Norm and I were sitting outside last weekend in the evening and we were having one of our ‘one of us is autistic’ conversations. I often wonder what my neighbours must think if they hear the things we discuss.

Lisa: I have been watching the snails.

Norm: what? where? what snails?

Lisa: There on the wall, there was a big one which appeared to morph into 2 little ones. Then this other one just appeared and joined the first two and one of the first two went off on his own to the side while those two entwined. Now there are three.

Norm: what? what snails? where?

Lisa: RIGHT THERE!!! *pointing ambiguously in the pitch dark* How do snails procreate? I know! Let’s ask Alexa to explain it to us.

Norm: No, I will not be asking Alexa about the sex life of snails, anyway those are slugs.

Of course Lisa had to google the sex lives of slugs. Apparently, slugs are hermaphrodites! All slugs are born with both male and female reproductive parts and any slug is capable of laying eggs, and even self-fertilization can occur. When one of them is ready to mate they excrete a substance which attracts the other slugs to them. They circle each other and twine together, that little dance was obviously what I was seeing.

I told Norm he saw nothing but the darkness and I witnessed an erotic dance and the miracle of impregnation.

Every day is a miracle! It also made me think about when I discovered so much info about maggots. I am learning about all of my relations, starting with those I previously felt revulsion for. The knowledge of their magic makes me feel endeared.

The slug show was last Saturday night. Norm and I were sitting in the dark on the back patio relaxing while Lily and Caitlin gave our granddaughters a bath.

That morning about 10:30am Lily, Amelia, Roo, Norm and I met Caitlin, Wes & Bree at the Earthworx Playpark. We took a table up on the covered patio area.

Little Roo had passed out when we were driving over so Lily popped his car seat into a stroller and he continued his nap, lulled by the sounds of running water (and screeching children, but he is used to that).

I was on baby watch.

The park is so lovely, it has loads of places to climb, swing, slide, dig or build. It really is a kid’s dreamworld. The girls just ran around and went down the slide over and over so Caitlin and Lily spent most of the day watching them.

We ordered food, I had a scone, several people had a croissant with various fillings and Lily had an omelette. It was overcast a bit so not too hot for sitting outside. The service was very slow but we were not in a hurry. The kids had a great time and we will definitely go back when they are down from George or even if we just want to pop in somewhere with Bree on a nice day.

Just after 1pm Wes went home and Caitlin took Bree to our house to put her down for a nap. The rest of us followed soon after. The girls played once Bree woke up. They ran around and rode the bike, pushed the baby pram and played with cars. They are so sweet together and Roo is just happy to watch all of the activity.

We took my drums and rattles outside and I drummed and sang Wendeyaho (Cherokee Morning Song) to them. They banged, danced, shouted and ran around. I showed them the dance moves to the song and they ignored them and did other hops and arm waves and thought it was the same as mine. It was fun teaching them songs from our Cherokee lineage.

When we were sitting at the front of the house drumming we had spotted the Guinea Fowl in our garden again. Finn was out with Norm but Poppy was home. She went outside and lay on her hill and watched them.

The weather has been a bit up and down. It poured rain on Thursday.

But Friday and this morning are clear and bright.

I had such a funny incident this week. The local Hout Bay appliance repairman is named Gavin B and the developer I work with is also named Gavin B. I have been messaging the former, thinking I was communicating to the latter. I thought my colleague was a bit rude but I also think he is neurodiverse so being short and direct was not completely out of character. So the repairman kept me hanging for 3 months before he finally advised me I had the wrong Gavin. Every time I think about it I chuckle.

I had to go into the city 2 days this week, Wednesday and Thursday we had workshops from 1pm to 9pm. I told them I was not happy staying that late, I would stay until 7pm. Norm drove me into town and dropped me off and I facilitated the demo over what we had built in the product with a goal to get sign off. I wore my new silky leopard print pants from Me&B.

The first night several of us walked up the hill to a Kim Chi Korean Express to get food. I could not decide between chicken or prawns, I chose chicken but she put the order in as prawns. The order came with chicken! Since I paid for prawns they gave me an order to take home.

The second night Norm dropped me off and I got a coffee from Bootleggers. It was pouring with rain and I wore a big black hat and cape and probably looked like a 1980s spy. I got all of my bags inside, settled in, set up my laptop, took a sip and spilled coffee all down my brand new white linen blouse. I then had to present while covered in coffee stains.

I have covered a longer period of time than usual thanks to travel, so I have been for 2 sessions of Fascia release by my friend Yolande Hung since my last blog. Here is her website if you want to check out what she offers.

I have been having a lot of pain in my hip area, looking it up it seemed to be based in my Psoas muscle so I booked a session with Yolande. I had no idea what to expect, I think the word ‘release’ made me expect pain, but it is not at all painful it is incredibly peaceful and relaxing. You simply lie there and feed back any feelings in your body as she works. It almost felt like I was a beach towel and Yolande was slowly pressing all of the water out of me, one appendage at a time.

As soon as it was over and I stood up I felt taller, my neck moved with more ease than it has in 20 years! But the real effect started a bit after the appointment. I cleared so much mucus from my sinuses, coughed up so much crud from my lungs, and the lymph that had been pooled in my legs definitely reduced. A few days later I felt like I was giving birth as my body released all the stuck things from my digestive system in one mass. I will not say more I am sure you can figure it out.

I had my second treatment yesterday. I am feeling much more energetic and ‘taller’ in that my body does not feel so ‘heavy’. I am not talking about fat, I am talking about energy. I cannot explain it all. I just know it has done wonders for me!

Of course this is coupled with my daily rebounding. I do my 10 minutes a day after work, but on Yolande’s advice I am also getting out of bed and doing some in place bouncing, then doing a minute of bouncing on my feet when I get up from my desk. I am trying to keep that psoas muscle relaxed and moving.

I have also cut down drastically on my sugar intake. I am no longer having my nightly jelly beans, I have a little bowl of pistachios as they take time to eat and have a salty taste which I crave. I am not perfect but I am slowly trying to change my bad habits to healthier ones, to be more conscious of my body’s responses and my thought patterns.

I have had so many bizarre bird interactions this week, my sunbirds came right up to where I was sitting. I feel their encouragement for my endeavors.

Until next time, Kisses from the Kitten xoxoxox