Do you ever have one of those days where it seems every thing is coming at you all at once and nothing goes smoothly? Monday before last, Norm had booked the plumber and the electrician to come and I had booked Chichi to come and clean and Kim to come and work in the garden. We then had a big delivery come as well, it seemed like everyone in the village was at the house at one point.
Meanwhile the electricity went off, then I spilled a full glass of ice water on my desk. What sort of energy was flowing that day other than just the normal Monday nonsense? The only good thing? It had finally stopped raining!
It actually stopped raining by the time we woke on Sunday. We were attending a friend’s birthday party at the beautiful Cellars Hohenhort.
There are so many lovely venues there, we often go for High Tea at the Conservatory for special occasions. This event was held in the Greenhouse.
We dressed warmly and headed out about noon.
As soon as we arrived I saw a couple we knew so the four of us joined up and had a seat in the bar. Soon, they called us all in to lunch. There were 5 large tables of about 10-12 seats each with no place cards so everyone wandered about to find a seat with pals, some having gone in early to hold tables. The hosts were kind enough to include us with their family. This was nice as we did not know the other guests very well. Now that I think back on it, I suspect that I may have just autistically plonked down at the family tables instead of the guest’s tables. I think we were the only non-family members on that side of the room. Oh lord, I think I just realised I have conducted yet another faux pas and took our friends Zann and Gustav down with me.
Anyway, it is in the past. Ooops. It was lovely to chat to Alison as I had not seen her in ages. She was looking gorgeous as usual and you could see the love in her eyes when her family all gave their speeches.
Alison’s husband Andy gave a touching speech to the group about how wonderful a human Alison is and how hard she works while making it all look effortless and elegant (those are not his exact words but that is what I absorbed energetically *she says to cover her terrible memory*).
Their beautiful daughter Teagan also said a few words. Teagan is a Doctor and a mother herself, and she said she now understands just how hard her Mother worked to make sure she was there for everything the children needed her for, while simultaneously juggling multiple businesses, a home, a husband (sorry Andy), planning meals, packing lunches, building websites etc. Again, not her words, apparently I am a terrible listener, this was my summary. I loved that Teagan’s gorgeous daughter is at her feet while she praises her own Mother’s wonderful parenting.
Their son Travis had flown in from Dubai to attend the lunch and his lovely family were with him. His children are so beautiful! Their daughter was playing outside dressed in an outfit suitable for a Victorian photograph. Travis also gave a speech about his mother. It was all very touching.
There was a 3 course seated menu which I did not expect at all! There were even choices. There seemed to be a vegetarian option and our friends who are both vegan were served vegan options so the hosts catered for everyone’s needs. I remarked on the spelling of Alison’s name on the menu and she said the event coordinator even confirmed the correct spelling of her name via email, but it was still printed incorrectly! Poor form.
I chose the Aged Boland Cheese Soufflé for my first course. The soufflé was light and fluffy and the combination of all of the flavours was rich and lush.
Norm chose the gnocchi and he said it was lovely. I am not an gnocchi fan, I usually find it too gloopy in texture but I had a wee bite and it was lovely and not at all gloopy. I liked that they had gotten a bit of colour on the gnocchi so it did not look so anemic. Come to think of it, that is probably why it was not gloopy.
For our mains, both Norm and I chose the fillet of beef. In fact everyone at our table chose this dish except for our vegan friends obviously. The thinly sliced potatoes were divine, the purée rich and the vegetables al dente. I spotted the smallest perfectly formed mushroom that was so rich in flavour, it is like how an ant can lift up to 50 times its weight? These ickle bitty mushrooms were pushing fifty times their weight in flavour.
Our vegan friends were served a burger and fries. It really looked like a beef burger which is artistic but not really required. They said it tasted nice and that is what matters.
For dessert Norm and I both chose the buttermilk mousse. After we ordered I started thinking about the words ‘buttermilk and mousse’ and felt a wee bit queasy. But I got out of autism mode and tried it and it tasted absolutely gorgeous. The texture was soft, gelatiny, and moussey – not liquidy lumpy as my mind was conjuring up based on my childhood revulsion of lumpy buttermilk. I loved the texture of the pistachio crumble and the sour tartness of the bits of berries. It worked perfectly together as a dish. It is one of those, just eat it and do not think about it dishes.
Several people at the table had the cheese platter and it looked lush as well. It had grapes, fig preserves, several different cheeses and crackers and preserves or something. It was all pretty and unique, not just a basic ploughman’s for this venue of course.
The entire day was amazing from beginning to end, the food was exquisite and it was lovely to hang out with our friends all day.
The puppy sitter sent a pic which reassured me that Princess Poppy was happy and in fact acting rather treasonous to her relationship with me! Just kidding, it is an adorable pic and I am glad she gets all the love. I want the two of them to bond before Christmas when they will be together again.
We left just after the food finished, heading home about 5 so Norm could walk Finn before it got dark. We went home, built a fire and digested that big delicious lunch. It was a brilliant end to my weekend.
I had such a surreal moment on Saturday when it was pouring with rain and I looked out to see that Norm had the sprinklers on. When I asked him what was going on he said that the water coming off of the mountain was flooding the drains and he was using the sprinklers to remove water from our rain capture system to see if that helped. It did not.
The plumbers came on Monday and they ran one of those snake things down the drain and told us that someone had put traps into the drains, but they are not sewage drains, they are just overflow water systems. The water is actually incredibly pure and the dogs love it. There was no reason why the builder put in traps but the plumber discovered one under our bushes that we did not even know existed. Obviously all of the storms meant that the leaves have overcome the flow. It is still not coping when it storms badly, we may end up digging out that trap at some point.
Meanwhile last Monday and Tuesday the electricians were in and out because our gate lights were not working again and they finally replaced the light fitting. It happens every time it rains hard and it also keeps filling with ants when it is sunny. The new one is self contained and hopefully the ants cannot access it. It looks nicer too.
Kim cleared out the corner of the garden which was a jungle. He cleared all of the undergrowth and trimmed the trees.
On Friday afternoon Norm and I went to collect Caitlin and Bree and head off to the airport. It was pouring with rain. You could barely see to drive (luckily I was not driving as I could not see at all).
In South Africa we have a lot of small planes that pop back and forth between our smaller towns and that is the case for the flight to George. This means they take the passengers by bus out to the plane, then you queue to climb a set of steep metal stairs. As it was raining so hard, they had us go out in groups of three so that no one had to stand in the rain at the top of the stairs waiting to enter. It took a long time as a result.
As we had a pram and a baby, we waited until most of the other people had boarded. We dropped the pram with the waiting staff and then went up the ladder. I think we were the last to board and the plane was rammed. We were seated at the back so we had to climb through the aisle with all of our stuff. We were soaking wet, sweaty and panting (maybe that was just me). Bree was tucked happily in her chest carrier but they made us remove her but never brought a seat belt extension for Bree. The flight got going and the turbulence was horrendous and Bree ended up knocking her head but she did not get upset. I am sure that I was the most upset, I am not a comfortable flyer.
Later when I opened my suitcase every article of clothing was soaking wet. Obviously it had just stood out in the rain and it seeped through the zipper all around it as it is a solid case. I ended up draping my clothes on every surface of the hotel room and hoping they dried! (spoiler, they did).
Norm had booked me into the King George Park Protea and paid for it as my Anniversary present. Our 28th wedding anniversary was on the 5th of July. We have been apart the last two years as I want to be present for Amelia’s birthdays and luckily he understands.
When we all arrived at Lily and Josh’s house Amelia came running up to the truck ‘Elisi, Elisi’ and I grabbed her up into a huge hug. She hugged me back and laughed then looked around and said ‘where is PopPop’ which is her name for Norman. I told her he could not come and she was sad. Then we all piled into the house and she was distracted by Bree. The two of them seem to absolutely adore each other. They were so cute all weekend, the way they look at each other is just so wonderful.
Last Saturday was Amelia’s birthday party.
Lily hired loads of soft play items to put in the garden and the kids loved them. It was perfect for a group of wobbly legged toddlers. There was a ball pit and several things to climb or ride. Amelia also has a trampoline so they played on that too.
Some of Amelia’s little friends from nursery school or swimming came to celebrate with her as well as all of their parents and all aspects of Amelia’s families were represented.
Lily hired a caterer, The delicious monster, and she did such a brilliant job! She had pizza, tiny hotdogs and hamburgers for the kids. Steak sandwiches, hamburgers, meats, cheeses, fruit, breads, dips and my personal favourite, shredded pork open tacos for the adults. I am a fussy eater and I am particularly critical of anything Mexican and I have zero complaints. I give her food a solid 5 Kitten Stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Lily also ordered a cake which was massive! It was tasty but a bit sweet *whispers* I bet the caterer’s would have been tastier.
Sunday I was invited to my ex-husband’s house for lunch. His wife was cooking a birthday lunch for him and the kids invited me to come with them as I only had a few days in town and even less hours of awake grandbaby hours. I did my best to be a polite guest and focused on the babies.
On Monday it was both my ex-husband and my granddaughter’s actual birthday, so we all joined up again to go to Redberry Farm which is more commonly known as The Strawberry Farm. They have a little train which the girls took the babies on. When they first took off astride the tiny train, their faces were so excited! Bree looked absolutely mesmerised by the experience.
We had lunch and the babies then fed the bunnies and guinea pigs bits of carrot and pellets.
Throughout the weekend Amelia opened presents, she received an obscene amount of gifts. I gave her an activity box, a shopping trolley, a toolbelt with chunky wooden tools and a tool display unit that you can hang the tools on while ‘working’. Caitlin gave her adorable wooden toy items for her new kitchen. Trevor purchased the set and the two of them put it together while the babies were napping.
Lily got a tower for her to stand in and help in the kitchen. She got bubble blowing machines, a bowling set, and all manner of bits and pieces.
Tuesday was our last day there. I checked out of my hotel and we spent the day with the babies at Lily’s. Josh picked us up at 3pm to head to the airport. It is so hard to say goodbye but I will see Lily and Amelia in a week when they fly down her to visit.
Sometimes I embarrass my kids badly with my silliness but then sometimes my zaniness pays off. When checking in for our flights back home to Cape Town, I was chatting to the pretty young agents and we laughed when Caitlin handed over Bree’s birth certificate and said ‘my daughter’ and I pointed theatrically at Caitlin and said ‘and my daughter’ with a flourish.
Then as I swung through security, my carry on bag was slung over my shoulder and it knocked over the turnstile. Caitlin shouts ‘Mooommm’ and catches it as I spun around and I launched into ‘Whatcha gonna do with all that ass, All that ass, Whatcha gonna do with all that ass’ while dancing. The agent looked at me like I had lost my mind, then laughed.
We went through the terminal and took a seat by the gate. The previous agent came through and said she had moved our seats. She took our boarding passes and exchanged them, moving us up to the front of the plane. She then took us with her to a different gate, bypassing the queue of annoyed travelers, and let us board first. It was so different than the trip down there!
When we landed we waited for the plane to empty and then went to collect the pram. We had a chat with the guy as one of the clips for the pram was lost. All the passengers were waiting on the bus glaring at us as we casually took our time, then the guy who helped us collect the pram forced everyone on the bus to clear seats and space so that we could get in. More glares from the peanut gallery.
Bree was a delight on the flight and Wes collected us at CPT airport, then Norm collected me from their house so that they could settle the baby and get their dinner sorted.
Yesterday morning Poppy went to get spayed, she was very groggy when she got home. Finn is not neutered so we cannot risk a hybrid of that! Finn also went to the vet as his bottom seemed to be bothering him. Apparently he is having an immune reaction so we are giving him 8 pills and some liquid every day. We also have to completely change his diet. Today the groomer came and Finn was groomed, Poppy was missed out this month due to her stitches.
Meanwhile my Mom is back in the hospital. My friend went to visit her at home & after seeing how swollen her legs were she took her to the ER. They have now admitted her. Apparently there was a break down of communication somewhere in the chain of processes with her palliative care. It is exasperating being so far away. I am so grateful for my friend stepping up and looking after my Mom.
I am back home happily working at my desk as I struggled with training via the iPad while I was away and nothing counted in my progress, it went right back to the test I was on before I left when I logged in yesterday! I am not at a client at the moment so I have been training on SQL. I enjoy learning anything new, especially if it helps me with my query skills since I am self-taught. Today I finished the course and scored 100% on SQL intermediate. It was supposed to take 4 hours and I shall not tell you all how long it took me. I got there in the end and that is what is important.
I hope you all enjoy the rest of your week.
Until next time, Kisses from the Kitten x0x0x0x
Kitten in the City 
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