Summer was now in full swing, and the plum, peach and Apricot trees that I had been feeding very well indeed, was outdoing themselves with the amount of fruit they were bearing. It was also neccessary to spray for fruit fly that can ruin a whole crop if not treated. The apple farmers spray their trees mainly at night, and when they first started I was so annoyed with the droning of the tractors, the engins making quite a strong noise in the middle of the night, but one gets used to everything, and it wasn't long before I didn't hear them at all, and slept right through the spraying! the plums I was told would ripen during the first week of December, the apricots during the end of that month, and the peaches, as I knew from the previous year, only ripens middle February. The fruit had first to be sprayed when they just start making their tiny fruit, then again a week later, and afterwards every two to three weeks until they ripen!
I was like an old hen with a pen full of chicks when my strawberries started bearing fruit, and I kept the snails at bay with every possible tool for that purpose, and even put out little buckets filled with beer to drown them. A few times I had been almost besides myself, like one day when I passed a plant bearing a bunch of fat half ripe fruit, one of these plump and already red, and I decided that I would pick it first thing in the morning, and have it with my breakfast, just to find half an hour later, that a fat an ugly bally snail was shuffling away from under the plant, and the red strawberry gone! That was it! I resorted, much to Ronalee's disgust, to a product called 'Snailban'
It was now nearing December, and we were all very excited, as my kids from Denmark were coming to visit. I was eager to see what my Danish daughter in law would say of their holiday home, as Jan, my son, had bought one third of the property from Irma when on a bussiness trip to South Africa. Irma had some work done to her side, but the other side of the house was still uninhabitable. As Irma's veranda was adjoining the kitchen, and my kitchen being minute, it was decided that we would do all the cooking over there, while Jan and Nina would sleep in my annexe with the bathroom, that is, if they could stay in there for more than fifteen minutes.
I hit on a bright plan to combat the creosote fumes that was still very heavy, as the kids could not sleep there if I couldn't find a plan to get rid of the this tiresome dilemma. I went to the co-op and bought a huge tin of varnish, and commenced with the very dangerous and tiring job of varnishing over the creosote, sure that it would combat the fumes. Took me days, and left me with knees so sore and swollen that I had to resort to the horse linament again. Then of course the room was drenched with the varnish fumes, but as I knew from before, it would thin out within a few days. Now I just had to wait and see if my bright plan would actually work the wonders I expected, and I must say, the varnish did contain the creosote fumes to a great extend!
The plums was delicious when at last they were ready for eating, and I even made a few bottles of plum jam, and also some plum sauce to be used for puds. Spinach, one of my most loved green veggies did extremely well in this cold place, where the cold nights have driven me to even pack away all my summer pyjamas, the nights just too cold! I feasted on the plums that was large, and sweet, and dark purple in colour, and was sorry when I picked the last few which I stood and ate under the tree. To me, fruit baked warm from the sun, then picked and eaten while still warm, was simply the best!
I have put some shading net, that will not let any snails through underneath my strawberries and lost a whole lot after, but after the 'Snailban', it went well, and I was so excited with my first small pickings, but they were the sweetest I had ever tasted.  I made a point to remove all dead snails immediately, for fear of the birds eating them and dying! I am pleased to say that I ate strawberries until late Autumn!
I got tired of just working to make my place liveable, so one day I was in a crazy mood, and painted my step -ladder a bright and cheery red! It looked fabulous!

To go on with the topic of the working relationship between Ronalee and Bush, and how he came to leave Sheila's service for that of Ronalee. Sheila , a very feisty and quite short tempered lady, was having trouble understanding Bush, who is definitely not the worlds fastest and most enthusiastic worker, and on top of that, he was a dreamer! I watched him many a day, leaning on his spade or whatever he was using, staring into space, a smile on his pitch black face as if he was seeing straight into heaven, while the animals ran riot around him. I have sat outside catching the heat from the first sunrays many a morning, when Sheila's exasperated voice would drift over, shattering the stillness of the morning and scatterring the birds that were giving such a display of feathers and chirps, and I would know that either Josie, the most spitefull of the cows had kicked the milk bucket over while Bush was dreaming, or he had clean forgotten some important duty! One morning I was having my elevenses down the sunny side of the house, when the quiet off the morning was brutally shattered by a bellow from Sheila, and I was still wondering what on earth was going on, when I saw Bush come walking slowly down the dirt road, his head hanging, his body emanating dejection and sorrow. He did not as usual come for a chat on seeing me outside, but sort of skulked into his little house without looking left or right.
I heard from Sheila later, that while she was busy in the kitchen, Bush had to first feed the goats, then do some weeding in the enclosed veggie garden. But halfway through all this, Bush sat down for a wee rest, forgot that the gate to the garden was open, and while he was dreaming about his beloved Zimbabwe she supposed, the goats got into the veggie garden, and demolished every bit of green sticking out above ground. Of her lovely veggies there was nothing left, and they also got to the plum trees, torn off most of the branches, and devoured all the half ripe fruit! That was enough for Sheila, and according to what Bush told me later, she almost clobbered him with a spade!
So Ronalee, a much more patient person than Sheila, took him on, as help was scarce, and as the two small houses that was to be guest houses were almost finished, she was in a hurry to get her garden into shape. As Ronalee was also outside most of the time, she could keep an eye on the big dreamer, and every time she saw his mind wander, she would say 'Bushy!!', and Bush would jump to attention, and go on with his job. It must have been hard to keep on reminding him that he was working, and not on a dreaming trip, and I took my hat off to Ronalee!
Bush was a bit upset with his work at Ronalee, and he told me with a face as long as the roads between the little villages in the Karoo that he had actually to plant and weed flowers, and could just not see that people would plant so many flowers instead of maize! I then understood why he always shied away when I asked him to plant roses or other flowering plants for me!
 This is Irma's house from my side, and I wanted to take a photo of the moon that was so pretty. In this it can be seen how dark it is in Haarlem, and why I still locked myself in when dusk fell!

Hannes, who was doing some amazing things to the barn that he was renovating to live in later, got new neighbours, as I mentioned before, in the persons of Ronalee and Gary, who bought the plot with the orchards that I originally wanted to buy, but the houses were just to dilapedated.
Gary started renovating with a vengeance, and as he had a vast knowledge of the building industry, with a huge truck and all the tools of the trade, it wasn't long before he got himself a couple of builders,  and the middle building was finished in a trice, as they were living there for the time being. He was just the best person to renovate that old historical buildings, as the one used to be a post office many years ago.
It wasn't long before their garden started showing off its beautiful colours, and I had the previlege to sit on Irma's veranda, watching the riot of blooms stirred by the Haarlem breeze, to dance and prance like a stage full of ballarinas.
I marvelled at Ronalee who was always in the garden, her hands rough and her face burned to a reddish hue by the strong sun, and could stand bent over for hours, planting or weeding. Then she got Bush! Now Bush was something else! A genial, very friendly man with a pair of sparkling white teeth, that hails from Zimbabwe but now resides in Haarlem, where he buys and sells things that he takes or bring back from his home country. He usually goes off to Zimbabwe three monthly, taking commodities that are hard to find there, and selling it I believe at a huge profit, and bringing back baskets and other artifacts that again he bought at ridiculously low prizes from the people who made it. He was an excellent businessman, as he once talked Sheila, who loved her scarves, into buying the whole lot that he brought back from him. It was lovely scarves, but I am not sure whether Sheila wanted such a lot all at once. As I said, he was a good businessman, but a bitty catious when it came to working with his hands, and he never passed my house, without informing me that he absolutely hate cows, and milking them, and tending them, stating that he was a maize growing farmer in Zimbabwe before all the trouble started there. He was no lover of Mugabe, who flattened their houses when they refused to vote for him. A shame, as people there had it very bad.
He never passed me by without stopping for a chat, but  not without first informing me with wringing hands and a real funeral voice, in case I asked him to do some manual work, that he either was on his way to Uniondale, or to the village shop to get food, or away to collect his money from his debtors! He was never to be caught again and asked to make some holes, that proved to be his pet hate, as I found when I once co-erced him into planting some rambling roses for me, a task he did with very little enthusiasm!
As I had little seating because we couldn't get my couch through the door at the flat, resulting in me leaving it, Hannes and Manda gave me two old and falling apart little couches that I tried, not too succesfully to make loose covers for! But They were quite comfy, if very low, and I decided to keep them for the time being!
The top photo is of Hannes and Manda's barn.

We all woke up early, and was again charmed and delighted by the birdsong, and the rays of sunshine that lit up the hills on the other side of the valley. Our valley is called the 'Langkloof', meaning long valley, as it stretches for about eighty miles between the mountains, with the sea on one side, and the Karoo on the other side. The Karoo here is very interesting, and it is called 'The Oervlakte', meaning  that it was millions of years old. It used to be under the sea, and many relics have been found to prove that millions of years ago fishes were swimming where today there are miles and miles of apple trees. Also peaches, apricots and plums, but not as plentifull as apples. There is a website 'The Oervlakte' that was produced by a very clever lady called Louise Hekl, that has absolutely gorgeous photography and lots of information about this wonderworld!
I had some serious building to do, as someone had broken into the house before I bought it, and ripped out the sink, complete with cupboard and all, and as I suppose he couldn't get it through the window, that he also ripped out half way, he sommer broke out a piece of the wall, as this small room was built with unbaked clay bricks. That all happened in the scullery, and luckily there was a strongish door to the kitchen that could be locked. So this morning I had to test my building skills, of which I had absolutely none, except for stuffing stones in holes and securing it with tile cement.
As I had no sand left, I had to go down to river where we had a few lovely beaches, and get sand from there. NOT easy, as it was quite a stiff bit of uphill back to the house, but I did not need too much. I did quite a nice job, well, a builder I suppose would have demolished it and then did some rebuilding, but as nothing in that whole house was straight anyway, it looked fine to me. At least it did not lean like the tower of Pissa!
I had decided to start a compost heap, so after I finished the building, I walked up and down the roads collecting cow dung, as I read somewhere that it is good for starting off with, mixed with whatever greens and other stuff, and a bit of sand! I had an old rusted drum for the purpose.
That night I was tired, and fell asleep without a long read, but woke up somewhere in the early hours of the morning, feeling that something was not quite right! The mists of sleep slowly drifted away, and I suddenly felt that what was wrong, was that my feet felt very cold! I hastily switched the light on, to find that it was raining, and the water was pouring through my turkish cloths that I had put up for the spiders!
Unfortunately it did not help to prevent water from coming through, and the whole bottom part of my bed was soaking wet! As there was a small dry spot in the middle, I fetched two plastic buckets, and after putting some plastic bags and dry towels over the bed, I rolled myself into a cocoon inside my eiderdown, and with the water dripping into the buckets that I had balanced on both sides of me, also on the bed, I tried to fall asleep, but gave up after an hour, and had two cups of tea in a row! By now the sky was almost light, and I sat in the sittingroom wondering what to do about the leaks, as it is mega expensive to fix a straw roof!
In the end I drove to the faithful co-op and bought a huge piece of builders plastic, black and thick, and balancing myself on the rafters, very scared sitting inbetween the spiders, I manouvred it to span the whole of the room above the rafters.On closer inspection I found some leaks in the sittingroom and also in the bathroom. My kitchen was the first room that gave me a small ray of hope, but the huge fireplace had first to be used as storing space, so I hung a curtain in front of it. The only problem was working space, as I had only the table, but I was working on that.

It was one quite grizzly affair cleaning the house after the spiders, as big as my hand(almost), ran for cover in the thatch, and I could see them sitting there silently, watching my every move with their shiny black eyes. It is scary. But full of pluck and confidence, for my granddaughter's edification, see, I grabbed my feather duster with the two metre long handle, and started demolishing the spiderwebs. This webs were not these of the rainspiders, but some ugly looking black beasts that looked like the famous black widow, but although they have a nasty pair of teeth, their bites were not poisonous enough to harm you. I was sneezing and coughing, as eight months in a village with dirt roads can leave one thick layer of dust,, but I persevered, and by midday the house was rid of every spiderweb, dustfree, and the floors were scrubbed.
As I had no -where to put stuff, I left the things that I could do without in the boxes, lay an old door over the rafters of the back bedroom, and after some healthy swearing, and one titanic struggle, I managed to get most of the boxes up onto the door, using my riggity ladder that promised with every step I climbed to give one big sigh, and collapse! Had a few scary moments, as some of the stuff were heavy, and when I tried to lift it above my head, it pulled me backwards, and I felt like a bally nettle swaying in the wind, trying to keep my balance!
It took three days to get everything reasonably organised, and then I was tired of housework, and decided to plant some veggie seeds. The previous year I did start on a veggie bed, but the amount of large stones I had to dig out first was enough to almost build a cathedral, and it took so long that I never planted anything. I did however plant a few flowers, specially some Agapanthus's, as they are quite waterwise, and did not need looking after while I was away.
I got some strawberry plants from my new neighbours, Gary and Ronalee, and also some spinach plants. The strawberries took immediately, and it grew so fast and made such a lot of flowers, that I hoped for a bumper crop.
There was a few things that bothered me immensely, one of these was the spiders that sat between the thatch, and when I went to bed, they come out, maybe they felt safe then, or maybe they just wanted to have a better look. But I just couldn't fall asleep with this beasties staring down at me, and decided that a plan had to be made. Not that I was scared of them, but I think if one of them lost their grip and landed on me, I would have a bally fit! As it is, I have a few nasty bites, from a much smaller species that I had found sharing my bed. So Irma gave me two very thin, soft and light pieces of material, and I spent a whole day fastening them to the rafters, draped like that in an old Sheihk's harem tent. It looked beautiful, but Irma said I'd better not show my bedroom to the men, as they would immediately get funny thoughts!
My trees were again eaten up, and I had given up on them, as I just did not have an answer for when I went away, and I was a bit long lipped with Sheila for a day or two, but in this hazardous place we lived, we needed our neighbours, so I said nothing.
I actually wanted to sleep in the annexe, but even after all this time, I could only stay in there for short periods of time, because the creosote fumes were still too strong.
The new people, Ronalee and Gary were amazing, and Ronalee had amazing green fingers, and I got most of my plants from her.

After unloading the truck the youngsters pronounced that they were hungry, so I said that I would prepare dinner for them before they started back. The poor souls, it would be midnight before they got home. I was just unpacking the food I brought along, looking for some easy things to cook, when Sheila and Peter came to say halo, and she immediately invited us all to dinner, as she had cooked for me too, knowing that it would be late when I reached Haarlem.
The lovestruck one was still a broken man, and it wasn't long before his troubles were told to Sheila, who tried to calm him down before dinner, without much luck!
I was quite excited, as it would be the first time in my own bed in my own wee hoose, as the Scots would say!

Next morning broke bright and clear again, with blue skies and no clouds, and I started getting ready to close my place for my leaving. I have never given any thought to the question of storage, and clothing space, as there was not one cupboard in this house. I was so busy fixing things, that I overlooked this little problem completely.
Another problem that I had given no thought to, was the fact that there was no toilet in the main house, and there was no bally door between that and the new annexe! So, if I wanted the loo, or a shower, which I liked just before I went to bed, I had to run the length of the house on the outside, and that did not appeal to me, being scared of the evil gangsters that lurked around every corner. The youngsters in this small villages has got little to do, their parents over week-ends not very sober, the wine flowing very freely, but food scarce! A lot of the youngsters are contracted by one Zhivago, a notorious gangleader after he made them dependent on drugs, to steal for him in order to get drugs, and as the decent and older people suggest. the police are knee-deep into this crimes, and just turn a blind eye! I
slept in the main house on the old iron bed the previous night, the good mattress I bought and Danny's rods keeping it nice and firm, as I did not have the strength to fix the other bed after the dinner at Sheila's, just to pack it away again the next day.
Most of the boxes I just left to be unpacked when I came back, but I at least took out a few pans, cups, my electric kettle and a few little things I would use during the day. My plan was to go to Irma for the night, as she had to take me to the airport for my flight to Johannesburg, where I will first visit with my eldest sister Lida, before flying off to Scotland.
My sojourn in Scotland was as usual Fabulous! I have a lot of friends, and as the Scots are a very social lot, I never had a dull moment when I decided to look for company. I had a little love affair the previous year, but after a few disastrous dates found that he really was not my cuppa tea! This year I had my work cut out to make this man believe that I was serious in not wanting a relationship.
I felt like running straight back to Scotland on opening my front door, and about a dozen huge rainspiders sat koekeloering at me from behind the webs that were hanging like silky curtains from the rafters! There were also a number of this beasties on the walls, and the tattered red curtain that I had not yet removed from the sittingroom wall looked like a vulgar and overpainted old woman, fluttering feebly in the breeze that blew through the house. The dust was just unbelieveable! And I had to live there!
Irma and the kids, who came down with me, were stricken dumb, even my garrulous granddaughter Kristani, who never stops talking! The picture on the bottom was taken in Perthshire, Scotland.

We had a week of beautiful and sunny days, but the morning of my moving broke gray and wet, and as I had booked an open truck thinking that the weather should last, and my available funds running low, I was one worried woman. By eleven the rain abated, and a few very shy sunrays peeped from behind the clouds that had now broken up. When I moved from the Strand to the flat in George I had to get rid of a lot of furniture, as the house had three bedrooms compared to one in the flat, so it would not be too bad!
Half past eleven the truck arrived, driven by a youngster of very small built, and this youngster was accompanied by another one, I reckoned him to be about sixteen years of age, and even of slighter build than the other one. I stated flatly that the person I spoke to had misunderstood me, as it was a furniture move, and I did not believe that they would get the heavy fridge , stove and washing machine down the stairs! The older one laughed heartily, and told me to try them. I now noticed that the younger of the two wore a face of grieve and sorrow, and thought that he at least realised that they were not up to the task, but I soon heard the reason for his sorrow, as he started telling me that his girlfriend had dropped him for the school Jock, and he would never ever forgive her, or trust another woman again!
I tried to give them a hand with the heavy fridge that went down first, but the older one told me gently to sit down on my coach until such time as they had to take that down, and all that in a voice people used when talking to toddlers and very old people! After my hand, that wanted to slap this arrogant lad had steadied, I sat down, but had little peace, as every time the two came up for another piece, the young one embroidered further on his hatred of all women, and even sat down beside me once when his grieve overcame him, and cried lustily on my shoulder, me patting his head and doing a lot of consoling. But he was unconsolable, his face quite red from the exertion of carrying the heavy furniture, and also the grieve!
The weather still looked okay, but we had a slight problem with my huge white coach. When I first moved into the flat, Jaco, my diy friend who recommended the creosote, had to take off the one door, and actually made a new door opening for this coach to get in, as it got stuck and wouldn't move forward or backwards. He then closed up the old door opening, and now there was no way to get the bally coach out, the corridor just to narrow to sway it enough, as before we pushed it through the original door into the kitchen, then, using the new opening, pushed it straight through the lounge door that was opposite the new opening.
In the end I had to leave my beautiful and comfy coach for my tennants to enjoy, and they were ecstatic!
The furniture were piled high, and the lads now used a huge oily sail to try and cover it, but it proved a difficult task, as some or other piece kept on peeping out from under it, with them pulling it around to find just the right way. In the end I told them that I had two blue striped shading nets they could perhaps use, so the nets were fastened to the back, the truck now resembling a circus lorry come to town!
It was quite late when we started out, me driving at the back to warn them if something didn't look right!
We were scarcely over the Outeniqua pass when the blue shading nets came loose, so after a lot of flashing  of my lights, they came to a stop and fastened the nets again. It lasted only for about twenty kilometres, when the bally thing came loose again, flapping wildly in the wind, like a mad conductor directing a huge orchestra! It took ages to reach Knoll's Halt, where they had a good look at their fastening ways, and after some deliberation, they announced that they now had the hang of it! A few kilometres on, the nets were again merrily flapping and we decided that as it was not far now, we would leave it to flap all they want!
The villagers that were outside and saw this spectacle go down the dusty roads were much entertained, and I think a lot of them must have been happy that a circus had at last decided to come to Haarlem! Luckily we had only a few drops of rain along the way, so no harm was done!
I was amazed by the roses that kept on making new buds!

The next morning again broke fresh and clear, and we all had coffee on Irma's veranda with the birds vying for the number one place on the chirping charts. But I had a small little devil on the pit of my tummy, niggling away, trying to spoil my delight in the morning. After breakfast I had to mix cement and put in the sittingroom floor that was still just a sandpit!
The others left just after breakfast, and I eyed the mountain of sand and the heap of cement bags with worry and doubt. I just knew that I was not up to the job, but it had to be done before my furniture came, so I looked up to the heavens and sent up one long and earnest prayer for help, but after waiting at the gate in case of help being sent passing, ready for my asking them for help, I knew that the job was mine alone.
I was just starting to mix the first lot, when Christalina, the girl who did the creosote for me, called from the gate, asking if I needed help! Was a bitty unerved, as God at least could have sent a strong man instead of this quite small woman with her thin arms and even thinner legs! But I thanked Him with vigour, and half an hour later sent up another thank you prayer, as Christalina would work any of the wine soaked males under the table! In Haarlem there are not many sober bodies over the week-ends!
It was hard work, and soon our hands were raw and sore, but by late afternoon the floor was thrown, and Christalina and self, both a little bent, stood looking proudly at this huge task we did so well! She was actually very good with a plank and trowel, and I would never have been able to get the floor as smooth as she did. I was so thankful that I payed her double of what she asked for.
I then made myself a healthy lunch and took that, and a flask with coffee, down to the river. My down to almost nil spirit lifted immediately, and I felt the tiredness evaporate as I entered the green eeriness underneath the huge Poplar trees.
I enjoyed my lunch, and sitting there on a rotten treetrunk that had fallen over, I could feel my energy levels increase. To me it was amazing how sitting in a green forest or just under a big green tree, my sorrows just evaporates!
I thought about the last few months, at the amount of work I managed to do, never in my life imagining self throwing cement and making window frames! I was sorry for all the times I accused God for being so unfair, giggled at Irma and self being swallowed by the mattress, laughed out loud at the recollection of Christalina covered in creosote, and Hannes's ladder that was spoiled for life, but I was also very scared. So far I could simply pack up and go to my flat when things got too much, but with my flat rented out, I had to just stay put and get over whatever bothered me. But at least the house was ready for my stuff to be moved.
After my meal I was quite revived, so I gave my trees, them just starting to form a few new leaves after Sheila's cows ate them up, a good soaking before I left for George to finish my packing, and get ready for the move!
The reason I am doing all the work myself is not only because I loved doing it, but to get people out from George or Uniondale was just so expensive, and the locals did not want this kind of jobs, and  also I had only a little money to work with, not wanting to sell my flat!

Irma and the kids came on the Friday, bringing Hendrix, Irma's loveable Labrador with, and we spent a lot of time with him at the river, as of course, being a Labrador, he was a real waterbaby.
Hannes came on the Saturday, bringing me a cheap sponge mattress for the iron bed, as I was sick and tired of the hard tresles, and was going to sleep in my own house from then on.
I bought some wood at the co-op to make a frame for the window in the one bedroom. The sun had really played havock with the previous one, of which nothing of course was left, and the hole was closed with a rusted piece of zink plate, propped up with an even rustier iron pole. I just had to do a better job of protecting my stuff, as I would be away for about eight months all in all, and it was to easy to just push the plate away. Danny, the guy living on the other side of the road approached me and wanted to know whether I wanted burglar proofing done in front of my windows, and I was so glad for that, as I would then go away with a much lighter heart!I asked him to do it within a day or two so that it was done for when my furniture arrived, and he agreed to get the rods and stuff on the double.
So, knowing that there would be something to keep the thieves out, I finished the frame for the window, covered it in thick calico, then gave it a coat of acrylic paint. Of course I measured the blasted thing about five times, me not the best of measurers, but it was still too short, so I took a piece of plank and fastened it on the top with the only nails I found, that being about five inches long, but it would just have to do, I decided!
With the windows and security sorted, I was ready to move in, only two days before leaving for Scotland!
That night Irma decided, after eyeing me jealously putting the thin mattress on the bed, that she was sleeping with me, as she was also tired of the hard camping mattresses, and my bed, with the fresh linen I brought, looked inviting indeed! The kids would sleep on the floor in my sittingroom, with Hendrix to keep them company.
During the afternoon we had a wonderful surprise when Hannes who was always fiddling with something, found out that a tap on the outside was feeding the geezer when opened. So, very hopefully, he suggested that I put on the geezer at the mains. We had lunch, and after about two hours I opened the hot water tap and voila, beautiful hot water spurted from the tap! And all this months we thought that the geezer was busted! We almost parted ways as enemies, as Hannes vowed that as he found that the geezer took in water, leading to me putting it on, he had first rights to a shower. I again felt that it was my shower, so I was to have the first shower, and Irma and Manda, both undercover city slickers at heart, thought that they needed a shower most. So in the end, the shower as big as a dance hall, Hannes and Manda had the first shower together. Then it was my turn, and I stood for ages revelling in this luxury, then got into my iron bed. It was not good, and I had to balance myself on the bar running from top to bottom about a foot from the side, not to roll to the middle, and was then quite comfy. That was until Irma had her foam bath, and not believing me that the springs were bad, got into bed, disregarding my plea to be carefull and stay to the side! Like a bally giant fish the mattress just collapsed in the middle, swallowing us like the giant monster that swallowed poor Jona, and there we lay, unable to move, like a huge overfilled  and tightly packed sandwich! The girls were hysterical, but managed to pull us from the clutches of this man-eating monster, and we decided that it would be much safer to sleep on the floor after all, so we put the mattress on the floor and to heck with the bed!
The next day I asked Danny if he could fix the bed, and he welded some rods across, making it safe and comfy!

The next morning I was up and out early, and sitting on Irma's veranda with a lot of different birdies chirping away merrily, I felt so good  that I wanted to join in with a chirp or two! Today I was varnishing the bedroom floor with a waterbased varnish, seeing that it does not have a strong smell, as with the creosote still hanging like a thick smog in the room, I couldn't face any more lung ruining smells! While the first coat was drying I gave a coat also to the scullery floor, and was in ecstacy at how nice it looked. Then The bedroom had it's second coat, and with the tin now almost empty, I gave the scullery a second coat. It was quite hard work yet again, and I took a long sleep on the veranda, we call it a stoep, unconcious of the bally disaster that awaited me in the scullery.  My beautiful floor was now a milky whitish colour, with my paintings just noticable! 'Oh, can one be so unlucky!', I screamed to the heavens, and felt like closing the doors and made a run for my flat, never to come back. Because it was the last varnish in the tin, and me not having stirred it enough when doing the first coats, a residue had formed at the botttom, and the varnish became milky. My floor was ruined, as the paint worked wonderfully with the raw screed, but after trying to fix it for hours, I relised that the effect was lost forever, so I did another three paintings, very halfheartedly, and it was just not nice at all! I changed it later, and instead of the chicken I painted a fish that looked a lot prettier! Luckily the bedroom was ok, as I would just have put a carpet in if my beautiful imitation tiles were also ruined.
I then tackled the bathroom floor, and to camouflage the sickly green bath, or at least make it more inconspicious, I mixed the same green as the bath, and painted small green tiles all along the edges, and then the same colour as the bedroom tiles, but just flat, in the middle. I made VERY sure that I kept on stirring the varnish.
But by the end of two days my lungs were so sore, and I had developed a nasty little cough from the creosote fumes, that I went back to my flat for a rest. I was in quite a hurry to finish, as I had rented out my flat, and had to move my furniture before I left.
So I gave my lungs three days to recover before tackling the main house, painting the walls of all the rooms except the kitchen a lovely light yellow, as I picked up this tin of very expensive paint that was wrongly mixed for next to nothing, thinking that if I did not like it, it won't be to great a loss. It was nice! The previous people left a huge black antique iron bed that was beautiful, but the springs was a bitty soft, and I thought of having it fixed later. But this thing was like HEAVY! I wanted to  paint the floor, as I would have to sleep there, the creosote fumes still making it impossibvle to stay in the new bedroom for longer than five minutes tops!
But I was looking forward to my work, as I enjoyed my sojourn in Scotland tremendously. I had a lot of friends, a small, ancient black Fiat Panda, and once I have packed my tent and other nececities on my days off, I drove all over, and was never disappointed, as I always found a stream with trees around, or I would walk up a mountain and camp there, all on my own, sitting quietly, waiting for whatever wild life would pass. That is something you just can not do in South Africa with it's very high crime rate. The Scots thought me quite mad, but have accepted my madness, that being so natural to me, but to them so very strange!
The bottom picture shows the village children playing in the road.

I bought a lot of paints and stuff while in George, as I wanted to do as much as possible during the next few weeks. The car was bursting out of it's overloaded seams, and as the new little Chevvy Spark that I now drove had the tiniest boot ever seen, most of the stuff had to go onto the back seat.

I was driving along quite merrily, looking forward to finish the bedroom floor so that one room at least was livable, when a bally fool in a white bakkie (small truck) suddenly emerged from a thick cloud of dust, and without the driver even looking to left or right, drove from a small farmroad into the tar road I was on! Almost had a fit, as I was driving at about 110kph, and I had to break very hard so as not to hit him, with the result that all my stuff on the back seat shifted to the front, and I could hear stuff dropping to the floor, but was too cross and busy throwing this fool some signs that a man once threw me when I forgot to put my indicator on, that I did not take too much notice!

I sat down amidst the cow dung and cried for about half an hour when I opened my car's back door at Haarlem, and saw that the seat, the floor, and everything that was near enough to the tin of white paint, was now snowy white and stickey! With me breaking so hard, the tin must have gone forward so fast that the lid had come off! What an awfull mess! But I had to dry my tears and start cleaning, as it was warm, and I knew that once the paint was dry, it would be impossible to remove.

So I set to with a bucket and a desert spoon and scraped the most of the gooy mess out, then I got rags and a brush and after about forty buckets of water, the car was almost clean of the paint, but not quite, and will always carry the scars. The covers did not help a lot, and as they were by now stiff and dry, I chucked them away with the mats that were also not looking good, and I just did not have any inclination to clean them, and just rinsed down the other tins and stuff.

Most of my day was now gone, so I decided to screed the scullery floor, as I was eager to start painting it. I intended to paint three blocks on the small space, then paint a sheep, a chicken and a lemon in the blocks! As the house was so old and dilapidated, I felt that it definitely needed a bit of cheering up! I underestimated that little job, as the screed, a kind of self levelling cement was quite hard to mix, and I needed a lot more than I thought before it levelled out! Now the waiting for the stuff to dry!

I was just too tired to worry about making my bed on the tressles, and have a cold shower, so I went over to Sheila and bummed a bed.

But my tired legs were first tested to the utmost when, on me entering her gates, her bally new goose, an extremely ugly and evil looking bird, took exception to my being there, and started chasing me around the yard, neck stretched to about a metre, and hissing like a giant snake! The eight dogs, that were a scary looking mob as they were of course mostly Alsations, thought it a great game and joined in with ear bursting barks! The goose actually got me on my calf, leaving a swollen red mark. Sheila quickly dispersed this lot, and I got my nice clean bed and hot shower!

The photo below is of Irma's veranda, which needed a lot of work, but she was busy beautifying the lounge with small tiles along the skirtings, to hide the holes, she said! Ha-ha!

We were all a bit thunderstruck after the departure of Jaco and his intended bride, but after him showing such bad taste as to want to buy a place in Haarlem, I wasn't so sure that the proposed wedding would actually take place! They did get married a bit later, but since then we had no more visits from Jaco, and the friendship died a sudden death. Pity, as we have been friends for so long.
I had bought some finer sandpaper at the co-op and started again on on the bathroom and adjoining bedroom so as to make it smooth and ready for the painting. I then took a few rolls of masking tape and measured out blocks as big as standard floortiles. Took a lot out of the old knees, as I was crawling around the whole morning to get it done, and said knees not so agile anymore! But at last I stood back and scrutinised my marked out floor, and after some adjustments where I had gone a bit scew, I was ready to start painting.
I used ordinary wall paint that I had mixed to a lovely earthy brown with oxides, and after some effort and a pair of very sore knees, the whole bedroom floor was done, and as it was so late by then, I went over to Irma to help cook the dinner.
Next morning Irma left early as she had to be back for work, and me, after rubbing my painfully swollen knees with horse linament, set to with vigour at the task of first pulling off the masking tape. Then, using an array of acrylic hobby paints, I started rubbing browns, reds, and a litlle yellow onto each block, blending it in untill I was satisfied that it looked real! It was a time consuming job, and by the time I had to leave for home and my comfy bed, I could hardly walk, but I was highly impressed with myself, although I was only half-way through!
That night I lay in my bath for about an hour, a herbal foam covering almost the whole of me! But I was SO very tired! Then I made myself one huge steak, as I really earned it, and a nice salad, and ate it with relish.
I decided to calm it a bit and stay home for a few days untill my knees were better, but I must say, for any aches and pains of the old muscles or ligaments, use horse linament! Superb!
By the week-end I was ready to go back for more punishment, and the kids decided to take a friend with, and go with me. I was glad, as the thought of sleeping in that rat infested house, even if they live under the floorboards, and the door that couldn't lock, well, there was no door, made me extremely uncomfortable!
When I saw Sheila's cows grazing away on my plot I was a bitty upset, as she never asked me, but not unduly so, untill I went to have alook at my trees!
Before I left I had watered my trees, and they were looking happy and on the grow, but now there were only a few stubs left! I was furious, and when Sheila came a bit later to say hi, and of course to gauge if I was cross because of her cattle on my plot, I told her about all my trees being eaten up! She was on the defensive immediately, and told me that I have no proof that it was her cows! I got a bitty red around the collar, and told her that of course it was her cattle, as I found them locked in my place. She then said that the horses can also come in from the river, and I, now highly agitated, told her flatly that it was bull...., and she walked away  to her place, back very, very rigid. A few minutes later the man working for her came to fetch the cows! She later came over and invited us to dinner as if nothing was wrong, and I decided to forgive and forget!
 I took a rest from the house and started a veggie garden and a rockery! This is what my yard looked like in the beginning, although we have cleared away the broken bottles that were even thrown onto the roof!

I worked really hard to finish the inside walls of my little house, but encountered a lot of problems with the inside walls that almost disintegrated when I chisseled off some ogf the plaster that was still clinging for life, In the end I took the hose, opened the tap at its strongest, and blew all the bricks that were only really a lot of red dust, away. I then struggled up and down the property collecting stone that I plugged the holes with. But at long last that was done, and I felt really proud of myself, although my poor hands were rough and sore!
The next week-end Irma and kids, and Hannes and Manda came, and I was again amzed at Hannes who could fabricate the most fabulous things out of nothing. As there was such a lot of young poplar trees that had to be removed, he cut some down and made some lovely gates and also a fence in front of his house. I will put some photo's on tomorrow.
I was again onto my new built, but it was still hard going, as the creosote fumes were still the same, and I had to plug up my nose and use a mask to be able to stay in there for more than two minutes. I gave the walls another coat of paint, and this time the creosote marks almost disappeared, and I was one jubilant woman. I was still looking for someone to help, but were beginning to realise that I was not going to get lucky!
That night we were all tired, but we made a fire and had a barbeque, where-after we stoked the fire up again, and sat around this bonfire until very late. The night was still and clear, and we lay on our backs on the grass after the fire died, and tried to identify the stars that were shining down so bright!
Next morning we were up before the cocks started crowing, as we had to get Irma's place into some kind of  order and cleanliness, as we were getting guests. And this guests were no-one but my very clever diy friend Jaco was coming to see what we were up to, and he was bringing his fiance, recently aquired! I have met her,  and when my eyes dwelled over the yard that was strewn with broken bottles, relics from the previous people that would take weeks to collect and take away, and the cow and horse dung that were steaming in the early morning sun, I had grave misgivings about this visit!Adri was not the kind of girl who would be able to see through the mess, as she was a very refined and dolled up woman! Anyway, we scrubbed and cleaned the veranda where we would serve the tea, and cleaned away most of the rubbish, like old tins, wine bottles, and plastic bags that were just stacked in one corner, ready to be removed when we could get a small truck to do it for us. Took the kids the whole morning to take this to the outbuilding.
By the time our guests were to arrive, we were ready, the improvised tea-table clothed in one of Irma's beautiful Indonesian cloths, and as Irma had brought some decent cups for the occasion, all looked quite civilised. Or so we thought.
We were all waiting outside, very excited to show off our plots, but I must say, the excitement waned a bitty when Jaco came to a halt at our gate, and we noticed Adri's face! It was all scrunched-up, as if she was in pain, or maybe smelling something terrible! Jaco also looked a bit strained, but he got out at least, and after huggings were done, he opened Adri's door, but this lady did not move, and as her eyes roamed across our yards, shiver after shiver shook her body. Jaco, a very suave creature, told us to go in, as he would have to talk her out of the car. We stood watching as, after a lot of hard squabbling, Adri gingerly put her one high-heeled-shoe on the ground, then some more talking, and at last she was at least standing! Her hair that was beautifully coiffured was immediately grabbed by the fresh always blowing Haarlem wind, and playfully tangled into a quite awesome mess! Then the walk to the house began, and poor Adri, who we could see was near to screaming hysterically, had now to try and miss the dung that was by now nicely steaming and perfuming the fresh air, and this was not the easiest thing on that about five inch heels, and the broken glass did not make it any easier!
But after a lot of softsoaping from Jaco, she made it onto the veranda, where she would not even sit down, refused any refreshment, and that after all our work, and expense, as we bought some nice eats from the deli in George!
But when Jaco, who had gone for a sight-seeing walk came back, very impressed, and he asked Adri to accompany him to look around, as he was interested in the other river property, I thought she was going to expire there and then, and with a last horrified look across Irma's yard, she gave a wild cry, and trying to miss the dung, but on an unguarded moment when calling for Jaco she stepped into a small lot, she started crying hysterically. The kids were wide-eyed, but I think we were too! We all went to say our goodbyes, but Adri was inconsolable, and told Jaco that he could by all means buy a plot, but he would stay there alone! Some people are just not made to lead a rural life!

Irma's kids loved to visit Sheila, and when a very short time she had aquired just about every animal you can think of, the children started calling her old mrs Macdonald, which was very fitting indeed. She had now I think it was eight dogs, a mixture of Alsations, Boerbulls, one white and spoiled little cross with a body of curly white hair, soft and silky, and then there was poor , a blag doggy of no reconisable origen, but what made him so special was that something went very wrong while this wee thing grew in his Mummy's tummy, and he ended up with two ridiculous short front legs, and two even more ridiculous back legs, but he managed quite well, until the big dogs started pestering him. If he got tired of their attentions, he would try to get away, but with his long back legs he kept on doing some unlikely summersaults, ending up quite exhausted in the kitchen, where he was allowed to hide.
The week-end I did not do a lot, as Trienkie and her Husband Stephan came for a visit, so I took them on a sight seeing trip. Trienkie was quite diplomatic and in a kind of high pitched voice told me that she liked it a lot, but after we have been down to the river, she announced that although she would not like to live there, she would like a week-end house to come to for a rest from their busy life! Stephan, a real Yuppy was absolutely dumb struck, and walked around like a cat on a hot tin roof to try not to step on the cowdung and broken bottles that were a trademark of the people who lived there before. When Trienkie suddenly announced that maybe they should have a look at the other empty house where Ronalee and gary later bought, his face showed a hooror so big that you would think you asked him to jump under a train!
But he became a bit more acclamatised later, and planted my olive trees, for which I was extremely thankfull, as making that huge holes was backbreaking work.
Sheila had now aquired two cows named Jessie and Josy, and Irma's kids were enthralled with the teats that had to be pulled to get the milk out, and went over to Sheila the moment the car stopped at their house. She also had a few geese, and one of this was a very bad tempered thing, and chased me all over the show when I went for a shower or a visit and when I took the Lombard family to introduce them to the Earls, I laughed till I cried when this goose chased my kids all over, and them careering screaming over the shrubby yard!

The next day broke clear and sunny, and sitting on the stoep with a cup of steaming coffee, with birds of all kinds serenading the upcoming sun with their beautiful songs, it was almost possible to forget the ordeals of the previous night!
I decided to stay another day, but I was in no mood for the rest of the walls, as the likelyhood of that plaster coming off too loomed strongly in my mind. The trees had to be planted, so I chose a few spots closer to the house, and started digging. As this sight was also closer to the river, there was quite a thick layer of soil before I struck the dreaded clay! I remembered reading that in clay soil, you have to make a big hole of about a metre by a metre, so I set to with the strength I had actually built up through the night.
The pommegaranate had the honours, and after struggling for about four hours, with lots of tea inbetween, I had one monster of a hole, so in went the bonemeal, then the fertiliser, this being cowdung I had picked up in the road.It was with a lot of satisfaction that I stood back and looked in wonder at my first tree standing with its roots in the soil.
I started on another hole, as I was eager to get all of them in, as I would like to see what grows best so that I could fill my whole place with that.I was adamant to grow either the olives, the pommegranates, the almonds, or the naartjie. (tangerine) trees, as I did a bit of research, and according to the clever people, olives like the mist coming over the mountains from the sea, while the others all liked cold weather.What I actually wanted to plant first, but unlucky at the nurseries who were either out of stock, or did not stock them, was cherry trees, as apparantly they grew fabulously in that climate. I must just mention that Avontuur, about ten kl from Haarlem, is the second coldest place in South Africa, and I can vouch for that! By tjaila time, that means time to stop, the next hole was almost deep and big enough, but I was now pooped and couldn't work a stitch further.
So I went over to Sheila for a shower and a braai,(barbeque) and we sat outside until the early morning, they downing one beer after another, self on the gingerbeer. It was a lovely evening with no wind or cloud, and the three of us became quite merry. I was sleeping in Irma's house again, so when the first learner cockarill with its voice still breaking started his wake-up calls, they walked me home. At this point in time Sheila had decided that at Haarlem people should walk barefoot, and was in the process of hardening up the soles of her feet. We must have been a strange group coming down the road, as Sheila, who was quite drunk, tried to miss the sharp stones in the road, crying out some unmentionable words when stepping on a sharp stone, all the time going on at Peter whose torch lite was so faint that she just couldn't see the sharp stones, while Peter, just as intoxicated, was laughing and falling also all over the road, and me, believe it or not, also very drunk, and that on Sheila's famous gingerbeer!At least I now knew why I had such a headache after a previous visit and three glasses of that potent 'soft drink!'
Sheila was actually a highly gifted artist, who did beautiful paintings, and also a lot of book illistrations, but looking at her, her hands red and rough, the forefinger missing on the one hand as a result of a bicycle accident, you would just put her down as a real Hillbilly! Peter again wrote detective stories, and he, after inheriting some good money from an aunt in England, could afford to take life much easier than his wife.

After staying in town for a week to give my poor ruined hands time to heal, I was on my way back, this time to do the kitchen walls, as I had decided that the creosote fumes still so strong, and the assistent at the co-op saying that it would take two years for that to lighten, I would have to get the main house in some sort of state so I could sleep there. So, chissel and hammer firmly clutched, I started working away on one of the inside walls to get the loose plaster off and it was going well indeed when suddenly, with a big sigh and a huge hiss, all the plaster decided to part ways with the wall, coming down in a thick cloud of dust and pieces of plaster! Gasping for breathe and coughing and spluttering, I managed to find my way out from under this mess,  and I sat down on the broken front door step, and I cried.
When after a long time I had worked up enough courage to look at the scene of disaster, I cried again, as it would take a lot of hard work to clear away the mess,  so I made a cuppa and polished a whole packet of buttery biscuits, which really was not a bright thing to have done! But that at least perked me up something awesomely, and I managed to clear away the debris by the end of the day! It took quite a few loads on the wheelbarrow, and between my back that was feeling as if it would never straighten up again, and the nausea from the rich biscuits, I felt real sorry for myself.
I had decided to sleep in Irma's house, as Sheila had guests, and I did not want to drive back to George in the dark and feeling so far from perky! So I had a cold shower, and barred myself in Irma's place by propping up the plate that was to keep the baddies out, then tried to pacify my complaining stomach and liver with some sausage and egg, but feeling a lot worse after, and sat reading until I felt tired enough to brave the mattress.
There was a lot of scuffling underneath the floorplanks, and trying to sleep with only a piece of hardboard and a camping mattress between you and the beasties, was well nigh impossible, and after again reading myself almost into a coma, and about ready to drop the book, I was rudely awakened with the suddenly frantic  screeching and shuffling of whatever lived in the dark beneath the floor. In my mind I saw all kinds of things happening, as it sounded like huge rats as big as cats being chased by a thick ten foot snake, and I started hyperventilating from pure stress. A plan had to be made! So scouting around for something to lift me off the floor, I  came upon Hannes's kitchen chairs, so I lined them all up and put an old door that I found in the ruined bathroom on top of that, and I felt a glimmer of hope for a night's sleep, but it was very rickety, and every time I moved I could feel the whole lot move under me, and knew that I would never fall asleep! I then remembered that Irma had two tresles on the veranda, but it took a lot of pepping up for me to open the back door. Sheila's house was about half a kilometre from this one, and it was DARK!!! But after some hard talking to myself I built up enough courage, and sprinting like a young doe, I was out and in with the tresles in a trice. I now put the door on the tresles, and at last I had a reasonably stable bed where no beasty could nibble on me! I read again for a while, and on hearing some noise, I lifted my eyes, and that is when I saw the face at the window. Must say, I would have outdid a hundred cats caterwauling together, but reason returned, and I ran for my ax that I have put strategically, just in case. The face at the window was still there, and I could hear voices, and I thought to myself: 'you aint getting me without a bally good fight',  then jumped about five feet high when a torch was suddenly shone into the room! Then a friendly voice penetrated my anxious mind, and I looked at the window again, and the face was trying to tell me something, so, there being thick bars for burglar proofing, I opened the window a teeny bit, and saw that it was a smiling woman. She explained that they are the community watch, and just came to see if I was ok! Lord but I had a fright!

My knees ached, my back felt broken, and my lungs had given up, well almost, as I had been trying for two days to clean the creosote off the floor. Luckily it lifted the green paint that was still clinging for dear life onto most of the floor, so it was not too bad take it off with some rough sandpaper, but I was now left with a bare cement floor, and it was a bit flaky, unable to be painted. Luckily the co-op was not far, and they adviced me to use some stuff to bind the cement, and it worked wonders. I was all the time looking for someone who would like a casual job helping me, but all the men were working on the apple farms, and the rest couldn't get away fast enough from me wanting them to work, as they live on the dole money that was just about enough for their wine, so I realised that I would have to do all the work myself. I could have gone a lot faster if the creosote fumes would just get a bit better, but the guy at the co-op, who laughed a lot when I told him about it, gave me the bad news that it would be about two years before the fumes would go away.
When the binding liquid was dry, I started on the walls again, as I had decided to paint over the creosote until it gave up and not come through the paint anymore. By the end of the weekend I was fatigued to the bone, but the walls had only a slight sign of the creosote, so it was with a lot more cheer that I drove back to George.
I was back on Tuesday, ready to start fixing the walls in the main house, as my poor chest was congested and sore from the creosote fumes. I started in the sitting room by taking off all the loose plaster, but it left such big holes that I was at quite a loss as to how to get the cement to stick to the empty spaces, as the more cement I put in the holes, the bigger the heap on the floor got. I then got the hosepipe from the irrigation connection to wash out the loose dust, as I knew that was the reason the cement wouldn't stuck. The pressure from this pipe was awesome, and I blew away most of the plaster still sticking, and a lot of the wall itself. I then took a plastic bucket to get some small stones, as I was going to fill up the holes with them, and fix it with cement. It was warm, and I was sweating when I had enough stones, but the bally bucket decided to expire, and the whole bottom fell out! I was using some unmentionable words while walking back to the house for another holder. By nightfall I had the one wall fixed, and I was actually glad that I used the strong water to blast out the dust, as I found that the three inside walls's clay bricks had almost disintegrated completely, leaving mostly dust kept intact by the plaster. I was really proud of my day's work, and although My hands were swollen and  bleeding from working with the cement, I went over to Sheila where I was staying the night, feeling quite optimistic.
The next morning I woke up with a kind of a hangover, but as I only had three glasses of Sheila's gingerbeer, I couldn't understand it. I was happy, as my wall I did was still intact, and  I sang quite lustily, if untunefully, when I heard something like branches broken, and on investigation found that the gate had been pushed open. The breaking of branches sounded as if coming from the other side of Irma's house, and wondering what kind of a being or beast was felling the trees, I weaponed myself with a long tarred pole, and gingerly crept to the corner of the house for a peep. Got one big shock, as there, his nostrils flaring and his huge jaws tearing down the branches from a fully laden peach tree, the fruit just ripening, was the village Don Juan, the big brown and white bull! I was aghast as he was ruining the tree, and although I was shivering from fright, I brandished my tarred pole around and started shouting :shoo, shoo!' at this thing, but when he suddenly dropped a branch and glared at me with his red eyes, I took the easy way out, and ran! I had no idea as how to get the bull out, so I left the gate open for him to leave after destroying all our lovely peaches, but as umpteen other beasts tried their luck to sneak in also, I had a busy day keeping our places safe. Later that day a small boy, not older than nine, asked me if he could go in and get the bull. I told him no, as the thing was dangerous, but he just laughed, so I followed with my tarred stick just in case! My eyes nearly popped out when I saw this child give the huge rump a pat and said : 'come on, home with you!', and this thing meekly walking out of the gate with the youngster at his heels.Waau! Did feel a teeny bit silly, but consoled myself that I was quite new at this rural thing! By sundown I had finished plugging the holes in the walls, and kind of plastered it, and although it was not the best job I had ever seen, I was SO proud, and was actually looking forward to doing the kitchen! But first back to my flat tand civilization to buy some more stuff!

In the meantime, I had aquired new neigbours, Peter and Sheila Earl. They were an unlikely pair in looks, but as a couple they were delightful.Sheila was a real Hillbilly, walking around in blue workers overalls, and working like some or other propellor was driving her on, while Peter was always dressed like a country gentleman, and had a kind of languished dignity to him. They both loved their beer, and I was amazed when we first met at the amount they could down!
I was so disgusted with my main house that I went back to my flat without having done anything, and after three days of lamenting and being furious at myself for not waiting to see the inside before buying, I perked up again, bought cement, and paint and brushes, and a lot of other stuff to try and get the bottom room liveable! I first tried to get the creosote off the walls, that were were partly painted in white, then it seemed that the industrious painter had either run out of paint, or all pay day arrived before he could finnish! After almost eight months the smell was still strong enough to make me run out every few minutes, so I stuck two rolled-up pieces of toiletpaper in my nostrils, and put a safety mask, the kind that woodworkers use, over that, and that helped a little bit, but I still had to run out a lot, as that made it difficult to breathe. It was an impossible task, and after struggling the whole day, I gave up and decided to paint over the creosote. Trying to paint the top of the wall on the five metre side was hazardous, as he ladder was too short, so I took the mattress off the bed that had a hardboard base, and put the ladder on top of the bed. It was still not quite right as I had to get onto the top sport, and that few seconds between standing and grabbing the rafter to hang on to, was terrifying. What was even more upsetting was that as soon as the paint started drying, out peeped the creosote. Must say, I think Jaco's ears must have been sore with all the oaths I was wishing down on him, as now I not only had the creosote fumes to deal with, but the turps itself was giving off some quite toxic fumes!
I decided to try and plant some of the trees I also bought. I had four Olives, Two tangerines, and two Almonds, Plus a pommegranate that was quite strong., as I wanted to see which would do the  best.  The soil on the left of my house looked very good, and I set out with much enthusiasm and a lot of cheer, but my cheer waned quite fast, and the enthusiasm died one sudden death, as I was not able to make a hole deeper than about ten cm. The topsoil was about five centimetres, and after that came first a lot of rocks, and then a barrier of clay that I just could not work through. It was rock hard, so I was running up and down from the house with water, poured it in the hole, the clay then softened a bit allowing me to deepen the hole about one cm, then up to the house for more water,and on and on, untill I just chucked everything on a heap, gave a scream of frustration, and painted the putty that I fixed on the windows that had now hardened enough to be done. I had to get the bottom room ready to sleep in, as I mostly came alone, and Irma's house had no backdoor, only a piece of plate that had to be propped up with two iron poles,and above that I would never sleep alone with the goggas that scuttles around under the wooden floor, this floor having just too many holes for them to escape. So after a cuppa with Sheila, I gave up and went back to my flat! I had decided to come back the weekend when the other would be there, and try again cleaning the creosote!

Scotland was as usual delightful, the days I had off to drive around the highlands in my little black Panda making up for the hard work and long hours. I just loved the freedom to go wherever I wanted without the fear of being attacked, as in my own country there was nowhere that I can go hiking on my own, and I sometimes love just sitting quietly, waiting for some creature to make itself visible.
I phoned the agent immediately to hear if the keys to the main house had been sent, and halleluja, she assured me that she indeed have it. So the first week-end Irma, the kids and myself set out for Haarlem, all of us very anxious to see what my house looked like inside.

It was with great expectation that I opened my front door, but I just wanted to close it again, as the sight that met our eyes was so horrific that I was on the point of leaving, never to come back! As it was the front door I unlocked, I took it to be the sittingroom, and this room was in a state of total collapse. There must have been a cement floor long-long ago, as there was a few pieces showing, but the rest was just earth, with a few grey-green grasses struggling to stay alive! The plastering on the walls had also given up clinging on, only patches of it remaining here and there. In front of one of the windows a bloodred piece of curtain flapped in the breeze that blew in through the space where the window had lost touch with the frame, giving the whole room a feeling of macabre gayity! I cried! It was a nightmare, as the spiders that had bred undesturbed  for how many years had almost cocooned the whole roof in their webs, and sat staring at us from every available space! I cried some more, lustily and heartily! The kitchen looked a bit better, as it had a ceiling, well, kind of, as most of it was hanging in shreds, but the floor was almost intact, and the plaster looked a lot more stable than in the sitting room. My flattened spirit lifted a bit when I saw the huge fireplace where I could easily visualise myself busily knitting or reading in front of a big fire. There was a small kind of scullery at the back, where a big gaping hole showed where the zink and taps were broken out of the wall, a piece underneath the window was missing, and the floor non existent. The one bedroom was not bad, the floor at least intact, and the walls had a lot less plaster missing. The second bedroom had no window at all, the sun had burned it to dust, and a rusted roofplate was wedged in front of it with a heavy iron post. I was hyperventilating! Badly! Irma was quiet! The two girls were round eyed, but giggling! So we hastend back to Irma's house, made a pot of strong tea, and sat lamenting for the rest of the day. I was unable to see any light, and knew that it would take some time and a lot of hard work before I would be able to live in that bally hovel. I was longing suddenly for my lovely clean and comfy kitchen in the flat, where I might not have a huge fireplace, but at least it had all the amenities necessary for decent living.

I still did not have the keys to the main house, so I had no idea what was going on inside. The week-end before I left for Scotland we all went down to Haarlem, where the only reasonably habitable place was Irma's house. I however had a shower and a bath, but no hot water.
So that first sleep-over in Haarlem was quite an adventure, as the floorplanks were full of holes, and you could hear creatures moving underneath, not very good for a good night's sleep. Hannes and Manda were sleeping in one bedroom, and us lot, that is Irma and her two kids, kristani and Kiana, in the other room. But first we scouted around for some planks to put over the holes, with the camping mattresses over that, all to prevent the creatures living in the dark from knibbling at us! The house was a mess, and it took ages to clear away all the empty wine and beer bottels that the previous lot had left us.
But in spite of all the drawbacks we all slept soundly, and Hannes and myself were up early, watching the sun come up over the mountains. It was so beautiful, and with a lot of different birds joyfully serenading the first rays of the upcoming sun, and our hot steaming coffee smelling like heaven, we were very content. Then we heard two different faint voices calling, and it was Irma and Manda demanding coffee.

I did not do much that day, as I could not stay in my house for longer than two minutes at a time, thanks to the creosote, but Hannes, a very handy and artistic man, fabricated the most gorgeous gates and fences from thin poplar twigs. Typically Irma, instead of having brought stuff to renovate the house, like maybe scraping a wall or two, had brought her paintbox, and converted the two pillars in her sittingroom from flaky and dirty, to two fake marble collumns straight from Rome! She is a marvel with paint effects, but we all had a good laugh at her crazy logic that only wants to beautify!
I just loved to walk around on my grounds, dreaming about what I would do when I come back.
For breakfast we made a big pot of maize porridge, and while the others had their's with milk and sugar and butter, I had mine with grated cheese and milk. Yummy! I was sad to leave that day, as I would not be back for seven months. But as always I had a wonderful time in Scotland, where I had a nice job, nice friends, and a lot of freedom to roam the lochs and rivers and mountains. I get this wildness from my mum, who could never be tamed, and had a lot of fights with my dads mum on the farm, as she would pack a food basket, and as soon as my dad left to see to his cattle, we would creep passed granny's house and spend the day up in the mountains.

About two weeks before I had to leave for my job in Scotland, the sale went through, and after a few whoops of delight, one huge doubt set in, as only now did I realise the enormous step I had taken. Haarlem is an an old German Mission station, and most of its inhabitants were working on the apple farms, so I would be the only white person living there! Luckily Manda loved the place also, and they had decided to buy the house next doors from me, and their sale also went through at the same time, but as they were still working, they would only be in Haarlem over week-ends.
I decided to tackle the wood-knawing beesties first, so armed with a huge tin of creosote, a remedy my good friend Jaco, an ardent diy man, recommended strongly, I set off for Haarlem. I borrowed Hannes's brandnew and shiny alluminium ladder, and set to with enthusiasm and vigour, wondering about using the vile smelling stuff my friend recommended, as it smelled potent and dangerous! Half a raft later I had to run out for air, as the  fumes from the creosote was so strong that I could not pull any air into my lungs! I tried again, and again, but my knees were becoming quite warm and swollen from going up and down the ladder, and I was sitting in a miserable heap, coughing and sneezing, when I heard a faint 'Hello-o-o' from the gate, and there stood Christalina, a woman living just down the road, looking for work. I could kiss her! After explaining to her to be very careful, and to take only small amounts of the creosote on the brush, and stressed that she was to NOT mess on Hannes's new ladder, and had to take frequent breathes outside, I left her to it, and went on to put putty in the windows that were on the point of falling out!
When my tummy started complaining about being so empty, I went to Irma's kitchen, the only place where one could keep a kettle and food, and made us some sandwiches and a pot of strong tea. I suddenly realised that Christalina never came out for drawing a breathe, so I got a bitty worried, and rushed over with our refreshments, expecting a comatose girl! The scene that met my eyes was so gruesome that I almost chucked the food away an ran! Christalina was alive and very happy, and she looked like something from a horror show, as she was NOT careful with the creosote, and her whole body was covered in a shiny black coat of the stuff. When she smiled happily at me, and the white of her teeth and eyes stood out garishly from her black creosote coating, I thought a demon had gotten up from the dead, and gave a full bodied scream, but when my eyes fell on Hannes's brandnew ladder that was now also as black and shiny as the woman standing smiling on top of it, and the walls and floor that also got a good layer, my cup was full, and I cried! But as it couldn't get any worse, we had our elevenses, and I told Christalina to finish. I was slogging away with the putty when my phone rang, and it was Jaco to enquire how I was getting on, and to warn me that the creosote had arsenic in, and to be very careful not to let it come onto my body! Oh my Lord! I screamed at Christalina to come out and gave her the bottle with turps, instructing her to clean herself immediately, and then have a long shower! She on her turn was flabbergasted, told me in no uncertain terms that she was having no cold shower, and that she would take the turps with and clean herself at home! I tried to clean Hannes's ladder, but all the alluminium came off, and I realised that it was an old ladder with a new dress! Then I packed up and went home, but was on tenterhooks all the time, expecting to get a message that Christalina had passed on from the creosote! And to make me feel even worse, I knew she had a small baby!

Was feeling a bitty shaky on this day, as three days into the week for telling the agent whether I will take the smallholding, I was still not sure. Felt a light depression setting in, as almost no sleep, and a lot of nightmares concerning bright green houses and monster bulls can play havock with the old nervous system! I could never be as depressed as my good friend Lizzie back in Scotland, who drank a bottle of red every night, smoke umpteen packets of cigarettes, then get one helluva astma attack from this indulgences, which then prompts an an anxiety attack, and who then phone me at three in the morning to get the paramedics!
So I decided to clean the fishpond, as sitting in the flat, or walking down to town brought no peace, and I wondered if a bout of hard work would calm me down. Stinky and dangerous job, as the fish kept on jumping from the kids fishing net, or the holding bucket. My left small toe got badly hurt when, diving after a bally bright orange Houdini with a flashy tail, it caught on a jagged rock, making me jump around on one leg and using some fine vocabulary! But I eventually got the job done! The next day my Houdini was floating upside down, which was a pity, as he was the prettiest fish in the pond. Maybe I was just a teeny bit rough after I hurt my toe, which I had to doctor with horse linament, and was now swolen and purple, and very tender! But the last straw was when, on driving up Mead street in front of the school, I was once again caught up in the schoolmum rush! Sitting caught up behind a young blond mum in a huge silver monster parked in the middle of the road who was inspecting her nails one by one, then had a good look at her make-up and hairdo, then sat staring into space, apparently oblivious of us childless road users who just wanted to go our ways, I thought of the Haarlem traffic consisting mostly of cattle, horses, donkeys, chickens, and even a few pigs, and then and there made up my mind! I was going homesteading!
Back home I phoned the agent to tell her that I was all for living at Haarlem, then made an appointment with an attorney to start the process of buying. This bally old man, who anyway looked ridiculous with two thin strands of hair combed over his bald scalp, treated me like an imbecile, just because at my HIGH age I wanted to do what in his eyes was a strange thing! When he asked me for the fifth time if I was sure, I got a little upset, so I gave him a saucy wink, just to show him there was still some life in me, and he got so flustered he kept quiet about the practicality of the whole thing, and got on with it. But I got a lot more frustrated as time went by, as the transfer took for ages, and I was scared that it would not be done before I had to leave for my Job in Strathyre, Scotland. In the meantime I stared doing some naive paintings for the craft markets to pass the time! The one photo is of my fish pond in my very small garden.

When I saw it, I knew it was mine! It was love at first sight with this little stone cottage with its round thatched roof and huge rose trees in the front and down the side, looking much like a huge toadstool, the house, that is! I was sure it winked at me, but kept silent, as Irma already thought me a bitty soft in the head, so I asked the agent if it was up for sale, and gave a very unladylike whoop when she said yes! This house had been enlarged with an en-suite at the bottom, and I could not understand when the agent said she had only the keys for the built-on part, but soon saw why, as there was no door connecting the house and the new built. That didn't bother me much, but the fact that I couldn't see the main house was a bit of a drawback. The new part was a bedroom, a huge bathroom with the ugliest greenish, and longest bath I had ever laid my eyes on, and a huge shower. The handbasin was built into something looking like a cross between a supermarket cloakroom and a plane toilet cubbourd, and it was hideous! The top was of a very unlikely coloured fake marble, and on the one side was two openings, one looking like it could be a space for depositing used papertowels and one for who knows what! The roof was about five metres on the side where it joined the main house, falling sharply to about one and a half on the other side, and as it was thatch, it gave the room a nice atmosphere. What I did not like was the huge rainspiders that sat eyeing us from their lofty lairs high up between the thatch. Another thing that bothered me was the heaps of very fine dust everywhere, and I knew that that meant I had some other goggas than the spiders who would be sharing the house, but I also knew that I could have the house fumigated to get rid of the beetles that were chewing away on the rafters! I had a lot of misgivings, but for the price of this place I would have money to do the neccassery, as structurally it looked good. Another nice thing was the river at the bottom. The plot was about one acre big, with a few oldish fruit trees still fighting for life, but apart from that it was bare! Irma and Hannes, who by now was quite keen on Haarlem had gone to look at the big house next doors, as it was also up for sale, so the agent convinced me to also have a look. It was a long white house with a veranda that spanned the whole of the front, looking out down to the tree lined river. We couldn't get far into the house, as all over there were drunken bodies sitting and lying around, and they were not very eager for us to invade their orgy! I asked the agent a question, and she smiled, showing the two curly teeth, and one of the youngsters gasped and said to his drunken pal: 'Het djy daai vrou se moese tanne gesien!' [did you see that woman's huge teeth], but said in the typical and wonderful way only our coloured people can, I was hard pushed not to laugh, but as the agent sounded so very English I hoped that she didn't understand it! Soon after, the agent left, and we took our flask with coffee and the sandwiches I made down to the river to have lunch. It was beautiful, the huge Poplar trees changing the light to a soft green, making it look almost surreal, and the river flowing calmly away to the Kouga. We had our lunch sitting on a huge fallen Poplar trunk! Irma and Hannes were talking about buying the big house, as it also had a huge barn that could be converted into a nice house, so he decided to bring Manda, his wife who was away to her daughter, when she came back, and hoped that she would also fall in love with Haarlem. I had a lot of thinking to do, as it would be quite a big step for me to take!