Saturday
Today was the day…
That would have been my Ma’s 90th birthday. She rejoices in heaven, and maybe there is remembrance of her earthly birth. I seldom put nail varnish on but today I decided to and while I did I remembered my Ma who loved painted nails. 
It was the day to get our house in order. The cottage got a final sweep. Courage and his family all had their names put on the welcome board, towels on the bed, smarties on the bed, biscuits (from Aunty Ivy) in the kitchen. I got the cottage into the exact state I would make it for paying guests. Courage, Ntsako (Ruth) Lwazi and Lwandle were thrilled. I think they thought they would arrive and have to clean up after the last guests, so it was a treat for them to find everything in order. They came up to say thank you. Shew! Those boys are a handful. The older Lwazi is 6 and is an eloquent, well spoken chatter box. He is very articulate, curious and clearly a bright spark. He opened my laptop and wanted to know where the on button was. I told him I wasn’t going to tell him, to which he replied, “give me a hint!” He only speaks English, much to the chagrin of his grandparents. He does understand Zulu but when spoken to in that language, he will reply in English. He looks like his Mom. Lwandle, (2 on Monday) is just like his Dad. He’s going to be slim and probably the runner of the two. He’s friendly and affectionate and loved the rocking horse. They were like a whirlwind, rushing in, spinning around our apartment and then rushing out. Such a treat. My only regret is I didn’t take a family photo of them. Perhaps Julian, Jess or Gerrie can make that happen when they arrive next week?
It wasn’t just the cottage that contributed to my 16000 steps for today. We double checked the Little Lookout, stocked it for David and put his name on the welcome board. Talking of the Little Lookout, this was where we were with it a year ago…with Courage painting the lattice. We have come a very long way since then!
From the Little Lookout, we went to the Sea-View apartment. The guests had checked out and left the unit very orderly. I made up the bed; Mike cleaned the bathroom and defrosted the fridge. I swept it out, put in clean towels and restocked essentials. And now it’s ready for Jess and Gerrie for their arrival.
I also cleaned half of our place. Not all, but I did do some cleaning. The only ones that may suffer while we are away are the birds. They go through a bottle a day, so I’ll fill it tomorrow, but from Monday, they will have finished it.
I’m half packed. Tomorrow, God willing, Covid free and all, the blog will be from the good ship Orchestra! (From the Vessel-finder website)
Psalm 103:8
The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
The best is yet to come – we are only passing through.
Keep the smile going.
God bless you.
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂