I have now managed to get all the big stones out from the heap of rubble that was dumped in front of my sitting room's window by the builders that had made the door from the main house into the bottom rooms. When I first bought the house of course, I had to leave the safety of my house, and run down to the built on part for a bath, or to use the toilet. That was not very convenient, but most of all it was unsafe, as there is quite a lot of burglaries in the village, and I was very far from other people.
Later when Irma came to live in her house, and then Jan and Nina, I felt a bitty more safe, but as their living space and bedroom was on the other side of their house, they wouldn't have heard me scream anyway.
But as nobody would dare to break through the half meter stone wall, I had to be content with living like that, and as I was only home during the summer, I left it for the time being.
But then when Nina died, and I couldn't go back to Scotland, I became desperate, as Haarlem is one of the coldest places in South Africa. Not having a door meant that I had to lock the small baby in the main house, then legged it down to the bathroom, then lock that door, and sprint back to the front door, which I had to unlock first, and if I had a shower, I was frozen to a lolly by the time I was back in the house again. The baby of course was my wee grandson who was only five weeks when his mum died in a motorcar crash.
So when Jan found a builder to close part of his veranda, I asked him whether he saw his way open to do my door, and he was full of confidence, and I less so, but he made a pretty good job of it. Of course he and his helper worked beautifully until lunchtime, when they would smoke a lot of pot, and after that everything was scew, so Jan had told them to only work till one, as they had to break down anything built after their lunch the next day.
But this heap of rubble was a sore eye, and I decided to make a rockery, first by burying the pieces of rubble underneath the sand, then use some of the rocks I managed to take out, and pack a kind of round shape. But first I made some steps, as I would need to get to my window now and then. It was no easy task, as the holes inbetween all this pieces of rubble were infested with mole snakes, and although they are not poisonous, it is very disconcerting when an enraged foot long snake suddenly crawls from some hole, and wriggled crossly straight towards ones feet. Landed on my backside a few times, and could only laugh at myself. But darn it, I may work like a man, but I am after all still a woman!