A laid-back and non-lethal Father's Day for Mo this year

This year's Fathers Day was much simpler, more laid-back - and far less potentially disastrous -  than last year's (remember this post?). There were no fires, flammable liquids or life-threatening situations providing colour and excitement to the day, but somehow, the kids' efforts were still as memorable as they always are.

On Saturday afternoon the kids and I roamed about Canal Walk mall to find him a present on their limited budget. I'm really proud to say that they paid for his gifts with their own money, which they earned from their bird-breeding business (which I blogged about here a while back). 

Fortunately their dad was easy to please - we knew that he had been planning to get himself another pair of cufflinks for a while now. Everyone also knew about his love for Pringles and Ferreira Rocha chocolates. So, carefully counting their pennies, the kids managed to scrape together enough for his Father's Day gifts.

Nuha (8) put in so much effort with the decorations

The rest of them prepared breakfast

and wrapped the gifts

Nuha also made a lovely card for her dad

  

and, in Nuha's own unique and thoughtful style, she included "something nice" for him in the card

Nuha's card

Not forgetting her medal to "the best daddy in the world"

Though getting it over his head presented a bit of a challenge

Mo admiring his cufflinks

The rest of the day was really relaxed, which was exactly what their overworked dad needed.

Wishing all hardworking and loving dads a belated Happy Father's Day!!

A magical weekend at Goudini (including a trip to Birds Paradise)

 

We spent the first weekend of the school holidays at Goudini Spa.

Yes, we have been to this resort before - in fact we, as a family, have been rather unadventurous when it comes to choosing our holiday destinations - always exploring various options, yet always ending up preferring this one.

On Friday evening we arrived late-ish so, surprisingly, the kids preferred not to swim. I was glad - Aisha (2) and Shakeel (13) were showing the early signs of getting a cold. Mo braaied (barbequed) while we sat around the fire. Annoyingly, the kids kept running to spend time in front of the Disney channel, since we don't have DSTV at home (precisely for this reason).

Our villa was quite secluded, so we spent the evening enjoying the peace and quiet (not counting Aisha (2)'s constant nagging).

It was only the next morning that we could truly appreciate the absolute beauty of our surroundings. We had never stayed in one of the villas before and I had never wanted to, since they are quite a distance from the pool in which we prefer to swim.

But the morning light revealed the absolutely magnificent location of our villa, which was one of many dotting the foothills of one of the mountains surrounding Goudini. Since ours was situated right at the end of a little 'road', we only had an (empty) neighbouring villa on our right hand side, with nothing but mountainous rock and shrubs to our left.

 

The kids and I explore the rocky terrain

Standing over the basin, washing a heap of Saturday morning dishes (ugh!), I stared out of the kitchen window marvelling at the splendour of the other mountain right in front of me. I gazed, mesmerised by the beauty of the varying greens, yellows and browns, as well as their assortment of textures - so much so that I was done with my dreaded task before I knew it.

Later the cleaning staff came in to wash the morning dishes and make the beds - if I had but known that earlier.

Mo had to head back into town for a few hours, so the kids and I decided to embark upon the dreaded trek down to the pool. And what an incredible walk it turned out to be! We raced, chased, marvelled and okay - pacified Aisha when she nagged to be carried. But it actually turned out to be wonderfully invigorating and I enjoyed these walks/jogs immensely.

Upon Mo's return a few hours later, we headed to Robertson. Mo had heard about a place called Bird's Paradise, which boasted a variety of beautiful exotic birds. Mo also wanted to check it out as a possible future holiday destination, since they do have accomodation and other attractions available.

Firstly we headed to Worcester for lunch. Although not far away, we took a while to arrive at our destination, since we drove slowly and often stopped along the way to gawk at and photograph the spectacular scenery, the most impressive of which were the snow-capped mountains (especially since, as Capetonians, we had never been so close to snow before).

Since KFC was the only Halal food establishment of which we knew, we headed there immediately, but the long and winding queues sent us back on the road to Robertson instead - we preferred to suffer our hunger pangs a little while longer instead of wasting a minute queuing in that heat.

On the way, we ''ooh'ed'' and ''aah'ed'' at the beauty of our surroundings. I tried, in vain, to express to Mo how being in small towns, which appear to be almost timeless, evokes a sense of longing, sadness and nostalgia in me, which I just cannot explain. After all, can one feel nostalgic for a time and place of which one was not a part or to which one has no link or ties?

The sight of the old farmhouses had me picturing what life in those areas had been like a century ago. In many cases, though, it truly appeared as if time had stood still.

After purchasing our lunch at KFC in Robertson, we found our way to the Bird's Paradise.

And that is where Mo was in his element, all the while trying to convince me to fall in love with one of the beautiful birds, so that we could purchase one for a pet. (We already own 2 love birds [our breeding pair], their baby, a ring neck, a cockatiel and Titan, our quaker parrot). Seriously, does it really seem as if we need another bird?

I was very impressed with the non-avian creatures whom Mo, on the other hand, barely gave a second glance.

 

But I have developed a deeper appreciation for feathered creatures than I'd had before (although I still prefer a cuddly bunny any day). So I truly enjoyed our tour of the impressive aviaries and their clever inhabitants.

Recognise this guy? It is a hyacinth macaw, which is the same type of bird as the main character in the movie ''Rio" - apparently it costs about R80 000!!!

The kids were delighted by the cockatoos who greeted them by saying ''Hello'', ''I love you'' and ''Goodbye'', prompting the birds to show off even more for their admiring spectators.

Admittedly, I truly was impressed by the plethora of gorgeous birds I saw at Birds Paradise. So much so, that I am very tempted to agree to Mo purchasing a macaw as a pet.

We left Robertson late Saturday afternoon and arrived back at Goudini 45 minutes before Maghrib (sunset prayers). Mo and I headed up to prepare supper, while the kids chose to play putt putt until Maghrib.

We spent the evening playing cards - until the electricity went off in our villa. As scary as this had been for the kids, it turned out to be a blessing because they were unable to switch on the television. I kept them entertained with a game of charades, which they later described as one of the highlights of their weekend.

Happily, Mo informed us that he was planning to extend our stay for another day. So Sunday was spent gleaning every second of fun and enjoyment which the place had to offer.

 

Then, sadly, the morning of our departure arrived. The kids were glum and I was not much better. But Mo had a 10:00 am meeting, so we packed up and said our sad goodbyes to the lovely villa and our magical weekend at Goudini.

Despite our constant search for other possible holiday destinations, I am certain we'll end up back at Goudini (hopefully in the Slanghoek villas) time and time again.

　

The rescue

This post was written in the car on Friday afternoon on our way to Goudini Spa (where we spent the weekend), but could not be posted then since I was unable to get internet reception all weekend.


So we were all packed and ready to head off on our weekend getaway earlier this afternoon, when Shakeel (13) carried out his little birdies (which he has been hand-rearing for the past few weeks).

Suddenly we heard a shriek, as the baby cockatiel, whom Shakeel has been rearing for the past 2 weeks, suddenly decided to test his wings for the first time.

The bird ended up on the telephone pole nearby. Mo and Shakeel were frantic. They tried everything to get him down. Mo parked the car under the pole and then proceeded to hurl objects near it to get it to fly down, but to no avail. The bird sat dead still, calmly surveying the world beneath him, with a mocking superior air.

Sitting on a wire right at the top of the tall telephone pole

 

A half hour passed. Ronald, the guy who helps Mo with his vespa restorations, was recruited to the rescue mission. He displayed a powerful throwing arm, as he hurled pieces of wood next to the bird, who started to look as if he was becoming bored of all the shenanigans down below.

But, unfortunately, he was not the only one. We had been dumb enough to tell Aisha (2) about our impending journey and, needless to say, she had been nagging for the entire day;  insisting to know when we were leaving - every 2 minutes.

This untimely delay was the final straw - especially since we had been all packed and had, in fact, been sitting in the car ready to drive when the bird had flown away.

I was grumpy too - I had rushed like a maniac to get everything packed. The meat for the braai has been in the cooler box - in the hot car - for the past 2 hours.

The bird's smug attitude didn't help. Sitting up there, mocking our foolish desperation. Seeming to enjoy the havoc he was causing on the ground. I had to remind myself that he was just a little baby who would surely die if left to fend for himself - as he is still being syringe-fed porridge and does not eat solids properly yet.

So I sat watching Mo, Ronald and Shakeel tossing up pieces of wood against the wire, trying to scare the bird into flying toward them - and also squirting water into the air, hoping to alarm him. Despite the fact that Mo had parked the car under the telephone pole, they were still not able to reach the wire, on which the bird was sitting, with any accuracy. So, as a last resort, Mo got out his pepper-ball gun (now THAT, I think, he rather enjoyed). He fired shots near to the bird, who just looked the other way, visibly bored.

Spraying water with what I assume is a gardening contraption

And all the while I sat there, thinking about my meat rotting in the back of the car. Meat, which was probably worth more than price of the annoying bird.

Mo called the SPCA and the fire department . Both said that we needed to call the electricity department.

But fortunately that was not necessary. The bird, probably satisfied with the extent of the mayhem he had caused, then proceeded to fly onto our roof, where Ronald (our hero), standing on a ladder, scooped him into his hands and back to safety.

Ronald, our hero

I must admit (grudgingly) that I was really happy to have him back safely; the poor thing. I had not wanted to picture what would have become of him had he not come to his senses on time.

So, we have now finally left home (about five minutes ago). The whole ordeal had delayed us by almost two hours. Stupid bird.

Mixed feelings about the kids' new entrepreneurial venture

Inspired by his Economic and Management Sciences course at school, Shakeel (13) has decided to follow in his dad's entrepreneurial footsteps.

He, Tharaa  (10)and Nuha (7) undertook to combine whatever monies they acquired on Eid and pump it into their first venture.

I was ambivalent about this. On the one hand, building and growing a business could inspire a good work ethic, discipline, resourcefulness and develop their ability to work with money (as opposed to spending it on Playstation games (Shakeel), Kinderjoys (Tharaa) and bubblegum (Nuha) ).

On the other hand I didn't want them to get distracted from their main priority - their school work . More importantly, I know people who started making a buck on the side when they were kids - and, instead of this industriousness filtering through to their studies and careers, it has shifted the focus from their studies/careers. None of these people I know have gone on to build huge successful businesses - instead, now as adults, they are still always on the lookout for an opportunity to make a buck here or there. It's as if their taste of 'being their own bosses' has rendered them incapable of working for a boss. Which, in itself is not a bad thing, I suppose - if you have managed to grow one of your businesses to become a thriving successful enterprise.

But some of these people live from business deal to business deal - making a killing from one venture and then peanuts from the next.

I know there must be successful people who started out this way. I'm sure there are people who started out as young entrepreneurs, who are hugely now successful.

But, in this day and age, a sound education should remain the basis of their future plans - even if it ends up serving as their safety net, while they grow their huge conglomerates. I am fully aware that Shakeel is very likely to make much more as a successful business owner than as a paleontologist, but I still want him to have that university degree - even if it just becomes his fall-back option.

Anyway, this was merely supposed to be a post about little birds (as opposed to a negative paranoid rant) - with a few weird-looking pictures showing them being fed. Yes, the kids have decided to make some extra cash by becoming bird breeders. This choice was logical, I suppose - since their dad is so passionate about his avian babies and the kids are therefore quite accustomed to seeing birds being hand-reared.

They bought a pair of fischer parrots (male and female) , along with their two newly-hatched babies. Since the parents were not doing a very good job of feeding the babies (judging from the fact that the babies' crops remained empty), Mo (assisted by Shakeel) fed the birds a special porridge using a syringe.

I'm not sure if I found this cute or creepy. As we watched the little featherless hatchlings, we weren't sure whether to go ''awwww, how cute'' or ''eeeek!''



 

Their little box opened for the first time that day

 

 

 

Mo feeds his baby some special porridge

 

I really can't decide - is this cute or gross?

Yikes, look at that neck

 

No comment *shudder*

 

 

 

And it's the sister's turn. Background -Aisha losing interest in the whole process

 

 

Uh-oh, someone's becoming adventurous. He surprised us by climbing right out of the tub where he's saved by  ( a no doubt, shuddering) Shakeel

 

My brave son handles the creepy/cute hatchling

 

 

''Please sir, may I have some more?''

 

And, there he goes again
 

 

''What the hell is this - Jurassic Park?'' Aisha's probably wondering

 

 

Dad (yellow): ''Where did we go wrong, honey? With good looks like ours, we should have hatched little beauties''
Mom (green): ''I don't know, but I can assure you - they don't take after my side of the family.''

Okay, enough of my meanness. They are adorable little birdies - in fact I shall nestle them fondly in my naked hands (eek!) and administer their next porridge feeding.

*Shudder* (with happy anticipation, obviously)