I was rather surprised by the quote I received for legal fees associated with the second stand we bought in Wakkerstroom. It is literally double what we paid for the first stand eighteen months ago. The attorney had calculated the fees based on the municipal valuation rather than on the purchase price. When I queried it she simply brushed me off, adding two more fees that they had missed! I paid the money so as to not delay the process but decided to challenge it. After consulting with another conveyancer, who agreed with me, I have lodged a complaint with the Legal Practice Council. Let’s see if anything comes of it…
It was mom Ford’s 91st birthday on the 15th of July. What a milestone, and she is still so healthy and ‘with-it’. I cooked our main meal while Sue made a dessert, her speciality, and provided the venue. Trisha brought gourmet chocolates for our coffee. We decided to have the get-together at Sue’s house because it was more accessible than ours, especially for auntie Jean. All mom’s children were there on the day and that is all she wants from life at this stage. Unfortunately, none of the grandchildren were able to be there but we had a good time, nevertheless.
Roger had recently started using Waze, which he claims is much better than Google Maps. So, on our mid-winter trip to Marloth Park (from the 19th to the 25th) “Ma’me” decided to take us on an unfamiliar route, for me at least, and we ended up going through Bezuidenhout Valley. As always, things happen for a reason. In the vicinity of Bezuidenhout Park we noticed an old Honda Ballade at an intersection and the occupant, an elderly lady, was waving frantically for us to stop. Her car had broken down and she was in a panic; it was not a safe place to be stranded. She burst into tears of relief when we stopped to help. Roger had a brief look and determined that she had ‘cooked the engine’ (his words) by driving it without water in the radiator. Because it was automatic Roger did not want to chance towing the vehicle. So, after a number of phone calls to her sons a tow-in truck and a guard was organised. Meanwhile her airtime ran out, so we helped her to cancel her appointment with the ophthalmologist and sat with her until help arrived. We left her in the company of her daughter-in-law about an hour later and continued on our trip.
It was late afternoon when we arrived in Marloth Park. After we were settled we sat outside around the braai fire with shorts and T-shirts until about 9 pm. What a welcome relief from our very cold house in Rosebank.
Much to our dismay we have new neighbours that had very inconsiderately built their huge new house almost on our boundary. Now, I have to add, we’ve had our property for the past twenty years without any visible neighbours, so we have become selfish. We always felt rather secluded, as if the bush belonged to us alone; well, no more. Fortunately, they have built south-facing while we are north-facing so at least they are not overlooking our entertainment area.
Our customary day in Kruger National Park was on the 21st. It was busy, as the South of the park often is. We had no spectacular sightings but a day in the park is always enjoyable and relaxing.
There is always an open invitation for any family members to join us and we were very pleased when Eugene phoned to say that they were joining us for the weekend. They arrived on Friday. It was a wonderful surprise and great to have them there!
Kameelperd Road in front of our property was in a really bad state thanks to dongas created by erosion. Roger got some soil and building rubble from the new neighbour and spent a day creating a berm across the road in an effort to divert rainwater into our stand, rather than having it run straight down the road.
We completed the restoration of the chairs for the living area. I am very pleased with the end result.
We left MP on Monday the 25th, reluctantly as always, and were back home in the early evening.
I finished Luvan’s baby blanket just in time for Alesia’s baby shower on Saturday the 30th. It was held at the STOOK Restaurant in Rustenburg. That was followed by a bring-and-braai at Eugene and Marlene’s house in the evening.
On Sunday morning Roger and I flew to the Brauhaus where we met Eugene, Marlene and Corné for brunch. Afterwards we flew back to Silver Creek and collected Ufudu. We then joined the family to share a wonderful curry that Eugene had made for supper before returning to Rosebank in Ufudu. The August long weekend was coming up…
On the family front:
July was a good month for Kevin & Lucy. Besides passing all his exams and moving into their new home, they celebrated their first wedding anniversary. How time flies! They celebrated by going on a trip that included Sutherland, Matjiesfontein, Knysna and Stilbaai amongst others.
Francois has in the meantime become a chilli sauce maker of note. And we are fortunate beneficiaries, receiving generously of his produce.
