The hunt for a house

I know it's been quite a while since I have posted on here. Between working long hours, a visit from my family and house hunting, I haven't had a chance to sit down and gather thoughts.

I have been looking at houses in many villages all over the langkloof and surrounds for the past 2 months. I've looked at beautiful houses with no garden, not such great houses with lovely gardens and much in between. I even saw a stunning house that had everything I wanted except that it had major water problems.

But eventually I found something that was just right for me.

It has a lovely big kitchen with space for a big kitchen table.  There is a main bedroom with dressing room plus a guest bedroom. A spacious lounge. And a lovely little sunny room which  will become my office.

The garden is huge. And when I replace the ceilings with wood ceilings, I'll then have a attic which will be big enough to turn into an art studio or a guest room.

Here are the pictures of the house. Unfortunately there are none of the 2 spare rooms or the bathroom.

There is a lot of work to be done on the house since I want the kitchen and dressing room to have wooden cupboards. I'll probably have to settle for wooden veneers over the current chipboard since new cupboards will cost a small fortune (especially with the amount of cupboards that will need replacing).

I also want to put a shower into the bathroom. And possibly re-tile the bathroom. Although I cannot remember what colours where in the bathroom, it was pretty nondescript and certainly nothing to write home about. Thankfully it was a decent size with adequate space for both the washing machine and the shower I want to install.

I'm still trying to decide on colours and style for both the bathroom and kitchen. With the kitchen, I also have the option to leave the layout as is and just put my kitchen table in. Alternatively, I could put a centre line of cupboards with a big work surface in, effectively breaking the kitchen into workspace and dining area, putting the kitchen table on the other side so that it would be more like a smaller open plan kitchen with a casual dining area on the other side.

As for the bathroom, I need to decide what type of shower, what colour tiles, if I want any layout changes or not.

And then of course, I want to replace all the ceilings with wooden ceilings (except the master bedroom which already has wooden ceilings. And Bourne Gleam all the wooden floors. And I'm seriously tempted to put carpets into the bedrooms since they have tiled floors currently.

Of course I also want to repaint inside since most of the walls are not a colour I would have chosen. And I need to put new fascia boards on plus redo the gutters. And I definitely need to get a fireplace installed.  Thankfully not everything has to be done before I move in, since I'm on a limited budget. 

I'll start with the gutters and fascia boards and then see how much I have left. Thereafter I will be able to tackle one project every month to three months depending on how much money I can scrape together and what the cost of said project will be.

And the garden needs some more trees, possibly a few fruit trees. Some herbs, my veggie patch.

So it looks like my next year or two is cut out for me. With lots of projects to keep me out of mischief.

The search for the perfect home continues

Today I went to look at 3 houses. 2 unfortunately had very tiny gardens although stunning houses and the other one was a very tiny house even though the garden was adequate. I could buy it and build on an extra room. But I think I will first look around for other options.

I'm sure when my dream home presents itself, I will actually recognise it. 

And on Sunday I'll be looking at a few more properties. This is all very exciting. My only worry is that I do not find something I fall in love with before my lease runs out. I really do not want to buy a house that doesn't tug at my heart strings.

At the end of this weekend, I'll try and post some pics of the houses I've viewed.

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.