Loadshedding Corner

Welcome to Loadshedding Corner.

Yes, we actually have a corner of the house dedicated to just keeping various items charged and running for  when the power goes off.

So far in 2023 we haven't had a single day without loadshedding, and recently we seem to have graduated from mostly being in Stages 1 & 2 to mostly being in Stages 5 & 6 which often means we get to enjoy four hours of uninterrupted blackouts at a time.

Early Morning Walks

It's not all sunsets and ice creams, sometimes we get to see the sunrise too.

I'm trying to get a regular pattern of early morning walks going and though I've been a bit lackadaisical with it thus far, when I do manage to take Daisy out early we have a great time.

Swing-Seat Renovation

I am really chuffed with how my swing-seat renovation turned out!

It was looking quite sad and forlorn which just wasn't right for such a well loved piece of garden furniture, so just before we moved I set about restoring it so that it would look magnificent in our new garden, and even if I say so myself; it turned out pretty well.

A New Day...

Today truly is the beginning of a new stage in life...

Eli is now walking to school on his own and really enjoying the space and freedom of it (though Paula is missing her time with him chatting in the car). Some days he also skateboards to school just because he can. He's also enjoying the freedom of hanging out with school mates or messing about on the beach on his way home, just because he can.

Daisy Dog At The Beach

What a joy it was to take Daisy off for a sneaky walk (Rosie was asleep so didn't realise we'd slipped out) to the beach.

This was her first ever outing to the seaside and she absolutely loved it, especially once she realised she could leap into the waves and they would knock her back to the beach.

Keys

Today is a blessed day as we picked up the keys for our new home. It was very exciting to take possession of it and we're excited about this next step. 

This move should lead us into a positive change in lifestyle which is exciting us. We'll be just a five minute walk from the beach which will make a big difference to our mental well being, and having a sun room that spills out into the north facing garden is also a big change for us. We'll also be a bit closer to church and won't have to drive through the town centre to get there!

Packing Up

Today felt quite monumental as we count down the days to moving house on Wednesday.

I always knew that the garage and my workshop would be the single biggest job in terms of packing, so I was chuffed to get it all done today.

I'm feeling quite sore all over, but it's worth it for the progress and the sense of achievement.

Desperate For Power

Our power situation doesn't improve. 

We had loadshedding until 4am this morning followed by scheduled maintenance from 6am until 4pm which stretched out 'til 5.30pm. The only bright spot in this was that our scheduled loadshedding from 6pm was skipped this evening.

Fantastic Family Friday

Anyone who knows me knows that one of my great joys and pleasures in life is unicycling. 

I regularly ride for at least an hour twice a week and often more if I can squeeze it into my week, and if the weather allows.

So it was a real joy when Carla said she would like to learn to ride the unicycle. She took to it quite quickly and wasted no time in applying some of her ballet techniques to help conquer the balancing side of unicycling. With just a little more practice she'll be riding with no problems.

Gymnogene

Over the years we've had some special visitors to our garden, and this afternoon it continued as we had the  pleasure of seeing a Gymnogene or African Harrier Hawk flying over before settling in to the neighbours oak tree. The hawk sat there for quite a while, even ignoring the protestations of many songbirds which tried to get it to move on, before taking off to join another hawk in flight.

Home Again

After an exciting ten days back in Blighty with family to celebrate our middle niece's wedding, Paula arrived home this morning, much to the relief of all the trousers.

The junior trousers survived and were fed, watered and made it to their various commitments on time as well as getting home again safe and sound, so I'll call that a win.

What Is That Noise?

Well that was a funny old morning.

Paula went out and as she did so I was about to get in the shower when I heard a strange hissing noise. Initially I thought it was coming from her car, so I quickly threw my clothes back on and went out to check all was OK, but Paula had long gone, but what was that noise?!?

Three Down, One To Go

Three quarters of the House of Trouser are down with Covid and looking at the bulk of the symptoms it seems fairly clear that we've been got by the Omicron variant. There are plenty of headaches, sneezing, sore throats, runny noses and fatigue to be going on with. 

However, not all things are equal. 

Dean seems to be getting away with the lightest symptoms, Paula's definitely the worst and then some, whilst Joel is just really fed up with not being able to go to work.

Firewood

I always get ridiculously overexcited by our annual delivery of firewood, especially when it arrives in the middle of our hottest month and it seems impossible to think that we'll actually need the heating.

I think one of the things I like best about the wood delivery is that the garage smells heavenly for a few weeks after as the wood continues to season, though this year's lot is already incredibly dry.

Winter Warmth

On days like this we're really thankful for our wood-burner and the heat it provides.

Winter is in full swing down here at present, and our wood-burning stove in the lounge is the only heating source we have in the entire house, so it's a joy to see the fire roaring inside it on days like today.

Oh Happy Day!

After what seems like an age, but was in fact a tad over a month, I've finally bottled my home brew!!!

It should have been ready for bottling around the 25th - 28th of August but it didn't stop gurgling until a couple of days ago. The guys who supplied the kit said this was fine and encouraged me to leave it for as long as possible before bottling, so after a mammoth wait it's a case of job done.

All I have to do now is wait for three weeks for the last bit of magic to occur in the bottles and it will be ready for drinking.

Jade Plant

I went on to our garage roof in the pouring rain to check on a suspected blocked drain pipe and was amazed to see this little fella growing in between the roofing sheets and the waterproofing (which clearly isn't doing its job!).

He has now been re-homed and will grow in to yet another spectacular Jade plant to join the many others already growing in the garden.

I do like the variegated nature of this one, the contrast between red and green is quite striking.

Read more about Jade plants here: Jade plants and Trees.

Cowboys & Gates

Ever since our gate was installed it's been a problem and unsurprisingly the company that installed it have long since gone bankrupt because they were a bunch of cowboys and were truly rubbish!

Recently, the gate got so bad at opening that it actually jammed open halfway on Monday. On inspection I discovered that the bearings in the front wheel were shot. In fact one bearing had totally disintegrated! (see left pic)

Having stripped it down and got the bearings out I dashed off to a local bearing supplier only to find on arriving at 3:01pm that they closed at 3pm. Nice work if you can get it! So having been back yesterday morning for replacement bearings I was able to refurbish the two wheels on the gate and get it working nicely. The gate now opens and closes a little bit quicker than before and is a lot quieter too.

Swing Seat

I have to confess to the fact that I am really struggling not to write a ranty piece about the ineptitude and inconsistencies of the SA govt and their ham-fisted approach to the coronavirus, but I shall resist and rather talk about our garden...

After neglecting things for far too long I finally got around to some serious pruning and a number of other jobs over the last few days, including moving our dilapidated swing seat from the front garden to the rear.

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Following a great Gathering on WhatsApp this morning in which Paula shared brilliantly from the life of Gideon, I have spent the remainder of the afternoon reading a few chapters of my book followed by spinning some records on the turntable.

Life doesn't get much better than listening to a bit of Jeff Beck, the sounds that man can get out of a guitar are mind boggling and an utter delight to behold.