This has been such a stressful week for me. Like most introverts I do not enjoy change or new situations. I know I do not behave like your typical introvert as I am bolshy and opinionated, but I cringe at people asking me questions about myself or trying to communicate with me if we do not have an existing relationship. My Mom has said that I just spent too long out of Georgia and too long with the typically stoic Brits and it made me snobby. Southerners will chat to perfect strangers, no problem. I can do so depending on my mood, so maybe I am just a moody cow?

This week I had validation of one of my ‘messages‘ from the Universe/Spirit Guide. The friend I recently ‘heard’ in my head was looking for a new job has resigned. It wasn’t a surprise seeing as the Universe had already told me this was going to happen. However it was a surprise because I DID hear it in my head. Crazy heh? I wish her well as she got a huge increase with her new job and it is a great opportunity for her.

I saw an interesting article about healers. It gave the following list as ‘Signs you might be a healer’ and I tick the majority of them, I have added comments on some of these:

1. You are highly sensitive to energy.
2. You feel other people’s emotions and physical ailments as your own (empath). (This really affects me – I absorb other emotions and it really stresses me out, this is hard for non-empaths to understand.)
3. You are intuitive and can read others very easily.
4. You are a “big picture” thinker and don’t concern yourself too much with the details. (Not this one, my Virgoness overrules this as I am indeed a details girl.)
5. You have gone through bouts of existential depression. (If I allow myself to feel the crisis of our globe or the pain of the masses, it drops me to a place I struggle to get out of.)
6. You have felt like an outcast for most of your life.
7. You think differently from others. (One of my best skills as an analyst, I approach problems differently than the other people on my team.)
8. You get overwhelmed in public easily. (I can panic if surrounded by too many people, if they are touching me due to crowding I go a bit crazy. Concerts can be a nightmare for me but I try not to let it impact my life.)
9. You have struggled with anxiety or panic before. (Regular readers hear allll about this often.)
10. You are the natural peacemaker between people. (Not usually, I might be the one stirring it up.)
11. You are the confidant that people turn to in times of need.
12. You experience digestive issues, lower back pain or gain weight around the stomach (solar plexus chakra disorders). (All of the above.)
13. You feel drained after spending too much time around people
14. Sensitive beings like animals and children gravitate towards you.
15. Other people tend to “dump” their emotional baggage onto you to deal with. (refer to many previous blogs.)
16. You think in shades of grey rather than in black and white.
17. You are very aware of the interconnectedness of life and deeply respect it.
18. You believe in synchronicity more than coincidences.
19. You have a history of healers in the family, e.g. nurses, psychologists, massage therapists. (I do not – however I do believe I am descended from White Buffalo Woman, the greatest healer.)
20. You’ve experienced a major trauma in your life, e.g. loss of your family, life-threatening illness, near death experience, physical/sexual/emotional abuse, war, mental illness. (I tick a lot of these unfortunately, but what did not break me has only made me stronger.)
21. You’ve gone through a spiritual awakening. (It is happening NOW.)
22. You’ve experienced the dark night of the soul.
23. You tend to use the right side thinker more than a left side thinker. (I am a balance between the two.)
24. You experience chronic pain in your body or an autoimmune disease (energetic blockages). (I work on energy rebalancing and unblocking.)
25. You are EMF sensitive (electromagnetic hypersensitivity).
26. You tend to attract people who need “fixing” but often get trapped in self-sacrificing roles. (Nope, I am not a co-dependant sort and have little patience for those who dwell in their misery or pain.)
27. You’re an excellent and compassionate listener. (I need to work on this, my attention span is too short.)
28. You are naturally drawn towards healing professions that help others experience balance and wholeness.
29. You can feel, distinguish between and alter the energy within and without yourself.
30. You have had numerous mystical experiences. (More than most for sure!)

I know I am going down the path that The Great Spirit and my ancestors wish for me.

Norm shopped for us and on Tuesday he cooked dinner as I was not feeling great. I felt so exhausted and achy.  As Caitlin was at Wes that night Norm made pork fillet as she does not care for pork but I love it. He baked it in coconut oil and covered it with peppers, onions and mushrooms and then steamed asparagus to go with it.

On Wednesday Cait was home and I cooked chicken as that is her fave. I wrapped it in bacon and baked it. I sliced zucchini and fried it quickly in butter til browned and to go with it I steamed cauliflower. I attempted a lazy Banting cheese sauce. I grated cheddar cheese into a pan with some butter and double thick cream, stirred like mad and hoped for the best. It was nice! We just drizzled a bit on the cauliflower.

As always my food pics are rather dire sorry about that lol.

I heard on Tuesday that I had made it to the next stage of the interview process for the job I recently applied for and I was expected to create and give a 5 minute presentation of my analysis results from the exam scenario provided to us.

On Thursday I arrived at the interview venue 30 minutes early. I chilled in my car for 15 more minutes, then walked across to the venue. I was still unable to wear eye makeup due to my eye infection which makes me feel a bit underdressed. I miss my eyeliner.

#InterviewCarSelfy

On my way there I had asked the Great Spirit for a sign that I was where I was meant to be and when I arrived they put me into a meeting room to wait. The walls were covered with indigenous art, horses, cattle and bushmen. Very much like this painting.

It was so similar to Native American rock art, it made my soul feel comforted and ‘at home’ and it instantly started to relax me.

I had rehearsed my presentation over and over to get my timing to less than the specified 5 minute limit. They finally called me in to a large room with a screen where a panel of 5 members of staff were waiting to interview me. I was very nervous but I started to relax when I got into my flow and I could tell that they were very impressed with my analysis and recommendations. However after my presentation, they went around the table for each of the interview panel to ask me questions. It was an experienced based interview where they expected me to give examples of various scenarios, for example, ‘can you give an example of how you had to win people over to your way of thinking and how you went about it?’ I went into a panic and can’t remember very much of anything I said for any of my responses. I gave a silly example for the first question and said ‘I just bully people into submission’. I laughed but it is somewhat true! But I get results in a project and hopefully that message came through. Overall though I felt the presentation won them over. They rang the following day to say that they want me to join them however it can be arranged via my contracting house. That made me feel great!

I headed home and worked from home the rest of that afternoon rather than drive into the city for a few hours.

For dinner that night I was craving chili con carne so I fried up mince with onion and yellow pepper until browned. I added a tin of red kidney beans, a tin of tomato purée, a splodge of tomato paste and lots of chili and spices and left to simmer. The beans are not allowed on Banting but one tin among a whole pot is acceptable by my standards.

To go with the Chili I made baked provolone ‘nachos’. I topped it all with grated cheddar, guacamole, salsa and fromage frais.

Caitlin had a couple of friends come down from Johannesburg to stay with us for a few days and they went out for dinner that night but when they came back Carmel gave us a huge box of Iranian candy in a lovely box. It looks like stained glass windows.

Carmel and her boyfriend had come down to Cape Town on the Shosholoza Meyl train. They said it was quite affordable and comfortable and was a cool way to see the country.

Lily and Josh also came down for the weekend, and on Friday Caitlin invited Wes around and I invited Retha which meant we had nine people for dinner. I was still not feeling quite myself and Norm offered to shop and braai for us all and Carmel made some gorgeous salads and I didn’t have to do anything except pour myself a cocktail.

Again, my pics are rubbish but in my defence it was dark outside.

It was also quite chilly outside and as I was not 100% well once Retha went home and Lily and Josh headed to bed I went to snuggle on the couch with the pups and watch a bit of telly.

The next day I was off to get a laser hair removal session at Skin in Hout Bay. It was 2 hours long but hopefully the torture is worth it. They have the latest equipment however and the pain is nothing like the previous salon’s machines which hurt so badly I needed pain meds beforehand and it ended up scarring my forearms due to burning me. I am going to try and see if they can treat the burn scars at ‘Skin’ after the hair removal is complete.

The kids were all off out for the day. Lily and Josh went to race his quad in the northern suburbs and Caitlin and her friends were off to the Hout Bay Harbour Market. Caitlin treated me to a small lemon meringue pie from the Nap stall and Norm to a banting chocolate cake slice.

In the afternoon I started watching “This is Us” on LookTV and 5 minutes in I was already tearing up.  This is such a emotionally raw show, I am really loving it. I am both laughing and weepy in every episode and it is so well written how the lives of these people all intertwine. It touches on many topics, such as homosexuality, obesity, adoption, body shame, rage, fear, spousal abuse and pretty much any family or human dynamic possible. This series gets a full 5 Kitten Stars. Watch it!

While I was being a couch potato Norm started painting the base coat on our kitchen walls.

Painting the ceilings and walls is the only thing left and then our kitchen renovation is complete! It has been a long haul. Next we are going to remodel our bathrooms, we were going to get some quotes on the bits and pieces on Sunday but I did not feel up to going out.

We had bought tickets a few weeks ago to go to Theatre on the Bay for a dinner and theatre evening. Even though I was not feeling 100% I had no intention of missing it.

Caitlin and her friends were having a night in after a day of beach walks and festivities and she snapped a pic of me and Norm when we got ready.

The drive along the coast road takes 15 minutes at most and it is such a stunning route.

The Theatre on the Bay is my favourite venue for shows and is quite pretty.

We had booked to have dinner at the Sidedish Theatre Bistro restaurant which is in the upper floor of the theatre building, it is so convenient! It is a lovely, elegant setting as well.

We were the first people to arrive and they were playing Drake‘s music. I love his music and was disappointed when they looked at the 2 old white people and made an executive decision to put on Rihanna. But the Rihanna song ‘Stay‘ which they chose is one of my faves and I was not too upset. Then mid groove on that song they changed it again! I shouted to the staff who were fecking about, ‘come on guys, I loved both of those songs, just pick one’ lol. We all had a laugh and Drake went back on.

There were only a few choices of Sauvignon Blanc on the menu and I picked the first listed, the False Bay (Waterkloof) Sauvignon Blanc at R99 a bottle. When the waitress, Naomi, went to open it the top kind of came off in her hand. We took a sip and realised it was oxidized. It was foul. The manager of the restaurant came over and agreed it was off and suggested we try another brand. Norm chose the Lomond Sauvignon Blanc at R145 a bottle. It was divine and we settled in to relax and enjoy our evening.

The dinner deal is for 3 courses and we both started with the Calamari misto. The calamari was divine, but the salad looked a bit sad and the little piece of toast was so hard I could not bite it but I don’t need the carbs and was happy with my calamari.

Norm and I both chose the chicken for our main. It was crispy outside and stuffed with feta and spinach. It was nice but I would have preferred veggies rather than chips. I did not eat many of those as they were just your average frozen chips – I won’t waste my carb allowance on mediocre chips. The chicken was enough to fill me up though.

For our dessert course Norm chose apple mousse in a crispy phyllo pastry basket.

I chose the Decadent Velvet layer cake. It was indeed decadent, the topping was rich white chocolate and I could only manage a bite or two. It was tasty, just very rich.

The play we were going to see was called ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’.

It was brilliant!!! It was such a farcical bit of nonsense and the actors had to be on their game as there were so many physical challenges in the show. The lead female character was played by Nicole Franco and she had visible bruises on the backs of her upper legs due to being thrown about the stage (either that or she has a rather mad personal life). Sacrificing for her art I guess!

We laughed non-stop for an entire 2 hours. The play starts with one of the cast members roaming about and asking the people sitting in the first row questions. We were on the 2nd row and I was so confused as I was thinking ‘how unprofessional, what are you doing?’ But the other people next to me in the theatre told me it was part of the show after they saw my dropped mouth and confused face.

I give the dinner 3.5 kitten stars (the service was fabulous, however the food was just above average.)

I give the play a full on 5 Kitten Stars. If you are in Cape Town readers, you MUST book to see it if you can still get tickets. There are 3 weeks left of this run.

When we left the theatre it was drizzling rain which made us so happy, the drought in Cape Town is getting dire with us only having a few weeks of water left in our dams. We are desperate for rain.

When we arrived home, we popped on the news and I was devastated to hear that Gregg Allman was dead at 69.

I have loved Gregg’s music since I was a kid and in the 70s I was lucky enough to meet him in Daytona as my Dad’s cousin was his friend.

RIP Gregg, your music will be sorely missed. I know you were a kind, good hearted man and I do believe you are indeed finally an Angel.

On Sunday when Lily and Josh were packing up to leave, my doctor rang to say my lab results were back and that I have a bacterial chest infection which explains why I have been feeling so dizzy and rubbish. I had blamed exhaustion as I seldom sleep more than 5 hours a night.

He told me he was ringing in antibiotics and I needed to start taking them immediately. As I have had a hip replacement any sort of systemic infection can be quite serious. Even before I have my teeth cleaned I have to go onto antibiotics.

It was cold and damp outside and after Lily and Josh headed home I wrapped up on the couch and Cait made us all some broccoli cheese soup which was delicious.

That evening Norm and I watched the film Get Out.

Oh my word this is a crazy film!! I was on the edge of my seat and shouted at the screen on a few occasions, therefore just based on the emotions it generated I give it 4 Kitten Stars.

This week I booked for Norman and I to go and see the Scottish band ‘Texas’ who are appearing for the first time in SA in December this year.

The show is at Kirstenbosch Gardens. It is such a stunning open air concert venue.

Image credit.

I cannot wait to see them. This is my favourite of their old songs. Lead vocalist Sharleen Spiteri is so beautiful and has such a gorgeous voice.

I went into work as normal yesterday but my doctor emailed to say I was contagious and so I was sent home. I felt so dizzy and short of breath that I just went to bed and stayed there. Today I have worked from home as well and I probably will do so again tomorrow just to be sure my infection is under control. I am glad that at least I know what is wrong with me and hopefully the antibiotics will sort me out. I hope you all have a great week.

Much love to you all.