Monthly Archives: November 2018

Durban, Healthy Lifestyle, Umdloti Beach, Weekend Coffee Share

Weekend Coffee Share: The Seaside Edition

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Hi everyone, it’s a late coffee today because Che and I went to the seaside and arrived this afternoon. Our flight was delayed by 1 hour – it’s becoming the norm with the particular airline I fly with and I’m becoming rather annoyed. I can count on the fingers of 1 hand the number of times I had an on-time domestic flight this year. So we arrived 1 hour later than I expected to.

I realised that this is my first and will be my only post this week. The last one was last week’s coffee share, so I have a lot to share. I will keep it short though, tweet-length with photos.

Summing up my week though, it was client, client, airplane trip, conference in Durban, conference in Durban, beach, airplane trip.

Let’s scroll through the photos I took this week…

…starting with the client, client part – working in the Joburg CBD is interesting because there are sometimes protest marches. It begins with voices raised in song, in the distance, and an inquiry “Is that a march?”; as the voices come closer, the initial inquiry is confirmed and the next question is, “Where is it?” as we look down at the roads and intersections from on high. And then we see the group of marchers. This one was a small one by comparison. It was also peaceful.

Now for the rest. Che and I attended the annual Regional Scrum Gathering in Durban. Because it was in Durban we decided to stay for the weekend and relax a bit.

Before showing you the rest, don’t you think our amaryllis are flowering so beautifully…?

@2018 Regina Martins

We were welcomed back with a personal note and wine, by our Airbnb host Ruth. If you’re looking for a gorgeous place to stay in Umdloti Beach, just look for Beach Melody or Beach Music on Airbnb.

@2018 Regina Martins

We didn’t make it to the beach until Friday afternoon after the conference ended. Feeling the sand give way under my feet, supporting my steps was amazing. Can you see how happy and relaxed we look?

Sand between my fingers ©2018 Regina Martins
Stairway to the beach ©2018 Regina Martins
Happy after feeling the soft beach sand beneath our feet ©2018 Regina Martins

Saturday morning walk to see the conditions of the beach, and a coffee, we came across a wedding on the beach. It was so windy that the wedding was windswept (don’t you love the alliteration?).

There was a wedding on the beach, a very windy wedding it was ©2018 Regina Martins
Windswept wedding ©2018 Regina Martins

And now a quick flip through the rest.

Going barefoot ©2018 Regina Martins
After being thrown about by the waves ©2018 Regina Martins
Lying on the sand ©2018 Regina Martins
These are naughty, if you leave a window open they will find a way on and steal all the food that is on the counters ©2018 Regina Martins

That’s all I have for you today. Thanks for stopping by, have an amazing week!

Weekend coffee share is hosted by Eclectic Ali.

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House and Home, Weekend Coffee Share

Weekend Coffee Share: The Christmas Decorations Edition

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Hello and welcome to this edition of weekend coffee share. Let’s have a cup and a chat. Can you believe that it’s November and Christmas decorations are up in the mall already. 6 weeks, or so, to Christmas.

How do I feel about this? I’m fine with it. There are some who complain about the commercialisation of Christmas and each year the decorations are up earlier and earlier. My take on this is that I can enjoy the beauty and ingenuity of the decorations and not be influenced by commercialisation. I will buy something if I want to, not because I feel compelled.

Financially things are tough at the moment in South Africa. I feel like I’m going backwards financially. My money buys less each year. My salary has remained the same for the last 2 years. I am seriously worried about my savings and retirements investments going backwards.  Relocating to another country is an option but a tough decision to make.

Political shenanigans and policy uncertainty means a volatile economy, the country was downgraded to junk status a year or so ago. And yet life goes on. People still buy new cars, on debt, houses, on debt. Still go to the malls, some on debt. Shops are looking for any opportunity to market and promote their products. It is in the malls’ interest to put up Christmas decorations early, because they rely rental income and people coming in to remain open.

Let’s move away from the depressing talk. This week was home, home, work, work, sales meeting, grocery shopping, spring cleaning. My study needs a good revamp and I started today by getting rid of paper-based kipple I no longer need. I also have tons of stationery, most of it I got as part of conference goodie bags or from hotels where I attended training or seminars. I put all that I don’t want into a large shoe box to donate to the church and SPCA. I kept a few items in a very small box – I mean how many pens and highlighters do I need at any one time?

I’ve been spending some time by The Minimalists website, and I want to downscale. I already have on clothes and shoes and bags, and more need to go. I also came across alejandra.tv, and watched one of her videos – I want my house to be organised just like hers! She uses colour to good effect. Check this video out:

Oh well that’s it for today. Because I spent the day tidying up my study our coffee is a short one. I hope you have a great week.

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