Pumpys Blog

LITTLE BOX

2012-01-27T17:29:00.000+02:00

Here is the little box I made, it was good fun, now I must think of putting something in, my thinking cap is on.

180 miles per hour.

2012-01-24T16:05:00.000+02:00

22 January, 2012. Thank God for Grandchildren.

FROGS.

2012-01-22T19:59:00.000+02:00

English: This common frog Rana temporarialarva is almost completely metamorphosized. The shape of the jaw is a bit odd still, as it has changed overnight from the algae scraping trunk to the big frogs mouth. Notice the big eyes and strong legs at this stage, as well as the remnants of the gill covering that also covered the front legs. Wageningen, The Netherlands
Hopefully this pic can be changed soon by one without the spots on the window. II couldn't find other pics on commons to illustrate the awkward mouth shape in this crucial stage of development, probably because it is a very short and dramatic fase in development.
Wageningen, The Netherlands

Not a very interesting frog for you today.

HELP OUR RHINO (H.O.R.N.)

2012-01-18T13:47:00.000+02:00

A Rhino dies every 21 hours in South Africa!!

Posted by Deborah Schrenk on January 17

A happy new year to all our wonderful HORN members, hope it's been a good one for you so far!
Very sadly, it has got much worse for our dear precious rhinos.
Do you think enough humanly possible is being done for them, and if not, what could still be done and in what way would you like to be more involved?
Your input is so valued, thankyou!

Kevin Maguire has such a cool profile!

2012-01-14T13:41:00.000+02:00

Kevin Maguire has such a cool profile!

Had a moment and shared this photo with you, he is a friend of mine of Face Book and Net Log, I can understand Face Book and enjoy it, but I am buggered if I understand this Net log.

The Tokoloshe. A MUST READ.

2012-01-14T11:00:00.001+02:00

The Tokoloshe

13 November 2011, 15:43

400 years ago Africa might as well been another planet in our solar system.
We were living in peace in our thatch huts. The 10 piece of cattle were grazing under the African sky. The head of the family sat in the shade of a tree drinking beer, the wives were working the land and the kids were making clay oxen to play with.
Every man’s dream, even to this day, no matter where on this planet you might come from. It sounds like the African version of the Playboy mansion. You sit in the shade and your multiple wives work for you.
Then the Europeans arrived and laughed at our people who had no education and thought our way of life was savagery. We had to fight them with spears to survive and ultimately lost the battle. They took our land and made us their slaves. They sold us to America and we became a trading commodity.
That is, what it is. We can’t change the past. So now 400 years later, what now?
We had to learn through bloodshed that we were not a planet of another solar system. We are part of this world and in this world there are certain rules that can’t be broken if you want to have food. Whether we like these rules or not, they are a reality. We can fight them like Mugabe does but it would only result in hunger.
Too many Africans are yearning for life as we knew it back then…but they just love the white man’s BMW and Lear Jet. The donkey cart is way too primitive for their liking and the cow hides that once covered our loins are not as “cool” as a Hugo Boss suit. We are a race that conveniently wants to fall back on our traditions when it suits us.
Not everybody has the ability to be as black and white as I am, and I mean that in more than one sense. I accept and acknowledge that. But I had to ask myself where do I fit in? Do I want to go back to my ancestral land in Dundee and demand this land be given back to me so I can acquire a few wives and create my own Playboy Mansion or do I like it here in Sandton with a Blackberry?
You would be horrified if you read all the messages I get on Facebook of people swearing at me, calling me a traitor, a disgrace to all black people in South Africa and that whites are paying me to blog my views.
What they don’t know is that I have been very blessed to come from a long line of fighters that have fought from the days of the spear right up to the AK47. They fought for my freedom and as sure as this sun is going to come up tomorrow, I am not going to mess up all they have fought for.
I have to address this cultural jail that stands between my people and true freedom.
Let us look at the Tokoloshe first.
You slept with your bed raised up on a few bricks so that when the Tokoloshe comes at night, he could move freely around your room without knocking his head against any object. For those that know this superstition will know it is a small mystical hairy thing that looks like a psychotic angry little bear and catches you at night. But if he knocks his head against your bed, you are going to get this menace all over you and he has a temper like no other on earth. Stop laughing, I’m dead serious!
I haven’t seen him yet. I badly wanted to see him when I was small because while others feared him, I thought he sounded cool and wanted to befriend him. My grandmother would look at me in absolute horror when I wanted to see the Tokoloshe. She would tell my mother “Eish this child scares me”.
When my Grandfather returned from exile, he brought me a Teddy Bear from London. I looked at the Teddy and instantly knew this was the Tokoloshe I always wanted to meet. So my bear got named Tokoloshe. I got smacked a few times because I would jump on my Grandmother when she takes her afternoon nap and scare her with Tokoloshe.
But the modern new reborn Tokoloshes sit in Parliament.
Parliament…hmmmm… let us discuss running this country, being an example to the citizens and our traditions.
In a new African landscape how practical is it having multiple wives? Nice idea, being a man. Come on you guys reading this, admit it!
But 20 children? Not so good because if I see what my university education and all the sundry trimmings are costing my father I would hate to think he had to make 20 of us. He would need to join the bank robbers to keep us at university.
My mother didn’t come cheap either, so he would have had to start stealing cattle from the white farmers if he wanted more wives. She cost him 40 head of cattle back in the 80’s. But wow, was she worth every cow! You should see her today in her Chanel dress …but 5 of them?
That is the humorous side of our tradition, but the more serious side is the following reality. There are only two of us and not twenty. So from my first breath my father has been there every step of my way thus far. We are his life and the reason he works this hard. He has spent every moment available guiding me into manhood (without sending me to a bush so some traditional butcher can slaughter my stuff beyond repair) How, as a father will you possibly find the time to devout this kind of attention to 20 kids? I don’t even want to think what life would have been like without my father. Unthinkable.
But what would I have been, if my father happily cavorted around claiming it is his culture and tradition?
I probably would have been marching with Malema on the road to nowhere and my father would have been dead by now. I would be visiting a graveyard and trying to find life’s answers from a stone. Back in the 80’s when he married my mother us blacks haven’t heard of HIV/Aids and those enlightened ones that did know about it, thought it was a homosexual disease.
So unbeknown to us we were killing ourselves. Merrily living out the principles of our tradition, not knowing we are committing suicide and resulting in 2 Million orphans just in South Africa alone, let alone the rest of Africa.
Wouldn’t this be a far more worthy cause to march about than march to get stuff you deliriously think should be given to you for free?
Imagine what must be going through the mind of a 4 year old kid, who is left all alone tonight, with nobody to take care of him or her? None of these orphaned kids asked to be here, so imagine how a child has to try and make sense of all of this?
So why do I still have my parents? Because my father knew he can’t run around making babies that he can’t provide for. He had to think soberly about life with a new millennium looming. He had us because he wanted us. We were to become his legacy. We weren’t conceived in a moment of uncontrolled lust or in the name of an outdated tradition.
We won’t discuss the merits of the social grant for mothers with kids and absent fathers but alarmingly condoms are still very unpopular accessories amongst the population of Africa. Until recently we had that scary old Bat as a minister of health. Tokolosh personified. Beetroot juice and cabbage leaves will cure the disease, while the Chief would shower after a bit of inyama.
What did my father do 7 years ago when I reached puberty? He sat me down and told me the facts and how it all happens. Every time I leave the house he jokingly says he will draw blood when I return and have me tested. He jokes, but it has sunk in so deep now, I think about the consequences every time I see a gorgeous girl.
What do my people do? Until recently it was better swept under the table than discuss the matter. It became unlawful to state a person has died of AIDS on his death certificate. How big is this denial?
Please don’t make a comment after you have read this and tell me this disease was invented by the Apartheid rulers to wipe us out. I’m not even going to discuss that old stale story! And speaking about Apartheid, get over it. It has no relevance in 2011. Dead, gone, born 31-05-1961 and was executed on 27-04-1994. Our ultimate justification for everything that we do wrong can’t come back so we can stone it.
The most bizarre superstition was invented to “cure” the disease. Rape a girl and it goes away. By girl, I mean little ones that had to helpless have their lives taken from them without their consent. Grown men believing in rubbish like this. How in the name of God can you possibly justify this, no matter what your traditions or beliefs are?
We have now for far too long shrugged our shoulders and hid behind our traditions on the one hand and on the other we want to sit at the UN and pretend we have the wisdom to help decide the fate of other countries. In this world we need to merge with, you have:
1. One wife. You sleep around, you die.
2. You have more kids than you can provide for, they starve and when they grow up they will steal to survive because you didn’t have enough money to send them to a decent school. The government schools are a complete waste of time because the teachers are never in class.
3. You can’t sell or trade with your daughters. They are not consumer goods.
4. You study or qualify as an artisan so you can earn your own keep and build your own house. There isn’t enough money going around building 40 Million free houses. You can wait until the sun burns itself out, it is not going to happen. So live with it.
5. Forget the white man’s wealth. It has long gone been transferred to Sydney. There isn’t any left here. Create your own. Forget about redistribution. Use your logic. The wealth of 5 Million whites was never going to send 45 Million blacks into a blissful retirement. The white wealth Malema cries about daily, was only in the hands of a few whites.
So until we move ourselves forward and merge ourselves with the world, we will remain primitive. 17 Years after independence you don’t dance from Beyers Naude to the stock exchange and have foreign journalists film your insanity in the name of freedom. We were freed 17 years ago, embrace it and use your freedom to trade with the world, not crash your own stock market.
We can march up to the Union Buildings until the cows come home. We are not going to move ourselves forward until we free ourselves from ourselves!

TURTLE THREATS - Click here to go to Web site.

2012-01-12T17:21:00.000+02:00

Global Warming

The effects of global warming (also known as "climate change") will have enormous impacts on sea turtles and other wildlife. The rate of global warming far exceeds the abilities of animals to adapt naturally to such dramatic environmental changes. These changes are predicted to cause the extinction of many species over the next few decades.

Sea level rise from the melting of polar ice is already contributing to the loss of beach and sea turtle nesting habitat. Weather extremes, also linked to climate change, mean more frequent and severe storms which alter nesting beaches, cause beach erosion, and inundate, or flood sea turtle nests. Hotter sand from increasing temperatures results in decreased hatching rates or complete nest failure. Increased sand temperatures also affect hatchlings by altering natural sex ratios, with hotter temperatures producing more female hatchlings.

Sea turtles use ocean currents to travel and find prey. Warming ocean temperatures influence migratory species by altering currents and impacting the distribution and abundance of prey species. This can result in southerly species being found in more northerly regions, well outside of their normal range. Warmer water temperatures also affect coral reefs through coral bleaching which are vital to the survival of species like the hawksbill.

Did You Know?

Human activities which release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, like the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, are the primary contributor to warming. Deforestation is also a major source of greenhouse gases.
Scientists predict that it could result in 20-30% of the Earth’s plant and animal species going extinct by 2050.
The top emitting countries in order are China, the US, Russia, India, and Japan. However, the per capita emissions of the US is 5 times higher than China and 20 times higher than India. See the Union of Concerned Scientists website for more information about global greenhouse gas emissions.
Trees take in carbon dioxide during photosynthesis which counteracts global warming. The more trees we have on the planet, the more carbon dioxide that is absorbed by them. The oceans also act as a “carbon sink”. Approximately a third of all human related greenhouse gas emissions are absorbed by the oceans.
There are simple, everyday things you can do to take action. For more information see the Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Guide-What You Can Do.

What is SEE Turtles?

We're a non-profit project that connects travelers and volunteers with sea turtle conservation projects in places that most need the support. Visit our homepage to learn how you can participate.

Links & Resources

Blogobo.com - The best photos of 2011 through the microscope of National Geographic!

2012-01-12T15:01:00.000+02:00

Blogobo.com - The best photos of 2011 through the microscope of National Geographic!

MARRIED OR NOT - Must Read.

2012-01-12T14:47:00.000+02:00

When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I’ ve got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes. Suddenly I didn’t know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce. I raised the topic calmly. She didn’t seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why? I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we didn’t talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Jane. I didn’t love her anymore. I just pitied her! With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company. She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Jane so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now. The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn’t have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Jane. When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again. In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn’t want anything from me, but needed a month’s notice before the divorce. She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month’s time and she didn’t want to disrupt him with our broken marriage. This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day. She requested that every day for the month’s duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request. I told Jane about my wife’s divorce conditions. . She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully. My wife and I hadn’t had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mommy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don’t tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office. On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn’t looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her. On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me. On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn’t tell Jane about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger. She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily. Suddenly it hit me… she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head. Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it’s time to carry mom out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day. But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn’t noticed that our life lacked intimacy. I drove to office…. jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind…I walked upstairs. Jane opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Jane, I do not want the divorce anymore. She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Jane, I said, I won’t divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn’t value the details of our lives, not because we didn’t love each other anymore. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart. Jane seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away. At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote, I’ll carry you out every morning until death do us apart. That evening I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I ran up stairs, only to find my wife in the bed -dead. My wife had been fighting CANCER for months and I was too busy with Jane to even notice. She knew that she would die soon and she wanted to save me from whatever negative reaction it would have on our son, in case we pushed through with the divorce. —At least, in the eyes of our son—-I’m a loving husband…. THE SMALL DETAILS OF YOUR LIVES ARE WHAT REALLY MATTER IN A RELATIONSHIP. "IT'S NOT" the Mansion or House, the Car, Property, the Money in the bank. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves. So find time to be your spouse’s friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage! If you don’t share this, nothing will happen to you. If you do, you just might save a marriage. Most of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up... YOU DON'T REALIZE WHAT YOU HAVE UNTIL IT’S GONE!! ***PLEASE RE-POST & PASS THIS ON

I snagged this from a Face Book friend Cher Blundell.

TODDLERS

2012-01-12T11:22:00.000+02:00

Here are some very good ideas for helping yourself along with your toddlers, go and have a look. Just click the title.

FROGS

2012-01-11T18:05:00.000+02:00

I thought we would be a bit different this year, I will see what I can find out about frogs. Our family love frogs, we have a sign on the back of the car 'CAUTION: WE STOP FOR FROGS.'

So this is the first frog I chose for you to examine:

Blue Poison Arrow Frog (Dendrobates azureus) One of the largest poison arrow frogs, up to 2" long, this frog is found only in a single partially wooded savannah region of Surinam. It was discovered in 1969. A spawning frog lays just 4-6 eggs under leaves by a pool. Fortunately, these rare frogs have been successfully bred in captivity.

Now that was interesting, look for more enlightenment on Frogs.

FIRST CARD 2012

2012-01-10T13:28:00.001+02:00

I got this template from Doing Life it is called a Side-Step-Template.

Hope you like the card.

JOKE FOR YOU.

2012-01-09T09:40:00.000+02:00

One day a mom who had three sons had a birthday. Each son wanted to get her the best gift ever, so they all went shopping. Her first son buys her a really fancy car. The second son buys her a really huge house. The third son went to talk to the priest. He talked with them for a while about a parrot that was trained to say the whole Bible. The priests said that it would cost a ton of money, but the son agreed that it was worth it to pay one million dollars every year for his mom to own the parrot. Later the mom was writing thank you cards. To her first son she wrote, "Thank you so much for the great car, but I'm too old to drive." To her second she wrote, "Thank you for the great house, but it would take a century to clean and I don't need that much space." To her third son she wrote, "O...my dear...dear son, that was delicious chicken."

One Recipe Daily.

2012-01-09T09:26:00.000+02:00

Baked Zucchini with Seasoned Bread Crumbs from Eric Ripert’s ‘Avec Eric, a Culinary Journey with Eric Ripert’

Ripert, chef of the famed New York restaurant Le Bernardin and author of On the Line, takes readers on a culinary journey from Italy to California in this companion piece to his PBS series of the same name. Ripert aims to share how his cultural adventures spark the creative process.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup basil leaves

1/2 cup Italian parsley leaves

2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves

1 garlic clove, thinly sliced

1/2 cup dried bread crumbs

1/4 cup water

Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

4 small zucchini, cut in half lengthwise

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°. Combine the olive oil, basil, parsley, oregano and garlic in a food processor and blend well. Add the bread crumbs and water and blend to create a smooth paste. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Arrange the zucchini halves in a 12- by 9-inch gratin dish. Season the zucchini with salt and pepper, and spread a thin layer of the bread crumb mixture over the zucchini. Bake until the zucchini are tender and the crust is golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.

I receive a recipe from One Recipe Daily, thought I would share this one with you, go and have a look and subscribe. I hope I am allowed to do this.!!!!

BERNINA ATRISTA.

2012-01-05T12:34:00.001+02:00

I want to sell my Bernina Artista, Embrodiery sewing machine, including a special pulling cases. The Machine is in very good condition, the only reason I am selling, getting tired of sewing. Good offer, Randburg Area. R15000.00

Contact Pam 083 308 5233

_________________________
I added cool smileys to this message... if you don't see them go to: http://s.exps.me

GODS WIFE.

2012-01-03T13:34:00.003+02:00

Priceless!

GOD'S WIFE
IT WILL KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF

I especially liked number 5!

Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once
Talked about a contest he was asked to judge.
The purpose of the
Contest was to find the most caring child.

The winner was:

1. A four-year-old child, whose next door
neighbor was an elderly gentleman, who had recently lost = his
wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old
Gentleman's' yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.
When his mother asked him what he had
said to the neighbor, the little boy just said, 'Nothing, I just
Helped him cry.'

*********************************************

2. Teacher Debbie Moon's first graders were
discussing a picture of a family. One little boy in the picture
had a different hair color than the other members. One of her
students suggested that he was adopted.
A little girl said, 'I know all about
Adoption, I was adopted..'

'What does it mean to be adopted?', asked
another child.

'It means', said the girl, 'that you grew
in your mommy's heart instead of her tummy!'

************************ *********************

3. On my way home one day, I stopped to
watch a Little League baseball game that was being played in a
park near my home. As I sat down behind the bench on the first-
base line, I asked one of the boys what the score was
'We're behind 14 to nothing,' he answered
With a smile.

'Really,' I said. 'I have to say you
don't look very discouraged.'

'Discouraged?', the boy asked with a
Puzzled look on his face...

'Why should we be discouraged? We haven't
Been up to bat yet.'

*********************** **********************

4. Whenever I'm disappointed with my spot
in life, I stop and think about little Jamie Scott.

Jamie was trying out for a part in the
school play. His mother told me that he'd set his heart on being
in it, though she feared he would not be chosen..

On the day the parts were awarded, I went
with her to collect him after school. Jamie rushed up to her,
eyes shining with pride and excitement.. 'Guess what, Mom,' he
shouted, and then said those words that will remain a lesson to
me....'I've been chosen to clap and cheer.'

*********************************************

5. An eye witness account from New York
City , on a cold day in December,
some years ago: A little boy,
about 10-years-old, was standing before a shoe store on the
roadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering
With cold.

A lady approached the young boy and said,
'My, but you're in such deep thought staring in that window!'

'I was asking God to give me a pair of
shoes,'was the boy's reply.

The lady took him by the hand, went into
the store, and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks
for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water
and a towel. He quickly brought them to her.

She took the little fellow to the back
part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed
his little feet, and dried them with the towel.

By this time, the clerk had returned with
the socks.. Placing a pair upon the boy's feet, she purchased him
a pair of shoes..

She tied up the remaining pairs of socks
and gave them to him.. She patted him on the head and said, 'No
doubt, you will be more comfortable now..'

As she turned to go, the astonished kid
caught her by the hand, and looking up into her face, with tears
in his eyes, asked her.
'Are you God's wife?'

*********************************************

Hope you enjoyed this, out of the mouths of babes. This was an e mail I received had to share.

2012

2011-12-31T18:27:00.001+02:00

WELL IT IS NEARLY HERE - 2012

One way an another it has not been a good year for us, and for many of our friends and family. Many of our friends have left us most of them young, it is so sad, I know we all have to go through the sad times in life. We offer comfort those who need our love, and know that God has a special place for them. RIP our dear ones and yours (the reader)
We are having a divorce in the family, the stress and crying is not easy, one child involved, and we love him so, hope they can be friends for his sake and let time heal. There is always two sides to a story, a pity it cannot be worked out, but I suppose if it is not possible then it is not going to happen.
Let us treasure our memories old and new and remember our loved ones - old and new........
Let us face the future with love and peace in our hearts, and pray for the world, so much prayer is needed.
Love thy neighbor.

NEW YEAR

The New Year lies before you
Like a spotless tract of snow
Be careful how you tread on it
For every mark will show.

Another year is dawning
Dear Master, let it be,
on earth, or else in heaven
Another year for thee.

(unknown)

For all my friends who come and visit, may you be richly blessed, with love, happiness and good health.

I hope I do not sound like a goody, goody, cause I am not, just trying to be normal !!!!!

CHRISTMAS - The Season.

2011-12-28T16:00:00.001+02:00

We all had fun, as I hope you all did, Cassidy grew some Christmas Cracker teeth, and Lee was looking after the baby for a while, boys must get practice as well, before they go out and play cricket. Usually we have visitors as well but this year it was only the family, and it was great, playing and being with the children big and small. Love to you all.

MERRY CHIRISTMAS

2011-12-24T18:27:00.000+02:00

To all my friends, followers and visitors, I love you all and wish you a very Merry Christmas.
Let there be peace on Earth this year, love one another and lets try and be tolorant to each other, we are not by no means perfect, each one of us.

Happy Birthday Jesus, we love you and know the reason for the season.

Drink....eat!!!: Find your eBook

2011-12-24T15:57:00.002+02:00

Drink....eat!!!: Find your eBook

I am going to go here as soon as Christmas is over, and get myself some nice recipe books, for my Kindle, also trying to find some Card and Scrapbook magazines.
I often wonder what my parents who have been gone for many years now, would think if they came back for 1 day and saw what wonders have been invented.
I am talking about good stuff now, as to the rest of what is going on in the world, my goodness, that would be unenforceable
.

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

2011-12-22T10:37:00.000+02:00

There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me. What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas?

This week, I found out.

From 1558 until 1829, Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.

-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.

-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.

-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.-

-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.

-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.

-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.

-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.

-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.

-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.

-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.

-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of the Apostles' Creed.

I had heard or read this somewhere before, but had forgotten, until I saw it again.

CHRISTMAS TREE 2011

2011-12-16T18:28:00.000+02:00

Christmas time is time to have family, friends and fun, one thing we love doing to decorating the tree with the children, our two darling, they are getting big now, We will always treasure these memories of them. This year is sad for us as Shirley is divorcing Gordon, so little Lee cannot be feeling that great, as are we all, but will try our best to make it a good and Merry Christmas for all. Please Bless the little ones Lord and keep them safe and followers of good all the days of their lives.

R.I.P. MARJO.

2011-12-13T14:41:00.001+02:00

Bye my friend, so devastated that you have left us R.I.P.

I will miss that friendly face and the laughs we used to have, if there is wine in heaven we will share a bottle when I get there. xxxxxx

Our sympathy to your family.

Poacher caught after Kruger shoot out

2011-12-13T10:29:00.000+02:00

Poacher caught after Kruger shoot out: A suspected rhino poacher has been arrested in the Kruger National Park after a shoot-out with rangers and soldiers, SANParks says

MUFFINS - VERY GOOD.

2011-12-13T10:21:00.002+02:00

MUFFINS (FAT FREE)

by Desire Fourie

1½ Cups Nutty Wheat Flour
1½ Cups Oat Bran
1½ Cups Brown Sugar {Huletts Caramel Sugar}
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Bicarb
2 Cups Buttermilk or 500ml Fat Free Yogurt

{Fabulite's Fat Free Yogurt - Blackberry or Strawberry Flovours}
1 Cup Mixed Fruit {Safari's Cake Mix}
1 Mashed Banana (optional)

1. Mix dry ingredients.
2. Add buttermilk or yogurt to make a soft batter.
3. Bake in muffin pans or mini bread loaf tins at 180 for approx 30 minutes in normal
muffin pans or 40to 45 minutes in mini bread loaf tins, till golden brown.

Muffins keep
for about 3 days – and can be frozen.
Defrost in microwave
Serve with fat free cottage/cream cheese and jam or Woolies Slimmers Chees

LIGHT FRUIT CAKE

2011-12-12T15:34:00.000+02:00

250 gr. Mixed Fruit
1 Cup hot black tea
Pour over the fruit and allow to stand for 1 hour.

2Cups Self raising flour
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil (half cup)
salt
Mix together.
Bake in a loaf pan 325 or 140 for 2 1/2 hours.

Very nice and extremely easy.

CHRISTMAS

2011-12-12T15:13:00.000+02:00

(¯`v´¯) Christmas history - customs and traditions ¸.✿´´¯`•.¸¸. ི♥ྀ
`.¸..♥.✿´´¯`•.¸⁀° Christmas Stockings ¸.✿´´¯`•.¸¸. ི♥ྀ
A long time ago (in about the 4th century) it was said that Saint Nicholas (now called Santa Claus) threw 3 bags of coins down the chimney of the home of 3 very poor sisters. Each of the bags landed inside the 3 stockings left hanging from the mantelpiece to dry by the fire by the sisters on Christmas Eve.
It has been a tradition now for many hundreds of years to hang stockings there in the hope that we may have the same good fortune. To find out more about our Christmas customs, visit:

http://www.myangelcardreadings.com/christmastraditional

MG Silhouette Prize Package

2011-12-08T12:26:00.000+02:00

MG Silhouette Prize Package

BALLET.

2011-12-07T11:23:00.001+02:00

Our girl doing her Ballet, we enjoyed it, but what a noisy affair, all talking together. They also loved doing the dancing little things she was teaching them like picking up shells and putting them in a bucket and the little hands should be looking like a Ballerina's all graceful and elegant, anything else!!!!
The top page I Scrap booked it with a kit called ldw_ Poppyfields.

ADVENT CALENDERS

2011-12-05T17:19:00.000+02:00

I made two of these one for Lee and one for Cassidy, I made them out of match boxes covered in scrapbook paper one row at a time then stuck them all together, covered the little box drawers and numbered them, in I popped a little treat.

I enjoyed doing them but next year must start a long way ahead of time, got them done just in time for the 1 Dec.

MUST HAVE FOR CHRISTMAS.

2011-11-22T14:18:00.000+02:00

Gordon made this, it is quite long can be worn chain hanging at the back or half and half, chain and beads in front., all the fitting are silver. Please leave a comment if you would like to buy this. Do not know how to set it up properly. Price R400.00 plus postage.
Or e mail me at pamk@hot.co.za. The flower on the top on is not silver.

FUN FOR THE DAY.

2011-11-21T17:08:00.001+02:00

A man walked into a bar......ouch!

Why are movie stars so cool. A. Because they have so many fans.

Silly old me.

KEY RINGS, HANDBAG CHARMS

2011-11-19T11:08:00.001+02:00

If you would really like to own one of these please e mail me

pamk@hot.co.za and I will send you a Pay Pal Invoice. They cost R60.00 each plus postage. I have many more, I do not know how else to sell them.

Hope I have enough to meet the demand!

Love you all especially if you do a bit of shopping with me!!! xxxx

Brie Mashed Potatoes

2011-11-19T10:28:00.000+02:00

Brie Mashed Potatoes

I really think that this sounds very good and something I would never have thought of. I am going to give it a good try.
Hope you people hop over and look at the recipe. xxxx

THANKS GIVING 2011

2011-11-18T15:57:00.000+02:00

To all my American friends who come blog walking around here, I wish you a very happy Thanksgiving.

RECORD RHINO HORN

2011-11-17T14:49:00.001+02:00

Taken from the Citizen Wed. 16 Nov. 2011.

HONG KONG custom officers have seized a record haul of 33 rhino horns along with ivory chopsticks and bracelets hidden inside a container shipped from South Africa, officials said.
Officders found the horns and 758 ivory chopsticks and 127 Ivory bracelets in a haul worth a total of about R18 million (HK$17,4 million) when searching a container declared to contain "scrap Plastic" on Monday.
SeniorCustoms officials Lam Takfai told RTHK radio the horns were carefully wrapped in multiple layers of materials and hidden in the rear of a container.
Lam said rhino horns have been siezed in Hong Kong in the past but never in such a large quantities.
Conservation group and World Wildlife Fund said that this month that rhino poaching in SA had hit a record high, with 341 of the animals lost to poachers so far this year as black-market demand for their horns soars.
Officials blame the poaching surge on organized crime syndicates selling rhino horn for use in Asian medicinal treatments, especially in Vietnam. The United Nations wildlife trade regulator has called for stiffer penalties for poacher, with the price of a horn per kilo fetching around R187 8855.00.
Under Hong Kong law, anyone found guilty of importing endangered species for commercial purposes is liable to a fine of HK$ 5 million, and two years in prison

PARABLE

2011-11-14T14:04:00.000+02:00

The parable is worth sharing. But have you ever seen a baby porcupine?!
I would pass it along just for this!

Fable of the porcupine It was the coldest winter ever. Many animals died because of the cold. The porcupines, realizing the situation,
decided to group together to keep warm. This way they covered and protected themselves; but the quills of each one
wounded their closest companions. After awhile, they decided to distance themselves one from the other and
they began to die, alone and frozen. So they had to make a choice: either accept the quills of their companions or
disappear from the Earth. Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. They learned to live with the little wounds
caused by the close relationship with their companions in order to receive the warmth that came from the others.
This way they were able to survive. Moral of the story: The best relationship is not the one that brings together
perfect people, but when each individual learns to live with the imperfections of others and can admire the other
person's good qualities.

OUR GIRL.

2011-11-14T09:13:00.000+02:00

Our Darling Cassidy, Pink hair and all.

BRAIN TEST

2011-11-12T10:09:00.000+02:00

The following was developed as a mental age assessment by the School of Psychiatry at Harvard University .. Take your time and see if you can read each line aloud without a mistake. The average person over 45 years of age cannot do it!

1.This is this cat.
2. This is is cat.
3. This is how cat.
... 4. This is to cat.
5. This is keep cat.
6. This is an cat.
7. This is old cat.
8. This is fart cat.
9. This is busy cat.
10. This is for cat.
11. This is forty cat.
12. This is seconds cat.

Now go back and read the third word in each line from the top down.
I bet you cannot resist passing it on..

CHRISTMAS CARDS

2011-11-11T15:15:00.001+02:00

Slowly but surley, I am getting there, lets see if we get there in time. I really take a long time to think and DESIGN!
I think my photography needs a bit of work.

THE GREEN THING

2011-11-10T11:54:00.001+02:00

In the line at the supermarket, the cashier told an older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.
The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day."

The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment."
He was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.
Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the shop or off licence. They sent them back to the plant to be washed, sterilized and refilled and re-used. So it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.
But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.
We walked up stairs, because we didn't have lifts and escalators in every shop and office building.

We walked to the local shops and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go to a supermarket.

We bought fruit and veg loose - and washed them at home. We didn't have to throw away bins full of plastic, foam and paper packaging that need huge recycling plants fed by monster trucks all day, everyday.

Back then, we washed the baby's nappies because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry the clothes.

Kids got hand-me-down (mostly hand made or hand knitted) clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing shipped from the other side of the planet.

But that old lady is right; we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Back then shops repaired things with funny things called spare parts - we didn't need to throw whole items away because a small part failed.
Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of Wales.

In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us.

When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn petrol just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power and hand clippers for the hedges.

We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a brightly lit, air conditioned health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity and then drink millions of bottles of that special water from those plastic bottles.
But she's right; we didn't have the green thing back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a plastic cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water.

We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new plastic pen, and we replaced blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole plastic razor just because the blade got dull.
But we didn't have the green thing back then.
Back then, people took the bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their parents into a 24-hour taxi service.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?

Texas Doorway

2011-11-10T08:44:00.001+02:00

Texas Doorway, a photo by the Gallopping Geezer on Flickr.

VERY TRUE.

2011-11-09T10:13:00.000+02:00

POPPY - REMEMBERANCE

2011-11-09T09:58:00.000+02:00

WHY THE POPPY

The poppy has a long association with Remembrance Day. But how did the distinctive red flower become such a potent symbol of our remembrance of the sacrifices made in past wars?
Scarlet corn poppies (popaver rhoeas) grow naturally in conditions of disturbed earth throughout Western Europe. The destruction brought by the Napoleonic wars of the early 19th Century transformed bare land into fields of blood red poppies, growing around the bodies of the fallen soldiers.
In late 1914, the fields of Northern France and Flanders were once again ripped open as World War One raged through Europe's heart. Once the conflict was over the poppy was one of the only plants to grow on the otherwise barren battlefields.
The significance of the poppy as a lasting memorial symbol to the fallen was realised by the Canadian surgeon John McCrae in his poem In Flanders Fields. The poppy came to represent the immeasurable sacrifice made by his comrades and quickly became a lasting memorial to those who died in World War One and later conflicts. It was adopted by The Royal British Legion as the symbol for their Poppy Appeal, in aid of those serving in the British Armed Forces, after its formation in 1921.

2011 is The Royal British Legion's 90th anniversary but this year is doubly special - because it is a once-in-a-lifetime Remembrance Day.
At 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month in 2011 - 11-11-11-11 - we will be remembering those who were willing to lay down their lives for their country.

To all who fought and died and still doing. We remember and Thank you.

CHRISTMAS CARDS.

2011-11-08T15:29:00.000+02:00

Here they are my first two, I do hope that they get a bit more pro. looking, when I get into the swing.

MY THREE BOYS.

2011-11-05T16:36:00.001+02:00

Here are my 3 best boys, looking now how much Gordon and his Dad look alike, one does not notice this until you look !!!! . Our little big boy is 9 now.

EMBRODIERY

2011-10-30T16:35:00.000+02:00

I made this handbag a few years ago, then I lost it could not find it anywhere, the otherday, I was ploughing through my junk and whooooie I found it. So happy.

MY FRIEND GUNDI

2011-10-30T15:43:00.000+02:00

As you know we were in Cape Town recently, we only go there to meet our friends of many years, I do not like to say old friends!!!
Well to cut a long story short, I was rude and nasty to my very good and old friend Gundi, I know she must be hurt and cross, never wanting to see me again. That is why I am making this public appology so she will know that I am really sorry, I do not know why I can be so bloody nasty at times it just pops out, like the devil is in me, no excuse.

I really love you both.
If you do not want to see me again I will understand, and be very sorry.
xxxxxx

SUNDAY CHICKEN

2011-10-29T16:11:00.000+02:00

5-6 Boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 (300 ml) can French onion soup.

Place chicken in a greased 23 x 22 cm baking dish
In a saucepan, combine the sour cream soy sauce and soup, heat just enough to mix well. Pour over chicken breasts.
Bake covered at 180 C for 55 minutes.

LEKKER EET - ENJOY.

I spent many a year cooking and entertaining, loving every minute of it, but now I am so lazy, this chicken dish does me just well. xx

END OF OCTOBER

2011-10-29T14:38:00.001+02:00

Hi my friends, I am still looking for followers and visitors, but I think that I must jack this blog up a bit. Any ideas.
Last week I spend many hours setting up another blog, for recipes it took me a long time and to day I decided to delete it. So if anyone had a great recipe to share, please e mail it to me at pamk@hot.co.za. Then I will post it on this silly old blog. Last week Gordon (my son) and I made a lot of beading jewellery to sell at a school fete, having phoned him a minute ago one necklace was sold. Poor man is battling, he has no job as many people suffer the same predicament. He is a Gold Smith and make wonderful precious jewellery, so we thought we would do this fete. But to no avail.
Next week I am going to do all my Christmas goodies, I love making Christmas decorations and been making my own cards for many years. My Face Book friends who make some wonderful Cards have helped me a lot of which I am very grateful.
I have trouble with this PC. the fan has gone, so must I before it gets to hot and closes down. Bye for now.

WORD TO THINK ABOUT.

2011-10-23T14:44:00.001+02:00

Lesson for Today.

2011-10-19T16:55:00.001+02:00

And now... today's life lesson:

I've learned that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everyone off is a piece of cake.

EATING AGAIN

2011-10-16T11:17:00.005+02:00

Here we are eating again. In Sommerset West with our friends we have know them for years and always meet with them for a lunch some glasses of the best Red wine and off we go again. I am supposed to be on a weight loss programme, I call it a bloody diet.
The Resturant was high up in Sommerset West overlooking the bay, but the day was a bit hazy, took a photos any way. That is all of us at the top and the other one is Yvonne Smit and Jim his wife was feeing poorly, But we are off again tomorrow then see them all for this year and Jim's wife will be there. Await some more boring photos and details.
-------------

WHALE - WESTERN CAPE

2011-10-15T18:52:00.005+02:00

At last we saw a whale, close up. The sun is shining so maybe they came out for it. This was at Sunnycove Bay, in False bay.
The photo is not all that wonderful, but hold thumbs in the next 3 days we will get a better shot.

The other photo is of our very good friend of many years, Mandy, me and Mandy's Mom Shiela.

LAZY LAZY BLOGGER

2011-10-14T19:22:00.003+02:00

I will tell you friend, a lazy blogger is one that gives links to other blogs, but the links are good I liked the recipes, very much and then the Digital scrap page, I loved and must get myself going again. Have not made a single Christmas card yet. My friends want home made cards, even though they may not be all that wonderful.
Tony and I are in the Cape at the moment, a little place called Fish Hoek, on False Bay, where Seal Island is, where the Great Whites come and feed, a lot of them in the bay, people are always swimming here, but a few weeks ago a chap from the UK was attacked by one and he lost a leg and maybe the other one is in a grave way. They blow a siren to warn people that sharks are nearby, by I believe he did not head the warning. We are near that beach and hear the siren going about 3 to 5 times a day. The Southern Right Whales are here as well they come every year this time, but not many are jumping about, as they usually do, so I do not know where they are maybe will see some in the next few days, we are going home on Wednesday the 19 October.
Will come back tomorrow. So please come back and see if we have seen Whales or indeed a Shark!!!

Layout Of The Day: Moments to Remember

2011-10-14T19:03:00.001+02:00

Layout Of The Day: Moments to Remember

Crock Pot Normandy Pork With Apples, Shallots & Cider

2011-10-12T17:08:00.000+02:00

Crock Pot Normandy Pork With Apples, Shallots & Cider

You can see what I have been doing to-day, making myself hungry!!! This recipe also sounds good, and I love slow cooked things cause it can be done long before and we can relax.

Beetroot Soup

2011-10-12T14:59:00.002+02:00

Beetroot Soup

This sounds as though it would be delicious. I am going to give it a try.
For us who do not know, click on Beetroot Soup and go the the link.
Please Enjoy. xxx

GORDON'S BIRTHDAY

2011-10-09T16:20:00.004+02:00

We spent his Birthday weekend at the farm, it was great. Here are a few photos:

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