Last Saturday I had 2 of my girlfriends around for a visit. The weather had been fine all week, but then on Sunday we woke to rain and overcast skies. I decided it was too chilly for normal humans to sit outside (I do not feel the cold). I usually make an effort if entertaining and put out matching serving dishes, pretty utensils and make things attractive but I just chucked it all in the centre of the table and put out some plates and we tucked in between chatting.
Hopefully the ladies were there for the chat and not the attractiveness of the snack display!
We had a lovely relaxed time catching up with what has been going on in our lives. I told them about my treatments by Yolande and how much they had helped kickstart my changes in attitude and my weight loss. They told me about various things in their lives.
Mimi brought divine snacks and Renata brought a colouring book of mandalas for me! I have started colouring and the images are nice and big so it is effortless for me to see the details.
The rugby was on later that afternoon so they both headed off for that. I could hear the cheers and shouting from the neighbours all around us but we did not watch it. We are not rugby people. I am not any sort of sports person and Norm is more athletics focused. South Africans are all about their sports.
This week I spotted that my large air plant is blooming. It usually blooms around my birthday every year.
Then I spotted that one of the clippings is also blooming!
Our newest project is the playroom at the back of the house. Kim came in an extra day to prep the walls and paint. I am looking for a throw for the couch, a rug and new curtains. We wanted to shop this weekend but I am not feeling up to it.
The new lights are on order. I will have Sango (our electrician) pop in to replace that horrid light. The room has very little light as it is on the back of the house so it needs some bright lighting. We can point them in the directions we want too.
The goal completion date is when Lily and the kids come down for Bree’s birthday on the 27th of September. I wish I could replace the hideous floor but a rug will have to suffice.
Work has been very busy as we are in an intense design period. We finished late on Thursday which was also my birthday. When I came downstairs that morning Norm had put out my presents to surprise me.
He had gone over to get the rhino I had fallen in love with the first time I saw it. He could barely lift it and he said they charged him a fortune but I did not ask what he considers a fortune. Whatever he paid, it is worth it because I absolutely adore him.
For now Mr Rhino is sitting outside right in my line of sight from my desk so I can gaze lovingly at him.
Norm bought two little pangolins for me. I asked for one but he ordered the wrong size and colour (after asking what I preferred, he forgot then remembered I had a preference so he re-ordered). The one on my shoulder is the bigger one in the colour I chose. I love him so much!!!! I love them both but the bigger one is very special.
They are fun to play with. Their scales are little pieces of wood and it feels amazing in your hands.
My kids had Norm go to my fave shop, Rock Chic, and buy a worry stone and a beautiful bracelet for me. I like that the worry stone has the letters ‘Love’ engraved on it as that gives my fingers something extra to fiddle with.
My employers sent a little gift box from Netflorist. It had wine, biltong, nuts and chocolates. It was a lovely surprise!
After work Norm took me to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show which is showing at the Theater on the Bay. Everyone knows my life long obsession with this film and that I have seen it live all over the world from Atlanta to London. I watched the film every weekend for months as a teenager.
We managed to find decent parking and got there in plenty of time.
The wind was howling! I wore my new bottle green trousers and kimono top from Me&B and a pair of my green Leluya shoes. I wore a wrap my mom gave me last Christmas which is so soft and great for rubbing the fringe when anxious.
The cast was absolutely brilliant and ever so talented. Frank was played by Craig Urbani, a South African actor. He was able to exude masculinity while dancing in fishnets and a corset, that is quite the feat! I would have liked him to wear a wig, but that is just conditioning to the ‘usual’ Frank.
The only cast member I struggled with understanding verbally was Riff Raff played by Schoemann Smit. His speech was so contorted to portray the character I could not understand much of anything he said, but I still enjoyed watching him and he seemed to be having such fun.
The same actor, Zak Hendrikz, played both Eddie and Dr Scott. He was a talented singer and dancer but when playing Eddie he kept making these disgusting faces to the girls on the front row and it made me queasy. Eww.
Jasmine Minter also played dual roles and she did so brilliantly. She opened as the Usherette and then morphed into Magenta during the body of the show. She had an unbelievable voice, stage presence and skill. She was brilliant!!!
Both Norm and I loved Anna Olivier who played Columbia. I loved the squeaky voice, exaggerated winks and naughty dances she did, she made me laugh.
I can pretty much recite the entire script word for word. The theatre gave us little boxes full of some of the props people have always used in the shows. We had newspaper for the rain scene, rubber gloves, a party hat and a party streamer. I thought it was a nice touch!
The weather was atrocious with spitting rain and howling wind so we came straight home afterwards, got into our PJs and chilled with the animals a bit before bed. Neither of us can just come home and go to sleep. I had a single chocolate Lindt ball from my gift box.
I woke with an upset tummy and on Friday I was lagging from the night before but I made it through the day. We had takeaways and I had eggplant parmigiana and we had a frozen ice cream cone as a Friday treat.
I woke at 4am in pain. I felt like someone had tied a rope around my diaphragm and was pulling it tight. I felt constricted, in pain, crampy and nauseous. I lay on the couch binge watching reality TV with Blue keeping me company. Cats always know. Cats also love a warm prone body….sooo I will not let my ego feel privilege.
I did not feel like eating but Norm made some chips in the air fryer and I had those. They stayed around a bit then came right back up. I was so dizzy, sweating, freezing with chills, and barfing. It was lovely. I passed out on the sofa, woke, went to bed and slept til 5 then woke up and am now sitting downstairs after showering.
I have managed to keep down a cup of tea and a piece of toast so hold thumbs! I find it interesting that both times I was ill was after consuming a bit of chocolate! Norm thinks it was a virus. I was sure I was dying. But I am a wee bit dramatic as you know.
I did try sitting out in the back garden when I could bear the strong winds. My robin chat is getting closer and closer to me. He often gets a piece of apple and brings it near to me and eats it. I adore him/ her. Yesterday Robin kept going to the empty feeder and then to the wall to look at me like, it is empty! Norm filled it for me as I was too dizzy to climb the steps.
I counted 8 different breeds of birds in one afternoon coming to eat at the back garden. Swee Waxbills, Common Waxbills, Southern Boubou, Robin, White Eyes, Cape Sunbirds and a Cape Bulbul. Today I saw one I do not recognise. It had no distinct features to google which is always frustrating.
Poppy still alternates between chasing the birds and ignoring them. The waxbills are often feeding right above her.
On Tuesday night I was sitting outside after work and it was so beautiful with the sun shining on Table Mountain. I had one of those moments of deep gratitude.
I have discovered a brilliant new song for rebounding to. It is so new that there is no video available yet. I love the lyrics. ‘Everybody wonders how such a cold and heartless bitch could ever hold a person down’ makes me laugh. I often say to Norm that people must wonder how he tolerates me and my constant dramatics, but they do not see the real me like he does. My drama is usually harmless to anyone other than myself.
Anyway, enjoy ‘Bea‘ who first rose to fame on TikTok.
I am still rebounding nightly as soon as I finish work. I still do a bit of health bounce but now I go much harder than before. I have better balance, I have a rail if I get wobbly, and I treat the rebounder like a variety of machines. I do a bit of stepping, alternating intensity and running in place as quickly as I can for bursts. I do a bit of arm work, alternating moving them to work my trapezius, my biceps, this or that. I dance and sing loudly and just move my body however my body wants to move. I do not have complete jelly legs when I get off now so I think I will up my timing a wee bit once I am well.
I am 7kg down now but partly due to not eating for the weekend. I am not snacking on junk food and the craving to do so is gone. Most nights I have a small serving of frozen blueberries, a strawberry or two, and some nights I might have some pistachios, but they are always small portions and always before 9pm as I try to not eat between 9pm and 9am.
I cooked all week. I made a low carb lasagna which is just lasagna with no pasta sheets, I add a layer of sliced zucchini instead. I added ricotta and mozzarella and there was so much cheese it was basically just cheesy bolognaise. It was divine.
On Wednesday night I roasted a chicken and some butternut in the oven and steamed baby cabbage for dinner. I cannot remember ever roasting a chicken. Lily does them often and hers are always gorgeous. This one cooked in a bag and it was so juicy!
I browned some beef cubes, a chopped onion and a red pepper in a pan, then dumped it all into the crock pot. I added cumin, chili powder, paprika, garlic, a bit of beef stock and a tin of tomatoes. I added the beans after the beef had time to soften.
That was ready for a quick pre-theatre dinner on Thursday. I added sharp chaddar cheese, guacamole and corn I had sliced off of the cob.
Yesterday Norm was taking me out for lunch ‘somewhere nice’ and we had to delay it until next weekend. At least I have something nice to look forward to! Caitlin and Bree are also coming home this week so I hope to see them.
Until next time, Kisses from the Kitten xoxoxoxox
Kitten in the City 