Exciting opportunity presented to us from the US…

A handsome zebra stopped by himself.

Last night, we received an email from a Minnesota Live Eyewitness News KSTP-TV news show producer who asked if we’d be interested in participating in an interview via a Zoom meeting sometime in January. We replied that we’d be happy to do so but would have to wait until after January 16 due to the high volume of tourists in Marloth Park until the end of the school holidays.

She’d heard about us from listening to Garage Logic and had heard the podcast when we were guests on a May 2022 podcast while we were in Minnesota. Although testing negative, we were still suffering from Omicron symptoms but decided not to miss the opportunity to be on the show. We had a fantastic time. If you missed the show, please click here.

Now, with an opportunity to be on TV to promote our site and share our story, we look forward to this interview. We will let you know when we’ll post the video from the interview, which will be sometime at the end of January when we’ll have a better WiFi signal. Please keep an eye out for this.

A short time later, three other zebras joined in.

This morning, I prepped food for dinner and made a loaf of keto macadamia nut bread that I have each morning topped with avocado and egg. I always make a double batch of the recipe resulting in enough bread to last for a few weeks. This breakfast holds me until dinner.

Lately, I have been making eggs for Tom. I am a good cook but have the worst time getting his over-easy eggs cooked perfectly. Today, I made scrambled eggs that always turn out to his liking, to which I add some imported cheese and several slices of bacon which I cook in the microwave rather than splatter all over the stovetop.

We only have tonight and tomorrow night’s dinner to cook until it’s time for Friday night’s dinner again at Jabula, and then it will be New Year’s Eve when we’re going to a party at a bush house. We have no plans for New Year’s Day, but that day is less important to us, and we usually stay in and cook a nice dinner.

Soon, Tom will drop me off at Imbewe Spa for a  pedicure. Most often, my dear friend Dawn from Jabula has a pedicure with me. But today is assistant David’s birthday, and he’s off for two days, so she’ll have to be at the restaurant for lunch service with their resort packed with guests and other tourists who may stop by for food and drinks. It’s a busy place.

Finally, yesterday, I received a call back from the credit card insurance office after leaving messages for days. They gave me another phone number to call, which I will do today after 4:00 pm, 1600 hrs., due to the time difference. Hopefully, I will finally get adequate instructions on how to file the claim for our missing bags. I hope we won’t have to produce receipts for each item. Otherwise, as mentioned, this process could take weeks to complete.

Their heads were down, eating pellets.

Once I return from the pedicure appointment, I will finish this post and get it uploaded. From there, the remainder of my day is easy. Today’s high will only be 95F, 35C, with humidity at 35% and the dew point at 63, a much more bearable day. Sitting outdoors is much more comfortable now than in the past several days.

Still, we see fewer animals in the garden than usual with so many holidaymakers here for a few more weeks. We can’t wait until they leave and our favorite animals return to see us. Recently, we only saw Norman and his family every other day, sometimes three or four times, but not the usual eight to 12 times before the holiday started. I make Norman’s Lunch daily but often give it to the few bushbucks visiting or the kudus.

Lollie has had a medical problem since the birth of her three piglets. It appears that her intestines, in part, are hanging out of her rear end. It’s an awful sight that breaks our hearts. But with so many pigs in the park, the rangers and vets don’t treat the warthogs, which are sturdy and generally heal quickly. But we can’t see how this issue, worsening each day, can resolve on its own. Oh, we hope somehow it resolves. Her piglets are too young to survive on their own. She’s such a good mom.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, December 28, 2021:

Due to WiFi issues in the park right now, we cannot post the year ago photo.

Busy ambitious morning…

Nina and Norman are reunited. with their baby but she/he has yet to jump the little fence. This is a bushbuck that hangs out with Nina.

This morning, after breakfast of eggs and bacon, we headed to Komatipoort for groceries, wine, toiletries, over-the-counter products, and a few birthday cards for friends. The strip mall parking lot was packed, let alone the stores. We hadn’t shopped in a few weeks and needed quite a few items.

When we arrived at the pharmacy, generally our first stop, they were closed for another 40 minutes. We decided to do the other shopping and return. When we were done grocery shopping, amid the crowds at Spar Market, I walked down the outdoor mall to the pharmacy. I could barely open the door to enter. It was unbelievable.

We try not to purchase much frozen or perishable food but based on it requiring almost one hour of round-trip driving time to go to Komatipoort; we don’t like to go any more often than we have to. We can always make short trips to the local Marloth Park shops only five minutes from here, but they don’t always have the ingredients we use.

The baby is cute, but we still can’t determine the gender of the one-month old.

Somehow I managed to find the items I needed at the pharmacy with the help of a few helpful staff members and was out the door in about 20 minutes. Back at the house in the heat and high humidity, we sweated profusely while we put everything away. It’s a good thing we have the chest freezer and the outdoor refrigerator since the kitchen fridge doesn’t have much space, nor does the upper single-door freezer, which is mainly filled with ice cube trays and large zip-lock bags of ice.

Tom loved the chocolate cookies I made for him for Christmas, and I could tell he wanted more. Last week, I made a double batch which only resulted in 21 cookies, and we gave six of them to Louise and Danie, who also loved them. So I decided to make another double batch today and see if I can end up with 24 cookies, making them a little smaller. I never ate one of the cookies or tasted the dough. But I do remember them from years back and how good they are.

All the cooking I will do today is making the salad which is done, and baking the cookies in a few hours. The dough needs to chill in the refrigerator and will be ready around 4:00 pm, 1600 hrs., which is late to start baking, but the oven is big enough that I can bake them all at once.

This morning, the mongooses were here as soon as I went outdoors. Tom was in the bedroom while I chopped the paloney for them while in the kitchen. Suddenly, I noticed ten of them had followed me into the house. It didn’t take much to scoot them outside since I had the plate of paloney in my hands. Funny!

It feels good to have everything put away. The only project I have to complete this week is getting a call back from the insurance company to file the claim for our missing bags and make the food we’re bringing to Flo and JJ’s New Year’s Eve party. There’s enough pizza and uncooked, defrosted chicken breasts to get us to Friday when we’ll head to Jabula for dinner. The party on Saturday night is at a yet-to-be-determined location, but I’m sure we’ll hear soon.

I’ve managed to stay on track with my diet through the holidays and haven’t gained anything back from what I’ve lost so far. As mentioned in an earlier post, I made a keto cheese pie but only had a small piece each evening after dinner, which would last a few more days. Yes, we do indulge a little here and there during the holidays, but overall, we indulge very little. Rolling into the New Year with my diet will be easy, with no weight gain from the holidays. The same goes for Tom, who hasn’t gained weight, even eating the cookies.

A bushbuck. a kudu, and a duiker were all looking for pellets.

We just moved into the bedroom for some rest and some fan time. Some afternoons, around 2:00 pm, 1400 hrs., we try to nap for 20 minutes. I am only fortunate enough to fall asleep one out of 20 times, but Tom seems to do much better, never sleeping for more than 15 or 20 minutes. This is refreshing, especially on a scorching and humid day when we can cool off a little in the bedroom with the powerful fan sweeping over us.

As for my headache and facial pain, they are mostly gone. It only seems to bother me occasionally, and I can do nothing about it when it returns. Paracetamol/Tylenol doesn’t help, so I tough it out and go about my day. I have continued using the morning and evening Salex Nasal Rinse and four doses a day of Phytomer, all purchased over the counter. This combination has seemed to be the most helpful in keeping these horrible post-Omicron sinus issues at bay, 90% of the time.

That’s it for today, folks. Have a pleasant day.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, December 27, 2021:

On a drive in Marloth Park, we encountered this giraffe munching on a tree. For more photos, please click here.

A pleasant Christmas Day in the bush…We couldn’t ask for more…

Big Daddy visited a few mornings ago while Lollie and the piglets were also here.

Note: Due to the extensive use of WiFi in the bush today, resulting in slow service, there are some editing issues in today’s post. Sorry for the inconvenience.

We had an excellent and busy day. We made keto pizza, salad, and a keto cheese pie with an almond flour crust, keeping us busy in the kitchen all morning. With temps rising to over 103F and 39C with high humidity, I had to take a few breaks to sit in front of the fan in the bedroom. It was a scorcher.

Later in the afternoon, when our guests arrived, it had cooled down considerably after strong winds, and a cloud cover took over. What a relief it was to be able to have sundowners and dinner on the veranda! Surprisingly, there weren’t many insects bothering us while we dined, but after everyone left, they seemed to pick up, and we headed indoors and closed the doors to the veranda.

Each night when we are ready for dinner Tom sprays the bedroom. Tom had no choice but to spray the dining room, lounge room, and kitchen with Doom when we headed to bed. We try to stay out of any rooms that have been sprayed to avoid breathing in the toxic chemicals.

Since we don’t have nor want mosquito netting on the bed, this seems to prevent me from getting bit during the night. Again, we don’t enter the bedroom for a few hours after he’s sprayed. Last night, while seated outdoors, Tom was wearing his only pair of shorts when all others were lost in the missing luggage; he ended up getting bit by mosquitoes at least a dozen times.

Lollie and her three piglets stopped by, as seen on the trail cam.

Lately, since it got hot, I have been wearing jeans and long sleeve tee shirts day and night. I know this makes me hotter, but it prevents me from getting bit day and night. Tom is no longer itching, but when I’m bit, the itching lasts for weeks. I’d rather be hot than itchy for weeks from countless mosquito bites.

I wear repellent around the clock but still get bit if my skin is exposed. Not only is there the risk of itching, but also we must avoid getting malaria which is common in this area.

In any case, we had a delightful Christmas dinner, although the food wasn’t traditional, and by 9:00 pm, 2100 hrs., we were in our room watching a series on my laptop. The dishes were washed, and everything was put away. We were surprised we could get a sufficient signal to stream a few shows before hunkering for the night.

Tom had an excellent 70th birthday, and we had a great Christmas. We were able to touch base with all of our kids to wish them Merry Christmas, and last night I even had a chance to talk to dear friends Kathy and Don, who aren’t in the bush now but hopefully will be someday soon when Don’s health improves. They invited us to Christmas Eve dinner in 2013, when they’d never met us, nine years ago this year. We miss them terribly.

Norman stopped by early this morning before we were outside.

We have great leftovers for tonight, so all I did this morning was make a salad. I did a load of laundry hanging outside on a cloudy day to dry. It’s much cooler today but still very humid, and the clothes won’t dry until tomorrow.

It was nice to see Norman and Nina a few times this morning. We tossed them “Norman’s Lunch,” and they ate everything except the grape tomatoes. A little while later, duiker Derek stopped by, and he loved the leftover tomatoes. It’s funny how each animal has specific taste buds, just like humans. They aren’t so different from us after all.

We didn’t see Norman and Nina’s baby this morning, and we hope she was safely tucked away somewhere and isn’t hurt or injured. We’ll be keeping a watchful eye for her/him.

Have a pleasant day after Christmas, and be well always…

Photo from one year ago today, December 26, 2021:

The beautiful Christmas dinner table at Sindee and Bruce’s lovely home in the bush. Dawn took a photo of Sindee and the serving table, which was later filled with great food. Sadly, Bruce has since passed away. For more, please click here:

Merry Christmas, everyone!…Have a beautiful day with friends and loved ones..Serendipity at Jabula…

On our way to Jabula last night for our Christmas Eve dinner, we stopped unannounced to see Louise and Danie. They were sitting on the veranda having sundowners and watching the hysterical behavior of a male hornbill flying around looking for grasshoppers to bring back to his mate and chicks living in a bushbaby house.

The poor male was skinny, from constantly flying while foraging for his mate’s food. Danie grated some cheddar cheese and placed it on the table near where we sat with our sundowners in hand, enjoying the companionship and the gorgeous early evening. The male hornbill came up next to me, picked up a piece of cheese, and headed back to the nest to give it to his partner. She ate several pieces he offered her.

But after her accepting about three pieces of cheese, she tossed the fourth piece out the hole of the little house, indicating she’d had enough cheese and wanted more grasshoppers. He got the message and flew off, returning less than a minute later with a grasshopper in his beak. He offered it to her, and she quickly grabbed it to feed herself and her since-hatched chicks.

This little interaction in nature particularly warmed our hearts. reminding us why we are here and the joys this magical place has to offer. As we sat with our friends, reveling in the lively conversation and sharing the awe over the hornbill activity, we couldn’t stop smiling, realizing how fortunate we are to spend Christmas in this magical place. After a while, we all hugged goodbye with the warmest Christmas greetings and made our way to Jabula.

No, there is no snow. No, the bush houses aren’t decorated with a vast array of colorful blinking lights. No, we won’t return to our house after the end of our evening at Jabula, to a lit Christmas tree adorned with beautifully wrapped gifts, too many to count. This is Christmas in the bush, and this is what nature provides to remind us of the blessings God (or whatever higher power you may believe or not) gave us to cherish and revere at this time of the year and always.

The above graphic bespeaks what it means to be here during the holiday season and how it impacts us. Thanks to Louise for posting and sharing this on her Facebook page yesterday, inspiring us to share it today.

When we arrived, the bar was packed with locals, most of whom we knew or had met. Our usual seats were taken, so we parked ourselves down close to the air-con unit and ordered our drinks. I had brought along a bottle of my 5% alcohol white wine, and Tom ordered a Lion beer, his favorite.

We were content and felt at ease being there on Christmas Eve. Music was playing in the lively bar, and the conversation flowed, as always. Darkness fell, and finally, we ordered our dinners. Tom ordered chicken schnitzel, chips, and creamed spinach, while I ordered grilled chicken breast with steamed vegetables, which are frequent favorites.

While we chatted at the bar, Dawn beckoned us to follow her to a distant serving area where other patrons were dining. Apparently, they “knew” us. As it turned out, the two men David and Dawn introduced us to at the table had been following us on YouTube for years. After watching our many videos, they decided to come to Marloth Park and build a house here.

How ironic!! How amazing it feels for us to inspire others to come here and build a life in this paradise-like environment! It was serendipitous for them to be at Jabula when we were!

These are all the Christmas gifts we could possibly want; nature, wildlife, wonderful friends, the love of our family, and course, each other. We are grateful this holiday season and always…

Merry Christmas…

Photo from one year ago today, December 25, 2021:

Broken Horn stopped by this morning to wish us Merry Christmas. We tossed him some pellets, and he was happy! For more photos, please click here.

Merry Christmas Eve…Last night, we never took a single photo during a fabulous evening in the bush….

After spending an hour looking for a suitable Christmas Eve graphic, I gave up. I decided to post this favorite lion photo we took in 2013 in the Maasai Mara, Kenya, truly indicative of the life we live now with lions in Marloth Park and at our doorstep, Kruger National Park. For that post, please click here.

It’s gotten to a point where one can no longer easily find appropriate graphics without paying or signing up for some arbitrary “free trial.” After trying to find a Christmas world graphic suitable for our post, I gave up after a valiant effort, and I decided to post our photo to avoid paying royalties, choosing the above lion shot we’ve shared many times in the past. Sorry for the repetition.

It’s nearly impossible not to be repetitive when we’ve been posting daily for over ten years. This is our 11th Christmas since we left the US in 2012, the 4th Christmas we’ve spent in Marloth Park. Last night, at Jabula, celebrating Tom’s 70th birthday, amid endless toasts and rounds of merriment at the packed bar with every seat taken, with dear friends Louise and Danie at our side with Dawn and Leon joining it, it couldn’t have been more fun.

Being so close to Christmas, Tom’s birthday was somewhat of an inconvenience in our old lives. We’d often make elaborate plans to acknowledge his birthday, but with Christmas Eve the next day, we were always on a mad dash to roll into the holiday from the birthday celebrations.

Oddly, in our old neighborhood, every other house of five on the peninsula celebrated its birthday on the exact same date, December 23. It was our dear friend Chip, the furthest away, Doug in the middle, and Tom. How odd was that? We’d often celebrate together when we could. We are still in touch with our old neighbors, missing the merriment and celebrations over the Christmas season and also throughout the year.

We lost dear Chip a few months before we left in 2012 to begin our travels, and I had the honor of speaking at his memorial service only months before we were ready to depart. It was a sorrowful time. And now, looking back over the Christmases, the fun with our kids, grandkids, friends, and neighbors, it was an extraordinary time.

But, no, we have no regrets and don’t think of those times with sadness and sorrow. Instead, like last night, celebrating Tom’s 70th birthday, we were reminded of how fortunate we were then and…how fortunate we are now. Different? Yes. But, wonderful nonetheless.

While we sat at the bar, all of us talking at once and yet hearing every word spoken, I turned to Louise at my left and said, “There is nowhere in the world where we’d have made so many friends and enjoyed such camaraderie and lively conversation at a bar.” Although she and Danie are native South Africans, they are well aware of the magic of all these friendships and their special meanings.

Then, adding the cozy element of being in Marloth Park, a true Paradise on earth, and the commonality we all share with our love of nature and wildlife, it’s a combination unlike any to be found anywhere in the world.

No, we don’t have a Christmas tree or other decorations or the countless gifts under the tree. No, we don’t send out Christmas cards or even Christmas letters. After all, our daily posts contain everything we could possibly have to say about our lives. We leave no stone unturned. You, our treasured readers, know everything about us, almost down to our shoe sizes!

People often ask how we feel about being vulnerable and open about our flaws, foibles, and never-ending errors and mishaps. Yes, that includes some whining and complaining, some health issues, and some unavoidable repetition in both words and photos. What would be the point of our posts being fictional instead of the often harsh reality? We are fine with bearing our true feeling, thoughts and dreams.

As we wrap up today’s post, we want to wish every one of our friends/readers and their families, who celebrate Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanza, and many more (found on this site) a meaningful and memorable holiday season.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, December 24, 2021:

Christmas graphic we posted last year. For the story, please click here.

Happy 70th birthday to my husband, lover, best friend and travel companion!!!…

We were awaiting the flight at the Nelspruit/Mpumalanga/Kruger airport on November 24, 2022.

Happy 70th birthday to my dear husband. It’s hard to believe he is 70 years old with his lighthearted and adventurous spirit. His boundless energy, good health (he takes no medication), physical strength (he hauls the heavy bags), sense of humor, intellect, playful demeanor, and endless devotion to seeing to my every need are youthful and surprising.

His strong convictions, backed by history, geography, and science, lead to an endless stream of lively conversation, constantly keeping me entertained, informed, and on my toes. Without his input, I wouldn’t have much of a clue as to what’s happening in the world, instead focusing on my own small sphere of influence.

Regardless of circumstances, he always injects humorous morsels to lighten the mood. Even with the most recent events regarding our dashed trip to Seychelles and all the money we lost, he was able to maintain an upbeat attitude, constantly influencing me to follow suit.

It’s not beyond me to whinge and complain under dire situations. Still, his bursts of frustration are short-lived, which I call “overly grumpy,” and are instantaneously followed by good humor and positivity. Without this, I don’t know if I could have traveled the world for over ten years and still looked at continuing on with any degree of enthusiasm.

This photo of Tom was taken at Amazing Kruger View Restaurant in 2018.

He makes a great case to which I immediately concur, leaving me reeling with enthusiasm and optimism once again. What a cheerleader he is for this life we lead! But his logical and uplifting spirit always presents a reasonable approach to the many benefits of continuing to live this extraordinary life.

And then there’s the romance part, which he flatly denies he possesses to any degree. His approach is genuine and varied, always keeping me intrigued and fascinated. But it’s romantic to me to have the man I love lavish me with compliments and praise me for who I am and what I do. This happens daily, and I never take it, or him, for granted.

Of course, his demeanor inspires me to be the best I can be. Although teasingly, he often refers to me as “bossy” for my assertiveness, I never take offense, while readily grasping the significance of what such a playfully spoken phrase may imply. I consider if I need to tone down my opinions. Often, I do.

I am as attracted to him today at 70 as I was when I met him when he was 38. I was 43. As a matter of fact, I am more attracted to him now, knowing full well the depth of the person he is after over 31 years of experience together. There is never a day that passes that I don’t appreciate him, our relationship, and our extraordinary lives.

I didn’t bake him a cake with ingredients for his favorite cakes this year, hard-to-find here. But yesterday, I made him a double batch of his favorite chocolate cookies. I’ll happily make them for him again once we shop in Komatipoort and I replenish the ingredients. He is savoring each cookie as if it was a golden jewel. Below is a photo of the cookies.

I placed the chocolate cookies on a plate to take the photo, but there’s no way we could leave cookies out on a plate in this climate with many insects. He loves these., crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside.

Tonight, we’ll head to Jabula for our usual Friday night, this time dining at a table with Louise and Danie joining us to celebrate Tom’s birthday. We’ll arrive at 5:00 pm, 1700 hrs., and we will socialize at the bar until they arrive. With the Marloth Park Info Centre so busy right now, which they own, they may not be able to arrive until an hour or two later. We’ll be well-entertained until they do.

Happy birthday, my love, and a happy day to all!

Happy birthday, Lover! That’s my guy, always with a heartwarming grin, even in the pelting rain. Gosh, we love this life! I took this photo in the rain when we found an overhang on the sidewalk on George St. in Sydney in January 2016.

Photo from one year ago today, December 23, 2021:

Don’t laugh! It wasn’t perfect! When I frosted the first bottom layer of Tom’s favorite type of cake, German Chocolate, it appeared I didn’t have enough frosting for all three layers. So I went a little light on the first one, resulting in none showing in this photo. As it turned out, I had enough frosting and put too much on the top layer. As it turned out, since I could not get all the ingredients needed to make this cake, it wasn’t as good as in our old lives. But he ate it anyway. For more photos, please click here.

Filing paperwork and then more paperwork…We’ll see how it goes…

Big Daddy was wondering when I’d come out of the kitchen to tend to him.

We have resigned ourselves to the fact that we will never get our bags back. It’s a harsh reality when, for a change, I had a lot of favorite items in that oversized duffle bag. Yesterday late afternoon, we each made a list of everything we could recall in the bags to complete the forms for Ethiopian Air, our first of two such tasks.

We spent no less than two hours mulling over what we’d packed and determining “estimated values” for each item. Of course, we grouped the items, such as “pants,” dress (dressy) shirts,” swimwear,” etc., making the task a little less time-consuming than piece by piece.

We completed a separate list for each of us. Now, as I write here today, Tom is filling out the forms for both of us by hand, line by line, referencing all the documentation we’ve saved in an envelope.

Norman has been busy visiting the holidaymakers. He has been here considerably fewer times per day in the past week. I had to give “Norman’s Lunch” to bushbucks Tulip and Lilac when I feared the vegetables would spoil.

Yesterday morning, I was on hold with the insurance company for the claim we’ve yet to file through our Venture X credit card, where we originally booked the flights using accumulated rewards points from prior use of the card. As it turns out, the insurance for lost bags provided by credit cards is often handled by a separate insurance company, contracted with the credit card companies.

The insurance company in this case is also impossible to reach, whereby the credit card company itself is easy to reach. There is nothing the credit card company can do to expedite this process. Once we inform them of the loss and receive a reference number, it’s out of their hands.

Surely, during the holiday season with millions of travelers, there are more missing bags now than ever. Plus, many companies laid off staff during the pandemic and most likely haven’t rehired sufficient staff to handle this season’s workload. We’re anticipating this could take months to resolve.

Big Daddy pleaded with Tom for some pellets. He complied.

I was sent a link days ago when I reached someone, but now it’s not working, and I tried re-using the previously sent link to start the process over again. Frustrating, to say the least. Over the past few weeks, we’ve had some WiFi issues since the holidaymakers started arriving for the holidays.

Today, we completed the forms required by Ethiopian Air to file a claim but their form has no email address to send the completed form.

Last night for the first time in about ten days we could stream an episode of Yellowstone on my laptop. Every other night, the signal would be lost every 15 seconds, preventing us from watching anything, making the evenings long and tedious since neither of us reads books anymore, and often we’re in the dark due to load shedding.

Lollie’s piglets are growing fast.

Of course, I’ve been in frequent contact with the WiFi provider and thanked them this morning for whatever they’ve done to fix the issue. Although we have many plans over the holidays, except for Christmas Day when we’ll be on our own, it is still relaxing to watch a movie or TV series when we wander off to bed. Last night, after watching the one episode of Yellowstone, we started watching the Netflix series on Harry and Meghan and will continue until we’ve seen all the episodes. Interesting.

This morning, I contacted the same law firm we’ve used on two occasions in the past in Cape Town, requesting they start the process for us to file an extension for our upcoming March 9, 2023 visa expiration. We won’t want to fly anywhere right now after all the money we’ve recently lost with the Seychelle fiasco. I’ve already sent them the requested preliminary documents, but many more will follow in the coming weeks. Plus, doing so, will require two trips to the immigration office in Nelspruit over the next few months to get this process completed.

Broken Horn stops by, now and then.

Also, I am making some Christmas/birthday cookies for Tom this morning. There were only a few options with the ingredients we had on hand. However, when he requested his favorite chocolate cookies, I was thrilled to find I had enough supplies to make a double batch. Right now, the dough is chilling in the refrigerator. I have to hurry and get these done when load shedding is starting up again in less than two hours, and the oven is electric.

Tomorrow is Tom’s 70th birthday. As mentioned, we’ll be celebrating with Louise and Danie tomorrow night at Jabula. His birthday’s close proximity to Christmas Eve (one day) makes celebrating with multiple friends difficult although, in 2018, Rita and Gerhard gave him a surprise birthday party (see the post here) for ten of us. It was a fantastic evening we’ll always remember and appreciate.

That’s it for today, folks! Have a lovely day and be well.

Photo from one year ago today, December 22, 2021:

Siegfried and Roy, giving another warthog a “bath.” For more photos, please click here.

Summer solstice…The task has begun…Trying to recall every item in our missing bags…One video today…

It’s the first day of summer in Africa and other countries in the Southern Hemisphere.  Based on the hot weather this past month or more, one would think summer had already started here in the bush. When visitors come here from Cape Town, Johannesburg, or other big cities in South Africa they are often shocked by how much hotter it is here.

We’re often shocked by how cold it gets in Cape Town during the winter months. We hear visitors discuss the snow in the mountains and the chill in the city. It gets cool here in the winter which we always appreciate. Today is almost like a winter day with temps much lower at only 77F, 25C with humidity at 71%, and the dew point is 67, considered tropical. But, it feels good not to be sweating.

I’m seated at the dining room table with lots of “lost baggage” paperwork beside me with a clear view of the garden, just in case my favorites stop by. We had a busy morning but now midday, it’s settled down, and only a few visitors have stopped by. When sundowner time arrives, invariably, the animals wander out of the bush and parkland and come to see what we’re doing. It’s a delightful time of the day.

We both make a point of being done with tasks by 4:00 pm, 1600 hrs., each day so we can sip on our preferred beverages and enjoy idle chatter and the quiet solitude that bush so blissfully provides. But, tonight might be a little different. We need to list each item in each bag and submit it to Ethiopian Air for reimbursement if possible.

Today, I finally reached a rep, and they sent me a claim form that we asked Louise to print for us. Tom went to the busy Info Centre to pick up four copies of the form which, weirdly, have to be completed by hand, not online. How ridiculous is that? My handwriting is illegible and has been so for most of my life. Tom writes very slowly, but it’s possible to read what he’s written.

When we received the claim form I noticed their maximum payout is US $400 per bag. That doesn’t put a dent in the value of the items in those two bags. How frustrating. Now, we need to file a separate claim with our credit card company. We’ll see how that goes. The offer more reimbursement but the process is time-consuming and frustrating.

So this evening with the day’s tasks behind us, we’ll sit outdoors at the table on the veranda and begin compiling our lists of items in the lost bags. We’ve already shopped at the Bush Centre this morning for a few items from the meat market and the little grocery store. Now, we can make it until after Christmas for another run to Komatipoort to do the grocery shopping.

Since we’ll be at Jabula Friday and Saturday nights (Christmas Eve) we won’t have to cook anything until Christmas day. We’ve decided to make keto pizza for Tom with just the two of us, and I’ll have chicken breasts on the braai. I want to eat the pizza with him, but it’s just too fattening for me while I am doing so well losing weight. It tastes so good it’s impossible for me to eat only a tiny piece. I won’t even take a taste. To me, it’s as good as eating a gooey doughnut, an occasional treat I may have had in my old life before going keto in 2011.

Tom is currently at his lowest weight since we were in Belize in 2013. He has no health problems, is not pre-diabetic, and takes no meds. Right now, he is enjoying some treats I make for him and more when dining out. But, he avoids bread and desserts and doesn’t drink any sweet drinks.

Many times while we’re at the bar in Jabula, other patrons will offer to buy us each a “shot.” I’ve never done a shot in my life, and Tom isn’t interested in them either, regardless of what alcohol they may be. Neither of us cares to take such a quick intake of alcohol and potentially get drunk. We certainly don’t judge those who partake, but I doubt we ever will if we haven’t started doing them by now.

Surely on Christmas Eve, the drinks will flow, but we will both stick to our usual choices, not overdoing it, while sipping on our preferred beverages. Nonetheless, we’ll enjoy the merriment of the holiday season and the festivities. It’s a very special time in the bush.

My laptop’s battery is about to need a recharge, and I’ll need to plug it into the bedroom plugs near the one inverter-fed outlet by my bedside table. Several of our adapters were in the missing bags, and we now have a shortage of plug-in spots in the remainder of the house. Gosh, we lost a lot of stuff in those two bags!

We’ll be back with more tomorrow, folks. Have a fantastic day as many of you prepare for the holiday season.

Be well

Photo from one year ago today, December 21, 2021:

Wildebeests were resting near Verhami Dam in Kruger National Park. For more, please click here.

The missing bags saga continues…Totally frustrating…

It’s nice to see giraffes stop by. This morning there were nine of them!

I’ve concluded that airlines make handling lost bags so complicated that travelers give up and don’t process the claims for refunds. I am sitting here in 90% humidity, sweating from head to toe, and more frustrated than I’ve ever been trying to get results.

We had trouble with Ethiopian Air in the past when they canceled our flight and wouldn’t refund us. I won’t get into that story again, but it was a fiasco of endless phone calls and email messages without callbacks and no response. Finally, we reached out to our credit card company for a resolution, and they ultimately helped and got our money back. It looks as if we may have to go that route once again.

Fortunately, if we can produce receipts for each item in the bag, we may be able to be compensated for the lost items through our credit card on which we booked the flights using accumulated points. What a shame we’ve lost the points and the bags.

Generally, giraffes prefer not to bend down for food but have no choice when drinking water.

Yes, in the realm of things, it’s only “stuff” that we’ve learned over the years is of little importance, compared to health and well-being. But we’ve also learned that “time” is of the utmost importance as we age. Spending weeks searching online for receipts for clothing, shoes, and toiletry purchases will occupy a lot of time that we can never recover.

We’d rather have the bags back than any arbitrary amount we may be awarded for filing such a claim after doing all the work. Also, what if the bags are found during the period after we’ve done all the work and submitted the claim? I am asking our credit card company this question to see if they’d want us to invalidate the claim if the bags are returned to us by some miracle.

You can zoom in to see how many there were.

Right now, after spending no less than two hours on hold this morning, waiting for a callback, for the second morning in a row, from Ethiopian Air who promised to call back yesterday and never did and now made the same promise again that I will be hearing from them by noon, our time, which is 13 minutes from now. I am not hopeful we’ll receive the call.

Unfortunately, I had to use my Google Fi calling app to make these calls. The South Africa SIM card we have in an extra phone won’t let us stay on hold for an hour or more. The call cuts off within five or ten minutes, dropping the call. I gave up on using that phone days ago. Instead, we’re paying US $.20 per minute, ZAR 3.45 for each of these seemingly pointless calls.

Thank goodness for this blissful morning, albeit it was hot and humid when several animals stopped by. I hadn’t seen Norman, Nina, and their offspring since last week, but Tom welcomed them this morning while I was showering. I ended up giving “Norman’s lunch” to Tulip and Lilac this morning. Who knows when Norman will return with so much activity from tourists in the bush? It’s wild right now.

Lots of Big Daddies stopped by this morning.

Our Christmas plans are set, simple, and easy. Tom’s 70th birthday is on Friday, which we’ll celebrate with Louise and Danie on Friday night at Jabula. No gifts. No hoopla. Food, drinks, and great conversation. On Christmas Eve, we’ll return to Jabula for an early dinner and then go back home to watch a movie on the external hard drive. The WiFi isn’t working at night enabling us to stream any shows due to the number of visitors using the WiFi in the bush.

Tech Connect says they’re having issues due to load shedding. Hmm…could easily be a problem with no power for eight to eleven hours a day. There’s not a whole lot they can do. If this doesn’t improve after the holidaymakers leave, we may have to look into some other WiFi options since streaming is an enjoyable part of our evenings after we retire for the night.

Ah, look at me whining! We always promised to tell it like it is, didn’t we? We’re certainly doing that right now. But, that doesn’t mean we don’t have smiles on our faces during the holiday season and other times and are grateful for what we have, for each other, for the beautiful animals, and of course, for our amazing friends in the bush.

Nine giraffes stopped by this morning. What is there to complain about?

Happy Day.

Photo from one year ago today, December 20, 2021:

The elephant on the left is resting his trunk on his tusk. For more photos, please click here.

Missing bags…Today is the 25th day…

Last night, we found this bat inside the house near the front door. We opened the door and gently let her go back out. Bats eat mosquitoes. We welcome them as visitors.

Today is the 25th day since our bags were missing, the day Ethiopian Air said we could contact them to file a claim. When I called this morning, I was told two black bags had arrived, and they may be ours. If that’s the case, the only claim we’ll need to file is for the clothes we had to buy when we arrived in Minnesota on November 26, with only the clothes on our backs.

We’ll see how that goes. We’d be much happier to get the bags back than filing the claim for the entire contents since we’d need to find receipts for every item in those two bags, which, as mentioned earlier, would be a daunting task, requiring days to complete.

Although most of us think of cockroaches as vermin, they have a useful ecological role. Cockroaches are professional recyclers, chowing down about anything, including dead plants, animals, and waste. Last night, we spotted this one in the kitchen. They are commonly found in houses in the bush and do not necessarily mean the house is dirty or unkempt.

The rep said she’d call me back in an hour with an update. I’ll give her a few hours based on the fact they rarely call back when they say they will, from what we’ve seen so far. It seems they’ve made it so difficult to file a claim that many passengers with lost bags will not follow up with the claim since doing so is confusing and cumbersome.

We are determined to do whatever it takes to get the bags back and, in the worst case, file the appropriate claims to be reimbursed for the contents. If the bags are found and sent to Nelspruit, we’ll have to arrange for a courier to pick them up or make the over three-hour round-trip drive ourselves. With all the traffic, accidents, and crimes on the N4, it’s worth it to us to pay a courier as we did when our bags were lost and eventually found last year after a trip to the US.

Tulip and Lilac stopped by. We hadn’t seen them in a while.

Many would say we should bring enough stuff to fit into carry-on bags. But with new carry-on bag fees and restrictions, it isn’t worth not having enough of our belongings with us. We’re not backpackers, and packing that light wouldn’t work for cruising and our varied travels. Plus, we like nice clothes for dining out and social events, not necessarily dressy but more upscale than what we wear casually when staying in.

Big Daddy was looking for treats, although he had plenty of nutritious vegetation he could eat.

After today’s effort to locate the bags, I will report back on what we’ve discovered. In the meanwhile, we’re staying at home today to have easy access to all the accumulated paperwork from the missing bag fiasco and receive a phone call when voice signals are poor right now with many visitors in the bush.

With so many people in Marloth Park, we cannot stream any shows after 6:00 pm, 1800 hrs., due to the poor signal. This will continue until about a week into January after the holidays officially end. Neither of us is into reading books right now, so come the evenings after dinner, when we are ready to be indoors; there is absolutely nothing for us to do. This is frustrating. I contacted Louise to see if the WiFi provider could do anything. We’ll see what they say.

Three Big Daddies in a little horn scuffle over pellets.

This morning, it was nice to see some animals in the garden, not a lot, but a few, and we were able to take a few photos here and there, which we’re sharing in today’s post. We’ll keep an eye out today since it’s a little cooler, not a lot, but more tolerable for sitting outdoors. We haven’t seen Norman and his family all weekend, although he did show up on a trail cam photo very early this morning. I have a big bowl of “Norman’s Lunch” ready for him, chilling in the refrigerator. We hope to see him today.

A Big Daddy was looking for even a single pellet that may have been missed but the other visiting wildlife.

This morning load shedding is from 7:00 to 11:30. I can only do some of the prep for tonight’s dinner when I can’t use the oven or microwave. Also, we try not to open and close the refrigerator often during these 4½ hour-long outages. This morning Tom placed the big metal bowl filled with ice into the main refrigerator, which should keep the food safe.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, December 19, 2021:

This photo is from visiting an animal rescue center in South Africa in 2014. The conscientious guide ensured our safety with this cheetah. But, we had no fear. For more, please click here.