Peace must be one of the most grounding roses I know. In some of my toughest moments Peace has centered me.
Tag: soul food
Golden Hour Moments in the South African Bushveld
Before dawn in the bushveld My game drive of choice is always the early morning one. Yes, it’s a ruthless wake up call to be at the vehicle by 04:15; and it can be very cold. But then, there is always the promise of the golden hour as the sun rises over the African Bush….
A Month of Mindfulness
It takes effort to be present Every day of my birthday month, September, I photographed something beautiful around me that made me feel happy and for which I’m grateful. I only used my iPhone 11 camera and didn’t use any filters. It was an exercise in consciousness and discipline. Making sure that I posted something…
Life-lessons from a rose
A rose’s story This is the last surviving rose bush in my small garden. About seven years ago, she was destined to be discarded. But the gardener, unbeknown to me found a place for her in a secluded overgrown section of a garden bed. Here, unnoticed, she took time out to recover and started to…
On being ahead of the Grey Curve: 10 years and still celebrating
A ‘Dye Hard’ choice It’s a tough choice to make to stop colouring your hair. Especially when you’ve been doing it for decades. It’s the bungee-jump of vanity. It means a changed ‘identity’ or rather, a change in how others will see and recognise you. The payoff is, that for once, you will see your…
My take on those ‘Before’ photos
Society’s morbid fascination with ‘before’ Society can often have a morbid fascination with whatever physical acceptability or perfection is perceived to be. We hear of body-shaming stories all the time. These can be directed at us from others, or even worse, at us from ourselves … It’s not what you say to everyone else that…
The Rose and the Robin
Listen to the song of your heart In this crazy world of all things digital, I returned home from a torrid time at the brick and mortar bank. Yes, in order to sort out my online issues, I had to eventually go into the branch. This was back in 2019. I will not dwell on…
Art is all around us
Art doesn’t have hang in a quiet gallery somewhere. Art is all around us. My city, Johannesburg, is an urban gallery and the exhibits change constantly. The purple collection is on view for a limited time only. Jacaranda trees in their short sweet season of lilac bloom and the blue Agapanthus are all bursting into…
Pretty Cat – my Angel Cat
Angels come to us in many different presence. Pretty Cat was an angel sent to me in a difficult and lonely time and we found solace in each other’s company. Our townhouse complex is home to a number of families who have cats. Once upon a time, there was a single mom with two naughty…
Jacaranda Nostalgia
One of my most favourite and almost spiritual views of all is the vista of the urban forest that is Johannesburg as experienced from the terrace of the Westcliff Hotel. The best time for a visit to the Westcliff Hotel for me is during the jacaranda season in late October. My first excursion to…
A Rose-Scented Life 