Our world is shrouded in white.

Good morning all from a very chilly and white BB.  Yesterday was a lovely sunny day until a sea fog rolled in through the afternoon, we have a joke in our house when this happens that 'someone has stolen our mountain and the sea' hehe, well anyway as of this moment they have not been returned and it is wet and foggy, which I have absolutely NO objections to whatsoever.

Weather wise we had a cool week with some downright cold days requiring a good cheerful fire going and lots of wrapping up in throws, needless to say I got a lot of reading done, thank goodness for a good library.   We had a good, fairly uneventful week for a change, some of the family are fighting  the flu and are now thankfully on the mend, the rest have just been busy with normal life and it's every day challenges and delights.   My precious Hubby got one clock out, one is still on test mode and another came in which is proving to be extremely interesting.  This clock has not worked for 60 years, it came in in various pieces which means some of the vital gears are missing.  We have dated it back 1850 and after literally contacting Clock Makers around the world trying to source the parts needed, this brilliant man of mine sat down on Saturday with his computer and modelled the missing gear which he is going to have laser cut in brass.  We are going to take pics at all the various stages of the repair but, as you can imagine it is a wonderful challenge for him and very exciting.
Our next door neighbour has been here for the last week catching up on maintenance and lots of garden clean up which resulted in a couple of interesting finds.  First being a teeny, tiny baby tortoise (see pic below) which once we'd all had a good look was put back exactly where he was found to rejoin his brothers and sisters.  Next on the discovery list was a Skaapsteker snake which is apparently harmless, that being said I stayed well clear of that discovery.  We ended up with two cars having flat batteries which was just an irritant more than a challenge, thankfully we have a battery charger so each one was systematically recharged and back in use.
Yesterday I decided to make some scones (our gas had run out on the stove) so as per usual  Zeepha had to supervise and run interference hmmmmm, the result of this was complete confusion.  I planned on making a half a batch and with moving things around, away from her nose and tongue I ended up adding liquid for a full batch, so quickly adjusted with the extra ingredients and surprisingly,  a delicious result.  Shortly thereafter Hubby took the dogs for a walk in the fog, and as he came back down our road bumped into a lady with her young daughter who were all agog because there was a lone penguin wandering around in one of the gardens.  Clearly this little fellow had wandered too far as we are about 950m from the Penguin Colony, the relevant people had been called and were on their way to catch and return the solo wanderer.  All in all a wonderful, uneventful week but as usual never a dull moment, who knew retirement would be so exciting and busy.

Folks I now have the delightfully domestic chore of figuring out how to dry a full wash load including towels on a wet and foggy day, such fun!!!  I wish each and every one of you a truly blessed week, may you walk in divine health, may the wisdom of God fill your minds and words and above all may His protection cover you every minute of the day.  Ciao ciao for now,

Baby Tortoise.

 Zeepha taking ownership of my book.

Easter Monday

Hoping everyone has had a blessed Easter weekend, good morning all.  Our weekend has been a mix of busyness (around the house and garden) and good relaxing, happily the weather played right along with rain, wind and much lower temperatures making it almost ideal.  With the family all busy or away we just did our own thing and had some friends over yesterday for a wonderful braai with lots of catch up and good conversation, then ended our evening by sitting reading in front of the fire, we didn't even think to put the television on.

Our week was not quite as relaxing but then is it ever ???  My amazing Hubby has had two clocks in for repair, one a cuckoo clock which fell off the wall and broke and the other is one that has really given him a hard time.  The cuckoo clock spent its last few days in the house  in 'testing mode' before being collected this morning, it was lovely having it chirp and chime away.  The other one has probably taught Hubby more than any other clock but is now almost ready to come in for testing before going home.

Dear little Zeepha kept us on our toes last week,  on Monday Jelly Bean noticed that she was making strange noises which to be honest I didn't really pay attention to, thinking she was coughing.  Anyway  Tuesday dawned and oh my word - madam was on 'heat' and literally did not know what to do with herself,  she spent half her time squiggling along the floor making funny little chirping noises and following Jasper like a shadow.  Poor Jasper, he was neutered at 9 weeks so had absolutely not a clue as to what was going on and just ended up getting irritated and looking for places to hide.  Obviously we had to keep windows closed or open with screens on which limited his freedom, but she was relentless.  I felt really sorry for her because also didnt have a clue as to why she was feeling 'frisky' and behaving like a little tramp.  The funniest thing though, is that as far as she was concerned Jelly Bean and I could have been chopped kale.  All she wanted was to be next to a male, it didn't matter what male, just A male.  We found her lying side by side with Max, as close as she could get to Jasper and then Hubby was the flavour of the week.  Eventually I read that it is best to keep petting and stroking to a minimum and that is what we did, together with some Calm-eaze and she sort of settled down.  She even took to sleeping glued up against Hubbys legs at night which for her is unusual as she sleeps glued to my legs.  Thankfully it only lasted until Friday and my sweet little kitty returned to normal in every sense.  I don't think Jasper has quite recovered from the 'trauma' as he waivers between being a little stand-offish with her or downright being rough.  She is back to my side of the bed and has now decided to wake us up in the morning with whisker kisses on the nose or mouth hoping for some head scratches, accompanied by much purring and the tickle of her whiskers it is hard to ignore LOLOL.

Folks that's pretty much it for this week, it was quiet and all in all a good week.  For those of you that are traveling today particularly on the roads, please take is easy, stay alert and above all be safe.  Getting home ten minutes later is nothing compared to not getting home at all.  Already the highway over the Pass here is bumper to bumper and I can only imagine what the rest of the country is like.
I pray that you all have a good, prosperous, healthy week.  Don't let circumstances dictate your emotions remind yourself that because Jesus died on the cross and rose again YOU have the victory, YOU just need to exercise it.

Luke 10:19 King James Version (KJV)

19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Zeepha peacefully settled last week

Here is praying for a stress free week.

Good morning friends and family I hope this finds everyone well and ready for the new week.  I find since we retired, that I rely on the calendar a lot when it comes to Public Holidays, previously we would almost always go away with the caravan so there was normally a countdown.  I knew Easter was coming up more or less now but, only realized this morning that it is this weekend coming ........ Happy Easter to all we know.

Well as Jelly Bean said to me last night  "let's hope this week is less stressful than last week."  It certainly wasn't intended to be a stressful week but things have a way of turning upside upside down in a second.  You may remember I mentioned last week that little Zeepha had gone in to be spayed.  Well ......... That didn't happen.  Just after lunch on Monday I received a call from the Vet who then went on to explain that they had not been able to neuter this little treasure.  Apparently after doing a full health check on her because I had some concerns, she was deemed fine and the procedure began. They had no sooner administered the anaesthetic when she just stopped breathing completely, apparently there was at first absolute shock and horror and then a fair amount of drama and action.  The four ladies then had to administer oxygen and eventually even use the paddles to bring her back which they did, Praise the Lord.  If any cat we expected to have problem under anaesthetic it was CeCe and definitely not Zeepha.  They managed to clear her eye which apparently had a dead flea caught between her two eyelids, hence the closed eye and soreness, the Vet also discovered that just about all her baby teeth have fallen out on the one side which is why she wasn't eating properly and then this.  Aaargghh.  In light of her reaction to the anaesthetic our amazing Vet wasn't even prepared to administer Zepha's vaccination.  They have asked us to take her for an X-ray as they suspect she has a hernia, because she seems to breath with her abdomen and not her diaphragm. and this would be too risky to repair, in which case she will have to remain unsterilesed and a purely indoor cat.  Yikes.  Nevertheless off  I went to collect and bring my little Squeek home.  She was still very dopey and a VERY unhappy kitty but glad to be back home.  It took most of the week for her to get back to her normal self although I have noticed she hasn't been on top of the cat condo yet, which is normally her favourite place.  She was also coughing a lot whenever she drank anything but thankfully all is now fine.

The family are all well, very busy with their lives and in the case of Miss Muffet and Fam they are whiling away the week on the beach in Spain, lucky girl. Hubby has been wrestling with a wall clock that has given him no end of trouble, in typical fashion he doggedly and patiently keeps adjusting and at this point it looks like it is almost done.  He is also busy putting together a genuine Cuckoo clock which fell off the wall and broke in to dozens of pieces as well as working on the deck as and when time and weather allow.  Talking weather .......... Yippeeeeee.  It definitely looks like we are moving right along into winter as the temperatures have dropped significantly and we have had some reasonable rains, we even lit our first fire yesterday.  This is how I remember the Cape winters from when I lived  here in the '80's, usually winter would begin at Easter time but since we moved back the last two winters have been short, fairly dry and not as cold.  So this makes me one very happy camper.

Folks that's about it for this week, for those of you who are going to be traveling, especially on the roads, please be safe and careful out there.  For those who have family coming to visit enjoy and make lots of memories and, for those who are staying home enjoy the down time and recharge your batteries.  Ciao ciao for now with love from my family to yours.

Jasper and Zeepha all snuggled up.

 Zeepha, my sous chef helping and running interference when I made rusks yesterday

An early start to a new week.

It is a bright and breezy start to the new week here in our household, good morning all.  Well, after all the 'hoohaa' to arrange it little Zeepha has just left to be sterilized, thank you my Darling for taking her in.  I weighed her yesterday at a massive 1.68 kg hahaha and will be really pleased when this little ordeal is behind us.

Last week was definitely one of those mixed up weeks with great news in the family, which I can't share just yet - I know that's mean hehe, and no there isn't another grand baby on the way, yet.  It was one of those weeks that seemed to cruise along and then every now and again burst with busyness.  I think we are definitely heading into autumn down here as the weather has been noticeably cooler, we still have some hot days but on the whole it's cooling off, especially at night which is fantastic.  We've also had some rain so it is looking good for a wet winter.

We collected our little Bonsai plant a Natal Fig, which is now in residence and getting all the attention it needs and looks beautiful.  There are about 40 new little leaf buds just about ready to open and I will just maintain it until spring when as per our Bonsai Man's instructions I will take it back to him for its first 'haircut', so that he can show me exactly what and how to do it.  Whoop whoop!

Wednesday saw us up bright and early for a trip through to Stellenbosch to see my Fibromyalgia Doctor for my annual check up.  I had all the blood tests done the week before and happily all but two of the tests were either exactly what they are supposed to be or much improved towards normal levels.  The two tests that were unsatisfactory were one (I can't remember the name right now) which showed him that I have sleep apnea, nothing new as my precious Hubby has been telling me that for years and the second test showed that my inflammation levels are five times higher than they have ever been.  I had been interested to see the results of that one just because of how I have been feeling, I haven't really been able to bounce back from having the fungal infection and my pain levels have been far greater than normal.  In a sense it was a relief to see the result/reason for the pain, the complete lack of energy and all the other symptoms as now I know what it is and we have a plan.  He has prescribed an extra medication which should help lower the inflammation levels and thereby help me get back on the treadmill so to speak, that medication should arrive today so yippeeee.

The family are all well and busy with Poppet jetting off to Australia again in two weeks for business, the Bear's are planning an overseas trip to Europe and Big Guy also has plans to go to Thailand for a well deserved break. Hubby has a constant steady stream of clocks coming in which are keeping him busy - on Saturday someone hooted at the gate and when Hubby came back inside he was carrying a box, when I asked what it was he just grinned and said "broken Cuckoo clock", I would like to add that this one is broken as in broken so I'm looking forward to seeing it fixed and working. We are planning on staying exactly where we are and enjoying the gorgeous winter, our beautiful mountains and the ocean.  Talking about the mountains, it is such a delight every time we go out to see all the new growth and plants coming up after the fires, everywhere you look there are signs of new life and beautiful green is now interspersed in amongst all the barrenness left in the fire's wake.  Their recovery is much quicker than we expected and with good winter rains it should be looking beautiful in no time.

Folks that's about it for this week, I wish you all a happy, healthy week.  Be kind to others and take some time to be kind to yourselves, stay safe out there Ciao Ciao

Our Bonsai

Just a good day to start off a new month

Greetings to all on this the first day of April, once again happily we are having a lovely cool, overcast day.  We have had a couple of really hot days with zero wind but thankfully a little rain with yesterday and today being nice and cool.

Last week was fairly peaceful for myself and quite busy for Hubby as he has a steady stream of clocks coming in and managed to do a lot of work on the deck construction as well.  The family are all well including Big Guy who somehow managed to put his back out ouch.  Princess got some good down time after her hockey tour and things started moving forward for Poppet and J (her boyfriend of three years) as he has had his transfer to South Africa approved AND closed the sale on his house in the UK, now it is all systems go for them amid huge excitement all round.  Bigbear and BabyBear are busy planning a vacation for later in the year as well as juggling their busy work schedules.  Miss Muffet and family are doing well with our youngest Grandson B playing his first football match which they won and his older brother J being signed up for seven golf lessons, to see if he enjoys the game.  All in all everyone doing their 'thing'.

I had to get somewhat 'stern' with the people /organisation Zeepha came from.  I have been asking for a month for the information needed in order to have her sterilized and keep getting the answer "I have asked" or "it's been done" only for said email to never arrive.  On Friday I'd had enough and messaged the person involved and  said I would contact the Organisation directly if I didn't have the letter by close of business as well as saying that I will never recommend them because despite the fact that they are a Feral Cat rescue group focusing on sterilizing feral cats, and then returning them back to their area where they are fed and monitored, they appeared to have zero interest in having Zeepha sterilized.  Well, after a month of being nice getting angry worked like a charm Friday evening at about 18.00 I received my letter and made an appointment for the procedure next Monday the 8th.  Ridiculous to have to make such an issue about such a simple thing GRRR.

Hopefully I can collect our new Bonsai baby this week, it was scheduled for last week but the grower was unwell and we delayed collection, another exciting 'hobby' to embark on so, wish me luck given that I have already managed to kill one.

We have a relatively busy week ahead with trips to Stellenbosch, Hermanus and Kleinmond in the planning, Praise the Lord I have an understanding Hubby who 'gets it' when I just don't have the energy to always go with, thank you my Angel.

Well folks, lots of domestic news this week but no new adventures to speak of.  I want to encourage you when you are out and about, take a thought for those people you come across and spread some kindness and love, just because you can.  Stay safe out there and don't forget to tell your loved ones how much you appreciate them. Ciao ciao

Zeepha discovered a basket this week.