A thunderous welcome to a sad Mother's Day

Well, who ever expected that? Heavy rain in the early hours of the morning, with more lightning than we have experienced in my memory, so close overhead for so long, flashing just outside the window and thunderous noise shaking the house! Poor Cleo has never heard thunder and barked and barked as puppies do. Susie, who has always been terrified of loud noises, cowered under the stove and had to be given a large dose of rescue remedy. Monty has never been bothered by such activity, coming from a secure background, was also shivering with fright, and he has become very old and infirm of late, so also got rescue remedy.
The show was spectacular, the thunder kept us awake for a good hour, tea was made, cats came running in to be towelled off, the whole household was awake.
This morning we woke up to a freshly watered garden, no wind, the prospect of a sunny day and dogs and cats all happy and relaxed again. Monty still in considerable discomfort, so it appears that we will have to get used to the idea of his not being around much longer. A very sad thought indeed after 17 years.
Mother's Day was never special in our household, as it was always Mother's day and we shunned the commercialism. But nevertheless, as Mother is now only here with us in spirit and memory, I will use this occasion to give extra thought to the wonderful childhood she gave us, something that never lessened with the years, and up until the day she died we were still her children, to be loved and fussed over. Rest peacefully as you watch over us, Mom. Your favourite flowers.

Cape Doctor in charge!

Birds are blowing off branches. The hatches in the ceiling have been sucked up into the roof. The neighbour's shadecloth is shredded. Poles are scattered from their piles. The sacred ibis have completely given up even attempting their customary elegant v-formation and are just tumbling untidily through the sky, leaderless and lost. A couple of them went by with a wing tucked underneath them, sideways to the direction they were trying to fly. Pigeons can't perch. The swooping sparrowhawk is completely off course.
Stepping outside gives gritting your teeth new meaning, as you spit grit and leaves from an incautiously opened mouth. The last of the leaves on the vines have gathered in a corner, an easy sweep into the compost.
The sea has churned and turned a muddy green as the offshore gale pushes the tide backwards, well on its way to South America by now! Within a few days this will blow itself out and the sea will revert to its Mediterranean blue, crystal clear, and we will have forgotten how dreadful Cape Town is in a southeaster. The birds will be back on branches, trees will reach for the sky again and we will be able to open our mouths outdoors again.

Blowin' in the wind!

As the howling southeaster blasts down the Fish Hoek valley, bending trees nearly horizontal and sending swirling sandstorms ripping through hapless pedestrians on their way home from work along the road to Kommetjie, one might be forgiven for thinking this is Spring and not Autumn, November and not May. The seasons have certainly turned upside down here at the tip of Africa, and our weather forecasters must be working day and night to give us a semblance of fact as conditions change by the minute.
The best way to judge what to wear is to look out of the window when you wake up. If it's a southeaster, you may spot cloud racing along the mountain tops, looking for all the world like dragons hell-bent on catching whatever they eat. Then you know it most likely won't rain, will be cold in the shade and blazing hot in the sun in sheltered spots.
If it's a northwester, you may spot cloud racing along the mountain tops, but it will be more of a falling waterfall type of cloud, condensing and evaporating at will. It most likely still won't rain, will be cold in the shade and blazing hot in sheltered spots.
The other regular wind we get here in Cape Town is the southwester, which brings icy air from the south Atlantic, very heavy rain from isolated clouds and allows you to plan your outdoor activities in a most civilised way, as you can judge how long it will be before the next rain shower, or whether it will pass you by and rain on the neighbour. This type of rain has become the norm in winter, whereas in past years we relied on the northwester with its gentle cyclonic rain.
The job of weatherman must be one of the most frustrating, unless of course you are like most of us and just expect every season in one day! '

Bag lady blues

One of the greatest disadvantages of being a women must surely be that we need to carry our lives in our handbags. For a start, just having a handbag is a disability. Men have pockets. We have a purse inside the bag, stuffed with old till slips, the odd banknote, coins for the car guards. Men have folded notes in a pocket. We have two or three lipsticks, a bottle of liquid handwash (after touching those supermarket trolleys, an essential). Men generally don't do the supermarket shopping.
But the main point of this little whinge is that we tend to have multiple bags - sort of one for each outfit, or the casual bag and the designer bag. You know what I mean. And you probably know where this is leading...
I got to the till in the supermarket yesterday and just knew, as I put my hand into my bag to hand over the card, that I had forgotten to transfer the cardholder from my other bag. I had the coin purse with random notes stuffed in, but nothing substantial, and the loyalty card from my local coffee shop was not going to cut it. So I had to confess my stupidity to the cashier and leave the goods in the trolley, while going back home to collect the necessary.
On the way past the ATMs a brainwave struck. Cardless services! I had seen this on the screen many times and now was the perfect opportunity to try it out. I must have left my common sense at home as well, as it took quite a while to figure it all out, and a few trips into the bank to discuss my problems with the extremely patient bank official. In the end, it turned out that I had to first send myself money from my bank account to my phone (luckily had my tablet and phone with me) and then I could withdraw cash with the temporary PIN sent to my phone. The tablet/phone story is too long and complicated to bother with here, but suffice to say that eventually I had it all worked out and was clutching the cash in my sticky little paws.
Once again, the wonders of modern technology - but only once an awful lot of learning has been done! At least it saved me a long journey in the car.

Before the dawn

The best part of the day is surely just before the dawn. This is when you will find me outside in the garden, winter and summer, taking the dogs out after a long night's sleeping. Monty and Susie are too old now to negotiate the steep stairs and have to be carried up and down, while Cleo is way ahead and eager to explore the tracks left by night visitors. Being outside at that time of the morning enables me to enjoy the last of the stars and planets before sunrise, and this morning an almost expired moon hung among the branches of the huge gum tree at the side of the road.

The dawn chorus comes from starlings already at the birdfeeder, a couple of cheerful sunbirds and a pair of Egyptian geese down at the rocks. Not all ideal, but birdsong nevertheless. A flock of hadedahs add to the raucous welcome of the sun, and a small plane flies overhead, its pilot and passengers privileged to witness the beauty of dawn over the Peninsula.

The air is still and the ground is still radiating yesterday's warmth through the bricks, giving an illusion of the last days of summer. Yet even in midwinter, the proximity to the sea tempers extremes and it really is quite comfortable outside at dawn. In all the years of taking the dogs out, even on a stormy occasion, I have only once had a little rain falling on us. Nature always ensures my comfort!

Soon fingers of golden light filter down the valley, enhanced by the blues and purples of the backdrop of the Back Table, a breeze rustles the leaves of a branch and a new day has begun.

Another lovely day

An early morning tablecloth draped Table Mountain, leaving just the upper cable station peeking out of the cloud. The view from the front must have been spectacular, as the cloud falls waterfall-like over the flat top and down the sheer, stark cliffs before evaporating as mist before the morning sun.

The rather poor shot of a passing ship serves only to show the rising sun on the other side of False Bay reflecting off the vessel going past Kommetjie.

I'm not what I would call a beach person, and perhaps years go by without my setting foot on the sands, but with Cleo needing exercise, fun and excitement, I took her down with old Monty. He is very arthritic now and totally deaf with other medical problems, but he spent an hour or so frolicking as best he could, while Cleo was in her element. She kept an eye out for Monty and was never far from him, and I will have to take him down more often in his twilight years. He used to just take off and never come back, so could never be let off the lead unless we were in the mood for a two-hour chase, but now he is completely well behaved, perforce through old age.

Milnerton flea market

It was a perfect day for a visit to the Milnerton flea market. This place is a nightmare in the heat, the rain, the southeaster, the northwester - what's left? Today was magnificent - light southerly wind to temper the warm sun - absolutely ideal. The stallholders all thought it was a busy day, but I thought that the crowd was thin compared to the Muizenberg flea market. Maybe the layout is deceptive in that regard. Certainly Milnerton is easy to navigate - not just because the sea is over the railway line! It's quite odd to stand in the car park and see ships at anchor in a sea that is at eye level! The view of Table Mountain is breathtaking even for an old Capetonian like me. My mountain. Now that I am 60 I qualify for a pensioner's discount on a Friday LOL, so you can expect to see me queuing some time soon. I think I have only been up there three times in my life, an absolute disgrace!

The variety of goods on sale and price ranges make it so worthwhile for keen scavengers and collectors of bric-a-brac. I found four lovely old teapots for a special friend, so had the pleasure of haggling and purchasing without adding to the household goods! The ideal situation for someone who is trying to minimalise her life!

The de luxe portaloos are a sight to behold! Having seen the inside of every toilet in Europe as a child, and again in later years (I have fantastic kidneys), no outing is complete without an inspection of the facilities! These are spacious, spotless and have a view from Robben Island to Devil's Peak. There are toilets in Tuscany that would be jealous. And they are free!

Four hours passed in no time as my son was in his element among all the old curiosities and artefacts, and I was delighted to find a table and chair in the shade of a German sausage vending hut, where the tea was the best I have ever had. I spent a while in that spot, watching the passing parade, and a sight for sore eyes it was. Enough material for many a blog from observing the diversity of the population - and all so relaxed and comfortable together, too, despite what social media and politicians would have us believe. It's good to get out there and test reality.