Packing up yesterday

The past couple of months have been taken up with the preparation for my early retirement from a career that has spanned 37 years. Saying goodbye to colleagues and discovering how one has impacted the lives of others, in the way that one has treated them, is a humbling experience.

Towerwater in October 2005

Concluding a major phase of one’s life, I discovered takes planning and filling in many documents. Crossing a lot of t’s and dotting a fair amount of i’s kept me from writing blogs regularly.

The cottage and Rosarium in December 2004

It seems that there will be a lot of renewal in my life and around Bonnievale in the way of upgrading the roads in and out of town. Arriving at Towerwater with the street in front of the house turned into a one way stop-go and a massive sign saying 60 and no overtaking, was like a reminder from the universe to stay in one’s lane when one turn 60.

The traffic sign, visible from the bedroom window 

Looking out through the bedroom window in the morning, I am reminded by a massive road sign, that I am 60. I must have patience and should not rush anywhere by overtaking, well that is what I read into the sign in the street.

December 2004, filling our lives with the joy of flowers

July 2005, floor tiles waiting to be laid, waiting for the loft stairs and pruned roses 

With packing up and sorting out, one opens many unopened boxes and files revealing one’s history. Luckily, mostly pleasant memories in photos and correspondence.

October 2005, the parking terrace is still a dream

December 2005, relaxing with tea on the lawn

Discovering some photos of Towerwater taken nearly 20 years ago reminded me of the fun we had restoring the buildings and creating a garden to match. It was mostly hard work, but we never forgot to enjoy the process as we went along.

December 2005, a white house for Christmas with the woodwork displaying the white wood primer

Photos of entertaining friends at Towerwater also captured the evolution of the place and one is reminded of how everything changed. Some faces captured in photographs so many years ago are not with us anymore, but they are fondly remembered.

October 2005

October 2005

October 2005, the vegetable beds filled with a riot of flowers

The early days of the garden at Towerwater was magical in a way. At the outset, the money that we had available was used for the renovations of the building and garden walls. As partly a building site, we kept the garden in a low maintenance mode. I played around with sowing flower seeds to create pockets of colour while we slaved away at mixing cement, building, limewashing and making pickets. 

January 2006, there was always a reason to celebrate

The year 2024 is the year of big numbers for us. We have been together for 37 years, Towerwater has been part of it for 33 years, Keith turned 70 and he bought the Cape Town cottage, Elmwood, 40 years ago, I turned 60 and the Towerwater blog is 10 years old, with more than 250000 pageviews to date.

A summer shower in 2006

A summer shower is a good reason to relax in the cottage with a fire

We have found that nothing is achieved without passion, commitment, sacrifice and a touch of love. I doubt whether one ever reaches a state of complete satisfaction in one’s achievements. There is always a possibility of improvement that brings inevitable change, and with that growth.

“Daily, consistent, focused, faithful expectation raises the miracle power of achieving your dreams.” – John Di Lemme

Happy 10^th birthday blog! Let’s see what the future holds for us.

Previous birthday posts,

Days like this - 2023
Our marmalade malady - 2022
Still life with oranges - 2021
Almond trees in August -2020
Of birthdays and blossoms - 2019
A life imagined - 2018
Looking back to the future - 2017
Reflections - 2016
Happy birthday blog - 2015
Heading for spring -2014

When does a house become a home?

We have been chipping away at Towerwater for 32 years. From a mostly weekend and holiday project, we began incrementally investing more time on it since Covid. I suppose we have always been too ambitious for our own good. Although Towerwater has always been the project closest to our hearts, we have enjoyed all our historic building restoration projects. Every project had its own pleasures. The two Victorian cottages with their brookie lace and English detail; the Art Deco/Arts and Crafts house with its symmetry and layered shapes, married with raw truthful materials and an indulgent accent on their natural qualities.

Then there is Towerwater. Towerwater with its thatched roofs and whitewashed walls, oak trees screening the delightfully proportioned windows on either side of the wide, green door, and handmade tiles covering the floors. “There is nothing inconsequent about these elements, these materials. They arose from a divine instinct for what is good, from a sure knowledge of the fundamentals of fine building.” – Rex Martienssen, the South African Modern Movement pioneer, commenting on Cape vernacular architecture and its importance as an authentic architecture, 1928.

Towerwater is our ode to Cape vernacular architecture with a celebration of South African vernacular crafts complementing the interior. Towerwater has always been more than a weekend house. It is probably more home than any other place for us. Being able to complete the rooms with artworks and moving furniture around to positions where they feel just right, finally brought to the house that elusive state of harmony one hopes to experience in a space.

Towerwater feels more complete to us now, but not more of a home than before. It is more a sense of comfort and contentment. Like positioning a large cushion in a way that it meets all your needs for comfort and contentment. We are still occasionally surprised by the results of our work. I find myself walking into a room and dismissing that nagging little inner voice that always demands further improvement. Is this the ultimate sign of contentment?

Towerwater has always been home. It is the place where we make memories, remember, and celebrate friends and family. It is the space where we are surrounded by the things that makes us smile. For many friends it has been a life-long constancy of arrival and departure, a place that welcomes you in times of joy and sadness.

A house becomes a home when you share it with the right people and over the years, we have said hello and goodbye to amazing people whose lingering spirits have made Towerwater the home that we love.