The big SEVEN OH!

 Born on Friday 13th February 1953! 

Mmm...

That makes today my 70th birthday! And I've been blessed out of my boots!

On Saturday, when my boss, Mary arrived at Janda's Weigh-Less venue, she brought with her a huge bouquet of flowers (in a vase) with a personalized card signed by everyone at Weigh-Less HO. 

Flowers and card for my birthday! 

The card has beautiful messages from all at Head Office! 

Today I will be in the farm office for a while, then I am taking Skabby to the vet for a checkup. He needs to have the bandage removed from his foot. I intend to ask the vets to prescribe another course of cortisone as this will help ease the itch and irritation which causes him to scratch. 

On Tuesday I am hosting a luncheon at a local eatery called Waffle Hut. The owner is a Weigh-Less Goal Weight member and will do the catering.  40 of my members are attending a Weigh-Less meeting with a difference. We will weigh in before dinner; two Winterton members are making speeches and a third member from the Valley will speak a blessing over me and say grace before our meal. 

My DIL, Amanda designed the invitation...

HAVE A GREAT MONDAY! 

Travel and training

💥💬 Good evening, dear Blogger friends. Thank you for your kind concern for Skabby. He has improved quite a bit. However, I was away from home for four days. Although Thandi used the medical spray and powder on his wounds; Ronnie and John, my neighbors kept a close watch on his condition, I am sure he suffers from separation anxiety. I could see that he had scratched the one area badly again. And being home with him last night, it already improved. 

The reason for my trip away from home was to travel to the city of Pietermaritzburg to recruit Weigh-Less Group Leaders which had emerged from my Virtual Weigh-Less Group over the past year. 

What a challenge and what great excitement! I am a Weigh-Less Group Leader myself. The Chairman of Weigh-Less had offered me a Team Leader position in the company, but I prefer to remain a Group Leader. The co

For the first time in 12 months, I DROVE down the National Road, N3. A terribly dangerous freeway. It is bumper to bumper huge trucks; and being the lifeline between Johannesburg and Durban, our harbor city on the Indian Ocean, has hundreds of sedans, pickup trucks, mini buses and more traveling this route. 

But...

I, a real country bumpkin, completed the journey safely and managed to do what I set out to do in Pietermaritzburg.

I first collected my Group Leader, Dalene from Howick and we travelled to Pietermaritzburg together.

I started training Janda, Carey and Dalene from 9am; we broke for a salad lunch; continued afterwards and completed training at 3pm

Dalene and I travelled back to Howick (30km up the hill!) and I launched her with her first meeting at 5.30pm

I had medical appointments for my annual checkups, on Thursday. I stayed with Grant's aunt, Gill who knows everything that has happened to me in the past five years. She accompanied me to the appointments and afterwards we spent the morning at the shopping mall.

On Saturday I travelled back to Pietermaritzburg to launch Janda's first meeting. We were thrilled that the Chairman and founder of Weigh-Less, Mary Holroyd attended this meeting. 

The new Group Leader, Janda, successfully delivered her first message with Mary Holroyd looking on

I arrived home on the farm at 2pm on Saturday. 

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL! 

HAPPY SUNDAY TO YOU ALL! 

WELL!!!

What can I say? I have not posted on Blogger for two months and man, do I miss it and all my Blogger friends?

As always, I have been busy, but I intend to blog more regularly this year.

I had a WONDERFUL holiday season with my accommodation during November and December and guess what, it's not letting up for January through March either. 

 I am going great guns at Parkrun with five to go to reach my 100th milestone. 

Christmas Eve was the start of the heatwave. Although Skabby and I donned the required festive adornments, we both suffered badly in the heat

Meanwhile we have had a severe heatwave in South Africa and my poor Skabby is suffering. Athough he was shaved and groomed at the beginning of December, a week before Chrisstmas he developed a hotspot the about 5cm in diameter. No matter what I applied, the hotspot got bigger. 

I took him to the vet and then the injections, medicines, cortisone started. I applied pharmacy bought mercurochrome spray and gentian violet to the raw areas. The vet ordered Sulphur powder (priced like gold dust!) and this started to help. But Skabby kept licking and scratching the wounds. 

The vets would phone me before the weekend to ask how Skabby was getting on. I know I was, by now, a welcome cash cow to the veterinary business, but I found it touching that they actually cared...

My answer was always the same: it seems a little better, but he is licking and scratching the areas. 

Finally, last Tuesday I took him to the vet while I was running my Weigh-Less groups in Winterton. He injected Skabby with a "hotspot" injection, prescribed an antibiotic specifically meant for skin irritations and fitted the doggie with a cone. 

Mmm

Poor boy. 

All the older cats scattered as they saw this strange apparition. 

Except Georgie...

Never mind, Unca Skabby, I will stay and care for you!

Yesterday, I left Skabby at home and went to the Parkrun on my own. He sat and howled like a baby at the gate: a really pathetic sight of a sad dog with a plastic cone around his neck! I felt absolutely lost not to be dragged around the 5km track, and everyone who saw me, asked where my dog was.

I just have to get him better...

On 30 December, my brother, Philip turned 75. I joined him and friends for a lovely luncheon at a neighbor's home.

Philip and me on his 75th

Philip was the kind person who took 12-year-old Papa in when the owner of a local lifestyle center wanted to euthanize him.

This month Papa has been with Philip for a year - the best forever home a cat could wish for

Philip's other car, Cat has accepted Papa as if he has been there forever.\

Back home the felines thrive, and Georgie is getting cuter by the minute

Inexpensive and simple...

.

...are toys which delight an active kitten!

MAY YOU ALL ENJOY A WONDERFUL SUNDAY