Good morning on this first Monday in July.

 I am honestly trying to figure out how this year has flown by so fast it seems that every year that passes, appears to go faster than the year before.  Greeting folks from our Village that has still not seen winter arrive.  Oh ... we''ve had the odd day or even three or four but truly not winter.  I realised on Saturday that I have not worn my boots even once and my jacket only two or three times. 

Well June was a cracker of a month, so much happening, so much planned.  First of all was Princess's 21st Birthday - how on earth did we get there?  Sadly it was still during her Varsity term and so we could not celebrate with her on the day but, that did not deter us spoiling her.  Poppet flew up to spend the weekend with her.  She truly got to celebrate for almost the entire month. With a good family friend having a fancy dinner for her while Poppet was there, then her party with her friends, then another party down here with Poppet's friends and then extra smaller get together celebrations with the family.  We were also blessed out of our socks to have Princess and her Boyfriend spend two days with us last week.  My heart is full after having spent time with everyone in my family. How I wish we all lived closer.  We were also gearing up for our little Munchkin's Baby Shower and the Daddy Braai which ran concurrently.  What Big Bear did not know was that his brother Big Guy flew in for the event / weekend, as you can imagine many messages back and forth, secrets being kept etc.  Princess and her Boyfriend also flew in - oh my word it was so good to see and hold her again.  It is the longest time that I had not seen her. I had determined that I would finish all the sewing of sheets, receiver blankets and the blanket which I knitted before the shower, success. Although now I find myself at a bit of a loose end, so to that end this weekend I crocheted at little Octopus for baby to hold. Apparently the tentacles remind them of holding the umbilical cord.  It is the first time I have ever read a crochet pattern and truthfully it was not as difficult as I have always thought.  Currently Big Bear is in USA for a business trip and will be back at the end of the week, there are MANY prayers going up that our Munchkin stays exactly where it is until due date.

Apart from all the above excitement it was also time for all my annual check ups. MRI, CT Scan, Mammograms and Sonars.  That, whilst exhausting, went very well and I am happy to declare that I am cancer free and well.  Sadly that wasn't the only doctor dealings we had. Hubby is scheduled for a "small" back op on the 23rd of this month, which is going to put him out of action for some weeks. I also had to see the Dr because of ongoing knee pain for the last ten months.  Hmmm after x-rays I saw an Orthopedic Surgeon who said I need a knee replacement.  I have also made an appointment with the Surgeon who operated on Hubby and Princess for a second opinion, in about two weeks.  Either way it will not be immediate or even soon as I need Hubby to recover and Baby to arrive.

What would one of my Blogs be without some event / mishap / drama ?  Back in March when Jelly Bean had her birthday all of the ladies in the family went Clay Pottery Painting and then to a High Tea.  It has taken all this time to get our painted articles back, which Baby Bear did just before the Shower.  On our way home that night I had ours as well as Poppet's piece in the boot of Hubby's car.  Big Guy was with us and we arrived home after dark (it was a long day).  As I came up to the turnoff to our road I was concentrating on why the lights were on in an empty house and saw the speed bump just a second too late.  I was not speeding because I was about to turn but,  we hit the bump with a BUMP.  On unloading the car as I picked up the paper wrapped package I could feel, and hear, that one of the articles had broken.  Oh how I prayed that it was mine.  No such luck, I had broken Poppet's big pottery leaf bowl in three pieces.  I was absolutely devastated.  Hers was the biggest and the most expensive.  I could not rest and definitely could not sleep until I had confessed and told her.  Bless her heart, she was so understanding and really didn't sound upset, although I would have been.  I asked Hubby to glue it together and he did a superb job.  I gratefully handed it to her last week and thereby absolved myself of any further damage. I have said to her that I will take her Clay Painting again on me.

Well folks, as you can see, one incredibly busy month which seemed to run into itself.  I am hoping July will be less manic and decidedly more peaceful.  I have a good amount of work to get through, which is always a blessing and optimist that I am, I am still watching the horizon for winter :) 

I pray you all have a good July, please take care and stay safe.  Ciao, Ciao.

Charlie waiting for "the kids" to return to the table on our coffee date.

 

My Life's Winding Roads: Somehow June snuck up on me ...

My Life's Winding Roads: Somehow June snuck up on me ...: Good morning world, wow apologies folks I woke up at about 3.20 and could not get back to sleep.  Once my mind switched on 💡  I suddenly re...

Somehow June snuck up on me ...

Good morning world, wow apologies folks I woke up at about 3.20 and could not get back to sleep.  Once my mind switched on 💡 I suddenly realised that I am late with this months Blog.  So, here I sit at 4.43 catching up on my life.  The world is still, I am wrapped up in a blanket,  if I listen carefully I can hear the waves breaking on the shore and now and again the patter of soft rain on the roof.  Sadly because I am up both the cats think it should be breakfast time and are wandering around expectantly ( not happening guys hehe).  Up until now we haven't  really had much of a winter, yes cooler temperatures but not winter, until last Friday when the wind and rain arrived with a vengeance and is still around. There is also snow over many areas of the country.  Needless to say we have had our fire going - to create the perfect scene right now the embers should still be glowing and I should have a hot cup of tea in my hand but, nope the fire is dead and I have not put the kettle on because that would probably wake the entire household.

May was a very busy month with work and everything that just seems to happen without planning or warning.  The family are all doing well, what more can a Mom ask for?  Hubby has a scheduled back op at the end of July to fix the  two vertebrae which are causing him a lot of sciatica pain.  Next week sees my precious Princess turn 21, oh where has the time gone? We are obviously not going to be able to see her but she is coming down on the 21st and we will be making a point of celebrating then.   I know that I for one am counting sleeps until then, we miss her so, so much.  Preparations for Baby are ramping up and added to that the lady who works for the Bears, has a daughter who only found out she was pregnant at 27 weeks, four weeks later she gave birth to the tiniest little human. Who is doing extremely well. Obviously they were all caught unaware as the couple were not planning on having another child.  My heart went out to them and I put out an appeal on one of our local Whats App groups for preemie baby clothes.  Well, never in my wildest dreams did I expect the result.  People were absolutely amazing and baby things came flooding in. I managed to knit up a few pairs of the tiniest booties you can imagine, they just fitted onto my thumb. There were clothes from preemie to older, someone donated a cot and a baby bouncy chair, blankets, books, even brand new preemie vests in their original sealed packaging from Sears in the USA.  Given that space in this house is a premium, I stored everything in my car.  Then almost three weeks ago Jelly Bean and I went to house sit for the Bears, it was just so timely and  a much needed little holiday.  When we arrived in Sea Point my dear Picasso looked like a small bakkie.  the family met us there and we transferred all the baby stuff to their vehicle and I could put my seats back in place. 

We truly had the most magical week, looking after the apartment and Panda their gorgeous cat (who has an obsession with being patted on her back just next to her tail - I do mean patted ... until your arms are tired).  JB and I had planned out where we wanted to go beforehand, first of which was to Bloubergstrand and a Mall there which I had heard a lot about.  In all honesty I have to confess, Malls are not my thing, I find that they are so big that I only go to the shops I need to go to and completely miss the rest.  Anyway, we managed to find everything we were looking for and then went to the beachfront for a well deserved cup of coffee. The weather was cold and overcast but that did not deter us in the least.  One night we were treated to a wonderful meal at La Boheme, which is a very smart restaurant (thank you guys for that). Next we went through to Camps Bay which in all honesty was a disappointment.  It used to be such a special place with views hard to equal.  The views are still there, but the overall feel of the area has gone down considerably and yet very flashy hmmmm, sad to see.  Then I took the r

oad back to Sea Point that goes over the neck of Table Mountain, again it was rainy and overcast, but it was also a bit of a sight seeing trip for JB.  On the Saturday we went to the Oranjezicht Morning Market ( which is no longer in Oranjezicht, it is down next to the Waterfront.)  Again not quite what I was expecting but, what a vibe.  It is 99% food stalls from every conceivable country, a few fresh produce stalls with unusual products and a few stalls selling clothing etc.  Talk about busy, Oh my word, it felt like the entire city was there, it is obviously  a popular meeting place.  After that we went back to the apartment and curled up with blankets and binge watched a series on TV.  As with all good holidays neither of us was ready to come back home and back to routine, but hey that is life. 

I have managed every now and then to get some Diamond Dot painting done between knitting and working.  Thank the Lord that the work keeps coming in and in most cases always involves a challenge of some sort.  The latest ''bundle' that arrived yesterday is going to test not just me, but my sewing machine as well.  It is to replace the plastic seating on patio chairs for a local restaurant - eeeek, if it turns out successfully I will post a pic or two at the end of the job.

Well folks it is still pitch black here, the cats have settled down, the rain still patters on the roof and the rest of the world (and family) still sleeps, Charlie has joined me so perhaps I can go back to bed and join them hehe.  I have just seen another weather advisory for wind and damaging rain, so it is going to be a blanket and hot tea kind of weekend.  Again my apologies for the four day late posting of this Blog.

I wish you all a wonderful weekend, let someone know how much you love / appreciate them. Stay safe and well. Ciao Ciao.

Sunset in Sea Point.

Bloubergstrand looking across the Bay to Cape Town, 

Driving to Camps Bay with a peek down to Clifton, the home of millionaires. 

Camps Bay

My Life's Winding Roads: We've made it to May

My Life's Winding Roads: We've made it to May: Wow!!  Good morning folks  what a merry-go-round April seems to have been.  So much happened and there is so much to share.  First of all, f...

We've made it to May

Wow!!  Good morning folks what a merry-go-round April seems to have been.  So much happened and there is so much to share.  First of all, for the first time in all these years of Blogging I am typing on a laptop, whoop, whoop.  Someone in  the family was blessed with a laptop and in turn blessed me with theirs.  it does take some getting used to after such a long time and every now and then I find myself touching the screen to move the cursor haha.

Where to start ? first of all winter is still on her way, despite a couple of threats and cooler, shorter days.  I guess one can't hurry autumn along.  I am not really complaining though, anything for less heat.  I did read yesterday that the wind gusts in Kleinmond were 123 kmph, so that is quite a good indication of winter.

The very BIG news, that I have been absolutely bursting to share is that our family is growing by one new member.  After 21 years we are getting ready to welcome a Baby Bear into the family.  We all found out as a family before Christmas and it has been one of the hardest secrets for me to keep hehe.  The Bears made their announcement during this past month and so, ta-da ... there is a precious little person arriving in the middle of August.  When I have mentioned over the past few months, that I am knitting, it has been booties and little jerseys.  Being me, over the years I kept a lot of baby clothes, the kids soft toys etc., and was able to put  most of BigBear's things aside and pass them over for the new arrival.  Mom and Dad are understandably beyond proud and excited and both Mom and Baby are doing very well.  At long last Princess is getting her desire to have a Cousin, everyone else gets to be Aunts, Uncle and for us Granny and Grandpa.  I tell you folks, the excitement is real.

The rest of the family are all, currently, well.  I say currently because our entire household was down last week with the flu.  Princess has had it on and off, the Bears have also had their turn.  It is not pleasant folks, so double up on the vitamins, smoothies and healthy choices. Hubby was the last to get it and the first to get better.  Yesterday was the first day I felt close to being better and JB who started it, is still not 100%.  I think I mentioned last month that Hubby has resumed his radio controlled sailing and is a very happy chappy.  The local group get together at one of the lakes here as often as possible, in Betty's Bay and then the larger group from Cape Town meet at different places to sail, all contingent on our delightfully, unpredictable wind.  Yesterday they sailed at an alligator farm near Paarl.  Poppet started her new job at the beginning of the month and despite the commute is absolutely loving it.  Big Guy is in the final throes of tying up a very big contract he has been working on for well over a year.  Big Bear enjoyed his trip to the USA, although I haven't had enough time with him to hear all the ins and outs.  He did say that his favourite place was New York.  Princess and I had a lovely face time call yesterday and, apart from looking tired she is doing really well and thoroughly enjoying her chosen subjects.  I had no clue that the work load for First Years was anywhere near as intense as it is. She never seems to stop.

Work wise it has been busy with an ever changing selection of things to alter, fix, make etc.  I really had no idea how much I would enjoy doing this as each item that comes in is a different challenge, plus I am meeting so many wonderful people.  I have been very grateful to God that somehow when I am having a bad Fibro week it almost always coincides with a quiet work week.

My first 6 monthly check up was during April as well, which was a small milestone.  I did not make the appointment with my Oncologist but rather with my Breast Surgeon as I have not been entirely happy with the communication lines with the Oncologist.  She sends me for tests etc but I have to nag and nag for the results which inevitably come through her secretary.  All three of my Doctors work as a team, so I did not want to cause a problem. Thankfully my Surgeon was my first point of contact and I have a very good relationship with her and could explain my frustration.  She totally understood and did a thorough examination, she also aspirated two lumps which were just fatty lumps, Praise God.  All the tests came back clean and good.  I have to go for all the annual MRI, Mammogram, Sonar and, and in June and she has already set the date for it all.  so, yaay, I am good and healthy and will stay on 6 monthly checks.

This past weekend I picked up my colouring pencils for the first time in I don't know how long.  With working and all the knitting I barely get to my Diamond Dot paintings, much less any other hobbies, but I just felt the desire to be quiet and creative.  It was wonderful, I had forgotten how calming it is.

Well folks, in a brief but full nutshell, that is all my news for now.  Have a wonderful week, may the month of May be especially good to you. Stay safe and well.  Ciao Ciao.

For a tiny pair of feet already walking all over our hearts.

My Life's Winding Roads: Wishing you all a Happy Easter

My Life's Winding Roads: Wishing you all a Happy Easter: Happy Monday everyone both near and far and Happy Easter for this past weekend, it is only because of His sacrifice that we have hope and li...

Wishing you all a Happy Easter

Happy Monday everyone both near and far and Happy Easter for this past weekend, it is only because of His sacrifice that we have hope and life.  For those in South Africa we have just had two long weekends in a row so looking at another short week.   It is also school holidays here so our little Village is very full with holiday homes and B & B's mostly rented out.  The weather has also been absolutely perfect (for me hehe) for the last 2 weeks, yesterday excluded.  Cooler, misty and  a bit drizzly, pure heaven after the intense heat, the humidity is still quite high.  Saying this just reminded me of years ago when my kids were at school, school holidays were staggered with the different Provinces.  Good old yesteryear.

Well March wasn't quite what I expected or planned but it too has come to an end.  It started with me having the Bone Calcium Infusion  and for the third time in a row my reaction was the severest to date. I will not be having it again and would rather take magnesium daily than subject my body to this again.  It started with the usual increased pain and flu like symptoms but also pushed me into a Fibro Flare, the likes of which I have never experienced.  One of the disturbing Fibro symptoms is something called Fibro Fog where one feels as if thinking is like trying to walk through quicksand.  I got to a point where I was making JB a new dress for her birthday and, after all the measuring and drawing up of the pattern, I cut the bodice out, pinned it together and it was too tight.  That absolutely floored me.  No matter how I tried to re-measure, re-draw the pattern nothing  worked.  Eventually after many tears of frustration I called my seamstress neighbour who came over the following Monday and bam in 10 minutes we had it right.  I had looked at it and thought that I could put a small panel in under the arms, but that thought flew right through my brain and out the other side. 🤦🏻‍♀️ Then I picked up a jersey pattern i wanted to knit .... oh my goodness 3 days and 4 patterns later I could actually harness my brain into getting the pattern right. I was seeing the abbreviations and mentally transposing them. Instead of decreasing I was making a hole. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ At the time, no matter how hard I looked I could not see the fault. Grrrr. During this same period I forgot to order my chronic meds from the pharmacy who only deliver on Fridays and Tuesdays. So, from the Friday to Tuesday I was without one particular pill, which worsened everything even more.  When I eventually went and saw my GP he was horrified.  I was told that under NO circumstances do I ever miss one of those doses.  He did a full neurological test and work up on me and assured me that I am not going crazy or mentally insane but that it was a three fold problem.  The drip, Fibro and the missing pill.  I was so relieved to be declared "normal".  I thank God for an empathetic and thorough Dr.  He made some temporary adjustments to my meds to get me back on track,  and told me to just be kind to myself.  I have to thank JB for all her  care and understanding and for never getting irritable or annoyed with me.   Two weeks later on her birthday I was still struggling, but thankfully apart from occasional balance issues I am back to my normal self. 

For her birthday Poppet and BabyBear had organised a full day of activity in the City. We went together with BabyBear's mom, who was visiting, to a Clay Painting Cafe, where we each chose an item and then got to paint said item, as well as having a stunning brunch. I was a mess with just trying to decide on what to paint and then when I did, in my opinion, in looked like a kindergarten piece. Oh Dear !!! Poppet stepped in and added a flourish to my dish.  All the others were absolutely spectacular and I will look at mine with pride considering everything I was going through at the time. From there we went back to the apartment to get dressed smartly before going to The Silo Hotel at the Waterfront for High Tea.  What an incredible afternoon with the most incredible food, laughter, love and good girl time.  All in all it was a wonderful birthday celebration for an amazing young woman.

During this time BigBear was in the USA and even got to go to New York.  I haven't seen him since his return so am waiting to see all the photos and hear all the stories.    Princess is doing well just extremely tired.  She is working during their vacation as well as trying to catch up on Varsity work, but, she is thoroughly enjoying her chosen subjects and getting really good marks.  Well done my precious Princess.   Big Guy is also well and working very hard, he too is having quite a few extra DJ gigs which he loves doing. Poppet is extremely busy with her Paddle Group and starts her new job in 8 days which she is really looking forward to.   Miss Muffet has had some health challenges but has and is dealing with them like a real trooper, you go girl, you've got this.  All in all the family is well, busy and happy.

Hubby is as usual busy with his watches and clocks as well as enjoying his new hobby of Radio Controlled Sailing.  I think he is still adjusting and getting to know the boat and its foibles as well as dealing with the ever changing wind down here.

Two weeks ago our local pet charity gifted me with an original Wardrobe  Steamer Trunk filled with various rolls of ribbons.  Wow.. I was so excited. It needs a lot of work on it and I seriously considered taking it on but upon reflection and prayer I came to the decision that it is quite a bit more than I have in me at this time.  I gifted a number of rolls of sequins to someone whom I know blings jackets and bags etc.  Kept the ribbons and yesterday managed to sell the trunk and donated that money back into the charity.  So, all round a happy, good decision.

Business has picked up a lot and I am working hard just to keep up at the moment.  I continue to get some really odd things to fix or alter - ie three dolls that were chewed  by a dog.  There is hope for 2 of the dolls but I fear the third is history.  I have to remake the soft, cloth bodies completely - eeeeek.

Folks thanks for reading through this long monthly "digest" .  If you know of someone with a Chronic / Autoimmune Disease like Fibromyalgie, Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis etc, please be patient with them.  They may look perfectly normal on the outside, but you have no idea what it takes to look like that and the feeling of sheer panic / terror at not even being able to think clearly.

I wish you all a wonderful week, stay safe and well please. Ciao Ciao. 

Birthday celebrations.

Original Wardrobe Steamer Trunk. Zeepha inspecting.