Yesterday was such an eventful day that my post is a wee bit delayed. Usually I write a bit at the end of the day as well so that I do not have to try and remember what I did, but this week I did not do that so I hope I do not mix anything up or forget anything!
Monday was a really busy day at my client as we are in the midst of a project where I was the tester. From Tuesday my daughter let me know that she needed a bit of help with the baby so I let my contract house know and they dealt with the client. My family is always my priority, meanwhile a job is a job. It is always replaceable.
Which reminds me. I posted about my newly manicured toes in comparison to my filthy fingernails from gardening and since then I have had soooo many offers to buy feet pics or videos. My friend tells me this is a huge thing on OnlyFans and I can earn a lot of money.
I asked the universe to allow me to spend more time gardening or hanging out with my kids and grandkids while still earning, so maybe this is the solution, selling feet pics and being free to just play Elisi (my grandmother name). I find that whole concept hilarious!!
From Tuesday morning I went to Caitlin and Wes’ and helped with baby Bree all week. A newborn is enough of a struggle but when you also had a caesarean birth you are recovering from major surgery as well. You have no sleep, yet are expected to have enough energy to fuel your body as well as create milk to sustain your new baby. Just managing the basic things to care for a baby takes so much time and mental capacity, much less managing the house and laundry and I have been so happy to help them. Caitlin does a breast feed and passes Bree to me, then I top Bree up with a bottle feed then put her to sleep. I love holding her warm little body while she sleeps. She is so tiny but so long! Her little hands are always so busy, even in her sleep she throws both arms around like she is trying to instruct a plane to land.
I can sit and watch her face for hours. She laughs silently, frowns, smiles, pants and does all sorts of funny faces. I could not believe the difference in my skin colour vs her brand new translucent skin.
Caitlin has used a night nurse one of the nights which helped her a lot, Cait really needs a lot of sleep. In the previous generations, families all lived together or nearby and the grandparents were often the child care or at least a huge help which made it possible for both parents to work.
Lily is flying down this week which is lovely getting to see her and Amelia again. She can also spend time with Caitlin as another new mom and reassure her she is doing an amazing job.
I have been driving all week, I even braved up and took the motorway as it is quicker and it is such a breeze really. I will work from their house from next week when I go back to work.
Norm has been doing his best to look after me and cooked for me twice this week when I got home exhausted. I love pork chops but he does not so it was a real act of love to cook them for me.
Another night he did little pork chipolatas with baked potatoes, vegetable croquettes and broccoli and cheese. The rest of the week we survived on take outs. I had a really bad take out from one of the places we go at least once a week. I am on the fence about messaging the owner and just not going back. But dang I love one of their menu items when done properly, but the last few visits have been rubbish and I do not know if I have the mental bandwidth to deal with it.
This week I saw a post by autisticoutlaw on threads which hit me between the eyes like a ton of bricks.
I started thinking about when I lived in the UK and had so many friends. We drank a lot, partied a lot, danced a lot, went to clubs and bars. I do none of those things now. I did when I first moved to South Africa, but I am too old and noise sensitive for all of those things now. I probably was then, but my dysregulation was often displayed as aggression.
All of my old friends here have moved away or just fallen away from my life. Some of them because I seldom drink and some because I do not want to talk about superficial bullshit, I want real people and real conversations. Some because I noticed that I did all of the inviting to mine, and none invited us back. Norm and I have no couple friends we hang out with. We are happy together, yet I also have my girls I can lean on. By my girls I mean my daughters as well as my handful of women friends.
This week I met up with Diane, an artist who makes the most beautiful things: she paints, she draws, she crafts, she sews and she is just all around very talented! Her and her partner’s Facebook page is Liquid Gold Alchemy. They make drum bags, hand drums and sticks, rattles, and all manner of things. I had commissioned Diane to make a new drumstick for my drum. Mine was starting to unravel and the ‘head’ had started to sometimes just randomly fall off when drumming. She asked me for any ideas in regards to what I wanted, so I sent her the pic below of my own drum I made myself with the painting of the hummingbird I had done and confirmed that I would love kudu skin for my drum and left Diane to her own designs. Kudu really resonated as we saw so many when on our recent safari! Usually kudu are elusive but not on that trip, they were as common as the springbok herds used to be in my memories.
I am besotted with this new drum stick!! There is a small bird etched on one end of the handle and a small sun etched on the other. It is made from yellow wood that was harvested by the artist. I love that the kudu skin still has the fur which will eventually wear thin the more I use her.
I will hold a ceremony to awaken my stick and bond her with my drum. They are now partners and need to learn how to co-create together.
If you are interested in having anything made, contact Diane, she is so good at interpreting what you want and then creating it.
I had a fabulous day yesterday. I got up, showered and dressed casually in leggings. I knew my hair would end up full of oils as I was booked to have a facial at Skin spa just up the road from me. Their new premises are so lovely and my facial was so gorgeous and relaxing. After the treatment I came home and changed and then Norm drove me to pick up D and head over to Tamlyn’s. There were 4 of us there from our group and it was lovely to have the time to just relax, talk nonsense and laugh. At points I laughed so much I could barely breathe! I feel completely able to be myself with these women. It was a lovely afternoon.
All of these women are completely accepting of me despite some of the weird things I say or do. These things I do are logical to me but to others they are completely random and obscure. So when this situation literally happened and I shouted out ‘MEAT!’ when I thought I solved a question that I had actually asked myself (I did NOT solve anything). I sometimes do not need others to hold a complete conversation. So I also mentioned this meme which is the story of my life.
We all took snacks and nibbled all afternoon, then Norm came to collect me about 3:30pm. He popped out to get us something for dinner from Massimo’s and then we just had a lazy night.
This week was Halloween and the first time in memory when I made zero acknowledgment of the day. I must be growing up? Or old?
Next week is the US presidential election. I pray for peace. I pray that humanity rules. I am full of anxiety about the situation, while trying hard to let the light come to the front. This is pretty much a common theme, if we are so full of anxiety we will miss those little glimmers of hope and happiness, we will fail to express our gratitude for the things which are our every day blessings, and without gratitude the universe will not be so keen to bless you further. Keep breathing, keep touching the grass and keep being grateful that you are alive, you are fed, you are clean, dressed and warm.
I hope you all enjoy the remainder of your weekend, hold your loved ones close. Until next time, Kisses from the Kitten xoxoxoxo
Kitten in the City 