The biggest storm in 30 years.

Good morning all from a cold and really windy Betty's Bay, I trust you have all had a good week? Ours has been pretty much centred around the weather in every way, on Tuesday night the wind came up as the cold front moved into the Western Cape and boy oh boy has it been blowing. Wednesday there were winds in excess of 90 kmph here in BB and a fair bit of rain, Cape Town and all along the Atlantic Seaboard seemed to get the worst of the storm in the sense that they had massive storm surges with the waves breaking over and completely flooding adjacent roads. There have been some amazing pictures and videos taken and I have to really give credit to the Western Cape government for the way they handled the entire situation, we were kept up to date on traffic, closed areas and the situation in general, schools and many businesses were closed and people were advised to stay off the roads. Where we are there were no major wave surges just the incredibly high winds and blessed rain. Strand beach, where I have taken and posted many photos, was also flooded right across the road. I fully expected that the coast road we use would be closed due to rock falls etc and thankfully it was kept open (not that we used it on Wednesday), we were kept advised of where rocks had fallen and by Thursday morning at 7 am when we took Jelly Bean to work the clean up crews were already working on the road and in all the other areas.
Our house was absolutely fine thanks to my very talented Hubby, we had no leaks or any damage whatsoever and spent the day in front of the fire listening to the wind, it was hectic. On Thursday while waiting for Jelly Bean to finish a driving lesson we took a drive to the beach road in Kleinmond and I spent ages getting some fabulous shots of very high waves as well as getting wet from all the spray, it was great fun. Since then winter has definitely, at last arrived and it is cold, colder than is usual for the Cape, there is visible snow on the mountains behind Somerset West / Strand and the wind is still howling, we are currently having gusts up to about 65 kmph with intermittent rain - I decided that washing was a no go today it might have ended up in Pringle Bay haha so, a roasted butternut and sweet potato soup for supper with some fresh warm artisan bread. At the same time as all this has been taking place, further up the East Coast along the Garden Route there have been the biggest fires in 150 years, the loss of homes and properties is absolutely enormous, sadly 7 people lost their lives in the fires, but the true spirit of South Africans has come to the fore. Help and aid have come in for the fire victims from every corner of this country in absolutely mind blowing amounts. South Aficans came together in every possible way and have worked tirelessly around the clock fighting the fires, helping with clothes, food, pet supplies, medical supplies, transporting goods, sending in teams etc. It shows that this country does have a heart and is not as divided as the politicians try and make it. People care and do help, thank You Lord that we haven't lost that ability and for the countless miracles that have and are taking place in all these areas.

After ALL that news today is a very special day in our family, Princess turns 14, I can hardly believe that the years have gone so fast. She is such a blessing to anyone she comes in contact with, she has such a soft heart especially for animals, and has grown into an elegant young lady, seemingly overnight. I must give praise where praise is due, her Mom, Poppet has done an incredible job in raising Princess through some of the most difficult times a person can go through and She has done an amazing job, well done to both of you for the beautiful ladies you are. I so wish we could have been there with them to celebrate today but as Princess said to me this morning "just wait til Christmas Granny, then we are going to have so much fun", we are also going to Skype later so really looking forward to that. Happy Birthday sweetheart.

Folks as my precious Hubby has just brought me a cup of tea, he makes THE best tea, I am going to end off for today. Sending you prayers for your safety and wishing you a fabulous week. Stay safe friends and make the most of every day you have with your loved ones.

Some pics from the day after the storm taken in Kleinmond.