Many years ago, I was in a car with some friends. One of the ladies worked as an accountant at a mining company and she made a remark that I still remember. She said: “Most young people buy property and they think that the purchase price is the real amount. They don’t figure in the…
Property photographs and gut feelings
I spent most of yesterday making sums. And the more I think about it, the more that old wooden house and barn seem like a very good idea. Most of the older brick houses (that I can easily afford) look as if they were designed by the same short person (around 7 years old, methinks!),…
Midyear update, a day late, and gradually slimming down!
Yesterday was the twenty-first of June, the day of the summer/winter solstice. I don’t celebrate it in any way, but it’s nice to know that the sun will be up a bit longer every day from now on until December! I haven’t posted much on my journey toward gaining slim. At the beginning of this…
Moving to Ukraine – now, the REAL WORK begins!
Good news! The documents have safely arrived at my lawyer’s office in Kyiv! It took exactly one week for the envelope to travel from me to the other side of the planet! That is incredibly fast, considering that Kyiv is the capital city of a country at war! Now, the real work begins. The attorney…
And the documents are off!
I entered the DHL office here in Rustenburg with a sense of trepidation. Yes, I had confirmed that this world-renowned courier service was active in Ukraine, but that was weeks ago. What if things have changed? My fear was unfounded, though. Not only was I treated to extremely friendly service, but the cost worked out…
The sums are adding up nicely, indeed!
My single biggest worry until now was how I would be able to afford the move to Ukraine. It was a needless worry, as most of them are. The truth is that even as a South African with not much money to speak of, I can still afford a reasonably comfortable lifestyle if I don’t…
Baby steps – a (long overdue!) progress update to my relocation to Ukraine
It’s been a hot minute since I last posted, but my life has become extremely busy lately, for no particularly good reason. Please forgive me. I shall do better in the future. If this were a shopping mall, we would find ourselves in front of a map of all kinds of rectangular(ish) shapes and a…
Little by little, it all comes together – homesteading on the journey to losing weight
My mom phoned me yesterday, extremely excited! “You must see this!” she exclaimed. “Rieks (her youngest sister) and Rod (Rieks’s husband) have lost so much weight with this Banting diet! And it’s all the things you like, too!” Truth be told, I’ve never really been interested in Banting. To me, it seemed like an unhealthy…
Pareto’s Principle in Action
It’s strange how life turns out, sometimes. Although I have known about Pareto’s Principle (The 80/20 rule!) for many years now, seeing it unfold before me is a weird kind of wonderful. I have written quite a few books, primarily novels, and one little goal-setting thing. I have one “low-content” book out, which was an…
If Duolingo has turned you into a monster, you’re doing it wrong!
I usually don’t read the stuff Google dishes up to me. It’s mostly sensationalist clickbait, and celebrity gossip has never been my thing. However, on Tuesday, I found this post, and although it angered me at first, I ended up feeling extremely sorry for the author, Mark Serrels from Sidney, Australia. And because I feel…