A quiet week, sort of

Good morning beautiful people I hope this finds you all well rested  and looking forward  to a shorter work week.  We are still enjoying the cooler weather with temperatures in the high teens which is just awesome, the sea is calm and we even had a bit of rain over the weekend.  I am really praying that we are in for a long, cold, wet winter down here in the Cape, it is desperately needed.

Last week was fairly quiet for a change with no major events outside of our normal day to day  chores and routine.  I had to see the Optician for a final eye test and delightedly it went very well.  He is giving me glasses to use for driving and also for reading but otherwise no contact lenses required or full time wearing of spectacles which is totally an answer to prayer.  There has been lots of scrubbing and cleaning haha but I am nearly there.  I also got to make a BIG batch of Buttermilk Rusks to my darling Hubby's great delight and on very strict instructions not to change a thing they came out just as successfully as the last time. # hugegrin

On the feline front CeCe is a one step forward and two steps back kind of girl and so we are just plodding along day by day with our 'special needs' baby.  No two days are the same and she is making progress on the whole but incredibly slowly, we have come to realize that she will never be s normal little kitty who climbs and plays, but she is extremely special in her own way.  Jasper still has not figured out that she cannot see  and still want to play rough with her which generally ends up in a screaming match, sometimes when she is really crabby he just looks at her and sidles past to escape any trouble.

This morning I had some errands to do in town with Jelly Bean and on the last one I walked into a place which had odd shaped steps and promptly missed the first step and landed literally flat on my face, great fun, although on a positive note it's been quite a few months since my last fall.  At the time I almost passed out but apart from a grazed knee and having bitten through my lip and a bit of a numb chin and nose I am fine and have decided to rest up for the day.  Thankfully Jelly Bean was with me and very quickly took charge and drove us home, she is such a blessing.

Folks as I said it was a fairly quiet week and hopefully this week will follow suite minus any falls or drama haha.  I pray that you will all have a blessed week and for those who are going to be traveling please, please be careful on the roads, stay aware of your surroundings and please be safe.  A little thought for the week -   Kindness is the one thing that costs you absolutely nothing and can be given to everyone you come in contact with, we will never know what other people are going through, the cashier at the shop, the person on the other end of the phone, your work colleagues etc, even if they are grumpy and nasty, a kind word can totally turn their day around.  Let's give out gifts of kindness to the people we come in contact with this week.

CeCe being the little lady

A first, Jasper and CeCe sleeping together. 

Good eyes, snakes and birthdays

Good morning folks it's the start of a beautiful week full of new possibilities and opportunities let's make the most of every one of them.  After a lovely weekend we are ready for the next few days ahead.  Well last week was quite epic and not unreasonably busy.  Apart from the normal day to day  shenanigans of living with five animals one of which is blind, I went to the eye surgeon for my post op check up and Praise the Lord my left eye is to quote my surgeon "100% better".  He was extremely happy with the results of the procedure and, because the capsule which the lens sits in is extremely small, he lasered the eye to clear all the opacity there and then as he was worried that it could shrink and thereby move the lens.  So folks for the first time since I was 5 years old I can see perfectly with my left eye,  the right eye is not perfect but as good as it can ever be.  I will be making an appointment with the Optician to test if I need specs for reading but that is all, I never in a million years ever dreamt I would be able to see clearly without glasses.  Thank you to all those who have prayed with and for me.  I should probably add here that I am driving the family crazy with cleaning and scrubbing as I see things I have never seen, yikes sorry guys.

As far as the pets are concerned we had a good week and are progressing steadily with CeCe and toilet training, Gemma and Jasper  have behaved themselves, sort of haha.  The dogs totally lost the plot one morning and on investigation I found they were trying to reach a small tortoise on the other side of the fence, Max will do anything to get out when this happens and after awhile he actually did manage to escape but we found him quick enough.  Oh yes,  one night it was raining when Hubby and Jelly Bean arrived home, as she came up to the door she noticed something on the step .......... a snake   EEEEEK, seriously one of the creepy crawleys I truly can't deal with.  My very brave Hubby managed to remove the little blighter with an umbrella, we think it was a Cape Wolf Snake, this means that every time I am outside I am now on full alert  #face-palm.  Great fun folks ........NOT!!!

On Saturday it was Jelly Beans birthday and thankfully she had the weekend off, we celebrated by going to Vergelegen Wine Estate for lunch with BigBear and BabyBear and friends of ours from BB. What a beautiful venue it is and has become my new 'favourite' spot, there are the most magnificent gardens with walkways as well as beautifully hedged, landscaped herb gardens.  Their food is excellent as is their service.  Our Jelly Bean had a wonderful birthday and was blessed beyond measure with her gifts and the fun wehad,  You are such a blessing to us all Angel and I will always thank God for bringing you into our lives.

Friends I am going to say Ciao for now and get some things done that need attention in the  house, as well as a lot of reading to catch up on.   I wish you a blessed week, please stay alert and as always be safe out there.

Photo taken looking back towards Rooi Els

Our lunchtime view of the Helderberg Mountains on Saturday

A week to remember.

Good morning friends I trust you are all well?  Well last week was a week to be remembered in so many ways, where to begin?  Let me start off by saying that after baking countless batches of rusks over the last couple of years, I eventually got it right.  The batch that I made last week following the recipe on the stoneground flour packet, turned out absolutely perfect and were much quicker than any of my other recipes.  I am so 'chuffed' even my Hubby said "whatever you do, don't change a thing" hehe.

On the CeCe front we eventually decided, after finding 'gifts' in the bathroom, that she has decided THAT is her chosen place for her toilet.  We then placed puppy pads  where she normally goes and decided that we will let her set the pace and guess what ?  It's working !!!  She is having a success rate of about 3 out of 5 which is way better than never having success.  It has taken a lot of pressure
off us and obviously her, eventually, hopefully we will slowly move the puppy pads out of the way in the bathroom and then put them into a litter box, this is a slow process we've discovered.

Then on Wednesday my precious hubby had his Colonoscooy and Praise the Lord all the results have come back clean and healthy.  It was not a day without 'fun' by any means though,  once he was finished and quite woozy we stopped at the shop and then made our way home,  about two kilometers out of Gordons Bay I noticed that the steering on his car had suddenly become extremely hard, it was taking me ALL the strength I had to get around the turns (Hubby has counted and there are approximately 120 bends and tight turns between GB and home).  There are ongoing roadworks on this road as they are re-tarring the entire coast road and as a result we have stop/goes which can cause a wait of up to twenty minutes.  A few kilometers further along we encountered the first stop/go, on a narrow bridge and at the bottom of a hill, so Hubby suggested I turn the car off and then restart which I did and guess what ? The car was as dead as a dodo.  Oh my word, we had a stream of vehicles behind us and a hill in front so Jelly Bean jumped into the drivers seat and Hubby and I started pushing, just a note here, his car is like a tank haha.  We got a couple of meters when a Police car pulled up and started waving the traffic past and just at that point a gentleman in a bakkie drove up and pulled over, he was so kind and towed us up the hill to a parking area where he jump started our car from his and then drove behind us until we were about two thirds of the way home, there are still amazing people out there.  Eventually we arrived home with my muscles having received a jolly good work out.  It turns out the alternator packed up.

Thursday dawned and it was my turn so out we went to use my car,  as Hubby reversed out of the gate my fan belt snapped .......... seriously ???  Still not daunted we all hopped into Jelly Beans faithful little car and tootled off to town.  My procedure went well although was really difficult for me because I was completely awake and they placed a sheet over my face (I am claustrophobic) with an oxygen pipe to hold under the sheet against my face. It was weird having the Dr moving the lens around to get it onto the correct axis, and very sore, but he managed to get it right where he wanted it and the difference in my vision was immediate.  I had to wear an eye patch for 24 hours and then at night for a couple of days, also not allowed to bend forward.  As I sit typing this I have no contact lenses or glasses and am doing very well, I will be going back for a check up on Wednesday and if all is good I am guessing he will schedule the laser treatment for the opacity.  What totally get me is that the previous Dr did my left eye twice with me completely under anaesthetic and did not get the lens in correctly, how does that even happen ?

On Friday my brilliant Hubby bought a new fanbelt and pulley which he fitted on Saturday and we now have two out of the three  cars running happily.  The alternator is being fixed by the auto electrician and hopefully Hubby can refit it tomorrow.   On Saturday we actually managed to take some time out and went through to BigBear and BabyBear's in Sea Point for the most delicious lunch and afternoon which included a relaxing stroll along the promenade and just enjoying the outdoors and each other's company.  Thank you guys for such a special day it was much needed and appreciated.  Yesterday was spent being lazy, Hubby working on the alternator and just relaxing.  All the stress and drama have kind of caused havoc on my body and I am having to spent a lot of time resting and just recovering.

Now for a new week, please God without car issues or other dramas.  Jasper has been an absolute horror this morning bullying both the girls and has now claimed my lap as his preferred place for the
day (he hardly ever sits on laps),  obviously needing some TLC.  I had a 'brain wave' last week and took one of our travel neck pillows and tried putting Cece on top of it, she LOVES it, I think because she likes being cocooned, she nestles down and goes to sleep.  At this moment all is peaceful in our home , the dogs have just discovered a tortoise so are quite excited, and we have a whole fresh week ahead of us.

Have a fantastic week folks, thank you for continued support and all the prayers.  Please stay safe, remember when life hands you lemons make lemonade.

These trees are all growing in the same way along Sea Point Promenade.  I'm guessing due to the wind.  They are amazing.

Standing on the pier looking out on the beautiful Atlantic Ocean and looking back to Lions Head.

Exciting times and a busy week ahead.

Hi there folks, is it just me or this year rushing past ?  It feels like the year is six months old and has just started all in one.  The one thing I do know for definite is that this is going to be a very busy week.  As a start I have managed to get a batch of Buttermilk Rusks into the oven,  it has been ages since I made some. We have been so busy with looking after Madam aka CeCe that I am tired and haven't even begun yet lol.  She is very easy to look after on the one hand, usually when she is on my lap, and the rest of the times we are looking for 'toilet gifts' that she leaves us, or saving her from whatever monsters she thinks are after her.  As I have said before she has definite neurological issues and will bounce around the house very happily until she either bumps into something or her tail whacks her then she goes crazy.  Poor old Jasper he is either being growled at by Gemma or thinks he's being growled at by CeCe, it's not always his fault although he can be a horror.  He just sits there and watches her with complete confusion on his face. Never a dull moment in this house that is a guarantee.

I am 'hopefully' thinking /hoping that Autumn is on its way as the last week or so has been very pleasant here in Bettys's Bay, today dawned  cool and overcast which makes me a very happy camper.  Hubby has taken Jelly Bean into work as is going to spend the afternoon visiting with a friend of his. He also got to play his first game of golf in absolutely ages last week and happily his shoulder is completely healed so he is a very happy man at the moment.  He had his annual physical last week and is having a Colonoscopy on Wednesday as part of all the tests, then on Thursday I have to go in for the first (and hopefully last) procedure on my eye to rotate the lens, somehow we have a habit of 'double booking' these kinds of things hehe.  Thankfully neither require an overnight stay so we will be in and out.  Jelly Bean was busy packing out books at work last week and somehow managed to hurt her shoulder which is still not 100% so we are treating that as well, like I said never a dull moment.

Princess finished off the Athletics season on a high note and can now concentrate on her academics and hockey.  Whilst we were all busy our family in the UK have been freezing with all the snow, to the point that the little 'Master Muffets' were able to go sledding over the weekend, from the pics and face time calls we had it looks like they had a whale of a time, I am quite jealous.  The rest of this amazing, diverse family are all well and doing what needs to be done.  Have I ever mentioned just how much I love and appreciate you all ?

• Jelly Bean and I were chatting the other day as we are seeing a number of  family, friends and acquaintances going through some really trying times, and as is so often the case it's usually through no fault of their own and totally out of their control, how does one cope with all the changes? My faith in God and His Word where He says "He will never leave me or forsake me" Joshua 1 v 5 - 9, and as one particular friend said "it's a negative situation but I am going to the very best I can to get through it and come back stronger," truly describes my approach to trying times or changes.  Not everything goes the way we want it to, but, every situation can be turned around and what was meant for my detriment can be made useful and cause me to grow as a person and in my faith.  As far as I am concerned giving up has never been an option, for me.  There have been many, many times where I've though "this is just too hard, or not worth the pain, or I just can't anymore," but then there is a voice that stubbornly says "yes I can, I will learn from this, I refuse to be beaten and become a victim, I have four children that need me."  These are choices that one has to consciously make and work at all the time, it is never a once off decision because every trial will challenge you in a different way.  I am very proud when I see that my children are exactly the same.  Is it easy ? Is it convenient ? Is it quick ?  NO - it is hard, and it is painful, and inconvenient and sometimes feels like it takes forever to get to the top of the mountain, but get there you will if you are determined and the outcome is always glorious and better than before.  For those of you who are facing challenges and changes you did not ask for and definitely don't want, I say to you please hang in there, don't give up, don't stop swimming, don't lie down and become overwhelmed.  Make the decision to fight, swim, pray, whatever it takes to get you through.  I am reminded of an  experience I had in December 1997, 15 months after my late husband passed away.  I have very few memories of those 15 months except to say that I felt I had been stripped of my identity and plunged into the total darkness.  I was walking into my bedroom and 'heard' God say to me " are you going to stay as you are, a victim?  Or do you want to become a victor ?  I had to make a decision, a hard decision, I decided that I wanted to be a victor and that meant I had to work unbelievably hard to dig myself out of the hole I found myself in.  It did not happen overnight or even quickly, but through the grace of God and His strength, I was able to become who I am today a very different, wiser, more compassionate woman.  Folks please don't throw in the towel, your race is not over, despite the circumstances, you are not finished, you are not a failure, YOU are a work in progress and this situation is one more step in your growth chart.

On that note I am going to say ciao ciao for this week, I am praying for you all for strength, courage, determination and energy.  Please stay safe and make the most of  very moment you have with family and friends.  Much love.

CeCe saying hi.