Hannah
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Posts posted by Hannah
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It's been a tough year for many. (((Hugs)))
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Resilience
Relationships
Insightful
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New to me in 2021
New job - our company restructured and I was placed in a managerial position in an area of the business I knew nothing about. I was very fortunate to inherit a competent and committed team who have been very patient with me. I'm finally finding my feet.
Two new friends - I made an effort with two female friends I've actually known as acquaintances for a long time to get to know them better. Separate to each other we've been doing coffee, going to shows, etc.
Diagnosis of autism for younger dd. It has explained so much.
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47 minutes ago, KSera said:
I've been seeing nothing but huge praise for South African among the scientific community. It would have been discovered within a few weeks or so either way I would expect, and traced to travel from South Africa, so they did the world an enormous favor by sounding the alarm early, and I don't think the resulting hardships from doing so would be much different if they had kept quiet. Just a few weeks later. It does really suck, though. I still hope we can switch to a good test and quarantine system instead. That makes more sense and would be much more effective.
I agree that there is praise from the scientific community, but not necessarily from the community at large, and it is the opinion of the larger community and citizens that will direct future political decisions.
I'm absolutely with you that we need good testing and quarantine systems. We might not have had the complete travel bans that we have now that are affecting so many thousands of people who haven't seen their loved ones in years.
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11 hours ago, TravelingChris said:
Also. extremely troubling as a policy since it encourages other countries to follow China's, Iran's, Russia's, North Korea's, etc examples of lying about existence, or true numbers or anything at all to do with honest reporting of variants, symptoms, virulence, etc.
There has been a huge backlash within the country as well against the scientists, especially from people in the tourism industry who have seen their bookings cancelled over the busiest period. They blame the scientists for speaking up.
In and interview with the New Yorker, Tulio de Oliveira, the leader of the Network for Genomic Surveillance , says openly that African scientists will be hesitant to share information going forward given the response. (as an aside, he also has interesting views on herd immunity)
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We have had to cancel a trip to visit family as well. Flights were scheduled for Tuesday, but South Africa got red-listed because our scientists spoke up about finding the Omicron variant. Our economy was just starting to recover so it is a huge blow, and it really seems very unfair that we're being punished for having excellent scientists who were willing to raise the alarm.
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Thank you so much for guiding this challenge @Granny_Weatherwax! It has been a really good experience.
Thinking about specific things to be grateful for every day did make me feel more positive and in these time when one needs so much resilience it definitely contributes to feelings of contentment and hopefulness.
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I'm reading this late and was wondering how I'd fit something in before bed-time, but then I remembered that I'd given someone walking in a sudden downpour a lift down our access road, saving them about a mile out of the rain, so that counts.
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Thank you @DreamerGirl - the country has been very good about masking in public (day 611 now and we've never let up), sanitizing stations at the door of every shop and restaurant, curfews and so on, so hoping that with the precautions the new variant isn't as transmissible as predicted. Its very disappointing that we can't do international travel though - we've been shut down completely. Heartbreaking for so many people who were hoping to see loved ones again for the holidays.
I love Diwali diya lamps - we visited friends who had them all around their back garden for the festival - beautiful!
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1) Our school year ends the first week in December for the summer holidays and I like to make Christmas decorations as teacher gifts. This year I'm making bead stars like those linked. The music teacher kept her tree branches and rope tree (like this but without the lights) from last year (we gave it to her with candy canes on) and she loves the stars to hang on it that my daughter gave her yesterday.
So making the last of the bead stars is my action item.
2) A neighbouring town has a Christmas market starting 11 December. I'll be going to that with a friend.
3) Christmas is in the summer here and many people take their vacations around this time, so we are hoping to meet up with family and friends over the period.
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I was about to fly to the UK to see my sisters and their families next Thursday, and then South Africa was put on the red list last night due to the new Corona strain...it is really very disappointing, but I guess I'm grateful that
- We have all made it through Covid so far and are still healthy and able to even consider visiting each other
- I have a job that allows me disposable income for overseas travel
- I'm not stranded mid-journey as many people now are.
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47 minutes ago, Granny_Weatherwax said:
Here's an example from me.
I'm sorry that you find grocery shopping so tough. Good on you for facing it and turning it into the positive (((hugs)))
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I am grateful
- to you Granny_Weatherwax for coordinating this challenge - it has made me broaden my thoughts on how much we have to be grateful for.
- that I will be able to travel to see family in December.
- that my eldest daughter submitted her last assignment for a degree yesterday and has been accepted to study towards an honours degree next year (I'm not sure how this translates to US qualifications - she has a three year qualification and after honours of a year will do two years of masters.
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I appreciate
DD1
- Her kindness and compassion to others
- Her absolute passion for horses and riding
- Her determination to meet her goal of becoming a psychologist
DD2
- Her unique way of seeing the world and brilliant mind.
- The fierce loyalty she has for her friends
- The courage and determination with which she lives with the difficulties of being autistic
Off to tell them both..
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A bit late to the party, but yesterday I took a friend out and treated her to a facial for her birthday - it wasn't a random act, but I was really happy that she accepted the gift and I was able to do something nice for her.
Their family has had an absolutely rotten year as a result of Covid affecting their business and went from living fairly comfortably to having to cut everything to the bone and then still not knowing how they'd pay the bills. Thankfully they were debt free regarding mortgages and cars, so their house is safe. The business is finally picking up again. She actually said it was the first time she'd relaxed in months.
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We live in an eco-estate a bit out of town and I appreciate 1) safety - crime is a huge problem in the country and our estate is relatively safe. The distance from town helps and we have good security. 2) living in the bush in the summer. Our house is a freezer in winter and poorly heated, but this time of year I love it. Our garden in lush and green and full of birds and small animals 3) the friends we have in the community.
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6 hours ago, Tap said:
She is the type to not just stab someone in the back, she likes to give it a good hard twist.
What a mean-spirited and horrible person to have to work with - I'm sorry you have to deal with that.
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On 11/15/2021 at 11:35 AM, regentrude said:
aside from the fact that I am planning my father's funeral
I'm so sorry for your loss Regentrude. Will you be able to attend the funeral in person?
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Both my parents were immigrant children from Europe after WWII and achieved their high school diplomas, but there was no money to got to tertiary institutions. They studied for certificates where they could through their employers and were self-taught in so many fields, from building a house together, literally brick by brick themselves, to playing musical instruments, doing art, and their own taxes.
I was extremely fortunate to receive study bursaries for university education. The system here is that a company sponsors your tertiary education and you then have an obligation to work for them for a period, usually year for year. The company does this to recruit talented students for scarce skills, in my case in the STEM field, and for the student it means they have employment after they complete their education. My husband was on the same scheme and we met through work. It was never our intention to stay for as long as we have, but we have both been with the company now for more than 25 years and probably will be until we retire.
We give back by sponsoring others. I've been meaning to reach out to an old school friend and will do so today.
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Congratulations Condessa and family and welcome to the world little Ephraim!
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In my note I added a quote by Ester Perel "the quality of our relationships determines the quality of our lives". This is so true!
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My daughters have had the most wonderful horse-riding coach. We've known her since the eldest was 6. She takes her riders up the ranks to the highest level of competition, but yet it is never about winning, its always about taking part and enjoying the experience.
She gently guides the kids to care for and encourage each other and for the older ones to 'pay it forward' by helping the younger ones. I've never heard her get impatient or raise her voice. Ever. And believe me, there has been reason to over the years! She has held in the frustration! It is wonderful to have adults in our children's lives that enrich them and to whom they can look up to.
Sending her a note right away.
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I 'took to crime' during Covid and spent many a weekend afternoon on the couch reading Tess Gerritsen, Kathy Reich, Stephen Leather, Patricia Cornwell, Jo Nesbo and many more. I'd find one I like and then read everything the Rotary bookstore in town had of that author.
Our book club finally met again last month - we moved it to a Saturday afternoon and all sat outside in one member's garden - it was fantastic to see everyone again in person after all this time. We did have a few Zoom meetings, but it was just not the same.
I've put together a few boxes and will be taking them to donate this weekend.
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The journal is so pretty Granny_Weatherwax!
The hobby I've done the most consistently in the last 10 years is researching the genealogy of my and dh's families.
My father was born in WWII and he did not know his father or anything about his heritage as his father died when he was only four month's old and his mother did not keep up contact with her in-laws as she was a foreigner and not really welcomed by her mother-in-law. After the war she returned to her home country and from there emigrated to South Africa with her two young children. Her brother had come before her.
I found my grandfather's entry on a war memorials website in reference to a plaque in Plymouth and from there the hobby has kept me busy. Besides a brick wall on one branch, I've gone back 8 generations of all sides of both dh and my families. It turned out that my grandfather had also lost his father in World War I, even before he was born, so two generations grew up without their father.
As to how it has influenced me, I think knowing where you came from does give one a place of belonging in the world. For my father I think it filled in some gaps in his sense of self and identity. I really enjoy the sleuthing and fact-finding and have had some great interactions with distant cousins, especially one 5th cousin living in New York - we've never met, but have been emailing on and off for the last 8 years and have had some great conversations when one of us finds something new or interesting.
I'm grateful to all of the volunteer indexers who spend hours transcribing records that make it possible to find so much valuable information online. It would not have been possible to find out as much as I have even a decade ago without loads of money to travel to archives.
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2021 Year in Review - Day 3
in The Chat Board
Posted
We've not had any grand events, but the 1'sts after finally getting vaccinations and being able to get out and resume some normal activities are memorable.. 1st horse show for the girls after 15 months, first book club after 18 months for me last month, 1st dinner out with friends...