New Dimensions

This majestic white spider lily flower was photographed by me on 10 February 2021. I believe that it was still towards the end of  the COVID 19 lockdown period. No hidden dangers. It's pure. It is exactly as beautiful as it is. Nothing false about it. Maybe that's why good women love flowers. When you give them with a good heart they tell a story of honesty. Flowers are pure and beautiful. So you are giving something pure and beautiful - a perfect gift. Enjoy this rare sight.

 Today is the day after Good Friday. Yesterday I enjoyed a fabulous Good Friday. My wife and I went to church and were treated to an excellent service after which we went to check out what's happening at our local shopping centre because the Pick n Pay had suddenly closed forcing us to drive further to other shops to buy our bread, milk, and groceries - very inconvenient. Fortunately, we were told that a Checkers is soon opening. We then went home but before we were there we decided to go to Evergreens shop to buy cake to enjoy with our tea. As we were about to enter the premises but found that it was locked with security guards patrolling the place. We had to leave feeling disappointed and wondering what's going on in our country. Massive shops and shopping groups just closing or not being open for business as usual! Very odd! In the meantime I had photographed some flowers in our garden and a yellow one that was growing in front of the main gate. When we arrived home I contin...

 About a year ago I was faced with a problem. My children and grandchildren were showing off their prowess in drawing and painting on a WhatsApp group where all our family members were connected. All I could put up on the group were photographs that I had taken which I thought were showing off that I was a bit creative. But they kept on putting up very nice paintings and drawings and I had nothing to show. When I was at school I used to draw a lot but that was about sixty years ago. Since then I had no reason to practice my art or drawing skills. At that time I had tried painting with watercolour paints but found that medium to be too much of a challenge so I stopped trying to paint. Sometimes I came across senior people who were producing these wonderful paintings on Facebook and admired them. So, last year I decided to give it a go again. What did I have to loose? I mean, if I at least tried properly, maybe I could paint something that would interest my family. Believe me, I was ...

 Most people get up in the mornings and reach for a steaming hot cup of coffee with aroma scents filling the air helping to ease them into the start of a new day. There is something mysterious and alluring about the profile of a woman holding a mug with steam carrying that special scent of coffee that we all love all around her. Maybe, when you get up in the morning again you will remember reading this post and seeing the sketch and also decide to reminisce with your favourite coffee -  reminisce implies a casual often nostalgic recalling of experiences long past and gone (Merriam-Webster). This is what I have been doing as I had to reminisce about my past experiences as I wrote my book which I have finished but have been checking and rechecking for errors or spelling mistakes before I can launch it. Soon it will be ready to publish online and I am really hoping people like you who have been checking my blog will want to read it. If you have enjoyed reading about my exper...

Watercolour painting involves a lot of learning and much practise and keeps me motivated to produce better results. The important word here is practise because just reading and watching and hoping doesn't produce the desired results, which is to improve over time. However, when I practise my skills just to keep being busy and relax and allow mistakes to happen, I find that I am still learning to improve my watercolour skills. I call my latest painting new wine because I did paint something similar a while ago and used it to create a simpler version. I didn't over plan what I was going to draw and paint, I just went with the flow and still managed produce something that I could work with. One thing that I have learned over time in my efforts to paint with watercolours is that I need to persevere while I am painting because it usually doesn't look so glamorous until I add the black lines which makes my painting stand out from the white paper. If you remove all the black from ...

 An idea is just an idea if that is all we do when thinking about things. Once upon a time man looked at birds and the idea came up that it would be great to fly like a bird. Then, we could rise above the ground and move through the air to cover great distances and be able to see more and further, almost like being on a high mountain. At various stages in history “inventors” puzzled over the complexity of flight with no success at all. Some even died trying out their ideas. This went on for some time until someone cleverer came along. He applied more imagination and testing to the idea of flight and decided to be more practical and change the shape of the wing to a curved surface. More testing took place, and some laws of aerodynamics were formulated and tested or put into practice. The results were better. The idea was developed further with more testing (action). Success didn’t come overnight. No, the “inventors” bravely and patiently continued with their efforts. Now, man can fl...

  The picture above is from a video where one dog struggled to carry the branch and came to a fallen tree in the path where it couldn't continue. The second dog came to the rescue and helped to get the branch past the log and together they ran along with both of them carrying the branch. Someone shared the video on LinkedIn which I enjoyed and also added my own story as well. Small actions often lead to huge results. Let's apply this to 2024. For instance, add a little kindness to relationships and how we treat people. The results can be astounding. Add a little more value to others and see big results. Isn't that what this is all about? Most people will try and pull you down to their level. Just respond with a kind word, then be quiet. That will hit home. I think people will respect you more and you will stand out from the crowd. Maybe we should apply that in how we think about our country and load shedding. Get ourselves into a positive frame of mind instead of complainin...