Once again Di from Pensitivity101 is hosting Share Your World and she asks some lovely questions.
Which of the following could you do without? TV, Computer, Mobile Phone.
Wow – we have become so used to all of the above. South Africa only received television in 1975 (I was 23 years old) and so radio was the only tech we had for entertainment. My father was one of the first amongst our friends to buy a set – a Telefunken with the PAL colour system. People used to joke that it was called such as all your pals would gather at your house if they didn’t own their own set! Everybody was terrified that their children would not learn to read because of television and parents imposed strict rules to limit viewing! Well, our oldest went from Grade 1 to Grade 12 with television in the house and although she loved TV she was also an avid reader of books. Her class was to go through their whole school career with the evils of television! They all turned out fine!
But back to the question – which one can I do without? Television for sure. I would not miss it as any entertainment can be obtained on phone or computer. I adore my laptop and prefer editing photographs, Googling and writing emails, diaries and blogs on it rather than on my phone but if I had to I could cope without it. I can’t imagine life today without a mobile phone. It is so multifunctional that in today’s world you would be hard-pressed to do without it.
2. Do you have a lot of old photographs in a box, or did you put them in albums?
Most are in albums. Many are in a box but I have scanned and saved some to an external drive. .
One of those photos in a box (and scanned in) – My grandmother with three of her four children. My mom and her younger brother. Her baby sister on Gran’s lap, Mom must have been abour 17 at the time.
3. What was the first thing you bought for yourself when you started work?
I cannot remember but I know I felt really rich when I received it. It didn’t take long for me to realise that I wasn’t.
4. What is the biggest thing you have bought that did not require finance?
My first car- an Austin Mini – cost me R400 in 1977. It was second-hand and I paid cash for it. I drove it for about five years.
Once again Di from Pensitivity101 is hosting Share Your World. Here are my answers.
1. Do you have family photographs on display in your main living room?
Not in the living room but I have a few in the braai room. One of them is featured below. It is of my parents and siblings all together and was taken at my parents’ 50th Wedding anniversary in 1998.
Big Brother, Me, Mom, Dad, Baby Brother, Little Sister
2. What was the best vehicle you owned? This could be a pushbike as a kid, your first car, a motorcycle, or something else.
The best vehicle I ever owned was a Volkwagen Caravelle TDI 4 Motion. When our children were growing up we had two Toyota Hi-Aces one after the other and I loved those too. The Caravelle came after selling my Toyota Camry.
Hubby asked what I would like to replace the Camry and as we still had two adult daughters and two grandsons aged 6 and 7 living with us, I immediately said, “A Hi-Ace, so we can transport everybody in comfort!”
Well, we shopped around and then found that a brand new Caravelle had come onto the market. It had all the bells and whistles that I desired. What an amazing car! We kept it for 10 years and I still miss it! It served us well. It was a seven-seater with plenty of packing space. Every year six of us travelled in comfort to spend Christmases with our family in KZN. The Earl and I loved using it to take friends to game reserves before we started caravanning. I used it to transport kids to sports matches and outings. It was just the best vehicle, anyone, with a big family and active lifestyle, could wish for. We made some amazing memories with that vehicle. The Hi-Aces were, for the same reasons, great too but the Caravelle was just a tad more luxurious. Also, we drove it for 10 years – the longest we’d ever kept a car. In 2015 we retired to Struisbaai so we no longer needed a people carrier. We now only have one car, a Ford Everest, which is perfect for towing a caravan. It is also a very comfortable car, can seat seven people although not as comfortably as the minibus, and has plenty of packing space which we need for caravanning. I miss the Caravelle but feel privileged to have a good car and a caravan to take its place.
Me at the wheel of the Caravelle (2005)
3. Did you pass your driving test the first time?
Yes, I did. But it was 45 years ago and my mini-skirt might have helped!
4. Does loud music from a neighbour or passing cars annoy you?
I am fairly tolerant of noise. If my neighbours are having a party, I don’t mind the loud music. I don’t mind too much if dogs bark or howl from time to time as long as it’s not constant. If it is I would say something and try to get the neighbour to do something about it. I have to admit, that has never happened. Perhaps I have been lucky with neighbours. I have never lived in a place where heavy traffic has passed by but where I lived before, we could hear police sirens, ambulances etc, screaming a short distance away. This did not happen too frequently and when it did I was pleased that whatever emergency was occurring, it was receiving the correct response.
My daughter deals with a noisy neighbourhood by wearing an eyemask and earplugs when she goes to sleep.
Of course, you could always move!
Gratitude: What has made you smile over the last seven days?
1.Do you prefer to live in a single-story property like a bungalow, a high-rise apartment, or a house?
I lived in a double story in my teens and it was fine. I have lived in a flat that had stairs and no lift and that was fine too. Most other places have been single-story houses and they were perfect. We have downsized since retiring and we have a perfect little home in a quiet street with a sheltered, enclosed garden. It used to be our holiday home so holds many very happy memories. It looks very different now as we have done many alterations so that it now serves our needs perfectly. Our other home is, of course, our caravan. Who can ask for anything more?
My Humble Home
2. If you won a large amount of money on the lottery, would you want publicity or keep things quiet and low key?
I would keep it low-key and secretly help people who I know could use some extra cash.
3. How do you like your eggs? (No, this is not a trick question)
(Unferilised? LOL)
I enjoy eggs and eat them every day. My choice depends on where I am and how I feel at the time. At home, they would be boiled, scrambled, or fried. Sometimes an omelet is the order of the day. Eggs Benedict is my favourite. Today I enjoyed the best I’ve had in a long time at Table Cafe, Lifestyle Centre, Bredasdorp – Western Cape, South Africa. I asked them to leave off the English muffin and to serve the eggs on top of the mushrooms. What a treat!
Not the ones I had this morning
4. If cars were no longer available, what would be your choice of transport?
A broomstick would be good! But seriously – I wouldn’t mind riding a bike. I don’t ride now because the cars scare me! So perhaps with no cars about it would be more fun. A horse-drawn carriage would also be fine but where would I keep the horse? If cars were gone would we still have buses and trains or would the stagecoach return?
Gratitude: I am grateful for fabulous friends. It was wonderful having our friends Tony and Sharon visit us for a couple of days. We have been friends since we were young adults. The weather was chilly but the company warm, the coversation stimulating and the outings fun!
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.
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.
I have neglected participating in Share Your World for several weeks now. This is mainly because I am in Kruger National Park and all my blogging time is going into my daily trip reports when the internet plays fair. Right now, though, I am sitting in a coffee shop waiting for the car to be serviced and the cracked windscreen to be replaced. To pass the time I am catching up with reading WordPress blogs and doing a SYW.
Are human beings required to better themselves and will doing that make them happier?
Some people I know strive for perfection and it does not make them happy it just stresses them out. Others strive to better themselves and are pleased with the results and are happy because of the feeling of self-fulfillment. I believe that we should all strive to learn from our mistakes and try to become better human beings as this makes the world a better place for everyone. Happiness comes from within. I believe you choose to be happy and you choose what to do with your life. Expecting to be happy all the time is unrealistic. We have good times, bad times and in between times. That is the nature of things on this earth.
Is it easier to love or to be loved?
Of course it is easier to be loved. The trick is to accept that love graciously and to give love in return. Loving someone else is hard work but worth it. It’s easy to love a loveable person but unconditional love is something else. You can love a person but hate what they do. The exhausting part about loving someone unconditionally is exercising tolerance and withholding judgement.
Outside traumatic brain injury, can memories be completely erased?
I don’t think so. Your conscious mind might totally forget but somewhere deep in the subconscious those forgotten memories exist. Something might trigger a memory from absolutely nowhere. How does that happen?
Is there such a thing as a good death?
Yes. I want to die without pain or suffering. That would be a good death.
and one ‘silly’ one because the former questions were fairly serious: What do you imagine is inside a baseball?
What’s a baseball? Just joking – of course I know what a baseball is. I’ve never owned one though. What’s inside one? All the Americans’ passion for the game.
GRATITUDE SECTION
Feel free to share something uplifting this week!
Well, I have so much to be grateful for all the time but this week I am hugely grateful that I can be spending time in The Kruger National Park. Back home it’s cold and wet while here the mornings and nights are cool and the days sunny and warm. I am communing with nature and enjoying the African wildlife. What could be better than this?
There are so many beliefs in the world that cannot be proved and it is all very confusing. However, I believe that there is an element in all of them that points to a common almighty creator or force be it ‘the universe’, God, Allah or whatever. When I see a beautiful sunrise, awesome flora and fauna and the mighty ocean and I cannot help but believe that there is a God. Why do we need proof? I have yet to meet somebody who does not believe in some sort of unscientific thing not matter how they might protest against believing so. They do!
Somebody is responsible for the design and creation of this amazing creature
Do animals have morals? Exclude human beings from the equation please.
An animal will never wilfully do something cruel. Look at that apologetic look on your pet dog’s face when he knows he is in trouble. Wild animals only act to defend themselves or catch prey. They don’t destroy for the sake of it. There is no such thing as an evil animal. I don’t know whether you could call this having morals but they certainly are better behaved than people.
I promise you, I’ll never leave you. I’ll be faithful to the end.
Is there inherent order in nature or is it all chaos and chance?
The chaos of nature has an order that we don’t understand. An orderly chaos if you please. It simply speaks of supreme creativity and then Man comes along and ruins it all.
Where is your least favorite place in the world?
This is a difficult one to answer. Nowhere is unbearable to me. Places I visit all have their good and bad side. My original home is Cape Town. I will never hate it but I am so happy in Struisbaai that I only visit ‘home’ when I have to and when I am there I love catching up with family and friends and the beauty of Table Mountain never ceases to move me. Visiting the beach on which I grew up also holds a special place in my heart in spite of the fact that it has changed a great deal. I love Cape Town, but it is my least favourite place to go back to visit when there are so many other places in the country I love to explore.
Seeing the mountain as I enter Cape Town never ceases to move meFish Hoek Beach where I grew up and where I raised my kids and grandkids
Feel free to share something about the seasons that makes you smile!
We are in the marvelous month of May. It is Autumn/Fall going into winter. In the Western Cape seasons are not as clearly defined as in other parts of the world. Basically we have warm summers and cool winters but those shoulder seasons are the best. Autumn/Fall is my favourite time of the year. Summer brings strong south easterly winds. Winter brings the cold and rain. Autumn temperatures are mild. We have sunny days and no wind. The early mornings and nights are cooler but it is still not time to light the woodstove! The colours of autumn make me smile.
Having said that, here in Struisbaai we had some extreme weather last week. Fortunately we escaped the drama as we had to be in Cape Town for The Earl’s cataract procedure. There was torrential rain, thunder, lightning and hail the size of golf balls. A lot of damage was done. Some of our township people are still mopping up and charities are assisting them with temporary homes, blankets and food. But the sun is out again and fortunately our home was not affected.
Photo from a friend who was here at the timeHailstones
Would you rather be a super nice person and be depressed all your life, or be happy and a total *sshole? (Credit goes to Cyranny for this question, aired on one of her “Cyranny’s Quickies” posts.)
If you are a total *sshole you’re not going to be happy. I have yet to meet a happy, horrible person. That person is usually horrible because of some darkness in their life and that is what is making them awful. So to answer the question – I know lots of depressed people who are really nice – too nice – because they empathise with everybody, worry about them and can’t seem to separate themselves from their worry and that’s why they are depressed. Maybe we need these depressed people because often they are the only ones who care about what’s going on in the depressing world we live in. They’re the ones who dress up and show up to help others even when they’re feeling so low it takes tremendous effort just to get out of bed.
Have you ever made someone cry?
Yes but not on purpose. It’s usually because of some thoughtless thing that’s popped out of my mouth. When it has happened I apologise and we’ve managed to laugh about it.
Are you a dreamer or a go-getter?
Both. You have to dream to go-get.
If you were in a band, what instrument would you play?
I have no musical talent so I would not be able to play in a band. However, if I could learn in an instant, I would like to play a keyboard.
GRATITUDE SECTION
Do you feel gratitude is necessary?
Yes. You don’t feel happy and satisfied if you’re not grateful for your blessings.
Sometimes we simply take for granted the old familiar places we visit so often. But when you take visitors exploring and see it through their fresh eyes, the joy and wonderment of it all gives you a renewed appreciation of your own backyard.
We recently had friends, Chris and Har visit us for a few days and we took them to all our favourite spots. In November last year we met them at an overnight campsite in Ermelo and then found ourselves at two of the same camps in The Kruger National Park. We discovered that we had a lot in common and told them that if ever they were in our neck of the woods they were should please contact us. And we are so glad they did because we had the most awesome time.
The stop-over with us was part of a caravanning road trip they were doing. They fitted us in between Cape Town and The Garden Route. Although they had visited the area many years before their memories of Struisbaai were quite vague.
On Monday we visited the Southern Tip, Agulhas, Suiderstrand and Arniston.
The coastline is rocky and interesting and quite different to what they are used to in KZN.
The compulsory tourist shotThe Meisho Maru – a Japanese Fishing Boat that wrecked at Suiderstrand in 1982Suiderstrand is a remote holiday village about 10 km from StruisbaaiThe Earl and me walking back to the carAgulhas LighthouseThe resident yellow mongoose of Agulhas
After driving around and showing Chris and Har the growth that has taken place in Agulhas and Struisbaai we took a drive to Arniston where we had lunch at the hotel. If you’re ever in the area this is a good place to overnight or just to have a meal,or a drink and a snack.
It’s a half hour drive from Struisbaai to Arniston if you’re not a birdwatcher. We all are and so it took about two hours!
We saw more of these Denham Bustards that we have ever seen travelling along this roadThere were also scores of our national bird, The Blue Crane
We stopped many times along the way to see bokmakieries, yellow canaries, red bishops – in non breeding plumage, capped wheatear, common fiscal, francolin and guineafowl among others.
Capped WheatearChris and Har admiring the view at ArnistonIn front of the hotelLooking over Otter Beach
After a lovely day out we returned to Struisbaai and just before it became too dark, Har and I went for walk. We enjoyed seeing both the sun going down and the super moon rising.
Sunset over StruisbaaiSuper Moon
The next day, Tuesday, we made our way to the quaint village of Elim, once again birding along the way and stopping at The Black Oystercatcher for a snack and a glass of their excellent Sauvignon Blanc.
The ever-present Ostriches – we believe Struisbaai was named so because of all the presence of the ‘volstruis‘ which is the Afrikaans word for ostrich.There were scores of rhebok about tooLavailant’s CisticolaCape LongclawYellow CanaryJackal BuzzardCape CanaryBokmakieriesNon-breeding adult common starling and pied starling having a chatStonechatSpur-winged Goose
Elim village is situated on The Agulhas Plain and was established in 1824 as a Moravian mission station. It’s position was chosen as there was plenty of water there so they could plant vines and make wine for their communion.
The German missionaries taught the villagers many trades and skills including thatching. This is a craft the young men took to well and to this day they are renowned for their skill and often travel abroad to do thatching contracts.
Even today one may only live in Elim if you were born there or marry somebody who was born there. Many of the women are employed as protea pickers by the nearby protea farms. The men are engaged in various trades and some are farm workers.
Elim has a care centre and school for handicapped children which has an excellent reputation.
There was once a working water wheel but this no longer functions.
Har bending very low Chris being a lot shorter is not as lowlyThe Water WheelThe River that runs through ElimThe picturesque thatched cottages of Elim
Sadly Chris and Har had to leave for the next leg of their journey on Wednesday morning but before they left we went in search of Black Oystercatchers before having some breakfast and sending them on their way.
We did not see the oystercatchers on the rocks but we got them flying and calling overhead.
It was spring low tide so the photos of the harbour were interesting
Spring Low Tide at Struisbaai HarbourNo Oystercatchers but we did see some distant Caspian TernsThe very long Struisbaai Beach
What a wonderful three days we had. May you enjoy the rest of your journey, Chris and Har!
Here are my answers to this weeks questions from Sparks
Which would you rather throw away: Love or Money?
I wouldn’t like to throw away either but if I had to choose it would leave the money and take love. Money is useful to help you enjoy life and your loved ones but it cannot replace the joy you get from being with those you love. I am sure I can live quite happily on love and fresh air.
Do you believe you should do one thing a day that scares you?
Like what? Pick up a spider or swim with sharks? One scary thing every day? No – not necessary. I will do something that scares me if I know that once I’ve done it I will feel good – like skiing down the Alps or flying in a light aircraft. But I don’t need to do that every day!
What’s the last thing you do at night?
I usually watch some TV, read a chapter or two of a book or do a sudoku puzzle.
If you could own a mythical creature (unicorn, phoenix, etc.), which one would you pick? (A nod to the soon ending 2021 A-Z Blogging Challenge, my topic this year “Mythical Creatures”)
Perhaps a fairy with a magic wand that with a swift wave would have all the household chores done in an instant.
GRATITUDE SECTION (Always Optional)
What Are You Grateful For?
I am grateful for having enough of everything that I need.
Adventuring into Retirement 
