The Next Chapter in the Story

Bastille Day in Franschoek

I felt I was being left behind a bit on the technology front so have decided to start 'blogging' and send through all our updates from Cape Town on this website.
As I always say, time seems to whizz past and before you know it suddenly a few months have already passed.
The miserable winter weather has eventually dampened (quite literally with all the recent flooding) the hearts of Cape Townians and all the fun outdoor stuff we usually get up to has quitened down a bit! But we have still managed to get out and about with celebrations in Franschoek recently for Bastille Day which included lots of wine tasting, sitting on hay bales and eating baguettes, chocolate, strawberries and pancakes! We have had a few people over to stay including a good friend from JHB, Sean and my parents who stayed in the B&B section of our complex - yes our lovely complex has accomodation for rent at very good prices if you quote the name "cronje' - well they should give us discount since we live above the office of the B&B and are very quiet 'neighbours'.

Well the big new for this update is that my lovely husband had decided to pursue his ultimate dream of going to cycle with the pro's in Belgium for a month and a half. He is leaving on the 1st August and will be staying 1 hour out of Brussels in a 'cycling house' where he rents a bed and eats, breathes and sleeps CYCLING!! I am so happy that he is finally fulfilling this dream of his which has been at the back of his mind for the last 5 years. His company have given him the time off unpaid, and I am going to be moving to JHB for this time to live with my parents and work from the PAG Head Office in Sandton. We have also managed to rent out our CPT flat for a corporate let - so I am basically being kicked out rather than moving out voluntarily! So I would love to catch up with as many of you as I can while I'm in JHB (1st Aug - 6th Sept). Didn't have too many fond memories of the place when I was there recently for a stressed out week of work at PAG - flip that place is blerrie cold!! Had forgotten about that biting cold - much prefer the damp, hair frizzing weather here thanks!

But I am braving the weather and bringing my bike up too so hopefully I can try and put some mileage in for our next big adventure: Cycling from CPT to JHB on our tandem this December for charity!! But more about that later!

Electrical Storm over Table Mountain and Lion's Head

So we are very busy trying to get the house ready, get the last minute things for Belgium and also packing for the 5 day Otto Trail hike which we start next Saturday. Am a bit worried that we might get washed away with all this rain and that our car will disappear into the sea (not sure if you heard that hikers had to be evacuated from the Trail about a month ago due to bad weather). Well I suppose it is our fault for booking this 'holiday' during winter but those were the only available dates! Despite that, we are trying to get excited about eating smash, bully beef, 2 minute noodles and instant spag bol when you just add water, not to mention carrying all the food and clothes we need for the 5 days. I am looking forward to it though as I've never (yes can you believe it!!) been along the Garden Route before so it will be new experience for me. The day after we finishe the Otto Trail, we drive back from Knysna to back up our house and then off up to JHB where Jaco will leave for Belgium. Never a dull moment for the Cronje's!

Other highlights recently have included weddings in Stellenbosch, Kenton-on-Sea and the Natal Midlands all in the space of about a month! I felt like a real jet-setter during that time! Jaco took part in a target shooting practice with some old school friends and I got to experience what a sniper feels like (ok snipers don't wear green army overalls and they don't lie down on cold floors of a school hall!). We went for our first tandem ride the other day and poor Jaco had to bear the brunt of an engine failing after 60 kms as he though I was just chilling at the back and not pedalling! Jaco's stadium in PE has finally been completed so he is no longer racking up the air miles travelling there for work every week. He is working on some exciting projects at the moment including houses of mega millionaires in Bantry Bay and Plett along with a hospital renovation, the CPT Bus-Rapid Transport (BRT) System for 2010 and all the CCTV camera installations around the Greenpoint Stadium for the Football World Cup. So my baby is pretty busy along with his training routine of getting up at 4am every morning to rack up the miles before work! My studies are coming along well - especially after the FANTASTIC news recently that I was granted credits for 2 subjects which I've previously done which means that I'll have my Honours Degree at the end of this year (if I pass my exams in November of course!) . So I am frantically trying to complete all my last set of assignments for my 3 subjects. We have made some great friends at church and attend a cell group every week where Jaco has impressed us all by preparing alot of the recent teachings.

Target Shooting - I missed !

Home Group From Church

I think that is enough now for my first blog!! Please add yourselves as a subscriber so I can keep you up to date with J's trip to Belgium and my wonderfully exciting life in JHB hahaha!
You can email Jaco while he is in Belgium on jaco.cronje@gmail.com and I would love to hear from you at christie.cronje@pag.co.za.

Love The Cronje's