I have been stuck on a problem yesterday and today. So I took some timeout during lunch, and sat at the harbor, allowing blue skies and live music to revive me. And it did! The best part of this scene is the solitary seagull that can be seen, if you look closely, flying in the top right corner. I watched the movement of the bird, flying solo. Flying free.
And my problem was fixed late this afternoon, just in time for the weekend!
Best wishes to you. 🕊
I have woken up to the first of December here on a bright, sunny day in Sydney (blue skies without a hint of cloud), and for the past few days I’ve had one song on my mind. Put a little love in your heart!
Think of your fellow man, lend him a helping hand
Put a little love in your heart
You see, it’s getting late, oh, please don’t hesitate
Put a little love in your heart
And the world will be a better place
And the world will be a better place for you and me
You just wait and see
Another day goes by, and still the children cry
Put a little love in your heart
If you want the world to know, we won’t let hatred grow
Put a little love in your heart
And the world will be a better place
And the world will be a better place for you and me
You just wait and see. Wait and see
Take a good look around and if you’re lookin’ down
Put a little love in your heart
I hope when you decide kindness will be your guide
Put a little love in your heart
And the world will be a better place
And the world will be a better place for you and me
You just wait and see
Put a little love in your heart
Put a little love in your heart
My Scottish grandmother and I outside her home in Cape Town
My grandparents bought a house in Cape Town in 1977, and made it their home. It was near the sea and you could catch a view of Table Mountain from a certain angle. We lived in Johannesburg (two-hour flight away), so used to go there on holidays. When I became a teenager, I discovered how similar in nature I was to my grandmother. We seemed to have similar quirks and oddities (many of which I’m pleased to say I have outgrown!) I felt closest to her than anyone. After my grandparents passed away, a relative moved into the house, which has now been sold, and my relative moved out yesterday. The house is ready for its new owners.
I remember when my husband and I packed up our home in Johannesburg. The moving company came and collected all the boxes and I remember sitting on the step thinking, the next time I see these boxes I will be on a different continent and have no idea where I will be unpacking them! It was a strange feeling. I waited for my husband to arrive home, and we drove to my mother-in-law. She had made up beds for us in the dining room, my defacto home for the next six weeks, while my husband went ahead of us in our move to Sydney. When we arrived on the Monday night, she made us tea and offered us homemade carrot cake. A lovely welcome, for a strange night of ours lives!
Tides come and go. Flowers bloom and die. Homes and hearts so welcoming, at some point, perhaps so far in the future it may seem, they cease to be, and are simply no more.
Replaced with new homes and new hearts.
This morning I read a post by the happy Quitter. About making new friends and having fun. I love fun. I love people. I love friends. But I don’t seem to have too many of any of them. My life generally consists of work (in a technical role, so not too much social interaction there), traveling to and from the city, spin class and Pilates on Mondays, and home time. Blog writing to keep myself sane. I have a few friends in Sydney, my BFF close by (thank goodness for her), and a couple of other friends that I see every few months. I would not know how to go about changing my life to include more #fun. Fun for me is socializing, spending time with friends, listening to music, dancing. My BFF went to a fifties party last week. We are not in that social circle, so were not invited. It sounded like they had a great time.
My oldest friend in South Africa is of African descent. We used to have heaps of fun together. Laughing and joking and being silly. Something that I appreciate from spending time with her growing up, is that in their community, they are very welcoming. No airs and graces. They will accept you for who you are. I have found that social circles in Sydney and even in South Africa can be very closed. You are either part of the circle or you are not. I reached out to her last week. Oh my friend, I really miss you, even though distance may separate, you are still in my heart. She responded by sending me the image above “The most valuable antique is an old friend”. I told her, my friend, I am not that old yet. So she sent me another one. Bless!
This morning my oldest friend (from when I was thirteen) called me instead of texting. We had a brief connection where we could speak for awhile. She is in Johannesburg, and timezone difference make it somewhat more difficult than texting. Afterwards, she texted me and said it was so nice just to hear my voice. This evening I listened to an interview of an online friend of mine. It is the first time I heard her voice. And it sounded exactly like I thought it would sound! When my mother passed away, I remember thinking I will never hear her voice again! But I do. I hear it in my dreams. Our voices are a gift. It allows us to express ourselves. Yesterday I said words that expressed my soul. And today I was left wondering, why did I say those things? Because it was the only way my soul could express itself. Each soul is unique. Including mine. And that is okay.
Wow, this post is going to be a real struggle for me (#notapoem), bear with my writing please!
It may become evident why I write in poetry only (because my sentence construction is painful) 🙂
It is a privilege for me to be nominated by my friend Oscar Alejandro Plascencia to participate in a Virtual Blog Tour. Those of you who are familiar with my blog will know I don’t often accept awards, but thought it might be nice to to participate. (and couldn’t resist Oscar’s very nice smile, oops request :))
Oscar can be found here, and is a nice guy, as well as poet and writer:
Before we continue, here are the rules of the nomination:
1. Pass the tour on to up to four other bloggers. Give them the rules and a specific Monday to post.
2. Answer four questions about your creative process which lets other bloggers and visitors know what inspires you to do what you do.
3. Compose a one-time post which is posted on a specific Monday (date given from your nominator).
I chose a few people to nominate – would like to highlight that I do not like leaving people out as we all have our unique story to tell, so chose a few that have personally interacted with me (behind the scenes I’m actually very shy, though most people I mention this to in person do not agree with me).
Not everyone participates in these awards, but will include their links below.
Please visit them at anytime and often. Below are their links and acceptance post dates scheduled during the next four weeks:
Another Voice
by Sam Rappaz, Sam has a great sense of humour, and writes a mean haiku (managing to put all of mine to shame).
Tour Date: 26 January
Life Confusions
by Zee, Zee was one of the first to support me when I breathed life back into my blog in Sept 2014, and has been a constant source of encouragement and friendship – Zee, thank you! 🙂 Wonderful writing and photography.
Love Notes from the Angels
by Trini Lind, spreading Love and Light with beautiful imagery, a pleasure to be across her work.
The Z Channel
By Ogundare Tope, hailing from the continent of my birth, his writing and poetry is a delight to read.
So without further ado, Q & A time:
What am I working on at the moment?
In the process of having a book designed and published (it seems to be never-ending), and I have learnt a lot through the process.
Also, am undertaking a Visual Design course, and trying to learn InDesign inbetween everything else.
In Feb, I am going on a Mobile Development course (Swift), because I don’t feel like teaching myself.
How does my work differ to others in my genre?
When I read all the wonderful poetry on WordPress, I am convinced I cannot write poetry. In saying that however, I find that I have all these words floating through my head longing for release, so I let them out. And because I do not like typing long sentences with punctuation (and especially do not enjoy re-reading my own sentences), I find a poetry-type form of writing the easiest for my brain to handle. I generally like to add images too if I can find any.
Why do I write/create what I do?
For fun really, no other reason. And because I have words in my head. If I had no words in my head, or if it wasn’t fun for me, I wouldn’t do it.
How does my writing/creative process work?
I find prompts really helpful. Sometimes I have nothing to write at all. So then I wait for the Daily Prompt, and respond to that. I would not have half my entries if it weren’t for the prompts that are posted here on WordPress.
Thank you all for stopping by and allowing me to be your host and guide on this stop of “A Tour Through BlogLand”. Please visit my nominator, Oscar, at In So Many Words a gay poetry blog with an emphasis on Faith, Love and Hope #sharingTheLove
An additional note (because really, when I start typing, I cannot stop, I *really* love the sound of my own typing. A very big THANK YOU to all the bloggers and readers who consistently read my poetry and like my posts, I do very much appreciate it! And Thank You for all your wonderful writing that keeps me entertained and inspired and yes, IN AWE, every single day, you are awesome 🙂 This calls for another image, will be right back!
Here we go!
Exercising in
The great outdoors connects my
Body, mind and soul
In days before October
Ten pm used to be Ten pm
It made me so happy
Was able to have an evening routine
Meditation, quietness and all those things
One would do at night
Before writing Daily Post
Which I only discovered
In September
October arrived
And times they do change
Ten o’clock now became eleven
So another hour later
It is not all bad
Extra reading and music time
Keep oneself occupied
Meditate a bit more
Just Do Not fall asleep
Welcome November
My ten o’clock original
Has now become midnight
So every night
I find myself looking at walls
And writing books
And keeping busy
With lots of coffee
To stay awake
For the Daily Post
Which for me has become
The Midnight Post
But now the problem is
I am awake
And I am typing
But am SO, SO tired
I am unable to think
About anything other
Than Why, Why, Why
Do times have to keep on changing?
Why can’t Ten pm stay Ten pm?
Past Midnight which used to be Past Ten Pm
Solitude surrounds
Me as I rush for the train –
Travelers have left!
When all around is dark
And all you know is night
Feel the hope within
And move towards the light
Kind soul sang my words
Back to me
So I can know
My words will reach
Where they need to go
Poems and Petals 