"Self-sufficiency does not mean 'going back' to the acceptance of a lower standard of living. On the contrary, it is the striving for a higher standard of living, for food that is organically grown and good, for the good life in pleasant surroundings... and for the satisfaction that comes from doing difficult and intricate jobs well and successfully." John Seymour ~ Self Sufficiency 2003

Thursday 14 June 2012

Temporary Hiccups

Please would you bear with me over the next 4-odd weeks for my blog postings are going to be on an infrequent and irregular basis.


Talk about upheaval and turmoil...  Boxes everywhere - here and on the farm, furniture which will have to go in storage in the local town (we have found secure 35mtr2 premises which the owner is willing to rent out to us cheaply for a month-and-a-half until our garage is complete).  We have also managed to secure the services of a recommended building contractor who will take care of everything, or subcontract if he is unable to complete the work himself, as opposed to a local casual builder.  He has given us a fair quote on building the garage and completing phase two of the house - so, all being well, everything should be completed within the next three months - then the farmhouse will finally be our (new) home :)  We were also worried whether we would still be able to obtain more resin roof tiles.  Thankfully, I have managed to track down someone who sells them.  (If the link I have just provided is removed in the future, they guy's name is Malcolm and his contact number is 071 996 9341). Enlisting the services of a couple of the guys who work for my husband, plus the use of the company van, we took another load of boxes and a small portion of the pot plants to the farm last weekend.
Ice crystals on the trailer cover
Before we left Cape Town we were aware that a cold front was headed our way, but weren't aware that there were two of them - back-to-back.  Brrrrrrr - we had our first (early) snowfall on the mountains.  Thank goodness for the Dover stove!  Even so, the house is not completely sealed yet, so the drafts caused the temperature to plummet to 10oC inside the house in the early morning - whilst it was -2oC outside.  Snow usually falls in August / September here - so June is a bit early - another example of the global weather patterns changing obviously...?!

Before the cold fronts arrived, RMan and John, the local community labourer, increased the height of the scaffolding, so that RMan could correct and finish the temporary chimney installation.  You can get a good idea of exactly how high our roof peak is in this pic:
It took 4 sections of scaffolding in order
to reach the apex of our roof!
RMan then also proceeded to complete the painting of the undercoat so that the plastered walls have some protection from the wet weather.

I checked out the trees we had relocated - two of them look like they may be OK - the other three - touch and go. Ah well, at least two is better than none :)

Location of the transplanted trees.  In the
foreground is the pile of renosterbos which
the digger / loader scraped up
And, my final surprise from last season's crops awaited me in the depression we had made for the future cellar, where we are storing the last load of compost we purhased.  Some wind blown rocket seeds had taken root, and they are producing enormous leaves - yummy! 
Self-seeded rocket - the plants are
producing absolutely enormous leaves
We returned to town to discover that the buyer of our home had changed her mind about taking early occupation at the end of June, due to the "domino effect", and wanted to revert to the transfer / occupation only taking place at the end of July.  The transferring attorney's had apparently sent us notification of this on the 6th June - but to the wrong e-mail address! So we have been sorting and packing madly, and were still under the impression that the move was on for the end of this month!  However, yesterday the attorney subsequently spoke to the buyer, and she has changed her mind again (and confirmed it in writing this morning, so there is no turning back now), and has agreed that transfer / occupation can proceed for end of June - thank goodness - I have so much packed and we are living with the bare minimum - to do that for an additional 4 weeks wouldn't be easy...
Don't tell RMan that I've posted
a pic of him in my apron LOL
Doesn't he look cute :)
I have been going through a myriad of emotions whilst packing up / ditching 34-odd years of possessions - some good - some bad.  RMan has steadfastly been my strength, bearing with my ill-humour, and even offering unexpected assistance.  Bless him, he has been an absolute star.  For instance, not having used my oven for over 2 years I gave it a final quick clean out.  RMan volunteered to give the shelves a good scrub - even if it meant that I insisted that he (under protest and very briefly) wear my apron - well, that is wet, dirty work LOL  There is nothing like man-power when it comes to removing baked on dirt - the oven shelves are now so sparkling clean that they look like brand new :)

Now - I just have to tackle all the kitchen and bathroom wall tiles and empty cupboard shelves and cupboard fronts...

14 comments:

  1. Best of Luck with the move, I know it can be such an emotional time with tons of work. Very soon it will all be over and oh so worth it!

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    1. Crystal - That is what is keeping me going... LOL

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  2. Take care of yourselves as you go through your move, Dani...We'll be here when you're finally in.

    Yeah YOU!

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  3. This is exciting news. I hope it all goes well. I know you are looking forward to being on the farm for good!

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    1. Leigh - Patience - that's what I need. Not my greatest virtue, I fear :)

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  4. That's a bit annoying about the buyer constantly changing their minds but at least it's been settled now. It will be nice when the end of June rolls around and the whole move will be complete - snow/ice(!!) and all.

    And it's brilliant that you're getting a bit of traffic from Lovely Greens - am glad to help :)

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    1. Tanya - There was a bit of panic there, but it all ended well - thank goodness :)

      Yeah - I'm not bothered by the snow / ice - I'm looking forward to it LOL

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  5. Best of luck with the whole process! Remember to breathe and be kind to yourself...transitions can be rough, but they're well worth the effort!

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    1. BG - Oh yes, plenty of deep breaths happening here LOL

      The end result is what is getting me through... :)

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  6. Dani - the happiness and joy that will enrich your lives when you are settled in the new place, is worth all of the crap that you are going through to get there. my best wishes to you, hon...i know that once you are settled in the new place (and it is going to take some time - trust me!), you are going to be happier and more joyous than you have ever been in your life. and i can't wait to read all about it!

    your friend,
    kymber

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    1. kymber - Thank you - yes, I know the end with be worth the current bucket load of problems - some of which I've shared. As Bee Girl said - deep breaths... :)

      I hope not to keep you all waiting too long... :)

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Thank you for taking the time to comment - it makes my day and removes the "loneliness' of sitting at my screen blogging supposedly to myself ;) I try and reply as quickly as possible so please forgive me if sometimes my response is delayed.