Lock-down Day 5

Yesterday, 1280 confirmed cases, this morning 1326 and the 3rd person has died in South Africa. The news are depressing, once again, so I'm going not going to go into too much detail.

Selling cigarettes is now illegal during the lock-down. Predictably, some military personnel use excessive force. And people are getting angry. I'll keep an eye on reliable news headlines, but for the rest, I'll be the blissfully ignorant ostrich.

I had quite a bad night, courtesy of the buzz-squad. I went to sleep fairly early - lovely - and then woke up again and again and again. The power also went out again sometime during the night, I vaguely remember hearing the alarms going off - fortunately this time it didn't wake me.

I'm afraid, if you were hoping for Episode 2 of my spring cleaning, you'll be left in suspense for another day. I hope you can bear it? Giggle!

Why? Oh, well, this morning I got stuck in the game - I'd been neglecting some leadership tasks these past 2 weeks. I'm all caught up again, but still have some preparations that I want to do - all part of the new direction I'm planning. Maybe later.

Most of all, though, I've finished the last bread roll and the last chocolate muffin, so I need to re-bake both. I've taken stock, and I have only 9 Peanut Butter cups left - so I had better keep them as very special treats! The worst part is, of course, that I can't simply re-stock right after the lock-down is lifted - firstly, there's no guarantee that it will be lifted as scheduled, and secondly, I won't be able to afford treats for quite a while. So, I'll have to keep baking chocolate muffins to satisfy my chocolate cravings - I don't even have chocolate chips to add!

I got a little carried away, trying to explain to fellow game players that their activities outside the team don't affect just them, but the whole team. I don't understand why some people always insist on breaking the rules ... I mean, why JOIN a team, if you don't want to work WITH the team? What makes it so difficult is they actually believe themselves to be team-players - their actions are based on an erroneous assumption. They assume, but don't ask whether their assumption is right. It never is ...

The funniest thing is, that every one of them comes up with another assumption! I mean, I can guess WHY they're doing what they're doing based on what they see they are doing (if you can follow that, you're either drunk or stoned, ha ha!). What I mean is that their actions pretty much show what they're thinking, that's how I know about unspoken assumptions. I've been trying to come up with some sort of standard mail to correct them all - but that's like trying to make something foolproof! "

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“A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.” - Douglas Adams 

See, why I'm somewhat frustrated? Ha ha! I don't stand a chance! Every time when I think I've finally got a comprehensive mail ... I'm faced with another, completely new, erroneous assumption!

Anyway, I didn't bake - neither bread nor muffins. I treated myself to one of the bars of chocolate I was able to buy last week. Mippies are spread all over the bed, let me try to find some space for me on the bed. And lets hope the buzz-squad is dead! I bzzt some buzz-kill everywhere ... when I go into the lounge at dusk, it sounds like a high-pitched helicopter about to take off! Unreal!

Anyway, off to mippie-land ...

Lock-down Day 4

Late start to my day, as I keep turning over every time mippies wake me. I found Lady Jane lifting the lid of the flower fountain this morning! They are ALL learning! Sigh!

Last night I decided that today I will start a thorough spring cleaning. Yes, I've had projects I want to do - but it's so much nicer doing them in a place that's as much 'home' as I can make it. I planned to start with the bathroom, aka mippie play room - but logic intervened: first wash the dishes, then start spring cleaning. I'd like to do more than just the general cleaning I do regularly, but clear out cupboards, make space, so that I can unpack more boxes and get the lounge turned into more of a habitat than storage space.

That also means sorting through everything and deciding what's worth storing and what should go. For example: the shower curtain. No, I have no use for it here - but can I really know that I will never, ever need it again? And it's one of those little things one has to buy when moving, which add up to large amounts!

And now, Mewthos is playing with a dead mouse in the kitchen ... Oh, mippies! Thought that was bad? Sigh, as it's dead, Mewthos soon lost interest ... Mini eagerly picked it up and came running ... straight to my bed! Fortunately I saw her and turned her away. She's now eating it in her fortress = my work pants! Ai, ai, ai!

Dishes are washed, so my kitchen is ... well, not clean, but ready for basic use, as always. Floors are bad, but that will be part of the spring cleaning.

In the bathroom, I start by taking out everything that can move. And this time, I absolutely MUST wash the lace curtains - no matter how little will be left afterwards. The lower part is flippin' soaking in Mew-mew piddle! Awful! I left them last time, because they're just so badly shredded, I'm afraid they'll unravel to the point of uselessness in the washing machine - but now it's so bad that I'm willing to risk it!

Well, the bathroom curtains are up again. Clean, but ... well ... the hole is much larger, of course. I also cleaned half the bathroom - the half from the window inward. As any cat owner knows, cat pee when it's dry, doesn't smell - well, barely. My sense of smell is not delicate enough to detect it. Wet cat pee, however, also doesn't smell - it stinks! So, having the pleasure of washing walls and tiles ... where Mewthos decided to ... I don't know what his decision was, what he was thinking, or even IF he was thinking. Why does he spray inside? Well, it's all cleaned off ... again! Let's hope he doesn't repeat. It's really annoying!

Anyway, half the floors are clean, litter boxes are clean and Mini's feeding area is clean. She has a habit of trying to cover her food after she's had about half, lately! Yeah, I don't know, either. She just starts pawing the tiles, same motions they use to cover their waste! I've got really strange mippies!

It's 2 in the afternoon, and I've had enough of cleaning. Ha Ha, barely half a room clean and I'm ready to call it quits! And I haven't even started on any space-making, yet!

I've soaked the kitchen curtains in stain remover. Those stains are still back from PE, when those curtains covered the spare room window, the open half - where all the grit and dirt blew in. When I washed them before, I left the stain removing for later ... well, now it's later. Let's hope this works - if it doesn't, there's nothing more I can do.

I've mopped the other half of the bathroom floor, next step: deep cleaning! Especially all those corners, sigh. And that will take care of ONLY the floors! Why is it taking such a lot of time JUST to clean the floors? Two reasons: lots and lots of iffy corners - can't reach into those with anything but a wet cloth by hand, and paint spatter! Still!

Anyway, the floors are now clean. Now I can start on the actual cleaning: bath, shower, toilet and cupboards. Fun, eh? Well, at least it doesn't need to be done regularly. I'm also seeing where I can simplify keeping it clean.

Exciting life, I lead, eh? Mippies are puzzled by the new look in the bathroom, ha ha ha! Well, that's it for today. Stay tuned for the final episode of "Cleaning the bathroom" available tomorrow same time, same place!

Lock-down Day 3

It is really strange that the entire world has stopped ... well, not exactly, but that made such a beautifully dramatic opening, I just couldn't resist.

As the coronavirus continues to spread, some countries are putting their citizens on lockdown (though that's not a technical term used by public-health officials).
10 March: Italy
11 March: El Salvador, Denmark
12 March: Norway, Ireland
13 March: Poland, Kuwait
14 March: Spain
16 March: France, Malaysia
17 March: Belgium, Czech Republic
19 March: Israel
20 March: Bavaria (the only part of Germany)
21 March: Argentina, Jordan
23 March: UK
24 March: Colombia, India
25 March: New Zealand
27 March: South Africa

I've put this together from this article in the Business Insider. It's not the full picture, and, of course, I could have made a simple typing error, too. I'm human :)

Let's hope these measures work. Although, unless every last infected person is identified - if even one individual comes out of this lock-down ... it'll start all over again, only worse! Better not think about that, for now ...

For myself, I'm keeping an eye on any symptoms. Since I'm now smoking less, I no longer have a sore throat and cough less, too. Just in case, I've taken my temperature, it's normal. Not even 37 Celsius. The real fear is not so much about getting sick - but about being that person, who spreads the virus!

I'm now listening to the news, live-streaming. Since that takes a lot of data, I only turn it on for the news - but there aren't any, ha ha! Nothing much happening in the country. Some idiots refusing to adhere to the lock-down, but most of the country is staying at home. No new cases confirmed, and no further deaths.

I still hear traffic on the N1, and the odd engine here and there on the old road. So far, it sounds like every other weekend, traffic-wise. So, for me, it still feels like every other weekend, too. So far. Except that I'm not pushing myself to do any chores - there's no rush. That's all. Oh, and I'm rationing some items, of course.

Meanwhile, mippies keep me on my toes! Mini has taken to bringing her toys a little too close for comfort! Yesterday, as I was taking a nap, she brought a lizzard on to the bed, let it go so that she could play catch with it ... on the bed ... with me! Ha Ha! Also, I've used up all the face cream sample, so last night I used my own Nivea again ... and Mini promptly started licking my face again!

Sadly, my landlord's dog has not returned. I really don't understand how he could disappear without a trace! And, of course, I'm worried about my mippies. It's bad enough that something happened - but not even knowing? That is just too painful.

Some good news: I no longer need to wear safety gear in the shower. It was fixed just before lock-down - a great relief! It took weeks last year, so I didn't expect it to take mere days - happy surprise!

Yeah, I didn't do much again all day ... 

Lock-down Day 2

Back to my normal routine of waking up half past five, I'm happy to say. Okay, so I first woke an hour earlier, when Ziva came to throw up on the window sill next to me ... sigh. Little dilemma, though: what do I do with that vomit, now? No refuse removal, remember? Sigh.

I gave mippies their first Petley treat last night. They gobbled it up very happily - well, except for Lady Jane, of course. Her Ladyship prefers dry kibbles over most wet food. Always.

The power had gone out sometime during the night, I woke up when it came back, of course, as all the house alarms went off. Twice. That is a little worrying, since there's no reason for power failure - no storm, no excessive load. We're talking some time between midnight and four in the morning.

I let mippies out around six, switched on the PC again and scrolled through Facebook.

In the news, the first cat tested positive for COVID-19, having caught the virus from a sick owner.

And that's about all she wrote. For the rest of the day, I was feeling listless - not down, nor low on energy, just listless. I couldn't get enthusiastic about anything, or even interested. So, I did nothing. Oh, I baked a batch of white bread rolls and I fried the spinach, most of which I ate with a little lemon juice and nutmeg and sour cream.

The Whiskas diversion is not successful - oh, they are eating the mixed kibbles more than usual, but clearly Fit 32 is their favourite and they empty the dispenser fast. It's not going to last - if I ration them, maybe till next week, but that's about it.

Lock-down Day 1

At first, it felt much like any other Saturday. I slept quite late, though - it was close to seven when I finally got up. Mippies had already taken the lid off the fountain, pulled my hairbrush off the bed and were basically crowding me in an effort to get me out of bed, so I would open the door to let them out.

I made myself coffee, then sat down to do some serious catching up on my game. Next it's time to catch up on the chores I've left during the week - same as any other Saturday.

And now, the differences are coming up. First, it dawned on me that I would have to start a new habit: checking the news! Normally, I don't bother over weekends, and since I don't have a TV ... nor a radio connected (it's still in the box) ... I usually catch the current topics on the car radio, driving to & from work. Even if I miss the news itself, they usually discuss the current topics - so I always know what's going on. But I won't be driving anywhere for the next 3 weeks ... so, I'll have to find a different means to stay informed! During normal vacations, I can afford to stay ignorant - but now?

Well, the first news of the day is that South Africa has had the first 2 deaths from COVID-19. And that the number of cases has passed 1000. It will get worse, much worse ... hopefully not for long, though. Let's hope this lock-down curbs the spread and nobody new gets infected. But it will take at least 2 weeks before everyone already infected will be identified, i.e. diagnosed. Maybe even longer ...

And then I stumbled across some news which affects me, personally: Apparently the sale of cigarettes is prohibited during this lock-down period, as well! I knew that liquor stores would be closed, since they are not essential, and there had been some talk among colleagues regarding alcohol - all assume that the wine section in grocery stores would be open. But this is the first I hear about cigarette sales not just restricted but prohibited!?!

Having just stocked up week before last (Friday, 20th March), I am fortunate to have a month's supply. I won't run out during the lock-down - provided it isn't extended. And knowing that there is a supply shortage, I feel like smoking more! Paradoxical, but such is the weirdness of the human mind. I'm not giving in to the impulse, though, instead, I try to smoke less rather than more.

But what about all those, who need to wait for pay-day to stock up? Since grocery stores would be open, and people would be allowed to go out to buy groceries ... only to find out that they won't be allowed to buy cigarettes? And to find out after the fact?

And then I stumbled across a letter from a concerned citizen, a non-smoker who raised the problem smokers face, since the new law prohibited smoking on balconies: they're not allowed to smoke IN their homes, nor on their balcony - and they're also not allowed to go outside to smoke! I can only say that I am really, really grateful that I don't have that problem!

If Ziva hadn't moved in with me, when she did, I would have looked for just another flat ... and then I would be facing that dilemma right now! Thank you, Ziva!

On a lighter side, I just finished watching 'Bones' and was trying to decide which Series I'd like to watch next ... Under the Dome? Ha Ha! Appropriate, perhaps - but I decided against it.

And on a positive note: with all manufacturing plants closed throughout the country, and traffic limited to an absolute minimum - air pollution should drop to record low levels!

As I said, the day started normally. I washed the dishes, which had piled up awfully this week - worse than usual, but as a result of the internet problem at work. But then I also washed the Sushi container - which is unusual! Washing my refuse is making it clear that this is not a normal Saturday. Yes, I know it's actually Friday, I haven't lost touch with reality, yet!

I've been thinking that maybe I should vacuum-pack the collection in the fridge now, since I can't take it away. But that seems necessarily wasteful, so I think I'll limit that option to bones. I can wash plastic bags, no need to waste a vacuum bag on that!

I just stumbled across another news item, which started by commenting on all the sudden mails from the most obscure business' announcing what they're doing about the coronavirus, I'll quote: "Thanks, restaurant I once booked a table at via email four years ago, I’m glad you’re taking the necessary precautions." That pretty much says it all, doesn't it? My Inbox and phone are flooded with such messages!

I came across this announcement from Pick n Pay:

" ... customers will be able to buy:

• All Fresh, perishable, edible and non-edible grocery items;
• Health and beauty products;
• Essential general merchandise categories;
• Seeds & bulbs;
• Pool chemicals;
• Batteries & lightbulbs;
• Home cleaning products;
• Newspapers (excluding magazines;
• School and home office stationery supplies;
• Charcoal, firewood, firelighters and paraffin, and methylated spirits.

The group said thar customers will not be able to buy alcohol, cigarettes, clothing, or other general merchandise other than the categories mentioned above (e.g. TVS and appliances).

It added that its Pick n Pay Liquor and Clothing stores will be closed, as well as those sections in-store and online."

Interesting, eh? his seems to confirm that the sale of cigarettes is also prohibited ... and yet, I keep wondering why? Somehow I rather think it's more likely to be a misinterpretation. Something along the lines of preventing people from going out shopping just to get cigarettes, as they are not 'essential groceries' - but I see no reason for preventing people from buying cigarettes while they are out getting essential groceries?

Well, I'm writing the news, as it pops up - including my own views at that time. The stories will change so completely over the next few days that by Day 3 I probably won't remember just how I thought today. I'm also copy-pasting some bits for the same reason.

I also remember that the stories of the 911 attacks were changing as it was happening ... and I couldn't find even the least reference to any opinion different from the 'officially approved' one afterwards. So, I'd like to have some record of the 'wrong' hype as well - even though I'll look blerry silly in hindsight!

That's actually one of the reasons I don't usually keep up with the news - I prefer to wait until the facts are in, and THEN form an opinion. Could simply be that I don't like looking stupid, ha ha!

Well, I cleaned the kitchen and then cleaned the fridge. I cleared out anything that was dubious and processed the Celery. I looked up how best to keep Celery fresh and apparently, wrapping it in foil can keep it fresh for weeks! Unfortunately the Celery they had on Friday was already wilting, some of the leaves already yellow, so foil wasn’t the answer for me. Instead, it’s suggested to put the stalks in water in a sealed container! Done that. There wasn’t really that much left, though.

I arranged the little juices by date and found one expiring today, so I drank it! Unfortunately, I also found some old cheese … which was ready to walk out on … which is a bit of a problem, because: what am I going to do with that? I think the best solution will be to vacuum pack it and keep it in the fridge.

And then the sleep deprivation of this week caught up with me … I tried taking a nap, which didn’t work out. First Lady Jane needed cuddles, then there was some noise I couldn’t ignore – it sounded like dishes being moved. No clue what that was. I got up again, but I’m done with and jobs or chores for today.

No need to rush, anyway. I’ve got nothing but time for at least 3 weeks, now!

Preparing for Lock-down

To be very frank, I haven't paid much attention to the coronavirus pandemic. Why? Because there is simply nothing I can do.

Our COO made some announcement last week, mainly threatening that anyone travelling outside the country will not be allowed to come to work for 2 weeks after his return, and that those two weeks would be unpaid. Oh, and hand-sanitizers will be made available. Since then, he's isolated himself at home ...

The only contact I have had with any traveler was the German electrician. The area, where I work is low-travel - people can't afford to travel, not even as far as the next city, let alone outside the country.

The only other contact I have is payment - exchanging money. Like on Friday, when I went shopping. And: 4 times a day, when I go through the 2 toll booths on my way to and from work!

But what can I do? Realistically? I can't stay at home. Even though there is a lot of work which I could do from home - if I don't come in to work, I won't get paid. I don't have leave. I can't take sick-leave, and work-from-home is not an option available to me. Same as the majority of South Africans.

The best I can do is to keep my distance to avoid spreading the virus, just in case I somehow caught it, and keep an eye out for symptoms. Which is tricky. Yes, I have a bit of a sore throat, but I'm a smoker, it's not unusual. And I have been smoking more than usual, lately. The same goes for the odd cough - nothing unusual about it, in my life. Fever? Gosh, between the hot flushes - how can I tell? I don't feel feverish, not even slightly. Well, on that point, I have an 'advantage' - you'll laugh, when I tell you! I get fever blisters! Anytime I'm even slightly feverish. All my life. Yes, since early childhood - for as long as I can remember. It was much worse before I my twenties, but never completely went away. So: No fever blister should mean no fever.

And then the nation-wide lock-down was announced.

I only knew of it the next morning, of course, since I don't have a TV. My car radio is acting up very much, lately, it didn't stay on for the news. So I had to get the gist of what was said from colleagues. I couldn't look online, either, since the internet at work is still off - fortunately, it's now working fine at home.

Having just done my monthly grocery shopping, I figured I should be fine - except for bread flour! I tried to order online, on Sunday, but they were also completely out of stock! My colleague, At, needed some cream - he has to wear a pressure stocking which doesn't go well with his skin condition, so that cream is absolutely essential to him. He'd tried several pharmacies, who were all out of stock. So, Tuesday morning, the two of us left work to do some panic-buying! Kidding!

The president's announcement has definitely woken up the country. For starters, we were sprayed with alcohol-based hand sanitizer at the entrance of the mall. People were wearing face-masks and some also wore gloves. Everyone wiped the handles of their trolleys.

We went to a pharmacy shop and while he looked for his cream, I looked around. There was a special on Nivea - buy 2 get a 3rd free. I'd need face moisturiser next month, which is quite expensive, so getting 1 free is a major bargain! Though it meant spending money allocated to next month ... 

At the grocery store, they also didn't have my usual bread flour - but they did have a few 1kg packets of processed bread flour (I prefer stone-milled). Needs must, so I took 4x 1kg. I also saw a large mug that I liked, to replace the one Mewthos broke, as well as a silicone spatula - for baking.

The pharmacy was also out of stock on At's cream, so while I was getting my groceries, he tried tried another pharmacy - and finally got lucky! That's quite a relief, especially with the pending lock-down!

As the news started to really sink in, and the full extent of the implications became apparent - I realised that I would have one problem: Cat food! A shipment of their treats should arrive Tuesday or Wednesday, which would be enough for at least 3 weeks - but I would again run out of Fit 32! And they LOVE that! I have enough other dry food to cover that, but they love their Fit 32! So, now what?

In the meantime, there's a rumour going around at work that we might not get paid at all, this month! The business is still not out of the woods, the retrenchments helped, but we're still not making a profit, so there is no savings or emergency fund. The problem is that one client hasn't paid us for months, and our biggest client hasn't confirmed, yet, whether they WOULD pay this month - since the lock-down starts before pay-day ... and it's really quite short notice.

Management is keeping quiet. We had to wait till Wednesday afternoon for any announcement regarding the lock-down ... and all that was said is that we will close. The only actual news mentioned was that the plan was to try and close by noon, so everybody could do last-minute grocery shopping. That's all.

I had read online that our government had set aside funds for employers to enable them to pay their employees for the lock-down period - so at least THAT wouldn't be my problem.

Wrong. Thursday half past ten I found out that we would NOT be paid. We would have to apply for Unemployment! And I only found out when I received e-mail from our HR with the relevant forms I would have to complete! Now THAT'S a lovely surprise!

Which immediately reminded me of a similar situation last year, when a colleague was injured on duty and booked off as a result. She was told that she had to use her sick leave, then her annual leave and once that was used up, she'll have to go and apply for unemployment ... until I pointed out that it's the company who must apply to the compensation fund and that the employee is entitled to her full pay for 3 months, as it is an injury on duty!

This is NOT in line with the president's announcement, at least not with what I read. Also, at first we were told it could all be done online, but then it came up that we'd need to go to the bank to get a stamped statement - and THAT makes no sense! Oh, getting the stamped statement is pretty standard, when you want payment into your account; but: if the entire country is a) on lock-down and b) must go into a bank as part of the application for unemployment ... I'm going to have to research the actual law myself, again. But not today.

Back to my own preparations. This week has been crazy. The internet at work is still not working. Vodacom is not even communicating - they don't answer their phones, and when they do, they just say 'We know there's a problem'. That's all. So, I've spent my evenings doing just a rushed 'absolutely basic' in my game - neglecting my fellowship, I'm afraid.

Mippies have also been terribly neglected all week, as a result! And I'm going to bed later and later every night - last night as late as 10! Surprisingly, I wake up on time, still. But I know that I'll be at home from tomorrow on, so I can make up for any neglect to my mippies! AND I can catch up on any missed sleep - nothing left to rush!

On Wednesday, I also took my refuse to work - I had planned to take it next Monday, but with the lock-down, I had better get it out. In another week, it'll stink ... We're out on a plot, there is no municipality refuse collection here. I think I mentioned before, that, when the nearest landfill closed, my landlord told me he'd have a problem and I need to recycle - and I offered to take my refuse to work. As a favour. But when that wasn't going to work in December - he didn't take his responsibility, but told me some hare-brained 'someone told me where you can drop it off' bullsh it. It seems that it's no longer an appreciated favour, but my duty. So, I had better start washing my refuse before putting it in the bin for the next couple of weeks. Mostly the meat bags - anything organic goes into my compost bin.

I've made it a habit to rinse out the sachets every evening, after giving mippies their treat, and then I put them into an empty Fit 32 bag, which has a zip-lock. I keep any bones as well as used meat bags (which still have some blood in them) in an ice-cream tub in the fridge, until it's time to put it in the bin the night before I take the bag to work. Yeah, I keep my refuse in the fridge! Weird, eh? But it prevents maggots!

When I got my milk last night, I asked the farmer what his plans are for the lock-down, and he said he'd carry on as usual. Well, he doesn't have a choice, does he? He can't not milk the cows! Fortunately, farming falls under the 'essential services' allowed to continue operating. However, I'll only go out to get milk twice a week. Mondays and Thursdays, I think.

As I drove off, I realised that I had forgotten that we'd be shutting down at noon on Thursday! He's not there between 11 and 4, so I would have to try and shut in mippies to go and get milk after 4 ... but, hang on ... if we leave at 12, why don't I go and get some more groceries? Some baking ingredients, so I can play in the kitchen? If everyone's out buying their last-minute groceries, that should delay my home-coming till past 4, shouldn't it?

And then I had a brilliant idea: Why not get some Whiskas? Mippies LOVE Whiskas, even more than they love their Fit 32! If I mix Whiskas with the Iams, then they just might gobble more of that and I would be able to stretch EVERYTHING to last at least 3 weeks, if not more!

So, I wrote a shopping list, with Whiskas on top, followed by Petleys. I remember mippies loved those cans - just not the 2nd night. Only when it was fresh. Fine, I have 4 fully grown mippies now - they'd better gobble it up. So, I'll get a couple of tins. See how it goes.

I had already ordered and gotten a dozen eggs from my boss' wife. I had also started getting R20 notes to pay for the milk - I pay the one toll with a R100, and ask them for 20s if they've got. They usually do, so right now I have enough change for 25 liter milk. More than enough, I'm sure!

Next, I put Celery on my shopping list. They didn't have any last Friday, nor at the other store on Tuesday, maybe I get lucky. Ditto Marjoram - which I haven't been able to get for 2 months, now! And then I added chocolate chips, for muffins! Or cookies!

They didn't have. I took some Vermicelli instead, but it's not the same. I think I'd rather grate some of the baking chocolate.

And that's another problem: I'm pretty low on my beloved peanut butter cups! I was going to order after pay-day ... but now I can't. And it's too short notice, I should have ordered on Sunday - but on Sunday, I didn't know that I wouldn't be able to get them after pay-day. So, I had better get some plain milk chocolate as well.

And some of those lovely breakfast juices! If I'm at home every day, I'd like to treat myself a little - plus, they're healthy. But expensive. But I won't be able to get any treats at all next month - and I'm almost out of peanut butter cups ... I'm using some funds I keep separate from my budget.

My freezer is totally full, but maybe it would be a good idea to get some steak, as long as it can keep in the fridge? After all, who knows whether it will really be only 21 days? Better to have, than to need ... (Haben ist besser als brauchen)! I learned that from my first German site manager!

I'll take a little time in the baking ingredients aisle, see if there's anything I could use. I'll have some time to experiment with baking. And chocolate bakery is a good substitute for peanut butter cups! I can experiment and find out what's best for me: muffins, cup cakes or petit fours. As long as the internet doesn't go down, I can look around for recipes to play with.

As I was driving to the shop, I was surprised to see relatively little traffic on the roads. At the shop, however, it was a different story. The parking lot was full, and there was a queue going around the block to get into the store - apparently they let only a limited number of shoppers inside at any given time. No problem, I won't dawdle. Once inside, I was surprised to see how cheap produce was! Watermelon at a 3rd of the normal price! So, I took one! I considered taking another as I realised that I would have all the time I need to process what I get today - it wouldn't be a weekend rush job! But my freezer has no room, so I need to think carefully before I buy. 

In the end, I took Potatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Spring Onions, Celery, 1 Watermelon, Bananas, 3 Avocado, 4 Oranges, and a bunch of Spinach. My coffee was on special - this time for real, so I took another 2, and butter was on special, so I took another 4 - I now have 8 pounds of butter in my fridge! Talk about panic-buying, eh? Not really, though - butter doesn't go off, and I love it! I prefer butter on my bread over margarine, I only use margarine when butter is too expensive. Well, I got 2x 2kg Whiskas - at first I took only 1x 2kg. It's not good for my mippies, Fit 32 has more meat in it, and cats need ONLY the meat in the food - everything else just makes them fat. But then again, I give them pure meat in the form of chicken hearts ... oh, and when they share my steak, of course ... yet they still gobble kibbles and still want more treats. Whiskas is to cats what McDonalds is to kids. Anyway, I also got 6 tins of Petleys - 2 of each available flavour.

In the dairy section, apart from the butter, I got 2x fresh cream - I want to try to make my own butter, see how much butter I get from 1 liter or 2 of milk, then I can work out what it costs me. I also got mozarella cheese - and, as I realised that I now have a vacuum sealer, I bought the large size, which works out cheaper per kg. In the past, I always bought the 300gr, and always used it all up when I made pizza - now, I can save! No, not get stingy on my pizza, but I'll no longer have to heap it excessively because I can't keep left-over!

Of course, I also treated myself to Sushi!

When I went to pay, I found no queues at the tills - well, logically, since they have set a strict limit on how many people they let inside at any given time. They had also put up a hanging screen between the cashier and us - seems sensible. I can't remember whether the cashier wore a mask, but I'm pretty sure she wore gloves. Well, grocery stores are an essential service and will stay open, it's only good sense that they implement precautions to protect their staff!

Despite the initial queue outside, it took much less time than I had thought and I was home by 2! I turned in to the farmer, but everything was closed, so I didn't stop. I let mippies out and started carrying everything inside. Then packing it away. Oh, I did get one frozen goodie: Calamari strips! They, too, were on special! I managed to fit them into the bottom drawer in the freezer, after squishing the carrots a bit! My fridge now looks ready to keep me alive for a month! That won't last long, though. As soon as I start processing, it'll reduce in size. There was no space for the spinach nor the watermelon in the fridge, though. Ha Ha, not surprising!

When I had finished, I sat outside and enjoyed my sushi! I've put the empty plastic inside my cupboard until I can wash it clean tomorrow.

Then I sat outside for a bit. As I sat, I saw my landlords dog trot through my garden to go for a walk, heading east ... he hasn't returned! Which makes no sense! It's not the first time he's sneaked out while my landlord was away, and usually, once they get home, he is back soon afterwards ... not today. And he left only about half an hour before they arrived? My landlord has driven around the whole property, calling and whistling, he's come outside calling and whistling again and again and again ... yet, the dog has not come home. How is that possible? Just like his two dogs last year! They got out, and I still let them into my garden as I left for work, but when my landlord came out, they were gone ... never to be seen again ... I just don't understand how that is possible! It's really distressing. What could possibly have happened? Without a trace?!

Around twenty to four it was overcast and there was thunder rumbling in the distance - which could be the reason why the dog ran off, though not why he hasn't come back - my mippies, however, stayed close to home. I took a shower, and, as I had hoped, they followed me inside, so I had no trouble shutting them in afterwards so I could drive off to collect my 2 liter milk ... only to get 5 liter! Ha Ha! I had asked for 3 liter on Monday, and he didn't hear it correctly and filled them for today! No problem!

This time off is not like the December shut down. Mostly, because it is unplanned - so I haven't left anything 'for the holiday'; meaning that I don't have a list of things I need to get done before I can start on holiday projects. And since it's quite soon after the December holiday, nothing has piled up for the next December holidays, yet. So I can dive right into holiday projects ... well, after I've processed all the groceries I hamstered today!

With no internet at work, I have had some time to think about what I should do with my time:
- definitely get the sourdough going
- baking. I want to have some simple, quick Ersatz-Chocolate recipe. Ideally some cookies, which will keep for a while, so I can snack on one anytime I like, rather than having to bake and eat within a week.
- update my insurance policy, time to make some changes
- butter making
- cheese making. I've got the basic cream cheese down pat, but I'd like to take it a little further. And weigh the results, so that I can determine when store-bought specials are really cheaper than home-made. Although, hopefully, I can get the process down pat so that I can make any cheese I want, anytime.
- finish my macrame belt
- definitely get some cat scratching furniture, starting with finishing the one still in progress
- clear out stuff I really won't ever need again to make some space so I can unpack some boxes
- gardening, the strawberries can be sown now, before winter.

No, I'm not presuming that I can't possibly get sick. But there's no use planning for sickness. I hope I don't get sick, and if I do, I hope I won't need hospitalisation. Yet, I know that it is a possibility. I'm not ignoring that or pretending it can't happen. I'm just not dwelling on it.

And I'm also going to have to really work out a new budget for the next few months, especially if I'm not getting paid in April - and who knows whether the unemployment will even pay out, and even if it does, how much. I just cannot imagine that this fund is really meant to pay the whole country's salary for the lock-down period ... Something isn't adding up. Well, lots of things aren't adding up, as I said earlier, so I'll have to do some research.

And now it's twenty to midnight. Lock-down comes into effect in twenty minutes ... why am I not in bed, asleep?

Time to go to bed ...

Did you miss me?

Sorry, I hope I didn't worry you! I'm okay!

The weekend of the 14-15 was a bit of a rollercoaster weekend, on Saturday I woke up at 3 in the morning, so I got up very, very early! I got quite busy, mostly online, but also in the kitchen, then took what was meant to be a short nap around 11 ... and woke up again after 1! Not surprising, though not planned. The rest of the afternoon I was too tired to do much ...

That Sunday I woke with a headache, not a migraine, just a headache but almost as bad. I didn't get out of bed before 1 in the afternoon - and then I had to get absolutely everything done: bake bread, cook dinner, by now, I don't remember what else I did, only that I managed to get everything done.

At work that week, I was quite busy, so I didn't get much time for online. At home the internet connection was so bad, I didn't even bother most evenings. Opened it, everything loading for ages ... walk away ... shut down. Even though it shows 4 out of 5 bars, it felt more like 1 or 2 bars (signal strength). I decided to catch up on my blog on Friday at work.

Friday we had no internet at work. All day. And, just to top that, on a personal level: someone had kicked my USB stick! Irreparable! Pure carelessness! Fortunately, I don't think I lost anything ... if I remember correctly. No use giving that any thought, because if I do remember something I lost, it'll only upset me. So, why bother? If I don't miss it, it's not worth upsetting myself over! If that makes sense to you?

Anyway, I also did my monthly grocery shopping on Friday. I even managed to stay within my budget, well, almost. I went just a little bit over - but I can balance it out by the end of next month. Two problems, though: I couldn't get Celery and no bread flour! None! Not Wholemeal, not Brown and not White! And I'm almost out of white bread flour! That's the 3rd month in a row that they haven't got stone milled white bread flour! Which means that I will have to buy it online - and that means spending more than I had planned, to make the delivery free-of-charge ... so, I'd have to order next months groceries early ... not keen on that!

The weekend was rather a bust. I spent all day Saturday playing my game - having to catch up on what I had planned to do Friday. It was Magic Dust Tournament, and one of my cities desperately needed lots and lots of Magic Dust relics, and I had placed all the tournament buildings - they expire after 5 days. And the next Magic Dust tournament will only be in 9 weeks ... so ... with the internet still iffy, I could do something like 10 clicks, then get booted, reload and do another 10 clicks (= 3 encounters)! It took the whole day to achieve my target! Which meant that on Sunday, I had to buzz all day to get my chores done! Laundry was a bit dicey, as it rained on Sunday. Again, I managed to get everything done - and this time, I also had all the groceries to be re-packed and stored! I had bought a bag of beans, as they were on special, which had to be cut, blanched, packed and frozen. My freezer is now filled to the brim! I'm very close to the same disaster I had in PE, when I packed it so full, I had to defrost the freezer because I couldn't open the drawers! I've been careful, though - I can still open every drawer.

Saturday night, when I wanted to shower, I got shocked! Literally! Same thing as last year - fortunately, I had bought some rubber-soled slippers a while back, just in case. So, time to put on safety-gear to shower, again! I just hope this time it won't take as long to repair as it did last year! It is awfully unpleasant! Try washing yourself with rubber gloves! I wear only one, on my left hand, but still. Yes, I could take it off while I shampoo and soap myself - I only need it when I turn the water on or off ... 

Anyway, I figured internet should be back at work by Monday, after all, it's business service, which has high priority. Alas, I was wrong! Nothing. And to add to the trouble, our 'IT' spent the whole day trying out different things - which continuously disrupted my connection to the server! No connection to the server means I can't save whichever document I've just worked on! Sigh ...

And no internet at work also meant that I had to do all my game activities at home, in the evening, when my time is so limited that something has to give ... 

And then, Monday night, our president announced that South Africa will lock-down for 21 days starting Thursday night ...

Week

No internet at home almost every evening, all week! It's getting to be a bit of a nuisance. I would go so far as to say somewhat frustrating.

Not too much to tell for most of the week, I go to work, I'm quite busy at work now - which makes the day go faster - I get home, shower, douse myself in Eau-de-buzz-off (mosquito repellant), sit outside with my mippies, eat dinner, have a cup of chamomile tea or two and go to bed.

Since I can't play or write my blog or do anything else online, I bob the pink fish for my mippies - who enjoy that immensely! Much better than having me sit at the PC!

My vacuum sealer arrived on Wednesday! I'm so excited! I've been planning which greens to get on Friday, so I can play with it this weekend! Definitely celery and cheese as well! Maybe some bell peppers? And one, at most two other vegetables. Not too much, though, as I still need some funds for the big trip to Ninapark Spar next Friday.

Thursday night it started raining heavily, just as I was dropping off to sleep. As always, I got up to check from which direction the rain is coming - if it's blowing strong from the south, I need to block under the front door, if it's blowing strong from the north, I need to close the bedroom windows. It was coming from the south, but didn't seem too strong - I put a towel at the front door, just in case.

Good thing I did that! By ten it had stopped raining, the power went off and back on again, and my audiobook was silent, as a result. The UPS is flat, so even the shortest power interruption turns the whole PC off. I decided to get up and turn it back on, while I was waiting for it to boot, I thought I'd have a smoke.

Splash! Turns out the rain got in under the door, through the towel and was happily running towards the opposite wall! Lights on, mop out ... mopping! At ten o'clock at night! Mippies running circles around me to see 'what mommy doing', disgusted at their wet paws, and mommy mopping water, wringing out the towel, moving boxes ... Sigh. No damage! Good thing I had placed that towel - if I hadn't, there would have been boxes damaged for sure!

Back to bed, sleep. Five o'clock in the morning, Mini decides it's time I get up! Out comes the paw, clatter goes the hairbrush on the tiles. Mommy ignores. Moving the food dispenser. Mommy ignores. Power goes off. Power comes on. Power goes off. Power comes on. About five or six times ... I check the time, and decide I might as well get up and make coffee. Power off. For good, this time. So, I take out the saucepan and boil water on the stove.

As I'm at work very early, I take the time to play my game. It's Adventure week again. We're doing well.

As the weather turned cold with the rain last night, I thought I could get some soup greens and cook up a storm this weekend. I just popped into Orchards Spar - man, that place is really pathetic. The only reason I keep going back is, it's only 5 minutes from work, so I can pop in quickly during working hours!

No Celery. No beans - only the pre-cut and pre-packed ones. No soup greens. Half their vegetables are 'sell by' today! Signs up advertising a special on bell peppers - R28.99 for a pack of 5s. Above a shelf filled with packs of 4! No pack of 5 anywhere! Two specials on carrots: one for R9.99 per kg and another for R14.99 per kg! I did get cucumber, broccoli, mushrooms and green bell peppers. And cheese. And then I took some tins of soup ... lets see how they turn out.

As I was turning into the road, some eejot is hooting up a storm! I turn to see what that's all about ... our electrician! The German one, whom I had last seen May 2019! What a happy surprise! We went to the Beer Garden for a cup of coffee and a chat! How absolutely lovely!

Well, that was the best part of the whole week!

And now, I had better get busy packing what they bring in for delivery on Monday ... I'll publish now, just in case I don't have internet at home again.

Weekend

I came home Friday afternoon to find my whole patio cleaned and re-arranged! All my garden tools were now standing around the corner in the far corner, in the rain! Next I get barked at about not keeping the patio clean - followed by another bark about not getting to clearing the weeds growing on the far side of the garden!?! Hello? Do you remember what it looked like a year ago, before I moved in, when it was YOUR responsibility? The whole garden was covered in grass so tall, I didn't even know there was a bench (which is about 2m from the house) let alone the rest of the garden! And the patio? Was no better! It was covered in weeds and grass growing between the bricks and covered in dried leaves!

I think they simply have too much time on their hands to sit and nit-pick my life. I take it with a shovel full of salt (a grain simply doesn't cover, ha ha!). His sudden concern with the weeds is a result of finding snake spoor - not a small, but a frighteningly large snake! The neighbour behind us is keeping hens, which means eggs and eggs attract snakes. So he wants all the tall grass cleared, especially anywhere near the house, to keep us all safe. Fine. I just wish he could discuss that in an adult fashion, rather than barking at me as if I'm a naughty child!

Anyway, I moved some of my succulents to the area behind the house, making two new beds. I took all my plants out of the bed along the path, where his - I don't know what they are - are completely taking over. They're growing tall now, impeding me when I try to carry groceries - which bugs me! Well, they can go ahead and grow there now - I'm not touching the bed again. No more compost or fertilizer from me, he he he.

Saturday morning mippies woke me early! The Mini is getting really inventive at waking me! First, she pulls / pushes my hair brush / glasses case / cell phone off the bed, and if that doesn't make me get up and open up, she starts taking the food dispenser walkies! Pushes it around the floor. If even that doesn't work, she has now learned that I instantly shoot out of bed when I hear glass in danger! This is her most inventive method, yet: my night lamp has a glass base. It's already on the floor ... so she sits right next to it, puts out her claws and just taps her claws against the glass! I couldn't believe my eyes! She just sat there, looking at me, paw at the lamp! How clever is that? Well, I got up! Mission accomplished! And at least she's leaving the flower fountain alone now!

I spent the morning cleaning the flat, laundry, floors and kitchen. The gardener was sent to clear the grass. That worked in my favour, firstly as the ground is so hard, I have to wait for rain before I can work there, and secondly because he cleared out EVERYTHING! Whenever I worked in that area, I'd get barked at about some wild plants that my landlord wants to me to keep in my garden. Now: it's all gone! I have clear space to do whatever I want, now! Ha Ha Ha!

In the afternoon I was somewhat at loose ends - didn't feel like anything specific, and couldn't decide what I'd want to start nor what I should maybe want to eat. I had baked some extremely delicious Bismark Herring Rolls on Friday - I simply made pizza dough and then filled little pockets with the herring before baking it. Shaped like an omelette - I just made several small ones, instead of the a single big one. Delicious!

Sunday morning I woke very early again and let mippies out, even though it was not yet daylight. They didn't wake me up, though - I woke on my own. I spent most of the morning working out the spreadsheet for the game, and then worked on my budget. Sigh. Well, it's not so bad, after all - I had built in a good 'extra' at the beginning of the year, just a teeny bit short, so not much of a change. I'm still okay - I just absolutely have to stick to my budget!

On Friday, at work still, I stumbled across a special on vacuum sealers! Firstly, it's not the Verimark one (I try to stay away from those products), and then the price was reduced by a third! That's quite a saving! So, I gave it some thought and then placed the order. Now I'm holding thumbs that I don't get a repeat of my last attempt - when they let me know at the last minute that they are out of stock & won't be getting stock again, and then wanted to send me the bags for the machine they didn't have! But that was HiFi Corporation, this time I'm trying Creative Housewares. It would really be good if I can finally get that!

I baked myself 4 Debreziner rolls (debreziner are spicy sausages) and made myself a stroganoff-like meal. I used strips of steak as well as strips of mielie-pap (that's a type of porridge made of maize flour). I finally gave those mielie-pap polony a try! It comes in a polony type sausage, which you just cook - as is - for 10 minutes and then you have ready-made pap! Turned out quite nice! Also the whole meal turned out delicious - I added brussels sprouts again, simply because I love them!

With the bread, I tried something different, again: I added an egg-yolk! I measured the water after adding the yolk, so the amount of liquid stayed the same.

I also activated my new water filters on Saturday. It's just a stick of charcoal, which is activated by boiling it for 10 minutes. I can re-activate it every month, for about 3 months. I've placed half into my water jug and the other half into the water bottle I take to work every day. That works out much, much cheaper than the filters from the water jug manufacturers! I'll add some more to my next order, for the mippies' flower fountain!

The filters I had recently bought for that fountain are to keep out the big stuff, like hairs and such, which would get into and block the pump very quickly. I've come to realise that, when that pump makes a noise, that's when Mini starts investigating. So, the charcoal won't be replacing those filters - I'll still need those. They work more like a gunk catch-net than real filtering.

And that about was my weekend. I still need to decide when to schedule my next store shopping trip - I really need white bread flour and I'm low on toilet paper; I should go this Friday, but I'd much prefer to put it off another week. I'm just checking the calendar: this Friday will be the 13th ... that's not even mid-month ... well, let's see how it goes.

I had the weirdest dreams this morning, one where Mewthos got lost! Somehow he went so far out, he got into someone else's garden and ended up in their home. To my relief, I WAS able to get him back before waking up! You know how people talk about getting up on the wrong foot? Well, that last dream in the morning - whether you remember it or not - sort of sets your mood as you wake up. If you don't remember the dream, it's not really possible to make the connection, is it? You just feel miserable for no apparent reason.

That wasn't the only weird dream, though. I also dreamed about Lady Jane, and that she was sick? I no longer remember too well, now ... I also dreamed about Rose! About arranging to meet up, as I was in East London, and we'd arranged to meet at some mall. Then, when I got there, somehow my phone was lost and I had no means of contacting her ... both of us wandering around the mall looking for each other ... then I spotted her.

In another episode, Rose, myself and all our cats were somewhere out on some traffic island in a quiet area having a picnic, when someone simply got into my car and drove off with it! Weirdest of all was that these three dreams seemed to be running concurrently! All at the same time, like switching channels on TV!

I was quite relieved to wake up after all that!

Busy week at work

For a change, I've been really busy at work all week. It's those brackets we produce - they come from production into the store, all covered in oil, and I need to count and weigh them as I pack them for delivery to our supplier, who then plates them; and they come back - clean - but again I need to count and weigh them as I pack them for delivery to our client. With most of our products, I can use the scale to 'count' in batches, so I don't actually count every single product, but these brackets are so inconsistently manufactured, that I get variances at as low as 50! So I end up having to count ... all 3000 of them ... twice! And we did 2 x 3000 (= 4x counting!).

Another fun part of that job is, since it's physical work, I get hot ... which triggers hot flashes! So, I take a lot of breaks to get out of the hot store, cool down, then start again!

I'm also busy designing yet another spreadsheet - this time one to gain some control over finances; summarising all income so we don't spend more money than is coming in! Yes, I asked the same question: this business has been 'running' for more than 3 years - why is nothing in place? The best part is: the information is all on our server - every single expense in a separate file, spread across literally dozens of folders and sub folders! Which means that I must now 'capture' all that information into one single spreadsheet, to turn it into meaningful data! I still haven't finished capturing all the delivery notes, yet - now I'm starting on purchase requisitions?

Anyway.

At home, I've been spending my evenings weeding! It's been raining over the weekend as well as Monday and again on Tuesday, so the ground was lovely and soft. I took advantage and cleared out the patch between the flat and the little bench around the back. I'm thinking of turning that into a succulent garden. A rockery would be ideal, but I don't exactly have any rocks. Hmmm ... as I'm typing this, I start thinking ... Nah! The ground there is almost perfectly level and it turns rock-hard without rain. I think I may bury some cardboard first, if I can dig deep enough to completely cover them. That would give the ground some moisture retention - but that's about as much as I'm willing to do there. Oh, I'll mix some fertiliser into the ground and some of that potting soil I've still got - need to get rid of that, as it isn't really very good in pots. It, too, turns level and rock hard without regular watering. But that will be perfect for succulents! I've got all those varieties I got from Rose - and the desert roses are really multiplying! I started with 3, there are now 15!

Mippies have been well behaved - well, sort of. Mew-mew took another turn at my curtains, both the bathroom and the bedroom ... right next to my pillow, too! Yuk! The clay I got for their piddle box is no good. Yes, it clumps, but it's basically the same as the fine sand: heavy and messy. I'd better get another large litter box and stick to the eco fibers!

They still like to wake me in the mornings, but at least Mini has given up her dismantling act! She did try playing with the cables one evening - yikes! That's all I need! Electricity plus water plus mippies! Nightmares!

My groceries finally arrived today (Friday). Now I can bake muffins or cookies again, if I choose! Just a pity the white bread flour was out of stock! I've been thinking of trying the pizza-omelette for dinner tonight. Basically, it's simply bread dough, you fill half with pizza toppings, then fold it over - just like an omelette - and bake the whole thing. That should also give me enough dough for some bread rolls for the weekend. I'm thinking jam rolls for breakfast! Haven't done that in quite a while!

I've also been thinking about some organisation to this blog ... adding tags, only this time, not so haphazardly. Tags like: photo's, or maybe even photos-cats, photos-ocean, etc. Using recurring themes like menopause, cats, garden, cities (PE, Pretoria), shopping-in store and shopping-online. I did add labels at one point, but it was so ... disorganised ... I really think I should fine-tune it a bit. Maybe have more labels, being more specific. Like with cats, divide into behaviour, health, nutrition? I've also been thinking of adding something from the past - like the journal I wrote in East London, for example. Or maybe some excerpts from past diaries? Just an idea ... before I go delving into the far past, I should first upload the photos from the past year, though! Ha ha! Poor Mini still hasn't appeared on this blog at all! And she is such a beautiful cat!

This weekend I will need to tend to my budget, though. The cat food prices have all gone up and so have the road tolls. I need to know what I can afford before I spend ...