I struggled to go to sleep, especially as Lady Jane
was intrigued by the curtains on the drying stand. She could not leave it alone
until she had pulled the curtains off! So I got up folded them up and went back
to bed. Yeah, that girl is not so easily satisfied – she continued to sit under
the stand contemplating I-know-not-what and then got busy. She only left when
the stand fell over! Since that blocked my way to the bathroom, I got up again
and put it back.
I did not sleep well. I had some weird and unsettling
dreams throughout the night. The peace of mind is gone. Panic is beginning to
set in again. There is so much that still needs to get done, and – as always –
I feel I’m not progressing fast enough. I look in the spare room, and see how
much I’ve already packed … and then I look in any other room and see how much
there still is to do!
Something I also haven’t mentioned, yet, is that every
day my back is getting more painful. When I try to lie down at night, I have to
do it in stages. Especially my lower back. I’m over 50, and my lifestyle does
not include heavy labour. I don’t gym, I don’t have a physical hobby – except gardening
– and my work does not involve physical exertion. Every morning it is getting
more difficult to start moving – everything hurts. I can’t start taking pain
medication – I’ll end up taking it for the next 4 months! This is why I don’t
want to move anymore … I’m not getting any younger, nobody is!
When I woke up this morning, I found the lamp on my
night stand was switched on! Yesterday morning it was on the floor. I think one
of the Mips is currently fascinated with it – I suspect it’s Mewthos! But
switching it on? Ai ai!
While I’m writing this I’m trying to work myself up to
getting started, packing boxes. But every move I make is painful. Fortunately I
have a high tolerance for pain – not something I trained myself to be, simply
something I’m born with. Nothing to take pride in.
Right, I’ve packed away the washed curtains. Quite a
mission, since I store unused curtains in a suitcase, which I keep in another
suitcase and they are stashed away in the top shelf of my pantry-closet, behind
some groceries. Since that is such a mission, I considered washing the lace
curtains in the lounge – but I don’t really want to be without them for the
next 3 months. So, I laboriously stored the suitcases again.
Another problem, Rose alerted me to, is that
apparently in Port Elizabeth, the shops are very stingy with their boxes! So I
will have to use every box I’ve got, regardless of its rain-damage – so that
however few I can get from the stores here, will be for the new stuff I got
here. In every other city, I’ve found that there are always shops who don’t
give customers boxes – but usually there are always plenty who will! But Rose
is also always looking for boxes for deliveries, so it’s not like she only went
to one place to ask.
One of the boxes I brought is was labelled ‘shoes,
lamp’, so I dissembled my shoe-storage. Some time ago I bought these plastics,
which you can assemble and fit together with flaps. It’s quite handy, it’s a place
to store your shoes keeping them dust-free and, since it is plastic, you can
see through and always know which shoes are where. But it takes time and
patience to assemble / dissemble, or you’ll tear off flaps. I’ve done some of
that when I was rushed. Another problem, of course, is that it’s no longer the
tightly-folded flat shape – so I’ve put some weight on top, inside the box, to
flatten them somewhat. Since the box is somewhat water-damaged, I don’t want to
put pressure inside – by forcing it shut. And mippies helpz! Ha Ha! Even Ziva
comes to investigate what I’m doing – though she doesn’t like the noise? I don’t
know what spooked her, but she runs off again.
The Mips love the box the fan came in. It’s their
favourite! And they are pulling the plastic wrappings apart, chewing the
assembly sheet, so I decided to take it away. I was going to pack the fan – but
with summer approaching, I may want to use the fan soon. Eventually I store the
box in the top wardrobe, with the bed sheets. Mippies no like! Where our box? Ha
Ha!
Well, I didn’t have a good night, and I was in quite
some pain when I got up, so now it’s after noon again and I’m only now making
breakfast. I took out a pork chop for dinner and some sliced roast beef for
tomorrow’s breakfast.
When I was dissembling the shoe storage, it crossed my
mind that is such a pity the shoes always get squashed in transport – then hurt
when you first wear them, while they get their ‘right’ shape back. Then I had
an idea: I can stuff a lot of souvenirs, wrapped in newspaper into the shoes to
keep their shape – plus, it keeps the more delicate souvenirs quite safe!
You want to pack all those little bits and bobs as
early as possible, and leave mostly the big stuff for last. There’s nothing
worse than having to carefully pack tiny, fiddly items when you’re in a rush
towards the end! And, gosh, do I have a lot of bits and bobs! That’s exactly
what kick-started my mind last night – I had been calming myself by looking at
how much I’d accomplished; when actually I only pack the big, easy stuff: books
and papers! It’s all the small stuff, like the spices, the decorations,
toiletries – those take a lot of time to pack!
And at least
these little bits aren’t so bad on my back.
I also don’t know how I’ll manage with the space here –
the place is too small to store everything as I pack!
Hrmph! The sliced roast beef is defrosted. How do I
know? Because Ziva found the smell irresistible! Sigh, I guess I’ll never get
her to stop stealing – that need to ‘hunt’ food whenever and wherever is simply
too deeply ingrained from the year(s) when she was homeless. Same with her bird
catching. No matter how well I feed her or how much food is at her disposal
24/2; no matter how many ‘treats’ of wet food I give her – she will not pass up
an opportunity for raw (or in this case rawish) meat; which means that she will
always ‘steal’ food. Punishing her won’t work – she won’t understand why, if I
love her, I deny her food.
When the pork chop finished defrosting, she showed
intense interest again. Well, it’s like an alarm to let me know when it’s
ready!
I was going to let the Mippies play till around half
seven, but by six they were mewling and mipping, so I decided to close the door
– and give them the ‘treat’ they are after! I gave them Petley’s Chicken in
gravy! Ziva gave one sniff, turned around and stalked off looking at me as if I
had offered her veggies! Lady Jane also doesn’t seem to care for gravy – but Mewthos?
Lap, slurp, lap, lap, lap!
When I packed the spices, the Mips were bouncing
around the flat, zooming from room to room … but Ziva? She sat on the sleeper
couch, with a long neck watching me over the counter with big eyes! I sent
cat-kisses – but my cat’s don’t speak that language – and I tried to reassure
her, but she was simply unsettled. I packed 2 boxes from the kitchen, lots of
little, bitty stuff. With everything that’s going on, I’m not going to make any
elaborate meals anyway, so I might as well pack everything away.
I had the last salad this afternoon, so I’m not hungry
tonight. Ziva and the Mips have settled down, they’re napping now – each in
their own place. Soon time for me to give sleep another try as well.
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