Labor Day Fun

Our Labor Day consisted of a LOT of water thanks to Tropical Storm Lee. I won't complain too much because it was nice for our yard to get some fresh rain but perhaps this was a bit more than we had bargained for in the end. We started the day at the lake but came home after lunch to build this....

There is nothing better than an indoor tent on a rainy day. Right after we got situated, however, the power went out. Below is a picture of our backyard just before the power stopped running for the night.

Although the crawl space flooded (since our sump pump can't run without power) there was little other damage to the house. We spent the evening playing an intense game of Scrabble with the door open and flashlights/candles on.

Sure, I would've preferred sunshine but there was something nice about forced rainy day relaxation.

Art

Matt and I like to collect a piece of art from each place we've traveled. We finally got around to framing and hanging our art from South Africa. It's now hanging in our guest bedroom along with several other paintings from past adventures.

What will we add next....

Top 5

As a recap, I thought I would share my top 5 favorite things from our trip to South Africa. So, here goes:

1. Staying at the Addo Elephant Park. I didn't know if I would love it or not, but staying in a tent in the middle of nowhere on a game reserve turned out to be one of the most fun things we did. We completely unplugged, sat around a campfire (that's another story for another day...), and enjoyed the company of friends. Plus the starry night sky just can't be beat.

2. Staying at the Antbear Guest Lodge in the Drakensberg Mountains. Beautiful sunset. Good food from a working farm. Cozy Cabins. We LOVED it.

3. The beach in Durban. We walked it, we biked it, and we just sat to enjoy it several times. The waves are to die for and the weather simply can't be beat.

4. The animals. I know, it's so predictable. But you just can't see animals in the wild here in the US like you can in South Africa. I never ceased to be amazed.

5. The adventure. Travel is good for the soul. I came back feeling so alive and refreshed. Matt and I love experiencing new places & new cultures. We ate some of the best food we've had in a while (eating vegetarian is easier there than it is here!), lived among a diverse group of people, and tried lots of new things.

We're Back!

We've finally returned from our adventures in South Africa and soon enough I'll be back to blogging! In the mean time, I'll leave you with this picture as a teaser.....

Hope you didn't miss us too much!

Mischief

We took this photo at the 4th of July party we attended:

It has nothing to do with America or patriotism but it does demonstrate the fun we had. That's how we roll. Hope you enjoyed the 4th and took some time to celebrate!

Okra Flowers

Have you ever seen one?

They are quite beautiful AND they produce some tasty veggies.

Tree Down Again

It happened again. I don't know what the deal is but the very same tree dropped another limb during the wee small hours of Monday morning. I woke to Maggie barking like crazy to what Matt thought to be a tree falling elsewhere in the neighborhood. I decided to check anyway and discovered this:

We are thankful that the only casualty this time around was our outdoor glass table which can be easily replaced.

Although it made quite the mess, at least we didn't have to deal with home repair or the insurance company. Matt and his dad were able to wrangle this limb to the curb themselves--saving us a good bit of cash. I suppose it's time to get that tree checked to make sure it's healthy (one more thing to worry about when you own a home)....