Not enough coffee today .....

Greetings folks from a very windy BB, and when I say windy I mean high wind with gusts of 43km inch has been blowing since Saturday, it's the kind of wind that when you open a door your feet pick up speed all by themselves. Needless to say it's delaying some outdoor tasks, we wanted to wash the windows on Saturday but seeing as this is a South Easter, apart from being impossible it's a waste of time because in ten minutes they will be salty again. On that front I am not complaining as my energy level today is almost non existent and pain levels are on the opposite side of the scale hence the title of this Blog 'Not enough coffee' there is literally not enough that would replace my energy. Having said that I have just put my poor husband through a huge search expedition. For days now I've been trying to find a particular Bible and have looked EVERYWHERE, so today the search extended to storage boxes in the garage which only Hubby can get down, sadly all that effort resulted in nothing. Never one to give up I then dug through my kist also resulting in nothing at which point Jelly Bean walked in and asked what I was doing and then asks the very obvious question, pointing to the bookshelves she asked if I looked 'there'. "Yes" I said, but just not the back rows of books. My precious daughter walks up to the first bookshelf and has a 2 second look, pulls out a book and says "is this it ?" SERIOUSLY ???? How did I not see it ? I can see both my sons right now rolling their eyes and thinking "it's called old age Mother", no it isn't guys I don't know what to call it but old age doesn't work for me. Haha

We've had a pretty normal week if you take out all the driving, the best part of that though is how the sea changes every day so the view never gets boring. Hubby and I have also had some super dates for either coffee or dinner which is always special, I am so blessed that we are best friends as well as marriage partners unlike so many couples I've heard of, who once the husband retires he drives the wife crazy and they end up spending no time together. We have so much to do and see that every day is a new adventure.

Tomorrow Jasper and I are taking a visit to the Vet, hopefully nothing serious but I am positive that he will be very annoyed by the time we are finished. Ever since we've had him he tends to have had a blocked nose and therefore 'snuffles', the problem is that for the last few weeks he has had really smelly breath, and for a cat that loves licking his human and sleeping face to face I need to get it sorted quickly, so wish me luck folks, please. This morning I awoken by a bored cat who wanted to get out of the bedroom and so decided that the way to wake Mom was to bite her, not gentle bites I may add. He had me up in minutes to open the door for him and then returned about a half an hour later for head scratches and proceeded to knead my arms, also not a painless event. One very special kitty. Now that the cooler weather has arrived Gemma is also a lot more loving and claims one of our laps every night.

Friends I wish you a wonderful week filled with positive things, lots of energy, favour in every situation and lots of joy. Don't forget, be safe out there please.

Jasper posing for the camera.

A time of experimenting.

Hi folks I hope you have all had a fabulous Easter weekend, ours has been very laid back and quiet I suppose that's to be expected sometimes when you move all the way across the country. I will admit that I have missed the family some thing terrible this last week as we usually have at least Big Guy, Poppet and Princess over for an Easter Egg hunt and a big family meal. I truly wish I could wave a magic wand to get them here more often, thank goodness for telephones and Skype that still keep us connected and in touch. Jelly Bean worked every day which kept us on the go, but the plus side was the weather has been cold with really high winds which meant we could cuddle up with blankets and keep our fire going, winter is my absolute best. I did manage to catch up on all the baking, which takes up a fair bit of time but keeps everyone happy, especially Hubby dearest.

Betty's Bay is now settling back to normal as the school holidays come to an end, what always amazes me is that even though our little village 'fills up' during the holidays it never gets noisy here or feels like there are a lot of extra people around, until you get out onto the main roads and see the increase of traffic. I have not ever missed the 'city' for even an instant and we still remind ourselves that this is home and it's permanent.

Having said how quiet it has been right now it feel super, extra quiet hahaha. Because I haven't 'paced' myself for the last while, and with Jelly Bean only working an afternoon shift today, my precious husband decided to take her in and then visit with some friends of ours so that I don't have to drive today and can just rest up and re-charge my battery. As sweet and precious as that is, it still leaves me very frustrated as I hate missing out on anything and the house is super quiet. I mentioned last week that I have stopped eating meat for the last two weeks in order to see if it makes aby difference to my health, interestingly enough it has made a difference as well as discovering that onions which I've eaten all my life, make me really sick. I made a French onion soup last week and spent the next 30 hours in absolute agony, all these years when I've had fried onion rings or a lot of onion and been ill I have lblamed it on the bread that usually went with it. This is a huge adjustment for me because I use onion in just about everything, but whatever it takes to feel better is what I am prepared to do. So onions are history for me and I am continuing to eliminate different foods in order to find out what increases my pain / exhaustion levels. For now I'm curled up with a heating pad and lots of tea.

Friends, thank you for being part of this Blog and for your continued encouragement. I pray you all have a fabulous week and if you are on the roads please be extra aware and super safe.

The full moon last week.



A spectacular sunset a couple of days ago.

Never a dull moment

Good morning from a chilly, windy Betty's Bay where I do believe winter is making its presence felt gently, needless to say that makes me one very happy girl. Talk about a week of weather extremes, last week certainly rates up there on the scale. I find it so exciting watching the ocean and its various moods, there are no two days the same. Because we are driving the coast road almost daily that gives us constant differing views. We went from calm as a fish pond, to absolutely massive swells and waves, to such strong winds that we had to really hold on tight to the steering wheel, on that particular day the wind was blowing the spray across the water to such an extent that it looked like mist. Unfortunately it was blowing so hard that I couldn't take any photos good enough to share because it was impossible to keep the camera still. On the way into Somerset West we noticed an incredibly bright and wide rainbow against the mountains in Gordons Bay and I thought that by the time I returned it would be gone, on the contrary when I got back there it had spread right across the mountain and had a smaller one behind it. I was then able to count another six huge rainbows on the way home, most of which were doubles, I personally have never seen so many and such vibrant rainbows ever. We have had some rain although not enough to make any measurable difference yet.

We also had a somewhat unusual visitor during the week. You know when you hear a noise (in this case the dogs barking) which keeps on and on then all of a sudden you are aware and it's WHAT ARE YOU BARKING AT? Well our two frantic, hysterical dogs had found a tortoise such a cute little guy, and they had decided he was the threat of all threats. Good grief. We would have loved to leave him in the yard but I was worried that Max might actually hurt him and at the very least would drive him insane or deafen him. It took quite a while for him to accept a new path because no matter where we put him he kept coming back. Eventually Hubby dearest put him into the plot next door which has a LOT of fynbos, peace restored, or so we thought. On Saturday the same thing all over again only this time on the side of the house, on investigation we found 'Timothy' the tortoise busy making his way back up toward the road using our fence as a guide line. In desperation for all our sakes and sanity I brought both the dogs inside. I wonder what they would do if they saw Scott the local leopard?

On a more personal note I have cut my meat consumption back to practically zero in an 'experiment' to see whether it makes any difference to my health. Amazingly enough I am not craving or wanting meat but it does stretch the brain cells in terms of providing tasty and nutritious meals without having to make two separate dishes. So far I cannot say I've noticed a huge difference on the pain scale but there is a definite improvement on the IBS, only time will tell. I don't know if I've ever mentioned that stains on clothing or anywhere for that matter, and I have an understanding. They appear and I make them disappear, I wage war on stains. Well yesterday I encountered a problem I've never had before. I splashed curry onto a white top, just four tiny spots, but OUT they had to go, so I did all the usual tricks with no success, then used my old friend Bleach. Horror of horrors, it removed the curry stain and left me with a bight pink and white tie dye looking shirt ????? According to Google a common problem judging by all the questions on how to remove it. Nothing worked so eventually I put it into another bleach solution with some of my washing powder and left it overnight, this morning Voila - stain GONE even though it took aver 12 hours. That was one for the books.

I know that I am always telling people to be safe and those are not empty words. On Monday last week I had a really strong urge to pray for my youngest son, BigBear which I did. I phoned him and asked if everything was ok which it was and left it at that although I continued to pray for them all. One night during the week he and Babybear were on their way home after gym and they noticed a scuffle going on in the bushes on the side of the road. As they drove past they saw that three men were attacking an elderly couple, so he drove around, parked the car and got out running towards the scuffle. #momsheadinherhands. Seeing him coming, he is 6'8" tall, the attackers fled leaving a hysterical lady and her husband drenched in blood, he had been cut with a panga. This couple were tourists and staying in a hotel just across the road. Between them Bigbear and Babybear got the couple back to their hotel, tried to stop the bleeding and call for an ambulance and the police. This scenario could have ended so very differently and I truly believe that was why I felt the need to pray so strongly. Needless to say I am SO proud of my son and his wife for being such amazing human beings although the 'mom part' of me always wants to keep my family safe. His words to me were "Mom I had to help and would like to think that if it was you guys in a foreign country, someone would come to your aid and do the same." Thank you Lord for protecting our families on a daily basis. Last night we had Babybear stay over as she has to work in Hermanus and surrounding areas today, such a treat to have her here. We had a super relaxed evening but this morning was where things got funny. When I got up to make tea Jasper followed me as usual but when he got to the threshold of the bedroom/lounge he came to a standstill and went into a low crouch, looking suspiciously from corner to corner in the lounge. He saw the mattress in the lounge occupied by a body and there was no way he was going to enter said lounge. He's never had anyone sleepover before. After about five or ten minutes of him checking out the threat assessment and Babybear actually moving around talking to him, did he cross the threshold and almost leopard crawl behind the chairs to get to the other side of the room. My brave, stout little cat. Hahaha.

Friends I wish you a wonderful week of positive experiences and wherever you go please stay safe and be aware of your surroundings, be the person who makes a difference in someone's life this week.


The rainbow on our way into Somerset West


One of the rainbows on my way home, please excuse the rain on the windscreen taking the pic in the car was the only way because the wind was so strong.


Timothy the tortoise

Loving where I am

Good morning friends, can you believe we are already into April? It is school holidays and Easter is just around the corner. On the one hand it feels like December was just the other day and also like it was eons ago perhaps I am just feel nostalgic, I will however admit to be missing our family. it has been a particularly tough week for me health wise which is tiresome but everyone else is well, healthy and happy. Our little Princess got a fabulous school Report, she has been working so hard and the results are showing, we are SO proud of you Angel Girl, keep it up because there is no limit to what you can do.

It never ceases to amaze me how many things there are that always need doing or fixing, so many people have asked us whether we get bored or what do we do all day now that we have retired, and yet we never seem to stop haha. There is so much to do and so much to see that we actually feel weird when we sit down to relax. After the usual kind of busy week, and with Jelly Bean working a full day yesterday, we went for breakfast in Kleinmond to a restaurant that is situated right on the beach and I do mean right on the beach. It was a glorious day with no wind and this place is situated between the sea and the lagoon. It may not be a five star establishment but they serve good food and their location and view is unbelievable. We have been here for eight months and I cannot believe we have only just discovered this little gem, it's a definite go to next time the family comes down or we have visitors. We also took a little bit of a drive along the sea front and watched the waves breaking over the rocks which was absolutely awesome. The sea was calm and yet the waves were magnificent which made me determined to get down there the next time we have a Spring Tide or really rough seas so that I can get some, hopefully, really good photos. The one thing that really seems to set the Capetonians apart from the rest of the country is that they make the most of what this province has to offer and especially love nnbeing out and about, maybe it's because we have long wet winters, or maybe it is just appreciation for the beauty that is everywhere we look, but wherever you go you will find young and old, local and tourists out exploring and appreciating what we have.

On the animal front apart from Max actually escaping AGAIN, through a hole which it appears he chewed through on the plastic mesh they are all doing their thing. Jasper as usual is a source of joy every day, he is the gentlest of cats and has grown so much since I got him, he is a big, stocky, gentle cat who still thinks I am his personal kneading pad - ouch. He has just emerged from behind the books after spending the entire morning there following his twice weekly encounter with the 'red monster'. He comes when I call him, will follow me from room to room and if I happen to go outside or he 'looses' me, he will utter a tiny little meow calling me. That is the only time we ever hear him meow. A couple of days ago he was in his sandbox and I went to the bedroom busy doing something, the next thing I heard was this little single meow when he discovered I wasn't there so I called him and he came trotting through quite happily for a cuddle. Such a precious little fellow. Gemma still moans and groans whenever she sees or think she hears him but other than that ignores him.

Friends, enough of my ramblings for this week, I have just taken a fruit cake out of the oven and put a ciabatta bread in to bake, so I need to get on with the rest of my day. In the midst of all the turmoil in our country and in the world in general, please take encouragement that God is still the God of miracles. I continue to pray for our country, for everyone of you for whatever needs or obstacles may arise in your lives. Be safe out there folks and have a fabulous week.

Waves breaking over the rocks in Kleinmond




Jasper trying to blend in with the ornaments

Are we making a difference ?

Hi folks, greetings on this gorgeous autumn morning. I think I can safely say that we are at last entering Autumn and the heat is abating just a little, which equals a very happy me. Thankfully due to the design of our house, open plan / barn conversion, we have learnt very quickly to see which side the wind is blowing from and then open up that side of the house. We've had to become slightly creative in respect of closing up the door so that Jasper cannot get out, but so far it is working.

Following a rather busy week, after we took Jelly Bean to work yesterday, my precious Hubby and I treated ourselves to a nice breakfast at The Belgian Waffle House in the Strand, went for a bit of a stroll and then took our fold up chairs and books and planted ourselves on the beach, where we wiled away the morning reading, watching humanity and the sea. The Strand beach is probably the best walking beach in South Africa as it is very long and extremely flat. Yesterday was one of the very rare days in the Cape where there wasn't even a hint of wind, the sea was calm and the sun wasn't cooking down, absolute bliss.

The one thing I can do for hours is watch people go by, and yesterday was no exception. There were so many people on the beach of every nationality, age, and walk of life. It was so beautiful to hear children laughing and parents actually playing with them, not just sitting supervising. Being such a large beach everyone pretty much has their own space, and what really stood out was, even though our country is so divided and has so much violence, the majority can and do live in total harmony. There was a group of ladies standing in the shallow water appearing to be having a prayer meeting, a young couple with a toddler who have a bicycle coffee cart and from the moment we arrived until shortly before we left they were inundated, I am guessing they ran out of coffee. All in all a couple of hundred people co-existing harmoniously and actually having fun and being happy. This got me to thinking about the struggles that I know so many people are going through at the moment, we are all fighting a war on some level. Most of these battles are largely hidden from others out of fear of judgement/criticism or even rejection. As society I think many of us have become very good at putting on a smile and acting like there is nothing wrong. However, I do believe that there comes a time when one needs to share with someone they trust to stand with them, whether it be through prayer, encouragement, some form of support, or just halving the burden. There are many times just uttering a kind word, a gentle hug, or an encouragement will totally turn around that individual's day. Folks, I would love to challenge each of you to go out this week and be aware of those around you at work, in your family, at the supermarket, wherever you go, listen to your heart and change someone's day, give them a reason to keep fighting, even give them a reason to smile. Pray for them, even though you don't know the circumstances God most certainly does and there is a reason your path crossed with theirs.

On that note have a fantastic week, I pray YOU receive encouragement and kindness and I am now going to cuddle my gorgeous Jasper awhile, it's Monday and the terrible red monster (vacuum cleaner) visited today, so extra cuddles are in demand. Until next week stay safe friends and go out and make a difference in the world.

P.S. This Blog is exactly one year old, I can hardly believe all that has transpired in such a short time. Thank you one and all for your support and encouragement and most of all for being part of this journey.


Pics taken on Strand Beach yesterday morning.

One week can only contain so much

Greetings friends how are you all today? The one thing about retirement is that sometimes it gets a little difficult to keep track of long weekends etc. I knew that tomorrow is a Public Holiday in South Africa but what I had not quite registered was that schools were closed today resulting in a large percentage of people being on leave. Ho hum, apart from traffic we haven't seen much difference. Although, having said that in all honesty we have been so busy that it could have been five holidays. Last week Hubby's car developed an 'ailment' in as much as the alternator packed up during one of the drives taking Jelly Bean to work. After much tension and careful driving he got home safely and spent most of the week under the hood of the car, thank the Lord among his many abilities auto mechanics is very strong so he is busy working on fixing said alternator.

I went and got myself bitten by a spider last Tuesday whilst getting dressed, I never saw it or found it but certainly felt it. The following day I saw the Clinic Sister at the local pharmacy, who is wonderful, and quickly confirmed the diagnosis. She put me onto antibiotics etc which Wa s all fine, but despite taking everything the red mark around the bite doubled every day. Yaay !!! Happily, although it is still red and big it seems as if the antibiotics are working.

Friday was our beautiful Jelly Bean's birthday, unfortunately she had to work in the morning but we had a super laid back birthday evening. Many years ago after my late husband passed away I began a tradition, whereby the birthday person gets to choose the meal of their choice for dinner irrespective of how weird that choice is. Friday proved to be right up there as far as unusual in that her meal choice was - ice cream, haha. On Saturday BigBear and BabyBear collected her from work and came through for the afternoon and a wonderful family braai (barbecue). It was such a lovely afternoon as we all sat out on the deck listening to the waves, with a nice fire going and good fellowship. Once again the sad part is we were missing the rest of the family, gosh it feels like such a long time and I miss them all SO much.

Yesterday at about 11am a huge veld fire broke out between Pringle Bay and Rooi Els, the next two villages. Because the winds were in excess of 50 kph it very quickly got out of control. We had to take Jelly Bean through for an afternoon shift and because the fire was so big the road was closed and we ended up having to go the long way around which is about 30km further each way, on a super busy road. Hubby and I went up to the Helderberg Nature Reserve where the temperature was a sizzling 34c and had a lovely time over tea and scones, before going to spend the rest of the afternoon with friends. The road remained closed, so again the long drive home and then arriving to a smoke shrouded Betty's Bay. Because we are on a local chat group we were getting all the updates and this was one really evil fire. We could see the flames from our home which is a good 8 or 9 km from Rooi Els, the fire jumped the road and spread across the mountain behind Rooi Els and down into the Nature Reserve destroying 3 homes, damaging others not to mention the affect on Mthe wildlife. On the ignition side it swept through the mountain, down through the gorge and up the other side before burning deeper into the mountains. The authorities evacuated the whole village, but most people are now back home assessing the damage. They had over 150 firefighters, 25 fire vehicles, helicopters and water bomber planes, our firefighters are so tired after such a long dry season and yet they continue to tirelessly push on. Thank you to all involved. Currently the fire is mostly under control and thankfully the coast road was opened at 6.30 am this morning, it was such a joy to drive along it although heartbreaking to see the devastation. Lord we need rain so badly.

As a result of ALL the above and not sleeping well, this lady is now running on fumes in terms of energy. So, that means I am going to end off and take a little 'me' time to recuperate and try and charge my batteries, this is one of the down sides of Fibromyalgie, chronic fatigue. Dear friends I wish for you a week of peace, success, good health love and lots of laughs. Above all and always please stay safe out there.

An interesting week to be sure

Hi there friends I hope this finds everyone well. Gee whizz it has been a busy week, last weeks post seems like a month ago haha.
As well as all the normal daily activities, we have done some serious driving. Jelly Bean started her new job last Wednesday and although we thought we would keep ourselves busy and explore during her shifts, we very quickly discovered that it was just too much, especially for me. So a quick rethink and we have found a system that works very well, one of us takes her to work and the other fetches and we rotate that every day. This way we can carry on normal home activities and the money we would potentially have spent in coffee shops etc is more than what we spend on diesel. There are obviously exceptions where we will go in and have things to do for the entire time, tonight is one I am really looking forward to, she is on 'night' shift from 4 - 8.30pm and we are going to meet up with some friends and have a leisurely dinner somewhere. For me that is always a treat. Thankfully our precious girl is absolutely loving her job and everything that it involves, God is so good to us.

The weather here has been unusual to say the very least. Last week we were in Stellenbosch where it was an incredible 37c, we went from there through to Somerset West - still a sweltering 36 c or so, but when we eventually got home it was a glorious 21c. I had even joked that the Cape was showing off for all the visitors, not much wind and lots and lots of sun (except in BB). Cape Town hosts the biggest road cycle tour every year with over 35 000 plus riders who come from all over the world to take part, as the week progressed so did the number of tourists. On Sunday morning just before the start of the race and due to exceptionally high winds the organizers shortened the route, and then all the 'drama' unfolded. The first batch of riders, the elite group started out and from there on it was chaos because the winds were in excess of 100km and the riders could not even get on their bikes much less ride them. There are so many videos online at the moment showing how the guys' bikes were being blown right out of their hands, blowing out horizontally. Eventually the race was cancelled which was the first time in its 40year history. My precious Hubby who has ridden 16 of these Cape Cycle Tours, previously known as the Cape Argus, was more than a little skeptical when he heard the race was cancelled, until he saw the video footage. It is so sad for all involved, all the training, the costs incurred, the build up etc but from what I saw on the road yesterday afternoon the visitors made the most of the situation and did a lot of sight seeing. All the food and drinks set aside for the riders along the route were donated to the victims of a massive fire which started in Hout Bay on Saturday and left many people displaced. We truly live in a magnificent Province where the community knows how to come together.
Well done Cape Town.

On the home front Max has not escaped since the last fence mend and Jasper all of a sudden found his springs and can now jump up onto the counters, which means he can now reach Gemma when she seeks refuge up there which makes for lots of fun and games. He is not the most sure footed of kitties and with regularity slips off a counter or a shelf and then walks away looking like he planned it anyway, right now he is sprawled across my lap fast asleep.

Friends my darling Hubby is looking like he is about to pass out from hunger so I need to say Au Revoir for now. I wish you all a fabulous week and as always stay safe and alert out there.

Driving into Gordons Bay yesterday and the Helderberg Mountains were blanketed in cloud.


The Cape showing off, view across False Bay towards Cape Town.