Wednesday 24 March 2010

Spring Cleaning {in Autumn!}






You all know that I have a big move looming right? Now that should be exciting...but right now I'm not thinking that far ahead, just itching to get those Title Deeds into my little hot hands so that I can get there & start renovating. At this rate my dream of having it all done ahead of time is slipping through my fingers, through no fault of my own, as our transfer has been delayed 3 weeks so far...

I've been using the packing opportunity to tackle some decor jobs before I put things into boxes, like painting our scuffed black lamp-bases white for our new bedroom.

Originally I was going to leave my garden pots behind. I brought them in the container all the way from Zimbabwe 4 years ago & I've owned them for years & wanted something new. However, we can't always have what we want & when I saw that new PLASTIC ones cost R260 {USD$35} I decided {gulp!} that these weren't that bad lol...they were cracked {they're made of solid concrete!!} & were a tired shade of dark green, so I set to work filling the gaps & slicking on some Plascon "Canyon Road" paint.

I had transplanted my pot plants into the ground for the last couple of years, with the intention of removing them & putting them into bigger pots when we moved on, so have been busy "re-organising" my pot plant family. Ain't no way I'm leaving my agapanthus & syngoniums behind ;-D

Once a fortnight I have the help of this young Zulu man, Phili, for the best part of a day. He happily relocates heavy pots, fills up our trailer full of excess foliage which DH then takes to the dump {here our weather is so hot & tropical that things grown like wild-fire, particularly if they are indigenous}& keeps the lawn mown, etc. Generally speaking the Zulu people here do not have a great command of the English language & are known for being lazy, which has meant that I have been through quite a number of people unwilling to work hard, but Phili & I work well together & he does his bit!


And here are the 2 ladies who are helping make my life a bit easier at the moment. Mercy, our permanent helper, on the right, who has AIDS but has recently started ARV treatment, virtually free at a local hospital. She has since discovered that she also has TB {Tuberculosis} so is being treated for free at a local clinic for that too. All this means that she spends 2 days a month queueing all day for her medication. She is on the up though & has gained a bit of weight & got used to the treatment that initially had severe side-effects. Despite her ordeal she has continued helping out as much as possible with all the housework.

On the left is her daughter, Farai, who is just visiting from another province, to help her mum out. Without her it would have been very difficult for Mercy or I to manage. She has been staying with us since just before Christmas & is leaving soon. I was hoping that she would be here to help us move but that is looking doubtful now that our house transfer has been so delayed. Mum & daughter have loved being together & I'm sure Mercy will miss having her youngest with her, but at 25 Farai cannot put her life on hold forever & needs to get back to her boyfriend, her part-time studies, and her {hopefully not} never-ending job search...





3 comments:

topkatnz said...

Glad to here Mercy is coping with everything - her daughter is certainly a lovely young thing.

cat said...

Good luck on your move and great to meet you.

Ella Swan said...

Hi Cat! Great to meet you too ;-D Heidi - grrrrrrr! is all I can say right now about the whole moving saga! ;-0