January 2020 - December 2020

So here we are again time for another post in our Annual Walsh Whereabouts blog... I can't believe another year done & dusted - and what an unpredictable & unexpected year it has been! 

My Motto for the Year was "Be Generous" and I tried to keep this thought in my mind throughout the year so that whenever there was an opportunity to be generous that I indulged and helped where I could. 

Some 2020 Highlights:

10 - 12 January - Camping weekend with friends at Panorama camping - Agter Witzenberg.

28 January - We rehomed an adult female dapple Dachshund named Art (due to the patterned colour of her coat). We later renamed her Luna meaning moon in Spanish / Latin as it was more apt as her coat resembled the silver shimmer of the moon. She was very skittish when she arrived but she has now settled in and we are happy to have her as part of our family.

06 February - Happy 5th Birthday to our Princess Grace. Grace had her Birthday Party at home this time, on Saturday 8th February with a waterslide and Mermaid theme. 

10 - 23 February - We travelled to USA: New York  (Manhattan) and New Jersey (Secaucus). Grace loved the Museum of Natural Science which she called the Dinosaur museum.

26 March - COVID-19 Pandemic and South Africa's Lockdown was announced. 

I was able to work from home for the full duration of the lockdown and will continue to do so until further notice.

23 June - Happy 1st birthday to our Tortoise, Shelly. 

1 August - We now have a baby tortoise in our garden too. Her name is Sheila. It's a complete miracle that she appeared as we only had 1 tortoise in our garden previously (for about 1 year) but Google seems to think this is possible: "It is believed that tortoises can lay fertile eggs up to four years after mating."

24 - 27 September - Camping weekend with friends at Doringlaagte in Montagu. 

22 - 25 October - Girls Scrapbooking Weekend at Simondium. Fabulous as always & such an annual treat for us: Carol, Vanessa, Fiona, Amie, Claudia & myself!

3 November - Celebrated our 19th Wedding Anniversary at Belly of the Beast restaurant in Town. What an exceptional tasting experience & superb 5 star service! This remains one of our favourite places to visit for a special occasion!

12 November - My 50th Birthday!! I am so grateful to have reached this huge milestone and so very blessed to have so many special peeps in my life. We had a picnic lunch at Loch Lynne wine estate to celebrate with friends and family - and it was certainly one that I will always remember!

25 December & 31 December - Spent the days quietly at home. Mike was not well on the 24th so we cancelled Christmas lunch so as not to risk family. We were still in lockdown and back to Level 3 as announced by the President, Cyril Ramaphosa (adding his name in case in years to come I have a senior moment and forget it) since our COVID-19 numbers are on the rise again... this means we're on 9pm - 6am curfew as well so no NYE parties allowed.

Other things we continued with...

Monthly Dinners - We had to take a break during lockdown but we have added a few visits to some open air places: https://monthlydinnerclub.blogspot.co.za/

Kit Kat Club - Always great to catch up with the Ladies. We had a few zoom meetings during lockdown and we embarked on 2 new hobbies... 

(1) Rock Painting which is now very popular as rocks get hidden and then found to keep or rehide again. There is even a Facebook Group that one posts the rocks that are found with the hashtag so that peeps can see where their painted rocks have travelled to. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/CapeTownRocks/ 

(2) Diamond Dot Painting (DDP) - There is a Facebook page for this as well else have a look at this website. It's basically a paint by numbers but with small crystal stones. I just finished my canvas and with with a width of 142 dots and 211 rows, that makes it 29962 dots... no wonder it took me 2 months to finish that one! Now, to frame it and find a wall to add it to:-)

https://diamonddotpainting.co.za/

Edgemead Bootsales - Due to lockdown, the bootsales are on hold... However, my decluttering is not and the garage is full of stock for when we are allowed to trade again. Hopefully, it is before I decide to declutter the garage and donate the stuff elsewhere:-)


My Motto going into 2021... well I don't yet have one and I also have a blank 2021 goals page too!

Wishing you much happiness and laughter in 2021. May you be pleasantly surprised many times over with unexpected blessings. May you love and be loved always. Big hugs xx