Almost oversees

Surprise, surprise: we are back home for three nights to check the building project, experience the Dutch Koniginnedag party, and cuddle the dogs. May 1we really leave, and May 2 we will be back in the Netherlands.

Poetsen & Pakken

Easter Sunday we leave for South Africa. We'll use our South African cell numbers till May 1:
Maud: +27765604009
Bram: +27768358656
Bram will be teaching another workshop at Pretoria University, while Maud visits friends. Before flying to the Netherlands on May 1 we'll have a short holyday together.


Right now our lives are dedicated to cleaning, packing, delivering last-minute orders, organizing in general, and a series of 'good bye'-events. The dogs do their best to pitch in by cleaning out fruits & vegetables. By now they are quite experienced pickers, especially Nadia...


Goodbyes means a lot of brunches, sundowners, braais. We had a nice goodbye-dinner at LJ & Dineo's. Actually that was LJ's goodbye because he left already last Saturday to visit his kids in the States. Last Sunday we had a brunch, meaning we loitered in Andre & Tears' yard the whole day while munching goodies from World Foods. We even had herring, Amsterdammer, Emmentaler, appelmoes and zure bommen!


Now that even the yard is weeded and the culled vegetation is burned, we are kind of ready to leave, although Maud never will be really ready to leave the view, the dogs, and etcetera behind.

Dig & Fill

After a lot of sweating and swearing, almost all the roots and stones that are in the way of our foundation have been removed, and the trenches for the lower levels are dug.


Before the thrilling moment of he first pouring of the first slab for the first footing Maud had our old American friend & fellow Morwa-inhabitant LJ over for inspection and advice because he has loads of experience with construction. Thanks to LJ the footing is now well reinforced, so as to carry our Fort Knox.


Here the guys are building the wall for the lowest level of foundation. This one won't be filled because we decided to make a cellar-like double super secure storeroom with concrete ceilings.


It's amazing how our son Bashi always manages to get things level. This three stock bricks wide wall will have to support the concrete slabs that will be the ceilings to the storerooms and at the same time the floor to the first halves of the living room and kitchen. We'll try to make some pictures that give an overview of the layout of the house into the hill later this week.

Fixed

Sorry, yet another dogblog... Since we have to leave our security crew for about four months, we have to organize a thing or two. Like Bashi taking care of them, and ample doggie pallets. Another thing to organize is 'Four is Enough'. We certainly don't need another litter, however sweet they are, so Lisa is now 'fixed', meaning she walks around with sewn up belly. We also don't need a litter dropped on us because Louis has been procreating, so the poor guy lost his balls. Bram brought him a nice replacement from Pretoria, but he liked his new bright yellow balls so much he chewed both of them to shreds within a week.

Footing, Founding, Fortifying

Finally an attempt to give you all an overview of the house-to-be, although it is hard to make pictures that show what you see when you are there 'live'.
Once put into place this almost finished sliding gate will give entrance to the plot.


Looking from the office annex guesthouse to the house-to-be you see the stock brick walls that make the foundation. To fit in- and onto the hill, the house must be quite high above the lowest soil level. Therefore it is possible to convert the first part of the foundation into two storerooms. You are looking at the front wall of the storerooms. The first half of the floor of the living room and kitchen will be on top of that.


Looking from the bedroom-to-be you see the contours of the space that will become living room, kitchen and bathroom. Bram and Witvoet are sitting next to where the fireplace and chimney will be.


Check, check, double check - but since Bashi's tolerance is about 5 mm over 10 meters, this check is once again satisfying. Bram is standing in the storeroom, underneath the kitchen to be.


Now Bram is standing in the bathroom. Barely visible to his right is the trench for the footing of the bedroom foundation.

Finally Married

We had a very special event: Bram's African mother our neighbour Mma Binkie finally got officially married to her husband, who died about 19 years ago. As one lady Maud's age told us: "I had to come, because we have to see how the elders do this." All in one: this is not something that happens often, but it happens, and there are traditions for it.
An old, respected couple from Bokaa, a neighbour-village, represented both Mma Binkie's and the husband's parents. The day before the wedding Mma Binkie moved into the yard representing her parents' yard. Before sunup her husbands' family came to fetch her and bring her to the yard representing her in-laws' yard. By then the lebola (bride's price) was paid, and Mma Binkie got her two new dresses and doeke (a blanked used as a shawl or wrapper). And of course The Ring!


Now that she is married, Mme Binkie can move into the yard of the newly wed, being the yard next to us where she lives. Once she comes home, it is Party Time. Most of the elder men go sit one side of the yard, underneath a shady tree, to get their special wedding lunch. The middle-aged men prefer a bit more secluded shady place, where the little boys closely observe them.


Most of the women sit close to the house, waiting for their hands to be washed and their food to be served by the youngsters.


It takes some effort to keep the young youngsters in line and have them execute their task of fetching empty plates and cups...


Ok, you can take one more picture.


By and by more and more people arrive to help out and enjoy the wedding food.


This is how it should be: a traditional germin dress, a matching scarf around the head, and a doek & speld around the shoulders. But after the official part the doek may be taken off, as long as you can show you have it with you.