Fleas, 4x4's and guns...

To say that I'm feeling knackered is probably an understatement, after moving something in the region of half a tonne of boxes from storage to the house over the last two days. Back hurts, legs hurt, arms hurt - all understandable, but why do my ribs hurt?

The most daunting task though is trying to eradicate the fleas! Hundreds of the things. We misted the place on Wednesday night (after three solid days of cleaning) and were still being bitten. Then we started spraying skirting boards, which had some positive effect, but still they came! This morning we sprayed the carpets, and so far, it looks like it's working. But, if anyone has any suggestions on how to get rid of them outside, in the grass, please let me know!

Told you the house was manky! And they LIVED in it like that!

After three trailer-loads of boxes from storage yesterday, we took ourselves of to lunch at a place called "Coffee on the Rocks" (highly recommended) in De Kelders followed by a little off-road excursion in the Walker Bay nature reserve. The most I've ever used 4-wheel-drive for in the past is snow and ice. Well, soft sand, rocks and gravel is a whole different ball game! Especially trying to pick a route over the rocks so that you avoid cracking the sump or differential(s) on one of the higher bits! It was fun, and the car was more than capable, more so than me, and I think we need to go on a 4x4 drivers course before we venture further into the bush. Looking forward to more though.

And the guns - in order to be insured for household contents here, we have to have a 'linked' alarm system. Linked being, if the alarm goes off, a man with a gun will turn up in minutes to protect us/our house/contents etc. Nice! Oh well, this is Africa! Not too worried though, as burglary is quite rare in our village. Mostly it's opportunistic - if you leave your front door open to the street, with a handbag in view, then I guess it's gone, right?

(Ready for bed) Skip.