No, I am not feeling better yet, but I’ve decided to go about living life to the fullest to the best of my ability. So far, the constant head and face pain hasn’t kept me down, and I don’t intend to let it happen if I can help it.
I got up early this morning to chop and dice for tonight’s dinner. Unless we braai meat with baked potatoes, veg and salad, making dinners requires some time and effort. I tried to keep tonight’s meal simple to avoid standing in the kitchen for hours on a scorching day.
So far this morning at 11:00 am, it’s currently 90F, 32C, with an expected high of 98F. 37C. The humidity isn’t too high, making the heat a little more tolerable. According to the online weather, the heat will continue into the evening, when we’ll all be outside on the veranda. Once the sun sets, it usually cools down considerably. We’ll see how that goes today.
Knowing it would be hot today, I decided to make an easy meal as follows, although it requires a few hours of washing and dicing vegetables, most of which I’ve already done this morning. With a lack of a wok or super large pans, I make the main entree in batches, the only way that will work.
Here’s the menu:
Starters
Maasdam Cheese with Crackers, both Wheat Based and Keto
Hummus Dip with Crisp Vegetable Sticks
Peanuts & Potato Chips
Main
Chicken Stir Fry Topped with Cashews or Peanuts (as preferred)
Stir Fry Vegetables
Fluffy Buttery Jasmine Rice
Hearty Salad with a Variety of Greens tossed with Homemade Salad Dressing
This was as easy as I could plan, considering not feeling up to par. All I have left is to stir-fry the already diced, marinated chicken breasts and then cook the vegetables in a separate pan. I chose to separate the vegetables from the chicken when a few of our men aren’t big on veggies. Then we each have the option to decide how much veg we want on our plates.
The chicken and vegetables will be stir-fried separately with fresh garlic, ginger, mushrooms, onions, and a plethora of Asian spices. I’ve made this dish for us recently and have figured out the perfect combination of sauces and spices based on what is available in South Africa, which is less than what we’d be able to buy in the US years ago.
Last night, we had dinner at Jabula with new friends Roz and Les. Whom we’d met a few months ago on a Friday night. Rita and Gerhard didn’t join us since she was also under the weather. However, they will be here tonight along with friends Fiona and Alan, who soon leave the bush during the summer heat.
We had a lovely evening with Roz and Les, not leaving Jabula until after 10:00 pm. 2200 hrs. We were both ready to hunker down for the night when we returned to the house. Once again, taking the tablets Doc Theo0 prescribed, I got a good night’s sleep. I still awaken in the middle of the night, but I fall back asleep. Right now, rest seems to be more therapeutic than anything.
Load shedding is back and operating at Stage Four over the weekend, resulting in 7½ hours a day without power spread over the 24 hours. While our guests are here this evening, we won’t have power between 7:00 pm and 9:30 pm, 1900 hrs, and 2100 hrs. Hopefully, we’ll have eaten dinner by then and remain outdoors in the dark on the veranda by candlelight. We’ve done this in the past when we had guests, and we have a good system with candles and lanterns.
That’s it for today, folks. I will try to remember to take photos of the food and the people. I will get back to you soon.
Photo from one year ago today, September 10, 2021:
