Health, South Africa
Susan Colby
Accentuating the Positive

With the Russian madman causing mayhem in the world, I am really trying to maintain a positive outlook.

The war news is dominating and it’s difficult to avoid. But am very aware of how my mental health can affect my physical health, so I am attempting (and so far succeeding) to limit my news watching/viewing. I look at just enough to get a very superficial overview but even that is more than I want. I feel so sad for all the people affected by this megalomaniac!

Accentuating the Positive
Health, South Africa
Susan Colby
Chemo is Doing its Thing

Time flies by, even the chemo treatments. Yesterday was #5 of the planned 6. The results of my blood tests continue to be good. The cancer marker went from 301 to 187 this week. But not low enough to move on to the next stage. Dr. McCleave said they want to see it at around 30 which is quite a long way yet.

Chemo is Doing its Thing
Susan Colby
There’s Hot, and Then There’s HOT

When I came back to South Africa in 2019, I naturally gravitated to where I was born and grew up. And actually ended up in the what we used to call the village of Kloof. (It’s no longer a village!) Kloof is about 18 miles/29km from Durban and just on 1600ft/500km above sea level, giving the area a more moderate climate than Durban, usually being a good 10F less which was the case when I took Rodney to the park this afternoon. Plus less humid.

There’s Hot, and Then There’s HOT
Health, South Africa
Susan Colby
Chemo #4 Done, 2 to Go

The fourth treatment went as planned. Mick came with me so he was able to meet my doctor. It’s always good to have another set of ears in a consultation but this one was very straightforward because everything is going so well.

Chemo #4 Done, 2 to Go
South Africa
Susan Colby
A Massive Immune Booster

November 16 last year is the fateful day I got the definitive news that changed my life.

By then I ‘d been in hospital for 8 days going through tests and everything else that goes along with a cancer diagnosis. I’d just had laparoscopic surgery for a biopsy and the GYN/surgeon came to visit me after I had very gently been given the diagnosis. He’s a lovely man and from reading his bio, a pretty religious one as well. He said to me as he sat at my bedside, “Have you considered end of life?”

A Massive Immune Booster

going local

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Strawberry Fields Forever

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Look at the size of these strawberries! One of the joys of a rural or suburban lifestyle here in New Zealand, is the availability of locally-grown fresh produce. The rolling fields are dotted with grass-fed cattle and sheep, and locals have smallholdings where they grow vegetables and fruits. Some will have honor stands on the roadside where you can get avocados, plums and much more. Just drop your coins in the box, and off you go.

Berries ready for picky

But some have ... pick-it-yourself fields! Eat as much as you want, and pay for what you have in your container.

As strawberries are in season, that's what we've done, a couple of times. And you really cannot compare the flavors of a freshly picked, sun-warmed strawberry to those available in the supermarket.

Somerfields berry fields

Somerfields is one of the local growers. They also grow blueberries and raspberries so we have to keep those picking dates in mind!

Punnets of juicy ripe strawberries

With our containers in hand, we headed into the field, thinking we might have to really hunt! But no, the berries were literally begging to be picked. So it was onefor the container - and one for me! As I popped them into my mouth, the flavor was exquisite, like nothing I can remember. The warmth of the sun had intensified the flavors  and the berries burst with the first bite. One that I picked was so big, it took four bites to finish it! If I hadn't eaten so many, we probably would have finished picking a lot sooner.

But who can resist just one more? And one more... And one more...

And as we had meringues, we had to have them with our luscious strawberries

By the time we were done, we were completely satiated.

What a lovely way to go local and have a little fun!

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Going Local, Wherever You Are

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View from Moturiki When we think of going local, we generally think of doing stuff, buying stuff, close to home.

But that isn't necessarily the case; well, not in my case, anyway. My current local is The Bay of Plenty on New Zealand's North Island, near the city of Tauranga on the east coast. I'm here visiting family, the main purpose of my stay. So we are not keen to be traipsing all over hell and gone, doing and seeing. Budget constraints are keeping us close to home, but we haven't found that to be a detriment. In fact, it adds to the adventure, as we sometimes have to dig a little deeper than published activity brochures!

From the start of my visit, we have stayed local, discovering, and in some cases, depending who is with me and my sister, re-discovering the sights and attractions that are close by.

Cats on the beach at The Mount in New Zealand. Note Ultimate Sailings cool bag!

Our first trip was simply to the beach at The Mount, or Mount Maunganui, a small town with an old, volcanic mountain that guards the point. As it's a very popular place to visit, with not a lot parking, we took the bus which dropped us right at the base of The Mount. There's a popular walking trail around the mountain and a steep one to the top, neither of which was on our agenda. I was more interested in walking on the beach and enjoying the waves, which were pretty small, with no surfers out, except for a whole flock of them at a surf school, learning to ride on foam boards. It's a pretty bay, with a small spit of land that becomes an island called Leisure Island, or Moturiki, at high tide. Back in the 60s,  apparently Marineland built an amusement park on the island and in 1981 it was rebuilt to include a saltwater swimming pools, bumper boats and a hydro slide! In 1990 the park was removed and now it is a lovely reserve, with an easy walking trail to the top, where the views are amazing.

Breakfast at the Deckchair Cafe

Still being a little jet-lagged, we popped in for breakfast at the Deckchair Cafe, one of the many cafe's that line the strand. It was wonderful to sit under the umbrellas, drinking good coffee and watching the human traffic wandering along the sidewalk. Know what? There are strange shapes all over the world!

Because I had just arrived from the Northern Hemisphere and relatively cold weather, I felt like I was the palest person around. The locals are all nicely tanned, lots of young (and not so young) women in mini skirts or shorts and the men in shorts too, everyone in sandals or Jandals as they call flip flops here! The UV here is extremely strong and the smell of sunscreen permeated the air. I was just hoping for a mild tan, instead of being neon, glow in the dark white!

Our return bus dropped us off just down the road from home, making it a very pleasant, interesting and scenic outing, one of many to come, by going local in New Zealand.