Durban Day 1

Lets start with the jet lag update:  we managed to sleep last night - at about 11pm.  It felt like mid-afternoon on a hang-over (which it was in Seattle, not the hangover) but the kids were eventually persuaded to sleep.  Wren gnashed his teeth and woke in a groaning mid-waking state a few times but it went well considering the possible insanity of jet lag and we lasted in bed for 10 hours!  Anna - take heart - Leo may be fine on your trip to France!

Wren and I slept till 9am but Frost woke at 6am and went golfing with Dad.   After that they rented Frost a bicycle for the month.... the family here is very keen on mountain biking.

Granddad has 3 large dogs and some of you may recall that Wren is borderline phobic about dogs and was very anxious to see them.  They are all larger than previous scary dogs.  Puppy is very old, "like a hyena" due to a flea allergy (according to Dad), Cotton is stupid due to brain damage which occurred when she jumped out of a moving vehicle as a puppy and Charlie is large, fast, young and jumpy.

To cope with the dogs, Wren has RULES ABOUT DOGS.   He has declared that:

1) Dogs Do Not Come Inside and
2) definitely Dogs Do Not Come Upstairs.

When we go outside he only likes the Vegetable Garden (fenced) not the lawn because:

3) The Dogs Can't Come In the Vegetable Garden, and
4) If you see a dog You Must Rescue Me.

While 1)- 3) are sort of rules around the house, they are not enforced with the regularity Wren requires, so he has had to shriek a few times to let us know about their offenses.  I hope he comes to relax over the next few days.  Dad is hoping to desensitize him.  So far he has offered Wren to take Charlie for a walk and has held Wren and encouraged Charlie to jump up at them on his hind legs.  After this display in which Wren shrieked loudly, he told him "See, he doesn't want to hurt you!"

Wren remains unconvinced.

Dad's garden is fabulous.  Just wandering around makes me happy - the paw-paw (papaya) trees have about 8 green papayas, avocados are falling from the avocado tree (rudely cut to make it fruit closer to the ground, advice which it is roundly refusing to follow by fruiting at the highest extremities) and I bought a bag for 4 large avocados from men selling them by the road - $2 for 4!

Tonight, David arrives from Cape Town.

We have bought lots of groceries - I am thrilled with the Indian produce and bought samosa wraps, frozen puris, a cream donut (nothing like the US ones... its like a long donut roll with faux cream inside), ripe guavas, square marshmallows in coconut and a bag of granadillas.  I am now going to make instant coffee to stay awake until bedtime.

Wren peers over a pile of chillies and curry leaves.
Jackfruit in the center and green mangoes just out of sight.

Granadillas / passionfruit:  US$5 per Kg!
Guava's to the left.

I feel quite woozy but I love this place.

Frost and Wren made a mud dam in the vegetable garden (the earth is reddish and sandy), Frost is wearing his pajamas again and Wren has already played with every toy I brought for the month and has now resorted to watching Frost play iPad (a round of bejeweled) and tells me that "when you win there is a big tornado."