How to get through tough times

Good morning friends, I trust everyone had a good weekend.  Last week is history and this week is just waiting to be written.  As for us last week was fairly quiet being just the normal routine, particularly for me as I find myself in a flare of note and have just been trying to minimise the pain levels and recover.  Added to this for some reason, Cece's medication does not seem to be working as well as it did at the beginning, which means she is having more 'meltdowns ' and her circling has definitely become worse, to the point that when she stops her little head is still going.  I am currently waiting for our Vet to call back so that we can discuss the way forward.   As for the rest of the menagerie all our four footed family are well and enjoying life.

Jelly Bean has only two weeks left at work (and travelling), Big Guy is doing well, Poppet and Princess had a tough week between exams and cars breaking down, thankfully said car is now repaired, at great cost, and after today Princess has only one exam left.  Her exams have stretched out over five weeks so she is definitely ready for her mid year break.  The BigBear family are well, always busy and as far as I recall are getting ready for a trip to Knysna to do a Forest Run which should be very exciting.  Our Muffet family in the UK were actually in Natal for the last week to celebrate a family member's landmark birthday and are now safely back home.

My precious Hubby spent quite some time fixing our generator last week as all of a sudden the entire country found itself back in the throws of Loadshedding with electricity.  Oh Joy .... Not !!!!  Somehow at the exact same time our entire area had power outages due to some breakdown on the system, normally this is not a problem as we have the solar system on the roof and the generator.  Last week however, was very stormy, windy and lots of rain so not much sun to heat the water and then the generator being out of action, it wasn't too serious and we coped well.  The one thing about living here is that I have learnt to be WAY more  flexible with my routine and now do chores / washing etc as and when the weather and my energy levels are amenable.  At the moment with Cece
being extra 'needy' I do sometimes find myself stuck with her on my lap as that is about the only
place she relaxes and is peaceful.  I have even considered making a sling to carry her around in thereby get more done hahaha.

Friends, as I said, it was a quiet week which I am certainly not complaining about, it has given me time to breathe and I think I am going to try my hand at rock painting ...... an odd thing I agree, but due to the abundance of amazing rocks that are made smooth by the sea I think it's worth seeing how it goes.  Watch out Poppet, rocks for birthdays HAHAHA.  I am also slowly getting back into baking our own bread so, there is still a lot happening.

It seems as if almost everyone I speak to is going through extremely difficult times whether it be health, financial, relationship, work etc, and so many people say that they don't know how I cope with Fibromyalgia ........ There is only one reason that I can stay positive  and that is first of all accepting Jesus Christ as my Saviour and having a relationship with Him.  After 25 + years in the Ministry and 11 years of  widowhood and raising four children I learnt that there is only ONE person I can rely on 100% of the time and that is God.  He is my provider, enabler, healer, protector...... everything.  When I did not know where the next meal was coming from He never let us down.  When faced with having to move home in five days, He provided us with a home.  I did learn that God's timeline and mine are nowhere close but somehow He kept us going and looked after.  The more you have to depend on God and not on your own strength the more you will see His miracle working power, the more you spend time learning what His Word says the more your faith will grow because it grows a confidence in His ability to sort out the situation, irrespective of what it is.  God is not some magic potion to try, He is wanting a relationship with each of us individually and that becomes a lifestyle. So, friends if you are facing tough times and feel like you are at the end of your rope, there is One who will always be there for you and will never let you down,  I am going to list a few scriptures below for those of you who may need somewhere to start.

On that note I am going to say Ciao Ciao for now and wish you, one and all a fabulous week. Go out

make memories and have fun.  Thank you for your continued support of this Blog and please stay safe out there.

Taken on the drive into work last week.  The sun only rises at 7.50 am here at the moment.

• Some Scripture references :
• JOHN 3 v 16 .. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that    whosoever  Believeth in Him, will not perish but will have eternal life.
• ROMANS 10 v 9, 10 .. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
• JOSHUA 1 v 9 ..Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and very courageous. Do not be dismayed,  for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
• PSALM 37 v 25.. I once was young and now am old , yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken  or their children begging for bread.
• 1 PETER 2 v 24 . "Who His own self bare our sins in His body on the tree, that we being dead to  sin dhould live unto righteousness, by Whose stripes you were healed.

There are many more but go and read these as a start .

Busy, busy, busy

Good afternoon everyone from a very peaceful Bettys Bay after a super busy weekend.  Gee whiz my head is still kind of spinning as I try and come down to earth.  After a super busy week, on Friday morning early, Jelly Bean and I left for Johannesburg for a family visit.  My dearest Hubby dropped up off at the airport before 8 a.m. and there we sat as apparently the plane had iced over during the night in Jhb and had to be de-iced before leaving, which resulted in an hours delay which I am guessing had a knock on affect throughout the day.  As a result we lost quite a chunk of visiting time with my gorgeous sister-in-law and niece-in-law but, that being said I think between the four of us we managed to squeeze in about two years worth of catch up in two hours.   It was so wonderful and such a yummy lunch, thank you L and B for making the time and being the beautiful ladies you are.  We are looking forward to our 'next catch up'.   From there Jelly Bean and I met up with Big Guy for coffee before trekking across town to the girls, through Friday afternoon traffic we eventually arrived at about 6 p.m.

The one thing we have never done up until now is to have a 'girls' weekend, well there was so much laughter, catching up, tea and coffee and good food.  Our little (she is definitely not so little haha) Princess had to study as she is slap bang in the middle of mid year exams, but being the trooper she is she managed to fit it all in.  Tomorrow is a big day for her as she turns a whole 15 years old, I just cannot believe how fast the time has gone, it seems like just yesterday that I held her in my arms just seconds old.  As for Poppet all I can say is you have done THE most amazing job of raising an incredible young lady who is a credit to you every minute.  I miss you both already and am looking forward to our next visit at the end of the year.  Yesterday we left Pretoria at noon and went to spend some time with Big Guy who had to work a double shift on Saturday, so to say he was  exhausted is an understatement, but he still managed to treat us to a fabulous Italian lunch and we had a really good catch up, lots of chats, ideas and just plain good family time, my 'Mom love tank'is full for a
little while now.  Once we got to the airport and settled down, you will not believe what happened ?  
The people on our flight had already started queuing when a message came over the intercom to say that the flight had been delayed by ONE hour #facepalm, apparently the exact same problem as Friday with an iced over aeroplane early in the morning which knocked on throughout the day.  Yaaaay.  Eventually our flight arrived and all boarded happily, now eager to get home.  Here is a huge co-incidence on Fridays flight we were seated in the same row as a family, mom, dad and daughter - last night after having booked the exact same seats as Friday, we looked across and there was the same family sitting in their exact seats from Friday hahaha.  In spite of the delays I can only give Flysafair a thumbs up for service and  friendliness.  

I do believe my precious Hubby missed us, just a tad hehe, it was SO good to see him there waiting for us.  Apparently Jasper sat at the front door a couple of times meowing for me and dear little Cece only now seems to be relaxing and settling down, curled up on my chest and the moment I move she chirps in protest haha.

Folks those are the highlights of this past week, I am now going to find pain pills and find a comfortable spot to ease my incredibly sore body.  I pray you ALL have a spectacular week, keep those tutus fluffed and don't let  people or situations get you down.  Please stay safe and aware out there.

My view taken last night while coming in to land - looking out towards Cape Town / Table Bay

The new Cat Condo - made by : My Hubby :)

Almost halfway through the year

Good morning all, gee the weeks seem to be whizzing by, it is hard to believe we are almost half way through the year.  Well, we survived a very interesting week weather wise, we have had many strong winds since moving here but last week definitely gets the gold star for the heaviest winds.  It was measured at times to be 120 km ph which I can assure you is pretty windy, add to that driving rain and it makes for quite a noisy time haha.  At one point, I think it was Wednesday evening, I actually had a migraine from the constant noise - we have a flat galvanised roof = VERY noisy, but happily the rain fell in the catchment areas as well and although it has not reversed the drought the dam levels are up slightly and this is just the beginning of winter.

Apart from weather excitement Jelly Bean has resigned her job and is going to do a course on teaching English after which she will be able to teach English to students online around the world and possibly even travel to other countries to teach.  It was a big decision for her but one that she made with complete peace in her heart, so just one last month of travelling back and forth for us all and then possibly a bit more exploring to get on with hehe.  My immensely clever Hubby has just refashioned  and reconstructed the cat's condo, not a moment too soon as Jasper has begun climbing up onto the top of the kitchen cupboards, one precious blue glass bottle has already met with a shattering end.  In the 'zoo' all is going well although always busy, especially during the storms haha.  Cece is a far more settled little girl on her 'happy pills' with much fewer meltdowns.  She is the quietest little thing and has never learnt to meow so when she wants to sit on my lap, she will just come and sit next to the chair until I see her and pick her up (she doesn't jump/climb on and off the furniture).  She also follows me around the house like a shadow, which only gets a bit tricky when I am cooking because she sits next to my feet and I am then always tripping over her  We managed to remove her stitches which were supposed to dissolve after 6 weeks, obviously they did not and so Hubby and I undertook the delicate 'surgery' with great success, the other reason that we removed them is because the Vets are a bit scared of her haha.  Currently as I type this Jasper is in the bedroom on a 'time out', staring at me through the glass door, he is there because when he is annoyed with me he will plan an attack,  take a bite and then run away and I am tired of looking like I went ten rounds with a wild tiger.

Only  four more sleeps and Jelly Bean and I leave my Hubby  #sadface with the zoo and fly up to Johannesburg to visit my sister-in-law, Big Guy, Poppet and Princess for the weekend.......... So excited to see the family I can't wait.

Friends that is about it for today except to encourage you to share some love and kindness throughout the week to those you come in contact with.  Never, never underestimate the power of a smile, a hug or an encouraging word, there are so many people fighting almighty personal battles that we will never know about and you could be the catalyst that gives them hope and encouragement.  Have a beautiful week and as always stay safe.

Gemma posing to say hi to everyone, such a madam

Gale force winds and heavy rains, yaaaaay

Brrr,  good afternoon all from a very wet, windy and cold Betty's Bay.  Winter has definitely arrived bringing with it the blessed rain and gale force winds ....... Very happy camper!  Well it was a fairly quiet week as Jelly Bean took some time off work and we all got to relax, the 'zoo' is thriving with all the dogs wearing their jackets and the cats have become real 'lounge lizards', jumping onto the first lap that is available.  Cece somehow does not seem to generate much warmth and is usually found with ice cold paws and even shivers at times, I have been wracking my brains on how to make her a snug coat as the doggie jackets are too big and loose, I am leaning towards using a sock.  There has been such an improvement in her demeanour since she has been taking her 'happy' pills and after speaking to the Vet this morning, she now has a full month's worth.  We had a laugh after the call to the Vet, she was delighted that there is already a change as apparently it takes up to 6 weeks to see the full effect and has asked me to try and record Cece during one of her 'meltdowns' BUT was very quick to tell me that I must please NOT bring her in to the surgery unless it is something urgent - I think they are all a little scared of my little bundle hahahaha.

We had fun and games yesterday which is worth sharing, when I drove Jelly Bean to work in the afternoon about one kilometre from the house, I had no gears on the car.  I finally managed to get second gear and limped home to fetch a different vehicle, my precious Hubby spent most of the afternoon working on said gear linkage until he had it 'fixed'.  My car tends to do the same thing where the 'whatever' jumps off and it is usually just a case of popping it back on, not so with the little car even though they are the same make.  Jelly Beans car is far more difficult to access the linkage and involved a lot of removing things etc, anyway, fixed it was and off he tootled at 7pm to fetch her, I got a call at 7.30 the he was stranded on the side of the road and it was too dark to see and no tools either. Not a problem, I battened down the hatches here and set off looking for the little blue car and a frustrated Hubby.  When I got to him he attached the tow rope and asked if I had ever towed before, my answer was no so he just told me to keep the speed under 40kmph and to try and avoid jerking.  WELL ....... there is a saying in the caravan fraternity that if you want to keep your marriage peaceful never be the one directing a reversing caravan ........... I disagree.  If you are Husband and Wife NEVER have one tow the other.  After a couple of hair-raising  kilometers up and down hills, left and right around sharp bends in the dark, I eventually pulled into a stop off zone, we had a very 'energetic' conversation, changed the speed limit to 25 and set off again in a good rhythm and without further trauma it took ages,  meanwhile messages were going back and forth to Jelly Bean explaining why we were late.  Eventually we left the car at a good friend's house in the Strand, collected our daughter and made our way home tired and hungry.  Today my very clever and precious man is busy fixing the dear little blue bug and will take it for a test before coming home.  This story reminds me of the scripture which was read at our wedding.

1 Corinthians 13:4-13 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;7 [a]bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never fails; but, 

1 Corinthians 13:4-13 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;7 [a]bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never fails; but

1 Corinthians 13:4- 8 New American Standard Bible (NASB)4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;7 [a]bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.8 Love never fails; ......

That friends is one of the greatest keys to any successful interaction with other people, especially family, and on that positive note I am going to say Ciao Ciao, attend to my dying fire and make dinner.  I wish you all a wonderful week and please stay safe.

Cece snuggled down trying to get warm

Winter has finally begun - I hope.

Greetings everyone from a cool, blustery, wet Betty's Bay, oh how this weather soothes my soul!  This is my absolute favourite weather and made even better by the fact that we do not have to move out of the house all day.  I wish I could say it was a quiet week, it wasn't, but it was a lovely week.

Last week we managed to make it through to Hermanus, thankfully we went on Monday because it was literally cut off for the rest of the week due to 'Protest Action' .  We do not often go there purely because it is such a busy town, extremely quaint and pretty but generally over-run with tourists, last week however we were so lucky.  They have built a Mall just outside of town which we avoided and went into the centre which was quiet and peaceful, it was such a joy to shop and browse with ease, especially as the chain stores always seem to have different stock in the different areas.  On the way in Jelly Bean's eagle eyes spotted a Charity Book Shop which naturally we absolutely had to stop for, what a cute little shop and the books  were oh so cheap so naturally, more books came home hehe.  There are NOT enough bookshelves in this house, hint, hint.

We eventually got Cece onto a tablet that seems as if it is working, there has been a slight decrease in her panic attacks and I am praying that as she settles we can begin to address the litter training issues.  Jasper, bless his dear, sweet heart, took a healthy bite of my wrist the other day - he waits until I get into bed and as I pull up the duvet he then launches himself.  This one is pretty deep and looks quite nasty as well as very sore, so I have been putting ointment on and just keeping an eye on it, if there is not a major difference by tomorrow I will probably have to see the Dr, thankfully I had a Tetanus shot last year also credit to Jasper #facepalm.  Pupster has been very busy,  we had a load of wood delivered and he has been helping Hubby to put them where they belong, well trying to help him, we see him carrying various logs from one place to another as he plays 'lumberjack'.

Jelly Bean had to work at the Franschoek Literary Festival from Friday through to yesterday, which meant her and I left home every morning at 5.25 to have her in time for the staff lift that was organised.  The first morning did not go so well ........ for the first time ever my alarm did not go off and I awoke at 5.30, you can imagine the rush but we made it to the second collection point with
some time to spare - I can now go and buy a shirt that says "Ready in five minutes" haha.

Yesterday my Handsome Hubby and I went on a lunch date to our favourite wine farm, Vergeleegen Wine Estate, where we had a super meal and just enjoyed the gorgeous views.  It was such a treat as it is such a very beautiful place, thank you my Darling.

Folks, in a nutshell that was my week and we are now on a countdown to our trip up to Johannesburg which is in three weeks, much excitement I can assure you.   I wish you all a wonderful week ahead, please don't stop making a difference in people's lives - a smile and friendly greeting can totally change someone's day.  With a BIG smile from me and mine until next week Ciao Ciao and stay safe.

Vergeleegen Wine Estate.

On our drive into town yesterday.

Helicopter had to land near us this morning due to the high winds.

Trips, Allergies and Mothers Day

Good morning folks and Happy Mothers Day for yesterday to all the Mommies, I trust everyone is well rested and ready for the week ahead?  After a somewhat stressful week we had a lovely day yesterday in which to rest.  I was truly blessed with video calls and messages from my beloved family whom I miss SO much, I find it is always intensified when there are special occasions which normally we would have spent together and, is truly the ONLY downside to living in Betty's Bay.  Hubby took Jelly Bean and I out for a delicious coffee and treats.  Weather wise we seem to be stuck between Autumn and Winter at the moment, that stage where you end up changing three or four times a day....... Long sleeves on, long sleeves off and so it goes.

After speaking to the Vet last Monday about Cece who's stitches have not dissolved, I took her through on Tuesday, bad idea!!!!!!!!  She performed all the way into town, which was a first, normally she never makes a peep.  As I walked into the Vet the Dr's saw us and immediately looked worried, hahaha.  Cece had such a meltdown when they neutered her the one Dr actually looked scared, thankfully the other explained that contrary to what I'd been told, they HAD given her dissolvable stitches which will take about 60 days to dissolve.  She advised that we not take Cece out of the travel box, but she did take some time to discuss the terror/panic attacks and suggested that we try some form of sedative which will enable her to have a more peaceful quality and longer life.  Armed with two different medications we came home and then the fun really began.  For three days I gave her the prescribed dosage of antihistamine which seemed to help very slightly for one day.  On Friday I then switched to the other which was Valium and oh dear, my precious little kitty had  a terrible reaction, she quite literally went on such a high with even more terror /panic, she could not stand or walk, and did not stop trembling, I actually thought she might die.   Apparently she is allergic to the ingredients and can never have them again, our Vet has asked for some time to do a little more research and we will take it from there, I just grateful to have found a Dr who cares enough to try and help her.

My amazing Hubby is a constant support and encouragement with all this as well as keeping an eye on all the canines haha, and I even managed to join him on a walk with the hounds around the block #biggrin.  Gosh it is a busy house at the moment.  The Pupster has settled down very well and is now obeying some of the commands we give him,  our two little horrors are more settled as well.  Sasha must have not felt well for about two days as she refused to leave the deck and her kennel, thankfully she is now back to normal.  Max and Pupster are still 'sharing' Pupster's Hippo toy, and when I cannot find it anywhere I now know to look in their kennel.

With last week having been taken up with animal related issues aplenty, I am sincerely praying that this week will have a more human element and am trying to plan an outing to Hermanus, wish me luck LOL. The family are all doing well although I think I can safely say  they are all so busy that no one is getting enough sleep.  The 'Bears' flew up to Bloemfontein to see family and will be flying home later today.  With the others, we are counting days until Jelly Bean and I fly up in four weeks, which is very exciting although, I did get more than a hint that I can only get off the plane if I have sufficient Dragon Drizzle stock with me (a very hot chillie oil that I make) - note to self don't forget the Dragon Drizzle.

Folks that's all the main news from this side of the world, I wish you a wonderful week.  Please take some time to tell those you love just how precious they are and how much you love and appreciate them. Never put those kinds of things off for another time, tomorrow is not guaranteed so always be quick to apologise, give a hug and tell someone you love them.  Ciao ciao for now.

Poor little Cece when she was 'tripping'

The merry go-round makes me dizzy !

Good morning family and friends I trust you are all doing well?  Just as I started typing a few scattered drops of rain started spitting down in preparation for a storm that is rolling in, exactly my kind of day.  WOW is all I can say about last week, I am still trying to recover even after a semi quiet weekend lol.  We had BigBear and BabyBear overnight on Monday and spent a beautiful day with them on Tuesday, took a drive and really just relaxed, it was very special and oh so needed.  Then on Wednesday my precious Hubby flew up to Johannesburg for Rob's funeral which was a very special time for him, to be with the family as they said goodbye, and to remember the wonderful man and his very unique sense of humour, he then flew back that same evening.  In the meantime I had gone to our very dear, crazy friends E & D to collect their equally crazy Pupster who is staying with us until he is ready to fly over to Itsly and join them.  Once I had him settled it was time to collect them for the heartbreaking trip to the airport for their flight out to Italy, collecting Jelly Bean from work on the way.  Heartbreaking in that they have to go back to Italy for business reasons for about six months, hopefully not much longer, but their hearts and home are here in BB.  Come home quickly guys we miss you.  Needless to say we were all exhausted by the that evening.  Jelly Bean had been fighting a sinus infection for about three weeks and on Thursday eventually agreed to see the doctor who promptly booked her off work until today, with medication etc. Princess had her bi-annual check with her Oncologist and Praise God all is clear and she had a good report.  Friday saw Hubby and I off to the shops for the normal weekly shopping and sneaking in a quiet cold drink at the Golf Club House before calling it a day.

OH yes ........ We have been battling with a flea 'mini epidemic' for months and this was the weekend I chose to become an exterminator par excellence.  Friday I gave all the cats a 'flea tablet' which works immediately, we then proceeded to fumigate the living area which meant we were all confined to our bedrooms early and for the duration of the evening.  Saturday dawned with a flea free living area which needed major vacuuming, and while we were busy doing that it was the time to fumigate the bedrooms, then repeat the cleaning process #facepalm.  The result is we now have a flea FREE home and animals, yaaaay.

Yesterday my precious Hubby went off to play a quiet game of golf in Kleinmond and Jelly Bean and I tried to relax as much as possible before the onslaught of the new week.   As far as our 'zoo' goes all is well, the dogs are getting along, with Pupster thoroughly loving the freedom of having a fenced yard and we hear him running from one end of the property to the other as he chases imaginary things and flying leaves. Haha.  Gemma and Jasper are great and as the colder weather comes in so Jasper gets more lovable.  Cece on the other hand has been a handful,  we were told her stitches would dissolve, but guess what? Four weeks later and they are just as purple and stiff as they were to start with, so it is off to the Vet tomorrow to have them removed.  Last night as I picked her up she had a complete and total meltdown/panic attack and lashed out with all four paws, leaving me with welts, scratches, blood and bruises.  Then as we were settling down for the night she was sleeping on my arm and moved, then out of the blue she bit my arm inside my elbow leaving me looking like a drug addict (one of the side effects of Fibro is that I bruise extremely easily without even know why most times, so you can imagine what I look like at the moment hahaha).

Today Hubby and I have some shopping to do when we've dropped Jelly Bean at work and I am planning a QUIET, CALM cup of coffee somewhere to start this week.  We also booked tickets for Jelly Bean and I to fly up to Johannesburg in five weeks, to visit with my sister-in-law and then spend  some time with Princess, Poppet and Big Guy, all very exciting and we are definitely looking forward to that.  I was informed this morning via Facebook, and not very subtly that they have all run out of Dragon Drizzle (a very hot chillie oil that I make), this is a 'huge' problem and replacements are now expected  hahahaha.

Folks as you can see, it has been manic, I am praying this week is going to be quiet and normal, healthy and peaceful #bellylaugh at that thought.   I pray and wish you all a wonderful week, never forget that  even in the craziest of times, most stressful of times, saddest of times, God our Heavenly
Father NEVER leaves or forsakes us, it is He who gives us the strength and ability to get through every situation and without that strength I certainly would not be able to function.  Please stay safe out there, give God your problems and trust Him to solve them.  Ciao for now folks.

                                            This huge moth was on our lawn this morning, about 15cm

My beautiful big boy Jasper