Last week we found ourselves in the grip of a fierce heatwave, which was most unusual for this part of the country, but oh my goodness it was HOTTT, Bettys Bay reached temperatures of 38c and we are one of the coolest places here, there was not a breath of wind, just baking heat which after five days turned itself around and on Saturday we awoke to rain, cold and gale force winds. Our two dogs were looking absolutely ragged and we managed to find a wonderful lady, right here in BB who groomed them, giving them both beautiful summer cuts. They came bouncing back into the house looking like they had been on holiday and then Sasha promptly collapsed on the concrete floor with both front legs stretched out and he back legs stretched out making sur not get every available square inch of skin on the cool floor. I have a very dear friend who moved to BB two years ago from Europoe and as she put it "Africa is definitely not for sissies." Haha isn't that just the truth.
This weekend we were so blessed to have BigBear and BabyBear over and they were able to really kick back and relax a bit. BabyBear has just finished a nine week stint of training up in Johannesburg, flying back every weekend and I think it was a good opportunity for her to begin relaxing and a bit of catch up. Because of the howling wind we didn't do an awful lot, we tried going to the beach yesterday and got about ten feet onto the sand before deciding that 'sandblasting' was not what we were into and scurried back to the car and relative peace of the house. It was so good to have them here and see them de-stressing. Our girls arrive on Saturday and then it is their turn to unwind, Poppet has been working until who knows what time every evening and through the weekends now for months, due to various situations at work, Princess finished her last year of Primary School, so holiday time is nigh. Big Guy is sadly not able to take time off for a visit as he is working right through the holidays, it will be the first Christmas in his 40 years that he will not celebrate with us, sniff, sniff. We will miss you Son, big time. BigBear and BabyBear will also not be with us on Christmas as they are going to exotic Zanzibar, enjoy guys we will celebrate 'Express Christmas' with you this coming weekend. The one common thread that I see with almost every person I know or come across is that this year has been really tough, and everyone's stress levels are at the very end of stretching point. Folks please take time to be kind to yourself, whether that means a quiet cup of coffee somewhere, a bubble bath, an hour to read a book, going for a walk, whatever it is try and take a few minutes every day to distress and focus on YOU. We cannot avoid the stress of daily life, but, we can try everything in our power to help ourselves cope just that little bit better and in so doing avoid total burnout. Let's also take time be sensitive to those around us who may be on the brink of burnout/depressed/not coping, etc. A hug, a kind word, an ear to just listen and allow them to vent, a prepared meal, offer to babysit kids for a couple of hours, all these things can and do make a person's whole day turn around. At this time of the year when families are mostly trying to be together, let's not ignore those who are not near family, are single parents, recently widowed or just plain lonely. I've been in that position and most of the time no one is even aware of what you are feeling or going through, my plea to you is to draw those folks in and share some love, isn't that what this season is all about?
Folks that is all for this week, I hope that the next two weeks will not be insanely crazy for you and that you can enjoy the Holiday period restfully. Please stay safe and aware of your surroundings wherever you go.
Some random pics from our week.
The Christmas decorations are up.
The blessed rain on Saturday
Jasper helping decorate the tree.
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