Be kind, it is infectious.

Good morning friends, I hope this finds you all well and coping with the run up to Christmas and the years end?  I am sure that this past week has been fairly hectic for everybody with all the preparations and planning that seem to take place as we head towards the end of 2017.   Our week was busy, but good busy, if that makes sense. Jelly Bean had every alternate day off which was greatly needed and appreciated by both of us and I actually managed to catch up on my baking and household chores that have been sadly neglected,Nineveh managed to make Dragon Drizzle.  This week in contrast is going to be very busy with her working every day, Hubby dearest needing to see the Specialist for a check up, and so the list goes on.

Little Princess has finished writing her exams and is almost officially finished with Primary School and moving on to  High School in January which is going to be a very big change for her, but one I have no doubt she will tackle head on and excel in.   My precious Hubby is recovering well and every day sees less pain and discomfort in his shoulder, he has found that wearing the sling strapped to his body is far more comfortable than just wearing the sling.  Two weeks down and four to go.  I have been quite challenged, pain wise so find myself taking every opportunity I can find to rest, even if it is just 10 minutes.  As for the rest of the family, they are all very busy with year end deadlines and what Big Guy calls the 'silly season', - he definitely sees much more of that with all the Christmas parties and company year end parties than the rest of us, thankfully :) 

As far as my timetable of 'to do' things, I am about 80% finished and am actively watching our count down clock to when the girls arrive - two weeks and four days woohooo, I cannot wait to see them.  Last week BigBear came through for the evening and we had a lovely family favourite for dinner (Moms Mac and Russians) and some good catch up time together, I truly cherish every second I have with the family and will snatch those moments whenever and wherever I can as I am sure most of you do with your families.  What happened to the time when families all lived in the same city and Sunday lunches were the norm????

Max and Sasha are currently staggering along the garden as there is a very strong South Easter blowing, inbetween standing firm they spend half of their time with their noses glued to the fence trying to spot the tortoise which has taken up residence next door.  When they do see him then they go berserk, actually biting the fence to try and reach him, as our neighbour said yesterday, at least they know where the tortoise is because our dogs make such a mission of keeping him in sight.  Jasper has been a very lazy cat, except for when he loses his favourite toy, still that ragged piece of paper.  When that happens he prowls around looking under the sofas and then looking at me, as much to say, please find it mom, when I do find it there is usually a very energetic time of play, stalk and catch until he scoots it under the chairs again, and so that cycle continues.  As for Gemma, she just does her own thing and can be found either on Jelly Bean's bed or snuggled down in the Fynbos somewhere becoming one with nature.  I came perilously close last week to 'fostering' two little kittens that our local Animal Shelter advertised, they are siblings and were both born with deformed front legs.  It nearly drove me crazy worrying about them until I went in to ask and found out they had been adopted out together to the same home and were leaving the following day.  I'm not sure what I would have done but I could not leave them there to be ignored or worse. So happy ending for them both.

Folks, as I said a very busy week ahead and I have to leave shortly to fetch Jelly Bean from work and sort out a few things in town.  I pray you ALL have a blessed week, hopefully you can avoid the craziness that seems to be everywhere.  I would like to 'challenge' each of my readers to make a sincere effort this week to spread some kindness and love to those you come in contact with.  One gentle /kind / friendly word can totally transform someone's day, so let's see how many people we can impart peace and kindness to.  Please take care out there and stay safe.

Jasper stopping to say hi hehe

Happy Thanksgiving.

Wishing all of my readers and friends in the

U S A  a wonderful, happy, peace filled

and safe Thanksgiving.

Thank you for your

support.

Crazy week, crazy weather

Greetings all from a VERY windy Betty's Bay, currently the wind is blowing a gale which means I keep having to check on my washing to make sure it hasn't blown away, quite literally.  I trust you all had a good week and are ready for this one ahead.  At this stage my week is looking a LOT better than last week and I am going to do my best that it stays that way.  Hubby's op went very well, the Surgeon repaired two tears and he was able to come home the following day.  His pain levels have been pretty manageable so far except for Friday when he went into town with us, personally I think it was just a bit much.  I am doing a LOT of driving with Jelly Bean to work and back, although she drives on way each time which helps immensely, her first time driving at night was in the pouring rain with the two of us both straining forward to see where we were going haha, talk about the blind leading the blind.  I will confess that not too much creativity has been taking place in the house as I have just been too tired and busy, so a lot of salads for dinner.  On Friday Jelly Bean had the first part of Root Canal in her problem tooth hich has happily stopped the pain, and we then went into town using my car.  Oh dear ........ I've had this car for about four years and not once have we had to do any repairs on it, until Friday, just as we got into town it sounded like I had driven over some wire, so I pulled over and we checked under the car - nothing, my darling. Hubby then opened the bonnet and there, flapping around, was a third of my fan belt which had stripped loose.  We managed to cut the loose piece off and very cautiously continued with all our chores.  We are so used to Hubby doing all the vehicle repairs and maintenance that the thought of having it replaced in town never even crossed our minds.  We did organise with friends that should it come off completely they would come and tow us home.  Only on the way home after Hubby decided to buy a new belt did we even think of having someone replace it, we found a company around the corner and within half an hour were back on the road.  Woohooo.  Yesterday we went into town but happily not for work and while Jelly Bean was at the movies we had a lovely coffee and scones and then went to visit friends for an hour before coming home and collapsing.  Today she is off and we all decided that not one of us is leaving the
property hahaha.

Jasper is still carting his little piece of paper around and hiding it, which means he keeps coming to me to help him find it because it has gone under the chairs or some other impossibly small space.  I even had enough energy this morning to make som savoury which was an achievement all on its own.  I do not know why but it seems that the closer we get to Christmas the  faster the weeks seem to fly past.  In three and a half weeks our girls will be here for a MUCH needed holiday break and family time, Hubby will be in a sling for the next five weeks, so right up to Christmas of not being allowed to move/use his arm, but then he will be as good as new.

Apart from the travelling and 'nursing' not much else of interest this past week in my life, BUT, I would like to end off by encouraging those of you who are going through tough times and turmoil to please hang in there.  2017 has been a particularly rough year for many people and now that the pace
has picked up and barrelling  to an end, pressures are mounting up, deadlines have to be kept, work needsto be completed, exams are being written, finances are tight and just in general a lot of people are taking strain.  Please don't give up or allow the pressures to overcome you, YOU are bigger than any problem that comes your way.  God is bigger and more powerful than ANY challenge thrown your way,  the Holy Spirit is your constant companion and guide.  The best advice I can give is to push on through prayer, positive words and thoughts, try not to overthink every situation and allow God to work in your life and circumstances.  As long as you are worrying and trying to fix things His hands are tied.  Please take a moment to go and read Matthew Chapter 6 v 25 - 27 and Matthew 21 v 21,22 and Matthew 7v 7.  God will not let you down, He says in His word that in Him we have protection and provision. John 10 v 10.  I know how hard it is let go and have faith but I have been 'there' so many times that I can with assurance that God will ALWAYS come through for you if you believe in and trust Him.

Have a fantastic week folks, be good to yourself and always stay safe please.  Thank you for your continued support on this Blog and in my life.

Some photos taken last week on my travels.

My life has been on fast forward.

Good afternoon friends, at last a few minutes to catch up and sit down.  This past week has been like a circus in our house with the build up to my precious Hubby's surgery and getting everything ready and organised for December.  I'm actually feeling like I have been on a treadmill which I could not turn off.   Needless to say things have been even more chaotic than normal....... Hmmmm I still haven't found our 'normal'.  We managed to get all the organising and repacking finished in preparation for the Christmas holidays and for when the 'girls' arrive, my list is nowhere near complete but it's also far more manageable now.

Hubby Darling had his shoulder surgery this morning and after what seemed like forever, the Doctor telephoned me to say that it had gone very well and as soon as he was awake they would bring him back to the ward.  Jelly Bean and I spent the morning there and it was such a relief to see them wheeling him back, definitely a little 'out of it' but now it is time for the healing to take place.  He is still on oxygen as his 'sats' dropped a bit during his time in theatre and tomorrow morning we will be able to bring him home.  It's going to be quite an adjustment for him not using his right arm at all and having to cope with being left handed, fun times ahead .

For the last two weeks or so Jelly Bean has been struggling with a sore throat and mouth and it didn't even occur to us until last night that the problem wasn't just a sore throat, it turns out she has a really bad access under one of her teeth, she is now on an antibiotic and we are praying for a quick recovery for her as well.  In true style we as a family never do things in half measures and I had to see the Medical Sister at the same time because last Thursday evening Jasper and I had an encounter - his teeth into the back of my hand.  I went for a Tetanus injection on Friday and between the bite and the injection find myself in a Fibromyalgia Flare of note, this plus the fact that my hand is red, swollen and very sore sent me packing to the Sister with Jelly Bean and lo and behold I am also now on an antibiotic and probiotic.  Woohooo ..... NOT !!!!!

YThe rest of the family are doing well, Princess starts year end exams tomorrow at school, and BabyBear's granny passed away ten days ago which meant that she and BigBear flew to Bloemfontein for the funeral and some family time over the weekend.  Last night we had dinner with some friends of ours here in BB and what a super evening it was.  Traditional pizza and pasta made the traditional Italian way, good Prosecu and fabulous company, what could be better?  Right now it is busy raining after a week of stifling heat and humidity, which as you can guess now makes me a VERY  happy camper.

Folks, I have much to do and will end off with prayers for you all to have a super week,  Just remember - Tomorrow is not guaranteed so always make the most of today.  Be safe out there please with love from Betty's Bay.

A picture I took back in September whilst on a lovely beach walk.

Another not so nice little visitor we found in the house a couple of weeks ago

A busy week ahead

Greetings friends I hope everyone is well? Is it my imagination or are the weeks flying past ? It sure feels like 2017 is in a big hurry to come to an end. As for us we are very busy trying to get all 'things' in order before our girls arrive in December and before my Darling Hubby has to have surgery. He has had all the tests and we finally saw the Specialist last week who made the decision to operate. That is scheduled for this coming Monday the 13th, it turns out there is quite a bit of damage in his shoulder which he surmises happened at the first injury where the 'long tendon' which attaches to the shoulder was torn and has completely detached, this has resulted in damage to the Rotator Cuff Tendons. Apparently there is no need, in Hubby's case to try and re-attach the long tendon as his strength is not compromised and the pain involved in trying to re-attach it is not worth it just for the 'cosmetic' look. What the Doctor is going to do is completely clean, repair and re-attach the Rotator Cuff Tendon and if possible just place the Long Tendon into its 'normal' groove. He will be in hospital for one night and will have to wear a sling for 6 weeks making sure to keep his arm close to his body. Hence the reason for the busy week ahead as we sort out the caravan and re-arrange bags in storage, transferring things to the 'van', once this is all done my pressure is off as far as the girls visit is concerned and I can then concentrate on getting my Precious Hubby healed. There will obviously be other preparations to be made but the heavy things will be finished.

I have just returned home from taking Jelly Bean into work and yet again find myself giving thanks to God that we chose to live in Betty's Bay, it is always cooler this side of the mountains, getting out of the car in Somerset West is like stepping into an oven, ughh. She is driving so well that I am about to book a final lesson for her and then book her Drivers License Test, which will also help whilst Hubby is out of commission as it will leave me doing double trips until then. Apart from Big Guy have a bad dose of flu and everyone else being constantly busy the family are all well. BigBear launched a new company last week which is a very unique concept, they have formed a company whereby people can hire/rent sporting and adventure goods down here in the Cape when on holiday or even if they want to try something out before committing to purchasing the equipment. The response so far has been fantastic and we expect it to continue the momentum as people spread the word. All goods from tennis racquets to tents, caravans, surf boards, wet suits, even a Harley Davidson (which was the first item advertised with the launch, are insured, given the amount of tourists and holiday makers that visit here this company, GoGet, is providing a huge service. We wish them only success and growth as this baby grows

I was delighted to hear on the news a bit earlier that due to a very gusty, strong, south easter wind which has been blowing since yesterday there were very few major disasters with yesterday being November 5th, apparently most of the twelve designated Fireworks display events were closed early, there were 22 injuries but no major fires and I pray no animals injured. We here in BB had not even one cracker going off, except for one on Saturday morning, last night was silent and peaceful.

Friends I am posting a short video which I took of Jasper this morning playing with his favourite toy, the cut off top of a dog food packet, haha. He has carried his 'toy' from one corner to another for over a month, he is constantly losing it as he scoots it under the sofas to keep it safe, but then I am always needed to dig it out. This morning I looked at him and asked him where his toy was, he immediately looked at the cat wand, his next favourite toy and what I use to retrieve his paper with, walked over to it, looked at me and then went and stood behind the sofa, eventually when I found his toy, with great excitement he began his antics. This cat totally has my heart in his paws and as Hubby says, he knows it. When I bake he has to sit right next to the bowl and inspect EVERY ingredient as it goes in, quite the little busybody.

Apart from asking you for your prayers for Hubby's operation and quick recovery folks, I am going to end off for this week and wish you an excellent week. I would like to encourage you with this thought  - in the your encounters with people this week, let's spread love and kindness. It is so easy to get frustrated with other people whether it is in the shops, at work, at school or anywhere, but before
saying anything just take a moment to think whether the person you are frustrated with is having a bad day, not feeling well, dealing with something no one knows about. It is so easy to greet people with a smile and be polite and pleasant, instead so many people take out their frustration on whoever it is and then it becomes a vicious cycle. We can change a persons whole day just by kindness, being polite and considerate. Stay safe out there and make good memories.

Jasper at play.