A smorgasbord of emotions

Pencil Art by Vincent Reid ... magical stuff!

EMOTIONS run high on a week like I’ve just had.

The Umhlanga Lighthouse 

It’s been exhilarating.

Bewildering.

Fragile.

3 visits to the Oyster Box in a week ... such a gorgeous spot.

I’ve cried BUCKETS of tears.

I’ve LAUGHED until I’ve cried.

I’ve had HUGS I’ve not wanted to let go off.

Second visit to the Oyster Box for Mom's Birthday High Tea

Love and caring has filled every fibre of my being.

I haven’t wanted it to end.

This time with family and friends far away has been precious and SO enjoyable.

For just a moment, 

TIME has ALMOST stood still and allowed me to catch my breath.

A special sanctuary in the Midlands

It’s been necessary.

Living so far away from family is hard.

This week more than reinforced that.

The 4 of us and Mom

I miss my Mom.

I miss my siblings.

I miss my friends.

Our first visit to the Oyster Box for lunch with Debs

Mom’s birthday week was full to the brim of SO many unexpected surprises.

She hadn’t expected to see me

She hadn’t expected to see my brother

She hadn’t expected to see my middle sister.

Love you Mom

All so carefully orchestrated and pulled off with flair.

Birthdays don’t come much better than that.

Daisy ... such a character!  Going to miss her a tad.

I’ve reconnected with places and people I haven’t seen in an age.

Been spoilt at a spa.

Had breakfasts and High Tea and coffees too numerous to mention.

The Spa ... what a gorgeous and opulent spot.  So enjoyed my pedicure with Debs

My last day was a smorgasbord of joy and sadness.

Much laughter ensued as I played chauffeur in Mom’s car.

It’s used to her more sedate, measured driving,

not being whizzed around corners and bends.

Daisy and Gemima ... Gemima's 14 years old and tolerates the more youthful Daisy.

Good job Mom’s hair IS already grey!

Pepper - such a beautiful fur-ball but very wary of strangers.
Spots on her body and stripes on her tail .... so unusual!

No matter where in the world I might live,

family is always family and saying goodbye is so hard.

The visit though was worth every tear that I’ve shed.

Family and friends MAKE me who I am.

The little Mannikins adding humour to the day at Mom's Birdfeeder.

“Like branches on a tree, 

we all grow in different directions yet our roots remain as one.  

Each of our lives will always be a special part of the others.” 

~ anon

A different perspective on the Lighthouse

Misty ... a Siamese with attitude and a voice to match!

Douglas, one of the hounds that lives at The Farmers Daughter, another lovely spot in the Midlands

The Bush Telegraph is in tip-top condition

I really do live in an awesome community.  The outpouring of love and concern for Carol and Pete over the loss of Sebastian has been beautiful! Who would have thought that a hound could become so much a part of so many people’s lives ... but he did.  Pete (Village Co-op Pete,  not Carol’s Pete .... gosh - why do they HAVE to have the same names!!) put it quite succinctly when he gave Carol a hug this morning.  He said that Sebastian, as with all the other hounds that make the Village Co-op their home, was one of the family. We’re all part of that big family and we all share in the loss that Pete and Carol are dealing with.

The viewing platform ... and it's SO dark still!

He reduced Carol to tears ... but that’s ok .... crying is the body’s way of grieving and healing.  The girls at the co-op gave Carol flowers and a card yesterday and several of our fellow Humans with Hounds have given her cards too.  


The Bush Telegraph is in tip-top condition -

Lance (the foreman at the building site) came across to offer Carol his condolences too ... as did Max and his human ... and Christine and Jet. More tears from Carol but very necessary ones.


Our weather has been grim the last few days - rambling with the hound has been a wet and cold affair, but Carol has joined me both days and I’m thrilled that she has. She needs to visit all of Sebastian’s favourite spots and witness the love that so many people had for her exceptional hound.


Photo opportunities have been few and far between .... the rain gods are conspiring against me.  Just as I take the plastic bag off the camera, the heavens will open, put

the bag back on and the rain eases. I’m quite obviously only meant to view my world through a rain-splattered lens at the moment.


It’s difficult ENOUGH trying to capture my world waking without the rain’s intervention, there is NO natural light around at 6.30am, only street lights, car lights and the occasional flashing light of a bicycle. The hound looks like some deathly reincarnation -  maybe The Grim that lives downstairs (a term only understood by HP afficionados) - as her eyes are aglow with a deathly white light!!

Daylight saving officially ends on Sunday 1st April.... I can’t wait ... and nor can Julia!  Not only will it bring our sunrise forward to 6.30 but it’s also the end of Summer restrictions on the beach. Our hounds and their buddies can delight in the freedom of being off-leash on the sand until 10 in the morning!! The beaches

will definitely be busier!


The longer I live in this little village, the more I realise just how special a place it is. This village is more than just the buildings and the views and it’s position at the end of Tamaki Drive ... this village is about the

people and the special relationships they have with one another.  It’s not about the age and the character of the buildings, it’s not about the inappropriateness or otherwise of the new modern construction, this village is about the human souls that inhabit it .... they give it its heart!