Not quite a felt-tipped pen ..

... but have had a spa pedicure today ...

.. where my feet were wrapped in hot paraffin wax ... oiled and massaged ... filed and buffed ... and finally prettied up with polish !!!

I also had a hot stone head and neck massage .... ooooh ... h e a v e n l y !!!!!

... and ... just when I thought she ... Lexi, the therapist from Body Therapy at the Lifestyle Garden Centre .... was finished ... she ... Lexi ... smeared my already-relaxed-oiled-back-and-neck with exfoliating scrub .... oooohh .. aaaahhh !!!

I stepped off the planet for two hours today ...

.... thank you soooo much Jeanette and Lance for an amazingly unforgettable birthday prezzie ... mwah !! x x x

Water .. or nectar of the gods ..

My blood pressure has been yo-yo-ing since Christmas and went to the doc yesterday. The same thing happened two years ago ...

Sooo .. doc has given me the same medication as before - don't need it for long .. just to stabilize the BP. It's a diuretic which works immediately and already I am feeling normal again.

Have to go for blood tests (as I haven't had cholestral etc checked for ages now) and also do a 24 hour urine test as apparently there is a gland or something in the urinary tract that can have an affect on the BP. But to do this test, I have to eliminate certain things from my diet for 5 days before 'filling the bottle'.

Glancing at the list, I thought, this will be easy .. until I read 'tea, coffee, coke' ... coke is very easy as I hardly ever drink the stuff .. tea .. only have two cups a day ... and coffee .. only have one cup a day .. so it seems pretty simple.

So what do I drink instead ... the answer is obviously water but I noticed alcohol is not on the list and never thought to ask when I was given 'my bottle' and instructions on what to do! Simple, I hear you say .. but there is also a little tiny bottle of acid that has to be added to 'my bottle' so I have to beware !!!

Citrus fruits and juices are on the list .... as well as vanilla and any foodstuffs containing vanilla ... ice cream ... cakes and sweets ... chocolate ... nuts ... pineapple ... cocoa ... bananas ... avocado.

Wine ... can I drink wine morning, noon and night!!!!! ??

Wine .. water .. wine .. water ... ...... ..... wine !! :)

Yay ... the sun is shining!

We woke up this morning to lovely sunshine ....

... after a couple of days of unseasonal rain ... brr ... chilly and wet!!! When it's not expected there were many of us collecting littlies from school without umbrellas or rain jackets. Gentle but soaking rain and I spotted lots of littlies standing in the cold and rain waiting to be picked up. Lots more sick kiddies and mommies/grannies/grandpas/care-givers in a few days time, I'm sure!!

We all got wise by the second day and were prepared with suitable cover-ups from this dripping moisture from the sky!! Lovely for the gardens but not for us who live up on the Highveld who are used to dry, sunshiny but chilly days and crisp and cold/freezing nights!

I've had a busy week and not taken many photos so my Weekly Winners tomorrow will be mainly from our wonderful weekend in the Cape.

But ... we did have Mr T for dinner who hinted that he would love a roast lamb with roast potatoes and veggies and I managed to sneek a photo of him woofing down his favourite pud/dessert .... which of course he hinted at/asked for/begged to have ....

..... chocolate eclairs which are now becoming a must-for-me-to-make for any South American who comes to dinner!!!

Left-overs .. and yes there were, but only a few ... were equally woofed-down-with-gusto by the other youngest males in the family ... Bradley was so quick with his, so no photo, but managed to capture Connor in his male version of Red Riding Hood, with chocolate smudged face ..

Surprise !! I was presented with this lovely jewellery box the other day by Browns Jewellers in Cresta. We have introduced their jewellery to our South American friends who have all bought a few beautiful pieces to take back home and this was a 'thank you' for bringing them business. Now, isn't that fantastic! Good marketing ... as Elaine pipped up ... now that she is in the marketing world and thinks in marketing terms (!) ... AND has been told she will be offered a permanent post ! Yay !!!! What a relief!! She still has to go for the meeting to find out all the details.

Also in my week, I have had two sessions at a physio for my neck. Have been to a physio only once ... and that was many years ago for migraines and headaches, which I used to suffer from. It didn't really work and eventually I started yoga to see if that would help. Yes, it did .. and have been to yoga ever since!

My neck story is not serious as I have never had any kind of injury or broken bone but besides the normal degeneration of the joints - which I am told is normal at my age (horrors to be always told that when I don't feel as old as I am!!!) .... so besides all that, my neck clicks. It's not the normal 'crunching' that only you can hear in your head, it's a loud click! Have had it for over a year now and decided to go to the doc to see if my head was going to fall off!!

Anyway, the first step is physio who, after only two sessions, is very pleased with my progress already. I may just need two more sessions as I have been a good girl/granny doing my exercises and following her instructions as well -although she said sitting at the laptop is NOT GOOD! The angle is wrong - the screen is too low and needs to be raised. She suggested popping a telephone book under the laptop ... mmm ... that doesn't work 'cos then you sit with your arms up in the air like a squirrel!!!

I just have to not spend too much time doing blogs etc .... but what is good is that I do yoga which has strengthened my neck to such an extent that this problem that I have doesn't give me pain .. just clicks ... with no pain. That's a good thing!

Soooo ... I need to continue yoga .. forever .. and I want to start going to pilates again, which is equally as good.

I had to teach a yoga class yesterday! And it went well ... and they enjoyed it!! The instructor for the usual aerobic gym I attend every Friday, is away on a months holiday and she asked me to do two yoga classes with the other classes being taken by other fellow 'gymers'. Really nervous about taking the class, so I had my notes next to me ... still got a little flustered and 'lost' in the middle of the class but they didn't even notice!!!!

I had quite a few of the ladies come to me after the class to say how much they enjoyed it!! They loved the incense and the soft 'pretty' music. They battled more than I thought they would, especially with the one set of 'asanas' called 'sun salutation'. I thought that would be the easy one but I realised how flexible I was compared to them. I get lost in the normal aerobic class ... eye-hand-feet-body co-ordination at speed is totally different to the slow movements and holding of positions in yoga which is far more controlled with regular breathing, intense and calming.

I also realised I need to keep it even more simpler and slower. Wish I could explain each asana with the science behind each one as it would mean more to them, as it does to me when I am in a yoga class. My memory is such that I can never remember, in detail, what it all does for each specific part of the body. But I am not a teacher and I haven't had the training ...

Sooo ... in two weeks time I shall be doing another class .. with about 18 to 20 pairs of eyes watching my every move!!! (it's a big class!)

Oh ... what a lovely morning at Woodlands!

What did you do on Saturday morning?

A full body hot stone massage and pedicure - that's what I had!!!!

Oooh .. it was heavenly!!

It was my Mother's Day gift from Elaine .... to spend some time together .. just the two of us .. having a VERY relaxing hot stone full body massage and pedicure.

Woodlands is out in the country - Muldersdrift .. quiet and peaceful with treatment rooms overlooking the natural vegetation ...

.. with a mixture of African and Zen simplicity ...

.. and a laughing Buddha sits watching the quiet water ...

The early morning sun streams into our treatment room with gentle music and floral aromas wafting all around ....... (in summer the sliding doors are opened wide to take in the fresh country air and the rippling, cascading sounds of the river )...

.. where our bodies were smothered with aromatic oils and piping hot stones were glided along our backs, neck, arms down to our hands where the stones were left caressed in our palms... warm and comforting. Legs were massaged with hot stones in their hands down to our feet and toes ... ooooh .... aaaaahhh...... soooooo ..... l.....o....v....e....l....y!

Precious ... that's the name of my therapist .... oooh ...and she was gooooood!! I would go back in a heart beat !!

.. and afterwards ... a welcome cup of tea and muffin on the deck ... look how relaxed Elaine is !

A simple centre piece of a bunch of rosemary on the tables ...

.. on the deck overlooking the natural vegetation ..

... and the gentle cascading waters of the Crocodile River ...

A quote by Leonardo de Vinci is sandblasted onto the glass of the decking ...

"Although human subtlety makes a variety of inventions by different means to the same end, it will never devise an invention more beautiful, more simple, or more direct than does nature, because in her inventions nothing is lacking, and nothing is superfluous - Leonardo de Vinci"

Thank you, sweetie pie, for such a lovely gift!

A tragic fire .... an annual squeeze and a knight!

I've been squished and squeezed .. it's an annual event!!

I go yearly for a mammogram and have been for years now as I have fibroadenosis. It doesn't usually lead to anything "sinister" as my GP says but I need to go for the mammo every year. OMW it's always stressful and this time was no exception. Deep yoga breathing helps when I had one boob xrayed twice 'because there was a shadow' and then I had to wait for ages until the xrays were checked! Nerve racking!! The radiologist said I had 'good boobies for mammograms'! 'Why' I asked 'is there something wrong' and of course she wouldn't say .. which makes me do more deep yoga breathing! Seems to be OK although the wording in the report is different so will take them when I next see my GP - but I didn't need 'the scan' so to me that's a good sign!

Long slow breath out !!

Elaine's having her braces on this afternoon - she is not looking forward to it but it has to be done. As the orthodontist said when she first started her treatment "once you're on the train you can't get off " ... so she's on that train and chugging along! She's not worried so much anymore about 'the look' ... it's the pressure and pain of the movement of the teeth. I do all I can to ease it with pain killers, when she needs, and soft foods etc. We tend to eat lots of mash and mushy foods to keep her company!! (She had braces when she was at Primary School so we've been though all this before!)

But yesterday was not a good day for her either. Her boss had a tragic fire at their house on Sunday night and burnt most of the house ... absolutely awful .. and Elaine and others went yesterday afternoon to give some comfort and support. She came home very upset having now seen what damage has been done. Major damage! Nothing has been spared. They're not allowed in because everything that may be saved has to be detoxed first before it can be touched apparently. (Nicole, our DIL who is a trained firefighter as well as a paramedic, would be able to tell us more about that)

A miracle that the family (and pets) managed to escape unhurt because apparently the fire spread extremely fast.

Elaine told us in detail about the state of the house. OMW what a tragedy. We always see tragic fires sweeping through housing estates etc on TV and we witnessed the aftermath of a fire in Hermanus a year or so ago when thatched roofed houses were left as burnt out shells but it's never anyone we've known. We don't know them (E's boss) personally but my heart goes out to them as they pick up the pieces of their lives again.

Some things have left a deep impression in her mind like the description of the paint peeling off the walls right before the boss' eyes when she ran upstairs to fetch the sleeping child ... their beautiful furniture and possessions in a heap under rubble, blackened and burnt ... the little girl's room with blackened and burnt bed, toys, dolls and a dolly's pram ... and more.

Very very sad, but with all tragedies and war, families pick up the pieces of their lives and carry on. I pray they do.

On a happier note and .... wow - how proud are we (!) - my son has been knighted! He has put it on his blog so I don't think it's a 'secret' - he has been knighted into the Knights Templar (with sword and all !!) of the United Religious, Military and Masonic Orders of the Temple and of St John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes and Malta of England and Wales.