Boxes Everywhere
Home is chaotic. Boxes are piling up in every room. Some are marked for storage, some for charity, some for Cape Town and some even for England. Caroline casts repeated, acquisitive glances over the various piles of belongings and she is not interested in charities. I feel like a smuggler in my own home as I hurry a few possessions into my car in an effort to reach far needier communities.
Our buyers are very enthusiastic and have now visited on three different occasions with an entourage of relatives, painters, decorators and builders and spent up to two hours in the house at a time, measuring, discussing and debating. Daisy, the nervous spaniel, becomes quite desperate with anxiety. I have put her on tranquilisers but they seem to be having little effect. She behaves as though the new family are dangerous intruders, which – to her – they probably are.
Daisy can actually mimic a Rottweiler.
The London kitties hide upstairs while Monty lurks in the shrubbery and shows up at mealtimes only.
Monty on his favourite chair.
He sauntered across the lawn on Wednesday evening only to stop dead when he reached the patio and discovered that his favourite chair was no longer in place. It had been carted off in the morning along with some other bigger pieces of furniture, never to be seen again. He is getting more and more suspicious and I’m afraid he will disappear into a neighbour’s roof as he has done on one or two other occasions.
The start of serious downsizing. This truck carried off lots of things and I haven’t given them a thought since.
It is not peaceful. In between packing boxes we’re trying to speed up our building process and quite a lot is happening there now. It seems as though the cottage/office will be ready for occupation by the 24th of February.
Cottage Upstairs. We’ve added a window and extra skylight since this picture was taken.
Not only have we added a small window and an additional skylight to this room, I also met with Bernard just last Sunday and asked him to change the position of the two windows already in place. I felt they had been placed too low and had been worrying about them for months. They were moved within days and I’m much happier with them now.
South facing cottage window has been repositioned.
North window in new position.
The main move is happening on the 23rd, when all the furniture and boxes that are going to the new house, will be taken away for storage. The garden pots and outdoor things are being moved on the 20th which is also when our daughter will be moving into other temporary accommodation. And the office movers will come on the 24th. The logistics are quite complicated. Especially when I always envisaged quite a leisurely move from one house directly to the other, spread over a few days. No such luck.
But last Tuesday I had reason to be in the suburb of Fourways and while I was there I visited one of my favourite decorating shops, The Private House Company. I had a lovely time wandering around looking at all the beautiful house and garden furniture. I delayed going home as long as possible but eventually returned with renewed enthusiasm for ‘starting over.
Private House Showroom
I love the natural, quite tactile elements that this decorator incorporates into all her rooms. She manages to capture a sense of Africa without leaving one feeling overwhelmed by it. I’ll be going back there.
And yesterday I escaped to Cape Town for a few days. I had a commitment down here made many months ago when I thought we’d already be completely settled in the new house. As the time drew nearer I started to question whether or not I should still come but I couldn’t wait to get a little bit of distance on all the disruption at home. I got off the plane into temperatures 10 degrees cooler than Johannesburg where we’ve been enveloped in the most oppressive heat wave for the past week and was immediately relieved to be here. But most importantly, I walked into the cool, uncluttered calm of our small Cape Town house and knew at once that we’re doing the right thing in Johannesburg. I shall return on Monday to tackle the downsizing, throwing out and decluttering with renewed vigour as we enter the final countdown.
Sunset over Camp’s Bay.
home-in-the-making 
A real upheaval. We are thrilled to learn that at least the cottage will be available to you for beneficial occupation by February 24th. Enjoy the new house.
Thanks Ian. I’m surprised you picked this up so quickly. Aren’t you on the high seas in some far-flung part of the world?
We leave next week for Beunos Aires, the Falkland Islands, Patagonia, Cape Horn and Chile. “Spanish for Travellers” lessons coming on nicely.
Jaqui, my heart goes out to you. As you know, Peter and I went through The Big Move a year ago and I assure you that the stress will fade and become as if a bad dream! You’re nearly there – one last push, as the midwife always says…
Thanks Heather. I feel we’re lucky in that we’re sure we’re doing the right thing so it’s just a case of getting it all over and done with. It’s reassuring to think of how beautifully you and Peter have slotted into your gorgeous country life.
It sounds like all action! Your cottage space looks lovely even before your changes. Visualising Daisy’s Rottweiler impression made me laugh. I am already trying to “sneak away” excess items that we don’t need but others might. I know later in the year when we pack my “to give away” pile will be heavily scrutinised! Seeing your interior shop pictures reminded me to mention that there is a lovely shop in Melbourne, that I have been viewing online, and it originates from South Africa. Weylandts. Do you know it? Best wishes for the hectic weeks ahead.
Thanks Johanne. It’s certainly busy but the end result is something I’m looking forward to which helps a lot. I know Weylandts well. It’s a very popular decorating shop in South Africa. I didn’t know that had ‘branched out’ to Australia and am glad to hear you like it.