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

What’s the tallest building you’ve been to the top of?

I don’t actually know. I think it was one in Sydney the name of which I forget. I have been to the top of Table Mountain though. It’s not that high but does sometimes get snow on it. I’ve been up in the cable car several times. It’s really fun and worth the fortune you pay to go up!

What do you do to keep fit?

My routine changes from time to time. During Lockdown I did 15 minutes yoga and 30 minutes Walk@Home aerobics. I also tried to get in a short walk outdoors.

Recently I’ve mixed it up and do a long walk of about an hour some days and the walk@ home and yoga on others.

I have never played competitive sport, run marathons or anything like that. I exercise for health reasons only. For years I jogged between 5 and 8 km per day. I’ve also belonged to gyms and done the circuit training thing. My best way of keeping fit was playing squash. I really wish I’d not given that up but all my partners dropped out one by one and I was not a competitive club player so I gave up after about 10 years of organising my own games with friends. On second thoughts maybe it is good that I stopped. It’s a fast game and best left to the young.

What’s your jack-o-lantern carved to look like?

I thought they all looked the same? Clearly I know nothing about Halloween. Apologies to my American friends. I have never carved a jack-o-lantern.

Do you have hope or have you lost it?

I certainly do have hope even though things seem hopeless at times. So far life has worked out pretty well for me. Politics to me is hopeless so I tend to ignore it and just get on with my life. I let my husband do the worrying and he does tend to bring me down to reality from time to time. At least one of us has to keep his feet on the ground.

GRATITUDE QUESTION:

Feel free to share something you’re grateful for!  Images and photos or poems, essays or free writing (stream of consciousness) pieces are all acceptable!  AND you don’t have to do this part, it’s always optional!

I am very grateful for the husband I have and the family I’ve landed up in. I told this story to my grandsons when they were quite small.

“Grandpa needed a mommy for his girls and I needed a daddy for my baby so he asked me if I’d marry him and we’d help each other look after all three kids.”

Jay all of seven exclaimed, “Lucky for you hey, Gran!”

I was totally taken aback. Weren’t they the lucky ones? “No,” he explained, “If grandpa hadn’t come to get you, you wouldn’t have all of us!”

And he is so right! I couldn’t ask for a lovelier family – all of ours and the entire extended lot as well!

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

Where do you feel most at home?  Please be more specific than “at home, doh” please. It could be a room in your home, a person, a location…  

I really like this question because there are lots of places where I feel at home. There are also many places where I don’t feel at home and it’s all to do with the people and the atmosphere in these places. I instinctively know when I am not welcome. I feel ‘bad’ vibes in places and can’t wait to get away from such environments. There are people who I know well yet I still don’t feel comfortable in their homes. Then there are plenty of places where I feel relaxed and totally at home. I feel at home wherever my family is even though there are times we don’t get on. That doesn’t seem to make a difference at all. In my family we are all totally welcome in each other’s homes. There have been times that I have found myself in a total stranger’s house and yet felt completely welcome and at home because that stranger is a kindred spirit.

Then there are the places that are really special that have nothing to do with four walls. The moment I enter the Kruger National Park, I feel completely at home. Being there is good for my soul. It’s my happy place and no other place can compare. I love my own home, I love Struisbaai and I feel totally at home when visiting Cape Town where I grew up but nothing compares to the absolute joy I experience when I reside in my caravan in The Kruger National Park!

Would you rather ride a bike, ride a horse, or drive a car?     

I used to enjoy riding a bike but I’ve given it up. I can’t risk falling off anymore. Horse riding was also fun and I did ride a few times as a child and then again as an adult. My most memorable ride was galloping down a Wild Coast beach on a hired steed with a horse-riding friend of mine. I was forty years old and have never ridden since.

So I suppose I will have to choose the last one even though I seldom do that anymore either! The Earl does most of the driving and I don’t even own a car anymore.

What song would you sing on “Karaoke Night” (if you were forced to do so)?    

The Earl and I have two songs – Lady in Red – which he can sing at the Karaoke night and The Power of Love which I’ll take. I am not a singer but I think I could lipsync convincingly.

University or life experience, which do you feel best prepares you for life? 

 Definitely life experience. Of course university is useful but plenty of people get by and do very well without a degree or a diploma. I believe a work ethic is far more important. I also know plenty of well-educated people who have not done much in their lives. Then there are those who have been hugely successful in spite of poor beginnings. I definitely admire people who just get out there and do things without making excuses. Also people who’ve had it tough in life tend to make good in the end. I think of people in my own family who have made things happen for themselves without depending on their parents or grandparents . Too many people blame their circumstances for their lack of success. Having a dream is all very well and I certainly encourage people to go for it. But if for some reason you can’t achieve it then for heaven’s sake find something else to do. There is also nothing wrong with not having an unrealistic dream. We also need ordinary people to do ordinary things. Stand out if you can otherwise fit in and get on with it.

IT’S AN ATTITUDE – GRATITUDE!  (Participation Always Optional Of Course)

What are you grateful for?

Funny you should ask. The Earl and I were going through old photographs. What memories they conjured up and looking back we realised how lucky we are to have had a variety of amazing experiences in our lives. We found a little card from our grandson which read, Grandpa, you didn’t ask for a grandchild like me – you just got lucky!

Yes indeed we are very lucky and we wouldn’t change a thing.

Here is my contribution to this week’s challenge from Sparks

“This is the last week “Share Your World” will have two parts.  The excellent blogger, Roger Shipp, is the creator and host (if you will) of the first part.  I’m going to link to Roger’s blog so you can post your link over on his blog OR you can do it here as usual.

Roger deserves a big round of applause for co-hosting Share Your World for these past weeks.   I’m grateful he was so clever and thought up a fun way to pass some time!   Please let me know, in the comments, if you enjoyed this idea.   I know I did!    Thanks Roger!! “

Roger’s Magical, Mystical Questions: 

Have you ever driven the wrong way on a one-way street? How did this come about?]

Yes I have. I wasn’t paying attention. Luckily I got away with it as there was very little traffic but I got one or two strange looks. People can be nice though and they made sure to move out the way to let me through.

As a kid, did you ever decide to run away? Did you have a plan? Take a pet? Sandwiches?

No I didn’t but my kid did. She did not want to accompany the family on a visit to friends who had no children her age. She was six and had just started school. She disappeared into her bedroom and reappeared with a packed bag. “I’m leaving,” she announced.

I said, “Oh no! Where will you go?”
She hadn’t thought about that but gave me a look and headed off down the road.

“Come back,” I said. “I’ll miss you.”

So she turned around and came back. When I checked to see what she had packed, it was her school uniform. No way was she going to skip class!

You suddenly found you have a hidden talent for playing a musical instrument. What musical instrument do you hope that accompanies your talent? Any particular song?

I have always wished I’d continued with piano lessons, so piano it would be. I would play all the oldies from the sixties.

Do you accessorize with jewelry? There was an opal necklace (cursed) and Slytherin’s locket (also cursed) in the Potter story. Have you had any heirloom jewelry passed down through the generations? Is it more ‘keepsake’ or do you wear it on occasion? (Hopefully, yours was not cursed?)

Yes I do wear jewelry. I inherited a diamond ring from my mother but I had it reset as my fingers are smaller than hers were. I also have a ruby ring of hers which I seldom wear.

Melanie’s Ordinary Muggle Questions:

What ingredients go into YOUR favourite salad?

I make a salad every single day. (Those of you who follow my blog will know of my Mediterranean heritage.) My basic salad consists of green leaves like lettuce, rocket and/or spinach. Then there is usually cucumber, tomato, avocado pear, feta cheese and olives. I may add carrots, sugar snap peas, mango or pineapple, radishes, baby corn and cauliflower or broccoli. A sprinkle of nuts and/or seeds is also an added extra. If we have guests I make a salad dressing of olive oil, lemon juice and vinegar with salt, pepper and mixed herbs otherwise the Earl and I don’t worry with it.

If you care to, share something that really irritates you.

The unnecessary noises that little boys make. Why do they insist on making strange explosive noises all the time? I don’t mind the sounds of motorbikes or shooting they make while playing their noisy games but those stupid emissions from their mouths that have no meaning whatsoever are most annoying.

What are your favorite ‘lounging around the house’ items of clothing?  Now that a lot of people ‘lounge around the house’ waiting for the all clear in respect to Covid being shown the door, have those lounging items changed?

I don’t often wear lounging clothes even during lockdown. But my clothes are not uncomfortable. In winter I wear Denims and long-sleeved shirts and cardigans or jerseys (jumpers) It is Spring now and we have had some warm days and taken out my dresses and shorts.

If I do wear lounging clothes it would be stretch pants and t-shirt.

GRATITUDE (as always this is optional)

Please feel free to share something about Autumn (or Spring if you’re gearing up for that) that you especially enjoy! 

It is Spring here in the southern hemisphere. Autumn is my favourite season but Spring comes a close second. Autumn, because the hot days are becoming cooler and are usually windless. I just love still sunny days. Spring takes its time getting here and after a lovely warm day we will suddenly get a cold snap again. I love spring for the colourful wild flowers that start popping up in the bush. My garden also has a lovely display of clivias at the moment.

Here are my answers to this week’s SYW from Sparks.

She says, “For the next two weeks “Share Your World” will have two parts.  The excellent blogger, Roger Shipp, is the creator and host (if you will) of the first part.   He found a unique way of passing some of the quarantine time and that was from watching ALL the “Harry Potter” movies.   He came up with some really fun and intriguing questions (four a week for each movie) about the movie in question.   This week we visit “HP And The Half Blood Prince”.   I’m going to link to Roger’s blog so you can post your link over on his blog OR you can do it here as usual.

I’m reiterating this ‘disclaimer’:  I realize some folks have never seen nor read a single book or seen any movie about Harry Potter.   Therefore I’m going to do three or four ‘regular’ questions for folks who aren’t Harry fans.  It’s cool to do both sets OR just one or the other, as you wish. “

Share Your World Meets Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince

(Book/Film Six – there is one more to go!)

https://rogershipp.wordpress.com

Roger’s Magical, Mystical Questions: 

You have just been gifted a magic wand that specializes in completing household chores. You can request the completion of only two household chores. Which chores would you assign your wand to complete?

Clean the windows and Change the bed linen – they both make me tired.

At the local Wizards-R-Us store there was a sale on handshake shockers, instant darkness pellets, and levitation pills. Which of these ‘party thrillers’ are you more likely to purchase?

Levitation pills – it would be fun to rise up in the air and float about.

In the alley behind Wizards-R-Us, there was a tradesman selling a Love Potion. The sales pitch was too much for you and you yielded and purchased one vial. What do you do with it?

Give it to my fussy daughter and introduce her to a suitable young man.

You are the Great Clearinghouse Winner of a new ‘good luck’ potion – Felix Felicis. It has to be used within the next thirty days or its potency becomes diminished. Do you use it? Do you give it to a friend in need?

I have a friend who needs of lot of good luck at present. I would give it to her.

Melanie’s Mundane Muggle Questions:

If everyone spoke their mind, would this world be a better or worse place?  Why?

It would be a worse place if everybody spoke their mind. There is a time and place to speak your mind. We should not play games though. Expecting others to guess what you really are feeling is self defeating – they won’t. It would be great if we all communicated how we felt and what we wanted from each other.

Can achieving nothing make a person happy?

It depends on what you mean by achieving nothing. Surely we all achieve something. How can achieving nothing make you happy? Since I have been retired I certainly don’t achieve the same things I did in the past but I am really happy with what I do achieve. I am happy with the pace of life but that is because I am at that stage of life when it’s okay to slow down and have different priorities. Personally I feel happier when I have done everything I set out to do each day but also it gives me satisfaction to look back on my life and reflect on all my personal achievement, humble though they are. I wrote the first draft of a book in 2007 and then didn’t look at it again for years. I didn’t feel it was the right time to publish it. But I dislike having uncompleted projects. I won’t go into the reasons why I left it so long but the nagging inside me got worse as the years progress until l I took it out again last year and after three more drafts and working with a professional editor it is final ready for publication. That gives me a great sense of satisfaction.
Having said that there are many great achievers who aren’t happy for reasons that have nothing to do with their achievements. Some people for one reason or another just find it very difficult to be happy all the time. Usually they are the ones who care more deeply and worry more earnestly about what is wrong with the world. Without them nothing would be done to right these wrongs. We need them to balance the happy go lucky types of this world.

I know that mental illness makes it difficult for many people to bring themselves out of depression but for those who are not ill, happiness is a choice. Mental illness aside, you can choose to make yourself miserable, you can wallow in your misery or you can do something about it, get help and try to find one some joy in life. I know many people who have experienced great disasters in their lives yet they choose to move on, make others their priority and spread cheer to all around them.

Of course you can be happy, if for just one week or one day, you achieve nothing. You probably deserve the break.

How do you know if you love someone enough to marry them?

First of all you have to get past the falling in love bit and consider whether you can live with this person for the rest of your life. Are you friends? Do you communicate well? Do you enjoy each other’s company? I believe if you can work out differences and put up with minor irritations you can last for life. But if you are being used and abused then you should get out no matter how much you love the good in the partner you originally chose. In the words of Alfred Lord Tennyson, ‘Tis better to have loved and lost than not to have loved at all.”

GRATITUDE SECTION  (as always this is optional)

Please feel free to write about or share an image of something you’re grateful for!

I usually take my good health very much for granted. Last year brought me up short when I went down with pneumonia which was the most serious illness I have ever suffered. I was most grateful that I bounced back from that very quickly. I eat healthily, exercise regularly and take my vitamins. But I am not as invincible as I once thought and recently I came down with food poisoning which lasted four days and has left me feeling weak and fatigued. It made me realise again how lucky I am not to suffer from any debilitating disease. I am really grateful for that. I know in my head that life is fragile. At my age I am attending more funerals than weddings – these days on Zoom! I am grateful for having known those friends now gone but it still breaks my heart that I won’t see them in this world again. Every day is precious. I am grateful for each one that I enjoy in good health.