Shopping!

I woke up nice and early and to three mippies in full play mode! Seeing Ziva lead the play is such a pleasure – she has come such a long way! They chase each other, they chase toys (their toy drawer is always open) they wash each other – though they don’t seem to like the armchair as much as they used to. Mewthos is too funny when he tries to catch the water coming out of the tap, with his paws! Lady Jane loves to lap the running water from the tap – Ziva seems to prefer the dispenser on the floor. She doesn’t really jump up to the basins – I’ve picked her up and placed her there a few times, but it’s not quite her scene.

On the way to work, there was a major accident at the R80 (Mabopane Highway) and N4 interchange – I was lucky, it was on a section I don’t travel, I get onto the R80 at that interchange. But traffic was completely blocked in my direction, nothing was coming from before the interchange, and the opposite side was standing still. Nothing was moving on that Highway, except the few of us travelling the same way I did.

At work, I’m cleaning up the stock movement captured in the past, so I can start linking it to our inventory. I’ve had our two new clocks hung up, so nobody needs their phone to know the time anymore. Our morning meetings are going, though enthusiasm is still missing. It will come in time.

They used some methylated spirits for cleaning in the factory and the strong smell was beginning to irritate me – fortunately it was past half eleven, so I could go out to do my shopping.

What a mission! Well, I got a lot done – the only thing still missing is: bread!

First, I stopped at Builders Express, where I got some compost (so I can start gardening this weekend – I’ll need to mix some into the ground for plants to grow) and some potting soil for herbs – don’t ask! I have no clue what’s so special about that! But at least the compost is guaranteed to be free of weed seeds. I’ve been wondering, whether some of the parasites came into my garden in PE with the compost. I also bought a small 5 liter watering can, so Mew-Mew and I can water the garden together. I don’t really need it, since I can use the hose-pipe here – but I love the time with my Mew-Mew, it’s so darling the way he always sticks his head under the water stream!

I should also mention that I walked past the shelves with seeds and only bought two packets of Alyssum! True story! If you know me at all, you’ll know why it’s so incredible. I had planned on getting a packet of each – one packet white, one purple – and that is exactly what I did get. Not a single seed more! :)

Then I drove to the main center, where I started with a shoe shop I happened to be passing, where I got some inserts for my safety boots. Now, all I need to do is silicone the cracks in the soles and they’re good for another twenty years! I do not want to have to get new safety shoes – they just don’t make good quality anymore. I’ve looked on our supplier’s website … I’m not keen on buying.

Then I looked for Cell C … they are right at the other end of the shopping center, quite a long walk! It all worked and now I’m set for another year online. From there, I had seen a sign pointing to a DisChem, so I went there to get the now-restricted-for-dummies medication: Allergex and Panamor, as well as Paracetemol. That’s my migraine cocktail stocked up for a while – I forgot to get Re-Hydrat, rats! I was happy to find some Nivea hand wash, though and I also got a few other odds and ends. It also put a smile on my face seeing a range of 4711 ‘Echt Kölnisch Wasser’ on the shelf there! I stocked up on what I would need for the next couple of months – but it wasn’t much, since I had stocked up on most things in PE already. Ha ha, that’s one of the reasons there are such a lot of boxes: I’ve brought a fully stocked household with me! Well? I had the time there, I don’t have it now. And it didn’t cost me extra to transport it here, so why not?

I loaded that into the car and went off to Pick n Pay. Sigh. Not fun! At least the coffee and margarine were on special, so I stocked up on those. I got butter as well, since I need it, but they didn’t have tonic nor did they have any decent bread. It’s more of a Spar thing, so I should try and get to Nina Park Spar some time to check whether they now have decent bread. If not, I’ll have to go to Pretoria East next Friday. Well, might not be a bad idea, anyway, since I can also get more Aufschnitt. Last time I was there, I bought more sausages than Aufschnitt – just because I haven’t seen such a large variety in such a long time, ha ha ha! Not a good premise to shop on!

I did get some greens, though and I also got some juice – I’m quite enjoying my glass of fruit juice in the evenings now. And it lasts about a month, unopened, so I don’t need to buy every week. Tissues are another mission! It seems that the 3-ply Softique I’ve been using for decades is now out of production – I haven’t been able to find them anywhere! So now I have no choice but to try a new brand – I can’t find Tempo here, either. I got three samples – I’ll see which one I like best.

My work clothes also arrived yesterday, so my car is now loaded full of goodies! I’ll have a big job offloading everything tonight! I stopped at PnP Liquor on the way out and got my Tonic as well as a bag of ice – I’ve packed the milk, marg, butter and greens into the cooler bag with the ice and I took the fruit juices and eggs into the air conditioned office – not my office, I’m in the factory! If I leave the eggs in the car, they’ll be hard boiled by the time I get home! It is baking hot today, and I can barely touch the steering wheel!

My legs are now quite painful from walking for over two hours non-stop! But it was worth it! I’ve got everything I’ll need for a long time, so I can now take my time researching where to buy what online. And then, all I’ll need is to get fresh produce – milk, fruit, veg and meat. And I plan to grow some fruits and all my vegetables myself, as well as herbs! I’m also planning on baking my own bread, so then it’s just milk, fruit and meat – all of which I can get around the corner from work.

When I got home, I found that Mewthos had bitten my bed sheet again – I don’t know whether he thinks he’s flossing or what. He also keeps trying to paw the stream of water coming out of the tap! I’m having a lot of fun watching him!

I confuzzled my landlord when I parked the car totally skew under the roof! Ha Ha, he asked what was wrong, so I told him that what was wrong is that I’m lazy. I had a lot of heavy shopping in the boot, so I parked with the boot right at the path to the flat – shortest distance to walk! And it was a lot to carry! But it’s a really short distance, especially compared to PE, where it was the whole length of the garden followed by the stairs!

First thing I did at home, even before I unpacked the shopping, was a cold shower! I added hardly any warm water – it was bliss! Then I scooped the poofie box – and mippies promptly stepped in to add more! I gave them two treats and re-filled the Whiskas bowl for Lady Jane – who prefers Whiskas to treats!

I watered my plants – I’ve placed the big can under the gutter spout, so it is always filled with rain water, which I decant into the smaller can. I packed tomorrows lunch and fried myself three Nürnberger – that’s sausages with some herbs in them. When I let them cool on the plate, I came back to find Ziva had fished one off the plate and onto the floor … but it was hot, so she just sat there looking at it! I cleaned it off and put it back on my plate – and while my back was turned, Ziva tried to fish it off again! I stopped her – but I did put a slice into their kitchen treat bowl. Ha Ha, Ziva sniffed at it and didn’t know what to do with it! It was Lady Jane who started chewing it – which got Ziva’s attention again and she eventually ate it, after Lady Jane had walked away.

It’s twenty to nine and I’m struggling to keep my eyes open, so I’ll post this and go to bed. Fortunately tomorrow is a short day, we finish work at half three.