Busy but fun weekend!

Back to work after a hectic but extremely enjoyable weekend. And its been a good start to the day because I got to work early. Robynne needed to be at work by 7.30am to sit at reception at her office and because we left so early, traffic was clear. We arrived in Rivonia by 6.30am so Ive had a very quiet relaxed start to my day which was most welcome. This week at work is going to be hectic as one entire (very busy) department is going to be in training for the whole week so I know Im going to be run off my feet with taking messages and redirecting callers.

Friday's braai went off well although several folk from the office had left early for overseas business travel or were fasting for religious reasons. The food was good and I enjoyed a couple of drinkies and just chatting with my colleagues and getting to know them a bit better in a more relaxed environment.

I had warned Bradley to get to bed early as I had made an early morning haircut appointment for him, at his request. I had a full day of activities planned so we had to move early. I got up at five am to prepare the picnic food for my day out and then had to bully Brad into opening his eyes. After a quick cup of coffee, we were on our way. I dropped Brad at the hairdresser while I went to handle a few more necessary chores. Now this wasnt his usual hairdresser so I was hoping the haircut wouldnt go horribly awry because he is very protective over his hair. By the time I got back, his hair was shorter than I think he wanted but summer is promising to be very hot so I think it was definitely necessary. The comment from the hairdresser was that I have a lovely son as he is very sociable and was chatting away to her which is not the usual behaviour of teens. He is very self confident and can hold court among any age group of people, quite unlike his mom at his age!

After dropping Brad at home and grabbing picnic goodies, I headed off to Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens for my day out. It was promising to be a very hot day even early in the morning. After one wrong turn, I found the gardens and what a jewel they turned out to be. For a minimal fee, I gained access to a beautiful garden and nature reserve which is a very popular leisure venue. There were photographers, tourists, families and social groups. As soon as the hiking group of seven people had gathered, we headed out via the very beautiful waterfall, turning right and immediately climbing steeply a series of steps to the top of the hill overlooking the waterfall. I'm not as fit as I should be although I am fairly active and my heart was soon pounding away so hard that I had to stop and rest at intervals. The view was fantastic and nature soon started to have its therapeutic effect on me. It was a blessing once we got to the downhill section and back into the grassy park where we found a lovely shady spot under a wide canopy tree and the four of us who were staying for the picnic sat and relaxed and people-watched while we waited for the rest of the group to join us.

More friends, old and new, arrived and a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon was enjoyed by all of us. Food was produced and shared among the group, a riotous game of 30 seconds played, much joking and laughing. A short shady walk along the river completed the afternoon for a small group of us who grew tired of sitting.

That evening I was invited out to supper. My first time eating sushi so a little more adventure for the day. It was very enjoyable as was the company although the sun and the long day started to get to me and I found myself becoming very sleepy.

As my head hit the pillow a little later on, I was out like a light. Sunday morning was spent doing chores at a slow pace and then I had to get ready to go out again as I was invited to lunch with a new friend. It was great to meet after we had been chatting over social media. Nothing beats a face to face meeting. I received a beautiful gift to mark the occasion and sat down to a delicious lunch with a very interesting friend. It was a beautiful day but eventually became very hot and humid even though we were undercover and went our separate ways. I went home but was invited out again to visit another friend, only returning home after dark.

All in all, another successful weekend...

Busy busy,

Momcat xx