Gale force winds and heavy rains, yaaaaay

Brrr,  good afternoon all from a very wet, windy and cold Betty's Bay.  Winter has definitely arrived bringing with it the blessed rain and gale force winds ....... Very happy camper!  Well it was a fairly quiet week as Jelly Bean took some time off work and we all got to relax, the 'zoo' is thriving with all the dogs wearing their jackets and the cats have become real 'lounge lizards', jumping onto the first lap that is available.  Cece somehow does not seem to generate much warmth and is usually found with ice cold paws and even shivers at times, I have been wracking my brains on how to make her a snug coat as the doggie jackets are too big and loose, I am leaning towards using a sock.  There has been such an improvement in her demeanour since she has been taking her 'happy' pills and after speaking to the Vet this morning, she now has a full month's worth.  We had a laugh after the call to the Vet, she was delighted that there is already a change as apparently it takes up to 6 weeks to see the full effect and has asked me to try and record Cece during one of her 'meltdowns' BUT was very quick to tell me that I must please NOT bring her in to the surgery unless it is something urgent - I think they are all a little scared of my little bundle hahahaha.

We had fun and games yesterday which is worth sharing, when I drove Jelly Bean to work in the afternoon about one kilometre from the house, I had no gears on the car.  I finally managed to get second gear and limped home to fetch a different vehicle, my precious Hubby spent most of the afternoon working on said gear linkage until he had it 'fixed'.  My car tends to do the same thing where the 'whatever' jumps off and it is usually just a case of popping it back on, not so with the little car even though they are the same make.  Jelly Beans car is far more difficult to access the linkage and involved a lot of removing things etc, anyway, fixed it was and off he tootled at 7pm to fetch her, I got a call at 7.30 the he was stranded on the side of the road and it was too dark to see and no tools either. Not a problem, I battened down the hatches here and set off looking for the little blue car and a frustrated Hubby.  When I got to him he attached the tow rope and asked if I had ever towed before, my answer was no so he just told me to keep the speed under 40kmph and to try and avoid jerking.  WELL ....... there is a saying in the caravan fraternity that if you want to keep your marriage peaceful never be the one directing a reversing caravan ........... I disagree.  If you are Husband and Wife NEVER have one tow the other.  After a couple of hair-raising  kilometers up and down hills, left and right around sharp bends in the dark, I eventually pulled into a stop off zone, we had a very 'energetic' conversation, changed the speed limit to 25 and set off again in a good rhythm and without further trauma it took ages,  meanwhile messages were going back and forth to Jelly Bean explaining why we were late.  Eventually we left the car at a good friend's house in the Strand, collected our daughter and made our way home tired and hungry.  Today my very clever and precious man is busy fixing the dear little blue bug and will take it for a test before coming home.  This story reminds me of the scripture which was read at our wedding.

1 Corinthians 13:4-13 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;7 [a]bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never fails; but, 

1 Corinthians 13:4-13 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;7 [a]bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never fails; but

1 Corinthians 13:4- 8 New American Standard Bible (NASB)4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;7 [a]bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.8 Love never fails; ......

That friends is one of the greatest keys to any successful interaction with other people, especially family, and on that positive note I am going to say Ciao Ciao, attend to my dying fire and make dinner.  I wish you all a wonderful week and please stay safe.

Cece snuggled down trying to get warm

Winter has finally begun - I hope.

Greetings everyone from a cool, blustery, wet Betty's Bay, oh how this weather soothes my soul!  This is my absolute favourite weather and made even better by the fact that we do not have to move out of the house all day.  I wish I could say it was a quiet week, it wasn't, but it was a lovely week.

Last week we managed to make it through to Hermanus, thankfully we went on Monday because it was literally cut off for the rest of the week due to 'Protest Action' .  We do not often go there purely because it is such a busy town, extremely quaint and pretty but generally over-run with tourists, last week however we were so lucky.  They have built a Mall just outside of town which we avoided and went into the centre which was quiet and peaceful, it was such a joy to shop and browse with ease, especially as the chain stores always seem to have different stock in the different areas.  On the way in Jelly Bean's eagle eyes spotted a Charity Book Shop which naturally we absolutely had to stop for, what a cute little shop and the books  were oh so cheap so naturally, more books came home hehe.  There are NOT enough bookshelves in this house, hint, hint.

We eventually got Cece onto a tablet that seems as if it is working, there has been a slight decrease in her panic attacks and I am praying that as she settles we can begin to address the litter training issues.  Jasper, bless his dear, sweet heart, took a healthy bite of my wrist the other day - he waits until I get into bed and as I pull up the duvet he then launches himself.  This one is pretty deep and looks quite nasty as well as very sore, so I have been putting ointment on and just keeping an eye on it, if there is not a major difference by tomorrow I will probably have to see the Dr, thankfully I had a Tetanus shot last year also credit to Jasper #facepalm.  Pupster has been very busy,  we had a load of wood delivered and he has been helping Hubby to put them where they belong, well trying to help him, we see him carrying various logs from one place to another as he plays 'lumberjack'.

Jelly Bean had to work at the Franschoek Literary Festival from Friday through to yesterday, which meant her and I left home every morning at 5.25 to have her in time for the staff lift that was organised.  The first morning did not go so well ........ for the first time ever my alarm did not go off and I awoke at 5.30, you can imagine the rush but we made it to the second collection point with
some time to spare - I can now go and buy a shirt that says "Ready in five minutes" haha.

Yesterday my Handsome Hubby and I went on a lunch date to our favourite wine farm, Vergeleegen Wine Estate, where we had a super meal and just enjoyed the gorgeous views.  It was such a treat as it is such a very beautiful place, thank you my Darling.

Folks, in a nutshell that was my week and we are now on a countdown to our trip up to Johannesburg which is in three weeks, much excitement I can assure you.   I wish you all a wonderful week ahead, please don't stop making a difference in people's lives - a smile and friendly greeting can totally change someone's day.  With a BIG smile from me and mine until next week Ciao Ciao and stay safe.

Vergeleegen Wine Estate.

On our drive into town yesterday.

Helicopter had to land near us this morning due to the high winds.

Trips, Allergies and Mothers Day

Good morning folks and Happy Mothers Day for yesterday to all the Mommies, I trust everyone is well rested and ready for the week ahead?  After a somewhat stressful week we had a lovely day yesterday in which to rest.  I was truly blessed with video calls and messages from my beloved family whom I miss SO much, I find it is always intensified when there are special occasions which normally we would have spent together and, is truly the ONLY downside to living in Betty's Bay.  Hubby took Jelly Bean and I out for a delicious coffee and treats.  Weather wise we seem to be stuck between Autumn and Winter at the moment, that stage where you end up changing three or four times a day....... Long sleeves on, long sleeves off and so it goes.

After speaking to the Vet last Monday about Cece who's stitches have not dissolved, I took her through on Tuesday, bad idea!!!!!!!!  She performed all the way into town, which was a first, normally she never makes a peep.  As I walked into the Vet the Dr's saw us and immediately looked worried, hahaha.  Cece had such a meltdown when they neutered her the one Dr actually looked scared, thankfully the other explained that contrary to what I'd been told, they HAD given her dissolvable stitches which will take about 60 days to dissolve.  She advised that we not take Cece out of the travel box, but she did take some time to discuss the terror/panic attacks and suggested that we try some form of sedative which will enable her to have a more peaceful quality and longer life.  Armed with two different medications we came home and then the fun really began.  For three days I gave her the prescribed dosage of antihistamine which seemed to help very slightly for one day.  On Friday I then switched to the other which was Valium and oh dear, my precious little kitty had  a terrible reaction, she quite literally went on such a high with even more terror /panic, she could not stand or walk, and did not stop trembling, I actually thought she might die.   Apparently she is allergic to the ingredients and can never have them again, our Vet has asked for some time to do a little more research and we will take it from there, I just grateful to have found a Dr who cares enough to try and help her.

My amazing Hubby is a constant support and encouragement with all this as well as keeping an eye on all the canines haha, and I even managed to join him on a walk with the hounds around the block #biggrin.  Gosh it is a busy house at the moment.  The Pupster has settled down very well and is now obeying some of the commands we give him,  our two little horrors are more settled as well.  Sasha must have not felt well for about two days as she refused to leave the deck and her kennel, thankfully she is now back to normal.  Max and Pupster are still 'sharing' Pupster's Hippo toy, and when I cannot find it anywhere I now know to look in their kennel.

With last week having been taken up with animal related issues aplenty, I am sincerely praying that this week will have a more human element and am trying to plan an outing to Hermanus, wish me luck LOL. The family are all doing well although I think I can safely say  they are all so busy that no one is getting enough sleep.  The 'Bears' flew up to Bloemfontein to see family and will be flying home later today.  With the others, we are counting days until Jelly Bean and I fly up in four weeks, which is very exciting although, I did get more than a hint that I can only get off the plane if I have sufficient Dragon Drizzle stock with me (a very hot chillie oil that I make) - note to self don't forget the Dragon Drizzle.

Folks that's all the main news from this side of the world, I wish you a wonderful week.  Please take some time to tell those you love just how precious they are and how much you love and appreciate them. Never put those kinds of things off for another time, tomorrow is not guaranteed so always be quick to apologise, give a hug and tell someone you love them.  Ciao ciao for now.

Poor little Cece when she was 'tripping'

The merry go-round makes me dizzy !

Good morning family and friends I trust you are all doing well?  Just as I started typing a few scattered drops of rain started spitting down in preparation for a storm that is rolling in, exactly my kind of day.  WOW is all I can say about last week, I am still trying to recover even after a semi quiet weekend lol.  We had BigBear and BabyBear overnight on Monday and spent a beautiful day with them on Tuesday, took a drive and really just relaxed, it was very special and oh so needed.  Then on Wednesday my precious Hubby flew up to Johannesburg for Rob's funeral which was a very special time for him, to be with the family as they said goodbye, and to remember the wonderful man and his very unique sense of humour, he then flew back that same evening.  In the meantime I had gone to our very dear, crazy friends E & D to collect their equally crazy Pupster who is staying with us until he is ready to fly over to Itsly and join them.  Once I had him settled it was time to collect them for the heartbreaking trip to the airport for their flight out to Italy, collecting Jelly Bean from work on the way.  Heartbreaking in that they have to go back to Italy for business reasons for about six months, hopefully not much longer, but their hearts and home are here in BB.  Come home quickly guys we miss you.  Needless to say we were all exhausted by the that evening.  Jelly Bean had been fighting a sinus infection for about three weeks and on Thursday eventually agreed to see the doctor who promptly booked her off work until today, with medication etc. Princess had her bi-annual check with her Oncologist and Praise God all is clear and she had a good report.  Friday saw Hubby and I off to the shops for the normal weekly shopping and sneaking in a quiet cold drink at the Golf Club House before calling it a day.

OH yes ........ We have been battling with a flea 'mini epidemic' for months and this was the weekend I chose to become an exterminator par excellence.  Friday I gave all the cats a 'flea tablet' which works immediately, we then proceeded to fumigate the living area which meant we were all confined to our bedrooms early and for the duration of the evening.  Saturday dawned with a flea free living area which needed major vacuuming, and while we were busy doing that it was the time to fumigate the bedrooms, then repeat the cleaning process #facepalm.  The result is we now have a flea FREE home and animals, yaaaay.

Yesterday my precious Hubby went off to play a quiet game of golf in Kleinmond and Jelly Bean and I tried to relax as much as possible before the onslaught of the new week.   As far as our 'zoo' goes all is well, the dogs are getting along, with Pupster thoroughly loving the freedom of having a fenced yard and we hear him running from one end of the property to the other as he chases imaginary things and flying leaves. Haha.  Gemma and Jasper are great and as the colder weather comes in so Jasper gets more lovable.  Cece on the other hand has been a handful,  we were told her stitches would dissolve, but guess what? Four weeks later and they are just as purple and stiff as they were to start with, so it is off to the Vet tomorrow to have them removed.  Last night as I picked her up she had a complete and total meltdown/panic attack and lashed out with all four paws, leaving me with welts, scratches, blood and bruises.  Then as we were settling down for the night she was sleeping on my arm and moved, then out of the blue she bit my arm inside my elbow leaving me looking like a drug addict (one of the side effects of Fibro is that I bruise extremely easily without even know why most times, so you can imagine what I look like at the moment hahaha).

Today Hubby and I have some shopping to do when we've dropped Jelly Bean at work and I am planning a QUIET, CALM cup of coffee somewhere to start this week.  We also booked tickets for Jelly Bean and I to fly up to Johannesburg in five weeks, to visit with my sister-in-law and then spend  some time with Princess, Poppet and Big Guy, all very exciting and we are definitely looking forward to that.  I was informed this morning via Facebook, and not very subtly that they have all run out of Dragon Drizzle (a very hot chillie oil that I make), this is a 'huge' problem and replacements are now expected  hahahaha.

Folks as you can see, it has been manic, I am praying this week is going to be quiet and normal, healthy and peaceful #bellylaugh at that thought.   I pray and wish you all a wonderful week, never forget that  even in the craziest of times, most stressful of times, saddest of times, God our Heavenly
Father NEVER leaves or forsakes us, it is He who gives us the strength and ability to get through every situation and without that strength I certainly would not be able to function.  Please stay safe out there, give God your problems and trust Him to solve them.  Ciao for now folks.

                                            This huge moth was on our lawn this morning, about 15cm

My beautiful big boy Jasper

Far too many sad goodbyes.

Good morning friends, is it my imagination or do the weeks seem to be going faster and faster?    I am still trying to figure out what happened to last week, probably the fact that Friday was a Public Holiday as is tomorrow which means that many people have taken today off for an extra long weekend.  In our little part of the world life has been hectic and I feel as if I could sleep for a month and it would still not be enough.  As I said, last week was crazy with so much to do and it seems so little time.

The family are all well with the exception of our little Princess who had to go onto antibiotics for a sinus infection.  Big Guy has worked the entire weekend #sadface, the two girls had a busy week and only started chilling yesterday, BigBear and BabyBear went hiking in the mountains on Saturday and Sunday and we are waiting to hear all about it as they are on their through to spend the night with us.  Jelly Bean worked and is now off until Wednesday, and my darling Hubby is flying up to Johannesburg for his brothers funeral also on Wednesday, unfortunately Jelly Bean and I are not able to go up at this time which has been a very sad decision for us.  Our  'zoo' is as usual very busy and the inhabitants are well, Cece developed a bit of a bladder infection post her op and was absolutely impossible last week, hopefully we have turned a corner and she now seems to be on the road to recovery.  We actually had a historic event on Saturday when Jasper came and sat on my lap together with Cece, it was just too precious and I hardly dared to move, hehehe.

Our dear friends are going back to Italy for approximately six months and we will be looking after their house as well as 'doggysit' their seven month old pupster until he is allowed to fly, which will be about two months.  In amongst all the packing we were treated to a beautiful German themed dinner with them last night and there are lots of 'hand overs' and instructions, plant relocating etc going on.  They also leave on Wednesday so it will be a super busy day and I am praying that their trip will be shorter than they expect and they can get back to the place they love most in the world, Betty's Bay.

Last week we had our first official winter cold front which was absolutely wonderful, I was such a happy camper, Hubby measured a good amount of rain, which in turnmeans he now has to mow the lawn more often, he is such a gem.  Betty's Bay was treated to the most spectacular sunset last week, it looked exactly like a water colour painting, there was also a wonderful almost full moon last night which I  took some pics of, we are so truly blessed to living in such a spectacular place.

Folks as I still have a LOT to do, I am going to end off for now and wish you one and all a beautiful week, please be safe and as always aware of your surroundings.
     
                                                                Watercolour sunset

                                                            

                                       
                                                    The moon rising over Hermanus

I turned 180 degrees to see the sunset over Rooi Els.

A busy week ahead, travel and the loss of a loved one.

Good morning friends, I hope today's blog finds you all well and ready for the week ahead ?  As I sit typing this there is a very strong northerly wind blowing in the first of three cold fronts, yippeeee.    This week in South Africa we have a Public Holiday on Friday and again next Tuesday so two short work weeks for most people.   Sadly yesterday my precious Hubby's brother passed away after a very long, hard battle against cancer.  He was such a positive, upbeat, happy man and leaves behind  his beautiful wife and two adult sons, and is going to be sorely missed by all that knew him.  R.I.P. Rob.  We are waiting to hear further news regarding the funeral and will then be going up to Johannesburg for a couple of days which will also give us a few hours with the girls and Big Guy.

As I mentioned last week little Cece was spayed, the op went well but due to the  'trauma' and change of location she has regressed a little and we are being very patient with her and trying to re-establish her routine (as well as cleaning the accidents #Face palm).  Thank the Lord she is not obsessed with her stitches like Kiko was and I have not had to use a cone or special collar, that would not have gone well.  Jasper is very funny when she has a melt down, he now looks at her and takes a step back instead of jumping into the fray, even Gemma seems to be more tolerant with her which is a total miracle in itself, the other day while I was out Hubby had both Gemma and Cece on his lap at the same time .   One of the things Cece does which is hilarious is when we call her, we tap on the floor, that is how she locates us,  she then goes down into the crouch / hunt position and after MUCH butt wiggling, and back paws dancing she will jump six inches forward, possibly take a few steps and then start the process all over again, by which time we are in stitches.  Yesterday Hubby walked outside and found a tiny little Malachite Sunbird lying on its back just outside the garage, thinking it was dead he gently picked it up only to see that it was alive, so we gave it some sugar water and put him on the braai shelf and left him.  After awhile, he drank some of the water and then a little later flew off, I personally think he may have flown into the window of the garage and knocked himself out.  As one friend of mine says there is never a dull moment in our 'zoo'.

Hubby dearest is almost finished a commission to build a portable, take apart display rack for someone who wants to display handmade quilts at Markets.  It is looking amazing and the way he has built it is so clever, I'm so proud of him.  Apart from a minor bumper bashing that BabyBear had last week the rest of the family are all well, working hard and doing life.

Folks, as you can imagine I have loads to do, I must admit though not a lot of energy to do it, so I am going to end off for this week and wish each one of you, wherever you are, a fantastic week.  Always make time to love and appreciate your loved ones, they aren't here forever, so don't let opportunities pass to show and tell them just how much you love them.  Be safe out there and Ciao for this week.

The Proteas are blooming, taken in a friends garden.

Recovering Malachite sunbird

Peace and quiet, what a way to start the week.

Good morning folks from a quiet, still, clear Betty's Bay.  After a night of strong winds and  Ben stronge gusts it is now absolutely still and silent here, especially quiet as I have just dropped Cece off at the Vet for her sterilisation.  Poor little mite I felt so bad leaving her there with all those strangers and can't,wait until we fetch her later, even Jasper is tiptoeing around the house looking for her.  Being the 'brave soul' that he is checking all the corners and blankets very timidly.  She made some big 'strides' last week in that she actually played for the very first time, firstly with some imaginary little bug, then with her teddy bear.  She also started reaching up to things a little - she can't climb the furniture or jump up on things, but started standing up and exploring / reaching above her to feel what is there, it might sound odd for a kitten, but I have come to realise that she is handicapped and takes a LOT longer than others to do normal stuff.

We had a fairly quiet week which was good as far as me being able to rest and recharge,  Jelly Bean had flu which she was struggling to shake off and was able to take a couple of days to recover as well.  Hopefully this week will be a healthy week for us all.  My precious Hubby has an order to make a portable rack / stand for displaying handmade quilts so has been busy drawing up the plans and quotes for his client.  I believe we are finally winning the war on the fleas, thank the Lord, it is an ongoing process so I will keep on doing all the necessary. Hehe.  As for the rest of the family, BigBear and BabyBear were also fighting flu and the winter germs, Big Guy and Poppet are well just exhausted.  Princess had a Hockey match on Saturday and scored the only goal for her team which was very exciting even though they lost the match.  The little Master Muffets had their first real Football match on Saturday as well and did the Guard of Honour at half time so much excitement as you can imagine.

Max once again managed to escape and got away before we could even blink.  The next thing we saw was a message on the Community Group saying that he had been seen charging down the main road and when they tried to catch 'the wild dog' he ran away  hahahaha.  If there is one thing Max is not is wild!  Hyperactive, disobedient and a Houdini but not wild.  Their daughter managed to catch him and we then collected him although she was desperate to keep the little 'wild dog'.  He is now safely back home and hopefully the wanderlust is satisfied for awhile.  Never a dull moment with this lot.  Yesterday we had a very precious friend over whose husband is overseas on business, she brought her 6 month old puppy for a play date and it was so entertaining watching them all reacting to each other.  For some reason Max was determined to protect her from her own dog. #facepalm.

On the drive home this morning I was able to take a couple of pictures looking out across the bay towards Simonstown, the sea was still and flat with mist hanging over the bay, just so exquisitely beautiful and peaceful.   Folks in keeping with the lazy atmosphere I am going to put a pot of soup on the stove so that when our little one comes home tonight I will have the time to see to her, I'm praying that she will not be stressed about the stitches and try and pull them out like Kiko did.  With Kiko I
eventually had to make her a special collar so that she could not bite them.  She was very special.  Have a super week friends and please stay safe.

Looking out across False Bay towards Simonstown,

One tired little kitten