Pay day

I was fully awake and decided to go downstairs and put on the kettle. 02h30! Back to bed young man! Groundhog day began again at 06h45. We had slept in. Thankfully Ingrid had decided to do her Pilates class at 08h30 and not 06h30. We are going to keep it at 08h30 so that she is not pressured by an alarm clock and can ease into the day.

Bit of puzzle building and coffee and soon she was in her new outfit for her Pilates class. I was not going to be foolish once again and put the surfski on the roof for an hours paddle. The wind was pretty forcefull as predicted. I would stay at home and be a little housewife. Pack the dishwasher (Lol - it was already packed) and vacuum the house. Bit of Spotify on the bluetooth speaker and I was Freddy Mercury (If I remember correctly he did a video in which he was vacuum cleaning). No make up or heels for me. The ant colony in the corner has moved on since I poured Cinnamon down and around the opening in the plinth. Adios!

I was still checking on my new phone very 15-20 minutes as updates were constantly being installed. By early afternoon I think I was up to date for real. Today was pay day. I had to pay my brother and sister in law for the use of their home. Bit of a long story with an international transfer which required information that I did not have, so  1 + 1 = 2. I had transfered money from my Dutch account to my South African account and that was done in African Time. It only took 3 working days. I suppose that the money was sent on DHL in a little suitcase. Heehee!

Next was the taxman (The literal tax man - Here in RSA spear fhishermen also refer to Sharks as the Tax Man). Pay my taxes for the umpteenth time in my life. I know that taxes is part of life, but tax upon tax with tax on taxed money. Stealing! Last on my list was the advertisment payments and I think that I am just about up to date on bills outstanding. I still have to pay that fine that I got for speeding (Also a sort ot tax hey).

Into Dusty and we were are the supermarket for a fresh load of groceries. Nothing special and I skipped the chip aisle as it is not Thursday. We were soon at Baker Barry for a artisan bread and today we settled on Sourdough with Rye. Looked pretty mouth watering. By the time we were home it was 11h30 and time to slice up the loaf of goodness. Odd it tasted and my post Covid taste buds were hyper sensitive and I tasted Aniseed. Strange to put in a loaf, but it was the overpowering taste although not overpowering if you catch my drift.

I took great joy in fixing the frying pan. It was a tough job, but I had set my sights on accomplishing the task. Step 1. Walk to the garage. Step 2. Open the garage with the remote. Step 3 look int he tool box for a Phillis screwdriver. Step 4. Tighten the screw on the handle. Job done! VICTORY!!!

My other little luxury was fixing some of the plugs. Strange thing is that there apparently is not a standard here in Africa as the width between the plug fixtures in the wall is not equal to the distance of the width of the plugs. Let me explain.... A 2 socket wall plug thing does not fit 2 plugs. The Plugs are too wide to fit next to each other in the socket. Today was the day to tackle this inequality. We are of course in Africa and can not stand inequality... Lol. So on most plugs at the side there are "Lips" which stick out a few millimeters to the side. Sawing off these lips decreases the plugs width and now a 2 plug socket can hold 2 plugs! Quite unsure as to what the function of the lips are, but removing them does not in any way effect the plug as a whole. Ta daa!

The rest of the afternoon we muddled through the hours, Ingrid puzzling and I was updating the phone here and there. Not much to do but sit and wait till tomorrow and hopefully better conditions outside. It was not overcast or wet, just very windy. The South East wind comes in from the South East (For the Geniusses), from the sea so there is pretty much nowhere to hide. The beach is a no go and with the potential for bluebottles, swimming is also a no go. Sit it out and pass time. 

At 1500ish I told Ingrid to get into Dusty and we would go look for a cup of coffee to at least pass some time. At the local place we walked in at 15h05 and the man stopped us at the door. I heard the owner say, let them in if all that they want is a coffee. Thanks Mam! 2 Coffees and a slice of carrot cake which we shared. A half a piece each was just enough and not too little and I have to say that the cake piece got a 10/10 from both of us. 

Not too much later we were back home and  another hour had passed. I chatted to my Mom for about another hour via whatsapp and we talked about some things and about some nothings. No real news news, but she said that my oldest brother and wife had moved into their new place in the UK and they seemed pretty happy there.

You never heard this from us, but we have redecorated the bunker. The room downstairs at the back of the house is the least noisy and I am surprised that it has taken me so long to think about this option. The room had a double bed in it and above the double is a single bunk bed. The bunk bed is pretty low and I do not sleep well under it. With surgical precision we lifted the double bunk off of the bed and placed it gingerly on the floor. We now have a double bed and a "single bed"in the room and are going to see how much quieter the bunker will be as compared to the room upstairs.

This evening we chatted to the girls back home and when I asked Fleur if she was missing us she shot Bo a look and then mouthed the word Yes, but her body language said not really. Bo burst out laughing, and soon all four uf us was having a chuckle. When I asskd Bo, she said, "Nnnnnnot really". We are happy that they are content.

Tomorrow we close the chapter on this month. So far so good!