Life is full of obstacles

Good morning friends I hope this Blog finds you all well and overcoming obstacles. Why overcoming obstacles ? Because no matter who you are, or how good or bad life is there will always be some obstacles in your path in order to get you to quit, slow down or even become overwhelmed by it all. We always have a choice and as hard as it sometimes is to keep going and not give in, that really is the only way to handle the issues that keep dropping into our lives. I am and always have been a glass half full person, yes there have been many times in my life where I have questioned things, why me? what did I do wrong? Isn't it enough now? And from first hand experience those questions never give you answers or change the situation. Speaking positively over a situation, keeping my thoughts on God's Word and His promises, refusing to give up for any reason, taking time to nourish my Spirit and just plain hanging on are what carries me through every situation. Discouragement will always try and take hold but if our feet are firmly planted in the Word of God and His promises it is virtually impossible to stay discouraged and sad. Friends, start looking at all the obstacles as potential testimony and speak God's words over the situation, your family, your health, your finances, those you work with, your safety etc. I look forward to hearing some of those testimonies as you overcome one after another challenge or obstacle.

We are having glorious weather at the moment, sunny and cold (big grin), we have a fire going just about every day and have had some good rains, still much more needed but every drop is precious and counts. Hubby dearest is busy working on the cat tree and what we have so far is looking awesome, I'm not sure Jasper quite gets the whole concept but hopefully when the platform and the hammock are on he will be able to climb and play. He has been a little terror over the last while and at the same time an absolute cutey, one moment he will be playing and purring and the next he attacks your hand/arm with a vengeance. I've tried a few things generally to my own harm/blood loss and eventually turned to good old Google, in about 20 articles that I read on the subject there was only ONE that actually gave any kind of a solution - break eye contact and look away, ignore him (hard to do when your flesh is in a vice grip) and move away from him, do not smack, blow in his face or shout (all those things just make my cat sink his teeth in deeper).
I have been using these techniques for the last three days and am happy to say that so far they are working and I have a real cuddle bunny on my lap also hopefully my hands and arms will stop looking as though I lost a fight with thorn tree.

Folks, I wish you a week of happiness, favour with others, protection and good memories. Please stay safe wherever you are and make the most of every minute you have.


Sourdough salty crackers nom nom

Here and there

Once again we find ourselves facing a new week and the rapid closing of June, I can hardly believe that we are just about half way through this year, where oh where has the time gone? Last week was a relatively quiet 'normal' week for us with no major happenings, we have had some rain and a few windless days but winter has definitely arrived, very late but here non the less. As I sit and type this the wind is blowing a literal gale, earlier trying to hang up the washing felt like trying to tame a hyperactive octopus and driving Jelly Bean to work was also an interesting exercise with the wind battering the little car from side to side. We've had a fire going for days now which was one of our biggest dreams during the build up to the move, it is such a joy to sit warm and cozy with a hot mug of tea/coffee in hand, all the animals curls up sleeping and a beautiful fire, sheer bliss.

A friend of mine who lives in BB and is a very keen gardener, she calls it fynbos therapy, has been on the lookout for a couple of weeks for a suitable piece of wood which we, Hubby dearest, can turn into a cat condo and has been sending photos of possible contestants. Last week after the storm she discovered that her beautiful tree had been blown down, she has an eye that can see beyond a horizontal felled tree and quickly got to work stripping the leaves and lots of the branches. I got a very excited call about the newest 'contestant' and so Hubby and I made a quick trip and left there with our car looking like we had a moose's antlers tied to the roof, what a beautiful tree this precious friend blessed us with. Now it's up to my very clever Hubby to incorporate it into a new cat condo where we can put in a couple of shelves and maybe a hammock, with all the climbing, playing space the cats could need, watch this space....

I am still busy experimenting with sourdough recipes and have so far had really good success with salted crackers and pull apart dinner rolls, I definitely foresee many more experiments coming out of this oven. For someone who many, many years ago tried her hand at bread making / baking and failed miserably every time I am thoroughly enjoying making almost all of our baked goods - breads, crackers, rolls, pizza, biscuits and rusks. We have become fairly self sufficient as far as that kind of thing is concerned and we are still enjoying and trying out new and different vegetarian dishes. Jasper takes a very keen interest in the baking side of things as he is quite unashamedly addicted to yoghurt and butter and the minute I start he is front and centre checking into all the bowls etc.

Folks I want to end off this week's Blog with an encouragement, so many people I know are right at this moment really battling with circumstances and situations that they have no 'physical' control over, with discouragement and exhaustion. I want to say to all of us is that it is perfectly normal to want to throw our toys out of the cot, to just loose the plot as it were. I saw something last week which I shared with a family member who was struggling with something, it read : "It's ok to loose 'the plot' and be upset but, it's not ok to build a tent and camp there." In other words be kind to yourself, recognise that this is just a season and no amount of worry and stress is going to change a thing, take some time out for yourself and do something that feeds your spirit. There are so many times when the fight just seems too much, too exhausting, no light at the end of the tunnel, try to just take a step back and look at all the times you've fought a battle and at the end of every battle there was and always will be a light at the end of the tunnel. Keep looking for that light and know that so far your survival rate is 100%, hang in there friend you've got this, God will never let you down He has brought you this far in life and is not about to abandon you now.

Wishing each of you dear friends a fantastic week ahead, stay safe please.

Gemma enjoying the fire



Sourdough salted crackers



Our potential cat condo (you have to imagine the end product) lol

The biggest storm in 30 years.

Good morning all from a cold and really windy Betty's Bay, I trust you have all had a good week? Ours has been pretty much centred around the weather in every way, on Tuesday night the wind came up as the cold front moved into the Western Cape and boy oh boy has it been blowing. Wednesday there were winds in excess of 90 kmph here in BB and a fair bit of rain, Cape Town and all along the Atlantic Seaboard seemed to get the worst of the storm in the sense that they had massive storm surges with the waves breaking over and completely flooding adjacent roads. There have been some amazing pictures and videos taken and I have to really give credit to the Western Cape government for the way they handled the entire situation, we were kept up to date on traffic, closed areas and the situation in general, schools and many businesses were closed and people were advised to stay off the roads. Where we are there were no major wave surges just the incredibly high winds and blessed rain. Strand beach, where I have taken and posted many photos, was also flooded right across the road. I fully expected that the coast road we use would be closed due to rock falls etc and thankfully it was kept open (not that we used it on Wednesday), we were kept advised of where rocks had fallen and by Thursday morning at 7 am when we took Jelly Bean to work the clean up crews were already working on the road and in all the other areas.
Our house was absolutely fine thanks to my very talented Hubby, we had no leaks or any damage whatsoever and spent the day in front of the fire listening to the wind, it was hectic. On Thursday while waiting for Jelly Bean to finish a driving lesson we took a drive to the beach road in Kleinmond and I spent ages getting some fabulous shots of very high waves as well as getting wet from all the spray, it was great fun. Since then winter has definitely, at last arrived and it is cold, colder than is usual for the Cape, there is visible snow on the mountains behind Somerset West / Strand and the wind is still howling, we are currently having gusts up to about 65 kmph with intermittent rain - I decided that washing was a no go today it might have ended up in Pringle Bay haha so, a roasted butternut and sweet potato soup for supper with some fresh warm artisan bread. At the same time as all this has been taking place, further up the East Coast along the Garden Route there have been the biggest fires in 150 years, the loss of homes and properties is absolutely enormous, sadly 7 people lost their lives in the fires, but the true spirit of South Africans has come to the fore. Help and aid have come in for the fire victims from every corner of this country in absolutely mind blowing amounts. South Aficans came together in every possible way and have worked tirelessly around the clock fighting the fires, helping with clothes, food, pet supplies, medical supplies, transporting goods, sending in teams etc. It shows that this country does have a heart and is not as divided as the politicians try and make it. People care and do help, thank You Lord that we haven't lost that ability and for the countless miracles that have and are taking place in all these areas.

After ALL that news today is a very special day in our family, Princess turns 14, I can hardly believe that the years have gone so fast. She is such a blessing to anyone she comes in contact with, she has such a soft heart especially for animals, and has grown into an elegant young lady, seemingly overnight. I must give praise where praise is due, her Mom, Poppet has done an incredible job in raising Princess through some of the most difficult times a person can go through and She has done an amazing job, well done to both of you for the beautiful ladies you are. I so wish we could have been there with them to celebrate today but as Princess said to me this morning "just wait til Christmas Granny, then we are going to have so much fun", we are also going to Skype later so really looking forward to that. Happy Birthday sweetheart.

Folks as my precious Hubby has just brought me a cup of tea, he makes THE best tea, I am going to end off for today. Sending you prayers for your safety and wishing you a fabulous week. Stay safe friends and make the most of every day you have with your loved ones.

Some pics from the day after the storm taken in Kleinmond.

The 100th Blog I can hardly believe it

Gosh this is my 100th Blog I can hardly believe it, thank you all so much for your continued support and interest over this past year and I am looking forward to sharing many more adventures and stories to come. If I think how much in our lives has changed since I started and all the new friends I've made it feels like a lifetime of events, ups and downs and let's not forget all the photographs.

At the moment the topic on everyone's lips at the moment is the massive storm/cold front that is moving in on the Western Cape and expected to hit land on Wednesday, bringing winds of up 100kmph (in our area) with predictions of up to 80mm of rain as well as snow on the high mountains. We did have some rain on Saturday which was a forerunner and the weather has at last turned cold, what has amazed me is that after only one day of rain and when I stand outside all I can hear is the myriads of small frogs in the fynbos - they've obviously been there for awhile but no sound which must mean they are clearly delighted, my explanation. My darling Hubby has been up on the roof to check that all is secure, he has wedged the dog's kennel firmly so that it won't be blown away - you may laugh but the wind last year totally smashed our plastic garden table and some of you may remember that we would find the dog bowls around the corner of the house, that means they were blown off the deck and over the 2.5m wall. When he told me about securing the kennel I burst out laughing because I had this image of the kennel blowing over the deck with Max peering out in surprise. The folks in Cape Town and the areas where severe water restrictions are in place have buckets at the ready and in general there is an air of excitement and readiness. The media are also asking people to stay off the roads where possible, no problem for us, Jelly Bean is off and I have no intention of moving. I feel desperately sorry for a friend of mine who lives nearby, they bought their property eighteen months ago and only found out after moving in that house is actually very unsafe, certificates were not genuine and there is currently much legal negotiating going on, the problem for them is that they actually move out of their home during big storms or high winds in case it actually does collapse or the roof comes off. I'm really praying for them to get resolution quickly so that they can enjoy their home.

This last week has been fairly normal we actually got to see a couple of whales whilst driving which caused great excitement and then on Saturday when I took Jelly Bean into work I saw a pod of dolphins, just merrily swimming along the coast, destination unknown. I managed to pull over and took a video but it's definitely not 'public' quality hehe. One of my greatest delights is the trips into town and what we can spot.

On the Sourdough Bread front progress is definitely being made, my starter is thriving, loaves are being baked and eaten and I have found that I can use the discarded starter for baking other delicious morsels. Every time you feed the starter you have to discard some before adding the 'new feed' which seemed such a waste until I got onto Pinterest and wow there was a whole new area to branch into. Yesterday I was so blessed to be able to Skype with all the girls and grand children, Poppet, Princess who is in the midst of exams, Miss Muffet, her Hubby and both the boys who are very busy learning cricket so I got to see their cricket bats and ball. Skype is a wonderful thing to help us all keep in contact and bridge the distance gap a little. Last week we also took a trip into Cape Town central where we did some shopping and then met with BigBear for a wonderful lunch, such a treat, which leaves Big Guy as the only one I haven't seen with my eyes this last week.

Well friends we have a very dirty dog who is in dire need of a bath so I will end off this 100th Blog by again saying thanks for being there, have a fantastic week and please, please, wherever you are be safe.

Jasper striking a pose.

Reflection on the past year.

I can hardly believe that it was exactly one year ago today that the offer we put in on our house was accepted and the ball gathered momentum surprisingly fast. The whole of this week I've thought back to this time last year and our trip down here to find a house in five days, we bought the second house we were shown and what a year it has been, our dream come true. In one sense it feels like just yesterday and in the other like we've been here forever. Exactly two months after signing we were here lock, stock and barrel and have not looked back for one second, It has been a year of discovery, adventures, meeting new people and an entirely different way of life. I still get a thrill when I step outside and look up at 'our' mountain, or stand on the deck on a pitch black night where there is not another light to be seen, and all I can hear is the pounding of the waves as they break on the shore. We are so incredibly blessed but that doesn't mean it hasn't been without its challenges, that is life, the ups, the downs and the in-betweens. The most important thing is to ride the waves, get through the valleys and appreciate all the blessings and positives. This past week I had every opportunity to get stuck in a valley, I am not a depressive person but I woke up on Thursday feeling awful in every way, Fibro flare, and so depressed that I had trouble living with myself, thankfully Hubby and Jelly Bean were out most of the day which in itself didn't really help either. There was no tangible reason to feel the way I did so I took it easy, paced myself physically and prayed. Through the years we as a family have had a lot of experience with depression and anxiety but there is no instant or magical cure as we all know, people may ask why you didn't talk to them or tell them ? Most people who are battling with anxiety or depression will seldom tell you outright how they feel. The reason I have mentioned it here today is because depression/anxiety have been hidden from 'view' for too long and it is only now that folks are speaking out. Friends I would really like to urge you to be sensitive to those around you, encourage them, listen to them, don't dismiss what they are feeling as unimportant, to them it is all consuming, pray for and with them and just be there, love them. The next morning I woke up feeling much more my normal self and was able to view things objectively again and carry on with the day.

The one thing that continues to puzzle me is that we are still busier than we ever were back in Johannesburg. This last week has been a blur between Jelly Bean taking driving lessons and working a lot of shifts we have had a sunset picnic on the beach in Gordon's Bay, a morning spent doing various errands and shopping, a trip through to Stellenbosch and sucessfully de-fleaing Jasper who for some reason has been immune to all treatments, until Saturday when we were given a tablet for him to take and then certain drops to put on his neck, the result no fleas and no scratching with a happy kitty and happy mommy (I detest fleas and ticks with a passion). Last night we were blessed to have BabyBear spend the night as she was working in our district today although I am not sure it was such a comfortable evening for her. Whilst we were all chatting last night Jasper had a spurt of energy, running around and playing, which is fine except for the fact that my precious Hubby had pumped up an air mattress and brought it into the house in readiness for her visit. Somewhere in all the playing the 'sweet, innocent' Jasper must have pierced it and when she woke up during the night she was lying directly on the floor, not a puff of air in said mattress, so when I came through this morning there was my poor daughter(in law) curled up on the sofa - so sorry BabyBear.

As June rolls around so does my gorgeous grand-daughter's birthday, she will be turning 14 and again I cannot believe that we are there already, just yesterday she was a tiny little babe in my arms. This will also be the first birthday of hers that I am going to miss which breaks my heart, needless to say that we are going birthday shopping this week as I saw her Birthday 2017 wish list and it is long haha.

Update on the Sourdough starter and its results - woohooo my starter is working perfectly and I will continue to 'feed' it. So far I have made two Artisan Sourdough Breads which were fantastic although, the first was a better texture and the second a better shape. I am looking forward to testing out more recipes and hopefully enjoying the end products.

Friends I wish you a fabulous week, keep your eyes on the positives and please stay alert and safe.

Magnificent sunset from Bikini Beach and a bigger one of the thousands of tiny jellyfish scattered on the beach.


My artisan bread

It's been a whirlwind week.

Hi all, this week seems to have passed like a whirlwind, there is always just so much going on, we are definitely learning to do different things and make the most of our time, last week while staying in town for one of Jelly Bean's shifts we went to Gordons Bay for breakfast. We found a lovely restaurant right across the road from the beach where we could sit outside and take our time eating, one of the things about being in the Cape is that people are far more friendly, we got chatting to two gents who were doing a day trip through to Franschoek by motorbike and were discussing which route to take. After our meal we took our books, camera (of course) and chairs and sat right next to the beach reading, thankfully it was sunny but cool with no wind, we didn't get much reading done just because there was so much to look at and most people who went past greeted us, such a different mind set down here. From there we went up the mountain to the Steenbras Water Plant which is about two thirds of the way up the mountain, there is a look out point there and the view is absolutely spectacular. we could see right across to the Peninsular, hampered only by a bit of smog on the other side.

We are doing just a tad more driving than usual as Jelly Bean is having driving lessons in Kleinmond which is in the opposite direction to Somerset West but well worth it as so much has changed since we last did drivers licenses haha, I am pretty sure if most of us had to take our Drivers Licenses test now we would fail. I do so treasure the days when I don't have to leave the house mmmmm. For a couple of weeks I have been watching the blooming of a Protea bush across the road from us and on Saturday Hubby dearest and I walked across and I managed to get a couple of beautiful photos of this magnificent specimen, on our way over I had been telling him about a tame Guinea Fowl that had gone missing from a house near us when we saw the owner out on their deck calling him. Speedy is his name and he went missing on Friday so everyone has been on the lookout for Speedy, we saw a bird next door but it turned out to be a Cape Francolin, anyway long story short Speedy was found nearby yesterday and happily reunited with his family. (shades of Max aka Houdini). Only in Bettys Bay I can assure you.

I read a very interesting article from the Irish Times which spoke about the benefits of genuine sourdough bread. Bread that needs a starter and then is left for at least 18 - 24 hours to prove before baking. Apparently the longer the dough is left to prove the easier it is for your body to digest, so my starter is now on Day 3, I have to keep adding to it for seven days before it can be used and thereafter it just gets topped up and kept going. I can't wait to see and taste what the real bread tastes like and what effect it has in terms of digestion, watch this space for updates.

This morning Jelly Bean and I went and had coffee with a very special, unique lady whom I met here in BB and we had an absolute blast, so much laughter, really good Italian Coffee and a spectacular view. I'm looking forward to many more fun visits and coffee.
In amongst all the 'fun' stuff there is so often those very unwanted times of stress. Early on Friday morning Princess phoned and the moment I answered the call I knew it wasn't good news. She had been involved in a car accident where three other cars had rammed into the back of her, she was on an adrenalin overload from the shock, her car is still drivable thank the Lord and when we could eventually convince her to go the doctor he sent her for full neck and spine X-rays where, as we suspected, he saw that she had sustained a very severe whiplash. So with various pain and muscle medication and a neck collar later she is still very sore but on the mend, I still thank God for His protection because it could so easily have been much, much worse and that is why friends it is so important for us to pray for our families on a daily basis.

After such a busy start to this week I am going to be doing my utmost best to try and have a good few 'chill and re-charge' days. I laughed at my darling Hubby on Saturday after he very kindly offered to do both trips to work and back because I was just too sore, when I apologized he said "well it's not your fault if all your spoons fell off" hahaha. Spoons is an analogy used for energy for those with Fibro or Chronic Fatigue, the theory is that every spoon represents your energy required for the day, sometimes it takes all my spoons just to get up, dressed, make up on and house sorted. God truly blessed me with a husband in a million, thank you my Darling. Please be safe folks.

Pics from high up the mountain at the Steenbras Water Station.


Beautiful Protea growing wild.

It's going to be a good week

It's a beautiful day, with the sun shining, not too hot and all I can hear is the waves breaking on the shore and the occasional bird. We've done all the housework (thanks Babes) which included switching around two kitchen cupboards, that's the problem when you are really tall and go and put groceries in a 'bottom' cupboard near the floor - you can never find anything unless you sit flat on the floor so now, problem solved and a whole lot of things I didn't know I had are now available.

I can happily say that I've been enjoying a few fairly good days health wise, I'm not sure if it's the meatless diet or just some good days but either way I'm not complaining. Last week was interesting with some really cold days, not much rain sadly but we did get to light a couple of nice cosy fires, I met up with a lady who lives in Bettys Bay who I've been chatting to for awhile via What's App and we had a fabulous morning getting to know each other in a quaint little coffee shop, sitting next to a roaring fire. She is such an interesting, vibrant person who has such an interesting background, thank you Lord for new friends.

On our way in and out of Somerset West we were SO blessed to see two dolphins swimming side by side across the Bay fairly close to the rocks, it's one of my biggest dreams to actually swim with a dolphin, but seeing them in their natural environment was incredible. Then this weekend Jelly Bean and I saw a whale in False Bay, the first time we saw 'him' he was up near Gordons Bay and on the journey home had moved down closer to Rooi Els, the next day he was more or less the same place and just appeared to be floating around. How exciting is it to be so fortunate to live in this beautiful part of the country? Every day I thank God for His grace and goodness to us.

Happy Mothers Day to all you moms out there for yesterday, I hope you all had a good day. I would just like to share something that Jelly Bean shared with me yesterday, she is reading a book (nothing new in that lol) and read out a statement which basically said we have to learn not to live in our minds. A simple enough statement and something that we all know but it is not always that easy to actually do. Where am I going with this ? I had been dreading Mothers Day because it was only the second one that I would not be spending with all or most of my kids, I was feeling totally shut out and unimportant, not true I know but the more you listen/live in your mind the easier it is to believe what is not reality. I actually had a lovely day, it was quiet because Jelly Bean had to work a double shift, so we did a Continental Brunch with Croissants, cheese, toppings and then made a huge healthy smoothie which we all thoroughly enjoyed, she gave me a bottle of my favourite perfume and I had messages and calls from all the others, we even squeezed in a Skype chat with the girls in Pretoria. All in all a special day although it was different and I was fairly tearful but only because I love and really miss my family, I do miss the big, crazy, noisy Sunday lunches, so have decided I will just treasure them even more when they do happen. I know I am not the only Mom who feels like this, or felt sad yesterday, but girls we cannot live in our minds, that is where the enemy will come and sow seeds of negativity on every level. If you find yourself in this position all I can encourage you to do is make a conscious decision to look at your blessings, ask God to help you fight the enemy's lies and rest in His goodness. Your family loves you, your friends love you and most of all God loves you.

On that note I want to wish you a blessed week, may you feel loved, may you spread love to those around you and always, always be safe and aware of your surroundings.

Jasper playing in the washing basket.