E - Vida

Oh dear... Learner Mommy was up to her tricks again, today! After meeting P-J at the canal, we walked back home. I had given Jorja a little purse to hold, with a few Pesos inside it. She was taken with the pattern, and we stopped just before we crossed over into San Telmo to take a picture of her clutching the purse tightly! Taken moments before it went missing... I was so busy trying to be a listening wife, that we didn't notice anything amiss until we were in the lift heading up to our apartment. Where was the purse? Seemed Jorja had tossed it out somewhere on the road! I quickly rushed back along our path, but it was nowhere to be found. Admittedly, I was feeling a bit silly for having given her the purse in the first place, not checking on her often enough and then, simply for losing the thing. I can be a die hard sentimentalist at times. Fortunately, P-J has a completely different take on things, and he assured me that we'll survive without it...One less thing to pack, ri...

After last week's slip up, I decided to list my 5 Thankful Thursday items first! Today I am thankful for: 1. Our warm bed that's comforting us against the Autumn chill. 2. Encouraging messages that reach us - no matter where in the world we are. 3. The time that we take to play and sing and talk, with the ones we love. 4. Friendly faces that smile back at you. 5. The little things that bring great joy! While we still have many sunny days, we are feeling the chill too - especially in the morning. Most of the locals are bundled up from morning 'til night. Jorja is wearing shoes more often these days, but inside the house she's a kaal-voet ranger ! For the first time today, we went down to the courtyard and played in the front for a while. Sadly, all the other children were either indoors or at daycare, but Jorja did greet the security guard with a wave and we saw Racilla visiting another first floor tenant! When Jorja recognized her, she shrieked with glee! Playing in th...

Does this look like someone that's on a holiday? Jorja has really been enjoying her sleep lately - especially during the day. This morning she enjoyed her nap under the covers! After lunch and cleaning up, we walked down towards San Martin. We normally only venture out this way on the weekend...and as we got closer to Florida, we realised why it should stay that way. The streets are heavily congested with students, office workers, street vendors and policemen. Restaurants are packed to capacity and some queues (like at any Home Affairs) flow out of the buildings and into the streets! Negotiating this and the cobblestone paths proved too much for us, and so we turned around and head back home. It was a nice change of scenery and we did get to enjoy the hot sun. So now we know - keep it local during the week and head out on weekends only! Perhaps tomorrow we should just play in the courtyard until it's time to meet up with P-J at the canal? We'll see...

When Jorja awoke from her morning nap, she was thrilled to see that Racilla had come to visit after a two week break! The two of them chatted up a storm all morning... A walk along the canal tied in nicely with Jorja's lunch time, and we enjoyed the afternoon sun. There was a march on one of the Main Roads and a building being demolished close by, so it definitely wasn't a quiet afternoon! When we got home, we watched the activity from the balcony. The one minute Jorja was sitting by her toy box in the lounge and the next minute she was behind us at the sliding door! After supper now, Jorja is keeping us busy while she scoots around, climbing on the furniture and sliding along the floor. I hope she sleeps well tonight! Seems there are more teeth on its way too. Tomorrow, if the weather's good, we'll head out in a new direction and take some more pics!

Jorja and I set off on a brisk walk up Avenida Indepencia before lunch time. The weather was much better today and I figured that when there's sun, we'll be on the run...'cause when it rains, we can only jog our brains! P-J finished a little earlier today and since we'd just returned from our walk, we decided to wait for him at home instead of meeting him at the canal. Since we had more daylight hours left, altogether, when Jorja was ready to go again, we took a walk through the South side of San Telmo. We stopped in at a cute bakery on a corner, to compare Factura prices, and Jorja scored! The baker-man in the store, slipped Jorja a Galetta pastry... Admiring the sweet creations... Mmmm, this tastes good! All done, thanks! Oh and did she enjoy it? We've been dancing and singing since we got home to try and burn off all of the sugar! I think we'll all sleep well tonight...

Seems today was one of those 'get back in bed, then get out and start again' days... We overslept this morning, woken only by an incoming Skype call from home, and too late for the English church bus. Things went from bad to worse when we felt the very chilly Sunday morning air and then the pc crashed! Nevertheless, we got fed, washed and dressed and head out in search of some more warm clothes for Jorja. We found a tracksuit at a bargain price and Learner Mommy had to guess the correct measurements since it was a homemade garment (i.e. no labels) and I didn't want to disturb Jorja in her pram. Seems we didn't do too badly, and there's some space to grow. No doubt, it'll be filled out by the time we head back to SA. Sunday's are generally known as Asado days, so most people stay at home and enjoy a day-long braai. Some of the restaurants only pack out a few tables, for the tourists and those who 'aren't in the know.' Sunday is also street marke...

We had to get dressed twice today...The blue skies had us fooled and the maximum temperature of just 14 degrees Celcius caught us off guard! It was really cold for us - and when we got home this afternoon PJ and I felt as though we had brain freeze! For someone who doesn't fancy wearing shoes or even socks, Jorja didn't put up too much of a fuss with all of the extra layers that we dressed her in. She was just happy to be out and about, I guess! Summer Outfit Winter Outfit I didn't mention in the last 'park blog' that I knocked my head lekker hard on one of the bars, when we were playing there. Of course, we laughed about it a lot at the time and I didn't really feel it, until today... PJ and Jorja passing the shops On our walk through Florida this afternoon, we managed to capture our first picture of the Tango in action. Wow! These performers are out in full force on the weekend, dressed in full garb. They attract huge crowds, so were fortunate to find a space...

Oops! I forgot yesterday's Thankful Thursday edition...but I am thankful! Today I thought about the hundreds of people who visit Puerto Madero on a daily basis - a popular and posh tourist attraction in Buenos Aires. We visit Puerto Madero every day, where we can enjoy the canal and the parks, take pictures, sit on the benches and watch what's happening - that's a privilege that I'm grateful for! *NAPPY STORY ALERT: Seems it was my Learner Mommy opinion that stated we could not use the 60 nappies that we bought that seemed too small for Jorja. We were able to use every last one in the packet and now, for real, Jorja is in between nappy sizes! Sometimes I even miss the towelling nappies...Those always fit properly! The day started off at a brisk 9 degrees Celcius today. Brrrrrr! Fortunately, the sun was out as well, so we got to warm up while we were on our walk this afternoon but according to the weather forecasts, we aren't expecting anything above 20C this weekend...

I'm not sure if I've ever commented on this blog about: How busy the supermarkets are at lunch time (with people doing big shops)...or how the fountains are switched on every day of the week - even when it rains - and not only on weekends or Public Holidays. Something else that I've found unique to Buenos Aires is the issue of benches: In the parks, by the canal, on islands between major traffic intersections...they are everywhere! The benches serve hundreds of people every day - students, travellers and locals who want a smoke break or a snog break and everything in between! Generally, they're the meeting point for friends to share a cup of mate' . Jorja and I went to the park this afternoon. I was amused to see that with access to all sorts of park toys and equipment, she chose to play with a tyre! This girl loves sand as much as her Dad and I hate it! When she wasn't chasing other (older) park visitors, she was venturing up the ladders and down the slides - a...

Well, folks, we've reached the half-way mark of our trip (give or take a few hours). We've been here for 40 days and there are 40 days to go until we arrive back home, DV. In the meantime, I came across another Buenos Aires blogger, Buenos Aires Perception , and enjoyed reading up on some of the familiar sights and stories documented there. It actually reads a lot like a guide, so we'll enjoy checking out what they've discovered and then possibly try it ourselves. Better late than never, right? Sadly, Racilla did not come to 'visit' today, so after breakfast and cleaning, we head down to the Super-Eki for supplies and then returned home for lunch. Jorja thoroughly enjoyed her meal and wouldn't part with her bowl and spoon for a while! Here are some pics of her pretending that she is not finished eating just yet... When P-J got home from work, we took a trip up to the 14th floor and...took a plunge! Jorja and I splashed in the water for a while and then enj...

Wow-ee! Jorja gave me a run for my money today... First, she woke me up by pulling my hair! Then, she proceeded to feed herself, eat the soap, drain the bath (pre-maturely) and apply her own body lotion to her legs. Eventually, I had to swaddle her in a mini-straight jacket style and beg her to have a nap. In all fairness, she obliged, but was up again, beady eyed and recharged after just 30 minutes! Before lunch time, I managed to capture her reaction to a Colgate ( pronounced: Kol-gattei) Toothpaste advert on TV. This is one of her favourite adverts at the moment and she's pretty good and recognizing the voices and music, even from a different room! Seems she's working on her own Colgate Smile these days... The walk to meet P-J is always a welcome break in the day - and more so today! Jorja had just dozed off, so I quickly bundled her into the carrier and walked down to the canal. Of course, she was awake by the time we met up with Dad. And P-J had some exciting news: Charl...

After last night's unexpected storm, a thick mist covered the city skyline for most of today. When Jorja and I ventured out, it was still lifting and slowly letting warm sunshine through and so it was eventually a 'blue Monday.' This week I hope to find a clinic to take Jorja to for a check up. She's been coping very well, in general, with the surroundings, weather, food and water. Shame, the mosquitoes had a field day yesterday - they really are out in full force - especially around the parks, but otherwise she seems to be blossoming. I wonder what she weighs now... Here's to a memorable week ahead.

This week we decided to visit the Danish Church of San Telmo. We arrived after 09h00 but found an empty street and a closed door. Seems the Danish Church offered a Saturday lecture but no Sunday service! We ventured down towards the nature reserve and passed a road race in action. We managed to find the gap to cross the road, eventually! We followed a different route to the last visit and were pleasantly surprised to find water at the end of of the walk! We definitely enjoyed this view - it reminded us of Zeekoevlei, back home! The Sunday markets were out in full force so we passed through the many stalls and had a look. There are beautiful handmade items on sale and the crowd is made up of locals, visitors from surrounding cities and international tourists - all keen to take a piece of Buenos Aires home with them. Of course, no visit through Puerto Madero is complete without a spin in the park, and Jorja enjoyed playing on the grass before we made our way back home. It's been a lo...

They say..."You can take the people out of Africa, but you can't take the Africa out of the people!" How does my technique look? Okay...I do have the assistance of the African Baby Carrier underneath the blanket! Jorja was happy to snooze, strapped to my back, while we prepared supper this evening. It was a quiet day in general. Over the last 10 months, I haven't done much of 'sleep while the baby sleeps', but today, I got it right! We only head out after 15h00, and it was just around the block to get our weekly dose of Facturas (to enjoy at tea) and back home again! I guess the best plan for the day is simply to plan to enjoy the day ...

For the first time since we started documenting this trip, we almost forgot the day's blog entry! We were so caught up in the good weather, and the walk to the nature reserve, and our dessert treat that we almost got carried away into the weekend without the entry! So it'll be quick - because it's already late in Buenos Aires hours, which makes it even later back home... Another dry, sunny day in Buenos Aires left us feeling hopeful for an outing after lunch. Jorja and I head out passed the park, towards the nature reserve that we'd visited before and walked along the 'promenade.' P-J met us there and after taking in some fresh air, we walked home together. Jorja is really enjoying all of this time with her Dad! Of course, one would think that after a whole day with Mom, any new face is a treat...but I'm pretty sure that she's particularly happy to have her Dad's attention! The two of them talk and laugh and blow bubbles...Jorja always scores a ...

The day started just as grey and wet and cold as the other days this week past had... P-J hailed a cab to work (it's really helping him brush up on his Spanish) and Jorja and I set to designing another indoor activity schedule. After her breakfast and bath-time, however, she couldn't resist enjoying a cosy sleep. (The pics were taken at hourly intervals) And then, without warning, the clouds opened up and let some sunshine through! We hadn't seen the roads dry in days and we were thrilled! When P-J called to say that he was done with work for the day, we hurriedly dressed for the windy chill outside and made our way down to Puerto Madero. Stopping on our way home, P-J showed Jorja a lady bug that had landed on his hand. She seemed quite amused with this tiny creature, until her thumb and index finger mis-timed the grasp and well... Today I am thankful for: The medical team(s) that have helped to bring little Noah, Steven, Jet and Faith safely into this world, over the...