The Unexplained… #acrostic poetry

Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay 

The Unexplained


Under lock and key
Nothing stays hidden.
Every mind needs to explore.
X marks the spot
Placing one foot in front of the other
Looking for the end of the rainbow
After thinking for a while
Instinct kicks in, the race is on
Notes taken, never looking back.
Every thought a treasure disappearing.
Down the rabbit hole where X marks the spot…

©AnitaDawes2023



Anita must have been rummaging around in my brain when she wrote this poem. Sisters can do that sometimes, although never a good idea, in my opinion. My head is full of so many ideas and things that should have been done weeks ago that I cannot think straight any more. I think a lot, worry even more and have every good intention in the book, but nothing is forthcoming!

I tell myself to ignore everything else and just pick one thing and actually finish it. But then I need to make lunch, feed the cat or fix something…

I need to lock myself off in a quiet room and sort out an agenda. One that might actually work!

Jaye XX

Silent Sunday…

Image by lisa runnels from Pixabay 

Today, I have much to think about, and thought this would help…

Jaye’s Days… Best Laid Plans…

Best Laid Plans…

I keep telling myself that it’s a brand new year and time to think about making a few plans for 2023.

Not sure why, but for some reason, I wasn’t listening. I have been busy writing. After long months of dragging my heels, the words have been pouring out of me at about 1000 a day. I am really enjoying feeling like a writer again.

I have also been threatening to conquer Scrivener, something I have tried to do in the past. Something about this new burst of enthusiasm has made it seem essential, so I am following my instincts here.

The fact that Microsoft Word has been tinkering again and made some diabolical changes that are definitely not helpful might have something to do with it.

Do you ever get fed up with having all the different parts of your WIP all over the place?

I know I do.

I like to gather all the specific information and ideas long before I start to write the story.

First, there is the setting to create, whether it is based on a real place or not. Then you need your people. Not a lot of them to be fair but creating at least four people from the ground up can be hard enough.

Next are the problems. The ones your characters turn up with and the ones that smack them on the head in no time at all.

The trouble with all of this, it usually ends up as several files, requiring you to hop about like a dog at a flea party.

Wouldn’t it be lovely if you could access everything on the screen at the same time?

I had heard about Scrivener before and did my best to learn it. Either I wasn’t in the mood to learn a new system back then, or something put me off. I don’t usually have much luck with complicated technology and that could have been the problem.

The more I have thought about it since I wish I had persevered.

So, I will have another go, and you never know; I might just get the hang of it this time. Based on the older and wiser adage, of course.

The first thing I did was the usual way I ever learned anything. I opened Scrivener and tried to figure it out by all the different parts. Toolbars are something I know about, after all. I learned this tactic from a friend of mine. Whenever she wants to learn something new, she presses all the buttons to see what happens.

I have to report that this didn’t work for me, and I retired, defeated again and more confused than ever.

I had already read through the Dummies Guide to Scrivener, which was as much help as a chocolate teapot. Just when I thought I would be stuck with Microsoft Word forever, I remembered YouTube, although it didn’t help me with PowerPoint. I decided to have a look anyway.

The first one I found was from Joanna Penn from The Creative Penn. She recommended Scrivener and was very helpful. I made a lot of notes, confident that my worries and confusion were over. Then I tried Scrivener again, armed with my newfound knowledge.

Well, I tried. Even with my notes, I just couldn’t crack it. I tried to enter the title of my book. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? But it wasn’t.

Nothing made sense to me, and there didn’t seem to be any logical sequence to follow. By then, I was desperate to learn how to use Scrivener, as I don’t like feeling defeated.

The next day I was back on YouTube.

This time I found William Gallagher, a man with a kind face and an easy voice to listen to. Too many people on YouTube speak too fast and shout at you, which I don’t find helpful.

William’s video was an hour long, and he explained everything in words I could understand. His instructions were easy to follow, and he showed me what to do every step of the way.

Armed with this helpful advice, I couldn’t wait to put it all into practice, only to find myself far too busy over Christmas. But when I clear the decks and free an afternoon, I will have one last try to master Scrivener.

When, and if I do, you will hear about it…

Jaye’s Days… No Time for Planning…

I keep telling myself that it’s nearly Christmas and time to think about winding down the year and making a few plans for 2023.

Not sure why, but for some reason, I wasn’t listening. Among other things, I have been busy writing. After long months of dragging my heels (for so many reasons,) the words have been pouring out of me at the rate of more than a thousand a day. I am really enjoying feeling like a writer again.

But planning? Surely there should be more than enough time for thinking about new projects next year…

I have been threatening to learn how to use Scrivener for longer than I care to remember, and something about this new burst of enthusiasm has made it seem essential, so I am following my instincts here.

The fact that Microsoft Word has been tinkering again and made some changes that are definitely not helpful might have something to do with it.

My first attempt went pear-shaped very quickly, even with the Scrivener for Dummies handbook! But instead of stomping off in frustration like I usually do when faced with complicated techno jargon, I became obsessed with finding a solution.

I spent the afternoon on YouTube, looking for someone to unlock my stupid brain.

Thanks to Joanna Penn from The Creative Penn, and William Gallagher, I seem to have grasped the basics. It may take me a while to use the system for my current WIP, but it looks hopeful.

I recently promised a post on my progress, which will follow soon. How’s that for optimism?

We hope you are all managing to keep warm in these freezing times…

The Glass Bridge… #Poetry

Image by Kathleen Handrich from Pixabay

 

The Glass Bridge

Sunlight illuminates the glass bridge
that hangs between dark green foliage
Too high, too delicate to walk upon
Yet I must take my first step.
There is magic calling
I feel it tingling against my skin
Each step releasing angelic music
The wind carries it forward
Teasing me to follow
Come see what lies beyond the last step
My feet now on solid ground
Yet the vibrations tell a different story
It snakes up my body, daring me to move on
Should I turn back?
I look over my shoulder
The bridge is no longer hanging there
I am looking at a solid block of dark green trees
My fate now lies ahead.
Here the foliage is soft, a warmer shade of green
A welcoming warm breeze
washing small fears from my mind
A gentle voice telling me there is no pain here
We have been expecting you
Welcome to Shangrilah…


©AnitaDawes2022

Bonsai: My Other Love ~ in Portland…

My bonsai have had a rough time of it lately, and they are not looking their best, especially now most of them have shed their leaves and are ready for a long sleep. I worry about the amount of rain we have had lately and if they have a good enough drainage system.

Early this year, at repotting time, I had changed their soil for a new mixture, one I haven’t used before. They seem to be coping well with being constantly drenched, but only time will tell. I will have to wait until spring to see what happens.

I came across this lovely post the other day about a bonsai garden in Portland. I thoroughly enjoyed walking around and seeing all the wonderful trees.

Twelve acres of stunning Japanese garden, nestled in the Washington Park in Portland – and with a wonderful Bonsai collection on display – the Portland Japanese Garden is stunning! In this video we tour the garden, but of course we focus on the Bonsai collection first! If you want to learn more about Bonsai, consider enrolling in one of our Online Bonsai Courses. For the curriculums and free lectures, go to: https://www.bonsaiempire.com/courses

Your Inner Eye… #Poetry

The image is from Sarolta Bán Photography.
Your Inner Eye


This forest of trees my son
Is a tribute to all the great artists
who walked the earth many years ago
There are those that paint 
The star filled skies
Jewels that dance above our head
Like Van Gogh's Starry Night
Monet painted the ground
Gardens to dream in
So many of us do not have the inner eye
To see the beauty
To have the desire to capture on canvas
Without the hands that held paintbrushes
The world would be a duller place
Not forgetting, the many that decorate 
The churches, cathedrals, places of worship
With a little added inspiration of coloured glass
If you can feel it in your heart
You might find your inner eye…

© Anita Dawes 2021

The Search ~ Mindlovemisery Menagerie ~ Wordle #296

Continued from last week. HERE

The Search



Trying to remember what I knew about St Germaine
Like clockwork, my thoughts kicked in
He was a wealthy man, into the occult
Many thought of him as a second Jesus
I hoped to find the secret documents written by him, 
and the book I searched for
They say he is a man who knows everything, who never dies
But where are these documents now?
Turning back to the altar, I wondered who had placed the camellias
I had trampled on. Were they a clue to the keyhole I needed to find?
It felt like I held an ancient charm in my hand
Mice ran around my feet, mingling with the chaos of this place
I wondered where the strong smell of peppermint had come from
There stood a young lady in her twenties, slim, some would say fairylike
She spoke first, “I thought I was the only one who had dibs on this place,
are you looking for something?”
For a moment, wondering if she was real, I couldn’t speak
The key felt hot in my hand
I answered, “I was walking when I found this place.”
Having exhausted my search for the keyhole, I thought it lay elsewhere
I didn’t want to tell her why I was here
With the amount of rubble on the floor I should have heard her walk away
It seemed she had vanished, leaving me mulling over her last words
“You never know what you could find in a place like this.”
With no keyhole, my search goes on, wondering if she was real 
and what she might know about this place…


©AnitaDawes2022

Searching… The Sunday Whirl ~ Wordle #577 ~ #Poetry

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

 

Searching for the pot of gold
Said to buried near the old fort
beneath a willow tree
We had no idea where to start
My partner grumbling
I thought I heard her say under her breath
“If you want something done, do it yourself.”
Had I misplaced my trust in her?
My ego inflated, I could not forgive her
for killing the guard, I could have taken him
Maybe she knows me better than I know myself
In the end all I could do was follow her lead
Focus, be kind, let her lead us to the treasure
Deal with her later
My intention was to be the lone survivor of the search…


To be continued

©AnitaDawes2022

Mindlovemisery Menagerie ~ Wordle #295 ~ #Poetry


A single key hung from the ceiling
The room filled with the colours of a rainbow
The church had been derelict for years
I was transported by a single thought
Suspicion rose like a frozen hand at my back
The mediums could be right 
about the curse on this old sacred place
No time to elaborate now
I shuffle forward the small distance towards the altar
Remembering the key above my head
After making the sign of the cross
I climbed on to the altar, snatching the key
Now all I needed was the keyhole
To find the treasure hidden in Rosslyn Chapel
My search continues, no keyhole as yet
I am not the kind to give up
I will find the book of St, Germaine…


To be continued


©AnitaDawes2022