Posts

Risky War Games

Image
 War is a favourite topic in the news. The big ones are the ongoing battles in Ukraine and Palestine, where the IDF is very active. Since this is a hot topic, it is no wonder that we ended up playing a war game during a recent family reunion last Friday evening. After the delightful time we enjoyed, I wrote about it in a fun way since I am practicing my writing skills. That was fun too. When I read it again this morning, I enjoyed my writing. I got a kick out of it. A long time ago — I can’t even remember when — my son gave me a special book for my birthday titled A Writer’s Book of Days, by the famous author Judy Reeves. I started reading and studying it to write better. Then I wrote to her. Not long after that, she replied. Then, I shared something I had written with her to gauge her response. She was very kind and encouraged me to continue with my writing. That meant so much to me since she was very enthusiastic about my style of writing and clear voice. Encouraged in that way...
Post a Comment
Read more

Writing

Image
  So, my son gave me a book as a birthday present a few years ago. It was called A Writer’s Book of Days. It was to help me with my writing. It challenges me to write with prompts for each day. The prompts would mention something short and then I have to write for fifteen minutes flat without stopping. There are no rules, except I must not stop during that time. I must just get a picture in my mind and write, write, write. I don’t have to worry about punctuation or grammar or rules. I must just go with the flow and put everything down on paper without even thinking. No preparation or anything. The idea is to create a flow/stream of words in 15 minutes without stopping. It sounds easier said than done but I decided to try it. This was my first try and I had my clock on my phone next to me. Once done, I had to read it out loud to myself. As I did that, I felt good and strong and empowered. Like a champion, a winner in a Greek Olympics in the past. They ran without robes. That was a c...
Post a Comment
Read more

Around The World In 80 Days

Image
  When I created this card, I thought it would be interesting to see how many people from different countries would read this blog and look at the photograph. In 25 days, 78 people were reached. In 13 days, this blog post has been read by 63 visitors from different countries, quite an achievement for a little blog. My target was to attract at least 80 views from different countries all over the world in 80 days. After one month 119 visitors have read this blog post and it has travelled all around the world. This blog is not one of those super blogs where influencers promote  I know that wass expecting much but it would be fun to discover what happened after a while. Would visitors send a link to a friend in another country, or would all of this be left to chance? The movie was interesting to watch because the characters encountered many obstacles, dangers, and losses along the way. They left London for the Suez Canal. From there to Bombay in India. Then to Calcutta and on to V...
Post a Comment
Read more

Love For Blankets, People, and Lesotho - Book 1

Image
  This is an exciting moment for me because I have worked on my book for a long time and can finally make it available to the public. There was one slight obstacle, but I worked out a solution to that requirement. Patreon allows file sizes up the 5MB.  My book is too large with too many beautiful photographs in it and at that size it just did not work. The resolution of 72 pixels made the photos a bit too fuzzy, and it spoiled everything. Even splitting the book in half was not helping. That is why I broke the book down into three sections, which enabled me to choose the right resolution for the photographs.  I numbered the books one, two, and three. This book is mainly about waking up in Bela-Bela in the rural part of Lesotho. It quickly progresses to the Basotho Heritage blankets, a section with blankets from the first years to what is currently available today. I took the photographs at the Sanlam Art Collection in Sandton. Here you can see the impressive blanket displ...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Chinese Lantern

Image
  The Chinese lantern plant is strictly ornamental. Its bright orange, balloon- or bell-shaped husks make this species prized. You can harvest and dry these husks to use in fall décor and craft projects or simply enjoy their vibrant hues in the garden. Ensure that children and pets cannot access your Chinese lanterns, as ingestion of this species is highly toxic. In midsummer, the Chinese lantern plant blooms with small white flowers, which grow into tiny berries surrounded by a balloon-like husk, or calyx. The husks start off green, then shift to yellow, and finally a vivid orange. When it dies back for the winter, cut down the plant at its base. Its roots will survive the cold season, and when warm weather returns, your Chinese lantern plant will begin growing again. To preserve its attractive foliage for floral decorations, tie the stems of your Chinese lantern plant into bundles, hang them upside-down in a cool, dark place indoors, and replant any dropped seeds next year. Once ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Art of Things

Image
In an endeavour to keep the ball rolling with my art and blog, I decided to create this piece, which did not turn out exactly the way I wanted it to because of the wrong paper I used to work on. If I used a more expensive paper to work on, the finished product would have been neater. It just goes to show you that the experts were right. Don't use cheap paper for art. When I started painting with watercolours, I bought a Hahnemühle pad for painting but never actually painted on it. Yesterday, I got fed up with the cheap paper I had used and decided to see what the Hahnemühle paper would do with my paint. To my surprise, I was delighted with the results. Where I had added too much paint and it ran over the lines, I could lift some of the water paint up and everything looked perfect again. That was obviously on a different work of art. I have started a page on Patreon where I am selling my book called Love For Blankets, People, and Lesotho and feature tutorials on how I create my lit...
Post a Comment
Read more

Just a Quick Sketch

Image
Last night it was time again. I was relaxing watching the TV and wanted to draw something. I got an image up on my cell phone and just drew this lady whose husband was criticising her about her big bum. Because I struggled to find the marker colours in a hurry, I messed up a bit and had to fix things on my computer. In the end, you can still see most of my original piece of art. More practice would significantly improve my drawing and coloring skills. My aim is not perfection at the moment. No, I just want to have fun, be creative, and unwind whilst doing my art. If what I create looks good enough for me, then I am happy because I am just doing it to relax, and I can see I am getting better all the time. My book is nearly complete, and I believe it will bless readers. I used an ordinary A5 notepad with lines to draw on and the results are quite pleasant.  
Post a Comment
Read more