Belated Christmas wishes

Greetings all,

As promised slightly later than anticipated, here is our short family Christmas greeting to you all. I think that if none of our videos and audio files are playing you might consider downloading the new version of Windows Media Player from the official Windows site. But fot the rest of you folks who are upto date on the software side of things CLICK HERE for the Jubber family Christmas wish.

Beautiful Day?

This is a goodie - enjoy! I have found a few that bring back memories, and also sound pretty kewl. Hope you like the updates that will be posted here as and when I come across them...

'twas the night before Christmas...

So, good people, here has been much debate here on whether it is 'CHRISTMAS' or to be politically (in)correct - 'HAPPY HOLIDAYS'. Just a reflection on how the world is drifting further on her collision course with a destiny excluding God. Big corporations have adopted the stance of 'happy holidays' yet they profiteer off CHRISTMAS sales - how sad is that? I think it is a crying shame that all of a sudden God is excluded from the day in HIStory that brought our Savior into the world to redeem us...

That is my rant and rave for the day before Christmas. I have promised a video clip of us here for Christmas, and I realize that we are at the bottom of the time zone scale and so the next time you check the blog you will see it, and it will more than likely be after Christmas, so as they say "it's the thought that counts..."

On December 20th I posted a audio video and what I am going to do, to keep life on the web simple, is I will leave the text alone, and will switch out the song with stuff that I enjoy, and hopefully you do to. Some people have said it doesn't work, my advice is for you not try anything just open the blog and allow the page to load fully and the video will start automatically.

Crazy BUT true

So, the end of the weekend hits us all like a ton of bricks. I am really chuffed that the video/audio worked out. The secret to keeping young is ...ummmm...DIGITALLY ENHANCED SOFTWARE. No honestly, Ken, Ang & Karin - if you were to see me in real life you would see the gray hair, the not-so-smooth baby skin on my face etc. Age is setting folks...

Coming to the States has not been an easy feet, but nonetheless a lot of us have left in the hope of securing a more stable future for our children, and to seek the possiblity of a secure lifestyle. It sure comes at a price doesn't it? I am not sure if I mentioned this in my earlier blogs, but the adjustment has been huge, talk about a rapid ascent learning curve...do or die invironment, this has been it! But three years down the road it is finally starting to settle somewhat.

Hey guys, I keep asking you all if you have an interesting titbit you would like to share through the blog, or if you have an interesting weblink you would like added to the favorites...come on...give me something to work with here.

Going through some of my weird and whacky folders I stumbled across some pics I thought would be nice to share with you. The first one is really crazy, but true. Somewhere in the heartland a mother dog gave birth to a litter of puppies. They were cute, but as they grew older some really weird features started developping...so I present you thelma, louise and gertie...they genuinely were born and developed into these beauties, and are completely inseperable, makes you think doesn't it...how did they do it?

Then a moment of genius came upon me before we left Zims...they have the Desktop Computer, the Laptop, but what about the Portable Computer? So, I scrambled into the garage, got a hold of an old PC I had laying around and went to work at building the contraption that would certainly make me a millionaire. Did I achieve the goal set out? Heck NO! Did I get some laughs from the neighbors...sure...BUT then again was it even me to begin with? You decide...

Not sure if you got to see this next amazing discovery on the news in your neck of the woods. But some chaps were deep in the jungle in South America, and heard the most amazing shreak coming from a miniature psychad palm. After further investigation, and a near heart stopping discovery the worlds' smallest ever species of verigated bushtale monkey enter the world record books...you have got to see this to believe it. Now if they figured a way to breed this little critters I would be down at the petshop getting me one...

Ok, I already know what you are all thinking; Vic has got to be pulling our leg here...Indeed I am. None of the above is factual or real, but what is real is the use of Photoshop to trick the eye. Amazing what a couple of bored hours can produce sitting in front of a blank screen with an idle mind. These are digitally enhanced photos, none of the events occured, never took place and were not discovered - also for the record to all tree-huggers out there - no animals were hurt, injured, disfigured or maimed during the creation of this submission.

Sorry folks, this was a bit of a boring submission...just thought it would be nice to see the looks on some of your faces. Hey, make this week a good one, keep coming back, we will be submitting a post of a Christmas greeting to you all by the coming weekend.

Audio Sampler

I have decided to go to the next level with this setup...

Here is a link that will open and play a small video with audio - if it works out well, I will be posting to my blog with stuff that you can see and hear from us all the way over here...

Honestly this time your comments are appreciated...

CLICK HERE

ho ho ho!

And so we count down the days that remain toward Christmas, and then a few more days and we are done with 2005! This has been a year of sorts hasn't it? Some of the goings on have been pleasant, and some have been heartfelt...

One thing about this time of the year in the States is the way that people go all out to decorate their homes with lights. For the first time in our lives we are going to have a traditional Christmas, which is going to be fun. I go back many years to the early 70's when we used to have a tree in our home in Bulawayo. I remember one Christmas distinctly...Mom and Dad had a tree in the corner of the lounge, there were gifts under the tree, and I remember Mom giving me a form to fill in and she was going to post it to Santa...no comment! Well, tradition has it that if you left out a glass of milk and some cookies, that Santa would stop by leave the gifts and have the refreshments before starting off to the next house. This particular year I woke up on Christmas morning, raced down the stairs - I knew the gifts were there, my urgency was to see if Santa had stopped by our home, and sure enough, the cookies had been eaten and the glass of milk was half empty!!! Dad came downstairs and said "you better check outside and see if he was really here..." I dashed outside and our front yard at the time was all concrete - there in the center of the driveway were white sleigh marks and huge footprints in "snow". The excitement was overwhelming...every child's dream of Christmas!

Well, this year in the States, we have gone to similar lengths only this time it was the girls insisting on a christmas theme - which they agreed to finance - miracles never cease. I drove them to the store, they picked out a tree and a bunch of decorations as well as lights for the outside of the house. I sat back and watched them decorate the tree - no arguments just good team work.

My job today was to figure out how to put the lights up outside as part of the decoration for the festive season. The neighbors were out doing their lights too, and me being the ultimate non-handy man had to go over and ask how it all works. Eventually we figured it out, and I was able to hang the lights up. When it came time to plug in and test, I told Nancy "you better get ready for one of two things; either the lights will come on - or there will be an all mighty bang and sparks will fly out of the garage". Fortunately my first run on hanging lights outside worked out, and the display is simple but eye catching.

Above the fire place Vicky bought a bunch of stockings, and so we each will be filling them with goodies - probably candy (that's sweets...haha). On the menu will be the traditional glazed ham, which can be bought at the store, back in the day Dad would slave away in the kitchen to cook the ham to perfection. A lot of that fun is now reduced by simply picking up a ready cooked and glazed ham, saving a bunch of time and effort. Ah, that reminds me of one Christmas in particular. Dad will remember this well. Mom had flown over to Holland to be with her family, and Billy & Linda, the Tolmays had gone to South Africa, the Hubbards were on the farm, Nancy was up in Harare for Christmas with her folks, and that left Dad and I home alone. Dad went all out, roasted a duck, a ham, I think a chicken also, and a piece of beef. We had a lovely fish cocktail starter, and Dad and I sat outside on the drain in the back yard, eating, drinking and being merry - remember that Dad?

Well, now in 2005, my guess is we would all kill for an opportunity to spend this time of the year together. Is it possible? YES...will it happen? Probably not...we are pretty scattered all over the globe right now. So that leaves me reminiscing over good times in the past, not really knowing what the times ahead hold, and wishing all of my family and friends a special Christmas. May this be a time of reflections, and a time of looking ahead to good things in this life. Merry Christmas...

Wild West!

Yesterday was thanksgiving - a tradition that has been in place since 1620. The basics of the whole tradition is the pilgrims who came over here and landed ashore on November 11, 1620 to start a new life and practice of freedom of religion. 106 pilgrims made the daring journey, and the first winter wiped out 46 of them. As the harvests became more successful the pilgrims decided to celebrate with the native indians by feasting on chicken, and fowls which they actually called "turkeys". This Thanksgiving saw 46 million turkeys make the journey from their own captive freedom to the oven! Incidently, did you know that the pilgrims started out in England, where they faced religious opposition, then hopped across the channel to start over in Holland, but found the weather unbearable, and set sail across the Ocean for America...pretty interesting historical trivia!

So, with Thanksgiving being the last thursday of November, we didn't feel like going and opening the shop for one extra day. Instead we took the day off and headed out of town early this morning for a famous little cowboy town up in the mountains. We took Billy my boet up there when he came and visited us a few months after our arrival. The town of Julian sits nestled in the mountains approximately 3900 feet above sea level. This town is famous for its Apple-Pie! You don't drive up the mountains and go through Julian without stopping in at the Pie Shop. There are lots of little Antique shops, trinket stores and Mom & Pop shops. makes for a really nice drive and day out of the hustle and bustle of city life.


After Julian, we decided to trek north along the mountains another 80 miles heading higher and higher towards a little town 5000 feet above sea level called Idyllwild. We had been there only once before and so it was a very challenging drive. Talk about a free rollercoaster ride, the road is narrow and winding and for the queazy getting motion sickness is pretty normal. The scenery is absolutely breath taking. As far as you can see there are mountains, huge trees, and log cabins scattered through the country side. I can only imagine what life was like in the old days. Travelling through these areas on horse back must have been an amazing experience. Being at 5000 feet above sea level drained our energy levels within a matter of an hour of walking around the town. This is a popular tourist destination where if you want to buy a special gift for that someone special then this would be the place to fork out some mulla. When giving your loved one the gift the story of how you got to the store to buy it will make for the best coffee chat. We found a nice cozy little restaurant and had a meal and enjoyed the atmosphere. There was a guy sitting near our table, who had just come back from active duty in Iraq - that was interesting to eves' drop (mind you he spoke so loud it was a free broadcast!). We had a nice lunch, some of the best steak and chips and salad I have had in these parts. However - no beef tastes like good ol' African Beef!


After lunch, we strolled to the car, and loaded up to make the trip back into town. We took a different route than usual, slightly longer but a heck of a lot more scenic. The one thing we noticed was a huge amount of trailers being pulled from the cities, across the mountains, and into the desert. Boys with their toys. Sand buggies, quad motorcycles, motocross bikes, you name it...The other spectical was vast groups of motorcycle riders ambling through the winding mountain roads. I had no idea so many people are bikers, it sure does present itself as a bunch of fun riding with your buddies through some of the most breath taking areas I have ever seen.

Its Friday night now, got home, and had to rake the yard, water the lawn, put new bird feed in the holder, and finally sit down and relax for a while. I have dotted in a few photos from today, and will add others once I have had a chance to go through them. I just wanted to give you an idea of California country life...it isn't all about big cities and traffic from hell...nope...there is a side to California that will draw you back like a magnet to enjoy the peace and tranquility a couple of hours from home.

Well, for those of you who actually take the time to come back here and read the blogs, I hope this makes some sense, and I hope one day before it is too late you will have an opportunity to visit with us. Kame the weekend a good one, and as always be blessed!

Catastrophic Failure

Well, there I was preparing all my computer work for back because I wanted to format and rebuild my system to get it running sweet again. For those of you who understand the drag of a slow running machine, and the need to format and reload everything you will know exactly why I have headed this submission "Catastrophic Failure". I had just asked my brother Bill to send me some login information for an application, because I needed it to add to my backup being for commencing with a format. I put all the folders, files and applications to one corner of my screen, inserted a 4.7gig blank dvd in the burner and was about to safely save all my valuable information.

Tammy came into my office, and asked a couple of questions, I turned and chatted with her and answered her. A few moments later, I sat back in my chair, and started my system recovery process. Reaching 30% of the distance into the formatting process, I started scratching around on my desk for the dvd with all my back up work. Guess what - ? I hadn't burnt the dvd with my information, it was still sitting in my burner...

Yes this is where "catastrophic failure" takes on a new meaning. I had done the most ridiculous thing. I had started a system restore, which deletes every single thing on a computer, without making a backup. This is something a novice, a beginner, a green kid, an amatuer would do. After rebuilding many systems for friends back in Zimbabwe, and stressing the need and importance for good backups, I fell victim to my own advice and neglect thereof. Today I lost all my work files, all my web stuff, all my digital pictures, all my addresses out of outlook, the list is endless. Put it this way - I was putting 4.35gig of information onto a dvd as part of my backup. the rest I was going to upload to our ftp server and retrieve after completion. Let me explain how much information over 4gig is. Back in Zimbabwe, that volume of information would be enough to sit on the average zimbabwean office work computer more than 16 times - that would be 16 computers of information in Zimbabwe - all lost because of a simple distraction, and lack of focus to follow through on a command to perform a back up.

So, today the moral of the story is to always be careful, concentrate and follow through with a work application before you get up and walk away, be sure to finish what you start before you lose it all.

I guess this can be likened to a lesson in life. Always be focussed on the finer things in life. Pay attention to detail. Make the best of a situation because you don't know when you will lose it, or when it will be gone from you. This could be a friend, a loved one, a family member - always take extreme care with what you build in the lives of those around because at the click of a decision it can all be lost, and unrecoverable.

This is the lesson I learnt today, and sure I am mad as heck at my loss, but I have no one to blame but myself. It is a lesson I have learned to take this computer application of backing up information, to building solid relationships with those that I love and care for. My guess is this doesn't make much sense - but to me it does. To take care of my family, to look after what I put into their lives. Making sure it is good and proper, and long lasting not requiring fixing in the long run like my computer - sure that makes sense now!

My Perspective

So, we come to the end of this year's Formula One Motor Racing circus. Was it any good this year? No. Ferrari were caught napping - big time, and of all 18 races came first and second only once - the USA Grand Prix (only six Bridgestone runners) which was boycotted by all the Michellin clad runners due to a near fatal last corner shunt that saw Ralph Schumacher duplicating his 2004 crash that broke his back. Did I enjoy the season? No. My interest in Formula One is dwindling, unless Ferrari pull up their socks I predict a number of fans losing interest...

Paid our first mortgage today. Did it feel good parting with a mortgage payment instead of a rent check? Yes. Why? Well, do the maths, would you rather pay cheap rent and get no benefit come tax time, or pay a little more and enjoy the concessions?

Saturday is turn the clock back time once again. Another unecessary evil, but so be it. Some parts of the world gain an hour as they head into summer, and we lose an hour has we head into winter - I think that is how it works. The weather has already shown herself to be changing - it is a little cooler than usual, and the sun has now started going down a lot earlier. I know in Holland in winter time, the sun barely makes it up and it is already setting.

So Harriet Miers resigned yesterday from accepting her appointment to the supreme court. Why? Who cares. Am I politically engaged here? No. I did that in a distant place and where did it get me? Nowhere. Is it worth it - probably and probably not.

The Reserve Bank in Zimbabwe has made some changes to the foreign currency market trading points this week. For many months the bank rate of the US$ was pegged at the banks at a rate of z$25000,00 to us$1,00 - the blackmarket rate was pegged at approximately z$75000,00 but now the legal bank rate has been levelled at the banks on z$60000,00 - will this eleviate the crisis? No....don't kid yourself of course it will not!

Here are some amusing pictures I came across. I know exactly what you are thinking..."hey, I know someone who looks just like that!" Pretty sad that human nature immediately translates what we see with our eye to a person we know or have seen at some point in time. Ok, I admit it, they are UGLY...but cute in their own right. What has me puzzled is how does a wild crazy monkey have such a perfect haircut?

Life is pretty short, figure it out we are only here for a good three score and ten, and then its' game over. So, focussing on any one issue is not a worthwhile cause. The only focus should be to live exclusively for God in this life, and understand that we are sojourners...passing through. Is it any easy walk...? Not at all, it is a free gift of God, but will cost you everything. Counting the cost is where a lot of us get snagged. But as for me and my household we will serve the Lord.

Oh the other thing is that it is Friday night, weekend is here, time to relax - or so you think. The girls have gone to a college football game (almost as intense as a NFL game...) with their good friend who is here from University. After that they are catching a movie and just hanging out in good company (trust me - it is good company...). So as far as blog submissions go this entry is pretty disorganized, and can you see the worried look on my face?

Beauty...

I am pretty annoyed - I had just worked on this submission and lost the whole thing. So, I have redone it, and edited it sadly...

I was saying, that I created this picture in Photoshop, it took about an hour to finalize. As I was working on it, and looking at our daughters, the truth suddenly dawned on me - they are growing up FAST! Dad, you made a comment the other day that kids grow and leave the nest, and it feels horrible. Well, we are seeing parts of that happening right now as the girls grow and mature daily. We thank the Lord daily that the girls have had the Lord as their foundation in life.

I was chatting with the guys at Church and asked them this question: "if you could live life all over again starting at age 4 would you do it over? If you had the option to go into retirement would you do it?" There are days I would like to go back to being a kid, and do it over, but there are days that I look forward to retirement...pretty crazy! If you could what would you do...?

Mudshake and quake

I haven't posted to my blog for a few days. It is Sunday night and almost time to retire after a day of Church and yardwork. It has been a while since I did any gardening. Our house that we rented fortunately had the services of a gardener, and now that we have our own home, such a luxury is not possible. This has resulted in me having to assemble garden equipment and remembering how to cut the grass, whack the weeds, water the garden and keep the yard as tidy as my neighbors. Just when I thought I could sit in my little office space and tap away on the computer - all that has changed as more and more time is spent on making things look pretty. Nancy fortunately has the green fingers - all I do is follow instruction and get the work done. Oh the one thing that has really made me appreciate the garden is the abundance of birdlife. We are now within walking distance of the little lake, and so there is a constant flury of birds in the garden. What has really caught my attention is the presence of humming birds. These little guys have to be the busiest birds I have ever come across. I have a hanging feeder filled with nectar for them, and they actually have resorted to fight over vacant spots on the feeder. Today I cleaned the regular bird feeder and filled it with birdseed and cleaned the birdbath and literally as I turned my back the birds arrived for a meal.

I seem to have gone off on a trail here - my main reason for tonight's blog is to acknowledge with great sadness the catastrophies of the weekend. The earthquake in Pakistan that has at this hour claimed 30 000 lives, the mudslide in Guatamalla that claimed 1500 lives - what a terrible weekend for volumes of people who didn't see it coming. Makes you wonder what life is all about doesn't it? We prayed tonight at our 40 Days of Community meeting for those who have been left with such a loss to contend with. Seriously - where are we without God? I don't think we can ever say "oh never, it will never happen to me..." It is in those very words that we can be found wanting...

40 Days of Community

The Father's House is a wonderful part of God's family where we fellowship. We came to know of this Church through doorhangers - can you believe it! What is a doorhanger? It is an effective advertising tool that you might be more familiar seeing in a Hotel on the door saying "Do Not Disturb". Well, if you have a need to get a message out then you go ahead and design a fancy doorhanger and go door to door in your neighborhood and place your doorhanger on the door and hopefully attract an audience to your special. The Father's House ran a campaign of doorhangers in February and something caught our attention about this Church and so we decided to go along and see if this would be a Church we could call home. Indeed, from the moment we arrived we felt the love - genuine love and week by week the desire to stay and grow became stronger. Finding a good place to worship the Lord and to plug your life in and get on with what God has called you to do is sometimes a difficult mission, but what makes the seeking easy is when the foundation is strong and the hearts of fellow brothers and sisters are filled with the love of the Lord.

Now, eight months later, as a family we have put down roots, built our tent so to speak and are connected with our extended family in the Lord. Nancy and I are involved in the "House Cafe" which is a coffee tent that is set up every Sunday, offering Krispy Cream donuts, Coffee, Tea and Bottled water. We have a truly fabulous team that we work together with, and it is amazing how you can really get to know a person over a cup of coffee. Tammy and Vicky are involved in the "Kid Builders" Ministry where they too are growing and helping others to grow in their walk with the Lord.

So, what is 40 Days of Community? It is the coming together of the Church in your area, in small groups where we get together to pray, to go through some teaching material and to look outward into your immediate community to see where you as a Church can connect with people. This is not a Bible bashing scenario, it simply means going into the community to be a part of it by means of doing a project and sharing the love of the Lord. The City has a project that they work on every once in a while, and this year the City is selecting a home that is in a state of disrepair. It needs yard work, painting, clearing and cleaning up. So, together with the City we have opted to engage in this community project. It is all a part of taking what we carry in our hearts out to those who just need to be loved, who need to be cared for, and who need to see that Christians are normal - oh we are???

A couple of weeks ago we had the kick off service for the start off the 40 Days of Community, and I had my camera with me so decided to take a few pics, which I have attached to this blog because I want to share them with you.

Moving House

You will have noticed a period of silence from me lately. This has not been intentional, but when you move house things take time to get established all over. Funny how I had my office setup running sweet in the old house, now with the exact same setup just relocated differently, it all feels really weird! The keyboard feels different, the screen looks totally different, the desk is weird, and my chair feels awkward. Wow...I have just read that sentence back to myself and I sound like a grumpy old timer - but for those of you who have moved you will identify with what I am saying.

Anyways, on to the move. We have been renting for almost three years now, and felt that the need to purchase was bruning stronger with each passing month. Haveing a small shop, you need to really have some form of real estate under your belt to nejoy some of the benifits. So, after a good four months of hard plowing and working like there is no tomorrow, an opportunity arose for us to buy a home, so we took that step from rental to mortgage, and have been trying for two weeks to work during the day, move at night, and pack and unpack all in one go. I can tell you that we miss the comfort of Zimbabwe where we had untold hands and muscle to help move, but now it has been asmall group of Church people, and Nancy and I that have labored till after midnight for the past two weeks. We have two more days in the old house to clear last minute items, and clean the place spic and span so that we enjoy the full deposit refund. So, there is never a dull moment, and to top it all, we are at the end of a month and have to push last minute work to bump up the invoicing - it is fun isn't it?!

So, the new house is a gem. The Lord really opened a few miraculous doors, and made it possible to buy into the housing market. Sadly we have lost 600 square foot of interior room which has necessitated the "getting rid of" much STUFF, that just would not fit in the new house. So, we had this huge garage sale on Saturday, starting at 630am. We sold things that we thought we couldn't even end up giving away. What you consider junk is the next man's prized purchase - totally weird how that works. Then items you figure will sell like a hot cake, don't get sold and you either take a knock in price or you give the goods away. By the way - just so you know, garage sales in the States is big weekend business. Most housing communities will let you hold a garage sale once every 4 months, in our entire time of being here this was our first so no offense was casued - if so - tough luck. The great thing is that if you are looking for a bargain and you manage to get out there early enough you can pick up some really interesting gems. Our neighbor was telling me that his Dad went to a garage sale, picked up a watch and bought it for $5.- took it to the repair shop, had it fixed and serviced, and the shop owner asked if he knew the tru value of the watch - turns out it was a genuine rolex and was valued at $5000.- makes you want to go out there every weekend hunting for that bargain doesn't it?

Ah yes, almost forgot to mention that on Saturday we went with a couple form Church to the Grape expectation wine tasting event. We had a really grand time, and shared a lot of laughs. The Rotary clubs of Vista really put on a terrific event, and rasied more than $75000.- to help kids with scholarships and victims of Hurricane Katrina and Rita. Good works are amazing, and seasoned with the Lord those works are a blessing indeed.

So my dear people, this is a little update on why the silence (moving house) and now as i get my little office space back on the block, I will be posting updates regularly. If there are any items of interest that you would like to comment on, go ahead and email me and I will post your news.

Go out there and make it a good one...be blessed!

Ps....photos will follow as soon as I get a moment to hook my camera up.

On the lighter side

So, time is definately flying. I can remember when 24 hours used to take that long, now time seems to be in fast forward mode. The months, weeks, days and hours are zooming by at a rate that almost leaves you dizzy!

This Saturday we have been invited to a city event here in Vista. The two Rotary clubs of Vista are hosting a "Grape Expectations" wine tasting event to promote the City as well as generate funds to support charities. We printed the banners, programs and folders for the event and are looking forward to meeting people, and linking up with possible future business partners - no harm in peddling your wares at a function like this is there?

Vicky started her first official job this week, working for a local Smoothie outlet - for those of you who don't know what a smoothie is - it is flavored ice, crushed into a pulp that adds a refreshing edge to your day, as well as a good dose of brain-freeze. As I look at our two kids, I marvel at how much they are growing up, and how fast they are maturing. It seems like only a month ago, I ran home from the Mater Dei Hospital, slipped and fell in the mud, forgot my car at the Hospital, and was found banging on my Mom & Dad's gate to give them the good news of their status of being grandparents again. Now we are standing by watching them both gorw so fast, Tammy in University, Vicky working and doing homeschooling - it is all happening so fast.

On Saturday night I had a lovely phone call from Karin, in Adelaide. Funny how you can forget a lot of things, but the familiar voice of family rings true every single time. At the end of the call it was almost like "no...you say bye first..." Nonetheless it was refreshing to hear her, and to chat with Dave. They seem to be settling pretty well, but all things considered a move to a new country is not easy, let alone to a first world country. I had always said that if we could succeed in Zimbabwe we would succeed anywhere...haha...was I wrong or what!

Today is Kristen's birthday she turned a whole 7. We were sitting having dinner here, and the phone rang, it was Linda (Nancy's sister) calling us so that little moomoo could hear our voice and let us wish her a happy birthday - again, it was great hearing familiar voices from back home. We continue to look forward to the day that we might see all these beloved family again - time will tell I guess...

And so we head into Tuesday, and wonder if there are any surprises around the corner. I will have some news to update the family on later in the week after a few 't's are crossed, so do come back and have a look at the blog.

This has been a roving report from Southern California...come back soon for more interesting updates...

Day of Sadness

This has been a real blue Monday. Later in the afternoon, I started feeling really agitated for no apparent reason. We got home from work, had dinner, the last of our sadza, and then proceeded to fire up my pc to check mail and news and bits and pieces. In my inbox was an email from my Aunt Judith in South Africa. Sadly the email was bearing bad news - my Gramps and Dad's Dad - passed away a few short hours ago. He will be sadly missed, but the good news is that his journey is over, and he is resting now with the Lord - what a fantastic ending to a full life by a man who made little fuss and very few requests...Gramps we will miss you old timer...Go and be happy in Eternity until we meet again...our deepst love and support and blessing to Dad, Judith, Walter and all our family at this sad time...Vic, Nancy, Tam & Vicky

Dear Famly and Friends,

We wish to let you all know that our Dad, Gramps and Grampsie passed away at about 2.a.m. of the 13th September 2005. We had taken him to the Crompton Hospital on Saturday where he was diagnosed with a bad bout of pneumonia, of course he was strong all the way and when we left the hospital last night he had squeezed each hand placed in his and made the remark "There's still life in the old man ! "

We will be making funeral arrangements later on today. Of course he would have loved to have been buried close to his loved and eternal companion in Bulawayo, but circumstances don't permit for that wish to be granted.

We are so glad that he was with us for the past few months. Thanks to all those dear folk who helped so much in Bulawayo.............Jack and Delvine and Dave and Eth especially.

Love to all

Robin and Judith.

The Irony of it all...

I am just flabbergasted at the state of affairs in Zimbabwe. The IMF issued a reprieve to Zimbabwe for six months halting their expulsion from the IMF. I think it is sad that no sterner messures have been taken, especially since the nation has been in arrears since 2001. Indeed the expulsion would mean among other issues, that no further money would be granted to Zimbabwe for development etc.

Barely a day after winning the reprieve, a government delegation arrived in Cuba and criticized the IMF for its' policies. A true display of ungratefulness if you ask me! What is overwhelmingly sad and alarming is that inflation is climbing upwards of 255 percent inflation and unemployment is balancing out on 80 percent. Recently the cities and MDC strongholds have been targeted in a form of Ethnic Cleansing to rid the cities of so-called filth and shanty town appearances. This is just a dig at MDC strongholds that won the major centers in the election. What is really sad is that the nation has less than three weeks of food reserves and the situation continues to deteriorate.

It is heartbreaking to follow the news and see how such a wonderfully prosperous breadbasket nation has been reduced to nothing. Our hearts continue to go out to those who have no alternative but to stay: for the elderly, the orphans and disabled, and for the people at large who are humble, hardworking and defenseless, may God bless and comfort and continue to provide so graciously for a people that are ruled by fear and tyranny.

Call to Prayer

The weekend is once again here - time seems to be flying lately, or is it just me? The end of the week arrived today and so did an email from my sister, Michelle. I was really glad to get an email finally, but the contents were not what I was expecting. She has struggled with her health and for a long time has not known what is going on. After a check up and tests this is what was discovered:

"I have just come back from my scan and you will all be pleased to know that I dont have an aneurysm, however I do have a problem and have to have key hole surgery, an angioblast. At long last I have finally found out whats wrong with my walking and its not been just in my head and I am not going mad. As soon as I have had the surgery I will regain the full use of both my legs again and I will be able to walk again. I must say I have been through hell and am really glad that I did go for the scan and I strongly urge all of you to please get checked out. I will have to stop smoking because the risk of this happening again is very big, so Please pray for me to have the strength to quit smoking..."

So, as soon as I heard this, I had no option but to submit this post, and ask you to take a moment to pray for Michelle, that as she undergoes this surgical proceedure everything will go well and be successful, and also that her recovery will be swift, and that her health will return to normal. I will be submitting more posts over the weekend, but just wanted to get this out there for you all to say a prayer...thank you humbly!

Love of My Life

This was a special weekend - we celebrated Nancy's birthday!

She is the love of my life, and I thank God for her always.

Want to comment?

The internet is a huge place - who would think that creating blogs could be a pretty lonely place? I am looking at the counter on this blog, and it is going up, that tells me people do stop by and read every once in a while for which I am grateful. What would be a real kick is if a comment could be posted to share some views on the topic. One thing I am guessing is that maybe a lot of folks out there would like to comment but don't know how, so I am going to give it to you in point form and see who has the courage and time to follow the directions below and leave a comment.

• 1. Click the "Comments" link that appears at the bottom of each blog submission, on the right side.

• 2. When the next window opens, on the right of your screen, you will see a heading "leave your comment" and under it a small window with the cursor beating. Click with your mouse in that window, and begin typing your comment.

• 3. When you are done, look below your comment, there are three indentities to choose from. If you are not a registered blogger, then you click for the middle option which is "other".

• 4. Once you have clicked "other" enter your name in the yellow field, and then look a little lower for the blue box that says "publish your comment" click that and your comment will appear on the blog.

What did we do before internet people? Amazing how this mass of wires, chips, cables and plastic connects us with a trillion other "items" of interest "online". It is almost comparable to cellphones - what was the world before we had them? Ok I am sort of getting of course here, so let me publish this post, and see who has the courage to step out and leave a comment, this is going to be interesting.

• A small hint, if you feel you are not succeeding the last thing you must not do is get flustered. Once the mind is flustered it misses the most glaringly obvious instruction and then frustration mounts and you give up. Also known as a "brain fart". Just relax, read the 4 steps above, and you will be good to go.

Our hearts still go out to those who are having a really hard time in Mississippi thanks to Hurricane Katrina. All newsclips on tv resemble scenes from movies depicting mayhem, chaos, frustration, death and sadness. May help sincerely arrive soon, and may those in need and at a loss be comforted.

‘this is our tsunami’

NEW ORLEANS: Rescuers battled a humanitarian disaster on Tuesday after storm surges whipped up by Hurricane Katrina killed dozens and a canal breach sent a new deluge into already swamped New Orleans.

At least 80 people were feared dead along the coast of the southern state of Mississippi, where glitzy casinos, plush homes and shrimp fishing businesses lay in ruins, after a storm surge up to 30 feet high crashed ashore on Monday.

This is part of the news coming out of Mississippi tonight. This hurricane aptly named 'katrina' unleashed a storm that will go down on record in history as being one of the most costly natural disasters in American history - figures in the region of 25 billion dollars are speculated. The horrible thing is that people watched the news and those who headed the call to evacuate were able to out run the storm, some bravehearts bolted down and locked in only to pay the ultimate price. The pictures we are seeing on the news are somewhat similar to the devastation of the tsunami from December 2004.

I am watching the news with sadness because when a situation such as this becomes so wreckless toward anything in its' path there is nothing you can do, apart from watch from a distance and hope that people make it out alive. The sad thing is that New Oreleans is considered to be below sea level, and is often referred to as the bowl. So, what happens now...the Governor has indicated that it may take upto two years to rebuild the destruction, but he has stated that whatever will be replaced will be bigger, better and stronger than anything the State has ever had.

I can only pray that people from all over will come together and be unified in their resolve to rebuild what has been destroyed, and to head future warnings when these terrible storms develop into hurricanes that unleash turmoil as they make landfall. This isn't such a happy submission, for me, my heart goes out to the people that have been so terribly affected by hurricane Katrina, may the Lord give you strength and comfort you all during this difficult period.

City Fair fun...

Today was the San Marcos Street Fair. The city blocks off a couple of streets once a year and local business gets a chance to peddle their goods and enhance their livelihood. From Mom & Pop goodies made at home in the garage to ordering cable TV this is the place to hook up some rather funky deals. It is a good time to barter for business and make great contacts. After Church we went along to support Tammy and her Boss. Great thing is we got to do the banners for him and the Doctor next to them.

Apart from the sweltering heat it was a great day out. Along one of the streets we came across a rock band that was playing songs from way back, and I took a moment to stop and listen to the local talent. They belted out some pretty jazzy songs, and I was impressed. Some people in the crowd were overwhelmed from memories from yesteryear and plucked up the courage to set aside all inabitions and dance along - what a sight! Who would have thought that a bunch of old guys can still bring good old fashioned music to the board for all to enjoy. I noticed even some of the kids in their hippy outfits were standing in the crowd tapping their feet...ha!

Next to the music stand we came across a row of classic cars, well talk about men and their toys! The beauty is that if you can get your hands on an old scrap heap, you can buy original custom parts and restore your junkyard aquisition back to a classic collectors item. The love and passion and dedication that classic vehicle restorers display is just mindblowing. Here is a beauty completely restored with matching camping gear and flag - a prize winner.

Wafting through the air was the pugnant aroma of beef broiling on coal. Following the scent and crowd we came across an ox wagon BBQ (YES...BRAAI!!) with more beef on it than I thought possible. Nancy and I ordered a genuine ox wagon hunters steak sandwich. What a treat, succulent beef, with traditional baked beans, potato salad and bread rolls. Problem is after such a lekker lunch, all that was missing was a shady spot to take an afternoon nap. With temperatures reaching record highs, we managed to walk the entire street fair, and then crank the car airconditioner to maximum while we drove home. All in when a streetfair comes to town, the entertainment is great, and funfilled. What is even more interesting is everyone's favorite past time of people watching - come on we all do it.

Last but not least I had to post this picture of Tammy with her boss - Dr. Doche, his wife and Mariann. Please note my little bit of free advertising - the banners in the background are the handywork of Artistic Printing. Talk about diversifying - from business cards all the way through banners and signs, not forgetting website development...we can customize your image to suit your needs!

So you want to know what we did on Sunday this pretty much summarizes our day; Dropped Tammy at street fair to setup, went to Church, went to Fair, came home and relaxed...total cost for wonderful day of value packed entertainment > $6.00 for lunch...not a bad deal.

World Fact Book

Pretty weird folks, it is Sunday morning just after 6:00am, and of all the times to be asleep, I find myself sitting here pondering political issues at the crack of dawn. What a fruit cake. During the week the story is that it is literally impossible to wake up, now when there is an opportunity to sleep, what do I do...wake before the chickens!

Here is a link that will answer most of your questions about Zimbabwe or any other country. This site is updated regularly and therefore makes the information current. I marvel at some of the information that is contained in the link because it makes you gain an understanding at how nations operate, and why they do the things they do. Check it out when you have a free moment by clicking this link.

BAIL OUT or NOT?

My guess is that a decent number of people out there are aware of the dilemma in Zimbabwe. The elections are over, and the outcome was expected to go the way it did. The ruling party once again remains at the helm of certain destruction. Following the results more and more families have made that decision to seek a secure life elsewhere, as the fight to stay becomes harder and harder. Seeing the migration of the minority that includes Whites, Asians and others, the government has shifted its attack to its own people. Why? The opposition political party MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) won all the city stronghold during the elections - where is the strength of Zimbabwe? - Her cities! So, the ruling party decided to go on a trail of rampant destruction under the guise of cleaning the cities and outskirts areas of shanty town like structures, home based shops and business etc. The UN made a startling revelation in this so-called clean up operation "The UN said the police purge had made at least 700 000 homeless and jobless".Was this a genuine plot to clean up the cities or a determined action by the ruling party to punish the people for voting for the MDC? This resembles a softer approach toward ethnic cleansing.

On September 9th the IMF will meet to decide the fate of Zimbabwe. A debt of US$295 million is outstanding, and along comes South Africa with a possible bail out plan to the tune of US$500 million, not only to pay off the debt but to secure much needed fuel and food. If South Africa does not help Zimbabwe, the fear is that the problem will escalate and spill over into neighboring regions. Also, if Zimbabwe is expelled from the IMF this will mean imminent collapse. If a loan is provision for Zimbabwe, how will it be paid back, and at what cost?

Going out on a limb I would hesitate for any assistance at this point. Reason being that continued help and support for a ruling party that is bent on self destruction and crushing of its people should not be assisted in furthering that process of demise. The only form of help that Zimbabwe can search out is that of her own people seeing the need to bring about a change. That is where the answer lies, but will it ever be seen?

Should South Africa bail out Zimbabwe or not? You decide...

I don't think so...

Where did you ever think this would happen? Here we are taking a walk, and out of the corner of my eye, I spot this sign. Please pick up after your dog. Truth is it sounds and looks funny - who would in their normal right mind ever dream of taking Fido for a walk, allowing him to hold up the procession while he goes potty "number 2" - you patiently stand there and let him do the deed. When he is done, you carefully unwrap the doodoo bag, and without flinching pick up the parcel and continue on your stroll with a bag of droll.

I guess it is a good thing because unlike some countries - one way to get fit is take a walk down the street and see how much dodgeball you have to play with "landmines" scattered all over the place. So, I give my city the heads up nod of gracious approval for taking the initiative and stepping out by errecting these signs in all public parks and walk ways to ensure that not only Fido may enjoys his walk, and Fidos' owner has the joy of carrying back home the parcel from the sidewalk, leaving it clean and free of debree for us to go out and enjoy a walk in the park.

This is Interesting

We have all heard the story of how Israel left Egypt and the land of slavery and crossed the Red Sea. Well, yesterday I watched a really amazing documentary on National Geographic. Some Swedish scientists went out to prove the story and after much planning of an expedition of this nature they were able to establish the "so-called" crossing of the Israelites. For a mile on either side of the "crossing Place" the terrain under the water was amazingly flat. On either side of the sea bed, the coral formations were spectacular as you would expect in any ocean type scenery, What was interesting with the corel formations along the mile wide flat sea bed, is that the corel formations were totally different to the standard corel formations. These formations resembled weird looking objects all roughly the same dimensions the base of the corel structures appeard round, with straight extensions leading to another round formation. It has been proven that with time, corel will attach itself to whatever it can, and will grow, and in time will dissolve what it attached itself to, but will maintain the original structure. In a nut shell, the Bible tells us that Pharaoh sent out 600 chariots, and a multitude of foot soldiers to bring back Israel to capativity. The Bible tells us that God told Moses that He would lead Israel safely across, but he would destroy the Egyptian army in persuit. I find this infallable truth to be solid evidence of a Bible account that did take place, and that God is real, and performed this amazing miracle almost 3500 years ago. The scientists who set out to establish fact or fiction were gobsmacked at the discovery of chariot shaped coral at the bottom of the Red Sea - check out this link...facts that have been unclear and unknown for centuries are now making news and proving God is real, and His word is accurate.

I watched this documentary and was astounded that such evidence would still be visible and traceable after many years. The Governments in the region have forbidden any form of excavation and/or removal of any marine objects - this has to be absolute proof...what do you make of it?

Sunday Trivia

And here we are at the end of another weekend. Today was a great day. Went to Church this morning and had a wonderful time. Mizrack came for lunch - she arrived last week, and will be going to Bible College. It was great having her over, and hearing how life is back in Zimbabwe. We had a great lunch, a salmon fillet on the BBQ - to which Mizzy was shocked when she heard us say BBQ and not BRAAI. Well, when in Rome...haha!

Monday is a busy day. Tammy goes to Temecula which is a city 40 miles up the road toward Los Angeles, and after dropping her off, its a mad dash back to the office to do some work. Then at lunch time Vicky and I are driving down town San Diego to the Airport to pick up Lindy Timm, she is visiting with us this week. Nancy will hold the fort at the shop until we get back from the Airport. Let me tell you that heading on close to three years since our arrival, to hear the good old familiar accent from home is really refreshing.

Here is a little bit of trivia. Our office complex has 5 really good restaurant and fast food joints attached. There is a homeless guy who wonders through the complex every day, whistling joyfully as if there are no cares in the world to choke him. Whether it is hot or chilly, busy or empty he still canvasses the complex using the store front windows as his mirror to check on his hair, and his general atire. Every day without fail, like Rolex clock work, he walks past our office at lunchtime, carrying a fresh hot lunch that he faithfully is blessed with from these eating places. There is a lovely oriental restaurant, Nancy and I when we have a treat in store will have lunch from there, and that will run in the $20 mark. Here this guy without a seeming care in the world gets a good $100 a week free take away to eat, while we have to generate income to afford a treat - that is some real trivia, but thought it worthy of sharing. Strange how the world ticks, and even stranger how people we all generally look down on still manage to whistle a joyful tune, and walk away with a full stomach...amazing when you really think about it - bum or wise man? You decide...

24 and counting...

Thursday morning already. So there must be truth in the saying that "time flies when you're having fun..." The 64000 dollar question is who is having fun - really? We had our lighting system changed at the office this week, an incentive program from the Electricity company will see a possible reduction in the bill, but famous time will tell. Funny how you might think you save in one area but you sure make up for it in another pretty soon. Hey, I heard from Nancy's sister Linda who is back in Zimbabwe that there is totally no fuel even on the black market, and when it is available it will run you zw$1000 000 in hard cash for 20ltrs...so a full tank of gas is going to cost you in the region of zw$2.5 million dollars...pretty weird as the now average income is in the ballpark figure of zw$3 million...go figure - something is drastically wrong in the motherland! The latest past time is listening to the drum beat on where to find bath soap - there is none available. No doubt as the farm issue now starts to take its toll, there are no ranchers doing much herding and beef production, which results in less beef on the market which results in less animal waste fat which ultimately results in no "Tallow" - The suet or fat from animals such as sheep or cows," the substance base used in soap manufacture...next time you are in Bullies, take a walk (can't drive...no fuel) past EC LENNING, and take a deep wiff of the lovely smell of animal fat, yip that is pretty gross - that's why they say a "dirty way to get clean".

If anyone would like to post a comment all you do is click the comment button and post a comment alternatively, you have my email address - email me and I will post your blog for you.

So, here we are one more day closer to the weekend...make it a good one!

Monday Blues anyone?

It's the start of a brand new week again. Ever feel on a Monday like it is the first day back at school? Tummy churns, head spins, and feel totally not like doing any of this! In San Diego at this time of the year it is summer, and every morning starts out with a thick marine layer of fog that eventually burns off through the sun at around 10am - the last few days the marine layer has been pretty thick and drifting inland at least until midday. This makes a welcome change to the hot sun. The weird thing is that even though it is summer there is a lack of humidity which makes for very pleasant days. It can be a crystal clear sky with the sun beating down, yet there is no uncomfortable sticky muggy feeling. Take a fools' advice - still insist on using sunblock, trust me you won't regret it. I hope that whomever stumbles on to this blog, will have a blessed day, and a wonderful week ahead. Want to leave a comment? Go ahead and and click the comment link...

Macro Snap

This is a high resolution photo of a rose outside our front door. The ability to take a close up photograph with the use of a Digital Camera in Macro mode, allows you to get in real close, with a steady hand, and once uploaded affords the viewing of every single detail sometimes unseen by the naked eye at close range. I have a fairly decent Digital Camera that lets me perform a wide variety of styles of photography. Problem with technology today is that you can try and open the box and use it or take the time to read the booklet and get an easier undertsanding on how to use it. For me, reading the book is not an easy option, I prefer to point and click, and figure it out as I go along. I will be posting more pics as I go along, and if you have some that you would like posted go ahead and send them to me and I will post them on the Jubber Journal Blog.

Red Lobster?

Went to the beach a few weeks ago. Being the wise one, I didn't think to put any sunblock on. I showed a Hawaiin surfer buddy my sunburn. His reply was "dude...you got second degree burns". Coming from Africa one would think the obvious thing is sunblock right...well, what was I thinking? Vic Authers, my name sake, who now lives in Perth sent in this email comment: "... just have one question, how can you remember what you did when you were three, yet when you visited the beach just a few days ago you FORGET to put cream on. Are you normal - switch on boet your'e getting madala. As for me I can only remember as far back as yesterday, I'm really getting old..." - thanks for the comment Vic, I had to include it in the post as it is a reflection on aging and remembering and forgetting...scary stuff! Just so you know, two weeks ater this crazy episode we were back on the beach, and every 20 minutes I doused myself with coppertone 45 - end result - no burn!!!

Normality

Once the sunburn eased off, I returned to normal. Guess what I now use when going to the beach - SUNBLOCK! Endured a week of sleepless nights, and a body loaded with Aloe Vera. Tried a few remedies, but none worked as good as mother nature in a bottle.

It's Friday

Have you noticed how time appears to be going faster than it used many years ago? This is such a weird phenomena! The good news is that it is Friday and time to kick back, relax, and enjoy the time off. So, what are your plans for the weekend? Anything interesting or unusual?

The Jubber Journal

My earliest childhood memory that comes to mind, is me getting a beer for my Dad, and not setting it on the table properly, causing the bottle to fall, smash on the kitchen floor, resulting in me cutting my foot open. I distinctly remember this situation, vividly as if it happened yesterday. I can see the bottle, I can remember Mom telling me to hold it with two hands, and I remember the smell of the beer! This happened to me at the age of 3...I had said 5 but my Dad corrected me today!

Where do we begin?

Who would have thought that we would one day be able to sit in front of a mass of perhaps 20 pounds of plastic and cables and create written messages for the world to see? No matter how ridiculous; this is a place where we can sit back after a hard day and e-pen in our thoughts, experiences, ups and downs and not even be bothered if it makes sense or not to the reader. I think it is a unique opportunity to vent, to share and to enquire all in one, and not feel under obligation or duress to be right or wrong, and have that exact same freedom - the ability to express.

So, welcome to the Jubber Journal. Take a moment to read the blog, and be bold step out and add to it your own thoughts, interpretations and impressions. Your stories can be of your own life, family life, work life or life in general.

To get this started, here is a really random thought if there ever was one; try and go back in your memory span, and figure out what your earliest childhood memory is. It could be a place, an event, something funny or even something sad...