Glencairn | Diary of an Adventurous Retiree

Today Lolz turned 35! And I still call her Baby. Yesterday she decided that she would like to have a small gathering of family to celebrate with a Champagne Breakfast. Sooo it was up bright and early to get the show on the road! I made three batches of no carb quiches from a recipe somebody shared on Facebook. Most of them turned out well but some did not want to pop out perfectly!

Laurie and Josh were at the shops just after opening time, Shannon and I prepared the table and all we had to do then was make the fruit salad and arrange the platters- a wonderfully easy way to entertain.

The Birthday Girl with her pressies

Aunt Glynis, Me, Lolz

Uncle Ian, Sisters – Lisa and Lauren

Table set and ready

Croissants, Ham and Cheeses, Fruit Salad, Muesli, Yogurt and Muffins and the quiches were on the menu

Granny Bates, Lisa, Josh (hidden) Dad (Earl), Shannon, Simon, Uncle Ian, Dad (Duncan)

Dad (Duncan), Aunt Glynis, Lolz

Drinking pink champagne

I did not manage to get a good photograph of Laurie with her grandmother so I am posting one taken in October. Enid still lives in the house that she’s called home since she was first married. And she maintains it and the garden immaculately without help.

Granny Bates (93) and Laurie (35)

The wind was howling again in our neck of the woods but our pool area is sheltered so the kids spent most of the time in and out of the water this afternoon. Some of the adults in the household snoozed off the effects of breakfast while others did some necessary chores.

I did the preparations for supper and then Lauren, Allan, Earl and I went off to Dixie’s for sundowners. The wind was so strong we could barely open the car doors and the sea was turbulent. We ordered our drinks and then shared two starters – chicken livers and bitter bolletjies – which are what I always knew as Dutch Croquettes. In the past the latter were served at Dixie’s in a sausage shape. Bitter bolletjies are little meat balls and equally delicious. They can be made with fresh veal or leftover chicken or turkey.

The Parents

Lauren and Allan enjoying the Cape Town Lifestyle

After a pleasant hour or so we returned to cook the Bobotie and feed the rest of the starving family. Simon declared that he only wanted a little – “I’m not that hungry, Gran.” He wolfed that down and then decided it was quite nice and had twice as much for his second helping!

Everyone was pretty tired so it was early to bed!

Yesterday the kids went to visit Aunt Carol and Uncle Vere at Castle Rock. Earl and I decided to have a quiet day at home. We went to the mall to do some necessary shopping and to have breakfast. It was busy everywhere but we bumped into my cousin, Susan at Mugg and Bean chatted to her and Andy for a while and then took over their table.

Here are the pictures of the kids’ day at Castle Rock.

At the braai

Sugarbird at the feeder

The fire

Sunbird at the feeder

Today they visited Anneline and Jeffrey. Earl went to sort out a problem with the repeater in Somerset West and I got the urge to tidy kitchen cupboards!

In the afternoon Lauren, the kids and I climbed Elsie’s Peak. I have climbed this mountain more times than I can remember – as a child, with my Sun Valley Grade Four class many years ago, with the boys when they were Cubs. I remember it as an easy stroll along a contour path. When the boys were little I rode bikes with them, hiked with them and always enjoyed the challenge of keeping up with their antics. Now that they are in their teens …… the pace seems to have increased somewhat. Those kids ran up Ravine Stairs! ( I should have stuck to the original plan of parking outside my sister’s house on Berg Road!) They then leapt up the mountain like Klipspringers! Lauren and I found ourselves separated from them and took a slightly different route. Jay called on the cell to tell us we’d taken the wrong route. We told them to just wait and went up Elsies thinking they were already there. But they were waiting on a different path and we only met up on our way down. The kids then ran up Elsies and we waited for them before making the descent. Anyway it was tremendous fun. But I did freak out when they leapt and ran instead of taking care. “Gran, you can do it – just plan which rock you’re going to jump on next and go for it,” suggested Jay” Yes right!

I wanted to climb up onto a rock I remembered doing as a child and Josh led the way through the bush – but on the way back I slipped and fell, grazing my knee! I’ve reached the stage that I just need to stick to the path!