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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
