WINDING DOWN TO A TRIP TO THE SEASIDE...

GREETINGS FROM SOUTH AFRICA!

MAXMOM here...

Hello there to all my friends across the world!
Thank you for taking the time to post such interesting and thoughtful comments on yesterday's post regarding

THE POWER OF THE PAW.

 It's always so reassuring to know that there are likeminded folk scattered across our globe and that with only a click of a button, we are all in contact.  It's the beauty of bloging.

Thank you!

---xXx---

As the world winds UP into the New Year, we are doing exactly the opposite!

We are winding DOWN...and it is such a good feeling.  Soon we will be away from the rat-race and spending time together on holiday as a family. 

 Astute readers will have noticed that we didn't go on holiday over the recent festive season.  But now the count-down towards our own annual holiday is in full swing.  We leave early on Sunday morning!

(Picture off internet)

This year we are hiring an appartment on the beach at Ramsgate on the Kwazulu-Natal coast of South Africa and we will be staying there for six wonderfully refreshing days.

(Picture off Internet: Rosscarbery apartments)

I am so looking forward to our break and took a moment to reflect on what it is I am actually looking forward to:

I'm looking forward to the long relaxing, 6-7 hour journey to our destination.  It's an opportunity to chat amongst one another in the car and to observe changes in the countryside from last year.

I'm looking forward to simply being by the seaside:

The sea in my opinion is always rejuvenating.  It is constantly in motion and echoes the rhythm of time.  It has an immediate effect of stilling my being and forces me to relax, reflect and rejuvenate.

I'm looking forward to sticking my toes in the wet sand.

...AND looking out for footprints of others...

I'm looking to simply being with my family and enjoying time together.  Especially early morning walks on the beach and finding interesting rock formations.

I'm looking forward to perhaps seeing people's creative endeavours in the sea sand - like we saw last year...

And playing with shadows...

I'm looking forward to meeting new friends...

...and searching for dolphins...

...and ships (especially at night)...

and we are all looking forward to

WAFFLES!

The 'Waffle House' in Ramsgate has always been one of our favourite holiday eat-outs. 

(Picture off Internet)

It is the prime reason why we have booked to stay IN RAMSGATE this year.  It is simply wonderful to be able to sit on their deck overlooking the lagoon and choose from the simple but scrumptious menu...my mouth is watering just thinking about it! 

While we are away our animals will be well looked after by their babysitter.  They will also be treated by a couple of students who will be coming by to play with them and take them walking. 

I will miss my canine companions, but I am sure they will be

(more than!) okay.

So....

ROLL ON SUNDAY!!!

I can't wait!!!...let's hope for good weather too!!!

Sending lotsaluv,

A GARDEN OF HEALING...

GREETINGS FROM SOUTH AFRICA!

MAXMOM here...

In my opinion...

OUR BLOGS ARE 'GARDENS' FOR OTHERS TO VISIT!

Please bear with me today as I try and tackle a tricky subject:

---xXx---

Over my (almost) three years of blogging, I have discovered a truth:

AS BLOGGERS, WE HAVE FAR MORE IN COMMON THAN JUST OUR DOGS AND OUR BLOGS!!!

Most of us will understand the amazing phenomenon in cyberspace which is known as

‘THE POWER OF THE PAW’.

 For those who might not know about this:
The POWER OF THE PAW is a phenomenon which occurs when bloggers congregate around other bloggers who are struggling in one way or another. With their support they serve to uplift that particular blogger with prayers, comments, advice and amazing kindness.

Many of us will also know that a lot of ‘blog activity’ takes place behind the actual blogposts in the form of emails and messages between bloggers. Effectively blogging has emerged as an amazing support system to many of us who sit behind our computers and interact (sometimes mainly) with the world.

(An Indian Minor...about to land)

(Fixing his feathers)

Sometimes in our community however a blogger will ‘suddenly disappear’. I have discovered that this is often a clear indication that the blogger is experiencing some or other form of difficulty in their lives. It could be work pressures, family turmoil, animals who are ill or sometimes a loved one who is on their death bed.

(Toby chasing a Hadedah Ibis)

Obviously it is a blogger’s right to retreat out of cyberspace to a more personal space, but by doing this it effectively eliminates the opportunity for others to support that person at a time of their greatest need. Sometimes their circumstances are simply too painful to share with the world and they choose to fade out of blogging.

(The little 'white' spider lies in wait...)

I experienced this myself during MAXDOG’s final days, but I somehow found the strength and the motivation to tell his story to the world whilst it was happening.

I was aware at the time that many others were facing similar difficulties to my own and my hope was that by sharing my own reality, I might be able to serve and uplift someone else. It was an incredibly painful decision, but looking back it wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be and I know that something good did emerge out of my pain.

(Indian Minor)

As I enter this New year, my own life has settled, but again I have become acutely aware of some bloggers who are really struggling with various difficulties in their lives and are feeling alone ‘out there’!

I also know that it is these very bloggers who will eventually become the 'most important' source of comfort to all of us in cyberspace when we go through a similar difficulty.

(It is this thought that prompts my post today.)

Often I feel helpless, because the only thing I can do is to email them and offer a shoulder of support.

But today I ask – in the spirit of THE POWER OF THE PAW – for you to pay a visit to these bloggers and to offer them your own

'garden of hope'. 

The three bloggers I am listing have recently become inactive. I am not going to share the details of their circumstances, but I can assure you that they

need to know that we really do care!

Could you please visit the following people:

---xXx---

SIMONA at PACO, MILO AND MAYA: Click HERE

MIMI at LOVING FOR A LIVING: Click HERE

GOLDEN BOY LUKE: Click HERE

---xXx---

I am sure that there are many more such bloggers, so perhaps you too would like to highlight them in your own blogs too

('bring them into your gardens!')

so that we can indeed serve to uplift the special people in our own community.

Have a wonderful Monday and remember...

SHARE YOUR GARDEN!

Sending lotsaluv

"...AND BEAUTY SURROUNDS ME..."

GREETINGS FROM SOUTH AFRICA!

MAXMOM here...

Hello there to all my friends across the world!

 

I'm in a rather reflective mood ...

(it's my daughter: "Miss R"s  21st birthday today!),

...so I grabbed my camera, ventured outside and let my view finder 'do the talking' for today's post....

 I can't help but sit back and simply...

BE THANKFUL!

(A dove in our water feature)

(New growth on the Pin Oak on our pavement)

(Beautiful colour contrasts: Shades of green against a South African sky backdrop)

(A Hadedah Ibis on the neighbour's roof)

(A pair of "Dikkop"s trying to nest on our pavement)

I look around me and notice that EVERYTHING has been equipped to...

LIVE LIFE TO THE MAX!

(Aunt Tam' enjoying the cool ground...she's earned her retirement!)

Finally:

A birthday cake "gift " made by one sister for another...

IT'S A CAKE... 'FIT FOR A prospective VET'!

My heart warms when I see the evidence of my own daughters' sibling fondness!

I am truly blessed!

Look around!....You are too!

Sending lotsaluv,

OFF TO A BANG...!

GREETINGS FROM SOUTH AFRICA!

MAXMOM here...

2011

HAS FINALLY ARRIVED!

On a New Year's eve I prefer to stay indoors and cuddle up with my family and my animals.

For some reason, the world goes mad in anticipation of ...?

 It’s not so much the craziness of people on the roads across our city, but the FIREWORKS which people let off so indiscriminately! It is hard to understand. Our dear ‘Aunt Tam’ has a serious fireworks phobia, so it's home for us, with a simple evening on the cards!

Last night we had a very enjoyable evening. Our dogs were comfortable and lazed happily at our feet. “Miss R” made pizzas for us all and we settled into watching a video together.  When that was over we took on a competitive game of “30 seconds” (one of our favourite family games!)  As midnight approached, we put on the TV and echoed the count-down towards midnight. It was all smiles but we did wait, with some anticipation at the back of our minds, for the first "lunatic" blasts into the New Year.

Setting off fireworks in residential areas is against the law here in South Africa, but somehow everyone ignores it and it becomes a ‘free for all’ in our city. The poor animals inevitably pay the price and usually the SPCA’s are filled to the brim with distressed escapees who flee into the night to their unknown destinies. People can be so thoughtless and so stupid sometimes and it’s heartbreaking to watch!

For the past three years however we have been blessed with significant thunderstorms around midnight which has curbed this lunacy significantly. The rain has been enough to extinguish people’s firework intentions in our own neighbourhood – effectively ‘peeing on their turf’!

 I always send up a prayer of thanks for the rain at this time.

Last night there were one or two bangs which made their mark in the midnight storm. It was enough to get poor “Aunt Tam” clawing away at our laps.

Toby however slept though all her angst (imbuing the enclosed room with graceful fragrances of doggie farts...urrgh!)

Geesh! Toby's comfort levels know no bounds – the more comfortable he is, the more effective his farts are! He’s becoming a gun dog of note :)

Anyway, all’s well this morning. The rain has settled in and a brand new year is upon us.

WISHING ALL MY READERS A WONDERFUL, HAPPY, HEALTHY  and FUN-FILLED NEW YEAR!

Tomorrow (2nd January 2011) is...

MISS "R"s 21st BIRTHDAY!!!

(It would be greatly appreciated if you could perhaps stop by her

brand new blog

HERE

 and wish her well.) 

She's new to blogging...please?

Sending lotsaluv to all my friends across the world.

I love you all!