Cee’s Share Your World 26 April 2018

2018-03-27 | puppy1952

Here are my answers to this week’s Share your world from Cee

What is your favorite color of hair? You can name your hair color or a color that you just like.

I don’t have a favourite. Hair colour goes with complexion and I think that people look best when they choose a colour that suits them and not what is considered beautiful by the fashion world. Having said that, I think it’s fun to experiment with psychedelic colours. Pink or green hair can look great if you dress outlandishly too. Yes – why not? I think I might try it some day!

I think blond is very pretty but way too common and boring. I prefer rich colours – black, auburn, chestnut, titian. People who are blessed with colours like that are striking.

I used to colour my hair. One day my grandson said, “Gran all my friends grannies have grey hair.” When I told him I coloured mine out he was shocked. “You mean you really are old?” he exclaimed.
So when I retired I decided the time had come for me to become a real granny so now I grey and proud of it!

Before 2015 After 2015

List at least 5 things that you are good at.

I won’t claim to be good at anything really. However, I’ve reached a certain level of proficiency at the following:-

Blogging
Knitting
Identifying birds.
Teaching
Computers – well the grandkids did help.

What is your favorite animal or type of animal? (pets, dolphins, stuffed, wild cats, etc)

All animals excite me. I love wild animals and wild birds. I’m against zoos and wild animals being kept as pets.

Perhaps my favourite wild animal is The Elephant. I love the matriarchal system – Males have to leave the herd after a certain age and may only visit when invited! Elephant society works extremely well.

This mom is so protective of her baby

What did you appreciate or what made you smile this past week? Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination.

We had old friends from Cape Town visit us for three days last week. Jeff and Earl have been friends since they were five. They never had kids of their own but were always a huge support to us with ours and when the grandkids came to live with us they were always on hand to babysit and gave us enormous support. So – yes – I smiled a lot when they came to visit. We had an amazing time with them.

Our friends at The Southern Tip of Africa

Cee’s Odd Ball Challenge – 25 March 2018

2018-03-26 | puppy1952

Here is my contribution to this week’s odd ball challenge

Putting a scrapped car to good use!

Photo a week challenge – Nature’s White

2018-03-23 | puppy1952

This is the brief for Nancy Merrill’s Photo a week Challenge

IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A NEW PHOTO OR TWO (OR MORE) FEATURING WHITE AS FOUND IN NATURE.

Here is my contribution

041 Upington Landing strip 2015-01-09 07-46-36 AM 4000x3000

Looking up on the white clouds from the airfield

025 Clouds below us 2015-01-09 05-42-38 AM 4000x3000

Looking down on the clouds from the aircraft

An unexpected fall of snow – Kaggakamma – Cederberg – Western Cape

Cattle Egret

Pelican-Great White-Strandfontein-swimming

Great White Pelican

Cee’s Black and White Challenge – Heads and Facial Features

2018-03-22 | puppy1952

Here is my contribution to this week’s Black and White Challenge

Marabou Stork

Giraffe

Cheetah

Elephant

Granddaughter!

Cee’s Fun Photo Challenge – Rain and/or Rainbow

2018-03-21 | puppy1952

For this week’s Fun Photo Challenge we’re asked to post photographs or rainbows or rain. Here is my contribution

A summer thunderstorm interrupted our braai – “No problem,” said our grandson, Jay. And he stood in his bathing costume to complete the cooking!

Rainbow over the vineyards

003 Full Rainbow at Nossob 2015-03-18 06-39-57 PM 4608x3456

Stormy Rainbow in the Kgalagadi Trans-frontier Park

Share Your World – 19 March 2019

2018-03-20 | puppy1952

Here are my answers to this weeks questions from Cee

What is your earliest memory?

It is difficult to say what my earliest memory is. I was born in Cape Town but lived in Johannesburg from age 2 to 5 and my memories definitely begin there. Something that stands out very clearly is walking down a road with my mother. I am holding onto her as she is pushing my sister in a pram. I must be three years old. We’re on our way to meet my brother aged 6 from school. I see him walking proudly toward us, carrying his little suitcase. I know I have missed him while he’s been at school while I have had to remain home with the baby and I desperately want to go to school too. So desperate was I that my parents got me enrolled at age five when the legal starting age for Grade 1 was actually 6! That didn’t turn out well – but we won’t go into that now!

Which way does the toilet paper roll go? Over or under?

It depends on the holder. Mine works best with it going over. When it’s the other way it tends to unwind too much. There’s more control with it winding over.

What makes you feel grounded?

I don’t know. I just am. I don’t allow myself to worry about insignificant things. I concentrate on the positive.

What did you appreciate or what made you smile this past week? Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination.

I appreciated the work done by the contractors who did my bedroom extension, the cupboards that were so expertly built and installed and the painting that was done. I also appreciated the two days we took to go to the Hot Springs in Warmwaterberg. It was delicious relaxing in the mineral waters. I also smiled when I came across a huge crowd of motorcyclists at the place we stopped for breakfast on Friday. They gave me some great material for photography.

Helmets of the Buffalo Rally bikers at Diesel and Creme, Barrydale

Nancy Merrill’s Photo a Week Challenge – Green

2018-03-19 | puppy1952

Here is my contribution to this week’s challenge from Nancy Merrill – Green

bee-eater swallow-tailed Earl Kgalagadi 2015 (2)

Little Bee-eaters

Parrot -Brown headed)

Chameleon

Green Volkswagen Beetle

Cee’s Odd Ball Challenge 18 March

2018-03-18 | puppy1952

While on a road trip last week I came across an interesting display of chairs outside an antique shop. So this is my contribution to this week’s Odd Ball Challenge

P1140778

Daily Prompt – Wrinkle

2018-03-17 | puppy1952

The Daily Post Prompt for 16 March is Wrinkle. Here is my take on it.

I don’t care that I have a wrinkle here and there. Okay – so a lot of wrinkles everywhere. The world is so hung up on being thin, having flawless skin and youth. I’m telling you youth is over rated. I was young once and although I thought at the time that life was great, looking back I can’t understand what I was so excited about. I worked far too hard, had far too little time and went to far too few places. Hahaha – Right there were other fulfilling things like raising those beautiful daughters, teaching those amazing kids and enjoying some tremendous friends. There were great times and not so great times. There was excitement and there were so many troubles to overcome. But I did it! And earned those wrinkles. And now – I look after my skin and my health – not because I want to be beautiful but because I want to be fit enough to enjoy my retirement. And it’s great! Who cares about wrinkles? I’m having the time of my life. I’m free. When I was a teenager I worried about my spotty skin, I wanted more pocket money, more freedom from rules and I wanted to do what I wanted. Now I’m a retiree and I have it all – no spots (only wrinkles) enough money to spend on myself and time to do whatever I want with nobody telling me what to do. Well – the kids try but we don’t have to listen! Wrinkles represent freedom!

Stream of consciousness Saturday – Green

2018-03-17 | puppy1952

The prompt for this week’s #SoCS is GREEN.

Well it is St Patrick’s Day today and I’m guessing that’s why we have the green prompt. I have a few teaspoons of Irish blood coursing through my veins but I have never considered myself Irish! As a child, I refused to wear green. I’m not sure why because I actually like the colour. It was just that whenever I put something green on I didn’t feel right in it. I do enjoy wearing green now though – Perhaps my complexion has changed and it suits me better than in my younger days.

What comes to mind when I think of green is conservation and nature, Spring and fertility and also of course money and wealth! It is a relaxing colour – easy on the eye which why I suppose there are so many different shades of green in nature.

At the moment where I live we are missing the green as it is so dry! Water restrictions mean gardens are not being watered regularly and plants and lawns are dying. The veld is dry and we are praying for a very wet winter to fill the dams and bring back the green!

In KwaZulu- Natal everything is green. The mountains, the grass, the veld the gardens are all lush and green. At first when visiting there I drink in all the green beauty but after a while I find it quite nauseating and long for the pinks and mauves and muted shades of The Cape.

But back to the Irish – they’re certainly celebrating Green today. According to legend St Patrick was once served a small whiskey at an inn. He told the inn-keeper that a demon lived in his wine cellar and fed off his selfishness. The inn keeper changed his ways and started pouring more generous drinks. So began the custom of “drowning the shamrock.” The clover is placed at the bottom of the glass before the whiskey is poured over it. At the end of the drink the sodden clover is then thrown over the shoulder for good luck!

Happy St Patrick’s Day to all Irish patriots. st pats

Black and White Challenge – Bikes of any Kind

2018-03-16 | puppy1952

Last night I saw that this week’s black and white challenge was Bikes of Any Kind. Oh good, I thought, I have a few in the archives I can use. We’re away for a couple of days and I was planning to post as soon as I got a chance. Then this morning we went off on a scenic drive and stopped for breakfast at Diesel and Creme in Barrydale – And low and behold – it was full of bikers! They were taking a breakfast break from the Buffalo Rally. What a lot of material they provided for me – and they were quite willing to pose for photos too! So I’ve abandoned my original plan to post a a variety of different bikes and stuck to the motor cycles of The Buffalo Rally

They gave me so much material but I’ve cut it down to a mere ten photographs! Apologies!

Diesel and Creme is a popular stop on Route 62

Bikers are always welcome

Diesel and Creme have a collection of ancient things – bikes included

A line-up of incredible bikes

And some more with helmet waiting

Biking boots

P1140694

A group of bikers kindly posed for me

And allowed me to photograph their helmets

Then they hit the road!

Cee’s Fun Photo Challenge – Sunset to Sunrise

2018-03-14 | puppy1952

This is the brief for this week’s Fun Photo Challenge

“This week the topic is Sunset to Sunrise (including any nighttime photography). This is a challenge is basically self-explanatory. Night photographer have fun with this challenge. For those of who are not night photographers, I want to see those colorful sunrise and sunset moments.”