We don’t have many new photos today. I’ve been so busy taking care of travel-related projects or financial stuff and then nursing my aching head and face that I haven’t focused on taking photos as much as I had. I hardly have any photos in the folder on my desktop entitled “Today’s New Photos.”
We’d intended to return to Kruger National Park, where photo ops are aplenty, but bouncing around in the small rental car has held little appeal with the headache. Although I have experienced some relief in the past few days after increasing the dose of the medication, the slightest motion or sudden turn of my head starts it all over again.
I’ve learned that standing quickly after sitting fires it back up again. I am trying to learn to be mindful of such activities to enjoy the pain-free periods for however long they last. This morning, after awakening without pain, I bolted out of bed, realizing I had better get on the ball and get up.
I planned to get up early and clean the main refrigerator, making room for all the groceries we’ll be buying today after my breakfast at Stoep with Rita. Once showered up and dressed, I immediately tackled the fridge cleaning, and 20 minutes later, we had plenty of room for the new influx of food.
While doing this, I kept thinking about how much I longed for a cup of coffee but decided to wait until I was done and then reward myself. Alas, I forgot to turn on the kettle, and just like that, load shedding started. Of course, the kettle wouldn’t work, and I didn’t feel like boiling water in a pot on the gas stove, using a lighter to start the gas burner. Yes, we are grateful we have gas burners, although the oven is electric.
When load shedding occurs during dinnertime, which it has done every day so far this week, it helps to use the stovetop to prepare our meals instead of waiting until 7:30 pm, 1930 hrs., to eat dinner. We prefer to dine by 6:00 pm, if possible, although it may be later when dining out.
Any minute, Rita will arrive to pick me up. I have the most extensive grocery list on the app on my phone than I’ve had in a very long time. But with three guests who eat foods we avoid, my goal is to be mindful of what they like instead of what we always eat. So, I will be buying both ways – low-carb; meat, eggs, vegetables, and some high-fat dairy, and also for our guests, the typical US diet of grains, starches, meats, vegetables, and snacks.
Tom will come into the market with me, and we’ll use two trolleys. This way, we’ll be able to keep it all straight. I only plan to purchase enough food for four or five days, and then Connie and I can go shopping together, choosing what we prefer to cook and eat. I am sure it will all work out well.
Back from Komati…
Rita and I had a lovely breakfast, after which she dropped me off at the pharmacy to fill my prescription and a few toiletries. When done, I walked the short distance down the strip mall to the Spar and began shopping while waiting for Tom to join me. Our plan worked well; we kept their food and supplies in one trolley and theirs in another. We spent a small fortune.
Once back at our place, we brought their food to the cottage, and once it was all put away, we headed back to our house to unload our food into the two refrigerators and the chest freezer. We purchased enough food for five dinners and breakfasts, lunches, fruit, and snacks for them. Whew!
For the rest of the day, which is rapidly ending, we’ll hunker down and have a nice dinner of leftover mozzarella stuffed meatballs topped with homemade Italian sauce and grated mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, with steamed broccolini and a big salad.
Tomorrow, I’ll make a huge batch of blueberry muffins and a few pans of crustless quiche to share with our guests. The next few weeks will be busy, but we’ll do everything we can to make it seamless and stress-free. Staying calm is of the utmost importance in making house guests feel at ease.
Have a great day!
Photo from one year ago today, September 15, 2021:
