Weekend of writing, cats, socializing and relaxing

I have so much to tell about the day/s leading up to the weekend but I've run out of time. I hope to post my news tomorrow. On Saturday morning I was out in the garden with Shadow who had climbed the frangipani tree next to my office window. When I looked again, he'd crept to the topmost branch and next minute had leapt onto the roof. He'd heard the squirrels who nest in between the roof and ceiling and thought he could get to them, which he couldn't. When he realised life wasn't too exciting up there, he came to the edge of the roof and peered down. Immediately he began to meouw and look at me as if I should get him down. I fetched the cookie jar and shook it. This is the way I call all my cats back home and Shadow learnt the signal very quickly. However, no matter where he ran to, there were no branches close enough for him to take a chance.  

By this time Ginger had heard the cookies being shaken and came running to me. He looked up and saw Shadow and meouwed at him. It was as if he was saying: "Hurry and come down, else I'll never get my cookies!"

I think I'll wash my face to cover my embarrassment!

Help! The ground is so far away

Oooh, I can't look! He's gonna fall!

Thinking, if I had a long ladder, I could climb up and try to entice Shadow off the roof. No-one in the lane has a ladder and then I remembered seeing two ladders behind the security hut, while I had been birding there. I ran down to the security gate and asked the guard to bring one of his ladders to my house. As we walked back to the house, he asked me if my small cat was stuck on the roof. Then I remembered he was Hillary, the man who brought the little kitten to me ten days before!

Back at the house, Shadow was still up on the roof. (why wasn't I surprised?) Hillary placed the ladder against the roof and held it while I climbed up. When I peeped over the top, Shadow was nowhere to be seen. He's very nervous of strangers and this was no exception. We left the ladder against the roof and walked around the house to see where Shadow had got to. When we got to the back patio, we saw Shadow around the corner to  the front door. He had descended the ladder!

That little exercise took up a good few hours of my Saturday morning!

I managed to finish my articles and they should both be with the editor this week.

We had another social function at the Guest House. A South African was doing a survey here and the MD wanted us to join him for a barbeque. No second invitation needed. Sue and I were the only two women and while the men stood around the barbeque (in true South African style) we sat on the veranda and chatted.

Management has erected an electronic scoreboard with news about the mine, safety tips and of course, soccer scores. This morning Sue and I will take her gardener and Stanley  plus some hardy plants along to the mine offices. We're going to make a garden on the heaped soil behind this sign.