Holding our breath!…Could it be?…

Posted by worldwide-admin on January 27, 2023 with 0 Comment

This is Torn Ear looking around the side of the house to see if we’re here. When he spotted us, he got in position to receive pellets.

Yesterday afternoon while I was in the bedroom folding laundry and Tom was taking a quick nap, I heard our South Africa phone ringing in the dining room. I didn’t want to wake him, so I let it ring since opening and closing the bedroom door is noisy. Often, we get robocalls on that phone, and I seldom answer it unless I recognize who’s calling.

When I checked the phone, I saw a call from Bidair Services in Johannesburg, which handles lost luggage. What do you think flashed through my mind? Of course, Tom’s missing bag! I called the number when no message was left, and it took me over an hour to find out who had called me and why?

Torn Ear was waiting for treats. Note that his right ear has healed nicely after being torn many months ago.

The information was not in their system, and only one person knew about the bag. I kept getting cut off with the call disconnected in the hour I spent calling, waiting on hold, only to get the message on the phone “call ended.” My frustration level was palpable. But, in my usual way, I didn’t give up and kept calling and calling until finally, I reached the person who’d called.

Yep, the bag was found and was going to be put on a flight this morning at 9:45 am. Immediately, by WhatsApp, I contacted the kind woman who works for BidAir in Nelspruit, who’d brought my bag out on New Year’s Day, and asked if she could help us again. She said she’d be happy to bring us the bag as soon as it arrived.

Five Big Daddies arrived simultaneously last night, with three shown in this photo.

This morning I got a call from BidAir once again, but this time I had the phone next to me to report the bag didn’t make the flight and would be on a flight arriving at 1655 hrs, 4:55 pm later today. Alas, Tom’s bag missed its flight this morning! It’s too late in the day for the driver to pick up and deliver the bag to us since driving on the N4 highway at night is very dangerous due to carjackings, spiking, and murders. We wouldn’t ask the driver to travel on that road at night!

As it turns out, she has a funeral to attend tomorrow morning. Since the airport in Nelspruit won’t hold the bag for more than 24 hours, I asked if she could pick up the bag within 24 hours, keeping it safe in the interim, and bring us the bag during daylight hours in the next several days. She was happy to comply.

We hadn’t seen Norman in days, but yesterday, he visited five or six times, once with Nina and their youngster.

If the airport would hold the bag until Tuesday, we could get it after our 10:45 am appointment at immigration to file our papers. But, I’d asked them this question when we were at the airport after the bags were lost, and they stated emphatically that they could not “hold” bags waiting for passengers to pick them up. They’d send it back to Joburg, which would be a nightmare of a similar situation.

So, we have no choice but to wait and see how it rolls out in the next few days. Once we get the bag in our possession, ensuring nothing is missing, we’ll contact the insurance company and see what has to be done with the claim we filed that I spent no less than 40 hours working on. Will they reimburse us for the items we had to purchase to replace those missing in the bag? We’ll see how that rolls out.

Baby nyala, gender yet to be determined, visited with dad Norman and mom Nina early this morning.

Why do we need someone else to pick up the bag? Simple answer. We both don’t like making the drive from Marloth Park to Nelspruit. I despise that drive, especially through the gorge area when the two-lane road is packed with trucks and recklessly speeding vehicles. It’s a nail-biting trip for about 75 minutes each way.

Plus, we are making that drive on Tuesday morning, and there’s no way we’d want to make that trip again. Once again, we’ll give the driver a nice tip which is well worth it.

As for today, we’re busy working on our laptops until it’s time to get ready to go to Jabula tonight. We have many bookings to research, and I have several email messages I need to respond to that have arrived over the last 24 hours. Yesterday afternoon, I caught up on all of the expense records for charges incurred since the first of January. Generally, I do this once a month. In the next 24 hours, I’ll set up “bill pay” for payments due around the first of the month. There’s always plenty to do to keep me busy.

Of course, we’ll report back on the status of the bag and if, in fact, we get it back.

That’s it for today, folks. Have a fantastic Friday, and be well!

Photo from one year ago today, January 27, 2022:

Piglets suckling from Tail-Less Mom. The male is looking too big to keep suckling! Soon, the mom will wean them. For more photos, please click here.

It seems we always arrive in the US at a holiday time…Differences…

Posted by worldwide-admin on January 25, 2023 with 4 Comments

Mongooses with some babies stopped by this morning for paloney.

We’re trying to book a hotel for our time in Boston to see my cousin Phyllis at the end of August. From there, we’re flying to Nevada to see Richard and then flying to Minnesota to see the other three kids and grandchildren. But, the dates we’re getting off the ship, which embarked from Reykjavik, Iceland, arriving in Boston on August 30.

The Labor Day weekend begins a few days later when prices for flights and hotels go through the roof. A hotel we booked in September 2014 is now over double the price we paid at almost US $500 per night, ZAR 8620, more than we’re willing to pay. The other options are hotels with ratings that prevent us from booking them. We’ll have to figure this out in the next few days.

At other times, like when we visited the US most recently, it was the end of the Thanksgiving weekend, where again, prices were higher than usual. It’s not as if we plan to arrive at holiday times. It just coincidentally works out that way.

One of the forms Tom has to sign threw me for a loop. It states that he is also a signer on our bank accounts, and there are enough funds in the account to sustain me while we stay an extra 90 days in the country. There was no such form required for me to sign. No less than 20 years ago, women in South Africa were not allowed to open a bank account without a male signature.

Hmmm…life is different all over the world. I observed this distinctly yesterday when I was getting my prescriptions refilled after my visit to Doc Theo. The pharmacists are helpful and provide suggestions on over-the-counter products customers can use. When we were in the US and went to a pharmacy such as Walgreens or CVS, the pharmacists refused to assist with any suggestions for over-the-counter allergy medications.

This male and female dung beetle were rolling about on a tiny ball of dung. There was barely room for both of them!

Tom and I agreed that pharmacists in the US are especially careful when speaking to customers due to liability and lawsuits, which are much more common in the US than in South Africa or other countries. The pharmacists are kept behind what appears to be locked doors and windows with little access to them unless when submitting or picking up a prescription. They provide minimal information and answers to questions.

We also observed at pharmacies in the US that many of the shelves usually carrying over-the-counter items were practically empty in many cases. In the local pharmacy in Komatipoort, not a single shelf was empty with substantial supplies of most things. Apparently, the supply chain for many pharmaceutical products was severely impacted in the US due to the pandemic.

Also, when we stopped at various grocery stores for a few items as recently as November, there were also numerous empty shelves. Also, “help wanted” signs were at every store and restaurant, both eat-in and carry-out. We’ve yet to see a “help wanted” sign at any of these locations in South Africa.

This isn’t to say that the US or South Africa have figured out anything that makes them better or worse in these challenging economic times. But, what’s the deal with this? We try to stay on top of economic news throughout the world to provide us with a better understanding of countries we’d like to visit in the future.

Yesterday in my prescription refill order, Doc Theo had prescribed two Epipens, one for me and one for Tom, since both of us are allergic to certain bees, hornets, and wasps. They only had one in stock, but they will order the other for the next time we stop by. Below is the bill with the cost of the one EpiPen which we paid yesterday:

The cost of the EpiPen was ZAR 997.52, US $57.91. See below for the cost of EpiPens in the US.

Here’s a chart from the US on the cost of Epipens for 2023:

Cost of Epinephrine auto-injectors by Pharmacy from this site:

Pharmacy	Cost of Brand Name EpiPen	Cost of Generic Version
CVS	$650	$340
Walgreens	$735	$341
Stop n Shop	$688	$662
Rite Aid	$733	$530
Walmart	$684	$320
Duane Reade	$688	$341
Wegmans	$688	$418
Kroger	$730	$389
Price Chopper	$688	$750

It’s hard to believe what we paid yesterday, ZAR 997.52, US $57.91 for the exact brand name product. Also, the pharmacist explained he’d be able to provide enough meds, based on the fact none of them are ‘scheduled” narcotics, for the year we’ll be out of South Africa, with a one-year prescription from Doc Theo. Then, I won’t have to worry about finding a doctor to prescribe my few medications while we are away.

Hmm…there are numerous financial benefits to spending time in South Africa and other African countries with similar pricing and policies. Some countries don’t require a prescription for any medications which we have discovered along the way.

There’s our news for today, folks. My laptop battery is about to die, so I need to head to the bedroom to recharge it and turn on the fan to cool off a bit in this scorching humid weather.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, January 25, 2022:

Stringy and Chevy, an impala, are getting along quite well. Usually, the impalas that visit for pellets don’t get close to the veranda. But, Chevy is becoming more comfortable with us sitting at the table. For more photos, please click here.

Feeling great for the first time in a while…

Posted by worldwide-admin on January 23, 2023 with 0 Comment

We assume it is legal to puff on these huge bongs in public places which we saw at Bos when we had dinner last Friday night and again when two guys each had one while we were at the hotel bar in Zambia. We also assume there are no illegal drugs contained therein.

Sure, it’s allergy season in the bush right now, mid-summer, with pollen, dust, and animal dander filling the air. Gosh, I don’t mean to jinx myself by saying so, but right now is the best I’ve felt in a long time. No headache, minimal facial pain, hornet bite resolved, and absolutely nothing hurts.

We both sneeze and get runny noses quite a bit. I tend to get a lot of reactions from insect bites and rashes, but that’s handled reasonably well with frequent use of insect repellent, ridding our area of nests, and paying attention to standing water after significant rains. During dinner each night, Tom sprays the bedroom with Doom. We don’t enter until several hours later. But last night, a juicy bug ran over me, which I squashed into quite a mess with my fingers. Yuck. Tom said, “They always find you!.”

Short Tail has a wound on her right back leg which was dripping blood a week ago but is looking a little better now.

Currently, I am using an over-the-counter nasal spray called Nasonex, which takes several days to kick in, but it works amazingly well once it does. Plus, I still use the twice-a-day nasal rinse at different times than the Nasonex. The combination seems to work well.

By the end of this month, we will have a new system installed in the house that will provide us with electricity during load-shedding. It’s not solar but similar, using a more powerful inverter system with massive batteries that will recharge when we have electricity. This inverter will run the fridges, freezer, lights, fans, and some air-conditioning (enough for a few hours) during load-shedding periods.

Right now, at night during load-shedding, we do fine only using the big fan in our bedroom. Most likely, we won’t tax the system utilizing the air-con when the new inverter is running. The exception to this may be during periods when the heat and humidity are much higher than we’ve experienced lately. The fan has been sufficient so far

Kudus often stop eating to watch workers walking on the road.

Once the temperature reaches 104F, 40C, we may have to use the air-con during outages for a few hours at night, relying upon regular electricity once load-shedding has ended. Getting a good night’s sleep is vital to our well-being, especially during periods without water and power.

Last night, Tom sent me a news article stating that load-shedding will be permanent in South Africa, possibly for years. More and more property owners are opting for solar power, which is very expensive to install in an average-sized home, from ZAR 200,000, US $11672 to ZAR 300,000, US $17,495. Not everyone can afford this considerable expense.

Installing the system that we’re getting is still around ZAR 100,000, US $5,829, but the wiring is set up for adding solar in the future, which cuts the cost at a later date. Louise and Danie are hoping to eventually install systems in their rental properties, an eventual must-do with holiday rentals.

Can you imagine how frustrating it is for international tourists excited to take their holiday anywhere in South Africa, let alone the bush, to discover they don’t have power for up to 12 hours a day? In most cases, there would also be no WiFi without an inverter like we’ve had. We’ve been fortunate to have a lesser-powered inverter provide sufficient power to run the router. But many others do not.

Zebras stopped by, including Short Tail.

Holidaymakers from South Africa who come to Marloth Park and other holiday locations are used to load-shedding; for them, it’s not as difficult. But property owners and managers are constantly fielding complaints from renters while the power is out.

Today, we’re staying put, but tomorrow we are off to Komati to see Doc Theo for my refills and grocery shop. Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard is getting bare since we haven’t shopped in a few weeks.

May your day be filled with pleasant surprises and harmony.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, January 23, 2022:

This is Bossy, pregnant and contemplating a drink from the swimming pool. There are only small amounts of chlorine in collections to prevent the wildlife from illness. For more photos, please click here.

What to do next?…Planning for the future…

Posted by worldwide-admin on January 22, 2023 with 0 Comment

Norman fluffs up his tail to make himself look larger when there is a Big Daddy kudu nearby. He doesn’t do this when he spots any other animals.

After traveling for over ten years, wherever we choose to visit at this point is of the utmost consideration. There are a few places left on this planet that appeal to us, but our top choices have been accomplished. After seeing enough museums, historic buildings, and churches to satisfy our curiosity all over Europe and other parts of the world, our thirst for nature and wildlife remains at the top of our list.

No, we don’t have a “bucket list,” so to speak. If we did, it might be close to empty by now. We’ve been on hundreds of safaris, including guided and self-driving game drives, and we’ve toured some of the world’s most wildlife-rich national parks. We’ve been to Antarctica, seeing millions of penguins, and other wildlife, toured three national parks in India, blissfully spotting the elusive Bengal tigers, and been blessed to spot the Big Five over and over again in Africa, including at one point, “The Ridiculous Nine.”

As for Africa, we’ve been to no less than ten countries and countless national parks, including the finest, the Maasai Mara and the Serengeti. No, we haven’t been to Uganda or Rwanda to see the gorillas in the wild, and we plan to do that sometime in the future. Without a doubt, there’s much more we can see on the continent, and good health permitting, we will do so in the future.

Bossy, pregnant with yet another calf, laid down in the garden to rest in the shade on a hot day.

We’re interested in returning to South America to the Galapagos Islands, something we’ve somehow missed along the way. We spent over two years in Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, and many islands in the South Pacific.

We aren’t implying, by any means, that we’ve scoured the world. We haven’t. It would take many more years, if not decades, to say, “we’ve seen everything” we wanted to see. But, at this point and with our current ages and degree of stamina, we must carefully consider what’s next in the itinerary.

We’ve loved, as you know, spending this precious time in South Africa. But, as load-shedding escalates, we wonder how much time we’ll be able to spend here in years to come. If the power grid fails, we’ll be lucky to find a way out of here, as described in yesterday’s post here.

Do we want to return to places we’ve loved, such as Tom’s favorite place, Penguin, Tasmania? Or Costa Rica at that fabulous property in the hills? Or to Kauai, Hawaii, to see the life cycle of the albatross? These are all possibilities for the future.

Impalas stopped by this morning looking for pellets.

But, we figure that now, while our health is good, we should venture out to some new regions, experiencing more cultures, scenery, and wildlife. However, we must never forget that we need to be somewhat near decent medical care if something goes wrong. We know this can happen on a dime!

No, we can’t stay here in Marloth Park for extended periods as we have in the past. Realistically, we’d prefer to move on as we’re doing in June, not only due to the end of our visas for now but for many of these reasons we’ve shared here over the past many months. There’s no doubt we’ll be back in July 2023 when some of our family members are coming to visit, which is so exciting to us. But, next time we return, we won’t stay longer than three to six months.

We don’t feel stressed about making these decisions. We are confident we will choose locations that fulfill our desires and passions. It’s just that, this time, we aren’t planning as far out as we have in the past when so much is changing worldwide, and we must consider how those events impact our future travels.

Moments later, there were several more impalas.

Today, Tom is wrapped up in watching the final football games to determine which teams will go to the Super Bowl in the US. Once the football games are over, we will work on booking for the future and report back here as to our decisions.

Today, I’m cooking a keto beef and broccoli stir fry. Fortunately, there’s no load shedding during the day, but if that changes, cooking on top of the stove won’t be a problem when we can light the gas burners with the lighter.

Have a fantastic day!

Photo from one year ago today, January 22, 2022:

It was 4:00 am when our regular genet appeared in the garden sitting atop a rock observing these two female bushbucks. For more photos, please click here.

Discussions about total failure of power grid in South Africa…Very concerning…Baboons in the garden…

Posted by worldwide-admin on January 21, 2023 with 0 Comment

Baboons always have scowls on their faces. Not pretty animals.

Yesterday, the following article popped up on my phone. After reading this, we both wondered, as we have in the past, if there was a total blackout in South Africa and how it would impact us. Our biggest concern would be figuring out a way to leave the country when most likely, the airports would be closed, especially if we couldn’t be online to conduct research for possible flights.

Of course, we could make ourselves stressed by worrying about this possibility, but we have decided to go about our lives, knowing that we’ll be leaving in five months. No doubt, we’d be concerned for the friends we’ll have left behind and how they will function in such a dire situation. It’s beyond our comprehension.

There’s always hope on the horizon, as described in the article below from this site (text copied verbatim):

US Government warning about Eskom — time to think about total grid collapse

Jan Vermeulen20 January 2023

The United States Government has advised its stakeholders in South Africa to start thinking about disaster management plans for a total collapse of Eskom’s power grid.

Although a blackout remains unlikely, the risk has increased due to how unreliable Eskom’s coal fleet has become. This is evident by the higher levels of load-shedding South Africa is experiencing. The consequences of a total blackout would also be devastating, making it worth preparing for even if the likelihood is low. The US Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) convened a meeting with stakeholders last week to discuss business security concerns surrounding Eskom and load-shedding.

Representatives from several large US-based corporations with operations in South Africa and large local companies participated in the meeting. MyBroadband has viewed a recording of the meeting. After speaking to one of the participants, we learned they were all asked to agree to the Chatham House Rule.

It should be noted MyBroadband was not a party to the agreement. However, we chose not to identify any participants by name to avoid them being punished for speaking their minds. A US Government minerals and energy expert focusing on South Africa said that they are still not very worried about a total blackout.

He was looking for a place to get into some mischief!

“I have a lot of faith in Eskom System Operators. I think they really know what they’re doing,” they said.

“But when you start to get this level of load-shedding, and the amount of power plants that are tripping, I think it’s something we need to start thinking about.”

They said that although a total blackout presents several dangers, the primary threat is the time it takes to bring a system back up from that total collapse.

“Eskom estimates, in the best case scenario, it would take 6–14 days to restart the power grid,” the official said.

South Africa’s grid topology makes a “black start” like this challenging because it’s so spread out and because Eskom is in a power island.

“There are a few feeder lines from other countries, but not enough to help with a black start situation,” the US Government official said.

“To start one unit at Medupi would require a 60-megawatt generator. It’s massive power to get a Medupi unit started.”

Citing an Eskom presentation, they said the power utility believes there would be looting and civil unrest if the grid collapses. They quoted an unnamed individual as saying, “What’s left after a blackout would be what was left after a civil war.”

The official emphasised that Eskom was talking about the ruinous consequences of a blackout to illustrate why load-shedding is critical. Eskom has repeatedly explained that load-shedding is necessary precisely to prevent a total collapse of the grid. Gauteng residents may have an advantage over the rest of the country due to the density of the electricity network in the province. However, the US Government official said Eskom would not confirm how long it would take to bring Pretoria back online after a blackout.

Eskom has publicly stated that it would have to restart the system in islands, beginning with the interior network.

“I think our power in Gauteng would come back faster, but that’s just supposition,” the official said.

Constantly on the lookout for food and being very strong, they’ll overturn and destroy anything they think may provide an opportunity

Network outages, water shortages

Major considerations for organisations developing blackout plans is the eventual failure of South Africa’s telecommunications networks, and water and fuel shortages. The official said Eskom told them in 2021 that mobile sites would be available for 2–4 hours, and to expect telecommunications backbone failure within 8 hours. They acknowledged that this information was old and the backup power situation had likely improved since then.

Based on feedback MyBroadband has received from South Africa’s network operators, fibre networks will be able to operate for some time, provided that data centres and Internet exchange points can remain powered. However, batteries at cellular sites will start running empty after 4–6 hours, severely impacting mobile communications in South Africa.

This baboon didn’t find any opportunities for destruction in our garden.

“Water reserves would be severely impacted. There would be no sewage pumps,” the US Government official warned.

“Data centres and power stations could run out of water.”

While there are 48-hour water guidelines for municipalities, they don’t all have them.

“Liquid fuel would be a challenge for everybody. Eskom would [also] have a hard time getting liquid fuel to their [open-cycle gas turbines],” they said.

All they had done was leave several pits from marula trees and other fruits on the veranda.

The US Government warned attendees that they would be unable to rely on South Africa’s national security structures as they would be stretched too thin. One attendee from a major South African financial institution added to this, saying that any disaster management plan could not rely on the government at all.

“If any mitigation plan has any reliance on the state, you’ve got a very poor mitigation strategy in place,” they said.

All of us here in South Africa continue with a high level of frustration over the ongoing power outages. Right now, as I write this, the power is out, and it’s not during a period of scheduled load-shedding. An outage isn’t scheduled until 1:00 pm, 1300 hrs. After researching online, it appears there is a problem at the “Main sub in Komati. Eskom locals on site, waiting for Eskom people from Nelspruit to assist.”

It could be hours before we have any power today. Since we got the new clothes dryer over a week ago, we’ve yet to have a single load that can dry fully. We’re back to hanging clothes on the rack. TIA. Life in the bush.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, January 21, 2022:

Last night, Tom spotted the porcupine at the edge of the veranda. We were shocked when it didn’t run away when we opened the door and the screen, allowing me to take these three photos. What a thrill! For more photos, please click here.

We figured out what bit me…Yikes!!!…Work has begun on visa extentions…

Posted by worldwide-admin on January 20, 2023 with 0 Comment

Frightening-looking nest in the laundry area. It’s now gone, gone, gone, thanks to Vusi! What a relief!

This morning when I asked Tom to carry the heavy laundry basket outdoors to the laundry area so I could do a few loads, he returned to the house to tell me to get the camera and be prepared to run. I had no idea what he meant. In those few seconds it took me to get there, I thought it might be a snake or some other exotic creature.

As it turned out, it was a hornet’s nest of some sort, which I’d seen on several occasions but thought it was dead. As I snapped the photo, they started to swarm, and we hightailed out of there as fast as we could. Tom managed to squirt a few shots of Doom but not enough to kill them all.

Vusi just arrived, and he’ll figure it out as he often does. With both of us allergic to bees, we couldn’t take any chances trying to do it ourselves. I know what stung me since I felt the bite in that outdoor laundry area. It had to be a bite from one of those ugly things. Yuck!

Torn Ear stopped by last evening. We hadn’t seen him in a few months. Note his bad right ear.

I am hesitant to go to the laundry area since a few strays may be flying around. I’ve decided to wait a day to go back there, hoping that Vusi’s removal of the nest and spraying of the general area may have driven any strays away. I did get the photo, but it’s blurry, as shown, since my hands weren’t steady when I took the shot. Ugly things, aren’t they?

We realized we needed to be more diligent in checking our surroundings for nests. We’re pretty good about looking for snakes and scorpions but haven’t been as conscientious in looking for nests in ceilings and near baseboards. However, we have inadvertently spotted a few that Vusi or Zef removed.

Tom spotted two nests inside the house on a baseboard a few days ago. This was on the weekend, and we didn’t want to wait for Vusi or Zef to come on Monday. He sprayed the nests thoroughly, waited a while, and then scrapped the nests off of the baseboard. We keep checking the area to see if they returned. So far, so good.

Octomom and her eight piglets. Amazingly, they all stay together day after day. She’s such a good mom.

This morning I received the comprehensive list of documents we need to submit to the law firm to commence the visa extension process. Since I had started compiling a few of the docs already, we had a good start on it. By Monday, after we sign a few documents, Louise will print; we can sign them and then scan them using the handy new scanning app we added to my phone called Mobile Scanner. It’s the best scanner app we’ve ever used in the past.

Tom wrapped up the flight details this morning from MPQ (Nelspruit/Mpumalanga/Kruger) to EDI (Edinburgh, Scotland). We got a PDF document from Expedia to submit with our other documents. Also, we must have a booked flight out of South Africa by the time our new visa extensions end, which, if granted, will end on June 8, 2023.

We prefer not to include bank statements, but South Africa’s Immigration requires all requests for extensions to include a recent bank statement illustrating that the applicants have sufficient funds to sustain them during the additional time they spend in the country. Also, the bank statement must show both names of the applicants, or a marriage certificate would be required. Fortunately, our bank accounts show both of our names.

A female zebra stopped by this morning without any companions. Tom thought she looked pregnant.

Once we submit all of these documents and more, we’ll still have more to do, including paying additional fees of about ZAR 1000, each, US $58 which the law firm will process for us. Plus, they will prepare the online application, which we will review later. The total cost for the extension including legal and governmental fees will be about ZAR 24152, US $1400, which is a lot less than flying to Zambia or another non-bordering country to attempt to get another visa stamp.

After an almost two-week hiatus, we’ll return to Jabula for dinner. We’re looking forward to seeing Dawn and Leon and hearing about their holiday in Mozambique and Swaziland over the past eight days. It will be fun to return to our usual weekend dining spot.

We hope all is well with you and your loved ones.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, January 20, 2022:

The sounds from the Go-Away birds sound like “go away.” For more photos, please click here.

One dreaded task accomplished…Two more pending…

Posted by worldwide-admin on January 16, 2023 with 0 Comment

This was the first time we saw the baby drinking fresh water from the birdbath while mom and dad stood to the right.Tom refills the birdbath daily, and many animals drink from it.

Completing the insurance claim for our lost bag has been hanging over my head for weeks. Bit by bit, I worked on finding every receipt for the items in the bag, which was tricky and time-consuming. Once I found all the receipts, I realized the format they were in from Amazon and other shops would not be satisfactory for the insurance company. Plus, they weren’t in PDF format and were not easy to submit.

I thought about this in the middle of the night weeks ago and found a great phone app I mentioned earlier called Mobile Scanner. They had a free version I tested, but the paid version was 100% more efficient. I bit the bullet and paid the annual fee of $39.99, knowing I could use this repeatedly. The ease of use is fantastic and better than other scanning processes I’ve tried over the years.

This Big Daddy spent the entire afternoon with us.

If I find that I won’t use it much later on, I can avoid renewing it. Still, for now, I desperately needed it to complete the time-consuming and cumbersome insurance claim for our lost belongings, available through the credit card we used to purchase the airline tickets with Ethiopian Air.

No, I couldn’t find all the receipts, but based on the fact we use Amazon.com so much, I found 90%. Once I found the receipt at Amazon, II went to the print invoice tab, used the scanner to scan it from my laptop, downloaded and saved it as a PDF document, and placed each receipt, numbering each one in a folder on my desktop.

Kudus prefer to reach up to eat over bending over to graze on grass and to eat human-offered pellets and treats.

Once done, I sent in the receipts via email in batches of five since often too many attachments prevent an email from going through, as we all know. Now, we wait and see what happens. I doubt they’ll ask us to complete more time-consuming tasks, but at least I submitted the claim on time. We’ll see how it goes.

Also, today, we’re waiting to hear back from the law firm in Cape Town regarding our next step in filing our visa extension. Most likely, it will be setting up our file online with South African immigration, which is another confusing and time-consuming process.

This morning Bossy ate no less than 12 marulas that dropped from the trees. She’d eat the fruit and then spit out the pits. Very cute.

Once we’ve got both of these tasks under control, we’ll begin the process of applying for new passports using online services. We’ll do that part soon and begin the paperwork once the old passports are received. In any case, we’ll have to mail in our old expired ten-year passports to the online service company using FedEx or DHL, which should take several weeks to get to the company in the US.

Fortunately, we still have our four-year passports with over a year remaining. The reason for the urgency in getting new ten-year passports is that the cruises we have booked for August require no less than six months remaining on existing passports. At that point, we’ll only have five months remaining.

The humidity today is brutal and will only worsen as the week progresses. Today will be the coolest day of the week, and right now, while sitting by the veranda door at the dining room table, I am soaking wet in sweat. I have the portable fan blowing on me, but with 4½ hours of load-shedding in the works right now, the fan’s power is limited. The power will be back on in two hours or less.

Bossy and her marula pits. She is “with child.” Yesterday, we saw the little one kicking and tried to take a video, but we missed the opportunity.

As for the animals, we are in heaven. They are all back, particularly Norman, Nina, and the baby, who stop by many times each day. Norman and Nina are so loving to one another and to their little one. It is the cutest thing to watch. Plus, we’ve had an endless stream of kudus (many Big Daddies) and pregnant Bossy, bushbucks, duikers, and a variety of warthogs. It’s been quite fun!

The electrician is here all day but working outdoors to wire the house for the newer and bigger inverter, which will be ready to use by the end of the month. This will change our lives. We are grateful to Louise and Danie for tackling this hugely expensive project.

A little fun is needed amid all this dreadful “paperwork.” Can’t wait to put all of this behind us so we can relax, enjoy our day-to-day, and spend more time visiting Kruger National Park. It’s been quite a while since we’ve gone to Kruger with all the holidaymakers booking appointments to get inside the park. We prefer to enter on quieter days.

That’s it for today, folks. Have a fantastic Monday. Sorry about the Minnesota Vikings’ loss in the playoff games, another disappointment for loyal fans, including Tom and our kids and grandkids.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, January 16, 2022:

This is a side-striped jackal, another less frequent sighting we were delighted to encounter. The side-striped jackal is a canine native to central and southern Africa. Unlike the smaller and related black-backed jackal, which dwells in open plains, the side-striped jackal primarily dwells in woodland and scrub areas. For more photos, please click here.

Friday the 13th…No superstitions here!…Visa extension is in the works with the law firm…

Posted by worldwide-admin on January 13, 2023 with 0 Comment

Big Daddy, handsome as ever standing close to us.

Today is Friday the 13th. We don’t give it a thought other than to mention it when it occurs. How did this superstition ever start anyway?

Here’s some information from History.com that explains the potential origins of this often feared day of the month:

“Long considered a harbinger of bad luck, Friday the 13th has inspired a late 19th-century secret society, an early 20th-century novel, a horror film franchise, and not one but two unwieldy terms—paraskavedekatriaphobia and friggatriskaidekaphobia—that describe the fear of this supposedly unlucky day.

The Fear of 13

Just like walking under a ladder, crossing paths with a black cat, or breaking a mirror, many people hold fast to the belief that Friday the 13th brings bad luck. Though it’s uncertain exactly when this particular tradition began, negative superstitions have swirled around the number 13 for centuries.

While Western cultures have historically associated the number 12 with completeness (there are 12 days of Christmas, 12 months and zodiac signs, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 gods of Olympus, and 12 tribes of Israel, just to name a few examples), its successor 13 has a long history as a sign of bad luck.

The ancient Code of Hammurabi, for example, reportedly omitted a 13th law from its list of legal rules. Though this was probably a clerical error, superstitious people sometimes point to this as proof of 13’s longstanding negative associations.

Fear of the number 13 has even earned a psychological term: triskaidekaphobia.

Why is Friday the 13th Unlucky?

According to biblical tradition, 13 guests attended the Last Supper, held on Maundy Thursday, including Jesus and his 12 apostles (one of whom, Judas, betrayed him). The next day, of course, was Good Friday, the day of Jesus’ crucifixion.

The seating arrangement at the Last Supper is believed to have given rise to a longstanding Christian superstition that having 13 guests at a table was a bad omen—specifically, that it was courting death.

Though Friday’s negative associations are weaker, some have suggested they also have roots in the Christian tradition: Just as Jesus was crucified on a Friday, Friday was also said to be the day Eve gave Adam the fateful apple from the Tree of Knowledge, as well as the day Cain killed his brother, Abel.”

Friday the 13th occurs 2 times in 2023

Three Fridays the 13ths last took place in 2015 (February, March, November) and will next happen in 2026. So this year, in 2023, there are two Fridays the 13ths (January and October).”

So pretty mom Begonia and baby Buttercup stopped by again today.

We aren’t superstitious, although I hesitate to walk under a ladder; from a logical viewpoint based on the fact that something or someone could fall. Tom has no superstitions whatsoever.

So here we are on Friday the 13th. Jabula is closed until the 20th so that Dawn, Leon, and their staff could have some holiday time when they worked so hard during the holiday season. Funny, I ran into David in the vegetable section at Spar yesterday. We gave each other our usual warm hug and smiled warmly, happy to bump into each other in produce. He was glad to have over a week off to recover from the busy establishment this past six weeks.

We paid the legal fees yesterday and signed the contract to have the Cape Town law firm represent us in obtaining a visa extension. By Monday, we’ll receive a list of the documents we must procure to have the application submitted for approval by March 9.

According to the lawyers, our concern about filing 60 days before the visa expires was unnecessary. We have plenty of time. But once again, what appears on certain governmental websites may not be “cast in concrete.” Filing through the law firm will still require us to drive to Nelspruit to apply, and two, pick up the actual visas for our passports when they are tendered. Each trip will be about a four or five-hour turnaround.

Bossy, the kudu from our last house, two kilometers from here, stops by several times a day. It appears she is pregnant again.

Hopefully, in both cases, our appointments will be early enough in the day that we don’t have to stay overnight in Nelspruit since there’s no way it’s safe to drive on the N4 after dark.

Since Jabula is closed until the 20th, tonight we’ll go to dinner at Bos Restaurant in the Bush Centre, and tomorrow night, we’ll head to Giraffe, both of which are a short drive down the road. The menu selections in both restaurants are tricky for me to order, with most foods “crumbed” and deep fried. But as always, I’ll figure something out. I can’t ever order a bunless hamburger after I discovered all mince (ground beef) delivered to restaurants in Marloth Park contain wheat as a filler.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, January 13, 2022:

Last year on this date, we celebrated Rita’s birthday at the Khaya Umdani house, owned by Louise and Danie, where we’ll celebrate my birthday in February. I made this keto chocolate cake for Rita. For more, please click here.

This morning, a surprise like none other!…It’s almost over…

Posted by worldwide-admin on January 10, 2023 with 0 Comment

Two female kudus eat pellets off the veranda railing so they don’t have to compete with Hoppy’s mom and her two pesky piglets.

When Vusi arrived to clean this morning, I heard Tom talking to him in the driveway while I sat at the table on the veranda, asking him, “Do you need help carrying that?” I had no idea what he was talking about.

Moments later, Tom called out to me, “Come see! There’s something here you’ll love!”

I bolted out of my chair so fast I almost tipped it over to find Vusi in the outdoor laundry room plugging in a relatively new clothes dryer. It’s small, as shown in the photo below. It will be perfect for our needs. We won’t use it to dry heavy items like jeans and sweatshirts, but we certainly can use it for our clothes, especially things that wrinkle. We will be mindful of not using too much electricity, as we are when using any electrical appliances.

This little dryer is perfect for us! Thanks, Louise and Danie, for this appreciated addition to our household.

I couldn’t text Louise quickly enough to thank her for the dryer. She knows how much this means to us. It changes how we wear our clothes, always concerned with the limited number of items we have and how long it will be until we can wear something again that may have been sitting in the laundry basket for four or five days. Plus, we’ll avoid mildew on wet items such as dish towels, hand towels, and washcloths.

This could be a mom and her fast-growing daughter.

On another note, we’ve counted the days until the end of the school holidays in South Africa. Today is that day, and already our garden has been packed with a wide array of wildlife since early this morning. Sure, a few tourists still linger, including those with or without children who may be coming this weekend for a few days, which is always the case anyway.

This morning for the first time in weeks, a band of mongooses arrived with several tiny babies in tow, which were surely born in the past few weeks. Getting a photo of the babies is tricky since they stay tucked under their moms and are very skittish. I was able to get this one less-than-ideal photo this morning to show you their minuscule size.

See the little one? We couldn’t believe we hadn’t seen mongooses over the past several weeks. The holidaymakers may have been feeding them their leftover braai meats and bones that kept the mongooses away from us. When we cook meat on the braai, it is mostly lean with few bones. This morning I cut up a good-sized portion of paloney for them, which they devoured in seconds. Surely, we’ll see them regularly once again.

Nina and her calf walked by this morning, whom we’d hardly seen lately. But with Hoppy’s mom and her two remaining piglets in the garden, she didn’t bother to stop. Piglets can be very annoying and aggressive with antelopes, zebras and other wildlife. Of course, piglet moms are also very aggressive in trying to protect their youngsters.

I am so excited that my bee sting is rapidly on the mend. The redness and swelling are almost gone, and the itching is under control with the ice pack every few hours, followed by a new application of Calamine lotion. Whew! I am relieved this is almost over. I got stung in the outdoor laundry room, so now, on laundry days, Tom will spray the area with Doom before I enter to do the wash, which will be more often than in the past with the addition of the dryer.

Two Big Daddies were also eating off of the railing.

Last night, it was fantastic to get a night’s sleep since I could finally sleep on my left side. I only had to get up once to reapply the Calamine lotion but easily went back to sleep. This morning I felt alert and enthused, ready to get back to work on some of the three tasks upcoming over the next few weeks: apply for the visa extension, apply for the renewal passports, and finish Tom’s insurance claim for his lost bag, which has yet to appear.

Now that I am feeling better, we can start the research. This will be a lot of work, but we must address these tasks. As for our passport renewal, it appears we must make an appointment at the US Embassy in Pretoria, requiring we make the five-hour drive, possibly twice, once to apply and another time to pick them up two to four weeks later. We’ll most likely have to stay in a hotel for a few nights to accomplish this.

Several female kudus and their youngsters eat pellets off the railing.

That’s all the news for today, folks. We’ll be back with more tomorrow as we continue taking more photos of the returning wildlife.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, January 10, 2022:

Definitely, not as clear as we’d like. We were thrilled to see these two Meller’s Mongoose on the trail cam last night. For more photos, please click here.

Where in the world would such thoughts enter my mind?…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 12, 2021 with 0 Comment

Mongoose eating shrimp shells. They loved them, perhaps reminding them of eating crunchy scorpions.

Last night, as I stepped out of the car when arriving back at our house, from a delightful dinner at Jabula with Kathy and Don, I stepped in an anthill, or better yet, a termite hill, several of which surround the area of the carport and the garden. Over these past nine months, since we arrived in Marloth Park, Vusi and Zef have knocked them down, only to have them “grow” back within days.

Removing termite mounds is a pointless task, nor does it cause any issues in the house when there is no wood on the premises, only cement. We don’t get termites in the house. But, last night, when I accidentally stepped on the home of thousands of termites, I found myself feeling disappointed in myself for destroying a part of their home that now they must rebuild.