It’s February 4 today and it’s a Sunday so everyone has to go to church. Last night we had a barbecue here with Lisa’s cousin David and his wife. A South African braai is completely different from a Dutch barbecue. For starters, there is just a lot of meat and this is roasted on a wood fire. There is a lot of food in addition to the meat of which the potato salad is the most important. It is a process that takes at least about 3-4 hours in which the alcohol flows profusely and is often out mid-evening. As the only non-drinker I have to go get something from the local smugglers (yes really) and that was the case yesterday and I was sent out with his David’s wife, with his car. Cousin David has a high rank within the police and is therefore widely known here. I was stopped by one of the smugglers and asked if I knew David Claasen (and what I did in his car!). Yes, I knew them, I replied. Since today I was appointed as his driver…..
Hilarity everywhere of course certainly when David’s wife got into the car and could explain everything.
Yesterday we had a lot of fliess and I spent half an hour murdering those beasts. There are quite a lot of bugs here and they come out in the evening to the horror of some. Especially the toads and crickets (paddas and toktokkies).
And of course the toilet just stopped. Somewhere something broke down and fell into the pipe. The culprit is in the cemetery but mother-in-law Annie is on the road with some grandchildren to arrange a mechanic. I couldn’t fix the thing myself.
She has great relationships here because the toilet was fixed in a heartbeat!
Today, Monday, we went to buy building materials. Paint, tile line, stairs, jigsaw you name it. It’s still hot now but it looks like it’s getting really cooler, around 28 degrees during the day. I’m only going to do something for a few days!
Incidentally, the tiles are glued on Nutec plates here and they looked suspicious because it looked exactly like asbestos plates. Now asbestos has long been banned in South Africa and a check at the manufacturer (long live the internet) showed that the plates were pressed with cellulose. I just bought a good mask and will saw outside but this reassures. Of course we could not transport the Nutec plate and it is now on our camping bed. Quite handy such a camper.
Today I don’t do anything anymore. Read a little and prepare something for tomorrow.
It’s evening now and pretty cool. The starry sky is beautiful to see even with the lights in the village. Seeing the Milky Way is something our children don’t really know.
We need to get started in the coming days to get the outbuildings acceptable. Let’s see how far we can get in this cooler period
It is now Tuesday and I have actually started working. It’s much less hot than the past few days but now, half past ten, it’s too hot to do something on a corrugated roof in the sun. I cut the front of the outbuildings with the angle grinder under quite interesting conditions. Just look at the power cables that run just above the roof. They make working a challenge.
The chimney is now stutted with a simple aluminum shelf carrier. The electrician started by replacing the distribution cabinet and installing the power to the outbuildings. I leave the payment to Annie who has made negotiating an art. We are going to Oudtshoorn soon to buy some plaster for the interior walls and a small plasterboard so that I can finish the tile work. Tomorrow it will be a bit cooler so working is more pleasant. In addition, a cousin comes to help paint the outbuildings for which we bought 40 l of paint primer. Because we have no power, the electric toothbrush is charged in de camper now. Solarpower!
Actually, we go to Oudtshoorn to cool off in the car and have lunch. And to withdraw money because Dysseldorp is the most expensive place in Africa.
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Wat gaat er eigenlijk in die bijgebouwen gebeuren?
Erik, mijn schoonmoeder wil dat de hele familie bij haar kan slapen. Komt nooit voor maar ja, 83….
Zoveel eigenwijzigheid… dat krijg je er niet meer uit… 😉