OYSTERHOOD is reclusiveness or solitude, or an overwhelming desire to stay at home.

— @HaggardHawks

James Hendry of Wild Earth entertained us this morning not only with an incredible leopard cubs sighting – too cute for words – but also with his hand- and head stands and colourful socks. His antics made me think that some people just never get bored or boring, no matter what; they always have something to think about, or to do, or to enjoy, or they just like being while doing nothing else. I have been through a whole spectrum of emotions in the past few weeks, but I haven’t felt bored for one second. It is almost as if no matter how long the days get, they can never be long enough to fill with all the things that come my way, even if it is pain or grief. I just wish some of the nights would be shorter, or a little bit kinder.

Last night was another doughnut night, but when I finally fell asleep again, I was in the Kalk Bay harbour, talking about eating habits and diets with a woman I do not know in real life. I felt guilty in my dream that I lost weight (which I have in the last three weeks – anxiety does that to me, sadly). And when I got up, all I could think about was the jar of peppadews I got on Tuesday, so breakfast was a bit strange perhaps…

Salieri and I are loving our latest read, although it is still very difficult to focus and it’s not the book’s fault. I will hopefully manage to finish reading over the weekend and write my review on Monday. In the meantime, allow me to share Salieri’s sentiments about the book:

My love phoned before work, my Mom phoned after a strenuous visit to the pharmacy to get her regular medication, and then my brother and I skyped in the afternoon. The three of them cheered me up endlessly. Krystian sent me this:

I took two.

While washing dishes in the kitchen, I spotted Mozart sunbathing in the backyard, and then I saw something moving in front of him. He wasn’t reacting, because he can’t see. The creature heading his way was a mole! The disorientated blind mole bumped straight into the unsuspecting blind cat and both were shocked out of their wits. Glinka observed the scene from the kitchen door and ran out to get in on the action. I dumped the dishes in the sink and followed her to rescue the poor mole. A bit of mayhem ensued, but I was successful in the end. Wearing my thick oven gloves, I caught the mole and put him/her into a bucket and transported the freaked out creature to the front garden where he/she could bury themselves safely into the soft earth and escape all our clutches.

Glinka was not amused; I couldn’t stop laughing.

Nothing much happened for the rest of the afternoon (emails, admin, a little bit of work – latest review finally done and dusted and sent off). In the evening, I made another fire and braaied chicken sosaties to Salieri’s endless delight. She loves chicken.

After several days, my Star Wars plaster finally fell off this evening. Let’s see tomorrow whether another one will be needed.

Best news of today? This!

Be kind to yourself. Be kind to others. Stay at home.