Change is good. Embrace it....................

In light of the happenings in our lives at the moment the title above seemed very appropriate. It was on an e-mail from one of my beading groups. The author had re-assessed her life, got rid of stuff and was looking forward. I found it interesting as that is exactly what I am doing at the moment!
Yesterday was Visa day for Mervyn, paid a whopping amount of money to the British Government, just hope they approve the application. I misunderstood the form and only discovered that I was to be his sponsor so did not complete that section of the form (their website is totally unhelpful) and had to sit and fill in all the info whilst there. As they were putting their fee up by R500 today I was not prepared to wait another day. So here's hoping it will all be OK. Have waited until the last minute as I am still waiting for the sale proceeds from the house, the transfer has taken an unbelievable time to be processed and should hopefully be finalised by the end of this month.
My elderly car is not taking the extra travelling very well so hope she lasts until the end of Jan when her purchaser will take over the responsibility.
Yes another sunset picture. I have not been able to walk much the past few days as the howling gale means the beach is out of the question but also walking down the road (which is gravel) is also not a good idea as returning coated with a layer of dust is not much fun. Most evenings the sun turns bright yellow before sunset but last night because of all the wind and dust it was deep red, quite beautiful. The pics are taken from the front veranda of the cottage which faces towards the sea. No view of the sea unfortunately as the area has grown so much and there are houses blocking that aspect. To the left of the house is a small mountain range behind which the sun sets each evening affording me a wonderful view, have always loved sunsets as growing up in Zambia I watched the sun set over the Zambesi River. This particular mountain is quite fascinating. I do have a vivid imagination and due to a series of ridges running along the top, it looks just like a sleeping dragon, even has a head at the one end. Will try and get a photograph of the entire view to share. There is also one rocky outcrop that looks just like a tortoise wending his way up the hill. The garden in the cottage has been left to run wild and is entirely fynbos with the exception of a small grassed area in front of the house and at the side in the car parking area. Not my idea of an ideal garden, would be nice if it was maintained but the grass has taken over in a lot of places and it is just a jungle. I also have a fear of snakes in there so have not ventured out much. Yesterday evening looked out of the kitchen window to see a guinea fowl family complete with babies wandering in the back garden. It is peaceful here but don't think I could live here permanently with the constant howling wind and dust. The beach is beautiful 'tho but I have not had the courage to swim yet as the water is freezing, still cannot get used to the cold water here in the Cape after spending so many years in Natal where the water always seemed to be bath temperature!


Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true.
Leon J. Suenes