We are doing OK over here, we've had a change in pace to say the least, not like all the squeezing in of holiday activity during last week. We were a bit weary yesterday after more travelling and the endless sorting out of stuff. The day passed easily - I did a ton of washing and the children were scrubbed - a bit like sheep lining up at the sheep dip. They emerged looking shiny and much less tanned. Evie was the most dramatically transformed, from Stig of the Dump to Pocohontas' exotic little sister. We went out to try and sort out the car (still ongoing) and by the time we came back all the washing outside was damp again - agh!! It seems night falls very quickly here and also Autumn is in full swing. Maybe I shouldn't have given quite as many clothes away when we were in Maseru. . .
Clarens feels very much like home to us and as I've been wandering it's easy to chat as we have a story as to why we're here. There are shops that remind me a bit of the shop in The Waltons, and there are many many dogs that we now count as close friends. The best way to describe it is to liken it to Arundel, in terms of scale and quiantness. It is set amongst the mountains in the Dihlabeng region of the Free State. It is a hub of artistic interest, with more art galleries than you could shake a stick at. It's the kind of place where you could buy something incredibly beautiful to hang on your wall, or something ingenious from a self-assembled craft stall, but you'd struggle to buy a pair of trainers or a cheese grater. It also has the amazing church which I described when we first arrived here - a community which has people coming and going from all over the world. Why here, in the middle of nowhere? Because of people with vision and faith - it's fascinating really. One gets so frustrated with the town planners of Worthing, but I won't start harping on about that now. (One day though!) This church has actualised much that we are hoping to do in our church and local community back home, so we have a strong link with the people here.
Today the kiddiwinks and I went for a walk and shared a chelsea bun, then posted Nanny's 70th birthday card (sorry to miss that too!) which of course was sent by airmail (!?). On the way back I concluded that adults and children are not designed to be together 24/7 like this for longer than 3 weeks. We spent ages looking for a dropped Lego trophy which is helpfully shaped and coloured like a rolled-up autumn leaf. Then Evie said to me, "Mum... our heads are like marbles aren't they? Just really massive big marbles....". Meanwhile I discovered that one boy had drawn on the other's chest before coming out, and that they had invented alter egos which involved extra shouting in the name of being rappers. Ho hum..
I sought out some adult company later on, and, more importantly, borrowed some DVD's!! Result. The kids are doing a bit of work too, mostly intensive times tables and art. The daughter of our absent hosts has an art book which we are using - how handy is that - and we're surrounded by inspiration, not least her art which is stunning. I'll ask permission to put some on here when I get home (when the dust settles - arf arf)
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