(Re)Fresh March 2009
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Hello, March is by far my favourite month in Cape Town, holding out the last handful of summer and if we are lucky, that sunshine may stretch out and into April. March days are hot and evenings are cooler, the light slowly is fading earlier into night. March is a reminder to do all those things we planned to do before summer is over, making the most of the bright mornings, sunny afternoons and calm cool evenings.
This month visit the beautifully serene Franschhoek in the Cape Winelands (p 6). Create your own bit of serenity at home and Declutter Your Life (p12). Cleaning up your space is one way to simplify your daily life but and taking steps towards cleaning up our environment is a way to improve life for all. Sign up for Earth Hour 2009 (p 4) and load up on ideas on how to make green living Almost Effortless (p 5). After all the good-doing, spoil yourself, or that special someone, to hand crafted jewellery by Colour-In-Motion designer, Diana Brogneri (p 9) and be inspired by the poetic musings of Cindy A Eve who wrote Fallow Fields (p 18).
Make the most of your month of March, whether you are building the last snowman of the season or catching a tan down South, make it worth a tweet! (p15) Cheers,
Monique Monique Boucher - (Re)Fresh Editor Email:refreshednow@gmail.com Blog: http://refreshtoday.blogspot.com/
On the Cover: Photography by Andrew Mason. 2009. View more of his photography at www.staticlight.com
Contributors —Thank you to this month’s contributors: Cémanthe Harries, Cindy A Eve , Diana Broneri and Andrew Mason. Disclaimer — (Re)Fresh is a publication that aims to include content that is original and accurate. Please feel free to notify the editor should you suspect plagiarism. (Re)Fresh can not be held responsible for the views and opinions expressed by contributors and writers. Photography supplied by contributors or by Monique Boucher, unless otherwise stated.
(Re)Fresh
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Contents (Re)Design your Life
Earth Day
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Almost Effortless - Ways to Save the World
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(Re)View of Places and Spaces
Franschhoek
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(Re)View Art
Colour-In-Motion
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Fallow Fields
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(Re)Design your Life
Declutter Your Life
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(Re)View Social Media
Twitteration
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Earth Hour 2009
Earth Hour is a global call to join people from over 64 countries in doing one simple thing that could make a world of difference ‌ tuning out and switching off. Everyone can join in and take a stand by turning off lights, the TV and PC for just one hour on 28 March 2009. It is an opportunity to be a part of the conversation about the future of our planet and take an active role we could play to save it. Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when more than 2.2 million families and businesses turned off their lights for an hour on Saturday, 31 March 2007. In 2008, Earth Hour reached 370 cities and towns in more than 35 countries across 18 time zones, making Earth Hour a global sustainability movement. The aim for this year’s Earth Hour is to reach 1 billion people around the world in more than 1000 cities. South Africans are called to join Earth Hour 2009 at 8.30pm Saturday 28 March. Sign-up online by visiting earthhour.org and invite your friends to commit to Earth Hour 2009.
Almost Effortless - Ways to Save the World The climate crisis effects everyone but how often have you felt helpless to do anything about it? Many people have the perception that to save our world requires an extreme life makeover like moving into a tree house and adapting to a fruitarian lifestyle, only eating the fruit that drops from the tea. If you are not feel excited about to the notion of going to bed with the setting sun, in order to save electricity, don’t stress it, saving the world does not have to be an ‘all or nothing’ effort. There many simple, almost effortless, ways to do your bit for our world. Try some of the following ideas and it before long they will be habit.
Turn off and Unplug Even when turned off, electrical appliances use electricity. Switch off and unplug appliances like cell phone charges, TV’s, stereos and your kettle, before you go to bed and when you are out for the day. It is that simple. Climatecrisis.net reports that the energy used to keep display clocks lit and memory chips working accounts for 5% of the total domestic energy 18 million tons of carbon to be emitted into the atmosphere every year!
Drive Less & Move More This is obvious but so few people want to give up driving altogether. The good news is that you don’t have to. According to Climatecrisis.net, merely shaving off only 10 miles (or 16 km) of driving each week and you save the earth from 500 pounds of carbon dioxide per year. This is a difference we could all make that only requires you to be a bit more mindful behind the wheel.
Pump It Up Next time your fill up your car tank, make sure the tires are pumped up. Properly inflated tires could improve petrol/gas mileage by more than 3% and, Climatecrisis.net states that one gallon of petrol/ gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere
Source: www.climatecrisis.net
Franschhoek If you have ever been to Franschhoek, part of the Winelands of the Western Cape, South Africa, you would know that this small quaint town is a fabulous place to eat, drink and be merry. Franschhoek, which means ‘French Corner’, was established when the French Huguenot refugees were given land by the Dutch government in 1688, according to Wikipedia.com.
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Above: Shops like Touches & Tastes, offer a unique shopping experience. Right: The female statue at the Huguenot Memorial Monument holds a Bible in her right hand and broken chains in her left, representing religious freedom.. The monument was established in 1948.
The first thing that will catch you off guard is the pace of Franschhoek. The town has a relaxed pace all of its own. There is no need to rush lunch when you could eat at one of South Africa’s favourite restaurants complimented by one of the country’s top wines, many of which are produced in Franschhoek. Walking down the main road of Franschhoek is like stepping back in time, a more elegant time somehow managing to hold on to the modern creature comforts. Many of the guest houses, set in old grand Cape Dutch Style homes, advertise internet access and satellite television. Boutiques and gift stores offer the discerning shopper with something to remember the holiday by, and you can be sure that to find handcrafted items you could not buy from your local mall. The main street is lined with restaurants, some award winning, but you will not find one fast food outlet. It is hard to imagine Franschhoek as being anything other than the cultured peaceful town boasting fine dining, wine, beautifully restored buildings and rose gardens, but amazingly enough, back in the 1600’s herds of elephants roamed the area. Franschhoek was once known as Olifantshoek (Elephants Corner). Today you will not see elephants but tour buses making their way between vineyards to enjoy little pit of France, South African style. Sources: Franschhoek. Wikipedia.com. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franschhoek Franschheok.co.za. Available: http://www.franschhoek.co.za/ The Huguenot Society of South Africa. Available: http://www.geocities.com/hugenoteblad/huge2.htm?
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Colour-in-Motion What started as a single string lariat of plastic beads resulted in Colour-In-Motion, Diana Brogneri’s jewellery & accessory design label.
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(Re)View Art
It is one thing to string a few beads together but Diana Brogneri takes beading to the next level having created over 2000 original jewellery pieces and accessories. “My passion for jewellery design sparked three years ago when I decided to create Christmas gifts for my family,” says Brogneri. What started as a single string lariat of plastic beads resulted in Colour-In-Motion, her design label founded in 2007. Brogneri, who uses only the highest quality beads, including Swarovski and Crystals, fresh water pearls, gem stones and many more, handcrafts show-stopping necklaces to dainty beaded rings. Having only attended one beading class, she says that her creations have grown through trial and error. While she can’t pinpoint her exact inspiration, she says, “I tend to come up with a new design every two to three days.” Motivated to grow Colour-In-Motion, Brogneri plans to employ an assistant and currently markets her range through a sales agent, Jen Modi.
“I tend to come up with a new design every two to three days, ” says Diana Brogneri, founder of Colour-In-Motion, “... “I get such satisfaction from creating. I have been creating things for over twenty years, making three-layered fur blankets, baby clothing and scrap booking embellishments.”
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“I get such satisfaction from creating. I have been creating things for over twenty years, making three-layered fur blankets, baby clothing and scrap booking embellishments.” She says that three things she couldn’t live without are God, Thor (her cat), and her beads. The best advice she has for any designer or artist, is what she herself has done, “…Find your gift and then follow that dream.” “I believe wholeheartedly that God intended us to use the gifts that He has given to each and every one of us,” she says, “and we should be able to derive an income from doing what we absolutely love and have a passion for.”
Diana Brogneri
Colour-In-Motion jewellery can be found at Sandee’s gift shop, Old Mutual shopping complex, Pinelands; Zita, Paddocks Centre, Tableview and at All About Weddings.
“I believe wholeheartedly that God intended us to use the gifts that He has given to each … of us...” For more information, contact Diana Brogneri at colourinmotion@nashuaisp.co.za or contact Jen Modi, Colour-In-Motion sales agent on 082 560 4545 or email uniqueboutiqueinternational@gmail.com
Jen Modi
(Re)Design Your Life
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De-clutter Your Life By CĂŠmanthe Harries
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Once a week I like to sit down with a cup of tea, put on a good disaster movie, gather all of my paperwork (and whatever else is lying around) and do some serious decluttering and sorting. This can take a full day or even sometimes two days. My husband always laughs when he gets home and sees the array of papers, magazines and other spread across the lounge, but he does know to stay out of the way or he might get filed under miscellaneous. On a serious note though, it is written that if you declutter your physical environment then you allow the energy to flow, clutter literally means "to block" in old English. There's no faster way to block and stagnate energy from circulating around your home than to have it filled with clutter. If you're ready to start making more money, find a happy relationship, or even just experience a better mood, then look no further than your own home. Having a messy environment can lead you to feel bogged down, out of control, and perhaps depressed. If this is what can happen when things are in a mess, then why do people keep items that lead to clutter? Well, there are many reasons, but here are the most popular: • • • •
It was a gift/present I might be able to sell it on someday It might come in useful one day I would feel guilty throwing away so much stuff
On a serious note though, it is written that if you declutter your physical environment then you allow the energy to flow, clutter literally means "to block" in old English. There's no faster way to block and stagnate energy from circulating around your home than to have it filled with clutter.
If you recognise any of these above, then here is how to start with them and you'll be amazed at the change when you whole-heartedly start getting rid of clutter: If a gift had any practical use to you it’s likely it would already be serving its purpose and/or have a suitable place in your home, rather than simply taking up space. Why do you think you can or will sell it in the future? What’s stopping you from selling it now and clearing some space?
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Coming in useful one day’ is the most common reason why people keep stuff. If you have already had the item for a while and you haven’t used it, it’s safe to assume you are not going to need it any time soon. Remember the six month rule, if you haven’t worn it or used it in six months, its out! Fell too guilty to throw things away? Recycle it then, give it away to your friends or charity shops. Your trash might be someone’s treasure! Everyone has to start somewhere! Now that you’ve cleared those reasons, here are other tips on how to declutter: •
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Take one room at a time and within each room decide the key points that need to be organised Make sure you also have the right tools in place. Have large rubbish bags close by, have a sweeping brush, dust-cloths and any other washing tools you might think you will need; things will be dirty and dusty Remember to designate a place for everything and have everything in its place. Any form of paperwork, such as magazines, newspapers and letters tend to be mostly what gets binned, if you think it could be interesting for a later date create a reference folder or filing system and store the bare minimum that you need (tear the page out of the magazine for instance) Be tough. The secret is to ask, “Am I ever going to use or enjoy this item again?”. If the answer is “no”, move it on If you are on the fence with a lot of things, create a “maybe” box Create a system to stop clutter from accumulating Celebrate when you’re done! This is actually a general rule in life: always celebrate your accomplishments, no matter how small. Even if you have only decluttered one drawer, that’s great.
Take one room at a time and within each room decide the key points that need to be organised. Make sure you also have the right tools in place. Now that you’re done, treat yourself to something delicious. Open that drawer (or closet, or room), and admire its simplicity. Breathe deeply and know that you have done a good thing!
(Re)View Social Media
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Twitteration
Everybody is talking about Twitter or at least, talking on Twitter. Twitter grew a whopping 752% in 2008, as cited by Mashable. You could say that Twitter today, is what Facebook was in 2007 when we loaded our entire photo album …from birth, and made it part of our daily to-do’s to write wrote on the wall of all our friends. Twitter is defined as social networking micro-blogging, short and sharp blog posts, or what we call ‘tweets’, with a limit of 146 characters. In a nutshell, it is very much like reading your friends’ Facebook status updates, without the distraction of photographs to look at or the cute, but silly applications. ‘Tweeting’ is much like typing a text message.
It sounds simplistic and but if you are still wondering why all the fuss. Here are some of benefits that should have you have you tweeting up a storm in no time. •
Twitter allows you bring your online world closer by linking your ‘tweets’ to Facebook or Myspace automatically updating your status. It is two birds, one tweet so-to-speak
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Twitter is a wonderful way to promote your website or blog by creating a link from your Twitter profile and publish your tweets on your blog.
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Meet like-minded people, from around the globe, which one may never have met in the real physical world if it were not for the virtual one.
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Improve your writing through creating quick, sharp, sassy, and sometimes tongue-in-cheek, tweets (posts) that get the point across in only 146 characters.
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Subscribing to tweets is time-saving way to keep in touch with what is going on in the lives of friends and family.
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Twitter is a great information gathering tool as fellow twits share their discoveries and interesting links. If you follow people with similar interests, you are bound to be guided to sites that could make your life easier, work for your business or offer you a bit of a laugh. Save your favourite tweets with links you think would be of interest and go back to view them when you have time, you’re your ‘favourites’.
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It is a platform that allows you to express exactly what you are thinking and feeling in that particular moment without the retro-cringe factor. For some reason people on Twitter are honest, a little off-beat and sometimes down right silly. It is reality entertainment at its best because unlike Facebook serial status updaters, who try to sound ever-so clever, tweeters don’t give a fig… and if you do, you can delete your tweet at anytime.
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Okay one for the sports fans and newspaper hounds, you will love the fact loves the fact that you could have instant access to world and sports news by following various news networks twitter profiles.
Sources: Twitter Growth 2008. Mashable.com. Available: http://mashable.com/2009/01/09/ twitter-growth-2008/ Adapted from My Twitter Romance. 2009. original blog post available at http://refreshtoday.blogspot.com/2009/02/my-sweet-twitter-romance.html
(Re)Viewing Art— Poetry
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FALLOW FIELDS Softly lie the fallow fields, Plants bloom and grown, Tractors roar and turn the sods, Mice afraid run and scatter. Hedgerows line the winding roads Grasses rustle in the breeze, Sun-ripened fruits bulge and fall, Rotting slowly. Life ebbs and flows, birth and death go un-noticed.
Cindy A Eve Newton Ferrers Read more of her poetry at www.calane55.wordpress.com