A bit of this and that

Hi folks from a sunny Betty's Bay, what a gorgeous day we are having, no wind, hardly any clouds and the sun isn't too hot. This morning for the first time we sat out on the deck and had our morning coffee and breakfast listening to the birds and watching the ocean - absolute paradise. So much for the 'wild weather' that was predicted, apart from some heavy rain on Friday it was a very mild weekend and we enjoyed it accordingly, in other words a chilled quiet weekend. On Saturday morning we went into Somerset West and bought a 'much talked about, long dreamed of' anthracite heater and Hubby dearest spent most of the weekend busy converting the fireplace and is now finishing off the installation, so the cold weather can come back whenever it wants we are ready. A little bit of feedback as promised, I am delighted to tell you that the rusks turned out perfectly and the family has given it the thumbs up to being 'our' rusk recipe as long as I don't change it. If anyone would like the recipe please let me know and I will happily pass it on or print it here on the Blog, one rusk and a cup of tea is breakfast nom nom.

One of the things we've discovered with all the handyman work taking place is that Kiko's new favourite toy is Hubby's retractable metal tape measure. She has had us in stitches with the way she jumps around trying to catch it but where it comes in most handy is when she is outside and we can't see her, which is often because she loves being outdoors and exploring, so this morning I took the tape measure and pulled it out a bit and shook it around, well the result was almost instantaneous. She was in the next door yard and literally flew up the tree and jumped over the fence to get to the 'toy' so now when I need to get her inside we shake the tape measure, and she comes running from wherever she has been. Happily Gemma does not seem too interested in exploring and stays close to the house, maybe she is getting old hehe, we will not go down the 'houdini' path as he is still finding ways of climbing the fence.

Friends there is something on my heart that I would like to share with you. As a result of my 'Fibro Pain Relief Remedy' that I put up on Friday I had a phone call from one of my oldest friends who knows of someone who has Fribromyalgia, and she was asking me some questions about the condition and how it affects those who have it. I do not profess in ANY way to be an expert on it or the treatment of Fibro, I can only share how it affects me and what I do to relieve the symptoms. Fibromyalgia is a very misunderstood condition and if often called a 'hidden disease', I was very blessed in that my local GP who first diagnosed me was a very good diagnostician and clued up on the condition and the symptoms. When he passed away last December I was able to find a Specialist Doctor who is just as well informed and understanding in treating it, I know that for many people this is not the case and they get bounced from one medical practioner to another. Fibro has many different symptoms the most debilitating being pain, sleeplessness, fatigue and fibro fog. That is the shortest list to give you and the reason I am posting this today is for those of you who may have Fibromyalgia or know someone who does, it would help you immensely if you could have some understanding of what they go through on a daily basis, and the guilt they feel when unable to do even mundane things. I am not going to go into all the explanations but if you are interested to learn more about how to support someone who has Fibro please go and have a look at the 'The Fibromyalgia Letter', it can be found on Google, Facebook and Pinterest. This is not a medical breakdown of the condition and I know some of you may be saying why don't I pray, let me assure you I trust God daily for healing in my body and as I said in Friday's Blog I refuse to allow this or any other condition to take over and rule my life. Yes there are days when just getting out of bed takes all the energy I have, but for me, if I give in there then I have lost the battle. I am learning to pace myself and when I need it, to take a day of rest. I have the things that work for me ie. Heating pad, hot bath, big soft fluffy heated blanket, strong painkillers etc. It is very much a case of finding what works for what symptoms and then doing it.

Our excitement levels are rising as the clock ticks down to Princess arriving for her week of holiday with us, it is now just under two weeks so much planning and preparing going on, maybe we will make rusks together. I am sure that in the two months we haven't seen her she has grown up so much, it will also be a week of two more family birthdays and on that note folks I wish you a wonderful week in every way and until next time keep safe and well.

Buttermilk Muesli Rusks.