My mid-life gap year

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My mid-life gap year My adventures while experiencing my adult gap year(s)

A day of unexpected adventures
20/01/2024

A day of unexpected adventures

Saturday 20th January 2024 Today my sister and I drove westwards. I want to say the 'wild west' and I would be almost telling the truth as we went to Cowboy Town. This little gem of a place is on a sad side of Krugersdorp where there is still remnants of a gold mine dump. The streets are tatty, the....

Time passages
19/01/2024

Time passages

Friday 19th January 2024 One of my dear friends died while I was overseas and on my return to Johannesburg, I kept feeling like she should be in her house so I should just pop in. Grief plays tricks with the brain and even though I know that, it still felt surreal to know that she is gone. Her husba...

Car testing
18/01/2024

Car testing

Thursday 18th January 2024 It was unusually chilly today. Fortunately I spent a lot of time in the car- my sister's Fiat. I wanted to test out the changes made by yesterday's mechanics and so far, so good. No strange alarms, messages nor cutting out. I must admit to enjoying driving it, it feels sol...

A busier day today
17/01/2024

A busier day today

Wednesday 17th January 2024 I'm a team player. Coming from a big family has taught me how to work with people but sometimes I would take the sacrifice and not realise that I could do things differently. When my younger sister started running, I always thought it must be such a lonely sport but I lat...

Moves, malls, meals and monster storms...
16/01/2024

Moves, malls, meals and monster storms...

Tuesday 16th January 2024 We had 2 bouts of loadshedding in the night which seemed to have disrupted my night. I woke up feeling a bit groggy but set out early to take Molly and do my short jog. I even did some stretching afterwards which had both animals watch in amusement. I arranged to pop in at....

Nothing much to report today...
15/01/2024

Nothing much to report today...

Monday 15th January 2024 Today was one of those days where I didn't get to take many pictures. Domestic days where laundry, vacuuming, pool cleaning and some admin took over. I know, I got so hot vacuuming, I ended up going for a swim. My getting into the swimming pool takes ages though. I can't rem...

A twinge of sadness
14/01/2024

A twinge of sadness

Sunday 14th January 2024 I spent my childhood in an industrial town an hours drive south of Johannesburg. In the 70s and 80s it was booming with steel factories with nearby coal mines and power stations. It was a huge drawcard for skilled workers who lived overseas in towns that had favtories that w...

Dad praise
14/01/2024

Dad praise

Saturday 13th January 2024 Two years ago my dad died. It feels so long ago in many ways due to all my travels and bed swapping. But the annual cyclic memory makes me think back to him and I see the few photos of him and they make me smile. I'm not sad about losing him, which feels strange but in a w...

Friday adventures
12/01/2024

Friday adventures

Friday 12th January 2024 Cars and rain. Yip, the theme of my life currently. Today my sister's car cut out on me while turning a corner and yes, I did have the engine running. Fortunately I got it going again after taking the key out a few times. But I did have a flash of panic while obstructing the...

It was a rather strange morning that turned into a great day...
11/01/2024

It was a rather strange morning that turned into a great day...

Thursday 11th January 2024 I seem to be having a bit of an unusual time with cars lately. Today I tried my sister's car again and I got stuck in the driveway... My Smartie was being repaired and I was making my way to my massage. It was pouring with rain, and my sister's gate motor is kaput so had t...

Very low key today
10/01/2024

Very low key today

Wednesday 10th January 2024 The year is ten days old and this morning I didn't want to get up. It was raining, cool and I just felt flat. I've become a morning person in my older age due to running through my 40s. There a crispness to a new day, almost like a sacred space which is always refreshing....

Rain complicates electronics
09/01/2024

Rain complicates electronics

Tuesday 9th January 2024 It was cool this morning when I took Molly for a short walk. It had rained a lot through the night so the earth was damp. Molly managed just a small block so I took her back and continued on my own. I managed to run the downhills and felt fairly comfortable albeit unfit. But...

Second week of the new year
08/01/2024

Second week of the new year

Monday 8th January 2024. I woke in the night completely confused as to where I was. It was strange having a moment of panic before I remembered whose bed I was sleeping in. Molly thought she was getting an early morning walk at 4am because the birds were already singing, but we ended up sleeping on....

In between spaces
07/01/2024

In between spaces

Sunday 7th January 2024 Saying goodbye to part time pets can be really sad. I feel so lucky to be able to 'borrow' people's animals and bond with them even for a limited time. But they do sense when I'm readying to leave and today Rusty had his sad face on. It's hard to say goodbye and they don't re...

Almost time to pack again..
06/01/2024

Almost time to pack again..

Saturday 6th January 2024 My last full day of this house sit started early. I woke up before Rusty and started getting ready. He looked rather tired when I opened the door but was still very keen to get out and Carpe Diem. The cloudy sky was already presenting it's masterpiece in pink so I was conte...

I had a mini excursion today to the Okes Coffee Shop The resident cat, welcomed me with festive meowsongs
05/01/2024

I had a mini excursion today to the Okes Coffee Shop

The resident cat, welcomed me with festive meowsongs

Friday 5th January 2024 I decided to get out of my snoozing slump, hermit mode, today and realised that I hadn't been up to the old part of Modderfontein. The name comes from the water stream which back in 1896 was described as Mud river. (Although currently there's not enough mud to clean up the se...

Sshnooze alert
04/01/2024

Sshnooze alert

Thursday 4th January 2024 Despite the bruised sternum, I slept well through the night, and then napped a lot today. I didn't know that I was this tired. Fortunately I have this opportunity to catch up on sleep and that includes my daytime naps. We went out a bit later this morning but still caught t...

Oops
03/01/2024

Oops

Wednesday 3rd January 2024 Falling. Yip. I hit the ground this morning after half a mile of walking. A huge dragon rose out of the ground and grabbed my ankle.... Well, it was more a case of my dragging my feet and tripping. I saw red dust in a quick flash and I turned to see Rusty looking at me qui...

Day after the festivities...
02/01/2024

Day after the festivities...

Tuesday 2nd January 2024 I felt my 'business' brain begin to waken up today. My creative brain talks to me while I'm running and it's often once the pounding heart quietens, that I hear myself properly. Running outside the estate again had me notice many more cars, probably on their way to work. So....

On our marks, Get set...
01/01/2024

On our marks,
Get set...

Monday 1st January 2024 So it's now a matter of writing the new year. For 365 evenings I had to keep asking myself what year is it, and now it's changed again, haha. The energy of this time of the year is usually positive for a few days. People put out good intentions and are a bit more conscious of...

The end of the year
31/12/2023

The end of the year

Sunday 31st December 2033 The last day of the year has ended. We had a special sunset after seeing a lovely sunrise with pink clouds. Rusty's clock has gone back to Mauritius time and starts scratching the door at 4am. I try to ignore it. At least he won't be doing that again this year! ( groan, I k...

I went out of the area today
30/12/2023

I went out of the area today

Saturday 30 December 2023 I ventured out in my car today to a friend's birthday lunch. Although I'm almost reluctant to leave the animals in my care for too long, I managed to keep the visit relatively short and break the almost cabin fever. When I started running in 2005, it was going to be a means...

Friday night party 🤣🤣🤣😉
29/12/2023

Friday night party 🤣🤣🤣😉

Friday 29th December 2023 The whole week it's been feeling like Friday and when it finally arrives, I think it's Saturday. Confused I am. If you're a regular reader of this blog you can probably tell when I don't have much to say. Tonight is one of those times. Immersed in my dogsitting job that is....

I hear the ticking of a clock...🎶
28/12/2023

I hear the ticking of a clock...🎶

Thursday 28th December 2023. My dad's birthday. He would've been 89 today. It sounds so old yet I've been out of school for 40 years this year!!! I had a moment of double blinking when I realised this today. I met my school friend at the local coffee shop again today and when I see her I don't feel....

Brrr in more ways than one
27/12/2023

Brrr in more ways than one

Wednesday 27th December 2023 It was freezing this morning. Mid summer in South Africa can have these unexpected twists to it. There is even the possibility of a light dusting of snow in the far away mountains tonight and tomorrow. We've had these freakish weather shifts before, but we tend to forget...

Let sleeping dogs lie...
26/12/2023

Let sleeping dogs lie...

Tuesday 26th December 2023 Today marks me being back in South Africa for 3 weeks. It feels like I've been back for 5 minutes or 10 years, the sense of timing is very confused. Add to that, my daily siestas where I now split the day into two and I'm so bewildered I've just surrendered. My timing now....

Still the season to be jolly..
25/12/2023

Still the season to be jolly..

25th December 2023 Christmas day means exactly 6 months from and to my birthday. I had to say it somewhere, lol. It was a thing for me when growing up, I was guaranteed presents at least every 6 months. Today Johannesburg was presented with a whole day of constant rain and much cooler temperatures.....

Twas the night before Christmas...
24/12/2023

Twas the night before Christmas...

Sunday 24th December 2023 Christmas Eve. I had a cool start to it with a light drizzle while out on our run at 5am. Although my legs were very tired today so I walked while Rusty ran. But I was looking forward to an early catch up with another school friend who lives on this estate. She's the person...

It's been that kind of day
23/12/2023

It's been that kind of day

Saturday 23rd December 2023 In all of my travels these past 3 years, I've learned to trust the timing of things. I call it Divine Timing. Some things seem to happen without any effort on my part and others I take the necessary steps. Having a very busy brain, I've had to find a way of letting my bra...

Christmas season scorcher
22/12/2023

Christmas season scorcher

Friday 22nd December 2023 I was up before the sun today. So I thought I'd 'spice' up our run and go the opposite direction. I hadn't realised that the uphills would be worse this way but Rusty seemed to enjoy the variety. It was nice and cool too which tricked me into thinking that the day would be....

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