And there’s more: I mowed the lawn!

Actually, Noah was really enthused by the Honda I hired. He did most of the cutting. After the initial cut on Saturday, I kept him busy on Sunday by lowering the blades to achieve a super short look.

The pool is eassy once you know what to do: balance the pH and check the chlorine, add some flock to settle the little green men and bombs away! Blue as can be.

It took four years to get round to doing the lawn myself. The next step(!) is the long ladder.

But he was in two minds this morning because he woke up in the night and found a ten rand note and a Sweetie Pie chocolate at his bedside table. What kind of a tooth fairy leaves chocolate?! And this morning there was a lollipop too. Mmmmmm…

Keep them guessing, I say. He said, at breakfast: “I woke up in the night, it must have been half past twelve…” hee hee “…and I don’t know who it could have been, because I would have heard them coming up the stairs.” Suspicions abound. “It couldn’t have been Vuyo…”

So I get involved. Seems she genuinely does have a problem. A one-hundred rand note is stuck. I tell her to stand back (you can’t take chances with anyone at the machine), and insert my card. I withdraw R40, and the R100 note almosts comes out. It seems impossible. I tell her to scratch in her handbag for something to grip with, women always have useful things in there. She laughs, and pulls a  hair clip from her head. We stand there nit-picking the machine, adn eventually she gives final, conclusive tug. It’s out!

When I look more closely at her, she looks like Eliane! French accent and all, is there a factory up there, making them? We part in a “sort of like hey I should be getting your contact details, but no, it will look embarrassing to do that, ‘cos of all theese other people, and they’ll think it’s a pick-up” manner.

The next day, I am in Pep stores, Villiersdorp (don’t ask, on both counts). I get this sensation that I haven’t seen Sasha for a long time. Then, what do you know, he calls! Weird. Even weirder: Ginny tells me there was a freak incident in Amsterdam where some nut had rammed his car into a crowd of people watching the royal family. But I had had a dream like that 2 nights before. It was at a car rally, and the car slammed into the crowd.

Coincidence, right? Then consider this: the next week, I see George Ellis in the Riverside Mall. What are the chances? Later on, I see Peter Dunsby at Chippies. Far out, man: two cosmologists in one day! Hasn’t happened to me for ten years.

Then there were some other incidents I cannot recall at present that made May a memorable month. Is there ESP in the air??

I sneak to the shoe section. I admire the display. Sniff the fragrant aroma of new shoes. I think of all the lost years. Ah, squash shoes…

Normally I would have gone for the cheap (R299) Prince or Hi-Tec. But, I say I have a bad back, and look further up the rack (it seems to increase with price, except for the really smart balck Hi-Tecs). A smooth talking Adidas, white with blue trimmings, catches my eye. Comfort rating ****. It’s spongier than the cheapies. I drool.

I have done my reconnaisance. I have circled the prey. It’s time to move on. Don’t let them know that you want to buy.  Who knows? they might be considering a sale:). Next week: the wife comes with.

This was just the first trip…

My back has been giving me problems since late-2007. I tried massage therapy, physio (with needles stuck in), pilates. Some relief, but on-going problems when I sat down. In my line of work, that is bad.

Eventually, last month I went to see Mark Preyser, a chiropractor. He ‘aligned’ me with some crunching. It turns out that my left hip had started tilting backwards, and my right hip had rolled forward to compensate. This must have caused my back discomfort especially when I sat. I used to get a numbness in my butt, especially on the left side, when I drove for longer than 30 minutes. I had no idea what had caused it, thinking recently that it must be ‘Sitting Disease’, which I read about in a bicycling magazine.

But listening to Mark talk about how injured his back, I got to thinking that I probably injured myself while trying to ski in Söldern, Austria in 2007.   I remember several occassion with my legs over my head while tripping on the kiddie slopes:).  He says it sometimes doesn’t hurt straight away, but only shows up later in a different guise. I was having too much fun probably to notice any pain.

Recently a famous actress died after a skiiing accident which seemed at first to be slight. So, I guess, falling on snow is dangerous, even with my fat African ass:)

It’s a bit like the empty nest syndrome I felt to some extent last year with Noah and Jody both at school.

Now it’s only about ten minutes of free time, I guess, but it is still a void. I guess it’s more like a full nest syndrome since my beard is a possible home for birds. Very small birds…

In a pack. Minimum amount of attention is required from the owners.

Just add water.

Feed them now and again.