Struisbaai Holiday Day 8 Die Vet Viets Vriende depart

2012-12-22 | puppy1952

Before I launch into today’s news – some more pictures from last night.

Three delicious Weber Chickens for supper

My name is Cloete – Riaan Cloete – our 007 doing a good job of the washing up

Nico doing a creative job of the drying up.

It was a late night again last night and for some reason my back was giving me trouble – I badly need my back guru but he is 250km away! I might have to resort to a local chiropractor or physio-therapist if it doesn’t improve.

The Fabulous Fat Fiets Friends were up before us and started preparing for the final ride to Bredasdorp and as far as they could get toward Swellendam as Francois’ dad would come with a trailer to collect them at 12 noon. It was surprising cool this morning with thick cloud cover and a chill breeze blowing – lovely conditions for cycling but not good for fishing so Earl’s plans in that regard were cancelled.

The kids made coffee and had rusks and seed loaf for breakfast

Having a quick breakfast before the final cycle

It was still cool when the kids headed off but the cloud cover was almost gone and it looked like the day would warm up.

And off they go

Farewell Amazing Amiable Awesome Adventurers

We felt quite flat once our new young friends and cycled off in the distance. The house was eerily quiet and so I turned the Christmas C.D. up loud. Earl gave me a quick back massage and I then took a long hot bath. He went off to do some chores and at 9:30 I went for a leg wax.

On my return I wanted to tidy the house and asked Earl to check the vacuum cleaner which hasn’t been used for centuries. It was ‘stukkend’ and even my Maguiver husband could not fix it. So we dashed off to Bredasdorp to purchase a new one – a necessary appliance, I think, if you are going to spend more than a weekend at the house. We found just the right thing in 10 minutes flat. When we got back into the car Earl said, I just want to drive down the road a bit to see how far the kids have got. He did some calculations and guessed that they would be about 15km from Bredasdorp toward Swellendam. “They would have had breakfast at the Wimpy and then hit the road,” he said. And he was right – we found them loading their bikes onto Francois’ dad’s trailer. It was great to meet Mnr Potgieter. “I bet you’re glad to be rid of them,” he joked. “Now they’re my problem!”

The kids had been most relieved to meet Papa before they had a steep hill to climb and the temperature had risen to 32ºC.

Last Goodbye

Marianda, Kathrin, Riaan, Time, Nico, Francois

Marianda, Kathrin, Riaan, Tim, Nico, Francois

Cheers Guys and a bright, happy and adventurous future to you all

To all reading this blog – Nico in addition to being a brand new Architect is also a member of a band called Streets of December – Look out for his CD. Good luck in your musical career too, Nico.

We waved our friends goodbye then headed back to Struisbaai. We stopped, of course, to snap at least one bird.

Juvenile Jackal Buzzard

Because of my back pain and lack of sleep the past two nights I decided to have what my aunt calls a Nana Nap” and didn’t wake up until 6 pm! Earl put the new vacuum together and cleaned the house then cooked mielies which we had with left over chicken for supper!

Tomorrow the family arrive – so more fun and games to follow in the next few days!

I’m upside down at 60!

2012-11-21 | puppy1952

Not so long ago, when I was a sweet young thing, I thought 60 was old. All the 60 year-olds I knew complained of sore knees, backs and shoulders. They discussed their ailments and operations at every social gathering and groaned when they got up from a sitting or lying position. They all had grey hair, were pleasantly plump and seemed content that the end of their days were drawing nigh. Conversations with them were always interesting as they reminisced about the ‘good old days’ None of them jogged, rode bicycles or went to gym. Few worked, all had grandchildren and nobody’s kids still lived at home.

I think that somewhere along the line I’ve lost count of the years. I know that I’m turning 60 tomorrow because I was born in 1952 – but how did 1992 to 2012 flash by so quickly? I till feel like I’m 40 and I think still live my life like a 40 year old.

I should start acting my age – but instead what do I do? Kicking and screaming I drag myself off to a personal trainer twice a week. The idea is to keep my back from caving in and ensuring the joints and muscles don’t seize up. Gentle exercise is what I expected. It all started innocently enough and was nothing like the variety of activities that I’d tried before – from Jane Fonda aerobics and feeling the burn to gym circuits, cycling and jogging. None of these hectic activities can compare to what I put myself through now with a personal trainer who has worked miracles with me – no more back pain, no aches in my joints – which is why I keep going. But really isn’t it a little inelegant for a girl my age to be hanging upside down on unstable rings, doing pikes on a stability ball and playing slam dunk with a ball that doesn’t bounce. Should I be skipping rope like a 7 year-old, exhausting myself doing burpies and straining my aging brain with manoeuvres that require a dancer’s co-ordination?

How inelegant is this

Is this even safe?

I’m being brainwashed that it is all good for me. All this exercise – as weird as it is and honestly I never know what crazy thing I’m going to be required to do next – is supposed to prevent Alzheimer’s, increase bone density and prevent all sort of other things that make you old.

Well maybe it is working because once a young man – a very young man – said he couldn’t believe I was older than his mother. “You have a personal trainer, don’t you?” he guessed.

So tomorrow I will proudly turn 60, grateful that I still have the energy to help raise a family, have a career that I love and indulge in my outdoor passions.

Thanks to my excellent hairdresser for preventing my hair from revealing my true age, my personal trainer for keeping me fit and my family and friends for giving me emotional stability because really its that, which really keeps me feeling young.