Water, Water Everywhere or NOT so Everywhere…

October 8, 2016October 8, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha9 Comments

71 percent of the Earth is covered by water and every living thing thrives on water simply because WATER is LIFE.

I have seen water in many ramifications, from the abundance of the Oceans to bottled water of varieties, rainfall in the Tropics to the aridity of living in the Desert and one thing that I’ve found is that every living thing seeks out water. Unfortunately, there are places that lack this bare necessity that many take for granted, which reminds me of a well-articulated post I read earlier, written by Robert.

One of the things that I miss living in the UAE is rainfall. It’s such a rare occurrence and buying bottled water is the norm because the desert lacks a generous abundance of potable water.

Agbokim waterfalls

Boy’s at play

Gold fish on display at cafe

Watering Hole

I like the reflection in the waters

Dinner tents surrounded by water

Echos Of My Neighbourhood

Random Snaps of My Neighbourhood.

October 6, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha21 Comments

On Thursdays, I share pictures about ‘Echos of my Neighbourhood.

I would like to invite you to participate. The challenge is quite simple and you can find out more about it through this link.

It’s been a breezy busy week filled with this and that, that I found myself taking most of my photos either early in the morning or in the evening after the day’s runaround.

Here are several snips and snaps of my neighbourhood caught within the week.

Lady Lee offers you something to smile about.

The light casts a lovely appearance at night.

A Click A Day

Yoga Pose Chit-Chat – A Click A Day

October 5, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha2 Comments

The day’s job is done and as the Sun sets, it’s time to take a breather, sitting in a yoga pose and having a chit-chat.

Featured Blogs

Losing Them, Finding Them – Mundane Monday

October 3, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha12 Comments

Mundane Monday Challenge is created to find beauty in almost everything.

The challenge is simple. Find beauty in everyday mundane things, capture the beauty and upload the photographs.

I had my mind set on another photo for today’s mundane Monday, but after the run around my car keys gave me, I felt they deserved a worthy mention this morning.

I had absentmindedly dropped the keys on the settee when I got home instead of hanging them on the hook where we keep keys and it decided to hide in the crevice of the cushions.

Phew! I had to search all my handbags and odd places, went downstairs to check if the car was still there ;-0 , retraced my steps, conversation, and actions before finally finding the dodgy thing. These are no simple keys! They have the power to detain you and make you stew a bit.

The Daily Post

Bittersweet Nostalgia…

October 1, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha29 Comments

Our memories are woven into the essence of who we are just like our DNA. Some memories are fleeting, while some stick and go with you wherever you may journey to. Even when you are far away from the source of such memory, little things bring thoughts of them flooding you with bittersweet nostalgia. Image result for images of memories quotes

I’ve found myself easily moved to tears in the past few weeks and coincidentally, I’ve been running into things that quickly transport me to my carefree days of childhood when I was under the loving protection of my parents and didn’t have to worry about finances, World politics and if the World’s going on a one-way ticket to hell in a handbasket.

Here a few of the things I’ve seen in recent weeks that transport me back to my growing up years in the close-knit campus community of The University of Nigeria Nsukka.

Nostalgia – The Daily Post Challenge

Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

I saw this Tortoise at a nature garden that I visited recently and that brought back different memories of folktales of The Wise Tortoise that my Grandma told us on balmy evenings as we peeled cassava or shredded our harvest of corn. In my hometown, the Tortoise is respected and roams free. It wasn’t strange to see them trudge along the bush path, stopping to nibble at foliage as they went about their business.

I saw this shaker in a musical store and couldn’t resist taking a photo and shaking it a bit. It reminds me of days of traditional, energetic dancing with my childhood friends and shaking these musical gourd in rhythm with the drums and other homegrown instruments. We call it ‘ishaka’ and practically every mama owned one. Sometimes, especially during festive season, our dancing efforts were rewarded with pennies from appreciating adults.

Interestingly, I wrote a post just last week when I came across this mask. https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/2016/09/22/the-mask-a-click-a-day/

Abundant blooms of Bougainvillea brings back thoughts of my childhood home. The perimeters of our compound was trimmed with Bougainvillea and The Queen of the Night flower that emitted its signature, beautiful, musky fragrance that hung in the nights’ air.

Ha! I chuckled when I saw this grandma telephone. My parents had a cream one and my dear dad kept it locked so that we wouldn’t run up bills for him. Back then to own a telephone was expensive, novelty and for a select few. We (my siblings and I) outwitted my poor dad (sorry daddy) by learning a trick on how to tap the numbers on the phone to call our friends. Now, I wonder if my dad ever knew.

P.S. Are you coming to the party? It’s LIVE right now and you can join the fun through this link. See you 🙂

Rononvan's Weekly Haiku Challenge

All Fall Down…Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Challenge

September 27, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha3 Comments

Ronovan gives us a pair of haiku prompts ‘ Home & Leaves,’ that fall into the seasons’ theme. Here’s my take on it.

Nothing satisfies me like a beautiful evening,

seated at home sipping tea;

watching the leaves wave in the wind.

Now the leaves all come falling down,

tapestry in rustic brown mounds;

nature decorating the yards of many homes.

Homeowners may sometimes feel tired and grumpy,

having to gather endless heaps

of leaves, that continue to fall down.

♠

P.S. We’ll be having our monthly blog party 1st – 2nd of October. I’ll keep you posted.

The Daily Post

Life is a Quest…

September 24, 2016September 24, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha14 Comments

Being alive in itself is an expedition. It is a quest to find purpose and the common factor is that as humans, we are all in search of the same basic things: Food, Shelter, Love, and Peace. These four basics can be broken down into minutiae details of other human desires that we have, but when greed is added to this mix you and I can guess what the end result becomes.

Quest – The Daily Post Photo Challenge

Dubai · Echos Of My Neighbourhood

The View From 33rd Floor – Echoes of my neighbourhood.

September 22, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha11 Comments

On Thursdays, I share pictures about ‘Echos of my Neighbourhood.

I would like to invite you to participate. The challenge is quite simple and you can find out more about it through this link.

These photos were taken on Monday from the 33rd floor of the office where I attended a meeting. The view is fantastic and I spent the time clicking on my camera while waiting for my hostess to come. It also gave me time to unwind from my annoying encounter with a dodgy taxi driver.

Lady Lee sends you some delicious platters from the Philippines, some homegrown grapes and fresh apples. I honestly envy people who have grounds to plant their own fruits and vegetables.

Roos walkabouts’ are certainly rewarding with those delicious looking pumpkins, I smell Halloween 🙂

So, how’s your neighbourhood doing right now?

Jacqueline