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| Joy and laughter live in this home. As does my friend Wendy. |
I love being back in South Africa - with people who understand me and laugh at the same jokes, with food that I understand and enjoy, and with vehicles driving on the left side of the road (which is the right side) and not the right side of the road (which is the wrong side).
Last night I went to visit Wendy, one of my oldest friends. Okay, perhaps that's the incorrect use of the word and she would be offended to hear me calling her that... not oldest, "most longstanding". The friends I saw for lunch on Sunday say that Wendy and I have one of the most bizarre relationships they've ever seen, but she's nice to me, feeds me, and seems to enjoy my company, so I'm stubbornly holding on to her...
(It took her dad around 10 years to build the quaint little abode, seen in these photos, for his daughter but Wendy has since transformed it into a simple place of creative flair).
And so, there I sat relaxing after a phenomenal supper of soup and fresh bread (with a glass of red wine in hand) on an evening that was more wintry than it should be at this time of year, when a fellow friend and teacher (we'll call Shirley "Anonymous" to protect her identity) threw a vicious barb in my direction - she called me cantankerous!
And there it was, out there in the open, like a prickly pimple in the middle of one's nose - absolutely impossible to ignore or shake. One of the other guests reached for her phone to look up what the word meant, and then everyone proceeded to cackle with glee at the description - "disagreeable to deal with; contentious; peevish: as in, 'a cantankerous, argumentative man'."
Oh how they all laughed. Oh, how they all nodded liberally in agreement!
But at least "Anonymous" found such a descriptive word to differentiate me from others. Imagine if I was just "ornery", or even worse, "nice"?
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| "Anonymous" with Wendy under the sign that typifies the home - Live Well. Laugh Often. Love Much |
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| A window-sill filled with little knick knacks gathered from around the world |
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| Above the fireplace... |
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| There's even a little piece of Madagascar in one of the corners. |
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| Framing love |
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| The wrong date but never out of date |
That's hilarious! You don't know me Robin, but I have had a look at your blog every now and then on recommendation and I do enjoy your humour! (And candid photographic abilities).
ReplyDelete"Anonymous" is one of the best friends a person could ask for, and as usual, seems to pull no punches. Knowing her well, I have to accept the truth, that you must be somewhat cantankerous... but no doubt honest and genuine to hold company with someone as endearing as Wendy.
Let me introduce myself, my name is Paul, I am Lauren's "less better half". I was unfortunately (and now it seems even less fortunately) detained by a far too long day at work yesterday, otherwise I would've joined you for that delicious soup!
I do hope we meet before you leave,
Regards,
Paul
Awesome pics Rob, I love what that lens and body does with the light!
ReplyDeleteWe must do a dinner like that again!
D
You are funny!
ReplyDeleteSusan
Hello, hello,
ReplyDeletethat's how I named my ex-husband's mother ...
it's not very... kind in my mouth but I'm sure that your friends certainly give a special sense to that word... just for you...
je ne comprends quand même pas pourquoi c'est mieux que d'être "nice", mais moi, ce que je déteste, c'est quand on me dit que je suis "gentille", ça m'énerve terriblement de n'être que ça...
bisous!
Denise
@Denise Denise, after what you say you called your ex mother-in-law I can't imagine many people would dare call you "gentille". I, for one, would be way too scared! :-)
ReplyDeleteOne thing is clear, you are very, very rich in friendship!
ReplyDelete