The Proposal

I got engaged on a beautiful summer's evening in February.
February 11th 2012 to be exact.

It was a magical moment full of new hopes and dreams and promises, but best of all, filled with love and the new beginnings of sharing the rest of my life with my best friend.

Chris whisked me away to a gorgeous lodge which we both love.  Stonehouse Mountain Lodge in Hartebeesport is one of the most stunning and peaceful hideaway's I have been to.  The lions from the local sanctuary can be heard roaring at night creating a surreal African vibe that makes you think you are in the middle of the bush.  The night sky is filled with a blanket of stars and from the villa's you can see forever.  The place makes me feel free.

If you are going to drive a Landy, you may as well drive it properly

Our Friday evening was pretty uneventful (save for my 4x4 driving skills on the way) and so we woke up Saturday morning and decided to take a drive (inclusive of more 4x4 driving skills).

Hartebeesport has become so built up over the past ten years that, when driving around, you no longer feel as though you are in teh country.  Rather just an extension of good old Jozi.
After taking in what scenery there is still left and doing some firewood buying and




fleamarket shopping, Chris whisked me off for an hour long full body massage at the Cradle Health Spa before returning to our mountain retreat for an evening of campfire and star gazing.

Don't get me wrong, I am your typical girly girl, but there is something about a campfire and the African wilderness that just makes me want to sit back and breathe.  And forget about everything for a while.  And just become a bush baby.

Dinner

After a sumptuous dinner of spare ribs and salad, we settled down on blankies by the fire and chatted about life and hopes and dreams and watched the stars spring to life as the sky melted from the pink-orange hues of the sunset to the velvet inky-blackness of night.


We heard the lions roar and the hyenas cackle.

We saw shooting stars. We drank wine.

Chris asked me to put more wood on the fire.  I looked at him as if he had lost it.  I am a girl.  I am not a hunter-gatherer.  That is a man's job.
Moaning about how I could not believe that I actually had to put the splintery wood on the already towering bonfire, I got up and did it (my complaints were more about getting up from my comfy position, but you have to make a complaint worthwhile).

As I turned around to go back to the blankie (still muttering complaints), I heard Chris say, "You better get used to it, you are going to have to do it for the rest of your life."
I was about to spit out a comeback when I stopped to suvery the scene in front of me: my boyfriend was on bended knee and had a little box in his hand with a very sparkly thing drawing my attention towards it.
I started to cry as I realised what was happening.
He asked.  "Will you marry me?"
I don't even remember if I said yes, I was so overwhelmed with joy and happiness.
He slipped the sparkle onto my finger.

Somewhere in between my crying (happy) and joy, I must have said yes.

So now I have a fiancé!

 Wedding time!