Change in a feature on our site starts today…Fun photos from the garden…Busy Sunday…

After years of posting “Photo from one year ago today….” beginning on March 24, 2014 (see the original post here), shown at the bottom of each post, we’ve decided to change that feature. We are changing that feature to the following: “Photo from ten years ago today…

Making this change may add a new perspective for new readers and also long-term readers who do not readily recall so long ago, just like us, when we may have to look up past posts to remember where we’ve been and what we’ve done during a specific period. Our neatly arranged archives at the right side of the page make this possible with a particular date or period in mind.

Tom has an extraordinary recall of long-ago events, almost to the day, whereby I recall names of people, places, and expenses back to the beginning. Between us, we can remember nearly all of our 10½ years of world travel. For our readers who may or may not have been following along for extended periods, this may help you reference places we’ve been that may appeal to your objectives for future travel.

Also, we must admit, it’s fun for us to look back day after day, ten years ago, as to what we were doing at the time. Have we changed our goals and objectives? How much have we adapted? Do we handle hurdles and challenges with more aplomb than we did in the past? It will be interesting for us to see as well.

This morning, we didn’t go for our usual walk. My legs felt heavy after a poor night’s sleep, and navigating all those rocks on the roads just didn’t motivate me today. I felt a little guilty not going but decided to do the walking in the house, ensuring I get in enough steps with so many tasks on hand today, such as three loads of laundry, dinner to make for two nights, some organizing in cupboards with packing in mind and so forth.

Today, it’s a pleasant enough day with lower humidity and tolerable heat. We had a rash of visitors this morning, but now, close to noon, it’s quiet again, as it often is mid-day when the animals find shady spots to hide from the scorching sun. Then, later in the day, as it cools down, they start coming by again, and we cherish every moment when they do.

Last night, we had another fantastic evening at Jabula. We met a lovely new couple on my side, and Tom spoke to a friendly new local on his side as we sat at our usual center spots at the bar where Dawn and David always put up a “reserved” sign for us. We always appreciate this special attention, but customers occasionally come to drink earlier in the day and are still there when we arrive. In those cases, we take whatever other barstools are available and move over when the others leave.

Our dinners were delicious, as usual. Tom had the filet with mashed potatoes and gravy, and creamed spinach. I had the grilled chicken salad, which I have enjoyed each time over the past few months. The salad is so packed with fresh veggies and chicken that I don’t need salad dressing.

On the side, l have an order of steamed vegetables, including cabbage, green beans, and spinach. It’s all such a treat. I could easily make such a meal for myself, but somehow it tastes best when someone else does the cooking. We enjoy eating out twice a week and will continue to do so at The Villages.

We worked on our budget for our upcoming time at The Villages in Florida. With the high costs of food at restaurants in the US, with expected 20% tips and taxes, we are budgeting US $200, ZAR 3604, per week for meals out. With over 100 restaurants in the complex, trying new establishments each time will be fun. But we all know how that goes. We’ll find a social place we love with good food and go there most often. For us, socialization is more important than food. How we eat fresh, properly cooked, and seasoned food easily pleases our palates.

There are numerous options in each category. However, I am looking forward to visiting a few Mexican restaurants, while Tom particularly enjoys Chinese restaurants. Also, Tom, who doesn’t care for fish, will be happy for us to go to several seafood establishments, many of which are in the area. He eats some shellfish, and, after all, we’ll be in Florida, where fish and seafood are plentiful, if not pricey.

I’m off to get the last load of laundry out of the washer to hang on the outdoor rack. The sun has popped out in the past 20 minutes, so I’m hoping everything will dry before the end of the day. Often, with the high humidity, Tom has to haul the rack indoors when little is dry after a full day outdoors. It will be weird that soon I’ll have an indoor clothes dryer, although I’ll continue to dry some delicate items outdoors to ensure they last longer.

That’s it for today, folks. You all mean the world to us!!! Thanks for following along with us.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, April 16, 2013: