My Life's Winding Roads: Happy Easter

My Life's Winding Roads: Happy Easter: Good morning all, on this last Monday of March. Well I have being seeing a lot of 'memories' from this time last year which is whe...

Happy Easter

Good morning all, on this last Monday of March. Well I have being seeing a lot of 'memories' from this time last year which is when South Africa was placed under a 21 day Hard Lockdown, which in actual fact went way beyond the allotted time and we are still, like the rest of the world under some level of lockdown. Up until then I had only really associated the word with TV shows and movies with regards to a prison being locked down or similar circumstances. I know that I for one, had no clue that the world was going to change so much, that we would a year later, still be living a different kind of life, in fact sometimes I have to remind myself that SA is still under Level one. It was and has been a challenging year but also a year of immense growth individually as I have learnt to shop differently, do things differently, appreciate even the smallest moments to the utmost, to name just a few areas. We have all been stretched way out of our comfort zones and discovered new things about ourselves, I am sure. This 'new' lifestyle is however, only worth the change if we continue to live up to the changes within ourselves. For many years I have have said that every moment we have here, with our family and friends, fulfilling ambitions, is precious because tomorrow is never promised. This past year has highlighted that even more, as most of you know I have had Fibromyalgia for a long time and along the way I've had times where I have been extremely frustrated at what I can no longer do, but I came to a decision awhile back that if there are things that are beyond me then I will learn and do different things. To that end I embarked on the project of restoring the chest and that just encouraged me to reach further and turn my hand to other DIY projects. My head is spinning with all that I want to do and yes, I realize that some are and will be beyond me, but with God's grace I am going to do as much as I can. I took this week off from the 'heavy' work in order to give my body some healing time and did little things around the house like filling up holes and cracks in the walls - where nails etc have been removed. Next is to paint those areas and move onto various other areas that need attention i.e. we have a north facing wall which has always been a problem due to dampness. Hubby has been up on the roof more times than I can count sealing areas that look like they could be the point of entry for water and even sealing those that appeared unlikely. It has left us with a double volume wall that in some places has blistered and the paint has flaked off, my next indoor task is going to be trying to get rid of all the problem paint and plaster, then to seal and repaint as much as I can, I'm not good on ladders so Hubby will have to do the high work. To my friends who worry that I never sit still 😂 I am learning to take breaks or even a day between tasks and when to give my body the time it needs hehe. On Saturday we had the girls around for a soup day, the weather started off cold and rainy and I put a big pot of veggie soup on, made the dough for ciabatta bread and, when the girls arrived Poppet and I made a split pea and chorizo soup in the Instant Pot. Both soups were delicious even though the weather had cleared and we had made enough that we were each able to freeze a liter of each soup, so four liters of soup left over. Whoop whoop, I love freezing good meals for those days when cooking is just too much. Yesterday we did absolutely nothing except relax and as Saturday was a cooked food day I declared it a help yourself kind of day ......... until I got to thinking about the apples that were in the fridge and decided to make an apple crumble which was our supper covered with custard 😁 Yummmmm. The Bears are off this week to Natal for a short break which is sorely needed, enjoy and relax please you two. Jelly Bean and Princess are going to house sit for them, Princess will stay two days as she is going away for Easter and a Jelly Bean will hand over the house sitting to a family friend on Friday for the weekend - I know they are looking forward to some good 'girl time' together. Big Guy has been quiet but I know that when he is overrun work wise that is what happens and compared to the challenges he faced last year with work I am delighted that he is busy, miss you son - big time. Hubby worked on clocks and watches most of the week and really cleared the backlog, as soon a some leave more seem to arrive. He also got to do a little bit of work on the deck in between which is exciting. Well folks, that's most of my news for this week, everyone is healthy and busy, I hope today's Blog finds you and yours the same. To those who are going to be traveling please, please be safe and take all necessary precautions. On behalf of my family I wish you all a blessed Easter and wherever you are going to be, make the most of every minute. Ciao ciao. 

Such concentration and  peace

My Life's Winding Roads: A week of this and that.

My Life's Winding Roads: A week of this and that.: Good morning all and for those in South Africa happy Public holiday. I don't want to say it too loudly but I think we can whisper tha...

A week of this and that.

Good morning all and for those in South Africa happy Public holiday. I don't want to say it too loudly but I think we can whisper that winter is going to make an early appearance this year 👏🏻, it is the first year since we've been back that there has been rain accompanied by cold fronts this early. Since we moved down in 2016 winter has only really started showing her face in May even towards June so, there is absolutely no complaint from me 😁 We have had two cold fronts in as many weeks and since sometime Saturday evening the wind has been howling. Yesterday we had all the local family for lunch as a triple celebration you might call it, Jelly Bean's birthday this past week, the 10th anniversary of Poppet's radical surgery making her cancer free and the Bears celebrating their 8th wedding Anniversay. Oh how I wished Big Guy could have joined us. In true family tradition I made a big pot of beef curry (cooked it on Saturday), rice, rotis and sambals, a good choice as everyone seemed to tuck in and the 'big black pot' was empty, nothing a mom enjoys seeing more. Thank you guys for coming through and making it such a fun day. The week was busy as usual, I worked a little bit with the paint stripping of the 'unit', I worked on some of the plants indoors, putting a couple into ICU to perk them up. Jelly Bean, Charlie and I took a drive into Kleinmond for a few necessities and then I decided to bake a cake ............. shock of shocks hahaha. I think it must be more than a decade since I tried my hand at a sponge cake, mainly because I got fed up with them not coming out perfectly. I am now on a mission to find 'the' perfect vanilla sponge recipe. The one I made on Wednesday looked very nice, rose well and tasted quite good BUT, I had asked Hubby to bring a brick of marge home and the only one he could find was a brand I've never used before. It had a very high fat content and as a result I felt the cake was a little dense. I really should share what happened, when I was pouring the icing sugar into the scale (which is small) the box slipped out of my hand and we had a snow covered kitchen 🤦🏻‍♀️ It went EVERYWHERE, Jelly Bean just looked at me in horror, so not what I needed, anyway after some time we had it all cleaned up and could carry on. Later that evening I was taking out a 1L container of left over potato soup to reheat and that too just 'jumped' out of my hand 😭😭. Its trajectory was very interesting, down onto the floor and my foot (I had flip flops on) then the contents bounced right back up and under everything possible EEUUWWWW. Cold, squishy potato soup all over my foot and the floor, up the fridge, under the fridge, under the table and on every shelf is NOT my idea of fun and made the icing snow look like a picnic. UGHHH Dear Hubby helped me clean it up but I am convinced that in months to come I am going to find remnants of it somewhere. Charlie didn't know whether to finish eating his supper or licking the soup and spent a few minutes bouncing between the two areas - a chew here and a lick there 🤦🏻‍♀️🤣🤣. If I don't laugh I may never stop crying so laugh it is. So now for the next cake recipe on the list, hehe at this rate it is gong to be a cake a week not that Hubby or Jelly Bean are complaining I might add. I have busied myself with adjusting and doing things in and around the house i.e. Sorting out the curtains, getting Hubby to make me some aluminum curtain tie backs / hooks, re-arranging book shelves and putting away the literally hundreds of cd's and videos which we never use as they are all downloaded and available. I think I may have mentioned last week that I had found a GORGEOUS big glass bottle and due to some kind neighbors it arrived on Saturday and is now sitting in place of honour on the dining room table 😍😍, I could not be happier with my purchase. Hubby has pretty much almost caught up on the clocks and watches and can now turn his attention back to the deck, especially with the cooler weather rolling in. The family are all well, Big Guy got to be in his 'happy place' as he was DJ'ing on Saturday night at a St Patrick's Day event, it's the one thing he misses from his old job. The girls are doing well and always busy, their little kittens are growing daily and becoming even cuter. Princess had a school camp during the week which she thoroughly enjoyed as it was a good opportunity for her to bond with her new classmates. The Bears are as usual always busy and have been busy with an international Cross Fit event so there were a few groans and moans yesterday when movement was required 😂. Miss Muffet and Mr Muffet both got their first CoVid vaccines in the U.K. and the boys are growing in leaps and bounds. Folks on this note I am going to wish you all a wonderful week and get down to being extremely lazy today, I plan to do nothing except read and drink copious cups of tea mmmmmm. Please stay well and stay safe, for those who are on the roads today get home safely. Ciao ciao My bargain glass bottle.

Zeepha investigating 

The first experiment on the road to perfection lol

One down, one to go

 

Good morning friends and family, I hope today's Blog finds you all well and ready to tackle the week ahead.  After a very industrious week I am almost ready to pick up the sander again.  Thank goodness we have had not one, but two cold fronts come through since last Tuesday, such a welcome relief I cannot tell you.  Yesterday was really the first time that it got noticeably cooler and was a glorious day, it started raining in the afternoon and has not stopped with some very heavy downpours during the night. We had some really hectic winds and  rain earlier in the week.  When you see a warning on Facebook telling you to tie your roof down then be assured it is going to BLOW hard hehe I truly love it.

After doing as much on the chest as I could,  on Monday we brought it into the house so that I could carry on despite the weather and  on Wednesday I was able to put it in place and fill it up, my goodness me it has so much space that I was even surprised yaaaay.

All that then led to the question of what to put on it as a centerpiece hmmmmm, I soon decided on making a terrarium and then the hunt was on for a suitable big, glass rose bowl.  I did kind of get a wee bit sidetracked on my search and also found a gorgeous big, fat, old bottle which unfortunately is in Swellendam - a little bit far to just pop in and collect so after some scheming, I asked on one of our local groups if anyone was going that way and a very kind lady called to say her husband is going this week and will gladly bring it back for me 👏🏻.  Poppet very kindly collected the rose bowl for me and I spent Saturday making my first terrarium 😁, I think it still needs one extra plant but seeing as there is not even a pinch of moss to be found anywhere and I'm not sure what else to add I will add them when I find them.  That little exercise then morphed into me adding new pot plants and replacing some that were really looking very sad - it's like a snowball effect 🤣🤣.  Now that I look at the 'new' lounge I have decided that I am going to knit / crochet two of the big, round ottomans. using T-Yarn, I have already found a number of patterns.  I did promise myself and Jelly Bean that I would wait a full week before starting on the wooden unit which is waiting on the deck for sanding and restoring, I even dreamt about sanding it down, it's much easier in my dream though haha.   Having said that and having tasted the satisfaction of seeing the article change under my hands I am raring to start, one down and one to go.  Happily I managed to catch up on thehousehold things that had been waiting in line.  Hubby now also has a full tin of rusks again, he also made some more headway on the deck by cladding the outside of the bottom wall and along the top above where the sliding windows will be, it is really starting to look real and take shape.  He is constantly busy with clocks and watches and also has a small design job to do.

The  girls flew up to Pretoria on Friday and Jelly Bean was asked to house and pet sit, this was a first for her and she did a stirling job, it meant for a quiet weekend for us though.  After we dropped her off on Friday we had a long list of stops and chores and at about 17.30 I just couldn't go another step,  so my dear Hubby said we would cancel the grocery shopping and he would get what we needed on Saturday.  After stopping to collect some awesome fish and savoury rice (my favourite) we eventually got home after 18.00 to hungry animals, a line still full of the mornings two loads of washing etc, by that time I was operating on automatic and pain killers.  I find it extremely frustrating dealing with the limitations that Fibromyalgia forces me to confront i.e. On the way home I realized I had not done the shopping  for Jelly Bean's birthday present, her birthday is on Wednesday and one other stop I didn't get to grrrr, purely because I could not physically have managed.  Yesterday when we went in to Somerset West to collect her I did the birthday shopping and I finished the other stops before we headed for the glorious quiet of home.  We had a beautiful cool day here in BB with soft rain falling all afternoon and ended up having a small braai for supper.  The best way to end off a really active, busy week.

After all that news folks, I wish you a wonderful week.  May all your endeavors and projects be successful and please stay well and safe.

Ta daa 

 This beautiful sight on our way into SW yesterday

My Life's Winding Roads: Rain, glorious rain.

Good morning everyone from a gorgeous cool BB,  what a complete antithesis of last week.  Yesterday we awoke to  soft gentle rain and a mist covered mountain as the first cold front moved through the Western Cape,  it truly gives me hope that cooler days are ahead 😁. 

Well certainly a productive, busy week behind us and probably a similar one ahead.  My main occupation last week was the stripping of the chest, I spent hours stripping and scraping and was beginning to feel I would never get finished haha.  On Friday Hubby and I went for a cup of coffee and also to get the correct sealer and tint, I am learning as I go on this project.  When  Hubby dearest helped me by sanding the lid right down to bare wood I thought perhaps we had sanded too far down and was worried about how I was going to match the colours - hmmmm apparently I am supposed to sand right down 🤦🏻‍♀️.  Armed with this knowledge,  on Saturday I was out early and determined to finish this part of the project, it took me until lunchtime and I don't think Hubby or Jelly Bean have ever seen me so dirty 😂 but, I finished sanding down all four sides and the sides of the lid.  For hours afterwards my hands still felt like they were vibrating. After a good steamy shower and fresh clothes I spent the rest of the afternoon on the bed and admittedly was much the same yesterday being in a world of pain.  All that said it is worth it for the sense of achievement and seeing how beautiful it is starting to look now.  This week I am going to clean up all the brass plates, then get to the best bit .... staining and sealing woo hoo.

Between us there were also quite a few trips into town as I had to go to Hermanus on Tuesday with Jelly Bean and then Somerset West on Wednesday to the optician.  That was a pleasant visit compared to the past.  In the last two years there has been an insignificant change in my short vision and a minor change to distance vision, so much so that my glasses were ready the next day.  In the past it was always bad news and it took six to eight for my lenses to arrive as they came from either Israel or Germany. 👀

Hubby has been busy clearing the backlog on watches and clocks and has also made some headway on the deck by enclosing the bottom and starting to prepare for the windows. He also made two trips to town for wood, watch spares and various other errands.

The family are all doing well, Princess is settling into school and doing very well in her tests, she is also going to Hockey trials this week.  As her school does not specialise in sport she is going to be joining a Club, I could not be happier for her as that is where she is happiest, on the sportsfield.  

The Bears took their kitty to the vet as he has lost weight and generally been under the weather, thank goodness they did because he was  diagnosed with Diabetes and is now receiving insulin injections twice a day, poor old Gandalf, at least they know what it is and it is treatable.

On an entirely different note - on Clarence Drive (the coast road into Gordon's Bay, SW etc) there are many pull over ares for people to picnic, take pictures or just enjoy the view.  At the highest point, right above a very popular surfing  spot there is a Shark Lookout Hut which flies various coloured flags informing the public of the status of the water, shark wise.  It is almost 99.99% of the time a black flag which means no sharks and bad visibility.  Wednesday on my way in they were flying a white shark flag and on the way home a red flag.  The various flags are as follows : 

A red flag – The most serious of all beach warning flags, red flags warn swimmers of serious hazards in the water. One red flag means that the surf is high or there are dangerous currents, or both. Though you can still swim if there is a red flag, you should use extreme caution and go in the water only if you’re a strong swimmer.

A green flag means that the spotting conditions are good and no sharks have been seen. 

A black flag means that the spotting conditions are poor, but no sharks have been seen. 

A white flag with a black shark diagram means that a shark is currently near the beach, and beach users must get out of the water. A siren is sounded and the white flag is raised. 

It is exciting because the Orca whales have killed off and chased all the great white sharks from False Bay, hopefully things are returning to normal in the Bay for the marine life.

Well folks, I think that about sums up my week, hopefully next week I will be showing you photos of the finished chest 🤞🏻.  As South Africa has been moved to Level 1 I want to encourage everyone both here and overseas to continue taking all the same CoVid  precautions and not relax your protocols,  perhaps if we all do this a third wave can be avoided or at best minimised.  Stay safe and stay well, I wish you all a wonderful week.  Ciao ciao 

An epic sunset we saw a few weeks ago. Clarence Drive looking across towards Cape Point.

Gandalf the Great

Rain, glorious rain.

Good morning everyone from a gorgeous cool BB,  what a complete antithesis of last week.  Yesterday we awoke to  soft gentle rain and a mist covered mountain as the first cold front moved through the Western Cape,  it truly gives me hope that cooler days are ahead 😁. 

Well certainly a productive, busy week behind us and probably a similar one ahead.  My main occupation last week was the stripping of the chest, I spent hours stripping and scraping and was beginning to feel I would never get finished haha.  On Friday Hubby and I went for a cup of coffee and also to get the correct sealer and tint, I am learning as I go on this project.  When  Hubby dearest helped me by sanding the lid right down to bare wood I thought perhaps we had sanded too far down and was worried about how I was going to match the colours - hmmmm apparently I am supposed to sand right down 🤦🏻‍♀️.  Armed with this knowledge,  on Saturday I was out early and determined to finish this part of the project, it took me until lunchtime and I don't think Hubby or Jelly Bean have ever seen me so dirty 😂 but, I finished sanding down all four sides and the sides of the lid.  For hours afterwards my hands still felt like they were vibrating. After a good steamy shower and fresh clothes I spent the rest of the afternoon on the bed and admittedly was much the same yesterday being in a world of pain.  All that said it is worth it for the sense of achievement and seeing how beautiful it is starting to look now.  This week I am going to clean up all the brass plates, then get to the best bit .... staining and sealing woo hoo.

Between us there were also quite a few trips into town as I had to go to Hermanus on Tuesday with Jelly Bean and then Somerset West on Wednesday to the optician.  That was a pleasant visit compared to the past.  In the last two years there has been an insignificant change in my short vision and a minor change to distance vision, so much so that my glasses were ready the next day.  In the past it was always bad news and it took six to eight for my lenses to arrive as they came from either Israel or Germany. 👀

Hubby has been busy clearing the backlog on watches and clocks and has also made some headway on the deck by enclosing the bottom and starting to prepare for the windows. He also made two trips to town for wood, watch spares and various other errands.

The family are all doing well, Princess is settling into school and doing very well in her tests, she is also going to Hockey trials this week.  As her school does not specialise in sport she is going to be joining a Club, I could not be happier for her as that is where she is happiest, on the sportsfield.  

The Bears took their kitty to the vet as he has lost weight and generally been under the weather, thank goodness they did because he was  diagnosed with Diabetes and is now receiving insulin injections twice a day, poor old Gandalf, at least they know what it is and it is treatable.

On an entirely different note - on Clarence Drive (the coast road into Gordon's Bay, SW etc) there are many pull over ares for people to picnic, take pictures or just enjoy the view.  At the highest point, right above a very popular surfing  spot there is a Shark Lookout Hut which flies various coloured flags informing the public of the status of the water, shark wise.  It is almost 99.99% of the time a black flag which means no sharks and bad visibility.  Wednesday on my way in they were flying a white shark flag and on the way home a red flag.  The various flags are as follows : 

A red flag – The most serious of all beach warning flags, red flags warn swimmers of serious hazards in the water. One red flag means that the surf is high or there are dangerous currents, or both. Though you can still swim if there is a red flag, you should use extreme caution and go in the water only if you’re a strong swimmer.

A green flag means that the spotting conditions are good and no sharks have been seen. 

A black flag means that the spotting conditions are poor, but no sharks have been seen. 

A white flag with a black shark diagram means that a shark is currently near the beach, and beach users must get out of the water. A siren is sounded and the white flag is raised. 

It is exciting because the Orca whales have killed off and chased all the great white sharks from False Bay, hopefully things are returning to normal in the Bay for the marine life.

Well folks, I think that about sums up my week, hopefully next week I will be showing you photos of the finished chest 🤞🏻.  As South Africa has been moved to Level 1 I want to encourage everyone both here and overseas to continue taking all the same CoVid  precautions and not relax your protocols,  perhaps if we all do this a third wave can be avoided or at best minimised.  Stay safe and stay well, I wish you all a wonderful week.  Ciao ciao 

An epic sunset we saw a few weeks ago. Clarence Drive looking across towards Cape Point.

Gandalf the Great

My Life's Winding Roads: Whirlwind week

My Life's Winding Roads: Whirlwind week: Wow whirlwind week, good morning everyone from our beautiful corner of the continent. We have had a week of extreme weather, very hot and ...

Whirlwind week

Wow whirlwind week, good morning everyone from our beautiful corner of the continent. We have had a week of extreme weather, very hot and humid and then from Thursday evening a very strong South Easter which I welcome with open arms as it cools everything down. It is not always a good thing for instance with the raging fires outside of Stellenbosch, these have been going for more than five days and covered an extensive area. With the South Easter fanning the flames and the difficult terrain it makes things extremely difficult for the firefighters, I know that on Saturday there were 236 firefighters on the ground and it is an exhausting job, prayers and strength go out to each and every one involved. 

Yesterday we went into Cape Town to visit the Bears and see their gorgeous new home - it could not suit their personalities more if it had been especially made just for them, and I am so happy to see them settled and enjoying making it their own. After a magnificent Tappas lunch and lots of catching up, we left CT and the temperature was 36c and no wind, Somerset West and Gordons Bay also 36 c, Rooi Els was 32c and our beautiful village was a miraculous 24c with a cool South Easter, what more could I ask for ? Before moving off topic, I have never seen so much traffic or the beaches so full, even at Christmas time. It was like every Capetonian looked outside and said "pack the car, it's Sunday", this is a very outdoors minded Province. Well the week started off busy and stayed that way, Poppet had seen someone selling a trunk/ottoman over the weekend and after much communication we drove through to CT on Tuesday to buy it. First of all it is solid mango wood = heavy, secondly it was on the third floor of an apartment block with no lift 😬. The moment we saw it I knew it was absolutely perfect and after lots of huffing and puffing we got it downstairs, onto the roof and home, it has now become my new project - stripping and sanding all the varnish off and then I will seal it properly. After ages of using the sander Hubby took over and finished the lid for me and so far I have 99% finished stripping the back - I took a break over the weekend to build up some energy reserves and will resume again today hopefully. It is going to look absolutely stunning when finished and I can't wait to see it in the lounge (also looking forward to all the extra storage space it will give us) whoop, whoop. At the same time I am also stripping the unit Poppet returned which is an even bigger job. Now that the server is gone Hubby was able to catch up on the watches and clocks and he also enclosed the bottom portion on the front of the deck, that is really starting to become a reality now which is super exciting. I saw this week on a FB memory that we started exactly two years ago, gee time flies down here. Dear Jelly Bean had her return Dentist appointment and thank goodness for the timing. When he reopened her tooth expecting to find all the infection gone, it was just the opposite and all still sitting there, so with some delicate and thorough work and he was able to clean it all out and put in a new filling, hopefully now she will start to feel better - it's been bothering her for more than a month. That, folks was my whirlwind week, traveling, sanding, paint stripping and tea breaks in between, if my predictions are correct that will be the pattern for this coming week. It is purely from a physical energy reason that I have not finished the entire trunk because if I was able, it would be done and standing in place of honour in the lounge hehehe. I wish you all a wonderful week, find someone who you can share some kindness with, even if it just greeting a person you pass in the street with a smile. I was so blessed yesterday to see a Police car stopped on the side of the very busy highway and the two Policemen helping an elderly gentleman change his flat tyre 💙. Please stay safe and healthy, Ciao ciao

Before and now our trunk

 Panda, one of the Bears' cats playing cute.