Charlie's Bird
living the dream with Charlie and Thandi and chirping all the way back to the nest.Archive for January, 2010
Friday dreaming
What a week, I’m certainly pleased its drawing to a close. 5 babies in 2 days, a couple of theatre cases, some tough clinical situations, some social commitments and I am shattered. There is nothing left again, and I need the weekend to fill the empty glass again.
Last night’s french cooking evening was wonderful, poor Charlie was the only man there, but he didn’t seem to mind, and I was very happy to have him to cuddle up to. It was an informal affair, with the cheflady cooking up a storm, giving us tips and insider info, and then we got to eat. My favourite dishes were the fish with tapenade – divine! and the pears in red wine, which she served with a mature cheddar – excellent combination! They had done some interseting wine pairing as well, and we tasted 6 wines. My favourite was the Klein Constantia savignon blanc (I know its crazy, white wine!) and the Protea cab sav/merlot blend.
This weekend, working on filling up that glass, I’m starting with a massage and pedicure this afternoon, then we’ll hopefully do sushi tonight, and after a few chores tomorrow morning, we hope to head out to the beach house. I have printed lots of pictures for scrapping, and have put in a request for sunny skies! I’m not going to keep on and on about it, but the pace of work, and the relentlessness of the calls is driving me moggy. Bring on the weekend!
Weary day
Gosh, I am really feeling weary, thank heavens I’m not on call this weekend. 3 babies were born yesterday, 2 on the way at the moment, and all I really want to do is retreat to bed with my book… Fantasies will remain. I’m back in the office now, after my monthly stint at the local state hospital, and have half an hour to kill before my patients begin. so at least, there’s a moment for blogging and a cappucino.
Last night, as I mentioned’ was bookclub, and we did have a good start to the year. We had a delicious thai meal, starting with spring rolls, a green chicken curry soup, mains of a red prawn curry and another delicious chicken dish, which was rounded off with ice cream cones. To drink, we had the Thelema Shiraz – superb! The girls were in fine form, and it was good catching up, hearing what everyone had gotten up to over the holidays, comparing tans (not so much) and planning for the year ahead. I only managed to find 3 books that I hadn’t read, so guess I’ll be shopping for myself again this month.
I got home to find that Charlie had won his monthly poker game – yay for Charlie! (and supper’s on him this weekend!) He’d had, by the sounds of things, a great evening too! We had served the boys another bobotie, which went down very well, so it looks like another winner recipe!
Tonight we’re going to a French Provencal cooking course, I am quite excited, but worried about the tiredness… what’s that old Barney Simon saying ‘sleep when you’re dead’…I haven’t been to this lady before, but I’ve heard good things, and it looks to be fun, I’ll fill you in on it tomorrow. She’s sent the recipes through, and they look delicious. From aioli, mussel bisque, fish with tapenade, roasted chicken and peas in red wine… mouth watering yet? For now, its back to the grindstone, hope your days are less weary!
Bookclub wednesday
So, bookclub starts againb for the year, and I must say I am looking forward to a catch up skinner and giggle! Sadly, we have lost 3 of our members, who are moving on to other things, like a wine club (sounds interesting), I’m going to miss them, because each person made their own unique contribution to the club. But that is the nature of life, enjoy the change girls! We’re meeting at RT’s house, and she’s promised a thai evening, should be good! And importantly, I need new books, desperately!
I’ve just finished the new Paulina Simmons, A song in the daylight. It is a beautiful, tragic, totally absorbing book. Its about a married woman, 40 years old, who falls in love with a 21 year old, and the struggle in her heart. It’s a thoroughly absorbing book, which I battled to put down, I have always found her characterisation to be spot on, and reading the conflicts, it felt like I was living them. A recommended read. I also recently read Jacqueline Mitchard’s Twelve times blessed, which I loved, loved loved. Another woman’s tale, where love and life doesn’t always work out the way it should. It’s beautiful.
On that note, its time for more punishment in the gym…
Catching my breath
Hey, I thought that before my day deteriorated into the same chaos as yesterday, I’d check in here. Wow, yesterday was super busy! And I must say, I am not coping as well with superbusy as usual, you know, that holiday I need!
This last weekend was great! On friday night, Charlie and I went for sushi again, we got Johnny (a little japanese man working behind the sushi bar) to make some hot and spicy prawn tempura rolls especially for us. Oh, my goodness, divine, divine, divine! It was a great treat, the only hassle with going out on a friday night is that I tend to bump inot lots of patients, which is a bummer when you just want to have a quiet night out with your wonderful husband. Anyway… We got home nice and early, and spent some quality time on the couch, good, just catching up, and touching base. On saturday morning, we hit the gym, I was too late for spinning, but hit the treadmill for a good run. then it was off to the nursery, and home into the garden for a good few hours, making things look pretty. The pool still isn’t finished (it’s still raining…), but I couldn’t wait to get stuck into the beds. We’ve done some rearranging, stuck some colourful annuals in, done some rose maintenance and I did a fair bit of weeding. After a shower, and a lovely lunch, we had a sound nap, before joining R&F for a casual braai, things were pretty casual, until someone’s head got shaved…. (Kojak for a dress up party, not bad going for dedication!) Sunday was a really casual day, which ended with a delicious bobotie and an early night.
On the weight loss front, something strange is happening, overnight I gained 2kgs (literally overnight) and I cannot explain them. I didn’t do anything too dramatic or ridiculous on friday night (sushi, no alcohol, no pudding) and I exercised by butt off on the weekend, drank loads of water, but its still there. So, to whoever lost 2kays this weekend, I found it, please take it back now, or I’ll be forced to confiscate it! Seeing Gusto again today…
Mad hatter moment
I’m late, I’m busy, the patients are piling up, I have an emergecncy caesar to go and do, ARGH!!!!
Come on now!
Come on friday! I am so desperate to get out of this office now, and the patients are so backed up, I feel like I will never get out! I am soooooooooooo looking forward to turning that phone off, and hitting the relax button in my brain! I just want to bask in the sun, relax and forget my name for a bit and Charlie definitely deserves some TLC this weekend, he is a saint.
Last night I went to gym with the evil personal trainer, who we will call Gusto for the blog! (I am hitting the gym with Gusto from now on!) I fear the rib splints and ham strungs. But I hope it will inspire the motivation and help the kilo’s melt away! I’ve trained with him since 2005, until april 2009, when he started work on his own gym, and since april, things have gone slightly apple shaped, its time to get the hourglass back! I am planning to go to spinning tomorrow, and he and I will train again on monday.
Now, let the weekend begin!
Plotting and planning
Reading over my posts from tuesday and wednesday, I think my therapist would be disappointed. I spent a lot of time with him in 2008 and early 2009, and I think (no, I know) he’d got me to look for the life-giving opportunities in my life,and persue them, with dedicated Bird time. he taught me to sift through the crap in my world, appreciate the good stuff and dismiss the negative, life-sapping stuff. I guess I’ve just lost sight of where I was, and that makes me sad, and a bit silly. I know the warning signs when things are starting to spiral, and I alone can influence how I respond, badly (like I did) or with strength (as I have before). So after having a good day yesterday, which gave me a little perspective, I managed to do some brain straight-tracking.
We’ve booked some minibreaks! And planned some dinners! So hopefully, I will now have things to focus on, other than how busy work is, and how unhappy it has been making me. We’re heading for Addo in early march (and that’s honestly the first time we can get away) and the transkei in June, with a few other options in between too. We really want to do a big trip again, and do something like Namibia or some other subsaharan country, but with Charlie’s business and my patients, this may not be the year for that. As long as I can focus on the little things, I think I’ll be ok.
Dinner parties and exotic menus are being planned in my brain, looking forward to those! There are so many people to catch up with and time just flies by. I love entertaining, and can’t wait to get the ‘season’ started.
An ode to sleep
Oh, my goodness! What a difference a night of sleep has made to my brain! I woke up this morning feeling decidedly more human and somewhat more rejuvenated – yay!
The other big thing was that I usually am in theatre on a wednesday, but for some conspiracy of the gods, I had no bookings, so I got a morning off, and believe me, that is the ultimate in indulgence. I slept in, a bit, then had a leisurely rising, hit the mall for a bit of retail therapy (nothing like the ka-ching of the credit card – bought some shoes too) and then retreated home. Charlie and I even managed to have a lunch date today! It was so nice, sitting outdoors, almost on the beach, watching a boat or 2 on the water and having a proper conversation, just the 2 of us, making some plans for our year.
So dear blog watchers, thanks for the outpouring of support, it has meant a lot, I am back to a closer to human level of functioning and am looking forward to some trips Charlie and I are planning ( watch this space).
And so its tuesday…
… and monday is over, thank heavens. I was pretty abrupt yesterday, but after what I had seen, and the 3 hours of very interrupted sleep I’d had, there was nothing left in me.
Workwise, I had a pretty rough weekend, 4 deliveries, up all 3 nights of the weekend, and probably only about 12 hours of sleep in total. Also there were the other emergencies, and phone calls, that kept on coming. I battled through work yesterday, and when I say battled, I kept getting my words mixed up, I battled on the drive home to focus and the TV was totally out of focus last night. Just to round off the day, there was another delivery last night, thank heavens for Charlie, he got me there safe and sound, and home again afterwards. As any doctor who works through nights will tell you, while the first day is bad, adrenaline will carry you through, its the second day that trouble strikes. My head is pounding, I feel more tired, and don’t quite know where the energy will come from for the rest of this day.
I am really battling with the demands of work at the moment, you know, since LFC got ill, and left us, we have been working on a much tougher rotation, of on every night of the week, and every third weekend, I feel like I just never get the chance to recoup, and there is little time for life-giving things for the bird. It’s a constant balancing act, between my obsessive need to be a good and caring doctor, my deepest desire to be a good wife to Charlie and a housekeeper extraordinaire, my need to be be a good friend and the crucial needs of soul restoration. Be that as it may, I am at breaking point, my soul is crumbling, there is very little left to give. So, my love, in this public space, I’m sorry I have let all these things impinge on me, so that I am left empty, and unable to give.
Welcome to monday…
…and it started at about 00h00 this morning, with me helping a 3 year old rape victim. Fuck.
Charlie's Bird 