Water is still more valueable than gold in Butterworth

I suppose my title is not entirely correct as water is becoming a valuable luxury in more areas than just Butterworth.

It is now just over a year that Butterworth dam has run dry and still the demand for water is increasing drastically.  My family is trained to save every drop they can get their hands on to. We have installed a tank and pump to collect rainwater, which doesn't help all that much when we haven't had rain for well over 2 months; although it is an absolute blessing when there has been rain.

Way too many people think the water issue will just "blow over" and still do not try to save water. Since the start of schooling we have all been taught "save water", "close/fix dripping taps", "do not waste" ...
For years there has been warnings to all communities to SAVE WATER ...

No one bothered and now everyone wants to stand with arms in the air asking "why??"

My kids have learnt : If you wash your hands, do so in a little bowl or jug and pour that water over into the drum in the bathroom holding water to fill the toilet cistern with. When they bath they use as little water possible and that water gets filled over into the toilet drum too.

Showering with a few buckets to catch as much water as possible also helps.

We do however have to keep collecting drinking water as the tap water is not as clean as hoped and since there is 2 babies in the house we have to continuously pre-boil all water that the babies use.

Everyday is a struggle, yet I suppose we should rather look at the up-side since we are still better equipped than many others who do not have any water/shelter and has many more needs than we do.

Now to get down to the point "we need rain - we need a miracle"

Water has been rationed from having running water for 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours at night (some nights) we are now down to complete shut-down on Monday, Wednesday and Friday - so we are getting water (rationed still) on Tuesdays and Thursdays and some Saturdays/Sundays.

The situation is not improving - it just keeps getting worse.
People are too busy fighting over all sorts of other issues than to stand together and try save water.

Start turning your till slips into cash !!

What are you doing with your till slips?? 




Throwing them in the bin??

Why not let your receipts give you cash back on what you have bought. 

Free to join (In fact you get your first R10 FREE for using my promo code when you register)

It will never cost you anything other than the data needed to browse the app. 

It is proudly South African ... 

You have no investment to make - nothing to lose. 

And you get paid for doing the shopping you have to do anyways.

Follow the link below to get started right away.

If the promo code doesnt show up then enter Rosettae452 in teh promo code area to get your first R10 just for registering.


https://www.snapnsave.co.za/account/signup-step1?userPromoCode=Rosettae452

Why does everything turn into a racial issue???

text below copied from :

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/general/181668-the-message-to-white-students-in-south-africa.html

A video of #FeesMustFall protesters reportedly disrupting a UCT commerce lecture shows a student warning her white counterparts that they will join the movement.

The protesting student states that white students must use their “privilege” and “stand in solidarity” with the #FeesMustFall movement.

She adds that the matter is not up for discussion, and that “we are instructing you”.

The student further states that black South Africans have no reason to live in peace with white South Africans.

The publication of the video comes soon after a WhatsApp voice note did the rounds at Wits, calling for a white student to be killed so the #FeesMustFall protests will be taken seriously.

also read: 

http://www.viralbru.com/disturbing-voice-note-one-white-student-will-have-to-die-to-get-habibs-attention-listen/ 

http://www.thesouthafrican.com/protesting-wits-students-say-we-will-kill-news24-journalists-here/

Baby Freebies - South Africa

I remember quite a few years back when I was pregnant with my oldest, I received a "goodie bag" from Johnsons and Johnsons" containing several baby products, some full size and some in sample sizes to "try before you buy", which I suppose is why I have never changed brands in over 14 years.

All my kids were raised and pampered with J&J products from birth and even now as growing kids they stick to the brand.
Not because of the quality, simple packaging or price - but because that was the first products I tried for babies and was happy with it, and I suppose I felt a bit of guilt trying anything else because they were the only ones that gave out samples.

Maybe I was just in luck at the time I got the samples or the rep seemed generous - I dont know... but when I fell pregnant again (with a huge 14 year gap between my oldest child and baby) I started searching for companies that give out sample sizes of their products to try or companies that reward you with freebies when you make your baby products purchases at their stores.

There is only 1 place that rewards you for shopping with them during your baby preparation spending - :

Dis-chem :  If you register for their rewards card and then register your pregnancy with them, they reward you with a baby nappy bag (and a very fashionable bag it is) perfect for mommies or daddies to carry around ... and the bag is filled with various samples of products. And all you have to do is spend some cash in store stocking up on your baby goodies (which you are going to spend in any case since they stock all that you need for baby's first days).

I checked with Clicks since I have always been a supporter of Clicks and apart from their normal cash back loyalty cards and baby club which you get some extra discounts (which doesn't cover the items you most likely to purchase) they dont offer freebies for expectant moms who has been supporting the store for so many years.

I will be switching to Dis-chem and no longer be doing my purchases at Clicks either - I checked out the prices at Dis-chem and are very pleased to say that majority of their items are cheaper also. They also offer a loyalty card system and then obviously the little spoil for expectant moms (the nappy bag filled with goodies).

To top it all - there are so many shops people go buy at for "loyalty" points to try get some money back - but all in all - has any of you tried the "Spar Rewards" card - it is a tag with a tiny hole in the corner so you can add it to your car keys - that way you can never "forget" your card and lose out on swipes.

Some rewards stores you have to buy such a huge amount in order to get something back - with the Spar Rewards you get your discount deducted off your slip there and then.  Up till about a month ago I didn't bother about the little card - I had one (but didn't add it to my keys) and always forgot to have the card with me when I do my shopping. Then last month when I went to get groceries and the cashier asked me if I had a card, I explained that I did but always forget the card. She gave me a new one and I did the sms to activate it.

That day I bought about R1400 groceries and when she scanned the little card it dropped down by just over R80 ... that is over 5% less than what I was going to pay (and normally do pay). 

Now other stores you get 1 point for every R1 - then you need 100 points to make R10.  That means that for every 1000 you spend you get R10 back (unless obviously you earned bonus points or tripled points on an item. and even when your entire trolley has items with triple bonus, you would get a maximum of R30 on a spend of R1000.

The advantage is that with PnP you can let your points build up for a rainy day when you run short through the month? The only disadvantage of the Spar card is that only certain items count towards your rewards - so it would be wise to use both cards.  Spar has certain items that get rewarded throughout a month period (you buy those at spar and use your spar card) - the rest you buy at PnP and get the 1% reward instead of no reward.

A good way to save even more than any loyalty card system is on snapnsave 
follow the link to register for free - and you are not limited to only one store 
you can still earn your loyalty at spar, pnp, dischem, clicks etc and earn extra above your loyalty discounts.
In under a month I have earned just over R200 for doing my everyday grocery shopping.

Click the link now https://www.snapnsave.co.za/account/signup-step1?userPromoCode=Rosettae452

Under-Age Beggers at Robots and Drunk Car Guards

This past weekend we were East London visiting family and I was shocked at the amount of  "KIDS" begging at robots and 4-way stops.

We didn't drive much but in a total of approximately 10 robots we had seen at least 6 of the robots occupied by under age beggars.  I always feel bad for them but never give them anything as usually there is someone older / bigger waiting close by to beat them up the minute someone gives them money.

Now my husband and I were parked at McDonald's in Vincent, Deveraux Avenue and had about 4 or 5 youngsters coming to the car asking for money and whilst sitting there we started observing a drunk car guard at Crazy J's in Vincent harassing the customers and passers by. 

This guy was falling over his feet and when directing cars into the bays he would walk into the cars while they pull into the parking.  To the staff at Crazy J's this was a joke from the looks of it as they were looking from the door and laughing. Especially when the guy decided to just punch another guy (also very drunk from the looks of it) and the 2 of them started hitting each other - both too intoxicated to actually get a punch in and falling around more than anything.  This too was amusing to the staff and at one stage a man (i assume a manager of the store) came out carrying a pool cue acting as if he was going to hit the car guard and from what I assume, tried to chase him away (while laughing all the time) and in turn clearly no message received by the car guard who insisted on staying where he was.

For about 15-20 minutes that we were watching this spectacle I saw 2 cars turn back and leave without even getting out to complete their purchase. They saw what was happening and clearly turned back to go shop elsewhere.

In my honest opinion - phone cops or get alarm company to remove the person if he is a threat to your business and clients.  Luckily for me I am not a customer of Crazy J's but if I was then I would most definitely never set foot in that store or even the parking lot as a matter of fact since the staff make the drunk car guard their amusement for the day and inconsiderate of the damage being done to their company name (which they do not care for since they are only there for the salary at month end regardless of the turnover for the month) and as long as they can have a good laugh it is clearly all fine that this man harass their customers and damage the cars by walking into them all the time.

As for the Kids begging in the streets I was furious that our government does not have something solid in place to support these kids and get them off the streets ... and again this is only assumptions but in my opinion these kids have no future whilst they do not get help other to become our next generation criminals if no one helps them make a future for themselves. 

The government officials' wives drive fancy cars of which tax payers money has to supply the fuel and financing ... while there are so many homeless people that could be provided for with the amount it costs to keep these wives happy.

Law should give social workers and police in hand the right to remove such children from the street and keep them safe. There should be facilities in each and every town to accommodate these children and enforce an education upon them - give them meals - and keep them warm at night!!!

Yes, I know they cant all be saved and many doesn't want to, but as a country that keeps having a growing crime rate, there should be enforcers in place for those that keeps wanting to run away. Until such a time that they are of legal age they should be kept safe regardless of it being willingly or by force.
So Yes again, I'm saying lock up those who want to keep running away to the streets if it must, and hope for a few years down the line where they are grateful for the strong measures that was taken but then at least they have some sort of future with possibilities of making something of themselves.

All of us hated discipline growing up and those who got disciplined will all vouch how much it has helped them form themselves into the respectful and right minded people they are today.

We need a sort of safe-house for these kids and as a community need to stop feeding their habit of supplying cash on street corners - which in turn would make them realize that the only way they get provided for is by being in a safe place.  Surely these kids can't all want to live like that and if some of them have a chance to a better life then should it not be up to the government to try establish such an environment for them in which to be safe?

How innocent do you think these 2 were ??? 

In my opinion "how drunk must everyone be not to know who you go to bed with"

I think they just got "Busted" and had to make the best out of the situation to try make it look "less bad" 

Copied directly from News24 To go to the original article - Follow THIS LINK

Son-in-law 'knew it was mom and not wife in bed'

2016-08-24 14:04

Bloemfontein – It seems no one will ever know the exact details of what happened in the early hours of the morning when a man was caught with his pants down in bed with his mother-in-law.

They were both so inebriated that neither can remember how they ended up in bed together, Netwerk24 reported.

The son-in-law was charged with sexual assault after the incident, but the charges were withdrawn in the Bloemfontein Regional Court on Monday after they reached a settlement.

Earlier, he said he thought he was in bed with his wife, 22.

In the settlement agreement the son-in-law, 31, states: "I am sorry. We were all under the influence of alcohol. I cannot remember what happened, but I am regretful and sorry. I beg my mother-in-law's forgiveness."

The mother-in-law, 50, states: "I can't remember what happened. We are family and I am willing to forgive him. I don't want him to be prosecuted. I just want him to be reprimanded."

The agreement includes a warning to the man that he will be prosecuted if he ever commits a similar offence.

'I don't know what he did'

Netwerk24 spoke to the mother-in-law on Tuesday.

"I can't be angry with him because I don't know what he did," she said.

These things happen, but she has cut down on drinking anyway, she said.

She still has a "Savannatjie" or a small glass of wine now and then, "but I don't drink myself senseless anymore".

She said she has asked God to open up her memory of the night of February 5, but it hasn't happened yet. 

She told Netwerk24 that on the night of the incident the family had a pleasant evening around the fire at her home in Uitsig.

Later, she went to bed in the spare room as her daughter and granddaughter were sleeping in her bedroom.

She says her son-in-law knew it was her in that bed and not her daughter when he got in.

Just before daybreak his wife found him on his knees in bed with the sleeping mother-in-law and asked him what he was doing.

"I thought it was you!" he allegedly said and jumped out of bed.

The couple is now divorced.

Is it normal to be so happy??

My husband and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary last month; yet we have been living together and raising our kids together as a family for a bit over 7 years now.
I look at other people around us, people that has only 1 or 2 kids and some without any kids and they seem so unhappy but they blame their issues and problems on the kids.

When we met I had 5 and he had 1 - the older 3 were living with their dad as to accommodate me working shifts and them being in school in a different town. So for most of the time we had 2 girls and 1 boy ranging between 6 months and just under 2 years old,  that was 3 kids on bottles and nappies at the same time, me working shifts and him working every weekday and still we managed.

Maybe we can blame the kids for sticking it through as they kept us way to busy to try find the time to find fault with each other. They never woke up at the same times and they all were clingy and jealous of the attention the others got which made them a full time job.  It was actually a blessing sometimes to go to work to just get a break from kids.

I'm not saying we never disagreed - we had plenty of those days but we grew to respect each other and realised that neither of us could pull it off without the help the other puts in. Maybe it was because neither of us ever said "Oh but I work all day so I cant help with kids" or "I work harder than you so you have to sort out kids" ...

We never made turns either - we did it all together.  Apart from when the other was working.  And even then, neither bolted when they saw the other and decided they now deserve a time off.

Now those 3 little rugrats are growing into quite responsible humans ... at 7, 8 and 9yrs old we can see that we did quite an "okay" job with raising them so far. They are responsible, respectful and well mannered and finally we get to start seeing how much the input is paying off.

Then we had our first child together - a little boy who is the spitting image of his daddy - in January this year and our little girl on the way.  The older 3 are such a huge help with our son, they feed, change nappies, make bottles and even help with bathtime to give mommy and daddy a break.

But before I start treading away from my topic again ... my point is "happiness" ... We are happy !!!

We both work full time jobs and still we both wake up night times for bottles and nappy changes, and not once have I been told "its a womans job to change nappies and raise babies" ... and the same goes for house work (although he definitely does way more housework than I do) ... When the washing machine plays its tune he is there already and hanging up washing.  While I cook he takes everything Im done using and washes it.  By the time we sit down to eat - there is not a dirty spoon or pot in the basin apart from the plates we are eating out of and the cutlery we use at table.

I am one helluva lucky girl !!

But all in all, that's not what happiness is about.  In our household it plays a big part since the kids are alot of work.  Its not easy helping 3 kids in Gr1 and Gr2 with homework and keeping a baby busy and entertained at the same time whilst also trying to make supper.  So teamwork is a definite plus.

Happiness has more to do with making time for each other despite how tiresome it is to raise a family.
Respecting the input that the other one has into the household, whether it be chores, financial input or just advice.
Listening !! this plays a huge part.  Even if there is no response - just the knowing that someone is listening is already very helpful.
No blaming ... luckily for us, we make decisions together and if both don't agree then we decide on an alternative that suits both equally - therefore it eliminates the blame game since both are to blame if it was a wrong decision.
Trust - Realising how much you can rely on someone to have your back at all times is what drives me.
Love - never being scared of reminding him/her how much they are loved and how much they mean to you.
Teamwork ... everything is teamwork ... if there's only one doing everything then there will always be one constantly unhappy - if you cant be a team player then I doubt there will be happiness. 

If I won the Lotto

The next Lotto Jackpot is estimated at R 2-million and the PowerBall estimated at R7.8-million...

I know each and every one of you have at some point in you life said : "If only I could win the Lotto Jackpot..."

What would you do with your winnings? Would you invest? Would you splurge? Would you take a long holiday on a foreign island? 

I have been thinking long and hard about what I would do if I could win the Lotto Jackpot. Say for example R5 million:

Before I do anything - half of the money will go into a fixed deposit for at least a year or 2 to ensure I don't go crazy, although I have always been sparing with cash no matter how easy or hard it is to come by. I have never been a spender as such. But money changes people and the wise choice would be to keep it out of sight - out of mind.

I won't buy a huge mansion - I'd buy something small but spacious - with 4 bedrooms obviously (to have enough space for all the kids) and definitely 2 bathrooms to avoid the daily fights every morning over who takes too long in the bathroom and the ques waiting to get in there.  This has to have a big plot though as to build perhaps 3 little flatlets to rent out until such a time the kids are big enough to move into their own space but still need to be close to home.

I would not buy a fancy car - cheap and practical as we have now is perfect to continue with. But will definitely give it a nice proper service and get some maintenance done on it.

I will not go on holiday as such - maybe take the family out for a week to Wilderness or somewhere cozy and quiet. No use spending thousands on a week holiday and then have nothing to show for it when you can do it cheap and have a nice family week to spend quality time together.  There's so many little self catering places that accommodate big families.

I would not have told a soul that I won - you will be surprised how many friends you have when you strike it lucky and the family you didn't know existed that comes crawling out. 

After time has matured for the fixed deposit to become available I should have a business plan in place to invest in my kids future. 

What would you do with so much money??
Please share with the rest of us in the comments section.


  

POST COPIED DIRECTLY FROM Dispatchlive.co.za

http://www.dispatchlive.co.za/taps-in-butterworth-run-dry/

Taps in Butterworth run dry

By Asanda Nini 

Taps in Butterworth and surrounding villages in Mnquma municipality have run dry due to the water shortage crisis which has gripped the district for months.

As a result of the crisis, Amathole District Municipality (ADM) has imposed restrictions, saying it fears a complete dry-up in the next 50 days if consumers fail to use water sparingly.

Dry as bone: A view of Butterworth from Msobomvu, epicentre of Mnquma municipality’s water supply emergency Picture: Mark Andrews

ADM spokesman Siyabulela Makunga said yesterday the water crisis was the result of drought in the area and that the recent heavy rains were not enough to prevent the situation.

Makunga said the situation was so bad that ADM had decided to “heighten water rationing” in the area.

He said the district, which serves as a water service authority for local municipalities under their jurisdiction, had also opted to reduce water supply from approximately 14 megalitres (ML) a day to eight. He said the district had toyed with the idea of turning water off at certain times of the day to prolong the lifespan of dwindling reserves.

Mnquma is among three municipalities in the province which were declared drought disaster areas last December.

Subsequently, a provincial drought disaster was declared by premier Phumulo Masualle and gazetted on April 22.

“While rainfall in March and again in July did bring welcome relief to some areas, the Xilinxa Dam supplying Butterworth, Kotana, Ehlobo as well as many other rural villages between Butterworth and Centane, received very little inflow and the level has continued to drop to alarming levels,” Makunga said.

He added that the Xilinxa Dam was at 13%, which included “dead storage”, water below the outlet level which can only be used by installing pumps into the dam.

He said their investigation had showed that only an estimated 50 days of water supply was left in Xilinxa Dam.

He said alternative short and long term intervention measures were being explored, including investigating ground water potential in the area, “However, it is highly unlikely that sufficient ground water yields will be found to make a significant difference,” he said.

According to Makunga, the district’s call for consumers to reduce consumption had yielded no results and now their only option was to reduce water supply.

Owing to the large network and layout of the infrastructure, some areas were able to get water all the time, while other areas have no water.

Makunga said a professional service provider had been contracted and he was on site investigating alternative possibilities for managing water rationing.

“But the reality is that some people will continue to experience more prolonged outages than others.

“In order to provide some relief, ADM will increase the flow every few days.

“Water tankers have also been deployed to cart water to the most severely affected areas.”

He urged consumers to use water sparingly, “as the situation is getting worse by the hour”.

Mnquma municipality spokesman Loyiso Mpalantshane yesterday declined to comment on the water shortage and referred queries to ADM as it is the water services authority for local municipalities under their jurisdiction.   — asandan@dispatch.co.za

Kids and Money making ideas

The kids have started bugging us for a while now about ideas on how they can make extra money as they are all working on a long term savings plan.

C (8yrs) wants an x-box and I refuse to buy non-educational items although if they want to buy it themselves I won't stop them. 
So he did his math and realised he would need to save up quite a lumpsum since he would then need to also purchase a TV as well as the individual games to play on x-box.

D (9yrs) never wants to get a husband to provide for her - she just wants to be rich. She sometimes sees clothing also that she wants which is way over the budget I give them to choose for the month, so she uses her savings to buy her clothing since she wants to keep up with what other kids wear and I buy what is practical and within my budget. Yet again, if she wants it she can buy it if she pays with her money.

A (7yrs) doesn't have much in the line of goals and future planning - she just spends her money on sweets and toys at this stage, but I trust she will eventually decide to start saving for something. 

Now they have been given an "option" for extra money - a local store manager had mentioned to them that if they plant veggies he will buy it from them when it is fully grown. He gave them a list of specifics which he considers is the more expensive items to gain them the most profit. (Green Peppers, Tomatoes and Broccoli/Cauliflower).

So out came the books again and they sat and calculated how much they had to spend on seedlings and what they were going to buy. They each bought their own seedlings and started their own gardens. Obviously dad did all the work in mixing their potting soil, organic fertilisers and sand together and did all the digging and planting work. But in all fairness they have been running outside to water their gardens everyday after school. 

With the 6 days of no water we had the past week it was a bit tougher on them as they had to now work very sparingly with the water that is in the bottles as backup. 

Then they heard about "Flea Markets" and decided they want to sell stuff at flea markets but they don't know what to sell. 
There was quite a few useful ideas (apart from the one to sell stuff out my grocery cupboard :-)) and I told them to make their lists of what they want to make and do then we can start working on it this weekend up till month end when the next flea market will be held.

They asked about me selling Avon and I explained that I sell from a catalogue as well as on social media. It has now sparked an interest in them to also sell online and I promised them that while they do their part in saving I will assist as much as I can in helping them take pictures of completed items and listing them online for sale.

So in the very near future I will be posting a few items that would be available for purchase to help their cause.

In the meantime I ask that if anyone has any ideas I can push over to their side of items they can make and sell (it has to be things they can do themselves as it would motivate them more knowing it is their own work) then please feel free to give some ideas in the comments or alternatively email me on purps2005@gmail.com