Category: Blog posts

My Favourite Toy…Once upon a time

I must admit that today’s prompt has made me think really hard. I fished out my old album to try and jog my memory about the toys I had back in the day. There were definitely dolls in the pictures and I vaguely remember playing dolls house with my sisters from time to time but that’s about it when it came to toys. I do remember treasuring a tartan teddy when I was really little but he disappeared during one of our moves.

My favourite tartan teddy

The things I treasured most when I was a kid was books. I loved reading. My mum had bought us a set of 12 Disney books that I read over and over and over again. I remember The Jungle book and there a few Donald Duck books. There was a donald duck story where they had they had to ask a donkey to wiggle his ears and coins would fall out. It just so happened that my father could wiggle his eye so he would do it whenever he read the story to us. You can imagine how many times he had to read that book!😂 I was very curious so I read our reference books cover to cover as well. One was called Disney’s Wonderful World of Knowledge and I still have it today even though it looks absolutely battered. I just can’t part with it. Once I was old enough to venture to the library by myself, I made sure I was there at least every 2 weeks to swap my 3 books which was all I was allowed. When I wasn’t reading I was trying my hand at slantwords and crosswords and the like. I didn’t do puzzles though and colouring in was definitely not my thing and still isn’t.

One of my favourite books

When I wasn’t reading or doing word puzzles, I was outside playing with the kids from the neighbourhood. We played hopscotch and hide and seek and ‘stocking’. We rode our bikes and skated with our roller skates. I remember being horrified that my parents had bought me these adjustable metal skates with straps over the top while everyone else had the boots. In the end though it didn’t stop me from having a blast everyday with them. In summer I was at the public pool swimming my heart out. It was just up the road from our house so I was there every day. I was so sunburnt and I didn’t even realise it. I found a pic of myself from back then not so long ago and almost didn’t recognise myself. I was burnt to a crisp …lol. I also had ballet classes twice a week so I was a pretty busy kid.

I have actually enjoyed writing this piece. It brought back wonderful memories of being a kid. I am so glad that I grew up when I did. We had loads of fun and barely spent time in front of the TV. Toys were cool but for me books were probably way more important and still are. I am still constantly surrounded by them physically and even electronically. I love reading and I love learning.

Thank you for taking this trip down memory lane with me. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Comfort zones are overated

“If you’re brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello.”

Paulo Coelho

I don’t know about you but I am not one for New Year’s resolutions. I stopped making them a few years ago when I realised that I will make the necessary changes when I am ready to and not just at the beginning of the year. Every day is a new day and a new opportunity to do or become something different if I so choose. Change requires stepping out of your comfort zone and there in lies the problem. Fortunately I have found myself doing it more and more often of late and it is actually exciting. It’s scary but definitely exciting.

One of the last times I stepped out of my comfort zone was last year when I made the choice to surrender to guidance rather than try to control everything in my life. I had read the book ‘The Surrender Experiment’ by Michael A Singer and his experience just made total sense to me. The quote below from the book really grabbed my attention and I really wanted to find out what if I could do the same.

Image: Readwise

This has not been an easy journey thus far but it been pretty cool as the same time. I am more open to doing things that would never have done before especially at work. I have followed my instincts which has led to me feeling more at peace because I know that I am being guided. The outcomes have generally been better than expected. New opportunities have popped up which I am looking forward to experiencing.

It is pretty cool to see how free will comes into play. We always have choices and by allowing myself to be guided, I am not giving up my free will but using my free will to make the choice. I never ever understood that before. I thought that by saying “Lord, your will not mine” I was giving up my free will and that scared the day lights out of me. Thankfully, now I know better.

I have also made a few errors in choices because I wasn’t paying attention to my instincts, especially of late. As a result, I have seen doors closing but to be honest, the closed doors have actually being a relief. It actually feels like by closing the doors, the Universe is “recalculating” my route to my desired destination. It’s pretty awesome!

So yes, I have stepped out of my comfort zone of controlling everything and it feels scary but awesome. My hands are open to release what needs to leave and accept what is meant for me. Life is for the living after all. I highly recommend this journey especially if you are feeling ‘stuck’ in your life. It’s quite a ride😁

Our Cruise was Cancelled. Now what?

I had planned to see out my last birthday in my 40’s over the Indian Ocean. I had booked a cruise to nowhere for my son and I but covid killed those plans. The cruise was cancelled. I still feel an urge to do something different though I think I feel a road trip coming on…

My Ideal Road trip

Phew, I would probaly need to break it down into about 3 or 4 trips to see everything I would love to see with my son. Where to start…hmmm…probably the garden route which runs through the Eastern Cape Coast and ends in the Western Cape. I would probably make it a 2 week long trip so that we can sleep over in numerous towns and have the opportunity to explore some of the towns along the way. There are a number of museums like the literary museum in Makhado (ex-Grahamstown) and we can take a day trip to at least one game reserve. I have yet to visit the Cango Caves (it would require a slight detour) or Koffee Bay which is said to be very beautiful. And of course stop at Cape Agulhas which is the home of the southernmost point of Africa. If you keen to explore the route further, I found this website that has lots of great information

Cape Agulhas
The Cango Caves

A road trip closer to home

I live in beautiful Durban and am fortunate that I am only a 2-3 hour drive fron the Drakensberg mountains and have the beach on my doorstep. The Midlands Meander is a wonderful trip to make and it starts in Hilton which is an hour away. It is dotted with a number of little industries and shops. You can find anything on the route from breweries to cheese making to arts and crafts. There are awesome hiking trails and other adventure-based activities. Gourmet food is also pretty easy to find. There is the Fernhill Hotel as an example, which also happens to be a training school for chefs. One of my favourite spots to visit is the Nelson Mandela capture site. Taking ‘the long walk to freedom’ is an awesome experience. Whenever I have been there, the air has been still and there is absolute silence. It ‘s a humbling experience. The sculpture also just blows my mind and there is also a museum on site.

My dad and my son doing the long walk to freedom in 2013
My son and I in front of the Nelson Mandela sculpture in 2013.

If there is one good thing that the pandemic has created, it is an awareness of all the places there are to visit and explore right on our doorsteps. I love road trips so I am definitely going to plan one. I actually can’t wait!

What are some of your favourite spots in South Africa or in the country in which you live? I would love to hear to about them and possibly add them to my bucket list😊

Thanks for reading. Stay safe!