My Life's Winding Roads: Wind, WIND and rain

My Life's Winding Roads: Wind, WIND and rain: Good morning folks from a chilly, wind blown and very wet BB, winter heard our plea and came back with a force last Thursday with the wind ...

Wind, WIND and rain

Good morning folks from a chilly, wind blown and very wet BB, winter heard our plea and came back with a force last Thursday with the wind gusting at just under 100 km ph. That is when things get interesting, it reminds me of the movie Twister in the 90's in which a cow blows past the camera giving a loud moo. Things tend to move around here in the Village at such times and it is quite normal for see a post saying "I have a jojo tank in my yard" or "there is a plastic swimming pool covering my fence please will the owner collect" hahaha. For us we batten down the hatches and settle down to the noise, even with the windows closed the curtains still billow out and last night we again had extremely high winds and then the rain comes, it has been pouring non stop since shortly after midnight = one very happy resident. 

We had an odd week filled with ups and downs but on the whole it was very busy, we received another two orders for Embroidery Stands which as is to be expected, go to the top of the work queue for a Hubby, they are both being sent off today to their new homes. Clocks continue to go home fixed and ticking away merrily and I continued to learn new crochet methods, problem solving and reading a pattern correctly. After undoing the pot basket for Poppet three times because I wasn't happy with the shape of pattern I finally finished it early on Saturday morning. In actual working time it takes no more than a couple of hours once you get the hang of it and know what you are doing 😂. I also had the long delay because I ran out of yarn and there I learnt another very valuable lesson, if I make baskets, mats etc for sale I will purchase the better quality Tyarn directly from the factory thereby ensuring that the texture, colour and thickness is consistent . The bigger the object the more consistency is required especially in terms of thickness and colour, much like buying the same Lot number of wool. My next project is to recover our existing square ottomans and making new bath mats, after I have finished a slouchy shrug I am busy with for Jelly Bean. For this I unwound a gorgeous Aran type cable knit cardigan I made years ago and it proved too thick and was either too small or too big for any of us girls in the family, to get the 'thickness' I am knitting with two strands of wool held together. 

Cooking and baking are still proving to be an interesting challenge with more successes than failures on the whole, I will during the course of this week if I can, share the recipe for the GF Shortbread. Still on the baking side of things, the doggie biscuits I make with peanut butter have become more important that the actual kibble our dogs eat. At lunch times I give them all a biscuit or two and for Charlie a small portion of kibble, without fail he will walk away from the kibble and eat his biscuit first. With little Max having no teeth I crumble up his biscuit and he then devours it 🙈.  

Well folks, it looks like SA is well into the third wave of CoVid and Level 4 was reintroduced this morning so life continues to remain unpredictable. If we are to look at the world, our country, leaders, people around us we are going to be in trouble. There is only God Himself we can look to with confidence, He alone is the ONLY thing that is constant and immovable. 

Samuel 22 v 3 My God is my rock, in Whom I take refuge Malachi 3 v 6 " For I am the Lord, I change not. 

Hebrews 13 v 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. 

When everything is going haywire and unpredictable and none of us knows the outcome or the timeline, God is my Refuge, He is the only One I can depend on. I wish you all a wonderful week, please stay safe and healthy. Until next week Ciao Ciao. 

The first Tyarn basket.

My Life's Winding Roads: Please winter come back

My Life's Winding Roads: Please winter come back: Good morning everyone from a winterless Bettys Bay, we are still eagerly watching the horizon for signs of winter, there are two cold front...

Please winter come back

Good morning everyone from a winterless Bettys Bay, we are still eagerly watching the horizon for signs of winter, there are two cold fronts predicted for this week but, well ......... we are hoping and praying. This past week has been a continuation of short sleeves etc, even the girls said yesterday "where is this winter we were promised ?"

It was a fairly quiet week as they go, mostly because last Saturday I hurt my back coming out of the restaurant, with heat it was almost ok and then we had to go into Kleinmond on Tuesday, I took Charlie in his new sling and that was a bad, bad idea. I spent the rest of the week 'attached' to my heating pad and a hot water bottle, thank the Lord it is feeling much better. At the same time my tummy decided to prove to me (yet again) and the Doctor that I cannot take anti-inflammatories, it is now confirmed beyond a doubt hehe. On Friday Jelly Bean and I took a quick trip into town again but this was a minimalist trip and we left Charlie at home, very unhappy little dog when I do that. The Vet has prescribed medication for his feet as they get so itchy that he has chewed and licked just about all the fur off them, I'm really praying these will help and he can be comfortable. 

Hubby has installed some more glass along the top of the deck and still has a constant stream of clocks and watches coming in which is really awesome. One gent gave him parts of two clocks which were similar, Anniversary Clocks, this means they only get wound once every a year. Clever man that he is he fixed the one perfectly and the owner did not want the rest of the parts back so he has rebuilt the second Anniversary Clock for us. After much fiddling and attention it is now running perfectly and is really gorgeous, all we are looking for now is a glass dome to fit over it 👀. He also received a clock which someone built from a kit which has never run correctly. Eventually he figured out that the problem was that the weights were too light so, no problem he went and bought some lead which he then melted and cast into the correct size and weight, voila the clock is running and keeping perfect time. I am so proud of him and the way he has taught himself such a finicky trade. 

As most of you know I am on a quest to discover good Gluten Free recipes and substitutes - I had purchased a different brand of All purpose GF flour during the month and decided to make some biscuits with it, so Thursday was baking day and true to form Zeepha was my Sous Chef, I should really get her a little chef's hat. Anyway I was very busy and turned to get a fork out of the drawer and although she was sitting on the counter it didn't really register in my brain - I pushed the drawer closed with my hip and ........ with an almighty shriek and yeowl of pain and fright she launched herself at me because her tail got smooshed in the drawer. Oh my word so much drama, I felt SO bad for hurting her, she is such a gentle, unobtrusive little soul. I, however did not fare quite as well my tummy got the back feet and my left hand got gouged as she fought me off, thank goodness she doesn't bare a grudge and still loves me, on the plus side the biscuits are absolutely delicious especially after I drizzled dark chocolate over one side. As I am waiting to get more T-yarn I decided to repurpose a jersey I made Jelly Bean years ago and which she barely wore, it was a weird pattern, so we unraveled it and rolled it into big balls and this week I began making her a loose, comfy shrug type of jersey, the thing I'm getting used to is because it is double knit it takes a LOT longer to grow as opposed to knitting with thick T-yarn 😂 

The family are well, Princess finished writing her exams and also had a surprise visit on Friday when her boyfriend flew in for the weekend. BabyBear also finished the first half of the course she is doing and they went away for the weekend as well to unwind and relax. Everyone else is well and working hard. Yesterday Poppet and Princess came over for Father's Day lunch and brought so much pudding with them, we had a wonderful lazy afternoon and for the first time in more than a month they did not have to rush off for studying or school projects. 

We have a somewhat busier week ahead of us with two trips into Somerset West for me for Doctors visit and another test, such fun , notttt. I will be looking to the horizon all week for those cold fronts, be assured. Folks, I wish you all a wonderful week, please stay safe and well. Ciao Ciao 

Charlie getting a cuddle from Jelly Bean while we were chatting

My Life's Winding Roads: Fun and surprises

My Life's Winding Roads: Fun and surprises: Greetings everyone from a summery Betty's Bay, someone stole our winter and I for one am very upset about it . For the last week and a...

Fun and surprises

Greetings everyone from a summery Betty's Bay, someone stole our winter and I for one am very upset about it . For the last week and a bit we have had anything but winter -warm to just plain hot days and most nights as well, to the point that we've been wearing sleeveless tops and sandals, even summer pj's 🤷🏻‍♀️. I put out a plea earlier on the week for the thief to return our winter, but so far no response, maybe I should offer a reward ??? Well, just for a change it was quite a busy and definitely interesting week from the get go. Charlie's new special sling arrived on Monday as promised and I gave it a trial run whilst hanging up the washing, halfway through I transferred him to Jelly Bean and he was as happy as could be, in fact when we came in he didn't want to get out and continued to sit in the sling on Jelly Bean's Lap. Today we are going into Kleinmond and he will have an opportunity to show it off and 'advertise' it, I am still blown away by the generosity of this gift from a complete stranger, may the Lord bless the work of her hands and her business. On Tuesday we were all off to Somerset West to get a few things and I had an apppointment with a new doctor who will be treating me for everything from here on, she is fantastic and more thorough than I've experienced in more than six years. She called for a full blood work up which resulted in me having to go into Kleinmond early the next day for a total of 27 different tests, thank goodness not 27 bottles of blood 😂 , the Sister managed to get away with 8 bottles and I have to have one more test done today. After the Doctor we visited the girls and had the most wonderful dinner and pudding, Poppet really outdid herself and it was so good to see them after two weeks of Princess studying flat out. She will be finished mid year exms at the end of this week and has truly put her heart and soul into studying, well done my angel I am very proud of you. As soon as I could I began my pouf/ottoman and also remade the inner covers for both after buying a stronger darker fabric. Mine was completed on Friday and I filled it yesterday with great delight, they have given me a huge amount of satisfaction and enjoyment in the making. Yesterday I began a plant basket for Poppet out of the same T-yarn and was doing fine until I ran out 😔. This I am crocheting and learnt some new skills in doing so, I've never read a crochet pattern before (always worked out of my head) - now I can read one and have learnt how to make a magic hole, join two ends together and a couple of other things, yaaay me. I'm looking forward to getting more yarn and completing her basket before doing a recover on our old cube ottomans. On Saturday for the first time since 2016 we were privileged to share Princess' birthday and even more blessed because she turned 18, I truly have no clue how she grew up so fast. One minute I was watching her take her first breath and now she is this gorgeous, confident, intelligent, brave, funny young lady - it truly has been awesome watching her grow up and I am looking forward to seeing what God has in store for her in the coming years, and it has to be said - Congratulations to Poppet in raising such a beautiful young women, you've done an amazing job and are a really special Mom my angel. For the birthday celebration we went to Vergelegen Wine Farm where we had a fantastic meal, lots of laughs and stories - all that was needed to make it 110% perfect was if Big Guy, BabyBear, Miss Muffet and her family had been there with us, we missed you all. The rest of the family are all doing well and are healthy which is the most important thing. Like other families during CoVid, there have been some major challenges within the family especially on the business front and I give God all the glory for having a family who know how to stand in faith against every wind of adversity and trust Him to turn every situation around #neverstoppraying. Dear old Max our yorkie, with the emphasis on old, is really starting to lose his marbles we are quite sure his vision is very minimal these days and his bark has changed as well hehe. When the other dogs are barking at something he will stand on the deck staring at the glass door and howl/bark, he has no clue what they are fussing about but absolutely has to join in. He will ask to come inside and then two minutes later will be standing at the door to go out, a very confused little boy. The only time he gets extremely vocal and over excited is at mealtimes when he springs around like a baby goat with all kinds of grunts and yips, currently we just enjoy every day he has with us. Folks, that's about all the important news of the week, I am truly praying for a cooler week and looking forward to re-stocking my T-yarn supply as soon as possible. From my family to yours we wish you a wonderful week, please stay safe and healthy. Ciao ciao. 18th Birthday Celebrations.

Charlie in his sling.

My Life's Winding Roads: A week of accomplishments

My Life's Winding Roads: A week of accomplishments: Good morning folks I hope today's Blog finds everyone well.  This last week we have had very mild winter weather with warm sunny days an...

A week of accomplishments

Good morning folks I hope today's Blog finds everyone well.  This last week we have had very mild winter weather with warm sunny days and cold evenings with lots of dew, there have been a couple of really windy days / nights but nothing too dramatic  although having said that, one morning we woke up to a clatter in the bathroom, on investigation my cotton towel had been blown off the shower (we put towels over the shower doors at night to dry them)  and was lying in a heap on the shower floor

eeeuuww, and the brass curtain rod had been blown right off hence the clatter 🤷🏻♀️ what can I say when I can't figure it out myself hehe? 

This was certainly a week of accomplishments Hubby dearest found the most gorgeous wooden windows for the side of the deck, they are not what we originally had in mind but are absolutely perfect, made from a very heavy thick wood and along the lines of cottage windows but with bigger panes and all glass is intact whoop whoop.  He also sent some of the other glass off for cutting to size, this will go above the windows along the braai wall and then that side will be completely closed in, it really is coming together now and I am beyond excited about it.  

We also received an urgent order for four Embroidery Lap Stands on Thursday which was a bit of pressure, we sat and stained them yesterday and they will go off today.

I managed to finish a couple of projects I had on the go, unusual for me to have more than one thing going at once but, on unpacking all the dog jackets two weeks ago I was missing one so, after much looking for patterns I took a bit of this and a bit of luck and knitted one out of my head.  It turned out really well and Charlie seems to be very comfortable wearing it 🐩.  The other project which I finished was the knitted ottoman or pouf, again after loads of deliberation and research I decided to fill it with foam chips and spent Saturday doing just that.  One of the things I have learnt especially over the past few years is that, instead of going out to buy what I need very often I can utilize what I already have.  Many people especially overseas, seem to fill their ottomans with old duvets and blankets, I don't have spare of those but what I did have was the two back cushions from the long couch we bought a couple of years ago.  The cushions never seemed to fit properly and were just downright uncomfortable, I thought they were filled with Corifill but when I opened up the inner bag it was chock full of foam chips 👏🏻👏🏻, between that and two foam bolsters I had previously made I topped up the couch cushions on the smaller couches.  For, some reason all the animals like to sleep on the back of the chairs and the cushions subsequently sag, not any more 😁.  First of all I under estimated the size of the ottoman and made the inner bag too short so had to add on to it and then began the process of stuffing it - goodness me it was easier to knit the ottoman than to stuff it but, ventually success and I presented it to Hubby dearest who voted it a success, although having looked at it for two days I am going to change the inner bag to a dark grey.  The second ottoman is already on the needles and I'm  a little wiser on some aspects but I am really chuffed with the result.

I have also been looking at various means of carrying Charlie when we go out, after awhile he gets heavy LOL.  I was considering a doggie 'bag' and used an old tote of mine to try out, he seemed very happy in it and it was way easier for me, even being able to go into a number of stores previously forbidden.  I then  happened to see a post on FB by a lady who is able to take her Toy Poodle with her into her local Spar because she's carries him in a sling, similar to a baby sling, after commenting on her post and asking where she bought the sling we got to talking and she said that she actually makes and sells them.  The price she mentioned was way out of my range so after congratulating her and saying it was just too expensive, she replied that she would like to give me one for Charlie.  I was so blown away by this and ended up telling her the story of how we got him, she was so touched as she has a very big soft spot for rescues she then said that she would give it to us and even though I had offered to pay courier fees she insisted on covering those as well, I received a message on Thursday evening that it should arrive Friday or most likely today and can't wat to see and use it, in return he will be an ambassador for the slings down here in the Western Cape, just so very, very blessed.

Yesterday morning sitting in the lounge I noticed a few leaves from my love palm which is in the terrarium, it would seem that Zeepha was bored and decided for some unknown reason that it needed to be pulled almost completely out and then left alone grrrr,  it is not the easiest of spaces to work in but hopefully I have managed to save it and 🤞🏻she leaves it alone.

The family are all doing well and are all healthy Praise God, Princess is still writing mid year exams AND will be turning 18 this coming weekend, where has the time gone ? I remember her birth as if it was yesterday and now she is tall,  beautiful and about to be 18 😍❤️

As you can see folks, it has been quite an eventful week added to which I am still finding my way around the gluten free and meat free eating, truly there is gluten in almost everything good grief.  There are many substitutes but generally they taste awful so there is a lot of trial and error, strange meals (for me) and research going on.  I baked some Biscotti which are lovely then I decided to up the  ante a little and covered one side of each with melted dark chocolate ...... I'm spoilt forever haha.  The one thing I would dearly love to know is how to cut the Biscotti without them breaking and crumbling, if ANYONE knows that trick please will you share it with me?

For those of you who, like me are resisting the ability to go completely grey I have something to share.  I have tinted my hair for more years than I can remember but over the last few years I've noticed an annoying and increasing itchy scalp, no dry scalp or dandruff.  So, I figured that seeing as I'm busy 'going natural' from the inside out I may as well investigate the natural, chemical free hair dyes.  I did my research and very tongue in cheek ordered a box which, when it arrived was a packet of powder which gets mixed with water.  Memories of henna flew through my mind and being me I did not do a strand test (typical).  Anyway this week I took the plunge and set about following the directions, apart from the smell which is earthy and the consistency which is like pancake batter, I applied half of the packet mixed with water. I was more than sceptical and really did not expect a good result but comforted myself with the fact that at least in trying.  With the same scepticism I pushed the time to as close to there maximum suggested ....... well  folks, believe it or not, a Herbal hair dye WORKS on 100% grey hair with excellent coverage, better than the chemical dye BUT it covered so well that my hair is a generous tad darker than I expected, who knew ???? Next time it will be a shorter application time but the best of all is an almost no itch scalp.  Next is to find a chemical free shampoo and conditioner.

Well folks I think that is enough rambling from my side, I would like to wish each and every one of you a truly wonderful week.  May you stay safe and healthy, may business be good and find it's way to you and may peace fill your hearts and homes.  Ciao ciao.

First Ottoman/pouffe.