Tag: writing

“Say a little and say it well.” – Irish proverb

Bloganuary writing prompt
In what ways do you communicate online?
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Hi There! Interesting question Bloganuary. I must admit that I communicate in very limited ways online. 

As Grounded African

I love quotes (in case you haven’t noticed). Ever since my mum passed away just over 5 years ago, I have been on this journey both spiritually and emotionally and quotes have helped me along the way. I try to create visually appealing backgrounds for the quotes that resonate with me and share them via this blog, IG and FB.

I communicate my thoughts and lessons via this blog and sometimes on Medium. On Medium as I do post under my name though. I share the links via FB and IG, but I find the audience on each platform is more drawn to the quotes and don’t appear to be keen to read blog posts.

Image: created on Canva

On a Personal level

On a personal level I stick to Facebook and IG. I use both to update friends and family on the milestones in my life as well as on the things that amuse me, make me sad or that I find interesting. 

I do have Twitter/X accounts but I use the platform more to keep up-to-date with the goings on in the world in real time. Otherwise, I find it a scary place to interact with people.

I chat on WhatsApp mainly. I find it highly frustrating (and shady) that Snapchat deletes your chat after 24hrs, so when I forget to note something, that’s it; it’s gone, so I have deleted my Snapchat account. I also chat with my fellow players on Scrabble. 

I also share short book reviews on Goodreads. You can view these by clicking on the Goodreads widget on my page. If you are on there, please add me as a friend so that I can discover new books through you, and perhaps you will do the same through me.

I am keen to expand my online presence but have yet to find the time to plan it out and learn how to make the best use of the different apps like TikTok and whatever else is good to know. I still have not figured out how to use Pinterest best.🤪 Does anyone have a blog page that could help me develop these skills? Do you have any hints and tips to share? Please leave a link or a suggestion in the comments. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for popping by. 💐. Be Blessed!

Travelling Over God’s Country Part II

Bloganuary writing prompt
Think back on your most memorable road trip.
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Hi There. Last year I wrote about some of my favourite road trip experiences which included a drip between Connect and Weehawken as well from Durban to Johannesburg and back. You can read about and see pics of the smallest church in Southern Africa here.

Another trip that comes to mind is an overnight bus trip from Durban to Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha) that my son and I took when he was about three or four years old.  The new name is an IsiXhosa word, and the pronunciation of it might take some practice. You can learn how to pronounce it here. Anyway, I digress. I was a bit apprehensive about travelling overnight on a bus with him. Lucky for me, he was an excellent traveller as a kid, so on that front, all went well. It had snowed the previous day on the Drakensberg mountains, so I was hoping that my son would get his first glimpse of it and even get to touch it when we got to Kokstad, which is near the southern Drakensberg. It was not to be. Most of it had melted, and all we saw was the last dregs on the side of the road as we neared Kokstad. By the way, Oprah’s school for girls is just outside of Kokstad.

Images of Grahamstown – source: Canva

The trip was going well until the bus broke down about 20 minutes outside of Grahamstown (Now Makhanda. Thankfully, there are no tricks to pronouncing that name 😅). It was about 5 am, and it was freezing cold. The temperature was closer to zero degrees Celsius than it was to ten. Thankfully, after about thirty minutes, they got the bus going again, and we limped off to Grahamstown, where it died. I felt so sorry for those who needed to get to Cape Town. They now had to wait for a new bus to arrive to take them the rest of the way. I have no idea what time they eventually reached their destination. Luckily for my son and I, the friend we were visiting drove through to fetch us. It’s just under an hour and a half’s drive, so we were very grateful. It was freezing in Grahamstown. We were so fascinated by the town. The architecture is an interesting mix of Cape Dutch and modern buildings. It’s a modern town, but we also saw a donkey cart making its way down the road. It’s part dorp (an Afrikaans word for a small town or village) and part modern town. It was very interesting. 

Image of Gqeberha: Canva

Anyway, we did eventually get to Gqeberha. It took us a while longer than planned, but we reached our destination safely. Thank goodness I had booked us flights home so we didn’t have to go through that experience again. My son wasn’t feeling well either, so it worked out perfectly. Needless to say, we will not be doing a bus trip again in a hurry.

An update on my plan to go on a cruise as I mentioned in part 1. It is booked and happening this year! We are super excited! I will definitely tell you all about it when we get back!

Well, that’s it from me. Thanks for popping by. Be blessed!

Necessity is the Mother of Invention – A proverb

Daily writing prompt
Come up with a crazy business idea.
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Necessity is the mother of invention. A proverb that has proven true time and time again. Think of how many business ideas have been viewed as crazy for as long as humans have been in the business of trading and selling. 

Image: Canva

My crazy business idea would be a device implanted in a person’s brain that immediately kicks in when a politician’s mouth opens and starts fact-checking everything they say, or the device starts asking questions to get the person to think. Think about whether they are speaking the truth and getting them to check whether the politician’s words and behaviours are aligned with their personal value systems. It boggles my brain how easily people are duped by unscrupulous politicians, but then again, I guess the politicians are skilled at telling people what they want to hear.

My not-so-crazy business idea is for a woman to start a business that vets fellow female businesses and tradeswomen and matches them up with single women who require their services. There are so many benefits to this. We would be supporting female business owners. For the single woman, it de-risks having a strange man enter your home, especially for plumbing or electrical services. I want to think the female homeowner would be less likely to be treated like an idiot because she doesn’t know how something works, although this might still happen. When we have gathered a lot of experience in something, we tend to think that certain things are common sense and are surprised when others don’t have a basic understanding. I have a feeling that this type of network would thrive. Not that I have a problem with male business owners , and I would still use them where I feel they might be a better fit. Still, sometimes, as a single woman, it just feels more comfortable being able to relate your issues to a fellow female. I would set this up myself, but coordination is not my strength. Having a database of female business owners at my fingertips would be great when needed.

Let me your thoughts about these ideas in the comments.

Thanks for popping by. Be blessed.