Today, I will be working on chopping and dicing for tomorrow’s dinner at our house with Rita, Gerhard, Alan, and Fiona, who are leaving the park during the hot spring and summer months and will return when it’s cool again next winter. Rita and Gerhard changed their plans and are staying until the beginning of October, which we’re thrilled to know.
Rita, Gerhard, and new friends Roz and Les are joining us at Jabula for dinner tonight. We met Roz and Les several months ago at Jabula, and now we are looking forward to fun social plans with them as permanent property owners in Marloth Park. How fortunate we are to make new friends, enabling us to enjoy social activities during those times of the year when many of our other friends are away.
In 10 days, on September 17th, our friends Connie and Jeff will arrive and stay until around October 1st. They will live in the charming guest house on this property, which is ideal for their needs. It reminds us of when friends Lois and Tom came to Marloth Park in 2018, and the four of us had the time of our lives, leaving them reeling with beautiful memories of this unique environment.
We had lunch with Lois and Tom in March when we were in Florida awaiting the transatlantic cruise; we all reminisced over all the fantastic times we had. On one occasion, while driving through Marloth Park searching for wildlife, we spotted Norman for the first time, longing to see it up close. But that never happened, leaving us all disappointed.
Now, two or three times a day, Norman and his family, Nina and Noah bless us with their visits starting early in the morning, as shown in one of today’s trail cam photos. Norman wastes no time coming to visit in the early morning. This morning we weren’t up when he arrived, but a short time later, he was here with the family while we revelled, once again, in their beauty and grace, tossing lots of pellets their way.
Yesterday, at Spar Market, I purchased a huge bag of carrots. as shown in the photos below. I’ll be using some of them for tomorrow’s dinner and salad, but at the cost of ZAR 17.90, US $1.04 for the 3 kg bag, 6.6 pounds, we’re delighted to be sharing them with our animal friends. Norman loves them. Maybe next time I’ll buy two bags.
Tomorrow, for dinner for the six of us, we’re making cashew chicken stir fry with vegetables and rice, along with a big green salad. I’m not making fussy starters for sundowner time when everyone gets too full to enjoy the main meal. I’ll serve a few crackers, pate and cheese, and julienne vegetables with hummus, nuts, and chips. The main meal will follow a few hours later.
Today, I will work on cutting some vegetables and chicken, but I’m a bit slow with this ongoing headache and doing one task at a time. I chose to make this dinner since it’s easier than making many starters and now different from something we would have made for ourselves. The only difference is the amount of chicken and vegetables I need to prepare. The rest will be easy.
Sure, I could pamper myself and avoid planning social events at our house until I feel better, but I’ve found staying active is good for me, and once the parties begin, I forget about my aching head and face for a while.
I couldn’t avoid mentioning the passing of the Queen of England, sending our condolences to the Monarchy and all of our British friends who have been feeling her loss since it was announced yesterday. Our friends Linda and Ken, living in England, sent the photo below of Buckingham Palace after the news of the passing of the Queen was announced. Wow! Amazing!
Be well.
Photo from one year ago today, September 9, 2021:
No photos were posted on this date, one year ago. For the text, please click here.