My Life's Winding Roads: Some shenanigans including whale calls.

My Life's Winding Roads: Some shenanigans including whale calls.: Good morning wonderful people, here we are on the last day of November and it's kind of a "where did the year go?" situation, ...

Some shenanigans including whale calls.

Good morning wonderful people, here we are on the last day of November and it's kind of a "where did the year go?" situation, so much has happened and yet so little.

Well, for one I am glad to see the end of this month and am looking forward to December and my biggest Christmas gif/wish has been answered - all the South African family will be together on Christmas Day, I am so excited I could burst.

Well another busy, interesting week behind us, full of highs and lows.  It went fairly predictably as far as weeks go, I actually took some time to re-charge on Wednesday, more by force than desire but it was just as well that I did. Monday evening I found two small pieces of soap so, being the thrifty soul that I am I have one to Jelly Bean and we each put one into the cistern of the toilets.  We are on a conservancy sewage system down here and were already waiting for the municipality to clear the tanks.  They arrived early Tuesday morning but, from then on JB's toilet and ours started emitting very odd noises, it sounded like we had a whale in the piping, almost ghostly sounds of groaning, as well as both loos constantly trickling water. Hubby was baffled which alone is strange.  He was contemplating getting on the roof to see if there were any taps malfunctioning, until ......... late Wednesday evening I decided to look in the cistern 👀 .......... the small piece of soap had wedged itself under the shut off valve, I asked JB to check hers and same story.  Ooops, we removed the soap and in so doing fixed the trickles AND the whales went back to singing in the sea. 🤣🤣🤣 We all had a good giggle and Hubby was extremely relieved.  On Thursday he had another another checkup scheduled with the Specialist and Jelly Bean and I decided it was a good idea to accompany him just in case he had another injection.  We used the opportunity and made four stops getting groceries, dog food, fruit and veg etc in really good time and all agreed at what a peaceful, easy shop it had been. We made a last stop at a 2nd hand furniture/building material shop before heading off to see the Dr.  Praise the Lord, all is going well and daily Hubby's vision is clearing as the viscous debris clears from his eye, he could now read an extra line in the eye chart and he will go back again this week, the Dr mentioned that he might consider another injection at which I told him just how much pain it had caused, so we are praying for NO more injections.  Feeling very satisfied with ourselves we got back home after 2.30pm, all quite exhausted and just wanting to sit down and rest.  Hahaha ...... what a laugh!!! everyone carried something into the house and I went back out to help Hubby with the rest but he had closed the boot hmmm, I asked him where the rest of the packets and bags were, his reply " there is nothing more".  Would you believe that we still had to go back and look, behold the boot was empty.  As far as we can figure, on our stop at the 2nd hand store when Hubby locked the car, someone blocked the remote.  Whilst we were in the store 'they' selectively helped themselves to close to R2000 worth of food and things. 😡😖😡. Once the reality had set in and with it anger and the feeling of violation all we had been left with was boerewors, sugar, Carlton paper rolls, and cat sand ??????? They even stole my Gammon and Jelly Beans's cake.  AAARGGHHH.  By now it was after 3pm and I realized I needed to move fast, so I asked Hubby to stay and contact our insurance, also because we had left Charlie at home and on returning found he had moved a rock, got out to look for me and thankfully parked himself on our neighbours verandah in the shade to wait for me.  So, off JB and I sped off, this time to Hermanus which is marginally closer and did a complete 'Groundhog Day' thing in doing all four shops and repeating to the letter our morning shop.  I cannot even begin to tell you how angry I was, when there is a need I can come to an understanding, this was pure opportunism and greed because they went through selecting everything they wanted. It also just heightened JB's stress levels enormously.  We got home just after 6, well and truly exhausted and also to find that God had turned the situation around in that, in hearing what hadn't happened someone blessed us with double the amount of the shop, thank you Lord.  What the devil meant for harm and lack, God in His grace and mercy turned around.  🙏🏻

Friday was spent dealing with normal life, our emotions and also the Insurance.  Poppet and Princess flew down late Friday afternoon for a work function and were able to see BigBear and BabyBear both Friday and Saturday.  I must say here, all our congratulations go to Princess who was awarded  her Half Colours for athletics, sadly there was no Prize giving thanks to CoVid but just the fact the that she was able to accomplish that achievement during this crazy year is a major feat.  Well done my gorgeous Princess, you are so talented and we are all so proud of you.  

On Saturday evening Hubby and I were enjoying our last cup of tea for the day when I had a wee accident and managed to topple my very full mug of boiling hot black tea over my chest, tummy and legs 🤷🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️, talk about move quickly haha.  It was so sore that I couldn't say words just a groan,  in what felt like minutes but was probably much less, I had yanked my Tshirt off and then trid applying a cold cloth, but there was too much burn so opted to stand under a cold shower.  After praying I applied the best burn cream called Flamazine, and got my frozen bag of flour out of the deep freeze and sat with it on my chest.   When I woke yesterday everything looked amazingly better, a little tenderness, a few small blisters and slight redness on my chest, the rest of me is great.  

For a total change of pace and much longed for, yesterday we met the girls at their new house and they were able to see it for the first time, they absolutely love their new home and we are all counting down sleeps now, to their move and arrival, the 'Bears' move,  Big Guy's arrival and then CHRISTMAS DAY as a family.  After seeing the house we took them to Lourensford Wine Farm which has a night market on Friday's and day markets through the weekend, it was so special to see them and then get to share a meal and just catch up, that it more than made up for all the shenanigans of the past few days, I believe it would be accurate to say they both LOVED the market.  Charlie came with us and it was his first trip out in such surroundings, his new meds worked like a dream and he was such a well behaved little chap 🐩

So folks ......... all in all a good week, I'm working on the forgiveness aspect, rejoicing in Gods goodness to us all and feeling the Christmas vibe, I do believe the tree will go up this week. I am going to get going with all that needs doing domestically and wish you all a wonderful week.  Please stay safe and stay well, Ciao Ciao.

Jasper has become a fan of Scoobie Doo 🤣🤣

Never again please

Well ........ it is a new week, good morning everybody. I for one am extremely glad to welcome this new week and very happy to slam the door on the one just past. Since my last Blog we have been on a roller coaster ride and not necessarily a pleasant one. Last Sunday evening after having had excellent vision Hubby mentioned that his left eye was sore, we didn't think too much about it given the procedure a few days before and, I secretly wondered whether the smoke from our braai had aggravated it. Monday morning we awoke and he quickly realized he had almost no vision in that eye - no vision meaning he could not make out the fingers of his hand when held in front of his face 😢. We contacted the eye surgeon who told us to come in immediately, as you can imagine it was very scarey for Hubby, I just went into prayer mode. Off we went and from then on it was like being on a roller coaster. On testing his vision the Dr realized that Hubby could not even see the screen much less read the two biggest letters, we were asked to wait whilst he consulted with a Retinal Specialist. They made an immediate appointment and we drove off to the other side of Somerset West, what I can say is thank the Lord for excellent Doctors and a really good Medical Aid. They were all so efficient, comforting and explained everything to us clearly. Apparently a very rare complication from a cataract removal is something called TASS - Toxic Anterior Segment Syndrome, no one is quite sure what causes it and because of that a swab was taken and sent off to the Lab and then began the process of trying to correct the condition and halt the damage. It involved a series of injections around the eye socket to anesthetise it, dilate the pupil as much as possible, and then several injections directly into the eye and behind the retina. YIKES. My dear Hubby was very brave, a patch was then put on the eye which had to stay in place until Wednesday when we had a follow up appointment. With the eye being completely covered there was no way of knowing what his vision was and despite people saying just take a peek, we didn't. The following morning Specialist No 1 called just after 8am to find out how Hubby was, I think he was very concerned. I spent the day catching up on the previous days housework and washing as well as everything Hubbs usually does. On Wednesday we were up and out early for his appointment, again with much trepidation because, if there was no improvement they were going to repeat Monday's procedure. Praise the Lord, there was a slight improvement - he could see the blob of his hand and light and dark, the Lab results had come back clear for virus/bacteria and they were still awaiting the results of cultures taken from the eye. Again much dilation of the pupil, which is apparently to stop the 'mucous plug' from adhering to the retina which would cause permanent damage, eventually when the Dr was satisfied that there was no adhesion we were allowed to go home, no eye patch except for when he is sleeping and, here's the fun part ...... we have to put two different types of drops in, alternately, every hour and then he must keep the eye closed for 3 mins. Do you know how quickly 57 minutes goes by ? 😂😂. I have put a timer on my phone and every hour it beeps us into action, I also figured a way of knowing which drops to use i.e. The cortisone are on the even number hours and the other are on odd number hours, such fun. On Thursday I had to go back into SW as Poppet and Co were expecting furniture deliveries at the new house, so we packed up garden chairs, a thermos, snacks, books, including Charlie and off we went around the mountain. Yaaay the deliveries were about half an hour apart and we were back home by 2.30. Through most of the week Jelly Bean was fighting a summer cold so spent a lot of the time at home alone. Friday was spent catching up on the entire weeks worth of housekeeping, washing and cooking up a big batch of my favorite Turkish Brinjal Bake. I had intended making it in Monday or Tuesday but that was not to be and I needed to cook those Brinjals before they went off. All the while Hubby has had to be fairly inactive, not his strong suite, but he really needed to take it easy and give his eye every chance of healing, he did however manage to cut the grass on Friday at the back of the house, thanks my love. Every day has brought a slight positive increase in his vision and yesterday for the first time he saw my hand coming to his eye with the drops whooo hoooo. To everyone family and friends who prayed and sent messages, thank you SO much for your love, prayers and care. God has truly been good and we are confident of full restoration of my Hubby's eyesight, today is another trip to SW to Specialist No 1 for a check up and I pray that will be the only one for the week. I will confess, over the weekend I did as little as possible in an effort to try and rest myself out of a nasty flare, not quite successful but we do life day by day. I have told the family that the next time I say I have no plans for the week, to throw something at me 😂, Hubby in his wisdom says in future I must say "currently there are no plans etc". Jelly Bean is also looking better and seems to have shaken the worst of it. Poor little Charlie is still struggling with his tummy, in fact since putting him onto the Hypoallergenic food, in my option he has been worse aaarrgghhhh. Yesterday I decided I am going to follow my gut instinct and boiled up some chicken for him and I intend to keep him on that until I see some improvement, one would think he has an entire orchestra in his tummy with all the noise it makes when he feels unwell. It has been so crazy that two weeks ago when Charlie was at the Vet, I bought tablets for him for motion sickness, despite emptying every drawer, handbag, packet etc and could not find them. So, on the way between Dr's appointments I literally phoned ahead and asked the wonderful Nurse if she could get a box ready for me as I was pushing time limits. As I walked in she held up her hand, passed the tablets over the people she was talking to and said "EFT me when you get home." Now that is service. Two days later, in the middle of the night I woke up and knew exactly where the first lot of tablets were - in Charlie's backpack 🤦🏻‍♀️🤣🤣 In amidst all the turmoil and driving back and forth last week, yesterday I eventually managed to finish the only quilt square that I started last Sunday, so yay for that hahaha. The positive highlight was when Big Guy sent through confirmation of his flight to Cape Town in December for Christmas, I am so excited I could explode. Can't wait to have everybody all together at once, I just wish Miss Muffett and her crew could join us. Well folks, as quick as this was to read, that's how last week feels in retrospect - it was a flash of traveling, sitting in Dr's rooms, complete exhaustion and being reminded of every hour as it passes. I wish YOU all a wonderful week, may it bring blessings and good health. Thank you for being part of my life and for your words of encouragement to each weeks Blog, you have no idea how precious they are to me. Be safe and stay well Ciao Ciao

Charlie helping with the housework.

My Life's Winding Roads: WHOOSH !

My Life's Winding Roads: WHOOSH !: Wow, it's Monday again where did the week go ? Hi everyone I hope you are all staying well and healthy? Just like that, in the blink o...

WHOOSH !

Wow, it's Monday again where did the week go ? Hi everyone I hope you are all staying well and healthy? Just like that, in the blink of an eye, the week just disappeared ........ whooosh !! I know that some of you think my life is very busy and, yes I agree it can be, last week however, takes the cake, even by my standards. First off let me say this - I had not really put much thought into why things are always so busy, but on Saturday whilst chatting with the family I could finally verbalize what I do. In short I set myself daily / weekly goals that either 'have' to be done or 'I want' to get done. On the former I really don't have much of a choice - all that goes into keeping a home and it's occupants clean, baking rusks, washing curtains etc. The latter consists of things that are not crucial for the week, they need to be done but it wouldn't be a huge train smash if they wait until next week - that darn bathroom wall, me making something just because I want to etc. Until chatting on Saturday this is just what I did but, whilst we spoke I realized that I set myself these goals because of one fundamental reason, I refuse to allow Fibromyalgia to define who I am. Many people with Fibro can easily find themselves all but bed ridden because of the exhaustion /pain etc, it is easier to stay in bed and try and sleep through the exhaustion and so on. Firstly just because of who I am that is not an option, secondly I get too sore lying in bed 😂, so my way of thumbing my nose at the condition, sometimes to my detriment, is to try and do what I would normally do. Does that make sense ? Anyway all that aside, last week was BUSY, but also SO good. On Monday we snuck in another visit with our friends who were visiting the Cape, we took them to Pringle Bay and had a wonderful time sitting in the sun having afternoon tea before saying a very emotional goodbye, it still feels strange knowing I won't see them for a while. On Tuesday Hubby dearest had his eye check up and I caught up with personal, domestic chores and baking. Wednesday I got a bee in my bonnet and hauled out the spare set of slipcovers for our two couches and dId the switch around, goood GRIEF it was hard work. We did everything but even before we got them all on and I knew it was not going to 'work' 🤷🏻‍♀️ but, it gave me the opportunity I've been needing to wash the white covers - eight cushion covers and two of the 'whole chair' covers which I eventually did on Friday - SIX loads in my big, top loader washing machine. Thursday was up early and into Somerset West for the second cataract procedure, this time Jelly Bean and Charlie stayed at home. The procedure when fantastically well and apart from the weather being 35c all was good. After leaving the Specialist I had to meet the agent to get the keys for Poppet's house, do a check through list with the agent as well as take delivery of some furniture that was being delivered. 😂 It all happened at the same time and we drove through the Estate in a convoy with the truck bringing up the rear. While Hubby supervised the unloading of the truck we got busy doing the handover of the house, which is absolutely gorgeous, so much so that before we left I did a video walk throughout for them from side to side. We arrived home to slightly cooler weather and then heard all about Charlie and how he behaves when I leave. Oh dear 🤦🏻‍♀️, my poor Jelly Bean really had her hands full - apart from crying and being very sad the entire time, he jumped on the coffee table (never been up there before) threw his head back, closed his eyes and howled, three times this was done. My little doggie really does love me. Friday was WASH day and then some and finally on Saturday we refitted all the white slipcovers and bathed the dogs before, Big Bear drove through after lunch and spent the day with us, we had a wonderful braai and watched three episodes of Catching the Sun, a local series about South African Rugby - it is excellent. We chatted, laughed, exchanged news, caught up with our lives and generally filled up our emotional tanks, it was soooo good to have family time. He slept over and left early on Sunday morning as he did a five km run in Grabouw. Sadly we didn't see Baby Bear because she was up in Bloemfontein visiting her mom, so counting the days until our next visit in two weeks. Yesterday I did precisely nothing and actually have nothing planned on my list for this week beyond some recovery time and hopefully cooking a few good meals. In all this Hubby's procedures have been a wonderful success, his world is a much brighter place now and, he still managed to build the first of the three furniture items for Poppet and Princess and we managed to get two Lap Stands ready for 📦 👍🏻 Hehe. Now, THAT my friends I will admit was a very busy week. I saw a post on FaceBook listing the Ten Things About Rerirement, in that number was .. 'Never having enough time to do everything', very true words. On that note folks, I am signing off and heading towards my Embroidery and my book, we will see how this works LOL. I pray each and every one of you has a good week, may your time be multiplied, may God give you wisdom for every situation you face, may you stay well and be filled with peace from His Throne Room. Ciao ciao. Max and Zeepha basking in the sun

My Life's Winding Roads: To friendship

My Life's Winding Roads: To friendship: Good morning everyone from a very damp Bettys Bay, just when I thought winter had moved on and forgotten is, she visited with a vengeance on...

To friendship

Good morning everyone from a very damp Bettys Bay, just when I thought winter had moved on and forgotten is, she visited with a vengeance on Friday and we had three very cold, windy and wet days, yaaaay. Every drop of water is precious and always needed. Wow, what a week we had with all sorts of surprises and excitement. On Monday I spoke to a very dear friend of mine and got very suspicious that a visit was imminent, I even said as much to Hubby and Jelly Bean, on Tuesday I received another call which confirmed my suspicions, they were heree in the Cape and we set up an appointment for Friday. One way to make a week go fast LOL. As usual I was busy within the house with all the usual things that seem to keep needing attention, whilst Hubby dearest got down and started on the first of the furniture items for Poppet and Princess. On Thursday we were off bight and early for his Cataract Procedure and had decided to combine the trip with a visit for Charlie to the Vet. Hubby's procedure went really well and was over very quickly, it would appear that it has been a great success as he is seeing well without his glasses and will be going back for a check up tomorrow and then possibly the other eye will be done on Thursday. I can only thank God for sending us to such an incredible Eye Surgeon, he is the same one who rectified my 'botched' procedure in 2018, there is literally no one else I would trust with our eyes. Charlie's visit to the Vet went well although I cannot at this stage say it was successful. He managed to travel all the way into town without being sick, holding on until the moment I opened the car door and then goodbye breakfast. The Vet has given me a stronger motion sickness medication and she feels that his tummy problems and itchy feet are due to allergies, to that end she changed his food to Hypoallergenic and so far we are not seeing a very happy pup. He has had an upset tummy since Friday and I am going to call in a little later to discuss it further with her. On Friday we had planned on going into Hermanus with our friends but Mother Nature had other ideas and opened heavens windows, making our part of the world incredibly wet and cold. As it usually happens when you have a few years to catch up on, time ran away from us and it was almost 1.30 before we thought about food, after a quick show of hands we decided to get in some take-away and just enjoy our time together. Oh how full my heart was - 31 years of friendship through thick and thin and we never stopped talking for a minute. That is one of the things that never cease to amaze me - when you don't see someone for years and yet getting together is the same as if you saw each other the day before, true friendship is precious beyond measure and one of life's biggest blessings. I have to say here M, my beautiful friend you have fought and won the battle for your life this year and have done it with such dignity and grace, your sense of humor never left and your faith and positivity are an example to all who know you. As for your amazing Hubby, he is without a doubt God's most precious gift to you. You guys are a shining example of a God centered marriage and sacrificial love. Thank you for taking time out of your special holiday to be with us it was a visit of immeasurable blessing and encouragement. On Saturday we 'dashed' into Hermanus for some essential shopping and the rest of the weekend was a lot slower paced hehe. As for the family, everyone is doing well and things are getting busy all around as this year starts drawing in to a close. Our traditional family Secret Santa draw happened and the subsequent list is published and we can now get on with the business end of Christmas nice and early. The girls and the Bears are all busy packing and making arrangements for their respective moves. Princess is writing year end exams and Big Guy is pushing hard with work, also to bring this year to a close. Miss Muffett and her 'guys' were lucky to have a few days break down in Cornwall before getting back home in time for the 'hard lockdown' in the U.K. I have to say this about all our children and extended family, you guys are amazing to watch as you take life's hurdles in your stride and keep pushing towards the finish line. We could not be prouder of each one of you...... whoop whoop. My next count down is to this weekend when Big Bear will be coming over for Sunday lunch and then the end of the month when Poppet has to fly down for business over the weekend and we will see her, Princess and the Bears on the Sunday before thy fly home for their last two weeks in Pretoria. Next is my BIG prayer that my precious eldest can get some time off over Christmas and to just have the whole family all together in one place to celebrate family and the end of this incredibly difficult and confusing year. Well folks, a busy week behind and a semi busy week ahead. With the seeming rise in CoVid cases in many places please don't drop your guard, if anything be as consistent as ever with wearing your mask, social distancing, sanitizing etc. We all want to be with those we love this Christmas so let's do our bit to make that happen, be safe. Ciao Ciao. Charlie watching me getting ready to go out.