Went to a great wedding this past weekend for my cousin Hamo and his wife Tessa. Brought along my great friend Dina. It was a perfectly planned wedding, set outdoors in the lovely rolling fields next to our old family farmhouse, every detail was attended to… except for the one that cannot be controlled.
Yes, Hurricane Irene blasted into town right as things started. The amazing thing is, not only did it not ruin the wedding, it only seemed to make it better.
Right as I was leaving for a 10 day trip to Scotland, the real-estate deal in Rhode Island fell through.
I got offers accepted on two houses in the past week! One in Rhode Island for my mom and Tim, and one in Nevada for me. Both should close around the end of August, assuming nothing wild and crazy comes up.
Here’s the RI house, and here’s a video tour that my sister and I made for the family. We made videos of five houses in all, but this one ended up the clear winner.
And here’s the place I’m getting. I ended up choosing a condo unit so there’s less to worry about when I’m out of town. Which was nearly 50% of the time last year, and about 60% so far this year.
Both places need a little sprucin’ up, but that’s part of the fun of owning a home! Now I’m off to Scotland for a couple weeks, but after that it’ll be all about sprucin’ and movin’. I’m excited to settle in, and to see my mom and Tim do the same. I think I’m sleeping a bit better, too.
What an amazing trip. I went to visit my mom and Tim in Florida to celebrate Tim’s birthday as they prepare to move north. They’ve had a seven year adventure on the Gulf of Mexico and are about to start a new adventure in New England near the grandchildren.
I’ve been back in the US for a week now, but I’ve got a little South African treat for you today.
Turned 38 yesterday. Didn’t have a birthday celebration, but no special additions are needed when bouncing around France with my Dad. We had just spent the previous several days looking around Nice, The French Alps, Monaco, and even grabbed some gelato in San Remo, Italy.
Birthday morning, after a lovely breakfast at our B&B overlooking Nice, we borded the TGV back to Paris. Later that evening we met up with a some of my Dad’s friends for dinner – a married couple, one American, one Tunisian French, that published a journal of their adventures in Paris several years ago. I read and enjoyed their book and so the evening was a super treat: a wonderful home-cooked four-course meal, good wine, and great conversation with some charming locals.
My Dad gave me a perfect gift: a patchwork teddy bear decorated with prehistoric rock engravings.
The trip is almost over!
I’m as surprised as anyone, but after some fifteen years in exile, he pops up in South Africa for 30 seconds on the SMASH HITZ tune ALL ABOUT MY MONEY at around 0:50.
Spent last weekend in the rural town of Tugela Ferry. Woke up one morning to the sound of my album playing in the car stereo outside – my friend had put it on and some eight kids were listening to it while they played in the yard.
Most of them don’t speak English, but as I left two days later I still heard them singing one song:
I’m corrupting the youth!