fun and games

Silent Sunday… #Time

/ Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes / 10 Comments

Image by congerdesign from Pixabay 

We did remember to change the clocks this morning, all six of them. With each one we altered, we bemoaned the loss of that precious hour, as all time is precious without having it stolen from us. And before you mention it, we know we get it back again in October!

It’s probably something to do with old age, but time does seem to be speeding up at an alarming rate. It seems we only have to blink and that’s another month gone. It’s as if we are racing to get somewhere, and if that is the case, a few clues would be nice!

Image by Thought Catalog from Pixabay 

Butter Wouldn’t Melt…

/ Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes / 20 Comments

Do you remember that adorable ball of fluff that arrived at our house just before Christmas? The marmalade and white kitten that we called Milo?

How vulnerable and affectionate he was, and I remember thinking he could possibly step into the late Merlin’s much-loved shoes.

Fast forward three months and Milo has grown so much. Already large at five months, he will probably be enormous before he’s done growing. Thankfully, he is still affectionate, which is just as well, for he has developed several annoying habits.

Very playful, he has moments of crazy energy when he flies around the house at speed. Every room, cupboard and corner has been investigated and rearranged to his liking. He repeatedly wrecks my office, steals tissues and any paper he can find. Once he learned how to jump, nowhere was safe.

He rips towels and tea cloths from their racks and tries to operate the window blinds in the living room. After I make all the beds in the morning, he waits for me to leave the room, then unmakes them all.

All typical kitten stuff.

Milo isn’t allowed out yet, as he is scheduled for the snip and a microchip fitted at the end of the month. He is not happy about the delay, which brings me to the worst of his habits. He sits at either the front or back door and screams.

Not a gentle meow, you understand. He screams like a banshee. He does this every time he disapproves of something, like one of us wanting a lie in or leaving the house. Not sure if this is normal or if he has a problem, but we hope it stops once he can go out.

Last night I found a new and undesirable problem. I pulled back my duvet to get into bed and found it soaking wet. With a collection of towels and spare covers, I spent a most uncomfortable night in what still felt damp and didn’t feel like my bed anymore.

My sister calls Milo a ginger ninja, but I have a few names that are unprintable…

Silent Sunday… I think!

/ Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes / 7 Comments

Image by zhugher from Pixabay 

This is my virtual walk today. It’s raining, but I won’t get wet…

A long walk off a short pier came to mind, but I’m not quite ready for that… yet!

All morning, I was convinced today was Monday. Not sure if finding out it was a good thing or not!

Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie… Wordle #309

/ Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes / 10 Comments

Last night a medieval knight rode through my dream

A noble face, yet weary from the fight

Had I kissed a frog in his watery pond?

Have I found my forever man?

Do I trust my judgement, strike while the iron is hot?

Take a chance that joy is not fleeting.

Keep the rosebuds until they open.

To smell the roses, I will attend the ball,

find that place beneath the armour.

Alas, all dream bubble burst.

The shiny armour, the hero inside

Returned to his pond, a frog after all.

I blew him a kiss and wondered what could have been…

©AnitaDawes2023

Reflections… #Poetry

/ Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes / 10 Comments

Image by Hands off my tags! Michael Gaida from Pixabay 

Am I that man, looking back from the mirror?
The one that follows me in every shop window.
The one in the puddle looking up at me.
I step into puddle, breaking the image.
I didn’t feel it. Will it change anything?
Walking along the pavement
passing a row of cars
He is there, in every window, watching me.
Something is wrong, for a second the image shimmers
as if trying to get away, to break free.
I wonder, am I the reflection of the man in the mirror?


©AnitaDawes2023

Anita feels better today and just wrote todays poem. I love reflections!

A Message from Jaye…

/ Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes / 11 Comments

Spending the day gathering my wits…

I know I left them around here somewhere…

XXX

WIP Wednesday…

/ Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes / 16 Comments

I did wonder how long my calm exterior would last, but I did hope it would stay a little longer, at least until Friday morning and my cardio appointment. I have no idea what they will decide to do about the blockage in my artery; I just hope it’s something simple. All though I have a sneaky feeling it won’t be.

When I woke up this morning, I knew my patience had gone the way of all good things. I wasn’t exactly chewing my nails, but I wanted to.

We all have our own problems, so revealing my shredded emotions was not the way to go, so I had to find a way to keep busy and out of trouble.

I spent the best part of yesterday checking all the links on our website and finding several that were broken. I also found that all of our book images that occupied the right-hand toolbar had no links. I was puzzled, as I knew I had done this at the time.

This problem segued into another, as I discovered that Booklinker, the very useful company supplying writers everywhere with universal book links, is no longer operational. At least, not for me yesterday.

Luckily, our books are on D2Digital, and their links are supposed to be universal. Just a matter of checking and double-checking all of them.

That was yesterday, so what could I do to keep myself quiet and out of trouble today?

Probably not the best time to dive into the current WIP, but that was my first choice. Side-stepping into someone else’s life (and problems) has to be better than anything else I can think of right now.

But wait, I could finish reading Letting Go by Jacquie Biggar. The story of two sisters that I am really enjoying at the moment. As a sister, I can relate to their problems, especially now.

I know what I mean by that; you will just have to guess!

Letting Go Book Description

A coming-of-age novel about the pain of misconceptions and learning from them.

When life gives you lemons…


Izzy

Mom is barely in the grave and the prodigal child is here to pick the bones clean.

I don’t want her here. My sister’s defection is a wound that won’t heal, and her return simply rubs at the scabs covering my heart.

I’ve managed just fine without her. She can go back to her fancy college and forget about us- that’s what she does best anyway.

If only I didn’t need her help. Or miss her so much.

Renee

The day my dad committed suicide I ran. I’ve been running ever since.

Going home is supposed to be the answer. Instead, it makes me question every thoughtless decision I’ve made.

My sister hates me. My little brother barely knows me. And Simon… is engaged.

None of it matters- or so I tell myself. I’m here to make amends and face a past haunted by regret.

As long as I can convince myself to stay.

Letting Go is a young adult romance dealing with tragedy, restitution, and love in all its aspects. The story relates to sensitive topics that may be triggering for some readers.

Fun and Games…

/ Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes / 19 Comments

We have been spending far too much time playing with our new arrival, but I’m not complaining as watching him play is like a breath of fresh air! I had forgotten how mischievous a young kitten can be!

This morning we were expecting a grocery delivery, so we shut him in the bathroom. (He’s not allowed outside yet)

When we went to let him out, we were greeted by the remains of a toilet roll scattered all over the floor…

Jaye’s Days… Best Laid Plans…

/ Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes / 15 Comments

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…