Hi Ma! How’re you doing?
Fine, thank you. I’m tucked up in bed already, waiting for the sister to bring my pain muti and eyedrops. They put a drop in my left eye and five minutes later another drop. Same eye. Only my left eye.
It’s 6pm. Early to bed, my Ma in frail care.
Do you sleep well?
Like a log. I’m warm and comfortable. And Kosie! I’ve been having the most wonderful dreams lately. Nice, happy dreams. I wake up smiling.
That’s so nice! Can you remember what they’re about, or are they too racy to repeat in polite company?
Laughs!!
No, they’re about the farm. The wonderful farm, the beautiful view, the walks with my Dad. It’s all underwater now, of course.
The farm Nuwejaarsvlei on the Nuwejaarspruit. Now submerged beneath the waters of Sterkfontein Dam. About ’15 miles’ from Harrismith towards Oliviershoek Pass and ‘on the Witsieshoek road.’
I was eight years old when we left the farm.
That was 1936.
~~~oo0oo~~~
muti – medicine;
Kosie – my nickname; Ma pronounces it the Afrikaans way, Kuwa-see; unlike Annie and her friends who all called me Koosie, rhyming with pussy or wussy; True fact; Accounts for a lot?
Nuwejaarsvlei – New Year Marsh or wetland
Nuwejaarspruit – New Year creek or stream
Sterkfontein – strong fountain
Oliviershoek – the place of the Oliviers, a surname
Witsieshoek – the place of the Basotho chief Witsie who lived there from 1839 to 1856.
The pic shows Mom floating on the water above her old farm in 1990. Its somewhere in the background in this pic:
~~~oo0oo~~~
Vrystaat Confessions 
Shame man, they hold on to those memories from carefree childhood days… isn’t there a lesson in here for all of us…
LikeLiked by 2 people
They? Me too!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Koos – Also pronounced in afrikaans otherwise it could sound like ‘goose’ – What a lovely chat you had with Mom, and still a blessing to wake up with a smile. Lovely memories of the Swanepoels, 95 Stuart Street…and many a morning woke up with a smile in that home, as it was second home to me – Fluffy
LikeLiked by 2 people
As was Garvock Street and Warden Street to me. I remember on the right side of the house in Warden street the enclosed stoep where we had meals at a long table. One evening Polly said ‘Don’t forget to brush your teeth now.’ We must have just finished pudding, as once she was out of earshot Kev said, ‘I’m not brushing my teeth till the sweet taste has left my mouth!’
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: Mary Bland Grew Up On A Farm | Vrystaat Confessions