Living without built in cupboards

Well, the countryside is lovely. Although rather chilly.

Unfortunately for me, these old houses don't come with built in cupboards. At this point, I just don't have a clue where to store everything. My entire life I have lived in places that had built in cupboards. So as you can imagine, I don't have much in the way of cupboards now that I'm in a place with none.

It's quite scary just what my house looks like. Shoes are still living in boxes. Half the kitchen stuff has to live in boxes. Where am I supposed to go with all these boxes I wonder.

And I am still trying to find a property to buy. I've heard of a few, spoken to some people. 2 neighbours have said they'll take me to see properties. I'm just not sure when.

In the meantime, I guess I will just have to be patient. And I honestly don't have the drive to start a veggie patch in a house that I can only stay in until December. Same goes for putting in cupboards or fixing up anything.

Goddess grant that I find something soon. Living in limbo is so not my favourite way to live.

Settling down to life in the country

I've now been here exactly 2 weeks long.

I'm embarrassed to say, I still have not finished unpacking. My priorities lie elsewhere. I'm doing a little most nights and that is enough for me.

I am really enjoying country life. One of the most often heard sounds is the mooing of cows as they wander by my house to their grazing fields.

I buy my milk from a lady who has a herd of cows. It's fresh farm milk. Full cream and not that watery stuff they sell in the shops. I still need to get a veggie patch going, but that will come in time. In the meantime I will buy from local farmers.

The people here are so wonderfully friendly compared with in the city. On my first day here, a lady from the next road popped in to introduce herself. I've already been to a baby shower of one of the ladies who lives in town and last night I got an invite to a birthday lady. I'm meeting people at a rate of knots second to none.

I've arrived and am finally online again

I left Cape Town on Friday morning and took a beautifully scenic drive down Route 62. If it wasn't for the fact that I had 3 cats in the car, I would have been tempted to stop and enjoy the scenery for a few days.

I arrived  on Friday afternoon. The neighbours have been wonderful. So many friendly people who have all come and introduced themselves.  

Unpacking is going slow. But I'm not in the mood to rush with it. There are no built in cupboards, so I still need to go shopping for some cupboards. Hopefully the auction will have some gems.

And this afternoon, my internet was set up. So I am thankfully back online.

Nearly moving time

At long last it is nearly time for the move. It's Sunday afternoon and just a few days left.

My movers arrive on Thursday morning. Still got some last minute odds and ends to pack. But it shouldn't be long at all.

And I'm very privileged to have a wonderful sister who has invited me around for dinner on most nights next week. Which means I can get my stove disconnected early and pack all the food away.

I will miss my family and friends. Although it makes me feel a tad guilty, I am so excited about my move to the country. I don't think I will miss the big city. Just all the special people I'm leaving behind.

Delays with the move

Between go slows with SARS and the Municipality and backlog at the Deeds Office, my transfer is taking forever to get registered.

Although I want to move at the end of April, the extra time gives me a break with the packing. I feel like it's all more manageable now.

So I'm not going to stress about this. Will rather just  enjoy the extra breathing space.

The move is now set for 6/7 May. The movers arrive on 6 May. I just need to decide if I want to leave on Thursday night or Friday morning. And oops - must remember to put my leave in at work.

Packing up my house

It currently feels as if I've been packing up forever. And yet the house still looks so full of stuff.

I'm thoroughly exhausted and losing hope that packing will be finished by Friday when the movers arrive.

As I'm sure anyone who's ever moved a household knows, this is an exhausting little exercise. But with less than 1 week to go, I cannot take my time. I am itemising the boxes which takes far longer. But with me moving into a temporary rental for 8 months, it is better this way. Then I don't have to unpack everything. Books and any hobby things can stay packed until I find a permanent home.

Anyway, best I get on with my packing. Blogging is not going to help the boxes get packed. Right now I'm wishing for a packing fairy to assist, but unfortunately that's hardly likely to happen.

Deciding on a lovely journey

Since I will be driving to Haarlem, I have decided to take a look at the various routes available. I could take the N1 but I have driven that so many times and am bored with it. The garden route has potential but I've done that a few times too.

And then I found a lovely route to try. It sounds brilliant and I could turn my drive to my new home into a mini holiday. Route 62. The website that tells all about this lovely route is http://www.route62.co.za/content.php?contentID=5&townID=0&Route62=Route62

And the way I figure it, is that I could get to know some more about South Africa on my travels. Now I'm actually starting to look forward to the long drive.