Grooving the Moving

Following up from the previous post, after our last week of official touring we stayed in Potchefstroom with my grandparents while packing up all our stuff which had been in storage for the last 20 months, in one part of our old house. It was a complicated business and took a lot more time than one thinks it should. First off we had to 'collect' all our furniture that has been stored elsewhere and get everything at our house in preparation for the moving truck's arrival. Then everything already in the storeroom had to be portably repacked.

Packing our hundreds of books into boxes - good thing mom asked both grans if they could start collecting cardboard boxes a few months ago. 

We also had to figure out how to partially dismantle an old, sentimental family piano - it's been broken for a long time and so we decided to see if we could remove the very heavy, cast iron plate/metal frame for easier transport of the antique. Dad cut the strings first (because if you remove the tuning pins while the strings are still taut, the piano will implode), then used his drill to take out the tuning pins, taking breaks as the drill overheated. When all the pins were finally removed however, we still couldn't get the frame out. Eventually my grandfather came to the rescue with his grinder and knowledge of carpentry. 

Cutting strings. 

Believe me, this thing is much heavier than it looks. 

Putting back the keys. 

It was an emotional time for us too, as we were leaving the place where all of our childhood memories were made behind. When we discovered our toddler/preschool artwork and mom refused to move nine boxes of it to Oudtshoorn, we burned it over a period of a few sad sentimental evenings, showing everything to our artist-grandma Elna before we threw it in the flames (she took a lot of the stuff for herself though, haha).

"...And here I dumped string in paint and let it fall on paper." (seriously though)

On May 25th our moving truck arrived, and after everything was first carried onto our sidewalk, the Oudtshoorn Furniture Removal team fitted everything into a part of the truck like a jigsaw (which took a whole morning).

Almost all our stuff on the sidewalk...

A few big wardrobes. 

Packing in. 

Then we drove down (a 1000 kilometres!) to the beautiful old house we are now renting in Oudtshoorn, an historic town in the Little Karoo famous for its ostriches, heat and the annual KKNK ('Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees', Little Karoo National Arts Festival). Oudtshoorn is known as the 'ostrich capital of the world' as well as the twin town of Alphen aan den Rijn (a town in the Netherlands), and owes a large part of its wealth to the ostrich-feather industry booms in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Approaching familiar mountains... the Swartberg mountains (they lie next to the Kammanassie mountains where we lived last year). 

First night in our new house! We slept on the floor.

The next day the moving truck arrived. The unloading went well and everyone was soon unpacking boxes, trying to remember where they put what exactly. Interior decorating was also plenty of fun.

They knew what they were doing.  

Empty corridor, awaiting our many paintings and photos. 

Maneuvering. 

A good example concerning how priorities differ... I fixed up my bed first, while Theuns got out his collection of airplane models.

Unpacking school books. 

One lovely fireplace. 

Our furniture suits the house, don't you think? 

Thanks for reading, and watch out for the last post that will finish off this blog next week. 

Potchefstroom and Back - An Exciting Two Weeks

As we are nearing the end of 2015, things we had to do in Potchefstroom has 'piled up' quite a lot since we've last been there (14 whole months ago), and so the inevitable trip has been made at the end of our school year. Departing November 21st, we stayed over at friends near Hertzogville in the Freestate. We visited the Owl House as said in the previous post, witnessing snow in Nieu-Bethesda and a giant dust storm in the drought-stricken Freestate on the same day.

Through the Big Karoo...

Into the desert-like Freestate. Instead of huge 'mielie lande' (cornfields), we were greeted by a desert...

...and sandstorms. 

The friends we visited have exotic game on their farm. Besides having a baby Springbok and hedgehog in their house, they have 'Gemsbok', white 'Blesbok', and golden wildebeest. They also have horses, which the boys enjoyed enormously. Video of Maarten's horse riding skills (and a crazy Springbok). 

In Potchefstroom, mom and dad had a lot of work to do and thus weren't seen too often. TG Krüger Real Estate Agency, a 70 year old family business run by my grandpa, dad and uncle was closed down, and it's been quite emotional. The business building was sold, and a lot of stuff stored there had to be driven away and sorted out.

We also had to (literally) fish out our 2016 schoolbooks from the storeroom in our own house, which was quite a mission since it was not planned to turn out this way...

Mom stood outside shouting instructions and titles.... 

....while we wriggled/climbed to where the bookshelves stood and searched for the books. 

We stayed at both of our grandparents, visited friends, helped 'ouma' Elna (who recently had a neck operation) in and around the house, spent a night in Pretoria, had family dinners, a family dentist appointment, got new swimsuits, delivered one of Nassie's kittens to his new owner, and a host of other little things. Mom also had a homeschool talk on home education in Pretoria.

A lovely breakfast with a work associate of my mom's to celebrate the finish of one of their projects - an Afrikaans learning program.  

Temporarily named Borris the Animal, this kitten was safely delivered to his new owner. 

We love you ouma and oupa Venter. 

On the way back, we put on our tourist hats in Bloemfontein. We drove to the top of Naval Hill, saw the Christiaan Rudolph De Wet statue at the Council Buildings, and visited the National Women's Memorial ('Vroue Monument') and Anglo-Boer War Museum.

View from Naval Hill. I could almost feel the ghosts of English and Boer soldiers there. 

Christiaan De Wet with the Raadsaal behind the bushes. 

The Women's Memorial, dedicated to the thousands of women, children and elderly people who died in British concentration camps during the Anglo-Boer War (1899 - 1902).

An Outsider and Exhibition Concerning Light

On the way to and in Potchefstroom (for a two week stay during which a lot is happening), we've recently had some interesting and quite beautiful experiences connecting light and the nearing festive season in an unique way. 

The first was at the Owl House by Helen Elizabeth Martins in Nieu-Bethesda (a quaint little village lost in time, near Graaff Reinet). Helen Martins is what's called an outsider artist, as her artwork does not conform to any normal art standards or categories. The story goes that one day, sick, old and alone in bed, watching the moon through the grayness, she decided she'd had enough of her boring life. So started a personal obsession with light and color that inspired Miss Helen to recreate her entire house and garden into one vastly different-from-the-norm work of art. It is now a museum and unique in style and atmosphere. 

She loved owls (thus the name Owl House), and beautiful colored-glass owls were everywhere. Helen grounded glass in a coffee grinder, washed and sorted it, and stored it in bottles in her pantry. She splattered sun faces, owls, stars and moons with the glass on ceilings, doors and walls. 

Inside the house - abstract colors and mirrors placed strategically around the house create light effects. At night she lit many candles and lamps, whose light then reflected on the mirrors and glass. 

In the yard (named the Camel Yard) there were strange little 'hideaways' made from bottles and cement... 

....as well as many statues. 

I was taller than (some of) the giraffes (ha). 

Mom outside the yard at the supposed (but rather dangerous) welcome arc. The reason we're all wearing winter jackets is because on the way to the Owl House we drove through rain and snow (in November). So much for summer. 

Pulling back time...

The second event was in Potch itself – a Christmas Light Festival ('Liggie Fees') hosted by the Abraham Kriel Children's Home. They really put in a lot of effort and the result was worth a look. 

Trees, and statues and structures made from wire were decorated. 

We went with 'ouma' and 'oupa' Kruger. Photo booth!