When I came back to South Africa in 2019, I naturally gravitated to where I was born and grew up. And actually ended up in the what we used to call the village of Kloof. (It’s no longer a village!) Kloof is about 18 miles/29km from Durban and just on 1600ft/500m above sea level, giving the area a more moderate climate than Durban, usually being a good 10F less which was the case when I took Rodney to the park this afternoon. Plus less humid.

But as I am in Durban for a couple of weeks, I’m experiencing the full brunt of the heat and humidity which is currently around 90F and feels like 100% humidity.

I’ve always loved the heat, hated the cold, and was actually toying with the idea of moving down the hill to Durban at some stage, where a lot of my friends live. But this heat wave has changed my mind. Whether it’s climate change, my current “condition,” getting older or what, I don’t do heat like this any more. It is completely enervating and exhausting! And I have resorted to staying inside in air conditioning, which is not my favorite. It’s been so hot even the monkeys haven’t been around.

So enough of that, I have to think of my friends in Washington and other cold, gray parts of the country and thank my lucky stars I’m not there. There’s a lot to be said for going barefoot and “clothing minimal!”

Covid seems to definitely be on the wane here, with very few restrictions left to adhere to, not that everyone did when the virus was running rampant anyway! I still wear a mask around people, and we are supposedly required to wear them in public place, although not many people do. But I intend to continue to wear one until my white blood cell count recovers. And I keep my socializing to a minimum, which makes for a fairly quiet/boring life at the moment.

And though I have the option to go out, I do know that it takes quite a bit of mind work to get myself psyched to go. Even going to the grocery store, which at the beginning of lockdown, was an adventure, is now a mission and I talk to myself, questioning the need to go. “Do I really need milk/eggs/bread?” And more often than not, the answer is “I can get by on what I have.” Cuts down on expenses but probably not very healthy!

I know I’m not alone in this. There have been numerous articles about people retreating into themselves during the pandemic and friends in all parts of the world are experiencing this “retreat.”

But during this couple of weeks while I’m housesitting for Jules, I am seeing my local friends more, as it’s easier and closer for them. Around here, too there are a lot of cafes and restaurants, all which have outside seating, so I feel comfortable being around people and can definitely avoid indoor and crowded places.

The house is currently on the market and action is picking up with a showing yesterday and open house today. Rodney (the dog) and I will go to the dog park in Kloof during open house. Hopefully, it will be a bit cooler. And next week, it looks like it will rain and the temperatures will drop. Not so good for house selling, but good for me and Rodney.

I’ll be here until my next chemo, #5, on 23rd. I’ve been doing fine but am tired of being tired!