My favourite kind of day

Good morning one and all from a gorgeous Bettys Bay, today is the type of weather that ticks almost all my boxes of a perfect day.  It rained through the night, a soft, steady, soaking rain, the mountain is shrouded in mist and it is a wonderful 17c, winter is on its way Woohooo.

I will admit, with the Public Holiday making a long weekend I still feel like it is weekend and am not really geared up for the new week.  We had a relatively quiet week with my Dearest Hubby doing all the prep work and painting of wooden beams for the deck.  I tried to rest as much as possible in the hope of knocking this 'fibro flare' out of the park and haven't quite succeeded #meh.  Jelly Bean and I took a drive into Hermanus to stock up on some essentials and non essentials hehe.  It was a busy but nice day except for the fact that there was Protest Action in Kleinmond, which meant the main road through was closed off.  We managed to get through without any problem going and then when we were on our way home Hubby called me to say the road had been closed completely and we might not get through.  The alternative meant going over Sir Lowry's Pass all the way into Gordons Bay and then along the coast road, something I was in no mood to do, so taking a chance and using the back road we managed to get through, coming out on the Main Road exactly where the barriers were, thank goodness. We also went through to visit our friends, who moved during the fire, on Thursday and spent a lovely afternoon sitting out on their veranda and catching up on all the news.
Basically for the rest of the week I rested, apart from normal household chores and duties and yesterday we both did nothing except read and watch a little TV. All in all a very lazy Sunday.

The family are all well with BabyBear flying down for the weekend, and Princess went to Bloemfontein for a Hockey Tour, she arrived back safe and sound yesterday, much to Poppets delight.  The one common factor here in South Africa is the current state of our electricity supply.  We have had quite severe  rolling 'load shedding', what that means here is depending on what Stage they declare - 1,2,3,4,5 they switch off areas for between two to four hours at a time, multiple times a day.  We are issued with a schedule which helps a little but to say it takes some organisation and a LOT of irritation would be putting it mildly.  It wreaks havoc with small businesses as you can imagine, causes back ups with the traffic just to name a couple of things, and that is not looking at the domestic kick back, no power in the mornings when people are going to work equals no hot water, no coffee (unless you have gas), no hairdryers etc.  Yesterday was the first full day of electricity in more than a week.  When I looked at some of the footage from Mozambique after the Cyclone that came through it was certainly time to count our blessings and the hours of electricity we do have.  It is so easy to complain, but there is always someone, somewhere is going through 100 times worse, it is far more edifying to count and be grateful for every blessing.

On the animal front all are well and happy, Zeepha's ears are looking a little 'moth eaten' due to some energetic encounters with Jasper under the guise of play. Hmmm he doesn't know his own strength and can be a bit of a bully  but, in general she holds her own Hahaha.

Folks that's it for this week, I wish you and yours a wonderful week, may you have electricity and above all be safe.  Ciao Ciao

Our beautiful, bare mountain

What was that noise ?

From heavy rain to a different kind of 'heat'

Good morning everyone, is it just me or did last week fly past ?  One blink and it was history haha.  So much for my 'quiet' week I planned, I did manage a couple of days but seriously not enough.  The week started with that amazing rain, we measured 85mm in 24 hours which is the most we've measured at one time down here and then with  #zeepha having an issue with her right eye.  Since she was a tiny baby she has had twitchy eyes, but she kept it almost closed and on Wednesday woke up with it being all gummy.  I phoned the Vet and they said to continue swabbing it and bring her in on Thursday, so off we toddled bright and early, dropped Hubby off to visit a friend and Jelly Bean and I did the vet 'thing'.  After an official weigh-in at a whopping 1.25 kg #facepalm, and a thorough check up the Vet gave her an injection, some cream for the eye and an anti-biotic, she was not totally sure what the cause was, but as it has progressively healed every day I am very happy.  Zeepha handled her outing with all the class and grace I expected her to, not a squeek in the car and once we left the Vet we added a quick stop at the supermarket for which I put her in her travel box and she was absolutely fine in the trolley albeit causing quite a stir and lots of 'aaaah's and oooo's'.

As it was Jelly Bean's birthday yesterday I ordered her a pair of sheep skin slippers from a leather company in Cape Town, the only problem was when I called them they had none in stock of her size.  My heart dropped as the lady told me they take a week and a half to make...... she then said that she would ask at the Production Meeting on Wednesday and call me back which she did, and said they had agreed to make a pair especially for us and with luck it would be ready by Friday, no stress !!!!
On Thursday just before 10 am I received another call to say that the slippers were ready and could be collected whenever it suited us.  I have seldom experienced such an efficient level of service and communication in dealing with any company before. Kudos to #WoodheadsLeather for not only providing the most amazing  leather products but for your incredible staff, efficiency and friendliness, I will only use this company in future for any leather related items.

That having been organized we took a trip into Somerset West again, on Saturday morning as Jelly Bean had a coffee date with one of her friends. Being  the efficient souls we are LOL, we combined it with a full on grocery, fruits, vegetables,  pet shop for cat food and chicken shop for dog food as well as a nice coffee date of our own.  Let me add here that on Friday I began waging war on the continued flea problem we have to which end I  gave the cats Capstar, which kills fleas instantly and for 24 hrs, then Friday evening when we went to bed we 'fogged' the lounge/kitchen area and on Saturday morning whilst we were out we 'fogged' the bedrooms.  The reason I mention this is because when we arrived home on Saturday after a full morning of running around and no electricity due to Load Shedding, we then had to put the house to rights as well as vacuum from one end to the other and every nook and cranny. Wheew quiet week not !!!!!   A little while later BigBear arrived and we had a wondeful evening of chatting and catching up (again no electricity) and a yummy Braai (barbecue).  Yesterday the guys got up early to watch the Grand Prix and once all the birthday celebrations were over and the power off AGAIN, we drove to Pringle Bay to one of my favourite little coffee shops where we spent a wonderful morning.  Came home and I quickly put Jelly Bean's meal request on to cook............. OH DEAR! is all I can say.  Last year when I bought all my Indian spices I obviously bought chilli powder as well, hmmmmm, I make this dish regularly but I have NO clue what happened yesterday.  I dished up and one by one as we started eating I was met with shocked faces until my very dear Hubby said he could not eat it.  None of us could, it was so flipping hot it was inedible.  Jelly Bean was the only one who managed to get any down until eventually we just gave up and had tea and chocolate muffins for lunch  #double face palm, never in all the years I have cooked has this happened.  I am going to buy some DANGER stickers and paste them onto the bottles. I made BigGuy and BigBear chilli chutney for Christmas and they are constantly joking about how hot it is (same batch of powders) now I have some inkling of just how hot, HOT is.  Oh dear some serious adjustments needed now LOl.

Folks on that note I am going to say Ciao Ciao for this week, we again have no power and I will post this as soon as it comes back on.  Have a wonderful week wherever you are, be careful around chilli powder lol and please stay safe.

Two videos of Zeepha having her bed time drink, one at the start and the second as it comes to an end. As you can see this isn't going to end anytime soon HAHA

Rain, glorious rain ...

Good morning family and friends, here I sit listening to the glorious rain that has been falling since yesterday, in long sleeves, with a cup of tea and thoroughly happy.  So far this morning we have measured 60mm which is the most we've had down here and doubly unusual as it is coming from the South East.  The only problem with the different direction is that our house a sprung a few new leaks               # facepalm, this means a trip up onto the roof for my Dearest Hubby when things are dry to do some waterproofing.  Otherwise a perfect Monday.

After a crazy busy week which left me utterly wiped out and in loads of pain I have declared this as a 'home week.'  Last week we took our very sad looking little Bonsai tree up to a gentleman here in BB who grows Bonsai's.  Hubby was given this one as a birthday present in 2016 and it has never grown but still had leaves, then a couple of weeks ago dear, sweet, innocent ? Zeepha discovered she could get up on the bookshelf and started pulling the leaves off, I moved it and gave it some TLC but it just looked worse.  Sadly the professional diagnosis was .......it died!!  I felt so bad as I am the one who has looked after it, but our Bonsai 'guy' said he will see what he can do with it and in the meantime has exchanged it for a different type of tree, Natal Fig which he has been working with.  So, he is busy repotting the new tree into our pot and will do the shaping etc and get it settled then give us a call to collect it, I am praying I can keep this one alive and healthy.

With all the running around and hoo haa of last week my precious Hubby wasn't able to make much progress on the deck, he has done some work on it, but has also been busy with a number of wall clocks that have come in, one which just continues to chime non stop (it is in the workshop thank goodness).  Zeepha continues to just get cuter and cuter and weighs in at 1.3kg which means I am starting to organise her spaying / neutering procedure.  She still has this impression that whatever I eat HAS to be shared with her irrespective of what it is and if I ignore her she will walk all over me or stand in front of me squeeking.  Jasper is still a bully and we regularly have to intervene when the squeaks become louder, where she does get the upper hand is when she chases him or visa versa and because she is so small and he is so clumsy, she will dive into a small space and then he 'loses' her and will call her looking very confused haha.  A constant source of entertainment these two.

On Saturday afternoon we went to a wonderful event that my friend E organised for all the people whose  homes and or gardens were affected by the fire.  She had organised hundreds of plants mainly through local ladies who worked for weeks with cuttings and getting the little trees and bushes ready to be handed out, beautiful pottery bowls had been especially made and there were drinks, eats, little gifts.  It was a lovely festive atmosphere with  everyone being able to help themselves to plants, bowls etc in order to re-start their gardens.  Well done my friend you worked so hard and it was truly a wonderful way of helping people find some closure.  As one drives through BB at the moment there is re-building taking place everywhere which is wonderful to see as well as how quickly the ground and certain types of Fynbos are recovering, thank you Lord..

Folks no major news thank goodness, for me this is a week of resting and healing.  The rain is still falling and the waterfalls on the mountain are all streaming down which is gorgeous, I am going to try and get some nice photos during the week to show you.  I pray you all have a fabulous week and please, please wherever you are, stay safe and always alert in your surroundings.  Until next week Ciso Ciao.

Zeepha pulling the cute card.😍

 Jasper 'stuck ' on the fence or maybe he's practising Karate 😆

Please a peaceful week

Good morning everyone from a beautiful, cool, cloudy and slightly wet BB.  I am sincerely praying that this week is going to be vastly different from this past week.   As you know last week began with us having to say goodbye to our precious Gemma.  On Tuesday I was busy in the kitchen where I could hear what sounded like bees or flies buzzing, when my dear Hubby came into the house I asked if he could hear it, he listened and said that I had forgotten to switch off the fan in the bedroom, I hadn't turned it on, following the noise he could now hear he went into the bathroom only to encounter what could best be described as a mini geyser.  The hot water pipe on the hand basin had burst and was spewing high and happily into the corner - we have a small bathroom and by that time bathroom the bedroom was under water, carpets, wardrobe, you name it.  He shot out of the house saying we had a leak, I had my hands in dough.  Long story short after turning off the water main, on the roof, using our dry/wet vacuum cleaner and a LOT of effort we dried up most of it.  Fans on in both rooms helped dry out the furniture ....... Great fun, NOT !!!!!!!

On Thursday we took the dogs to the parlour which has been in the planning for a few weeks.  Since we moved down to BB both dogs have done nothing but scratch, we have tried everything and every food but nothing helped, until about a month ago I read about Raw Dog Food. After doing some research we decided to take them off dry pellets completely and put them onto a complete Raw Food diet.  The reason we waited for the parlour visit was because Sasha (Maltese) has had a dark orange rump and chin since living in BB, we initially put it down to the Fynbos.  Well, they came home from the parlour and she is snow white, from top to tail and they now hardly scratch or lick.  For our doggies Raw Dog Food is the only way to go, thankfully it is easily obtainable here and bonus, it works out cheaper, happiness all round. Jasper and Zeepha are becoming good friends, he had a few disoriented days after Gemma's passing, but now seems fine if not a bit more lovable.  Little Squeek topped 1.2kg and is still as cute and gorgeous as ever.

My very talented Hubby started the reno of the deck which began by taking down the awning frame, hmmpff that thing weighed WAY more than we ever expected - about 500kg.  Engineer to the garage, and he came up with a block and tackle system in order to lower it bit by bit, single handed.  When it was down he put some conduit piping underneath and managed to roll it to the edge of the deck.  From there leant it on the railing which is where the big fun started, getting it from there to the garage wall - another block and tackle set up and both of us hanging on.  Once on the grass we put the poles underneath and manoeuvred it inch by inch up against the wall, where it now stands, sheeww.

Over the weekend we met up with BigBear for a wonderful, long, lazy lunch at the Harbour in Gordon's Bay.  It was a fantastic afternoon,  beautiful scenery, great company, wonderful food (my new favourite restaurant - Antonios.  It was so good to see and spend time together, but we are really missing seeing BabyBear, it feels like ages.  The rest of the family are all doing very well and, as
usual super busy but all healthy. On our way into Gordon's Bay my precious Hubby and I were discussing a problem that Miss Muffet had noticed - the floor of his car, behind the drivers seat was completely soaked when she was here.  We assumed at the time that he had left the window open when he washed the car, while talking he reached back and lo and behold the carpet was again completely saturated = Hubby mentally entered his 'what is the cause'  closet.  After doing some research when we got home he came across the possible cause and yesterday morning first thing he was out there.  Bingo it was a blockage of the air conditioner pipe that caused the water to overflow into the car, within a little while he had it all fixed and carpets drying out.

Folks that was our very crazy week, here is praying for a calm, peace filled week ahead for us all.  Please take care out there and as always be safe. Ciao Ciao

A beautiful pic that Miss Muffet took here on Silversands beach.

Deck renovation

No way to start the week.

Good morning family and friends and so the week begins in earnest.  This morning saw Hubby and I up at sunrise and off to town as Gemma was unwell over the weekend, she had gone totally off all food and would only drink a little bit of water, so after speaking to the Vets yesterday we were at their rooms at 7.45 is morning.  After doing an initial biliary blood test which was negative, the Vet sent us off for coffee while she ran a full panel of blood tests.  She then called us back and gave us the very bad news that Gemma was in kidney failure, with her creatinine  and urea results off the measurable charts.  We had to make the decision then to put our precious girl to sleep, as there was no way of being able to reverse the damage.  Although,  as Princess says she was a real grump and had mood swings she was a very precious, beautiful baby and we will bury her near to CeCe, I have had enough of losing my babies now for more than one life time.

It was a very busy week, but  a good week at the same time, we had Miss Muffet come through to spend two days with us which was a truly precious time.  She had some good one on one time with her Dad and it was good to see her relaxed despite the unfortunate reason for her flying visit. I also had a check up visit with the Dermatologist who is delighted with my healing but has put me back on the pills for a further two weeks because it was so aggressive and the odd stubborn spots which itch Between that and all the usual day to day adventures it amounted to a very busy few days.  Yesterday my talented Hubby started to remove the awning frame that has been on the deck - a HUGE metal thing which is our first step towards building the deck, the awning frame will in time, become a carport in front of the garage.  All the family are well, working hard and naturally today, very heartsore.

Jasper outdid himself this past week in terms of 'fails' and on many occasions embarrassed himself thoroughly e.g. Trying to jump over a board and missing by a mile so that he was left hanging by his nails (more than once), trying to jump through the trellis door and a closed glass door, being chased by Zeepha and skidding out of control around a corner, and quite a few other incidents.  Little madam seems to have grown so much in the last month but is still just a wee little thing, a very adventurous little soul and definitely not scared of heights.  About two weeks ago after much deliberation we changed the dog's food from dry pellets to raw meat/chicken because of their constant scratching and licking.  Sasha was the worst and it seems to have only gotten worse since we've lived down here, I am delighted though to say that the raw food diet agrees with both of them and there is now hardly any scratching, the other plus factor is that it works out cheaper than the dry pellets.  The bigger pet shops down here sell the frozen food in 500 gm and 1 kg packs, which makes it convenient to purchase as well as better for Max and Sasha.

Folks just a quick Blog today, I wish you all a wonderful week, please stay safe out there and when you get home go and give your pets a big hug of appreciation for their love and devotion to you.

R.I.P. My beautiful Gemma.

New endeavors.

Good morning everyone, every day that passes brings me closer to winter and so far the main thing keeping me sane is the fresh South Easter that comes off the sea, it's been hot and for me a very long summer haha.

Well there has been so much happening it's a case of where to start.  After finishing the design of our 'enclosed deck' my extremely talented Hubby went off to town, list in hand and bought the first amount of timber needed.  This is going to be SO exciting to see go up and much more so to have the extra space.  Currently our deck is a 6m X 5.5m open  space which we plan on enclosing with glass and then putting in an L- shaped bench with storage underneath, maximizing  our space to the fullest and keeping our view, wooohooo.  So, apart from the watches, clocks and normal day to day things that's the big project currently underway although how he/we are going to lift the 6m roof beam remains a mystery to me.

On my side of things I've had a productive week.  After having being told by my  Nail Technician that she did not want to do my nails in case "I infected her and her other clients", and this long after the Dr cleared me and after being with her for more than 2 1/2 years, I decided that I will learn to do them myself.  I already had the correct lamp, purchased the necessary extras and on Thursday my 'private salon' opened LOL.  I will admit that it took me the whole day but the end result is fabulous and looks no different to a professional overlay.  So, no more having to rely on someone else, waiting for an appointment, saving a ton of money and no judgement.
On Saturday I took another chance and made my first ever jam,  we had some plums that hadn't been eaten and I saw a recipe in my Bread Machine book so quite literally 1,2,3 and put it all in, left it to cook and voila we have a super yummy plum/tangerine chunky jam.  I could not believe how simple it was - one adjustment for future making though will be less sugar, I cut the sugar by 200gm and added a squeeze of lemon juice but it is still just that little bit too sweet for us.  I am super chuffed with the result.  At the same time I restocked the rusk tin and baked a wholewheat bread (also a new, easy recipe plus it's not baked in the machine) which was a total hit as well, so I am figuring it was a good week for new endeavours.

Poppet and Princess took delivery of their new car which they love, Big Guy worked too hard and is counting the weeks until his overseas holiday.  BigBear flew up to Johannesburg to spend most of the week and Valentines with his gorgeous wife and Miss Muffet landed this morning in Cape Town for a quick visit as her Nana has been unwell and she wants to spend some time with her, we are praying for a full speedy  recovery for Nana. Jelly Bean wasn't well but seems to be doing better and I am pushing through the current flare with all the above distractions.

Little Zeepha has had quite a growth spurt and actually topped the 1 kg mark, she now weighs a whopping 1.060 kg at the ripe 'old' age of 4 months haha.  This little treasure just keeps getting cuter and sweeter by the day.  In her opinion everything I eat is rightfully hers as well as her food of course, she has found ways of getting up onto the kitchen counters and that means I have to use the island counter to keep food safe, she has even developed a taste for popcorn and will squeak to let you know it's time to give her something.  Despite this obsession with food her favourite time of day is still her 9pm syringe of diluted kitten milk which just puts her into pure heaven.

Folks that's it for this week, I want to leave you with this thought.  I saw a Facebook  post yesterday that was addressed to husbands the title of which was 'Ten ways to kill your wife's love'. It is an excellent read and got me thinking about how once people settle down into marriage all 'courting and the little extras' seem to fall by the wayside.  I really believe we should never stop courting our spouse, ladies do you still put make up on if it's just the two of you, do you still make little treats for your husband, surprise him with a coffe date etc?  Husbands do you still make an effort to look and smell good, open the car door, buy her flowers, take her on a coffee / dinner date, surprise her etc?  Something to think about and perhaps put into practise ????  Ciao ciao and please stay safe.

Little Zeepha sunning herself on the kitchen counter 

The beginnings of our enclosed deck.

I can't believe it is mid February already

Good morning folks from a slightly cooler Bettys Bay after a seriously hot and busy week.  Gee whiz it was a really busy week with trips to Hermanus,  a day in Somerset West (exhausting) and then yesterday we did a visit to Elgin,  more on that later.

As for the family everyone is well and as usual busy, the girls should be getting their new car in a day or two which will be a relief  for them, it's been a crazy two weeks.  My precious Hubby is very happy as he has had a number of watches,  fit bits, clocks and even a cuckoo clock in to repair - all of which are complete and either delivered or awaiting collection, well done my Angel.  He has been designing the enclosure of our deck and will hopefully be starting on that this week, wooohooo, I cannot wait for it to be up.  After all the activity I find my self in a flare #facepalm, which I need to work through, and the itchiness  aaargghhhh.  After eventually getting hold of the Specialist I was told that I might need a longer course of treatment, due to the fact that I had such a severe case.  All the spots have healed but every day random scars will have bumps on them which itch like crazy, then a day or two later they are gone and come up on a different scar.  I have an appointment with him at the end of next week so we will see then.

As for our mini zoo all the residents are well or in various stages of healing.  Jasper is looking much better, Gemma is actually nose kissing Zeepha WITHOUT a growl which is historical, Sasha has a bump/sore on her head which we've been treating but might have to take her to the vet to check it out and Max is ........ Just Max.  I eventually found little Zeepha a harness, for hamsters, LOl which fits and she is currently running around in it and trying to get head rubs and bumps while I am typing causing all kinds of problems on the screen, this week I hope to take her out and introduce her to the great outdoors.

Yesterday we awoke to a beautiful cool, wet day and decided to go through to the Elgin Railway Market in ....... Elgin.  They have converted a huge building in steam punk style and it is truly gorgeous, there are lots of different food stalls,  live music which was nice and created a fabulous atmosphere.  I must say I was disappointed in the market stalls as they were more like exclusive shops and not in the least like a market, with the exception of the leather stalls.  At some point they advertised that there were vintage clothing and vintage jewellary stalls but we did not see anything close, that was a disappointment.  I would definitely say though, that the building is the 'draw card' and on Saturdays a Steam Train comes in from Cape Town which is obviously a special experience.  What we saw of Elgin as a little village was absolutely exquisite, they have managed to maintain an almost English Village look and feel to it.  All in all it was a lovely, relaxing day before coming home and curling up with a good book.

Folks that's my news for the week, hopefully this one will continue at a more sedate pace as  I do some rest and recovery.  I wish you ALL a wonderful week please take care and be safe.  Ciao ciao.

Elgin Railway Market