First of all.. I'm IN the cottage now, and no longer living at the wooden garden table outside under the 'patio' roof.. I even moved a bed from the storage into the cottage, where for now it's standing near the kitchen, but in the house none the less.. so no more walks up the hill to the milking shed for my night's rests..
Lots happened since the move... the most worrying of all, was the fact that the puppy Max all of a sudden was limping and had a stretched knee tendon.. had to keep him quiet otherwise it would tear and an operation would then have been inevitable.. not a good thing for a puppy since that automatically would result in him developing rheumatism at a very early age.. so keeping a Jack Russel puppy quiet ??.. well.. kind of worked somehow and after a week he was improving again, so no op.. something to be very grateful for, it did affect my mood I must say !
In the meantime had to continue work on the cottage itself, and that still is a bit of a mission.. the floor with the black screed is in, but definitely not a success, so have to come up with an alternative plan. Maybe visit the Earth Cote store sometime to see what they have on offer !
 | |||||||||
| Notice the difference with the first picture of the blog ?.. Color of house, Terrace doors, retaining wall in front for terrace, Chimney for wood burner, solar geyser, we're getting there.. yay ! |
Did somehow manage to move some of my stuff into the cottage but had to choose anything black, since the floor still gives off that black stuff that is supposed to stay on it, and with dogs and wind, light colored furniture for now is a no no.. so that has to stay in my storage for a bit longer..
DSTV or Satellite tv has been installed and works like a dream, so after weeks of no tv, can now enjoy my favorite programmes again... nice !
Solar geyser installed on the roof, which now provides the house with lovely hot water.. the first step towards the eco friendly enterprise.. also connected to washing machine and dishwasher to the solar system, so they don't have to heat up their water from the grid anymore, which should also save electricity is my guess.. Gas hob installed, so no electrical cooking, so I'm slowly weaning myself off electricity as much as possible (yeah, I know, still that dishwasher, but hey, let me sin just a little bit)
Solid fuel heater also installed and works very well.. tested and approved... looks really nice and happy its there..
 |
| No more electricity for heating the cottage either, and yes, you can cook on it too ! |
yep, I know, its now wood that I'm burning during the winter months, but at least its the alien vegetation that is disappearing into the stove, and will replace that vegetation with the indigenous stuff from time to time.... I promise !
And for now finishing the painting of the house.. sorting out the stored stuff in the garage and I can't wait to re do the flooring ! but.. have been at it for 8 weeks now, and next week its time for some rest and relaxation.. 'smelling of the roses' time ! And.. am I lonely in the country ??.. NO ! not at all.. had lots of visitors, actually more than I ever had in Cape Town, which is kind of amazing I think .. and this weekend again having 6 friends over from the Cape for a braai on sunday afternoon, so that is yet again something to look forward to..
Best regards all... and c u on the next blog... from a happy chappy in 'the country'
Rick
xxx
You are amazing! I'm sorry to hear about the floor - sounds like the black would have looked awesome. What are you going to do instead?
ReplyDeleteAll the eco-friendly stuff is so great. I know it's an initial expense but you will never regret it AND your conscience will be so proud of you.
Please add more pics. It's so exciting and it would be great to come and see it all first hand soon.
Look forward to seeing you next week.
Sending much love to you, Zara and Maxi.
XXXXX
Tess