Seeing an old friend!…A quiet Sunday…Wildlife in hiding with many weekend tourists…

It was hard to see Norman at first, but when I called his name, he turned his head to look at me. My heart skipped a beat! His youngest son is in the front of the photo.

Last night, we dropped off the keto cheesecake I baked for Louise and Donnie before heading to Jabula for dinner. Usually, I’d make a pie for myself, but I am doing great on my diet (so is Tom), and I didn’t want to sidetrack my progress. It was fun to sit and gab with them both for a while.

But no sooner had we walked into the door of their house/office, Louise grabbed me and said she had to show me something immediately. I followed her outside to their veranda and garden, and she said, “Look, there’s your boyfriend!”

And there he was with his wife Nina and two of their latest kids, whom I’ve yet to see and name. I called out to him in my high-pitched voice and he immediately snapped his head my way.

He stared at me for a few minutes and then turned to Nina, whom he was pursuing. It’s mating season again. They had two kids since we’d been gone for 23 months.

I can’t wait until he and his family make their way to our garden, which could happen at any time. I’m keeping a watchful eye on the bush.

It’s a tranquil day today, with only a few animals lingering in the garden. At this point, I see three bushbucks, one unknown warthog and a male kudu at a distance. On Monday, when the weekend holidaymakers return to their respective homes, the bush will be abundant with wildlife again.

It was so wonderful to see Norman once again.

Tonight’s dinner is prepped. Tom has bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin cooked on the braai, and I am having prawns and mussels in garlic wine broth. On the side, we’ll have a dish I prepped this morning: a keto mushroom, onion, egg, and cheese flan, along with a big cabbage and lettuce salad with tomatoes, carrot, celery, and homemade dressing.

We’ve been doing laundry this morning, half of which is done now. Every few weeks, I wash everything white in a tub with bleach. With all the dust in the air here, whites can lose their brightness and bleach can resolve this. When we take off our socks at night, we notice a line of demarcation between the white in the shoe and the tinge of brown in the exposed part.

Tomorrow, I have an appointment with Doc Theo to get something for my bad allergies. It’s disappointing that I’m having to deal with more health issues but hereditary inflammatory conditions such as heart disease, pre-diabetes and allergies have plagued me all my life.

My boy Norman is quite handsome.

No sooner than four days after we arrived, I started sneezing with itchy eyes and having asthma, I had no choice but to start a short course of Prednisone, as recommended by Doc Theo to treat the asthma when my usual medications didn’t work. In my 30s I had a seven-year course of allergy immunization injections which worked until 30 years later. But, their efficacy can wear off in one’s later years.

Hopefully, he’ll have some options for me besides Prednisone, which is not recommended for extended periods. We shall see. After the appointment, we’ll head to the pharmacy and Spar Merket for veggies and a few odd items.

That’s it for today folks.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, March 16, 2015:

Not wanting to awaken the sleeping monk seal, I kept my distance, although I’d have loved to see more, in Kauai at Napali Beach. “Known to native Hawaiians as ʻIlio-holo-i-ka-uaua, or “dog that runs in rough water”, its scientific name is from Hugo Hermann Schauinsland, a German scientist who discovered a skull on Laysan Island in 1899. Its common name comes from short hairs on its head, and it is said to resemble a monk. The Hawaiian monk seals are adopted to be Hawaii’s state mammal.” For more photos, please click here.