Hello All.

No walk this morning.
A tiny bit of rain.
And no time.

Wendy and I left for the hospital at 6:30am.
Oh my word.
Traffic,traffic,traffic.
From every damn direction.
I,eventually,dropped Wendy at ten past eight.
Then headed back into the traffic.
I got to work at twenty to nine.
Instead of seven thirty.
Thank heavens my boss was understanding.
At four o’clock I have to do it all in reverse.
Not going backwards,you understand.
Of course you understand.

Then I see in the news that the preferred candidate for the top job of COO(chief operating officer)for the South African Broadcasting Corporation is a guy without even a high school diploma.
And very little experience.
Who lied about having a diploma when he joined the SABC.
An organisation with a 4.7BILLION rand turnover.
The fact that he is a pal of our president is,of course, totally irrelevant!!!!

AND gas is going up tomorrow night by 32 cents a litre.
The guy who does these calculations probably doesn’t have a matric certificate either.

AND…this morning I went into the bedroom and,in a nice tone of voice,asked the granddaughter if she was getting up.
She flounced.
I have never used the word flounce.
But she flounced.
And asked “what sort of question is that?”
I REALLY don’t like teenagers.
I think her father can have her back.
Until she is at least thirty.
And then I will try again.

AND the frigging fingerprint machine keeps telling me(in an American female accent) to please try again.
I am going to do her a serious injury soon.

That is enough AND’S.
I want to go to bed and get this day behind me.

Hope you are all having a MUCH better day.

Hello All.

Jasmine and I were down at the beach at seven this morning.
It was already hot.

There were no clouds.
No wind.
No seals.
No whales.
No dolphins.
No dead fish.

There were happy dogs.
Several people.
A couple of surfers(as there were very few waves I don’t know what they were doing there)
A rather strange smell.
Which I couldn’t pinpoint.
And our usual stunning scenery.
Aren’t you guys getting sick and tired of the same darn photos?

I’ll take my camera when I go to fetch Wendy just now.
Take some shots of the parking garage at the airport.
Just by way of a change.

Supper went well.
I love the friends who came round.
Which is why I invited them.

I tried a new recipe for red cabbage.
Done in the oven.
It was tasty.
And a little crispy in parts.
Which I think was wrong.
I checked on it and found the bits of onion were burning slightly.
And it looked dry.
So I tossed in a glass of wine.
And it perked right up.
Wine has that effect on me too.

Oh yes….the wish list.
Almost forgot.
It is granddaughter’s 18th birthday on the 1st.
She left a wish list lying around.
Right next to where I sit at the computer.
The kid is not subtle.

A car…..in your dreams girl.
A Blackberry…also very doubtful.
A scooter….see number one.(unless it is a push one)
Money….a real possibility.
A tattoo….over my dead body.

She tells me ALL her friends are getting cars.
ALL HER FRIENDS.
If that is true(which I doubt) she needs to get new friends.
Or a rich Dad.
A very rich Dad.
Who can support me too!

Hope you are all having a great weekend.

Hello All.

This was the sight that greeted me on my way home from work,yesterday.
My heart just sank.
Especially as the wind was blowing the fire towards home.
And the wind was strong.
Fortunately, there is no sign of it today.
The helicopters must have done a good job.

So….why do I need a straitjacket?
The grandkids and I cleaned house today.
I mean REALLY cleaned.
Toothebrushes in all the crevices.
I was exhausted.

It is now five o’clock and it is still 28degrees in the lounge.
The sweat is dripping off me.
I have friends coming for supper.
I am doing a roast with all the trimmings.
Someone come and take me away.
An air conditioned padded cell sounds very good right now.

Wendy arrives tomorrow.
Her last chemo treatment.
I forgot to tell my boss I might be a little late for work.
He probably won’t notice.
I will have to drop her off at the hospital before work.
Then my good friend down here will fetch her.
I will pick her up again after work.
I am looking forward to seeing her.
Love her to the sky and back.

A pic from the other morning.
I haven’t been for a beach walk today.

On a more serious note.
Why is tough love so painful?
I know I have to do it to my Grandson.
Or he will never amount to anything.
But it is killing me.

And now I must go and have a cold shower.
And cook.

Sigh.

 

Hello All.

I have discovered that I can go in for a life of crime.
How cool is that?

Our company has gone the finger print method for security and timekeeping.
They installed the equipment today.
My guys are the guinea pigs.
My fingerprints were also taken.
To show support.

They battled to get a reading on my prints.
Could only get the thing to read 75%
The technician looked at my fingers.
Said they are very smooth.
I must have worked very hard.
Yeah right.
They eventually got a better reading but I think I know what the problem is.
Can you guess?

Yep….I reckon my finger nails are so long they won’t fit onto the scanner properly.
I did intend to cut them this weekend.
However,now I am being stubborn.
I wonder if only 75% of me needs to come to work?

I was bored at lunchtime so I wandered outside a took a couple of shots.
I am really going to miss the incredible work enviroment I have here.

I didn’t know I loved mountains until I moved to Cape Town.
In fact…getting my first digital camera changed my whole perception of the beauty around me.
I now,constantly, see my surroundings in terms of what sort of shot they will make.

On the way to the theatre we spotted the queen Mary in the harbour.
It would have been a wonderful shot to take.
I wanted to stop so badly.
Don’t think the other drivers on the highway would have agreed.

The above shot is from Google.
Have I broken the law?
Hope not.

Now I have a couple of things to do before heading off to fetch the granddaughter.
And unwinding for the weekend.

Have a great weekend you lot.

Hello All.

A “yesterday” picture.
No walk this morning.
Because it was blowing a gale.
And I was too busy hitting the snooze button.
If I thought I was tired yesterday then today I am exhausted.

I went to fetch DIL at about twenty to seven.
The theatre is nearly an hour’s drive.
If you get lost a couple of times.
Which we did.
We had both had bad nights the night before.
Neither of us really felt like going.
But the tickets were expensive.
So we did.

Menopause the Musical.
It was brilliant.
I laughed from beginning to end.
Was very glad I had made a trip to the loo before the show.
I don’t think the woman in from of me was so lucky.

The cast consisted of four women.
Four normal women.
None of them in the first flush of youth.
Two of them quite plump.
One not so plump but with a fairly substantial butt.
And one who was stick thin.
People like you and me.
Except for the skinny one.
There is always that one!!!

The one who impressed me the most was Delia Sainsbury.
I googled her this morning.
The woman is 70 years old.
SEVENTY!!!!
She danced and sang and had me in stitches.
SEVENTY.
God I would love to meet her.
She is my new hero.

And on that note I shall leave you.
Have a laugh filled day.

 

 

Hello All.
It is official.
The days are getting shorter.
Already.
Something feels wrong.
These pics were taken at five to six in the morning.
And the sun hadn’t popped over the mountain yet.

I must say I love the early morning pinks.

Grandson went for the interview.
Something to do with web design.
They said they will call him tomorrow to arrange a training day.
See what he is capable of.
I have a sneaking feeling this could be a commission only job.
Hope I am wrong.
He needs to have a salary.
Even if it isn’t great.

I was ready to kill him by the time we finished shopping.
He ended up buying a pair of slacks.
Which he hates.
Says they are old men pants.
Which they aren’t.
I wanted to get him a pair of Chinos.
Well, I THINK that is what they are called.
But he is so used to wearing those horrible skinny jeans that he just felt the Chinos were too baggy.
He looks “normal” in the slacks.
Obviously, “normal” is not what he likes.
What happened to the sweet loving kid I brought up?
I miss him.

While on the subject of strange looking creatures….this one was on the beach this morning.
I have seen them before and posted pics but maybe not on this forum.
Looks like the fish has lost half his body.
But that is the whole deal.
Minus the eyeballs.

If he hadn’t been covered in insects I would have taken him home.
Told the grandkids it was for supper.
Revenge would have been so sweet.
Do you get the feeling I don’t much like either of them at the moment?
Good thing I love them.

I had a rotten night last night.
I was walking around the house at some godforsaken time.
Tonight my DIL and I are off to some musical show.
Which promises to be very good.
If I can stay awake.

Mwah

Hello All.
Another weekend pic.
It was raining last evening.

So…why am I in a rush?
A bit of background.
As you know Mex is away visiting his daughter.
Grandson is with me.
So is granddaughter.

G.son has a job interview tomorrow.
G.son has no clothes to wear.
Well, he does have clothes.
Only, I don’t consider skinny jeans suitable interview attire.
G.daughter has to be fetched from school.
Then we have to race home.
Where I will drop her off.
And pick him up.
Then seven kms back to the mall.
We will have about thirty minutes to buy trousers,a shirt and shoes.
There is not a teenager alive who can buy all those things in half an hour.
I might just head butt him into action.

This interview is so important for him.
I have accepted the job in Port Elizabeth.
We leave in early May.
I need to know he will be ok.

I will tell you about my plans tomorrow.
Or maybe later tonight.

Now I need to rush.

Hello All.

Yes, I am a happy Granny.
It has been raining nearly all day.
Lovely heavy cool rain.
The temperature is a manageable 25 degrees.
I can do 25 degrees.
I cannot do 35 degrees.
My brain ceases to function.

It was too hot to blog on Saturday.
The above pic was taken before eight in the morning on Saturday.
It was already unpleasantly warm.
I mooched around most of the day.
And sweated.
I did manage a nap.
With the fan blowing on me.
But it didn’t help much.

Yesterday I took Mex to the airport.
Never underestimate the intelligence of cats.
Tom never sleeps on my bed when Mex is home.
Last night he was on my bed before I even got there.
The animal knew he wasn’t around.
Probably watched him packing.
And thought Uh Huh.
Jasmine also slept in my room but on the floor.

On my way back from the airport I had to go to Simonstown.
I was having lunch with the friend who took me to Swaziland.
I hit traffic.
Although it was drizzling people were flocking to the beaches.
So I took a couple of photos with the small camera.
From the car.
Something different for a change.

This is St.James.
It is usually packed.
I am sure the water is very warm.
And not from the sun.
Eeuuuwwwwwwww.

Then I saw this church.
Well, I have often seen it but yesterday I had a good look at it.
It was built in 1859.
It is older than me.
I rather like it.

A lot of the houses in the area are built with that stone.
They must be lovely and cool in summer.
This particular area looks just like it did when I was a girl.
Some things never change.
Wish I could say the same about me.

I could carry on chatting about nothing much but I have an audit tomorrow.
Yes, ANOTHER one.

Hello All.

No walk today.
My apologies to those folk who go for a virtual walk with me.
It was drizzling.
You know…that wet stuff that falls gently from the sky.
It is still overcast but the forecast is for 29degrees.
When the clouds lift the humidity is going to be something awful.
No need to be concerned about Jasmine…Grandson is about to take her for a walk.

They were chatting about a new game that has come out on the radio this morning.
It is installed in toilets.
So that men can have peeing competitions.
Games that incorporate the force of the flow.
And accuracy.
In a nutshell….therein lies the difference between men and women.
This old girl can just shake her head in amazement.
And all you guys are saying…WOW!!!!

Later.

I have just been outside.
I was right.
I usually am.
We are going to cook tonight.
Talking about cooking.
I have not given supper a thought.
Darn.

Talking about darn.
Do people still darn socks?
I don’t.
I used to.
When Noah was still a boy.
We used a light bulb to keep the shape.
I seem to remember that darned socks were darn uncomfortable.

I am beginning to ramble.
So I will just ramble off now.

 

Hello All.

So….I get down to the beach and spot this guy.
A fair distance from the water edge.
I, very carefully, made my way passed him.
Seals have been known to bite the nose off well meaning idiots.
Ones who go up to them and say “awwww….cute….arghhhhhhhhh”

Jasmine went up to investigate.
I wasn’t too concerned.
She is not aggressive.
And she is a bit of a coward.
She and the seal eyeballed each other but she didn’t go too close.
When I walked off she realised I was getting too far to help her if she got into trouble and she bounded after me.

I spoke to a woman higher up the beach and mentioned the seal.
Oh yes, she said casually.
They come onto the beach to die.
I felt a bit sad.
I sat on my thinking rock and wondered if seals do know they are going to die.
Like the wizards on Discworld.
The wizards know the exact time of their death.
And heaven help Death if he is late.

Walking back I couldn’t see the seal.
So I thought she was wrong and he had just come for a visit.
And I felt happier.
Then I got closer.

And he had,indeed,expired.
And I felt sad again.
Talk about an emotional rollercoaster.
At six in the morning.
Before I had even had coffee.

And the heatwave continues.
Last night was marginally more bearable.
And this morning it was positively chilly on the beach.
I reveled in the coolness.
Mother nature was just playing mind games with me.
It is another scorcher today.
And, upcountry they are having floods!

My apple farmer friend was telling me that,when the weather gets this hot,the apple trees shut down.
Go into self defence mode.
And the apples stop growing.
How interesting.

This morning I went to my boss with a strange problem that had cropped up on our system.
He got so involved he forgot the management meeting.
First time ever.
I told him he can thank me later.
I also told him the meeting probably went a lot quicker without him there.
I love the fact that I can make career limiting comments!!!

Now…I need coffee!