2am Fun & Games

Posted on November 28, 2021 by Helga

Sunday

Today was the day…

…after there were 2am fun & games.  We have double glazing on our bedroom windows so if  a bunch of holiday makers at the neighbouring house start making a ruckus, it usually is unobtrusive. When we do hear them, their behaviour must be extremely loud and obnoxious. They woke me with their high volume shouting at 2am.  While our bedroom window has double glazing the loft window,  which is in line with the neighbour’s balcony, does not. My Swiss guest and her friend were trying to sleep right next to the noise!  I got up and opened our bedroom balcony door. David was on his balcony looking over and up at their house. “Wow! They are so loud!” he said. I told him we had guest in the loft. David used to occupy the loft so he knows the problem. He said, “I’m going to go and tell them to be quiet”. And off he went. The problem with the neighbour’s house is that you cannot alert them by ringing a doorbell. There is no doorbell. The only way to attract their attention is to shout louder than them. David banged on their garage door. That got their attention and the organiser immediately tried to quieten them down. I was standing watching this lot. It was then that I realised the bunch of noisy ones were all in the pool…naked.

What followed was quite comical actually.

If I were in a holiday house that had a swimming pool and I wanted to skinny dip in the middle of the night, I may just do so, but it would be very quietly. I would slip noiselessly into the water and in the event of my skinny dipping with anyone more than Mike (okay that wouldn’t happen….ever), I would really make sure we were super quiet for fear of being seen.

The skinny dipping crowd had been caught naked in the pool & now they had to get out. There was much scrambling and bending and crouching and calling for towels!

The organiser came to the wall and signaled an apology to me and gesticulated they would all be going to bed.

15 minutes later, peace and calm returned to the night.

The neighbour’s house from our balcony…

That’s the pool where the 2am swim took place! Fun & Games!

Apart from that, today has been a quiet day. We went for an early morning swim. The sea was much cleaner than yesterday, but it was REALLY cold! It was back to winter. Mike got in and got out. It was that cold. I swam for half an hour. The air temperature was very pleasant and although I was cold, I’ve been worse. A hot shower made it all better.

The President speaks tonight – rumour has it, he will leave things as they are which is good news if it means information he is being fed is more positive regarding the variant than the world’s media makes out. We’ll wait and see.

1 Peter 1:3

In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Lewis Pugh writes an interesting thing in his book: the hope we have for the future gives us power in the present.

We have a Living Hope – looking ahead to a better time and place. That gives us power in the present.

The best is yet to come – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Helga xx 🙂

 

 

 

 

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I Won a Prize in a Raffle

Posted on November 27, 2021 by Helga

Saturday

Today was the day…

I slept late! I had gone to bed much later than usual (see guest story below), then had woken in the middle of the night before falling asleep again;  I woke up around 5:30am, but went back to sleep only to wake up to the sound of the coffee machine! It was after 7am! How nice was that?!  Mike was so funny. When we were coming home from the beach, he said, “you know what was so strange about this morning?” “No what?” I asked. “I woke up to no sound of your voice! It was so strange to see you sleeping in.’  It is rare for me to wake up after Mike.

The sea was really warm but underwater visibility was poor (that’s polite for ‘murky’)  and there was a lot of seaweed and other debris in the water. I swam to the barrel and back and then moved about for 30 minutes before getting out. Tomorrow, we hope, will be clear.

The house got a good clean. It was overdue. I spend more time cleaning the rental units than my house, so today I changed that and spent a good two hours cleaning. It was most satisfying.

I also took advantage of a Black Friday special and bought a new pair of trainers. Because my left ankle is not 100% better, I need a decent pair and the ones I’m wearing are more than 2 years old. It was time. I Googled “Best orthopaedic walking shoes for women” and came across the Independent.co.uk survey that gave this shoe 10/10 as top overall. I found a Black Friday special and went ahead and bought them. New Balance Fresh Foam 880 V11. I don’t think I’m getting this colour. I think I’m getting green and white. I got R500 off the usual price. I’ve already received a message saying they have been sent to the courier. That’s really quick!

The other fun thing that happened today was I won a prize in a raffle! This message arrived late morning…

I remember Jaden trying to sell his raffle tickets. One Sunday afternoon months and months ago, his Mom put a message on the Street Whatsapp group to look out for him. She said he would be going to houses on the street trying to sell raffle tickets in aid of his school, so when I saw a young man knocking on doors, I knew it was him. I also saw he was knocking on the doors of empty houses. He wasn’t having much success. He also didn’t come to our house because of all our  steps. As I watched him knock on the 5th house with no response, I went outside and hollered down to him, telling him to come up.  I took a few raffle tickets off his hands.  This message was the outcome, so I will be contacting Lorraine to schedule a facial or something. With my face being exposed to the salt and sunshine 3 or 4 times a week,  my skin will thank me.

I had a super duper chat with Elsie and Stacey. Elsie is in a show and tell phase, wanting to show me all sorts of things – from her collection of hangers to her chair to her lego. She’s adorable!

My Polish guest and his Swiss mother arrived after 11pm last night. They were delayed because of the weather. It was a rare stormy evening with a majestic display of lightening, great claps of thunder accompanied by downpours which took the levels of our tanks from one quarter to three quarters full overnight. We had waited for the guests at the cottage for an hour before getting a message saying they had delayed their departure from Sea Point until the rain had abated and they were about to leave! Funny story: We were standing at the door of the cottage and had been there for at least half an hour waiting. There was hardly any traffic, so when a car came by, I went to look over the balcony (umbrella in hand) to see if it was them. A couple of cars passed before finally one drove very slowly up the road and came to a stop outside our house. Yay! I was so excited. At last they had come and we could go home! I rushed down the stairs and onto the road. Then I noticed a driver in the front seat and no one next to him. In the darkness, with rain falling and me peering under my umbrella,  I  noticed one person in the back seat. What?! The person in the back was David! He had gone out with friends and ubered back. He hung out with us until we got the message saying the guests were leaving Sea Point and we all rushed upstairs to get out of the rain. The rain had died down by the time the guests arrived. They were happy to have arrived. They are due to stay until Tuesday, but my Tuesday guests are Danish so they have had to cancel. Current guests are saying they will probably stay on. I’ve told them very clearly next guests are a week tomorrow. It seems that will work for them.

So it’s been quite a productive day. A swim in murky water, clean house, new sports shoes & facial to look for to. After a black Friday, that’s a good Saturday.

Job 11:18

Having hope will give you courage. You will be protected and will rest in safety.

The best is yet to come – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Helga xx 🙂

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Black Friday For Sure

Posted on November 26, 2021 by Helga

Friday

Today was the day…

We woke up to news that made our hearts sink to the bottom of our boots. I had actually seen it in the headlines of the Daily Mail last night but had it confirmed this morning across all the world’s media…

CNN…

I felt so sorry for my Danish guest due to fly in with her daughters on Tuesday. She has cancelled, but, hoping for a change by Monday, asked me to block her days in case there is a reversal of  circumstances. At the moment it doesn’t look likely.

Things were going along just too nicely.

Most of my guests from now until the end of the year are locals. It was this Danish family who were flying in. I have a couple of other foreigners arriving tonight (Polish living in Zanzibar). Two Australians are due to come between Christmas and New Year but I think they are coming from Zambia so I’m not sure if they will cancel. For the rest it’s okay if the President doesn’t close inter-provincial travel. If he does, most of my bookings will go up in smoke. However, if that does happen,  I think there may be takers from within the Western Cape. We’ll wait to see how this pans out.

We will take it one day at a time and be grateful that it has been caught early. Also that it’s being called the Botswana variant and has not originated out of SA.

How quickly things change.

On a much lighter note, this message was sent around on one of the neighbourhood watch whatsapp groups. True story.

The wind has not been too bad. The rain came in a few drops. Perhaps there is more coming tonight. There was a rumble or two of thunder but the massive predicted wind storm has been less than expected. Hopefully the variant will turn out the same.

I’ve just come back from walking to the end of Echo and back. I’ve actually done a load of walking today. Mike and I walked the shops at the time we would normally be exercising – sea still too rough to swim. Then at lunchtime, I walked to the Afrikaans church to visit their Christmas Market where I found a few Christmas gifts. By the time I left to walk back it was nicely overcast with the threat of  a few drops of rain. The wind has now turned and is coming from the north. It’s not very windy – hardly the massive storm that was predicted.  I stopped by the cottage on the way up and turned on the lights ahead of the guests arrival in an hour or so.

Friday!

Romans 8:25

If we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Patience is surely called for.

The best is yet to come – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Helga xx 🙂

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One Month Til Christmas

Posted on November 25, 2021 by Helga

Thursday

Today was the day…

That’s one month til Christmas. I know that some people don’t want to know this, but Christmas passes in such a flash that the earlier it can begin to be celebrated the better.  My work is going to hit a slightly more temperature pace next week (I hope) so I’m trying to take a few moments to appreciate the upcoming season. Our first Christmas decoration has hit the table.

I was introduced today to this prose by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.
He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety.

Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could.
Some blunders and absurdities, no doubt crept in.
Forget them as soon as you can, tomorrow is a new day;
begin it well and serenely, with too high a spirit
to be cumbered with your old nonsense.

This new day is too dear,
with its hopes and invitations,
to waste a moment on the yesterdays.”

It’s hard to slow life down and enjoy each day, but it’s worth it when I do.

Everyone is talking about the wind. It has been blowing again today. Norman took this photo and posted it to a local whatsapp group.

That’s a lot of wind. Not good swimming conditions.

We have new guests in the Little Lookout and more coming into the cottage tomorrow. Exciting times!

Proverbs 13:12

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.

The best is yet to come – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Helga xx 🙂

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High Winds Warning

Posted on November 24, 2021 by Helga

Wednesday

Today was the day…

We got a high wind warning. Apparently there is some more ferocious wind expected. A black south-easter of note is expected to roar across the Cape tomorrow. It’s a yellow level 4 warning, although the caveat is the likelihood of it happening is low. What does that mean? Who knows?! We’ll wait and see.

Today I was going to do some ironing. I know it’s rare. So rare, I couldn’t find the iron. In looking for it, I found a swimming top (2 in fact) that I bought several weeks ago. I meant to take them back because Stacey made me tow really nice ones for my birthday. I looked at the one from Woolworths and it said the last day for a full refund was…. 24-November-2021. I looked at the date! Today! I skedaddled off to Woolworths and got my money back. Then I went to Pick n Pay clothing and got my money back on the second one. I was glad I’d caught that in time. I still haven’t found the iron.

I worked 8 hours.

I finished cleaning the Little Lookout. I have not heard from the guests who are due to arrive tomorrow since they booked. I’ve emailed twice and they haven’t emailed back. Will be interesting to see if they arrive. I’ll Whatsapp them in the morning.

Mike and I walked to the end of Echo. It was 8pm and still light.

We came home and moved most of the outdoor furniture to safety. We are ready for any unexpectedly strong gusts.

Ephesians 4:4

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called.

The best is yet to come – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Helga xx 🙂

 

 

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Fulfilled Our Commitment

Posted on November 23, 2021 by Helga

Tuesday

Today was the day…

We fulfilled our commitment and completed the follow up for our 6 month J&J/Janssen vaccine trial. We were hoping for the J&J Booster shot but we haven’t quite passed the 6 month mark so that will only be due after 8th December.

We are so grateful to be able to have had access to a Covid vaccine. It startles me to think that there were so many healthy people that started 2021 with great expectations for a great year and have not seen the end of it – Gavin Williams and Amy Keller come to mind.  I have no problem with taking the vaccine. There is no conflict in my mind, in my heart or in my spirit and I’m so grateful for that as well. For me, it is straight out, the sensible thing to do. God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and love and a sound mind.

I can’t figure out why the Vaccine has become such a divisive issue when it is saving lives. We don’t hesitate in taking other (quite often experimental) medication to combat disease.   I’m not wanting an illness that causes great suffering and can be easily passed onto others while there is a drug that will mitigate against it. A prudent person sees danger and takes precautions.

I’m with Living Hope on this!

Courage wasn’t in again today, but is on the mend. He says he should be back at work tomorrow. His job is super physical so he needs to be well. Besides we don’t want whatever he had!

This afternoon, I got a goodly amount of work done. The wind has still been blowing so there has been no swimming. I did enjoy sitting in my rocking chair watching the wind whip the waves.

Psalm 119:114

You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word.

The best is yet to come – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Helga xx 🙂

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Courage Was Sick Today

Posted on November 22, 2021 by Helga

Monday

Today was the day…

Courage called in sick. This has to make my blog because he has worked full time for us for an entire year (more than because he started permanently at the beginning of November last year) and this is the first time he has been sick. He did take a day off for his first vaccination but that’s it. He said he it started Saturday and he thought it was something small, but then yesterday he started sweating and coughing and woke up this morning with a bad headache. Everyone immediate goes to a Covid possibility. He went to the Dr and they did a Covid test which thankfully came back negative. It sounds like he’s got bad flu. He mustn’t come back until he’s better. His job is so physical. I don’t want him overdoing it.

The wind this week is chronic! It’s been a very strong south-easterly making swimming pretty much impossible. The white horses are galloping across the ocean sweeping furiously onto the beach, dragging great swathes of seaweed and kelp with them and dumping it mercilessly onto the sand. The City is going to have its work cut out getting rid of it all. They usually come with this truck to remove it all. I have a feeling they will wait for the wind to blow itself out. The truck on a very misty day.

That should happen in time for the weekend. In the meantime, the sea is a milky aqua colour. It looks like the wind has churned up the sand. Our background music is the howl of the wind as it gusts past our house.

I blocked the Little Lookout for tomorrow. I didn’t feel like the stress of being out in the morning, having guests leaving and not having enough time to prepare for last minute guests arriving. And then I still have to fit in my recruitment work. So to avoid that scenario, I removed the possibility of last minute guests arriving and blocked the day. The Austrians have been great. Very quiet, no disturbances and they seem to have enjoyed themselves. Same with the family in the cottage who leave on Thursday. Thursday, new guests come to the Little Lookout. Friday new guests come to the Cottage. Just reminding myself of where we are headed this week. Ruth is coming Thursday so I’ll have help. Apart from the weekend of 10th December, we are fully booked for both units until the end of the year.

As far recruitment goes, I also have a full plate. Today I learned to strikethrough. I was writing to someone saying I  had 200 teachers. Then remembered I had more, so I wrote, “I have  200 300 teachers so can’t fix everyone’s CV.” ( Control D and select Strikethrough, although it only works in Outlook.). I made my point.

Mike and I walked to Fish Hoek for a little shopping. We blew down and strained home, but it was a good walk. Also, I remembered to count the steps from the kerb. There are now 85 steps to our front door including the kerb. There were 83, but an extra two have been added to get the levels right for the ground floor patio and for ours. Be warned friends, you have an extra 2 steps to climb if you want to visit. If you park on the kerb, you’ll get one off.

Nearly dinner time.

1 Peter 3:15

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have.

The best is yet to come – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Helga xx 🙂

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Another Airbnb Anecdote

Posted on November 21, 2021 by Helga

Sunday

Today was the day…

The wind continued to blow. And so it shall remain for almost the next week. Next weekend looks stunning though. Despite the wind, we decided to go to the beach for a swim.

It took me 6 minutes to get beyond the breakers. The incoming waves were relentless and once out there, there was not much to recommend it. Mike asked me afterwards what it was like. I told him I was out of depth so had no security below me. I constantly kept an eye on the incoming swell and had some fun riding over the waves, but the strong wind, combined with chunks of seaweed made me check my watch more frequently than usual. Mike couldn’t arrive quickly enough. When he did appear, I headed for the beach and spent a short time body surfing, before calling it a day and joined the locals sitting on the bench enjoying the sunshine. It’s quite protected in front of the restaurant and was very pleasant sitting there.

The sea always looks so tame in photos…

We got home, showered and then went out for breakfast with Julian.

I have another Airbnb anecdote. This is one that is really funny but as this is family content needs to be described discreetly! So two guests arrived after dark and we  met them on the street. As we have a load of steps, I always suggest they take up as much stuff as they can so they don’t need to make too many trips and we offer to help. Mike led the way, followed by the couple and I bought up the rear. As we got to the patio, the man dropped something. The couple glanced back but neither did nor said anything. They carried on up. I thought they’d knocked over a little angel that’s on the wall, so I bent down in the darkness and reached out to the fallen object. It was a rectangular packet. I thought they were cigarettes. It was dark so I couldn’t see clearly exactly what it was. I took a closer look and saw a couple of words that made me realise I was not holding cigarettes. I put the packet in my back pocket. It suddenly dawned on me. “OH NO! How am I going to get out of this one?” They had bought contraception. Yes, it was a packet of those.  And now I had them in my back pocket! We took the couple  into the suite and told them a few things about the room. Meanwhile,  I was trying to think what I could do. I told Mike I was going to check something and ran back down the stairs and dropped the packet back onto the patio. Then I headed back up and Mike joined me in returning home. As we got to our level, I looked back and the two of them were heading down the stairs to the patio. I saw them looking in the darkness trying to find something that had been dropped! We laughed so much.

We sure are meeting all sorts of interesting people. This afternoon we are visiting the (German) neighbour (Fish Hoek side). He is the owner of the house and is currently here on holiday. The tenants have moved out for three weeks. We go to discuss the funicular.

1 Peter 1:13

Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.

The best is yet to come – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Helga xx 🙂

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Zimbabweans Out, Austrians In

Posted on November 20, 2021 by Helga

Saturday

Today was the day…

That was super busy in the morning and relaxing in the afternoon.  The Austrians were due to arrive at 11am. The Zimbabweans were leaving at 10am. One hour to turn the Little Lookout around.

Mike and I left for the shops at 8:45am. We got what was needed and came home via first OK furniture and then Wakefords to look at fridges. Wakefords was the winner. Meantime, we got a message from the Zimbabweans to say they were leaving. Mike dropped me at home and then returned to make the payment.  I got stuck into the Little Lookout and did the clean. With payment made to Wakefords for the new fridge and the Little Lookout back up to scratch, Mike got the call, the fridge had arrived! That got unpacked into the cottage for the Koreans. Finally, at 10:45am, Mike and I had breakfast. As we were finishing up, Courage called us. The Austrians had arrived.

Yip, it was that busy.

At about 11:45am, we walked to Fish Hoek Traffic department to pick up our driver’s licences. we got there at about 12:05 and left at 12:12pm. Pretty impressive. No waiting around. Then we shopped for dinner and walked home.

The prevailing South Easter has arrived. It’s blowing the predicted gales. The Cape Doctor is required to blow away any smog and (apparently) ensures good rains for the northern summer rainfall regions.

So Courage came today to complete the redefinition of the steps leading to our patio. He’s done a great job. By Monday, they’ll be dry and we will be able to walk on them. In the meantime, we step of the planks of wood.

From Monday he can start building up the wall and when that’s done, he can start working on the paving. We are looking forward to having a paved entrance patio. This is a good photo to have, because the front part will change dramatically in the next few weeks.

Psalm 147:11

The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy.

The best is yet to come – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Helga xx 🙂

 

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Cottage Fridge Died

Posted on November 19, 2021 by Helga

Friday

Today was the day…

The cottage fridge inconveniently, died. The guests had just flown in from Johannesburg, gone off and done a big shop, stocked the fridge and then found it wasn’t cooling. We were out walking this evening, when I got the unfortunate message from them. On our return, we found the freezer was cold, the ice was frozen, but the main fridge compartment was warm. So annoying. Fortunately there is a smaller bar fridge in the loft and that seems to be working. Old as the hills, but it came to life.  Tomorrow, it looks like we’ll be needing to buy a new fridge.

Apart from that, this morning we swam! There was a bit of swell. The two highlights were the seal that came right up to me and seeing a penguin zipping by. I got in just  under 2km.

Home for 8 hours work.

Last night’s guests arrived at 9:15pm. They have been out most of the day. Tomorrow they leave and an Austrian arrives for 3 nights. This is for the Little Lookout.

The other highlight of the day was a visit from plans lady, Leanne. The next major project is about to begin with plans going to Council. I had to take a photo to mark the moment…

Tomorrow is going to be busy trying to find a fridge and get the Little Lookout up to scratch before the Austrian moves in.

Busy days, I tell you. At least Courage is coming tomorrow. He’s beginning to work on our patio, so if there is fridge to be delivered, he can help.

Psalm 33:22

Let Your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in You alone.

The best is yet to come – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Helga xx 🙂

 

 

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Rather a Day Early Than a Day Late

Posted on November 18, 2021 by Helga

Thursday

Today was the day…

I thought my guests for the cottage were arriving today and I sent them all the directions, only to discover they only arrive tomorrow! Ha ha! If I’m going to get the day wrong, rather it be a day early than a day late!  I had gone down to the cottage first thing, turned on the fridge and hot water cylinder, swept and vacuumed, dusted and double checked. I had done this instead of swimming. I thought the wind was churning the water into a washing machine, so worked in the cottage instead. In hindsight, the swim would have worked.

The lovely lady in the Little Lookout left today. I went in there as well, swapped out the linen and towels. It’s clean and organised for the next guest. It’s open for another week, so I’ve put it up on Facebook for this weekend to see if we have any takers. Two people inquired, but they need to read the splurb – there are 50 steps to the front door and no cooking facilities. The second inquiry wanted to know how close it was to the V&A Waterfront. Yeah, that’s probably not going to work! Somebody will book, I’m sure.

And having just said that, I’ve just got this message: “We’ve just arrived at the airport –  will be an hour from now, I think.” Then he said he was trying to complete the payment but was at immigration.  The good thing about Airbnb is that the exact address is not disclosed until the final payment is made. We’ll wait and see. Meantime, we are ready for them.

I worked 8 hours.

Late this afternoon, Mike and I walked to Fish Hoek to pick up sausages and potato for bangers and mash. The sea was definitely ‘swim-able’.

It’s good to have a break, but I hope to be back in the water tomorrow.

A busy, fruitful day.

Proverbs 24:14

Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

The best is yet to come – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Helga xx 🙂

 

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Rain, Wind, 10 Slabs, German Visitor

Posted on November 17, 2021 by Helga

Wednesday

Today was the day…

It rained! We were going to go to the beach and I was ready to do so. When I looked outside, it was raining! Instead of beaching, I worked.  As the day progressed, the wind picked up to a solid black south-easter, driving rain in from the ‘wrong’ side of the peninsula. It’s always good to have rain, but the wind is never my favourite.

This afternoon, I got a long standing chore done. This house is half in my name and for some reason when the title deed was written up in 2015, they made me unmarried, so for the last (almost) 7 years, the rates have been coming to Miss Helga van Niekerk – it’s a title that doesn’t exist. To correct it meant I had to get all the documents in order and trot off to the lawyer’s office with the original title deed and co-owner Julian and sign it into Mrs. It’s taken the best of this year to get to this point, so I’m really happy we got it done.

Paving slabs arrived. Courage had the afternoon off, so we helped put them on the patio. We did have help from the strong men who delivered it, but I bought up 10.

Mike took up more than me and then he moved a bunch from the lower patio up to the workshop. I was done at 10. I bought 9 up the steps to this patio and the 10th from this patio a little way up the stairs where Mike took it.  Julian took the photo. I feel I resemble my Mom a bit in the photo, although I don’t think she carried too many pavers up too many flights of stairs!

Guenther came. The neighbour on the Fish Hoek side arrived from Germany yesterday. I was working at my computer at about 5:15pm when there was a banging on the door. It was an urgent insistent bang bang bang. I hoped it wasn’t my guest. I rushed to the door to find Guenther coming to visit. We spoke about the funicular. Can we call it the van Niekercular. He’s all up for it. He’s 76 we learned today! He’s looking pretty good but he feels he will need help getting up to his house in the years to come, and he’s happy to contribute. We are having tea with him at 4pm on Sunday.

A useful day with 8 hours of work.

Psalm 43:5

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Saviour and my God.

The best is yet to come – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Helga xx 🙂

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Firebreak Got Cut

Posted on November 16, 2021 by Helga

Tuesday

Today was the day…

The firebreak behind us got its annual cut. They came out in droves and mowed across the land…

For those of us backing onto the mountain, the threat of fire in summer is always at the back of our minds. Our spot has the south-easter blow from the Simon’s Town side. A little way round the mountain is the Glencairn Quarry, which provides a useful firebreak from any fires that could begin above Glencairn. Fires that blow over Elsie’s Peak generally are swept across the ridge towards the Sun Valley side, so we’ve never felt threatened. Having said that, it is prudent to  keep the firebreak trimmed. It’s also helpful for the owners of the plots behind. They get free plot clearing.

Another busy day in my life today. I worked 7 hours, but also managed a 2km swim, a haircut and to get out to pick up some linen and final supplies for the Little Lookout. A lady, Colette is safely ensconced. I’ve also heard from the guests who arrive on Thursday. I think they are South Korean. I’m looking forward to them coming for 6 nights.

Anyway, time for a little walk to the end of the road.

Romans 5:5

Hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.

The best is yet to come – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Helga xx 🙂

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Four Useful Things I Did Today

Posted on November 15, 2021 by Helga

Monday

Today was the day…

I could have called it just another manic Monday. They usually are the busiest day of the week as I have to catch up with work that has come in over the weekend. I did 4 useful things:

  1. Read the Bible. I do this everyday but as I was thinking of the useful things I did today, I couldn’t leave it off the list.
  2. I swam 2km. When we arrived at the beach, just after 7am, the locals were already in raptures about how wonderfully warm the sea was. I knew it was going to be hard for me to get out! I swam to the barrel and then to the Lighthouse, where I  met Mike. We swam a bit together, then I swam back to the barrel, back to the beach, a little way along the beach and then in. 2km. It’s nearly an hour but it’s so lovely. A wonderful holiday feeling spending an early morning hour on the beach.
  3. I stripped the beds in the loft, did all the laundry, made up the bed in the Little Lookout and in Cottage. The last cottage guests had a braai and left the lounge windows open while they were braaing. The smoke went upstairs to the loft and it still smells a little braai-ish. I washed all the linen for the loft beds but haven’t put those back on until the smell has cleared.
  4. I worked just under 8 hours. There is a steady flow of work streaming in through my inbox and cell phone. It’s going to be a busy next few months. I appreciate it.

So those are the four useful things I did today. It’s been another lovely day but I have looked ahead and I see the wind is coming.  I don’t think I’m going to be doing too much swimming over the weekend.

I’ll be enjoying the still while it lasts.

Psalm 94:19

When doubts filled my mind, Your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.

The best is yet to come – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Helga xx 🙂

 

 

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The Drama of a Few Months Ago

Posted on November 14, 2021 by Helga

Sunday

Today was the day…

I had 17 interviews scheduled for teachers. In the end 13 took place – 4 being re-scheduled to next weekend.  I was grateful because it was all done online, so there was no need to be flying around the country. I really appreciate that. As a result, I worked the morning and took the afternoon off. Mike and I took a drive to the Old 3 Arts Theatre in Diep River – the New 3 Arts Village – it’s become a shopping centre.

It has a few unique shops and then the regulars like PnP, Woolworths and Clicks. One of the shops was giving an opening weekend 25% discount, so I took advantage of that and bought some Christmas presents for the family.

At 4:30am this morning, the first of our guests checked out. They dropped the key through the postbox and went on their way. When we got up, we went down to take a look. The place was spotless. Bed made, no dishes, towels hung neatly. It was great. I’ll do the laundry tomorrow, finish up and it will be ready for the next guest on Tuesday.

This afternoon the guests in the cottage shipped on out. This was an interesting party. They booked for 5 adults, so it was the first time we would have that number of adults in the cottage. You can imagine my surprise when a whole lot of people arrived whose names were not on the list.  One was a little girl who proudly announced “this is where I will sleep!” There were no children expected. Today when Mike & I left to go to the 3 Arts, a couple of the guests were standing on the terrace… and there was a young boy! Where did he come from and where was he staying? There was only supposed to be one guy and 4 ladies. I saw at least 2 men and 2 kids and numerous ladies, so who knows what was going on. Book for 5, bring 8, but I couldn’t be sure, so I turned a blind eye. The main thing was they cleaned the place from top to bottom. They literally left it spotless. I just need to do the linen and it’s ready for the next guests. That, right there, covers a multitude of misdemeanors! They are welcome back any time, all 8 of them!

It brings me to a blog I wrote on 31st August entitled “Things That Can’t Be Written About!” Now that a suitable amount of time has passed, I can tell you what happened. We had (foreign)  guests in the cottage and they got drunk! The guy locked the girl out and she tried to get back in. She kicked the door to get his attention. When that didn’t work, she took a bottle of wine and hit the bedroom window. As the window was old and not safety glass, it shattered! Yup! This, by the way, was 10:30pm. David heard her yelling at the top of her voice, so I phoned her on Whatsapp and asked if everything was all right. She said no it wasn’t. Mike and David went down and found her on the street with her suitcases. We could not leave her there, so we rushed to the Little Lookout (which was still a workshop, covered with dust and tools and cement but which did have a bed in it). Mike swept the floor, while I made up the bed. She slept the night in the Little Lookout, telling me they only had 2 bottles of wine!

You see a different side to people when these things happen. David excelled himself. He took complete control of the situation, reprimanding the guy, telling him to clean up the glass (and his cigars) and to pull himself together. He was brilliant.

You can imagine how little sleep I got that night. The next morning, we quickly had to alert Courage to the presence of the guest in the dusty Little Lookout. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. She asked Courage to make her coffee! Later in the morning, she disappeared with her boyfriend and at 5pm, I got a message from him asking if he could come and get her luggage. He sauntered up to collect it, butter not melting in his mouth. He shrugged off the incident. All was well with them. She was no where in sight. The window had a massive hole in it. That was going to cost. He was happy to pay. I checked her cell phone. She hadn’t seen it since just before noon. The whole night passed and still she didn’t check her messages. I was getting worried for her safety. Here she was in a strange land knowing no one except the guy who had a massive altercation with her! By mid-morning, the next day, I was really concerned. Eventually, at about 11am, I saw she had been online and could sigh a big sigh of relief. In the days that followed, as we had contact with them in order to repair the broken window, she at first looked sullen but soon cheered up. Believe it or not, a week later, they asked to stay another week and though I lacked a bit of trust in them, I said that was fine. I ended up giving them a good review and they went on their way, having stayed 3 weeks. What a drama.

Drama! Something I don’t need in my life!

It was only after they left we discovered a few other strange things. The latch of the front door was broken and there was a footprint on one of the cottage pane windows of the front door! She must have karate kicked it!

Before I made the Airbnb listing live, Mike and I prayed the Lord would send the right people. We have to trust that whoever walks up those steps have not arrived by accident.

Hebrews 10:23

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.

The best is yet to come – we are only passing through.

Keep the smile going.

God bless you.

In His Grip,

Helga xx 🙂

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