Friday
It’s very difficult for me to go into the cottage and not think of Granny. We built the cottage for her in 2002. Grandpa had passed away in 1998 and she was living in East London with very little family. It was a huge move for her to leave her circle of friends to be with us here in Cape Town. In 2002, she came and she set about making the cottage her home. One of the things she did was make curtains for the little kitchen window. Today, those curtains got washed! I got a great deal of pleasure putting them back up once they were washed and dried.
I was thinking about replacing them with blinds, but they are Granny’s curtains and a little reminder of the wonderful soul who made this cosy cottage her home. In 2009, just after Adrian and Stacey got married, Granny broke her hip and moved in with us, yet still, the seven years she spent in the cottage have left her presence lingering. Every Tuesday we sat at her table and ate the wonderful dinner she would cook. She made as many veggies as she could. There wouldn’t just be potato, carrots and peas. There would be potato, sweet potato, carrots, butternut, peas and broccoli! Yes. That’s how Granny would feed us along with some sort of meat OR macaroni cheese! She was a fan of macaroni cheese! She would also make the most amazing muffins and chocolate crunchies. Many a lunchbox contained those chocolate crunchies. I think part of the legacy she has left behind and which I’ve seen so much recently is in Stacey and her sewing. Stacey loves to sew! She displays the exact enthusiasm and ability that Granny had for all things fabric. Granny would be so proud!
There have been many people who have stayed in the cottage. When Granny moved into the main house, David moved into the cottage. Stacey and Adrian stayed in it when they came back from Asia and then there were short-term missionaries and holiday makers before we rented it out to tenants. First came Dustin, then Morgan and most recently Stewart. And yet, when I go in there to give it a deep clean, it’s always Granny who comes to mind most. Apart from the curtains, there are other reminders of her. The table and chairs she specially had made for the cottage; pots and pans and plates and cutlery. Pictures and a clock – all reminders of Mike’s wonderful Mom and a link to a generation past. When Elsie comes to visit, she will sleep where her Great Grandmother sewed.😊
It’s no wonder I don’t want to sell this place. When, God willing, we do move to the new house, this all will bring someone else joy. The roots we have planted here are very deep, so I will give myself the opportunity to let go gradually.
Very blessed. That’s today’s blog. It’s lunchtime and exceedingly early for me to write. I have a friend coming in an hour and sometime later, Mike and I will head to the building site and make a final onslaught on the rocks!
Psalm 50:14
Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God and keep the vows you made to the Most High.
These are the days.
Keep the smile going.
God bless you.
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂
Gym:
“Final onslaught on the rocks”.
Braces:
1 year and 37 days