red tuesday

Yesterday was a perfect spring day in Cape Town. I took a lot of photos - I was particularly looking for things red (I'm taking part in Joanna Paterson's Treasure Conscious online writing/photography course and our prompt for the week is Splashes of Colour). This is my favourite, taken at Kalk Bay harbour:

visual chinese whispers

Justine Gordon has started a photographic chain..a game of visual chinese whispers - and this is my contribution (taken by my daughter last week at The Barnyard in Cape Town). Join in the fun and leave a comment on her post :-)

Also, go and check out my sister's new blog lucky fish - she takes great photos!

tuesday treasure

found at the roadside in Bergvliet, Cape Town, South Africa

tomorrow

197 days ago I wrote this post.

The days stretched out before me like a long flat desert road to an oasis.

But they have slipped through my fingers like crystal clear water.

And tomorrow we fly!

I love my life in New Zealand. But I also love that I can get on an aeroplane and be transported back to my life in South Africa - a life which is still there waiting for me to step back into, thanks mostly to the wonderful people that live there - the people who have known me the longest.

I will savour each sweet moment, each delicious day - allowing each one to embrace me like a hug, feeling it, enjoying it, returning it, letting it slip into the corners of my mind and heart so that I may retrieve it at a later date and enjoy it all over again.

And when it's time for me to get back on the aeroplane and fly back to Auckland, I know my beautiful life here will be waiting to welcome me home.

Life is a continual circle of hello's and goodbyes,

beginnings and endings,

looking forward and glancing back,

some things change, some things stay the same.

Tomorrow we fly!

reflections on the august break

Wow, it feels weird to be posting words again, as opposed to just uploading a photo! I really enjoyed taking part in the August Break - for me the break was more of a 'breakthrough'.

Here are some great truths which were reinforced for me during the month:

- committing publicly to a group project is a great way to gain inspiration, support and ongoing feedback

- your number one critic/fan is yourself - take note of her feedback but don't get caught up in it or put off by it!

- when you pay attention, life presents all sorts of opportunities that otherwise go unnoticed

- when you notice what is right in front of you, you realise that the answer is always staring you in the face

- photography (and/or any other form of creativity) is a great way of focusing on life as it is, and finding the beauty that is always present

- seeking beauty is a short cut to a life filled with love, appreciation and abundance since 'to appreciate' also means 'to escalate' i.e. when you appreciate what you have, you automatically attract more things to 'appreciate' :: the result - ABUNDANCE

- a month (or a year, or a lifetime) is only ever presented to you one day (and in fact, one moment) at a time - all you have to do is show up, pay attention, make a choice, and do what needs to be done

- you always do have a choice: about what to do, where to go, what to focus on, how to respond, how to live, and who to love

- you can travel to new places without leaving your home town - all you have to do is take a different route

I'm planning on continuing with this photography thing...hopefully getting a few expert tips from my dear sister when I am in Cape Town later this month (YAY!)

I've also signed up for Joanna Paterson's Treasure Conscious 8-week online course starting on 13 September - looking forward to using writing and photography to continue to explore the treasures in every day.

Happy Spring to all you Southern Hemisphere readers! Happy Autumn, if you live north of the Equator!