A lovely weekend and a leisurely stroll.

I had such a lovely weekend. Friday evening we went dinner dancing, but actually had more dinner than dancing. Three of my favourite dishes were on the menu; clam chowder, crab cakes and tiramisu. Oh bliss! I find it so fascinating  to watch other people dance, and was amazed at how much energy some of the older folk have when it comes to the jive, and rock ‘n’ roll. It made me feel dizzy, just watching them. They have so much rhythm and really know how to enjoy themselves. I can only aspire to be like them one day, although if we keep forgetting to go to the ballroom dance class every week, there’s not much chance, is there?

On Sunday afternoon, we were invited to our neighbours’ house for cheese and wine. We spent a very pleasant almost three hours, just chatting about so many things, and I think that by the end of our visit, we had become best friends. The wife has promised to come to the gym with me this morning, as her doctor has advised her to exercise and lose some weight, so I shall take her under my wing. I don’t suppose I’ll get too much of a workout myself, as I expect she will need me to show her how the treadmill and all the machines work. She’s such a sweet person, and used to be a professional singer. She is going to ask her daughter to send some of her song books down from her house in Connecticut, so that when we get back here in October, we can get together and make music. That should be lots of fun. What with me on the piano, my other friend’s husband on the sax, and now a singer, we’ll soon have a group going.

Yesterday, after cleaning the house and washing the car, we decided that as it was such a perfect day, we would go for a long walk around our neighbourhood, something we haven’t done since we moved here. It didn’t seem like such a great idea when we started out, as the “Roof B Kleen” people were out in force, power washing all the pavements, driveways and paths along our street. With the high humidity here, the algae thrives, and turns the paving black. The smell of hydrogen peroxide was quite strong, but it really does the trick, as you can see here.

On our travels, we came upon this Muscovy duck just minding his own business, and no doubt keeping a beady eye out for flying golf balls.

They’re not the most prepossessing of birds, with that bumpy red skin on the face, a knob on top of the bill and lumps all over; quite gross really, but a bit further down the road, we saw a male with two females in tow, so they obviously find one another attractive. I know they say that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder. ”

Our friend was telling us on Sunday, that the golf course here has a reputation for being very challenging, and looking at all the water around, I’m not surprised. Imagine teeing off from here. I bet there are a myriad golf balls lying at the bottom of that little pond.

On the way home, we saw our next door neighbour who was eager to find out if I play Mahjongg. She about the twentieth person to ask me that question. I don’t think I’m going to be able to escape playing some form of table game the next time we visit. It seems that much of the socialising here is done around card tables.  I’ll have to go on line and practise, so that I at least know the rules before I get thrown in at the deep end.

It’s now less than three weeks until we’re on our way home to South Africa. How the last six months has just flown by.

Have a great day everyone. Chat again soon.