LS 6 Saturday

Okay, so yesterday afternoon I spent with the grapevine. First I harvested - a whole box full! Lots and lots of grapes! Only ... a lot of them are a tad overripe. I'll have to sort them out. 

Then I cleaned the ground around the vine, and trimmed and pruned the vine - moving into the jungle, to get to the back of the vine. It's a jungle, that's no understatement. By the time it got too dark to see, I had only just reached the vine ... no more. 

I watched two episodes, showered, finished the chicken - I finished the rice for breakfast, this morning. Internet is a problem ... I could barely get online to post the load shedding schedule.

Today we were off 06:00 - 08:00, and we'll have power until 14:00, then none until 18:30 again.

I practically flew out of bed, when I woke at quarter to six ... brewed a pot of coffee. Just in time! Smeagol was already calling me to fill the food bowls. Him and his girlfriend ate, and he called for more, and called for fresh water. Clearly, I'm now his servant, ha ha! He was not THIS assertive, when it was just for himself, though. Interesting to learn about cat character, eh?

I was feeling energetic when I got up, cleared away my plastic bottles, but now that the power is on? Yeah ... not so much. I had a cuddle session with Mewthos out front ... laundry is in the machine ... I should really start washing the dishes ... sigh ...

Done. Next I need to hang up the laundry.

My fellow South Africans!

Welcome to another season of: Survivor - Load Shedding! We're currently in Week 2, Stage 6. Today's episode is titled "The Weekend Challenge - Level 6"

Your first task will be to find your schedule for the entire weekend - but remember, Stages are liable to change, with little or no notice!

Next, you will need a complete list of tasks to do over the weekend - separate them into 'needing electricity' vs 'no electricity needed'.

Allocate times to each task. Allocate sequential limitations. Put together a plan.

ARE YOU READY? Power comes on in 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... 

Hang on, wait for it ... there's 30 minutes travel time, so wait for it ... wait for it ... 

AND GO! GO! GO!

Trying to spin a little humour ... not very good, I know. It's not easy, when you're living the challenge ... every weekend!

The flies are driving me insane! This weekend it's a little bit worse. Normally, I slap at my arm or wherever they have the audacity to settle, but I sort of walked into the corner of our reception yesterday.

Slapping that bruise? Kind of hurts! So I'm now swatting around me with the swatter ... which mippies hate. So much, they run away, ha ha!

Slight conundrum: I'm sitting with a loaf of bought, sliced, white bread, 2kg mince and 5kg potatoes. I had planned making Frikadellen (like hamburger patties), cottage pies and french toast. Change of plan. I've just decided to make Hamburgers with chips! I can fry ALL 5kg, and freeze the left over chips. Same with the mince. Plus, I will have 'pre cooked meals' in the freezer ...

Only ... it's twenty to twelve. I better get started ... power off at two. Well, I need electricity to fry the chips, because I use the multi cooker aka rice cooker aka slow cooker for that. I can use gas to fry the hamburger patties, if need be.

Okay, first batch I didn't fry long enough. The chips are done, but not thoroughly. Next batch is looking better. It's half past twelve, already ... sigh ...

Crap! After the fourth batch, the cooker goes off! I suspect it's a safety feature, it may have got too hot. I've poured the oil into a deep frying pan on the induction plate ... carrying on.

Just before one ... outside garden sprinklers are in full flow! Huh? Who decided? When? Why? Well, they'll only be on for an hour ...

Saw the black and white kitty again tonight! I'm seriously relieved! Landlord was driving around with his yellow toy ... and my garden was 'heavy rain' ... I feared for the cats! Especially the little one's! The tabby is difficult to see ... hopefully tomorrow!

Tenant was at work today. When he got home, I gave him some chips - he says they're delicious, so don't take my word for it. Then I went to try and clear the bed around the Thyme some more ... I made a bit of progress, but the sun was burning my ass. Literally! So I moved over across the driveway. Tenant came to help - he cleared pretty much the entire corner ... whereas I just picked at a couple of weeds - by comparison.

He works like a paid gardener: works hard, lots to show for it. I, on the other hand, work like a hobby gardener: work hard, little to show for it in the short term, but I dig out the roots. It's all good!

Back inside, I enjoyed a hot bath - good for the overused muscles - and then ate a plateful of chips with mayo ... now I'm settling down for the night. Janey is strolling up and down on my lap, making it difficult to type, ha ha!

Load shedding tomorrow 4 x 2 hours: 00:00 - 02:30 & 06:00 - 08:30 & 14:00 - 16:30 & 22:00 - 00:30. At least not another 4 hour slot! That really sucks!