What a mad week.

Norm and I were both very grateful for a lazy stress free weekend and we took full advantage of our free diary. We had a long lie in bed on Saturday morning. We only emerged due to my sore back needing to move about a bit. We moved downstairs and contemplated going out for lunch but that seemed like too much effort. Instead we settled in to binge watch Sons of Anarchy and I poked about in the kitchen and found some tidbits for us to eat. I stuffed boiled eggs with tuna and cut up a few bits and bobs to go with it. As it was so warm outside it was just what the doctor ordered.

We completely slobbed about until time for Norm to walk the dogs, when he headed out with the beasties I headed upstairs to shower and get ready to go out.

We chose to head up the Nek towards Constantia and see where life took us. We pulled into High Constantia and decided to check Pastis Brasserie and see if there was a table available for us for dinner.

The place was quiet and candlelit, a very different vibe to sitting outside during the day. We were given a cosy intimate table in the corner and got settled in.

(why do I look so sweaty?)

After examining the menu we both opted for the same dish, the Steak and Calamari, Pastis version of ‘Surf and Turf’. Sirloin strips, calamari and a couple of prawns for R155. The meat was tender and had no icky bits – I am always cautious with sirloin as it can be a bit fatty and gristly. I did think the copious amounts of sauce overwhelmed it all a bit, but I am not a huge sauce fan. The prawns were plump and the calamari tender and the coating was crispy.

We decided to be naughty and have dessert. I chose the chocolate nemesis and it was yummy and oh so rich! The flourless cake was tasty and similar to a brownie in texture, the sauce was very chocolaty. I really enjoyed it but it definitely needed the ice cream to break the richness of the chocolate. It was R65.

Norm opted for the Baked Cheesecake with a berry coulis for R56. The cake was a proper baked cheesecake and it had tons of flavour. I am not a huge cheesecake fan but it was very nice.

Twenty years ago we would have been off to a club or somewhere interesting after a dinner out but these days we seem to have an inbuilt homing device that prevents us taking detours. We were home quite quickly as we were only dining a few minutes away.

We have discovered this new show on BBC called ‘Sounds Like Friday Night‘ which we watch on the BBC iPlayer. We saw there was a new episode available and so we poured a drink and settled in to watch it. We had seen Sigrid perform at Glastonbury this year and we loved her then but promptly forgot about her.

Sigrid performed on the episode of #SLFN we were watching and we were instantly enamored of her.

Sigrid is the sort of artist who you might see perform and think ‘wow’ and then you may not hear her again for ages and then a ‘wow’ moment happens again and only when you see her full body of work do you connect all those disparate ‘wow’ moments and realise just how talented and entertaining she is. She dresses in retro style simple clothing and wears her hair long and straight. Sigrid looks about 14 years old but she has such a strong and powerful voice.

We woke to pouring rain on Sunday and so we stayed in bed with a coffee and Norm searched on YouTube to find some of Sigrid’s work. We were amazed when listening to her songs at how familiar her music is to us considering we would not have been able to pick her face out of a lineup!

We had planned on going to view some show houses on Sunday afternoon and we decided to go out for lunch first. We hit the High Constantia shops again and this time went to Bootlegger’s Cafe and Grill. We again had missed breakfast and the list of choices which are low carb are pretty limited there so we again opted for the Caesar salad.

I was a bit disappointed that there were no anchovies. Usually there are loads on their Caesar so maybe they were out or maybe the chef just forgot them.

We did not linger as we were only stopping so that we could fuel up for our outing. We had 5 houses which were on show that we viewed. All of them had done some jiggery-pokery to their garages. Either converted them to a guest room, living space or an office. Only one of them was a house I could live in without spending a fortune overhauling it.

So in the end it was a rather disappointing adventure.

We headed home and Norm took the dogs straight out for their walkies. Luckily the rain had stopped mid-morning so he did not get drenched.

I sat on the porch and waited on them to come back, gazing at my mountain and contemplating the interesting cloud formations which looked like the mountain had a halo.

After they got back from their walk we all chilled outside. The rain had filled the pool and soaked the garden.

For dinner later that night we ordered sushi from K1 sushi in Hout Bay. They had a special on which meant I got twice what I actually ordered! It was very good except the pieces are a bit large. I like my sushi the right size to pop into your mouth in one bite without choking.

On Monday I saw on Facebook that the City of Cape Town had finally relocated some of the people from the shacks where the victims of the fire have been housed for months.

I think it must be a nightmare for the fire victims to be moved over and over – each time risking loss of their few belongings and possibly ending up in a worse state or environment than the previous place they were moved from. I hope this means that some of the victims will now be able to settle and stay in a safe, dry place where they have access to amenities.

It really puts your own personal issues in perspective and makes you realise just how privileged most of us are.

I have had a busy week. I was back at the chiropractor after work on Monday  to make up for the appointment I had turned up for which did not happen the previous Friday. I hope this calms my back down for the rest of the month but it seems to have made it spasm again. My chiropractor very sweetly gave me a comped treatment to make up for the drama.

We are off to see Texas perform at Kirstenbosch Gardens on Friday.

As we may be still young enough to love music, we are too old to take our backs for granted. Norm and I both struggled with sitting on the ground for hours the last time we went to a concert here so I ordered these chairs for us to try. You are not allowed to take a normal height chair as people behind cannot see but this one is a festival chair so hope it is allowed.

We also have our year end function at the client on the same day as the Texas concert so I hope I stay awake for Sharleen. The theme is The Great Gatsby so how I am going to arrange all of this is a mystery to me – go to work in normal clothes, go for lunch in Great Gatsby gear then go to an outdoor concert in clothes suitable for lolling about the grass? Just as well I always love a challenge. I have checked the weather for Friday and it is supposed to be very hot but at least it generally cools off in SA once the sun goes down so we will just have to cope with being in the sun for an hour or so then it will be all good.

We have been trying to eat healthy all week and so Norm cooked for Josh and I on Monday. He steamed gem squash, baby broccoli and a wee bit of sweet corn. To go with he made baked breaded chicken breasts and melted a bit of cheese on top. It was yummy.

Last night he made the remainder of the gem squash with baked pork chops, baby spinach, roast butternut and fried mushrooms.

I’m so lucky.

The doggies all went to the groomer yesterday as they were all starting to pong. They look and smell so nice after grooming.

Last night when I was leaving work I had just left the client car park and was in front of the Mowbray police station when a guy in a large refrigerated truck just randomly turned into my lane and hit my car on the front passenger side. He then backed up and drove around me and took off up the side of the mountain. Luckily (and rather miraculously) there was a police car directly behind me and they saw the whole thing and took off after the guy. Once I recovered from the shock I pulled my car over and the 2 cops then arrived and said they had caught him and I went into the station to log a report. He had no insurance of course. It took a long time to log the report (as do most things in Africa) and then I carried on home. I was very sore and shook up from the event. However my car and my body were both protected from harm. It could have been so much worse.

When I arrived home already stressed and walked into the dining room I saw Cordelia (our cleaner) precariously gripping the container holding the baby orchid that I was given by Retha when Pierre died. He had bought the plant the week before he passed away.

When I gasped, Cordelia said ‘I did not touch it, I promise, it just jumped off into my hand.’

I did not connect the dots at the time, but then this morning I realised that Pierre was letting me know that it was him protecting me from harm. I knew that it was my Angels, I often feel my ancestors around me and when I talk of Angels I generally mean the ancestors and loved ones who are our guides and protectors.

I am so grateful for the love and protection which kept me safe. I am so blessed.

I hope you all enjoy the rest of your week.

Kisses from the Kitten xoxoxoxox