Children in Cape Town are so spoiled for activities to do. Some of them cost money, but many of them offer discounted days. Lily and I took Amelia to Two Oceans Aquarium on Saturday afternoon and we had hoped the beautiful weather would mean that it would be quiet, but it was rammed. There was a queue all the way along the front of the building. Lily chatted to the attendant who said the queue was to buy tickets, not to get in, that there was no queue to get in. She said we could buy our tickets online and then walk straight past the queue, so of course we did that. It was a bit more expensive but my dodgy knees, nor Amelia’s shark anticipation could stand in that queue. She was saying ‘shark’ most of the drive there. She was open mouthed when she saw the very first small tank. When she saw the giant tanks she was just awestruck.
She was loving this huge glass wall and watching all of the creatures inside until this happened.
When the huge ray went cruising up along the glass directly in front of her she was startled. But she did not get upset for very long, she was always happy to move to the next adventure. She is such an agreeable child. I find she is a lot like my oldest daughter in that if I explain things to her she is reasonable. She gets annoyed when she is frustrated or not being understood.
She kept going on about the sharks for ages but when we actually got to the tank with the largest sharks she was frightened!
I bought her a small plastic shark and a sea scene wooden puzzle. We then walked through the Red Shed and across the paving to the Time Out Market to get something to eat. The rugby was being shown so there was a very spirited crowd there and a lot of cheers and shouts. I kept in my ear plugs.
If Mexican is available it is always my first choice. I ordered the Tajin Prawn Tacos from the Una Más Taqueria. I managed to find this description online
I expected more punchy flavour, the cheese was the strongest taste to me and tasted more like feta than any cheese I have eaten in Mexico. The tacos were okay, not the best I have ever had, but edible.
I also ordered some plain nachos with guacamole for the table to munch on while waiting for our food. The guac was heavy on the lemon but a lovely texture. I liked the freshness of the chips, they appear to fry their own paper thin tortillas and I approve.
Lily and Amelia shared a pizza from Yard, half salami and half cheese. I did not snap a pic as Amelia was straight into it. She ate 4 pieces of cheese pizza, half an entire adult sized pizza. She had a large container of strawberries while waiting on her pizza. I love watching her eat. Nothing like a child who enjoys their food.
We all three shared a churro from the Taqueria which we all dug into so quickly that no pics were taken so I used a pic from their website. The churro was massive and it came with a bowl of their chocolate molé, a chili chocolate dipping sauce which was divine but meant Amelia could not have any. She vehemently insisted on trying it, so Lily finally dipped a bite of churro into the sauce and told her just to taste it and she carefully touched it with her tongue. Her face was first smiling with delight at the warm, sweet chocolate and when the chili hit, her her eyes went wide and she said ‘spicy!’ and scrunched up her face.
It is interesting to see her develop language. She found a lemon by the pool which had fallen off of the neighbour’s tree and she picked it up and said ‘lemon’ and then ‘sour’. Her sweet little South African accent said ‘sowwuh’ which made me pack up laughing with delight.
For some unknown reason, she and I had to keep pretending to go to sleep, which she calls ‘doodoo’ (it is a South African thing). In the afternoon she handed a blanket to me and said ‘go doodoos’ and I said ‘Must I go doodoos?’ and she said very firmly ‘No, Us‘ which I thought was a pretty good concept for a two year old to grasp! That I am you, and you are me, and together we are ‘us’?
After we left the market we waded through the crowds to our car, queued to pay our ticket and then sat in the traffic to get home. Amelia stayed awake and did not make too much of a fuss, she chatted away to herself about sharks, her daddy, her Elisi and her mama. When we got home she was soon off to bed. We were all exhausted. I checked the time thinking surely it must be time for me to go to bed but nope it was still only 7pm.
On Sunday the weather was gorgeous and of course that was the day they flew back to George. Lily drove us to the airport and I walked with them to check in. We went to Mugg & Bean to have a snack. I had an iced coffee and we all 3 had sesame buttermilk chicken strips.
We chatted until time for them to go through to their gate and I waved at Amelia and blew kisses the whole time they walked through the queue. When she got to the x-ray she shouted ‘Come Elisi’! Bless her, I adore that child. Lily said she asked for me until they were on the plane. My heart!!!
The house is so quiet without them here! I was so hot when I got home that afternoon so I sat outside in the cool air watching the solar lights come on and relaxing with the animals.
Everything I see makes me think of a funny image of her. For example, the windchime at the back. She could not reach it so she took something in her hand to extend her reach so that she could whack it and make it chime. She is a problem solver.
On Monday Chichi gave the playroom a clean and I rounded up all of her toys from across the house and put them away. The room is ready for the next invasion.
Last week Lily was inside the house and I was in the back garden. I am used to being alone or having my husband who seldom hears (I won’t say listens) me. I came inside and Lily asked me who I was shouting at. I had been ranting at the neighbours very bad music playing on a very tinny device but did not realise anyone could hear me. I wonder if the neighbours hear my rants?
I cooked a big pot of chili con carne and had that for several nights in various combinations. I had a big bowl of it on it’s own one night, then with a side of cheesy nachos one night.
Then on the last night I added spaghetti and cheddar cheese to it. It kept me fed with minimum fuss.
On Tuesday Kim came to help me out in the garden and I asked him to redo this planter with fresh earth and to fill it out with new plants as it was very old and full of ants and the plants had thinned. I did not take a before pic but this is the after.
Meanwhile I have been trying to cope with the dogs on my own. I mentioned about Finn’s issues with his bottom. In addition I noticed several ‘hot spots’ or areas of irritation. As a result of a severe auto-immune reaction they have him on about 15 pills, 2 different oral liquids for ingestion and an ointment to apply directly onto the irritated spots twice a day. They have shaved two large patches on his back and the skin is red and raw.
Then on Wednesday Poppy nicked two grapes that I had put into the bird feeder that had fallen onto the ground. I did not see what she had in her mouth until I got near her and then she frantically chewed and swallowed it. Then she found another and I chased her around for ages and she ate it right in front of me. I phoned the vet who said I should bring her in urgently so in my PJs and slippers I chased her down and caught her and rushed off to the vet with her under my arm. They put in a tube and put soap into her stomach to induce vomiting. She brought up some food but no grapes. The vet brought her back to me, handed her over and told me just to keep an eye on her.
I feel like my life is driven by these animal’s needs. I am so in touch with the animal kingdom in general. I had a crazy moment this week. I was sitting at the back of the house and had been thinking about my Uncle passing and about my grandma welcoming her son across the veil. I then started thinking about crows. I was thinking how cool it would be to have a crow as a friend and how could I coax them into friend-dom? I thought it would be cool to have one of the large, white and black crows in South Africa, the Pied crow. I then realised a flaw in my plan was that I had never seen one in my garden, so how could I befriend him?
When I came through to the front of the house there were two of the large beauties walking around my garden. It seems my manifestation is immediate these days! Maybe there were two to represent my grandma and uncle as I read about them and they can represent the spirit world.
My Mom messaged me in the middle of the night on Thursday to say my Uncle Harley had passed away. He was living in an assisted living facility, the same one where my Mom was for a bit recently. He was in his 90s and had been struggling with his health. Harley did not want a funeral. My family are all going out for dinner in celebration of his life. He was a character for sure! RIP Harley.
On a happy note, the latest news with my Mama is very positive They have found a med that is working for the fluid build up on her limbs and it is easier on her kidneys. Norm has sorted her bed so that it is low enough for her to access it with ease (it was very high and she needed a wee step so was becoming dangerous). It is better for her health to sleep on a mattress than on a sofa. They have ordered a recliner for her to assist with getting up and down as well as a new sofa. They have sorted out the financial items and the legal things she wanted help with. I am so grateful for my husband, he is an angel.
I started watching Season 7 of Love Island USA. I started watching the previous season for Ariana Madix but now I am watching it because it fulfils my love of trash TV. I am not really enamored of any of the cast, they amuse me but none of them make me want them to win. Oleandra’s arse should win, it is the star of the show. But with Norm away I have to watch something he is not keen on and this is it!
Today I am going to watch Bree swim. I will pop into Stodel’s garden centre on my way home quickly to pick up a few items, then I am going to Tamlyn’s to choose some plants from her house as she has sold up.
I hope you all enjoy your weekend and week ahead, until next time, Kisses from the Kitten xoxoxox
Kitten in the City 