Wet and windy greetings

Saturday 14 December ‘13 Good day to all, family and friends! It has been a very mild December until yesterday at 2pm when out of the blue a hail storm passed over us and since then the temperatures have been a bit lower than all week! One of the funny things about this Island is that the temperatures goes up during the night and down during the day and that has been the most of the last 10 days the case! It was dry until that hailstorm and the rain has not really stopped since then! It gave me a gap to walk yesterday between 3.30-4pm but that was it! Fields are still green but the trees are bare and brown, not a pleasant sight as we are very spoiled with the very special colouring of this place! I noticed still a few roses flowering and the chrisanthenyms! The daisy bushes looks as if they are about to burst into flower and the daffodils are a good 2 inches above the ground! We were very spoiled by the visit from our niece and nephew Anette and Michael from SA- two family members in one month! Hillie was here earlier on! It was a short visit but still got a short drive in just to show off a bit! Barry is now not just Estate manager but also Kitchen boss and chef! He has become an excellent cook and we eat well! My day is taken up by time for rest with an ice pack on the knee and then the endless exercise regime with the walk following! Every day a little further as in 4 weeks I will be walking 4km a day without my crutches! The circus with the week of Mandela is nearly at an end and we have become the laughing stock of the world! You all know the wonderful sign language man with previous convictions and all and the garbage he signed! Now the people of the East Cape are furious because they did not have the privileges of those in Gauteng! O dear, will I be glad to see something else on TV! Our local radio station invited people who have had dealings or even have met Mr Mandela to come on air and tell their stories- - in some cases it was so embarrassing as they gave wrong facts and spoke pure tripe! We Skype regularly with the grandchildren and they are growing up beautifully! Very cute! Tomorrow we officially exit the TROIKA and only the future will tell what that holds! May we survive! I sincerely hope to get to church tomorrow- but only be able to do it if it stops raining- the world gets very slippery and when it rains continually you have to dodge quite big pools and to try and get through them with crutches and a wind that is blowing storm strength is a bit difficult! So I do pray and hope that the wind will lie down and the sun make an appearance with dry skies –so that I can get to church! Barry is very patient and has now qualified as physio and nurse as well!. We think of those who are going to get married! Congratulations! Unfortunately I have no date but our wishes are that you will be very happy! Birthdays!: Marie Reynecke has had her Birthday today, Helene van Gerda and Oubaas on the 17th and Karen du Toit on the 21st! Happy birthday to you all! To those who are not well and in recovery –you are always in our prayers! Our cats Patches and Spottie has grown up to be 2 enormous big cats and Barry is now in charge of their diet and they are spoilt rotten! We have a big ginger cat visiting and you can just hear the growls from our 2 cats when he comes too near! Only birds present but nothing else at present! To those who are packing to travel either to come home or to go home we pray that you will have a safe journey! Those who are going to use the roads please be careful and do not speed! Continually remember your own safety at home and away! With wet and windy regards Regards from Cranelymore Barry & Christina