Author: WεηchƔ

In September 1997, “The Nocturnal Wenchy” started her blog. The blog remains painfully real but these days she is more of an intermittent Blogger! 😉

A countdown to 50.

Dear friends and other interesting creatures,

I wanted to capture my journey to turning 50, next year 2023.

This is my first entry at 5h15am on Saturday, 11 June 2022. Two sleep away from turning 49 years old.

I’m about to get up, shower and be a good Mom. Drive to my daughter, Victoria 30 minutes away to collect and drop something for her, on the other side of town as she needs to start work at 7am. It is important to me that she knows she can count on me.

I worked really hard yesterday creating a personalised gift box for a client. I know I pushed my Fibromyalgia / Rheumatoid Arthritis self too hard as I stayed up working on this order until 2am the previous night.

I slept from three hours last night and woke from pain. I need to get up and shower but my body is so sore. Everywhere. I want to have a small cry to be honest. 🙈

Dion and I have a friend staying with us, dubt “the housemate” and I am thankful that she is coming with for the drive. 😊 Life really has its blessings.

Glad Dion can sleep. The days of working turns into nights daily and I feel for him. He works incredibly hard.

Welcome to a new Chapter and direction for my blog – #49andfine

I’ll have to make time to work on my blog layout etc sometime so it looks like somebody lives here again. 🥳

Tramacet, shower, coffee and a drive. Happy Saturday darlings.

I wish you enough,

Wenchy

No blue Monday…

… cause it is Tuesday.

  • Life feels overwhelming.
  • I have a chronic stomach ache. I’ve had tests, scans and scopes done and apparently it is my Anxiety just being extra.
  • My skin feels like it is on fire, a Fibromyalgia flair type pain.
  • I’m so tired. To my soul tired. Physically, emotionally and mentally.
  • I am surrounded by people but I feel so alone.
  • I hate crying by default.
  • Writing *I* so many times makes it all about me, again. Selfish. Self-centered.
  • My heart just feels so heavy.

I’m trying to find things to be thankful for. I know they are there and there are many. Lots.

me.

The Kissing Booth : One Last Time – Book Review

Dear friends and other interesting creatures,

I do enjoy me a bit of Teen & Young Adult Fiction from time to time. It is easy to get lost into the yesterday of youth… but still learn life lessons.

Beth Reekles is the author of The Kissing Booth and the sequel, Going the Distance and now the third book in The Kissing Booth series, One Last Time…. which was adapted into a series of very popular Netflix movies.

Thankfully I have not seen the movies and my son has assured me the books are better. I found it easy reading. Elle, Lee and Noah and a bucket list for Summer. I do not want to give anything away but expect a beach house, adult choices like where to study needs to be made. I found the story line bitter sweet probably purely because of the age of the characters and then off course, there is the ending.

It is a series, so do read the books in the order they are written. #wink

The Author first published The Kissing Booth in 2010, at age fifteen (!!), and it accumulated almost 20 million reads before it was published by in 2012 by Random House Children’s Books.

She was named one of Time’s 16 Most Influential Teenagers in late 2013, and has been shortlisted for several awards, including the 2014 Queen of Teen Award.

Beth now works in IT while maintaining her career as an author and runs a blog –
http://www.authorbethreekles.com/

– where she talks about life as a twentysomething and offers writing advice.

I wish you enough,

Wenchy

Victoria : 10 Random Things

Dear friends and other interesting creatures,

Today my only biological daughter, and Owner of Whisk Me Away shares 10 Random bits about herself.

Victoria 💙

1 I love playing Pokémon go, I’m even pretty good at it.

2 My cupcake business, Whisk Me Away has been an idea since matric (2017) and finally came to life in 2021.

3 All my best recipes were happy accidents.

4 I have a furbaby named after my favorite Brooklyn Nine Nine Character, Jake Peralta, who I am actually allergic to.

5 I can wiggle my ears.

6 My absolute favourite movie is The Iron Giant, and not enough people know it exists.

7 I stole someone’s pen so long ago, they now think it’s mine.

8 I do draw and make art, sometimes even freelance to make logos.

9 I have an near constant headache, and frequent migraines.

10 I believe cheese is a major food group, and I would die for baked cheesecake.

You can reach Whisk Me Away on Instagram or Facebook or contact Victoria on victoriatrudgeon@gmail.com

If you want to be featured, contact me via WhatsApp on 0834117613 or email wenchy@mweb.co.za.

I wish you enough,

Wenchy

Morag : 10 Random Things

Dear friends and other interesting creatures,

If you would like a #shoutout, WhatsApp me on 0834117613 or email wenchy@mweb.co.za to. Include your #10randomthings, picture and social media links.

  1. I adore cats! I would love to rescue way more than the 5 we currently have!
  2. I collect brass candle snuffers!
  3. Thanks to my hubby, I have a great love of steam trains. And trains, in general, of all sizes!
  4. I collect fine bone China and have a harlequin (made up of individual pieces with different patterns) dinner & tea service.
  5. Kruger National Park is the best place in the world & I would love to live there. Birding is my favourite part of the KNP in between seeing the bigger animals.
  6. Camping is my favourite way to spend the holidays.
  7. Camping with friends makes it even better!
  8. Crocheting is my sanity & I love making gifts for people. I seldom make things for myself – even if I do I end up giving them away!
  9. To go with the crocheting, I love yarn & can spend hours & money in a yarn store.
  10. I am blessed to be a saved child of the Risen & Living King who works in my life daily and blesses & loves me.
Morag

Contact Morag at Thistle Admin:

http://www.thistleadmin.co.za

I wish you enough,

Wenchy

Taryn : 10 Random Things

Dear friends and other interesting creatures,

Every August I open my blog to Guest Posts. This year I asked for 10 random facts.

If you would like to be included and get a #shoutout on my Social Media, WhatsApp me on 0834117613 or email wenchy@mweb.co.za 🤍.

Today meet my friend and Media Manager of choice, the beautiful Taryn.

Taryn
  1. I have been bungee jumping, but I am afraid of heights.
  2. I have never travelled outside of South Africa and San Francisco is pulling at my heart strings.
  3. I was leader in scholar patrol in primary school.
  4. I have done courses in Events Management, Travel and Tourism Management.
  5. My first job/work experience was doing promotions in a grocery store aisle.
  6. I don’t like moths…They are forever chasing me or bothering me.
  7. I love ordering cappuccino at coffee shops and restaurants, but I don’t drink coffee at home, only tea.
  8. I am a romantic at heart, so I love movies on romance and happily ever afters.
  9. I cry when pets die or get hurt in movies. (I have a soft spot for fur babies.)
  10. I am an introvert and love expressing myself through creative writing.

 

Social Media Links:

 

Or Linktree: https://linktr.ee/tarynvictor

 

Phoenix Media Social Media Links:

 

Or Linktree: https://linktr.ee/phoenixmediaza

I wish you enough,

Wenchy

Shouting into the abyss

Dear friends and other interesting creatures,

I asked my daughter, Victoria yesterday if I could exit stage left and if she could please just forgive me. She said no, so I had sprinkles on my ice cream and saw the most gorgeous sunset that evening.

I’ve never been a fan of #Covid19 but seriously, talk about overstaying your welcome. I’ve looked for the positives, but the fleeting mentions are overshadowed by severe devastation, destruction and death. I’m not even trying to be extra.

Though it best I reach out as the amount of questions as to why my birthday was treated as a funeral of a very unpopular cousin, was making me feel very cult classic. Tremendously back to black.

I wish you enough,

Wenchy

READ Educational Trust

Celebrated on 3 February 2021, World Read Aloud Day highlights the importance of reading aloud and sharing stories; even more so for our younger children.

In a world where COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on life as we knew it, the Early Childhood Development (ECD) sector has been hit particularly hard. After months of lockdown, very few preschools, play groups and creches opened again, for financial reasons.1

Now, more than ever, even the simplest activity like reading aloud to young children is priceless in this extraordinary context.

Photos from World Read Aloud Day celebration in 2018!

Reading aloud also boosts confidence, helps children cope better with anxiety, develops memory and expands children’s worlds. It supports healthy brain development that forms a priceless foundation for success at school and beyond.

Early literacy skills include handling books, being able to name books, knowing how stories work, recognising sounds and letters, growing vocabulary and sharpening listening skills. All of these are imparted when a caring adult or teen reads aloud to younger children. 

Celebrating World Read Aloud Day in 2019!

Established in 1979, READ Educational Trust is a non-profit organisation that operates broadly in the education and literacy sectors across South Africa. READ works alongside the Department of Education to implement teacher training and literacy projects in schools.

Over the years, various tools have proven extremely successful in promoting literacy. The READ ALOUD MAGIC BOX SETS are vital in encouraging reading aloud, and all the benefits this activity holds.

Each of three box sets contains 12 beautifully designed books filled with attention-grabbing, adventure-filled stories set in Africa. These stories revolve around children and animals discovering the world in which they live.

These sets are a priceless investment, not only in terms of serving to build children’s vocabulary, but in terms of facilitating quality time with the little ones. Set A is aimed at children aged 4 – 7; Set B is suited to kids aged 5 – 8 and Set C is for children aged 6 – 9. All three sets are available online at http://www.thereadshop.co.za/. All profits are ploughed back into promoting literacy.

In addition, READ Educational Trust has a series of audio books which can be downloaded from the website : http://www.read.org.za/audio-books/ which parents, guardians and older siblings can play for children.  It’s a super affordable way of sharing stories with the family and mimics reading aloud.

Visit http://www.thereadshop.co.za/ and http://www.read.org.za/ to find out more and join the conversations on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/READEduTrust/,

Twitter: https://twitter.com/READEduTrust,

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/read_educational_trust/.

Reference:

1.  https://cramsurvey.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/15.-Wills-G.-Kotze-J.-Kika-Mistry-J.-2020-A-Sector-Hanging-in-the-Balance-ECD-and-Lockdown-in-South-Africa.pdf

The Perfect Child – Book Review

A page-turning debut of suspense about a young couple desperate to have a child of their own—and the unsettling consequences of getting what they always wanted.

Review :

Breathtaking. Just as I thought I had it figured out, the next dip in the roller-coaster was upon me. The book will appeal to woman who especially have a deep need to experience motherhood. It may be why you pick up the book but it won’t be anywhere near what you expect.

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