I have been not just AFK; I've been absent. It's been - still is - awful. It began just over two weeks ago, but neither of us, in the ensuing days, had any idea what would unfold. As I write, The Husband has been in ICU for nearly a week. After radical surgery and The Husband's almost miraculous recovery, he crashed. And then again. A week tomorrow, he'll have been on life support for seven days. That said, he has responded well to treatment and they're waking him up. Now we wait to see if he does wake up as himself.
In the meantime, I am grateful that I live in a village. It really does take a village.
Our local is a haven. Not for the alcohol, but because a friend runs it, and our friends frequent it. They miss The Husband almost as much as I do. It's a safe space where I can either quietly sit in a corner or stare into the fire.
And I can have supper for one and nobody looks at me funny. And I don't feel quite so alone. Not that I mind solitude. It's just, well, I haven't cooked for one for nearly 25 years. And cooking is my love language. Especially for The Husband.
Every time I go to visit him, it's a roughly 140km round trip. I don't mind the drive. I used to do a lot of country driving. It's becoming routine. I've lost count of the number of times I've driven it. I do try to time my trips for when I know the traffic will be easy: the route is a major transport route for large trucks. And, of course the odd crazy. Which brings me to today's road block.
I have no idea how many beasties there were in that flock...um...herd of goats, sheep and cattle. The Husband would have loved it. He'd have been able to tell you how many four legged creatures there were in that migration. And he'd have picked out the bovines that would be his specials. He loves cows. You might take the cattle farmer away from the farm, but you can't take away his love for the cattle.
I want him back.
Until next time
Fiona
The Sandbag House
McGregor, South Africa
Photo: Selma
Post script
If this post might seem familiar, it's because I'm doing two things:
- re-vamping old recipes. As I do this, I am adding them in a file format that you can download and print. If you download recipes, buy me a coffee. Or better yet, a glass of wine....?
- and "re-capturing" nearly two years' worth of posts.
- From Wordpress, I use the Exxp Wordpress plugin. If this rocks your socks, click here or on on the image below to sign up.
- Join Hive using this link and then join us in the Silver Bloggers' community.
Original artwork:
- lastly, graphics are created using partly my own photographs, images available freely available on
and Canva.