FREE STUFF

Welcome! The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 4,667 groups with 6,311,000 members across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them's good people). Membership is free. To sign up, find your community by entering it into the search box above or by clicking on “Browse Groups” above the search box. Have fun!

I have part of Freecycle in South Africa (Cape Town & Durban) and Northern Ireland. Its fun and environmentally friendly.

EVER DONE THIS???

Swishing

Dictionary Definition: To rustle, as silk.

Our definition: To rustle clothes from friends.

The Art of Swishing involves getting your friends together to swap gorgeous clothes and party at the same time. Every lady must bring at least one good quality, clean item of clothing, or an accessory, that she'd feel proud to hand on. (Large sacks of designer frocks are also gratefully received. And people who bring along anyone else with a bulging wardrobe.)

Swishing Rules

• When the swish opens, whatever people take is theirs
• Everybody must bring at least one item but can leave with as many as they like
• No one can claim items before the Opening of the Swish

Light Snow in Northern Ireland

Self-Portrait

FEET

HEADS OR TAILS

These were photos taken of my feet when I a friend of mine was studying Reflexology and I got the the privileged of being one of her practice subject for a few weeks.

Photo Scavengar Hunt

Rubbish

Camping in County Fermanagh

Clouds

Northern Ireland sky


What's for Dinner?
Yummy - Tomatoe soup

and cinnamon buns for dessert

In the Garden
Part of my new garden in Banbridge - Northern Ireland

(I lived in the building behind the trees - it was great to have a lovely garden I didn't have to work in - Helderberg College South Africa)

From Above
Sunset at Lough Neagh, County Down
Walking to Giants Causeway

The South African Sun

January's Pay

Got this in an e-mail today

I'll be there before Debit Orders go through. They are not getting a cent from

me this month...NO WAYS…

AFTER ALL, IT'S January ...WHAT DO THEY EXPECT....!!!

Blue Bottles

HEADS OR TAILS



It is one of the most unpleasant experiences you can have. I have experienced been stung by these Blue Bottles twice in my lifetime on the Durban Beach front (South Africa). The worst part is that they re able to sting even when lying dead on the beach.

"Blue Bottles: are also known as Portuguese Man (or Men) O’ War. Their scientific name is Physalia physalis. Blue Bottles are dangerous organisms. Their tentacles are able to deliver painful stings to swimmers."

Walking to Giants Causeway

Tips for colds and flus

You can guess whats happening to me.
Yip , after a great holiday with family, I have gotten sick. ARGHHHHHHHHH.
The over-counter medicine does not seem to be helping and now my ear has gotten sore.

Planning to go to the pharmacist and if that does not help I will have to make a doctors appointment.

In the process of looking for some things I could do for myself I found this article of WebMD:

9 Tips to Treat Colds and Flu the 'Natural' Way

My doctor in South Africa gave this remedy - it worked for me. I felt very uncertain whether I was following his directions correctly, the first time I did it.
Using toooo much salt can cause discomfort and a headache, so be careful.

The simple regimen of performing a nasal wash is quite akin to the jal neti of yoga. This entails boiling some water in the morning for at least 5 minutes and then allowing to cool till it is lukewarm. Now fill a glass (approximately 250 ml.) with this water and add a heaped teaspoon of salt. Now take a 10 ml. Syringe (plastic disposable used for injection without the needle) and fill it. Alternately you can use a small utensil which is called sagar (and has a spout). Go to the washroom and standing in front of a mirror with the washbasin below, tilt your head backwards and pour the solution in one of the nostrils. Allow the solution to go in and then bring your head forwards so that the solution can come out. Repeat the process in the other nostril. And also keep on doing it alternating it in the nostrils till the glass is empty.

Unconscious Mutterings

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Confirmation :: Catholic Church tradition
   
2. Verse :: Scripture, Bible
   
3. Authorize :: give permission - "Respect my authority" episode from .......
   
4. Blog :: Post
   
5. Thirty :: Something
   
6. Heir :: to the throne
   
7. What are you doing? :: you shoudn't be doing that
   
8. Complaint :: why bother
   
9. Leave :: Holiday
   
10. Tune :: I like songs with a catchy tune

Free association is described as a "psychonanalytic procedure in which a person is encouraged to give free rein to his or her thoughts and feelings, verbalizing whatever comes into the mind without monitoring its content." Over time, this technique is supposed to help bring forth repressed thoughts and feelings that the person can then work through to gain a better sense of self.

That's an admirable goal, but for the purposes of this excercise, we're just hoping to have a little fun with the technique. Each week I'll post ten words to which you can respond to with the first thing that comes to mind.

"Rules are, there are no rules." There are no right or wrong answers. Don't limit yourself to one word responses; just say everything that pops into your head. AND you don't have to have your words up on Sunday. Take all week if you want!

Click Here to join LunaNina.

Going Green

Post #1
I am in a swap where for one year we will be sharing ideas for going green. This is my contribution for January 2009. I hope to share partners idea with you later on in the month.

Reduce
Buy a battery recharger - One of the best investments I have made.

Batteries contain dangerous metals that aren't combustible and shouldn't go in a landfill," says Hershkowitz. Over time, the charger will pay for itself, since you'll no longer shell out for new batteries every time your camera or torch or whatever runs out of juice.

Recycle
I found this great video on a number of things you can do with your Christmas or other cards.
Recycling Christmas Cards


Re-use
Growing a herb garden has been one thing I have always wanted to do and never really got round to it. I found this craft while doing another swap - I may use tins instead of ice-cream containers but I hope to share photos in next few months of my own herb garden.

window sill herb garden gift: made in clementine box

Quote for the Day

"People often say that motivation doesn't last.
Well, neither does bathing -
that's why we recommend it daily."
Zig Ziglar

List to Inspire or Admire

Got this meme from Addie and Manny, did it on the 3 December 2007.
This is my first update and entry for a swap I am hosting on Swap-bot.

I am happy to say that I have highlighted more and some of my yellows/golds have become bold.

CODE:

BOLD - is what I have done
RED - is what I will never do
GOLD/Yellow - is something I definitely want to do

Bold and Italics is what I have done - alternative or close to the item listed

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain

Start

END

04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree

As part of the WESSA camp

10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris ( I am a step closer to this goal)
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and didn’t care who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states

(Visited all 9 provinces in South Africa and 5 States in the USA)
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales ( and Dolphins)

Hermanus is one the large Land based Whale watching areas. I have had the privilege of living in Somerset West and seeing quite a number of sightings of whales and dophins along the the Cape coast.

At the Hermanus Whale Festival

I have also watched dohphins in the Warm Mozambique Ocean on the East coast of South Africa.

45. Stolen a sign

46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip

48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke

59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken (is that possible?)
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight (What's D&D? guess if I don't know I have not done it - looked it up on the internet could be dungeons and dragons)
72. Gotten married

73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert” (was in the television news for carrying the the flaming torch that went to the Women's Beijing conference 1995 - handed it over the the Speaker of parliament)

Dr Frene GINWALA
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents (my dad)
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children (in the process)

97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray ( In th Northern Ireland Aquarium)
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari (Have been on game drives in South Africa during the night and day)
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery (cesarean and tonsils removed)
120. Had a snake as a pet (carried a friends pet snake - very weird feeling)
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon (Hiked in the Drakensberg [Kwa Zulu Natal], Lions head [next to Table Mountain, Cape Town] and a 3 day hike in Mapumalanga province)
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours (longest i have slept in a 48hr period is 20 hours - I have however stayed up for about 60 hours)
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents (3 continents - Africa, Europe and North America)
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper

129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (do fish count?)
137. Skipped all your school reunions (technically none have been organised- hope to maybe organise a virtual [on-line] one)
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair

147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life