This has been a week of chaos of the best kind. My daughter Lily and granddaughter Amelia were here all week again but they left on Thursday morning.
I mentioned in last week’s post that Norm and I were off to the theatre to see My Fair Lady. We were both excited for a night out but it all went a bit pear shaped in the end. We could not find the front door keys when it was time to leave so we spent ages running around and climbing under things with no joy. Norm found the extra keys eventually and so we shot off to the city. The traffic all the way into the city along the coast road was bumper to bumper as the tourists are here and they all seem to drive like snails instead of pulling over and gazing at the sea. Eventually we got near the Artscape and the traffic was queued up for miles. The road into the underground car park was 2 cars abreast trying to squeeze in. It took at least half an hour to get parked. Norm dropped me at the entrance and went to park. While I was standing there waiting a large van did a sudden U-turn right where I was standing and basically almost pushed me into a car. Of course I gave him attitude and then when I turned around to move out of his way a lady who was paralysed on one side of her body was walking near me and her paralysed arm somehow managed to hook my handbag and pull it off my arm. SA is so full of crime it panicked me before I realised what had happened. I was so anxious by now! Norm then decided we had to pay for parking before entry which meant yet another queue so by the time we got to the balcony area the show was about to begin. We were seated 5 seats in from the aisle so we slithered through to sit down. Then about 10 other people slithered in past us to sit down. I get a bit crazy when strangers touch me and they were allll squeezed up on my bits.
Finally the show began and the 4 young women seated next to me sang and chatted the entire show. The one directly next to me was turned to chat to her cronies and as a result her entire backside was pushed against my hip.
The show was absolutely fabulous but there was no air conditioning and I was not able to focus on the performances while stressed and dripping with sweat. I then noticed that Norm was looking uncomfortable too and he told me he was in a lot of pain from his recent knee injury. We skipped out down the aisle to get out on the landing as soon as possible at intermission and we just looked at each other and said ‘home?’. We just left rather than stay and be hot and stressed and in pain.
We took a pic in front of one of their lovely murals and then went home to relax with Lily. I felt bad about wasting the tickets but our comfort is more important than the cost of the tickets.
On Sunday the weather was a bit dodgy and Lily was up early to take her Dad to the airport. Millie stayed with me and she and I set up her little kitchen and fed the birds and played outside until the weather got too bad. We read books and sang songs when the rain drove us inside. We have so much fun and I am so grateful for any time with my granddaughters.
It was a sunny day on Monday and as it was a Public Holiday the local village market was on. We walked around the market and Lily bought me some beautiful metal birds on sticks for my garden for my Christmas.
After we finished at the market we walked over to the children’s playground and let Amelia run around and play on the slide and swings. We had bought some pastries at the market and we all had a munch while we chilled out. I had Lily take a pic of my new outfit from Maya Prass. I love their clothes.
We then drove around by the beach and down to the harbour. We parked up and saw these men with these cute motorcycles and side cars. There were two drivers chatting to another woman. I asked if I could take a photo and they said ‘of course!’. I was complimenting them on how cool the bikes were and the woman was jittering about and apologising for ‘being wet’ and my inappropriate ass said ‘well I am not that excited by the bikes’ to which the men had a giggle. It went right over the twittering woman’s head. I apologised and gave the usual “sorry I have a touch of the ’tism” cover response.
We then wandered over to the sea. It was a bit cloudy but it is always beautiful at our harbour.
We got ice creams and walked along through the harbour area. We saw several huge seals, one of which was out of the water and being used for photos with tourists. As a local I have heard the horror stories of people being bitten so we kept our distance. I did not take a pic because the guy who ‘trained’ him has been known to kick up a fuss if you do not pay him. One of the handlers actually stabbed a tourist for taking their own pics.
We did get to watch one big fellow swimming nearby which Millie loved. She kept making her sign for ‘fish’ which is basically making popping fish lips.
We then headed home for Amelia’s nap. We were all exhausted from our adventure. It was cloudy but still very hot so Lily and I also had a rest while Millie napped.
For dinner we ordered take aways from Massimo’s and I had a gorgeous Zapata pizza with Chili con carne, red onions, and jalapeños. It comes with a side of avocado and some sour cream and I love that they serve them on the side as it does not go icky if you save some pizza for the next day (I can never finish a whole one!)
We ordered a child portion of plain buttery pasta with bacon for Millie and Lily ordered a Divo pizza with tomato, mozzarella, parmesan, Parma ham, and fresh rocket. Amelia was happily devouring her pasta until she spotted the pizzas and had a strop so she was given a small piece. She then sucked all of the sauce and cheese off of the pizza while humming and dancing with happiness. It was so funny. That child loves her food.
On Tuesday I was back at work but as my client contract had finished I was able to spend time getting my documentation and folders sorted for the next project as my laptop was a bit of a mess.
First thing at 8:15am however, I had an appointment to sort out my tooth. I had managed to save the patch which had come off so they could repair it quickly with no injections or pain whatsoever. My dentist is so amazing. He talks me through every move he makes ever so calmly. Excuse my make-up free face and tied up hair.
I had asked for some noise reducing ear buds for my Christmas present and luckily they arrived in time for me to use them for part of their visit as Miss Millie has an excited scream that will shatter glass. She gets out of her bath and runs into the shower to scream as it echoes. Lily calls her Mariah when she does it. The ear buds do not restrict my hearing but they reduce intense noises from getting to your eardrum via their curved design. I chose the clear ones which are hard to see so you can wear them to any place you want to go. I often find restaurants too noisy and these will just make going out in public a bit less stressful.
I did feel like a complete geriatric with my fake tooth and my ear devices.
One thing that getting my tooth replaced has made me aware of is how often I put my fingers in my mouth to poke my teeth. I have noticed that I put my fingernail in between my upper front teeth and push. Why do I do that particular thing? I am becoming more conscious of all of my subtle little stims. I have one tendril of hair that I have twirled so much that I have a natural curl there. But it is my right side as I am right handed, maybe I need to twirl the other side now so that it is even.
After Amelia’s nap Lily drove us over to the Breeder’s house to meet my new pomeranian puppy! She is a tiny little thing as she is only 2 weeks old but she is absolutely precious! We still have not decided on a name and the number 1 choice has changed so many times. My latest fave is Honey Bear, but shortened to Honey for day to day and Honey Bear for her registered name. She is a sable so we do not know for sure what colour she will be. The timing is perfect as she will be 8 weeks old just after we get home so we can pick her up before Lily and Amelia come down next month and they get to meet her. Amelia was so gentle with her when she met her.
I mentioned that Amelia’s first word was ‘Bubbles’ and she really loves blowing and chasing them. Norm bought her an order of about 10 bottles of bubbles and we spent a lot of time blowing them. Finn was a bit baffled by them. I cannot wait to see how he reacts to the puppy as he adores tiny dogs. I hope he loves on her like he does with Lola.
Lily cooked for us the last two nights she was here. She made roast chicken and Mills ate 2 chicken legs! She did rice for Millie and roasties for the rest of us, as well as mixed vegetables with a cheese sauce. It was so delicious. The last night they were here she made spaghetti bolognaise and a salad. She is a great cook.
The last few days it was warm enough for Millie and Lily to swim and they had such fun in the pool. That baby loves the water. They swam on Wednesday and Millie was so cold but refused to get out. We had to bribe her as her lips were turning blue. She went down for her nap and slept 2 hours, her personal best time for a nap, the icy cold pool obviously put her into a hypothermic mini-coma. When she woke up we went to meet Caitlin and Bree at Alphen Trails to go for a walk. Caitlin pushed Bree in her pram or carried her depending on her fussiness level. Lily strapped Amelia onto her back which worked fine on the way down the trail.
It is such a gorgeous walk with a stream running beside the trail with waterfalls and rope swings.
When we reached the meadow we put down a blanket and Caitlin fed Bree and Amelia pottered about snacking on strawberries and breadsticks. Every time she saw a horse she went a bit crazy. She was mad that she could not follow them despite the fact that they were far away. On the way back she was inconsolable. The young girl below then stopped to let Amelia stroke the horse’s nose and that seemed to calm her down a bit but she would not let Lily put her in a carrier.
When we got back to the house I changed into my swimsuit and while Lily made dinner I played in the pool with Amelia. We had such fun. Again she was hard to convince to get out despite the fact she was shivering with cold. I spotted a guinea fowl in the garden and that finally was enough of a temptation to get her out. We went in to change just in time for dinner.
Yesterday morning Lily drove them back home to George. I miss them terribly but this evening we fly to the USA to see my Mama and today has been spent coordinating the painters, the electricians and getting packed for our trip. We have a new house sitter who is strong enough to manhandle Finn but gentle enough to love on the kitty cats. It is a pretty sweet deal for a house sitter to get paid to holiday in our lovely house with a pool and gorgeous view if I say so myself!
I am publishing this afternoon since we fly tonight. I will be away for 3 weeks and will not be writing. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and we will catch up in January when we return.
Until next time, Kisses from the Kitten xoxoxoxoxo
Kitten in the City 