#trouble

And the Story goes on…

/ Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes / 11 Comments

After a frustrating morning waiting for the new couch to arrive, it turned up at 1.45.

We crossed our fingers and held our breath as they approached the front door. This was the first hurdle. One that has failed before, as some couches refuse to be shoved through a narrow doorway.

It sailed through the door. A huge sigh of relief! and was soon sitting in our living room. The couch was wrapped up like a mummy, so we couldn’t tell if it was the right colour or even the right couch. We expected the men to remove the wrapping, but they said no, and seemed in a great hurry to get away.

That should have warned us, and in a way, I suppose it did set the scene for what happened next.

There were four layers of cardboard, bubble wrap and sheets of plastic, all wrapped tightly around the couch. It took us nearly half an hour to remove it all.

Once revealed, it was the right couch and the right colour, but something didn’t look right. When we ordered it, we made sure the length was right and that the seat depth was adequate. It was the right length, but the seat depth had been reduced by the oversized back cushions. There was literally not much to sit on, even for Anita, who is shorter than me. I just looked plain ridiculous sitting on it.

Our mood had plummeted, and for a while, we didn’t talk. Disappointment is a terrible thing, and thinking of a solution is a bit of a problem for the disappointed mind.

I mean, picture the scenario. We had this new couch in our living room, and our old faithful, who had been this route before, was outside in the front garden.

We needed to return the new couch and bring the old faithful back in. But we couldn’t put the new one out in the garden, now could we?

My office is not a large room, and it doubles as a dining/craft/sewing room with a useful table. What if I dismantled the table? Could we store the new couch in there until they came for it?

To cut the story short, this is what we did. Mister Muscles was at work, so two geriatric and disappointed women hauled that horrible couch into the office. It didn’t leave much room, but it was safe. Even with the best will in the world, there was no way we could manhandle old faithful back in. Years ago, we would have given it our best shot, but not now. It would have to wait until MM came home.

It was threatening to rain, so I thought I had better retrieve all that wrapping, but as I wrestled with it all, a gust of wind grabbed the plastic sheet out of my arms, and it flew into the road, looking like an enormous sail. I shrieked for Anita, envisaging the biggest traffic pile-up. One of our new neighbours got there first and helped me. Such a lovely way to meet new people!

At least it made us all laugh, something we sorely needed right then. Will we be looking for a new couch again? I think not, I would rather sit on the floor…

WIP Wednesday…

/ Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes / 20 Comments

So much for all those plans I had for this week!

Somehow, I have managed to upset my arthritis even further, and walking is almost out of the question.

On the bright side, there are things I can do sitting down, so work is still being done.

I have finished the baby clothes and done a huge amount of upgrading and editing on two books from our backlist. Then I switched writing heads and picked up the current WIP. That’s when I wished I was fixing the patio…

I am about midway into this very complicated mystery, and I think I might have painted myself into a corner. Most of my characters know what they’re doing, but I seem to have missed the boat with my villain. Somewhere along the way, I have missed some vital clues that would have helped right now. There is nothing for it but to backtrack through all twenty chapters to figure out what’s missing.

Before you ask, I have to say that I did outline this one, seeing all the possible complications, but I have obviously missed something. Normally when this happens, the character is usually smart enough by this time and has plenty to say for himself. This one loves to be mysterious, but I didn’t expect him to start treating me like one of his victims!

Milo has finally Done it!

Milo has finally mastered the catflap!

He no longer needs the door open and can come and go as he pleases…

Milo… growing up!

/ Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes / 20 Comments

You will probably remember Milo. That adorable marmalade and white kitten who arrived unexpectedly just before Christmas?

Turned out to be a bit of a monster. Still adorable, of course. Very affectionate and all that, but still a monster.

There are times when we wonder if there can be such a thing as a cat with schizophrenia, as he does seem to have a split personality. He can leap from docile to demonic in seconds, and his temper has to be seen to be believed. He also has one hell of an appetite and has grown so much with no sign of stopping.

Milo had been desperate to go out for ages but had to wait until he was vaccinated and chipped. When we finally unlocked the cat flap, we thought he would sail through it, more than ready to explore. He had spent enough time looking out of windows, so his reluctance seemed odd.

We tried everything. We put his toys outside where he could see them. This didn’t work. He followed me everywhere, always hoping for food, so I went outside, expecting him to follow. Not a chance. Maybe he knew there was no food out there?

After a while, we gave him a little shove. We were getting a little desperate by then, as he still wanted to go out, but only if we opened the door.

He liked being outside, although he didn’t venture very far. When he had enough, he shot back through the flap like a bullet! To this day, he won’t go out through the flap but always comes back that way.

See what we mean? Milo is a very crazy cat. His temper is worrying us, though.

We first began to notice it in the mornings after our number one son leaves for work. Milo runs around the house like a ninja on speed, wrecking anything that gets in his way. We learned the hard way not to interfere or offer any condolences, to simply wait until he calmed down. I was badly bitten just by offering to console him, which hurt my pride somewhat.

His favourite pastime is trying to rip the roller blinds in the living room down. He can jump to reach the chains but also hangs on the bottom, managing to drag all the material from the roller. All carpets are his scratch pad, despite spraying them with a multitude of deterrents.

So you see, life with Milo is certainly different and not what we are used to. Well, mostly. When he is asleep or affectionate, he is lovely…

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…

Unknown Forces… #Poetry

/ Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes / 8 Comments
Image by donterase from Pixabay 

Inside the mind, trouble swells
Next tick of the clock brings it nearer
to the people seated at the table
Eating food that has been prepared
Rushing the meal, chasing time
Cod on the menu, bone warning
Evening meal under moonlight
People take their chances
There is something bigger than time
       hidden between the fabric of space
Overshadowed by unknown forces
Rain, black as night covers the street
Souls ancient, dance between the shadows…

©AnitaDawes2022

What a Difference a Day Makes…

/ Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes / 21 Comments

That lovely productive mood that I have been basking in lately, took one hell of a tumble yesterday.

We had already started with some of the bad news a few days before but managed to cope.

Yesterday, the full force of the meaning of bad, hit us with both barrels.

One by one, and spread over the course of a week, four members of our family have been hit by the covid virus. Two of them are quite vulnerable, which was even more worrying.

Then came the news that our only breadwinner’s wages this month turned up with several hundred pounds missing. Turned out to be a clerical error, but no chance of amending this until next month. We are not a wealthy family, constantly robbing Peter to pay Paul, if you know what I mean. My sister and I are pensioners on a permanent budget, so looking to help replace this shortfall took some doing, and will involve rationing everything for a few weeks.

Drama taken care of, I couldn’t relax. What if the error wasn’t corrected next month? I had visions of us all sharing a tin of beans and/or going hungry.

This morning, the mood seems to have lifted. The sufferers are fighting the virus and feeling much better, thank heavens! We have also managed to convince ourselves that all will be well and the money will be reinstated next month.

Writing was the last thing I wanted to do yesterday, and that didn’t help my mood either… but today already feels more positive on that front, so I already have my happy hat on!

Jaye, smiling!