Is this the new normal? It’s actually quite comfortable. Maybe we have just been so brainwashed and constrained for the last 5 months, this easing up feels like a whole new world and maybe we’ve completely forgotten what it’s like to live any other way! (Or maybe it’s a conspiracy to control us!!!!!)

What I have found, though is that although there aren’t that many changes from Level 3 down to Level 2, other than, of course, the liquor stores being open and we can cross provincial lines, it’s much more a mental, emotional feeling of freedom. Or more like not having the threat of getting in trouble for doing something we aren’t supposed to do - like visiting friends! And knowing that I don’t have to strictly measure the gin to make sure I don’t run out - I can just pop over to the bottle shop (between 9-5, Monday through Thursday) though there are some constraints. I was also nervous about just driving locally with the threat of roadblocks and random stops, which although the military hasn’t been pulled back, it and the police were pretty agressive.

But overall, it just feels like life is returning. The cases here are slowly diminishing, an encouraging sign, but everyone I know is not taking that for granted. My hands have never been so clean (or dry from all the sanitizer spray) and there’s the added mask to always remember to tuck into my bag as I leave the house. Now I can start doing things that have been put on hold, like getting new glasses. And a much-needed haircut. Justin, the stylist, is coming to the house and Adelle, my landlady, is having her hair cut too! I’m so grateful that the exchange rate is so in my favor! It makes doing things like that far less painful!

With the “normality” comes getting out and about more, and getting more involved with the world. Avoiding politics when possible and keeping things local. Tomorrow is another of the Woza Moya workshops; this one we are making “fascinators” - those silly hats people wear to the races. It’s sure to create a lot of laughter and silliness, much needed in these desperate times.

With being able to travel a bit, I’m thinking of a trip to Zululand, to the game reserves but will have to find someone to go with me. My biggest beef with this country is the lack of safety and that it just isn’t safe for a woman to travel alone. Airbnbs are allowed to operate now, and there are some really lovely places up the coast near the reserves which will be wonderful to stay at. I’m also thinking that when the weather warms up, of taking a drive down the Garden Route to the Cape to see Biff and Julie.

And although I’m feeling like I can at least plan a bit ahead, there is still absolutely no indication that international flights will open up any time soon. So my plan is just to hang out here, in my little place, and wait… Maybe in the spring in the US, when things have settled down a bit there, I can risk a flight - the flight I already paid for, and cancelled as I was scheduled to fly next week! But of course, that’s not happening.

The murals in the photos below are done by a young local artist, Giffy Duminy @giffyartist. I heard about the frog project early this year and planned on tracking it down to take photos, but then of course, we got locked down and my jaunt was put on hold. I’ve seen some of his work around and love it. So on Sunday afternoon, with not many people out and about, I spent some time under the Elizabeth railway bridge in Kloof. Giffy apparently worked with a couple of other artists to create the wonderful art.

The bridge is just across the Old Main Road from my very first school - the buildings are pretty much the same after 65 years!

And the dog and kitty? They are residents here where I am living and often come over for a chat and a cuddle.