I have been in such pain with my back all week. Sitting is sore as is walking. Getting up out of my desk takes quite a while and then things have to shift in my pelvis before I can walk.

Getting old is not for sissies. One of my project team is leaving this week however so I had to be on site to make sure everything is wrapped up and handed over to the other analyst.

The wind has been a bit insane blowing a gale! It seems to be hot most days and then cooler in the evenings. Unfortunately this creates prime conditions for the criminals as the banging of the wind covers up the noises from their house breaking activities. Tuesday was the busiest day and night CCP (our local crime fighters) experienced since it launched 2 years ago, with:
– 4 break ins,
– 1 attempted robbery and
– 1 medical emergency, all in under 24 hours.

Yet many locals do not contribute either time nor money to CCP or our local Neighbourhood Watch. They know the local police are under-resourced and our only hope of dealing with crime is by the residents working with the various defense teams, yet so many do nothing to contribute.

Norm was taking great care of me all week and he shopped and cooked healthy low carb meals for us.

On Tuesday he baked chicken breasts with the skin on to add more fat and keep the chicken moist. He steamed gem squash and some mixed veg and made a salad.

On Wednesday Josh came back down to Cape Town and Norm baked pork chops and to go with it he cooked the remaining gem squash and fried some baby zucchini. Norm also made a cheesy spinach dish which is one of my faves.

It is a rather spectacular view that we have for dinner, I will miss this view when we move out of Hout Bay.

On Thursday for lunch I had no left overs and so I decided to use the take away service OrderIn and chose to order from Fat Cactus.

I chose the pulled pork quesadilla called the Happy Hog. It arrives in a pizza box so it was relatively intact on arrival. It normally comes with pineapple salsa but I always ask them to substitute normal salsa.

I had not planned my day very well however as I had forgotten that Norm was out at a meeting that night and I had to cook dinner and as we had mince, cheese, lettuce and avocado and not much else so I decided to make Mexican food for dinner too. Oops.

However due to my back I was unable to bend down. You do not realise how much you bend until you cannot do so. I had to draft Josh to come downstairs and be my sous chef. He got things out of the fridge and cupboards and put things in the oven for me. We coped! Norm only got home quite late from his meeting and then in no time it was bed time.

Thursday was also the day that my analyst was leaving the team and leaving our contract house. I decided to buy a cake to mark the occasion and so I went over to the shops after lunch. I was hobbling along with my painful back, gripping a wobbly cake. I came up to the little spot where the Rastafarians sell their natural medicines on the street.

They were all taking a photo. I politely stopped to wait but they said ‘no sister come and join us’. I quickly jumped into the middle of them and brandished my cake in the air for the snap. I wish I had asked them to send me a copy of the pic but I was laughing too much to even think of it until I was back at my desk. I popped back by there on Friday to ask if I could have a copy of the pic but they were so stoned they could not even remember the interaction. I found that rather hilarious.

That is what I love about Cape Town, people of all backgrounds, cultures and races all interacting together.

Friday was World Aids Day 2017.

AIDS and HIV are still huge issues in Africa. You can see some of the statistics on the South African National Aids Council web site but here is a set of stats on SA from 2016. The numbers are rather frightening.

On Friday I managed to just miss a major accident on my way into work. A car somehow managed to crash into 2 City of Cape Town road workers, knocking them both down a ravine and causing quite a lot of damage. I have not seen any updates about the victims, I pray that they are all safe.

The roads were blocked for hours. Luckily I left hours before this all occurred.

I left work early Friday afternoon as I had my 5 weekly occurring appointment with my chiropractor. There was no traffic on the motorway and I was there half an hour early. The receptionist never recognizes me and this was no exception. When I told her my name she said I don’t have you down to see the therapist? I told her I was there to see the Chiro and she said “he has gone away for the weekend” and I said “but I have an appointment and have had it for 5 weeks?” To this she replied, we rescheduled all of his appointments and proceeded to brandish a list vaguely in my direction. I could see my name on the list so I asked her what method of communication she used. She blustered as she had no clue, then proceeded to make me feel like an idiot for being there. I was so upset as I had been in pain all week. She said to me if I was in pain I should have come in earlier. But there was too much going on at work, I had a appointment for Friday and so did not phone to move my appointment. I was incredibly upset, that promise of relief had been what kept me going. Her lack of sympathy and inability to acknowledge she had messed me around and not fulfilled her function of managing the chiropractor schedule was what upset me most. Now I’m spending another weekend in pain.

What is it with my chiropractor scheduling issues lately?

I came home feeling so disheartened and sorry for myself. Being in pain affects your moods and how you cope with life.

Luckily I have nothing scheduled that means I have to be on the go this weekend. Norm and I have had a long lie in bed surrounded by cats and dogs this morning. Tomorrow I have a list of show houses for us to view. Maybe we will find one we love. Fingers crossed!

I hope you enjoy your weekend.

Kisses from the Kitten xoxoxox