acupuncture | Nice piece of work

Apart from finding my bathmat soggy with cat wee at 5.30am, my day has been close to ideal so far.

We traded at the Kirstenbosch Market, and had good sales and (even better) great orders.

Rob helped us set up and we allowed him a short rest afterwards. A cheese croissant and a shot of Thai iced coffee also helped revive him.

The weather was perfect (unusual for windy Cape Town!), and I made new friends. I’d wanted to take a pic of a sign that some new vendors had and, when I asked if they minded (I find it’s always best to ask first!), the guy said, “No, don’t take a picture – take the sign.” So I said, “Well, how much is it?” He said, “It’s nothing, if you like it I’d like you to have it.” So I said, “Just like that? But then I’d like to give you something in return.” And then he said, “No, just give something to someone else then…” I liked that. I like people who aren’t greedy and who do nice things on impulse and who think about spreading good vibes.

Here’s Victor’s sign. I love it.

Another reason for gratitude today is that my daughter has been unwell for the past while but really seems to have perked up today and is much more like her usual happy, balanced self.

But the best part of the whole day, from a purely selfish point of view, is that my body wasn’t growling in pain at the end of the ‘shift’. This included getting up very early, lots of carrying of lots of things, driving, setting up the stall, being at the stall for six hours, chatting to people, networking (don’t laugh, it makes a difference, trust me!), walking around, eating, drinking, crocheting, packing down the stall and packing the car, unpacking the car at home, etc … I’m usually crawling to my bed in aching exhaustion by 4.00pm on a market day, but today – I’M NOT. I made coffee, made some phone calls, tidied the lounge, cleaned the car (albeit very cursorily), and here I am writing a post and thinking I’ll nip out to Woollies for a few groceries. Wow. Acupuncture’s latest convert = me.

Tomorrow is a public holiday in South Africa, and Rob and I will be trading at the Somerset West Country Craft Market from 9.00am to 2.00pm. Just so you don’t think I’m planning to slack off.

Back soon x

Okay, okay, I’ll admit it – in these last couple of months, I have bitten off far more than I can chew. Every day when I wake up I make new lists, and have become increasingly overwhelmed by the amount of things I have/want/need to do. I still have orders to finish before next week, and four more markets to attend before the 25th. There’s also experimenting to be done with a new cotton manufacturer, experimenting with alpaca, some family business, a product shoot for The Carpenter’s Shop…the list goes on.

But I found time in the last couple days to do two things, and this gives me hope for better time management skills in the future: I planted marigolds in a blue ceramic pot,

(it’s not unusual for me to buy plants and then forget about them, until they’ve fossilised in their original containers),

and I consulted with a Chinese medicine practitioner about my gammy back. Parts of me feel better since I saw him on Thursday and let him stick needles in me, other parts don’t, but I think the pudding-test will be tomorrow, during and after the Kirstenbosch market. If I can barely move by the time we need to pack up, I probably won’t do a follow-up appointment. But if I can make it to the car unaccompanied, I’ll definitely go back. Also, he reckons that my spine issues probably started about four years ago, when I went down the slide in my local park, at Alex’s urging, and forgot to put my legs out when I landed. On my coccyx. Yep, it was bad. And stupid. Sigh.

Most retailers in South Africa will be closed tomorrow in honour of Nelson Mandela (it’s the funeral at Qunu), even the biggies like Woollies and Pick n’Pay, but at the Kirstenbosch Market we will wear black flowers and donate a percentage of sales to the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.