Posted on 05/25/2010 7:24:08 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
Eileen Mijlof said she had lost count of number of times she was burgled in her South African home.
So when she and her husband, Jelle, decided to move, it was to a custom-designed Y-shaped fortress that the pair claim is impossible to break in to.
Unusually for middle-class South African homes, the property at the foot of Table Mountain does not have burglar bars, alarms, electric fencing or trellis security doors, because the first floor is nearly 50ft above the ground.
The house looks as if it is precariously balanced on top of a secure garage, but the foundation is 20ft deep, and 10ft by 40ft long.
Mrs Mijlof, 52, who is originally from Liverpool, said: "We feel very safe in the house. We lost count of the number of times we got robbed in our previous homes and the hotel we ran.
"They were never violent, but it just got too much, which is why Jelle decided he would build this place."
Mr Mijlof, 75, got the idea to construct the two-storey house after sitting in the grounds of the property.
"I was sitting by the trees and looked up and saw the squirrels running up and down them and the birds singing. I noticed that when the squirrels got to the end of branches, they looked secure because they knew nothing could follow them because they'd both fall off.
"The squirrels and the birds looked so safe and I thought we should fell the same."
He completed the house in 2000, and the couple, who have been married 20 years, are now selling the fortress in the Higgovale suburb to move to the whale-watching town of Hermanus.
The house, which enjoys panoramic views of Cape Town and the ocean beyond, is on the market for about £1.1m.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Your post reminded me of a storm we went through a few years ago... power was out all over. Card scanners at stores and gas stations didn’t work of course. No problem, I just dipped into my emergency cash. I had some $100’s stashed away for just such a need.
That’s when I learned that it is much better to keep your emergency cash in small bills. When stores and gas stations start running only in cash, they can quickly run out of change and small bills, because ~lots~ of people keep large bills for “emergency cash”. I had trouble just getting a tank of gas because they couldn’t break a $100 bill. Lesson learned. Keep that supply in 20’s, 10’s, 5’s and a stack of singles and some coin. Stores will love you if you can do exact change.
Not a zombie.
bounce bump
I have no idea but why you posted that, but thank you very much.
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