Tentatively optimistic…For the first time in six months…Plus, 62 years ago today…

Posted by worldwide-admin on October 18, 2022 with 2 Comments

Zebras stopped by this morning to see what was on the menu. The lucerne delivered on Saturday was gone, but we’ll receive more tomorrow.

I am tempering myself from jumping for joy. This morning, for the first time in almost six months, my cheek and eye weren’t swollen on the left side. For the first time in months, it didn’t hurt to wash my face and dry it with a towel without sharp pain, making me cringe. I was able to put on some makeup without grimacing. I am hopeful the drugs are working.

Today is day four since I started the powerful antibiotics, Prednisone, nasal spray, and anti-mucosal meds. This morning I took the last 20 mg dose of Prednisone and will drop it down to 10 mg daily, starting tomorrow morning, for another five days. On Sunday, I will be off of all the meds, hoping none of these awful symptoms will return. If all goes well, I can return to living on my terms, not subject to these debilitating long-haul Covid-19 symptoms.

The zebras waited patiently today while we rousted up some pellets.

The outrageously itchy spots all over my body have almost completely stopped itching, and the redness is down by at least 75%. The Prednisone worked on the inflammation from the Covid-19 induced eczema that has kept me awake night after night over the past six months. Once entirely off the medication, I will begin sleeping better at night since it causes insomnia.

Last night, I didn’t fall asleep until 1:30 am, but I slept for almost six hours without waking up. I feel good today, especially with the improvement of the symptoms. Thanks to so many of our readers who’ve written offering love and support as I worked through these post-Omicron conditions. Now, I can stop writing about this rather than briefly mentioning my continued progress in the next few weeks.

Fortunately, they don’t jump in the garden closest to the veranda since they stir up quite a mess.

Today’s date, October 18, always is on my mind since it’s the anniversary of my father’s death in 1960 when I was 12 years old. Today, it was 62 years ago. It’s hard to believe anything was 62 years ago, and I’m still here to remember it. But memories of my dear father will always remain in my heart and mind. He was a kind and gentle man with a great sense of humor and a profound ability to show love in countless ways. Never a year passes that I don’t think of him on this date.

We’ve had a lot of visitors this morning; kudus including Broken Horn; nyalas Norman, Nina, and Noah; Lollie (our sweet little pig), duiker couple Derek and Delilah; bushbuck Marigold; starling Vega; impala Chevy; nasty warthog Trouble; and a dozen or so helmeted guinea fowls.

There are too many impalas to feed them regularly. Fortunately, Tom only needs to clap his hands, and they run off, and our favorites stay behind, knowing the clapping is not directed at them. They don’t want the impalas around either.

Don’t get me wrong, we like impalas, but we can’t justify feeding 20 or 30 impalas each day. All the animals, including the impalas, look healthy and fit, although the bush is sparse with good food sources. The bush desperately needs rain; hopefully, the rainy season will begin soon.

They ate pellets and remnants left from Saturday’s lucerne delivery.

We don’t mind the rain as long as the power stays on. Load shedding is at Stage Four this week, which means 7½ hours each day without power. Fortunately, lately, the power seems to return a half hour early, lessening the time the power is off for six hours a day, certainly enough to make us very mindful of the food in the refrigerator and freezer staying fresh.

We can no longer grocery shop for two weeks at a time since it’s too risky to keep the food safe with the frequent load shedding. On Thursday, we’ll head out to Komatipoort to the pharmacy to pick up the 1000 – 50 mg vitamin B6 tablets we ordered last week. Tom takes three tablets a day to prevent kidney stones, for which he had surgery three consecutive years before starting the B6.

After the three surgeries, we asked the doctor in the US what Tom could do to prevent the stones, and flippantly he said some people have had success with Vitamin B6. Why didn’t he tell us about that earlier? Tom’s been taking it for 17 years and has not had a recurrence. Go figure. Here’s a study with detailed information about using B6 for kidney stone prevention. Please check with your medical professionals to see if this supplement can benefit you if you suffer from frequent kidney stones.

That’s it for today, folks. Next week, once I am done with the medications, we will head back into Kruger. We hadn’t been there in almost a month when friends Jeff, Connie, and Lindsey were here, and Jeff was able to see wildlife before he passed away at our house on September 21. Connie and the adult kids are doing well and busy with the two memorial services held for Jeff in Excelsior, Minnesota, and Howard, South Dakota. We are with them in our hearts and spirit during this painful time.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, October 18, 2021:

It appears these chicks are blue waxbills common to this area. Right now, they are no larger than a pinky finger. For more photos, please click here.

Day 3… Antibiotics and Prednisone…No side effects except lack of sleep…Many readers responded with long-haul Covid-19 symptoms…

Posted by worldwide-admin on October 17, 2022 with 0 Comment

She was most aggressive in eating the lucerne. She may be pregnant.

It wasn’t surprising to hear from many readers with long-haul Covid-19 symptoms. Some had been infected with the original Delta strain, which was most horrific before vaccines were available, and others from Omicron and other strains. The symptoms that most were suffering from varied, from brain fog to memory loss, loss of taste and smell, fatigue, breathing issues, heart problems, neurologic problems, newly diagnosed diabetes, and an endless array of peculiar symptoms.

I suppose my forehead headache and facial pain might seem as if they fit into the peculiar symptoms category. Still, after some research, I discovered my condition was not that peculiar. Whether a patient had a severe case of Covid-19 or its strains or anywhere in between, reputable medical sites state that just about any symptom resulting during and after infection may possibly be considered long-haul.

A forkl of kudus eating the lucerne. Everyone was in on the action.

Here are a few links to a few highly reputable sites with information you may find helpful if you’ve been wondering if your current state of health may be attributed to your past infection. Even mild infections may result in long-haul symptoms.

John Hopkins: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/covid-long-haulers-long-term-effects-of-covid19
Mayo Clinic: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/coronavirus-long-term-effects/art-20490351
Yale Medicine: https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/covid-19-symptoms-wont-go-away
Mostly, they grab big mouthfuls fearing it will soon be gone. And it was!

Most importantly, one must be proactive in seeking care from medical professionals and conducting research on your own, which, for me, made me realize my symptoms were not that unusual after all. But, as an avid researcher of all types of information, I tend to avoid health articles published by the news media when they are seeking more readers and sensationalizing snippets of information. Those articles can easily cause stress and anxiety when seeking more reader susing their fear tactics.

Long-haul Covid-19 is now a medical specialty. It’s wise to allow your doctor to direct you to such resources if they feel it is beneficial for you. But, not surprisingly, many primary care physicians are becoming knowledgeable in handling less aggressive cases, such as mine.

Many of our readers are working with cardiologists, neurologists, pulmonary specialists, gastroenterologists, psychiatrists, and others since many symptoms seem to cause anxiety and depression, which also can be a part of long-haul symptoms. I suffer from neither.

I have been fortunate to be able to function since I had these symptoms. However, I suffered for the past six weeks from taking the medication for neurological pain, exhaustion, and extreme daytime sleepiness. I have been off that drug since my final dose last Thursday night and no longer feel sleepy during the day.

Mongooses cuddling in the garden is typical behavior for them as they wait for me to cut up their paloney.

I have the opposite problem with Prednisone, but as mentioned in yesterday’s post, I have the opposite problem. Oral corticosteroid medication typically causes insomnia during administration. But, this side effect usually dissipates a few days after stopping the drug. I am on day three, with seven more days to complete the prescription.

Thank you to our many readers who wrote to share their stories. The most severe case I received was from a dear past client who reads our posts, who has been to hell and back in the past year with horrible symptoms and what may be lifelong conditions, difficult to treat. We send our love and prayers to Lisa and all of our readers suffering from long-haul Covid to find relief in days to come.

Since they are carnivores, they don’t eat the lucerne, but they like to burrow near it.

We are sticking close to home as I go through this treatment regime. Although I don’t feel many side effects from the new medications, I don’t feel like venturing out much right now since I have doses to take at various times of the day while I continue to try to rest as much as possible, which everyone who wrote stated that rest has been helpful for them.

After eating their paloney, they often wait around for a while, hoping for more.

Everything for tonight’s dinner is already prepared, only needing to be heated later on top of the stove. Today, I will tackle the easy job of making Tom’s keto blueberry scones which he’s been enjoying lately, and occasionally cutting carrots and fresh pears for Norman’s daily lunch. He stands in the garden staring at me, asking, “Where’s my lunch?” I can’t jump up quickly enough to get it for him. I love the joys of the bush!!!

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, October 17, 2021:

A year ago, we wrote about local artist Dawie Fourie. His paintings are so exquisite. They appear to be photographs taken by a professional photographer. For inquiries about Dawie’s artwork, please email him: at dawiefouriearts@gmail.com. For more photos, please click here.

Update on post Omicron symptoms…Not an easy solution for six-months of long-haul symptoms…

Posted by worldwide-admin on October 16, 2022 with 0 Comment

On an early morning visit, Norman is waiting for us to get up.

As promised in the last few posts, and after several readers wrote asking for an update, I am sharing where I’m at with these awful post-Omicron symptoms plaguing me since we were both infected aboard a cruise in April. When Tom got Omicron on the cruise ship, a few weeks later, after struggling with the virus, he developed Covid pneumonia.

While in the US two weeks after we tested positive and finally tested negative, we were both pretty sick. We went to Urgent Care for Tom, who had been prescribed six medications for what the doctor described as Covid pneumonia, causing his lungs to look like a “honeycomb.”

Earl, walking off from the lucerne pile a few mornings ago.

During the three weeks that we were in the US in Minnesota and Nevada, we couldn’t spend any time with our kids, grandkids, and other family members since, although testing negative, we were both still sick. Days passed while Tom lay in bed in the hotel room in Minnesota without knowing what day it was…he was so ill.

I was very sick too, but nowhere near as bad as he was, so I could handle his inhalation therapy and meds every two hours. It was quite a challenging time. During that period, my worst symptom was a constant dull headache above my left eye on my forehead, a pain in my left cheek, and a peculiar rash all over my body, unlike anything I’d ever seen.

I bought several creams at the local pharmacy to stop the awful itching that kept me awake most of the night. I knew it was from Omicron and figured all these symptoms would dissipate in time. After not seeing our family since we were both coughing so much, we headed back to Marloth Park, arriving on May 24, Tom had begun to feel better, but I was still suffering from the rash, the facial pain, and the headache.

Zebras were enjoying lucerne in our garden.

When Doc Theo wasn’t in his office on the weekend, I’d had enough and needed prescription medication. So, we went to the medical clinic in Marloth Park on a Saturday. They said I had eczema and a sinus infection that caused my Omicron and gave me a five-day course of antibiotics and a cortisone cream to use on the awful itchy patches all over my arms, legs, and back. I was grateful it wasn’t on my face.

I used all the medication as prescribed and finished the antibiotics just before we had to leave to go on a visa run to Zambia and Botswana. I still had the same symptoms during the entire week we were away; nothing had improved. We returned to Marloth Park, and the following Monday, I scheduled an appointment with Doc Theo.

In describing my symptoms, facial pain and headache only on my forehead, and when the antibiotics hadn’t worked, he dismissed the idea of a sinus infection. He considered I might have trigeminal neuralgia, brought on by Covid, a symptom seen in some “long-haul” patients.

Big Daddy was stopping by to see what was on the menu.

He prescribed Amitriptyline in a low dose, often used in high doses for seizure disorders and depression. But a low amount was effective for trigeminal neuralgia. I was hopeful, starting at only 5 mg and ending at 35 mg (still a low dose). At 35 mg, the headache improved, but the facial pain remained. However, the common side effect of this drug is daytime sleepiness, although I only took it two hours before bed.

For six weeks, I felt so drugged (it’s not a narcotic) I had trouble moving around during the day and was only comfortable lying in bed. We still socialized to fight off the symptoms, went to Jabula, and attended various events. During this time, friends Jeff, Connie, and Lindsey came to stay with us, and Jeff passed away in bed during the night on September 21st.

I don’t know how I got through all of that. I could barely keep my head up. But I did and made every effort to appear to be feeling normal. It took everything I had to cook a meal. For the last several days, Connie and Lindsey were here. We ate out four nights in a row which was good for all of us.

I’d hoped the sleepiness would fade over time, but when it didn’t, and the symptoms began to return, I made an appointment with Doc Theo this past Friday to assess my symptoms and come up with our next plan. He suggested we go to Nelspruit to Mediclinic for a brain scan, but I wasn’t ready to do that yet.

We both decided to start over with a new diagnosis. Long-haul Covid-19 symptoms are insidious. They aren’t easy to detect with typical scans and tests. We returned to the theory that I had severe sinusitis, which could easily account for the symptoms. In my head and face, since both pain locations are directly where two sinuses on the left side of my face only are located. However, when I told him the names of the antibiotics I got from the clinic on the weekend, he explained those drugs are resistant to treating sinusitis of this magnitude.

We headed to the pharmacy after the appointment with Theo and filled the four prescriptions: Prednisone. Levofloxacin, a steroid nasal spray, and a decongestant. Today, it’s been two days since my first dose of the medications. The headache is almost completely gone, but the facial pain remains. The itchy spots are improving from the Prednisone, which I will take for ten days, reducing to a lower dose in five days.

Tom cleaned up a messy result from a baboon invasion this morning.

We’ll see how it goes. Usually, antibiotics don’t fully work until the third day. The cortisone keeps me awake at night, but I am not concerned about that right now. The last dose I took of Amitriptyline was Thursday night, and it’s now out of my system. I no longer feel sleepy, forgetful, and trip over my feet, which is a huge relief.

I’ve even felt motivated to do a little cooking and some tasks around the house. If the pain isn’t gone by Thursday, I have to call Doc Theo to plan our next step. We’ll see how it goes.

No doubt, I am a bit fearful I won’t get better, and then what? I dread going back to Mediclinic, which I haven’t been back to since my four surgeries related to open-heart surgery and follow-up appointments which ended 3½ years ago.

There’s the story, folks. If you have suffered from long-haul Covid-19 symptoms, we’d like to hear from you. Right now, the only person I know who has long-haul symptoms is my younger sister Julie. It appears that long-haul is hereditary.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, October 16, 2021:

There was Little hanging around in the garden at 5:45 am. We weren’t up yet, Little! For more photos, please click here.

You can’t always get what you want…

Posted by worldwide-admin on October 15, 2022 with 0 Comment

Two horn-bills were enjoying the birdseed in the trolley.

Yesterday while shopping at Spar Market in Komatipoort, I thought of the song “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by the Rolling Stones in this video here.

Lately, we’ve been enjoying various Asian stir-fry dishes, using chicken or steak for both of us and occasionally a separate batch for me, using prawns. The Asian seasonings are crucial to making these stir-fries delicious and authentic. A few months ago, Spar sold all the sauces and spices I needed to make these delightful dishes.

But when I ran out, I couldn’t find them again. I must have been the only person buying those products; they didn’t replace the inventory once they were gone. I looked and asked each week. But, TIA, “This is Africa,” and things aren’t the same here as they are in the US, and often products are available, and then they are never to be seen again.

Also, when we shopped, there was no celery. I asked the produce guy if they had some in the back room. There was a language barrier (my problem, not his), and I had a hard time explaining what celery was. Instead, I pointed to the place on the produce shelf where the celery usually sits. Then, he understood. He explained that it might be back in stock tomorrow and to come back and see.

Lollie is the sweetest warthog we have ever known.

Hmm…I don’t want to drive for an hour round trip to “it might be in tomorrow, but maybe not.” I maintained a friendly smile, thanking him for his assistance. This is the way it is.

So, today, I thought, of the 2.5% of citizens of South Africa of Asian descent, that there surely must be an online Asian market. There was! I was thrilled to find A-Mart on this site.

This morning, I purchased enough spices and sauces to avoid a shipping fee and will have the products within a week. After that bit of research, I made a new recipe for Keto coconut bread. It was the first time I’d made the recipe, and it came out perfectly. This way, I can toast it each day and top it with avocado and Himalayan salt for a fantastic start to the day.

Lollie and Busybody, who is lying on the pile of lucerne, chasing off any other animals that stop by. Lollie is such a sweetheart; she doesn’t mind sharing, especially not one of her two boyfriends, Busybody and Rueben.

I’ll toast one piece of the bread and top it with one of the little avocados I buy at Spar, ripening them on the counter in a glass bowl and, once ripe, storing them in a sealed plastic bag in the produce drawer in the refrigerator. They keep for a few weeks this way.

Last evening, as usual, we headed to Jabula for sundowners and dinner. Lately, we’ve decided to go to Jabula on Fridays and Saturdays, as it’s become too hot to cook as we roll into summer. More of our friends are arriving soon, and some weekend nights may include social gatherings. We’ll leave our options open for other events.

While at the Spar Market Centre, we headed to the pet shop to see if we could find some food for our boy Aggie, the colorful agama lizard that lives in our garden. They didn’t have worms, crickets, or any food Aggie would like to eat. Pickings are slim for him now, with the soil hard as a rock. I may start collecting some dead bugs and saving them for him to place in the “V” in his tree.

Broken Horn stopped by for some lucerne and pellets.

Of course, before all this shopping, Tom had his dentist appointment to get his teeth cleaned, and I had an appointment with Doc Theo. I want one more day to pass on new meds to share what we discovered and my all-new treatment. I am very hopeful. I am also very excited to be off that awful medication that made me sleepy all day.

I got up this morning feeling energized, prompting me to make the Keto bread and a big batch of Keto taco seasonings (packaged taco spices containing wheat and chemical preservatives). Tomorrow, we’ll make taco salad, chopping onions, olives, lettuce, and tomatoes, and cook the lean mince we purchased yesterday. Usually, I cut up celery for the salads since we both like the crunch. But not this time.

We’ll be back tomorrow with my new medical protocol and how once and for all, I am hoping to be rid of the lingering symptoms since having Omicron in April.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, October 15, 2021:

Above is the photo we took this morning of Bad Eye. Her eyelid has improved tremendously without medical intervention. To see her immediately after the injury occurred, please click here. For more photos, please click here.

Those darned monkeys!!!…

Posted by worldwide-admin on October 13, 2022 with 0 Comment

This is one of three beautiful blood lilies blooming in the garden. Now, we are only two since this monkey plucked one to eat. These flowers are toxic and are not fit for human or animal consumption.

It’s been entertaining watching the various animals stop by to eat the lucerne. With the hot weather, it’s surprising they come by at all. Today will be 100F, and 38C with high humidity makes the heat challenging to bear. Right now, at noon, it’s 97F, 36C, rising by the minute. It’s not even summer yet. This is only going to get hotter over the next few months.

We avoid using aircon during the day to acclimate ourselves to being outdoors on hot days. Surprisingly, one does become accustomed to it to a point. But once it’s over 100F, 38C, it’s much more noticeable. Last night when we had sundowners on the veranda, it was 101F, 38.33C. As more and more animals ventured into the garden, we both forgot how hot it was and enjoyed ourselves.

With oldies music (and some more current hits) playing on our fantastic JBL speaker, which we keep inside the house to minimize the decibels, it’s our favorite time of day. We’re done with research, posts are done and being read by our readers, dinner is fully prepped and ready for finishing touches, the table is set, and we’ve selected what shows we’ll stream when we hunker down.

Two pesky monkeys sniffed, realizing it wasn’t meant to be eaten, and left it on the ground. Other animals have stopped to sniff it, but thank goodness none are eating it. People have stopped to take photos of these pretty flowers.

The insects are intolerable this time of year, making it challenging to stay outdoors after dark with any lights on. Neither of us cares to be outdoors in total darkness. A few outdoor lights allow us to see animals arriving but not to the extent during the daylight hours. Nor is it a good time to take photos. We leave that for our trail cam, which kicks on as darkness falls.

Most afternoons, especially when it’s hot, Tom comes into the bedroom for a short nap. I don’t nap, but usually, I stay in the bedroom with him since the fan is on, and it’s a nice break from the mid-day heat. By 4:00 pm, 1600 hrs., we’re all set up for the evening hours we’ll spend on the veranda.

Tom sprays the bedroom with Doom to kill any flies, mosquitoes, bees, or flying insects that may have gotten inside. We always keep the bedroom door shut, but it only takes a second for insects to enter when the only bathroom on the main floor is the “en suite” in our bedroom. With all the liquid we drink during the day, we may likely open the bedroom door ten times a day, with plenty of time for annoying and biting insects to enter the bedroom.

The Vervet monkey gave up on it and dropped it to the ground.

I’ve been trying to reduce the amount of DEET I put on my skin each day by wearing socks, long pants, and shirts with sleeves. When applying DEET, it’s not necessary to use it on skin that’s covered by clothing. But it’s a catch-22, more clothes, hotter in scorching weather; fewer clothes are likely to cause me to be bit unless massive amounts of repellent are used.

Recently I bought some “natural” repellent that was supposed to be chemical-free, but after using it for a week, I noticed I was itching, but it wasn’t from bites. It was the paraben they use in the product as a preservative which I am allergic to. Good grief. Back to DEET, which doesn’t seem to bother me.

Today, I am wearing lightweight leggings, short socks with shoes with my ankles covered, and a 3/4 sleeve cotton button-up shirt. The only areas on which I must use DEET are my hands and arms, up to the elbow and neck, which the biting insects love to bite. My clothes aren’t making me uncomfortable, but having dozens of bites would ruin my day and night.

Busybody is standing on his back legs, trying to eat pellets off the railing we’d left for Norman. Notice Spikey, the young male bushbuck, lying down in the shade on top of the pile of lucerne.

Soon, Tom will drive to Daisy’s Den to order more lucerne for the animals. We’ve decided to keep buying it until the rains come and the animals have a ready supply of nutrients in the bush. When we have lucerne, we use fewer pellets, and the cost between the two is similar.

That’s our update for today, folks. Have a fantastic day!

Photo from one year ago today, October 13, 2021:

That morning, while Tom was seated at the table on the veranda, an animal purposely tipped over the birdbath. The culprit was The Imposter, but we weren’t mad at him. For more photos, please click here.

Errors!…Ugh!…A long time ago…Wonders in Africa…

Posted by worldwide-admin on October 12, 2022 with 2 Comments

Females and young lions were lounging in the shade of the tree. Our perception was that the male lions hang out with the family, which is not the case. Once these young males mature, they’ll go off on their own to hunt, mate, and occasionally hang out with their male sons and siblings.

This morning, I accidentally clicked on the post from October 12, 2013, instead of October 12, 2021, when searching for the “year-ago” post. When I reread that post here, I noticed that my grammar correction app, Grammarly, indicated I had 82 errors on the page. Yikes! That will take a while to correct.

A fantastic morning in the bush in the Maasai Mara in 2013.

A few years ago, I went through every post, searching for errors that I corrected. Now, I find that mistakes are appearing on old posts again. I have no interest in spending hours a day going back into old posts to start this process again, especially knowing that, for whatever reason, the errors seem to reappear. As of today, we have 3700 posts. Can you imagine how much work that would be?

If I had a job and were being paid a salary or by the hour, I’d have to go back and make the corrections. But because we do this website for love, not money, I have to leave it as is. We continue each day to make every attempt to correct errors, but no matter how hard we try, we miss a few things. And, no doubt, many of you notice them.

Occasionally, a reader will write, commenting on an error I’ll immediately correct, thanking the reader for bringing it to my attention. But, if all of our readers did this (please don’t), my entire day would be spent dealing with corrections. That’s not what our lives are about. Obsessing to be perfect was one of the reasons we decided to change our lives. This simpler life leaves little room for such unrealistic goals.

Anderson, our guide, busied himself setting up our breakfast, only allowing any of us to set up the camp stools. Notice his well-equipped picnic basket. The stainless steel containers were filled with our still-warm breakfast, thoughtfully prepared by Ambrose, the chef, very early in the morning.

Back to the old post I encountered this morning, I hadn’t seen those photos in a very long time, and it was fun to see them again. It is a post from our first safari in the Maasai Mara nine years ago today. We’d posted photos over two to three weeks since we had more photos than could be published in a few days. It was an exciting time.

With room for four at the small table, some of us sat nearby, eating breakfast on our laps. There were croissants, cold cereal, pancakes, eggs, sausage, and a wide array of fruit. Although I could only eat the eggs and sausage, I was content.

But, the WiFi signal at the house in Diani Beach, Kenya, was awful, and we struggled to insert photos and text, which attributed to the many errors I spotted today. As mentioned above, when I attempted to make the corrections a few years ago, many of them didn’t stick for whatever reason. Today, I will correct that post only and, of course, any errors that appear on today’s post.

Anderson took this next photo of us, a little blurry but worth keeping, the only shot we had of our group of safari mates.

Speaking of WiFi issues, currently, there are two techs here from the company supplying internet service to this house trying to solve a WiFi issue we’ve been having since late yesterday afternoon. They got it to work last night so we could stream our shows, but it’s going in and out this morning as it had yesterday afternoon for several hours.

Such a relaxing day, lounging with the family!

Whether it’s power, water, and other services, stuff happens. After all, TIA, “This is Africa.” In our old life, we often experienced WiFi and cable TV issues. It is not a lot different here with the WiFi. We’ve never turned on the TV here. It’s upstairs in the second lounge room, and we have no interest in spending time upstairs. There’s aircon in that lounge, but we don’t use aircon during daylight hours, and we wouldn’t want to be out of sight of our wildlife visitors.

Our safari mate, Susan, was so excited to see this turtle. With hers and Linda’s new giant cameras in hand, none of us minded stopping for a photo op.

So today, we are posting some photos from the old post from October 12, 2013, and do so with sheer delight over the memories from so long ago. Enjoy them along with us. I have included them with the captions we used nine years ago.

Most likely a mom and a maturing baby, butt to butt, in quiet repose.

A few minutes ago, another bale of lucerne was delivered. We’re looking forward, once again, to our animal friends enjoying the fresh green hay in two areas of the garden.

Have a fantastic day.

Photo from one year ago today, October 12, 2021:

Impalas must be hungry to come so close to us. They usually steer clear of humans. We generously fed them. For more photos, please click here.

Hot and humid the rest of the week…Water is back…Thanks, Lindsey for Kruger photos…

Posted by worldwide-admin on October 11, 2022 with 0 Comment

Today’s photos are mainly Lindsey’s from a visit to Kruger National Park with her mom Connie, shortly before they left here after the passing of her dad Jeff. We didn’t join them that day, feeling that time of their own in a place Jeff loved might be good for them.

Plus, they wanted to spend plenty of time shopping for gifts for friends and loved ones at the fantastic shop at the Mugg & Bean in Lower Sabie. Without us, they could take all the time they wanted and not be concerned we were waiting for them. Before Jeff passed away and on our first trip to Kruger together, Connie and Lindsey helped him pick out several golf-type shirts and tee shirts with various Kruger National Park logos.

Several Cape buffalos crossing the road in Kruger National Park.

Fortunately, they were able to return everything after Jeff passed away and use the credit to purchase the gifts as a pleasant reminder of how important this trip to Africa was for him. What a thoughtful gesture!

We’ve heard from Connie several times, and they are busy planning the two memorial events for Jeff, one in South Dakota and the other in Minnesota. As a professional chef, Connie will have her staff prepare the food for the two events while she keeps a watchful eye on the quality of the food and ingredients, leaving her free to mingle with the guests.

They took their time, sensing no urgency to hurry.

Although we won’t be there with her, Jeff will remain in our hearts and minds for the magical four days we were able to spend with him. We wish it could have been longer, but as it turned out, the timing worked for Connie to acquire most of the necessary documents required from South Africa and the USA. A few documents remain, which may require the assistance of an attorney.

On another note, today is another scorcher with slightly lower temperatures but higher humidity. The dew point is slightly under tropical, making it very uncomfortable and causing us to sweat. This morning, I made a favorite low-carb hamburger (mince) casserole to get us through three dinners with leftovers to freeze for another time.

We always chuckle over the faces of the Cape buffalos. They look angry.

Tom helped, doing all the dishes, pots, pans, and hand-grating cheese, which made it much easier for me. But, I was running around the kitchen, sweating up a storm, for almost two hours getting all the ingredients put together and into the baking pans to be cooked an hour before dinner. I prepped Tom’s rice for later cooking, and all I have left to do is make the salad, which I will do once I upload today’s post.

I awoke this morning without a headache, making this lofty cooking task much easier. Also, today, I don’t feel the pain in my face. I’ve been trying to figure out why I had the headache yesterday but haven’t had it for the last seven days. Both nights I’d slept well, and there wasn’t anything I ate or drank that varied from the previous pain-free days and nights.

Quite the hunter, the fish eagle is often seen in Kruger.

This morning, when I logged on to our site, there was a comment from one of our readers…they will be in Marloth Park next week for about a week. We hope to meet them while they are here if the timing works for all of us. It’s always such fun to meet people who’ve come here from reading our site.

So far this morning, we haven’t seen many animals in our garden, although yesterday was a busy day. It was cooler and less humid yesterday. The animals stay undercover in their favorite shady spots when the weather is uncomfortable. Norman has stopped by a few times, along with Gordy, Lollie, and a few kudus.

Birds have been plentiful, drinking and swimming in the birdbath, which keeps many of the animals well hydrated with its two levels. Even the mongooses drink from it. Tom refills it with fresh water, especially easy now that the water has been restored to Marloth Park after six days. We keep thanking Danie and Louise for providing us with the JoJo tank allowing us to have water, except during load shedding.

That’s it for today, folks. May you have a comfortable and yet purposeful day!

Photo from one year ago today, October 11, 2021:

Two hornbills were banging on the kitchen window, an almost daily occurrence. For more photos, please click here.

Update on the headache…Thank you all for your concern…15 kudus in the garden…

Posted by worldwide-admin on October 10, 2022 with 4 Comments

This is the most kudus we’ve seen together in quite a while. Most of the holidaymakers are gone now that the school holiday has ended.

Gosh, our readers are wonderful. You write to us whenever something is wrong or problematic, offering thoughtful concern, suggestions, and support. It means so much to us. YOU mean so much to us. When we read about other bloggers who often read painful criticism along with toxic vitriol from ‘haters,” we feel fortunate that we don’t get any of that garbage. If someone doesn’t like what an online presence writes, they shouldn’t bother to read it.

We’re not immune to harsh words. Over the past almost ten years (in three weeks from today), we’ve had a few readers who posted hateful messages in our “comments” section at the bottom of each post. We’ve shared a few of those with you, our readers.

But some were laden with such negativism and hate, we decided to toss the messages rather than respond to them online (or offline) for all of you to see. I certainly understand the curiosity to see those toxic messages. It is natural to be curious about “good and bad.” But, I didn’t want our fine readers to feel compelled to take the time to “defend us,” which many would have done. Why waste time on naysayers?

Let’s face it, we make mistakes, not only in grammar and spelling but in our lives, and we strive to learn from those mistakes that always seem to appear at some point, slapping us right in the face. But we’re living a life that takes lots of learning by trial and error. We’re not unlike children in some ways, learning from painful experiences and hopefully utilizing that new knowledge to make our lives easier and more fulfilling.

In posting on our site, I can delete any comments I feel would create a negative spin on our site. Over the past ten years, there’s only been a handful of such comments that we chose to delete rather than respond to. Tom and I always discuss the content before deciding to delete it.

This doesn’t mean we are above criticism. But if a comment or series of comments would turn our dialogue into a “back and forth” unpleasant exchange, we aren’t interested. In part, I blame myself for this. I abhor conflict and will go to any lengths to avoid it. I learned long ago that saying a genuine “I’m sorry” has a much more powerful effect than being defensive or getting caught up in a hurtful exchange.

I suppose, in part, this is why Tom and I get along so well. I won’t fight. I prefer an honest, forthright sharing of opinions over getting engaged in words that can’t be taken back later. Tom always teases me when reminding me that it’s no fun to argue with someone who won’t participate in a furious battle….a discussion? Yes!…A battle?… No! We laugh about this.

That’s how we made it through ten months stuck in lockdown in a hotel room in Mumbai, India, in 2020. I ignored him if he got grumpy which he can do on rare occasions. Ten minutes later, he’s cheerful again. I credit him for his ability to snap out of it so quickly, which can be a daunting task for some “hotheads.”

Also, he has an outrageous ability to be compassionate if anything is wrong with me medically. I don’t complain much, so that helps, but he is so kind and caring of me; I do not need to continually vocalize my imminent suffering, including my most recent Covid-19 headache and face pain that has lasted almost six months.

The little ones are so cute and trusting.

Well, folks, here’s the most recent scoop on that. For the past eight days, the headache has been almost completely gone since I increased the dose of amitriptyline to 35 mg., taken at night only. This drug is used in high doses for convulsions and depression., of which I have neither. But in low doses, it’s been found to help with neurological pain.

I wasn’t optimistic, when 25 mg. a night didn’t touch it. But, when doc Theo increased the dose to 35 mg. three days later, I awoke tentatively enthused that the drug worked. I still have facial pain, but since it is only in one spot, I wonder if I’m having a sinus problem from Omicron and not trigeminal neuralgia. The pain has been in the vicinity of my sinuses. I will return to Doc Theo on Friday to discuss this further. I will keep you updated.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, October 10, 2021:

This heartbreaking photo of a precious little duiker who encountered a porcupine, who responded by releasing quills, makes us cringe in horror. How can she possibly survive these massive injuries? (Not our photo). From this site: “Porcupines are solitary, slow-moving animals that largely keep to themselves unless threatened. The quills usually lie flat against the porcupine’s body until they encounter a threat, at which point they “puff up” and erect their quills, swinging their spiny tails until the threat either leave them alone or gets a sharp whack and a face hand, or paw full of quills. Quills are stiff, hollow hairs with microscopic, backward-facing barbs at the tip (kind of like tiny fish hooks), so when they come into contact with flesh—human or animal—they get stuck and pull free from the porcupine’s skin.” For more photos, please click here.

It’s a scorcher today!…108F, 42C…Still no water in most of Marloth Park…Wildlife loving lucerne…

Posted by worldwide-admin on October 9, 2022 with 0 Comment

The three warthogs, Mom and fast growing Babies made a comfy nest for themselves. They slept there for hours.

Ironically, the temperature was also outrageously high a year ago on this date. I was making two pies to bring to Kathy and Don’s house in the bush; one pumpkin and another cherry, specifically for Don as his favorite. But any baker knows rolling dough for pies on a hot and humid day will end up being a fiasco, and it certainly was, as shown in our year-ago photo below.

I wrote in that year-ago post here:

“Kathy and Don are hosting an early Thanksgiving dinner for their American friends, Rita and Gerhard, and the two of us. Kathy managed to find a small turkey in Nelspruit. Turkey isn’t often consumed in South Africa and is usually purchased only for visitors from the USA.

The last time we all had Thanksgiving dinner together was in 2018, when we lived in the Orange house. The day before the event, I made eight pumpkin pies, which I described in this post. It was a hot day, with temperatures running at 102F, 40C, and pie crust dough. See that post here.”

Mom stood up when she saw me with the camera while her two youngsters were comfortable lounging in the lucerne.

We’ve had such memorable times with our friends in Marloth Park. There’s one occasion after another that we celebrated, for whatever reason, with great food, drinks, and lively animated conversation. Rita and Gerhard are now staying in Bali at the same fantastic oceanfront property we stayed at in 2016. See the photo below and our link to one of our first days there.

We stayed at this villa in Bali in 2016. Now, Rita and Gerhard are staying at this same house and loving it as we did then. See our post from that date here.

Kathy and Don are still in Hawaii at their beautiful oceanfront property. Hopefully, sometime they will be able to return to Marloth Park when Don fully recovers from an illness. We miss them too. Tonight, we are calling them at 9:00 pm, 2100 hrs., since there is a 12-hour time difference between here and Hawaii. It will be wonderful to hear their voices once again.

It’s serendipitous how all of our lives are intertwined after living in Marloth Park for a while. We are so grateful for all of our friends. Last night, once again, we were reminded of that fact when we went to Jabula for the second night in a row. We are always so grateful for the close relationship we’ve built with owners Dawn and Leon over the past nine years. We can’t seem to get enough of that place and the two of them.

On days like this, when it is so hot and uncomfortable that I may spend part of the day in the bedroom with the curtains drawn and the fan on. I don’t use the aircon during the day if I can help it, to do our part in the overuse of electricity in Marloth Park. If everyone uses their bedroom aircon all day and night, surely, there will be an outage. Then, we’ll have no power when trying to sleep, which is considerably less tolerable than during the day.

Check out the mouthful this Big Daddy took for himself.

With the fan on, which uses much less power, it is tolerable now with the temperature outside at 101F. 39C. The temp will rise to 108F, 42C, in the afternoon. I can’t imagine sitting outside for sundowners starting at 4:00 pm, 1600 hrs., but I imagine we will. Tom is outdoors right now and is fine with the heat.

Our JoJo tank still provides sufficient water, while Marloth Park is still without water, but today, I had to do some laundry. I’d hope to wait until the water is restored from the dam and the pipes fill up once again, but we have so few clothes doing laundry was a must.

Spikey loved the lucerne we had delivered yesterday. We leave the huge bale outside the fence and a small batch for the smaller animals inside the fence. This was, they all get some of the fresh green hay.

As I was hanging the clothes on the portable outdoor rack, they were practically drying in my hands. There are very few wildlife visitors today since they usually stay undercover on hot days like this. Today is the last day of the school holidays, and with lower temps expected tomorrow, we should see many of our animal friends in the morning.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, October 9, 2021:

The cherry pie crust was thick due to the awful heat and humidity today. Hopefully, it will taste good. For more photos, please click here.

Bittersweet birthday party last evening at Jabula…Day 3 without water in Marloth Park…Headache update…

Posted by worldwide-admin on October 8, 2022 with 1 Comment

An oxpecker working on insects on this giraffe’s hide.

Last night we attended a birthday dinner gathering for our friend Sinndee who recently lost her dear husband, and our friend, Bruce. It’s difficult to extend birthday wishes to a grieving spouse, but the small group of us made the best of it with lots of hugs, compassion, and support.

While at Jabula last night, we were delighted to see our friends Janet and Steve, who’d only arrived back in Marloth Park a few days ago. They bought a lovely couple from the UK with them. We are looking forward to seeing them soon, once they are settled. Then, Lynne and Mick, their close friends from Jersey, will arrive in November.

New friends we made, Les and Jerry, when at the Mugg & Bean in Lower Sabie, a few weeks ago. It was fun to have them visit us before their departure. They live in Alaska.

They’ll all leave before Christmas, and we’ll be gone for about ten days in November, but surely we’ll all have great social times together.

Off and on throughout the evening, we were warmly greeted by people we’ve come to know in Marloth Park, and it filled us with a strong sense of belonging. It was outrageously busy and the love and care highlighted the atmosphere to all by owners Dawn and Leon. We have built a strong friendship with the two of them and always feel so included.

A waterbuck on the shore of the Crocodile River while we were dining at Amazing Kruger View.

Many say that Jabula epitomizes the magic of the “Cheers” bar on the TV series from the 1980s…the place where everyone knows your name. There is nowhere we’ve ever been in the world with the atmosphere of this fine restaurant, bar, and lodge with exceptional food, service, and ambiance.

More lucerne was delivered this morning, and we’ve already had countless animals stop by for a nibble. Some are gluttonous and will stand there and eat for an hour or more, and others will take a few bites and wander away in no time. We love the fresh smell of the lucerne, a large bale of hay, green and moist, and a great source of nutrients for the animals, especially needed right now in this dry period with little rain.

Egyptian geese looking for food on the bank of the Crocodile River.

In months to come, we should see plenty of rain and the greening of the bush, which provides vital food for the animals. When that happens, they will still stop by for pellets since they love the ease with which they can eat, and many enjoy the interaction with humans. Humans often underestimate how adapted certain species can become when interacting with us.

Giraffes in our garden. They return often.

For us, who spend all day observing their behavior, it’s easy to see how much they enjoy being near us. It’s not entirely about food, which many claim is the case. We’ve spent the better part of our days and nights watching them, and it’s evident that they associate being in our midst with a positive emotional and physical experience. How ridiculous for us humans to think all animals only care about is food.

We are always excited to see giraffes stop by.

We never grocery shopped in Komatipoort this week, fearful of food spoiling due to load shedding. However, it appears Eskom has suspended load shedding for the next several days. The only reason we can think of why they stopped load shedding is the upcoming scorching weather tomorrow, predicted to be 107F, 42C, and the potential backlash from the public when there could be 7½ to 8 hours a day without power to run the aircon. This type of heat is dangerous for many without the aircon working due to power outagges.

Norman and his son Noah enjoying this morning’s lucerne delivery.

South Africans are fed up with power outages. And, can you imagine tourists coming to South Africa to see wildlife only to discover there is no power and, like the past three days, no water here in Marloth Park? People spend hard-earned money to afford to get here, only to live without power and water. For four of the next six days, the temps will be over 100F, 38C, the projected hottest tomorrow.

We’re staying in today but decided to return to Jabula again tonight. Eating out a few extra days is ideal with only a little meat on hand. It’s hard to get excited about spending time in the kitchen on such hot weather days.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, October 8, 2021:

Tag: Africa