Adulting is described as behaving in a way characteristic of a responsible adult, especially the accomplishment of mundane but necessary tasks. Millennials coined this term. To them, it means paying the bills, keeping the house clean and keeping a job. All those things their parents used to do for them, and they took for granted.

Youngest son has a saying. It goes like this: The nice thing about being an adult is, you can have a can of condensed milk for supper. The bad thing about being an adult is, there is no one to stop you from doing so. For so many nights, home alone while Colin traveled up to Gauteng, I would seriously contemplate my supper menu, and then I would responsible adult. Tonight is my last night home alone in our current house, and no, my resolve faltered and you can guess what I had for supper. This I can promise you. It only looked good on paper. In reality, I am a disgustingly sweet and nauseous sticky mess. I cannot recall the last time I did this, but after tonight, I will not be doing it for a very long time to come.

OK, OK. I can hear you all saying: so why your last night in your current home. Can it be true? Did Santa and his Elves pitch up in Betty’s Bay one starry night and finish building your home with only a cookie and glass of milk as reward? If only. No. Builder and his team has quite a bit of building to do in the next few months. Liefie has her work cut out for her keeping that bunch on their toes. By now, you all know that our building is taking a bit longer than anticipated. (We all know who delayed us for 8 months, so I won’t go down that rabbit hole again. Will you believe me if I tell you that they will only be back at work next week, mid-way through January? So no electricity for us, until then. Unbelievable, but then, why am I even surprised.) But, to get back to the topic, so it was decided that if Plan A is going to take longer than planned, let’s have fun with a plan B. Once we had made the decision, it was just absolute synchronicity how it all came together.

Across from where we live at the moment is….yup, you are right. The Beautiful Beaumont. And Beaumont borders onto? Arc Angelli. Which in turn borders onto? Rooiheuwel Farm. Man, you are a clever bunch. This reminds me a bit of the song: Dem Bones. Way back when we were little, Firestone used it in their advertising jingle and called it Them ‘Stones. The point being that every thing is connected. And so, plan B presented as a first dot, which connected to the next dot, and here we are! Pat has hosted us for far too long. Our little community took care of us, but it is time for Colin and I to move on. Being in limbo for too long is not always good. And so, a property agent I had mailed previously called me one morning. I have an interesting proposition for you. Keep an open mind. We met up the next day and drove the 2km from Botrivier to what must be the quaintest little farmhouse on a hill. And farmhouse needed somebody to live in it for a while. It required a bit of a quick decision, which I promptly made, and so a month after signing the contract, Colin finally stepped into it this past weekend. I know I made a good decision when Colin said: the problem with this spot is, we may not want to move away. It is going to be an adjustment for us. Having lived in such a close community where all you have to do is stick your head out the door to have a chat, we will now be all on our own, on a very big and beautiful farm. No pressure, Two Sons, but ample space for Truffle and Oreo to run around and work off energy.

I know, how lucky could we be. Those lovely views I have described to you, the rolling hills, covered in either lambs or Canola? We are now going to live slap bang in the middle of it, for the next 6 months. We will now be looking at little Botrivier from up top of the hill, and we will fondly remember that friendly little dorpie where we put down our first Western Cape roots. And every so often when Colin heads up to Gauteng, I will be close enough to hang out with my Silver Foxes.

After their Christmas holiday, the building team are back on site. What started out as a very difficult build full of too many challenges, is starting to take shape. It takes a very strong resolve to continue moving forward when all you have are moon craters in the ground. At last, things are happening above ground, and the thrill of seeing Colin’s design taking shape in the hands of that very skilled team, led by Liefie, of course, is simply the most amazing experience. I feel so hallowed that we are able to see it rise. It makes the journey worthwhile. I am also amazed at myself, and how cum si, cum sa I have become about it all. It is either that, or we have gone completely barmy over this build. I chatted to Builder earlier, and he was commenting on the happy vibe, the type of vibe that a salary can’t create. It requires a vested interest, of a team that share in our excitement of seeing the plan coming together. Well, I think it is that. It could also be that Januworry is a long month, and they are already mentally celebrating their next pay run. You never know. Money talks, but it don’t sing and dance and it don’t walk, as my pal, Neil Diamond would say. Or it can be, that Meraki Mountain is attracting interest now from all sorts of people, and they are proud to be associated with it.

But there is always one, that see obstacles where others see opportunity. Domino is not pleased at all. When finally, he celebrated an uncontested victory as the Chaircat of Botrivier Cat Convention, his humans now want him to live on a farm. Really? What is he supposed to do with chickens and sheep? What use is a farm dam to him? What will the other cats say when they find out that not only was he – once again – stuffed into a travel box, but also had to spend two days locked in quarantine? It is for your own good, his humans said. I think somebody needs to take a few lessons in gratitude from Liefie. Words can not describe how happy she was when she dug up her bone that she buried three  weeks ago, before her holiday away from Meraki Mountain. After three weeks of maturing underground, it was simply her best bone, ever!

Wait till Domino finds the stash of barn mice, waiting at the end of this ordeal.

I will keep you posted.