Every single thing seems to create a debate or an argument these days, including something as innocuous as Mother’s Day. Women were complaining that no one recognises them on the day, some were complaining that it is wrong that it is only one day where mom’s get treated nicely, some were sad because their mom is no longer around and some are no contact with their mothers due to past trauma. I am not that bothered about the commercial aspect but I am sad when I cannot see my babies.
I do not need gifts but I love to spend time with my kids. Since I cannot be with my mom however I always like to send her something to show we are thinking of her. I hate wasting money on cut flowers as they just die and she needs nothing at all, she has at least a few of everything and is impossible to buy for. Her favorite flowers are white ones though so I found a site that delivered this little pot of mini orchids.
Norm has been investigating my Mom’s family history in his Ancestry expedition. Sir John Philipps, 1st Baronet of Picton Castle. Norm says he would appear to be my 10th Great Grandfather. So that is 2 of my ancestral lines which end in Nobility. This one in a castle in Wales!
Last Friday Lily, Josh and Amelia arrived down from George just before 5pm and then Caitlin came over after she finished working. We all had a big squeeze of smiley little Millie. She is just the happiest baby and she loves all of my animals. Finn was occasionally overbearing with her but it was motivated out of love and devotion and not aggression, but overall he was pretty good.
We ordered take aways from Piccolo Posticino that night and none of us enjoyed it except for Josh and Millie. Josh was the only one with a pizza, it had a thin, crispy crust and loads of spicy mince, and Mills was obsessed with her spinach and had some of Lily’s pasta. Norm did not complain either but he seldom does.
Two of us had chicken and pasta, and Caitlin had the pesto pasta. Cait said the pesto tasted musty and stale and there was no flavour to the dish. She is used to Wes who makes his own fresh pesto and is so brilliant at seasoning. Lily and I had chicken schnitzel and the breadcrumbs were very thick and doughy and not very crispy and the Aglio e Olio pasta tasted dry and had no flavour either. The worst is that Lily found a bone in her chicken. I hope that was just an off night and not their level of service now, we have not eaten from there in a while. Overall it gets 2 Kitten Stars ⭐⭐
We hung out and chatted until Millie decided it was bedtime and off they went to bed. Lily woke to a thud when Millie rolled out of bed in the middle of the night. She is teething and Lily is getting very little sleep at the moment. Josh had crashed in the other room because our guest room beds are just double beds so not big enough for all 3 of them. Poor baby and poor Lily because Mills then decided she was not going back to sleep for a few hours.
The next day we had booked to go out for lunch at one of the local wine farms and I wore my new bright yellow dress from Maya Prass. I have had the dress for a while but because of the little eyelet holes in the fabric it was a bit transparent, meanwhile I had just thought it would be cool and breezy until the kids pointed out they could see everything I had on underneath (or did NOT have on I should say). I had to buy a slip to wear underneath and it took a while to find one, SA is not the shopping haven that the US is. I love yellow even though my Mom told me it makes me look fat. I am fat so what am I trying to hide? “I yam what I yam”, said in best Popeye voice. Yellow makes me happy so wear it I shall!
Norm and I took my car and Lily, Josh and Mills took their truck and we met Wesley and Caitlin there. They also took 2 cars as Wes had things to do and Caitlin was coming home with all of us. Sorry for our family’s massive carbon footprint this entire weekend.
Norm and I sat on the shady side of the table as I could not cope with the sun in my eyes, but after a while it got a wee bit chilly. The server brought us some lightweight throws for us girls to wrap up in. The lads were cold but would rather die than wrap up in public.
The view was so clear we could see all of the way to the sea. See? 😉
We ordered loads of food and waited hungrily.
Norm took Millie off for a walk to see the ducks in the pond because she was hungry and needed distracting. He kept saying ‘quack quack quack’ repeatedly to her (this is important later). We ordered something off of the children’s menu for her, it is lovely to be able to do that and not have to carry special food for her any longer.
Lily, Caitlin and I all had a Caesar salad with crispy bacon: crisp cos, bruschetta, soft egg, anchovy dressing and Lily added chicken to hers. It was almost perfect but the bacon was a tiny tad too burnt. I like crispy but not charred. The toast was very crisp and the eggs were perfectly cooked. I give this 4 Kitten Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Lily and I also shared a couple of starters with our salads, we had a portion of the panko fishcakes and pulled pork croquettes with sauce moutarde, mustard seeds, crackling dust.
There were 3 fishcakes per plate and they were crispy outside and nicely cooked through. They were on a bed of what was supposed to be tartar sauce but it was more like an oniony cole slaw. I preferred this to normal tartar sauce but the boys were disappointed. I give these 4 Kitten Stars too ⭐⭐⭐⭐.
The croquettes did not have much pork in them in my opinion but they were crispy outside and nicely cooked inside. They were sort of like a less meaty or flavourful bitterballen. They needed more seasoning. These only get a 3 rating ⭐⭐⭐.
Wes had the pork belly and said it was good but not as good as the last time he had it from this same venue. It was described as “Black lacquer pork belly sesame, crispy rosti, cabbage, radish & miso slaw” and it was plated beautifully.
Josh and Norman had both ordered the hake and chips but their food arrived at least 10 minutes after our food arrived. I was not very happy about this as the servers who had delivered our food were then serving another table and our own waitress was opening wine for yet another table – mid service of our table. I caught her eye and made the ‘Mama Not Taking This Face’ and she shouted over that she had spoken to the manager but the manager did not bother to approach us the entire day. The boy’s dishes were served with the weird not-tartar sauce which made Josh even grumpier as he loves tartar sauce but hates onions.
The girls had milkshakes for dessert, the boys had coffees and I had a Kahlua Dom Pedro (like a small boozy milkshake, served in an Irish coffee glass). Wes had the Brioche Bread and Butter pudding and it looked so beautiful.
I knew that the server had assumed we were tourists because of her detailed explanations about how local food tastes when she took us through the specials. I let her ramble because I get tired of explaining why I live here to randoms. When she handed me the bill she pointed out the 12.5% service charge which was automatically added to the bill because we had a party of 7 (1 of which was an infant). She had the cheek to point at the total and say ‘this is the automatically added 12.5% but obviously if you want to add more you can do so.’ What the fuck? After that service? I left the tip as it was – but usually South Africans tip 10% on average. She obviously assumed this Yank would feel it was insufficient and make it the standard US tip of 20%.
She assumed incorrectly.
After we finished eating we went for a walk back to the duck pond again to stretch our legs. When Caitlin sat down and popped Millie onto her lap Millie said ‘Quack!’ loudly and distinctly. We all looked at each other with shock and burst out laughing, at which Millie looked pleased as punch with herself and smiled ear to ear. I could eat that child up she is so adorable!
We took a lot of pics but they all have Millie’s face showing so I cannot post them. We took the long way back to our cars, going through the gardens. It is such a lovely wine farm, I said to Norm we should go there for walks more often.
Wes headed home and the rest of us came back to our house. Lily tried to get Millie to nap but there was too much going on in the house and she was not having it. I had loads of summer dresses that I had cleared out of my cupboard and Caitlin and Lily tried them on. Caitlin will need some loose cool dresses when her belly gets bigger so she took a few things. Lily barely bought any maternity clothes as I also gave her lots of things from my cupboard. I would much rather we spend the money on baby items.
Lily also brought down all of the baby items and clothing that she has finished with or Mills has outgrown. Caitlin can hand it back when Lily has her next one if they get their timing right.
We exchanged gifts as it was Caitlin’s birthday as well as Mothers’ Day. I gave her a mini instamax so she can snap pics of her baby when she arrives.
The kids bought a lovely bathrobe for me and it feels so soft and lush. It was a bit tight in the arms so I swapped it for a wrap type thing which is so soft as well. It is also something I can wear in public.
They also had 2 images made from one of my fave photos of me and the kids when I lived in Knysna, as well as a gorgeous smelling, beautiful candle. I love candles, especially when the container can be reused and doubly so when it is pretty.
Millie loves music and we put on some Lizzo and sang loudly and danced. Millie was watching us and laughing at our antics while clapping and bouncing up and down. It was such fun.
It was so lovely that I got to witness several of Millie’s ‘firsts’. Her first proper word ‘quack’, her first stair climb, her first time clapping on her own, her first time waving goodbye. She had an action packed weekend!
The kids got up the next day and had a slow morning but hit the road by 11am as it is a long drive back to George.
Trevor gave me a Happy Mother’s Day call and told me a terrifying story about a great white shark breeching while he was surfing. I am glad I pray for his protection every day! He seems very happy and content and that is all I wish for him. Well…. maybe more grandkids when he finds someone he wants to settle down with. At least as a dude his clock is not ticking!
I then phoned my Mom and told her happy Mother’s Day. She is still looking a bit peaky but she is at least up and moving around and looks so much better than she was. The worst is that she still has no taste and does not like eating anything sweet. I can imagine that is dreadful, I have such a sweet tooth. Actually, maybe it could be useful since I struggle with avoiding sweets?
After everyone left it was so quiet. I sat outside in the garden watching the birds. There were 4 beautiful mousebirds munching on the vines as well as many of the tiny little sunbirds flitting around. The long tails of the mousebirds are so beautiful and I love the little crests on their heads.
This week I have had loads of birds to watch, the Cape Bulbul is one of my faves.
I was sitting at my desk this week and a little Cape White Eye flew up to the window and hovered and looked right at me. A few minutes later he came back and landed on the gate right next to my desk and sat there, looking at me. I am not sure what the message is but I take it as a hello from an Ancestor.
Sunday night for dinner we saw that Massimo’s had their Chicken Milanese on special so we both ordered that. Norm had his with mash and I had chips as a carb splurge. It comes with delicious roasted vegetables.
I was exhausted and passed out soon after dinner. I felt so blessed, it could only have been better if Trevor could have come down too but he can never get off of call on the weekends so cannot go this far away.
I have been cooking when I could do so. I had chicken breasts and fancied something different so when I spotted some coconut milk hiding in the back of the cupboard I added it to the roasting pan with the breasts and ‘baked’ them, turning half way through so one side did not dry out. I roasted a mix of sweet potato and butternut and I sliced and fried baby cabbages. It was really good, the coconut milk made the chicken so moist and tender.
One night I made some brussel sprouts in the air fryer. I cut the bases off, tossed them in balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and olive oil and cooked for about 12 minutes, stirring half way through. They were divine!! I made a feta, fig, walnut and avocado salad and Norm cooked steaks for us. The steaks were nicely charred on top but the centre was bright red and perfect.
I cooked a pork roast the next night and had seen a video where they cooked it in a sticky sauce so I wanted to give it a try. I saw that the recipe used tons of honey and that was too much sugar, I tried to make my own concoction but I think my apple cider vinegar was off (can it go off? what does it turn into?) and it tasted horrendous. Just thinking of it now makes me heave. I had already put the fillet into hot oil to sear and was a bit panicky as I was chopping veg and had cut my thumb quite badly. I grabbed some sweet chili sauce and squirted a bit of that on and tossed it in the oven to finish cooking. To go with it we had fried red cabbage cooked in balsamic vinegar, lemon and olive oil. I steamed a big head of cauliflower to round it off.
I had to venture out twice this week for necessary outings. I went to my follow up appointment with Loren. I have now lost just under 5kgs (just over 10 pounds). My other stats are looking much better too. The only concerning things were that I was very dehydrated which is probably left over from my gastro.
I had a crown fall out over the weekend and Norm would not let me superglue it in & nagged me to make a proper dental appointment. I emailed them (cos phones ugh) and they phoned back to say my usual very sweet and gentle dentist was not available this week so they booked me with a new guy. I started stressing like crazy about the situation, the unknown dentist, needles, horrid sounds, people all up in my mouth, the feelings of claustrophobia, and and and…… In my head I just said once ‘I wish it was with my lovely Dr P’ but firmly put it away and tried not to obsess.
On the day of the appointment I received a phone call to say the new dude was sick and my usual dentist was available!! Sorry you were sick new dude, but I am so happy I got my familiar, gentle and kind dude who takes the pi$$ about my cowardice and makes me laugh, but lets me rip the sterile dressings off and sit up and breathe when I get panicky and claustrophobic.
Then, I was flossing for the upcoming visit, I felt something strange and my upper crown also fell out! It is also the back molar and directly above the missing lower one so I had a hole at the back and felt like a meth addict. I obsessively wiggled my tongue in and out.
Norm drove me and my little toofies to the dentist and dropped me off and I went up to the office on my own. I was twitching like a kitten on a hotplate, so I took a heavy duty tranquilizer in the waiting room and ended up having a fat chat with the receptionist about dresses. I got taken into his room then kicked back in the chair and let him do his thing, he was able to recement the 2 crowns since I had saved them. He blasted the old cement off of them and he said that he could replace them without any pain if I wanted to try to avoid the needles. I agreed to try and it did hurt a tiny bit but not as much as a needle in my nerves. As there was a top and a bottom tooth to be worked on I would have had to have at least 2 injections. The issue for me was the horrid sounds of the machine filing down the crown and the claustrophobia of what felt like a dozen hands in my mouth. Also my neuro-spiciness makes me want to bite their fingers when they are in my mouth. Not in a sexual way, in a ‘I have a weird impulse’ kind of way. Luckily I do have some impulse control.
I am finding that the universe smooths my way if I just relax and let go. I had accepted the new dentist but then got my buddy, then my other crown falling out on the day I was due to go? That avoided me having multiple visits. My ancestors know about my fears and they protect me, with no intervention from me! Would this have happened when I was in a loss of control spiral?
For example, I have not seen the 2 young squirrels who usually bounce around our trees in a while and yesterday morning I mentioned that to Norman. That same afternoon who appears? One of the squirrels!
The dog groomer came on Thursday so we have gorgeous white sweet smelling pups for at least a few days!
These 2 crack me up. Lola follows Finn around all day. If his paws are spread out she wedges in there. She rubs her face on his face with such love.
Yesterday the team who are installing our Juliet balcony railing upstairs popped in to measure. This week has had people in our home, people in my mouth and people, people everywhere. It has been a bit much for this recluse (not the family, I mean the groomers and railing dudes).
My weekend plans have all flipped on their sides. I had a busy day planned for today with my friend but she is sick in bed and unable to function so we are cancelling both events. First, I had an “Awakening The Intuitive Goddess Within” workshop in the morning. It was being put on by my friend Tamlyn who is an intuitive healer and it will be rescheduled for a future date so you can attend if you fancy. You can contact Tam here via her page. She will get back when she is in the land of the living!
Then we were going to the Organic Magic Project event in the afternoon and early evening, here in Hout Bay. The last time we went we had an amazing time (link here) so I was really looking forward to it but you need to be with people you know well to relax IMO so our other friend is going with some of her friends. It all works out exactly how it is meant to.
Instead, I am looking forward to watching the new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars. Then I intend to binge the new season of Bridgerton. After the week I had I am happy to do just that.
I hope you all enjoy your weekend and your week ahead.
Until then, Kisses from the Kitten xoxoxox
Kitten in the City 