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 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