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Saturday, 19 January 2019

Day 87 of 100, Friday 18th January


I struggled to go to sleep last night – after all this time holding back all thoughts of planning re my new home, now that I know where I’m going … it all just started flooding through my brain!

And when I was finally able to slow down my brain, the flippin’ laptop started to act up and my audio book kept going silent! Eventually I just shut it off. All my mippies came for some window-time! Ha Ha, only Ziva wanted cuddles, the minis just walked right over me to get to the window! To them, I’m just a bridge over troubled waters!

Strangely enough, after struggling for so long to get to sleep, I woke up extremely early: four o’clock! Seriously! I didn’t get up right away, but had a very extended cuddle session with Ziva! Ha Ha, she keeps running off to the lounge, then comes back and sits under the night table for another round! I don’t know why she does that – she doesn’t like to be picked up, but if I don’t pick her up when she sits there, she sulks!

I got out of bed around five. Would you believe this: There’s Mewthos, sitting – bold as brass – on my desk, in front of the keyboard! I thought I must be seeing things (I hadn’t put a light on as the sun was beginning to rise), but no! It really was Mewthos! On the way to put him in his place, I half-stepped on one of their pets! Grasshopper by my chair!

Good morning, and welcome to your life with cats!

Once I had my coffee, the first thing I did was check on the map exactly where that place is situated … bit of a downer: it’s located smack in the middle of bigot-land! I’ve lived there once before, although that was over 30 years ago. That’s the area where they’d swerve to hit puddles to splash me and my sister when we were walking along the road from the bus stop! I have quite a few ugly memories involving the locals … and not many good ones. I remember one time the bus driver stopped the bus and insisted ‘those foreigners stealing our jobs’ get off – meaning my sister and me.

But that was over thirty years ago. And there were also a few nice kids on that bus. And I speak their language now! And anyway, I’m not moving in with anyone!

Travel distance to work is ±30km, and I can travel most of it by Highway, so it shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes one way. That’s less than I traveled here. Okay, so there are no shops nearby – different lifestyle. I don’t have a problem with that, either. There will be General Stores – like the old colonial style stores where you can get everything from candles to toilet paper; or maybe Spar has moved in, they’ve got shops nearly everywhere now.

Hmmm, maybe I can find the place via satellite image? The parking roof could work as an identifier. Ah, no such luck. All I achieved was the freeze the PC! Ha Ha! I really must try to get a better graphics card – this one hangs every time I try satellite map!

But those properties there are huge! I had forgotten the size of the places! But then again, they are practically farms. I remember we used to get fresh milk from neighbours – oh, they had no problem making money from us foreigners! Ha Ha! Anyway, on the map it shows a Fresh Produce market down the road, that’ll be very handy! And of course, good old Ludwig’s Roses is still there – and has grown a lot! They’ve taken over the house we used to live in and some other plots around it. He, at least, was extremely nice and helpful! Well, he’s German himself, so to him we weren’t foreigners.

I should stop dwelling in the past and focus on the future! I tried calling the boss’ wife, she replied via SMS that she got my mail & will call later, she’s just busy now – so I can sit back, relax, play my game, putter around the house and enjoy chatting online!

Had a laugh at Mewthos! He took his new shortcut from the mini desk to the window sill across the corner of my desk – and fell off! That boy can fall off a king sized bed! I don’t know how he does it – whether he doesn’t look where he’s going?

These past two days I haven’t got around to washing dishes – last night I had to quickly clean a bowl so I could have ice cream, and while I was at it, I also cleaned a mug so I could have coffee this morning! I was hoping to get to the vacuuming today – but it’s a bit of a tricky situation: If it’s cold, the mippies stay inside, and if it’s hot – well, who wants to do heavy labour in the heat? Today it’s bearable – but they are mowing Rose’s lawn now, so all my mippies are inside. Unlike the destruction team who do my lawn, hers gets properly mowed with a lawn mower, not a weed eater swung carelessly from side to side. They also rake up everything when they finished mowing. So they take quite a while – not just 5 minutes!

Yikes! I AM letting the negative win today, ain’t I? I better take a break and come back when I’ve snapped out of this!

Boah! I just walked through the passage to the bathroom and was hit by a wall of hot air! I’d forgotten to close the lid to the attic, which had lifted during the storm the other day! It is sweltering hot up there – I’d hate to be a plumber, having to work on the geyser in that heat! It’s at least 10 degrees warmer than out here – and there isn’t so much as a breath of air moving in there! Good place to hang herbs to dry, though!

One of the things I was thinking last night was: If they come to collect my home on Thursday the 31st, then I can finalise exit inspection and such on Friday; do my usual driving Saturday-Sunday, so I hit the Jo’burg traffic on a Sunday afternoon, when it’s calmest. They can bring everything on Monday and offload – and I should have time enough to get groceries that afternoon? I mean, I just need to re-stock the fridge and freezer. Then I can have my mippies home on Tuesday!

Oh my word! What’s up with the mippies? I just went to the toilet and when I got back the two minis were sitting on my desk! Bold as brass! Where do they get the idea that suddenly it’s allowed? I don’t want any bum-prints on my desk? What are they thinking? Ha Ha!

By half two, the boss’ wife hadn’t called me back, yet, so I called the owner again and explained why she hasn’t heard from me. We talked a bit about the area, I told her I had lived there 30 years ago and she gave me the exact address, so I should be able to find it on google. I also stated that I’m definitely interested, if someone else wants it, if she calls me I’ll pay the deposit right away. And then my airtime ran out …

When Rose arrived, I asked her if she could get me some airtime, next time she goes to a shop – no rush, I’ve made the only important call! And I can always SMS.

My mind is in a whirl! I have less than two weeks to figure everything out – and, since I haven’t actually seen the place, I’m still somewhat in the dark. I fell in love with the bathroom – which, after six years of ‘dry-yourself-in-minimal-space’ yoga … which I now get to do with three curious cats … is not surprising! And then there’s the kitchen! It has such a lot of possibilities! I have all the space I could wish for, without any of the usual restrictions!

I’ve washed the dishes, and my mippies came in without a hassle! As a reward I gave them the tin on baby cat mousse – but this time, I fed it to them a pinch at a time! Last time I just divided the contents and put them into their bowls – they gulped it down … and then gulped it back out! It took about half an hour spoon feeding them, but we had a lot of fun!

Tiredness from the lack of sleep last night is setting in …

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