Santa's Red-Nosed Combi!

Here we are again... the countdown to Christmas Day is now in single figures and I keep thinking 'just two weeks to go and the visitors will be heading home and hopefully we can get back to normal'..... isn't that awful of me?

But, even our residents are driving like lunatics and last evening Rob strode off down the road to have a word with a neighbour's son who had gone past our house at about 70 kph instead of the 40 kph that is the speed limit in our village. But he had to wait his turn to complain because there was a neighbour in front of him doing exactly the same thing!! And the reason/excuse for his hurry?? He was 'late'.......

Anyway... back to the reason for this post, probably the last for 2018 but I shall try to squeeze one in before the end of the year.

You will remember (how could you possibly forget?) that I have been collecting for Santa Paws, plus an extra 13 gifts that were pledged via the website. Rob and I bought food and then last week a friend and I spent the morning spending more money on blankets, toys and bowls. These were all sorted into the bags and loaded into the Combi on Saturday morning.

A lovely sight!

It was Time!!

On the way to Animal Lighthouse we spent the balance of the money on more bags of food and poor Alfie (I had told him that he couldn't come but of course dad said 'yes') was sort of squeezed in between bags and boxes!

See Alfie peeping over the seat?

And we met the Cape Town delivery at the shelter. We all helped to unload goodies from food to flea and tick chews, with a few large plastic 'shells' for water in the camps. Colleen's bread nearly joined the pile but she kept her eyes open and locked her car before I could grab her shopping! Wow, what a lot of supplies we had for Ronel, and of course we were mobbed by a carpet of kittens, some of whom ended up in the Combi with Alfie...... but we had to leave them behind.

From left to right.. Me, Ronel with kittens and Colleen. Check the hats!

It is always an emotional time dealing with animals, but at least we know that for a few months at least, Ronel won't have to worry about food for them.

I just wish that we could have delivered some gift-wrapped elves to help her clean and build and fix everything that needs doing.

Maybe next year......

A Bouquet to Pick n Pay!

I know that I have mentioned our 'Load Shedding' (aka rolling blackouts) before, and told you the (by now) stale joke about Eskom and candles.... and guess what...here we go again, the Dark Ages are here just in time for Christmas!! Eskom apologises profusely (ha ha ha) and blames a whole lot of things, but basically it is sheer incompetence and overspending on parties and salaries that is the main cause.

Anyway, what with that, plus inflation running at about 94%, petrol increasing every month, a severe lack of water, an increase in murder and mayhem, the future looks pretty bleak!

But, every now and then, just sometimes, I am surprised and overwhelmed by those small acts of kindness. Those people who restore my faith in humaity for just a little while.

Read on...........
This is the second year that I have been involved with a wonderful Animal Charity that is called 'Santa Cause for Paws'. Basically they collect gifts for shelter animals, and towards Christmas time they visit the shelters and hand out all the delicious and useful things that have been gift-wrapped, or put into bags. Because there was no 'Drop-off' place here in my area last year, I volunteered to be a Main Drop-Off, and our neighbour who owns the local plant nursery, was co-erced into being a Minor Drop-Off (by me of course!! Thanks Phillip!) I am sad to say, Vredenburg was a little slow  again, but I did receive some wonderful boxes and bags from friends, as well as receiving some gifts that were pledged through the web-site.

Now, some people want to give a box of goodies, but do not have the time or the energy to go off and shop! So they can pledge money and then the volunteers have the most enjoyable time buying food, blankets, toys and useful stuff!

This year I am also shopping for 23 dogs and cats from pledges that came for Animal Lighthouse, the local shelter that is run by one person!

Each animal, 10 dogs and 13 cats, has to have individual gifts with a tag attached to give the name of the animal and the name of the person who sent the gift. That left me with a quandary..... how to pack all the things? Boxes? Bags?

Then bingo! A plan!

Yesterday, being Wednesday,  we went shopping. Our Pick n Pay stores (we have two now, our usual 'go to' store in Vredenburg and a new super-store in the Mall). Yes, we have a Mall! Grabbing the re-usable shopping bags gave me an idea. Maybe if I asked nicely, Pick n Pay would donate 23 bags for my gift packing?

Greg, our local Pick n Pay Manager.

Off to find the owner. He was not available at either store, but at the Mall I spoke to the Manager, Greg Holloway. After I had explained my mission (I had already spent over a thousand rand on dry and tinned food alone in Vredenburg) he immediately said
 'How many bags do you want? Does it matter what colour?'

Ready to be packed next week! That will be fun!

And we left with a rainbow of coloured bags!

As the advert goes.... Give that man a Bells!

I could have hugged him.... but I am sure that he would have preferred the Bells!

Santa Paws Is Coming To Town!

Surprise! Surprise?

This morning I decided to get my A into G and write a blog before the end of the year! It actually took me a few minutes to remember how to do it... but never mind, I forget things easily (especially how to sweep and dust... and cooking is fading fast) these days.

So I thought that as left you hanging last time, surely desperate to hear how things are going/went with Santa Paws, the least I could do was to update the news!

I had great fun filling my bags! Food, toys (a home made catnip rabbit, sadly minus the catnip as I didn't have any), useful articles and blankets all went in, and I proudly put them into the spare room, idly wondering if the room would be large enough to hold all the bags once they came pouring in.
And slowly, slowly the bags began to trickle in.

It was great fun shopping for all the bits and pieces for my two bags, and then four beautifully presented bags arrived. My friends rallied round and helped my final tally to..... drum roll......14... yes, fourteen bags are now ready for me to deliver to the beneficiaries in this area. They are neatly placed in the spare room and although I wish there were more, I think fourteen is a pretty good number for the first time. (Note just through from the Admin at Santa Paws..... they have 120 bags for Ronel!!! That is amazing!)

Both Alfie and Basil have been great helpers.. Alfie spent a lot of time sitting staring into one bag. I finally went to look and there was a beautiful new tennis ball!

Basil on the other hand, just wanted to climb into every bag and there were all kinds of rustling and scrabbling noises for a while!

Will I do it next year?

That's for sure... I am hoping for at least 30.......

Merry Christmas everyone. I hope that Santa Paws visits you too.

I am so sorry but I cannot upload the photos that I wanted to show you. I am doing all the right moves, but it simply refuses to put the photos in the text!! Highly frustrating!! HELP!!!

Santa Cause For Paws!

Being the beginning of October, we shall soon be hearing the strains of 'Little Drummer Boy' and 'Mary's Boy Child' accompanying our trundle round the shopping centres, as we gaily fling pasta and dog food into our trolleys. The cashiers get into the spirit too by wearing jolly red hats with white pompoms and bells, but it certainly does not help when each week every single item is up by at least 20%.... and we are told that inflation is actually on the decrease..... ha ha and Merry Rubbish!!

So, I had a pleasant surprise when I meandered my way through Facebook a few weeks ago and saw a post for 'Santa Cause for Paws'. Having never heard of it, but extremely interested in anything to do with animals, I delved further.

(All the photos are thanks to the Official Santa Cause for Paws Facebook page.

And I was hooked!

This is an easy and fun way to give a gift to an animal in a Shelter, or to an organisation like SPCA... and this year to our own 'Animal Lighthouse', here in Vredenburg. All you have to do is go onto their Facebook page, just search for 'Santa Cause for Paws', and follow the instructions. Pledge a box for a dog, cat, puppy or kitten, and you will receive an email with a printable label that must be attached to the box before the box is dropped off at the nearest drop-off place. On the label is a list of goodies to be included, namely: two food items, something warm like a blanket, a toy, something useful like a bowl or flea treatment or a collar for a dog and an item for the staff like food (non-perishable of course!)

The goody-box check list.

Easy so far......But, when I went on to pledge my box, the nearest drop-off point was in Cape Town, some 120 kms from us. So, I decided to send a message to the organisers and ask if there was a closer place seeing as our Shelter was one of the beneficiaries this year.

And that started a lovely chat between 'them' and me! And as there was nowhere closer, I volunteered to be a Western Cape drop-off point.

How could you resist this little face?

That is when I had my second brainwave (the first being to make a pledge). I asked Phillip if he would be happy to be a drop-off too as everyone around here knows Scotts Kwekery (Nursery) and it is on the main road, not tucked away like our village is!

Well, after much to-ing and fro-ing between me and... AUSTRALIA... yes, that is where the girl who started the 'Santa Paws' movement lives now (she is ex-Johannesburg.... one of thousands), I am now officially a drop-off point, as is the nursery, and the town of Vredenburg is now listed on the official drop-off list! All very important!

See, everyone enjoys a gift!

So I am now collecting my goodies for my boxes (one cat and one dog) and must head to the mall to gather all sorts of interesting items.

I may even sing along to Boney-M.......

I just hope that a lot more people pledge for this area, or I shall be delivering only my boxes!