My Life's Winding Roads: April is underway.

My Life's Winding Roads: April is underway.:   Good morning all, apologies for being a couple of hours late.  It has been somewhat of a whirlwind, very long month.  We have still not le...

April is underway.

 Good morning all, apologies for being a couple of hours late.  It has been somewhat of a whirlwind, very long month.  We have still not left summer completely behind, much to my chagrin.  Most of the days are still very hot but the nights are a little cooler.  For someone like me this is "hard" 😭  According to weather News we are going to be in for a drier than normal winter, also SAD news.  The rest of the country is literally in flood and we are dry as bones. hmmppff.

What happened in March ?  Oh my goodness, it seems like such a long time ago. Let me start with the beginning.  Two weeks after my knee surgery and 5 days after my last blog, Jelly Bean had a house sitting job over the weekend in Pringle Bay, a neighbouring village.  The day before she started, we went to fetch the keys and the house was in an uproar because one of the young cats had disappeared. it was found soon after.  She left in the Friday and on the Saturday night at sunset I got a phone call from a sobbing JB.  Said cat had escaped and she had spent 45 mins looking with no results.  Hubby and I packed the dogs in the car and went off to help search .  I got out of the car and she and I found the cat hiding under the deck. 🤦🏻‍♀️.  It took us over an hour to coax the cat out and I managed to grab hold of it.  The next step was to get it inside.  Yeah right....  She started biting me so I used my left hand to hold her by the scruff and right hand holding her body. Then we went up the deck, only 3 steps .  I took the first too but neither leg was able to take the third step. There was a concrete column on my left and I "assumed" another to my right.  I learnt against the right column ..... There was nothing and I fell straight off the deck like a tall tree -  timberrr !! The cat got away, my head bounced as I landed, thank goodness it was grass.  It took me a few mins to shake the black dots and figure out what happened.  JB nearly passed out with fright. Then I was up and the search started again but now in the pitch black garden. Said cat was - you guessed it , black and white.  Eventually we saw her in a wire built gardening cage/shed.  I couldn't maneuver around the planters so JB went in and I stood at the gate with a small towel to catch kitty.  Hmmm kitty shot off under a corner of the cage and flew up the high staircase to the top deck.  We had tried cornering her up there a few times already.  JB went up one side and I went up the other.  By some miracle she didn't run and JB was able to slide a door open .  YAAY cat safe, the other 4 animals intrigued. JB shaking and mother bleeding up a storm and still a bit woozy.  For the next 4 or 5 days I felt like a freight train had travelled over me multiple times.   Beyond that no damage to my knee and apart from a tetanus shot I was fine.  Sheesh I  did not know house sitting could be so dangerous 😂

Happier times were coming as JB celebrated her birthday on the 17th.  She requested a certain meal, as is our tradition and we had a lovely day.  She and I went for a lovely coffee as well. In between all of this was the usual work and catch up daily routine, in between trips to SW for various reasons. I had some extremely frustrating work come in, twice in a row. The first was to hem 8 square pieces if chiffon, big pieces.  After declaring "never again" about seeing chiffon and sending blessings to all those ladies who work with it all the time (you are saints), I received another call from a very stressed bride-to-be awho needed 3  x 16 m x .50 m edged. 🤦🏻‍♀️😭. Of course I said yes and spent days edging them, cutting off little slivers of threads etc, etc. I had to do the one twice so at the end 132m of chiffon, enough to give me nightmares.  During all this I am still trying to accumulate a little bit of stock of octopus, worry worms, etc for a future project. I also experimented and made some straps for BabyBear which attach to his highchair or pram and the other side attaches to his toy. So he cannot toss things overboard, and they end up getting lost.  I used Kam snaps for these and our dentist had a whole box of them, not being used which she gave me and them said to keep half of all the snaps.  I just need to top up on a few colours and get the Kam snap tool. JB was having a root canal when we spoke about it and she (the dentist) blessed me with them.  God is so good and always looking out for us in even the smallest ways.

Apart from JB's birthday the highlight of the month was the Bears were celebrating their anniversary and we went through to babysit our precious little BabyBear.  He is growing and developing si fast, that every day/week we don't see him we feel like we are missing out.  He is sitting like a champ, clapping hands, on the cusp of crawling, he does a good leopard crawl and has just discovered peek -a-boo.  That weekend he cut another 3 teeth and was so happy in general.  He truly is one of the most content babies I've ever known and is happy to sit and play with his toys or 'read' his books  by himself.  Our weekend there was amazing. Mon and Dad went out for the day and treated themselves to a night away.  Junior was as good as gold, his parents came home looking refreshed and happy. We had such a wonderful time of chatting, exchanging stories and just enjoying each other's company.

The last weekend of March we all met at a Spur Steak Ranch and had a late celebratory birthday lunch for JB.  It was noisy and busy but oh so good to have all the Cape Town family together in one place at the same time.  Being with my family, whether it's all or just some fills my heart and soul.  I miss Princess and Big Guy immensely, especially at times like these.  

On the home front we eventually had someone come in and paint the house.  I cannot tell you how long overdue it was.  Even now when I drive up to the gate I get a thrill to see how pretty it looks.  There are a few areas where our dear painter didn't completely finish so Hubby is going to have to get his paint brush out and add a touch here and there . Our house no longer looks like the worst on the street. 👍🏻 

The family are all well, working hard, playing hard and enjoying life. Princess doesn't have time to lift her head with the 2nd year Uni work load and is currently fighting a cough and cold as well. Poppet is back to normal, somewhat restricted because of the titanium plate in her wrist, but otherwise good and back in the swing of her life.  Big Guy is busy with work and chasing down deals on a daily basis.

As for Charlie and Dash, OMW life has become a lot busier.  They are the best of friends, joined at the hip.  They play hard and then collapse.  We are still trying to control Dash's barking, but in the whole I believe we are making progress.  When we were away for the weekend we have now instituted a routine where they are left only on the  deck with ALL their toys and, a cardboard box or two to destroy.  That seems to work and the mess is contained. One must do what one needs to do to stay sane 🤣🤣🤣

Well folks I have a washing machine with a full load waiting to be hung up to dry and need to get my house in order.  I wish you all a wonderful week.  Please stay safe and healthy. From the little Village on the east coast of the Cape Ciao Ciao for now.

My finished crochet project, a tote bag for JB.

The incredible view when Baby sitting 

Charlie and Dash aka Ebony and Ivory

My Life's Winding Roads: February came and went

My Life's Winding Roads: February came and went: Good morning folks on this first Monday of March and autumn is coming 👏🏻 soon, thank goodness.  It really has been a brutally hot and humi...

February came and went

Good morning folks on this first Monday of March and autumn is coming 👏🏻 soon, thank goodness.  It really has been a brutally hot and humid summer.  I know our temperatures have not been as high as further north, but for the Cape it has been extremely hot and humid.  I remember in the '80's when we lived here there was almost zero humidity,  very sad the results of global warning.

February started off with a bang and super busy and then midway ground to somewhat of a halt.  JB and I went through to Sea Point to babysit "our" gorgeous little baba as his mom and dad had a number of events to attend on the one day.  Oh my what fun and what an absolute joy. We definitely weren't ready to come home the next day, I can assure you.  He is growing so fast and every time we see him he is reaching new milestones. Even a week and there is something new. On that visit he had one teeny little tooth with the next breaking through right next to it. I know we as a family are totally biased, but when it comes to my grandchildren I  am allowed to be.  The following Friday MamaBear had to have surgery, and they way things turned out, they ended up moving out of Sea Point into a gorgeous house in Hout Bay. Literally 3 days post surgery.  Jelly Bean and I made sure we were there on the day of the move, because she was not allowed to lift or exert herself, hmmm. 🤐.  As it turned out it was just as well because their domestic lady / nanny's house burnt down during the night before the move.  It is such a tragic situation and "we" all did what we could to help them, they lost absolutely everything and as a mom my heart breaks for all the memories, momentos of family life that are irreplaceable.   We stayed for a few days and did as much as we could.  All the boxes got emptied - I'm not sure if the Bears have found everything, as our main aim was to pack away and clear boxes.  We also had the incomparable time of looking after BabyBear.  More milestones, his little legs still kick all the time, he does not want to be anywhere except jumping.  He loves his meals, is mesmerised by the ceiling fans and just this last few days has started sitting.  What a little champ. I miss  him.

All this time Poppet was under "medical house arrest" whilst recovering from her arm surgery.   She has finally had the cast and brace  removed and is only now allowed to drive.  Very frustrating for her at the moment because due to the steel plate which hampers her wrist movement.  Apparently this might be able to have removed at some point depending on how the bones all regrow. 🙏🏻

Princess went home on the 8th having extended her stay to look after mom.  I believe I can honestly say she has not stopped to take a breath since she landed. Varsity started 2 days later and she has been running ragged ever since.  I am not sure how these students ever keep up.  Hang in there Princess you can do this.

The day after we got back from Hout Bay I went into hospital for the surgery on my knee - meniscus repair.  The op went well although from what I gather the Surgeon did not reattach the meniscus because there is a lot of deterioration and the left knee will need to be replaced as well as the right. 🤦🏼‍♀️ Such fun ... not!!!  Anyway I have pretty much now been under medical "house arrest " as I have had to keep my leg up as much as possible. It is still very sore, which I guess is normal, and I can't handle anything touching my knee. Still icing it as well.  JB has been beyond a blessing, doing all the housework, cooking, nursing etc.  Thank you precious, you have no idea how much I appreciate you.  Today I see the Surgeon for dressing removal and follow up and then straight to the Physio. I have only been able to do hand repairs work wise, but I did warn all my clients, I have done a lot of crocheting. Pics to follow next month.

Hubby has been inundated with clocks of all descriptions and is currently trying to clear the backlog.  He has also been doing as much sailing as possible as well as all the shopping etc.  Big Guy just keeps his head down  and keeps busy, he has had quite a few DJ gigs which he loves to do.

In the meantime ... OMW Dash the Dashound has more than settled in and he and Charlie are like twins. One does not move without the other particularly when it comes to barking and causing mayham.  Charlie used to be a very well behaved Toy Poodle and never destroyed anything.  Hmmm, JB and I broke the protocol to rest and nipped into Kleinmond for a quick shop. Hubby needed to return a clock down the road and in the 15 minutes he was gone, they jointly reareanged our bed, chewed a hole in my pyjamas and de-nosed a soft toy.  Having "learnt" our lesson, we thought, last Monday Hubby was in Somerset West and we needed something in Kleinmond. So , after locking the bedroom door, removing all cushions and possible chewable we left.  On our return we were greeted by chaos. "Someone"  had removed two boxes of tea from under the tea / coffee station and shredded the boxes, found a pine cone and chewed it, jumped onto the big chest I refurbished and pinched my treasured Pansy shell and my last green mollusc shell, which "they" ate.  Then the culprits.moved to the deck and got busy on a Takealot box. The smaller pieces they could get through the security door came into the house where they were made smaller and distributed further.  Ohhh, and they chewed the handle of a shopping bag.  JB and I just stood, absolutely speechless at the sight before our eyes.  I did apologise to my neighbour for any yelling that was heard. We still have to figure out the leaving home situation ...  This week we also had to relocate our tortoise Tilly as Dash kept turning her over.  Thankfully our other neighbour has a few tortoises and was more than willing to give Tilly a home on the other side of the fence. 🐢😥.  Apart from the above Dash is THE most precious, adorable little soul and has brought so much laughter and life into the house. He is absolutely, 100% JB's soul dog. He has an irrepressible nature and is such a lovable little soul. 

Ohh yes,  after almost 9 years I finally saw a whale breaching from our house.   It was so quick and I only saw it because I was walking down towards the deck. He breached twice then blew his spout.  I was ecstatic and it was a bucket list dream of mine.

Well friends and family, as usual never a dull moment in this house.  Whoever said or thinks retirement equals being lazy and doing nothing has never retired 🤣.  I wish you all a wonderful month. Please stay safe and stay healthy. With love from a little Village by the sea.  Ciao Ciao.

Dash silently asking why he must be the one to move over

Charlie after playing outside with his brother, covered in burrs.

  

My Life's Winding Roads: The Six Months of January

My Life's Winding Roads: The Six Months of January:   Good morning all you wonderful folks.  Now that the six months of January are behind us we can get in with 2025.  I was chatting to JB yes...

The Six Months of January

 Good morning all you wonderful folks.  Now that the six months of January are behind us we can get in with 2025.  I was chatting to JB yesterday trying to figure out what makes January feel like such a long month. ie. It was Big Guys birthday on the 13th Jan and yet it feels like ages and ages ago since I sent his gift. 🤔  Anyhow I for one and not sorry to see the end of January. It was one of the busiest months in forever. Never mind that we have had a heatwave which has been equally long and taxing.

What happened in January you may be asking... I may get some of the event timelines muddled up but here goes. 

We had a wonderful visit with Princess and C (her boyfriend) before he flew back home. Absolutely too short but we packed loads of laughter and memories into those couple of days. We went for a walk on Silversands Beach with  Charlie,  completely forgetting how stressed and barky he gets when we are all together and  someone walks off to investigate a rock/rock pool etc, he goes nuts. We also did not fully take into account the fact that the tide was coming in and stood there like chumps in the shallows talking, when all of a sudden we were hit by a wave and collectively got soaked 🤣 all we heard was JB squeak "my socks" 🤣. Not necessarily the longest walk because the beach was being washed over, but certainly one of the most fun and memorable.

JB and I came home yesterday after spending Saturday babysitting little BabyBear a.k.a. Munchkin, and  have been through a couple of times during the month.  He is growing up so so fast. His little personality is developing day by day and I can truly,⁹ unbiasedly say he is the happiest, most contented baby I've known. JB and Princess also babysat him a week ago, so everyone is cherishing this time with him.  He will be 6 months old (can you believe it ?) on Wednesday, has 2 teeth, is rolling over, pulling himself up, started some solids and all he wants to do is jump. Those little legs are never still. Well done Mommy and Daddy, you are doing a sterling job. 👏🏻

Big Guy celebrated his  🤫 ??th birthday, in great style with lots of friends and fun.  The last time we celebrated with him was 2016 😥 before we moved down to Cape Town, I do miss being able to celebrate birthdays and events with him.

Poppet had a VERY eventful month which I know she would have chosen to be a quieter month.  Three weeks ago she was playing a Padel match, ran backwards to hit the ball and fell, landing on her left hand.  OMW did she do a number in her wrist.  Just in trying to get her off the court she passed out three times, was taken to hospital  where xrays were done.  Multiple breaks, and a lot of bone debris in the back of her hand, were discovered. She was put in a cast and sling whilst waiting for the swelling to go down and to see an Orthopaedic Surgeon 5 days later.  He saw her on the Friday and operated on Monday the 20th.  She is now sporting a very impressive amount of titanium plates and screws. Thankfully the op was a success and her 2 week check up went well. The wound is still a bit open and aggravated and she can now move her fingers, but the brace is less bulky and more manageable  especially without the sling. She still has a lengthy recovery ahead with no driving etc but we are praying for complete healing and restoration. As a result of all this Princess delayed her flight home and has spent an extra 2 weeks here doing an amazing job of looking after her mom. Well done Nu we are going to really miss you when you leave this coming weekend.

After JB's little dog passing away last year she has eventually found her new companion whom we have had for 8 days.  Dash is the new addition to the household and is a 13month old black and tan dashound who has an absolute zest and zeal for life. JB started her search by saying she wanted a 2 - 3 yr old, scruff muffin, couch potato.  HAHAHA. He is quite the character, more about him to follow in upcoming blogs.  It took him and Charlie exactly an hour to become friends.  A bit longer to realise that cats are not to be chased 😂.

Hubby was away last weekend for 4 days at a sailing regatta in Port Elizabeth which is about 740 kilometers away.  He thoroughly enjoyed his trip, although he had some issues with his Radio Controlled Boat which he is busy sorting out. He has also been inundated with clock repairs so his month was also extremely busy and eventful.

I only started working again last week and will admit I found it difficult to get back into a rhythm.   I had some extremely fiddly repairs and alterations which were extremely challenging.  I only have this week to work as my Meniscus Repair surgery is on the 13th Feb, after all these months, at last. Having said that I am in no way looking forward to another surgery but in order to do the knee replacement on the right leg we have to fix this meniscus tear on the left.  Such fun... NOT !!! 

Sheesh  folks that is kind of January in a nutshell, Truly only the highlights as such.  Already February is filling up with events.  More next time or I will have nothing to write about. Haha.

I have noticed a lot of people looking for the new month's Blog around the 30th.  I always post on the first Monday of every month. 

Have a wonderful month folks, I hope all goes well in your lives.  Stay safe and well.  Ciao Ciao.

BabyBear reading to JB

Introducing Dash  the Dashound

 A teeny, tiny visitor to the garden, just bigger than a matchbox

 

My Life's Winding Roads: Happy New Year 2025

My Life's Winding Roads: Happy New Year 2025:   Good morning folks from a rather noisy Sea Point.  Wow being in the 'city' is on a whole different level to living in our little V...

Happy New Year 2025

 Good morning folks from a rather noisy Sea Point.  Wow being in the 'city' is on a whole different level to living in our little Village by the sea.   On Saturday I joined JB who is house / cat sitting for the Bears.  She came through last Monday and we will go home at the end of the week.  This is our second house sitting stint for them since my last Blog and ... oh wow so much has happened in between.  At last, and thank God, six.months after her encounter with the baboons little Zeepha has finally started walking on her right front leg.  She has a limp but is slowly improving and becoming her old self.  We bought her a cardboard scratch pad for Christmas and she is besotted with it. She uses both feet to scratch. The right one being a little uncoordinated and then sleeps on top of it. I am just overjoyed that she has regained the use of her leg.

December was a total blur. I worked right up until the week of Christmas, squeezing in a trip to Sea Point which was a welcome break, I can tell you. Having said that, the apartment upstairs was being renovated and the noise levels were something off the charts. There were a few times when we looked up at the ceiling expecting it to come down on our heads.  Then the one day we were notified that the water would be turned off as they worked on the bathroom.  Awhile later we heard a distinct waterfall and on checking our bathroom discovered water pouring through the light fittings and down the walls.  The plumber forgot to switch off the water and removed the toilet. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️  Needless to say a hasty trip upstairs and many visits from the building contractor eventually saw the light fitting restored etc by the following day.

The balance of the month was taken up with getting all my work out and then concentrating on finishing some home made gifts I was busy with.  I think I have mentioned that I have resumed crocheting, after eventually learning to read a crochet pattern, at this advanced age, Haha. Although seriously, there is definitely a renewed interest and demand for crochet items. I have concentrated on ... toys  and arimigurumi, which I find so much fun.  One of the things  I made was a blue plushy whale for our little Baby Bear.  See pic. (I have subsequently learnt a better looking way of stitching the toys up).

We as a family had decided to celebrate Christmas all together at our home, on Christmas Eve.  It has been such a long time since we hosted Christmas and there was much preparation and busyness to get everything ready.  Between us girls we decided on a cold meal and I cooked all the meat the day before. We had two salads, meat and rolls and then a wonderful dessert.  Truly the way to go for such a big crowd. It was relaxed, easy, stress free and just a totally memorable day all round.   Sadly Big Guy could not join us but we did do a video call with him (not the same but I take every little win).  We got to have Princess  with us which was such a treat. We haven't seen her since as their calendar is beyond busy. But, Poppet goes back to work today and visits are planned, long awaited visits with loads of catch ups. Yippeeee.  As a result on Christmas Day the three of us had a totally lazy, cook free, slow day.

On New Year it was just Hubby and I at home and we  read until midnight, wished each other and then I continued reading until 1 am but didn't get to sleep until after 2.  That's what happens when you change routine 🤣🤣

When we go home on Thursday it is back to work and into the swing of the new year. Hmm, I wonder what this year has in store for us?  It has been good for me to take a total break from work for these three weeks from a physical point of view.  Working with Fibromyalgia can be a huge challenge and many is the day when my pain levels are off the chart, just from sitting in front of the machines.  Perhaps, somehow, this year I can finally figure out the part about pacing myself, I'm not very good at it.

Judging by the noise outside and the date I am guessing that most people are back at work and a lot of the holiday makers will be making their way home.  If you are on the roads, please, please be careful and stay alert. Getting home safely is far more important than getting impatient or speeding.

Have a wonderful January folks, I hope and pray that 2025 will be a kind and gentle year for us all.  Take a deep breath when things become extreme and stay safe.  Ciao ciao.

Blue Whale

We came home to this family if Francolins in our yard last week. Such a joy to see.