Tuesday marked the one year anniversary of the first lockdown in SA for Covid. It was supposed to be for 21 days but a year later and many of us are still practicing isolation and COVID protocols where possible.
I mentioned in last week’s blog that our drum circle was meeting last Sunday and I was considering going, however as the week went on more and more people confirmed they were attending and many intended to bring their children or parents or other friends or family and the potential numbers attending worried me and I decided not to attend. I saw the pics of the event afterwards and there were a lot of people singing without masks and sitting very close to each other so I am really glad I followed my instincts and stayed home, even though I miss drumming and my drum circle friends terribly, my safety comes first.
It was so nice having 3 days where I was not required to log into work, we ended up having such a lazy relaxed weekend.
As I was disappointed I could not go drumming we decided to go for lunch at Dario’s who do the best burgers in Hout Bay. On arrival they took our temperature and our contact information and gave us hand sanitiser to use. It was very windy so we found a sheltered table outside.
Joseph the well known Big Issue vendor in Hout Bay came by and we bought a magazine from him and he said to us that it was nice to see a couple who have been together as long as we have and who are still in love. I don’t know how he knew how long we have been together or that we are in love but it was still sweet even if it was just his schmoozy sales technique.
Norm and I both ordered a burger. I chose the Gourmet Jalapeno burger and gave Norm the egg I always forget to have them not add.
After lunch we decided to head down to the beach but the wind was insane so I only popped out quickly to get a video and then slammed the door just before a sandstorm bombarded the inside of the car.
The wind howled all day so we tucked up at home and watched a film.
I did not want to watch anything too taxing so I chose a film that Netflix was recommending called ‘Deadly illusions‘ because it had Kristin Davis playing the lead role.
Kristin plays a bestselling novelist who had pretty much retired but is offered a deal she cannot refuse to write another book. However as she was only motivated by the cash and did not really want to write the book she is struggling to get started. As she was a stay at home mom whose life revolved around her twins and her handsome husband (played by Dermot Mulroney) she needed help so she hired an au pair called Grace to watch over their children. Grace is played by the beautiful Greer Grammer (yes she is Kelsey’s daughter). Grace appears to be an innocent young woman but the film reveals this is not the case. The scenes are filmed in such a dreamy way that it is hard to distinguish between fantasy and reality. It was really pretty rubbish to be fair but did have a few sexy scenes so I give it 2 Kitten Stars for titillation ⭐⭐
Norm worked in the garden once it had cooled off a bit and of course the dogs and cats had to all be involved. Blue kitty is the only one missing, he is usually chilling in the back garden on the soft couch or lying in the sun but is not really one of the pack of pals who mooch about together.
On Monday Norm had to work as he has international clients who obviously do not adhere to the SA public holiday schedule. I did some cleaning and pottered about doing various bits and bobs. I gave myself a mani and pedi and then to keep myself amused I started a new series called Country Comfort and I finished it during the week. It stars Katharine McPhee of American Idols fame and handsome Eddie Cibrian of the ‘left my kids and my wife Brandi who showed her arse on RHOBH for LeAnn Rimes‘ fame.
It is a typical cheesy American style with canned laughter and very obvious jokes and campy characters. Now that I watch so many UK and Australian shows the US comedies almost grate on me. It has 5 cute kids and a lot of singing so it is fine for having half an eye on while I play games or when I am stressed and need to watch fluff and nonsense. For that purpose I give it 3 Kitten Stars ⭐⭐⭐.
Late on Monday afternoon we had our friend Mark who is a builder come by to measure and quote for redoing our master bedroom and ensuite bathroom. In our bedroom we want him to skim and paint the walls, install an air conditioner, change the lighting, add more electrical plugs and redo the floors and then completely renovate and modernise the master bathroom. I am very excited about that finally happening.
After Mark left, Norm and I started watching Murder Among the Mormons.
It is a three-part documentary true crime series about forgery and bombs related to documentation concerning the Church of Latter Day Saints. I knew very little if anything of this story so it is pretty interesting, if a bit slow. I give it 3 and a half Kitten Stars ⭐⭐⭐✨.
Since I finished the Country Comfort one I started a new series called ‘The Bold Type‘. It is about a group of young women who work for a women’s magazine called ‘Scarlet’. It was inspired by the life of former “Cosmopolitan” editor-in-chief Joanna Coles, who also serves as executive producer. It explores life in New York for the three main characters who are trying to get their careers launched and find their identities as adults. The editor is played by the familiar Melora Hardin who has been in many other shows and films. I am not familiar with the work of the 3 women who are the primary focus of the main story lines but they are played by Katie Stevens, Aisha Dee, and Meghann Fahy. I am enjoying it and give it 4 Kitten Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
On Tuesday we awoke to the news of yet another mass shooting in the USA. This one was in Boulder Colorado and 10 people were killed. This comes less than a week since the mass shooting where 8 people were murdered in Atlanta. In fact, this is the 7th mass shooting in a week’s time frame.
According to the CDC nearly 40,000 people were killed in incidents involving firearms in 2019. So far this year, there have been at least six mass shootings with four or more killed, including those in Atlanta and Boulder.
Now that the democrats are in the majority and the NRA is in disrepute, hopefully some sort of change will be implemented to control and limit access to guns and remove the ability to buy or own assault weapons, no one needs an assault rifle. At the moment it is incredibly easy to buy any sort of gun and obtain a license, regardless of a person’s mental state or history of domestic violence.
Biden has stated that he is pushing forward legislation mentioning ‘a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines’, as well as strengthening the background check system by ‘closing loopholes’, as areas he would like to see Congress act.
On Thursday the U.S. House of Representatives approved a pair of gun control bills. The first measure, which passed the Democratic-led House 227-203, would close a long-standing loophole in gun laws by expanding background checks to those purchasing weapons over the internet, at gun shows and through certain private transactions. Only eight Republicans joined the Democrats in backing the bill.
The second bill, passed 219-210 with only two Republicans supporting it, and would give authorities 10 business days for federal background checks to be completed before a gun sale can be licensed. Currently, such sales can proceed if the government cannot complete complicated background checks of prospective buyers within three days. The legislation may face a tougher battle in the U.S. Senate but we can only hope.
Meanwhile, the Republican attempts to disenfranchise voters carries on. On Thursday Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed SB 202 into law, a sweeping Republican-sponsored overhaul of state elections that includes new restrictions on voting by mail and gives the legislature greater control over how elections are run. It requires photographic ID for absentee voting. But what if you do not drive or do not have a driver’s license? What if you do not travel and do not have a passport? What other forms of ID are acceptable? It also cuts the time people have to request an absentee ballot and limits where ballot drop boxes can be placed and when they can be accessed. This is a shameful attack on democracy and a blatant racist agenda.
This has been a crazy hot week in Hout Bay, especially considering that this is supposed to be the start of Autumn here. It was oppressively hot and hard to concentrate at work or sleep. On Tuesday it was so hot that I decided in the middle of prepping dinner that I refused to turn on the cooker and we ended up getting Thai take out. The heat seems to have woken every bug in the village and they all seem to want to pop in to visit us. The other night we heard a weird noise and the next thing Lola kitty comes jumping into the lounge chasing the biggest grasshopper I have ever seen in my life. It was the size of Norman’s hand! Then he caught several other giant things with wings that looked like someone fed nuclear waste to a dragonfly. They were huge. Norm catches them and releases them all back into the garden.
Yesterday the heat finally broke and it started raining on and off, sometimes pouring with rain. It was a welcome change and meant I slept like a baby last night!
Both Pixie and Navajo have had to go to the vet several times this week and are off again this morning for a dressing change and to get their meds. Navajo has another ear infection, this time in the other ear just to keep things interesting. As he growls rather ferociously Norm takes him down to the vet for the drops to be administered. Pixie had a few cysts removed a few weeks ago and she is obsessively licking her wound and it will not heal, so the vet has put on cortisone cream and wrapped her leg up in a little cast thing so she cannot lick or chew it.
She does not seem particularly bothered by the cast and she is finally not chewing that area so hopefully it will heal.
The Covid stats for this week are that 9,752,061 people have been tested in SA and 231,002 people have now been vaccinated in SA. The government have now added the tracker for the vaccine count on their website.
The stats from Worldometers are below.
SA has now dropped a spot to 17th with 1,543,079 total cases. The UK has also dropped a spot to 6th with 4,325,315 total cases but the USA has held fast to 1st with 30,853,032 total cases.
SA is 14th for total deaths with 52,602 lives lost in total, the UK is 5th with 126,515 total deaths, and the USA is still first with 561,142 total deaths. Total deaths worldwide is 2,781,064 which is a very sad number of humans lost to this virus.
On the measure of deaths per 1 million of the population, SA has also dropped a spot to 45th with 879 deaths per million, UK has also dropped a spot to 9th place with 1,856 deaths per million and the USA has dropped 2 spots to 14th place with 1,688 deaths per million.
For vaccinations, the UK has vaccinated 29,316,130 people with a first dose and 3,009,863 people have received the second dose. In the USA 89,559,225 people have had the first dose and 48,695,172 have been fully vaccinated.
We received an email from our medical aid scheme this week which tells us that their hope is to have all of the required vaccination medications available from June and to have those who are over 60 or whom have core morbidities vaccinated by September. This is great news and means I can go visit my Mom. Mom is now at home on her own and is so worried about falling again. We have a family zoom call planned for tomorrow night to cheer her up.
The weather is a bit grim here today so I intend to settle in and watch RuPaul’s new episode and do not much else. I hope you have had a great week and that your week ahead is calm and serene.
Until next time, socially distant, double masked Kisses from the Kitten xoxoxoxo
Kitten in the City 
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