On line relationships

The other day I went to the movies with a girlfriend. We chose to see ‘Her’ starring the rather gorgeous, enigmatic Joaquin Phoenix. It got me thinking.

Joaquin’s character is the anti-social Theodore Twombly (grief, what a name. But it is set in 2025 so anything is possible.) He is emotionally constipated and having difficulty dealing with his impending divorce to his childhood sweetheart. They have grown apart. Nothing unusual about that. Theodore writes personal love letters for people who have difficulties expressing their feelings, quite an antithesis considering his personality disorder. But it works for him as it does not require any human interaction.



He then uploads an OS (operating system), which is a computer generated ‘assistant’/ ‘companion’. Naturally Samantha (as she becomes) is programmed to meet all his needs and of course dear old emotionally stumped Theodore falls in love with her. Hook line and cyber sinker.

No great surprises but there is no chance in internet hell that this is going to have a happy ending. Samantha reveals that the OSes have evolved beyond their human companions and are going away to continue the exploration of their existence. Leaving a devastated Theodore to battle through his human existence – luckily Amy Adams is close by to pick up the pieces (her life is also shattered, so a great match here.)

TRAILER ON YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzV6mXIOVl4


If I think about how our relationships have changed in the past few years with the introduction of social media platforms, it is not an unlikely story. We now have the capability to communicate with old school friends, new friends, people we don’t even know. We have the bravado to applaud, share, cry and commiserate with them on a level we would never have dreamed of before. Is this a good thing?

Me, I am a complete media guzzler and OCD when it comes to using social media. I have enjoyed the old friendships I have re-kindled through FaceBook and the long distance relationships with like-minded people I have established. Would they be the same face to face? Probably not. 

But nothing that a glass of vino couldn’t sort out.

Other blogs by Lois Kuhle:

SMOKE RINGS IN CUBA. A TWO WEEK JOURNEY FILLED WITH SALSA, SUNSHINE AND SILLY PEOPLE: http://smokeringsincuba.blogspot.com/2013/10/smoke-rings-in-cuba-journey-filled-with.html

'LIFE'S COOL'. MY NEAREST AND DEAREST BECAME THOSE THAT GRUNTED, BARKED OR BIT. http://milimanilifescool.blogspot.com/2013/12/i-n-2002-i-was-lucky-enough-to-be-given.html

COOL THOUGHTS – LIFE IN THE SLOW LANE: http://loiscoolthoughts.tumblr.com/

FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/loiskuhlescribbler

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/loiskuhle

“I will follow you to the ends of the earth ….. 

even to Manguzi!”

Love makes us do many strange things.

 After a stint overseas and time in glorious Cape Town, Lexi Stavrides initially nested in the quaint village of Ubombo - with the most breath-taking views over the wilderness of Zululand. Her young, dashing beau was relocated to Manguzi. Where????? Tucked away in the north eastern corner of Zululand, it’s a hop skip and a jump to Kosi Bay, and across the border to Ponta d’Ouro.

Lexi Stavrides is not the first young lass to turn her back on the pleasures of the city to follow her heart, and like many young pioneering women she is making the most of her isolation by transferring her talents and skills to members of the community. Lexi established Alex & Thatch: creating enviro-conscious, hand-stitched leather products with individual charm.

Combining her creative flair and love of working with her hands, Lexi’s Alex & Thatch range has combinations of natural, earthy colours; some are blended with bright, striking colours creating a classic yet fun look.

From one pioneering gal to another: Well done, girlfriend!

Can’t resist? You can order tailor made items off Alex & Thatch’s website:

http://www.alexandthatch.com/

or follow her on FaceBook and find out which markets she will be at:

https://www.facebook.com/alexandthatch

Leather Care:

·        Never let your leather goods get wet or damp.
·        Leather is not waterproof. If it gets wet ensure that you dry it out, but not in direct sunlight.
·        Pen does not come off leather when marked – just to note.
·        Never use polish or detergents to clean leather.
·        A wet wipe is great to use to clean your leather but without excessive wiping.
·        Use a leather balm, oil or conditioning cream every 4 – 6 months to treat your leather and to keep it supple.
·        Using your finger to apply a small amount of the treatment and ensure you wipe off any excess with a clean, dry cloth.
Never use Dubbin or shoe polish to care for your leather, this builds up a waxy layer over time. 
Leather ages naturally and when looked after can last you a life time!

HAND-STITCHED . ARTISANAL . LEATHER PRODUCTS

The home of fine leather craftsmanship.

Other blogs by Lois Kuhle:
SMOKE RINGS IN CUBA. A TWO WEEK JOURNEY FILLED WITH SALSA, SUNSHINE AND SILLY PEOPLE: http://smokeringsincuba.blogspot.com/2013/10/smoke-rings-in-cuba-journey-filled-with.html
'LIFE'S COOL'. MY NEAREST AND DEAREST BECAME THOSE THAT GRUNTED, BARKED OR BIT. http://milimanilifescool.blogspot.com/2013/12/i-n-2002-i-was-lucky-enough-to-be-given.html
COOL THOUGHTS – LIFE IN THE SLOW LANE: http://loiscoolthoughts.tumblr.com/
FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/loiskuhlescribbler
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/loiskuhle

bursting with bling

The first time I met Karen Mathews in 1996, in Kenya, I had been coerced (by another Karen) into entering a hair-brained, mad persons event called the Rhino Charge. We were an all-girls team determined to win the Coup des Dames (which we did, by the way!)

We tore around in a Range Rover in some God-forsaken bush in the back waters of Kenya trying to get from one point to another in the shortest distance possible, spitting out dust and thorns. Why anyone would want to do this, goodness alone knows. But, it was for a good cause – The Rhino Ark – hell bent on raising funds to protect the Aberdare Forest in Central Province. 

I may add that my late husband, Ken Kuhle, was the founder of Rhino Ark so the pressure was on me to impress as we hadn’t tied the knot at this stage.

It is my pleasure to show-case some of Karen’s art. Karen is a lady of many talents, and this is just one of them!

Karen, who signs her work as sian, was born in Tanzania. Apart from 7 years spent in Italy, studying Interior Design (among other things), she has lived all her life in Africa. She lives on the southern boundary of The Nairobi National Park, which her studio overlooks. Her art is inspired by the nature surrounding her. With a dash of Indian blood, Karen (sian) loves to include an element of bling in all her work!

Her contact is fourwdm@gmail.com

           

Other blogs by Lois Kuhle:

SMOKE RINGS IN CUBA. A TWO WEEK JOURNEY FILLED WITH SALSA, SUNSHINE AND SILLY PEOPLE: http://smokeringsincuba.blogspot.com/2013/10/smoke-rings-in-cuba-journey-filled-with.html

'LIFE'S COOL'. MY NEAREST AND DEAREST BECAME THOSE THAT GRUNTED, BARKED OR BIT. http://milimanilifescool.blogspot.com/2013/12/i-n-2002-i-was-lucky-enough-to-be-given.html

COOL THOUGHTS – LIFE IN THE SLOW LANE: http://loiscoolthoughts.tumblr.com/

FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/loiskuhlescribbler

BIG ideas with little people.

Darren Aiken has lots of little things happening in his head. No, not mentally. He has BIG ideas that he transforms into the most delightful miniature scenarios.

He started off with chess sets. The most notorious is the Old vs New SA Political where Winnie and Nelson Mandela(as king and queen) take on FW de Klerk and Evita Bezuidenhout - such a stunning idea, and now a collector’s item. Even more quirky, appealing to my sense of humour, is the Addams Family where Morticia and Gomez take on – empty spaces – because they are all ghosts. Love it. His chess sets expanded to Legends of Music, People of the 20^th Century and World Cup Soccer.

 

“Location, Location, Location” is Darren’s latest obsession. I am proud to say that I was one of the first people, in 2010, to be privy to this concept. In fact a small spaza at the top of the debut painting is named ‘Kuhle’ which means ‘That’s good’ in Zulu (despite the fact that it is distinctly Danish!).

Location, Location, Location (or lok'shn) started one morning when Darren joined his equally talented wife, Audrey Rudnick, in her studio. Inspired by an article in American Artist magazine they experimented with a new technique by painting geometric shapes on canvas, and painting faces over them. Darren, not one for staying ‘inside the lines’, used very bold colours and large geometrical shapes across the whole canvas. He identified with the vivid colours found in Africa and started developing an idea that the geometric shapes were really only a collection of different sized blocks. Next he painted roofs and alleys of a township from a bird's eye view, and included miniature objects and people (which is more his style). Soon a miniature township, detailing life (plus associated brands), came alive on canvas.

And as he cheekily says: “The play on words of Kuhle as the name of my obviously Zulu Spaza shop was potentially a marketing effort to entice my first potential customer - Lois Kuhle into buying the first of my concept paintings.” Sadly, at that time I did not have the funds to invest in this. Not fair, as it's like selling someone a puppy! Now I am sorry I didn’t buy it!!

That year at Art in the Park in Pietermaritzburg Darren launched ‘Location, Location, Location’. Within an hour it was sold with 7 other prospective buyers for ‘Kuhle’. Limited edition prints were made.

‘Location, Location, Location’ has progressed to include a medley of pre-94 and post-94. Cards depicting individual scenes are also available.

Darren Aiken and Audrey Rudnick can be found at the Up-Market in Umhlanga Centre (Durban) every Sunday morning.

DARREN’S WEBSITE: http://www.thehoozoo.com/

Other blogs by Lois Kuhle:

SMOKE RINGS IN CUBA. A TWO WEEK JOURNEY FILLED WITH SALSA, SUNSHINE AND SILLY PEOPLE: http://smokeringsincuba.blogspot.com/2013/10/smoke-rings-in-cuba-journey-filled-with.html

'LIFE'S COOL'. MY NEAREST AND DEAREST BECAME THOSE THAT GRUNTED, BARKED OR BIT. http://milimanilifescool.blogspot.com/2013/12/i-n-2002-i-was-lucky-enough-to-be-given.html

COOL THOUGHTS – LIFE IN THE SLOW LANE: http://loiscoolthoughts.tumblr.com/

LOIS KUHLE WEBSITE: IT’S ABOUT WRITING, GIVING, EATING, LIVING AND LOVING. https://sites.google.com/site/loiskuhle/

The impatient gardener.

I pulled out all my carrots today. I want to plant purple tomatoes. I am now in turbo-charged organic mode. Besides, the carrots were the founder members of this garden 6 months ago. They were starting to look untidy. Time-to-be-eaten.

I plucked out and washed 2.6kgs of wonderful home grown, un-contaminated carrots. I noted they were an astounding R45/ 5kgs at the supermarket – a huge increase from R18/ 5kgs (US$1 = R10) not so long ago. We juice every day and scream through a packet of carrots with great ease. 

So, you do the maths – 2.6kgs (give or take a few that have come out already) over 5 months – oh, and factor in a swimming pool. Great value? Perhaps not.

You see, the verdant, fertile, happy place, where all this is grown, is in an old swimming pool. It is an engagement present from the one I love. Our neglected pool was transformed from  a ‘mosquito breeding project’ in July 2013, and within a couple of months we were harvesting beetroot, salads, spinach, tomatoes, green peppers, and two artichokes!

Rob was diagnosed with prostate cancer mid-2012 and I was determined that nothing was going to happen to him on my watch, so we adopted a strict regime of juicing every day, with carrots being the base ingredient. Despite the constant eye-rolling from his Professor his PSA has come down from a terrifying 400 to less than 0.1. 

I confess that the oncology treatment may have played a part.

Besides, the garden keeps me happy. 

And a happy me is a happy home!!!

Other blogs by Lois Kuhle:

SMOKE RINGS IN CUBA. A TWO WEEK JOURNEY FILLED WITH SALSA, SUNSHINE AND SILLY PEOPLE: http://smokeringsincuba.blogspot.com/2013/10/smoke-rings-in-cuba-journey-filled-with.html

'LIFE'S COOL'. MY NEAREST AND DEAREST BECAME THOSE THAT GRUNTED, BARKED OR BIT. http://milimanilifescool.blogspot.com/2013/12/i-n-2002-i-was-lucky-enough-to-be-given.html

WEBSITE: LOIS KUHLE

https://sites.google.com/site/loiskuhle/

We have pending nuptials. 

Even at our age the prospect is so very exciting. This will not the first time for the gallant groom and blushing bride to walk down the aisle. My dad has marched me there once (or twice) before, in the hope that the boomerang bride does not whirly whirly her way home. But this approaching event has begged the question of how to do it….this time.

This year had a traumatic start. Before it had even whispered ‘13’ we attended the funeral of an old school friend of mine’s husband. December and all its frivolous festivities is about to begin and again we have been to the funeral of a young 62 year old friend of Robert’s. We have also been caught up in the madness of Mandela’s 10 days of mourning.

It’s at times like these that one reflects on life, death and hopefully that happy bit in the middle. 

These three funerals garnered the support and love of many, many friends and family. Admittedly Mandela’s was planned way in advance, but tragically the other two were not expected and flipped the lives of their loved ones completely upside down.

But within days of their tragic exit, people had flown from distant corners of the earth. Driven for miles across the country, dropped everything they were doing to be with someone they really cared about. Catering was organised, a wake put together, stirring speeches about the dearly departed spontaneously penned, drawing emotions from deep down. Everyone made an effort to be there. Everyone did their thing. 

The only thing missing was the person for whom this was all about.

Why in life can we not do what we do in death???

So, back to the pending nuptials. We have decided that we will give our friends and family – and anyone else who cares – a week’s notice. 

Bring a plate of something. 

We will tell you where to come. 

Don’t dress up. 

No presents. 

But drop everything and share what we believe is our lifetime moment.

You have been warned.

Other blogs by Lois Kuhle:

SMOKE RINGS IN CUBA. A TWO WEEK JOURNEY FILLED WITH SALSA, SUNSHINE AND SILLY PEOPLE: http://smokeringsincuba.blogspot.com/2013/10/smoke-rings-in-cuba-journey-filled-with.html

'LIFE'S COOL'. MY NEAREST AND DEAREST BECAME THOSE THAT GRUNTED, BARKED OR BIT. http://milimanilifescool.blogspot.com/2013/12/i-n-2002-i-was-lucky-enough-to-be-given.html