Monthly Archives: January 2025

Share Your World Monday 27 January 2025

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Here are my answers to Di’s SYW questions for this week

Do you have a bucket list?
I don’t have a written bucket list, but that doesn’t mean I want to stop exploring the world, enjoying wildlife and nature, embracing new experiences, and living life to the fullest. I feel fortunate to have done many interesting things throughout my life, and if I were to run out of time, I wouldn’t have any serious regrets. When I retired, I promised myself that I would say yes to any new opportunity that came my way, and I have kept that promise. However, as I get older, I do feel a bit nervous about running out of money. When my husband suggested an extended and expensive cruise, I hesitated. Can we really afford it? It’s important to be sensible about these matters, too.

Cremation or Burial?
I believe cremation is the best option for me. I would like my ashes to be scattered in Kruger National Park. Since one has to get permission for this, I should start getting that sorted out soon!

This might be a good spot!

Recognized Service/Celebration of Life, or Private Gathering?
I would prefer a private cremation with close family only. They can then decide how best to scatter my ashes in the park and hold a little celebration of life for me there.

Flowers or Donations?
Given that my death will likely occur quietly and without much fuss, I don’t expect anyone to send flowers or make donations. However, they are welcome to do so if they wish. Perhaps a donation to Save the Rhino International would be fitting.

Gratitude:
I am grateful to be in good health and to know that my death is probably not imminent. However, anything can happen, and I intend to live life to the fullest until the very last moment—just in case that moment comes sooner than expected!

Share Your World Monday 20 January 2025

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Here are my answers to this week’s SYW

If you wanted to do something completely against your character, would you dye your hair a shocking colour, shave your head or get a tattoo?
I would never ever get a tattoo. What makes a person want to put a permanent mark on his/her body that he/she might not like later on in life? I get tired of wearing the same jewelry so imagine a tattoo that’s there for life!

The most outrageous thing I would do is die my hair turquoise, purple or bright pink! It would cause a stir but ultimately it would eventually grow out! Outrageous hairstyles appeal to me. When I was young, I had a spiky haircut!

What is your dream/perfect job?
I had my dream job – a teacher. It might sound dull to most people but I enjoyed every day of it. Nothing in life is perfect and there were plenty of things that irked me about our educational system. But there are ways of teaching creatively while paying lip service to the gods in their ivory towers.

I think it might have been fabulous to be a spy or an undercover cop!

Would you like to learn how to fly an aeroplane?
It’s not something that I have on my bucket list but if the opportunity presented itself, I think I would go for it!

Have you been on a hovercraft?
I think it was a hovercraft that I travelled on in 1993 when I crossed the channel to France. The memory of it has faded almost completely. However, the week in France is clear in my memory. I went on a mine train roller coaster that was terrifying, but I wanted to go again. Instead, my husband got us into the Space Mountain ride, which felt exactly like being in outer space and was twice as terrifying. But I loved it! Sorry, this isn’t the answer to the question, but it brought back all the memories!



Gratitude:
A quote from Roy T Bennett, my photo of Maggie’s rose.

I love the above quote and hope that I can live those words. I certainly try.

Share Your World Monay 13 January 2025

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Here are my answers to this week’s Share Your World

1. Of all the household chores (laundry, dusting, hoovering, washing up, cooking etc) which is your least favourite?
I can’t say that I am particularly fond of any household chore but I don’t mind doing the general tidying and cleaning up. I have a dishwasher and other labour-saving devices as well as a weekly helper to do the major cleaning so I can’t complain. Perhaps the least favourite chore is dusting which is a thankless task when the wind blows constantly.

2.  With food prices going up all the time, do you buy less, find substitutes, or don’t buy at all?
I often face challenges regarding my food choices. I have a health problem which requires that I avoid certain foods. Maintaining a healthy diet is important to me, so I prioritize purchasing foods that I believe are best for my well-being. I don’t include pasta, rice, breakfast cereals or other processed foods on my shopping list. Additionally, I avoid junk food entirely—I don’t buy biscuits, baked goods, chips, or fizzy drinks.

When responding to my critics, who tell me they cannot afford to eat my way, I ask them to consider how much they spend on rusks, biscuits, Coke, and flour for baking and desserts. What I save by not buying junk food I choose to spend on more expensive fruits and vegetables.

3.  Do you enjoy meals with leftovers?
We often have leftovers, and I ‘recycle’ them. Recently, I cooked a leg of lamb for six people. There was enough left over to heat up in a pan and serve again the next evening. I served it with stir-fried cabbage, roast potatoes, and salad. Our guests brought 3 mini Eisbeins which we divided up to add to the dinner. There was still too much for six of us to finish so the following day I minced it all together and made a moussaka which served three of us. Thus a 1.7 kg leg of lamb which cost about R 320 (14 pounds) went quite a long way.

4. Do you prefer bagels, crusty bread, or toast?
Bread and baked goods are rare in my home. However, I find it hard to resist croissants and will have one occasionally. (I am not such a goody two-shoes!)

Gratitude:
I am grateful for the abundance in my life—delicious food, wonderful friends and family, and the good health to enjoy it all. Since returning from a holiday with my family, our home at the tip of Africa has been filled with visitors. How lucky I am!

Share Your World Monday 06 January 2025

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Here are my answers to this week’s SYW Challenge from Di

1.  What is the weather like today where you are?
Today is Tuesday 7 January 2025 – I am answering a day after the challenge was posted. I live at the southern tip of Africa. If we’re lucky our mornings will be windless. However, it will blow in the afternoons! So today started slightly overcast with no wind, but now it is hot and windy. Yesterday was also hot and windy. Tomorrow will be hot an windy!

No complaints from the kite surfers!

2.  Have you booked your annual vacation yet?
We take multiple vacations each year and have just returned from our summer stay in Plettenberg Bay, where we spent time with our daughter. All three of our daughters and two of our grandchildren were also there. After that, we spent a week in Cape Town with another of our daughters. We haven’t booked our next vacation yet. We tend to do things spur of the moment. However, traveling internationally with a South African passport requires careful planning, as most countries require SA tourists to obtain visas. The process of applying for these visas can be both costly and time-consuming. Since we plan to cruise later this year, it’s time to start our preparations.

3.  Do you have a passport, and when does it expire?
I do. It expires next month which means I need to go to Home Affairs to renew it next week! In the city this would mean queues hours long. But where I live, it won’t take long.

Taken from the internet – no queues but that’s unusual in most places!

4. When was the last (or first) time you went abroad?
The first time I embarked on an international journey was back in 1988. At thirty-six, I had my adventurous 9-year-old daughter by my side. Our destination? London, to visit my younger brother who resided there. We spent an entire month soaking in the city’s charm. We explored every nook and cranny of London, and the excitement of navigating the tube trains and London buses was an experience my daughter cherished deeply. She fell head over heels for London, later working there for two years in her twenties. To this day, she seizes any opportunity to return.

Christmas in London 1988 – Paddington Bear was a gift from her uncle.

The last time I traveled abroad was in June 2024. My husband, our London-loving daughter, and I spent two weeks exploring London. Afterwards, we joined another daughter for a 10-day Adriatic cruise.

Gratitude:
I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to travel both within my own country and abroad. Some of my best travel adventures have been right here in South Africa, where I have explored every province and visited nearly every national park our country has to offer.