Hout Bay 17 th- 22th March

During the long drive back from Knynsa we came across a very interesting cafe in Barrydale called the Blue Cow Cafe - what a find! Delicious food, welcoming owner who is passionate about her food and a spectacular view. We had the most delicious lunch. Neil sampled the ostrich carpaccio which was surprising good when I had a taste. Did you know that it has no fat?

The Blue Cow Cafe

                                            The drive back was even more spectacular.

 We stayed at the Hout Bay Hideaway which was a luxurious B&B. So very relaxing! Such fabulous hosts - Sue & Martin - thanks to them we had such a wonderful few days to end our holiday.

 

 

 

Another stunning view from our room.

Another B&B & a delicious breakfast on the veranda - a daily activity!

Rusty old Beetle - thankfully this was not our hire care!

What makes your heart sing? Happy Times.

A picture entitled "What makes your heart sing" by Alison who was at Penny Brohn with me last August.

This picture was sent to me last year after I attended Penny Brohn Cancer Care by a lady who was on the course with me. It illustrates her feelings about how she felt after being at Penny Brohn and how alive and positive she felt by being there. I found it again by accident on my lap top today - or was I led to it for a reason? It made me think about my wonderful holiday in Cape Town & Knysna. I really relaxed  while away and didn't think about the past 20 months. It was like old times when Neil & I had were more carefree!  I looked through some of our photos from the trip of which there are nearly a thousand! That's what you get when you buy Neil a digital SLR camera for his birthday last September and it has it's first real outing!

I just wanted to share these with you as they sum up I think how happy being away made us feel.

Laughing on Llandudno  Beach- not the one in Wales!

Strolling along the beach at Plettenberg

Neil jumping for joy!

Chasing the wave!

Enjoying myself at the Freshly Ground concert at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens Sunset Convert with Annie's mum,
Annie, Sue and me.

 


HAPPY DAYS!!!

Kynsna -Leisure Isle 13 th - 17 th March - total relaxation & escapism

After a 6 hour drive we arrived at Knysna and it was worth the long drive. A stay at the Knysna Belle B&B which we had booked when this holiday was originally plann ed.Gillianne who runs the B&B kindly rolled our booking over until we were able to stay. We had been looking forward to staying here so much. It certainly exceeded our expectations. The top floor was all ours!

The Knysna Belle B&B where we stayed.

The view I loved from our terrace!

View the opposite wa

Sun rise over Knynsa Heads

Me Gillianne (who runs the B&B) & Neil

Gillianne was such a warm and welcoming host. Nothing was too much trouble. I felt as though I had known her years not days by the time I left.

Hout Bay 11 th- 12th March

11 March

Made it here safe and sound,  The flight was comfortable but didn't get a huge amount of sleep but seats were good and the 11 hours went quickly,  I watched the Descendants and Mad Crazy Love which was a perfect Plane Movie

We landed at 6:30 and  were first at the Avis desk and in the  hire car at 7:10. Being the 1st  big plane in makes it easy.

The weather is gorgeous.




We drove to Nenya our B&B  in Hout Bay which is home for the next two nights  I really  like the Guest House we have lovely big room with mountain views.

Nenya Guest House

View from the garden at Nenya

Spent most of the first day relaxing and sleeping -taking things easy and recovering from the journey - which I surprised myself how well I coped with and I recovered from quite quickly.

A relaxing moment

Neil with Lynette

Lynette is a great host and so many funny stories to tell. Neil came to stay here last year when he came to SA on his own for a few days R&R. Lynette welcomed him back as if he were a long lost friend and made me feel really welcome. I had heard so much about her I was so pleased to meet her at last and of course her lovely chocolate lab Coco.

Neil and our new doggie friend Coco

12th March


I am so blown away by the view- I lingered over my breakfast as I could not help loving this beautiful scenery.

View from our breakfast table

I wandered around the garden where there is this lovely Buddha.

Buddha in the garden.

Yummy carrot cake!

The day went quickly - we went into Cape Town but as we had been here before we did not need to do the sights instead went into Waterkant district to do some shopping and a light lunch.

















We passed beautiful Llandudno - nothing like the one in North Wales. One day I will rent a house with a view of this bay!

Llandudno

Tomorrow we are off to Knysna - a 6 hour car trip!

Holiday Time

I had appointments with the Liver Consultant and Bowel Consultant this last week. Both consultants were delighted with my progress. They managed to get all of the tumour out with clear margins which the consultant was very pleased with to say the least! Her enthusiasm wore on me as I felt lifted by the news She discharged me from her clinic and gave me the green light to travel long haul.

 I saw the Bowel consultant yesterday morning and he was pleased with what progress I had made and we spoke about check up dates for monitoring me going forward. He was also happy for me to travel. I have to go and see the oncologist to discuss chemotherapy treatment - which will as last year be for the purpose of wiping out any rogue cancer cells in my blood system or lymphatic system that my immune system is unable to kill off. So I have an appointment to see the oncologist on 28 March.

So........we have a window when we can travel so guess what we have taken the opportunity and very impulsively decided we should go away. We had sort of hatching the plans during the week but they all came together yesterday after we saw the consultant. We are off to Cape Town for our long awaited and previously postponed holiday!  When........... later this afternoon. So we are in middle of packing and tidying the house before we leave for the airport in a few hours. The only downside is that we can't take Colin with us .He is staying with a lovely family near us where he will be well looked after. So I need to go and pack his stuff as well.

I am so excited - it is only 5 weeks on Monday that I had the operation and I will be in warmer climes! I can't quite believe it.  Twelve days in the sunshine!!

Follow up with Consultant

Early start this morning as I had a 9.30 a.m. appointment with the consultant who had performed my liver resection on 6 February. I had a disturbed night's sleep as although I believed  that everything was ok I just couldn't switch my mind off and kept thinking how I would react if the news was not good. I was completely organised this morning with little effort which was an achievement in itself considering how out of practice I am in getting ready to leave the house so early in the morning.

Neil drove me to Basingstoke and as there was very little traffic we arrived just after 9.00 a.m.So we were in plenty of time for the appointment. We had just sat down when my name was called - we saw the consultant 15 minutes before the appointment time - how efficient is that!

Great news..... she was really pleased with my progress, They had successfully removed all of the tumour which was 4cm in size and she also removed 10mm of healthy tissue around the tumour. Given where the tumour was on my liver this is really great news.

 The consultant was genuinely delighted and that enthusiasm wore off on me. My worries of the previous evening just went away.

So I am discharged from the liver clinic and now need to see my consultant who dealt with my bowel cancer and who had referred me to the liver consultant. I will discuss with him, when I see him on Friday, about regular checkups and referral to the oncologist to discuss if I need chemotherapy - which my liver consultant thinks would be wise to have. I am good to travel so looks like my holiday might be back on - hurrah! And if I want I can have a glass of quality wine!

Phew - what a relief that they got it all and that I recovered so well from my surgery.

Today is.........

                            ST DAVID'S DAY.

Daffodil - National Emblem of Wales

The leek - National Emblem of Wales

 

Happy St David's Day to all my Wesh family& friends! For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about St David is the patron saint of Wales. So why the picture of daffodils and leeks?
These are both the national emblems of Wales.

 The origins of the leek can be traced to the 16th century, while the daffodil became popular in the 19th century, encouraged by David Lloyd-George. This is attributed to confusion of the Welsh for leek, cenhinen, and that for daffodil, cenhinen Bedr or St. Peter's leek.

And what a beautiful St David's Day it is! Sunny warm - so spring like! I have been sitting on the bench in the garden enjoying the sunshine. Colin joins me for a sunbathe! The sun really lifts your spirits.......Happy Times!

Getting better.......last weekend

I took Colin out for a walk last Friday and he spotted a squirrel so he took off forgetting that he was attached to a lead and me! I didn't have time to react so he jarred me when he reached the end of the lead. Fortunately I had the lead in my left hand as the scar that is healing is on my right side. Even so it did bring me out in a sweat. It didn't disrupt anything thankfully but I have been a bit sore - which with the healing making the area a bit sensitive and tight - I have been taking it carefully. With the help of some paracetamol taking the edge off it things have been ok. Just have to remember to take it steady - such as when getting in and out of bed.

It didn't stop me enjoying Chris & Philip's stay before they left for France at 4.a.m on Sunday morning. I didn't get up to see them off or offer a cooked breakfast before they left! Even Colin slept through their departure! Some guard dog he would be. The intruders would have to knock at the door before he would raise a bark! So the three of us just resumed our sleep while C&P drove up the M1 to Luton airport to catch their 7 a.m flight.

I went to the cinema on Saturday afternoon to see"The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" and thoroughly enjoyed it. There were some laugh out loud moments. The way that India is portrayed through the eyes of the actors reminded me at times of my reactions when I went to India over 2 years ago. It is so colourful & beautiful while at the same time being a complete culture shock. That was such a special holiday for me and such happy memories as well as a life changing experience. Here are some photos from November 2009 when I was there and before the big C was known about!

Walk at sunrise.

This cow like sunbathing at the beach!

Flower seller

Alison Sarah & Me - Dec 2009 - at Satsanga Retreat where we met.