Week three and I am back

Good morning one and all on this brand new day of a new month. I am having a real hard time trying to figure out how we got to November, my year kind of got all messed up in June and I still feel like it's the middle of the year 🤦🏻‍♀️. It was only this week that the realization of how close Christmas is hit me, made super exciting when Big Guy sent us a screen shot of his air tickets to come home for the holidays yippppeeeee. At the moment we enjoying very mild weather with a tiny bit of rain now and again and some wonderful winds to keep us cool. 

 Currently I seem to be living my life vicariously through other members of the family - I have 'been' to a wine festival, walked the dogs to the beach, spent time DJ'ing, doing Cross Fit to name just a few 🤣🤣. The only 'out' excursions I have had are to the Dr and back and just doing that generally wipes me out for the following day. Recovery is a day by day thing and a lot slower that I expected or hoped. There have been and are some challenges with the healing of the wounds which is holding up the next phase but, I have made my peace with the fact it's going to take as long as it takes. I saw a meme yesterday which hit the nail on the head, it said "Yes, I will get through this, I just don't like going through it." I have also come to realise that every person's journey is different on just about every level and, for that reason it is a very lonely journey. I will never 'know' what someone went through with Breast Cancer because no two cases are the same nor are they treated the same. I do know this though without God, friends, family and the Medical Team I have, I would not be this far. Some of the most meaningful and touching calls or messages I have received have been the ones saying "how are you and what can I pray for today?" and the ones saying "I am thinking of you". Thank you everyone for your love, for listening and for your prayers I cannot explain how much it means to me. 

 Jelly Bean and Hubby have been absolute pillars of strength and help, handling the house and cooking as well as all the running around. From washing my hair, to changing my dresssings and everything in between. Hubby has made rusks twice and they taste exceptional, meals have been brilliant together with all the other household tasks. Jelly Bean has been working around this as has Hubby with clocks and watches continuing to come in, he has even managed to get some work on the deck done, we are so close now to closing up 👏🏻, I can't wait to get out there in my hammock chair. The rest of the family are all well and working hard, Princess starts her year end exams this week and has been studying like a little Trojan, well done my angel, I am so proud of you. There was one very surprising bright spot on Friday, Jelly Bean has been making me smoothies and we were talking about the benefits of fresh juicing so, I had the bright idea of asking on the Village WhatsApp group if anyone had a hidden juicer they would like to sell. Within an hour one lady, whom I don't know had replied, she had one that she had forgotten about and when I asked her the price her reply was " You can have it for nothing, I had forgotten it was there ." I was speechless and am now the owner of a good Braun Juicer and will be stocking up on fresh produce to be juiced and consumed. The only activities I have accomplished in the last three weeks has been the finishing of books and my ongoing recovery , so for all my friends who ask me to slow down, I am slower than the proverbial tortoise 🤣🤣 

 Folks I am going to end off with a prayer that your November is excellent in every way, thank you for your participation in this Blog and please stay safe and well. Ciao

 Caio

Jasper pulling the majestic card.

 

My Life's Winding Roads: A very quick check in

My Life's Winding Roads: A very quick check in: Hello, hello family and friends this is just a very quick note to say hi and also to say a huge thank you to everyone who has messaged and...

A very quick check in

Hello, hello family and friends this is just a very quick note to say hi and also to say a huge thank you to everyone who has messaged and or called over the last two weeks, your  thoughts and prayers have meant so much to me.   The surgery went well if not very long, somewhere just under six hours and the first few days I was kept heavily dosed on numerous pain Meds before being discharged exactly a week later. Poppet and Princess drove me home in comfort and great style.  On the Sunday BigBear drove all the way through for a visit as well as giving Jelly Bean a day off by making us the most delicious lunch.  This past week at home has possibly been one of the longest weeks of my life as I am learning to manage the pain, discomfort and dressings as well as two trips into Somerset West to see both Surgeons - those trips along my favourite road I now dread the most, for all the corners, bumps and jiggled lol.  The one thing that became apparent within hours of waking up was this phrase - The expectation is vastly different to the experience, and once again I can say that without God I do not know how I would have coped, He is ever present and indeed my comfort and strength. As I said this is really just a "Hi" and "I am still here" check in folks.  Hopefully by next week I will up to a more chatty Blog but as far as the family are concerned everyone is doing well, the animals are up to their normal antics, with Charlie quite literally barely leaving my side.  Apparently he became quite depressed whilst I was in hospital and now that I am back he is making sure I don't disappear again hehe. Well folks I wish each of you a wonderful week, make the most of your health and time and as always stay safe.  Ciao ciao with love 

My Life's Winding Roads: The wait is almost over.

My Life's Winding Roads: The wait is almost over.: Well at long last the wait is almost over and I wish you all a happy Monday from a mild weathered BB, we have even had some glorious rain an...

The wait is almost over.

Well at long last the wait is almost over and I wish you all a happy Monday from a mild weathered BB, we have even had some glorious rain and our first official South Easter of the season.   One annoying thing with this time of the year is there are certain grass and weed seeds which get stuck in the dogs fur and require multiple combing sessions during the day to get them out with a fine tooth comb, it is nice bonding time though.

Last week passed in a blur of busyness, stress and a fair amount of drama and lovely surprises, and I am SO glad it is now history, I almost feel like I should issue a disclaimer saying "Please don't hold me accountable for anything I said or did last week". 😂 Sasha had 6 teeth pulled and came through the whole ordeal like the trooper she is and has finished her antibiotics and pain pills, she is livelier than ever. I spent the week completing the cat caves (can you believe it?) at last after redoing the one that was already finished and yesterday they went off to their new owners  ..... Yaaay

On Wednesday we had a visit from very old friends of mine whom I have not seen in over 16 years, what a lovely visit and special time of catching up with each other.  Thanks D,A and M for taking the time to come all the way out here and for my gorgeous gift.

On Thursday our day exploded with a bang when Zeepha  ate one of Sasha's pain pills, while Hubby was busy doing  her breakfast.  I jumped onto Google and found out it was highly toxic for cats so then it was a call to the Vet who told me to give her one tablespoon of charcoal mixed with one teaspoon of washing powder mixed into a paste, to induce vomiting.   Well, I had carbon pellets, which don't crush, and mixed them with washing powder, added a little water in an effort to dissolve them, even tried pulverizing them which also didn't work.  Jelly Bean and I tried pouring it down her throat not very successfully and managed to scrape together a teaspoonful of gritty mix and get that in but nothing we did caused her to bring up the tablet.  More calls to the vet who then asked us to rush her in, I don't think we have every driven that fast on Clarence Drive.  As we arrived they were waiting and first thing was to weigh her and because she had picked up 500gm it put the tablet slightly over the overdose limit, this was a crucial plus.  The vet gave her a proper syringe of charcoal and we came  home with a cat who has still not until today vomited the tablet out.  She seemed ok and was eating although I was worried about her breathing as it sounded very chesty, I now realise that when giving her the carbon we must have got some in her lungs 😢.  On Friday she  ate breakfast and by that night her breathing became very interesting rapid and crackly, we honestly did not think she would make it through the night, she was not eating at all and hardly moving.  I awoke in the middle of the night and was too scared to go see where she was as I was convinced she wasn't going to make it.  Saturday morning Hubby was also up early because of worrying about her and there she was, ready for food, her breathing normal and on the mend, I prayed so hard and truly believe that God intervened although undoubtedly she used one of her lives.  Good grief talk about stress..

On Friday whilst JB and I were in Somerset West I received a message for other very dear friends who were in town and they spent Friday afternoon with us.  How to be truly blessed beyond measure with old friendships that never change despite time and distance and, having two visits in one week 💗 

We are in another family birthday week  - Poppet celebrated her birthday yesterday and Hubby dearest is on Tuesday, as a result everyone came over to our house yesterday with the guys doing the braai and I did salads and a pudding (which I forgot to serve 🤦🏻‍♀️), BabyBear also did a salad and Princess had organized and left me with a decadent cake and all Poppet's favorite pastries.  We missed Big Guy and Princess who is in Pretoria for the week,  you two missed out on a feast..... sorry 🤗 .  Needless to say I sent everyone home with a pudding packet and memories of a really special day hehehe.

This week ahead is going to be one of preparation including another CoVid test prior to my surgery on Friday, the wait has been so long which was not necessarily a good thing mentally and emotionally and now that I'm in the final approach I will admit to being a little nervous.  I know beyond a shadow of doubt that God is in control and has already gone before me and in that I am trusting, for every single aspect, from the diagnosis to my complete recovery.  Due to the fact that I will be in hospital next week I am going to take a brief 'Blog Break' for a week or two, just until I get up and comfortable enough to carry on.  To every single person, some of whom I have never even met, that has messaged, called, encouraged and is praying for me ....... Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your care and love.  Messages and calls come just when I need them most, picking me up and encouraging me when I feel overwhelmed.  I am truly blessed to have such special people in my life. 😘 

I trust and pray that this week will be one of peace and blessings for each one of you, thank you for your support on this Blog as I share My Life's Winding Road.  Please stay well and safe Ciao Ciao 

Cat Caves ready 

A bit of this and a bit of that

Good morning everyone on this last week of September, I don't know about you but it has been a very long month as far as I am concerned. As I type this I look up out of our roof height windows and the mountain is shrouded in grey cloud, looking beautiful and dark. Weatherwise we have been really blessed with mild temperatures, some rain and mild winds, just what I call comfortable 🙂 After many times of crocheting and undoing the Cat Cave I eventually got it just right and oh my word was I a happy camper. The pattern is now amended properly and I should be able to knock the second one out this week 🤞🏻. Zeepha took such a liking to it that I have decided to undo her's and remake it according to the new, amended pattern before I go into hospital. I got some baking done and quite a bit of catch up within the house. Hubby spent the majority of the week working on clocks and watches and has come a long way in clearing the queue that had begun to build up. I would say that production wise, we had a good week. Sasha has been 'coughing' of late and we noticed that it seems to be more prevelant when the temperatures drop or it rains so, on Thursday we took her into the Vet for a checkup of her teeth and the 'cough'. Seeing as she is now 12 and apart from vaccinations this is her first ever visit to the Vet, I think she is doing very well and is still very active. The diagnosis was that she needs to have her teeth cleaned as the back molars are in a bad state and the Vet believes that this could also be the cause of her cough, kind of like a post nasal drip. Her heart sounds good and so this morning Hubby is taking her in and they will do her teeth under anaesthetic and I pray that will fix it all, poor old girl. After the check-up Jelly Bean and I were dropped off with the girls where we were able to relax while my very energetic Hubby did all the stops that seem to accrue with annoying regularity. Just going in exhausts me at the moment so I really appreciated the down time at Poppet's house. Friday was a Public Holiday and we invited the girls over for a braai which turned out quite different to what we had planned. At the last minute we decided to use the Air Fryer instead of making a fire - we do not eat a lot of meat but oh gosh, the lamb chops and pork steaks were absolutely delicious, done to perfection. The more I use it the more uses I find for it 😁. The rest of the family are doing well although BabyBear twisted her ankle last week and it turned out to be a torn ligament, she is now in a brace/boot and more than frustrated at not being able to exercise and get about. Praying for a quick recovery Angel. Now that I am down to less than two weeks of waiting for my surgery I will be honest and admit that I am nervous, yes a little about the actual surgery but also about the post-op recovery with all that it will entail. I think the wait has just been too long and I will be glad to have at least the first major step behind me and know that I am on the recovery road. It is impossible to 'imagine' how I will feel waking up after the surgery to effectively having lost my 'boobs' but, I am still just as determined to beat this and do it in faith and with grace, I also know that it is going to involve a huge amount of prayer and resilience. Without God I would be lost, it is only in His strength that I can come through this. As a quick follow up on all the drama regarding Scar Face last week, it seems that that the three Villages - Bettys Bay, Pringle Bay and Rooi Els are going to come together to protect our baboons and preserve our Biosphere for future generations. There is still much anger and grief around last weeks situation and the best way to channel it is to form a strong enough group to stand up to those who are totally unscrupulous. Well folks that is it for now , I wish you all a wonderful week, for those who are struggling and hurting in whatever way I pray that you experience the Peace and Comfort of the Holy Spirit and that God Himself will make your road smooth and give you the wisdom needed in all your decisions. Please stay safe and stay well, Ciao Ciao . My Interior Decor is designed around cardboard boxes for Zeepha's pleasure, even if she doesn't fit.

My Life's Winding Roads: #R.I.P. Scarface

My Life's Winding Roads: #R.I.P. Scarface: Good morning greetings everyone, here we are at the beginning of yet another new week and I hope you are all ready to tackle whatever comes...