When the war between Russia and Ukraine broke out at the end of February 2022, I realized with a shock that my childhood obsession with all things Russian was totally misplaced. After all, the people, the music, and even the exotic place names were actually Ukrainian, not Russian! And on top of that, the…
Author: Tessa van Niekerk
I am a firm believer in the power of Free Will, and the Karma resulting from exercising that power. I am a horrible employee and an even worse boss, so I choose to be neither. I am a dreamer, mostly doing so when I am awake. I suffer from analysis paralysis on a regular basis, tend to procrastinate until the eleventh hour, and would rather be reading than doing anything else. My drug of choice is caffeine and I indulge on a regular basis.
Refocusing myself…
They say that the road to hell is paid with good intentions, and I fell into that trap solidly. Some of my goals have dates and actions, but most don’t and that means I have to refocus my efforts toward the end goal. I find that I tend to be extremely unfocused, flitting from one…
Tessa: at the start of the countdown to a brand-new adventure
“If you’re brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello.” -Paulo Coelho I saw an interview that one set of ex-pats did on YouTube with another – a man and his wife on his sister and her husband – about moving to Portugal and thought that it would be an…
Qualified Permaculture Designer, at your service!
The shouting happened yesterday morning when I opened my e-mail box! I first let my boss’s boss know, as he was hugely instrumental in the success of my project, encouraging me every step of the way, inquiring about my progress, and also helping me secure the necessary permissions for the final project plans. And then…
All over, bar the shouting!
After spending much more than a hundred hours of thought on my final design, I have finally submitted it this afternoon. Now it’s just to see whether I did whatever was needed. (I never considered noise as a factor, but as my project is situated in the middle of town, it is a definite factor!…
A few thoughts on a sustainable lifestyle
Sustainability is a word bandied about a lot by corporations who wish to “greenwash” their operations. Unfortunately, any operation using a finite resource can – by definition – not be considered sustainable, no matter how pretty it’s dressed up. To be truly sustainable, the components of a system must produce more energy than they consume…
A small step towards a more self-sufficient life: preparing for a PDC course
I am busy preparing to take a Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course, offered by Tom and Zaia Kendall of PermEco in Australia. It’s an online course, and even though their courses and other activities are donation-based, I have still paid what I would have paid to take the same course here in South Africa. To…
A reaction to an anti-vax post… not as viciously as I would have liked
This picture was posted on Facebook, and is considered to clearly endorse the anti-vaccine agenda, judging by how it is received by people and the comments that were made. I agree with the sentiments of the original writer, but I am also going to differ radically. Let’s start… What if having a vaccine passport meant…
The Mission Goal Has Moved – Once Again!
After feeling extremely sorry for myself for all of 20 minutes, I started weighing my options: pros and cons of staying versus leaving and the different countries that make sense to me. I wrote earlier about the rudeness of some government employees. That specific country (which I won’t mention here or ever again!) has been…
Brick walls and severely lacking Parkour skills
Time for an update, methinks. I have come to the realization that all of the house restoration and backyard farming videos and blogs that I have been following were made by people coming from G8 countries. Maybe they weren’t rich themselves, but their backgrounds gave them access that I – coming from a country in…