OH MY WORD...

... where did January go?

Yet, my blogger friends, I'm back and posting about the first month of the year's happenings. 

As I posted earlier in January, my mother-in-law, Pam, passed away at the ripe old age of 90 going on 91. I knew her two years longer than I knew my own husband; she had outlived him. In November I posted about going to my old home town and packing up our home which had been in storage. During the four days of hard, dusty work, (where my dear old house-lady Emily assisted me) I also spent many hours with Pam in her unit in the assisted care center. I am glad I did.  

With her passing on 11 January, I was very much involved in remotely arranging her room to be packed up (my DIL Amanda and Erica, Emily's daughter did this job with love.) My BIL, Chilly,  Pam's only remaining son, lives many kilometers from where Pam passed away. So, in lieu of his uncle, Angus, Pam's second oldest grandson, attended to the identifying of the body in the hospital mortuary, met with the funeral parlor,  chose the coffin and authorized the cremation. This is all we needed the parlor do. 

Although Angus was on the spot, there were many little facts he had to ask me about: Where was Bammie (the grandchildren and great-grandchildren's name for Pam) born? Her birth certificate was in the home's files. What coffin should he choose? Pam wanted the simplest, most economical coffin. So when he sent me the options on Whatsapp, I chose one. He and my BIL decided on that one. Is there anyone in the family against cremation? I said I could guarantee the answer is no, and Pam told me in November she wanted to be cremated. Pam was a feisty old lady and insisted on this particular last request. I fielded all these questions while traveling in extremely hot conditions to my accommodation in the Valley and afterwards to hold my Weigh-Less group at the Nest Hotel.  

Meanwhile, I was due to attend a Weigh-Less conference  in Durban - two hour road trip to the eastern seaboard of South Africa. This took place the weekend before we were having the memorial service in Marquard - a three hour road trip to the north and center of South Africa! 

These conferences are always pleasant as we country group leaders, meet with the city slickers. Zulaika, my mentor from Ladysmith, rode in the car with me so we caught up on family news. She has been with Weigh-Less for 16 years and I learn so much from her while in her company. 

The meeting started at 11am and after a welcome by  the Weigh-Less Chairman and founder, Mary Holroyd, we had 45 minutes of training. After this we are grilled by the branch manager, Rouna and said Mary on what we learnt from the video lecture. As group leaders guiding people to lose weight the healthy way, Weigh-Less keeps up with - and is often ahead of -  the latest in nutrition and health issues. 

We were served with a delicious meal after which the awards ceremony began. Last year in February  I won the Newcomer Group Leader of the year award. I had been running two groups for five months and had 18 members. here . This  year as Rouna and Mary, awarded this year's Newcomer of the year and the Group Assistant of the year, Zulaika, seated next to me, whispered that she was sure I would get the next award. Mary then stood in front of us and said the Group Leader of the year's membership had grown phenomenally but the criteria for being the winner would be member retention. I, in turn, whispered to Zulaika, that Amina or Sadia, from Durban had a better retention that I. 

Next Mary (looking to the back of the hall where one of my contenders were seated)  announced: Group Leader of the Year for Kwa-Zulu Natal is Joy Hedges ! Mary, Irish by birth, still has much of her accent pronounces my name, Jo as Joy! 

I was thrilled, of course, and went up for the award, a certificate and several  gift vouchers which I will enjoy spending.  

Moi, above with certificate and top with Mary

I now run six groups in three different towns; I  have 85 members on my tallies and I'm quietly training three members (one on target, going for goal; and the other two still with weight to lose) that as soon as they have "qualified" to become group leaders and one group assistant in their home town. 

Back home that weekend, I had to get on with the obituary I had written for MIL in the Afrikaans newspaper in the Free State. I also had a deadline for the first Probus newsletter of the year that Sunday night. Meanwhile, I was arranging eats for Pam's service the coming Wednesday.  I'd spoken to the pastor and pianist the previous week, and they were available. Estelle (my erstwhile employers at The Art Box) and good friend, printed the service sheets for me. 

On Tuesday afternoon, my SIL, Shelley pulled into the farmyard in her Kombi. In the passenger seat was BIL, Chilly and behind them were the two aunts, Gill and Carole. 

We had a companionable trip up to Marquad; a repeat of our journey in May last year! The two aunts, Carole 77 and Gill 84, are delightful company and regaled us with stories from their youth. 

Pam's family: Jo (yes, I wore the same outfit!) Eryn, Gill, Joshua, John, Carole, Angus, Amanda, Shelley and Chilly, with Joel, Abbey and Liam with their mom

We were sad to bid farewell to Pam, older sister to Gill and Carole;  mother to Chilly and MIL to me and Shelley; grandmother of Angus, John (my sons); Bruce, Louise, Kerry and Mitch; (Chilly and Shelley's children) and 13 great grandchildren. But we were grateful for her long life and that she only had a short illness before going to her Maker. 

HAPPY SUNDAY TO YOU ALL ! 

A harrowing week

Hello dear bloggers. I managed to help Ambrose post a while back and fully intended to get back to blogging myself. 

However, last Saturday I had a call from, Lana,  a lady who'd been caring for my brother, Andries, This is my second oldest brother; Phillip, the oldest sibling, lives in Estcourt, 45km from me. Rosemary, the baby of the family, lives in Spain with her husband, Peter.  

Andries, whom we called Boyce, had contracted the flu in June and Rosemary arranged for a doctor to call on him at home and treat him. He drained the fluid from Boyce' lungs , and then said he was sending samples away for testing. 

Two weeks later Boyce was so weakened by the flu virus which is virulent in SA at the moment, that Lana asked me to fetch him and take him to be live with Phillip.

My family in Spain were very concerned that I a mature woman would drive this distance on my own. My neighbors, Ronnie and John were also worried and said I should call them from any part of the trip if I needed them to come and fetch me! 

I left the farm at 5am; filled up with fuel in Ladysmith where my sister sent me as Whatsapp asking me to let them know the minute I arrived at Boyce's house. 

I stopped in my brother's driveway at 9.45. Lana was waiting to accompany me indoors. She said I would get a fright when I saw my brother. 

I did. 

He had deteriorated so since I saw a photo of him in April this year. (the one here below) But we managed to help him to the car, with his personal possessions in the back and we set off. \]\

Along the way, he seemed to cheer up. He kept saying, I'm so glad I'm going home! We reminisced about our childhood and also about the fun times we had as young adults. Grant and I and Rosemary visited Boyce regularly at his bachelor pad in Johannesburg.  A great adventure in those days! 

I stopped at Phillip's farm at 2.30 Sunday afternoon. Phillip was waiting and as we opened the passenger door, I was horrified to see how blue and swollen  Boyce's feet and ankles were. He hadn't said a word to me although I can imagine how his limbs must have been paining. We helped him out of the car and into the house - which took all of ten minutes - where he sat catching his breath while Phillip and I collected his suitcase from the car. 

I came home and later Phillip Whatsapped to say Boyce was feeling much stronger and that he'd get him to hospital the next day. 

But on Monday, on the way to hospital, Boyce took his last labored breath and passed away. 

My brother, Boyce: 12 May 1949 to 8 July 2019 

Rest in Peace our sweet brother. 

Conference in the city

On Saturday I drove 180km (one way) from the farm to the city of Durban on the eastern seaboard of Southern Africa. I attended a conference - one of two held per year - for Weigh-Less. 

I left home at 6h40 in the rain. And turned onto the freeway in the rain. And drove all the way to Durban in the rain. It was hectic for this country bumpkin, hillbilly of a granny but whoopee, I made it there. And enjoyed the meeting and made it all the way back in one day! 

At the hall, I met up with the ladies from Pietermaritzburg and Durban and my favorite group leader, Zulaika Hoosen, (Ladysmith based) who put me through my paces last year when I trained towards becoming a group leader. 

The event on Saturday is held  early in the year,  especially to recognize  the Weigh-Less group leaders for their achievements during the past year. I haven't been with Weigh-Less for all that time - I only launched my two groups in mid-October last year. 

However, there I was being called up and awarded for being the most progressive group leader in the province. It was great to be acknowledged so early in my career with Weigh-Less. 

There were many other awards being given out - and ultimately the Group Leader of 2018 award was presented to a lovely lady, Sadia from Durban. As soon as it looked as if things were winding down and we'd soon be saying goodbye, I slipped off  to visit the ladies' rest room before embarking on my long journey home. 

When I walked back into the hall from the rear,  it was dead quiet and every head turned to watch me. The founder and chairperson of Weigh-Less, Mary Holroyd and her regional manager, Rouna were looking directly at me. Although I haven't been with the overall team all that long, and afterwards thought I was probably being forward, I pointed to myself and said "What ? Have I done something wrong?" 

Everyone burst out laughing and Mary said, No, you need to come up and collect your award as The Newcomer of the year  2018 ! As I walked to the front again, the other ladies all applauded. I was touched and thrilled to be acknowledged for my efforts albeit over the past four months! As Mary handed me my trophy, she also gave me an envelope and said, this is a voucher for you. 

Eventually we all said goodbye to each other and I left the city, hitting the freeway by 2pm and arriving home shortly after 4pm. Phew! I was relieved to have had safe trip to and from the city and know that next time I won't be so apprehensive about embarking on such a journey.

This morning I remembered the envelope Mary had given me and opened it. It was a pamper voucher for Woolworths to the value of R500! This translates as US$36 which doesn't seem/sound so much but is a king's ransom to me! Now I need to get to the city again to spend the voucher. 

The certificate, trophy (top left) and pamper voucher I was awarded at the conference on Saturday 

HAPPY MONDAY TO YOU ALL! 

Update

Hi everyone, I've been absent from blogger since I posted about Ginger's mishap.  While he did improve slightly on Thursday, on Friday morning I received a text from, our daughter-in-law, Debbie that John had been taken up in their local hospital's ICU. A cold that he'd contracted a week ago, had developed into complications, By Thursday night Debbie had to rush him to the hospital where they  over the next two days drained his lungs of fluid and stabilized him. What a shock for every one of us - John being the fittest person in our family. Our younger son, Angus immediately set the wheels in motion. He and our younger daugher-in-law, Amanda and their little son, Liam, traveled down the berg  on Saturday morning. Here they collected me and together we motored down to the Natal North Coast. 

We were shown into the Intensive Care Ward where Debbie and Joshua (our oldest grandson) at John's bedside. Only Angus and I were permitted in while Amanda stayed in the waiting room with Liam. After greeting us, Debbie left us to be able to visit with John. 

After ten minutes, I went into the waiting room, took over looking after Liam while Amanda went in to say hello to John. Liam and I went downstairs where we met up again, with Joshua and Debbie who were chatting to a colleague of John's who'd already been to visit him. 

Then it was up to the waiting room again where Amanda took Liam and I returned to the ward to say goodbye to John. We promised to be back that night. 

We stayed with Grant's brother and sister-in-law, Charles and Shelley. (She's my birding mentor and apart from this, Shelley and I have been very close friends for 45 years) Shelley welcomed us, settled us into our respective rooms and asked that we return to her in the kitchen where she was preparing supper for us. We had coffee and freshly baked health rusks while she continued to add delicious looking items to a one pot wonder called Moroccan Lamb Soup. 

While SIL was slaving over the stove, I sat down at the head of the dining table from where I could see and chat to Shelley. I continued knitting the scarf WIP which I'd brought along.  Amanda sat down at the end of the dining table and continued building a large colorful puzzle which my BIL is working on. Liam found a box of toys which Shelley's four grandchildren have at their Gogga's (grandmother)  house.  

And Angus? Well, Angus was reloading my Office 365 software - which was due - on my laptop.  In between, he reloaded Shelley's iPhone which she had had for a few days and was stressing about not having all her information on her new device. Angus is our family IT geek and helps wherever and whenever we meet.  

At 5.30 Shelley asked if we'd like to walk on the beach. I mean: is the Pope Catholic! The dogs were first at the gate at the bottom of her garden. This leads to a path through their own natural coastal forest and straight onto the beach.

 Angus, Amanda and Liam exiting the forest path which leads onto the beach

 Shelley and her seven dogs on the beach

 Angus, Amanda, Liam and I enjoying a beautiful stroll on the beach 

 Little Liam was thrilled to see the sea for the first time! 

Our other precious grandchildren were at Debbie and John's home.  A friend from the Berg had motored down immediately she heard about John and took over looking after them while Debbie stayed at the hospital with John. What a special lady. 

Angus and I drove to the hospital in time to visit John between 7 and pm. He looked 100% better than he had when I first saw him that morning. He was sitting up in bed, chatting to the physiotherapist and ordering his tea for after visiting hours. After a lovely hour with the three of us chatting, Angus and I took our leave. We wouldn't be able to see him at 11am the next morning as we needed to get me back to the Berg and Angus and Amanda back to Marquard. 

Back home Shelley served the delicious Moroccan Soup (mine had chickpeas instead of lamb cuts) and was it delicious. Angus completed the work on my laptop and he, Liam and Amanda went off to bed. My BIL had returned from his office and Shell, Charles and I spent until midnight chatting. It was really good to touch base with them again. The last time we'd met, was at Grant's memorial service at the beginning of December last year. 

On Sunday morning we motored up and en route, we stopped off at a retirement village to visit Grant's 80 year-old aunt Gill and her husband, Neville who's 82. We had tea with them and it was great to see them too; the last time was - yes - at Grant's memorial service. 

We arrived at my cottage at 1.30 and after saying goodbye to Angus, Amanda and little Liam, they set off up the hill to the Free State.  I spent the next three hours replying to calls and Whatsapp messages updating concerned friends and family from all other the Valley, South Africa and even in Europe on John's well-being. I also phoned Grant's 89-year-old mum in Marquard to let her know how her favorite grandson was. 

Thandiwe, who'd come in both  days to care for the cats,  Skabenga and Ginger, who was just lay in the bottom of my cupboard, said he was not at all well. When I bent down to stroke the old guy, he looked up at me. His eyes were a lot more sparkly than  they'd been the day before so I felt hopeful that he'd be OK.  However, Thandiwe said that he'd only used the litter tray once and try as she might, he wouldn't take any gravy cuts from her. 

During the night, using the syringe, I squirted electrolytes down his throat. I also managed to get a couple of mls of liver blood mixed with warm milk into him.  This morning I decided to take him back to Ariena, my vet. When I got there, she immediately noted that his tummy (which is very fat and probably saved his life) was hard and bruised. She suggested putting him on a drip to counteract severe dehydration. So Ginger is also in hospital until I collect him tomorrow afternoon. 

If you've read to the end of this post, you'll hear that our son, John is out of ICU; he's in a medical ward and has had several tests for tropical diseases. Being a seaman, he's sailed on many ships across the world and any number of exotic viruses could be lurking in his body. Friends and family across the board have prayed for his recovery - thanks for that. 

I've phoned Debbie's phone and spoke to Eryn. Debbie was out having a run, so hopefully she's also on the mend from her traumatic experience. 

In the background, I always have dear Steve and Estelle. When I told Estelle that I'd have to go down to the coast for two days, she said Steve would be here to man the shop on Saturday and Sunday. What would I do without these supportive friends? 

I hope you're all having a great Tuesday. 

Walking around Winterton

This morning at 7 I arrived at my technical advisor, Clint's house on a small holding outside Winterton. I dropped my car off for repairs which were established when I put it through its COR/ roadworthy test ten days ago. 

Clint drove me back to town and dropped me a the beauty salon where my nail technician, Jessica treated me to a manicure and pedicure. 

 I walked out of Jessica's beauty salon feeling like a million dollars! 

Now... it was 9am and I had three and a half hours to while away. 

On foot...

First I walked up to the automated teller machine to deposit cash from the accommodation which I manage.   This is normally a simple process except that when I checked the "cardless services" screen there was no option to "deposit cash" It was still too early for the agency branch to open so I walked down the main street to the hotel to wash my hands and chat to the receptionist. 

And to while away more time...

Thirty minutes later I walked up the street to the ATM; checked the screen; still no option to "deposit cash" By now the agency office doors were open and I went in. There were two tellers and I was the third customer. Not a bad ratio. Uh-uh. I waited and waited while each respective teller seemed to have problems with the customers standing in front of them. Eventually the man in front of me was finished and I approached the counter. After greeting the young lady behind the grill, I told her the problem at the ATM. She looked at the teller in the booth next to her and asked her to go and sort out the machine. 

By now there was another customer behind me who wanted to deposit cash. So we both trundled outdoors to the ATM. I placed myself in front of the machine while the other man waited behind me. The screen now showed: "being serviced; please be patient"

Oooh! 

I stood back and read all the instructions on how to use this ATM and what services were available. I also read about how you should take great care when using the ATM; don't allow strangers to "assist" you; don't divulge your PIN and so on. The lady teller was inside the booth behind the machine and I could hear her doing things in there but the machine still wasn't working. 

Rather than stand and stare at the screen any longer, I decided to walk down the main street again and pop into our retail clothing outlet called PEP Stores . (if you can, do click on the link) 

It was the day before the start of the school year, so the place was humming with activity. I had all the time in the world, so I collected a pair of rubber gloves and walked to the end of the queue where I struck up a conversation with a young mother and two children waiting their turn. 

Leaving Pep, I stopped off at the local soap shop and had a chat with the proprietor, Benny. Further along the road, I stopped at the farmer's store where I bought fly bait. Living in the center of a dairy farm, and with the hot dry weather, flies are a problem. I don't use poisons but have always found the fly bait trap to be the safest, albeit smelliest, options. 

Arriving back at the bank ATM (remember this is at the top of the main street!), I checked the machine; still being serviced. I walked into the agency where one teller was chatting to the other customer and a third one who'd joined us in a quest to deposit money in the card machine. The other teller appeared from behind a heavy door (which obviously leads into the back of the teller machine where all the money is stored!) and said the machine was operable but there were no slips.

Oooh, er!  I specifically needed a slip. The first teller accompanied me to the ATM and watched while I made the cash deposit. When my transaction was complete, it gave me the option of viewing the amount. She used my smartphone and took a photo of the slip onscreen. It was very vague so she asked me to come indoors and she'd issue me with an old-fashioned written deposit slip which she would date with the bank stamp. 

 The automated bank receipt was far to fuzzy to be of use to me

*Sigh* Finally I had my deposit slip safely in my purse, bid the two ladies farewell, thanking them for their assistance and walked back down the main road. 

Half way down the street, I thought about blogger friend, Sandra (Madsnapper) who often entertains herself and later us on a post with the photos she takes while she's in town. I looked across the street and an rusty old car, covered in succulents and thought I should snap that. Then I remembered that in our travels through town, Grant and I had seen a sign in a back street which said: Wintertown Museum. At the time, we said we should pop in there sometime and check it out. 

We never did  so today I walked right up the main street, around two blocks and came across the museum. The curator was on her way into the garden and said I was welcome to browse and to remember to go upstairs to view more relics. After checking on the Anglo-Boer war display cases and reading the notices about old families who's descendants are still in the area, I climbed the steep steps to the loft above. The first thing I notices was an organ which is operated with bellows. When we were teenagers, my sister, Rose and I used to accompany the congregation on such an organ in a farm church. Succumbing to temptation today, I pumped the bellows and played a few cords. Within seconds a door to my right was flung open and a lady popped her head out. I looked up and said: the organ still plays...

  A bellows-operated organ

 A family tree framed and preserved

 A baby bath and carriage which looks so uncomfortable I was pleased it's outdated!

 I grew up with my mother reading the Woman's Weekly

 Ditto: Butterick patterns. My Mum made my sister and my clothes using these patterns.

 I wasn't sure whether the office lady would pop her head out of the door again and complain because I was taking photos, hence the blurriness of the Singer Sewing Machine - another relic from my childhood

 I remember my paternal Grandmother, Liza being a great fan of Cuticura remedies

 The old bottles made a nice photo op against the light of the window behind them

 I remember my Mum using Gillette's Javel bleach in glass bottles 

 Outside were farm implements from yesteryear and also Zulu huts and other artifacts

 I've lived in Africa for 65 years and never been inside a Zulu hut so I decided today was a good time to start!I'm 5' 4" short and had to bend double to take this photo

By now Clint had messaged me and said he was on his way. I took this photo of the farm machinery before hoofing it back  to the main street where I met Clint with my car 

I sent Estelle a Whatsapp saying I'd probably walked 15 km today. She replied with: Now you can miss three Parkruns! 

I'm linking this post to Our World Tuesday here

HAPPY TUESDAY TO YOU ALL!


 

Moving on...

Hi everyone. As mentioned in Monday's mail, I made a quick trip "up the hill" to Marquard. On Tuesday morning John and Eryn arrived in Debbie's vehicle towing a large trailer. They picked me up at 2.35am. 

Driving in the dark, the distance is eaten up  and before you know it, you've reached your destination.  

A stop/go road repair section of the regional road leading to Marquard

Early morning in the main street of Marquard - not a soul to be seen!

A strong sense of nostalgia as we drove into Angus and Amanda's yard. Grant and I owned this house for 17 years; it was our home-from-home base when we came out on break from Africa

 

Early mornings were always special while we lived here; I'd take Eddy and Skabenga for a walk on the golf course and Rina would sit on this patio drinking her first cup of coffee

What was our entertainment area, is now a formal lounge and dining room

Little Liam was the first awake when he heard us arriving. Here he looks at me wondering if he should come forward or not!

Moi with half of my precious grandchildren: Eryn, Joel, Abby and Liam. This littlest Hedges will be three tomorrow! 

After enjoying the packed sandwiches I'd made for the trip with coffee which Amanda made us, we set off into town. We had an appointment to see Flip, the General Manager of the retirement center where my mother-in-law lives in a unit Grant had had built for her in 2014.  I wanted to sort out some red-tape involved in owning this unit now that Grant had passed. In the streets, I was met by several people wanted to commiserate with me. 

Then it was off to the retirement center with a bag of goodies for MIL. Pam (Grant's mother, John and Angus' grandmother and Eryn and her siblings and cousins' great-grandmother) is still physically capable of caring for herself in this care-assisted establishment. However, we could see that Grant's death had affected her terribly and she'd aged since Grant and I visited her in July last year. While it's indescribable to explain how it feels to lose your life partner of five decades, it's not natural to lose a child; even if you are 90. 

Here I have to give a bit of backstory and explain about Pam and funerals. Where she lives in an old-age center, death, funerals and memorial services are the order of the day. And the oldies all attend these: partly out of respect for the recently deceased; partly for something to do and also for the tea and eats that are laid on afterwards. MIL does NOT attend these events. Grant passed away on the Monday night and instead of me phoning Pam, Angus and Amanda went to see her early the next morning.  After Angus had broken the news to her, she said "Well, don't expect me to attend his funeral.  I want to remember him as he was. In any case I never go to funerals." 

As you can imagine, there were many phone calls between family members during the week leading up to Grant's memorial. Grant's aunt, Gill who is Pam's younger sister, kept Pam in the loop by telling her what was happening. On Thursday evening my SIL, Shelley told Pam about the private burial Grant's children had had for him on the farm. Unbeknown to me, Pam took umbrage to this and complained to Gill that she was not included in her own son's funeral.  

When John and I visited on Tuesday, we sensed the bitterness and our hearts went out to her. John and I told her everything about Grant's burial and his memorial service. Although she seemed as if she wasn't taking it all in, I think she'll be able to process it later now she's heard it directly from us. 

After this we drove up to where my furniture is stored. There we were met by John - my old garden partner and Jacob who'd assisted Grant in his workshop after we'd returned to South Africa in 2015 - who helped John load the heavy furniture.

As usual it's so very, very difficult to find things in a jam-packed storage space. I had made a list of the smaller items I knew I had in crates but never found a single thing. Eryn loved going through the boxes - she kept saying: "Oh cool, Gran, I love this; I love finding things I remember from your old home".  Eryn is our oldest granddaughter and while I lived in Marquard alone (with Grant working up in West Africa), she'd spend many a day with me. So while we were searching and trying to find things, she and I reminisced about earlier days!

Finally the trailer was loaded; Debbie's vehicle was filled with pillows, duvets and a few small items, and we were ready to go. 

 David (left) and John at the front on top of the trailer. My trusty Sotho men from Marquard. They were shocked to hear that tate-maholo / grandfather,  had passed since we last saw them

John drove the vehicle and trailer back into town so that I could say hi to Rina where she manages a novelty and gift shop. I hadn't told her I was in town and when I knocked on the window into her office, she almost fainted. Being Rina, she rushed out, shouting my name and fell on my neck! Then my SIL, Cecelia (Amanda's mom) arrived in the parking lot. So John had to put up with three women having a quick catch-up chat in the street! I had to promise I would visit for longer the next time I came up!

The drive home was pleasant and uneventful. Steve sent me a photo of the display he'd set up on the veranda (I usually had the table on the other side) while looking after the shop for me

 I sent Steve photos of the view as we were driving "down the hill" from the Free State to Kwa-Zulu Natal

 My heart swelled as we approached KZN ; I was going home to the place where I was settling and of course, where Grant is laid to rest  


We arrived  a ten to three, after 12 hours on the road! Ronnie sent two Zulu ladies to help us unload the fridges, small stove, patio set and several boxes. 

The silver fridge is mine brought from Marquard. Grant had given it to Steve and Estelle to replace their shack's fridge which was playing up. In front of it is Collette's retro fridge which she lent me when I moved into the cottage

My main fridge which I will use . Eryn cleaned off the marks made by the fridge magnets and replaced them

A three-plate table top stove and oven which I'd had in storage. For now it's sufficient for my needs (see my roasted veg in the oven. The saucepan on top has steamed greens! 

So there we have it: I've moved in and am happy with what I have.

Musing about the trip, got to thinking about where I'm at now. It was incredible, but as I sat in Flip's office and later when I went into the cafe which we'd patronized for 22 years and chatted to old friends up in Marquard,  I realized that although Grant and I had spent  many special years in this town, I no longer felt part of it. 

I had moved on....

HAPPY THURSDAY TO YOU ALL! 

Christmas critters

On Thursday I was at our local repair garage and photographed these kittens in the reception area.

The owner's wife, Annelize told me she had had four of them; she raised them with bottles and has found homes for two of them.

I would've loved to have taken these two...

The female ginger cat

The little brother ginger cat 

Driving home yesterday, I stopped on the farm road to snap this beautiful scene below...

Isn't it precious? 

I'm linking to Saturday Critters here

We've moved!

Yesterday, two weeks after the sudden death of my husband, Grant, the dog, Skabenga, four cats and I moved. Not into the cottage which Grants was project managing for the landlady. (that was to be a husband/wife situation and occupation) but to a totally new place.

Farmer friends, John (younger brother of my Parkrun partner, Anthony) and Ronnie offered me their little cottage on their farm.

Soon I'll have more photos of the indoors (which looks like a train smash at the moment) and the lovely spacious garden which the animals will romp around in.

Meanwhile, the cats are staying indoors and Shadow is facing-off the pack of  large black dogs in the garden next door! 

 Shadow dozing on the windowsill keeping an eye on the rowdly black dogs next door! 

 Aah, they've gone to bed - the watch cat can relax! 

 This morning Shadow was at his post again. Ambrose took a quick look then jumped down ! 

Shadow the self-appointed guard 

I'm linking to Our World Tuesday here

HAPPY TUESDAY TO YOU ALL!