New house!!!!!

Big news, all! I have moved house! Fiance and I are now officially living together. AAAHHH! Isn't it scary?

Of course it caused great consternation with the church. Sigh, yes - you'd think we're living in the 21st century and we wouldn't have people questioning our faith with a judgemental look on their face just because your lease worked out that way, right? But alas, that was not the case.
I won't go into the whole experience too deeply, because it is something that greatly upset both of us, but fiance and I have decided to not be bullied, made to feel guilty OR let it affect our relationship with God. From the start our relationship has been one which intends to make God and faith a cornerstone and neither of us feel that God is somehow shaking His big finger at us for moving in together a month ahead of schedule.
All three of our parent groups (his parents, my two daddies and my mom) agree that they don't have a problem with the arrangement.
It also brought up something that has been a big issue in my spiritual life - my dad not calling himself a Christian (and in fact at times making fun of the church). When I finally told him about our dilemma (I admit I didn't even phone him when it came up because I knew what he was going to say and it included a few carefully aimed swearwords!), he said something very interesting, something that made me feel even better about our decision:
"My child, don't you let these people tell you who God is. This is the exact reason I don't like the church. And don't be confused - I didn't say I don't like God, or that I reject God. It may not seem that way, but I do believe. But I reject the way the church humiliates people for personal decisions that have nothing at all to do with them."

Anyways, we can debate the good and the bad of the church for ages (and this is not to say I necessarily stand on the side that call it bad) but lets move on.

Firstly, there was a party to greet the lovely Bo-Kaap house. What a sad departure! I can honestly say that it has been one of my best living-with-other-people experiences that I have ever had. So here are a few departing pictures. Sniff sniff.....

last sunset in Bo-Kaap....

getting party food ready for the party of the YEAR

me packing up incredibly messy room... feeling slightly overwhelmed

PARTY!!! (and Zaria singing, with boyfriend on the 'konsertina' - was DELIGHTFUL!) Filmmaker and bf from Germany standing in the background, to the right

So that was the party. What a crazy weekend! Aside from a little incident with a guy who fell off the balcony, it was definitely party of the year (our wedding hasn't happened yet, off course!). Housemates went completely overboard and invited about 100 ppl. I am convinced they all showed up. We ate, we drank, we danced, we talked, we ate some more, drank some more, and I finally slipped away at about 1:30am to spend the night at fiance's because I had to work the next day. What a farewell! Was also the welcoming of the new guy (picture to follow) and Filmmaker's boyfriend from Germany (lovely guy!) and German boyfriend's birthday (Happy Birthday!) - hence the large crowd. I hope the neighbours still like Filmmaker after all of this. But I'm sure they will!

new guy (taking over my room)

Then came the moving. Sigh! What a mess.... but what BLISS to live with fiance! It still feels a bit surreal, and the living room looks much more like his space than mine, and my 'study' is nowhere NEAR sorted, and there are boxes everywhere, but ah, he is such a sweetie. Brings me coffee in bed, ran me a bath last night, even washed the dishes (TWICE!) after I cooked. Love him like probably nothing else.

mess of our new living room. Who'd have thought we have so much stuff!!!

new kitchen! Not the best, but it's the first room I sorted out (doesn't look like it here, I know....)

view from my study. Peaceful church-going neighbourhood. Sigh. Do you think it's got something to do with karma that my study overlooks a church?

view from living room onto balcony. We can even see the mountain and Lion's head!

view from living room into someone else's lush yard. Almost looks like Zululand with all those plants.

So, amigos, here goes: My first month EVER of living with my other half. I can't wait!