M Photography

“Jason scratched his head.”You named him Festus? You know that in Latin, ‘Festus’ means ‘happy’? You want us to ride off to save the world on Happy the Dragon?” Rick Riordan, The Lost Hero My nephew and his wife are expecting their first child, my first grand-nephew and my parent’s first great-grandchild, the excitement is palpable and conversations naturally centre on this forthcoming event. My nephew lives abroad and my parents are very cu...

This is a back-to-front letter. Your Mom has celebrated her birthday, we've pampered our Dads, you've turned one and I've got a few more grey hairs. The mountains are covered in snow but the sun still shines warmly on our backs. Landmarks flash past as the year speeds up, typically all we do is go with the flow, seldom stopping to enjoy the ride. Let's get you on a time machine, imagine your letter delivered by hand, the content will be a little outdated. It's taken a long time to write…

On a fine Friday afternoon we were all packed and really excited to set off on our 5 day road trip from the southern tip of South Africa to the most northern border of Zimbabwe where our journey would end on the banks of the mighty Zambezi. Our first stop would be Matjiesfontein. We arrived at the Lord Milner Hotel shortly before sunset and settled ourselves with a sundowner in the atmospheric bar, nicely cozy with a roaring fire in the grate. We were entertained by the honkey tonk tunes…

I am so excited. I made my own butter! It was simple to make and I can’t imagine why everyone doesn’t do it too. Since most people are Banting or following Tim Noakes and his full dairy revolution cream and butter have become quite expensive. A liter of cream still costs much less than 500g of butter. On a long road trip into the bundus, like we’re planning on doing, food supplies will be limited and we thought we’d probably find plenty of rich, creamy milk in most villag...

The countdown has begun only seven sleepies to go! If the dining room is anything to go by we’re going to need a pantechnican to get us to Tofo. There's no doubt we're all fatigued at this time of the year, although it’s gone like a flash, and the year is just a memory we’ve all had our highlights, disappointments, hardships and stresses. We've had a brilliant year of travelling so I'm not really complaining but.... when Eskom, our power supplier goes on the blink and does a ...

My new favourite quote, especially when my tiara slips fractionally. Yes! Sometimes it takes a change of heart, a change of attitude and courage to be in control of our minds and emotions. It’s unlikely that we all wake up each morning and feel on top of the world. Years ago someone said “the woman of the house determines the atmosphere”, it would be more comfortable to ignore that statement, but, I’ve found it to be true. I certainly set the tone and my family liven thin...

My new favourite quote, especially when my tiara slips fractionally. Yes! Sometimes it takes a change of heart, a change of attitude and courage to be in control of our minds and emotions. It’s unlikely that we all wake up each morning and feel on top of the world. Years ago someone said “the woman of the house determines the atmosphere”, it would be more comfortable to ignore that statement, but, I’ve found it to be true. I certainly set the tone and my family liven thin...

My new favourite quote, especially when my tiara slips fractionally. Yes! Sometimes it takes a change of heart, a change of attitude and courage to be in control of our minds and emotions. It’s unlikely that we all wake up each morning and feel on top of the world. Years ago someone said “the woman of the house determines the atmosphere”, it would be more comfortable to ignore that statement, but, I’ve found it to be true. I certainly set the tone and my family liven thin...

There is nothing amusing about two middle-aged couples in a hire car. You have the driver, co-pilots and backseat drivers. All experienced, experts, who think driving on the “wrong side” of the road is a walk in the park. And then you have the GPS. An unfortunate woman with a posh accent. Who, according to the male passengers knows bugger all. A woman who delights in leading one on a wild goose-chase with the sole intention of getting you lost? Oh! And ours was Italian. Cor blimey it...

Children are resilient, so is the child in me. Circumstances change, I’ll adapt. Nothing is impossible, my mind renews like shedding skin. I’ve wept, it made me strong. I loathe mediocrity, apathy and dullness. When I'm hopeless I live one day at a time. When depression knocks I walk to find joy. When a friend was dying I watched a body disintegrate but witnessed a spirit growing stronger until it refused to be encumbered by its heaviness.We all age. I choose to embrace it, and I rel...

here are my 12 fun things to do during a wet spell

There are only 52 weekends in a year, we’ve already spent 9-10. Lives are hectic and stressful, many need to recharge in the country savouring fresh country air. Suikerbossie Guest Farm in the Kouebokkeveld is the perfect retreat for young and old. I have a friend who knows the lyrics to all the 60’s and 70’s songs and she has the gift of being able to belt out the songs at the drop of a hat. You say “submarine” and she’ll take that as her cue to sing. She do...

On a fine Friday afternoon we were all packed and really excited to set off on our 5 day road trip from the southern tip of South Africa to the most northern border of Zimbabwe where our journey would end on the banks of the mighty Zambezi. Our first stop would be Matjiesfontein. We arrived at the Lord Milner Hotel shortly before sunset and settled ourselves with a sundowner in the atmospheric bar, nicely cozy with a roaring fire in the grate. We were entertained by the honkey tonk tunes…

My new favourite quote, especially when my tiara slips fractionally. Yes! Sometimes it takes a change of heart, a change of attitude and courage to be in control of our minds and emotions. It’s unlikely that we all wake up each morning and feel on top of the world. Years ago someone said “the woman of the house determines the atmosphere”, it would be more comfortable to ignore that statement, but, I’ve found it to be true. I certainly set the tone and my family liven thin...

My beloved, who eats anything and everything, never complains and always says “thank you that was a delicious meal” (even when, on the rare occasion, we have deli pies, accompanied by a good dose of salts, for lunch) decided he had a weekend menu; comfort food. On the one hand I was delighted, I didn’t have to plan a menu, but I did want to balk, but only fleetingly. Inclement weather was predicted and I had visions of lying on the couch wrapped up in my Indian wool blanket, si...