Always time for a new beginning

As the clock ticks inexorably towards midnight on the last day of another year, the world is frantically thinking of resolutions that will make them better, happier, more successful, healthier people. As if! There are no resolutions broken quicker than New Year's and this is possibly because we only choose one day and set the bar too high.
Every day is a new year with the opportunity to make a new start. The best start is to look after your body through simple, nutritious eating and conscious consumption. There is no truer saying than 'a minute on the lips, a lifetime on the hips' You are what you eat and drink. It's going to take a while to melt years of fat accumulation to an acceptable level for your own comfort (two very important words). Don't worry about scales; let your clothes be your measure of success.
Once the nutrition is under control, health will be on an upward trend without you even realising it. You will find that those daily aches and pains have lessened in intensity and become less frequent. You may have even not thought of a doctor or chemist for a while.
With a new lightness of being comes a new lightness of heart, a better outlook on life and the possibility of enjoying the simple things in life that bring great joy. Do it all at your own pace and it will last a lifetime.
Tomorrow is a good time to begin.

How times change!

The southeaster has come back to Cape Town after a long absence and today has been an absolute scorcher. Back in the 70s, such weather would have meant a day at Clifton. stretched out on the pristine white sand in my tanga, turning a warm golden colour, the nearby sea too cold to even contemplate swimming. Or hanging out on the rocks at Kommetjie, where the sea was just as uninviting, but still catching that tan in that tanga!

Forty years on, and I'm still hanging out on the rocks at Kommetjie. Clifton is the furthest thing from my mind, with traffic and crowds undreamt of in our youth making it an undesirable spot. And definitely no tanga! 

The coolest place today was in the kitchen, where I took advantage of a rush of blood to the head to make fruit slices and a large lemon meringue pie. A scratch through the depths of the refrigerator revealed vast quantities of wilting vegetables and assorted leftovers and soon all kinds of things were cooking, including me. It's time for a new start of a new year, one where we don't buy anything we're not going to eat or wear or use. Clearing the fridge is a good place to start, and the family will be well fed for a few days. Pity none of it is on my menu!

Missing those lightning raids!

As I lie in comfortable repose under the coprosma, where twittering birds feed greedily gobble its sweet, sticky berries, I am reminded that we couldn't always enjoy outdoor dozing without having one eye open. Nor could we leave our doors and windows open to let the cooling sea breeze dissipate the heat of summer. And no, I am not referring to being rid of petty pilferers and brazen burglars, but rather the random raids of the cheeky chacma, the local baboon species that is being mercilessly dealt with to suit the lifestyle of its sometimes questionably intelligent cousin - man.
These light-footed and light-fingered interlopers could spot a lunchtime al fresco spread from their lookout point high on the rocks of Slangkop, and before the chops had a chance to cool, their comical faces would be peeking over the wall, their eyes on the main chance. With everyone rushing around like headless chickens closing doors and windows and scooping up platters of food, it was easy pickings as dexterous fingers and amazing athleticism would see the garlic bread tucked under an armpit and chicken being chomped on the neighbour's roof before the dogs could bark and give fruitless chase. Disdainful glares would greet the shouts and banging of pot lids, and spraying with a hose just added to the general chaos.
Having not had a baboon raid in three years now, such scenes have all but disappeared from our memories. How easily we accept the 'perfect solution' when it results in an easy life for man at the cost of the wild animals whose territory we have invaded.
I miss those adrenalin rushes and helpless laughter after close encounters with these intelligent beings whose only crime has been to learn how to find food the easy way!

A musing

I have felt disinclined to share any thoughts with the world over the last week or so, as the complexities of our existence are difficult to put into words and should rather be described by our actions. Much of the animosity between mankind is born of unmet expectations, and blessed indeed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed. This little catchphrase goes much deeper than is immediately thought. It is not an excuse for disappointment, but rather an admonition to not judge others by our cultural beliefs and personal standards. Society has led us to believe that certain things must happen to make your life a success, when in fact we are all individuals and cannot be expected to react in the same way to events and experiences. Which led me to remember that the purpose of life is to experience it and every individual has chosen their own experience, whether it be wealth or poverty, hunger or feast, anger or compassion, tragedy or joy, war or peace, or a smooth and even path along the middle road. Some are just starting the journey and a few have reached the end and it is very true that life is about the journey, not the destination.
We cannot change the world by trying to change others. It will change when every individual lives through the soul and not the ego
When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.

Afloat in a boat

The drone of the skiboats leaving the slipway on the other side of the island roused me from uneasy slumber at 4.30. The rooster has gone and I had become accustomed to the early wake up call, so it's not unusual for me to be awake at that time without opening my eyes. But this morning a pink glow lured me out onto the balcony and I was richly rewarded by a gentle pink-tinged sunrise with accompanying flocks of sacred ibis crossing over from Hout Bay to forage along the shoreline near the lighthouse.

The sea has been unusually flat for a while with westerly breezes keeping us cool and the onshore drift brought the acrid scent of engine fumes across the water, mingling with the salty, kelpy, fishy smell of the sea.
It took me back to times when we used to go crayfishing on such still days. After dropping the nets, we would idle in neutral in case a rogue swell caught us unawares and in no time at all, those with no sea legs would be hurling over the side, spreading lokaas to attract Hottentot for a little fishing. Always greeted with much hilarity by those of us with stronger stomachs! Then the engines would be stilled, and we would bob quietly on the sea, enjoying the intense silence that can be found away from land, interrupted only by the soft lapping of tiny waves on the bow.
All those memories just from the whiff of engine fumes!

Ships that pass

Living next to the sea (almost) affords me a great opportunity to see a variety of sea-going vessels if I look out of the window often enough! The quality of the photos depends on the time of day and amount of haze - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! (I believe I have already mentioned my request to Father Christmas is for a R20 000 camera.)
The window of opportunity to take these photos is literally that - the amount of time the ship takes to cross the much-reduced sea view. The tankers and container vessels are usually quite far out and I can set up the camera as I go outside onto the balcony, but the fishing boats and yachts are more challenging as they are just behind the reefs close off the island. I think that adds to the fun and excitement! Sometimes I miss altogether, but soon something else comes along.
The shapes are what make them interesting, and these provide quite a variety. A new thing I have noticed is that the container vessels have the stern well above the water - perhaps the captains were tired of the rumblings from the propeller shaft or whatever. Would be interesting to know!

Sunrise, sunset

I fear my current disappointment in the general state of the world and humanity has stripped my customary good humour and creativity from my being. I am speechless, but only because the things I wish to say would not be well received in all quarters, despite the great truths which must be told, and so I will refrain from making any statement, not because I care for opinion, but because it does nothing for my soul to dwell on such things, nor to put out negativity into the world. It shall pass. The sun will rise and set every day.

Dakota and a pigeon at play

Such a lot of aerial activity at the moment and from aeroplanes rather than birds! The Dakota that is a lone survivor of its era and flies the odd trip around the Peninsula has been past three times. On the first occasion, it was accompanied by four helicopters in close formation, and although they were flying extremely low as always and almost within spitting distance, the vagaries of cellphones and cameras did not allow me to get things set up in time to take a proper photo!

Just before sunset tonight the Dakota did another fly-by, this ime alone, and banked nicely as it passed the lighthouse, allowing us to see the inside lights and a top view of the wings. About fifteen minutes later it returned and again, despite the slowness of its flight in comparison to modern aircraft, a photo was not going to happen! Apparently they changed the engine a while back, and it no longer has that special Dakota sound that warned us of its approach over decades. I imagine it was taking a sunset flight down to Cape Point and back. 

We were also buzzed by two of those little silver jobs with red wing tips (Linden, I'm sure you can enlighten!), so perhaps there is some kind of airshow in the offing.

Another little bit of aerial activity took place on top of the domestic whirlybird on a nearby roof. I chanced to see a really funny sight - a pigeon sitting on the extractor going round and round and round and ... it really looked like it was enjoying it, rather like a playpark for pigeons - and carouselled for about 15 minutes before flying off to a more steady perch to regain its equilibrium. Just goes to show, pigeons also have fun!

The RetoHQ experience

The parking area is a construction site. Roadworks have been ongoing for maybe four years as the road between Fish Hoek and Muizenberg and underlying infrastructure have undergone a major upgrade. Trucks and bulldozers are part of the view. A stop/go system is in operation outside the front door, with tailbacks stretching as far as the eye can see.

As the heavy slatted outer door clicks softly open, I step inside to a haven of calm, cool greys in every shade, a decor that can only be described as 'class and style' and make my way upstairs to the salon where Reto is waiting with his magic scissors. Ultracool music sets the tone as I am given a guided tour of RetoHQ - not your average hairdresser's salon - and feel as though I have stepped into a spa for the day. On the other side of the road, the sea sparkles in False Bay, and it's my lucky day - dolphins are frolicking in the waves! My first 'live' dolphins!

 

 

 Soon I am reclining in a chair at the basin and almost fall asleep such is its comfort, as it lifts and tilts at exactly the right angle for the basin - I think I might go back every day just for a hairwash! Then under the knife (or rather, scissors) with Reto in his element, doing what he loves best. What a lifestyle - doing what you love in a place that defies what is happening outside in the street - you hear no sounds from the construction - amid surroundings that feed the soul and senses and with a view to die for.
He adjusted the airconditioning slightly - by opening the balcony door slightly wider to let in a little sea breeze - my kind of airconditioner!
It's no wonder that he spends much of the year in exotic places on various assignments. His enthusiasm and zest for life radiate towards all who surround him and you are not getting just a haircut. You are getting an experience!

Nourish or neglect?

I planted a rose in memory of my mother in a container on the deck, where I can see it every day. Before the rose, I grew tomatoes in it, and obviously lots of seeds remained to germinate. When new plants emerged, I transplanted some to another container, not wanting to smother the rose, but of course I didn't give that tomato any rose food granules, did I? After all, it's for roses. And I have to confess to not being much of a plant feeder, being inclined to let them battle for survival.

Along with the rose, I planted some lettuces as it looked quite lonely in the big container, and a few alyssum. Well, rose food is not just for roses. The lettuces grow visibly before my eyes and I can pick a salad every second day. The alyssum is cascading down the sides of the container and the tomato plant is four feet high. After its first bloom, the rose looked a bit quiet, but suddenly three new shoots have shot skywards, looking strong and promising further fine blooms in time for Christmas. It is a veritable jungle in a container!
Alas, the unfed tomato is but a mere seedling still, clinging to life on the other side of the deck. I am going to feed it today and have promised not to let it die.
As with everything in life, the way we treat things, whether people, animals, plants and even the earth we live on, has a huge effect on their wellbeing and very existence. Are we going to nourish and nurture, or neglect and abuse? The choice is ours.

Shine your light on the world

It saddens me to see people struggling through life, unaware of what it is really all about and so unable to smooth their own path. The most difficult thing to accept is that you cannot help those who will not be helped. Not for nothing was the old idiom 'you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink' written in the annals of history. There are none so deaf as those who will not hear.
No, you have to wait for someone to be ready to hear what you have to say, rather than try to convince them of anything that they are unable to accept as a possible alternative to what they have always believed. That is why I wrote "An Invitation to Think". I was compelled to put my thoughts in writing and make it available to the world, for anyone who might be interested in exploring the possibility that the world can be fixed and returned to being a place suitable for human habitation rather than continuing the downward spiral we are currently helter-skeltering down.
It is exactly what the title exhorts - an invitation to start looking at life from a new angle - one that you feel might well be better than you have been taught. After all, you are master of your own destiny, and if you don't see yourself as the hero of your own story, there isn't a chance that anyone else will. Our purpose is not to be one of a crowd, but to be an individual making a positive contribution to the whole. And it's never too late to start.
Every moment of every day is an opportunity to rewrite your story and become the shining light you are.

Smooth seas

We are sweltering in the heat here in Cape Town, and even down in Kommetjie at the edge of the sea, it is almost unbearable. There is not even a 2 inch swell on the Atlantic - yachts are moored in the kelp beds where normally massive breakers tumble. It's not often a yacht can moor at sea and the crew catch crayfish. It must be bliss on board - sundowners, a little pot boiling in the galley to cook the red gold and later the cracking open of the shells and legs to suck out the sweet sea-flavoured flesh. The only way to eat crayfish!
Those of us lucky enough to have lived through the times of unrestricted and plentiful supplies, before poaching robbed us of a delicacy free from the sea and a healthy pastime, can only relate stories like our parents did of the old days. I have photos of rows of cooked crayfish cooling on the fence at home, ready for a feast. Nowadays you would probably have to pay me to eat crayfish, unless it was aboard one of said yachts.
The intense heat seems to be a taste of a hot summer to come, and with water restrictions in the offing, it really is time to get the garden waterwise, despite plentiful underground resources. It seems such a waste to water masses of lawn that no one ever uses. If it were not such back-breaking work to dig up a lawn, I would do so and plant a meadow of wild flowers and flowering shrubs - wonderful for attracting birds and bees. Perhaps I should start chipping away at the edges....
But now it is braai time!

Bright lights for Spidey

I've put up the Christmas lights early this year - about three weeks early. Not the tree, note. Just the multi-coloured rope of lights that are wound around the struts of the deck, and I must say they are a cheery addition in these sometimes sombre days, where opportunities for play are few and far between. This is always the busiest time of year, when we try to catch up with all the things that should have been more evenly spaced throughout the year; even more so in Cape Town, traditionally a laid-back town.
The best way to survive the festive season is not to get caught up in the commercial aspect, which will free you from the need to do last-minute Christmas gift shopping or stocking up on haunches of a variety of animals and birds for a gluttonous feast from which you will take until New Year to recover. How many curries can you eat in a week of leftovers? However, let me not put you off if this is what you are looking forward to! Each to his own, etc.
I personally prefer a small selection of extra special goodies for the Christmas Eve meal and a day off cooking on Christmas Day. How else can you experience peace and goodwill unless you are parked off under a tree in a deckchair in the company of friends and family, the most exercise being to open the fridge door?
Here are the lights. Bietjie bont, ne? Somewhere in between those poles, my little spider is valiantly weaving his web to catch supper. Do you think he will enjoy his new multi-coloured, disco-light environment?

A rude awakening

I wouldn't say that 4.30 is the ideal time to wake up, but I have had some practice with the rooster crowing nearby. This morning it was caterwauling and a cat fight to end all cat fights that galvanised the household (some of us, anyway) into action. We rushed outside armed with a torch and turned on the outside lights as we prepared to rescue our kitties from the claws of a caracul or suchlike - only to find that it was light enough to see without the help of artificial means! The sky over the mountain was lightening to a shade of blue that didn't quite fit in with the scenario - directly overhead a half moon glowed through dark clouds. It was an eerie experience to see half the sky dark and half light.
The cats came running in for an early breakfast, completely unscathed, and it wouldn't surprise me if they had been fighting with each other. Back to bed, and time for a little chit-chat on social media with fellow insomniacs locally and abroad. By 5am the rooster was in full throat, so I caught up on reams of Twitter messages. By 6am I was ready for a snooze, but it was time to get up. A busy day ensued and now I am going out to a Toastmasters meeting, where I have to evaluate, meaning no lapse in concentration allowed!
Why does it always happen that I desperately need to sleep at the most inappropriate times?!
On the up side, it was really magnificent out in the garden at 4.30.

A new month, nearly a new year

What? December already? Where did the year go?

November passed without its customary gale-force southeasters, the fire season started early (arsonists crawling from the woodwork) and summer comes and goes on a daily basis. A new mall has opened in the South Peninsula - who knows why? A new set of robots appeared at the bottom of Ou Kaapse Weg.

Kommetjie has been a hive of activity. Sardines and whales gathered en masse. Fibre optic cables have been laid. The verges have been mown. Roads are tarred after years of gravel. Ongoing de-cluttering continues at home - making way for new things. The garden is undergoing a makeover and the roses are growing as never before..A new art gallery has opened and sales are good. The NSRI now has a brand new home near the bay, replacing the unsightly and dodgy public toilets and ensuring unhindered access in times of emergencies at sea..

After such a busy November, what can December bring? Holidays, end-of-year parties, Christmas celebrations, an opportunity for peace and goodwill? One can live in hope!