Super busy week

Hi folks I trust this finds you all well and rested. We've had a super busy week as was expected, but what a joy to have all our family here - it does my soul good. We have been shell collecting, cooking and baking up a storm, lots of tea and coffee and downtime just chilling.

On Thursday Big Guy arrived and was fetched from the airport by his brother, BigBear and BabyBear, just to have everyone under the same roof was beyond special. The wind had steadily increased to the speed of about 50kph by the time we had an amazing Christmas meal which everyone contributed to. One of the best things was that along with the wind we had hours and hours of desperately needed rain which for anyone who knows this family, you will know how we all love the rain so big bonus. Friday morning (express Christmas) we opened presents, had mince pies and just lazed around. We braved the gale force winds and went out to a lovely restaurant on the Harbour in Kleinmond for a late brunch before BigBear and BabyBear left to go home as they are now up the West Coast spending a few days with her family. We battened down the hatches and spent the afternoon reading and watching television.

Our tradition is to open presents on Christmas morning and the first one up was ......... Big Guy, so we did it all over again haha. It was decided that seeing as we are living the 'beach life' we were going to do a non traditional lunch and my darling Hubby cooked quite the best braai he has ever made, it was delicious to the point that there was nothing left over at all. Pudding had to wait until much later as we literally veged in front of the television watching movies from the hard drive. I can't believe I have missed so many movies (even old ones) which were right here to be watched. Hmmmmm going to have to fix that in future. We also managed a super Skype session with Miss Muffet and her family in the UK and they got to meet the all the uncles and aunts and we got to see all their new Christmas presents, it's one way of getting everyone together for a little while.

Today after a number of choices and options being thrown into play we opted to go into Hermanus to see the three museums down by the Old Harbour. Well ........ The N1 highway in Johannesburg has nothing on the road leading into Hermanus on Boxing Day, we never got out of 2nd gear. Eventually on arrival the next hurdle was finding parking space yikes, a couple of times around the block and we were sorted. How things can morph when there is a crowd, the general consensus was lunch first at an amazing restaurant right on the beachfront and from there the Market Stalls won over the museums. So with a couple of small purchases tucked under our arms we called it a day and made our way back home through the traffic, it is always such a breath of peace when I walk into our home after being out in the hustle and bustle. Right now Grandpa has taken Princess down to the beach in the wind, the sea has white horses and she is body boarding, I seriously do not know how she can stand the cold water so long.

As I sit and type this my handsome son is busy cooking a family favourite for supper (Russians, Mac and cheese) before he heads back home tomorrow morning early, such a short visit I wish I could freeze time, but nevertheless it has been so special having him here with us. Friends in a nutshell that has been our busy week on our journey in life, we sill have another week with Poppet and another two weeks before Princess flies home so many more memories to be made.

I wish you a beautiful week and hope that the end of 2016 will end on a positive note for you all and that you can go into 2017 in peace with goals and dreams to stove for. Enjoy the precious people in your lives and store up as many memories as you can, until next week please stay safe.

Photo of the beautiful Old Harbour in Hermanus, the water is so clear you can see everything.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Wishing all my readers and friends a very Blessed Christmas and all the best over the holidays. Enjoy making memories with family and friends and please be safe.

'Twas the week before Christmas

Hi folks how is everyone doing in the final countdown to Christmas? We have been super busy interspersed with periods of sheer laziness. Last week was spent in a frenzy of 'getting things ready', we went into Somerset West which took the entire day between shopping, collecting things and then sitting for two hours at the hospital waiting for my X-rays to be done. I am happy to report no broken toe just ligament damage. The week also included me having a massive 'bake off' on Thursday. I put the oven on at 9 am and only turned it off about 12 hours later. Why so long you may be asking - well, me being me I dcided to do everything, rotating in batches. I started off making a double batch of crunchies (oat biscuits) then while they were baking I mixed up a huge batch of dough to make rusks, which went in when the crunchies came out, while the rusks were baking I made a ciabatta bread, put that in whilst the rusks were cooling. During this time I boiled the mix for a Christmas fruit cake, bread baked then rusks went back in to dry out. Once they were finished I put the Christmas cake in and Voila one exhausted woman and a whole lot of baked goodies ready for the family. Sadly the Ciabatta bread has been repeated about five times since then and the Crunchies tin is looking a tad bleak. So back to the kitchen tomorrow, but this time I will blackmail Poppet and Princess into helping hehe.

The girls arrived safely on Friday afternoon, it is SO good to have them here, now we are just waiting for Big Guy who arrives on Thursday. BigBear and BabyBear fetched them from the airport and then due to the very late sunsets we have here we were able to spend a lovely evening all together catching up and unwinding. This will be repeated in a somewhat greater measure on Thursday when they fetch Big Guy at the airport and then come through for what we call 'Express Christmas' which is where we do an early Christmas dinner and have present opening the following morning. This I s because BigBear and BabyBear will be up the West Coast with her Mom for Christmas. We have decided that actual Christmas Day is going to be extremely laid back, lazy and Hubby darling will be doing a Braai (barbecue). For some reason we have had super hot weather for the last few days although it is clouding up now and the wind has changed direction, hopefully bringing some VERY much needed rain we hope. We have seen the weather forecast for Friday which says we are in for gale force winds and lots of rain, Poppet is already looking forward to a fire going.

Today we went into Kleinmond for a few supplies and oh my goodness it was BUSY and HOT and everyone breathed a sigh of relief when we walked into the house. Unfortunately we have to make one more foray into Somerset West on Friday as we are having a get together meal with the other side of our Cape Town family, the last time this particular group were together was at our wedding. Just wish that Miss Muffet and her family were here to be with us. One day soon I pray. I will use that trip to stock up on whatever groceries etc that are needed and then scuttle back home as fast as is possible.

Is everyone this busy of is it just us? The one thing I am completely and utterly delighted about is that Christmas gift shopping is all finished, wrapped and waiting under the tree. Gemma has shown absolutely NO interest in the tree thankfully although I know without a doubt that had Kiko been here she would have caused major damage. I overheard Jelly Bean talking to Hubby dearest the other day where she was saying that apparently I will be solely responsible for her having grey hair (she doesn't have one grey hair yet) - this after I walked outside and somehow my foot slipped down the step, my shoe broke and I ended up in a fairly graceful heap, on my back looking up at the sky #faceinHands apart from my dignity and a rather sore behind I was fine.

Friends we have had a few drops of rain which necessitated Poppet and I both running (running I tell you) out of the house to rescue the dry washing, so on that note I do believe I have rambled on long enough and am going to bid you goodbye until next week. We wish you ALL a very blessed Christmas and I pray that your day will be filled with love and good memories. For those who will be traveling please go safely and for the rest of us be safe and have fun.

The Christmas tree awaiting the balance of parcels.

The countdown has started

Hi friends, I hope today finds you well and almost ready for Christmas. Thank you so much to those of you who called and messaged me last week it meant so much, it was a difficult week that I hope not to repeat if I can help it. For us the week was very quiet in terms of exploring and going out, we busied ourselves with preparations for the family that are coming down for the holidays - in just 4 sleeps the girls will be here and 10 sleeps until Big Guy arrives so you can imagine, lots to do. Both Hubby dearest and I are both feeling a bit lost at the moment as we have both finished all the projects we had including our tea station, which was a surprise for me as I was convinced that I would not get them all done, we keep looking around saying what else is there that's needs doing. At the end of the day we chose not to build a brand new piece of furniture for the Tea Station but utilise a table we had and without compromising the table in any way my super clever husband made a stunning Tea Station. We are also all battling with the loss Kiko, she was such a vibrant, persistent little being that the house is super quiet, we find ourselves saying Kiko would be doing this, of Kiko would be doing that. Gemma has lost weight as she didn't eat very much last week, Max and Sasha still look for her and have made a couple of successful escapes which still causes a ruckus and great frustration Ho hum.

We were planning on going into Somerset West today to finish off last bits of shopping, doing a big grocery shop, and collecting a few things but our trip ended up being deferred to tomorrow. I also have to go for an X-ray on my foot as I kept stubbing my toe badly from the time we moved in and the pain has steadily become worse, so off for an X-ray to see if I actually broke it (which I doubt) but even if I did there is nothing that can be done until the new year. Seeing as tomorrow is going to be a crazy day I have decided to do some baking and then get busy wrapping presents.

We have definitely seen an increase in the local 'population' but as yet not to the degree that we have heard about, I am guessing by this weekend things will start getting very busy in our quiet little village. Having said that, on Saturday morning I was woken at 4.30 AM by the sound of a big truck and some kind of machinery running, peeping through the curtains proved that it was indeed a very large truck and then I realised that it was the 'honey sucker' the local name for the sewage collection. SERIOUSLY 4.30 AM ????? Either our neighbour's plumbing had a crises or the municipality were being diligent and getting an early start.

After a very hot weekend happily the temperature has dropped and it is one of those glorious quiet days where the sea is flat, there is not much wind and lovely clouds are just hanging around, in other words after the last few weeks a super lazy day. I am going to make the most of it as the rest of the week promises to be non stop busy leading up to seeing our precious family on Friday .......... I can't wait.

Friends, as I said a quite week last week with a lot of activity coming up. I pray you all have a wonderful week, for those of you who are going to be travelling go safely and to the rest of you please be safe wherever you are. As a parting question it would be very interesting to hear what your plans are over the holidays and what special meals you are planning?

I never get tired of looking at the ocean.

I don't like speed bumps

Hi friends I hope you are all well and would like to thank you for the phone calls and messages as the result of my precious little Kiko passing away yesterday. Your messages have touched me in a way that words can't describe and the common thread among those messages is that so many of you felt like she was your friend as you followed her antics. I cannot describe how much of a hole she has left behind, I had her for 8 months and 1 day and got her when she was just five weeks old, from day one she captured our hearts and got up to mischief constantly, she has left so many beautiful memories in our lives. Yesterday around 12.30ish I saw her sitting quietly on the floor and picked her up for a cuddle and put her on the table where she often sleeps, during lunch when she didn't show any interest at all in what we were eating I started to realise that something was wrong. When we picked her up she walked as if she was drugged and kept falling over, then began to vomit. I called the Vet who said to bring her in, in 45 mins which we did and initially he thought she had eaten something ie. Medication that may have fallen on the floor, because she was deteriorating so quickly. We are very carefull with that kind of thing and could not come up with anything, then Hubby asked if she could have been bitten by something and that got the ball rolling. I remembered thinking earlier that her paw looked dirty and when we looked at it we instantly saw that it was double the size of the her right paw (she was a lefty). The Vet sprung into action and after explaining the possibilities put her on a drip and administered half a vial of anti venom as he believed she had been bitten by a snake possibly a Berg Adder. She only weighed 2 kg so his prognosis was not encouraging. By this time she could not lift her head or even blink. I sat with her through the whole process and when they were finished kissed her and we left. He phoned an hour later to say she was slipping into a coma and then just after 5pm called to say she had passed away, after running her blood tests and finding nothing he believes it was either a Berg Adder or a Cobra. It still a feels very unreal and I find myself listening for her bell or wanting to call her, needless to say putting make up was a waste of time today. As Jelly Bean said last night she is probably running around in heaven chasing metal tape measures.

Apart from our major speed bump life has been quiet but very productive and busy since last weeks Blog. We had to make a trip through to Stellenbosch and Strand which turned into a super busy day. I got a bee in my bonnet and made myself a long kaftan (70's style) over the weekend which turned out exactly how I wanted it, long, cool, light and comfortable, so was very chuffed about that. We started preparing for the family's arrival which meant climbing into bags in the garage roof for linen etc, so I can now tick that off the list. On Sunday My darling Hubby and I went for a long walk on the beach and realised its actually the first long walk we've taken on the beach, the weather has been really good with hot days and cold evenings, thank the Lord for the wind which is generally cool and is the only thing that makes the heat bearable. On Sunday I also put up our Christmas tree which Kiko got very involved in (her last photo below) and Hubby hung up Christmas stockings on our beautiful fireplace, when finished he stepped back and said "wow there are a lot of us" which there are and that is without adding Miss Muffet and her family and our other family members. We have 10 sleeps until the girls arrive and 17 sleeps until Big Guy arrives which will also be the day we have our Express Christmas, and also we will ALL be together in the same place for the first time this year. So much still to do .......

Friends I am going to wish you a wonderful week, thank you again from the bottom of my heart for your messages and calls and prayers. I would like to urge you to take time to smell the roses and breathe and as always please be safe.


Kiko wondering if the Christmas tree was going to be her new play zone - So sad she didn't have time to destroy it.

A big speed bump.

Hi friends, I trust you are all well and enjoying the heat of summer. This is an extremely quick message to apologise for not putting up today's Blog as we have had a 'family crisis', we have just arrived home after rushing my precious little Kiko to the vet. She was fine this morning and then over the lunch period became extremely ill in a very short space of time, initially the Vet as well as ourselves was absolutely nonplussed at what could cause her to deteriorate so quickly until I noticed that her left front paw was swollen - diagnosis at this point is that she was bitten by a snake, possibly a Berg Adder. He is treating her and monitoring her constantly, has administered a half a vial of Anti-venom and now we are praying and waiting, in his words right now it is touch and go. Please if you would, could I ask you to pray for her complete healing? As I typed that last sentence the Vet phoned to say she is not doing well and is drifting into a coma. Friends I will put up this weeks Blog tomorrow as right now I am just too upset and it certainly won't be a interesting Blog.

Have a super evening and always stay safe.

Life is waiting for you

Hi friends Shoooo it feels like ages since last Monday's Blog and how I have missed you all and your comments. I hope the last week treated you well and that you are refreshed going into this new week. Some times we get so caught up in the routine and busyness of life that we tend to forget that life, our future, is waiting for us to write on the slate so to speak. I believe we all have dreams and things that we would like to do or see happen but those things tend to be put on the back burner because we think they are impossible or circumstances will never permit them. Your life is an unwritten story going forward and its up to you to write the story and trust God to help you make it a reality. Never give up on your dreams no matter how far fetched or impossible they may seem, go out there and make your mark on life.


Wow, it's been a busy time lately there is always something needing attention or popping up on the radar. Last week apart from the fact that we had the South Easter blowing almost non stop we had one of those weeks of completing tasks, starting new ones and even managed some exploring which resulted in finding the elusive shell beach that had eluded us woohooo. Going on lots of little bits of information we had gathered we pinpointed where we thought it would be and at last SUCCESS we found it. Hopefully seeing as we had such a job not many others will be flooding down there, this little (and I mean little) beach is tucked away, almost completely surrounded by rocks, fairly sheltered and I cannot wait to go back and start finding shells. We also had some 'old time' fun and games as somehow Max figured out that if he stood on the gate motor box he could just manage to jump over the wooden post Hubby had put there to block it off. So after him escaping and us eventually actually seeing him jump over, my ever patient Hubby extended said posts on both sides which has stopped that particular exit, then just as we breathed a sigh of relief Hubby had to go to the store and so to stop Max and Sasha running while the gate was open, he tied them together on their leads and wrapped the leads around a small tree. He reversed and when he went to untie them both - they were gone, lol, somehow they had unwound themselves and took off at breakneck speed up the road, still tied together which looked extremely funny but also made it easier to catch them, it's like they plan these things.

On Saturday we tootled off to Somerset West to visit their monthly Country Craft Market fully expecting it to be like most markets we have been to but what a pleasant surprise. Every stand there has to be run by the person who actually makes the articles which means there are so many unique and quirky stalls, the likes of which I have never seen. Apart from the heat, it was 35 C, it was an absolute delight. Some of the things on sale were completely unique and the quality of the goods was on a par with most good 'store bought' products. As usual I was using my eyes to log up ideas for future use, so many, many new projects waiting to be attempted. We spent the afternoon with friends and came home from a temperature of 32 to 23 C in the space of 35 km's, oh I am SO glad we chose Betty's Bay to settle. Having said that though on the drive through to Somerset West it was quite the clearest most perfect day we have seen down here, hardly a breath of wind, no sea mist or clouds. I took a photo from just past Rooi Els looking clear across to Table Mountain and Signal Hill, I could have kicked myself for not having taken one encompassing Cape Point through to Table Mountain. I did take that one on the way home but the mist had come in a bit and it was nowhere as clear and detailed as the earlier photo. The amount of cars that were parked along Clarence Drive were unbelievable, obviously everyone who could was out enjoying the sun and waves, there was even a troop of baboons in Rooi Els which completely stopped the traffic causing quite a build up. Having said all that it was glorious to come home to cooler weather. Yesterday and today have followed much the same pattern of hardly any wind and perfect days with today being just a tad cooler thank goodness. I ended up doing a huge baking session (in the heat) because it just so happened that every biscuit etc all finished at the same time, so now we are stocked up for a little while. We had quite an 'exciting' few minutes late last night as I let the dogs out and on closing the glass door looked up and there was a HUGE spider +- 6cm diameter, on the glass, my first thought was it was inside and my huge gasp brought Jelly Bean and Hubby to see what was going on, needless to say my beloved Husband dealt with the doomed creature speedily which according to him this morning was due to the pressure of the two females in the house

Friends on that note I am going to wish you a wonderful week and end off today's Blog with much love and prayers for a peaceful week for each one of you. Whatever you are doing enjoy and always please be safe.


Pic from Rooi Else looking to Table Mountain



Pic showing Cape Point right through to Table Mountain

A beautiful day to start the week.

Hi folks how are you all on this beautiful Monday? It is a gorgeous day here in Betty's Bay cold, misty, not much wind and we are having a slowish day with a fire roaring in the grate and all four animals have been curled up sleeping. The only thing I would change would be having a huge mug of coffee in my hand lol - shoooo what I would not do for cuppa haha.

With a productive yet chilled weekend behind us we are busy planning our next project which will be the tea/coffee station in the kitchen woohoo. At last I am feeling like my projects are on target and have more energy to deal with them. Yesterday we had some friends over for a braai (our first in this house) and because the South Easter was really pumping we had to braai on the other side of the house, which means our braai on the deck still has to be christened. Nevertheless my dear Hubby cooked the meat to perfection and as is usual we all ate too much so an extremely lazy afternoon followed, although some of us did continue with our search for the elusive shell beach which has thus far eluded every attempt. We did not exactly find it but I now know pretty much where to look so as a soon as the weather clears that's where I am headed hopefully to collect some special shells. There are so many things I want to experiment with, one of which would be making shell jewellary.

This coming weekend we are planning to start visiting Craft Markets in and around the area, there seem to be so many going on that is going to be a case of pick and choose, super excited to see what they are like down here. Thankfully my special Hubby is just as fond of markets as Jelly Bean and I so between the three of us we get really involved and usually cover almost every stall, my favourite being the antique / secondhand, jewellary and book stalls. Roll on Saturday which will also means we will be a week closer to the family arriving.

Friends with the holiday period upon us and knowing that we are not the only ones having visitors and how busy we are all going to be, and the increased stress levels all around, I will be Blogging once a week during this time. I would still love to hear from you all and will be sharing all our 'happenings' as usual every Monday. If there is one thing I would like to encourage you all with it is that no matter how busy and chaotic life gets it is important for each one of us to still try and make time for ourselves. Whether it's that quiet cup of coffee (I wish), reading a magazine, taking a long bath, a walk on the beach, whatever it is that recharges your batteries. We cannot give to others if we ourselves are empty, I know looks who's talking, but I am really trying to do the things that charge my batteries and help me be a blessing to others.

For all the folks who read this Blog from the U.S. I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving and pray that you and your loved ones are safe while travelling and that your time spent together with friends and family is blessed. For the rest of my friends I pray that you have an awesome week, take that time to breathe and please be safe.


Kiko finds the strangest places to sleep. Curled up in my basket on top of all sorts of hard things.

Out and about

Friday greetings to you all, it seems like the weeks are simply racing past. Gosh in less than a month we will have Poppet and Princess with us and things will be buzzing and then Big Guy arrives woohooo. I hope you have all had a good week and are ready for the weekend and hopefully time to recharge those batteries.

It's sometimes a challenge to even remember what day of the week it is at the moment, we've had an 'odd' week because on the one hand it's been really busy and feels like it went on forever and on the other hand due to the fact that I'm really battling to get through this 'flare up' I have had to take quite a bit of down time, frustrating does not even being to explain that. We went through to the Franschhoek Motor Museum with a friend and spent a super day out. Typical Cape weather when we left home it was 13C raining and misty and by the time we got to Franschhoek the sun was shining and it was HOT 26C, then back home late afternoon cold, dark and misty. Haha. The Motor Museum was lovely it is set in beautiful grounds nestled into the mountains and they have four sheds which house all the cars ranging back to 1903. In front of each car is the name, year, model and history and they are all in magnificent condition, a real must for most anyone especially car lovers. Our only complaint as such is that they were rotating cars, apparently there is another storage shed which holds approximately 200 vehicles and they rotate what is on show, which is all well and good BUT whilst we were there due to the moving of cars the one shed had about six empty bays and some of the cars had no history/bio up. Being who we are (friend included) we suggested to them that they rotate vehicles before the public is allowed in. 'A' who went with us was very disappointed as he specifically wanted to see a particular car which is shown on their website and said vehicle was not on display anywhere. Other than that it was a very pleasant day and definitely a different form of entertainment. One of the things that fascinated me was the mountain behind the buildings - it is enormous and comes to a sort of peak but near the top the entire rock is concave as if something hugs slammed into it.

We also spent half of yesterday doing what I call 'the changing of medical doctors thing'. All three of us had to see a Doctor, give a history etc, in order to have prescriptions repeated, what a mission and one I am delighted is now behind us. Nice doctors but hopefully we won't be seeing a lot of them haha.

Now that the kitchen unit is installed my darling Husband has turned his attention to converting our bathroom door from a normal opening to a sliding barn door which gives us much needed space in our bathroom. I have not been any help on this project except for yesterday afternoon when there was an ALMIGHTY crash and the sound of glass breaking - I shot in there so fast not knowing what to expect, Jelly Bean came rushing through and there sat my dear Hubby (on the closed toilet) looking somewhat surprised. He had hung the door and sat down to sort out a rivet or something and a sudden 'small' gust of wind had blown through and blew the door right off the tracks and smack into our bathroom mirror .......... He was absolutely fine but there was mirror glass EVERYWHERE, the tiniest little shards went far and wide. Thank the Lord he wasn't hurt or the damage was not bigger, said door is now securely hanging and Hubs is still busy working on it. Shooo. In the meantime our neighbour has been adding onto his house for the past two months and even though the builders have been extremely quick and quiet we are really looking forward to it all being finished. This morning at 8am there was a horrendous noise and on inspection I saw nothing less than a Frontend Digger ripping out rocks and plant life in order to put up the garage #headinhands. If there is one thing that I find extremely distressing is when trees and or bushes/fynbos are pulled out or cut down leaving a huge empty gaping space. This is taking place thankfully right next to our boundary fence and by the gate so not something we see all the time but still, from beautiful high overgrown Fynbos which also gave privacy, at this moment there is just sand and nothing. Aaarrrggghhhhh. I am already trying to figure out what and how to plant things on our side to soften and reintroduce plant life to that side of the yard, trouble is, it is all rocky so I foresee a trip to the Nursery for advice.

We also had a Skype call last night with our two munchkin grandsons in the UK, they wanted to ask Grandpa to tell them about fishing and whether he will take them fishing when they come for a visit. As they are still so young it doesn't take much to 'wind them up' and get them excited so there was a competition of sorts with each showing us which book he is reading, and which light up sword is whose hehe. We even got to them standing side by side to see how much they have grown with the older one being somewhat 'put out' that his brother is almost as tall as him. I can safely say that they keep Miss Muffett on the go full time.

This morning after doing our shopping we discovered what I call a hidden gem in Kleinmond, we have seen a tiny little shop on the corner with Bakery written on the sign but just never thought to go in because it is so small and obscure. Well today we ventured forth and oh my word, it is tiny with three tables for customers but the baked goodies that they produce there are amazing, even stretching to Gluten Free breads, tarts and quiche. Their prices are brilliant and service the same, my new favourite shop to go to.

Friends as I can hear the sound of Hubby darlings drill I think it is time he was offered some coffee, so I wish you a wonderful weekend, hopefully not a very busy one and as always stay safe.

The beautiful mountain in Franschhoek.


A few of the vehicles we saw

Things to do, places to go, people to see

Hi friends how are you all on this windy Monday? Windy down here at least, we are having gusts of 53kph at the moment in fact as I typed that I just witnessed Hubby dearest get literally blown off his feet as he went out of the door hahaha. Shame that reminds me that when we lived down here previously Poppet was about 10 years old and skinny to boot, our kitchen door opened outward and she opened it the one day and it flew back taking her with it almost blowing her out at about a 30 degree angle, thankfully she wasn't hurt but we were both more than a little shaken. It is quite entertaining to watch our animals coping with the wind. Gemma just stays curled up inside on a chair as much as she can, Kiko goes out and then turns around and comes right back in. Sasha adopts a wide legged stance and Max, he is the funniest, he has developed a crab type walk in order to not get blown over the fence haha. The other incident which caused much mirth earlier today (I just missed seeing it) Kiko was on the outside of the window debating whether to come in or not and apparently Gemma jumped up onto the sil, saw Kiko and proceeded to stand on and kick off Kiko's head in order to get through the window, using her as a launching pad I could not believe it. As for us humanoids we just try and stay out of it as much as possible. This morning I stupidly decided to wash linen which was fine until I had to get it onto the washing line, it was like wrestling a giant octopus on steroids and Red Bull haha.

We had a quiet but fairly productive weekend with my super clever husband finishing the kitchen unit (he's busy installing it as I type). I painted the back and sides, very successfully if I may say so, and then managed to get one of my projects done as well as try out a new biscuit (cookie) recipe. I was reading an article last week which spoke about a connection to Fibromyalgia and Gluten Intolerance as a result of which I stopped eating gluten immediately. I've done it before but not for Fibro reasons, so far the result is I've lost 2.5kg weight, but have not yet seen a difference in pain symptoms which I'm guessing may take awhile. The biscuits turned out delicious it is quite the easiest and most economical biscuit recipe I have ever used, so naturally being me I've already worked out how I can vary them without changing the basic formula. It was also very cold here of the weekend, the high seas are continuing together with the wind. Yesterday morning we made a lovely fire and kept it going all day, it's amazing what a difference it made which we only really noticed when we went outside.

Well, I don't know about you but we have a super busy week coming up. On Wednesday we are going through to Franschoek with a friend to visit a Vintage Car Musuem which I think is on a Wine Farm so we are quite excited about that. There are also a couple of other personal things we have to see to ie. Choosing new doctors etc UGH, and oh yes get going on all those projects hehe.

Folks I hope you have an awesome week, make lemonade out of any lemons and as always be safe please.

I am attaching pics of how our temporary kitchen has looked since we moved in and how it looks now with our state of the art unit. My Hubby is super clever and talented. Thank you my darling.


Our new kitchen unit ta daa


From this

The end of a tumultuous week.

Hi all I hope this finds everyone well and looking forward to the weekend. Wow, what a tumultuous week this has been in so many different areas, it seemed that wherever I looked or whatever I read was just filled with more drama, devastation and conflict.

First of all was the build up on the news and social media of the elections in the U.S. and then obviously the increase of news and the fall out over the results. Then in South Africa where we are in the middle of a severe drought and are under heavy water restrictions, the weather turned a 180 and the heavens opened leaving in their wake devastation, sorrow and stories of peoples heroism and bravery and a beautiful knowledge that when we want to South Africans know how to 'pull together' in a united endeavour to help others. The news of the flash floods and the pictures we have seen are terrifying to say the least and definitely make one very aware of how precious life is and how we need to appreciate who we share it with and what we have. We haven't had rain to speak of but oh my gosh has the South Easter pumped here for the last two days, the sea has all week been stormy and moody - weather which some people detest but happily in our family we revel in it. I suddenly realised just now that the reason for the sea conditions that we have seen this week is the Super Moon which appears on Monday, I can hear some of you going duh! LOL. I knew it all but only put it together whilst watching the waves from our lounge which is a scene that I never tire of and is never the same from hour to hour. So, on many fronts it has been a week of extremes, dramas, heartbreak, joy and heroism and what I have had going around in my heart is this - through it all God never changes. Irrespective of what is happening in the world, in our country and in our lives God remains the same, He doesn't move, He doesn't change or waiver, He is the one solid rock we can hold onto who will still be there at the end. There are two scriptures that explain it beautifully - Hebrews 13 v 8. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. Hebrews 6 v 17. In the same way God, desiring even more to show the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath.

I know that for some of you this has been an extremely difficult year and want to just encourage you with this, you have survived, you are still here, you have undoubtedly grown and learnt many things AND it's almost finished. Hang onto your dreams, promises and hope and keep paddling, please don't give up or yield to the pressure. You are precious and have a destiny to fulfill so...... head up, shoulders squared, tomorrow is a new day and you can do this.


It's been a quiet week here partly due to the weather and partly due to 'moi' being in a flare, so I've been trying to recharge them batteries and ride the waves so to speak. Meanwhile Hubby dearest has done miracles in the workshop and the kitchen unit is two days away from coming inside. I have to paint the back tomorrow and it is waiting for one more coat of varnish then in Monday we will bring it in and set everything up with photos to follow. I have a ton of projects sitting waiting to be tackled with Christmas roaring up on us and today went shopping to that end, unfortunately that is all I can say at this time hehehe.

Friends I pray that you will each have a wonderful weekend, spend time with those you love and enjoy, and do what makes you happy. Wherever you are please stay alert and always be safe.

A slow Monday for once

Greetings all on this beautiful Monday I hope your week will be peace filled and trouble free. So many people that I am speaking to are really feeling the 'crunch' as this year heads to a close and the pressures and deadlines keep coming. It is always such a busy time of the year with extra commitments and things that need doing so I would like to just take a minute to encourage you to try and not allow yourself to get so caught up in what's going on that you end up a frazzled mess by Christmas. I know it isn't easy but first off when things get hectic try and teach yourself to breathe, in and out slowly and just concentrate on YOURSELF for a few seconds, make lists for everything even if you wake up in the night thinking of things to do, write them down, that way you can tick them off when they are done and give your brain and nerves a rest from trying to remember everything. Take 5 or 10 minutes every day to sit quietly with a cup of tea or coffee, in the bath, in the garden, anywhere and just reflect on all the good in your life and all the times you got through tough times. I saw a meme this week on the Fibro page that read - So far my record for surviving bad days is 100%, I can do this!!!! I truly believe that it applies to each and every one of us.

We had the absolute joy of being able to watch BigBear and BabyBear compete in a Crossfit Battle on Saturday and I can honestly say I have NO clue how they do it. Not even as a child could I do those things. It's not just the lifting of weights but the stamina needed, I humbly salute you both (and all the other competitors) on your dedication and perseverance. We were so proud to be able to be there and share some of it with them and were delighted yesterday to hear that they came 2nd out of twenty five 'Boxes', all in all their Box did extremely well. Congratulations to you all.

After taking us two hours to complete a one hour trip due to the ridiculous traffic and then all the busyness at the Mall and the event we were quite happy to get home to the peace of Betty's Bay haha, it can't be that we are getting old because even Jelly Bean felt the same. We were expecting a noisy night with fireworks on Satursday as there was a group of youngsters visiting just down the road from us and on Friday evening they had been setting off extremely loud crackers (they sounded more like bombs). All fireworks are strictly forbidden at any time in this village because of the various bird and wild life and the dry Fynbos so it was very disturbing to hear it, but someone must have either spoken to them of contacted the home owners because apart from one cracker in the early evening all was quiet and all animals were safe.

Other than that our weekend was quiet and we actually didn't do much work or anything which was very nice for a change, the kitchen table is coming close to being ready to varnish and paint so that will be my next project - the painting part ....... Woohooo. Weather wise it has been 'perfect' not too hot and not too cold, in fact today I thought was going to be hot and dressed accordingly only to change at lunch time because it's cold, I feel so sorry for family and friends who are roasting in the heat up country. With only just under six weeks before Poppet and Princess arrive and seven weeks until Big Guy arrives and we have our Express Christmas, I need to get on with my lists and projects and start ticking things off as I aim to be finished well before the beginning of December.

On that note friends I am going to wish you a wonderful week, don't forget to breathe :) and always stay alert and be safe out there.

A satisfying week

Hi guys how are you all doing on this beautiful Friday? It is such a wonderful feeling to get to Friday and say that this has been a very satisfying week. All my tasks and projects were successfully completed and I'm gearing up for the next bout hehe. We have had the most glorious weather this week with one hot day of 27 C and the rest has been a comfortable 20 - 23 C with the last two days blowing quite a gale, we even had light rain last night which just keeps everything clean and dust free.

As you know my main project this week was to complete my XXX chunky cotton throw and I am happy to report that it is finished and (I think) quite perfect, being pure cotton it isn't too hot although it's fairly heavy. I didn't do it all in one day but took two days (with a rest day in between) and time spent knitting was literally less than a day. There is a photo at the bottom of the Blog. It is very awkward trying to knit with 25 mm needles but I developed a method to deal with them and the weight of the throw and once I got going it was a delight to do. It would appear that the girls in the family all.....want one please Mom hehe. Hubby darling is absolutely gliding through the kitchen table/unit which is quite a piece of furniture, it has a real presence about it and we are not quite sure how we are going to carry it into the house, we might need help, just wait until you see the pics, oh my word it is GORGEOUS!!! This man of mine is super talented and I am so blessed.

I embarked on my 'dog grooming' career this week with some hilarious results. So much for buying the clippers, the blade is too short and the combs get stuck in Sasha's fur, so short of shaving the poor dog completely I resorted to hairdresser style. HAHA. Jelly Bean and I sat on the floor with her and she held Sasha while I snipped away, the result was a huge pile of fur, itchy noses, sore hand (from the scissors) and a Maltese poodle who is sporting the latest style in Doggy-Dom, a somewhat shaggy, fluffy look. She has been quite happy to go outside so can't be too embarrassed to be seen and all in all seems quite happy, my next attempt will either be a better job in the same style or buy the right sized blade for the clippers which costs twice what the clippers cost ???? I'm sure second time around will be easier and look better. Max has been very careful to keep his distance from me as I want to cut his fringe, thankfully his coat doesn't get matted so he is off the hook for now so to speak.

Oh yes and I managed to bake cheese muffins (all gone), rusks (they are not finished) ciabatta bread twice (gone) and yesterday I baked some Biscotti thinking it should keep us going for while, I opened the tin just now and there are only about ten left, good grief - I simply cannot keep up and have decided that today I am on a cooking strike :D. In amongst all this busyness I managed to find an hour on Wednesday afternoon when precious Hubby put my Hammock chair up on the deck and I took a book, a cup of coffee and my throw and lazed out there looking at the sea more than I was reading, how to relax in a heartbeat.

Tomorrow morning we are off to Tygervalley to watch BigBear and BabyBear take part in a Cross Fit competition which I am very excited about, it's been awhile since I've sat on the sidelines to watch one of my kids in action, I have promised that I will not embarrass them so that means hands behind my back and lips firmly sealed hmmmmmmmm I wonder ? This morning on Poppets behalf I priced some dress fabric with a view to making her a couple of dresses while she's here in December, I could not have been more shocked. The pattern she wants is a simple little dress from one of South Africa's biggest clothing stores which cost R300, the similar material I priced this morning was R22. per metre - there is just NO justification for that kind of mark up, so guess what we will be doing soon. ...... Yep lots of sewing.

Friends I have rambled on long enough here and am going to wish you a fantastic weekend, I hope you get to put your feet up and relax at some point and enjoy whatever it is you have planned. As always and until next time please be safe.

My gorgeous throw folded for show
C

Kiko posing on the deck

Ready, steady and we're off

Hi friends the week is off to a busy start and I have a vague feeling that it is only going to get busier for us all as this year draws to a close. We had a wonderful weekend although busy as predicted. On Saturday it was all systems go in the morning as BigBear and BabyBear were coming through and I had decided to do a slightly different lunch from the norm, this house and where we live almost seems to dictate 'different'. Hubby dearest suggested a roast and from there I tapped into my Italian heritage and went with a Mediterranean/Italian type of meal. I took a nice piece of beef stuffed it with garlic and other herbs and then a looooong slow roast during the which time I did a Polenta and Roasted tomato bake and a lovely Ciabatta. When the family arrived we added a great big salad, red wine and lunch went exactly as I'd hoped. We sat around the table talking, catching up, eating and just taking our time. Hubby and BigBear moved all the furniture to play some Carpet Bowls that he bought recently, after that everyone just chilled - it was awesome, so Jhb family that is what awaits you in a few weeks.

Yesterday was one of those typical Sunday's where we bathed the dogs and it seems like from here on out I am going to be the one grooming them, poor things. Sasha had so many tiny little seeds stuck on her legs that Jelly Bean and I sat trimming them and as a result this morning off to Hermanus we all trekked and bought a proper pair of clippers and tomorrow I will add 'dog groomer' to my list of accomplishments, I hope haha. After having bought my extra, extra thick cotton yarn on Friday I spent quite a bit of time over the weekend trying different methods such as arm knitting - it was too 'holey', I taught myself how to hand crochet which is great fun but was too 'knobbly' for what I am looking for, so to that end I now have a pair of knitting needles size 20mm, have started my throw and it is just right. That sounds a little like Goldilocks and the Three Bears hehe but I have a very specific image in my head on how I want this throw to look, I will say this - it's quite interesting to knit with broom stick sized needles and requires some dexterity and energy, so watch this space .......
Our kitchen Farmhouse table is in progress and every time I see it I get more excited! At the moment the frame is completed so from now on it will start looking more and more like a table, my husband is without a doubt a very talented chap.

Oh my word, how could I forget? On Friday night we were sitting watching a show on tv when all of a sudden we heard this very loud Woo woo Woooo outside. Hubby thought it was on the TV and I thought there was someone joking around in the street, needless to say after a couple of calls all three of us were standing in the lounge listening, then dived into the bird books. We had a Spotted Eagle Owl sitting on our roof chatting away to who knows who. He could have been looking through the top windows as the pigeons do, but what an amazing experience to hear. Yesterday I heard something which initially sounded like a small cat, both of our cats were accounted for and we have still not figured out what it was, this is just another one of the reasons why we are so in love with Betty's Bay not to mention that our weather is so mild. As the rest of the country melts under a heat wave of temperatures around 38 C our 'hot' days are 23 C and the evenings are cool, I couldn't ask for more and thank God daily for His Grace and Blessings.

Friends my throw is calling me so I am going to bid you farewell for now with prayers that you have a wonderful week and as always please stay safe and keep well.

The start of my throw, hopefully.


A pile of wood waiting for the craftsman

It's been a busy week.

Greetings folks I trust you are all well and have come through this week victorious. I cannot believe that is already Friday, it feels like Saturday, probably because this week seems to have simply flown past. Actually now that I look back it has been a busy but satisfying week. The grass was mowed by Hubby himself so is looking very smart while I am waging war on the weeds. We started pulling them out of the driveway which is little pebbles and as fast as we pulled they just seem to pop back up until I remembered that a few weeks ago I made up a solution of strong vinegar, boiling water and salt which we used to kill some weeds that had the temerity to try growing on the deck. Happily my natural solution worked like a charm so off to Google to see if it was a legitimate method and I am happy to say it is. Although I did discover that if you are putting it on weeds growing in beds or lawn don't add the salt - it kills everything, which in the driveway's case is just what I want.

I eventually got around to whitewashing the bathroom cupboard and was surprised at how quickly it went and how stunning it looks, we are delighted with the results and have resisted the urge to whitewash everything haha. Yesterday was pretty epic because after much calculation, designing and discussion we went into Somerset West and purchased all the wood for required for our kitchen table. I am so excited I could burst, it is everything I could possibly ask for and is going to be a stunning piece of furniture. Hubby is about to get started on the construction so I will be keeping him supplied with tea and coffee for the next few days. Pics definitely to follow. The Ciabatta Bread eventually got baked and was delicious, one of the things I was testing with it was whether it stays fresh longer than the bread made in our bread machine, which it does so yippee on that.

As I said friends, it's been a busy week and being a sucker for 'punishment' I went out and bought two HUGE balls of pure cotton 'yarn' which I was planning on arm knitting into a throw, hmmmmm it just doesn't seem to look right so I switched direction and will knit the throw on 25 mm thick knitting needles and see how that turns out, apparently it won't take long which is just as well because I am not sure how my hands are going to cope, I might have to type the next Blog with my feet, eeek can you imagine ?

Tomorrow we have our Cape Town family coming for lunch so much preparation taking place and excitement, it is always such a special blessing to spend time with my family and I am counting down the days until we are all together in December even if it is only for one day, the down side of that event is our UK family can't be here but we are hoping for a visit next year with them.

This week our weather has see-sawed from 17 C to 28 C and today back down in the teens with wind and rain, as I look up I can see the fire is in danger for dying so had better get busy resurrecting it quickly. Wishing you an absolutely, wonderful weekend I would just like to thank each one of you for reading this Blog and for your comments and encouragement along the way. Please stay safe and have fun this weekend.



Whitewashed Bathroom Cupboard that Hubby made some years ago



A very unusual rock we came across on 'our' little beach

Unexpected ups and downs

Hi folks, I trust this finds you all rested and ready for the week ahead ? Well after planning a relatively productive weekend mine turned out exactly the opposite, so all planned projects are now on my schedule for this week, Ho hum as my darling Hubby keeps telling me 'we are retired so it doesn't matter when I do it'. First success on Friday was that I made a fire and we actually kept it going for just over 24 hours, quite an event I can tell you. Ever since we bought our fireplace we have only once managed to keep the fire alight overnight. It would appear (we think) that the quality of anthracite we have been getting is not very good as it does not burn down completely. Ever optimistic I made a wood fire and through lots of tending and pampering it lasted until Saturday evening which was glorious. Sharon 1. Fire 0.

Then the event which altered the course of my weekend hehe, late on Friday evening just before bed I was down on the floor looking for a new book to read, when I got up for some reason my one knee gave in and I ended up having a very bad fall, kind of over the coffee table and then over the back of the couch to greet the cement floor mouth first. Not what was needed I can assure you. Hubby leapt to find tissues to stem the bleeding, Jelly Bean exploded out of her room demanding to know what had happened and me feeling very dazed and sorry for myself. Thankfully no lasting or critical damage unless you count my dignity, I bit right through my lip, somehow managed to bend my one finger right back on itself to the point my ring cut me, both knees badly bruised and a increase of bruises still appearing. Quite ridiculous the whole thing when all I did was stand up, anyway that put paid to my weekend plans of whitewashing a cupboard and making a Ciabatta Bread. Three days later and I feel a lot more human if somewhat tender, and tomorrow I hope to paint my cupboard and later in the week will make my bread. In the meantime this clever husband of mine has designed and modeled our new kitchen table and it looks AWESOME, can't wait for it to be finished.


Even though we have lived here for three months (it feels like forever) every day we discover new things to see, I am still searching for the small cove where shells are reported to be found and in so doing discovered a whole hoard of beach access roads and areas we did not know about, never mind all the coffee shops and restaurants that remain untested and so explorations continue. This is one of the amazing things about living here, the fact that every single day is beautiful in different ways, there is no such thing as mundane and boring. The very first thing I do in the mornings when I walk through is to look at the sea and just give thanks to God for putting us here.


Friends I am going to keep this short because I want to add a fantastic recipe for Ciabatta Bread which is easy and delicious. I pray that each one of you has a truly blessed week, even if you have to turn those lemons into lemonade just stay positive and in charge - it is YOUR destiny. Please be safe in all your goings out and coming ins.

CIABATTA BREAD

500 gm Flour (I use cake flour)
500 ml Water
1 pkt Instant Yeast (10gm)
2 tsp Salt

Preheat oven to 220 c

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix with a K Beater for 10 - 12 mins on a fast setting until the dough forms a ball.
Cover with cling wrap and leave for about 30mins or until it doubles in size.
Gently tip the dough onto a floured surface and shape.
Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

This bread is really delicious and as you see can be made quickly if you have guests or just feel like a treat.


Last night just before 7pm a few clouds just hanging around


My beautiful Kiko, just look at that tail

I am SO glad it is Friday.

Greetings folks I am not sure about you but I am extremely glad it is Friday and that this week is now history. I don't often say that but whoop whoop it is finally weekend. We have had a week of extreme highs and lows and as usual God always, always comes through as King. I am sure that a lot of you are feeling very similar, it's that time of the year where everyone is trying to get through the last stretch before December, people are tired and the increase in end of year social engagements adds extra pressure. Thankfully we don't have to deal with that side of things but I know how difficult it is.

This week was Poppet's usual six month check up and for some reason we all tend to get a little tense as the time gets closer. She has been having really bad headaches for awhile so when she saw the Doctor she mentioned it which then led to a whole batch of extra precautionary tests one of which was a brain CT scan. With much prayer and great dignity and braveness on her part she did all the tests and when the results came back she opened them and read all the medical jargon which probably wasn't a good idea lol. After an extremely tense 24 hours, when her doctor eventually got back to her it turned out that she has a chronic sinusitis infection which caused the change on her blood tests and was also the reason for the headaches and what showed up on the CT scan. I am really over simplifying here because the details are long and involved but the result is, she is GREAT, she is clean and God is always faithful. Apart from increasing exercise, calcium, magnesium amd dealing with the Sinusitis everything is good. Thank you Lord.

We this week embarked on another 'exploration' as Hubby had some business to do in Paarl which is quite a way from where we are and none of us had ever been there. We left home with the temperature at about 19 C and while he was busy Jelly Bean and I went and had coffee and looked around a little only because it was SO hot. While we were waiting for him in the car the temperature was 39 C (yes I know it's always a bit higher in a stationary vehicle but really?) It just reminded me yet again why we moved to Betty's Bay, I literally could not wait to get home to the sea breeze and air. We decided to come back through Franschoek and over the Franschoek Pass then around the back way as such, stopping off in Franschoek for lunch which turned out to be a delightful stop. It is a very pretty little town nestled in the mountains and has retained most of its quaintness. Going through the Pass was really spectacular although by the time we got through the mountains all I wanted was to get home and have a cup of tea. We eventually arrived home at about 5.30 pm to the wonderful, wonderful temperature of 18 C - sheer bliss. Yesterday was a gorgeous clear sunny day and went up to about 25 C but the bonus here is the wind that comes off the sea which is cool. Today we woke up and it's overcast and about 19 C Yaaaaaaayyy.

We've had fun and games with the dogs - what's new? There is about 40cm space around two sides of the garage to the fence, which we blocked off as soon as we moved. At the very back of the garage there are two bricks missing (probably as a damp avoidance measure) anyway, some small creature must have moved into the space and our two nut jobs could smell whatever it is through the small air vents at the bottom of the wall. They nearly drove us completely insane, barking until almost hoarse, keeping their noses glued to the air vents, whining, whimpering and carrying on. Eventually after trying everything to shut them up we brought them indoors and next morning when let out they were right back at the wall with Max trying to climb the small piece of fence which Hubby dearest had quickly extended. Then detecting a change in the barking we went out to find that Max had forced his way through on the other side (where he had also tried chewing the cable ties that were holding a beam, and was now firmly routed in front of the missing brick and getting hysterical. After much ado we got him out and since then all has been quiet, they still sniff and sit looking expectant but no more hysterics as yet. I declare they are a handful at the moment whilst the cats seem to have had their fill of the outdoors and prefer to spend most of their time in the house which I am delighted about.

I don't know what you are planning for the weekend but on my list is some further exploration of a small cove I saw on Google Earth at the other end of Betty's Bay as well as, I want to do some preparation and research on a small quilt I want to make which should keep me out of trouble, Hubby dearest has a lot of work on the computer which came in this week so we shall both be busy and have a quietish weekend. For those of you that are up country and are experiencing the extremely heavy rain and hail storms, enjoy but do please be careful on the roads wherever you go.
Enjoy your weekend friends and always stay safe please.

Fun times and heart warming visits.

It is a gorgeous Monday just because we are at the start of a brand new week where we can write our own history. Hi all I hope this Blog finds you well and ready for the week ahead. Well our week kind of started with a bit of a burst haha, but firstly our weekend was a home 'work' weekend. As I am anxiously waiting for my darling Hubby to build my kitchen table and other furniture, yes I do admit to mentioning it every now and then, he needed to bring some kind of order to his garage or up until now the dumping ground. Since we moved in all the excess boxes and bags etc were stored there, being the incredibly clever man that he is he made a suspended platform on Saturday and then yesterday we relabeled and listed all the boxe and bags and packed them up on the platform in order of what is most likely to be needed first. The result is he now has a BIG workspace with a table, his little office and all his tools etc have been put where he needs them and now he can soon start on the furniture. Whoop whoop pictures will definitely follow.

This morning we needed to go to Pringle Bay for a few things and so off we set, but it turned out to be a little more complicated than just get in the car and go. Whilst trying to open the gate and remove a stone which had found its way onto the rail Max and Sasha snuck out behind my back and took off down the road at a speed, ears flapping in the wind which I am now positive is all those ears are good for. The louder I called the faster they ran so we followed in the car, by now having lost sight of them altogether we went literally in every direction possible until eventually we found Sasha coming from the opposite direction they had run in, she was quite happy to get back into the yard so one down and one to go. By now Jelly Bean was also involved in trying to control both cats who had come to see what the fuss was about and now Sasha, off we went again this time heading for the main tarred road where lo and behold about a hundred meters up the road (also in the opposite direction) we see Max casually running down the middle of the road as if it belonged to him, not a road sense brain particle in his head I tell you. Without much fuss we got him into the car while avoiding the other traffic, got home and as I opened the door to get him out he jumped right out of the car and took off again down the road. I was absolutely dumbstruck and the more I called and whistled the faster he ran, Hubby called him and he slowly turned and debated returning which he eventually did and was soundly placed back in the yard. By now we were 20 minutes late and totally frazzled, I have no understanding or explanation for how that dogs mind, or ears, work.

The occasion that we needed to go to the shops was we had very dear friends coming to visit for tea and needed something yummy to serve with it. We haven't seen each other for 8 years and oh how their visit blessed and energized me, a true friendship is when you don't see each other for a long time and yet pick up as if you were together the day before. We go back about 26 years and it was just amazing to spend time catching up, reminiscing, chatting and being together thank you SO much for the visit and laughs and tips. As I write this today weather wise we have gone from sunshine and all doors and windows open to a bit of a south easter blowing and cloud and mist covering the mountains behind us, I am hoping we can light a fire this evening as I'm going to be very lazy and am making savory mince (ground beef) on beautiful fresh Panini rolls which when I saw them this morning just called out their role in our supper. Cats and dogs are all sleeping, Hubby dearest is working in his man cave aka garage and the only sound is the waves, the wind and the clock ticking, more peaceful you cannot get.

Friends I wish you an amazing week and may you take every opportunity to shapenit and not allow it to shape you, overcome every challenge that arises with grace and integrity and in so doing encourage those you come in contact with. Please be safe and enjoy every moment with loved ones and friends.

Last night's exquisite full moon rising
No filters or editing used just my trusty Cannon camera.

Life is always going to change.

Greetings friends on this Friday afternoon, I hope today's Blog finds everyone well. I don't know about each of you but in our house this has been a very quiet week, partly due to our Princess not being here and partly because for me it's been a week of recovery. Apart from a few challenges we have pretty much stayed under the radar. What challenges you may ask? How does a mobile phone charge to 65% and then suddenly stop charging due to the charging dock breaking, during the night when no one touched it ? Yep my Samsung is not well and I am waiting for the repair company to get the necessary part. Then out of nowhere Gemma has developed four balding patches on the back of her neck, being made bigger by her licking them, we went to the Vet this morning thinking it was a food allergy because being unable to get her normal food we bought a different one but the same brand. According to the Vet it can't possibly be food so we have to take her in a little later this afternoon for him to see, joy of joys, she is not a small cat who likes to travel - exactly the opposite.

Weather wise it has been cold with us making a fire almost every evening, today being the first day where the wind is not howling and there is some sun peeping through the clouds. On the brighter side of the scale Poppet and Princess have booked their flights for December, as has Big Guy, so now the planning can begin. Christmas is always an extremely special time of the year for me in every sense and this year promises to be a memorable one. I don't know about most of you but we as a family have decided to go 'less expensive' and more personal this year so woohoo it is time to get cracking. One of the first things on my agenda is to make everyone their own Christmas stocking to hang on our beautiful fireplace. I did manage to make the Lace Cover Up that I spoke about before and all in all am very happy with the way it turned out (at a quarter of the price in the shops) and also baked a huge batch of rusks, which were much easier than last time and means the cookie jar is full and Hubby dearest is quite happy. We did have a really good laugh at Max yesterday, he and Sasha were frantically barking at something on the other side of the fence in the fynbos and he got so worked up that he actually climbed up the mesh fence. Literally he climbed close to about four feet in height of the fence before falling back to the ground and eventually giving up. He definitely forgets that he is just a mere, little Yorkie.

I read something this week which really stuck with me. I was reading a Blog that I follow written by a lady who Blogs about Fibromyalgia. In this week's page she writes about what one experiences when dealing with a Fibro Flare but I truly believe it applies to each one of us in varying circumstances so please see it from where you are or may be coming from. She said "when you are struggling to get through a flare (or any challenging czzircumstance) don't allow yourself to get stuck thinking that this is all that your life is going to be. It really struck a chord for me because when you are so sore that you don't know where to sit then it is easy to think along those lines and get discouraged, but, as I reread her words it occurred to me that whenever we find ourselves in difficult circumstances of any nature it is very easy to think that's all it's ever going to be like. If we would just stop for a moment and look back in our lives there have been innumerable occasions when the circumstances inevitably change and life became normal again. It may not go back to what was normal exactly as it was before, but it does go back to a 'new' normal. I know I have said this before and it is easier for some than others, that we always try and look at the glass half full instead of half empty. Nothing in life stays the same, there are ups and downs and whilst the ups are glorious we learn the most during the downs. Just like the waves of the ocean go out - so they always come back, the wind blows and then it does not blow. Today I really just want to encourage any of you who are in a dip due to whatever circumstance, don't allow yourself to believe you will stay there forever, there is a flip side to that circumstance and you will get there too.

Friends I wish you a beautiful weekend, for those who are traveling please be safe and aware, for those young people who are studying for exams good luck, and to all keep well and in whatever you do be safe.

Lace Cover Up

Giving thanks in every situation.

Sending breezy greetings to you all from Betty's Bay while trying to adjust to a quieter house and schedule. We had a super quiet weekend after dropping Princess at the airport on Saturday morning at the fresh, early hour of 6 am. This necessitated everyone being up just after 4 o'clock and a very silent drive into town, due mainly to the fact that we were sad to be parting and also still busy waking up. What a wonderful week we had with our Princess which has left us even more excited about having all the Johannesburg family here in December, and how much we are all missing her bubbly, happy, busy little personality. It actually felt as if the whole of Betty's Bay decided to stay indoors and hibernate through the weekend, hardly a soul to be seen or a sound to be heard.

I will admit that we did practically nothing this weekend which for us is quite an achievement, after we got home I actually fell asleep for more than two hours which is unheard of, unfortunately I am in the middle of a really bad 'Fibro flare' and with Hubby dearest having a sore knee we were extremely lazy. This morning we tootled off to see a Doctor about it and he says nothing serious, gave him some medication and expects it to clear quickly and was brought on by all the bending up and down whilst fixing the fence to keep Max in.

I am on another 'mission' so to speak, our neighbours are extending their house and have chopped down a really big, bushy tree/hedge which has left us exposed to the wind on the driveway side as well as staring at their soon to be garage wall. To anyone who knows me they will know that I have a 'thing' about trees being cut down and bare walls. So I turned to my good friend Google and am looking for fast growing shrub/hedges/trees to plant on that side of the yard. Obviously they will need to be sturdy enough to stand up to the wind we get from that side. I phoned the Botanical Gardens which just up the road and discovered that they have plant sales there daily as well as being able to advise us accordingly. So guess what we will be doing in the near future? Yep, we will be adding to our garden and privacy.

I am also going to have to find a Cel Phone repair place as soon as possible after discovering yesterday that for some unknown reason my phone stopped charging and on investigation we found that there is some tiny little piece in the charging port that is broken off. This is a mystery because when I plugged it in on Saturday evening the battery was flat, it charged to 68% and then just stopped even though it remained plugged in, grrrrrr most annoying to say the least.
I am also planning to bake more rusks (it's hard to believe, but yes they are finished), do some sewing and other projects that are waiting to be tried out, one in particular I want to make is Peppermint Thin sweets, I had them many years ago and they were delicious. Anything peppermint is a favourite of mine so it will be a case or trying until I get it right haha.

Every day as I look out of the windows or stand on the deck I am so grateful and in awe of the beautiful home and village that God has put us in. It is so easy for us to take life for granted or as our 'due' that we very often forget to give thanks or show appreciation for the small things. With all the negativity we are bombarded with on Social Media and the news, the blessings we do have can seem to go by unmentioned. Having a home to live in, people who love you, food on the table, the ability to earn a living, even just the ability to walk on our own and go about our daily tasks are reminders to me of God's infinite goodness and blessing toward us.

As we go into this new week friends lets 'pay it forward' to those we come into contact with, a smile, a word of encouragement or praise, a prayer of thanks for what we do have. Have an awesome week and always stay safe and well.

Beaches, projects and fun.

I cannot believe it is Friday already, this week has absolutely flown past. We have had a very busy week with our little Princess, we have been shell collecting, beach walking, boogie boarding (she was in this cold water for more than an hour BRRR), coloring, a secret project which her Mommy doesn't know about and so much more. We had a visit with some of the Cape Town family which was wonderful as we hadn't seen them in a year, gosh and the list goes on. I am so very proud of this young lady and her Mom (Poppet), she is a credit to you my beautiful daughter well done on raising a confident, capable, bubbly, well mannered daughter. We are a little disappointed that there were some things we just did not get to due to time constraints and also the weather but this is just the start of many holidays for all the family.

We also celebrated my darling Hubby's 67th Birthday on Wednesday by having a relatively quiet/normal day, Princess baked Grandpa a perfect Vanilla Sponge cake which she iced with blue frosting and in the evening we met with BigBear and BabyBear at a gorgeous restaurant right on the beachfront in the Strand where we ate a delicious dinner, a truly special evening. Once again we really missed those who couldn't be here which makes us look forward to the December holidays even more.

This part of the country is an enigma when it comes to the weather, this morning we lit a fire because it was so cold, it then poured with rain and the wind blew and right now the sun is blazing down. The one event I am not particularly delighted about was last night as we went to bed Princess called us into the lounge to say there was a scorpion on the floor............. what on earth??? and as true as I sit here there was a small scorpion scuttling along through the lounge, it did not go on to live a long life!!! On the animal front all of ours are happy and well, staying where they are supposed to and just generaly enjoying life.

Tomorrow sadly we have to send our precious visitor back to her Mom, her flight leaves REALLY early in the morning so we shall be rising at about 4 am in order to get her to the airport in time. All I can think of is how very quiet this house is going to be but I also know how much she and her mom have missed each other, and she is going back to celebrate Mom's birthday and give her all her prezzies.

As life become a little more normal I realize that Christmas is not very far off and unless I get my list going it's going to sneak up on me. A little more planning will now be required as there are new factors to take into consideration such as the distance to shops, airline weight limits etc, which collectively add up to making sure I have a plan, make lists and stick to them. The one thing I definitely want to do is make Christmas stockings for every member of the family to hang on our beautiful fireplace, so red material is now on the list. How far are you with your Christmas planning friends ?

Well folks we are planning a very quiet weekend and whatever you have planned I trust you will have a fantastic time, enjoy your 'downtime' and I really hope that you get to rest a bit and recharge your batteries. Wherever you go and whatever you are doing please be safe and try to someone a compliment or tell them how much you appreciate them.

This morning on the beach I saw this exquisite blue sea anemone in a rock pool.


Princess examining shells

Visits, memories and victories

It's a new month, a new week and in South Africa it is school holidays which means our quiet little town just got a whole lot busier. Thankfully we are not overrun with visitors but there is definitely an increase in people who I am sure are delighted with the perfect weather Betty's Bay has delivered today. Our little Princess arrived yesterday and I was absolutely stunned to see how much she has grown in the two months since we've been here. Good grief she has overtaken Jelly Bean and BabyBear and fast on her way to overtaking me, where oh where has the time gone ? What a blessing it is to have her with us for the week, so far today we have been into Kleinmond, then stopped at 'our' Shell beach where we all meandered around finding treasures and now Grandpa has taken her off to the main beach to go Boogy boarding, I am waiting to hear how long that lasted with the cold water hehe, I think she is in for a shock. I begged off this little excursion in order to recharge my batteries a bit which frustrates me beyond words, just the fact that I have to miss out on anything makes me GRRR.

Well friends what can I say it is always busy for some reason. We have now reached the point on Hubby's long list where all the small indoor 'changes/chores' are done and from here we move to the exciting stuff, like building the kitchen farmhouse table unit, tea station, bookshelves etc wooohooo. So far and I say this with thumbs crossed, Max has not found a way through or over the fence and that is not for a lack of trying so we hope we can finally tick that off the list. Although this morning he and Sasha found a way around the back of the garage, which is blocked off, and smelt something in the air vent holes in the brick wall which has kept them obsessed ever since to the degree that there is a wet patch on the bricks from where they have been sniffing, I just shake my head in bewilderment. As a bit of a report back I can say that a Bicarbonate/baking Soda paste has removed whatever little ticks were bothering Kiko as well as healing the sore spots (from scratching), I did however buy her a tick collar as well - it's war on ticks and fleas in the house. Then another good report back is my attack on the mold in the shower, first of all I blasted it with high pressure steam then I made up a mixture of 1/3 vinegar and 2/3 water in a spray bottle and I keep spraying that on. Apart from a slightly vinegary smell it is working like a charm and most of the mold is gone and the stubborn areas are diminishing daily, apart from the success it is cheap and has no chemicals so a double win.

As I sit and type this there is not a breath of air, the sea is the most glorious colour, birds are chirping, my dogs are barking at something (of course) and I can hear the waves breaking in the rocks in front of us - I am indeed blessed beyond measure. It is Poppet's birthday today so I got to speak to her early this morning and a couple of times since then, it is Hubby's birthday on Wednesday which means we will meet up with BigBear and BabyBear for dinner in the evening, that way they will also get to spend some time with Princess. I got a phone call from my handsome firstborn - Bug Guy which was awesome, I miss the Jhb and UK family so much, in an ideal perfect world we could all live in the same city at the same time. Tomorrow we have my darling Hubby's son, my step-son, and family coming for a visit which will be wonderful as we haven't seen them for absolutely ages and in between all this we are going to try and make the most of the good weather for every day that we have it, being the Cape it could be doing exactly the opposite in 24 hours.

As I end off for today friends I would like to encourage you to appreciate and make the most of every moment you have with your loved ones, let them know how much you love and appreciate them, be kind to yourself, I hope this week treats you well, and always, always please be safe.

Betty's Bay this morning

Conquering battles one by one.

Whew my head is so busy that it makes me tired. Good afternoon all, I trust this finds you all well and looking forward to the weekend and everything that comes with it. I feel like I am on the 'warpath' on a couple of fronts, the first being my darling cats and TICKS aaargghhhh. About ten days ago I dosed all the animals and naively thought that was the end of it, how wrong can one be? There are literally dozens of these infernal little pests which, I will admit are mostly dead, but there are still many teeny tiny little ones every time I look, the entire situation is not being helped by the fact that Kiko and Gemma love being outside and are quite vocal when they are kept in. Just now I spent quite a bit of time on the internet looking for safe home remedies to use in conjunction with the drops we've already used and have a couple I am going to try, but if anyone has any suggestions please let me know. Whilst on the subject of Kiko, I don't know if I mentioned that she lost her collar more than a week ago. We looked everywhere and even asked the builders next door to keep a look out, then kind of stopped expecting to find it. Well this week one of the chaps next door called Hubby darling and holding up the collar asked if it was ours, he had been for a walk and saw it on the side of the road in the bushes....... who would have guessed ?

My other 'battlefront' is mould which I am seeing much quicker results in winning. I think due to the constantly damp weather etc, I noticed that our shower was busy with a 'science project' all of its own. Always the optimist I quickly found my new high power steamer (which I bought just before we moved) and after some initial frustration due to the fact that it has an international plug, I got it steaming away and climbed into said shower and got busy. It is having the desired effect I am delighted to say and the mould is going and gone. Wooohooo. Hubby dearest is busy with his personal battlefield which is working on keeping Max in the yard, that dog is untiring in his efforts to get out. We have raised the fence four times now, this last time being with chicken wire above the initial plastic mesh....... and each time we've said "well that should keep him in" only to be proved wrong so here's hoping we can put this one to bed now as well.

Only two more sleeps until our little Princess arrives which is so exciting, I keep thinking of things she needs to bring with and between the two of us there has been a fair amount of scheming because Mommy's birthday is on Monday and Grandpa is on Wednesday, there are a number of secrets floating around I can assure you hehe. I can't wait to see her, it feels like forever and I am sure she has grown inches since we left. Apart from all that, this morning I got a bee in my bonnet about making a crocheted summer cover up, similar to a cardigan but a much more open stitch. After having priced them in the shops I decided I would try and make one and went into the haberdashery shop this morning to price cotton etc, imagine my delight when I discovered that they sell crochet lace, ready made by the metre. I can make it for about a quarter of the price of the shop ones so guess where I am going tomorrow morning ? Yep, right back to the store to get my lace, if it turns out well I will post a photo in due course.

The Hermanus Whale Festival started today which is apparently quite a huge event taking place over the next few days. I am told it draws over 100 000 people so being the crazy people we are, tomorrow morning will find us on our way to Hermanus to the Festival as my dear Hubby wants to see the vintage car show and then we will meander a bit, hopefully we might even spot a whale. On that note folks, I am going to bid you goodbye and wish you a magnificent weekend doing what makes you happy and always friends please be safe wherever you go.

Blowing our way into the week

Well our week started with a blast today in the sense that the wind started blowing, and I do mean blowing a gale, definitely not beach weather. After having fought my way to the washing line and wrestling the washing to hang it up, about an hour later found me doggedly plodding back out to rescue it all. I was quite expecting to find half the garments missing and on their way to Pringle Bay, it was like trying to calm down ten hyperactive, irate octopuses just trying to get everything unraveled and off the line. As we say in South Africa .... EISHH. Well folks I hope you all had a good weekend and for those readers in South Africa that you enjoyed Heritage Day.

As predicted our weekend was a very busy but thoroughly enjoyable. On Saturday we had to collect something in Stellenbosch so decided to kind of make a day of it. We did all the necessary and then went off in search of a little restaurant we had read about called Basic Bistro. For those who don't know Stellenbosch it is a very busy small town which centers around the wine farms, University and Schools, it is also one of the only towns in SA that has not modernized with tall buildings, lots of glass and open space. Stellenbosch has managed to stay true to its heritage and kept the narrow tree lined streets, traditional architecture and generally olde world quaintness. There are so many eating establishments there that it is hard to choose but I digress, we found our little Bistro and being a cold and wet day opted for indoor seating. Basic Bistro is a tiny little place which is literally jam packed with tables and atmosphere, I take my hat off to the waitron staff being able to negotiate their way in and out so well. After a truly lovely, well priced meal we then meandered back to Strand and spent the afternoon with friends of ours arriving home in the early evening. Yesterday we had BigBear and BabyBear come over for lunch which was super and we all said that it still feels strange that they can just pop in for a meal because we actually live close, it was just what I needed to see some of the family, yes I admit I miss them all like crazy. If it wasn't for our Family chat group I would feel totally lost. Once we get going on that it just escalates. The other day Hubby came in from working and looked at his phone, the look of shock on his face as he said "38 messages? What on earth have I missed?" The extra nice thing about it is that Miss Muffet in the UK gets to join in and be part of the whole family dynamic. One of the boys told me awhile back that when he is extremely busy and looks down seeing 30+ messages, he quickly scans to see if there are smiley faces and no drama and will then read at a later stage haha.

Speaking of 'drama' we had a mild dose on Saturday which thankfully was resolved quickly. Princess had gone to a sleepover on Friday night, something she very seldom does and they planned on going ice skating in the afternoon. Apparently the arrangement was the hosting parent would take and fetch to ice skating between a certain time. When we got home in the early evening Poppet phoned me sounding extremely stressed, She had been waiting for two hours to fetch our Princess and could not reach any of the kids or the parent on the phone. She had been to the house and waited and eventually went back and spoke to the eldest son to get him to raise his parent on the phone. Next thing she gets a call from said parent to say they are at the ice rink and can't find the girls..............hmmmm we did some really quick and urgent praying at the same time taking captive the immediate thoughts that jump into ones head. About ten minutes later Poppet got another call to say the girls were on the way they had been at the rink the entire time, Princess's phone had run out of data and the other parent had for some reason fetched them two hours late (let me not 'g o there'). Great relief but you can rest assured new boundaries were in place immediately together with new rules. Jelly Bean walked into the lounge when we got the call to say that they were safe and looked at me and said "Gee this parenting thing is hard." I burst out laughing and immediately said "you should try having FOUR". Hahaha parenting it definitely not for sissies at any age, I sometimes think that the older they get the more you 'worry' about them which results in much prayer.

Yesterday we set the date for our family 'Express Christmas' which means we have a small Christmas get together on the years when not everybody can be in the same place on Christmas Day. This results in those who will be 'away' on the day get to open all their presents from everybody and the rest of us open one present each. Apart from the family time it also means we all get two Christmasses. Wooohooo now we can start planning and if I am not mistaken it will be the first time this year that we will all be in the same house at the same time - can't wait.

Friends that is all the goings on at this particular point in my Life's journey, I trust and pray that you all have a week filled with good health, peace, creativity, wisdom, love and lots of laughter. Be safe as you journey through the week and until next time Ciao ciao.

The beautiful view on our way home Saturday afternoon.