Jaye’s Week… #Review #Poetry @MaeClair1

If I am honest, this week has not been much of a good one.

I found this very disappointing after such a wonderful book launch the week before.

Possibly an anticlimax, I suppose, but still disappointing.

Still no new appointment from the hospital, which has triggered so many thoughts, ( most of them bad) wondering what the future has in store. I suddenly realised that I am also my own carer, taking care of both of us. Looks like we must take care of ourselves these days, which is better than nothing I suppose.

Our medications are on automatic now, so diet and exercise are down to us, so we must do our best in that department.

The weather has allowed a little gardening this week, and it was good to be outdoors, but it didn’t lift my mood as well as it normally does. Life on the internet has been plagued all week by a Mcafee pop-up, insisting that my computer is riddled with virus and thereby doomed. Anita has not appreciated the amount of cursing that emanates from the office every time it shows up. When she asked me if there was some way to switch the bloody thing off, I had to admit I hadn’t given that a thought. I mean, where would I find such a switch?

At the bottom of the pop-up, it said via Microsoft Edge, so I went there, looking for something I could turn off. And I found it. Under notifications. I turned them off and the pesky thing vanished! Yay!

Things are looking up, I thought, wondering how long they would last.

I didn’t have long to wait.

Yesterday, I noticed a new review for Ghost of a Chance. Instantly, the miserable week faded away.

Mae Clair

4.0 out of 5 stars Dark crime fiction with a splash of the supernatural

Reviewed in the United States on 5 October 2022

Although this book is a continuation in a series, the author did a good job of establishing characters and their past relationships. As a reader I felt on firm footing. The story is told from alternating POVs, all in third person, with the exception of the MC, David Snow, a former DI, who has suffered a debilitating injury that has changed his career path. We get his POV in first person.

While the story itself is gritty, the writing is polished, and the pacing strong. The writer has a deft hand with dark investigative crime. A splash of the supernatural adds an intriguing element to this hard-hitting tale that explores the bleaker side of human nature and relationships.

Thank you so much, Mae!

Anita has just given me her latest poem, and I think it sums up the way we have both been feeling this week.

No Way Out

I am the ghost of my future
Not yet written
Each day is a dead end
Until you wake from sleeping
Walk among the living
Each step writes your own history
Good or bad, it comes by your thoughts
Dreaming puts a drop in the mix
The pink rabbit sitting on your chest
With no way to lead you to the truth
Your day ends the same way, sleeping
The days are not square or long
They are round, you keep going round 
In circles, until you write your way out…

©AnitaDawes2022


Have a great weekend folks, from both of us!

Six on Saturday… #Flowers

I think this is a wild rose, but not completely sure…

This is a Myrtle. It grows in my front garden, and people often stop to admire it!

This is a very old, friendly beetle and he seems to have made himself at home in our garden…

The tomatoes are flowering, we are looking forward to homegrown tomatoes!

The dwarf sunflowers have decided to flower after all…

This has to be the flower of the week, as we are really pleased with this display of sweetpeas!

#SixonSaturday is a lovely way to enjoy flowers. Learn all about it on The Propagator’s website.

Six on Saturday…

Sunflowers: I can’t believe how much they have grown!
Sweetpeas, with flowers already!

tomatoes: gonna be huge!

a new arrival!

Our only rose!

Plenty of berries for the birds!

I can’t believe how fast everything is growing, seems they like the heat.

I hope they continue to like it when the temperature soars this weekend!

I am posting an extra image today as I am fascinated by the developing buds on those sunflowers. I haven’t grown these before; they are a dwarf variety with multiple flowers…

Looks a bit alien, doesn’t it?

You can check in with Mr Propagator: at https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com to see how an expert does #Six on Saturday.

I should get a lot of writing done this weekend, as I’m staying indoors, out of the heat.

Stay cool too, everyone!

Jaye

The Enthusiasm Wagon…

The tomatoes are growing!

Here we are again, it’s Monday, the sun is shining, every reason to feel optimistic…

But I don’t. Somehow, I fell off the enthusiasm wagon over the weekend. Not sure why, for there didn’t seem to be a reason. Maybe I just needed to chill out for a bit.

Trouble is, today, I can’t seem to find that bloody wagon!

I have been feeling a little uneasy lately, but nothing I could put my finger on. Just enough to make my thoughts wander. I need to be more organised, have more work scheduled, already written, that sort of thing. This simply must happen if we want to move on, or up in the writing world.

Marketing has been a bit of a non-entity this year, and for the life of me, I cannot remember when it stopped being at the top of our must-do list! These days there are so many things going on, it has become difficult to string several thoughts together in order to trigger the creative process.

Apart from the garden, which does see me occasionally. More duty than inspirational though, despite managing to grow our first tomatoes, as they must be watered. But for those few minutes, as I wander around spraying water, something magical happens and I come back inside in a much better mood.

Sunflowers

Now the weather is getting warmer, I think I will be working/writing outside. I’m not sure if this is where the enthusiasm wagon is parked, but it’s definitely not in my office!

Jaye

No Excuses…

Image by Eveline de Bruin from Pixabay

Yesterday was my best day so far this year.

The sun was out in full force, and a gentle breeze diluted the unexpected heat. The perfect time to catch up on all those jobs that have been waiting for me…

And best of all, working with my bonsai and the new seedlings really did me good. Somehow, I stopped worrying about everything, my mind freewheeled and I relaxed, probably for the first time in ages.

Consequently, I feel decidedly odd in the office today. I keep looking out of the window, knowing where I would rather be. But, there are jobs that need me indoors and there will be family cooking later on today.

I hope you all enjoy your weekend, and I’ll see you on Monday!

Jaye

Jaye’s Week, such as it is…

Jaye’s Week, such as it is…

My brain is so unfair.

It knows I am having trouble, but it wants to get cracking anyway. Keeps coming up with interesting and brilliant writing and promotion ideas that simply vanish before I have the time to get my thinking cap on.

Only five minutes ago, for example, it came up with a cracker. I told myself (and my brain) that I would check it out in a minute. But before I could finish reading the last email on my list, it had left the premises, gone for a walk. Vanished completely. This is what I put up with daily, it’s a wonder I manage to do anything these days…

not sure what these are called, but I love them!

Spending more time away from the computer does have its advantages, however. The recent lovely weather and the arrival of signs of Spring have sent me out of doors. I have discovered that gardening does not give me trouble at all, arthritic knees notwithstanding (or bending for that matter) and I am loving every minute!

Today I will be organising seed sowing. Tomatoes and dahlias. Next week I intend to finish repotting the bonsai that I didn’t get around to last autumn.

I must go now, for the words on my screen are swimming away from me.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and I will see you again on Monday…

Jaye XXX

Jaye’s Week ( In the garden, not the Office)

Yesterday afternoon I had planned on writing and working on a trailer for one of Anita’s books, but the sun was shining, and I couldn’t be asked.

We sat outside, drinking coffee, surrounded by all the jobs I have been neglecting so far this year. Not really my fault, for the weather hasn’t exactly been conducive for gardening lately. It’s either been freezing cold, raining, or both. So, I wasn’t feeling too guilty.

Maybe a little guilty about some of my bonsai perhaps, as there are a couple that desperately need repotting as they have used up all the goodness in their soil. There was also an orange blossom that I bought earlier in the year that has outgrown its pot.

Before I knew it, I was hard at work, and enjoying every minute.

I was also promising to spend a lot more time in the garden in future.

My favourite, at the moment

They say you are closer to God’s heart in a garden, and all I know is I am always happier when up to my elbows in rich garden soil, surrounded by all the wonders of nature.

I thought I would close with some of my favourite bonsai, the acres. Especially the ones with different colour variations in the leaves. I love the Lacy ones too and have included the one that refused to be a bonsai. It outgrew every pot I put it in, and eventually I planted it in the garden.

I hate to say this, but in a way, I hoped it would rain tomorrow so I could catch up on my writing! (or maybe not!)

Jaye’s Week…

Which is better? To be mentally busy or actually getting your hands dirty?

Figuratively speaking. Of course, there are a few jobs to do that will involve a fair amount of grime.

Suddenly it seems, the catch-up list has grown out of all proportion. At least, it seems that way to me at the moment. Especially when this is the first time I am on my own in the help department. Of course, there have always been those jobs that have my name written all over them, usually because I am taller, stronger, and/or probably far more determined than is good for me at 77 years.

Yesterday afternoon, I attacked the garden. I thought I would get in first for a change, but even with a long-sleeved jacket, the lethal brambles managed to draw blood. Most of these are now in a pile awaiting removal. Revenge is sweet, even though my back is killing me!

Yesterday morning we had one of our brainstorming sessions. Anita isn’t strong enough to help with the catch-up list, but her mind is as sharp as ever, and she is keen to change our way of thinking when it comes to our writing. Some of our enthusiasm seems to have faded a little, which is not surprising, considering the past year. So, we have both agreed to work on novella-length fiction to introduce some excitement AND increase our output.  I can see the merit in this. I am still struggling to improve our blurbs, and one or two covers need replacing, but Books & Bonsai are all set for a lot more productivity!

I prefer to work in my office rather than anywhere else, which is probably why my gardening and housework enthusiasm is sadly lacking. There isn’t the time to get around to everything or the strength and energy to rattle through them. This year should be all about doing what makes us happy, and in our house, that means writing.

How about you?

Not all doom and brambles in our garden!