What We Didn’t Imagine

Saturday

Today was the day…

There was a beautiful sunrise…

Not long after the sun broke through the clouds, I baked! Yes! I know, it’s a new me…

The new kitchen, oven and of course dish washer have something to do with it.

I also went to the old house for a few hours and cleared out some stuff. I came home with a car full of linen and a suitcase of clothes. On arriving home, the north wind was blowing so hard, it was difficult to get in my front door.  There are a number of things we didn’t imagine before we moved in. Most are good and amazing. Others will need a work around. One of those things is the incredible force on our entrance door when the north wind is pumping in a cold front. At its worst, you need two hands to keep the door from whipping open. It makes getting in and out tricky. A portico is in the pipeline, but it needs to stand in the queue for half a dozen more urgent projects are before it. This is after all, spring and the north wind is giving way to the summer south-easter, except yesterday and today! Right now it’s pouring with rain. Mike and I walked to the village and did some shopping, fighting against the wind to get there and blowing rapidly home again. Mike on the cat walk…

Another thing we didn’t imagine before moving in is the amount of water traffic. There are so many different water craft that pass by, from super duper yachts to little rowing boats, inflatables, kayaks, fishing boats and the odd speed boat. Off the beach, there is always activity. On our walk home, life saving drills were in full swing…

We never imagined there would be so much to see. We still don’t have our TV in place, so the great outdoors has become the screen and the vast expanse of view never disappoints, both night and day. Last night, with my cell phone open to Flight Radar, we watched 4 Safair planes descend into Cape Town – all within an hour – between about 9-45pm and 10-45pm. They came in from Johannesburg, all 4. Most followed the same flight path, descending over the northern mountains, over Kraaifontein, then the Cape Flats and doing a broad U-turn over False Bay to land from the south. The night was clear and still and one of the planes could be seen until literally it was only a couple of hundred feet from landing. We never imagined that kind of sight.

We never imagined how majestic the rising moon would be when it was full.  An huge orange ball suddenly appearing over the distance mountains and rising high into the sky casting a road of shimmering light onto an inky sea. The sparkling lights of Fish Hoek, Kalk Bay, St James and Muizenberg also took me by surprise. I never imagined how mesmerizing they would be.

And then there’s the wild life. Not that I’m crazy about scorpions but Mike has seen two on the steps. He’s seen a mongoose and we both saw the field mouse greedily helping himself to the bird seed. We’ve seen dassies and a plethora of bird life. Out at sea, whales and seals have made an appearance, but we’re still waiting for a school of dolphins to dance past. We know also that there are spiders and snakes lurking in the mountain behind, but they have yet to grace us with their presence, I’m glad to say. I do have Shaun the Snakeman’s phone number in my contact list…just in case.

With the strong north wind we have had today, one of our gutters blew down, so the water stream into our tanks is at a standstill. And, one of the windows on that side is not sealed properly and when driving rain comes, we have a river running down the wall. These things will be dealt with as soon as possible. You have to live in a place to uncover the flaws.

The final thing that comes to mind, at the moment, that I didn’t imagine is that even though we have only moved 4 or 5km away from our old house, the distance could be 50km, it feels so different. The roads we travelled several times a day are different. We are seeing different people and greeting new neighbours. Our shopping is happening at a different venue. Our little community is completely new. We still feel like we are on holiday. We are not sure when we will wake up and feel the holiday is over, so we will ride this vacation for as long as we can!