Our Week

Was up as usual to a gorgeous day and had my chill time under the trees with the dogs. Had my second cuppa out there before I made any attempt to start my day. Hubby left after a rather late breakfast (we were both still in a chill mood after our weekend) and I did a bit of office work while Diane got on the computer to do what she needed to do. About mid-morning I decided to take Wayne to Emerald Casino. Diane thought it was a good opportunity to take some pics and decided to join us. We left about midday. Our first stop was at the Animal Park. There were only three other cars parked there so we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Once inside our first pic opportunity was at the hippo pool. There were two hippo lying just under the surface of the water – it was a real scorcher of a day- keeping cool. Next up was the bird enclosure where they had a variety of brightly coloured birds. We were fascinated and spent a while bird watching and taking pics before moving on and going through the reptile section. Coming out from the reptile house we found ourselves in front of the Meerkat area – we realized what it was by the tunnels everywhere- but the place seemed to be deserted. We were most disappointed but as we spoke little heads popped out of the tunnels. They were obviously curious to see where the voices were coming from. From one tunnel a female emerged and behind her peering out were two of the cutest little faces ever. We were entranced and stayed ages watching before moving on to the monkey area. Coming back past we saw a meerkat on top of the large branch in their area. He was obviously on sentry duty as others were out digging in the sand. The two babies were also out with their mother. There was a lot of chatter back and forth between the sentry and the rest of the group. It was fascinating to watch them all. It was the seals and chimps next as well as a large pool with plenty of pink flamingo around the edge. By now we were really hot so stopped at the kiosk for an ice-cream to cool us down. The last stop was the lion area. They had and enclosure with two cheetahs, the enclosure with two lions and another of wild dogs. Diane and Wayne had taken some good pics so we were all very happy and ready to move on to the Casino. The casino entertainment area was undergoing renovations so while Wayne browsed among the curio stands Diane and I went to see what was open for something to eat. Only Wimpy was and as we didn’t feel like that we went into the Casino area where we wandered through the gambling area briefly. Poor Diane had to produce her ID Book as they didn’t believe she was over 18.Inside I was amazed – Monday afternoon but there were people already gambling . Not my scene as I don’t believe in throwing money away. We went back out and into the restaurant downstairs – the Da Romano. After walking through the Animal Park in the intense, humid heat we were absolutely parched so quickly order drinks. Diane and I had beer shandies while Wayne had a milk shake. They were delicious and sooo cold! Wayne ordered a pasta dish, Diane had a mushroom starter and I had an avo filled with shrimps. The food was really good and we finished off with a cappuccino while Wayne had a coke. It was lovely and cool inside and we chilled reminiscing over the days when Wayne and Co had lived in S.A. The time was well after four, when we regretfully made our move for home. It had been such a lovely outing it was a pity the end had to come. We stopped in Meyerton on the way back as Hubby’s tablets were finished and I needed to get the next month’s supply. I also stopped for a couple of things at the supermarket. After supper Diane and Wayne went into The Glen to see ` Did You Hear About The Morgan’s?’. They both enjoyed the movie and came home via The Harvard Café. I spent the evening watching my usual dose of `Sea Patrol’ and `NCIS’ with my Milo. It was quite late when we all made our way to bed.
Tuesday was a quiet day as Wayne was sorting things out ready for his Cape Town trip and Diane and I were busy with computer work. Donovan picked Wayne up about eight and we had our usual evening of TV and Milo. Wednesday was more of the same for the two of us – just very quiet without Wayne. We missed him as we are so used to him being around now. Thursday Diane and I went into Alberton to the workshop after which Hubby and the two of us shopped at Alberton City. There were plenty of sales on and Hubby got himself a Camcorder while I got a new GPS.
On Friday I cleaned while Diane was doing more computer work. Hubby went into the workshop briefly before coming home to sort out the braai area for his Tit Car Club Meeting which is scheduled for tomorrow. After spending the morning cleaning I bathed the dogs and as I was so hot showered to cool off before having lunch. I was too exhausted to do much more after lunch so spent the afternoon chilling and reading. Late afternoon we all sat outside chilling with wine. It was so cool under the trees with the sun going down. After re-energizing with our chill time Diane and I tackled the cottage cleaning while Hubby made a bean salad and pasta salad ready for his meeting. Diane then got herself ready for a night out while I made steak and chips. It was now after eight so I dropped Diane off in Henley (She didn’t want to leave her car parked on the street). When I got back I cleaned the kitchen and did some more cleaning before watching TV. Diane phoned about half twelve for me to pick her up. As we got back Hubby woke up and half asleep wandering down the passageway. When he saw me he asked when I was going to drop Diane off and I informed him she was already back. Shows how long he had been sleeping! It was now after one so we all went to bed as we needed an early start tomorrow.