Festive songs have always been a wonderful way of bringing people together and raising spirits in more ways than one.  The joy you feel listening to your favorite festive songs is literally, music to your ears. It also has a hugely positive neurological effect in which your brain’s pleasure circuit is stimulated, releasing dopamine and serotonin...

I do appreciate someone who spares a thought for the fact that even so-called garden pests have a place in the ecosystem, even if it is just as food. One such person is Linda Ly who has a lovely gardening blog called Garden Betty where I recently came across a really interesting article about ladybugs. Apart from the cuteness factor, gardeners are...

Here comes the son – or daughter! While planning for the birth of a baby is a delight for all seasons, getting things ready for a summer bundle of joy requires a few more lists to check and boxes to tick. Let’s take a look … CLOTHES TO HAVE READY REGARDLESS OF THE SEASON Diapers (disposable and reusable) Onesies (both long-...

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26, New International Version) The earliest interest in birdwatching can be traced back to the late 18th century and was fueled by a desire for absorbing beauty rather...

Playing the piano, it seems, affords one the opportunity to strike the right note in more ways than one.  Tickling the ivories (and ebonies) offers a range of colorful benefits covering the spectrum from stimulating the brain to improving one’s emotional intelligence. Let’s take a look … MENTALLY: Play goodbye to...

I’m sure any gardener who gets the Sunday Times found Jane Griffiths’ 12 July 2021 article on organic fertilising as fascinating as I did. Jane is a well-known writer on the subject of growing vegetables and a regular contributor to the Sunday Times’ Home and Garden section. At a time when food gardens are all the rage (and rightly so), I thought I...

Pianos, we’ll have you know, are not only a source of endless musical ingenuity and infinite joy.  These sought-after instruments are also a veritable fount of fascinating facts. Let’s take you on a musical journey of discovery… The earliest pianoforte in existence is one built in Florence, Italy, in 1720 by Bartolommeo...

Between the picturesque towns of Waterval Onder and Waterval Boven in Mpumalanga lies Zongororo, a haven of hospitality and ministry inspired by a message from above and made possible by hearts, hands and feet on earth. Talking about feet… The word ‘ Zongororo’ means millipede in the local dialect, Shona.  Millipede, in turn,...

Any parent, at one time or another, has been confronted by the Big Pacifier Debate.  The result of all the expert opinions from online to off the record (making us all feel, dare one say, like dummies), is often more questions than answers…  “Is it good, is it bad? Should we, shouldn’t we?  Is it worth a few hours of peace and...

Once not so long ago (2013 to be precise), in a country not far from here (in fact, right here), Marli Theron was sitting in her little girl’s bedroom, wondering what she could do to make the space extra-special.  As she was pondering, she was playing with pieces of felt.  And as she was playing, her imagination took flight, quite literally,...