Fabulous celebratory night at Khaya Umdani…Error correction in yesterday’s post…One year ago, we arrived in Marloth Park…

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Note; In yesterday’s post here, I listed a genet as a civet when it was a genet. Many Marloth Park locals and dear friends Kathy and Don, who are now at their home in Hawaii, heard that it was indeed a genet. This morning, I corrected yesterday’s post with numerous references and facts about civets that now reflect facts about genets.

Rita, smiling as always, and Tom, an equally cheerful person.

On last night’s trail cam,ii t returned. Tonight’s trail cam photos will likely reflect her visit once again. Tonight, we’re having lamb (me) and pork chops (Tom) again, and will leave some meat and bones out for her after dark.

As soon as we arrived, there were 11 kudus in the garden.

Last night, we had a great time at Khaya Umdani, where Rita, Gerhard, her sister Petra and her husband Fritz are staying for the upcoming three weeks. After Petra and Fritz leave, Rita and Gerhard will move to their favorite house on Hornbill, where we stayed during our first three months in the bush in 2013/2014.

A rhino beetle on Rita’s finger! Note the horn, thus the name.

Even with countless rhino beetles, as shown in the above photo on Rita’s finger, flying around us, landing on our clothes, we didn’t flinch. The drinks, the great food, and the conversation flowed with ease as always. Tom did a great job cooking the steaks and boerewors (sausages) on the braai. Rita and Gerhard served homemade potato salad, sweet corn, steamed green beans, and crusty bread. I brought a salad and Rita’s low-carb birthday cake, as shown when she didn’t want to eat sugar or gluten.

Rita loves my low-carb, chemical-free, homemade salad dressing

Tom was in heaven eating the bread, the corn, and the potato salad, although he picked at his filet mignon and salad. He can have steak and salad with me any day. But corn, potatoes, and bread are never on the menu when it’s just the two of us.

My plates of rare tenderloin, sausage with a dab of mustard, and salad. All delicious.

If he can eat healthy low-carb foods with me, he’s able to manage his weight and his health. But, he splurges when we dine out or dine at the homes of friends. It’s a fair compromise, and I keep my mouth shut about what he’s eating under those circumstances. Of course, my concern is for his health. But, he takes no drugs and has no medical conditions. Who’s to argue with his desire for treats now and then? Not me.

Petra is delightful. We had a lot of good laughs and great conversations.

We enjoyed chatting with Petra and Fritz. Petra speaks better English than Fritz (they live in Germany). Still, we managed to easily communicate with them, either from their English, or translation in German by Rita and Gerhard. None of us missed a beat in the lively conversation.

Gerhard and Fritz enjoyed their beer.

We celebrated Rita’s birthday, which is on Friday since we’ll all be in Kruger National Park for a guided night game drive and dinner in the bush afterward. It made sense to make the celebratory first anniversary of their US citizenship along with her birthday on a special night.

Low-carb almond flour cakes don’t rise like flour cakes. But it was delicious, nonetheless.

I didn’t realize the birthday candles I’d bought at Spar were the type that doesn’t blow out. We all laughed out loud when we had a terrible time trying to put out the fire on the cake.

The trick candles took a few minutes to extinguish!

Today is a quiet day. I am baking that exact cake for us and bringing an extra to Louise and Danie as a surprise. They will surely love it also. It will be fun to have a special treat after tonight’s dinner.

We hope you are doing well in these crazy times.

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

One year ago, on this date, we arrived in Marloth Park after a 59-hour journey from Mumbai, India. After ten months in lockdown in the hotel in Mumbai, we couldn’t have been more pleased to be here. For more, please click here.

Many photos from our fabulous Christmas Day dinner in the bush…

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    The beautiful Christmas dinner table at Sindee and Bruce’s lovely home in the bush. Dawn was taking a photo of Sindee and the serving table, a short time later filled with great food.

Not having an idea of the type of dinner party at Sindee and Bruce’s home in the bush, we kept our expectations in check. We’d anticipated a buffet with guests sitting around the braai in the garden on chairs and benches with their plates of food on their laps.

A starter of prawns, sauce, and greens along with Christmas crackers with treats.

There were eleven of us, five of their family members, and six friends, including us. We were pleasantly surprised and delighted to see the beautiful table setting, adorned with gorgeous Christmas decorations including candles, miniature lights, crackers, colorful napkins, sparkling wine, along an array of crystal wine glasses. It couldn’t have been prettier.

There were many items on the menu that worked for me. I focused on meats and salads. I’d sliced avocados to go with the salad.

The six friends had brought various meats, salads, and side dishes. We’d brought the cooked, sliced prime rib and a large walnut, avocado lettuce salad. It was beautiful. The atmosphere and conversation were casual and engaging, and the hours flew by.

The meats included chicken, our prime rib, gammon (ham), and lamb, all delicious.

We rarely drink alcohol during the day, so I brought along my lowest alcohol-reduced wine with only 5% alcohol (when most wine is typically 13.5% to 14%). Tom brought a few cans of beer, and we sipped on our beverages throughout the day and early evening. We arrived at 11:30 and didn’t head for home until after 6:00 pm, 1800 hrs.

I couldn’t get enough of the lamb on the left in this photo. Tom doesn’t care for lamb, so I never make it.

Once back at our bush house, we put away all of our stuff, got into comfy clothes, and settled in for the evening. Later in the evening, Tom talked to his family members in the bedroom while I sat in the living room, talking to mine. It was beautiful to hear everyone’s voices, including our grandchildren.

Our dear friends and owners of Jabula, Dawn, and Leon.

While I was on my phone in the living room, I couldn’t help but notice hundreds of little bugs and ants all over the floor. At the moment, Tom is spraying the house while we are outdoors on the veranda, tossing pellets to Gordy (short for bushbuck Gordon Ramsey) and giant warthog One Tusk.

The animals aren’t as hungry as a month ago, with the bush now filled with lush green vegetation. They still stop by staring at us for some pellets out of habit. But, once we toss some their way, they eat slowly, often walking away with some pellets still on the ground. However, that’s not the case with warthogs. They’d eat until they burst if they had a chance. After all, they are pigs.

Sindee and Bruce’s two daughters, Mornay and Cyndy.

Today is a quiet day. Yesterday, as mentioned, I made an extra prime rib for us for tonight’s dinner. All we have to do for dinner is make Tom’s white rice and toss the salad with homemade salad dressing. I’m not big on reheating cooked beef, so we may eat it cold, which neither of us minds at all.

Over the years, I’ve tried various methods to warm cooked beef to maintain the level of doneness. But none of those methods seem to work to our liking, getting too well done in the process. We’d rather eat it cold than overdone.

Sindee and Bruce only married a few years, are a delightful couple, and so thoughtful to include us!

After dinner, we each have our cakes. As it turned out, Tom thoroughly enjoyed his German Chocolate birthday cake, saying it wasn’t dry after all. I don’t know if he’s saying this to make me happy. He’d do that rather than have me feel bad that the cake was dry.

Tom plate of desserts; lemon meringue pie and chocolate cherry milk tart. He went back for seconds. Not surprising.

We hope all of our readers/friends, and family members had a fantastic Christmas as we look forward to the upcoming end of this challenging year.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, December 26, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #276. The countryside in Tasmania certainly reminded us of New Zealand, where we stayed for three months in 2016. For more photos, please click here.

Happy birthday to my dear husband Tom…German Chocolate Cake making day!!!…

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Happy birthday, Lover! That’s my guy, always with a heartwarming grin on his face, 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.

It’s 9:30 am, on Tom’s 69th birthday, December 23, 2021. It’s hot and humid, and I am taking a break in the air-conditioned bedroom while #2 of 3 layers of his German Chocolate birthday cake is baking in the oven. I can only bake one layer at a time since the oven is too small for two at a time. The kitchen is like a sweat lodge in the Kalahari desert, and I needed a reprieve to cool down.

I set the timer on my Fitbit to 35 minutes, the time it takes to bake a layer. The first layer popped out of the pan perfectly, and I’m hoping the same happens for the remaining two layers. All ingredients come in metric measurements while the recipe is in imperial measurements. I always struggle a little with the conversions, especially when some of my measuring cups and spoons are also metric. After all, we’re living in another country. It’s not like the US here.

It’s the only material gift I could give him on his special day. I didn’t even buy him a card. The only birthday card he’ll get today is one left behind for him by dear friends Kathy and Don (now in Hawaii), which he opened this morning with more of that sh_ _ eating grin on his face. I couldn’t help but smile.

Today will be like any other day. Once I’ve frosted the gooey pecan coconut frosting on the three layers of cake, I’ll take a reprieve once again and finish today’s post. If the cake looks reasonably acceptable, I will take a photo and post it here today. If he says it tastes good after he eats a piece when we return from dinner and drinks at Jabula tonight, I’ll post the recipe tomorrow.

Don’t laugh! It’s not perfect! When I frosted the first bottom layer, 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 did have enough frosting and ended up putting too much on the top layer. My bad. I am sure it will taste good and Tom won’t mind a bit.

Oh, I could so easily go into accolades about my husband on his special day, but most of you, especially our long-term readers, have heard it all before. Long ago, when reading another world traveler’s blog, I read a comment from one of their readers who whined about how she was always saying nice things about her husband, who has since passed away. I’m sure she has no regrets about the kind words she wrote about him.

Then again, it certainly takes unique qualities in individuals and couples to travel the world for years. It’s not an easy way of life, regardless of how exciting and romantic it may sound. My contributions to this union are unceremonious. I don’t complain, fight, stay cheerful, take photos, and do these posts daily.

Tom, on the other hand, has a multitude of fantastic qualities. (OK. Humor me. I couldn’t resist). At the top of the list is his uncanny ability to remain optimistic in the most challenging times and his unwavering commitment to consistently contributing to our day-to-day lives. Next is his magical way of making me feel special every day through loving gestures, compliments, and his playful nature (dare I say sexy?). What more could a girl ask?

Much to my disdain, I sometimes don’t feel well or suffer from some unanticipated malady, let alone open-heart surgery almost three years ago. His contribution, care, and loving nature remain steady, if not escalating, during these difficult times. He never complains during those periods or reminds me of them later. Sure, from time to time, he fluffs his feathers, but I simply let it pass without issue, and moments later, he’s cheerful again, teasing me, smiling and laughing.

The three layers of cake are cooling on the kitchen counter. They all came out of the pan nicely. Now it’s time to make the coconut pecan frosting on the stovetop and then frost the layers. Hopefully, in this heat and humidity, it will turn out well. If not beautiful, I am convinced it will taste good.

Yes, today is a special day for Tom, and it’s also a special day for me. What more can I do to show him how much I love and appreciate him? I am sure I’ll think of something.

Photo from one year ago today, December 23, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #273. In this photo, taken at Aamazing River View in November 2018, on Saturday night with friends, I cut off the top of his “tall” fluffy hair but I like this photo of my guy, Tom. For more photos, please click here.

An outrageously fun night at Jabula…A mind blowing coincidence…

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We were at Moholoholo Rehabilitation Center in 2014 and had an opportunity to interact with this cheetah, their mascot. If we had any apprehension, which we didn’t, the fact that he was “purring” welcomed our touch. See this link for the original post, and please read our story below for the significance of posting this photo today.

We arrived at Jabula at 5:00 pm, 1700 hrs, our usual time. We were a little apprehensive about going at all due to the number of holidaymakers in Marloth Park during the holiday season. Under normal circumstances, we wouldn’t have been concerned about crowds. But in light of Covid-19 and the Omicron variant, I thought about it several times during the day. Will it be safe to be inside the bar that can become packed with party-goers during holiday times?

Our usual seats at the bar were taken when we arrived, but during the entire time, three hours, there was never more than 10 or 12 hovering near and around the bar. I sat at the furthest end with no possibility of anyone sitting next to me but Tom. We decided we’d eat at the bar when we ordered our food after a few hours.

But, in the interim, we met some fabulous people and caught up with Sindee and Bruce, who have invited us for Christmas dinner at their home. There will only be 11 of us, a manageable number. When dining at a home in the bush, drinks, and meals are often served outdoors. We anticipate this will be the case on Christmas Day.

The conscientious guide ensured our safety. But, we had no fear.

First, we met a lovely group of three, including Gabby, her brother, and sister-in-law. Gabby works for SanParks, the park system in South Africa. We had a fantastic talk about marketing, our website, our mutual love of wildlife, and Marloth Park.

Gabby has been coming here for 30 years and is as excited by wildlife as we are, especially with her job with such easy access to national parks. She has many interesting videos on YouTube. You can see them here at this link. Hopefully, we’ll have an opportunity to talk again in the future. We certainly hit it off!

After a while, the three of them left, and two men moved in and occupied their seats. Rico sat at the bar on Tom’s right, and immediately the two of them started chatting. In no time at all, they were like long-lost friends. That’s the magic of Marloth Park.

Rico is a fun and animated guy. I leaned in to hear the conversation and pick up pieces here and there. At one point, Rico told us that his son works for Moholoholo Rehabilitation Center, which we visited in 2014 when we did the Panorama Route, which is a self-driving tour with many sights to see along the way. We had a wonderful time on the route and stayed overnight at a fabulous resort, making memories we’ll always treasure.

While he and Tom continued talking, I looked up our post on my phone from our time at Moholoholo Rehabilitation Center. After thumbing through a few posts, I stumbled across the above two photos when we had an interaction with the center’s mascot. This rehabilitated cheetah couldn’t return to the wild based on injuries he’d incurred at a young age. He’d never learned to hunt and fend for himself. Instead, he became the center’s mascot.

I leaned forward and showed Rico and Tom the photos from our post from January 19, 2014, almost eight years ago. Rico practically screamed when he exclaimed, “That’s my son in those photos!!!?

Oh, my goodness! We were aghast! What a coincidence that eight years ago, we’d taken photos of the cheetah and Rico’s son. It’s a small world, after all, like the song, here on YouTube. When I opened the song and read the lyrics as listed below, I was reminded of how small the world really is and how grateful we are to have met so many wonderful people along the way:

Lyrics
It’s a world of laughter
A world of tears
It’s a world of hopes
And a world of fears
There’s so much that we share
That it’s time we’re aware
It’s a small world after all
It’s a small world after all
It’s a small world after all
It’s a small world after all
It’s a small, small world
There is just one moon
And one golden sun
And a smile means
Friendship to ev’ryone
Though the mountains divide
And the oceans are wide
It’s a small world after all
It’s a small world after all
It’s a small world after all
It’s a small world after all
It’s a small, small world

Have a fantastic day!

Photo from one year ago today, December 19, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #271. “Puerto Madryn (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpweɾto ˈmaðɾin]; Welsh: Porth Madryn) is a city in the province of Chubut in Argentina, Patagonia. It is the capital of the Biedma Department and has about 93,995 inhabitants according to the last census in 2010.”We toured the oceanfront village on foot on this date in 2017. For more photos, please click here.

Many requests for recipes…Posted here today…Sorry, non-foodies…

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Many of our readers are curious about my way of eating, whether low-carb, keto, ketovore, or carnivore, and write to us asking questions. After eating this way since 2010 and having experimented with each of these, I’ve found that keto is best suited to me, which limits carbs.

I tried carnivore (zero carbs, all meat) for many months but found it didn’t work for my digestive system for whatever reason. I need to eat some vegetables each day and can tolerate a small amount of dairy. Here is an excellent description of the differences of these various manners of eating from this reliable site:

“The ketogenic diet, better known as the keto diet, is a popular style of eating that restricts carbohydrates — but it’s by no means your average low-carb diet. While low-carb and keto diets overlap in a few key ways, they vary significantly from their potential health benefits to the foods they discourage.

We spoke with Pamela Nisevich Bede, a registered dietitian for ZonePerfect and medical manager for Abbott’s scientific and medical affairs team, about low-carb and keto diets. Here are the insights she shared, as well as some tips to consider if you’re looking to try either of these diets.

What Is a Low-Carb Diet?

Carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are known as macronutrients — they provide calories for the body and are needed in more significant amounts than micronutrients, primarily vitamins, and minerals. Many eating plans, including keto and low-carb, involve emphasizing or restricting certain macronutrients.

“Technically, any eating style recommending less than 45% of calories from carbs can be considered low carb,” Nisevich Bede began, “but many research studies home in on approximately 10% to 25% of calories coming from carbs.”

A low-carb eating plan replaces the calories you’d typically get from carbs with protein-rich foods and certain fats.  While the exact distribution of calories varies from plan to plan and person to person, an example of a low-carb macronutrient breakdown might include 10% to 25% of calories from carbs, 40% to 50% from protein, and 30% to 40% from fats. The emphasis on protein provides you with energy and supports appetite control and muscle health.

“Some of the protein in the diet may be used to make glucose for energy,” she explained. “If you’re on a lower-calorie plan, watch out for signs of fatigue or muscle soreness.”

How Is the Keto Diet Different From Other Low-Carb Diets?

While Nisevich Bede noted that people tend to use the terms interchangeably, the keto diet is very different than traditional low-carb diets in terms of its macronutrient breakdown.  It requires you to get 5% to 10% of your calories from carbs, 15% to 30% from protein, and at least 70% to 80% from fat — that’s nearly twice as much fat and half as many carbs as what typical low-carb diets recommend.

“A ketogenic diet highly restricts carbohydrate intake, and it’s purposely high in fat,” she explained, “while a low-carb diet focuses on moderate protein and moderate fat.” The keto diet outlined here is for the general consumer. It is not therapeutic, she continued, with the ultimate goal being to promote ketosis — a natural metabolic process in which the body burns fat for fuel. Ketosis begins once the body’s glycogen stores are depleted.”

Please check with your medical professionals to aid you in deciding which may be best for you should you choose to embark on a lower-carb way of eating. Years ago, my integrative medicine doctor sent me on the path of keto, and I have maintained it over all these years. As many of you know, this way of eating was instrumental in us being able to travel the world with my improved health.

Naysayers may say that eating this way contributed to my heart disease. My cardiologist and surgeon assured me that is not the case, which I confirmed with hundreds of hours of research. In essence, it may have prevented me from having a fatal heart attack.

The problem is with my arteries, and it is hereditary. I was told most likely I had developed coronary artery disease 30 years ago or more. Cardiologists throughout the world recommend that inflammation and blood sugar be kept to a low level to prevent heart disease. A low carb/keto diet can accomplish this.

The recipes requested since yesterday’s post were the two treats we mentioned, Low Carb Cream Cheese Clouds and Low Carb Chocolate Fudge. I can’t take credit for creating these recipes. Please note: these are treats. Eat in moderation.

  • Low Carb/Keto Cream Cheese Clouds at this link. This particular website has some fantastic recipes we’ve enjoyed over the years. Cut into squares, place into containers, and freeze, eating small portions frozen.
  • Low Carb/Keto Chocolate Fudge at this link. Also, from a fantastic website. Follow the above freezing and storing suggestions.

One reader requested our Low Carb Cheese Pie recipe. This is my mother’s original cheese pie recipe which I’ve adapted to low carb/keto with a low carb/keto almond flour crust.

Jess’s Low Carb Cheesecake Recipe (makes one pie)

Crust

1 1/2 cups almond flour

1/2 cup melted butter

Liquid sweetener to taste (purchased at Amazon.com at this link). I use ten drops for the crust.

3/4 tsp cinnamon

Spread in a pie pan and bake in the oven at 180C (350F) for 20 minutes until it appears light brown and done to the touch. Let cool before adding the filling.

Filling

2 8 oz packages full fat cream cheese

2 eggs beaten

Liquid sweetener to taste – I use 40 drops of liquid sucralose I purchase at Amazon.com at this link.

2 tsp real vanilla

Beat well and put into baked almond flour crust after it’s cooled.

Bake at 180C (350F) for 35 minutes until done (test by inserting a butter knife in the center. It should almost be clean but not wet). Let cool before adding the topping.

Topping 

1 cup sour cream

Liquid sweetener to taste (I use 6 drops)

2 tsp. vanilla

Also, we did a very long post with low carb/keto recipes last year which may be found here at our link.

Last night for dinner, we had low-carb meatloaf covered with bacon. Here’s my recipe for the above-shown meatloaf:

Jess’s Low Carb Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf 2 eggs, beaten 1/4 cup low carb ketchup (Heinz has a low sugar option) 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded 1/4 cup onion, chopped fine 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 2 pounds grass-fed ground beef, 1/2 cup sugar-free ketchup,

4 hard-boiled eggs,12 strips of nitrate-free (or regular) bacon

Boil the eggs, cool, and peel, keeping them whole.

Combine everything except the bacon and hard-boiled eggs in a large bowl. Mix well, then shape into the bottom half of one large loaf using ½ of the meat mixture.

Evenly place the hard-boiled eggs into the center from end to end. Top with the remaining ½ of the meat mixture, sealing the two sections evenly and tightly.

Lay the whole bacon strips across the width of the loaf, tucking the ends underneath the loaf. Bake at 350 degrees, 180C, for one hour or make it into two loaves and bake for 45 minutes.

If bacon isn’t fully cooked, turn on the broiler and set the kitchen timer for 30 seconds, and broil until bacon is cooked, repeating if necessary.  Watch the timer carefully.

Makes 8 servings

For those non-foodie, we apologize for boring you today. We’ll be back tomorrow without the mention of food.

Happy day to all!

                 Photo from one year ago today, November 22, 2020:

This photo was posted one-year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #244. My low blood sugar from eating very few carbs reads 78 (US numbers), 4.33 (SA and other countries, numbers). I am still holding great reading with no diabetes medication. (See your health care professional to) accomplish this safely if you are taking diabetes medication). For more on this post, please click here.

Tom loves his doughnuts!…Fun outing planned for tonight…

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    Tom was in doughnut heaven when “fritters” covered with white and chocolate frosting were available at the breakfast buffet. He sure loves doughnuts and seldom finds any he likes.

Note to our readers: Based on receiving hundreds of spam comments each week, adding significantly to the time necessary to do each day’s post, it is now required to log in to post a comment. We apologize for this added step. We were tired of seeing pornographic and illegal drugs sales posted as comments on our site. I had to go through each one to remove it. If you have an urgent comment for us, please feel free to use the comment section at the end of each post or send either of us an email message to which we’ll respond within 24 hours or sooner. Thank you so much for being so understanding. We will post this notice for one week.

Booking hotel rooms with breakfast included is our preference, although we don’t always eat breakfast at our holiday homes. But, if we chose a room without this option and didn’t order breakfast separately, we’d be in trouble if we became hungry during the late afternoon. We don’t eat typical vending machine snacks or lunch since we don’t eat when not hungry.

I can only imagine the struggle we’d have with our weight if we ate three meals a day with snacks. In an effort to maintain a healthy weight, overeating and to eat too often doesn’t make sense. Besides, not knowing the preparation of food unless otherwise specified is especially tricky for me.

Dining on the veranda at the hotel’s restaurant is pleasant.

Over the past several years, I have gotten away from eating restaurant foods made with vegetable oils. I have done tons of research on this topic, and over these years of world travel, I’ve learned to ask what oils were used in food preparation. Here’s an excellent article by Dr. Mark Hyman, a highly regarded physician, and health advocate.

In restaurants, they often use cheap oils, not unlike industrial oils. When we went through the buffet (staff served) this morning, I asked about many items I may have selected a few years ago. This morning, after ordering the same oil-free vegetable omelet with a side of steamed vegetables, I asked if the chicken livers, which I always loved, and various other offerings, were made with oil. They were. I chose to pass on them.

We didn’t bring swimsuits. With Covid-19, we aren’t interested in swimming in public pools.

Then I asked what may seem to be a dumb question, “Is vegetable oil used in the preparation of the bacon?” The answer was an emphatic yes. I passed on the bacon. I could eat nothing else on the buffet, but I appreciated the oil-free omelet and the steamed vegetable platter. Very few restaurants in this mid-range use butter for cooking unless requested.

In some African countries, even butter isn’t “real” butter. It’s some highly processed trans-fat-laden butter lookalike. No thanks. I am better off with poached, steamed, or grilled foods.

As you can see from the above photo of Tom, he’s less concerned. He doesn’t have heart disease, like me. And, he has excellent genes, when mine is awful with many inflammatory diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and a variety of auto-immune conditions. I am trying to extend my lifespan by being very diligent about what I consume and the quality of my life.

The breakfast buffet only had a few options for me, a veggie omelet and steamed veggies.

I guess I won’t know if this serves me well until my number is up. But, I bear no hardship in selecting healthy options, especially when dining out.

As for tonight, we have a reservation for fine dining at the Old Drift Restaurant at the luxurious Royal Livingstone Hotel, a short taxi drive from the hotel. See details here from this site:

“Royal Livingstone Hotel Dining Options

The Royal Livingstone Hotel offers fantastic dining experiences serving world-class cuisine. The most famous is the Royal Livingstone Express, a luxury dining experience aboard a steam train that also stops on the iconic Victoria Falls Bridge for sunset drinks. A fine a-la-carte menu is available in their Old Drift Restaurant, or their lounge offers light dining in a room full of fascinating history and artifacts from the area. We would highly recommend doing either lunch or high tea in their Kubu Restaurant, which is on the deck, giving you unrivaled views overlooking the Zambezi River, some of the rainforest, and the spray of the falls. Animals such as baboon, zebra, warthog, bushbuck, and giraffe roam the lawns of the Royal Livingstone grounds, really giving you that “Out of Africa” feeling.”

We’re excited to be able to have sundowners on the deck of the famous hotel and then dine on their gourmet food which, I expect, won’t be cooked in “bad” oils, but I won’t hesitate to ask. If I am uncertain about the butter they use, I will order poached, grilled, or steamed items. One never can be too safe.

Tom was waiting for me while I took a few photos.

Of course, our big motivator for choosing this location is its reputation for great food, its high-rated ambiance, and views on the Zambezi River, where we hope to see wildlife and take many photos.

The time is going so fast, and we can hardly believe it. We’re having a great time together, meeting new people. Last night we met two corporate pilots from South Africa and had a great time chatting with them. We’re so fortunate always to find ourselves interacting with others during our world travels.

We couldn’t have it done on Monday since it’s a national holiday in Zambia, Independence Day, and the PCR clinic closed. Tomorrow, a doctor from a local clinic will come to the hotel to do our PCR tests for our return to South Africa. As it stands right now, we’re returning to Marloth Park in a mere three days.

Hmm, I wonder how our 12 bushbucks, Frank and The MIsses, Little and Broken Horn, and all the others are doing while we’re away! For now, we’re enjoying every moment of our time away while still looking forward to making it through immigration without a hitch (hopefully) and getting ourselves back to the bush.

Happy day!

Photo from one year ago today, October 23, 2020:

Today’s photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #214. Ordering the seafood platter for two in Kenya resulted in a fabulous meal we enjoyed, each receiving our huge platter like this. That sure looks especially good now! For more photos, please click here.

Another pie making day from hell…Thanksgiving dinner tonight with friends…

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    The cherry pie crust ended up thick due to the awful heat and humidity today. Hopefully, it will taste good.

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.

Pie crust dough should not get above 70F, 21C and although I got up to make the crusts at 6:00 am this morning, it was already above 80C, 27C in the kitchen. Here is an interesting article about making pie crusts in too cold or too hot temperatures.

Of course, I waited to turn on the oven until I’d made and rolled all the dough and placed it in the tins. But, like in November in 2018, once again, it was challenging, and my crusts had to be thick to put them in the pan without them falling apart.

On top of that, I was making Don’s favorite cherry pie, which requires a lattice top. Rolling and cutting those strips to keep them from breaking apart as I placed them on the pie was, once again, very tricky. Finally, I resigned myself, again, that the strips would have to be thick to prevent them from breaking. Fortunately, the crust is flakey and delicious, so eating big strips of dough won’t be so bad.

The pumpkin pie’s crust wasn’t perfect in appearance, but we’re expecting the flavor to be good.

If we had planned this Thanksgiving dinner for Sunday instead of today (my fault when Kathy asked which day was better), the temperature would only be a high of 70F, 21C, which would have been perfect pie-making weather. Oh, well, history certainly does repeat itself.

Right now, the pumpkin pie is baking after Tom helped me get the cherry pie out of the oven. With no regular pie tins, I am using tinfoil pans, which are flimsy in South Africa. I used two tins for each pie to make them slightly sturdier. We’ll see how that works out when we drive the pies to Kathy and Don’s later today on the very bumpy dirt roads in Marloth Park.

We’re scheduled to arrive at Kathy and Don’s home at 5:15 pm, 1715 hrs. At 7:00 pm 1900 hrs, Eskom, the electric company, will be instituting the second load shedding (power outage) since last night at 9:00 pm, 2100 hrs, which started right after we got home from Jabula. We’ll be dining in the dark.

Luckily, last night, we still had WiFi when the power went out and could stream a show in the dark. Before we dozed off, the power had come back on, 2½ hours later. Once again, tonight, it will be out until 11:30 pm, 2330 hrs. Depending on how late we stay at Kathy and Don, tonight might repeat last night.

Last night we had a fun time at Jabula. A lovely couple from Scotland in Marloth Park approached us while we sat at the bar before dinner with Rita and Gerhard. This couple greeted us warmly to tell us they’d been reading our posts for a long time.

They felt like they knew us after our detailed daily exposes. We all laughed at the irony of being at Jabula on the same night. We’ve experienced this many times as we’ve traveled worldwide, especially on cruise ships when people recognize us from our photos. It is these memorable interactions that make our travels all the more enjoyable.

There we sat with dear friends Rita and Gerhard, whom we also met due to our posts who stumbled across us on the web years ago. We love this! How lucky we are!!!

We’re hoping you’ll have a delightful weekend too. Be well. Be healthy. Be happy.

Photo from one year ago today, October 8, 2020:

This photo was posted while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #200. While in Bali in 2016, the two Ketuts, our cooks, walked in bare feet in the rain-flooded road to the villa to make our dinner, leaving their motorbikes elsewhere on higher ground. For more photos, please click here.

Sometimes I bite off more than I can chew…

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We made two of these large pans of apple crisp and one smaller pan. We’ll bring one large pan to Kathy and Don’s tonight and keep one large and small pan at home.

Desserts are my favorite foods to make, although I don’t eat them. It’s not unlike me to volunteer to make certain dishes to share with others when I have accumulated so many amazing recipes over the years. There’s something special about making desserts that feels like love.

Lately, I’ve been making either blueberry or lemon poppyseed muffins for Tom, enough to last a week.  My desire to provide comfort food has been satisfied by making his muffins. No, I don’t encourage Tom to eat sweet treats, but when he was buying muffins in the market, at least I knew my homemade muffins didn’t have preservatives and chemicals. Making them myself assured they had quality ingredients, with no trans fats and bad sources of oil or butter. Only he can decide when he’s ready to give them up.

In South Africa, bringing our meat to braai and drinks is traditional. It is more the norm than not. We appreciate this tradition since we enjoy bringing our preferred cuts of meat when Tom and I eat larger-sized portions of protein than most.

Because I eat such little variety, meat and salad may be the only items I’ll eat at a host’s home. Tonight, we’re bringing beef tenderloin, cut into appropriate portions for Tom and me. Kathy and Don will serve baked potatoes, salad, and sweet corn. This way, our hosts can spend time with all of us instead of working in the kitchen.

A few days ago, expecting the dry socket to be totally better by now, which it is not, I volunteered to bring homemade gluten-free apple crisp, a dessert we’ve found many enjoy, especially when topped with vanilla ice cream, which we’re also bringing. Little did I know at the time that I would still be under the weather due to the ongoing pain, although greatly diminished, and off pain killers would be an issue.

So, upon awakening this morning after sleeping for nearly 10 hours, according to my FitBit, I still felt sluggish, and the socket was still sore. I’d hoped by today, it would be over. This painful scenario has left me feeling out of sorts, especially after spending several days lying on the bed, propped up on pillows, on narcotic pain pills, which I’ve since stopped. I feel weak from lack of activity and the horrible drugs.

Last night, we went to Jabula with Rita and Gerhard, but we were home before 8:30 pm (2030 hrs). We watched an episode of Big Brother, and I dozed off to sleep. When I awoke at 9:00 am, I thought, “Wow! I am going to feel great after this long night’s sleep!”

But, once up, showered, and dressed, I wondered how I’d manage to make the apple crisp still feeling unlike myself. As always, Tom helped peel the zillions of apples. I wanted to make a big pan to bring tonight and another big pan to have at home. This resulted in peeling, coring, and slicing over 40 apples.

Prepping a little more than we needed, I had a third extra smaller pan than we required, surely Tom will finish it off in no time. We gave all the scraps to the bushbucks and kudus, including Bad Eye. They all loved them. Bad Eye, although not treated for her injury, seems to be doing better. The bleeding has stopped, and it looks as if, at some point, it will heal. She still has a good appetite, devouring the apple scraps with her three female friends/family members.

By noon, I had the first of the three pans of apple crisp in the oven. The small oven only fits one pan at a time. It’s hot today, and the oven will most likely be on for about three hours to thoroughly cook the three pans. It’s already pretty hot in the house, so once I put the first pan in the oven, I came into the bedroom to sit on the bed with the fan on to cool off and recover from standing on my feet for 2½ hours. Surely, later on, I’ll perk up.

We aren’t expected to arrive at Kathy and Don’s house until 5:30 pm (1730),  leaving plenty of time to finish baking and get dressed and ready for tonight. There will be eight of us at their home for dinner. I doubt I bit off more than I could chew making this multi-step dessert, but now that they are baking, I’m relieved to have it done and out of the way.

Nothing more is required of me today other than completing and uploading today’s post. I’ll have plenty of time to chill out, work on more corrections and enjoy jumping up every so often to welcome visitors to the garden until it’s time to get ready to go.

Have a pleasant day and evening!

Photo from one year ago today, September 25, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago in lockown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #186. A few zebras meandered down the hill to the water, but mom didn’t seem concerned. Giraffes and zebras seem to blend well in the wild. For more photos, please click here.

The mozzies are back…Along with the heat…Summer is on the horizon in Africa…

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This is Fred and Ethel lying butt-to-butt in the garden with a helmet guinea-fowl looking om, hoping for more pellets.

Last night, there was a mosquito buzzing around my head every half hour or so. I covered as much of myself with the blanket, but it was hot in the bedroom, even though the aircon was on, set at 22C, 72F. Yesterday was a hot and humid day. Today is the same.

I ended up with one bite on my eyelid, leaving my eye half-closed this morning, and two bites on my hands which I had outside the covers most of the night. So here it is. Summer is coming in the bush requiring DEET repellent is applied at least three times a day and again before going to bed.

Two hornbills were standing on the veranda railing, enjoying some of Frank’s seeds.

This morning, Tom sprayed the bedrooms and bathrooms with Doom, and we now must keep the doors closed day and night to keep the flies and mozzies out of the bedroom, allowing us (mainly me) to get a decent night’s sleep. Tom is hard of hearing and doesn’t hear the mozzies, but they don’t bite him anyway.

Each warm season in the bush, Tom may get three mosquito bites without using repellent. Whereby I may get hundreds even though I use the repellent several times a day.

Spikey stops by five or six times a day, checking out the veg and pellet situation, which is often prolific when he arrives.

Tonight, we have Fiona and Alan here for dinner. For the sundowner starters, we have julienne fresh vegetables with Mediterranean hummus, crackers, and cheese along with a dish of macadamia nuts. I wanted to keep the starters light so we don’t get too full for the main meal.

For the main course, we’re making individual bacon-wrapped pork tenderloins on the braai, not the prepared versions at the market, but hand-wrapped butt bacon-wrapped well seasoned without chemicals and preservatives.

Big Daddy stops by a few times a week to check out the pellet situation.

Also on the menu is a big platter of roasted root vegetables, garlic buttered sauteed whole mushrooms, seasoned rice, and an enormous salad packed with colorful seasonal vegetables and feta cheese, with homemade salad dressing. No bread or dessert will be served since all of us are avoiding high-carb, gluten-rich dishes.

As of this time, close to noon, I have almost everything chopped, diced, and prepared for the meal. I am cooking the roasted vegetables ahead of time since they require lots of attention while roasting in the oven, turning them every 30 minutes during a 90-minute cooking time. All we have left is to cook the rice, saute the mushrooms and cook the meat on the braai.

When he doesn’t see any pellets, he positions himself close to us on the veranda to ensure we know what he wants. We comply.

After that, I’ll toss the salad and reheat the vegetables, and we’re good to go. It’s always been important to me not to be stuck in the kitchen once our guests arrive. Tom will attend to the meat on the braai while I do the rest. Plus, he always does the dishes, which is a massive help to me.

We don’t have a lot of new photos today. The past several days, with lots of social plans, including another fantastic dinner and fun evening at Jabula last night, chatting with Dawn and several other guests, we were back home before 10:00 pm and off to bed in no time at all. Unfortunately, once I turned off the light, the mozzie started dive-bombing me. A short nap might be on the agenda today.

We hope you have a pleasant Saturday, wherever you may be.

Photo from one year ago today, September 4, 2020:

We posted this photo one year ago while in lockdown in Mumbai, India, on day #165. This was the kitchen sink at the house we rented in Kenya in 2013. The kitchen was so small, two of us couldn’t be in it at the same time. For more photos, please click here.

Old habits never die…Baking sweet desserts…

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Mom and Baby bushbuck fussing over each other. So sweet.

Today is Sunday of the National Women’s Day Holiday weekend, and our garden is seriously lacking in any activity. So far today, we’ve only seen two duikers who were too shy to approach for pellets or apple peels, a few annoying Vervet monkeys that Tom shooed away, and a few loyal bushbucks.

This is one of our favorite bushbucks, Thick Neck, also known as Bad Leg. He still limps on his back right leg, but it seems to be improving.

On my feet in the kitchen for the last 90 minutes, I needed to sit on the bed with my feet up to recover from standing so long. Since I was still yet to fully heal from the virus (unknown), standing for so long was exhausting. We’d bought tons of apples with the intent of bringing a Gluten-Free Apple Crisp to Kathy and Don’s house with me making an extra to keep at home for Tom.

The event at Kathy and Don’s was canceled with Gerhard and I both being sick, and the apples needed to be used. Of course, I knew if I weren’t feeling well enough to make Tom at least one apple crisp, we’d undoubtedly cut up the apples for the wildlife, who love apples. (Broken Horn and Little eat them whole).

This bushbuck is named “Holey Moley.” She has a black mole on her right bottom lip and several moles on the back of her neck. She’s a daily visitor! She’s munching on cabbage.

But, with few visitors, I decided today was the day to make one of Tom’s favorite desserts, which is baking in the oven now. He’d lost a lot of weight lately, and since he’s easily able to maintain, he deserved a treat, which will last for several days in the refrigerator. Later, after dinner, he’ll reheat a good-sized portion in the microwave and top it with a generous dollop of vanilla ice cream. I will be drooling watching him eat this tasty dessert which I also loved in my old life.

Suppose I have enough energy after resting comfortably in the bedroom while preparing today’s post. In that case, I might make myself my favorite Low Carb Cheese Pie (yep, not a cake, but a pie, created inside a delicious almond flour crust). Usually, when I make one for me, I also make one for Louise and Danie, who eat like me, which Tom can drop off later. I decide if I am up to it after a while.

With holidaymakers in the park right now, we only see bushbucks and a few warthogs in the garden.

Tom is outside on the veranda, listening to his favorite podcast, Garage Logic from Minnesota. It’s only on Monday through Friday, but often, on the weekends, he catches up. As mentioned earlier, his name is mentioned toward the end of each episode. He sends them a new story each day, entitled “This Day in Minnesota History,” which they read on the air, always mentioning Tom’s name and commenting about the “traveling Lyman’s, currently in Marloth Park, Mpumalanga, South Africa.”

It always makes us laugh! From time to time, Tom hears from listeners who think his daily contribution is fun. While we were in the US, Tom shared that we were in various cities during our visit including, Eden Prairie, MN, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, then Henderson, Nevada.

Mom and Baby bushbuck stop by daily, even during this busy time.

The show’s hosts chuckled when they saw that we were back in Marloth Park, Mpumalanga, South Africa, four weeks later, as Tom diligently continued to send them the stories each weekday. These “mentions” on the show are a source of enjoyment for both of us, let alone the newsy information and opinions they share during each podcast.

The handy timer on my Fitbit Sense went off for the third time as I strive to get the baking done perfectly for the apple crisp. I made a big batch, and it’s taking over an hour to bake, leaving the top a toasty brown. Below is a photo of the finished product.

Homemade Gluten-Free Apple Crisp.

It felt good to be baking, which I prefer over making savory meals. But, with our usual eating method (always for me, less so for Tom), baking sweet desserts isn’t something I often do. But, today, it felt satisfying and comforting in a way only an enthusiastic baker would understand.

Now that I’ve smelled and seen the result of my baking efforts with the apple crisp, I’m ready to tackle those two Low Carb Cheese Pies so that tonight when Tom eats his dessert, I’ll have a slice of mine. Tom will drop off Louise and Danie’s pie when they return home later today.

Happy day!

Photo from one year ago today, August 8, 2020:

This one-year-ago photo was posted while we were in lockdown in Mumbai, India, on day #138. There were many photo-taking tourists in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles in Paris, France, in 2014. For more photos, please click here.