Friday 30 April 2010

THE SAME by Dear Reader



Land, land of my birth
Are you my mother
Or am I an orphan?

Where, where do I belong?
Will I find a place in this world
Or forever just wander around?

Southern hemisphere
How did I end up here?
I have nowhere to go
This is the only home that I know
Such a great divide
Between you and I
How i wish it would go
I live in a place in my mind

No, I don't listen to Kwaito, wasn't born in Soweto
I don't understand you
But I want to you know

Same, we're both the same
We share the same heart
We're made of the same parts

Please don't look at me that way
I already live with the guilt that I own
From my forefather's past
Does this land belong to the tribes who engraved her stones with stories of old?
They're long gone you know
Now this is our home

I want to strip you down to the core
Take off your shirt, hat, shoes and trousers
Erase my head, all the books that I've read
The language I speak, the customs you keep
Keep on going right down to the heart
To the pain that is yours, the pain that is ours
Tell you it's all going to be alright
Is it going to be alright?

Heal, can you heal?
Heal, oh, can you heal?
Heal, oh, mother, can you heal?
Or am I an orphan?
Forever a stranger here...

Same, we're both the same
We share the same heart
We're made of the same parts

Thursday 29 April 2010

Celtic Crosses

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I found photos I'd forgotten about today. I took these on the 10th of May last year. Kind of funny I should remember them almost exactly one year later! To see the detail on the first two you'll need to click on them to enlarge.



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Saturday 24 April 2010

Earth, Air, Water, Fire...

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Heard a man on the radio today,
Must confess I disagreed with what he had to say.
How can he not believe that God is real,
I don't understand how he could feel that way.
When
There's earth, air, water and fire.
So many different flowers, sunshine and rain shower,
So many different crystals and hills and volcanoes.

That's how I know that God is real
(all of this is not by chance)
That's how I know that God is real
(all of this is not by chance)
That's how I know that God is real
(I know this is not by chance)
That's how I know that God is real
That's how I know that God is real.

In Saint Lucia, I jumped in the water.
For the first time I understood its power.
As I swam, I was cleansed.
If I had any doubts, this experience cleared them.
Now I know for sure that God is real.
I know that it's the truth by the way it feels (uh-huh)
Cause I saw starfish and sponges,
Fish and black trumpets,
So many different colors I stayed
Out there for hours and I only saw a fraction of a fraction,
Of the deep of the deep,
Of the great blue wide.
It Brought a tear to my eye.

We're made of the same stuff as the moon and stars.
The ocean's salt water just like my tears are.
You feel me the sun rises and sets everyday without fail

That's how I know that God is real
(all of this is not by chance),
That's how I know that God is real
(all of this is not by chance),
That's how I know that God is real
(all of this is not by chance),
That's how I know that God is real

Earth, air, water, and fire
Earth, air, water, and fire
Earth, air, water, and fire
That's how I know that God is real


glitter-graphics.com

Sweetest honey to the brightest flower
the largest plant into the smallest atom,
snow flakes in the bird kingdom,
Smaller than the eye can see,
Bigger than the mind can conceive.
(oh)
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Friday 16 April 2010

Silence Falls

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There have been no planes flying the last 24 hours or so, due to the volcanic ash up there floating on by from Iceland. I can't say we've noticed anything visually, but it definitely seems quieter.... the sort of hush you get when there's heavy fog.


It reminded me of how much noise our modern world surrounds us with. A few years back in Africa we had a 3 day power out due to bad storms. For 3 days we had no electricity and no noise. No hum of the fridge, no whine of the computer fan... nothing. It was amazing how refreshing that quiet felt. Like opening a window onto the sea at dawn. And all the forgotten childhood noises were there - wind in the trees, birds singing and chirping, the hiss of water sprinklers in gardens...



As much as I missed my modern-life luxuries I missed the silence even more when the power returned. :-(
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Monday 12 April 2010

Easter Weekend photos

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On Easter Sunday we took a drive to Spey Bay. I forgot about the photos I took there till today. The go in sequence turning in an arc from land to sea, starting with picture 1 looking up a winding finger of river...
...here it joins and winds through the river estuary, past picnic spots

... on further to the right it reaches the sea
...and turning still further you look out across the beach and the sea.
It was a lovely day. A bit cloudy, but mostly warm.

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Saturday 3 April 2010

On my Way to L.A.

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Not literally, alas, but I still have some exciting news to share - my book, FIRST LIGHT, is going to the...

You can find all the info about the festival by clicking on the logo picture above. :-)

I was invited to participate by Authors Den, who are putting on a book display as well as having book signings. My budget doesn't run to flying to America to spend a weekend signing books. :-\ So, I opted for the (way cheaper) deal of sending signed books and complimentary bookmarks. You can find my book listed here.

It took me weeks of trial and error to come up with a design to use for the bookmarks. I had lots of advice and encouragement from my friends and family, which helped a lot. I must say a particular thank you to my friend Betty, of Howling in Silence, who created original bookmark ideas for me to use as templates. My final bookmark back is pretty much exactly what she designed.
The bookmarks were printed by a local printer - Big Sky. They're an eco-friendly design and print service - they try to make as little impact on the environment with their printing as possible. We've used them several times over the years. They offer really good prices for top quality service. They prove that using recycled paper does NOT mean second rate products or printing!

Here's some pictures of the bookmarks. They aren't as clear as the pdf I sent the printers, but they do look better (and bigger) if you click on them.

Here's the bookmark front:
...and bookmark Back:
I wish I could be there on the 24th - 25th of April. It must be so exciting to go to a book festival and even more exciting when you're taking part, but at least I am getting this wonderful chance to take my book advertising further.


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Thursday 1 April 2010

Best Wishes for the Easter Weekend

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The weather is quite horrific here at the moment - snow, sleet and strong winds. Strange weather and rather fitting... our lives have been equally unsettled recently. The last few months have been one problem after another, with health being high up on the stressful issues list. I figured out last week that the four of us have clocked up five trips to the hospital, three to the dentist and nine to doctors since January. And next week we have altogether FIVE more medical check ups. Crazy!

A restful Easter weekend sounds just what we all need. We all intend to do as little as possible... except cooking good food! ;-) I hope you all have a peaceful, restful weekend as well.

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