The only bad thing about a 3 day weekend is how long the following week feels, but the long weekend itself was lovely. A nice mix of friends, family, outings and visits.
Last Sunday it was Father’s Day so Caitlin came to collect us and we went off to the Hout Bay Harbour Market.
We cracked the code to a pleasurable Sunday visit there, go early while people are either asleep or at church. You can easily navigate the stalls and there is no issue with getting seated for eating. There is nothing worse than trying to eat while standing up. Well, I guess not having anything to eat at all would be worse.
You do have to share a table with other randoms. Like this guy who first photobombed me, then joined our table after Caitlin had an autistic moment and told him to move so she could read the menu blackboard he was hovering in front of.
Caitlin and Norm both ordered the same thing, an egg and bacon croissant. We were all baffled about the addition of the lemon wedge.
I had a very dry chocolate chip muffin from the Nap stall. It was dreadful.
We had a wander around the stalls after we finished eating and then Norm and I lost Caitlin for ages. Turned out she was buying shoes and could not decide which pair felt the most comfortable. Caitlin also bought a lovely navy linen shirt that Norm was admiring which he can wear with his linen suit. That will be from all 3 of the kids (aka Caitlin paid and will force the other two to give her their share).
All I bought was a large abalone shell to plant some succulents in. After Caitlin left I clipped off a few bits and pieces from my existing plants and gathered enough bits to fill both of the planters. I filled both planters with potting soil and planted the bits and placed them on the porch with the other succulents. I then went inside, heard a crash and found Finn carrying the abalone shell around in his mouth and the dirt and plants all over the steps.
He is a nightmare.
Monday night was our book club which was held at Yvette’s house. I had offered to stop and pick up Janice as it was on our way there. When Janice got into the car she handed me a book and said that she was given it but already has a copy, so decided to give it away and it made her think of me. When I looked at the title my mouth dropped open and I screamed so loud that Norm recoiled and said ‘owwwww that was my ear’. You know I have been talking about the Descansos work that my shaman group was doing? The Path of the White Wolf is the primary book we use but some of the exercises are taken from other books and the Descansos exercise is from this book!! There are so many instances of synchronicity telling me that the universe is not only listening but encouraging my journey!
I mentioned previously that the last book club was a bit stressful and I was still trying to decide whether to continue attending. This time I kept my drinking to a minimum and my mouth mostly shut. But small talk is my worst nightmare, especially with people I do not know very well and have no common ‘hook’ to discuss. Some of the things I enjoy talking about are viewed as ‘too far out there’ for some. I connected with a young German woman in the group who mentioned her dog. I can talk for hours about dogs! The vibe seemed calmer this time so I will give it another month and hope that it was just the Forming, Storming, Norming BS of a new group of strong minded people (aka women 🤣).
I had no dinner before hand as it starts at 6 and the main savoury food was quiche and I detest quiche so I had a piece of cake and a piece of pie for my dinner. I find the whole timing is awkward as I am always knackered on a Monday and to me if you meet at a time which means you cannot have dinner, then there should be proper dinner at the event. I guess I will have to somehow finish work at 4pm then get us fed and be there by 6? Maybe most of the women no longer work? Or maybe I am just a pain in the arse? Yes I know all of these things can both exist at the same time.
Then I wonder do I just think too damned much? I wish I was one of those who can just switch off their brain and go with the flow. I heard the term ‘Negative Rumination‘ this week and it made me ummmm…. Ruminate. Rumination involves negative thought patterns that are immersive or repetitive. Many people slip into rumination when trying to process their emotions, but they become “stuck” in negative patterns of replaying past hurts without moving toward solutions or feelings of resolution.
What distinguishes rumination or “dwelling on problems” from productive emotional processing or searching for solutions is that rumination doesn’t generate new ways of thinking, new behaviors, or new possibilities. Ruminative thinkers repeatedly go over the same information without change and stay in a negative mindset.
I have gotten much better at this. I used to lie awake at night with past scenarios being replayed over and over in my head or fretting about potential situations that may never even occur. The thing about the past is that you certainly cannot change it, no matter how many times you replay it over and over. And no matter how well we mentally prepare for a situation, there is no guarantee it will go as expected. Unless you find the ‘key’ to why you are ‘stuck’ on these situations, then you will not move past them. You have to let them go.
I know that I often talk about how your own mind determines whether an experience is ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ and this week while watching Miley Cyrus perform ‘Island‘ I thought about the lyrics and how the exact same situation can be heaven or torture depending on who you are with or what is going on in your own head.
If you are with someone you love, faced with no dramas or challenges then it could be paradise even if the environment is basic or even primitive. However, if you are alone and lonely or if you are with someone whom you have conflict with, even in ‘paradise’ it can be hell. In fact, sometimes it is worse being lonely with someone than without them if that makes sense? So even if you have 5 Star unlimited service, if you are stuck with someone who annoys TF out of you, it will be far from pleasant.
The converse applies if you are alone. If you are missing someone badly it might just make your time spent in paradise sad and lonely, but if you are alone and happy with yourself then you can cope with being alone. You may be lonely, but you will cope. You may have to do a Tom Hanks and make a friend from a coconut but you will survive.
The show I watched is called “Miley Cyrus – Endless Summer Vacation (Backyard Sessions)“. It is streaming on Disney+. It is the songs from her latest album sung live in a beautiful home. Y’all know I love me my homegirl Miley 💜 This vid I have embedded below may end up restricted as it is a bit of a boot leg as the official video of the song has not been released yet. Future readers let me know and I will update post release.
This concept is also applicable somewhat to the series I started streaming: FROM which was created by the producers of Lost. The series was created by John Griffin, and is executive produced by Griffin, Jeff Pinkner, Jack Bender, Josh Appelbaum, Mike Larocca, Andre Nemec, Scott Rosenberg, Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Nancy Cotton, Michael Wright and Rola Bauer.
It is horror with a bit of sci-fi, if Lost and The Walking Dead had a baby, it would be this series.
The series stars Harold Perrineau, whom you may remember from Lost, as the town’s sheriff, Boyd Stevens. It also stars the beautiful Columbian actress Catalina Sandino Moreno as Tabitha, the mom of a new family which has arrived in town and Eion Bailey plays her husband Jim.
Without giving much away, the concept is that people arrive in town and are then trapped there and they are also all forbidden from being outside after dark because there are ‘monsters’ who will trick you into letting them in and they will then disembowel you. Much like a vampire, they can only enter if you invite them in, but they can shapeshift into someone you love to tempt you to let them in.
It is a pretty basic and primitive town, not a city by any means. An introvert might love it in this town, except for the fact they can never leave nor can they go outside at night due to ‘monsters’. Hell I could live there if I could have Amazon deliveries drop from the sky and I had Netflix and YouTube to amuse me at night. If all of my loved ones were there I could cope. But if I was there on my own it might eventually break me.
The point is that we create our own feelings of happiness or unhappiness. We create our response to our environment. We have the power ourselves to live a happy life or a miserable life. It is a choice.
On Tuesday I had my monthly pedicure appointment and Vanessa popped in just after 4pm. The dogs all know Vanessa well as she has house sat for me before but we always try and time her arrival with Finn and Norm going for their walk as he can be too much (and he steals her tools). The poms make such a fuss about Vanessa and Pixie insists on sitting next to me. Can you tell I have 5 layers of clothing on top? Later Norm built a fire for us but since I had wet toenails I was walking around barefoot in the freezing cold which was not fun. But needs must! Even in winter I employ Vanessa to paint my toes and file those hooves.
Pixie is just the cutest little bundle of fur and wants to be a part of everything.
When we woke on Thursday I was so excited as the skies were clear and the sun was out for the first time in ages!
That afternoon I sat outside and watched the birds pecking away at the bird feeders.
Mr Squirrel even popped in for a visit.
In fact it was so warm I ordered sushi for dinner! I cannot face sushi when it is freezing cold. I want warm cozy food. Norm said they have renovated K1 so we wonder is there a new owner? If there is a new chef he needs to work on the thinness of his cucumber rolls as they were too thick to stay intact to eat.
I often let TV shows just stream while I play games and for that I choose old shows that I may or may not have already watched. When I lived in the UK I loved America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) but I have not watched it in years. There were 24 seasons and I have no idea how many I have actually seen. The streaming site I found started with the ANTM All Stars which was season 17. A few episodes in I spotted the hairdresser who was doing their make overs. Yoshi was my hairdresser when I first moved to LA! When I first moved to LA I had tried a hairdresser which was near my home and she was awful so I decided to go into Beverly Hills and find one associated with a known hair brand so I went to Carlton International and that was how I met Yoshi.
Yoshi was young and funky and I was young and country but we hit it off like old friends. I had a long mullet and he chopped off the back and funked up the front and dyed it a beautiful aubergine colour that was purple when the sun hit it. He cost the earth and driving from the south bay into Beverly Hills terrified me but I did it because it was worth it to be draped in a silky robe and fed champagne and be fussed over.
Then I start thinking about the difference between a standard of living that many have in Beverly Hills vs the rest of the world. The challenges that women have in many countries where they have so little. One of my friends, Dee took part in a donation drive for sanitary pads for young girls who would otherwise have to remain at home when having their periods. The drive was organised by Ms Naidoo, the principal of Nower High school. This is a brand new school which was opened out of necessity when there were not enough schools for the kids in Hout Bay.
If you would like to donate to this initiative or towards the school in general, their bank details are:
Account Name: Nowers High School Academy
Bank Branch: Cavendish Mall
Bank Branch Code: 198765
Bank Account Number: 1251089739
Alternatively, please contact Ms Naidoo via either method below:
email: nowers.hsa@gmail.com
telephone: 021 791 0017
Like many educators, Ms Naidoo often buys things which the school needs out of her own funds. #NotAllHeroesWearCapes.
This morning I went to another yoga workshop at the Sufi Temple. I did not know that the course was based on the book I mentioned above by Clarissa Pinkola Estes!! Again, everything just keeps going around and around. I booked because I was so pleased with Ginette as a teacher and I loved the venue.
We were asked to read 4 chapters in the book “Women Who Run With the Wolves”, namely Bluebeard, The Crescent Moon Bear, The Doll in Her Pocket: Vasalisa the Wise and The Handless Maiden. Ginette had described the workshop as “…focusing on the meridians in the body and the archetypes associated with them. The meridians are energy pathways of Qi/Ki or Kundalini energy and there are organs and emotions associated with each of them. Poses and exercises in the Yin and Kundalini Yoga traditions will be used to create balance of these meridians, health in the organs and emotional and energetic well-being.”
Tam picked me up a bit later than we had planned and we arrived just at the 9am start and so we managed to squeeze in our mats just in time. The venue was very full. We did some dancing, some yoga, some listening and some howling! I absolutely love to howl. Some of the women were too inhibited to howl and Ginette asked what they were afraid of? For me it is usually fear of looking foolish but I have been working on this fear and so I howled as loud as I could, I danced myself silly and I had a wonderful time. My hip replacement limited me a little bit in that I could not take the weight on my knees without it hurting. But I gave it my all and I sweated so much! I felt great after.
One of the things that Ginette spoke about was the effects of blockages in our meridians. I had a gallbladder attack when married to my 1st husband. The emotion of anger is associated with the gallbladder and an imbalance can cause resentment and irritability. I had to withhold my anger in my 1st marriage so this makes so much sense to me.
I know that irritability and anger are some of my key challenges so I need this ruminate on this for a bit.
After I publish this I am going to go have something to eat and then have a long hot shower and wash my hair. Tomorrow we have another shaman class at Tass’s house in Scarborough. I hope the weather clears a bit as it is a long drive and is much more pleasant in the sunshine.
I hope you have a wonderful week ahead. Until next time, Kisses from the Kitten x0x0x0xx0
Kitten in the City 
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