Another Monday… #Journal

September 25, 2023September 25, 2023 / Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes / 11 Comments

Another Monday…

The autumn equinox has come and gone. I can feel autumn in the air and see the sudden brightness, as everything in the garden knows their time is ending and is making the most of the sunshine.

One last Dahlia is almost waving goodbye.

Those yellow tomatoes that were planted late have done their level best. Not brilliant, you understand, but we have a few ripe and deliciously sweet baby tomatoes. I will definitely be trying this again next Spring.

It’s time to ensure my bonsai are ready for their winter sleep. Some are already suffering from all the rain we have been having, so I hope I don’t find any waterlogging.

In the past week, I don’t seem to have achieved much despite turning up every day. There have been some baby steps, though, so I am pleased with that. Quite apt, really, considering our recent and very welcome visitor.

The current WIP is approaching the end, something I never thought I would say. I already have a pile of essential notes for the start of the edits, and I am looking forward to reaching that stage.

I struggle to write a newsletter because I can’t think of an interesting theme. Maybe when the dust settles a bit, it will happen.

I don’t have anywhere to put a newsletter at the moment, as I am still trying to find one I can use. It is always possible that my brain is past its sell-by date, although I refuse to accept that.

Now for an irk. It isn’t a rant yet, but it might become one.

I am referring to WP’s new tweaks to the Reader list. I quite like the simplicity of the new format, just not that we can’t reblog as much as we used to. When I try, I only manage to send a short sentence of the original post. No images either; not the same thing at all.

We must enjoy this first week of autumn, for who knows how long it will last…

The Snowball Effect… #Problems Solved?

September 11, 2023September 11, 2023 / Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes / 21 Comments

I have a bit of a problem, one I have been trying to get a handle on for most of this year.

Despite many approaches and different methods, I always seem to end up back at square one with too many irons in the fire or balls in the air, whichever rocks your boat.

My recent ploy was to tackle just one thing every day, and although jobs were getting done, the effect on the pile of jobs was minimal.

On a good day, I can manage to clear quite a few jobs, which has me feeling inordinately proud of my achievements.

I seem to be quite efficient at the day-to-day routine tasks; it is everything else that I have trouble with.

All of this is what I call the snowball effect, and most of you will probably know what I mean. How just drafting a book can unleash a never-ending stream of jobs that keep on coming. Calling it marketing is how the experts describe their prowess, but this is something I haven’t been able to master. Maybe I never will.

I have read all the advice on this problem, like giving up social media for a while or checking emails, but I need a long-term solution before I get too old to know what I am doing.

I want to super streamline my working day, so looking for help with this, if, of course, there is any. Maybe this happens to all writers/bloggers… and I am not the only one struggling?

Oh no I won’t!

The Perfect Flowers… #flowering #blooms

September 9, 2023 / Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes / 9 Comments

I just knew today would be special.

I just wandered outside for a quick look around before the heat builds up, and the Myrtle cutting that I showed you last week, has flowered. The flowers are tiny compared to the parent plant, but so sweet.

They say we might get some a thunderstorm later, so that is something else to look forward too…

Wishing everyone a glorious weekend…

Macro Monday…

September 4, 2023September 4, 2023 / Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes / 14 Comments

a very special surprise…

I think this qualifies as a macro image, and I was delighted to spot it.

It, of course, is a cutting I potted two years ago from this magnificent specimen.

My beautiful and unusual Myrtle…

“Myrtle is a genus of evergreen shrubsthat is cultivated for ornamental purposes and as a source of aromatic oils used in the cosmetic industry. The plant has oval to lance-shaped shiny leaves, fragrant white or rosy flowers, and black berries. The myrtle flower is a symbol of innocence and purity, and is regarded in cultures all around the world. The plant was anciently held sacred to Venus and used as an emblem of love.”

I have varied success with cuttings. Some are happy to root and do well. But I have a graveyard of pots where nothing happened at all. Story of my life. I think. But it doesn’t stop me from trying!

The most surprising thing about this little miracle, is that most flowering shrubs usually take a long time to flower, so I cannot wait until the flowers unfold…

Could this be an omen that this week will be a good one?

I sincerely hope so, for last week ended in a blood bath, mine!

Post being written as I speak and should land here tomorrow…

#Six on Saturday…

September 2, 2023September 2, 2023 / Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes / 17 Comments

I didn’t expect to find anything still standing after all the torrential rain we have been having lately.

I was pleasantly surprised to find no casualties, although one of the tomato plants was leaning precariously!

The yellow tomatoes are doing well. Sowing the seeds late doesn’t seem to have mattered much. All we need now is some sun for them to ripen.

I am not a very good gardener, as I don’t know all the names of the things I grow. Those clovers, for example. The large-leafed one is some kind of Oxalis, but no idea about the dark-leaved one! It kinda fell into my basket because I loved the colour.

The Love in a Mist I planted have gone over, leaving all those seed pods. Hopefully, there will be a lot of them next year.

I don’t remember planting that petunia, so wherever he came from, he’s most welcome!

The yellow flowering bonsai has been my sister’s pride and joy for years. I used to know its name!

The next few days are going to be the summer we haven’t had, so there should be opportunities for catching up on everything that has been neglected. I have treated myself to a cordless strimmer, to help with all the overgrowth at the bottom of the garden. Affectionately called the Jungle!

The days of bending double or kneeling down are sadly over, I must find easier ways of doing everything, in the house and garden…

Hoping you get some good weather where you are!

A Little Bit of Fun…

August 24, 2023 / Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes / 14 Comments

Today, we are posting a little bit of fun from my sister. She gets these interesting ideas from time to time, usually hand in hand with her poetry.

Image and poem by ©AnitaDawes2023

Don't say a word
The Universe is listening
Traps will be put in your way
Keep your desires inside
Pit falls you will avoid
Don't speak your thoughts
People will get in your way...

Macro Monday…

August 14, 2023August 14, 2023 / Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes / 11 Comments

Our weather really can’t make up its mind. None of the reports are accurate either; it seems determined to rain, no matter what they say. It was on one of my brief trips outside that I found this little gem.

I remember sowing this seed, Love in the Mist, at the beginning of the year. I say sowing, which makes it sound very technical when all I did was toss sprinkles anywhere there was a patch of bare ground. Since then, the mare’s tail weed has taken over; their leaves are very similar, so I wasn’t aware of their pending arrival. I love surprises like this! BTW, does anyone know of an effective way to get rid of this stuff?

Not much of anything was done over the weekend, as Anita hasn’t been well at all, and my carer duties have stepped up a notch. She should see a doctor, but that would take more than my suggestion, unfortunately. We normally have to wait until she is too ill to argue. As for me, I am to have another x-ray, as my back is no better. I also have a cardiac appointment on Thursday.

All in all, not the atmosphere for creating anything worthwhile, but knowing me, I will still try…

we need to get well soon!

One Last Time… but is it good news?

August 10, 2023August 10, 2023 / Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes / 28 Comments

At the time, I thought this was brilliant news. After struggling to learn Scrivener so many times in the past, I was finally getting somewhere. That was before Mister Not feeling Well decided to visit our house.

It’s funny how everything seems worse when you feel like crap!

###

We seem to be on the mend now, so some of that elation is creeping back in. Well, enough for me to brag about it…

Microsoft Word had annoyed me for the very last time. It actually made changes to the book format that I was working on. Changes I neither wanted nor needed, and I very nearly lost my work and my mind, so I decided to master Scrivener. I mean, it has to be better than Word, doesn’t it?

So many writers use it, and their testimonials are really encouraging.

Apparently, it can do everything Word can do and a load more. Not sure I truly believe that yet, but willing to be enlightened.

This time, I am approaching it differently. No more YouTube trailers, as helpful as they are. I am going to use Scrivener’s own tutorial instead.

Everything was going well, and my confidence was growing. When I decided to stop for the day, I saved what I had managed to do.

At least, I thought I did.

They recommend that you use Dropbox as a saving place, and after seeing where my feeble efforts actually went, I can see the merit in using Dropbox.

The other thing I didn’t like was the fact that my work was saved under a weird file name, not the name of my project. I just know I won’t be able to recognise this tomorrow.

Tomorrow brought more problems. I logged on to Scrivener, hoping to find my file. I couldn’t find it anywhere and had no clue what button to press. That was when I started to feel like a dinosaur. I probably shouldn’t be let loose on a computer, for I really must be as thick as two planks. It takes me a month of Sundays to grasp anything, and some things have never been mastered! The least said about those, the better…

I finally managed to figure out what to do. I had to click on File, then open, and it took me to OneDrive, where I had saved my book.

Oh, me of little faith! I didn’t believe I had figured it out, so I repeated the process several more times. Yay! I had figured it out!

I went on to add a brief synopsis to the chapters and learned how to create files for each of my characters. This is just the tip of the iceberg, though; there is so much more to learn.

Tomorrow (another one), I am going to master the corkboard and also outlining…

If it doesn’t rain, I might even have a go at cutting the meadow we now have outside!

This is One Hell of a way to start August!

August 1, 2023 / Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes / 13 Comments

This is one hell of a way to start August!

Tomorrow we are getting a new couch. This entails dragging the old one outside for collection.

Not a problem, right?

Wrong.

The last time we did this, for the two-seater, and not so long ago, I hurt my back and damaged my knee. What made matters worse was that we hated the new couch and had to drag the old one back indoors again.

I swore I would never do this again, but here we are again.

I can never understand why it is so hard to move a couch. It’s as if they take root in the carpet. They are heavy, awkward, and difficult to grip. The main problem for us, apart from the fact that geriatrics are not supposed to be doing these things, is the ill-placed storage heater in the hall, making it very difficult to manoeuvre a couch. Whose idea was it to put it so close to the front door?

Another problem from last time was the rather large handle on the front door. This caused a lot of trouble last time, so I decided to remove it.

The outgoing couch is a recliner and heavier than usual because of all the metal fittings. Luckily, the seat backs can be removed so the whole thing is not so wide. There was a time when me and Anita would have managed to get it outside with no problem. But that was then. Anita can’t do it now, not with her heart problem. Nowadays, we need a lot of help.

That’s where the number one son, mister muscles, comes in very handy.

We set to with optimism, always a good thing to have on your side, and the damned thing was soon outside, upside down in the front garden awaiting collection.

And it took us just fifteen minutes!

Dahlias… #Flowers

July 30, 2023 / Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes / 13 Comments

Way back at the beginning of the year, I bought five dahlia tubers as I was determined to finally manage to grow one of my favourite flowers. I did all the right things and was rewarded with green shoots in every pot.

After what seemed like an awfully long wait, the flower buds appeared. There were no clues as to the colour of these buds, but I was confident I had chosen well. Five different colours were what I expected to see, so when the first bud to open was white, I wasn’t disappointed. When the buds on the second plant opened and were yellow, I smiled and continued to wait.

The third plant had huge buds, but disappointment began to creep in as I could see a definite yellow tinge…

Yesterday, the flower opened. It looked amazing, huge with spiky WHITE petals…

Don’t get me wrong, folks. I am delighted to have dahlias in my garden, although the last two are struggling. One is still very small, and the other is constantly being eaten.

But what happened to the colours I chose?

Like these…