Sunday, April 28, 2013
Friday, April 26, 2013
Dung Rolling Beetle
I am just back from a road trip and packing to move out of South Africa.
The movers were here this morning and took everything that I wanted shipped. Now I have to sort out what I want to leave behind and what I can take with me on the plane.
In the mean time here is a dung rolling beetle ... it kind of speaks volume. I feel like a dung rolling beetle.
The movers were here this morning and took everything that I wanted shipped. Now I have to sort out what I want to leave behind and what I can take with me on the plane.
In the mean time here is a dung rolling beetle ... it kind of speaks volume. I feel like a dung rolling beetle.
Monday, April 08, 2013
Another look at the Camper
This post is for K who asked several times what the camper looked like (P. can you show K the photos.... you know who you are... I mean Parkview P. and K.).
I've posted the first two photos before but it was a long time ago, so here they are again.
This is the camper:
The outside: The window at the front is at my feet when I am in bed. it would be at my head if we were looking at the other side of the truck. The window at the back is in my "kitchen" above the sink, and on the other side it would be behind the seat at the table. The two "tubes" you see, one on the side and one at the back are the jacks so I can put the camper on its "feet", lift it and drive from underneath it if I want to take it off. But I seldom take it off. What you cannot see is that it is tightly chained to the frame of the truck, inside the box.
And the inside with the bed not even made. You can see the 3-burner stove and the sink on the left and the fridge on the right with the back of the L-shaped seat in bluein front and below it.
I am not crazy about the "decor" and I would love to redo it in serious more funky look but it was in great condition when I bought it and I am not sure that I even want to get into "renovations".
It is quite small but Ok for one person, especially since all I really do in there is sleep and sometimes make a cup of coffee. I do most of my cooking on my Coleman stove outside.
The Coleman stove is the thing sitting on the table on the left of the picture.
This is super civilized camping in a proper campground. I am pretty sure that this picture was taken at was Dry Gulch Provincial Park just south of Radium, sometime in the fall of 2011.
I've posted the first two photos before but it was a long time ago, so here they are again.
This is the camper:
The outside: The window at the front is at my feet when I am in bed. it would be at my head if we were looking at the other side of the truck. The window at the back is in my "kitchen" above the sink, and on the other side it would be behind the seat at the table. The two "tubes" you see, one on the side and one at the back are the jacks so I can put the camper on its "feet", lift it and drive from underneath it if I want to take it off. But I seldom take it off. What you cannot see is that it is tightly chained to the frame of the truck, inside the box.
And the inside with the bed not even made. You can see the 3-burner stove and the sink on the left and the fridge on the right with the back of the L-shaped seat in bluein front and below it.
I am not crazy about the "decor" and I would love to redo it in serious more funky look but it was in great condition when I bought it and I am not sure that I even want to get into "renovations".
This is super civilized camping in a proper campground. I am pretty sure that this picture was taken at was Dry Gulch Provincial Park just south of Radium, sometime in the fall of 2011.
Obama Shweshwe Fabric
Today I went downtown Jo'burg with K (we are just about becoming regulars) and I found this great fabric: a Obama shweshwe fabric.
For those who do not know: "shweshwe" refers to a particular type of South African fabric with a long history.
I had not seen this particular shweshwe before. This is not a DaGama shweshwe but a Three Dolphins Shweshwe. Here is their stamp at the back of the fabric. The same way that DaGama has their Three Cats, Three Leopards, Toto or Fancy Print at the back of theirs.
I cannot put a link for them because I cannot find them on the internet at all. I do not know who else carries Three Dolphins (which appears to be one of the labels of Dolphin Fabrics) but Smart Fabrics Tradind C. C. specializes in Dolphin Fabrics, German Prints (which is the old fashion name for shweshwe) and Bias Binding. They have five stores in Durban and two in Johannesburg, both on Market Street one at 206 Market Street, the other at 157 Market Street.
I should add that as far as the experts are concerned a Three Dolphins or a Three Elephant shweshwe is not a shweshwe but a fake. (see page 34 of this magazine for reference). They say that only DaGama produce the reall Shweshwe. I guess it is like the French "appellation controlee". I'll admit that both the fabric and the printing are much lower quality than the DaGama product but the price reflect this and DaGama as far as I know does not have a Obama print.
Just the same I love this fabric and I am very happy that I found it. I look forward to wearing it in the States and"show off".
For those who do not know: "shweshwe" refers to a particular type of South African fabric with a long history.
I had not seen this particular shweshwe before. This is not a DaGama shweshwe but a Three Dolphins Shweshwe. Here is their stamp at the back of the fabric. The same way that DaGama has their Three Cats, Three Leopards, Toto or Fancy Print at the back of theirs.
I should add that as far as the experts are concerned a Three Dolphins or a Three Elephant shweshwe is not a shweshwe but a fake. (see page 34 of this magazine for reference). They say that only DaGama produce the reall Shweshwe. I guess it is like the French "appellation controlee". I'll admit that both the fabric and the printing are much lower quality than the DaGama product but the price reflect this and DaGama as far as I know does not have a Obama print.
Just the same I love this fabric and I am very happy that I found it. I look forward to wearing it in the States and"show off".
Saturday, April 06, 2013
My bucket list
OK, so maybe I should keep track.
What I would like to do, in no specific order:
- Be a nomad. I love drifting. I cannot express how much I love aimless drifting. In a way I already do a lot of drifting, but I would like to do the "nomad" thing. I think I want the NFA (No Fixed Address) feel.
- Live for a year in the arctic. Already the first 2 contradict each other
- Try to grow my own food, or at least have a garden to grow a all bunch of my food, make preserves and the all thing. This obviously does not go well with either "nomad" or "arctic", so more contradiction.
- Go to India. This is somewhat easier ...probably even feasible.
- Go to Tibet or the Gobi Desert. Generally visit the high plateaus of Asia. This is also possibly feasible.
- Spend time by the ocean. This is also feasible but at this stage the issue becomes how much time is there really. In my mind I start to have the feeling that I need to choose if I do not want to rush through all this, and I don't.
- Do a long, very long, walk. I would love to walk and walk and walk and walk for days on end. When I was a kid I wanted to walk from France -where I was at the time- to the southern most point of India. I never figured out where that dream came from but I remember it vividly and I never really lost that dream though the final destination has become a lot less important. In fact it is somewhat irrelevant now.
I don't get many comments on this blog, which is fine, but this time maybe people (the entire 2 or 3 of you) could talk back and send me their list. I don't have to post them if you don't want me to. I am just curious.
What I would like to do, in no specific order:
- Be a nomad. I love drifting. I cannot express how much I love aimless drifting. In a way I already do a lot of drifting, but I would like to do the "nomad" thing. I think I want the NFA (No Fixed Address) feel.
- Live for a year in the arctic. Already the first 2 contradict each other
- Try to grow my own food, or at least have a garden to grow a all bunch of my food, make preserves and the all thing. This obviously does not go well with either "nomad" or "arctic", so more contradiction.
- Go to India. This is somewhat easier ...probably even feasible.
- Go to Tibet or the Gobi Desert. Generally visit the high plateaus of Asia. This is also possibly feasible.
- Spend time by the ocean. This is also feasible but at this stage the issue becomes how much time is there really. In my mind I start to have the feeling that I need to choose if I do not want to rush through all this, and I don't.
- Do a long, very long, walk. I would love to walk and walk and walk and walk for days on end. When I was a kid I wanted to walk from France -where I was at the time- to the southern most point of India. I never figured out where that dream came from but I remember it vividly and I never really lost that dream though the final destination has become a lot less important. In fact it is somewhat irrelevant now.
I don't get many comments on this blog, which is fine, but this time maybe people (the entire 2 or 3 of you) could talk back and send me their list. I don't have to post them if you don't want me to. I am just curious.
The Top 5 Regrets
First I want to say that I am OK.
For what ever reason (I think because this afternoon volunteering at the charity store sorting out the books I came across "the Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch) I was thinking about "The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying".
Also I am about to pack everything and leave South Africa. I have no obligations or even places where I have to be once I leave so I can go anywhere and do anything I want, so the "no regret" thing is very big on my mind right now. I want to make sure that I use my time well. There are so many things I would like to do but amazingly few I feel I cannot go without doing. Most of all I want to go slow. I don't want to rush through and miss everything, I want to go slow and enjoy everything instead. For me "slow" and "simple" are key...(remember I said I was OK... I am Ok!)
But this is not what this post is about. I am sure you all know the list but somehow I think it might be worth writing it again.
1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard.
3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.
You all know the story: Bronnie Ware, an Australian nurse who spent several years working in palliative care, caring for patients in the last 12 weeks of their lives recorded their dying epiphanies. This is how she came up with this list and wrote a book.
For what ever reason (I think because this afternoon volunteering at the charity store sorting out the books I came across "the Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch) I was thinking about "The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying".
Also I am about to pack everything and leave South Africa. I have no obligations or even places where I have to be once I leave so I can go anywhere and do anything I want, so the "no regret" thing is very big on my mind right now. I want to make sure that I use my time well. There are so many things I would like to do but amazingly few I feel I cannot go without doing. Most of all I want to go slow. I don't want to rush through and miss everything, I want to go slow and enjoy everything instead. For me "slow" and "simple" are key...(remember I said I was OK... I am Ok!)
But this is not what this post is about. I am sure you all know the list but somehow I think it might be worth writing it again.
1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard.
3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.
You all know the story: Bronnie Ware, an Australian nurse who spent several years working in palliative care, caring for patients in the last 12 weeks of their lives recorded their dying epiphanies. This is how she came up with this list and wrote a book.
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