Last Sunday was taken up with showhouse visits as it has been for the last month. It is rather exhausting. At least it was a stunning sunny day and it was good to be out and about.

At least we had a long lie in bed watching the news and drinking coffees before we headed out. We had decided to stop for lunch at Greens in Constantia but when we arrived there the whole restaurant had changed! We just thought that they had done a reno and we remarked on how nice it was looking and that they changed the tables and chairs and we were pleased that there were seats available as it is normally rammed on a weekend. Then when we asked for a table the waiter said ‘we are closing’ and when I expressed surprise Norm pointed out that the waiter’s shirt was branded ‘BCG’ and the waiter laughed and told us that it is now yet another branch of Bootleggers Coffee Company. We were rather shocked as Greens was such a popular venue, it was always so busy. Why would they close? Regardless, we could not eat there as they were closing even though it was only 1p.m. We wandered off down the rows of shops and saw that Hartlief Deli had some tables available and so we went into there and managed to grab a table.

We ordered a coffee and I chose the German Salad. It was a salad heaving with shredded gypsy ham and grated emmental cheese. The ham was so delicious!

Norm chose the Chicken Salad. His chicken was tender, juicy and very tasty.

We both polished off every bite and headed out to go to our list of viewings we wanted to see. We viewed 6 different properties. Only 4 were on our planned list and 2 were ones where we saw the boards when driving around and just popped in.

The first one we saw I absolutely adored. I loved every thing about it except the location. It is on the corner of 2 very busy roads and the traffic noise is very bad. When we arrived there was a young boy roaming around in the car port and about to enter the gate which was left open. When we asked him if we could help him he begged for money however he was well dressed and clean so he is not a street urchin. I wonder whether if we had not disturbed him would he have gone in and taken a chance at stealing something. The agent was out back and did not hear us enter or even call out to her, she only heard us when we rang the bell.

We saw a few others which were not options for us for various reasons. One was a bit dirty looking despite the fact that their domestic was busy scrubbing the floors in the midst of the showing. There was a teenager watching rugby in one room, a child asleep in another and the house reeked of curry which was bubbling outside on a cook stove which was in a junk filled lean to by the kitchen. The pool was so green as to be a possible dwelling for a plethora of frogs. The whole house was so revolting and off putting I did not even view all of the rooms, I legged it after I walked in on the sleeping child.

WTF?? Who shows a house in that state?

We also went back for a 2nd viewing to a house which was on our list of maybes, but during the 2nd viewing we noticed things we had not noticed when we viewed previously so it is off the list.

We saw another one which we just drove by and when we saw the on show board we stopped and it was sheer perfection, however it was also 2 million above our budget so perfection is to be expected. However the agent there had another property which is in our budget and we made an appointment to go and see it this Saturday.

The search continues.

We got home exhausted on Sunday evening and after Norm walked the dogs he nipped out to get a curry from the Indian Oven.

I went over my carb allowance as I also had a few cheeky vodkas to chill me out a bit.

We binged on Sons of Anarchy and wound down.

The traffic going into town on Monday was horrendous, especially as it was only 7a.m. I heard on the radio that there was a taxi strike going on and that is probably why there were more people driving. All of the taxi ranks were empty.

Usually the taxi ranks are full of taxis, people and noisy chaos.

The taxi drivers were preventing the buses from running, in fact they torched several buses. A Golden Arrow bus (below left) was set alight in Delft earlier this morning and a MyCiti bus (below right) was also set alight on the N2 at the R300.

 

As a result of the strike the roads were chaos. Many people could not make it into work at all due to intimidation by the taxi drivers. They stoned many other buses. Over 50 people were injured and more than 150 windows or windscreens were broken.

The next day the tea lady at our office said that there were men redirecting people around a corner to a taxi but when they went around the corner there were men with guns who then robbed them.

Later in the afternoon I read that the Western Cape MEC for Transport and Public Works, Donald Grant, and representatives of the SA National Taxi Organisation (Santaco), as well as a Taxi Task Team, had met to thrash out a leadership issue and the strike was called off.

South Africa is having such amazing weather that it seems rather ludicrous to hear that yet another hurricane is bearing down on the Caribbean. Hurricane Maria hit the already recovering area on Monday evening.

When I got in from work on Monday I saw that Norm had started painting the dining room. The dining room is open plan with the kitchen so when the kitchen was repainted it meant the dining room needed to be painted the same colour but he has not gotten around to finishing it until now. With the house going on the market we have to do all the little chores which have been on our list for a while.

Tuesday was a very busy day at work as it was my last day on the project where I usually work on Mondays and Tuesdays. We had a client meeting and I did my last handovers and updated all of the documentation on the shared repository. It felt very odd leaving there as I have been at that client on and off for the last 9 years. I am now full time at my client on the other side of town. I have gotten used to that environment and it does not quite seem so foreign to me now however I do prefer working in the CBD. For one thing, there are plenty of places to walk to easily for food. My new client has nothing at all except a KFC which is incredibly unhealthy. That will force me to be prepared and take in my lunch every day. I have stocked up on soups so that in a crisis I can at least take in a tin of soup rather than eating rubbish food or spending a lot of money on OrderIn as they charge a delivery fee and of course I always give a tip so this can quickly add up.

The other reason I prefer my CBD office is that it is peaceful and quiet most of the time. My new office is right by a taxi rank and the noise is deafening and continuous. The constant hooting of the taxis and the shouting and whistling of the taxi gaatjie (the man who collects the fares, opens the taxi doors and shouts out the vehicle’s destination to potential passengers as the minibus) is incessant. I find it hard to tune it out.

After my busy day I packed up all of my belongings from my desk into my car and headed home. Norm had been at Caitlin’s new flat grouting some of the new tiling he had done for her and painting and doing all sorts of chores at our house so while he was dropping off Cordelia I started cooking dinner. I saw he had also shopped and so I baked pork chops topped with peppers and roasted some chopped butternut in coconut oil. I fried sliced mushrooms in butter and garlic and steamed baby broccoli topped with lemon.

I woke on Wednesday to hear about another earthquake in Mexico which had killed over 200 people. This is just a week or so after a previous earthquake had struck off the southern coast of Mexico.

The world seems to be in free fall. It is rather concerning the levels of destruction happening on a regular basis. We humans have a lot to answer for in our destruction of the planet which is the direct impetus for a lot of these issues.

I blame Trump for the others 🙂

On Wednesday evening I attended a talk by Michelle Reid on Shamanism. Michelle poured the women’s sweat lodge I last attended. It was such an interesting talk and the venue ‘Soul‘ is so lovely. There is a coffee bar, a sort of reading area and a gorgeous outside area surrounded by plants and a water feature.

As it was evening Norm kindly offered to drive me. We were a bit early so we sat out in the courtyard and had a coffee while waiting for it to begin.

As the talk was not going to last very long Norm just sat in the courtyard and worked on his book while we were listening to Michelle. Michelle took us through her own path to Shamanism and she and I have so many parallels in our lives – I find it so fascinating. She and I have birthdays one day apart and I feel a real draw to her spiritually, I feel that we have been connected in other incarnations in some manner.

I am booking to go on her Introduction to Shamanism course.

I feel she has been sent to guide me on my spiritual path as she keeps getting recommended to me whenever I ask others for various areas of guidance or information. I asked someone about studying drumming & shamanism and Michelle was recommended but we did not connect at that time. I asked someone else about getting a drum bag made and she was again recommended to me. I then attended the Women’s Sweat Lodge and there she was, pouring the lodge. I had resisted attending that lodge and when Michelle sent me the protocols there was mention of White Buffalo Woman who I feel is my spirit guide, if not one of my ancestors. I feel that when the Universe points us towards a path we must follow that path.

I will show up and do the foot work and see where this path takes me. I find it all very exciting. I know I am not fulfilling my destiny or my purpose, I hope this opens the doors to allow me to do that.

Michelle told us the tale of Spider Grandmother whom I had never heard of. Folklore differs somewhat between the tribes, however in Hopi stories she is known as the Earth Goddess. Although accounts vary, according to mythology she was responsible for the stars in the sky; she took a web she had spun, laced it with dew, threw it into the sky and the dew became the stars. Some tribes claim she is responsible for the creation of dream catchers, used to filter out bad dreams and allow only good thoughts to enter. In some cultures she is so sacred that you cannot mention her name except in ceremony.

I find this all so fascinating learning about my roots and history as a Native American descendant.

On my way into work this morning I went past the site where the City of Cape Town has proposed placing the TRA (Temporary Relocation Area for the fire victims.) There was a protest just starting about the removal of the trees in that area. There has been no environmental impact study done to understand what may happen to that area if they remove them.

Photo credit.

There is yet another peaceful protest planned today in Hangberg. I will be at work and cannot attend. This is to show support for the people involved in the protests last week.

The whole world seems to be protesting.

This weekend is a long weekend. Lily and Josh came down and I made chili con carne. 

We have kept our house viewing appointments to a minimum for this weekend to allow Norman maximum time to do the bits and pieces he wants to do around the house in order for them to be able to come and do the pictures for our sales brochure.
When I got home I sat on my balcony staring at the clouds ove the mountains.

I’m going to miss this view. Even when grey and cloudy it’s beautiful.

I hope you all enjoy your weekend.

Kisses from the Kitten. xoxoxox