Middle of the longest month of the year 🙃

Good morning world how are you all doing ? It can be a rather weird feeling asking a question to an invisible audience I must say, but, being the polite individual that I am I always feel the need to greet you all properly rather than saying "hey you out there" 😄 Well as we trot along in January I will say that so far from my side it has been busy but peaceful, sort of hehe. It has also been jolly hot made worse by the fact that there has been very little wind, I honestly do not know how I managed up in Boksburg where the wind was not a daily occurrence. Happily yesterday from lunchtime onwards it cooled down quite a bit and it was so good to be able to put a tracksuit on and wear my new sheepskin slippers (Christmas gift) 😌 We also bought our first load of wood which filled up the fireplace and I am now even more excited for winter to arrive, I hope it's an early one. I just have to get through to March first 😰 Yesterday Princess asked me how my week had gone and I replied that it had been quiet, that I had caught up with this and that, baked some rusks and some crunchies 💪🏻, did the mending that was sitting there, got all the throws washed and she looked at me and said, " that doesn't sound quiet Gran". It was quiet, I promise - I have now cleared all backlog items off my list with the exception of the bathroom wall which needs painting and I actually spent quite a bit of time reading and resting. It is a bit of a strange feeling not having a list of 'must do's' but I am sure this coming week will find its own things needing to be done. It is also Big Guys birthday on Wednesday and I wish we could be celebrating together, Happy Birthday Son ! I ordered and received my new Hurricane Scrubber and am actually very excited to try it out on the shower for a start so watch this space for an update. When I mentioned this yesterday Poppet laughed and said "you know you are an adult when you get excited about home cleaning appliances" 😂 So true and I sincerely hope this is going to do what I expect and save me very precious energy. Talking household about a week ago when the girls visited, just as they arrived I was removing washing from the line and as I was taking it off I kept thinking something was missing. By the time I was almost finished I realized it was the big fitted sheet for our bed, there was just an empty space ....... I did a quick look around and after a few minutes spotted it adorning a bush on the adjoining plot, shame, Hubby was instantly elected to go forth and conquer the escapee and bring it home, which required a little Bundu bashing on his part 🤣🤣. As you have probably gathered the girls and Princess' boyfriend C came over yesterday and we had a lovely braai, it was very special to get to meet her young man, my little granddaughter has grown up so fast. We had a lovely day just sitting around and chatting, playing with the pets and, oh yes, trying to remove two unwelcome guests who both made an appearance minutes before everyone arrived. 1. A really ugly looking spider who I am not entirely sure was removed or just crawled under the roof beam, and 2. A little Sugarbird, our first one for the year, it was seven hours before we managed to get her out. Speaking of the birds gee whizz they are thirsty at the moment, from 1l a day we are now averaging slightly more than 2l, I am thinking it is because most of the proteas have died and so their main source is no longer available, I try now to keep a full kettle ready with boiled water. Jelly Bean and I decided to have a girls outing during the week, and after popping into Kleinmond for one or two necessities we decided to stay local and went to our favorite local coffee shop with Charlie, where we sat outside and spent a lovely hour just chatting and enjoying the outdoors Charlie of course joined right in and made himself at home as he usually does. I dug out an old ball which I bought years ago that you put treats into and they have to figure out how to get the treat, well ....... neither of the other dogs even so much as held the ball in their mouths so it got put away. I decided the other day it might keep him busy for awhile so filled it and gave it to him, he had the treats rolling out in less that 30 seconds - so much for keeping him busy. He has developed a love affair with his soft football and is doing a good job of fetching and returning 😁. As for the itchy paws we still don't have a solution, I am seriously considering getting him little booties to see if they will at least stop him chewing. I did see the cutest little doggie sandals but the family are threatening to disown me if I put them on him 🤷🏻‍♀️🤔, It's not a fashion statement guys it's a medical treatment 😂 Well folks, that is all my news for today, I wish you and yours a fabulous week ahead, for those going back to work enjoy but most of all please stay safe and stay well. I now personally know of too many people who have had CoVid and a too many who have passed away as a result, so please, please be careful, sanitize, mask up and keep your distance, each one of you is precious and valuable. Ciao ciao Charlie enjoying tea with the ladies.