Peace at last.

Good morning world, I hope this finds everyone well.  At last all is peaceful both in our home and our Village, this year certainly started off with a bang in every sense as you know and I am really looking forward to our first normal week since early December.

At last on Thursday I was 'deemed' non contagious and so Friday saw us off to the shops in Hermanus to stock up our seriously depleted kitchen pantry, it was exhausting but good fun to get out of the house and see life outside haha.  Needless to say the kitchen is now restocked, dinner choices are plentiful and I foresee a fair amount of baking in my immediate future = busy week.   On  Saturday we went into Somerset West  and then met up with BigBear for lunch at a lovely Spanish restaurant.  We had the most wonderful afternoon catching up despite the fact that it was 35c, and when we eventually left I realized we were the only ones still there.  Getting home to a cool 25c was the topping on the afternoon.

Sadly we can't say all fires are out as they have continued to blaze in other areas in the Overberg and on Saturday/Sunday a huge fire started in Table Mountain which very quickly got out of control jumping to Singal Hill and  posing a very probable threat to Sea Point which is where BigBear is.  It was with great relief this morning that I saw it is now under control and there was no damage to humans or structures.  This month has been quite something to live through as well as seeing the complete and utter devotion and tirelessness our fire fighters have.  They are truly the unsung heroes in the country.  The residents of BB are picking up their lives and looking out for each other, I saw a post on FB this morning that one of the nurseries is giving every family whose garden was destroyed a free tray of seedlings with which  to restart their gardens.

Gemma is still sulking with the family, and for some reason Jasper has been in the wars - we are guessing there is a new cat in the area as he is sporting quite a few battle wounds, which is most unlike him given he is a total scaredy cat.  I must mention here what happened yesterday morning at about 07.00, we were still both asleep and I felt him jump onto the bed but decided to keep my eyes closed, then felt him walk up between us until he was level with our faces at which point I opened my eyes and screeched .......... Not even 5 cm from my nose was Jasper with a mouth full of BABY DOVE.  My outburst woke Hubby who was standing up before he was even awake and then had to wrestle said dove from a very mad, very big cat.  He as not going to give up his gift/prey easily and my darling Hubby got a nip for his troubles, what a way to start  the day #facepalm.  Little #princesszeepha is growing nicely.  Last week Hubby took her to the vet for her vaccinations etc, she was a total hit there and all the ladies want her, she also weighed in at a whopping 800gm lol at 13 weeks.  She is just the cutest and most lovable little thing ever and definitely prefers Mommy's food to anything she gets and even eats lettuce.  When we are eating there is a lot of squeeking which takes place as she begs to be fed, last night Jelly Bean put her in the bedroom for a dinner timeout LOL.

The family are all well, busy back at work and school with the BigBears busy with their commuting.  Poppet and Princess had a small motor car accident involving a pavement on Thursday evening coming home in a very bad storm, thank the Lord neither of them were hurt but obviously quite shaken and the car is in for repairs.  Hubby dearest is busy starting to get more watches in for repair and has also been designing our deck which we want to enclose ...... all very exciting.

Folks that's it from me for this week, please stay safe and alert wherever you are and in closing I want to leave you with this thought -  Your first thoughts and decisions in the morning can are what will set the pace and influence your entire day.  If you wake up and make a decision that you are going to have a good day, you will.  That doesn't mean that everything will go like a well oiled machine BUT your attitude will determine how you react and in so doing will influence the overall outcome of your day.  With love from Bettys Bay.

Zeepha showing off her only long whisker

Never to be repeated

Good morning friends and family, I trust you are all well and into the swing of the new year.

These last couple of weeks are definitely among those that I never wish to have to live through again, this year definitely got going with a blast.  At last on day fifteen the terrible wild fire which razed though our village and the neighboring mountains was declared out.  Teams were left in place to monitor any hot spots and Praise God there has been no more damage, although having said that the damage done is going to take a long time to heal and rebuild.  One of the most precious and amazing things to me is the miracle of nature, barely days after being completely obliterated there were tiny shoots of green and even flowers which have sprung up from the ashes.  On our first drive though the village my heart was so touched to see a very elderly couple whose house had withstood the fire, working in their driveway tending to their plants that had been scorched and burnt.  I know that the effects will be with many people for months and even years to come, but, I also know just how strong the human spirit is to survive and rebuild.

It was an exceptionally tough week for me healthwise as this virus on my skin just kept on spreading, despite seeing three doctors etc and trying every cream know to man (slight exaggeration) they then appeared on my face which was the last straw.  I  ended up going to see a Specialist Dermatologist on Thursday.  Because I have Fibromyalgia pain is something I live with every single day, but the pain caused by these blisters/sores has been on an entirely different level.  God bless this Dr who very kindly squeezed me in and,  after taking skin scrapings off various blisters he diagnosed me with Zoophilia Tinea Corporus - laymens terms a fungal virus I got from Zeepha who had live ringworm spores.  He got quite excited about the diagnosis and asked permission to take photographs for their files, as long as they keep my name out of it haha, he prescribed an anti fungal cream and a month long course of tablets due to the severity and aggressiveness. Zeepha is also on tablets to kill off any remaining spores. Thankfully my face is looking better now it is just a case of getting the others to dry up then I will not be contagious anymore.  Both Poppet and Princess came out in a couple of sores last week but were lucky enough to be able to the right medication immediately and are both on the mend.

Now to the source of all this drama - Zeepha, oh my word what a little angel she is,  as bright as a button, and she will play with anything and everything including her own shadow.  She has settled into the family so well and even Jasper has become very fatherly towards her.  Gemma of course just growls with disdain at everything and anything new.  Little Zeepha a.k.a. Squeek (because she doesn't meow she squeaks) however is completely unconcerned by this and just carries on with all her adventures.  She really is a tiny little thing and when I weighed her last week she was a whole 590gm  she is now almost 12 weeks old so you can imagine.  She adores lying in the sun and being on my lap, which sadly I haven't been able to do too much of yet, I cannot wait to get better and be able to give her all th cuddles she wants and deserves.  Her absolute favourite time of the day is at 21.00 when she gets a half an egg cup of kitten formula with a syringe - there is nothing wrong with her eating or drinking, but this little treat I don't see her giving up anytime soon.  She goes into total heaven as she sucks and the little paws cling to and knead my hand as she drinks, she actually gets quite frantic as the syringe empties, like a baby bird wanting food.  Talking about birds, since the fire we have seen  an increase in the amount of birds coming to feed and have now put out a one litre bottle which doesn't even last the day.  They have become so tame that when Hubby goes out to refill the bottle they will actually sit on his hand while he is busy with it.

Folks, that is more than enough of me rambling for this week, something to hold onto - No matter what life throws at you, no matter how bad, chaotic, heartbreaking or desperate things appear the very God that created you will NEVER leave you or FORSAKE YOU.  Deuteronomy 31 v 6.  I know that it can feel like you are all alone on an island but, God is right there giving you the strength and the wisdom to take one step after another, one hour at a time, one day at a time.    Stay safe and lean on your Heavenly Father.

Zeepha looking sleepy and cute.

The queue at our 'fly through' feeding station 

Picking up life after tragedy.

Good afternoon all, definitely a little later than usual today due to so many factors, but better late than never.  All I can say is WHAT a week we have had. As a lead on from last weeks Blog the fires continued as did the chaos and stress which comes with such an event.  After days and days of having the helicopters and Spotter planes flying overhead, and the Ground Teams trying everything in their power to contain the fire, it was announced on Thursday (day 10) that the situation in Bettys Bay was under control.  Sadly the fire had continued to burn West and our beautiful Clarence Drive was closed for the entire week as the fires raged through the mountains towards Gordons Bay. Friday arrived and with it came gale force winds  from the North with gusts of 101kmph and then all hell broke loose.  The fire turned back and what had been smoldering was re-ignited and razed through our beautiful Village leaving absolute destruction and desolation in its wake.  The Village was being  evacuated systematically which was beyond stressful, our resources were diminished due to wild fires raging in Hermanus and Gansbaai.  My precious Hubby went up to the main road to assess for himself what the situation was and whether we needed to prepare to evacuate.  When he came home, after discussing the situation we decided to wait awhile and see what happened as the wind was blowing away from us at that time.  It was heartbreaking hearing voice messages on our Community Group of people crying and asking for help, people going down to the sea and dropping 'location pins' to be rescued, others who were trying to locate or establish.where family members were ............. In all of this what struck me most was the utter selfless help and hard work by the members of this community. Volunteers who have manned our Community Hall and fed the hundreds of firefighters 24/7, the donations of food and now accommodation, hot showers,, laundry, clothing services etc.   I am so proud to be a part of this amazing, not beautiful at the moment, but strong community, God has been SO gracious to us as a family.  I went though to Pringle Bay last week and was amazed to see that after only 10 days there were new shoots sprouting up out of the  burnt ground, the birds are returning as are the baboons and life will blossom again in our beloved Bettys Bay.

During all this I was dealing with what I thought were flea bites from Zeepha which  became  progressively worse despite seeing the Doctor, the pharmacist, and the clinic sister who gave me a huge injection, all to no avail. This morning when I woke up to see I know have these marks in my face I will admit to feeling more than a little freaked out.  I went to see the Sister again who managed to get me an appointment with a Dermatologist tomorrow morning, it would appear that they are stress related (I wonder why ??) now to add insult to injury these spots have become infected, with ice providing the only relief I find myself digging in the freezer with regularity haha.

As for Zeepha this little 'Squeek' is a constant source of joy.  She is just the most precious little soul and completely enthralls everyone who meets her.  She has well and truly settld in and is looking so much healthier, even Jasper has succumbed to her charms and last week I as so touched to see him trying to help her  - she used the litter box but didn't cover everything so he came along behind her and looked at her as much to say "now this is how it's done littl one" and promptly proceeded to cover her 'tracks'. Right now she is involved in a very energetic game with a red ribbon and the sofa.

The rest of the family are all well and back into the swing of work, school and routine.  Folks that is it for this week - next week I will share much more of the  day to day life with our new addition and the normal routine of life.

I wish you all a wonderful week, please stay safe, look after yourselves and appreciate the small things we tend to take for granted, treasure your family and friends and store memories in your hearts.  Ciao ciao for now.

Princess Zeepha

New year, Wild fires and baby kittens

Good morning folks I hope that you have all had a good start to the New Year.  This past week has been one of the busiest weeks we have had, our New Year started off with a bang, literally. Someone set off a flare at 00.15 on New Years which resulted in a wildfire the likes of which we have not seen here before.  It is still blazing and has spread very deep into the mountains, the entire area that has /is burning is all a World Proclaimd  Protected Biosphere, thousands of hectares have been burnt not to mention ALL the wildlife, which in itself is a tragedy because almost everything including bird life has little babies from spring.  One man has been arrested and will appear in court today but there is nothing that can make up for the millions of rands of damage, man hours, aviation fuel etc that it is costing.  Our Village has has been the Command Centre which has been manned 24/7 by volunteers from the community providing food, refreshments, Physio and anything else that is needed.  On Tuesday night the wind changed and the fire raged through to our neighboring village Pringle Bay where some structures were damaged, one lady passed away as the result of an asthma attack, three residents were hospitalized for injuries and the Village was evacuated to their Hall.  Parts of Bettys Bay were also evacuated but Praise God no homes burnt down or fatalities. The wind has kept changing and every time we think the fire is out, it flares up again and changes direction.  Yesterday the famous Clarence Dive/R44 was closed as the fire had reached that far and all camping sites and the resort were evacuated.  We have had helo's water bombing constantly and even two Army Oryx helicopters came in.  Our beautiful area now looks like a lunar landscape, but it has to be said that the dedication and commitment the fire fighters have shown has been unbelievable.  They come in after ten hours high up on a mountain, in impossible terrain, singing and dancing ???? And 'we' moan when traffic stands still on our commute.  The work by all ground volunteers including our BB Groups, residents, visitors, big companies donating, has been simply unbelievable.  THANK YOU one and all we will forever be in your debt.

On a happier note we have had no more injuries in the family, Poppet's foot is healing well, Princess has been plagued with hayfever since she arrived which has definitely curtailed beach activities.  We did all go to the beach early on New Year's Day for a little while which was lovely and Grandpa has been wonderful in taking her to the beach whenever he could.  It's been an odd sort of holiday and sadly the girls are flying home tonight.  On New Years Day we went through to see the little kitten I mentioned....... Oh dear......... It was love at first sight for us all.  Zeepha (a pixie from the Tinkerbell movie) came home with us and I had to keep her separate from Jasper and Gemma until she sawthe Vet on Wednesday, she was tested for Feline Leukemia and AIDS after an extremely tense five minutes her result was NEGATIVE, thank You Lord.  I brought her home and she wasted no time in exploring and leaving her minute pixie paw prints everywhere and in our hearts.  She is now 9 weeks old and weighs in at 540 gm which is a whole 20 gm more than a week ago, and fits into the palm of my hand.  She appears to be a dwarf kitten with incredibly short legs, her back legs are longer which results in her looking very funny when she walks, she doesn't run but rather hops with her back legs together and the ears grow straight out on the sides, resulting in a very odd looking little angel.  The most obvious name would have been Gizmo but she is too delicate and gentle.  There will be much more on her to follow.

For now, I do believe I have rambled on long enough, there was a lot to share.  Please agree with us in prayer that this fire will be put out A.S.A.P. There was another flare up above the Botanical Gardens this morning which they are currently water bombing.  I do wish you all a wonderful week back at work and school and pray that your year will be peace filled and good to you.  Ciao ciao for now, please stay safe.

Two pics I took of the fire right at the beginning and one of the incredible pilots dropping water.

Little Princess Zeepha you can follow her on Instagram @princesszeepha