernie Els Foundation.

Dorje is progressing with his chess, and is now pretty good.

In fact, he’s progressing so quickly I can’t beat him now. In our last game I was demolished while only managing to take 3 of his pawns.

There are a few minor variations on the rules though. The pieces get set up as Dorje wishes. He’s allowed to make as many moves as he likes at once. All moves are permitted. And when two pieces meet, and get into a “fight”, Dorje is the judge as to which piece is left standing.

So while I’m not holding thumbs at having spawned Africa’s second grandmaster, Dorje is getting great pleasure from beating me, again and again. And again…

I went away with Dorje this weekend to Aloe Cottage in Darling, courtesy of a Facebook friend who happens to own the house. The house is well stocked with games, and Dorje has discovered a new favourite.

Foodle!

Yes, Foodle, the funky food game involves rolling dice, answering questions on nutrition, and most fun of all, drinking lots of water. Dorje downed half the Darling dam helping mom and dad, who both soon tired of gulping water down.

Back home on Monday, Dorje and I made our own version. Drawing the board, colouring in the 24 squares (bright orange, bright green with glasses of water or various foods, and dark green with keys on the back), a set of 24 cards, again, 8 bright orange, 12 bright green, and 4 dark green funky monkey squares.

Funky monkey cards involve moving forward or back. Two forward for eating your spinach, one forward for eating broccoli, one back for eating sugar, and two back for drinking Coke.

What to do about the 20 remaining cards, all requiring questions? We should have stolen the cards from Darling says Dorje. Hmm…

A better idea, and much more fun – we left the orange (hard) and green (easy) cards blank, and made up the questions as we went along.

Dorje, with his superior nutritional knowledge, thrashed me, cruising through questions such naming two colours of cabbage, whether lettuce or spinach is healthier, and whether cashews or almonds are sweeter.

In spite of Dorje helping me out by asking the same question at least 4 times (whether milk from cows or the shops was healthier), I trailed badly, and Dorje is the Foodle (very definitely without the TM) champion.

(:lol:) Dorje was UP this morning at 5H30. We were ready for school at 7H00 including a game of Monopoly.

He was quite bummed with me that I was not going to take him to school at 7H00 – he wanted to be FIRST! He didn’t seem impressed that he had to wait for his lift club at 7H30 (:lol:)

Dorje and I are driving in the car last night. The dialog goes as follows …

MUM “Its not ok to play with yourself in company, only at home in your room. Remember we spoke about this before”

[So, he gives me the “look”.]

DORJE “Ja but MUM you go naked often?!”
MUM “Yes but I am naked at home!”

[there is a PAUSE and lots of thinking going on]

DORJE “MUM this is MY world … and you can’t make rules in MY WORLD, so I SAY it is ok to play with yourself in company” (:lol:)

Dorje and I went for a short walk and we were discussing that he is up to my chest level.

So, he says to me, “MUM you know why you are so short?”
Erm, “NO, why don’t you tell me?”
“Its because when you get really old MUM, then you get lower and lower and lower and … … wider and wider and wider”

I might add at this point is where he was gesturing (in intervals) how you get lower and lower until just about the ground and winder and wider until his arms were stretched WAY out.

Cheeky monkey (:evil:)

Dorje has gone to Oma with Aunti for a couple of days, school holiday (:smile:)

Aunti asks: Do you want to go for ice cream at the beach?
Dorje: “Why? Is Oma’s TV not working because of the rain?”
Aunti: “No, its working but should we go for ice cream?”
Dorje: “No, sugar is bad for you, I’ll just watch TV”

(:lol:) TV

My favourite property in Cape Town is at the top of Red Hill. It was once a yoga centre, and apparently a vastu master had described the site’s alignment and energy flows as highly auspicious. When the yoga centre left a few years ago, I inquired about it, and it could have been mine for a measly R7 million.

Dorje and I went to visit a friend a few weeks ago. Until a few days before, she had been homeless, so I was a little surprised to find her staying on my dream property!

We got exploring the back garden, a wild expanse bordering the nature reserve.

We came across an enormous caterpillar. Quite a few of them, actually, all on the same species of plant.

It wasn’t just the caterpillar that was huge – the eggs were quite impressive too, almost a Dorje-sized portion of scrambled eggs on there.

I’m hoping some botanist friends can help identify the plant (what’s left of it) and the caterpillar.

We weren’t expecting to go bundu-bashing, and the beach sandals weren’t the best for the hike. Of course we got nicely scratched by the knee-high scrub. And moved through it a little more cautiously after seeing a rather large snake.

No, there really is a snake there. It’s body is in the shaded part between the two lower rocks, and it’s head is peering out the top.

In order to help spot the snakes and caterpillars from afar, a birds-eye-view was necessary. The best we could do was the top of a water cylinder.

We also discovered one of those strange rocks that make me wonder if it was not once a sacred site. Standing tall and seemingly artificially lifted while all around it were low and insignificant rocks, with an “eye” in it.

Dorje had to climb it:

After we got back, we tried to fly our kites again. The howling wind meant the kites spent more time trying to decapitate us than soaring peacefully with the currents.

A fun day, and worth the loss of (another) shoe, and a bit of sunburn.

We went to Ocean Basket for supper last night – Oma, Shaun, Dorje and I. Dorje wanted prawns for supper. After eating the 2nd prawn he said “Mum, we can’t eat these!”.

“Can’t eat what, my angel?”.

“We can’t eat prawns and fish, these are mother earth’s creatures!” (:eek:)

Yesterday Dorje was holding the hose pipe, and he asked me to turn it on to water the veggie garden, … with a cheeky grin, I might add.
So, I said no way you are going to squirt me (:lol:)
He tells me, “No I won’t!”, … still with a cheeky grin
I didn’t believe him.
So, he insisted, a fairy promise
Which, in our world, is the BIG promise, you don’t lie to your fairies (:lol:)

But, there is still this cheeky grin … hmmm
So we go over the don’t say promise if you don’t mean it “talk”.
He insists he is NOT lying, he says to me “I am smiling because you are so beautiful mum” (:lol:)
Fark so I turn on the hose and the bliksem wets me (:lol:)
The lying little shit, I fell for the charm hook, “lie” and sinker (:lol:)