Gratitude for our beautiful Savannah

Today, I had to hold my beloved dog, Savannah as the vet put her to sleep. It went so quickly. From pain to peace. Her eyes vacant and unseeing. Her spirit free and walking with her old friends.

I am grateful for the 13 years we had with her and we will miss her brave, loyal and loving spirit so very much.

Gratitude for the week off

We had a wonderful time on our week off! Family, celebrations, friends, adventures, great food, great nature - lovely break! So my first gratitude is for the week off. I said I would collect gratitudes for every day we were away, and as I am only posting now, for this week too....so here goes:

Saturday: Thank you for the beautiful drive to Knysna...
Sunday: Thank you for my mums incredible progress with her cancer and for the reprieve she now has...and for being able to spend her 61st Birthday with her...
Monday: Thank you for the Goukamma river and the glorious swims we had...
Tuesday: Thank you for the very special 50th Birthday we had for my DH with great friends and family and the wonderful sunset cruise on the Knysna Lagoon...
Wednesday: Thank you for being able to spend the day with my mum and enjoy a delicious seafood lunch together...
Thursday: Thank you for the crisp fresh fabulous blue sea at Buffalo Bay and apple pie and cream at the Knysna Heads...
Friday: Thank you that I was surrounded by special people on my Birthday and for the amazing alchemy of spices dinner we had at Firefly...
Saturday: Thank you for the last special morning in our magic hideaway overlooking our own vlei and for the special memories of swallows and my new drongo friends...
Sunday: Thank you for the discovery of a new klein karoo jewel on the Gamka River and for spending the night celebrating another family Birthday...
Monday...Thank you for our home waiting for us and a gentle day at work...
Tuesday...Thank you for the burn at the gym even though it was tough work and for the shark spotters who asked surfers to get out of the water...one of whom was about to be my DH...
Wednesday...Thank you the incredible musical talent...watching the Grammy's which I had taped was awesome...in fact thank you for our PVR...love that machine...and being able to fast-forward past all ads and silly stuff - so cool...
Thursday...Thank you for the pending arrival of Mish & Aidan and to looking forward to more fab family times this weekend...

A lot to be grateful for...and I am.

Gratitude for Time Out

Bliss...9 days off...it is almost as if I had forgotten that we were going on leave for a week and suddenly here it is...I was looking forward to my weekend, but in fact it is a whole week and two weekends! Yeah yeah yeah! So thank you for holidays, long weekends, short breaks and long lazy lulls - a beat out of your daily rut!

I am so grateful for this week off and we are heading to Knysna for a week long celebration of birthdays. It is my mum's 61st on Sunday, my DH's 50th on Tuesday and my 37th on Friday! Celebrations here we come.

A week's worth of gratitudes will follow when I return...I shall be gathering them up everyday until then.

Thank you for my Time Out.

Gratitude for Wednesdays and Great Jobs

When you get to a Wednesday and the middle of the working week, the weekend seems so close. I know we shouldn't be wishing time away but I treasure my weekends so much that when I get that delicious weekend tickle on a Wednesday, I start to look forward to my two days of doing what I want to do rather than what I need to do. Mmmm...even though I have a great job and love most aspects of it, I wish my work could be something that I can't wait to do - that I jump out of bed every morning saying "great, I get to xyz today".

Does any job make anyone feel like that all the time or is there a degree of drag in everyone's work? Do we all rate our job happiness quotient in degrees? Sort of like, "I enjoy 60% of my work while the other 40% is a real drag!" I often have the feeling that while I am doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing right now, there is still some other career in my future that I am going to love even more and that will give me more satisfaction that I have ever had before...so all in divine timing then. A small voice is also always saying to me "work for yourself, your land, your life" so hopefully that will fit into my future somewhere too.

For now, I am so thankful for my great job and yes....for Wednesdays.

Gratitude for Medicine

Today is significant in that my mum is getting the results of her scans after 5 chemo sessions. She was diagnosed with terminal small cell lung cancer in July last year and has been doing so well and keeping as positive as she can. Without the chemo, her prognosis was extremely poor and so far she seems to have responded well to the chemo as at her last scan the primary tumour had shrunk. I can only pray that today, she gets news that will keep her going.

A colleague at work who has been feeding a somewhat neglected dog in her neighbourhood found him this morning after a dog fight some weeks ago and he has a badly infected leg. Without antibiotics, he wouldn't make it as the infection has spread too far. We are all chipping in so she can take him to the vet to get treatment.

And Haiti. All the amazing organisations that are sending over medicine, resources and doctors to assist with the thousands of injured survivors.

And of course...all the incredible medical assistance and drugs that help us become mothers and without which, we would never have any hope at all of ever conceiving our babies.

Without the miracle of antibiotics and other medicines, many would never make it. So thank you for medicine that helps disease and infection and restrains the spread of cancer, even if only to give us some more time with those we love.

Gratitude for my Sharp Chef's Knife

I love cooking. But I didn't know until now how incredibly marvellous it is cutting with a proper genuine chef's knife! Wow. Even the most daunting tasks are despatched without any fuss. This knife slices through pumpkin skins like butter.

Yes, I am the proud new owner of a genuine chef's knife and loving it. Thank you for this wonderful revelation and for making cooking even more fun!

Gratitude for Fresh Herbs

As I write, I have lamb shanks on the stove. The smell is driving my tastebuds wild. And thanks to the latest addition in our garden, a lovely herb garden right outside my kitchen door, I could take two steps and pluck handfuls of parsley, rosemary and thyme...mmmmm.

And oh wicked of all wickedness...I have been thinking about a recipe for banoffee pie for so long now - sounds a tad ridiculous, but I assure you it is the height of taste delirium! So I made one. Crumb base, layer of caramel, layer of sliced banana, topped with whipped cream with Baileys and peaked with shavings of dark chocolate! Basic yet unforgettable. Not sure why couldn't restrain myself and go for fresh fruit instead, but, I have it in my fridge. Clearly my treat barometer was shooting off the chart this afternoon and it simply had to be appeased.

This sounds more like my food blog than my fertility blog, but hey, thank you for fresh herbs and banoffee pie!