Saturday, May 7, 2011

Saturday's Email of the Week: I Need to Get ME One of These

Saturday's Email of the Week

Here is the answer to my prayers! Goodbye high priced vehicles! Sayonara to gas stations! Arrivederci to emissions. Adios to societal guilt that I am wrecking the world for my children's children. Totsiens to all that noise. Bring it on!

Shhh...



Now I just have to move to the States to get one! Doh!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Good People

Happy Friday my friends!

I have been working away today, studying trees, Mother's Day ideas, new social media avenues and working on my newest Twitter presence. I took a quick break to take a peek at my blog and was pleased to see all the comments I received from yesterday's post. You guys are all too sweet!

So I will dedicate this video (from one of my favourite bands - Great Big Sea) to you "Good People" today. Hope you all have a lovely weekend and Happy Mother's Day to all the Mommas out there!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

I Have Succumbed...

I tried. I really did. I dragged my feet, refused to jump on the bandwagon, and swore it would lead to no good!

 I didn’t even look at it. Not a peep!

But the pressure grew. 

AND I COULDN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!

I give up! You win!

You can now find me on Twitter @KatherineKrige

( ^ )

There. A measly 55 words for you folk who have pushed me to the brink of sanity. Now I will never get any work done, sleep or probably even see my family ever again! 

Twitter! Why have you forsaken me!!!

Oh G-Man, what does the future hold now? I shall just have to avoid any more work for the day and tweet out all of the Flash 55s I come across at your place. 

(Please Lord save me from the social media world I have been sucked into. I am weak!)
But Geez its FUN!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

My Rainbow

A
green orb
fills my head
leaking indigo
through my hair,
down my shoulders.
I struggle to breath
as I always do.
body 
too wrapped
up  in  relaxing 
to know how
to just be.

Red sparks
pulse to pink blankets
gently resting on my chest
warming that stitched together
semblance of a 
heart that
no longer beats.
Begin.
The  sun  rises
golden yellow filling mine eyes,
chest and radiating out thine arms
to fill the room. 
It breathes for me.

Melting 
melting the tight knots
of yesterday's cares & dreams
Until orange remains
that tender power
wisping its way in to fill
what remains of my 
subconscious 
hurts
allowing them
to kindle and fire
a belly not known to 
resist
as icy hands
smooth wrinkles
in swollen knee joints
and my eyes open 
to a day changed
by the breath
and love
of
Friends
*

A Metta Meditation offered today
May you be safe from inner and outer harm
May you be filled with peace and loving kindness
May you be filled with strength and health all of your days

I need to practice this myself today,
but offer loving kindness to you
and the world as well.
Peace my friends
~

Monday, May 2, 2011

The Birthday Present

Happy Birthday to me! I was not in the best of spirits when I woke up this morning due to a distinct case of “poor me” and loneliness, but the morning turned out pretty darn good. After yesterday’s sightings of “everything”, I figured today would not be all that exciting. Pretty hard to beat lions, a cheetah, hyenas, giraffes and thousands of wildebeest (plus, plus, plus!). We did a mighty fine job of it though. We watched five cheetahs devour an impala, while heaps of vultures watched on hoping for leftovers. We arrived moments after they had taken down the small antelope and  the band of cheetahs still panted from their exertions. They ripped it apart, growling at each other as they vied for a piece of the kill. Their furry faces were matted with blood before the feast was done. From the safety of our landrover, we observed the gruesome display of life on the savanna with clicks of cameras and hushed voices as a quiet backdrop to the setting. By the time the cheetahs were done, all the vultures  got was the stomach and intestines. They didn’t go very far. Before we knew it, the cheetahs were slinking away to rest and digest, and the vultures were picking through the grass to find any missed morsels that held more than the stomach full of grass that was gone in an instant. This was the cycle of life in the African wilds.
I reflected on my safari after returning to camp. I had thoroughly enjoyed the Masai Mara so far. There were heaps of animals here. The Masai Mara was in Kenya, but continued into Tanzania as the Serengeti. The political border was all that stood in the way of thousands of animals migrating from one location to the next. While I had not realized it at the time, July to October was the prime time for the Great Migration when literally millions of wildebeest, zebras, and many other species of antelopes migrated North into the Mara. It was absolutely incredible.
Yes, the wildebeest were very impressive creatures. It was wild seeing thousands upon thousands of them. At one point, our driver Jimmy drove us into the middle of a herd. We were surrounded by black beasts that stretched on and on as far as the eye could see. It was neat to see the way they migrated. One day, we came upon a line of them crossing the road late in the afternoon. They were all in a single or double-file line and when they got approximately 200 metres from the road, they started to run. We sat watching them for a period of time. The line stretched out forever it seemed. It was fascinating to watch. I laughed  as they crossed the road and continued for a bit before they jogged to a walk again. I couldn’t help but shake my head at the patience and orderliness of it.
During my brief 4-day visit into the game park, I was spoiled beyond belief with these animal sightings. They quickly followed each other in a succession of sightings till I felt like I was almost in a zoo, going from a cheetah lazing in the sun with a herd of wildebeest and zebra in the background, to two hyenas munching on a wildebeest with vultures on the side lines, to the sight of simple group of giraffes gently loping along in the African sun. In addition to all of that, we saw four lions lazing under some bushes to avoid the heat of the day. The male even got a bit of a root in, although the female did not let it last for long. As I said at the time, “typical male; after a good meal (wildebeest), all he wants is  a little piece of action”. Ha!
Oh, but was it ever hot during the day! Due to getting stuck in the dirt briefly, and watching our national geographic moment with the cheetahs, we ate a late lunch that day. Lunch was followed by a break, as we were in need of siestas ourselves. My pen scratched out the stories from the morning’s adventures, while I sheltered from the baking rays from the near equatorial sun. Once the heat of the day abated,  we would go on a bit of a walk.
The safari had certainly been worth it. While the people in my van were not the most interesting bunch, you can’t have everything. I got a chance to talk to some of Masai people that accompanied us on our game drives and helped out in camp. They provided an interesting study themselves. I found the women very beautiful.  In fact, I felt that the Masai were a good looking race as a whole. They had good facial features, were all quite tall, and had very interesting piercings. One of the men in camp told me how his were done. A hole was cut in his ear with a knife, and gradually bigger and bigger pieces of wood were put in the hole. He said it took two months to get to the size the holes were now. The lobes dangled down towards his shoulders loosely. And while the lobe looked like it would have no feelings left, the young man encouraged me to feel it, and replied that  it still did. Interesting, to say the least.
By the end of the day, we had taken in a nature walk as well. I showered, then popped the top on a bottle of Claret Select by Drostdy-Hof. It was my last birthday present to me for the day. Not a bad birthday all around with game viewing, a nature hike, good meals and a bottle of nice, red wine. It was my first birthday away from distant relatives, but I survived and had a list of new animals spied to add to my growing list of sightings.

New Animals Spied
ü  Topi
ü  Grant’s gazelle
ü  Thomson’s Gazelle
ü  Dik-dik
ü  Hartebeest
ü  Masai Giraffe
ü  Olive baboon

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