Meeting of the Village Elders...

Daily Habit of the Village Elders'...

One of Albert's good friends has a Kellerstoeckl in one of the vineyards. It is still an original with no running water or electricity. But it has the most gorgeous views into the vines. He's put five or six tree stumps in a semi-circle in the front, and that serves nicely as chairs. There might even be a bench.

Now Bocki burns his own Schnapps and also drinks it and as he is a genuinly nice guy, he offers it to his friends when they visit. Most weekdays he goes and sits at his place at about 10.30 am. It does not take long and the "crowd" arrives. There are a handful of them and they could be called " regulars ". You can see the cars parked all around.

Sometimes when he is late, one can see cars cruising by several times until he gets there. Now it seems that they talk about serious village & world affairs when there, but I think that they just gossip like the rest of us !

At about 12.30 pm, everyone goes home, to have lunch and maybe a much needed snooze.

It has become a tradition to pop in at Bocki's for some " repeat " Tourists. Always for just " The One " ! The nice thing is that his friends drop of maybe a crate of Beer or case of soda water as a Thank You.

Now because Bob has been known to have just " The One " , we gave Bocki a few buckets of Peaches from our garden, so he can make some more Schnapps ( almost like a " Witblitz " ).

Life is great here in Burgenland.

Biggi

The Coffee Maker

I was part of the team.

As we were waiting outside for the Spring Concert - Albert wanted to get a good seat so we were one hour early - I saw Renate who was part of the " worker " crew. So I asked her if they needed help of any sorts and she was back within a nanosecond telling me that my help was needed. I was to man the Coffee Machine.

Anyway, the concert was first and afterwards we set up the food & drinks etc.

My workstation seemed very daunting to me. It looked like a professional coffee apparatus that comes with instruction manuals. But I must look intelligent, because they just told me hastily to press a button and to make sure the water did not run out ! Ok, I thought lets get this ball rolling. In anticipation to the onslaught of coffee drinkers, I did a practice run for myself and it was surprisingly simple.

After inactivity around my station, it dawned on me why I got this job. There was free Wine. Need I say more ?

The odd person came and asked for a cup from me, and I made it look as if I had always done this. A few of the locals also came to say Hi. One nice man, Peter ( in his mid-fifties ) chatted to me while he drank his coffee and it was great to meet a new person .

Bob, in the meantime had gone to mingle in the distance and every now and then came to see how I was doing and tell me that I had been stuck with a " dull " job !

So in glee I told him how many people I was meeting and how Peter had stayed and chatted with me. Of course I described him as this dishy, fortyish, local with a " six " pack to boot !

Needless to say, Bob mingled very close to my station from then on.

Every now and then it is good to use a wily trick...

Biggi

More good news about Tigger

How fascinating.

Friends of ours came for Tea and a chat last week.

One of them, Kurt, is such a great Burgenland Character. His stories are so interesting and I am sure you will hear more here in the future.

So anyway, we were sitting around the kitchen table talking, when glancing through the window, Bob saw Tigger lining up in the usual place & usual time for " supper ". Of course the conversation immediately changed and we were all glued to the window to have a look at Tigger.

" That cat is Lucky " Kurt said and just like that we were on Bob and my favorite subject !

I told him that we were waiting to see if Tigger was Male or Female. He just laughed and told us that Tigger is definitely Female. Apparently years ago an Englishman wanted to breed Tigger's ilk, but no one could find a male cat. This guy would have paid a lot of dosh, but no success !

Wow, we were thrilled to hear yet again how lucky Tigger is and glad to hear that we might have little Tiggers soon.

Tigger is a feral cat and very skittish and as she is quite large, we are a little bit scared to go into the Barn that seems to be her hangout( could she hide behind the door and attack us...?).

Well Kurt told us that when she has her kittens, she will bring them to show us, if she trusts us. So we now give her extra Treats in hope of gaining her trust. Just plain bribery, I think !

But when my Father-in-law comes, he promised to go into Tigger's Lair.

Turns out that he is the brave one in our family

Biggi

Choir performance a " Hit "

What a great performance

As I told you last week, the local choir - Like a Rainbow - had one of their main concerts last night at the village centre.

It was sold out, and they had to keep on bringing extra chairs. A few hundred people at least.

My mum is part of the choir, and it was so fabulous to see and hear her. It really is amazing how much energy she has. Her wine making takes a lot of time as does the holiday letting of the Kellerstoeckls ( huber-haeusl ) . Yet she makes time for the choir and let me tell you, that in season they tend to practice about 3 times per week ( 3-4 hours each time ). Wow, what a great Mum !

The songs they performed were sensational and they had to do an " Encore " three times.

My step-sister Alberta has just arrived for a holiday and it was so nice to spend an evening together. I think she still had " jet lag ", but she looked gorgeous and managed to stay up till past midnight.

For Bob and I the evening was a double success because we realized how many people know us now. We had " How are you chats " with a few and " Hello " nods with many.

Halfway through the evening one of Bobs' pupils came up to him to say Hi and introduce his aunt to Bob. I could see how chuffed Bob was !

Wow, we love it here...

Sorry could not get a clearer pic.

Albert's Ladies

Bob enjoying the wine..

The hard work needed to produce a bottle of wine !

How much effort goes into making a bottle of wine.

For years I drank wine just really thinking of the taste and fun of drinking it.

It never occurred to me that someone might make it by hand. Production was always an abstract concept.

That is until last year. My mum cultivates a little strip of vineyard and makes her own wine. Even as you read this, it does not sound like to much work.

But here are a the things that go into it, and that Bob and I have helped to do.

• Clean and rinse the empty bottles - done in such a way that the bicepts get a big workout !
• All year long pruning and cultivating the vines
• Harvesting each bunch of grapes by hand - using cutting shears
• Using a manual press to extract the juice
• Storing the wine by pumping it into barrels
• Pumping it out of the barrels into the individual bottles
• Storing the bottles and labeling the bottles

Obviously there is more work than that. I am just so proud of my parents, especially my mum, for making their own wine.

When it comes to harvest time, a lot of our family comes for a visit to help pick the grapes and it becomes quite festive, as everyone is given a tot of Schnapps at the start !

So wine is social in more ways than one...

By the way, her wine tastes great !

Biggi

The " troupe " assembling

Bob testing his Might

Albert co-ordinating the de-stemming.

My mum and Bob

My uncle Guenther

New Villagers'

We can't hide...

As usual I took my morning walk through the vineyards and pretty much had them to myself.

This is a tourist area so most weekends I can spot many more cars parked at the various Kellerstoeckl. My guess is that the delectable wines from our area keeps them asleep a bit longer in the mornings and that is why I don't get to see them this early.

But there are a handful of locals who take advantage of the beautiful scenery and I enjoy meeting them.

Each one different, interesting and most delightfully "Burgenlaendisch".

This morning I met Helmut who after the usual "Guten Morgen" asked me where I am from. "Oh, I live in Eisenberg, but my parents live in Deutsch-Schuetzen."

"I know, you are the ones' from South-Africa"

Personally I love this about small village life. Everyone knows about you even if they don't know you and when you do get to meet, they are interested enough to find out about you.

Isn't that what what life is all about ?

Biggi

The local Carpenter.

Well more like cutting the Plank.

Restoring a house is a never-ending process. We love and live in our house, but the fine details are still to be done and those are usually the ones that take the most effort !

My parents-in-law are arriving soon to see us and we both can't wait. But we are also so relieved that my father-in-law is a Genius in matters of Building....

So in order to be a bit prepared we went to have the skirting boards cut out of leftover planks. Both of us are complete novices when it comes to woodwork and anything to do with workshop.

My mum organized a local craftsman to help us. The idea was that he would set the machines and that Bob and I would run the Planks through. But he took one look at us and took over his machines again ! Is it so obvious ?

Anyway, the work got done even with our help. But what I wanted to convey is how great it was to be in his workshop. It is an old converted Barn, with still original wooden floors. As soon as I walked in, I had a sense of peace. The smell of the cut wood evoked a feeling of contentment.

I know, this is strange...but true.

I realize now why men like to spend time in their workshops'. They get a feeling of peace and contentment that sometimes we take away with all our nagging....

The dust particles were flying in the air, that's why it is so unclear..

Johannes was so helpful and kind to us, I have to show his van.

Biggi

I love Burgenland .

What a great place to live.

Our gymnastics/exercise class went on hiatus for the summer, and so we had a " Thank You " and " See you in two month " dinner ! Hey we know how to stay in shape here...

So twenty of us Ladies ( the gym classes are only for women - just as well because some of the stretches would distract the men) went up to " The Ratschen " . Now as I may have told you, Eisenberg has no traffic lights/ Robots within a 15km radius, yet we have this amazing Restaurant among the vineyards that has Silver Service.

What amazed me no end, was that there was one waiter and he handled all of us brilliantly without even a pearl of sweat on his forehead. Those of you in the know, will realize that serving twenty women is no mean feat, especially after the drinks start flowing...

I sat next to about the only other transplanted resident. She is from the mountainous part of Austria. Yet we both simultaneously said how we love living here. Somehow it just feels right. This place lets you be yourself, find yourself and enjoy yourself.

The evening was huge fun, with the usual dinner conversation...News, Gossip , Cooking & Men. At one stage we discussed the remedies for insomnia. My solution is to get up and watch TV. How behind times am I... the general idea was to wake up the husband, and say with a twinkle & wink in the eye " Honey wake up, I can't sleep...what should we do ? "

Yes I love Burgenland...as do most of the Men...

Doesn't this make you hungry ?

The taste of fresh bread....Yummy !

Try this at home.

Europe is renowned for its bread selection. Here in Burgenland we do have good bread but it is different to what we were used to in South-Africa.Now that we cannot get a freshly baked loaf of white bread, we crave it .

So we decided to make our own.( Pity-party's only can go on for so long and we did not want to be what my friend Debbie describes as the "When We's")

In our marriage we divide the "kitchen-labour" , so Bob is now the offical Breadmaker in our family. And what a great one he is. As I write this, he is trying out a new recipe.

The smell of bread baking in the oven is second to none. Luckily we have ample butter and jam.

I really hope this loaf will survive to see another day...or at least another hour!

These little innocuous ramblings of mine are just there so that you can hopefully forget life's worries for a minute or two each day.

Biggi

Purely coincidental that Bob is wearing a Springbok jersey...

Raking Hay...

All in a day's work.

We have this big barn on our property that really is just a great place to store stuff. Fortunatley the previous owner left everything as is, that is all his furniture, some farming utensils, cutlery items and cut wood. We recycled a lot of his stuff and used it in our house. It felt good to recycle and also saved a lot of money.

Part of the barn was filled with a pile of old, spider infested hay. We knew that it had to go, but we were procrastinating.

It is not so easy as it was in South-Africa to throw stuff out. Everything has to be separated and not everything is collected by the Rubbish Trucks. The big items have to be taken to the dump, where you pay per weight. Once a month, the community gives us the opportunity to throw big items out free of charge (such as building materials, old furniture, metals etc.).

Anyway, at the edge of our village is a place to throw out grass cuttings. Well yesterday was the day to finally tackle the Hay..

Armed with a pitchfork, cap and long sleeves we started. Just seeing all those spiderwebs gave me the creeps but there was no one else to do it. We had to do three trailer loads full and as luck would have it, it was another sweltering day. But it is now done.

It feels and looks so much better now. Bob and I are wondering why we don't do things straightaway.

So maybe there is hope for us...

Biggi

The Bee Gees.

What a great gift

I just saw on Facebook that Robin Gibb died. My condolences are with all his family.

But what I just wanted to convey, was what the Bee Gees do for me.

My teens coincided with the late 70's and early 80's so the Bee Gees were almost always in the for and background. Wherever I was, their music was too. Who can forget John Travolta walking down the street in those iconic white trouser. Like Pavlov's dog, I can instantly recall the Bee Gees song that goes with it and I am sure that you will too.

But what I really wanted to say was this : Driving with the radio on in todays times is sometimes a bit painful for the ears, but I keep it on because it is the thing to do and every now and again I get rewarded. Just hearing the opening musical notes of any Bee Gees song puts me instantly in a state of Happiness, even Bliss (Plus I know the words...).

What a Gift to leave .... Thank you Bee Gees.

Biggi

Soccer...Yohoo!

What a Final

Like most woman I don't usually watch Soccer on TV or even live. But Bob had already told me all week that Saturday was definitely his TV night !

So to put a show of good cheer and resigned myself to "endure" it.

What I had not counted on was how much I actually enjoyed watching Soccer. For a change I stayed awake past eight, then nine and even past ten. I even think that I am going to be glued to further public displays of " ball passing ". Somehow it brought a flashback of my childhood & youth. ( My Dad watching, cheering and " gently " critiquing the Ref...)

Isn't that what makes life so special ?

But what I don't get is how the loosing Team suddenly has a change of Trainers etc. Surely they learn from the mistake and will do better the next time ? In fact this "Rotation" of Trainers happens in a lot of Sports.

Eisenberg and all the surrounding villages have a good Soccer league and I think Bob and I will definitely watch some Live games.

Biggi

Loo with a View...

Building Novices...

We really were thrown into the deep end, concerning the "fixing" up of our house. It was extremely rundown and in need of care.

Full of enthusiasm, we were game for everything.

The bathroom with the Loo was dark and pokey. We knew we wanted it light, airy and bigger. So our "helper" suggested that we take out the existing, small high-up window and replace it with a much bigger and lower positioned one.

Just as an aside: We had to replace all the floors and dug up 60cm of ground.

So we decided on the bigger window option and the wall was knocked out to accommodate it. Cool,we thought. Anyway for a few months only a ply-board was in the window space. Slowly but surely we built up the floor again. But what we had not realized, was that with the floor rising, so the height of the window lowered!

Panic did enter my mind. We have a road only one meter from our house and I already pictured the traffic jams with "peeping-Toms".

But it was too late and we had to make the best of it... Actually it turned out very nice. Sitting on the lavatory you can gaze into the fields across the road. Of course we installed an ultra fast sliding curtain (just in case).

So about two month ago we had a legendary "Kitchen-Table" party where one or four bottles of wine were consumed. One of our Male guests went to the Loo and came back with a puffed out chest and a huge grin.

He forgot to close the curtain while using the Loo for a #1. As luck would have it a local lady was walking her dog and happened to glance at him through the window !

According to him, she glanced at him and got a huge fright and quickly walked away.

But you know what men are like...There was at least a meter distance and I am sure her sight was not that good!!

Our house is built into a slope, so the road is higher than the base of our wall

View from the road to the bathroom.

View of the wheat fields in front of our bathroom.

Biggi

What is it about Procrastination ?

Show of Hands...do you do this too ?

It was a public holiday yesterday. So there really was a lot of time to get things done.

The list of projects that I need to do is endless, and it was a good opportunity to execute them. But no... I did nothing.

You know, I had already planned to do a few things on my list, but somehow I "buried my head in the sand" and did absolutely nothing. Perhaps it is a sort of panic attack because maybe I can not multi-task !

Or maybe it is just so much more fun to watch Re-runs of "Friends" while eating Chips , Chocolate & Pizza ! And it was groovy to laugh & hang-out with Bob.

Oh, I did two loads of washing, so I don't feel to bad.

Anyway, bring on the next public holiday...

Biggi

Driving Protocol

Friendly driving

When we first got here, we noticed that the local drivers passing us in our car, had a peculiar mode of greeting.

So anyway, we would be driving along, merrily enjoying the scenery, when cars would pass us with drivers doing "The Nod". At first we thought how peculiar to just nod and not wave.

Now every car in our district has "OW" number plates, and of course we as well." The Nod" only happens between "OW" cars.

It looked kind of funny too. How to describe it? Picture this:

• Thrust your chin out.
• Lift you head right back.
• Then nod once.

But now we do it too. Much easier to do The Nod than to do The Wave.

It kind of looks like a lot of "Wayne's World" groupies driving around !

Try it out in your neck of the woods.

Biggi

Weeding, is it really necessary ?

When did gardening become such hard work?

You know when I was living in Pietermaritzburg, it was in a flat with no Garden. During the day at work I often heard clients say how much they loved to garden and how much time they spent in it.

So now that we have a big garden, gardening is on the agenda for us. So far it has been fun & easy. My flowers are growing and it is quite easy to water them.

About a month ago the village gave away free compost. Only drawback was that we had to fetch it ourselves. But Bob and I loved this idea and with great gusto hooked up the trailer and took our shovels.

It took us 5 trips with the trailer (each trailer was a gazillion shovels full!!!). But we did it and established our new lawn and flower beds. So now we planted the grass seed and sat back to watch the growing phase.

Little did we know that the compost already contained numerous seeds....WEEDS. So now we get to the crux of this little story.

WEEDING IS JOLLY HARD WORK...my back is killing me and I am trying to find a way to entice Bob to do the rest of the weeding...

Why did no one ever tell me how much hard work gardening was...But I will carry on. Hopefully not the weeding part.

Biggi

Our Village

Just to give you an idea what our Neighbourhood looks like.

There are just so many nice places around here, but I will just post a few pictures, with more to follow.

View from the Eisenberg into Hungary. Yes, we are only 1km away from the former Border

The wine-bergs of Deutsch-Schuetzen with typical Kellerstoeckl (cottages in the vinyards that have wine-cellars underneath.)

View into our village-Eisenberg from the forest. Early am.

Ready to pick in the forest... just in front of our house.

Our Home

To Feed or not to Feed...?

Should we put Tigger to work?

At the moment there are two schools of thought regarding Tigger, our "inherited" cat.

On the one side is Lotte, who says that it is good to feed the cats on your property because that will make sure that they catch the mice and rats etc.

But on the other side is my mum who says that only a hungry cat will keep the mice away, ergo don't feed Tigger.

And then there are Bob and I, who so like Tigger and spoil him with delectables on a daily basis just to make sure he gets to like us - pathetic, isn't it. Even so we realize that Tigger probably gets his lunch made by the neighbour everyday. So he definitely is not likely to starve.

The thought of finding mice and rats running around in our house is quite worrying for me.

What to do?

Can anyone who has experience with this "Cat & Mouse" business give us advice?

Monday mornings are really the same everywhere.

Isn't it funny how we all feel more exhausted on a Monday morning?

I really did not do anything of major proportions yesterday yet I woke up feeling that I ran a Marathon.

As I sit here writing, it dawns on me that it could have to do with watching a lot of the US Business TV channels. It is really interesting and actually quite exciting to watch, but at the same time my subconscious took in all the doomsday scenarios that they so like to show and repeat each and every hour.

Sure there are huge problems in the world, but I think they will be sorted out.

But the most valuable insight for me at this moment is, that all of these problems can only affect me if I let them. My life here is simple,easy & fun and that is the essence of life.

Maybe or Hopefully I have gained a lasting insight and repelled this constant worry about world economics.

We are now going to Oberwart to do a few things and put the new Insights to work and just have FUN.

Biggi

Mother's Day times Three

Isn't it great to have such a big family

Some of you know, some don't. I have a Mum, a Step-mum and a Mum-in-law. The nice thing is that I love and get on fabulously with all three.

As I have not lived on the same continent as my Mum for the last 18 years, this is the first Mothersday in a long time that we are spending together. Yeah! This whole move to Austria was mainly to be closer to my parents.

So today my parents are coming over for Breakfast. It will be so nice. I already picked fresh flowers from the garden, and they look good on the table. (Bob is helping me tidy & clean..you know mums see everything)

Being there is really what this day is all about and to appreciate Mothers.

Now I have to get going to get fresh bread and finish the last detail. Pictures will follow a bit later, once the guest of honour has arrived...

Dangerous Cows...

What a scary moment

I went for my usual morning walk today. Usually it is tranquility personified. But not today!

About halfway through my round, I look ahead and see cows in the field. It was the first time they were there, and they were doing their grazing next to the fence. As I got a bit closer, I realized that two cows were on the wrong side of the fence...my side.

I could see them turning their head towards me. All of a sudden my mind was going into overdrive wondering if it is a bull and if so, what I should do? As usual when I need my glasses, I don't have them. As cows are want to do, they started taking an interest in me. By now I still could not see if they had long horns or big "nether" regions.

As I was almost next to them, I went with my instincts and put my head down & eyes forward and at the same time planed my escape-run!

When I had almost passed them, and seen no stampede, I turned to look....Turns out they were cute and almost grown up calves... not bulls. They just wanted me to come and say "Hi" to them..

Did I feel stupid !!! But luckily no one saw it.

This day is going to be great...

Gardening, fun or .....what?

From a Flat to a House

It is amazing how life works. For years and years I lived in a flat with no garden. In fact my mum always said when I bought plants that it was a death sentence for them. I definately had no Green Fingers!

Now we have a house with a huge garden that really needs a lot of work. But we like it. (I think that love is just around the corner)

A while ago we bought some pot plants to get some colour. As per instructions from my mum, I planted them, and whoa-they are alive and thriving. Actually everytime my mum visits, she looks to see what magic I used.

I know that to an experienced Gardener these are "small fry", but to me it is a BIG deal

Bob has been slogging it away with a weed-eater - Husqvarna 128DJx 17-Inch 28cc 2-Stroke Gas Powered Straight Shaft String Trimmer/Brush Cutter with Detachable Shaft (CARB Compliant) - for hours....he tried a scyth (which was in the barn on our property) first, but then the handle broke and he had to do the advanced version.

To be honest, Bob does the major share of Gardenwork. How lucky am I ?

Biggi

Spring Concert

It seems that more events take place in a small village.

I just got the invite for the Spring Concert of our village via a Social Network. As small as we are here, technology is cutting edge.

Events here are great fun. Usually everyone goes and it is a good place for us to mingle, meet & greet. Of course the it helps that locally produced wines are sold at reasonable prices, and that the sausages etc are home made. Bob really loves the local food.

This all reminds me of the wonderful Chris Duigan concerts we used to go to. His piano magic is unique. Maybe he will come here on holiday someday and perform one hour for us.

Today is going to be unbelievably hot. Already now,at 8.40am, it is to hot to be in the sun. Should reach 30 today.Can you believe that we are officially still in spring?

Bob is already in the vineyards to help my mum with her field. Hard work, but he loves it.

"English" breakfast

The class grows...

Bob had his second lesson with the kids this morning at eight.

Doris organized a wonderful breakfast with all the "pupils" and their mums or dads. There were 10 kids today. Four girls and six boys. We had a lovely table set up in the garden and even this early it was already so hot that the shade was eagerly sought.

Of course the girls were quite shy in the beginning but that was to be expected. About 15 min into the breakfast, Bob took them all to play a game of Rounders. They all took part and I think they enjoyed it too. It can't have been easy to hear the instructions in English.

But from now on, the girls will have a separate lesson from the boys. I think I will take the girls at times and do maybe a lesson in the kitchen to bake crunchies with them. That will be fun, at least for me. They are great girls,polite but full of fun.

It really was a nice breakfast and great to meet everyone.

Just another day...

I love my day unfolding

For as long as I can remember my days have been structured and accounted for and this newfound freedom is just great.

Of course I do like a routine and I suppose I do need some structure, but the lifestyle here is different. Everyone works incredible hard here but they also party hard.

Every morning I go for a long walk through the forest and vineyards. Just about every time a deer or rabbit will run past me. When it is a deer, I wonder if "Edward" is close behind it!

When I get home I try and do some domestic maintenace . Today the windows need cleaning and a hoover session is called for.

Then it is time to work at the computer. These fast internet lines are fantastic. It is such an eyeopener to do work from home without having to rent premises. Of course at the moment business is a bit slow, but it is picking up all the time. Just waking up everyday brings with it an excitement about what good things the day will bring.

Biggi

Our lodger-Tigger

About a month ago we were sitting and reading when we heard turbulent bouncing noises from the ceiling above. At first I thought that somehow we had inherited a ghost when we bought our house.

But then Bob remembered that he had seen a feral cat on our property. In fact our plumber had called it a lucky cat. So any panic to do with the "far beyond" had gone.

Who knew that a cat could make so much noise by just walking around the attic ? Judging by the noise it was more likely that our cat was dancing and having a good time up there.

Anyway now that we were aware we started to put out a bowl of milk. Cunningly we put it right at the foot of the ladder going into the attic. Bob was not sure if cats climbed ladders, but somehow every morning the little bowl was empty.

Encouraged we started putting cat-pellets out as well. Every time we moved the bowl a bit more into the open so we could see Tigger (our name for him) eating his food.

After two weeks Tigger started to wait for us at about 5pm. So now we are his slaves and we make sure we're at home to feed him on time. Can't keep him waiting.

But now our dilemma is that Tigger has grown in girth. Is he a Tigger or maybe a Tigress.....

Biggi

Bob's in demand...

Just before Christmas one of the local mums asked Bob whether he would give her two boys extra English lessons. She liked the fact that Bob was not yet fluent in German as her boys would not have a chance to speak German with him.

Needless to say, nothing happened until last week when Doris phoned to tell us that she'd forgotten but that her boys asked her to phone because they wanted Bob. In the meantime Bob had heard that her boys were a bit naughty so he was a bit worried if he could manage them.

Anyway the lesson dawned. Doris told us how excited the boys were and that there was an extra boy in the "class". It was so cute. I saw Bob go into the room where the three boys(7 years - 9 years old) were sitting on a bench with their little knees nervously bobbing up and down. As Bob was trying to be strict (just in case ), I heard him say In his Darth Vader voice :" Hello boys my name is Bob, what are yours?....

Just befor the lesson ended, "the class" moved outside and played soccer for a few minutes. Actually the boys outplayed Bob but he valiantly tried to score a goal.

Doris phoned us a few days later to say that Bob was a huge hit with the boys. All they could talk about was how Bob even played soccer with them!

And she told us that the next lesson would have 4 extra kids. The word has spread!!!

How cool is my husband...

My first entry....

Hi Everyone,

This is my attempt at showing you what my new life is like here in Eisenberg, Burgenland-Austria.
It's been almost a year since Bob (my husband) and I packed up everything in South-Africa and moved
here to Eisenberg.

With this blog I want to let you know what's going on and how we handle it..
Life here is uncomplicated but wonderful!  The blog definately won't have thrilling stuff in it,
but just everyday, normal, charming & fun things.

Thanks for reading

LoL

Biggi