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Showing posts with label Ode to things I love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ode to things I love. Show all posts

30 April 2022

Ode to things I love: Swimming in rivers and mountain pools

 What I love about it

  • Invigorating. You feel so alive!
  • Swimming after getting hot from hiking is an instant way to recharge.
  • Leaping in from a high place provides a wonderful adrenaline high.
  • Swimming down to touch the bottom.
  • How it can be warm on the surface and cold below.
  • Massaging the shoulders and back under a the strong jet of a water fall.
  • A great way to bond with fellow hikers.



Favourite swims



Australia



South Africa


Brazil


High leaps into water

20 April 2022

Ode to things I love: Beaches and swimming in the ocean


What I love most about beaches

  • Gorgeous white sand and the vast ocean, as far as the eye can see.
  • The sound of the waves crashing on the beach.
  • Walking along the beach.
  • Tropical beaches with palm trees.
  • Diving into the ocean on a hot day.
  • Playing beach volleyball and bat and ball.
  • Riding waves (paddle skiing, boogey boarding, body surfing)
  • Watching the sun rise and sun set over the ocean's distant horizon.
  • Beach picnics.
  • Rock pools to explore life in.
  • Tidal pools to swim in.
  • And last, but not least:  Girls in bikinis!


Priceless memories


As a kid

  • Swimming in the tidal pool at St James.
  • The pebbles on Brighton beach.
  • Swimming with the family at Muizenberg.
  • Paddling in a blow up boat with Gramps at Boulder's Beach.
  • Walking along Muizenberg beach with Grandpa, after going there by train.

Later memories
  • Watching terns and waders roosting on The Uilenskraal lagoon.
  • Boogy boarding on Llandudno beach.
  • Paddle skiing at Muizenberg.
  • Penguins on Boulder's Beach.
  • Volleyball on Clifton beach and watching the sun set.
  • Photographing herons on a beach in Mauritius.
  • Falling in love with Ally at Onrus beach after finding a feather and tickling each other's faces.
  • Oggling at Brazilian bubble buts on Copacabana beach.


Favourite beaches


Cape Town
Rest of South Africa 
Sydney
Rest of Australia
Rest of the world


Related

19 April 2022

Ode to things I love: Mountains

 

What I love about mountains

  • Their awe inspiring, majestic beauty.
  • Their immense size and scale and the way they tower over the landscape.
  • The wonderful experience of climbing them.
  • The views that become more and more epic as you get higher and higher.
  • The exhilaration of reaching the summit.


Favourite mountains I've hiked on



Related

15 April 2022

Ode to things I love: Ice cream

 

What I love most about ice cream

  • The sweetness
  • The smooth, creamy consistency
  • The refreshing coolness
  • The crunchy bits (especially the nuts and chocolate bits)
  • The huge variety of forms and flavours (endless choice!)


Most exotic and delicious ice cream ever

  • Pistachio ice cream in Damascus market (Syria).  It was crammed with delicious pistachio, mouthwateringly creamy and cost less than a dollar.


Favourite childhood memories of ice cream (where my love affair began!)

  • Marco Polo ice cream (especially litchi flavour) in SeaPoint, Cape Town - often combined with a ride on the choo-choo train
  • Grandpa Station treating me to a soft serve cream on one of our Muizenberg walks
  • Mixing up milk and vanilla ice cream at home as a kid
  • Caramel-crisp ice creams (with David Livingston after school)
  • Soft-serve with a flake and nuts (I still love this)
  • Granadilla lollies at the beach
  • Chocnut Sundae at The Spur, Cape Town, with the family
  • Cassata ice cream at The Cassanova (one of Gramp's favourites, too)
  • Vanilla ice cream at home with chocolate sprinkles
  • Ice cream at home with chocolate sauce that hardened on impact


Favourite ice creameries

  • Kirsten's Kick-ass Ice cream (Cape Town)
  • Messina Ice Cream (Sydney)
  • Iced Dream gelato cafe in Houtbay, Cape Town
  • Häagen-Dazs ice cream (London)


Favourite homemade ice cream

  • Mum's christmas cake ice cream (mega-yum!!)
  • Jo’s rum and raisin ice cream  
  • Ally's home made mango ice cream
  • Eva's home made ice cream


Favourite ice cream flavours in a cup or cone

  • Pistachio
  • Macadamia and caramel
  • Litchi
  • White chocolate and raspberry
  • Coffee
  • Softserve (with a flake and nuts)


Best branded ice cream in a container

  • Maggie Beer Burnt Fig and Caramel
  • Tin Roof


Favourite ice cream on a stick

  • Magnum White chocolate
  • Magnum Queensland Mango - with white chocolate
  • Gaytime (love the name!)
  • Cheesy Jive (also loved by Russell)
  • Weis Mango and macadamia 
  • Paddlepop Banana
  • Paddlepop chocolate


Favourite Ice cream with milk

  • Mixing up milk and vanilla ice cream as a kid
  • Tashas vanilla milkshake (Constantia Village, Cape Town)
  • Botannica iced coffee with ice cream (Sydney)
  • Lindt cafe chocolate shake (Sydney)
  • Thick shake (Dahab, Egypt)


Favourite pigging out memories

  • Gelato eating competition with Russell and Roger in Camps Bay (I won, consuming a litre!)
  • Death by sundae with the Davidson (UK)


Related posts


16 March 2022

Why photography makes me so happy

"According to research, looking through photo albums makes you happier than chocolate, music or even your favourite TV show.  In a study, Peter Naisch, Doctor of Psychology at The Open University, compared the moods of people using four typical cheer up treats with those browsing their favourite snaps.  The results show that the mood of those viewing photographs was consistently lifted by 11%. When you look through your personal photo albums, it produces a positive improvement in relaxation, calmness and even their sense of being valued and popular.  In return, this results in an overall higher happiness score."  Mark Goldstein


Taking the time to look back on our treasured memories can be truly beneficial for our wellbeing as it can help to evoke feelings of positivity and happiness. Because of this, and especially at times like this, we should take more time to appreciate and look back on them.  Jo Hemmings


Taking photos

  • Inspires me to get out, go on adventures worth photographing.
  • Helps me to be mindful, in my senses, noticing beauty in the world around me.
  • Helps me to see beautify in both the widest landscapes and the tiniest details.
  • A wonderful form of creative expression. 
  • A skill to continually hone and master.
  • Seeing the world as God's work of art and my role is to capture the beauty and share it through my photos.
  • A passion to share with others (e.g. photo Meet Up, camera club, Jo).


Editing and uploading photos to Life Trove

  • Creative expression: editing is an art to be mastered and enjoyed.  Lightroom makes this a pleasure.
  • Reliving the experience, strengthening the memory.
  • A sense of joy in curating something precious (selecting, ordering, displaying and sharing).
  • I get to share my experiences with my loved ones.
  • Sharing my photos with others who were there.


Looking back as time goes by

  • A dairy of what I got up to and the good times I had.
  • A curation of all that I love.
  • A reminder of the people, places, and activities I love.
  • Preserving memories while saving space (the joy of digital verse physical photo albums).
  • Photos on the wall of my beautiful home to enjoy and share.
  • The ability to photograph and preserve precious things that would otherwise fade (e.g. cards).
  • Random memories via the "surprise me" link on Life Trove.

20 December 1990

Ode to things I love: Nature reserves

South Africa

Africa

  • Serengetti & Ngora (Tanzania)
  • Etosha National Park (Namibia)
  • Okovango Delta (Botswana)
  • South Luanga National Park (Zambia)
  • Chobe

UK

  • Welney Bird Reserve (UK)
  • Minsmere Reserve (East Anglia)
  • Fowlmere (Cambridge)

Australia


New Zealand

Asia


South America


Special Memories

























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