This is the carved elephant door I mentioned earlier. I do feel as though I am in a magic land, and I must have entered through a portal like this. Don’t you love the word portal?

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How could I lose a blog entry twice?!!! This is the one I lost, not once but twice. Twice I wrote it, posted photos and all, and twice it disappeared! What is going on!???

But the third time is a charm, isn’t it? It is, isn’t it?

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This is a most beautiful home, and its decor, inside and out, equals the design.

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In the above photo, you see the Indian Ocean  from the deck of Uncle Arnand’s house. Tomorrow Heaven Admin will take more photos of the ocean with a wide-angle lens so you can see the surf and all.

Now let me introduce you to Santhan’s family who spend time here at Uncle Arnand’s  beautiful house in Durban, South Africa: (more…)

My daughter Lauren wanted to know about the people I met in my travels. (more…)

Just to let you know that I am in Johannesburg, South Africa, and this is all beyond my dreams.

Johannesburg is BEAUTIFUL. The people are warm and friendly, and you know how I like that! Heaven Admin, his aunt and cousins here are amazingly gracious and hospitable and fun. They are the way we all wish everyone would be.  I cannot stop smiling. (more…)

The moment of truth refers to actually packing for South Africa. The suspense is:

Can I squeeze everything into one piece of check-in luggage, or do I require two pieces of check-in luggage? (more…)

On Thanksgiving Eve, there was only one other person in the laundry room at Lauren’s apartment building.

He was a gentleman of about fifty. While he folded his clothes, he was watching an international house hunters’ show.

We started talking, and the unbelievable happened! (more…)

In the blog entry a couple of days ago, Charles  suggested that I get this (or these) for when I travel — a passport pouch that goes around my neck like a necklace — not sure where the bag goes — but Lauren, my daughter, ordered them the same day! (more…)

This is referring to my personal D-Day!

This is the Saturday I leave my apartment, the town where I have lived longer than I have lived anywhere else, and go to Chicago en route to Johannesburg, South Africa. Lauren, my daughter, is kindly picking me up on that Saturday and turning right around to take me back to Chicago where she, Teeny, her cat, and I will spend a little over a week together before I fly out from O’Hare Airport to another continent. By the way, I will switch planes in Abu Dhabi. Don’t you just love to say that name? (more…)