Posts

Posted on

Aaaah, Africa…

My brother and sister-in-law are visiting my lovely man and I from the States. We are spending some time together in Zimbabwe.

My brother has not been back to Zimbabwe for 40 years. His lovely wife has never been to Zimbabwe.

Last week we were in Victoria Falls. What a place. Nothing is too much trouble for the people there. The whole town and surroundings are geared to make your experience exceptional. And it was.

And of course, there is the falls, and the river. The Zambezi. Touches your soul the Zambezi.

In case you didn’t know…

“The Zambezi River is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa.”

And now we have a few days in Kariba. Another special place. Again….. the Zambezi…. this time with a lake. Hot in Kariba. Even at this time of the year, the start of summer.

When you spend time in places like this, you realise again how very, very hard it is to leave Africa. How much there is to appreciate.

And here I am. With people I not only love, but I really like.

My cup people, runneth over.

Posted on

Oops, I didn’t hear you

My lovely man can’t hear when I let off a quietish fart.

This has been a fairly liberating revalation.

There are few advantages to having a hard of hearing lovely man. This has to be the biggest.

I’m not a fan of farting. You know, us ladies just don’t. Or we don’t admit to it. And I really don’t appreciate it when others fart near me.

But the truth is we all break wind. Apparently 10 to 20 times a day.

And then… You know, he feeds me lentils regularly. It’s not easy people.

So, I’ve become a bit too casual about the whole thing.

As it turns out, my sister-in-law is not hard of hearing.

Posted on

Yes, my suitcase is ready

My brother and sister in law are visiting from the States for a bit. Aren’t I the luckiest?

So we are away for a few days.

Does your lovely man hover around you as soon as you start packing, requesting if he can close up the suitcase yet?

Now that we are here he is watching me eye the lovely towels, gowns and pillows. Hotels always have great pillows don’t they?

Don’t you dare take anything he warned me, we know these people. They’ll come and find their stuff at our house and then I’ll never be invited to play golf with them again.

What a killjoy.

Also, my little panties I am washing in the shower (as we do, tell me I’m not alone here), are disappearing. Any suggestions on how to broach this at reception?

Posted on

Is it a bird…..

We flew recently. Yes, like on a plane.

It was a fairly early morning flight, so I was hoping for a nice fresh bacon and egg roll.

Expectations, they’ll keep you miserable.

We got a snack box.

Immediately my lovely man identified the snack box boxes as being potential rat box boxes. Once you are a pest control officer, it’s amazing how you see a rat box in everything.

Can you fit them in your bag he asked.

I actually have an enormous, very heavy handbag. And this, I have realised, is why.

Can you put this in your bag… Is the soundtrack to my life.

Nevertheless, I once again I realised how wonderfully balanced my lovely man and I are.

He didn’t fancy his energy bar, I took his for the team.

I didn’t want my apple juice, he drank both.

He didn’t fancy the biltong stick packet, I helped him out.

He didn’t think much of the little packet of cheddar biscuits…….

Yes, I too have realised I ate everything the revolting snack box offered. He’s hydrated, I’m a dried out prune.

Posted on

What’s that on your face?

I am at the age of greying hair. I am uncertain as to how grey I am, as I regularly colour my hair.

A number of friends have taken the bold step of allowing the grey, and they all look fantastic. I am not yet this courageous. It’s a bit of a process I believe. My hair grows like a weed and I have a lot of it, so I have to colour regularly. Box colour, full disclosure, I am not glam.

The problem with colour is it gets on your face. You have to be quite diligent about wiping it off carefully when you first apply the colour. Or it stains, of course, in places you don’t want to colour.

Today I failed.

It’s easier to get colour off your skin (it’s not built to colour your skin I guess), but I have a fluffy face. I am grateful, as I age, that unlike my lovely man, my ear and nose hair are not aggressively increasing (what’s with that anyway? Why?). But, my already fluffy face is coming out in force.

I’m like a little Alpaca. A chubby one.

Hair, is what hair colour is meant to colour as it turns out.

So, now I have red sideburns. Mutton chops really.

Best displayed in the sunshine.

The bathroom is sunny. My lovely man walked in and said ‘How’s your hair looking….. oh…. can you shave those?’

I’m quite certain that shaving my face will quickly become a slippery slope.

We have coffee in a bit with friends. In a garden setting. It’s a gorgeous sunny day.

My lovely man never has to worry about me betraying him, nobody else would want me.

Posted on

It’s a habit

Forming habits are hard. Actually, that’s not true. Bad habits are very easy, it’s the good ones that are hard.

We all pretty much know what we should do don’t we… get enough sleep; don’t drink, or at least don’t drink too much; don’t overeat; stretch; get some exercise; meditate; slow down; manage your stress; get a balance; have friends; love your family if you are lucky enough to have one…. and of course, get an animal (or two) to love and look after!

Doing all of this not so easy. Lots of excuses really. Life is busy!

Of course there is a lot of talk about intermittent fasting. So, I researched it a bit. Bless Google!

How often should one fast I asked. Every day is best I was advised.

Every day? What, until you die? Skinny and gorgeous is good to no-one dead. I did actually read that someone fasted for 100 days and survived. I could probably last longer.

Further research revealed that one should fast for 16 hours each day.

Once again…. what?

But actually, this is possible of course. My lovely man’s doctor (who is fit and healthy – one doesn’t want a fat, unhealthy doctor giving you diet advice really), advised us that cutting out carbs and sugar and eating ONCE a day is the way to go.

Of course fasting for 16 hours of the day means that one only ingests liquid in that time. No caffeine, no calories. Not so much fun liquids like black tea and lemon water are allowed.

So, if one doesn’t eat between the hours of 8pm and 12pm, for instance, that’s 16 hours.

Isn’t that doable?

What my research did not advise, and I can see that I am going to have to figure this out for myself, is how much planning one has to do to eat solidly for the 8 hours you have left.

Posted on

Rest in Peace

Queen Elizabeth II, I hope, is at peace and with her beloved Philip, any number of Corgis and, no doubt many other loved ones who passed before her.

You don’t reach 96 without suffering loss.

Wonder if Lady Di and Lilibet will thrash things out?

Whatever your opinion on the Royals, Queen Elizabeth II was amazing. The end of an era. And once again more change is ushered in.

Fifteen Prime Ministers in her 70 years plus.

The Boris and Liz circus the final straw.

Last night we listened to a Queen concert. We weren’t there, but it was close enough to hear.

How’s that for a coincidence? The original Freddy, of course, also departed and his music has long been a feature played at Buckingham Palace. The Queen very recently did a marvelous skit to it with Paddington Bear.

It seems to me there are a good few better people departed than left behind for the Queen to catch up with.

The Queen tribute we were inadvertently listening to last night stopped for a bit. I’m sure in respect.

Rest in peace Ma’am.