Wednesday

Again, not much to tell. At work I finished the 'A' finished goods - the fast moving items. All labelled with directions and all. Now I still need to do the B & C; which is an alarming lot! When I have captured all the delivery notes & POs from the past, I'll have more accurate data to work with, but for now, this will have to do.

Just before I went home, I scratched open a teeny little scratch on my arm ... and it just would not stop bleeding! I ended up taping a tissue over it - which looked like a major injury! Ha Ha, but better that than dripping blood all over the car!

On the way home, I stopped to get milk ... the bell didn't work ... I feared this means I won't have electricity at home, either!

I was right! The power was STILL out! Not: again, but still! Since last night! My fridge does not smell very nice right now. I did a very meager watering, just the patches where I had sown seeds - I had filled the can last night before putting it away. I also got a can filled with rain water from my landlord. He was in a mood, he argued with me about planting garlic to keep my cats out of my garden, ha ha! He reckons I shouldn't let the cats be my boss, it will cost me! I disagree, but there was no room for discussion last night. Anyway, I also got some drinking water.

I sat outside till seven with my mippies. They were ready to come in earlier, but ... what for? All I could do was pack my lunch and have dinner. No power, no water ...

The worst was not being able to shower! I ended up washing myself over the basin! I struggled a little to go to sleep - my own fault, I wouldn't let my mind rest, but went over to-do lists ...

I woke just before the alarm went off, boiled some water on the stove for coffee and had a leisurely morning. Mippies got their breakfast and I went off to work ...

I forgot to mention, I also gave this dry shampoo a try last night ... I guess it looks better than it would today, without, but I can't really tell. I haven't checked in a mirror, yet :)

Tuesday

Not much to tell. At work I'm busy re-arranging the store - yet again! And I'm putting up loads of labels, marking bin locations, shelves, etc.

At home I first started by watering my beds - racing against the mippie-piddle clock! I only barely beat Ziva to her attempt to piddle the Pelargonium! In my watermelon bed it looks like something is already coming up - it does look like a squash, but it's a little early? Unless it's one of the seeds I sowed a while ago - none of which had come up. Maybe the daily soaking encouraged it to grow?

I was delighted to see that my cabbage succulent has produced offspring! Just one, and it's tiny - about the size of my thumb nail, but yes! It's coming! I've been worried whether it will survive, it's been looking a bit droopy for months. Seeing the mini quite lifted my spirits! Especially, as it's one of the mippies favourite piddling spots!

I was equally delighted to see a flower on a plant, I've been nurturing for months! I had plonked quite a few of them into pots, but only this one lonely plant seemed to take and grow. It surprised me by coming up in one of the spots where I had emptied the flower pots months ago, and I carefully dug it out and placed it into one of my two shallow round pots, where I could keep an eye on it. At one point it looked so droopy, I thought it was going to die ... it also didn't help that it started growing just before winter. But yesterday it was in flower! So, hopefully now it will spread!

When I called the mippies in, my landlord appeared just outside, so I went out and had a chat with him. Afterwards, I went inside, locked and fed the mippies ... only to find that I'm missing the mini mip! Back to the door, I had barely opened it when she shot inside full speed!

I cooked myself dinner, made myself a smoothie, ate ... and it was eight o'clock! Where did the time go? Grin, I guess sitting outside watching mippies at play, delighting in my garden ... time flies when you're having fun!

Sometime during the night the power went out. I half-woke, went right back to sleep. Still no power this morning, so I put a pot of water on the stove for my coffee. At least I had power all evening!

Monday

Early start, surrounded by mippies! Enjoyed my coffee, got dressed - to the sound of Mew-Mew going mew mew mew mew mew for his breakfast. Obliged and tried to go to work ... to find Lady Jane by the passage door wanting 'Outies'! Sigh, sorry my little darling, but today I must go to work ...

At work, I gave my colleague a slice of my bread with my cheese! He loved it! I've also given him my oven rack so that he can take all necessary measurements to make me another. That's the best part about knowing a toolmaker :) They can make just about anything!

I still haven't solved the vacuum sealer issue, with the power outages this weekend, I didn't get around to that. Ah well, it may well have to wait until next year. Progress is being made continuously - even Rome wasn't built in a day.

Sjoe, but it's hot today! By 2 I had already finished my 1 1/2 liter water bottle, so I went out to get myself a cold drink to take me to end of shift! I also got another bunch of bananas, he he he.

At home, I soaked my seeds (aka watering the garden), then sat with mippies outside a while. They were quite happy to come in early - not that I wanted to, they came all by themselves.

Funny thing: every single day, while I distribute the treats for the big mips, Tynx goes into the litter box! Every day! Almost as if she's trying to make sure she has maximum room for every last morsel of food before she starts eating! She's a funny little girl!

Then I washed the dishes, which none of my mips appreciated. After treats, in the kitchen, I should be making food and issue more treats! That's the correct order of things - this doing other stuff? Not appreciated! Mewthos in particular went sirening through the kitchen numerous times, and Ziva mipped for ear scratches from her chair quite frequently as well.

It was eight when I was all done, lunch packed and now I'm thinking whether I should still make myself dinner or just skip it tonight? Well, I made myself dinner ... which I had to share with mippies, of course!

I didn't have a very good night, waking up several times throughout the night - I don't know whether it was the caffeine in the coke I drank or the mosquitoes or mippies. I woke about once an hour.

Strangely enough, I woke up a little before the alarm went off! Surrounded by eager mippies hoping to go outies ... sigh! Leisurely morning with coffee, litter box cleaning, mippie breakfast, litter box cleaning ... and then I ended up leaving a little late. Yet I made it to work on time!

Sunday

While the power was out, I did the only thing I could: gardening! By my squash bed, the sprinkler has encouraged a host of grass and weeds to rise up and try to take over, so I decided to clean that up and take advantage of the watering myself and sowed carrots! They don't seem to be growing in the pots, regardless how much space and water they get - oh, they sprouted encouragingly in the pot with the Pelargonium, but never produced even a single edible carrot! Lets see how they do in the ground!

The sun is quite hot and I can feel my back baking, so I decided to move into the shade. I started by clearing some of the yellow from under the wag-n-bietjie tree. It doesn't look like I've done much, until you look at my compost heap!

And then it was just too hot, even in the shade. It was noon and I figured time to nap. An hour later the power came back on.

After publishing the last post, the first thing I did was make myself a smoothie! I had set some green tea to steep and added frozen cucumbers, carrot juice and orange juice, as well as a few grapes. Turned out quite refreshing!

I also need a loaf of bread for the week - and I've been trying to decide what I should do for the longest time! I'm too lazy to do anything fancy, yet, at the same time, I'm not keen on plain white - again! I had decided on a french loaf, when I saw the recipe for herb loaf! All you do is add some dried herbs to the mix! Simple ... so, that's what's in the machine right now! Since I'm home, I'll let the machine prepare the dough and I'll bake it in the oven - hopefully the power will last the next hour and a half, so the dough will be done.

The problem with this heat is that even a little effort raises quite a sweat! Just leisurely adding the ingredients for the bread has me soaked!

I wish someone would invent a real summer bra! You know, one with a place for ice packs under the boobs, or, failing that, sponges!

My landlord has put the sprinklers on again - yay! I've just moved all my seed pots so they get sprinkled.

The desert roses I got from Rose are procreating like bunnies! Lots and lots of baby roses everywhere! Soon they'll take over the entire bed - which I would love! They are so beautiful! Maybe in December, I'll move some of the babies so they'll spread even faster!

Mippies are melting all over the show! I wish I could simply join them and nap again ... but there is so much to do! At the same time, it's too hot to do anything ... yet I really, REALLY want to harvest in December! I've worked so hard to prepare the ground, then sowed just before winter and got a few puny tomatoes ... now all I really need to do is re-sow and water.

I've got big plans for the garden, and these easy to grow veggies are just the beginning! There is still a ton of work to be done! Especially turning more of the ground into fertile beds - which will be a LOT of work!

Anyway, re-sowing into prepared ground is not too hard work. I also don't sow everything at the same time, but give it some intervals, so that it won't all be ripe at the same time. I've now re-sown the bush beans, some peas again, and, of course, watermelons! Again! Only now I've put some stakes into the middle of the bed, hopefully making it too uncomfortable for mippies to piddle there!

I also sowed some multi-coloured Alyssum into the hanging pot and hung it in the middle of the ladder structure which is right in the center of my garden.

I have a teeny little problem with Tynx. You know all the flower seeds I placed on Friday? Well, the little minx is busily digging them up! I tried to discourage her, but she loves snaking around the Cosmos as much as Mewthos did, when he was her age! At least she's stopped digging - now she lies on top of them, like a hen waiting for her eggs to hatch! I had better keep those patches as wet as I can!

The bread smells quite nice! Well, the dough, so far. I've kneaded it and shaped it, now it's rising in the oven. Next step is simply to turn the oven on and bake it.

Ideally, I should wash the dishes again tonight - but I'm really not up to it. I've just taken a cold shower. They sky is clouding over again, hopefully it will cool down and rain again.

On the down side, I'm quite hungry and I haven't really got anything prepared for dinner. I had taken out a Kassler, which I've already eaten, and I'm still hungry. I suppose a slice of freshly baked bread will have to do.

I've just made myself another smoothie - those ice cold drinks? Pure bliss! For now, I'm using up the green tea, since I don't particularly like it. Next, I think I'll use up the Fennel tea, another 'okay, I tried it, not so nice'. And then I'll be getting to the good stuff: Peppermint tea! That will be cool, I'm sure!

Okay, THAT was weird! I just went into the kitchen to check on the bread and found the window covered in flies! I took the bread out of the oven and placed it in the bathroom to cool! Then I went and zapped them one by one with doom! It was a bit like that old arcade game 'Asteroids' where you zap, zap, zap every black dot you see! I have no clue what attracted them, where they came from or what they were doing there!

Anyway, the loaf of bread looks good! It's big - 700 gram, so it should last the whole week. And the cheese? Also done and looking good! It's about two handfuls, I'll see later how many slices I'll get out of that! I've added some salt, as suggested, but no other spices. Right now, I think I'll lie down for a bit - though I can't sleep, as it's six, getting close to 'mippie indoor' time.

Right, my lunch tomorrow: fresh home made cheese on fresh home made bread! How's that for luxury?

Mippies are inside, the Mini has a thing about my shoes! She loves putting her paws inside and either playing with them or sleeping on top of them.

Anyway, I think I've written enough today ... I'm ready to rest and call it a day.

Saturday

Up nice and early ... leisurely coffee while mippies roam outside! It was overcast, so I was a little hesitant with the laundry at first. But I got busy soon enough. After the fiasco last weekend plus Monday, the floors looked awful! First I washed the dishes and then I started cleaning the floors - a major undertaking!

It's also shedding season, so there are hairballs all over the place - it looks like the tiles are trying to grow fur!

I moved as much as I could out of the way, swept the entire place and then washed the floors, starting with the bathroom. It was past noon when I was finally finished. One setback: one of my decorations fell off a shelf and smashed on the floor - and it was filled with oil (it had sea shells floating inside) and it dropped right by the desk, so I ended up having to crawl under the desk to try and mop it all up! Worst of all, it got to a box of papers ... when I tried to pick it up, it nearly slipped through my fingers!

That little setback had me using language ... really bad language!

Well, I just gave the lounge a quick once-over after that and didn't thoroughly wash those floors! Afterwards, however, I was absolutely exhausted and soaked, so I showered and then took a nap. I had finished what needed doing - the laundry was drying outside, the dishes done, the floors clean.

When I got up, I just wandered around somewhat aimlessly, not sure what I should do next. Since I was hungry, I decided lunch would be a good start. Mippies also thought that was a good idea, but I wasn't in a sharing mood - I cut off a piece of fat and let them sniff it. They turned and stalked off in disgust! All, but Tynx, of course - she eats anything!

I made myself another smoothie and got clever: I now use my thermos cup, which keeps the ice cream solid! Why didn't I think of that before? I finally finished cutting up the last of the banana bunch from last Friday - they really kept remarkably well in the fridge! But I don't want a repeat! I'd rather process them the same day! Of course, I'll need the power to be on for that ...

The weather was quite inconsistent all day. Overcast in the morning, promising rain - which didn't come. Blue skies most of the day and then overcast again in the afternoon. Plenty of lightning for a while, then some rain - first some gentle drizzle, followed by a downpour which then fizzled out into another drizzle.

Of course, Mewthos didn't come inside before the downpour - but fortunately he came during it! He is such a doofus! Sits there under the car, refusing to move ... until he gets soaked even there! Silly twit! Of course he brings lovely water and mud inside - good thing I hadn't bothered to wash the lounge floors!

As expected, the power went out, so I decided this was as good a time as any to try the cheese making! I'd been reading the instructions and wondered how I could possibly find a place for the concoction to 'rest' at 20 degrees for 11 hours? And then I realised that overnight would be the best time! So, I took out the milk, heated it, added the rennet and buttermilk and left it ...

The rain had stopped and the sun was setting ... clear sky in the west, beautiful sunset. Dark clouds with lightning in the east! I took some photo's ... sigh ... will I ever get time to post photo's here?

Since it was still early, I decided to do some gardening. I sowed herbs this time, and in my flower pots. Rosemary, Sage and Thyme. Each in their own pot. Then I sowed some Chives and Leeks - but in pots out of mippies reach!

As the power was still out, I left the mippies to play outside till about seven, by which time they were milling around under my feet to let me know it is time they get their treat! I obliged! Not much else to do, so I decided on an early night ...

Around eight the power came back on, so I switched on the PC so that I could listen to my audiobook again. I'm currently enjoying 'The Lost World', one of my favourites!

Oh, I read something funny yesterday. I was scrolling through facebook and someone was 'proudly' posting how he's finally read '20000 legumes under the sea'! Legumes! Bwaahaaahaa! Peas or beans?

Some time during the night the rain came down in earnest! So hard that it woke me! I got up just to check that nothing was coming in under the front door, then went back to bed.

This morning the sky is clear again, with just a few puffy white clouds drifting along. I woke up quite early, but only got up about quarter past six. Mippies are out, everything is soaking wet!

I scooped the 'cheese' out of the pot ... I'm a bit disappointed, as it's like a handful of cheese floating atop almost 2 liters of whey! So little! Ah, well, it's in the cheese bag now, dripping whey into the sink. Should be ready tonight.

Sigh, I had just finished typing the past sentence, when the power went out again! That was around nine this morning, it's now one in the afternoon ... I better publish before it goes poof again!

Friday

I woke surprisingly early! Giving me time for, not only coffee, but also breakfast! A leisurely start to the day.

I just received mail from the HiFi Corporation, about the vacuum sealer I ordered. Unfortunately they are out of stock and won't receive any stock in the future - would I like a refund and have the 'other unit you purchased' delivered?

Uhm ... hello? The 'other unit' is a roll of plastic FOR the vacuum sealer! What good is that without the vacuum sealer?

A good salesman would have offered me an alternative, but ... that requires thinking. So, I replied that I want a refund for the full order. Let's see how that goes down.

Unfortunately, that also means that I'm going to be without a vacuum sealer ... which I so dearly wished to procure before the holidays! Back to the drawing board, I suppose ... but scratch HiFi Corp off the list of options! Honestly, delivery was due this week - and at the very last minute they only realise 'Oops' - that doesn't inspire confidence!

Later I got a mail confirming my order is cancelled and I'll be refunded soon ...

At home, I just started with a walk around the garden and ended up clearing the bed around the cosmos and sowing more flower seeds. By the time I was getting to the last few patches, it started drizzling somewhat ... I watered anyway ... and it rained a little. Not much, though, good thing I watered. And then I decided to move the Pelargonium out of its pot and into the garden. Got quite a lot done ...

I also had several milk shakes ... or smoothies - whatever you want to call them. Loving the ice cold drink on a hot evening!

Looking forward to some fun tomorrow!

Thursday

I couldn't find the case with my glasses this morning - eventually I lifted the night stand, and see there: they'd been pushed off and then under! Sigh! Mippies were busy very early this morning! I had no choice but to get up early, too.

Yes, they nagged and pleaded a treat out of me! They've learned a new word, which they LOVE: breakfast! I've also taught them 'milkies'! Another word they all love! It's how I get them all together, so I can go into the lounge alone, shut the passage door so that I can open the front door for a smoke break. I'm only rarely allowed to actually finish a cigarette - halfway through they start calling me back. And when I open the passage door, it's not me they want - Mewthos always zooms right past to check whether I maybe left the front door open!

Ziva usually sits by the door when I open it, so I scratch her ears - she loves that! Janey mostly lounges somewhere in the background, so I also scratch her ears. Tynx? She's everywhere! Zooming around like a pinball! Busy little girl.

Oh, I forgot to mention, I got mail from my chocolate dealer yesterday. Apparently the new shipment hasn't arrived after all, as they chocolates are so popular, they're not keeping up. I'm promised my stash next week - plus some extra for the inconvenience! Yummy!

Another thing I keep forgetting: I heard another funny thing on the radio. The DJ wished someone 'May you grow to be as old as your jokes!' That could come in useful ...

At work it was rather quiet ... until lunch time! After lunch they brought in deliveries and finished goods by the bucket load! More than I could check and receive - yet, they needed the material immediately! So I ended up issuing material I hadn't finished receiving, yet! And to top it all, at ten to five we decide to load the truck with tomorrow's delivery NOW! Which means not only booking the goods out, but checking against the delivery notes ... which I have to prepare and print ... fortunately I had done what I could in advance, but still: they bring in the last item for delivery as the truck is being loaded! I managed to get it all out and left only 3 minutes late!

Yes, I'm that good! He he he! Or maybe the more honest statement would be: I'm that lazy. I'm too lazy to do things over, of 'just quickly' - 'just quickly' always takes too long to fix! 

On the way home, I stocked up with milk. I got my two bottles plus I bought another 2 liter plastic bottle. The farmer explained that wheels I got the info on, are more than he needs, he just needs for a light load. So I'll go back tomorrow to find out what they have.

After the afternoon I'd had, I was quite exhausted and not up for much. I noticed no smell of bread and saw the machine hadn't switched on - I quickly started it, but it takes 3 hours, so my bread will be ready around nine tonight! Sigh! I learned later that there had been power outages throughout the day: half an hour power on, half an hour power off, on and on the whole day! Great, eh?

Well, as soon as the bread is done, I'm off to bed ...

Wednesday

As soon as the alarm went off, Tynx attacked it - as usual! I'm now keeping my precious goodies on the bed, next to me, so I can rescue them before they go bump! She does try to claw her way under the duvet, when I sneak them under, but we're working on that!

Remember my obsessive musings? Well, today they came in handy! A meeting was called. After the production update, only two items: that mail. I was ready, totally non-confrontational. Since that didn't product the desired emotional outlet, I was severely reprimanded for not responding to a message while I was incapacitated with a migraine!


...

The milk I got yesterday is still fine! I got another bottle on the way home tonight. I didn't do much tonight, though, just washed all the piddle puddles - sigh! Then prepared a loaf of brown bread to bake tomorrow, so I have some bread for lunch on Friday.

I had such a laugh at Tynx earlier! I saw Ziva was busy in the litter box, and then I noticed Tynx was hiding in one of the boxes facing away from the litter box. As soon as Ziva was done and strolled past, Tynx shot out and jumped her! What a little minx!

That's it ... day over. Time to re-boot.

Tuesday

At work, it took me quite a while to catch up - or rather: sort out what was negligently tossed into the store, rather than properly booked. No matter, I figured it all out. I'm putting some of my obsessive musings into action, and for one, I'm staying in the store. Let 'office' play whatever games they want, I just keep doing my work. Still no 'effect' on that e-mail, I'm guessing because some people believe that sending a mail is the equivalent of implementation.

Not my circus, not my monkeys.

On the way home, I stopped to pick up my two bottles of milk. The farmer said he feared they had gone sour and then went on to tell me that he actually drinks sour milk! When I got home, it looked sour, but didn't actually taste sour, so - I'm enjoying my milk! I think it's because he doesn't pasteurize it, so it doesn't go bad, but just gradually turns. It may also be the extra sealing lids on those bottles. After all, they were filled on Friday, went through the power outage ... and today is Tuesday. Amazing!

At home, I let mippies out but they didn't go far, as it was quite windy and about to start raining. It didn't rain hard, just a few drops, but it kept mippies under my feet - they didn't go far.

I opened the tap to water the garden, only to see that my landlord had already done so! He missed a few spots, though - ha ha! 

Getting mippies inside was no trouble at all! I fed my little monsters and wheee, was Tynx happy to see her fortress return! Aka my work pants. Which I washed this weekend, so they weren't at her disposal! First thing I did after feeding mippies was shower - so I put the pants down for her to dive right in!

And then I got busy in the kitchen. Sigh. Washing the dishes. Which hadn't been much on Friday ... but today is Tuesday. Anyway, it's done.

Then I decided to see whether there was anything I could save off the banana's ... surprisingly: all of them! I started by peeling the worst looking ones - and found them quite good inside! No brown or bad, just yummy banana! So I cut up as many as I could fit onto the sheet and put it in the freezer, starting with the worst looking ones. There are four left, I'll do those tomorrow night.

So I've basically caught up with most of what I missed over the weekend. All's well that ends well. 

Sunday & Monday

I had left the ceiling fan on through the night to ward off the onslaught of mosquitoes - as such it worked, but, as it always does, it gave me a headache, which I couldn't shake all day.

I managed to do my laundry and bake bread, but I didn't get to anything else. No dishes, no dinner, no gardening. It was a fairly mild, but persistent headache, clouding my entire day. Ah well, shit happens.

Sunday night I switched the ceiling fan off, yet I woke up with a debilitating migraine! I messaged work and went back to sleep. I managed to cut myself a slice of bread and eat that - as is, I had no energy to butter or add anything else, but I needed something in my stomach to take the migraine cocktail.

I woke a couple of hours later feeling no better, so I ate again and took another med collection.

Late afternoon I was finally able to get up. I took something out for dinner, but by now I was ravenous - so I cooked some pasta and ate it all! Oh, and was I thirsty! And I had nothing much to drink in the house, as the milk was long since finished. I drank a lot of water, but really wanted something else, so I had my last watermelon water ice. Then I made myself a smoothie, using long life milk.

I managed to pack lunch for tomorrow, mippies came in without any trouble - they had actually been milling around near the door, waiting for me to call! Sweet darlings! They did come to check up on me throughout the day - Tynx, by licking my forehead, Janey by coming to look if I looked okay, Mewly and Ziva just lounged around the bedroom most of the day.

Anyway, I'm ready for tomorrow.

I woke up headache free! Awesome! It's going to be a tough week now, since I never cleaned anything over the weekend - but I'll manage. Off to work for now ...

Obsessive musings

After two hours sleep, I feel much better - still not good, though. I'm hungry and thirsty, and still tired. Not going to get much done today, the day is a complete write-off.

Oh, and there's no chance for experimenting with cheese making anymore - I've had to drink the milk 'pure' so to speak, and couldn't 'stretch' it by blending it with fruit. There's nothing left.

The weather isn't helping, either - it's oppressively hot, while at the same time overcast with yet another thunderstorm in the air. In my bedroom, I've got the curtains closed and the ceiling fan going - stepping outside is like stepping into an oven!

I'm still thinking about what I should do regarding work. My biggest concern is: we've already reached the point of retrenchment, and we're still not out of the woods. In my opinion, we seriously need to make an integrated effort to implement systems to at least achieve some measure of consistency; at the same time we absolutely must gain some measure of control ... if we continue to rush around mindlessly, 'just quickly ...' getting production out, with no control over the losses incurred ... I'm afraid we'll hit the end of the road one of these days ...

On the other hand, I have made such a lot of attempts to communicate - to absolutely no avail. Nobody cares what I'm doing. Nothing I have provide is ever used by anyone else. For example: When we receive a purchase order, we need to calculate the raw material required. So, our planner walks to the store, checks how much raw material is in our store, then calculates (using a calculator) how much raw material will be needed to complete the job, adds a 'scrap allowance' and then informs our HR Lady the quantity to order.

I have a spreadsheet, that automatically calculates the raw material required, taking not only the raw material stock, but also all work-in-progress currently in stock, into consideration. All I have to do, is enter the finished good code and quantity required. No need to walk to the store, no need to physically count stock, no need to look up the figures to calculate, and no need to punch a multitude of numbers on a calculator (prone to a typing error, which would go undetected).

Nobody uses the spreadsheet.

I've tried talking to the Operations Manager, he doesn't want to be bothered. I've tried talking to my boss, he's weighed down by the burden of the financial situation and not really able to focus on - what, I'm afraid he considers - insignificant details.

I really have only two options: keep trying or give up. I'm sorry to say, but after nine months of futility, I'm inclined towards the latter. Just sit in my little store, do the bare minimum - like everyone else - and ... what?

Bugger that!

I keep trying to put together a report, that I can present regularly, calling attention to some of the grosser negligence ... yet, every time I think I'm getting close, I hit another stumbling block! Maybe I should write a report on that? Put it in a nice, simple flow diagram. That actually sounds like fun!

Yeah, I'm weird!

I'm not thinking perfectly straight today. After all, I've only had a total of four hours sleep over since yesterday morning!

Oh, and last night I tried an experiment: I let the mippies out AFTER they'd had their treat! I had hardly any problem getting them inside, when I first tried to go to sleep. Only Mewthos gave some trouble - because Ginger was around. I had to wait twenty minutes before he was ready to come in.

Friday - Saturday

Boy, am I glad it's Friday today! I was still busy counting and packing this one product ... when production suddenly changed course! Mid-cycle, just drop everything and let's change to another product. Sigh.

I took a walk down the road to get the information for my milk farmer - no problem whatsoever! I hope I don't miss him today - but if so, I can give it to him on Monday.

Around eleven, I spontaneously decided to go to The Orchards Spar to get some fruit for my smoothies ... turns out they are closed today: Stock taking! Sigh. So I tried the Rosslyn Spar, but they only had Bananas. I could have got those off one of the street vendors! Ah, well. I tried.

When I got back, I found a mail from a fellow manager, telling me how the store will work from now on! Hello? WTF? How about I send you mail, telling you how Production will work from now on?

Anyway, this is the fourth time this year I received those same instructions! First, when I just started and it was up to my storeman to follow them ... he did his best, but - predictably - it fell apart, since it's a mindless quick-fix with no substance. They re-installed this activity (can't call it a method, let alone a system) a few months later ... same result. Then I got instructed via some colleagues on the same activity ... when I approached the originator of the instructions, to ask just what I'm expected to do ... he started shouting at me. That 'Episode of The Office' incident.

This time, I'm simply ignoring it. Let's see what happens ...

For those of you who want the details: basically, they bring in goods bought for a specific project and then someone books it out for something else, and when it's needed for that project, it's gone. So they want control. And the way they've decided that will happen is, that everyone must book everything in and out ... and when I say 'book' I'm talking about a record sheet. On paper. See what I mean about 'can't call it a method, let alone a system'? 

In addition, there's loads and loads of production material, tools, jigs, etc. all over the factory. So, the 'quick fix' is - yet again - that EVERYTHING must be booked into the store every evening and booked out again in the morning. At the same time, THIS MUST NOT DELAY PRODUCTION! Do you see a problem here? I'm supposed to check the quantities, record everything ... and then issue everything ... instantaneously! Six to ten people, all coming to the store with multiple items (raw material, work in progress, tools, etc.) all at the same time, just before end of shift. And the next morning, they must all have everything issued by start of shift. And, of course, this must not incur any overtime!

Can you see a teeny bit of a problem here? Now, could you perhaps explain that to 'the powers that wanna be'?

Sigh. As I was busy typing this, the power went out! That was at half past four Friday afternoon. Now, we know that there's load shedding going on (for my non South African readers: load shedding = rolling power outage to reduce usage, as supply can't meet demand). Strictly speaking, this should be scheduled, as in: announced in advance so everyone can prepare, as needed. Yeah, not happening. Which means that nobody can know whether, when and for how long they may sit without power.

We had no choice but to assume that the power outage was due to load shedding. It wasn't. It was due to cable theft! If it had been load shedding, we'd only know by half to midnight. Load shedding can take anything from an hour and a half to six hours ...

And therefore, we could only report it this morning. That's when we found out the cause and that we could expect power to come back on maybe by six tonight! As in Saturday night!

The biggest problem with a power outage is: no water either! Since we have a borehole, and water is pumped (with electricity) into a tank, and from there it's pumped (again with electricity) to the taps. And - crucially - to the toilet cistern!

Fortunately I had showered before the power went out - small blessing. And, of course, with a gas stove, dinner and coffee were not a problem (I always keep at least one 1,5 l bottle of spare water).

I, of course, had another problem last night: no audio book! Why is that a problem? Well, when I have something on my mind, some unresolved issue, I focus on the story of the audio book, allowing my mind to rest and me to sleep!

The instructions I received via e-mail will have repercussions ... although I tried to shrug it off, I don't like to walk - as we'd say in German - into an open blade! It means something along the line of not wanting to be caught off guard by a knife in the back.

So, how do you prepare for an attack, that will maliciously be planned to catch me off guard? I like to be prepared, I absolutely hate being caught off guard. I prefer to defuse rather than counter aggressively - yet, when I'm caught off guard, I reciprocate ... and that never ends well. At least, not for me.

No matter what I tried, my mind always returned obsessively to imagining all possible scenario and coming up with an appropriate response.

I tried focusing on something more pleasant ... but I always ended up obsessing some more.

By two in the morning, I'd planned what I'd do Saturday morning without power, what bread I'll bake once the power comes back, a system to organise my seed packets, a solution to the invoicing inefficiency, a means to label the store shelves which allows for varying bin sizes, a means of reporting production material usage ... I think that was all? Because the last time I looked at the time it was twenty past two ...

I was woken two hours later by the alarm system's backup battery beeping it's complaint ... two hours sleep! That's all I got!

This morning I was still obsessing, but at least now the fact that it kept me awake was a good thing.

The power came back at quarter past eleven!

I spent most of the morning coming up with a simple 'in a nutshell' report for my boss giving him some insight into a) why the business is operating at a loss and b) why I haven't achieved more.

I wanted to write this all down before going to sleep - I didn't want to forget any of the grand ideas I had throughout this sleepless night! Now, I'll give sleep a try ...

Thursday

Not much to tell. We're currently producing a product in large quantities, which I have to count, one-by-one to get an accurate stock count. It's weight varies so wildly, that weighing in batches is not accurate. Not even in small batches. So, that's what I'm doing throughout the day at work - we're up to about four or five thousand by now, there's another bin waiting to be counted on the trolley.

When I got my milk, the farmer - knowing I work in Rosslyn - asked, whether I could get a price on a wheel he wants. He wants to build a little cart to move his generator. I'm afraid, I've forgotten the exact measurements, but on the way to work this morning, I realised that I drive past the place every day anyway, so it isn't even any effort for me! He struggles a lot getting about, as his eyesight is going as well as his hearing and, coincidentally, I was planning on asking him last night, whether there is anything I could help him with! What a coincidence, eh?

At work they've now installed a flippin' siren! Seriously? It caught me unawares last night, as I was locking up the store - it's right near there and I quite jumped when it went off! I'm getting somewhat annoyed with this wasting money on such things, when we're still not financially secure. I'm scrambling to save pennies and we throw away pounds! I really would like an increase sometime soon! I've earned it!

At home, mippies strolled extensively, not overly keen on coming inside. I let them. I had finished the cold meat yesterday and looked for something to put on my lunch - then I saw the avocado! Perfect! As I started slicing it, mippies mewled and mipped for their share ... I held it out, fully expecting them to stalk off in disgust. Instead, they eagerly licked the avo! I ended up putting a few slices into their bowl - and they ate most of it! All of them! Weird cats!

This morning, Tynx played her game again at twenty to five! I picked everything up and put it at the bottom of the night stand ... she promptly climbed in there and pushed it off again! Sigh! Mewthos decided that, as I wasn't moving, he'll take action - and went and sat on my keyboard! Janey eagerly ran to the front door ... Sigh. Well, I'll be home early today.

Wednesday

I didn't get any chance to write my blog yesterday.

At work, I'm now collecting data. The scale I'm using has finally been calibrated, so I could finally start weighing some of our products. I'm still working on the statistical formula to produce reliable information from the data I collect. I can't simply weigh a few items and use the average as a standard weight, I'm seeing too many variations. The weights vary on some items quite noticeably - which will result in incorrect numbers even in small batches; and those errors are a financial loss! I've also noticed that, the same product from a different batch (i.e. produced another time) has a higher variance than products from the same batch. I need to figure out the cause, as well as a means of arriving at a reliable standard weight per unit!

Okay, so that's what I've been doing at work. My groceries arrived as well, and I almost forgot to take them home. On the way, I got another bottle of milk - lovely!

At home, mippies made up for the outside-time they lost yesterday! They just wouldn't come inside, so I let them run until they were ready. I packed my lunch and started the dishes - they only came in around seven! Ziva came in for her treat, Lady Jane followed when I called, Tynx had to be carried in ... and then there was Mewthos. He had gone off after ginger again, so I had quite a wait for him! Not all that long, though.

I finished the dishes, took out tomorrow's dinner, had my dinner ... and that was pretty much it.

Oh, and I've started watering the garden again every night, when I get home. Many of the seeds I had sown weren't coming up, because the ground dried out too much and for too long between waterings, so now I'm keeping it moist again. I'll sow more seeds this weekend as well, I'd love to have something to harvest over the December shut-down! I've now found a total of three sunflowers growing - at least, I'm fairly sure those three are sunflowers. They look a bit like the squash, when they first come up, with two large leaves which do look like the first squash leaves. My cucumbers aren't coming up at all, though - I think they dried out. Since I've used up all my spanspek seeds, I think I'll have to get some more if I want to get lucky there. Especially since my mippies use my vegetable patch as their toilet - which is another reason why I'm now watering first thing when I get home! They don't so much like digging in wet ground!

This morning, Tynx woke me again - before the alarm had a chance - by pushing my phone off the night stand. But I, too, had gotten clever, and I now put my hair elastic around the phone, preventing it from coming apart when she drops it. I quickly grabbed everything off the night stand and pulled it under the duvet with me!

Ha ha, when the alarm went off, Tynx tried to claw her way through the duvet to get to it! I must be careful though, with her claws so close to my face, accidents could happen.

I've taken two clean milk bottles today, I should collect three bottles today, and would like to collect two tomorrow - then I'll bring another three tomorrow, making five again. And I'll be able to get one each day from next week onward! And with the weather being so hot, I'll quite enjoy my smoothies - so the milk will get used, plus I'll be able to try the cheese making this weekend. Finally! I hope ...

Tuesday

Reasonably good night and an early morning. I remembered to set the bread machine ... and as I type this, I wonder whether I started it? Sigh! I sure hope I did, because I'll only have bread by nine tonight, if I didn't! And I need that for tomorrow's lunch! Sigh.

Mewthos mewled for breakfast, I obliged. I also cleaned their litter box - hopefully I won't find piddle puddles tonight!

At work I got stuck into gathering data for my Item Master. I'm still not completely happy with my statistical formula, I'll work on that some more tomorrow.

My litter arrived, since it isn't food, I could pack it right away into the car's boot. When it's food, I rather keep it in the store with me - although it's quite hot here, it's not as hot as the boot of the car.

I got a reply from my chocolate dealer (giggle), they are aware that their coffee cups can't be ordered on the website, yet - I can simply e-mail her & she'll pack the right quantities. She's also getting fresh stock and suggested I wait with my order until it's arrived! Oh, yummy! Regarding the shipping fee - she asked what happened last time. I got so busy at work, I didn't get a chance to check. Better do that tomorrow. I think last time I was too excited to check on these details, he he he.

I must just remember to collect my first bottle of milk tonight, on the way home.

On the way home, the entire area was covered by a dust cloud - from work all the way home! It looked like smoke, just the entire world covered in a yellow layer. The wind had gotten so strong, and with no rains in months, that all the dust and sand was in the air!

I got my milk - lovely! At home, mippies didn't enjoy outside very much, the wind was just too unpleasant! They all milled around the door, waiting for me to give the signal to come inside! Of course, right after dinner, they want to go outside again ...

I've been on my feet most of the day at work, so I wasn't up to much housework last night. I'm happy to say that I DID start the bread machine, so the loaf finished baking shortly after I arrived. I was greeted by the smell of freshly baked bread! Nice!

Mewthos was awfully restless last night, he kept mewling and walking around from one place to the next, then to the lounge, then onto the bed. I picked him up a couple of times, which seemed to quieten him a bit, but I suppose he missed his run. Mew, mew, mew, mew, mew, mew .... ai, ai, ai!

This morning I had a good laugh! I woke up to the goods on my night stand being pushed off, first my hair brush, followed by my phone and last my glasses (fortunately, I now keep them in their solid case, so they won't break). As I looked up, I saw Tynx lying on my night stand, paws tucked under her chin, looking at me pleased as punch! I turned my head to see Janey and Mewthos in the door, looking back to see if Tynx had succeeded ... ready to run to the front door! They clearly planned this together! I don't know whether to laugh, be proud or ... talk about a conspiracy!

I had to get up to check the time on my PC, as my phone had come apart again. It was not yet half past five - the alarm hadn't even gone off! Well, I was up nice and early, thanks to my mippies!

Monday

No delivery to pack at work, today, so I have some time to myself - if I choose. I chose to take some time to research vacuum sealers, and have placed an order. I found one for a third of the price of the one they sold at Makro! The only tricky bit was, finding a store which sells the roll of plastic as well. Quite a few places sell you bags on a roll! That's not much use, as you have to select the sizes - which is exactly what I don't want. I'd rather size each bag to suit whatever I want to pack - that'll save me the most. I eventually found both, sealer and roll, at HiFi Corporation! AND they deliver! Free of charge! Turns out the roll of plastic costs nearly as much as the appliance - but I've been looking around, it's the same everywhere. I guess this little sealer is just very cheap!

So, that's another item off my to-do list! While I was on these sites, I also looked for a manual food slicer - no luck. Oh, I found one! Costing thousands! Hello? Simple food slicer, turn the handle? Yikes! Yeah, not for me, thank you very much! I guess I'll have to look in store, possibly at Game? Well, I'll know to look when I find myself in a store.

I've also had a look at various starter cultures, I'd really love to be able to make my own cheese! And sourdough! And ... and ... and! Well, on the sourdough, I found a recipe to simply start your own culture. And I already have one starter culture for cheese and another one for yoghurt. So, first I need to put those to use, gain some experience, see how it works - and THEN I can look at shopping for more! IF I need anything more!

Oh, I forgot to mention a funny incident this weekend. Lady Jane was on the bench outside, eyeing me as I was trimming the tree. I could tell she was planning something, but didn't pay much attention. She surprised me, by trying to jump onto my shoulder from the bench! Sounds painful, doesn't it? Well, she didn't leave a single mark on me, let alone scratch me! She was so disappointed, though, when it didn't work! She is such a loving darling! She spends most of the weekend around me, either napping nearby or mipping for attention.

Another thing about this weekend, particularly Saturday: My period started again ... out of schedule ... I guess this will go on for some years, after all. Sigh. It is such a nuisance. It's bad enough when there's some sort of frequency, but this random 'now you're on and now you're not' thing? Really irritating.

Anyway, at work I got stuck into some statistical formulation, trying to remember what I learned over 30 years ago! I've got my books, sure, but since I've never before applied statistics, I'm having some difficulty.

On the way home, I dropped off my new milk bottles. I paid for five and asked one Tuesday, one Wednesday, three Thursday. Then, on Thursday, I can give him another five to get two Friday, one Monday, and so on.

At home, I got busy again. I swept out the whole place and then walked with a bucket and cloth washing Mewthos' sprinkles off the walls, cupboard doors, wardrobe doors, my fridge, etc. Oh, and I had washed the blankie I keep on the sleeper couch? Sigh, yeah, it's been sprinkled again! Urgh!

My landlord had the sprinklers on, so, instead of washing any floors, I watered my garden. His sprinklers cover my vegetable bed but not the bed along the garden path. I just wedge the hose pipe onto my weeding stool and under a large rock and leave it pointed at one portion of the bed. Then, after a while, I move it to cover the next portion, etc.

I had forgotten to take any meat out of the freezer for dinner, so I decided to use up the Chorizo sausages I had bought a while back. They weren't very nice, even the cats wouldn't touch them. They are quite spicy, which I'm not to fond of, but also very oily. Can't even call it grease, it's just plain oil. Well, better than nothing ... and I was somewhat tired and not up to much cooking. Especially, as I also still had to prepare a loaf of bread to bake tomorrow. I prepared a wholemeal bread and added some more of the sunflower kernels.

And that was pretty much my evening. I watched an episode of Stargate - I'm now alternating between SG-1 and Atlantis - and then I went to sleep.

Weekend

Tynx made me laugh Friday night. She loves to play with the acorns - well, she loves to play with everything, actually. The trouble with the acorns, however, is, that they end up under the fridge or other furniture, where she can't get them out. And then, clever girl that she is, she goes to the kitty toy drawer to get another one! On Friday, though, she couldn't find any more acorns in the drawer ... so, after some investigation, she found my pecan nuts on the kitchen counter! I was already in bed, when I heard them tumbling off the counter! Of course, I spent the rest of the weekend, picking up pecan nuts everywhere!

Saturday morning I woke quite late, as I had quite a bad night. My eyes were watering and puffy, and I felt quite tired, still. I let my mippies out and settled down for coffee. Mippies weren't too happy with the weather outside, either and interrupted my coffee - lots! Ah, well. So I didn't get much done on Saturday morning.

I also didn't have the 'free from chores' weekend that I had worked towards. Why? Well, I've been shopping, haven't I? And that shopping needed processing. I didn't get too much meat, at least, but it was a bit of a puzzle finding space in the freezer for it. I packed the last of it on Sunday.

After the German butchery, I went to the Kwikspar a km away. They also had the watermelon on special, but their spanspek & sweet melon were at the same price as a watermelon, so I left those. They did, however, have strawberries and blueberries at an affordable price, so I got some of those. I considered taking some juice, to make veggie smoothie, but then put it back.

On top of all the food to be processed, I also had those 8 milk bottles to wash. Doesn't sound like much, I know, but it all adds up ... and I ended up spending most of the weekend in the kitchen. Well, and in my bedroom, but still ...

I also cleaned the grass mat in the bathroom - that corner was becoming unpleasant. I'm also noticing, that the wood fibers are not as effective at keeping the smell under control. Especially when it gets warm. So I'm mixing in bicarbonate of soda and some lavender carpet shake n vac type powder. Her ladyship is still not very keen on this new arrangement, though.

I'm beginning to seriously consider letting them out during the day. It would seriously reduce my costing - providing litter 24/7 is not exactly cheap. And, they so love playing outside! I let Mynx out - he could come and go as he liked, 24/7. So why not my mippies? Well, the biggest fear is: Mewthos! If you've been reading this blog, you'll know why. He is such a clumsy one. What, if he gets hurt while I'm away? Who will he come running to, then? I'm still thinking about it ...

On Sunday, I made myself bread rolls again. This time, I followed the recipe for 450gr loaf of bread - brown bread - and I added shredded cheese! I compared the various recipes and looked what difference adding cheese made to the basic bread rolls recipe and bread rolls vs loaf of bread. And adapted accordingly. They turned out almost perfect! They are no longer 3 levels high (making 6 rolls from 900gr dough, as I did in the past, ended up in over sized rolls - but they don't have size options on the bread rolls recipe). The only thing wrong with them, is that they are a bit over done. Otherwise, they turned out perfect!

Tynx tricked me on Sunday morning! She started her licky wakey routine then pushed the phone off the night stand, and the battery fell out, so I couldn't see the time. I assumed it was late and let them out ... only to find that it wasn't even half past five, yet! Clever girl! She tried that again this morning, but I got clever today - and, anyway, they don't get to go out today. Poor darlings!

Once again, I didn't get to my cheese making. Sigh. Nor did I get to do any gardening - although, that was also due to the heat. Stepping outside felt like stepping into an oven! I did, however, make myself quite a lot of yummy smoothies!

When I was looking for smoothie recipes, I stumbled across a site where the blogger was saying that she always took a bunch of bananas, every time she was at a store. I used to buy a few quite regularly, too, always resolving to eat one a day ... yet, I hardly ever did, and often ended up throwing away brown bananas, which always upset me. Now, however, since I've taken to freezing fruits, I'm not throwing away anything at all anymore! And: I'm already low on bananas! Even though I did take some on Friday again!

Right now, however, my freezer is so full, I don't have the space I need to freeze them. I normally put them on top of everything else, on a sheet of wax paper. But that does require some room on top to lay them out. And once I had finished packing all the meat, there is no room left now. The watermelon ice is taking up a lot of space, though, since they are in the plastic cups. So, as I eat those, I'll have more space again. I've been thinking as well that, next time, I won't be adding any water - just blend the watermelon and freeze it. Maybe in the ice cube trays, then I can blend them into smoothies as well?

The nice thing about the frozen fruit is, that it's not as hard as frozen water, and therefore not as hard on the blender. When I blend ice cubes, I always struggle to remove the blending blades for cleaning (though that isn't always necessary); but with the frozen fruit, it isn't locking in tight, and I can easily remove them.

I also worked out my online shopping requirements. I've ordered another bag of litter, the wood fibers. They are quite expensive, but I'm hoping they'll work out cheaper than the sand. I'll have to see this month, as last month I still had the sand in the large box. Then I tried to order chocolates again, but saw that - even though I've met their minimum-free-delivery-requirement, a shipping fee was added. So I decided to send a mail asking about it, before placing the order. On the grocery side, all I REALLY need is white bread flour, so I ordered that. Then added a cheese cloth, a muslin cloth bag, honey and such small items to make the minimum-free-delivery price. Actually, the cheese cloth I will need for the yoghurt making. I contemplated getting the salt plate - but, given my finances, I think I'll leave that for next year.

And then I looked into vacuum sealers. Sigh. They give so little information about the products on the sales sites ... I think I need to spend some time researching, to find out which one meets my needs. From what I've gleaned so far, I need to verify whether they can take a roll of plastic - which will be much more economic, as I can then cut the bags to the size I'll need, rather than wasting plastic. And I should check to see whether they can also handle delicate items, like bread - and not squish them flat. So, some research required ...

Okay, I just learned that we're NOT planning on closing for five weeks, more like three! We apparently intend to shut down close to the 24th, and re-open on the 6th. We really do need to re-stock on some of our fast moving items, we have orders open, so on the work side, we really can't shut down too early. And on the home front, I'm quite relieved, too, as that will require less grocery stocking and especially less cat food stocking up! And, of course, it will also mean that I won't need to take unpaid leave! Major relief!

And now I had better start working ...