New Dimensions

This is Maggie's quilt. A while ago she made one for a friend and chose a pattern for a future project. Last year we received some material off-cuts from someone and she had the bright idea to start with her project. Just looking at all those pieces of material made me wonder what she was going to do with them. It took her 4 months of hard work and lots of creativity to come up with the end product. Maggie stuck to her guns and never gave up. Hundreds of blocks were laboriously sized and cut, then pieced together, resulting in this beautiful design. She was even told that it wasn't a quilt and that she was just creating patchwork. Who cares. It looks fabulous and is cosey and warm to sleep under during the cold winter nights. One friend even asked her to make one when she saw the photo. The great benefit of having this quilt on our bed is that it isn't heavy like a lot of our other bedding. Awesome work Maggie.

As the sun kissed the distant rooftops, we set out on our bicycles, eager to experience the freedom and escape from the day's stress that cycling brings. The gentle breeze made everything feel lighter, and the world seemed to slow down. At the first corner of the field, two tiny chihuahuas burst out barking and chased after me. I picked up speed, laughing at their determination, and they eventually gave up the pursuit. When I told Maggie (my wife) I was going to ride to get some fresh air, she didn’t hesitate—she switched off her computer and started pulling on her riding gear. She needs no invitation when it comes to cycling. At the next corner, we entered a tunnel of shade beneath the trees and felt the temperature drop considerably. Maggie called it the cold road, and we both shivered with delight. Next, we cruised slightly downhill and accelerated, picking up speed as laughter echoed between us. Another corner brought us back into a sunny patch as we passed Java, our dog, ...

The first time I came across the term cherry picker I pictured workers in a field picking cherries with the sun high in a blue sky, similar to what I have seen in the movies. Somehow I had it wrong because a cherry picker is a magnificent piece of technology that people use to access objects high above the ground, sometimes in maintenance and sometimes in construction - not just limited to those. The picture on the left gives you an idea of just how high these cherry pickers can lift working crew above the ground - it makes me dizzy just thinking of being in that cage at the top. Well, that's how some people make a living being hoisted high up in the air to reach the structures they are building, cleaning or fixing. There are many types of cherry picker machines, some of which are trailer mounted and driven by diesel motors or electric or even both. To get a better idea of some of the most popular machines you can go to http://www.saplatforms.co.za to have a look. The compan...