An extremely busy week .......

Good afternoon all, I hope today's Blog finds you all well and happy?  All I can say is what a week, whew so much has happened that it feels like much longer.  Last week we had Princess and Big Guy here as you all know, we had a heatwave that left us all feeling like limp spaghetti UGH, I can hear all 'my' Northern Hemisphere readers saying "you are so lucky",  thank you but NO I would trade the heat for cold and snow in a heartbeat.  For some reason the heat causes far more pain and discomfort from a Fibromyalgia standpoint than the cold, for me, needless to say it wasn't a great week in that department, but a fantastic week in terms of having my family here.

On Thursday I had the appointment with the Opthalmologist and we then planned to go through to Cape Point which is on the other side of False Bay.  For starters the eye appointment didn't go quite as I  expected - just an examination, but the Specialist decided there and then to do a Laser procedure on my right eye, he lasered the opaque capsule at the back of my eye.  It did not take too long and the improvement in terms of clarity was immediate yaaaay, the left eye he has left for the time being as he is consulting with my original Specialist in Johannesburg to get all my records and then work out a way forward.  After the two surgeries on my left eye in 2016 my vision has been compromised in that eye and, Dr K feels that he can corrcet it almost completely hence not doing the laser treatment to clear the capsule.  Once the Laser has been done he would be unable to do anything further to improve my vision, so at the moment I have one blurry eye and one clear eye....... Great fun.

From there we proceeded with our planned trip (in temperatures of 39c) and traffic that was unbelievably insane, it seemed that every person in the Western Cape had chosen the same day to be out and about at the seaside.  Eventually we made it to Cape Point only to discover that they have increased the entry price astronomically never mind having to pay to get on the Funicular, just the entrance alone would have cost close to R1000 which is a LOT.  We turned around and went back to Simonstown where we explored briefly, took some photos and had a good lunch right on the Harbour don't  forget the heat.  All this time I had a streaming eye, could not wear my glasses as the glare was too harsh for my eye and had sunglasses on so nothing was very clear #facepalm.  We took some pics of Just Nuisance who was a Great Dane dog that the Royal Navy adopted and actually enlisted and he became know as Able Seaman Just Nuisance assigned to the H.M.S. Afrikander.  (If you Google him you can see the entire story).  From Simonstown we went to the Scratch Patch just a couple of kilometers down the road, Scratch Patch is a place where one can go and scratch through big areas of semi precious gem stones, you pay per size of the bag you take, they have a beautiful shop as well as a Jewellary shop.  This was great fun and we filled our bags (all the while melting in the heat), browsed through the store and afterwards Big Guy gave me a beautiful Dragonfly broach/pendant from the Jewellary store, I am truly blessed.  We eventually managed to get home very late afternoon and just collapsed, truly the actual driving part of the trip took more than twice the normal time due to the crowds and traffic.

Saturday was Big Guys birthday and as per family tradition he got to choose his birthday meal - no surprises there as he chose Chicken Breyani hehe.  BigBear and BabyBear came through for lunch
and then afterwards my darling Hubbby and I dropped Jelly Bean at work and took Big Guy to the airport for his trip home.  The 'Bears' stayed to spend some time with our Princess.

Yesterday was another early start as Princess flew home after being with us for a whole month and the house feels SOO quiet and empty,  gosh it is a weird feeling although Poppet is very happy to have her daughter back.  Even Hubby said this morning how much he is missing her.  This year is a big one for her as she starts High School - you've got this Princess, just take it all in your stride.

Friends that's a 'brief' overview of our past week with this one looking FAR quieter in every respect.  I sincerely hope and pray that your 2018 is off to a good start and is going to be a good year in every way, don't forget to take the challenges as opportunities for growth, make lemonade out of those difficult times and never give up.  Sending love from a still hot Betty's Bay until next week, please stay safe.

Simonstown Harbour and Statue of Just Nuisance

Princess at the beach, really strong surf.

Scratch Patch huge Amethyst rock and the actual scratch patch

Family, Twilight Market, Birds and Good Food.

Good morning lovely people I hope January is treating you well so far.  We started off knowing it was going to be a busy month and so it has.  Last week after Poppet  flew back we had Princess here and with the weather being good Grandpa was quite happy to take her to the beach, although how this child can spend almost up to an hour in this cold water confounds me.  Our average summer water temperature is around 14c and she goes in without a wet suit and will stay until we call her out.   Big Guy arrived early on Thursday morning and is now unwinding and fighting off a cold/hay fever.  I must  say that both he and Poppet have been such a blessing to me in that they have both cooked some fantastic meals, literally kicking me out of the kitchen, it is not easy to sit and watch my family cooking while not helping but I have very 'bossy' offspring haha.  They have both helped with driving as well so giving Hubby and I some down time, despite which I have been pretty much 'lady down' with high pain levels, hopefully this week will be better.  I had to see the Optician last week as my eyesight seems to have deteriorated in the last two months, I was quite upset when he discovered that although my prescription has barely changed since I had the three surgeries, the Lens Capsule in both eyes,  which is left behind during surgery has become opaque and I now have an appointment to see the Opthalmologist who will have to do Laser 'Surgery' on both eyes grrrrr.

On Friday night we took Big Guy and Princess to the Lourensford Twilight Market sadly miscalculating its popularity.  We arrived less than one hour after they opened and the crowd was unbelievable, it was almost impossible to walk and actually see the various vendors so eventually w decided to get something to eat, which involved queues of 15 - 20 people at every food stand.  All the tables were full and eventually the guys found a spot on the grass outside, we estimated that there were easily upwards of 2000 people there, kids, dogs, prams ...... Crazy.  After eating we did not even bother trying to find something to drink, we left and had drinks at the Mall before fetching Jelly Bean.

On Saturday my clever Hubby made and installed a Nectar Feeder for the sunbirds in the area, we
have a lot of birds here but seldom see Sunbirds.  That has now changed and as I type this there are 13 different birds sitting on the fence waiting (not patiently) for their turn to drink.  Yesterday the bottle was empty and one little bird flew at the window to let me know they were waiting, such a small thing and it brings us so much joy.  We have set my camera up on the tripod and are getting some really beautiful pictures, see below.  The next thing on Hubby's to do list is to build an Owl box to attract and hopefully have them breeding from.

Folks as I have to take Princess into town so that she can spend some of her Christmas vouchers, I will now end off for this week.  For those of you who are back at work, turn the challenges into victories and don't forget spread some kindness, for  those still on holiday please enjoy your week and to all stay safe.


Some of the Sunbirds we have feeding, mostly Cape Sunbirds, Cape Sugarbirds and some exquisite Double Collared Southern Sunbird

Happy New Year friends and family.

Good morning folks and a Happy New Year to each and every one.  Can you believe we are in 2018?  This is going to 'date' me but I remember as a child hearing the adults talking about the 21st Century and everyone thinking it would never arrive, would be a totally robot controlled environment and just so far away as to be unattainable, and yet here we all are, we are still doing our own chores (no robotic housekeepers #sadface), we still have motor cars even though drones are becoming more popular and life is carrying on as normal.  

There was no late night partying for us, just a quiet evening relaxing with the girls.  We were up at 5.30 am because my Darling Hubby took Poppet to the Airport for her early flight back home.  Gosh the two weeks she had here seems to have passed by in the blink of an eye, it feels like they just arrived.  Princess is still with us for another two weeks and on Saturday evening I received the most wonderful surprise when Big Guy sent a picture of his airline ticket TO US for his TEN days annual leave, it was absolutely the last thing I expected and we are so excited.  He arrives on Thursday morning for a good dose of home, sea, sleep, eat, sleep and rest - woohooo.  The Big and BabyBears fly home tomorrow after their two weeks in Zanzibar which from the pictures we've seen looks to have been a fantastic holiday.

Last week was without a doubt a busy but very pleasant week.  Apart from the normal day to day things we took one day and went to a wine farm called Benguela Cove near Hermanus.  It was such a lovely day and very interesting to learn how the sea breeze affects the outcome of the various wines (which I never knew) and Poppet did a wine tasting which we all tasted as well.  That evening we went to some friends who live up against the mountains here in BB for sundowners and although it
was not the most spectacular sunset it was a wonderful evening, lots of laughter, good music, beautiful view and just one of those evening that was spontaneous and full of fun.

Today has dawned cooler with a prediction for rain (yes please) later and we are planning to do .......nothing.  Just rest (mostly for me) and down time.  For the most part I managed to pace myself fairly well and did not bale out of too many things.  I will admit to being extremely frustrated at times with the fact that I have to plan even silly little things that I used to do without even thinking and not being as active as I used to be, but I thank the Lord daily for my beautiful family who are so understanding and supportive, I love and appreciate you guys.

Folks I hope your day is spent  happily, doing what you love.  This year is a clean slate for us all to put into practise the lessons learned last year,  to be bold enough to take those steps of faith into the unknown and in so doing broaden our horizons, stretch ourselves into new growth and to make 2018 a good year.  It will have its challenges but those are ultimately just stepping stones in our journey through life, how we deal with each challenge and blessing is what will define this year as good or
bad on our calendars.  Have a beautiful day and please be safe wherever you are, I am looking forward to another year of adventures shared with you.

Photos from the Wine Farm (and the gorgeous ducks) and our evening watching the sunset.

The day after Christmas and all is quite, at home.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas for yesterday and hoping that you are all the enjoying Boxing Day.   Wow, I said it to my Hubby last night that after months and weeks of planning and running around, now it is all over so to speak.  My goodness me it has been busy and probably will continue to be for awhile, but at least for me the running around etc is over.

We had a very quiet Christmas Day spent with our girls and some friends who are new to South Africa, Poppet 'ejected' me from the kitchen yesterday and produced the most delicious Christmas lunch together with a mouth watering pudding.  We sat around chatting and just enjoying each other's company, especially having Jelly Bean around was a treat as she has been working unbelievably long hours and we've hardly had much time with her.  We had a video call with Big Guy in the morning, lovely messages from BigBear and BabyBear in Zanzibar, other calls with various family members so we managed to touch base with our nearest and dearest.

Jelly Bean worked again this morning  and the shops and beaches are absolutely crazy busy. There are literally thousands of people who flock to the beaches on Boxing Day and New Year's Day, and even though not too many of them are in the water they are on the beach.  As for us, we are staying home based until the crowds clear.  When I see the volumes of traffic and the hoards of people I just give God all the thanks for blessing us with our house in beautiful Betty's Bay, it is so quiet and tranquil........ It literally feeds my soul.

Friends, because it is holiday time and our last week consisted almost entirely of  preparations and things to do for Christmas I am going to keep today's Blog short and sweet.  Hubby dearest went for his final check up with the specialist last Wednesday and has been given the all clear and a good thumbs up to remove the sling (took it off yesterday) and has started his rehab exercises, we are so blessed that all is well and the operation was a success.

I am posting two pictures of Jasper who lived with the Christmas tree in total harmony until Christmas Eve when he decided that he belonged IN the tree and it took a united effort to actually get him out without destroying tree or presents.

From my family to yours we wish you a wonderful week and a very Happy New Year.  Please be safe wherever you go and if you are going to be celebrating the New Year please do so safely even if you appoint a designated driver to take you home.  Thank you for another year of your support and encouragement on this Blog, my prayer for each and every one of you is that 2018 will supercede this year in every possible way with good health, happiness, peace, love and prosperity.

Jasper trying to blend in.

Twas the week before Christmas

Hi folks, can you believe it is exactly one week to Christmas, how are you all doing in terms of preparations?  I can very happily say that I am finished with everything.  I actually managed to get everything on my list finished as well as all presents, just in time before Princess and Poppet arrived.  Shoooo, I will admit though that on Friday I definitely overdid things and am still paying the price.  Hubby darling and I dropped Jelly Bean at work at 8 am, had a quick breakfast and then got started.  We made eleven stops in total, as I had offered to help Princess and Jelly Bean with their shopping, at one point I was SO confused with trying to sort out who had what, and if I had purchased all the right gifts for the right people,  aaargghh, I truly felt like my brain had totally deserted me haha.  We did the grocery shopping, gift shopping, you name it we did it and eventually finished at 1.50pm, collected Jelly Bean and staggered home after 3 pm.

Our beautiful  girls arrived on Saturday together with BigBear and BabyBear who fetched them from the airport and after a special Express Christmas dinner we had a small gift opening, their gifts from us and to us.  Yesterday dawned with lovely cool weather and quite a strong wind, so we spent a slow, lazy day around the house. It is so good to have them here and watch them relaxing, I cannot believe it was eleven months since we were last together. Even with a big crowd like that though we really missed Big Guy, it felt very odd without him.

Needless to say it has taken Jasper until now to relax enough that he is sleeping next to me on the sofa, Mr Scaredy Cat spent most of the weekend prowling around and jumping at the slightest unusual sound.  Braveheart he is not!! 

BigBear and BabyBear leave on Friday for their holiday to Zanzibar and Big 

Guy is working right through the holidays as is Jelly Bean.  I am pretty sure that if both of them never see another customer they would be very happy, as we call it they are 'peopled out'.   The two girls are going with friends to do three Wine Farm tours this coming weekend and will be home again on Christmas Eve.  We have invited some precious friends over on Christmas Day and will be having a 'quiet' slow day here with a nice meal and everyone just relaxing.  

I would love to hear back from you guys  to hear what your plans are for Christmas Day?  I will not be posting a Blog on Monday but will catch up with you again next Tuesday.   My prayer for you all, wherever you are, is that you 

have a wonderful, blessed Christmas, enjoy the time with your family and friends, and be safe wherever you are.  2017 has been a very tough year and this is a beautiful time to focus on the good things that have happened,  to give thanks for all the answers to prayer and for the people you have in your lives.  

Merry Christmas  folks from us all in Betty's Bay.

Jasper and Gemma in holiday mode

From heatwave to gale force winds and rain

Good morning friends and family, well our countdown in now in the single digits and we have only five sleeps until the girls arrive for their holiday, I am so excited and very happy to say that I actually managed to get EVERYTHING on my list done. Maybe I am finally learning the art of pacing, it's been a few weeks of tackling one task at a time in preparation but I did it and am super chuffed. I'm paying somewhat of a price for all the busyness but praying that the pain and exhaustion will start to subside as things quieted down a little. It's been busy (but then when isn't it?), my darling Hubby is becoming more mobile, and frustrated with his lack of dexterity and the sling, but he is improving. Jelly Bean and the rest of the family are all exhausted with the end of year last minute deadlines, work issues, extra working hours and just a tough year coming to an end.

Last week we found ourselves in the grip of a fierce heatwave, which was most unusual for this part of the country, but oh my goodness it was HOTTT, Bettys Bay reached temperatures of 38c and we are one of the coolest places here, there was not a breath of wind, just baking heat which after five days turned itself around and on Saturday we awoke to rain, cold and gale force winds. Our two dogs were looking absolutely ragged and we managed to find a wonderful lady, right here in BB who groomed them, giving them both beautiful summer cuts. They came bouncing back into the house looking like they had been on holiday and then Sasha promptly collapsed on the concrete floor with both front legs stretched out and he back legs stretched out making sur not get every available square inch of skin on the cool floor. I have a very dear friend who moved to BB two years ago from Europoe and as she put it "Africa is definitely not for sissies." Haha isn't that just the truth.

This weekend we were so blessed to have BigBear and BabyBear over and they were able to really kick back and relax a bit. BabyBear has just finished a nine week stint of training up in Johannesburg, flying back every weekend and I think it was a good opportunity for her to begin relaxing and a bit of catch up. Because of the howling wind we didn't do an awful lot, we tried going to the beach yesterday and got about ten feet onto the sand before deciding that 'sandblasting' was not what we were into and scurried back to the car and relative peace of the house. It was so good to have them here and see them de-stressing. Our girls arrive on Saturday and then it is their turn to unwind, Poppet has been working until who knows what time every evening and through the weekends now for months, due to various situations at work, Princess finished her last year of Primary School, so holiday time is nigh. Big Guy is sadly not able to take time off for a visit as he is working right through the holidays, it will be the first Christmas in his 40 years that he will not celebrate with us, sniff, sniff. We will miss you Son, big time. BigBear and BabyBear will also not be with us on Christmas as they are going to exotic Zanzibar, enjoy guys we will celebrate 'Express Christmas' with you this coming weekend. The one common thread that I see with almost every person I know or come across is that this year has been really tough, and everyone's stress levels are at the very end of stretching point. Folks please take time to be kind to yourself, whether that means a quiet cup of coffee somewhere, a bubble bath, an hour to read a book, going for a walk, whatever it is try and take a few minutes every day to distress and focus on YOU. We cannot avoid the stress of daily life, but, we can try everything in our power to help ourselves cope just that little bit better and in so doing avoid total burnout. Let's also take time be sensitive to those around us who may be on the brink of burnout/depressed/not coping, etc. A hug, a kind word, an ear to just listen and allow them to vent, a prepared meal, offer to babysit kids for a couple of hours, all these things can and do make a person's whole day turn around. At this time of the year when families are mostly trying to be together, let's not ignore those who are not near family, are single parents, recently widowed or just plain lonely. I've been in that position and most of the time no one is even aware of what you are feeling or going through, my plea to you is to draw those folks in and share some love, isn't that what this season is all about?

Folks that is all for this week, I hope that the next two weeks will not be insanely crazy for you and that you can enjoy the Holiday period restfully. Please stay safe and aware of your surroundings wherever you go.

Some random pics from our week.
The Christmas decorations are up.


The blessed rain on Saturday


Jasper helping decorate the tree.

Three weeks to Christmas, are you ready?

Hi folks, December is here and we are on the final countdown to Christmas and the end of 2017, and for us that leaves twelve sleeps until our girls arrive for the holidays. Still lots to get done as I am sure all of you have as well, but somehow now that we are actually in December it feels a whole lot closer and perhaps just a little bit 'eeeeeek' how am I going to get it all done. I am pretty much on track as far as preparations for the girls visit but not quite so organized for Christmas presents, which is odd for me as I am usually finished all the shopping by now. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that Hubby dearest is not totally mobile and we have just not been able to set aside one day to get everything finished. This week for sure I will cross that task off my to do list.

Tomorrow also marks the one year anniversary of my precious little Kiko crossing over the rainbow bridge. Last year she took such great delight in helping me put up the Christmas tree but unfortunately never got to play with all the baubles, I have absolutely NO doubt that Jasper is going to have great fun with them this year, unless for some reason the tree scares him (which is totally possible haha), I have never before had a cat that gets such big frights for the smallest things, hmmmm perhaps I should put a moving reindeer or something under the tree, that way he will leave it alone? Kiko will alays hold a very special place in my heart as she was truly one of a kind, totally unique in every way.

As far as the weather is concerned we are having the strangest weather. As we are a winter rainfall area it is very strange to still be having rain at this time of the year, not unwelcome by any means, as far as I am concerned it could rain year round and I would be quite content. Late Saturday and on into most of yesterday morning we had glorious, soft rain and much cooler temperatures which were truly appreciated by my family at least. May it continue to rain as the drought here is severe and the water restrictions and limits are going to be sorely tested.

Last week was extremely busy with driving into town and back as Jelly Bean had shifts every day, this week she has two solid, back to back days off for which we are all extremely grateful. Although having said that for, the first time this morning we nearly got it wrong. I thought her shift was this afternoon and she said that is was this morning, so the alarms were set, we all got up and Hubby was going to go in with her and then visit a friend until she finished, which would have given me the day off as well. About ten minutes before departure time she double checked her roster and guess what ? She is on this afternoon hahahaha.

I must also share an extremely proud moment we had as a family last week when Princess's was named Victrix Ludurom at her school for 2017 and her name has been added to the Honours Board in the school Hall. Well done my angel, you worked so hard to achieve that Honour, even competing when you were ill, against all our advice. Well done to Poppet for doing such an amazing job as a Mom and for your support and encouragement in helping her to accomplish this goal. Next year as she moves on into High School it is the start of an entirely new chapter in her life with opportunities aplenty for her to continue making a name for herself on the sports field.

My darling Hubby had an appointment with the Surgeon last week, who is very happy with his progress and we have to return just before Christmas before he is able to remove the sling and begin some rehab exercises, three weeks down and three to go Sweetheart, you can do this. I am trying to capture every spare moment to rest because all the busyness has led to a Fibromyalgia flare of note, which is probably going to take some time to get under control.

Folks, I pray you all have an excellent week, manage to get all the things that need doing, done and even have some spare moments to 'smell the roses', admire your surroundings, take some time to refill your own batteries and get some breathing space before the final busyness overtakes you. Please stay safe out there and alays aware of your surroundings please.


Two pics in Memory of my beloved Kiko. The second taken today a year ago.