Tim went away right after the Field Trip, back to the US to a meeting in Georgia, followed by a visit to his wonderful parents in Florida, then to Stanford for some work and to see his children and grandsons, and finally a night at home in Inverness; all the while waiting on tenterhooks for his passport to be processed by the South African embassy in Los Angeles, making him legal for work in Cape Town at last.
While Tim was away my sister, Gillian, came to visit from Johannesburg and we had a marvelous party weekend in the winelands celebrating two good friends' seventieth birthdays. Gill and I visited the farm in Stellenbosch where my father was born and where we, as children, went for regular Sunday visits while my grandmother was alive. This farm, Glenelly, has recently been bought by Madame De Lencquesaing, owner of a vineyard in France. Madame has converted my dad's old family fruit farm into a plush, modern wine estate and we were taken on a tour of the house, the vineyards, the tasting rooms and the cellars. We felt some sadness at the loss of our childhood haunts, but enjoyed walking around the beautifully manicured home.
And then the dreaded gastric flu attacked and left me feeling helpless and hopeless for close on a week. But it gave me an opportunity to read Stieg Larsson's The Girl who Played with Fire, the follow-up to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - a thrilling escape and just what I needed. I followed that with my first ever TC Boyle book, The Tortilla Curtain, which I loved even though the story is a tough one to digest. His writing is wonderful. And the last little book I devoured is called Wild Honey by Bookey Peek. Treat yourself to this read - such an inspiring story set against the depressing background of Zimbabwe's decline.
I got better, Tim got back, and we geared up for the Stanford Reception on Friday March 12th - what a good party! My camera was once again in action - click on the link to see the photos.
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