In your opinion, what do you buy way more of than most people?
I don’t buy a lot of anything. I spend money on experiences rather than things. Maybe I spend more on holidays than most people.
When I peep into shoppers’ trolleys, I am horrified to see tons of junk food. Perhaps I spend more on healthy food than other people? I spend money on ‘expensive’ foods like avocado pear which some people refuse to buy because they find them overpriced but then they fill their baskets with fizzy drinks and cookies. I’d rather have the avo.
Which workers have the worst jobs?
There are many yucky jobs that people perform. What could be worse than fixing blocked toilets? And how about cleaning up a gory crime scene? Perhaps the pay is worth it!
Opinion. John Cage is a composer who composed a piece named 4’33” for any instrument. The performers are instructed not to play their instrument for four minutes and thirty-three seconds. Is this music or is this art? A combination of the two? Neither, it’s stupid. Your opinion?
I think John Cage was arrogant. He was trying to make a point that there was no such thing as silence. There would be some sound. But so what? People go to a recital to hear music, not ambient sound. He tried to make people feel guilty for not listening properly! In my opinion, that’s just rude. Of course, he caused a great stir and perhaps it was just his intention to attract attention and ruffle people’s feathers. Quite funny actually.
How good are you at drawing?
I am absolutely useless at drawing. So many artists have told me that ‘everybody’ can draw and that they could teach me to draw. It hasn’t happened yet. My drawings are worse than a pre-school level.
I did not draw this – mine would be worse!
GRATITUDE SECTION (as always optional)
Feel free to share one amazing thing you’ve experienced (any time frame).
Credit for meme goes to Lauren
I love Lauren’s meme. My hubby and I have just spent the Easter Weekend with our daughter Lauren. We visited Mountain Zebra National Park and immersed ourselves in nature. The wildflowers were beautiful, the animals amazing and we just loved the birds. It was an awesome break-away.
This Easter we planned to visit the kids in Plettenberg Bay. But our grandchildren needed to get to Queenstown for a very important Twenty-First Birthday celebration. So our daughter asked if we’d be prepared to help with the logistics of getting them there and back and perhaps include a trip to Mountain Zebra National Park. Absolutely no persuasion was needed! The only negative was that there were no caravan sites available at such short notice but we could get a family cottage for Saturday and Sunday night. This was probably just as well as Lauren would not have enjoyed sleeping in a tent in the very cold temperatures that hit over the weekend!
On Thursday morning we left Struisbaai and travelled in the pouring rain to Plettenberg Bay. We stopped at a Die Skeerhok Padstal just outside Heidelberg for breakfast.
The weather was cool and overcast but the rain had not yet reached Plett. Simon had just returned from a school camp and regaled us with wonderful stories of his adventures while our son-in-law fortified us with strong coffee and snacks. Our daughter Lauren and granddaughter Shan returned from school soon after that and there were hugs and delighted greetings as we had not seen them since Christmas. Lauren teaches Grade 2 and Shan is doing a learnership in the foundation phase and loving it.
After dinner, we had an early night as Shan was eager for us to get on the road before the crack of dawn. She planned to get to the game farm in Queenstown as early as possible to surprise her boyfriend whose birthday they were going to celebrate! Indeed we were all up before the sparrows and after a warming cup of coffee hit the road at 5 am. Lauren drove all the way giving The Earl a well-earned break after the stress of driving in inclement weather the day before. It rained most of the way to Queenstown too but Lauren handled the conditions superbly.
After breakfast and refuelling we made it to the farm by midday. Jordan was hugely delighted as he was only expecting Shan to arrive on Sunday. What a wonderful welcome we had from his parents who put Lauren, The Earl and me up for the night. Jordan’s maternal grandmother and paternal grandparents were there too and miraculously there was room for us all as well as some of Jordan’s friends. Everybody was super friendly and we had enormous fun.
The kids enjoying a delicious Mac Cheese and Venison Pie for lunchThey had two pet springbok on the farm – Rage and Gracie who is still a babyThe Earl was delighted to bottle feed Gracie
Etienne (Jordan’s dad) took Earl, Lauren, Granny Denise and me on a game drive. We were delighted to see a variety of animals including Sable antelope, waterbuck, blesbok, zebra and some lovely birds.
A beautiful Sable AntelopeSome curious waterbuck and blesbok
The drive included a scary ride up a steep mountain but the views were worth it.
Before dinner, the adults all sat around the kitchen table and played sevens while the kids socialized on the enclosed verandah. It was all wonderfully entertaining.
There was some hectic competition but Granny Denise, I think, won most of the games!
The weather was chilly but the warm and friendly company more than made up for it.
The next day Lauren, Earl and I left at around 8 o’clock and made our way to Mountain Zebra Park. Our early start meant that we could have two full days in the reserve and what a great time we had. We treated ourselves to having our meals (Brunch and Dinner) at the restaurant and the catering and service were excellent.
Here are the highlights of our visit.
Soon after entering, we found this Spotted Eagle-owlOur cousins were everywhere and gave us a huge welcome.
We have visited the park several times but have never found the lions. Imagine our joy when we could show Lauren the male! He was trying to hide in the long grass but we still got good views of him. The females were nowhere to be found.
Please look at us Your MajestySo you found me at last!
After greeting the lion we went to check in and have brunch. After that, we took a walk around the camp.
Too chilly for a swim but Lauren agreed that the pool was lovely
We had a brief rest and then went out again. In the distance, we saw an eagle on a rock. It then took off and we saw it land again. Luckily he did not fly away and we were able to drive right up to the spot.
Verreaux’s EagleYes, it was cold but a leg stretch was necessary. Lauren protecting me from the lions!Different from the Blue Wildebeest are these Black Wildebeest with their attractive white-tipped tails. Their horns are also a different shapeThese two were having a confrontationThe Mountain Zebra were decorating the landscape.A baby
The best part of MZNP is that there are wonderful views.
Lauren was dying to see Eland and on our last afternoon, she was delighted to get a few.
ElandZebra not wanting to be left out.
Over the two days, we very much enjoyed the birds.
Helmeted GuineafowlSwarms of Red-billed Quelea were everywhereAnt-eating ChatFamiliar ChatBuff-streaked ChatAcacia Pied BarbetCommon OstrichAfrican SpoonbillChestnut-backed Sparrow-larkFemale Chestnut-backed Sparrow-lark
Our two-day visit was really awesome. We left on Easter Monday at 7 am, had breakfast at the farm and then drove all the way back to Plettenberg Bay. The kids had thoroughly enjoyed the Twenty-First celebrations. More relatives and friends had arrived and it was extremely festive.
Lauren and Earl shared the driving, we stopped at Colchester for lunch and arrived back at 6pm.
Earl and I left the following morning, met our sister-in-law and her kids for breakfast at Vic Bay, stopped in Bredasdorp to do a few chores and arrived home at 3 pm. What a great Easter Weekend.
Here are my answers to this week’s Share Your World guest hosted by Tena.
Do You Prefer Salty Foods or Sweet Foods?
I am addicted to salt. A habit that drives my husband crazy is shaking salt onto my hand and licking it. And I always add salt to my food. The Earl is convinced that I will get hardening of the arteries because of excessive intake of salt but according to my doctor, it will do me no harm. I have lowish blood pressure and my body needs salt for that! That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!
I also like sweet stuff – especially chocolate.
Would you rather be in a place where it is excessively hot or excessively cold?
I am lucky enough to live in the Western Cape with its mild Meditteranean climate so summer is usually hot and dry and winter cold and wet but temperatures seldom fall below 6 degrees C. We often travel further north in Africa where it gets very hot and I don’t mind that.
I prefer the heat to the cold. I cannot even imagine what it must be like to deal with extreme cold like in Arctic countries. Working your life around such conditions must be exhausting.
I have skied down the Alps but I’ve never built a snowman!
Favorite Mode of long-distance travel (Bus, Plane, Train, Automobile, or other).
We don’t have a good train service in South Africa so long-distance travel has to be by car or plane. It depends on how quickly I want to get somewhere. I enjoy long road trips and going nowhere slowly. We don’t do more than 500km per day before stopping to camp overnight and there are so many great places to stop at and explore.
I once did a coach trip in Europe and that was awesome. Travelling in a luxury bus is very comfortable.
Cruising is another preferred choice to high-speed dashing from place to place by plane.
A Cruise Ship I once travelled on.
What was your favorite holiday growing up? (You can also use American holidays or appropriate holidays from your country)
Christmas was a big thing in my family growing up. It was a huge affair with all the family gathering together. There were plenty of cousins around so we had the greatest fun, usually at Granny’s house. There was a huge pine tree in their garden and my grandfather would decorate it with lights. He and my grandmother made Christmas very special. It was a magical time. The week before Christmas they would take my siblings and me on an outing to the city. We would visit every department store, go to Santa’s Grotto, sit on his lap and list the gifts we wanted him to bring. I always wondered how he managed to be in six different department stores at once. At each store, we got a lucky dip filled with toys of inferior quality. Each year our grandparents complained that the quality got worse but we didn’t mind at all! The best though was having lunch at The Wimpy in OK Bazaars – a rare annual treat for us.
Another part of Christmas I loved was attending Midnight Mass. We would go to sleep early, wake at 11 pm and then go to church and sing Christmas Carrols which I loved before the service started. On our return, we would have hot chocolate and open one present each. It was such fun.
Adderly Street Cape Town in the 1960s – Ok Bazaars on the left
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Gratitude Section
What gave you the most gratification this week?
I was not well this week. An attack of diverticulitis had me on antibiotic medication and drained my energy but I was still able to be up and about between regular naps. While lying about I browsed through old PowerPoint presentations of the grandkids growing up and past holidays and that made me feel good. We have had so many good years.
How the Grinch stole Christmas – Christmas Eve 2011
Are you more productive at night or in the morning? Do you think it’s possible to change and get used to another schedule?
Throughout my adult working life, I was a morning person. I had no trouble going to sleep early and waking up early. I was that irritating person that greeted her less enthusiastic colleagues chirpily while pouring a cup of coffee before the morning staff meeting. (Coffee is an essential food for teachers, chirpy or not!)
On holiday in game reserves, it is essential to be out at dawn. No problem – I would rally my sleepy travelling companions and make sure we were out there bright and early.
Now that I am retired, things are a little different! I can still rise early if I have to but these days I go to sleep later and rise later too. I am still more productive in the morning but I can certainly do stuff at night too.
Can people change from early birds to night owls? – Yes, I think so. Can night owls change into early birds? I can’t see any of the night owls of my acquaintance ever changing into early birds. If they couldn’t during their working lives, why should they try now?
What’s the biggest vehicle you’ve driven? If you don’t drive, what’s the biggest vehicle you’ve ridden in?
The biggest motorcar I ever drove was a Volkswagen Caravelle and I loved it. We sold it when we moved to Struisbaai in 2015. Now I hardly drive at all. The Earl drives a Ford Everest and I do drive it on occasion but it is not as easy to drive as the Caravelle.
What wonderful memories we made during the ten years we owned that amazing vehicle. I used it to transport kids to school outings and sports matches etc. We could pile kids, dogs and luggage in and still travel in comfort and above all it was a superb safari vehicle. However, there was many a time that I was mistaken for a minibus taxi! It was sad to see the disappointed faces of potential passengers trying to climb aboard while I explained that I was not able to transport them to their destination.
2005 – Me at the wheel of our brand new Volkswagen Caravelle – On our way to Kgalagadi
What songs would be played on a loop in hell? (Suspend disbelief for this one, it’s cool not to believe in Hell, but let’s use our imaginations to answer. Of course one can always skip the questions they find odd too. And yes, I took into account that individual tastes will influence individual choices.)
Chris de Burgh’s Spanish Train comes to mind.
(Deep and chewy philosophical question): What does it mean to be a person? What constitutes “personhood?” (there may be some diverse opinions, but we’re all mature adults in here, so be respectful of others please).
To be a person you have to have self-awareness, reason, morality and a sense of responsibility toward others. You need to know the difference between good and evil. There is good and evil in us all but some of us are human and others are monsters.
A human will have a conscience, feel remorse and work to improve him or herself.
The problem with people is that they are also “sheeple.” Monsters will take advantage of them.
A monster has no morals, no conscience and feels no regret for doing harm to others. Monsters in History are Hitler, Idi Amin, Sadham Hussein and the like. Rapists and sadists are monsters. Anybody who needs to have power over others is a monster and does not deserve to be called nor treated like a person. Something in their DNA is wrong so they are therefore not to be considered a person.
How evil was this guy and what does it say about gullible people?
GRATITUDE SECTION (Always Optional)
How were your spirits (mood) over the past week?
I have been in good spirits. These are the small things that made me happy.
Our gardener did a wonderful job dividing and transplanting the clivias that were crowding other plants in one of our beds. He even created a lovely brick border without being asked. We are just so blessed.
The Earl’s protégé, Sam, who is spending a few days at Breede River surprised us by popping over for the afternoon. It’s an hour and a half drive! We had a lovely lunch together.
I got new linen for two bedrooms and some new towels too – this is because we now have our house with a holiday letting agent and we needed to upgrade a bit. Good news – we have tenants for Easter!
The bananas were going off so I made banana bread with almond flour and it was delicious!
Friends from Cape Town are moving permanently to Struisbaai and were here getting their new home ready for the final move. It was so good to see them.
I could go on as it is the small things that make me happy.
Last month I presented a Beginners’ Course on Zoom for the Cape Bird Club. This culminated in an outing to Strandfontein Nature Reserve on 27 March 2022. Click here to find out more about this reserve which an Important Birding Area
Members of the Bird Club assisted with leading and about 14 beginners were taken around the park in five vehicles. It was a beautiful sunny day with little wind so conditions were perfect for bird watching. Thanks to Priscilla Beeton, Johan Schlebusch, Joy Fish, Heather Howell and Earl Fenwick.
The two-part course prepared the beginners with basic birding skills and for what they were likely to find in the park. Each of them had a specially compiled checklist of birds they might see and there was great excitement when they were able to identify the birds they had learned about.
Here are some of the birds that obliged us.
Yellow-billed ducks were enjoying themselvesShowing off her beautyThe red-billed teal turned his back on usCape Teal and Red-knobbed Coot greeting each otherReflective moodThe ponds were calm and the pelicans were enjoying the sunshineThis is the lifeGreater Flamingos – not quite in their adult plumage,Pied Avocets contentedly swimmingThis bird sports a recurved billA Black-necked grebe was a real treat to seeThe Little Grebe is more commonFulvous Ducks – Not often seen at Strandfontein – A real treatCape ShovelerThe Glossy Ibis has a decurved bill Reed CormorantWe saw an African swamphen but I didn’t get a good photo so I’m cheating with this one taken a while ago.Black-headed Heron and Sacred Ibis
I might just have been more excited than the beginners at seeing all these lovely birds.
When I am not off caravanning, cruising the oceans or helping out at Fishing Tournaments, I enjoy a fairly quiet life here in Struisbaai. I am often asked, “What do you do all day?” Isn’t that just the most difficult question to answer! I do everything I used to do when I worked only at a slower pace and how wonderful it is not to rush from one activity to the next. I now have time to read more, potter in the garden, learn Italian and blog. And every day I enjoy a long leisurely walk. The creatures I see in my garden and on my walks bring a great deal of pleasure too.
Orange-breasted Sunbirds enjoying the sprinkler Witogies joined themWhile the Cape Robin decided the bathtub was a better optionTortoises are frequent visitorsAnd just the other night this young Spotted Eagle Owl and three of his siblings called from the roof and the lampost outside our house
Struisbaai boasts the most beautiful harbour and I visit it almost every day. There is always something interesting to see – the fishing boats coming back from a day at sea, the stingrays swimming in the shallows looking for titbits from the chukkie crew members as they clean their fish. The cormorants and gulls don’t miss a chance at a free meal either.
From the harbour I usually go along the boardwalk to our lovely long beach which is stunning at low tide. Sometimes I might be lucky enough to see something out of the ordinary.
Always lovely to see a Cape BulbulAnd a handsome crowned lapwingMany people paint and then hide rocks for others to find – I found this one but decided to leave it for someone else. It looked so pretty there.This Rock Kestrel eyed me but did not fly awayA Little Egret decided on seafood for breakfast on this particular morningSammy Seal was tired of swimming so came ashore for some R&RAnd a bit of groomingThe beach is wonderful for long walks, swimming, fishing, windsurfing and kitesurfing A favourite South African pastime – This is the first time we are using our new braai with its new chimney – No more smoke in our eyes!The colour of the sky at sunset is just stunning
Adventuring into Retirement 