In - the end

Today the chickens produced their first egg. The cock discovered his crow a few days ago, so the one probably follows on from the other. It was small and perfect, but an egg nevertheless. That was after we had a lunch entirely from our vegetable garden, which was another first. On the whole, today has been a milestone but not quite as big as the past few weeks.

We moved in on the 27th of May and that was a milestone of note. The house was not quite ready, but we had to move out of our rented accommodation by the end of May and so we moved.

Johan and I had become experts in the just-in-time school of building. On the 26th of May, there were no functioning toilets - the biodigester had not arrived, but it did - at the 11th hour and that was my only real concern. I told my daughters that we would be using a pit toilet in the meantime but that was not well received. Seems toilets are incomplete without a mirror, basin and a variety of other essentials and anything less is just not funny.

Of course the rain did not let up until almost the last day. We started wet (the first rains) and ended wet and now that we're in, the clouds have vanished bar a couple of overcast days. The short overcast period taught us that solar hot water panels do not work well when there's no sun. But when there is sun, they cook! The underfloor heating is not really functional but not that it's needed. The temperature has plummeted to around 4degC but the house remains warm enough for displays of nudity - not that there's much of that with builders everywhere. But it's warm and the concept of passive heating works a treat. We've been out at various end of term functions and arriving back to a house radiating heat late at night is just fantastic. In the mornings, Johan who arrives wrapped up for arctic weather remains impressed by the residual warmth in the house. It's just great.

Molly and Dolly were an anniversary gift from Andrea who heeded some advice that we needed some sheep on the roof. Africa being what it is can breathe life even into the most eccentric of ideas. The sheep arrived and they were duly installed on the roof. They've got white bodies with black heads and stand fairly majestically at the highest corner of the roof casting their gaze over all visitors - most of whom who give a double or triple take. They're a truly African breed, made by the hands of some intrepid beadist who sells his wares at a local traffic light in Jo'burg. Being life-size, they're convincingly real - enough to stop the traffic. And they've witnessed every manic move that's been typical of the past month and most of all they love the Venda clay pots.

Jonathan and I worked together and he gave me a gift of an African pot some time ago - one made by Rebecca Matibe, a close relation. I ordered some more of these to gather my rainwater harvested water. The idea was that the water would seep off the roof and drain into these stunning pots before making its way to a collection point for treatment. It was a risk as I had no idea of the volume of water or how it would drain into the pots. There have been a few teething problems, but I've now installed a short chain from each downpipe to help guide the water without much spillage. Now they stand fairly proudly at the back of the house adding a very African feel to this earthy place.

These of course arrived as we were beginning to lay the paving and concrete panels around the house. I'm fairly keen to avoid a damp problem so we've paved and cast a 1.4m wide hard surface area all the way around the house. To break up the large entertainment area at the back of the house, we created a small labyrinth as a test of one's sobriety. If you can follow the curves, they will lead you to the front (back) door and it also makes a wonderful diversion for a stressed mind. At the moment, it's only the chickens that use it as they're the ones who can walk under all the patio furniture that now occupies the space.

The progress inside the house was fantastic. It felt like a marathon and included installing all the plumbing, the various cupboards, vanities, windows, alarm system and of course the painting, tiling etc. etc. The biggest shock in this regard is the cost of all the finishing - from the labour costs to the items themselves. It has been a sobering experience and I can now walk the labyrinth blindfolded. The significant increases in prices since our last renovation which was only a few years ago came as a surprise. Architects and builders talk of being able to do things cheaply, but this must come at significant compromises in quality - with just the cheapest of everything being installed which must create huge maintenance costs later. One of the sustainable movements' clarion calls is to invest in quality items - just for this reason. Gucci said it also when he claimed that 'quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten' - not that I carry a handbag and can testify to his quality. But it seems that quality is becoming less and less affordable and that a massive cycle of junk replacing junk lies ahead of us - until of course we can no longer afford the junk...

Of course poor workmanship remains prevalent and we encountered some more of that. Equally though, we had some fantastic experiences. The tilers, carpenters and stucco plasterers were fantastic. They were all self employed and did the work themselves. The biggest and most consistent problem seems to develop when a contractor drops off his semi skilled staff leaving them to their own devices. Despite the lack of supervision, lack of productivity and flared tempers, they seem unsympathetic. However, I suppose if your business is to make money off only your labourers' efforts and not your own, then having disgruntled clients must come with the territory.

We've still a bit to do around the outside of the house. The fencing is being installed at the moment and the underside of the roof slab is being plastered. The grass needs to be laid in front of the house and the patio roof needs to be installed. Fortunately the first patio roof design was rejected which meant that we moved in before it was installed. Now, understanding the importance of sunlight in the house, the design will radically change. The grey water treatment bed is still to be built and the rainwater harvesting tank needs to be installed. This will happen next week. Finally, the biodigester needs a gas line to be connected to it and then we'll be cooking off home made biogas.

So there remains a lot more to be said. But now I need to chase the chickens off the table and to prepare a place to eat my egg.