My adventures and crazy animals

Good afternoon friends from a very confused (weather wise) Bettys Bay. I am convinced that even the weather is confused, we haven't had nearly enough winter or rain and yet Saturday and Sunday were typical Spring/early Summer days. Gorgeous sunshine, quite warm with a berg wind blowing, today started off the same way and is now blustery, overcast, cold and rough seas, we've gone from temperatures of 25c to 12c and rain forecast for the balance of the week.

Last week was somewhat quiet which was just what I needed, although I can't say I am 'firing in all cylinders' yet but will get there eventually. Jasper is now about 9 1/2 months old and is not showing any indication of becoming more sure footed or sedate, this cat has THE furriest paws I have even seen and as a result has lots of fails when jumping on certain surfaces as well as running haha, last night he jumped off the seat and ran after Gemma, but in true style he was going full out and forgot to turn early enough which meant that he 'braked' with his back feet which in turn splayed out wide and just slid into the corner. He often reminds me of the Flinstones cartoons we used to watch when Fred or Barney would 'run off' but the first five or six steps were on the spot until they got some purchase to get them going. Gemma on the other hand, regal old bat that she is, very seldom runs unless being chased by you know who, she sits and walks with her eyes half closed in an effort to appear even more aloof and important and woe betide Jasper if he so much as sneezes, because then we hear the deep rumble, growl of an irritable old lady cat. The other thing I have learnt the hard way with Jasper is do NOT open the fridge and stand looking into it, he takes this as taking FAR too long to whip out Melrose cheese wedges and will jump up my leg to try and hurry the process along, he is completely addicted to butter, cheese (even feta), yoghurt and gem squash and, oh yes, sweet papers. He will carry them around in his mouth and then try and hide them under the mat, into his box of toys or if all else fails while playing with them somehow they magically disappear under the couches along with his favourite drinking straw. I know ...... I have unique pets haha.

On Saturday the three of us decided that we needed a break in routine, and as Jelly Bean had the weekend off we tootled off to Hermanus for a bit of a browse around and the distant hope of seeing some whales. I find Hermanus a complicated place for shopping, because there are all these one way roads and small alleyways where you always seem to be going in the wrong direction to turn into, so what we did more or less was park and walk. Oh what fun, we went down alleys, into corners where there are unique little shops and eventually stopped at a tiny little coffee shop for something to drink. We got waylaid in a Scond Hand Book Shop hitch we found tucked away and after browsing and chatting with the owners my incredibly gifted Hubby has some possible work coming in for them in terms of bookshelves and the like. By the time we'd finished at the coffee shop we were, one and all, exhausted and never got to look for whales as we just came home and collapsed. Imagine my frustration yesterday when I saw an article on FaceBook about a whale that got itself entangled not far from the beach in Kleinmond, thankfully the NSRI had been out doing drills and when called were able to untangle the huge animal and set it free....... And we missed it ?????

Friends the wind speed has picked up somewhat, I have just seen Hubby dearest being blown out of the garage and I am parched for a cup of tea, so on the note I will say Ciao for now and wish you each a wonderful week, please stay safe out there wherever you are in the world.


A photo I took of the Lunar Eclipse about ten days ago.

A uber busy week, memories and now quiet.

It always surprises me how quickly Monday comes around, good morning folks I trust life has been treating you well. Whew what can I say it has been a super busy week since the last Blog. Our little Grandsons had a full and busy week with trips to and long walks on the beach, collecting shells, flying kites, playing TV games, running around, keeping Grandpa busy. We took them to the Harold Porter Botanical Gardens just down the road, but that trip was not quite as long as they would have liked because we had gale force winds blowing and some rain, but they did get to walk through them with their Mom while Grandpa and I 'wimped' out and had hot coffee in the Restaurant.

On Wednesday I got the biggest surprise and Birthday gift from BigBear and BabyBear, it was all very secret as I was told to dress up and not ask questions. Hubby and Jelly Bean were in on the secret and oh my soul, my birthday gift from them was the treat of awesome seats to watch the Lord of the Dance, Dangerous Games live. Certainly a gift to remember and just so amazingly special, I adore Lord of the Dance so can never see enough of them, thank you BigBear and BabyBear for such a precious gift.
On Thursday evening during the height of the wind Miss Muffet, Hubby and I went out to the garage to get some things and I very quietly tripped over the garage ramp and grazed my knee then landed face first giving myself a black eye, my first ever haha, we looked like a 'right' pair dear Hubby and I with his grazed lip and my face, naturally Big Guy very quickly offered to buy us both a zimmer frame for our birthdays ..... HHhmmpphhhh I don't need or want one yet thanks son lol.

On Friday Mr Muffet arrived to join his family and the 'Bear' family joined us for the weekend which was fabulous, I love having the house full of those I love and all the busyness that goes with it. We made a big 'braai' (bar-b-que) with more meat than I thought anyone could eat and yet it all disappeared, after the boys were put to bed we pulled up all the chairs and embarked on some VERY noisy games of Nurch which is a card game that my precious Hubby came up with years ago and which continues to be a family favourite.

Yesterday brought an end to all the festivities as everyone left for home and new adventures within the space of two hours, the house seemed to settle into the silence and lack of action fairly quickly and we spent the rest of the day resting and being lazy. I have dcided that this week will be one of recharging my batteries, resting and just pacing myself so at this point apart from driving I have made absolutely NO plans whatsoever.

As your week unfolds I hope and pray that is a peaceful, productive and blessed time. Whatever challenges arise you can conquer them, your success rate for survival so far is 100%, so don't give up but keep on doing your best. We have had quite a fair amount of rain, with tons of wind, today however has dawned almost wind free with a weak sun and is just one of those perfect days in the Cape. Folks please stay safe wherever you go and be alert to your surroundings.

A Panarama shot of the beach while we were collecting shells.



A waterfall on the mountain behind us after the rain.



A chaotic Nurch card table

Adventures, Grand Children, making memories.

Good morning friends from a very busy household in Bettys Bay. We have our family from the UK visiting and at long last got to meet our two little grandsons, so as you can imagine it's a very busy house at the moment as these two little tykes have taken special shine to Grandpa and barely leave his side for a moment. Currently our weather is all upside down in that we are having more spring like conditions when we really need the cold and the rain for our dams, perfect conditions for holiday makers though.

We have had a fairly 'normal' week (for us) with the usual traveling and household things that seem to constantly need attending to. One of the highlights was our Princess had athletics last week, Inter House, and she apparently said to her Mom that she was going to enter everything she could except for middle distance. Well she certainly made her mark by coming first in the High Jump setting a new school record of 1.42m, first in Long Jump and first in Shot Put and then the next day went on to break another school record in the 100m, it's definitely those long legs. As you can imagine after all the excitement and adrenalin Poppet had a beyond exhausted and strung out daughter by the time Friday night happened. We are SOO proud of your achievements Princess you are a star.

We have had a couple of challenges, what would a week be without one? Yesterday Jelly Bean took an extra shift to help out a colleague and so I said I would take her which meant leaving at 7am when it was still pitch black outside. I woke up to a migraine the likes of which I've never experienced before and then when I got back home it was to find my husband with a graze from under his nose to his mouth, he had been carrying the blow up mattress out to the garage and somehow tripped over something and landed flat on his tummy on the mattress but his face hit the cement ..... OUCH?

This afternoon we took the boys to Monkey Town and I must admit that I was surprised. I expected it to be super smelly and it wasn't, they have so many different breeds and types of monkeys, from Pygmy Marmosets to great big Chimpanzees. There were two small little monkeys that when I went newr the one just tilted its head and came up real close looking at me with such solemn eyes, the other was having a chat with me, every time I spoke to him he chirped a reply - be still my beating heart. Just as we were leaving there was another bigger monkey who just sat with her hand out of the enclosure wanting peanuts, we were not allowed to touch the animals but I held my hand out under hers and all she wanted was to hold hands, hers were so dry and warm, it as an amazing experience. So far Grandpa has been kite flying, walking the dogs, been to the beach, played TV games, card games, pick up stix and a number of other activities with our little Grandsons, still on the to do list is going to the shell beach, going fishing and to the Botanical Gardens, I will keep you updated in the next Blog on further news and adventures.

It took Sasha a day or two to get used to having little people around, although Max in true style was a devoted follower from almost th first hour, the cats however are a different story. Gemma just does her thing irrespective of who is around, Jasper tends to hide most of the day as he has never seen little people before and he is of course a real 'brave heart', not !!! haha.

Friends as I come to the end of this weeks Blog, we have two little, very tired boys who have just gone to bed, and four really tired adults who have collapsed with big mugs of hot tea. I pray you have a fantastic week and have many opportunities to make someone's day special by giving them a smile or a compliment, it costs us nothing to build up others and be the 'Jesus' that they see. Please be safe wherever you are and always be alert to your surroundings.

A very big ocean and two little boys.

New ventures, planning and loving life.

Good morning all you beautiful people I hope this finds you well and raring to go. Cape Town is busy having a mini summer at the moment with the forecast of some rain this week, the problem is we need LOTS and LOTS of rain to even make a difference in our dams. As I write this there is a very brisk North West wind blowing which will hopefully blow in our rain.

We've had a busy week (as usual), busy is good or so I am told. Everything is ready for Miss Muffets visit with our little Grandsons, only four more sleeps to go. The pantry is stocked, biscuit tins are full and the kettle is primed for lots of action. When I think back to this time last year we were busy loading the truck before leaving Johannesburg on the start of our 'new' adventure , there was a nervousness about what lay ahead and the new lifestyle but oh my word what fun we are having. As always we have lots of plans, things to make, places to go and explore, it seems like so much longer than one year and on the other hand it feels just like yesterday. My precious, gifted Hubby is busy planning on doing more woodwork which he will advertise and then make wooden furniture pretty much to spec so, exciting times ahead.

As far as all the animals are concerned, we still have the odd escape plan hatched up by the dogs, whereas the cats are officially lounge lizards. Currently there is one on the chair behind me and the other is on the top ledge of his condo, my deep wish is that they would actually learn to get along. Sadly Gemma is an old lady who I don't think will ever accept another car happily, generally they can inhabit the same space quite peacefully but when she comes in from outside and Jasper wants to play or greet her then we are 'treated' to a vast array of noises, hisses and growls. God bless them both.

Hubby and I were totally blessed to have been able to spend our Anniversary together on Friday, it was a lovely day, we did some shopping and then when Jelly Bean was finished with a Staff Meeting we went for an early dinner at Bertie's Moorings on the Harbour in Gordons Bay, it was so peaceful sitting right on the water next to all the fancy power boats and just enjoying the outdoors and the late afternoon sun. What a journey these last ten years have been, certainly lots of fun and adventures and still so many still to do, thank you my Darling I can't wait to see where our journey is still going to take us together.

Friends, I pray that this week will be good to you and that any challenges which arise you will squash under your feet, stay safe out there until we chat again.


Some beautiful Pin Cushion Proteas

From a calm Bettys Bay.

It's a glorious Monday, blue skies calm seas, what more could a girl ask for ? Greetings friends I hope this week treats you well as we see July come to an end. After all the storms and gale force winds it seems that our world is super quiet and calm, not to say a few degrees warmer, although having said that Bettys Bay has been very quiet for a week for whatever reason, I can already hear someone saying just how much quieter can it get ? By quiet I mean even the Community Groups have been quiet, no dramas, no disasters just normal life.

As Jelly Bean had a fairly quiet week work wise we had a fairly quiet week as well, although 'we' is a broad statement, I was not well (for a change) not sure if it was a tummy bug or a Fibro flare or a mix of both but my precious Hubby put up with scanty meals and doing most of the driving, thank you my Love for your endless patience and love. On Thursday evening we went in together and did our shopping and other errands before parking at the beach to watch the sunset, every day it is different and always beautiful. The highlight though was watching the Huskies. We have seen glimpses of them previously but were unaware what they were doing, after a little investigation and being nosey and I discovered that there is a group down here called Mush It Up, they work with Huskie Rescue, Rehab and Adoption / Re-homing, Sledding Gear etc, they also offer a specialized service that exercises Huskies in and around the South Peninsula Beaches in Cape Town. All the Huskies and owners gather on the beach and the dogs are then put into their harnesses and attached to the sled, it looks exactly the same as snow sledding except that they run along the beach. It was fascinating to watch the group of dogs as they arrived with lots of barking and rising excitement levels. When they are all harnessed they run alongside the trainer and pull the sled plus it's occupant along the length of the beach, you can see that the dogs absolutely adore this time, they are in their element. When the session is over all are treated to a big bowl of fresh water and a treat before going home with their owners tired and contented. It was so much fun to watch that the time simply flew by.

Miss Muffett and the boys leave London tonight for their visit, Mr Poppet will be following in a few days, so much organizing and preparation taking place to have things ready for them when they get to visit with us next week. This time last year I was busy packing boxes and feeling the pressure of the move coming up, now I am still fiddling with those same boxes looking for this or that, the only change is today we started re-labeling them to make things easier for searching hehe.

I had some special chats last week with our little Princess as she experimented in the kitchen, this girl has some serious talent so being the 'smart' Granny that I am, I suggested that she makes a list of her favourite dishes to cook and when she visits at the end of the year we can sample her culinary delights. Shame she had quite a difficult week as a friend of hers from school was killed in a car accident together with his Dad and older brother, they weren't close friends but even so it has been very difficult for her to come to terms with, death never makes sense nor is easy to understand and accept, so Princess cooking and spending time being creative is one of the best ways I can think of to keep herself busy. Seeing that July is almost over it won't be too much longer to wait until we all get together again, I can start counting weeks and making plans Wooohooo.

Friends I need to get the bread into the oven so that lunch will be ready when Hubby and Jelly Bean get home (I did the early drive this morning). I pray you have a wonderful week, conquer ALL challenges and stay safe...

Sunset from Strand Beach


Mushing with the Huskies

Snow, rain, wind, cat fails - that's life

Good morning one and all on this freezing cold Monday, I hope you are staying warm! Well whoever thought the Cape doesn't get cold has never lived here, the temperatures have not risen above 11c for a good few days, we have snow on the mountains all the way from Table Mountain to the Drakensberg, magnificent rains and typical BB winds that quite literally blow you off your feet, my kind of weather wooohooo.

After all the family news last week this week has been like a quiet pond surface in comparison, everyone is well, busy and blessed. Not too many sleeps before we see Miss Muffet and the boys so we are busy with preparations for their visit as well. Apart from Max. A.k.a. Houdini getting out last week twice, no clue how or where, even the animals are peaceful although I must just add that watching Max stand against the wind is very funny. He plants his feet wide apart and leans into the wind in order not to get blown along like a tumbleweed hehe. Speaking of rolling over, last week I nearly collapsed laughing, we were on our way out and Jasper was sleeping on the top floor/shelf of the condo, this puts him at eye level with me. I walked up to him to say goodbye and he tried being all cute and tucked his head in and rolled over onto his back, or should I say he tried to roll over. What happened in reality was he rolled over and right off the shelf, after some really quick scrambling he managed to grab hold with his front claws and was left hanging in mid air, he turned to look at me with reproach and a plea for help in his eyes. I am sure the reproach was for laughing but I did offer the necessary assistance and reposition him. His dignity took a mighty blow and en hen we got back home he ignored me, like it was my fault haha.

Hubby dearest has been busy planning and working on a small catalogue of the various pieces of furniture he makes as he is going to start advertising locally, go for it my love your furniture is amazing. I had some really cute chats with Princess last week as she is on school holidays and loves cooking and baking, needless to say that Poppet went home to some interesting experiments. In truth Princess cooks and bakes exceptionally well, I am looking forward to her next visit when she is going to try out some of her specialities on us. This Gran cannot wait for that, it's been far too long. Confession time, I almost forgot that today is Monday hehe, we are taking some friends through to the airport this afternoon after dropping Jelly Bean at work, and with the normal Monday chores done I suddenly realized ooooh it's Monday and Blog day, a good cup of coffee, a spot in the sun and voila here we are Blog almost done, lunch to be cooked and then we can leave.

Friends I pray you have a good, peace filled week, please remember to stay warm and as always be safe. It is always wonderful to hear your stories and feedback, thank you for your continued support.

Jasper checking out his kingdom from the top shelf.

Fires, dog bites, human bites, just a week in my life.

Good morning all, I hope this finds you well and warm? Winter may have arrived late but it has certainly arrived and it has been cold, except for one day last week when there was a hot berg wind and the temperatures climbed into the 20's. We have had some good rain over the weekend which was just such a blessing in many ways. On Saturday evening all of a sudden the BB Community message group lit up, a fire started just above the main road but in the other side of BB. Well this community knows how to jump into action and within literally minutes people were being evacuated and the area was a 'no go' zone, the Village Hall was opened up for the evacuees and people were able to take food and drinks in. Friends of ours' house was right in the middle of the fire path and it was a very scarey couple of hours for all those homeowners, we could see the fire burning from here, thank the Lord for all the volunteers, the Fire Department and a weather change which resulted in NO loss or damage of property or casualties. The rain started towards midnight, when the fire was mostly under control and it continued to rain most of the day and on and off into last night, so our earth watered, dam filled a little more and fire extinguished. It was a tough week for the Volunteers in our community and the nearby areas as the search for the little girl who was swept off the rocks continued through until Wednesday when, with no results it was called off due to a change in the weather, so sad that there is no closure for the family in that sense.

It has been a busy week in a strange way, we (Hubby Dearest) got stuck in with the renovations to the cat condo which has turned out to be stunning. Jasper loves it but is somewhat cautious when it comes to climbing up the branches. Not the most sure-footed canine I've ever had hehe, yesterday he was lying on the top shelf sleeping and as I walked past he tried to act cute and rolled over, this resulted in him rolling right off and a mad scrabble to get his balance, he was hanging from his front paws and looking embarrassed until I replaced him and he could regain some of his dignity. Needless to say I was bent double laughing hmmm, maybe that is why he ignored me when we got back home ?????

For the rest of the family life has also been more than usually interesting, after the gas heater fire last Sunday we have had Princess somehow being bitten by a dog whilst visiting friends in their complex, it's not a bad bite and she has had a Tetanus shot fairly recently so it's been a case of keeping it clean and covered so that it can heal. Then on Saturday night Big Guy was at work when a fight broke out, he politely removed the culprit, a woman from the premises where she managed to sink her teeth into his arm and gave him a really nasty bite which resulted in him having to go to the hospital after a 23 hour shift and spend ages having it seen to, Tetanus shots, blood tests etc, then having to go and wait for the pharmacy to open so that he could get the Antibiotics and ARV,s. Seriously I know I am the mother here and I get outraged by this but how do people bring their kids up nowadays? In my humble opinion NO lady behaves like that. Jelly Bean also had a strange week as she strongly resisted a dose of Bronchitis after being sent home from work, by self medicating and lots of rest she in now fine. We are now down to two weeks before Miss Muffett and the family arrive in Cape Town, they won't be coming to stay with us immediately but from the end of the month, many things to get ready and prepare, too much excitement!!

Folks that's all our news and goings on, hopefully a less exciting week in the drama department but happy in every other area. My precious Hubby has just made me a delicious cup of tea (he makes THE best tea) and the fire is blazing away so I am going to say Ciao for now and wish you a beautiful week, stay safe out there.

Jasper enjoying his condo


Just a close up to say have a good week