Sometimes my weekends end up being so tiring even if I do nothing. This last weekend was so busy and therefore my tiredness was justified. This week has been full of dramas and disasters which has not really helped perk me up.
Last Saturday we had our final Soul Circle for the year. It was a new venue and we were not sure where to park and the woman who owned the venue came out and shouted at us and told us we could not enter via that gate and had to move our cars. We all ended up parking quite a distance down the hill, then when we were on the property we had to scramble along like mountain goats down through the massive untidy gardens to the venue. I was not at all enamored of any aspect of the process and when I saw that the gate we had started from was literally a few feet from where we ended up I wanted to go find the cow and chuck a rock at her head. Not a great start to a meditation event. I get very hot very easily and when I get hot I get snappy. The venue was filthy and only had a compost toilet. I do not use nice bathrooms in lovely venues, you can bet I would pee my yoga mat before I sat in there. What are we, animals??
Once we got settled and did our first meditation I finally calmed down. It was a lovely session and I really enjoyed our discussions. I met a few new women as well. All in all it was fabulous. Then after I hiked back up the garden carrying all of my bags we could not get out of the gate because it was load-shedding and the power was off. Luckily Tam has the same type of gate and when she got up to the top she opened it. By then I was dripping with sweat again as it was midday and incredibly hot and humid. I got grumpy all over again.
I had an appointment at 1:30 at Skin for a facial. The lovely facial then calmed me back down. My adrenaline levels were like a rollercoaster.
I went home and had a swim afterwards to cool me off and we had a quiet evening.
The next day we were invited to our friends Alison and Andy. They were hosting a baby shower for their beautiful daughter Tegan. The women were to arrive at 11:30 and then the men would join us in the afternoon for lamb on the spit. We played several games and Tegan opened her gifts.
I sat next to a woman I had not met before called Zanna. She is Russian / Polish and is interested in the same sorts of things as I am so we could have a lovely conversation about real subjects and not just superficial chit chat. I am so bad at superficial chit chat. I’ve added her to my soul circle group and made a plan to get together when we are back from holiday.
The blokes finally rocked up about 1:30-2pm.
There were sandwiches, fruit, meats, cheeses, scones, bite sized chocolate tarts and all manner of gorgeous things served for the ladies at the shower and it was beautifully displayed but I neglected to take pics. Then later in the afternoon the men arrived and we were again served food, this time with loads of gorgeous salads, vegetables, roast potatoes, garlic bread, falafels, roast lamb, and lamb burgers for the kiddies.
My stomach had been feeling a bit poorly before we went and I thought it was just my usual social anxiety but after we got home I started feeling worse and ended up having a very bad tummy. My therapist from the Neurodiversity Centre cancelled our Monday appointment because she also had a tummy bug. I still felt crampy the next day and on Tuesday I cancelled on our year end function at Kirstenbosch Gardens. The thought of hiking and sitting on the ground in the sun was too daunting to me and the anxiety made me realise that for my own best interests it was best to cancel. I did get a bit of FOMO when everyone sent their photos to the work group.
Then our Tuesday and Thursday yoga classes were also cancelled as our instructor was not well.
Tuesday I had lost my phone when a strong gust of wind sent my blanket flying when I was meditating outside. I did not notice my phone being airborne and later I could not find it anywhere. I had Norm ring it and I heard it ringing in the plants down the slope of the hill, I am obviously programmed to answer a phone in a hurry and ran off to get it, my foot hit the steep side of the hill and I slipped down hurting my wrist and ankle. My day was definitely not improving.
Norm had gone down to get us take aways from Massimo’s and I was just about to sit down to eat when he called me over and said he had mistakenly taken Panda’s heart medication instead of his own stomach meds. WHAT?! I tried to ring the vet to ask what we should do but they were closed. I rang the 24 hour vet clinic’s number and they put the phone down on me after it rang out for ages. I was starting to panic as Norm was getting lightheaded and looked very pale. We googled the medication and it said to seek help immediately if consumed by a human. I decided he needed to get to the hospital but I cannot drive at night and it would be dark soon. I rang a few friends and finally got hold of our neighbour Kate and she and her son Teddy came within seconds and rushed Norm off to the hospital. I stayed behind as the dogs and cats had not yet been fed and I was not dressed and did not want to waste any time.
They took Norm into casualty and put him on a bed and did an ECG, blood work and took his vitals and his blood pressure was high. They phoned poison control which advised that they needed to observe Norm for 6 hours but the amount he consumed should not cause any major issues. Once they told Norm he needed to stay until midnight Kate and Teddy left to get something to eat and then at midnight Teddy went back to fetch Norm. He was only allowed to leave at 12:30. By the time they got home and we got into bed it was almost 2am and the power then went off. As it was hot I took a while to get to sleep without my air conditioning even though I was exhausted. Then when the power came back on at 4am it set off the alarm and I had to get up and turn it off and phone the security company. At 6:30 Lola woke me up meowing and sitting on my head. I got so little sleep. I am used to the animals treating me like a jungle gym. I get no respect.
I was a wreck the next day at work! My mind was addled and I struggled to stay awake, much less think logically. That afternoon Vanessa came to give me a pedicure so at least I had a bit of a spoil. Norm was tired but feeling fine so at least that was one less thing to stress about.
We have had a lot of load-shedding this week which is annoying enough, but it also blew up our microwave when it came back on. I also noticed that the builders had damaged my garden chair when they threw down a large wooden window casement from upstairs and it landed on my chair.
Neither of these expenses are small and it is annoying that we have to spend it just before our trip and the holidays. I felt like we had to replace the microwave since we have people housesitting while we are away so it has been ordered, delivered and installed. I was impressed at how quickly Hirsch’s delivered it.
On Thursday night we were advised that there was an issue with a water pipe on Main Road and that the burst pipe had resulted in the road collapsing.
On Friday I had my annual gyne check up and she is all the way across town in the northern suburbs. It is a 45 minute drive approximately. Going there was not bad but coming home took us and hour and a half!
We had just a trickle of water coming out of the taps when we got home and none upstairs at all so I had to brush my teeth with a water bottle like I was camping. I was just glad I could shower that morning before my doc appointment!
The water remained off and the traffic remained gridlocked all evening until late and then the gridlock started again early this morning. The water is slowly coming back on now.
I have mentioned before how my mental illnesses cause me to think that everything is my fault. I had two online arguments with people talking bollocks this week and I was convinced all of the chaos happening was because I was out of spiritual alignment.
I know that NONE of it is my fault at all, but that is how my mind works. We get back what we put out there and I was putting out some wicked arguments (granted they were with eejits but still). I have now blocked and unfollowed loads of people for my mental health.
We are going to Caitlin and Wes for dinner tonight as a thank you for us treating them to an amazing dinner at The Pier during restaurant week (I was ill and Norm was away). Tomorrow we have a social club meeting at Tam’s. Then it is just a few days until we fly. I spent this morning putting away loads of clothes which were all over the house and starting to pack my bag. I do not get excited before a trip, I get stressed until we are actually in the air, then I take a pill and try to relax but I seldom sleep. I only get excited when we arrive. Better late than never I guess.
I hope you all have a lovely weekend and week ahead. Wish me luck on my travels. Until next time, Kisses from the Kitten x0x0x0x0xx0
Kitten in the City 