Pamela Murrey's Blog

The case for early risers

Waking up at 5 am
More than one famous saying involves rising early. Several of them are true. I try to apply them regularly. I credit early rising to my sucess in writing, crafting, and more! Here are 6 reasons to wake up at 5am. 
Waking up early gives you more time to get things done
If you normally rise at 6am, waking at 5am instead will obviously give you an hour extra to get things done. This can let you accomplish more in your day. 
Get Healthy
You can use some of the time for health purposes. I wake at 5am, but I spend 10 minutes in my bed, praying, planning, and meditating. The day is fresh and new and there are lots to look forward to and worry about. 
Once I do get up, I have a little time to stretch. Sometimes I take this a bit further and go for a walk. Other’s run or visit the local gym. 
Get Wealthier
By getting up earlier and planning, my day is more successful. I can get more done. This doesn’t always mean I make more money, but if overtime is available on my job, I have a better chance of working at that if my morning was successful. 
Get Wiser
After my exercise I give some time to reading. For 2 years now, I’ve been learning a new language. By doing my study early, I feel I have a better chance of learning when the day and I are fresh and not stressed. 
The early morning hours feel crisper, fresher 
Seasons are very obviously affected by time. Getting up at 5am in the summer is easy. The sky is lightening, the sun is approaching. If I time my morning right, I can see the sun rise during my walk. 
Your Senses Will Thank You
Traffic is minimal. Noise is not so prolific. My neighborhood has been having street repairs completed, meaning loud machines from 7am forward. But at 5am, those machines are at rest, and I can sit in my yard and listen to the birds.  
Rise and Shine
Your body, mind, spirit and perhaps even your budget will thank you. 
​©Pamela Murrey 08/08/2022

May 2022

 I’ve got 3 chapters up on Kindle Vella for “Almost Utopia.” We haven’t reached Almost Utopia yet, but we’re getting there – maybe. Someone should go, don’t you think? I’ve posted 3 pictures on my photo prompts page to mark the story. Check them out, at Photo Prompts - Yarn Cats Birds & More (weebly.com). Then follow up on Amazon Vella!  https://www.amazon.com/Almost-Utopia/dp/B09YST1KPQ/
Now I am starting a new book, called “Missing 1”. I plan for a fiction series about missing people. This is my first story of the series. How do 8 adults, all in the same family, go missing from all over a city? What can the remaining victim do for her family? She should have gone missing with them… Now she's stuck with kids, pets, and hot FBI agents! I plan to post the first chapter on Amazon Vella 05/20/2022!

April 2022

Beginning a new Kindle Vella Tale
I have a new work scheduled to start on Kindle Vella. I hope people will enjoy reading it as much as I’m enjoying writing it. When I dream of my tales, literally, I think I can say they have fascinated me. Or maybe obsessed me.
 “Almost Utopia” is a tale of two women whose lives are both ripe for change at the time that they meet, at a luxury, mysterious hotel on a beach. Linda is prepared to leap over the edge of a precipice of possibilities that she can only hope will come true. The jump cannot be reversed. She is going to Almost Utopia – an almost mythical place- to grow and bloom into the woman she wants to be.
Alicia is satisfied with her life, but she meets a man she likes. The events of this time and place affects her more than she realizes. She goes back to her life and takes good memories, which seem to follow her home. The man she met – Ed – follows her as well.
Almost Utopia is a place established in the 1970s, not too long ago, by a group of people who want something better. There must be more to life than what they see, and they work to build a great society for their children to inherit. Little technology, no pollution, few crimes, great weaving of cultures all make this an almost perfect place. Is it enough?
Almost Utopia is starting with chapter 1 this week. It should be active by Wednesday, 04/27/2022 on Amazon Vella. I plan to start a photo chain of events to enjoy the trip through this tale here on this blog, as well as on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. I hope you check it out! 

A Looming Lady E-book free 4 days

​A Looming Lady (The Looming Lady Book 1) - Kindle edition by Murrey, Pamela. Crafts, Hobbies & Home Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com. For 4 days in January, from 01/05/22 – 01/08/22, A Looming Lady is being offered free in e-book on Amazon. A Looming Lady was the first book I ever wrote. It is the tale of a young homeless woman named Kate who enjoys loom knitting. She makes projects for the home she inherits from her aunt, thereby making a place for herself. There are 24 loom knitting projects included.
 
I wrote A Looming Lady because it was a story I wanted to read. Kate is a naïve woman, raised in a foster home. She met her aunt as an adult and had formed a relationship with her. Kate lives simply. She works some, as much as health issues let her. At the beginning of the story, she lives in her car. Her aunt dies suddenly, and she inherits a house.
Loom knitting gives her a chance to work through her grief, to grow up a little, to make warm and pretty things. I tried to match my patterns presented with the tale. I also tried to standardize my patterns. There was little standardization at the time of the terms or regularity of patterns for loom knitting. I created an outline to try to help with that process for round loom knitting. This was in 2012.
Download a free copy of A Looming Lady today! After you read it, give it a review. There are 33 reviews on my U.S page. Some good, some not very positive. The latter comments helped me to complete an update with some improvements in 2014.
 
A Looming Lady has made the top 10 of Amazons Best Sellers list of the Knitting category several times. It’s also sometimes in the top 100 of Two-Hour Craft, Hobby & Home Short Reads.
 
Below are some of the patterns presented in this book:
 
For the loom knitter:Loomers' tool bagGeneral  Sampler bag            Purse accessories   For the houseDoilies                    Kitchen potholdersKitchen dish rag      Hot mitt                    ScrubbersFor the HolidaysCandy bowl sleighRound Candy BowlMiniature stocking     Santa Pin                For children     Stacker toy             Childrens' ballAnd more!  
               
Want to try out making your own patterns? You can use the planner below or download a template for your use. I like to use my templates in One Note to keep organized! Check out my download page. The planner includes details on a few basic stiches, written, not illustrated.
Loom Knitting Pattern Planner
Size:
Tools:
Gauge:
 Supplies:
Abbreviations and explanations:
WY Working yarn
E-wrap peg by wrapping around the inside, then the outside of the peg with the working yarn, creating a cursive e with the yarn.
K Knit                P Purl            FS Flat Stitch
Row Knit flat across stitches, turn.     Round Knit across stitches, continue in circle.
Stockinet stitch Knit every row or round.
Garter stitch Knit 1 row, purl 1 row or round.
Seed stitch Knit 1, purl 1 across. On row or round 2, knit over previous purls, purl over previous knit stitches. Repeat row or round 2.
Rib stitch consists of a number of knit stitches followed by a number of purl stitches, repeated in every round or row.
For example, knit 2 stitches, purl 1 stitch across. For row or round 2, knit above the knit stiches, purl above the purl stitches across. Repeat row or round 2.
Or, knit 3 stitches, purl 2 stitches, repeat across. . For row or round 2, knit above the knit stiches, purl above the purl stitches across. Repeat row or round 2.
KSS Knit slip stitch by running working yarn across inside of the peg to skip or slip. Do this by lifting the loop on the peg, running the working yarn across to the next peg, placing the lifted loop back on the peg and continuing to work.
PSS Purl slip stitch by running working yarn across the back of peg to skip or slip. On the next row, lift off both loops over new wrap.

old phones and phone scams

​First Flight is a birdwatcher’s tale, but its background has an ominous theme – the phone scammer. I am old enough to remember rotary dial phones and have fond recollections of using them. You picked up the handheld receiver and placed it to your ear. A buzzing noise informed you that the line was free. If you lived in a rural area that was important because you were probably on a party line where multiple households shared the service. If you were in a city but your home had two phones, they were not necessarily on two phone lines. If you were going to make a call you had to wait your turn.
Once you heard the buzz you could proceed to dial. Insert finger into the appropriately numbered hole and gently push it round. It made a whirring noise as it fell back into place. Repeat that dialing process six more times.  Now you heard the dial out. Would someone answer? I was taught it was polite to let the phone ring10 times. That gave someone time to get to the phone without tripping on the way. Of course, you could also get an annoying "bonk.bonk.bonk." if the line was busy. It was all very exciting.
There was no voicemail, and, early on, no message machines. Just the rotary phone, your connection with the world.
Now, once your caller was on the phone you could chat away the day. But don’t be fooled that your conversation was always secure. Remember the party lines and extensions…
Now, we have slimline automatic phones and cellphones with voicemail and much more. Quick and efficient, with no waiting or surplus sounds. There are also scammers trying to use this technology to sap the Joy, and a ton of money, out of people. Seniors, teenagers, and everyone in between are subject to the scams. Phones aren't nearly as fun as they used to be. Yet we still need that contact capability.
We want to reach out to family and friends. There's business to be done, appointments to be made. Phones are an emergency tool if you need 911. These troublesome scammers seem to have us by the throat.
Have you ever wondered what is behind this dubious enterprise? I have. Of course, I know the bottom line is about the bottom line. But the psychology of the telephone scammer fascinates me – they’re cold, calculating, and even vicious. To strangers! They invade our lives without a single care about us as people.
I'm writing a story about it. Could an unsuspecting person become a scammer and a victim of a scam? My story assumes it is possible. It's called First Flight, and I am posting chapters on Amazon's Vella. Currently I have finished chapter 4. Check it out! It got some birdwatching, a bit of romance, a story built around psalm 55, and that tale includes the victim of a scam. Hope you enjoy it!

starting a fairy tale in yarn

​January 2021 came in cold and dismal and also full of wishes, expectations, and emotions. I thought of a crochet fairy doll that I made last year, with a smile and a recollection. This is my new yarn tale, even as I live  it. Come with me on a journey into tomorrow. Bring some yarn and a loom or a crochet hook or both. We’ll make it as warm, soft, and pretty as we can.
 
I have a memory of my mother, who enjoyed imagining fairies dancing in her yard as tulips and daffodils bloomed. They had tea, and walked barefoot in the garden. That memory has brightened my own fantasies of this upcoming year.
 
Last year I crocheted a fairy with the reflection of my mothers’ fantasy. I pulled her out and decided to do a mix of crochet and loom knit projects for the year. I wanted to use up my holiday yarns, the reds and greens and little balls of various colors.
 
 I started by making some garden gnomes on looms. I made several sizes. Some will be for an indoor, window garden. Others will be set outside. Yes, they’ll get wet and dirty and will possibly disintegrate after a year. But I made them anyway.
 
I named my first gnomes Ed, Stanley, and Fred. Good, solid names for 3 watchers of the growing grasses. They sit stolidly on the ground and don’t appear to look to the left or the right. But they notice which birds come back for food, and they watch the starlings quarrel among themselves and the scrub jays. They could say how royal the white crowned sparrows are and how dignified the flicker is. The hummer flits around and goldfinches munch on the thistle. Oh, the tales my gnomes could tell if they would only talk…
 
Then I started making gnomes for family members. A big one (about 11 inches high) for my sisters yard. Another about 4 inches high for another sisters windowsill garden. Here a gnome, there a gnome, everywhere a gnome… It didn’t help that I noticed the new spring garden stuff at my local dollar tree. The excitement is growing. I hope you come back to see how the story progresses.

Check out the Yarn Gallery and Yarn Patterns pages for more pics and patterns. ​

decision

Meet Peter. He was a boy in one of my books, To Return. I wrote that story in Nanowrimo. Now I am thinking of a new story.
The goal of Nanowrimo is to write a book in a month. Some writers go in with complete outlines and character sketches. I prefer to start at the beginning day one of November. But I have been thinking of my options.
Option 1 is a sequel to the story, To Return. I’m thinking of bringing Peter back as older, perhaps in college. He is in danger and he has no clue why. Who is pursuing him? As my imagination skittered back and forth this afternoon my hands followed on the loom. So, I made Peter. He is blank now, just a loom knit figure. But maybe he will flesh out as November comes along.
Option 2 is about a young veteran who has returned home from war. He was gravely injured and is still recovering. Soon after he arrives at his childhood house a tragedy occurs, and he is forced to take on life full force. He has two comforts – his childhood girlfriend and animals. But he will lose one and maybe both in the course of the story.
Option 3 spins a tale of a young man lured into a trap because he cannot resist the opportunity of getting rich fast and easy. Meanwhile, he meets a wonderful family with 3 sisters who all love birdwatching. Can he escape the pitfalls of young adulthood and win a young lady’s heart?
Note I only made one character, and he a blank figure. My imagination is soaring and is not in full control yet. But I have until 11/01/19 to decide. Which direction will I go?
​

Tales of survival

Tales of Survival
I wrote Tales of Survival after reading several good books on the subject of EMPs. The idea of survival of the fittest is common – the strongest win. The weakest die. I don’t buy into that theory. My thoughts go with the turtle winning the race.
When technology fails it can be catastrophic. We as a society in America rely on it heavily for health, for communication, for travel. We use it to produce great quantities of food and other products. Without technology many people could die.
For my characters in Tales of Survival I chose people off the streets – poor, low income housing folk and working class people. I chose a mayor who was old enough to have heard her parents talking about wringer washers and party line phones. I tried to mix my characters up so that they represented real people. What would they do in a crises of this level?
I just re-published Tales of Survival after some minor updates. It’s on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013FHVM7Y ,

bubble

I confess. I made it all up. It was fun. It was entertaining. I don’t regret it a bit. My name is Pamela Murrey and I made up the novel “Bubble”.
 I made this tale about Angie Duffers, a white, almost middle aged, working woman. Her life is pretty even and she likes it that way. Certainly, she has been swept far away with nothing but her mind  and her faith. Well, and the benefit of good planning. Is it enough to get her home?
Free on Amazon this weekend – 08/02/19 – 08/04/19.  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07V679FQ6   . 

Bubble - a tale of suspense

When Angie wakes up in a broom closet in Canada minus her glasses and purse she realizes she is no longer in her safe, comfortable life. When she hears an APB out with her name on it she realizes that she is not even free to get back to that life until she clears her name.  
Her first thought is to get home. Home is comfortable. Home is secure. Home is where her family and pets live. Angie definitely wants to be there.
Is somebody following her? She assumes it is law enforcement because of the APB. But it was no law enforcement agency that left her in the closet. Someone else is after her.
One is supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. Being arrested, fingerprinted, handcuffed, behind bars, bail, mixed with possibly real criminals is frightening. Where does the presumption of innocence fit in with all that? Instead there is dread, disgust, and discomfort.
Worse than her legal concerns is the fear of the unknown. Someone beside the law is after her. Someone may want to kill her. It’s not hard to imagine that burning sensation as the bullet hits. Bleeding all over the place. Spatters of blood seeping past your hands.
From a comfortable life to a world of terror. All from a bottle of bubbles. Read it on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07V679FQ6.