Lock-down Day 626

Sunday, 12th December

I stayed up quite late last night, as I wasn't tired - as a result, I woke up quite late this morning!

It looks like it's been raining through the night, and still drizzling. Which means that the only gardening I can do today, will have to be on the veranda. Which is kind of a good thing, because when else will I voluntarily do indoor work? Only when I can't garden!

So, the question becomes: What shall I do today? Well, I've been wanting to thoroughly clean the shower for quite some time now. I've cleaned the shower floor, but didn't get further than that, last time.

Part of me wants to put up photos before and after - but I'm a little embarrassed about the 'before'. Having used the shower, in that condition, for over a year ... granted, I avoided touching anything, still, it's not how I like my home to look.

Anyway, I have a bit of a challenge cleaning between the bath and the shower. The gap is too narrow for me to get either arm, nor any cleaning equipment between the two. In the end, I resolved the tile issue, by wrapping a cloth around the bottom of one of my hiking sticks! It's not as clean as I would like it, but ... it's the best I can do. And for the shower, I'm using the magnetic window cleaners I bought in PE - where I couldn't reach the outside.

Well, the tiles are a challenge. I've used mildew cleaner, steam, a brush, vim, elbow grease - everything I have. I'm afraid there are still areas I'm not happy with. However, with the colour of the tiles - brown! - well, I can look past them for a while longer. I can pretend they are part of the pattern ... that's the reason so many South African homes use brown as a colour scheme ... 

Phew! The shower is clean! The bathroom is a mess, though, ha ha!

Well, I've placed the new Litchi seeds in two pots - this time, if they grow again, I'll protect them during the winter. Then I placed one plum tree into a bag ... gosh, that's going to be more difficult than I had anticipated! For starters, I don't have enough soil! This first bag, I started with a layer of potting soil, then filled it mostly with the soil in the bags - the bags we were forced to fill by my previous landlord. Then I placed the tree - quite deep, so only the leaves stick out - added some bone meal and topped up with more potting soil.

Ironically, there are heaps of soil just outside my garden ... maybe I should help myself? 

Something is wrong with Ziva! Earlier today, she was still playing with a Dragonfly they had brought in - but for the past couple of hours, she's just been curled up in the armchair. And when I gave mippies their treat - she wouldn't come! Just stayed in the armchair. When I brought her food, she did lick up the Whiskas gravy, but nothing more. And when I tried to pick her up, to see if she was injured - she growled at me. Not an aggressive growl, more like the 'I'm not well, please don't pick me up' growl.She has a scratch on one leg - which doesn't seem to worry her, though.

She just growled and Janey to stay away! And when I tried to give Ziva food, Mewthos didn't mewl for more treats, even though his bowl was almost empty. I'm scared ...

It's the same as with Mini - who's back to her normal self, now. Only, in Ziva's case, the onset is really fast, and her reaction far more severe. She's sleeping now, curled up in her normal curl ...