In addition to all of the usual birds, butterflies and my lizards, on Sunday my backyard safari sightings were even more thrilling. First I had a wee squirrel come and sit in the tree for what felt like ages. Watching back I realise it was not as long as it felt at the time but he did pause.
Then later in the day I heard a rustling in the vines above the shed and looked up to see an unusual animal looking back at me. It had a fox like face, I could see the patterns on his face, he had a wide tan coloured stripe and a thinner black stripe. The tail was long in proportion to the body and very thick and it was covered in perfectly delineated rings like a raccoon.
It was still light enough for me to see it clearly so I know what I saw this time, but I realise it is the same thing I saw recently and assumed was a wild cat of some sort. We recently had a bird murder outside and I suspect this guy was the murderer. It was a huge mess. I suspect it was this fellow who attacked Blue kitty prior to him breaking his leg. Norm disagrees and thinks it is the black and white visiting cat as the genet would have done more damage.
I wondered then if this is why Mr Squirrel hesitated. I assumed Squirrelly froze because he had seen Poppy and I, but maybe he sensed the genet nearby?
I have read up so much on genets since my spotting. I shall also be obsessively watching the space where I have seen him twice now. I see that they often sleep in the trees during the day rather than in their burrows and I have spotted an area which may be his nest. See the little bundle of leaves in the tree?
I always talk to the animals and plants but I was sitting outside this week when Crazy Pigeon arrived again. I was chatting to him as you hear in the video below, but afterwards I carried on chatting to him about the possibility of him finding a good therapist to help with his anger management.
Next thing Norm comes outside to the patio, gently puts his hand on my shoulder and says ‘Are you OK darling?’. He obviously thought I was talking myself down off a ledge or something instead of having talk therapy for the benefit of Mr. Crazy Pigeon. He did not even see Mr. Pigeon so you can imagine what it all sounded like for him!
He is so good to me. (Norm, not the pigeon). He went to the chemist to fill my prescriptions and came back with a muffin (again, Norm, not the pigeon).
Norm made us both a coffee to accompany our muffins and we sat outside enjoying the cooler weather and laughing at the antics of the animals.
In the afternoon I planted some cuttings into the 2 new pots I had gotten on sale. I found some plants that were hiding under an overgrowth of other plants so I scored in my plant foraging.
On Saturday night Norm was out with Finn and I desperately needed food as I had only eaten chips and cookies at the Women’s Group and suddenly realised I was ravenous. I decided to order from the new Vietnamese restaurant I saw people raving about on social media. I ordered Prawn Fried Noodles, Prawn Dim Sum and Prawn Spring Rolls (I like prawns okay??). Instead of prawn noodles I received beef and I am very weird about meat. The sauce was a bit gelatinous. On the second pic you can see the naked little dim sum. I cannot look at the filling and then eat said filling. I did not enjoy any of this food at all. Once the ick hits I cannot avoid or deter the ick.
I was chatting to Norm who was buying the dogs some hooves from Massimo’s and they had Crème Brûlée on the menu so he begged them to let him take one and bring back the plate the next day. Like I said, he is so good to me.
On Monday we woke to pouring rain and mists over the mountains. Chichi came to work and was so excited to tell me about the things she bought to send to Amarra, her daughter who lives in Zimbabwe with Chichi’s sister and mother. I knew she was sending up winter clothes to Zimbabwe so when I paid her for the day (I pay weekly as she comes once a week) I added in extra money as a surprise. Between my donation, Chichi’s, and her husband’s contributions, Amarra will be receiving 2 coats, lots of warm clothes, shoes and boots as well as warm slippers and track suits for wearing inside. In South Africa most homes do not have heat so it is very cold in the winter evenings. It made me so happy to know I could help and that it was a surprise when she went to the shops and checked her balance. If she had not noticed where it came from I would not have told her because I get embarrassed by a thank you. I love mystery donations.
The weather continued on Tuesday. It was bitterly cold and so wet outside we could not sit anywhere without being blown with water droplets. I wondered about my lizards and how they coped with the water? Where do they get their food?
I was accused twice this week of saying something that was not true. I am painfully honest to my own detriment. Insincerity is not in my tool belt. Often I verify that I am correct if I am adamant (NOT always I admit) but for both situations I knew what the truth was before I said anything. When I proved to that person that I was correct, they then tried to act like it was no big deal so why was I getting upset.
My response was ‘do not gaslight me’ because that triggers me to the feckin MOON.
This is the game my first husband played. He knew my fear of the crazy train taking me off to crazy town and he played on that fear. He tried to make me think I was losing my mind often. He would tell me that things which had happened, did not happen at all. That I was imagining things and that it was all in my head because I was crazy. Or he would deny saying things despite me having almost a recording in my head of the majority of my conversations. He could lie to me while looking me dead in the eyes. It can make you doubt the reliability of the very ground beneath your feet.
Being lied to, or being accused of lying are huge triggers for me. In my mind if someone tells me I am wrong then I interpret that as I am being dishonest. Especially if I already KNOW the answer to the area in question. So is it my trigger to manage if someone weaponises that trigger against me? I have come up against this twice now and it is becoming a splinter. I need to purge it before it becomes a wedge.
It has been a hard week, probably exacerbated by the cold, wet weather and my inability to regulate by sitting outside.
Then on Wednesday after work Vanessa came to do a pedicure and Norm cooked dinner for us. That slapped me around my sulky face and made me realise how grateful I am for my life. I need to not let anything intrude on my peace.
Norm made fillet steak, fried halloumi, stir fried veggies and a potato croquette dish with bechamel sauce and spinach. The steak was perfectly pink, the halloumi nice and crispy outside and the veg still al dente. I give him 5 Kitten Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
He even heated up a malva pudding and custard.
This week I read something which I internalised. Someone was saying that they struggle with making food if they have to ‘make’ the food. For example, they said they struggle with making a sandwich. Their therapist asked ‘why does it have to take the shape of a sandwich?’ and advised to just eat the makings of the sandwich, with or without the bread. So I had a few slices of cheese (we buy pre-sliced cheese even though it is twice as expensive because I cannot bear eating something that someone else put their hands on then put back into the fridge. No chance of me then taking it out and slicing it up and eating it without cutting all of the edges off which may be contaminated by touching or germs waiting to kill me. Nope. If you think I struggle to make a sandwich can you imagine me taking on the cheese decontamination process when already over stimulated by hunger?)
Sorry that was a wee cheesy germ rant I was not expecting.
Anyway. I took a few slices of Emmenthal cheese, a few slices of ham from Babylonstoren and a packet of spicy Chevda mix and it upped my protein and gave me some crunch. I am starting to realise it is better to eat something than nothing at all, even if that something may not be ideal. It is better than feeling ill and struggling with the mood swings from the blood sugar roller coaster.
Then I saw this post from Neurodivergent_Lou which said it so well.
I had chicken strips three times this week, but I had dinner. I had an issue with someone’s speaking volume hurting my ears and said so. I have now bought a new set of earplugs and will just slip them in whenever I think the situation might be a bit loud, like dinner out or get togethers. I have certainly leaned into my special interests and written about them. I am trying to accommodate my needs.
Last Saturday for our women’s get together, it was very sunny and bright outside so I wore a hat and dark glasses, whether I looked like a blind musician or not did not bother me, but neither did the sun. The sun actually hurts my eyes so I catered for my challenges.
I think my acceptance of my autism gave me acceptance of myself as a whole. It gave me the ability to set boundaries. It gave me the ability to speak up if those boundaries are violated.
The weather finally perked up on Friday and we had a bit of sunshine. Poppy was loving having me outside available to play chase.
I loved sitting outside after work, watching my solar lights pop on as the sun went down.
I had my coffee in bed this morning brought upstairs by my darling husband, then I had a shower and sat outside with Poppy, playing ball while watching my lizards.
Tonight Norm and I are going to dinner at Caitlin and Wes so I am looking forward to seeing them both as well as Miss Bree who is crawling all over and getting into everything. Caitlin and I also booked flights to George for Amelia’s second birthday in July so I have that as a long term thing to look forward to. I am indeed blessed.
We are still all worried about my Mom’s health and welfare, it is difficult being so far away, so please spare a thought for her.
Until Next Time, Kisses from the Kitten xoxoxox
Kitten in the City 