Human visitors tonight and tomorrow night…New Itinerary tomorrow!!!..

Once the rains come, the bush will be greener, providing more food for the wildlife. In the interim, many of us are feeding them.

Note: Tomorrow, on our ninth travel anniversary, we will be posting our new itinerary!!! Please check back!!!

Last night’s dinner at Jabula was enjoyable as always. Kathy and Don joined us for our usual Friday night dinner of fabulous food and service at Jabula Lodge and Restaurant. The conversation flowed with ease as we each shared the stories of our adventures over the past few weeks. They had spent time in Kruger at a few remote lodges and us, our time in Zambia, and eventual return without issues from immigration.

We have been so blessed to have such good friends in Marloth Park, and as time goes by, we continue to make more and more friends. Today, as mentioned in a prior post, at 4:00 pm, 1600 hrs, our long-time readers, Carrie and Jim, will be joining us for the first time for sundowners. They found us and also Marloth Park due to our posts and are also world travelers. It will be fun to visit with them.

Since our return on Tuesday, this is the first male kudu who stopped by, whom we call “Medium Daddy” instead of “Big Daddy” with much larger horns.

For today’s appetizers during sundowners, we’re making sliced bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin, served chilled with a cucumber dip, with roasted vegetable slices, and our usual and popular apricot almond brie puffed pastry with crackers, olives, and nuts on the side.

At the moment, I am cooking the chicken for tomorrow’s dinner, a low-carb chicken and sausage cassoulet baked in a single large pan, which we’ll serve with chunky roasted vegetables, coleslaw salad, with a variety of light starters served during the cocktail hour.

We now have three young “Spikeys” who hang around most of the day. This morning we finished off the first of the three heads of cabbage.

Today, I am doing as much prep for both evenings. We don’t usually plan two social events in a row. But tonight’s food will be comparable to making an easy dinner for us, which we would have done anyway, even if we didn’t have guests coming. As of this moment, I have a good handle on both nights’ prep.

It’s hot today, so I thought I’d get as much prep as possible out of the way before the temps rise to over 90F, 32C. It will be cooling off for tomorrow with a high of 79F, 26C, making the final prep for tomorrow’s anniversary dinner easier on a cool day.

Impalas, who seldom care to be near humans, have been stopping by lately. They are hungry too.

Yep, tomorrow, October 31, 2020, is our ninth anniversary of traveling the world. With six of us, Alan, Fiona, Nick, and Joan,  for dinner on the veranda for whom we’re delightfully reciprocating for hosting us recently and me busy prepping the meal, we won’t be posting a recap of our prior year. However, we will post photos of our evening celebration.

After posting so many historical photos during our ten-month lockdown in Mumbai, India, we’ve already posted an endless stream of old photos. Next year, we’ll prepare a special tenth-anniversary post, providing our health is good, and we can continue for another year. At this point, it seems it’s entirely possible.

First, two males stopped by, who were later joined by a female.

A few moments ago, Louise sent us a message stating she’s renting a property to an American couple who will be here until December, asking us if we were interested in meeting them. Of course, we said “yes” and will contact them later today to set up a get-together in Marloth Park.

Next week, on Friday, Tom has his first appointment with Dr. Singh’s wife. Also, a dental surgeon, to have his two implants started from the teeth he had extracted over three months ago, leaving a gaping hole in his mouth; obvious when he smiles. We have no idea how uncomfortable he’ll be after the appointment, so we’ll play it by ear for any possible social events next weekend. But, for now, we’re thrilled to have plans for tonight, tomorrow, and Monday.

This morning we had 12 antelopes in the garden, sharing pellets.

This weekend, there’s no load shedding since Monday is a national holiday in South Africa, voting day! It’s nice we’ll have a reprieve when we’re cooking for guests, and it will be great to have the outdoor lights at dinnertime.

Have a fantastic day!

Photo from one year ago today, October 30, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #221. A sunny view from our veranda at the Kenyan resort where we stayed on our first travel anniversary. For more photos, please click here.

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