Monday
Dear Elsie
It was wonderful to hear from your Mom today, Elsie, and hear about the little girl who has come to live in your neighbourhood. Great to have a friend close by. 
Today was the day a wintery storm swept across Fish Hoek bringing with it blustery winds and rain. As tomorrow is a holiday, today was also the day that a lot of people turned the weekend into a nice long one.
It was also the day that Mike went to renew his car license. He got everything ready and left the house at 9.23am. I kissed him goodbye and expected to see him some time later. How long it would take is anyone’s guess. The license department tends to be chaotic at the best of times. Mike usually gets in the retired folks queue which makes it go faster. Imagine my surprise then, when at 9.42am he walked back in. It must have been closed, I thought. But no! It was open and there was no one there. He walked straight to the counter and got it done immediately. 19 minutes from door to door. That must be a first. No queue for young or old. Today was the day to go for sure.
For the rest of the day, we enjoyed the cooler weather and the blustery rain. The sun poked through sufficiently enough to charge the batteries and drive the house. I only worked for just over 6 hours. Things should return to normal this week, which is good because I have to get some serious reading done. I’m just over a quarter through this 400+ page book. I need to read at least 15 pages a day to finish it before we visit the island.
I’ve been so enjoying it. I am a little disappointed we are flying in and not going by ship. The RMS St Helena was decommissioned in 2018. Most people visit the island by air, flying in on Airlink from Johannesburg which is my route. When Lindsay (the author) lived there, the 5 day journey by sea was the only option. In 2017, one of the MSC ships stopped there on a northbound cruise from Cape Town to Genoa, but it wasn’t one of the cruises we did. I’m enjoying reading all her exploits and by the time I board the plane, it will still be fresh in my mind as it’s going to take me reading every day to get the book finished.
David had a bit of a slump yesterday but he is feeling a small amount of improvement today. He has heard, if this is long-haul Covid, it takes 4 months to recover.
Psalm 61 has been comforting for both us and him.
1 Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.
2 From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint;
lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
3 For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe.
4 I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.
5 For you, God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your Name.
6 Increase the days of the king’s life, his years for many generations.
7 May he be enthroned in God’s presence forever; appoint your love and faithfulness to protect him.
8 Then I will ever sing in praise of your Name and fulfill my vows day after day.
The best is yet to come – we are only passing through.
Keep the smile going.
God bless you.
In His Grip,
Gran xx 🙂