This has been such a bizarre week with such extremes.

On Wednesday my friend Sam and her husband Neal arrived much to the delight of both Norm and I who adore her to bits. Sam is usually the other person co-starring in most of my great stories. We met when we worked together at British Gas in Solihull in a decrepit, flea-ridden, huge open plan building. Sam and I quickly became besties and would often go out on a Friday after work. We started out just for a ‘quick one’ and ended up with Norm ringing me while Sam & I were writhing about on a dance floor, or once in the back of a police car. Despite our age difference we got on like a house on fire. That is a set of stories for another blog or we will be here forever!

First we got into a panic because Sam told us the plane landed at 8am. By 12pm when we had heard nothing from her we started to get very concerned. Eventually she posts ‘we landed!!’ and I am like ‘where the hell have you been???’ and she realised she had forgotten to tell us she had changed their flights.

The day they they arrived they just relaxed at our place as Norm and I were both working. Norm rang Spiro at Nostos and managed to get a booking for us for 6pm.

Sam remembered it from it’s previous existence as Spiro’s and attending party central in the back bar. She remarked on how beautiful it is now and such a lovely atmosphere.

Norm and I had the delicious Halloumi Fistiki to share just as a little tidbit before our mains. It is warm, melting halloumi with panko crumb crust and delicious light honey and lime glaze. We both adore this dish.

Sam and Neal had the Keftedes, beef and mint meatballs to share.

For his main Norm had their signature dish, the Lamb Shank Kleftiko, slow-baked, fall-apart lamb shank sealed in parchment with saucy tomatoes, baby potatoes, rosemary, red onion, and crumbled feta, Greek village bread. He raves over this dish each time he has it.

I was tempted by the fillet steak but the accompanying marrow bone put me off, but when I saw Neal’s plate I had such food envy. How amazing does this look?? It comes with charred greens, rustic fries, bone marrow blade, bone marrow butter and psilokomeni salad.

Instead I had the Fillet Souvlaki: melt in the mouth fillet skewers with red onion, and green pepper, served with tzatziki, and rustic fries. It was very tasty and it was filling enough for me as I had my eye on the cheesecake for afters.

We all chose the Baklava Cheesecake which is so smooth and creamy and delicious. I am not a huge cheesecake fan as I usually find them to have too stodgy of a texture, but this one? Oh! To die for. Each couple shared a piece.

The next day Sam and Neal got up early to go to Table Mountain but by the time they stood in the queue to the Cable Car there were so many clouds they could see nothing. They still went and had a wander but then they came down in the Cable Car and went to the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. The V&A is beautiful views, lovely shops, interesting performers, gorgeous restaurants and pretty much anything you could ask for.

They spent the afternoon there and then came to ours and collected Norm and I to go down to the Hout Bay Harbour to The Lookout Deck as it sits right on the water and has seals galloping about in the water right outside of the windows. It is a stunning location.

We asked to be outside and we were seated at a picnic table near the pier side of the restaurant.

We were all in great spirits and happy to be in a beautiful place with old friends.

Sam and Neal shared a sushi platter.

I ordered 2 small plates, first I ordered a starter portion of West Coast mussels.

Norm ordered the Patagonian Calamari and chips. He says what he was served below is not what he ordered but I do not know enough about the origins of calamari to have a clue. He said it was ‘okay’.

Approximately 20 minutes after our waiter served everyone the first round of plates, he brought my main course. It is new on the menu but it is basically hake tacos. They were delicious.

We were chatting and laughing and suddenly I felt very strange, as if I were going to faint. My body went weak, my head started spinning and sweat started pouring off of me. Norm said it felt like my temperature shot up as my skin was hot to the touch. I thought I was having a heart attack. I begged Norm to get my denim jacket off of me to help cool me down.

They summoned the waiter and he said he was trained in first aid. He was so sweet to me! The waiter brought ice, cool cloths and sugar water as he thought I was going to faint. He then quickly brought an empty ice bucket as I told him I could not stand and I was going to vomit very soon whether he brought a bucket or not. I very quickly vomited up every bit of food I had in my body. There was no stopping it, no controlling it, no being delicate. It was mortifying. By then the faintness had morphed into the scene in Lizzy Borden where she and her lover feed her parents contaminated seafood and they get Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning. Luckily I was more contained in my elimination than that. But I did feel my bowels starting to rumble and started to panic. Sam ran up to pay the bill and the Manager finally made an appearance. He said he ‘tried a mussel and they were fine’ and I looked up from my bucket of vomit to growl at him like a possessed Queen that ‘it was the fecking mussels!!!!‘

That was the last we saw of the manager.

I said I was getting out of there immediately via the pier exit nearby come hell or high water. The young waiter ran to make a plan and between him and my husband they carried me, holding my dress up like a nappy to avoid leaving a trail behind me, feeling at least grateful I was wearing a dark brown dress.

We got to the metal gate from the pier and there was no one there to unlock it. The waiter had made a plan but whomever was involved let him down. I told him to run and make another plan!! Eventually he came back with a fisherman who had a key to the pier.

The fisherman and several of the dock workers helped carry me to Neal’s car. I had a new bucket for the drive and we raced home.

My body eliminated everything it had in it for the last week I would guess. I lost a kilo overnight. Norm and Sam managed to get me undressed and in the bed and I passed out and slept until the next morning without any sleep aids which is unheard of for me.

These things happen, but what upset me was the poor performance by the manager. He acted so suspicious as if we were trying to scam him on the bill. The fact he made Sam pay for anything made me feel disgusted. The manager made no efforts to assist me when clearly in such distress. Why was he not assisting the poor waiter to get me out of there?

The next morning I posted about it on Facebook and on several local food groups. I have to admit I was pretty angry and called him a rude little man, but he was a rude little man. He lacked all kindness or sympathy. He responded with a poor excuse scripted by Chat GPT.

Now I have been reported on FB and I am restricted from posting, responding or anything except viewing until the 17th. I discovered I can also unfriend and block a very pompous prat who was victim blaming me. First the man said I dealt with it wrong, then he said I should not have eaten the mussels. Feck off.

Anyway. I had to phone in sick to work on Friday because I was not functioning on all cylinders and was dehydrated and headachy. I stayed in bed until midday, mostly fighting for my life from the gaslighters on FB or those grumpy about my calling the rude little man a rude little man.

That night Caitlin and Bree came for dinner after they finished work. I only had a slice of bread because cheese is not always my friend at the best of times, so when my system is so delicate is not the time to try it. Sam had a chicken salad, Norm had eggplant parmigiana, and Neal, Cait and Bree had pizzas. Bree kept us all entertained with her antics and we had a laugh catching up and remembering funny things from the past. It was a lovely evening despite my listlessness.

Caitlin showed this photo of us to Bree recently and asked who it was and Bree said ‘Mommy and Bree’. Bree does look so much like Caitlin at the same age and I guess Caitlin does resemble me at the same age.

Today Sam and Neal are off to spend the weekend in Franschhoek which is a beautiful place. Norm and I are pottering around.

I am watching my birds and catching up on my reality shows. I received my new bits for the kitchen.

After posting I spotted the state of the potato masher (which has probably never been used so I have no clue why I even have one) but it has now been washed in case of the need to urgently mash a potato.

I mentioned last week that Norm came back from Switzerland last Friday and on Sunday we just lazed about. To be honest, I lazed about while Norm cleaned and did the laundry. Finn stayed stuck to him like a shadow.

Together we sorted out my kitschy kitchen. I love things that hang and if they are things that hang that fly, I am even happier. I have a particular weakness for pigs in any form, but if they have wings they are in the arena of my special little addiction. First we started with setting up a little station outside for me to wash them and add some more earth and sand to them.

Then after I washed them Norm hung them up.

Last Monday was incredibly hot, hitting up to 29℃ at one point. I had to avoid the area I normally sit as it was just too hot.

On Tuesday I went for a quick pedicure so my feet looked nice for our visitors arriving the following day.

I went to Pamper Me Pink.

Work is very intense with new learnings being required. AI will probably replace me eventually. We are using AI wherever possible: Development, Data Rules, & now Testing. Two people are running independently. I’m one of those people. My Claude is attention seeking (sooo many questions) & dramatic (what do you mean you are not allowed??). My colleague’s AI is logical, methodical & almost robotic. Everyone had such a laugh at how Claude morphs into the same tone & communication style of each user *cough*.

I feel like the developers all try to point out my lack of technical training. I am not technical but I can logic my way into or out of anything, even if it takes more tries to get there. I can see the data model in front of me and literally walk my way through it. I often see a problem before anyone else but I do not have the technical terms to align to their terms. It frustrates me and I told them so this week.

This week I hope I find a good template for automating my process. The repetitive slog to get there is what exhausts me. I have a lot of upcoming things, including Sam and Neal returning here after their safari. I am going to see Bree in her gymnastics gala. I am also looking forward to our holiday to the US to visit my mom, I need a break to relax and not think about a thing for a few weeks.

I hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend and week ahead.

Until next time, Kisses from the Kitten xoxoxox