Let sleeping dogs lie

Next Shot ~ Looking Down

 

 

                                   

 

 

 smoke on water

 

 

A day at the lake

Ive joined a group of sweet photographers, the fact that Im the only girl is a small part of the attraction I promise, this week we went to Lake Natomas in Sacramento, home to the aquatic centre, fish hatchery and cycling and jogging enthusiasts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

directions to the salmon hatchery

 

 

 

the captured salmon are guided up this 'waterfall' stairway

 

bridge over the Sac river

 

 

 

There is a paved cycling and jogging trail encircles the lake along with unpaved equestrian trails. Several parking lots and boat launching ramps are located around the lake and because the wind was blowing there were a few smaller sailboats scudding around the lake. A couple of the guys had brought their dogs, bigger dogs that were FULL of energy..we hiked around the perimeter for miles, (my poor tired legs from my long run the day before)

 

 

 

huge bramble bushes everywhere

I must add it was Jonathans birthday on Sunday, and I was distracted and feeling a bit off..and so not prepared for what happened next. As we were strolling around the waters edge, there was a sudden yell from a small group of people as two of the sailboats almost collided, however in the process, the one boat tipped over in slow motion, spilling its two young crew members into the freezing water, the sail draped over them like a table cloth.

There was a moments silence before everyone jumped up and ran to the beach..before long the sound squealing sirens as police vehicles and paramedics rushed to the rescue, they launched a boat and sped out to the kids still in the water. A couple of kayakers near by had gone to their aid immediately and one was seen hanging on the boat.


I took a few pics after the crisis was over and the kids had been pulled into the police rescue boat, but I was shaking like a leaf..distressed I left soon afterwards, too far away to be of any assistance..to close for comfort.

 

 

a sobering reminder of how quickly a wonderful day can turn into a tragedy...

 

 

Happy Birthday darling boy 4/7/79 -1/8/95

 

 

 

I run faster than my couch

 

 

 

I start off slowly, my legs ache and for some reason I have sharp pains in my right calf and shin area, and I worry that its my old herniated disc acting up, I do have a mild sciatica these days but this new 'pain' is a little worrying. I'm 6 weeks away from my half marathon, and I have to pick up the training pace a little each week..injuries and illness aren't an option! I'm on a 6 mile regimen this week..

I find I'm watching everything I eat these days, obsessively it seems, no carbs still..a month and counting.. ok one slice of pizza..! I find my weight has dropped but not drastically which is probably good as I know that's going to happen as the miles increase, best for it to happen slowly. The other thing that increases of course is the time needed for running, its not a quick in and out of gym..or even just the hour and a bit it takes for training, its the prep before hand..you have to have good shoes, a work horse of a bra, water or supplements  to drink, but most importantly you have to have decent music! I cannot count the amount of time Ive spent organizing music getting the right flow, knowing where and when I'll need music to lift my spirits and keep me going, because the wrong stuff will ruin any chance of a happy run.

I run at night mostly, however due to pressure from those who care this is probably going to have to change to late afternoons or early mornings. I'm a night owl what can i say!

Last night as I head out my support group wave and holler and whoop me out the gate as they share a nightcap on their deckchairs on the front lawn..lol..its quite sweet actually, even the dogs rush out to greet me on my return! I struggled through the first 2miles, the pain in my shins and calf really worried me though and I did walk two or three times for about a minute at a time. I was feeling better by mile 3 and with a hill behind me I knew i could start heading for home. I finished my water stuck my bottle in its holder and headed back.

I swear I'm like a horse heading for home at this point, it was plain sailing, no pain, steady breathing pattern, great music,  a cool breeze and every traffic light was green, by mile 5 I truly hit that runners high (it doesn't happen often) and I felt as though I could just keep going..it was absolutely exhilarating! one hour and 20 minutes and I was shuffling up my front steps..lol... my body apparently having forgotten how to walk!

1X6 check

Bella then and now

2012

the moment we walked past this little bridge she remembered the previous picture..and went hop skipping and jumping for me to snap another shot

2013

Travel news of Maggie and Nev

Hold onto your hats folks, but my sister and her hubby have just begun a new adventure..they are on their way to Alaska for 2yrs. They left yesterday on a slow meander on their first leg to Mexico where they will have their boat 'shipped' . The currents and weather make the sail up to Alaska pretty rough and uncomfortable so they decided to take the easier way and have her shipped up to Canada..below is my sisters first blog on SailBlog which they can access via satelite as they dont always have access to the internet obviously.

03/03/2013, Cherry Cove, Catalina Island

Wow! Just over two years since our last entry on this blog, and we couldn't be happier than to be able to say we're on our way again!!
We sailed out of Oxnard on March 1st around noon-time with a lot less hoopla than our last departure but a lot more gratitude and appreciation tucked in our hearts. We had a wonderful evening of goodbyes the night before with Trev, Star and our precious grandbaby, Dax, who seems to love being on BLUE! Donna and Steve, our live-aboard buddies of two years, joined us too, and I felt quite tearful when Steve said there would be a hole in the soul of A dock when Blue left :(
God is good as ever, and the weather was perfect as we made our way to Smugglers Cove for our first night and then on to Cherry Cove yesterday. The seals and dolphins were plentiful, the salty air smelled so familiarly good as it splashed around our bow... we couldn't stop grinning.
Our plans are confusing to most but we think we have it figured out: for now we are gunk-holing our way down to San Diego and Ensenada, Mexico, over the next two weeks. BLUE will be loaded onto YachtPath in Ensenada and shipped to Victoria, Canada, where our friend from Nordic V, Blake, will meet and help Nev take her over to Annacortes, WA. After celebrating Dax's first birthday on April 16th we'll be on the road to Washington driving our Daziblu... we hope to set sail for Alaska May 1st from Annacortes.
The first chapter of our new adventure has finally begun... we welcome you to come along with us for the ride!

Sailblogs link: http://www.sailblogs.com/member/luckyfish/

The Next Shot ~ closer than usual

There will be one theme each week, members will have 7 days to contribute before the next theme.

There is only one rule for the Group: No Archive shots are allowed all contributions must be shots taken for the theme.

If for some reason a member cannot get a shot for the theme they should not contribute that week.

The Next Shot: http://muzenews.ning.com/group/next-shot-photo-group

Going home at last!

After a weekend of terrible sleep and utter exhaustion, Liv is finally going home! Her labs this morning are normal for the first time, no fun for a little girl to be listening to old folk gurgling and snoring or ranting and raving..its time to go home and rest properly...and have some of moms cooking!!

Im just so relieved she is ok and on the mend!

YOU ARE PROUDLY SOUTH AFRICAN WHEN:

# You call a bathing suit a a "kossie"

# You call a traffic light a "robot".

# You call an elevator a "lift"

# You call a car hood a "bonnet"

# You call a car trunk a "boot"

# You call a pickup truck a "bakkie"

# You call a Barbeque a "Braai"

# Employee s dance and sing in front of the building to show how unhappy they are.

# You get cold easily. Anything below 16 degrees Celsius is Arctic weather.

# You know what Rooibos Tea is, even if you've never had any.

#You can sing your national anthem in four languages and you have no idea what it means in any of them.

# You know someone who knows someone who has met Nelson Mandela.

# You go to braais regularly, where you eat boerewors and swim, sometimes simultaneously.

# You produce a R100 note instead of your driver's licence when stopped by a traffic officer.

# You can do your monthly shopping on the pavement!!!!!

# You have to hire a security guard whenever you park your car.

# You know a taxi can move twice its certified number of people in one trip.

#You travel 100's of kilometres to see snow.

# You know the rules of Rugby better than any referee!

# More people vote in a local reality TV show than in a local election.

# People have the most wonderful names: Christmas, Goodwill, Pretty, Wednesday, Blessing, Brilliant, Gift, Precious, Innocence and Given, Patience, Portion, Coronation.

# "Now now" or "just now" can mean anything from a minute to a month.

# You start every sentence with yes/no or ja/nee.

#You continue to wait after a traffic light has turned to green to make way for taxis travelling in the opposite direction.

# Travelling at 120 km/h, you're the slowest vehicle on the freeway.

# A bullet train is being introduced, but potholes can't be fixed.

# The last time you visited the coast you paid more in speeding fines and toll fees than you did for the entire holiday.

# You have to prove that you don't need a loan to get one.

# Prisoners, Doctors and Nurses go on strike.

# You don't stop at red traffic lights, just in case somebody hijacks your car.

Meet Mr Hugh Ted Pitt

and a little girl with a smile on her face...

Hugh is a family name, we name our children dogs and soft toys after some vague great great ancestor, Ted because he was 'thought' to be a bear..but his daddy was a travelling man!

I was baffled by Pitt though..when asked, she explained

'he hangs around my arm-pit all day...'

I think the girl is much much better

even when you're sick

...you've got to keep your eye on those pesky bubbles

Liv update

Yesterday she smiled, played on the ipad and we all thought she was probably coming home soon. Last night they the shocking news that the spinal fluid cultures are showing an extremely positive varicella (chicken pox) and that a specialist would review the findings in the morning. this morning the virologist did just that and then spoke to Jess. Herpes Simplex Encephalitis is the crazy diagnosis..I am floored..was floored, I did some research and then realized how lucky we got!

HSE is the most common form of encephalitis in the United States. Herpes encephalitis is the most common cause of sporadic viral encephalitis, with a predilection for the temporal lobes and a range of clinical presentations, from aseptic meningitis and fever to a severe rapidly progressive form involving altered consciousness.

I am so grateful that my daughter took Liv to a doctor sooner than she normally would, because of some niggling something that said she should...so thankful that the neurologist saw her immediately and started antiviral medication as soon as she was admitted, before she did the lumbar puncture and long before we had a diagnosis..that simple quick action probably saved her life.

She is a smart kid, and is extremely anxious, terrified by the battery of tests and procedures..and the talk around her bed by Dr's and nurses, the worry of her parents faces no matter how hard they try to 'act normal' last night and this morning she had a full blown panic attack, tight chest, couldn't breathe shaking like a leaf..terrified out of her mind..

She has had no seizures, no muscle weaknesses, no confusion.. and the MRI was clear of any focal lesions. She is scheduled to stay in hospital for 10 days to complete her antiviral treatment..that's the good news..and we are all hanging on to that!

Look who's feeling better...

Livvie's MRI was clear which is great news, and she managed to play on the ipad a little today (always a good sign)..will be in hospital for a few more days though...nice to have dad spend the night so mom could get a good nights sleep :)

Wordless Wednesday

Where we take the pictures and you post the caption!

Post your pic on your own page and leave your link here!

http://muzenews.ning.com/group/wordless-wednesday/forum/topics/wordless-wednesday-2-20

one sick little girl...

Livvie has viral meningitis which has caused an encephalitis as well..had a spinal tap earlier which showed a very high viral load. She is getting the very best treatment and we are hoping she makes a speedy recovery. Mom and Dad at her bedside..we are all very worried...sigh

Lunch with my loves

so much food so little time

pizza to share

yep an fire in the middle of summer, there was snow on the berg that day and it was really chilly in the foothills

me and Livvie love

trying to get Bella to smile..she said she wanted a serious 'deep' photo...lol

Picture Perfect (unofficial entry) Winter Wonderland

Welcome to

Picture Perfect

the theme this week is

~ Winter Wonderland ~

Links to other entries can be found here

M u z e

and

Blogger

Oscar Pistorious

Oscar Pistorius the South African 'disabled' olympic runner who ran with prosthetics, shot and killed his girlfriend...Thought she was a burglar at 4am this morning...how terribly tragic!

Happy Birthday Gator!!

This was the greenest thing I could find, to wish you a Happy Birthday G... my dear sweet friend...

thank you for all the help you give me with the running of Picture Perfect for all these long years, your level head and gentle heart have calmed me down and lifted me up on many an occasion, and your friendship is something I treasure deeply, love you heaps H xx

(us on a hot steamy SC night, at a hot steamy karaoke evening, listening to KK singing a hot steamy number!!)

thanks mum

Ive just had a weekend with my mum, and in spite of her being healthy and active, things have changed, are changing in little ways that break my heart. She repeats herself more than ever it seems, she doesn't hear everything I say and she talks about the past more and more. Cant remember where she put something a few minutes ago, but can remember details of an incident 50yrs ago..

I read Sue Scarfe's blog this morning on Muze and found myself moved to tears: http://muzenews.ning.com/profiles/blogs/when-i-am-old

I find one does need to quieten, slow down and take time to speak up, and bite ones tongue.. and perhaps explain things more than once..slowly, it means that now I have to take her arm when we cross the road and mind the step, and.. carry the heavier parcel/suitcase, I need to order her meals for her and open her water bottle, I count out the exact change for her to pay for her train ticket, and then make sure she is sitting facing the right way...I put her case in the overhead locker and then I stand in the cold clear morning and my eyes fill as I watch her frail hand wave and wave and wave until Im out of sight...

Look how they've grown...

2008

2012

2013

Time Traveller

My time here is done, I leave Durban's Shaka International at 5.40pm this evening and arrive in JFK at 0600 on Wednesday morning..(weird that..) lol..and then spend the whole day there...(why I dont know??) and arrive in Sacramento at 2245 the same evening.. Its been a fabulous time, just exactly what we all needed...

Olivia has her ears pierced..

She had been promised she could have them done on her 13th birthday (.. and not a day before), when we arrived at the jewellery store though we discovered there was another little girl also waiting to have her ears pieced. She wasn't 13..and she never took her eyes off Olivia...who said she would go first and show her it wasnt painful!!

marking the spot

all eyes on Olivia!

being brave..but holding her breath!

all done

now its Thandi's turn

brave little girl never murmured

look how pretty you are

Thandi

two gorgeous girls

you look sooo beautiful

friends

too darn cute..both of them...