The Restory Retreat Centre

On the farm, they are cleaning up all the old fallen or dead trees, cutting it into planks and beams. Because The Restory forms part of the larger farm, all the Pine wood we're going to use in the renovations (for roof trusses, purlins and brandering) have been donated to us. All cut from he fallen Tafelkop trees. We're very grateful. And especially impressed by the thick beams that have been cut to size for the restorations in the workshops. Yesterday morning Matilda and I walked the few meters down to the large shed to shop Cedar wood that they sell. It was like entering a candy store. Planks and beams in widths and sizes that are generally hard to come by. It was a lovely process bringing dreams, drawings, and wood together: Thick, wide planks for the long table envisaged for the large conversation room where we'll have our retreat and other sessions. More delicate lumber for writing desks and bedside tables in the bedrooms. Sturdy pieces for benches. It is going to be h...

Photograph by George Angus Photograph by George Angus Next on our renovation list is the small scullery. That will be done through upcycling and the use of appliances that became redundant when friends renovated their homes. To borrow from Ernest Rutherford: “We don’t have money, so we have to think.”  In other words, be creative. To install the upcycled sink, I’ll have to reroute the plumbing. But in order to do that I must remove the old dilapidated cupboard that’s currently doing service in the scullery (It was previously in the bathroom, but we moved it when we created two new bathrooms). But in order to do that, we must find storage space for the linen we keep in there. And in order to do that I had to build a new cupboard for the kitchen.  It’s like operating on tonsils by pulling toe nails. There’s method in madness. That’s where “ Oupa George se kas ” (Grandpa George’s cupboard)  comes in. It must be at least 65 years old, built in t...

Photograph by George Angus “God is not found in the soul by adding anything but by a process of subtraction.”                                                                                          Meister Eckhart This past week we’ve started renovating the kitchen. It has been very hard work, ironically not so much renovating but taking down, breaking open, stripping. This morning I stand in the empty shell and look at all the patched cracks, the open rafters, all the wiring and pipes exposed and I ask Matilda: “Will it ever look better aga...