Victoria Zigler's Blog: Zigler News, page 15

#StormArwen + #AmWriting + #AmReading + #Music

Last weekend we had a named storm here.  Storm Arwen.  It caused a mess of other people's rubbish in our yard that took us some time to clean up, and damaged one of my wind chimes (though not as badly as I first thought it had) but otherwise didn't cause us any problems personally.  I hear some people weren't quite as lucky though.  I'm sad for those people, and grateful we weren't among them.  I love listening to storms - and Storm Arwen was no exception - but the damage they can cause does make me sad.

 

~

 

Since Storm Arwen moved on, it's been cold and drizzly here, but no more so than is normal for this time of year.  It keeps threatening to reach the right conditions for snow, but not quite managing to give me any, so I'm hopeful I'll get some in the not-too-distant future.  Although, I won't be too surprised if any snow we do get doesn't show up until around the start of next year, since nine times out of ten any snow we get happens in the January to March time bracket.  But those of you who know me well know I'll keep hoping for a snowy Winter Solstice, and dreaming of a white Christmas.  Hey, it could happen.

 

*~*

 

I've now got a narrator working on producing "Tedi And The Soothing Snow" in audio.  So now I have two audiobooks in production, which should both be available in early 2022 - assuming there are no production delays or problems.  So, cross your fingers there aren't any of those to deal with.

~

 

Also, the book I mentioned finishing up so I could publish - which is called "Jelena" and is a holiday story about a dryad's bonded tree being chosen as a Christmas tree - is scheduled for release on December 13th 2021.

 

~

 

 I have other projects in various stages of writing, including a collection of nine 500 word holiday themed flash fiction stories, a fantasy story, and a sci-fi story. But I'll tell you about those properly another time - when they're closer to being finished, and I have a better idea when they might end up ready to be published.

*~*

It's looking like I'm likely not going to be reaching my reading goal for this year.  Not unless I do a lot of reading during December.  And I really mean a lot.  I'm going to try and get it as close as I can, but, like I said, I don't think I'll make it this year.  Never mind though.  For one thing, I've enjoyed most - if not all - of what I've read this year so far, and that's the main thing.  For another, the reason for the lower reading rate is that I've been doing other things (like roleplaying and going to the ACB calls) which is a good thing, right? I mean, plenty of reading time is awesome, but it's OK to read less if it's because you're doing other things - especially if those other things have been enjoyable.

 

*~*

 

Speaking of some of those other things: I uploaded another music video to YouTube.  Here it is.  Enjoy!

 

*~*

Even though it's been a busy week, since the things keeping me busy have already been mentioned - even if only briefly - in the above paragraphs and Tuesday's post, I can't really think of anything else to post about, since the rest is basically day to day tasks we all need to deal with that don't need mentioning, like household chores.  So I guess that's it from me for now.  Hope you've had a great week.

New Stuff on YouTube

I'm trying to make better use of my YouTube channel, and post on it more frequently.

 

So, to start doing so I uploaded the recording from my interview with Patty Fletcher on her "Talk-To-Tell-It-To-The-World-Marketing" podcast from last year.  Though, since it was an mp3, which isn't a supported file type for YouTube apparently, I had to use this online file converter to convert it to an mp4.  It's a long interview (around 45 minutes) but, anyway, for those who missed it last year, or who might want to give it a listen again for whatever reason, here it is:

I also did a short recording of me singing a song I sang on Sunday in the "ACB Presents" call.  The original inspiration for this song was “Open Up Your Heart (And Let The Sunshine In)” which was written by Stuart Hamblen.  Some of the lyrics are from the original song, others come from Patty Fletcher, while others are my own lyrics.  Anyway, I hope you enjoy this fun post-Thanksgiving song.

You can find and subscribe to my YouTube channel here.

#Crafting & #AmWriting & #Roleplaying & Friendsgiving

I finished all the Christmas present sacks.  I ended up making eight: the six I needed, and a couple of spares.  I showed you a picture of one a couple of weeks ago, so won't bother doing so again.

~

The photo above is a silver bell holiday ornament I made after joining the ACB Crafters on Zoom.  It’s made using a plastic cup covered in silver glitter, with a little bell like the kind you’d get on a cat’s collar inside it, and some wire sticking out of the top to hang it up.  It really jingles when you shake it, though not loudly.  Anyway, I thought it was a cute idea, so had to make one.  Naturally, since it’s me, I ended up getting as much glitter over myself - and everything near me - as I got on the ornament, which Kelly swears he's still cleaning up.  But never mind.  I had fun making it, and have a cute new addition to my holiday ornaments, which is the important thing.

 

~

 

For those who might be interested in knowing: I'm now working on a cushion cover that has tortoise patterns on one side and plain purple on the other, as well as some squares for a crochet blanket.

 

*~*

 

 I have no idea what happened with the narrator who was meant to be doing "Pawfect Pet Poems" for me.  She disappeared.  So, when it had been a couple of months with no communication, I had ACX dissolve the contract.  Now I'm trying again with a new narrator.  Let's hope I have better luck this time.  Though it's too late for it to be available in time for Christmas - probably even too late for it to be available before the end of 2021 - regardless of how quickly this narrator works, so I'm just hoping it won't be too far in to 2022 before I finally have "Pawfect Pet Poems" available in audio.  It's been a long time coming... I published the eBook and paperback versions in May and June respectively... So I'll most definitely be glad when I can finally say this one is available as an audiobook.

~

I've also just found a narrator to produce "Tedi And The Soothing Snow" in audio.  Though, as mentioned above, it's too late for it to be available in time for Christmas now, but hopefully we won't be too far in to 2022 before the audio version of "Tedi And The Soothing Snow" becomes available.

~

In the meantime, I'm working on finalizing a new book I plan to release next month, so watch for that.

*~*

 

 I've stopped doing my Wednesday roleplaying games, and told the group I'm gaming with on Mondays I won't be there for every session any more.  It's not that I don't enjoy the gaming, but that I felt it was the right decision for me.  So I stopped the weekly Wednesday game completely, but decided to not completely stop the Monday game, which is only once every three weeks anyhow.

~

Some of it is health and sleep pattern related, since my sleep pattern is all over the place, and I've reached the point healthwise where I really don't know from one day to the next how many spoons I'll have.  Some of it is being more active with ACB when spoon allowance lets me be.  Some of it is just feeling like I'm spending more time gaming than doing anything else, so wanting to scale back on it a bit.  But, like I said, I just felt it was the right thing to do, so I did.

 

*~*

Yesterday, as many of you know, was American Thanksgiving.  We don't have Thanksgiving here in the UK.  I mean, I do try to acknowledge Canadian Thanksgiving because of Kelly being Canadian, but we don't officially have Thanksgiving in the UK, and whatever we do for Canadian Thanksgiving is always just the two of us, and is really just us calling our dinner that day a Thanksgiving meal.

 

But this year I got to be a part of a fun event via the ACB called "Friendsgiving" throughout most of yesterday.  It was an online event where different pairs of hosts and facilitators took it in turns to host for an hour each to provide eight hours of company and entertainment for ACB members, whether people joined because they would otherwise have been spending Thanksgiving alone, or just popped in briefly between things they were doing with their friends and/or families.  They also live streamed it via something called ACB media, so those who didn't actually want to come in and chat but wanted some kind of company for the holiday, or who couldn't come on to chat because of family obligations but still didn't want to miss it, could listen in without having to be on the computer or phone to do so.

 

~

 

I thought it was a fantastic idea, and wasn't the only non-American person to join in (I happen to know there's another person from the UK who was there for a while, as well as someone from Finland).

 

And, no.  I wasn't there for the whole eight hours.  To be honest, I planned to be, but my sleep schedule is all over the place, so I ended up napping through hours two to four.  But I thoroughly enjoyed what I was there for, and am really glad they did it and I got to be a part of it.

I'm also proud of Lilie and Logan, who were very well behaved, despite me being on the computer so much.

 

~

 

Anyway, if you celebrated Thanksgiving in any shape or form, I hope you had a wonderful time.  And, whether you did or not, Happy Gratitude Day, as someone said to Patty, and she shared with us, yesterday.  Because, Thanksgiving or no, it never hurts to take some time to be grateful.

My Birthday, #Covid Passes, & ACB Zoom Calls

As many of you know, my birthday was last weekend.

 

Thank you to everyone who sent me birthday messages, cards, presents, or money. Each and every one was very much appreciated, and helped to make my birthday special - even those that came in late.

~

Presentwise I mostly got money and books, of course.  But my Dad and my brother, Wayne, got me some figures for a game called "Burrows & Badgers" (which I'd gotten myself a few figures for recently) where all the figures are animals.  If you're familiar with the "Redwall" books, think along those lines.  I have yet to read the rules or actually play the game, but the figures are really cool, so I'd want to collect them anyhow - even if (as might be the case regardless) they get used as ornaments more than gaming pieces.  And, speaking of animal themed gifts: my friend, Karl, sent me a cuddly giraffe and redcoated lemur (one as a birthday present, the other as an early Christmas present).  I'm getting quite the zoo with my teddy collection.  Which, by the way, is most definitely not a complaint, because I love cuddly animals.  Anyway, here are photos of those:

 

And here are the birthday cards I got from my Mam, Dad, Grandma, and friend, Rita:

~

Mam made me a vegan birthday cake from scratch.  It was a vanilla sponge with lemon butter icing.  It also has pinkish butter icing writing on it that says, "Victoria, 37 today," and a "Happy birthday" cake decoration.  Plus she put a pink ribbon around it.  Here's a photo:

Yes, it really is 100% vegan.

 

~

Between take-away and Mam making me a roast dinner, I didn't have to cook for all of my birthday weekend.  It's nice to have a break from cooking sometimes, even when it's something you like to do.

 

*~*

 

I try not to do posts complaining about things, but I have something I want to rant about a little, so I'm going to.  If you don't want to read my rant, I understand.  But it's my blog, so I'm going to say it.  Feel free to scroll down to the other topic of this post if you don't want to read my rant.

 

~

 

They've introduced Covid passes here.

 

You need a Covid pass to enter pubs, clubs, cinemas, events, etc.  To get one you need proof you've had both your vaccinations, plus valid photo ID (such as a passport or driver's lisence).

 

Needless to say, I can't get one.  Even if there's a way to get some kind of exemption for the fact I can't have that second shot for medical reasons (which, if there is, I've so far seen no way of getting it) I'd have a problem, since I don't have a valid passport, and obviously don't have a drivers lisence.  In fact, Kelly can't get one either, even though he's had both jabs, because he doesn't have any form of valid photo ID either.  Though at least in his case we could go to the hastle and expense of sorting out a new passport for him, and then he'd be good to go.

I don't like it.  Not because I want to go to these places as such - I don't go anywhere much, and would definitely be reluctant to go to potentially crowded places these days, Covid pass or no, with my rubbish immune system.  But the reason I don't like it is for the same reason a friend on Twitter was complaining about it: because they've taken away the choice.

Memorial services for those who died fighting for us to have freedom take place on the Sunday closest to November 11th here.  This year it was November 14th they took place.  These new Covid passes were required from November 15th.  So, they honour those who died to give us freedom one day, and snatch it away the following day.  As though the sacrifices made by those who fought - and those who stayed at home to keep things running as best they could while those men and boys fought - meant nothing.  As though those countless men and boys who lost their lives died for nothing.

 

A bit dramatic? Maybe.  But that's how it looks to me.

~

On top of that, people are losing their jobs if they don't have the vaccinations.  It doesn't matter if they have a reason to refuse it.  It's just, "Have the jab, or lose your job," and that's that.

I get that we need to try and get this pandemic under control, and the more people who have the jab, the better, since it will potentially lower the numbers of those who die from this over all (at least, that's the hope).  But I don't like where this is heading.  I don't like the fact the choice is being taken away.  Where's the freedom we fought so hard for?? Where's the freedom families were torn apart for?

~

Sure, as Kelly pointed out, "We have Netflix," and both of us prefer watching that, or a DVD or something, to going to the cinema anyhow.  But that's not the point, even if it's true.

It's like when we were in lockdown, only with only certain people being locked down.  Just like during the lockdowns, it's all about having that choice taken away.  I mean, staying home because you want to is one thing, and if you decided to stay in and watch something on a streaming service instead of going to the cinema, there's nothing wrong in that (regardless of what your reasons might be).  But doing it because you have no other choice is a different matter.  And I'm not saying I want to go, because I do prefer watching movies at home to going to a cinema.  Going to shops from time to time is more than enough for me, and nine times out of ten I order online or send someone else for even that anyhow (even though you don't need a Covid pass for shopping).  I'm saying I want to be able to decide for myself, and be able to go if I choose to, like we all should be able to do.

~

OK.  Rant over.

*~*

 

On a much more positive note: I've started being more active with the ACB (American Council of the Blind) Zoom calls.  Hey, at least it's something I can do sitting down, and without a Covid pass (sorry, I couldn't resist that comment).  Plus, it turns out it's a great distraction from pain, which isn't why I enjoy it, but is definitely a benifit I'm happy to accept and embrace.

 

I got involved with them through Patty inviting me to join her Free To Be Me call on Fridays back in April, and then becoming her co-facilitator for that call.  I'm not usually good at sticking with things involving me being part of a social group, because I don't like being around a lot of people as a rule.  But apparently that doesn't hold true when the people are inside my computer, since I'm loving joining in with the ACB community.  And a few days ago I was part of a podcast to talk about that, where I - along with several others - shared how involvement in the ACB calls started.  It was nice sharing, but even nicer hearing others talk about their own stories, and how much it means to them to be part of the ACB community.  It made me very glad I'd offered to facilitate for Patty when she went to train with her new guide dog, and then continued to fill in for her when she was moving right afterwards.

~

 

If anyone wants to know more about the Zoom calls, or wants to join me and Patty on Fridays to talk about books (or anything else we feel like chatting about) - whether visually impaired or not - let me know, and I'll make sure you get the information you need.

A #Tortoise, #BonfireNight, #Roleplaying, And Medical Mutterings

 

The above photo is just a random one of Artemis taken on October 30th.  It’s a closeup Mam took of her when I was holding her.  You can even see part of her name on her personalized towel.  I’m just adding it in this post because I haven’t put it on my blog yet.  Plus, I happen to think my tortoise is adorable.

 

*~*

 

It was Bonfire Night here in the UK last Friday.

 

My enthusiasm for fireworks isn’t what it used to be, and given that I spent last Friday and Saturday evening – and a bit of Sunday evening too - comforting frightened dogs because apparently a lot of people felt setting off their own fireworks all evening was better than going a couple of miles to where the official displays were being held, I definitely wasn’t feeling any enthusiasm for them this year.

 

Even Mollie – who isn’t phased by storms or barking dogs – was pretty scared, though at least she calmed down some after I made sure the curtains were closed tightly and increased the volume on her favourite kind of music (Mollie’s always happiest when music is playing, and is a big fan of 80s music).  Only Artemis didn’t seem bothered, though this may be because she digs in early in the evenings at this time of year, and being buried under bedding in a box with thick wood and glass walls, in the room where Mollie’s music was playing, meant she couldn’t really hear them.  Either way, I was glad to be able to focus on comforting the dogs, knowing Artemis was fine, and Mollie was at least dealing with it OK.

 

Since the fireworks started around 5:30pm and didn’t stop until 10:00pm, I had to miss the Free To Be Me call I co-facilitate on Friday evenings via Zoom (which anyone who enjoys books and good conversation is welcome to join, by the way, so just drop me an eMail and I’ll give you the details if you want to come along).  By the end of the weekend I had a pretty sore throat, since I’ve discovered the best way to comfort Logan involves me singing to him, so I did a lot of singing last weekend.  My throat is fine now though.  Still, I really hope anyone who didn’t use up their fireworks last weekend has no plans to set them off this weekend.

 

*~*

 

There's a whole lot of roleplaying going on here lately.

 

We're still playing "The One Ring" (one based on the "Lord Of The Rings" trilogy) though half the party isn't playing right now for various reasons, mostly involving life commitments getting in the way, so our large group of nine players is now a smaller group of four players - at least for the time being.  And now we play via Discord rather than TeamSpeak, which essentially just means we use a different programme to chat to each other while we're gaming, since we're still not doing it face to face.

We're also still playing "Aberrant" (a superhero one) though it's now on Wednesdays instead of Tuesdays, and early in the new year we'll be switching GMs, so Kelly will be GM instead of our friend, Gareth.  And when we switch GMs we'll be playing different characters.

Plus, one of the things we're doing with my Dad when he comes to spend time and have dinner with us on Tuesdays is to play 5th edition Dungeons And Dragons - just me and Kelly, with Dad as GM.

So, like I said, a whole lot of roleplaying going on right now.

 

*~*

 

My hospital appointment on Monday was meant to be both to discuss the results of those blood tests they sent off and to check my levels.  Although, it only ended up being to discuss the test results because they decided, given how difficult it generally is to take blood from me and the fact they’re referring me to a Haematologist anyhow, to not bother taking blood this time around.

 

Anyway...

 

It turns out I have one of those viral infections that never really goes away, but just keeps going dormant for a while until something triggers it, which in my case keeps happening ,hence my keep getting a viral infection.  It doesn't reactivate much - if at all - in everyone who gets it, but it does have a habit of doing so, and is more prone to doing so in people with weakened immune systems, of which I'm one (my low platelets being indisputable evidence of that).  Lucky me.  There’s not really anything that can be done about it.  Normally they’d say just take some Paracetamol or something when it’s active and making me feel unwell, but since I can’t (I won’t bore you with the reasons, but I can’t take any of the medications they usually suggest for fevers, pain relief, etc) the only advice they can give me is to rest and drink plenty of fluids whenever I seem to be unwell again.

 

Plus, I finally have an explanation as to why I can’t shift this headache completely, and why I keep getting muscle cramps.  It turns out I have a mild form of Autoimmune Disease.  It’s at the level where it’s more of an annoyance than anything, and nothing needs to be done besides keeping an eye on things (hence the Haematologist referral).  They think I've had it for some time without realizing, and my bad reaction to the Covid jab earlier this year made it kick off and make itself known.  Again, since I can’t take the usual options for pain relief, all I can really do is deal with it as best I can, and make use of any natural pain relief options I find that help whenever it gets bad.  Well, and hope it doesn’t get worse.

 

In short, since it all boils down to the fact my immune system is rubbish, I keep getting viral infections, and it looks like I’m stuck dealing with this headache – all of which I could have told you myself already – the only new information is the knowledge of the labels to put on what I’m dealing with.  It’s nice to know what to call it, but doesn’t really offer much comfort or help with dealing with it.  Especially when you get informed that, “Tired, achy, and my head hurts,” is likely going to be your standard answer for how you’re feeling from now on, which is what the doctor told me when I told him that was how I was feeling when he asked me on Monday.

 

So, not exactly the best news I could hope for, but far from the worst.  I mean, it does mean I need to add to my list of health issues (and I'm speaking literally here; I do have a genuine list, which includes allergies as well as health issues).  However, on the bright side, because of my low platelet levels they were checking for Leukaemia, and I definitely don’t have that, or any of the other really nasty things like that which might have shown up on those tests they sent off a few weeks ago, which is awesome news!

#Paperback Now Available For "Tedi And The Soothing Snow" -A #Children'sBook About #Death, #Depression, And #Grief

 

Cover art composite by UPB

Set vector clip art illustrations of bored teddy bears(c)vectorpocket/Depositphoto

After losing his best friend, Arth, Tedi is so sad it feels like his heart is torn up inside of him. Now Tedi just sits by the window and cries, no longer caring about anything but how much he misses his friend, and seeing nothing of the beauty outside.

Mama Bear insists it will get easier in time, but Tedi’s not so sure; Tedi’s sure he’ll never be happy again. And, as Summer turns to Autumn, and then Autumn turns to Winter, it’s starting to look like Tedi might be right.

But is Tedi really right, or is it Mama Bear who’s right after all?

Unless you somehow missed seeing the posts about the release of this book last month, you'll already know you can buy "Tedi And The Soothing Snow" as an eBook in multiple formats from a variety of online retailers.  I won't list all the links in this post - if you'd like to buy an eBook of "Tedi And The Soothing Snow" you can check out the post I just linked to for purchase links.

However, what I would like to do in this post is tell you about the availability of the paperback version of "Tedi And The Soothing Snow" which you can now purchase via Amazon UK, Amazon US, Amazon Canada, many other Amazon sites, and all the places Amazon distributes their paperbacks to.

 

But, if eBooks and paperbacks aren't for you, bear in mind that I plan to start organizing the audio version soon, so if you're holding out for an audio book, please be patient a little longer, because I'll hopefully have that available for you soon - though it likely won't be until early next year now.

Regardless of your prefered format though, if you're on Goodreads and would like to add the book to your shelves, you can find the book's Goodreads page here.

 

No matter the format, if you buy and read the book, please consider leaving a review, whether on Goodreads, your blog, or the retailer you purchased the book from.  And don't forget to tell anyone you think might be interested in the book all about it.  Remember: reviews and word of mouth help authors sell books.  And I appreciate all reviews - whether short, long, or somewhere in between.

Celebrating #Halloween / #Samhain / #NosCalanGaeaf 2021 (Includes A #Holiday #Pet Photoshoot)

 Halloween.  Samhain.  Nos Calan Gaeaf.

Call it whichever of the three you want, or even something else.

 

Whichever you call it - and however you feel it should be acknowledged, honoured, or celebrated, or even if you don't feel it should - it happened this past weekend, as even those who don't celebrate it will know.

~

I kicked our celebrations off last Thursday (October 28th) by putting up our decorations, decorating the front door and living room window with the small selection of decorations I have. Then carved my pumpkins the following day, and added them to the display.

 

Here's this year's Mr. Pumpkin-Head, and a second Mr. Pumpkin-Head, since I did two this year:

 

And here are all my decorations:

 

 

Most of my Samhain decorations are decorations from previous years, except for the maple leaf lights decorating the glass of the front door, which were new additions to my decorations this year.  I spotted them on Amazon a couple of months ago, and couldn't resist.

 

~

Mam and I did a photo shoot with the three dogs before I carved my Mr. Pumpkin-Heads.

First, here's my sad looking - but utterly adorable - wizard, Logan, who didn't mind the dressing up, but wasn't happy about our choice of photoshoot location (he's not usually allowed up there, and was clearly convinced he'd get in trouble for it, despite me putting him there myself) hence him looking so unhappy.

 

 

Next, here's our happy cute little witch, Lilie, who doesn't usually like to play dressup much, but was really in to the idea of playing dressup for a photoshoot this year, and was most enthusiastic of all the petkids.

Finally, here's Mam's sweet and nervous little witch, Izabel:

Later, we got a nice photo of Artemis with my Mr. Pumpkin-Heads:

 

 

I'd have loved to have included Mollie too, but with her personality there really isn't a way to do it without causing her stress, so we didn't even try.

 

~

 

On Saturday and Sunday morning I did some baking, making chocolate pumpkin spice cookies, savory pumpkin pasties (most of those pasties became Saturday's dinner, and Sunday's lunch, but I froze a couple for another time) and pumpkin pie - all vegan.  Here are some photos of those, including a photo of a slice of the pumpkin pie with some soya squirty cream on a plate:

 

 

~

Sunday afternoon and early evening I watched Halloween movies while enjoying some of the goodies I baked, and several cups of the pumpkin pie spice tea I had in my tea subscription box.  I had the tea in my new "Nightmare Before Christmas" mug, which Kelly told me to buy myself when I observed recently that I didn't have a Halloween mug for the seasonal teas to be served in (which I only commented on because it mentions using your favourite Halloween mug in the brewing suggestions for the tea).  Here are photos of the mug, taken at different angles so you can see the images on it fully:

~

The movies I watched were "The Addams Family" which is a movie I've seen loads of times and love, "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" which I hadn't seen before and is an OK movie I give four out of five only because I'm rounding up, and a couple of short Disney Halloween movies called "Micky's Tale Of Two Witches" and "Toy Story Of Terror" which were both cute and entertaining and get five out of five stars from me (even if I'm not exactly their intended audience... LOL!).

 

I was going to watch more movies than that, but my Kindle died, the charger for it was upstairs, and I couldn't be bothered to go get it, so I switched to having Alexa read my book to me.  I'm currently reading the "Skulduggery Pleasant" series by Derek Landy - in case you'd like to know.  It's a very amusing and entertaining series, and I've so far given every book I've finished in it five out of five stars.

~

 

I brought a packet of ghost crumpets when I did my grocery order.  There were six in a packet, so I had two for breakfast each morning on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, with some vegan butter and orange marmalade on them.  Here's a picture of two of them on my Harry Potter plate:

 

~

 

For my Samhain feast I had a baked potato with pumpkin sage sauce, topped with some vegan cheese.

 

 

Having pumpkin sage sauce for my Samhain feast has become a bit of a tradition for me since I discovered the recipe several years ago.  Originally I had it with pasta - which was the recipe's serving suggestion - but I've not enjoyed pasta so much since becoming vegan, and was never a huge fan of it anyhow, so I've started serving it with a baked potato.  Even when I note down on my menu for the week that I'm planning to serve it with pasta, which is what I'd done this time.  Either way, it's a wonderful creamy pasta sauce, regardless of the milk you make it with, vegan or otherwise.

 

~

With this being our first year here (we moved here last December) many people still not allowing their children to go trick-or-treating because of Covid, parents who just don't allow it anyhow, the knowledge there were several events organized by local schools as alternatives to trick-or-treating, and the bad weather we were having (it was quite cold, extremely windy, and rather rainy) I wasn't sure whether we'd get any trick-or-treaters this year or not.  But I got some treats in - just in case.  Though I made sure they were something I could eat if no children came trick-or-treating.  I wanted to be prepared for both outcomes, since I didn't want to not have anything to give them if any children came calling, but also didn't want anything I brought to go to waste if nobody came.

As it turned out though, despite only giving one thing to each child, I came pretty close to running out of treats, which has only happened once before.  I mean, we didn't have nearly the kinds of numbers those in the US and Canada get.  We never do.  For some reason, despite the origins of Halloween being from over here, it seems to be a bigger thing over there.  But we did get a couple of dozen kids, and might have had a few more if I hadn't decided to turn off the lights before we actually did run out of treats (and, more to the point, so we could have dinner, which we'd been holding off until the doorbell stopped ringing).  I'll have to bear that in mind and get more treats in for next year.

~

Later in the evening - before I went to bed - I did a private meditation ritual, which is my prefered way of doing rituals, no matter the circumstances.  Kelly likes the props and incantations that go along with certain types of rituals, but I prefer the silence and solitude of meditation, and use nothing sometimes, though other times I'll maybe burn a scented candle or some incense, and perhaps have a crystal or other focus object to hold in my hands.  It's an indication of our different forms of the Pagan path, and why our attempts to do shared rituals never stuck, and those attempts were quickly abandoned.

 

~

 

On Tuesday Dad was here for gaming and dinner, and I made us a stew using leftover pumpkin sage sauce as the liquid part, which contained potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, swede, butternut squash, leeks, and onion.  Later, before he went home, we had some of what was left of my pumpkin pie with some of the soya squirty cream, and I sent him home with a couple of the cookies.

 

~

 

So, that's how I celebrated.

 

And now both Mr. Pumpkin-Heads are in my Dad's garden providing food for the wildlife who might consider pumpkin to be a tasty treat, since I sent them home with Dad on Tuesday.  I'm sure some of the wildlife will be glad of the food, especially given how Wintery the weather has become recently, but his garden is more suited to putting them out like that than our yard is.

 

How about you? Did you do anything to celebrate, and if so what?

Real Life Supernatural Encounters - #Halloween #Samhain #NosCalanGaeaf

 This was originally published last year as a guest post on Hugh Roberts' blog, and you can find it here.  But I thought I'd post it on my own blog too, and give those who may be interested another chance to read it.  Today being Halloween/Samhain seems like as good a day as any.  So, here are the stories of some of my real supernatural encounters. 

    

*~*~* 

    

I see dead people.

 

Sorry.  I couldn’t resist.  I’ve wanted an excuse to use that line since I first saw “The Sixth Sense” many years ago.  But it is the truth, so I hope you’ll forgive me for indulging myself.

 

Anyway, it’s not just people.  It’s animals too.

 

Well, technically, these days I don’t ‘see’ them, because I lost my eyesight more than a decade ago to Congenital Glaucoma.  But I saw them when I still had vision, and I still hear and feel things.

 

~

 

I’ve lived in several places where unexplained shadows, cold spots, and footsteps, were frequent occurrences, and whispered words from unknown speakers could be heard at times.  Things you can dismiss as being other people in the house if you don’t live alone, but aren’t so easily dismissed when you’re home alone.

 

Like when you’re writing at 3:00am-  again – and realize that couldn’t have been your husband who just walked up behind  you, because you can hear his snoring coming from the bedroom, and it couldn’t have been the dog either, because the dog is that fluffy warm lump on your feet.

 

Or you’re taking advantage of everyone else still being asleep in the early morning to have a shower, and hear someone telling you to hurry up because the dog needs out.  So you rush to finish – wondering why they can’t take her – only to discover when you emerge from the bathroom that the only living being awake besides you is the dog in question, waiting impatiently by the door to go out.

 

Yeah.  Those kinds of things.

 

It would take too long to detail everything, and I doubt I could recall them all anyhow.  But, I’ve had some less subtle experiences, which I’m going to tell you about.

 

To clarify: the first three experiences that follow happened when I still had my eyesight.

 

~

 

The first started when I was maybe ten years old, and we had moved in to the house we were in fairly recently.

 

I woke to find my bedroom colder than usual, and a little girl in red in the room.  She looked about six, with dark hair.  She walked around the room a little, as though examining my stuff, and then disappeared.  Moments later, the temperature in the room returned to normal.

 

I saw her several times during the years I lived in that house, and tried to talk to her, but – though I called her my friend, and thought of her as ‘Tabitha’ – she never so much as acknowledged me.

 

When I foolishly mentioned her to some children from my class, they teased me and said she was an imaginary friend.  They did it so much I started to think they were right.

 

Until I heard my Nan telling someone about the little dark haired girl in red she’d seen several times running through the living room and starting up the stairs before vanishing.  I’d never described the girl I called Tabitha to anyone, but Nan described her perfectly, and I knew it had to be the same little girl.  When I told my Nan, she agreed.

 

~

 

The second was in the same house, happened a few years after my first ‘Tabitha’ visit, but only happened once.

 

I walked out of the bathroom one night, and standing in front of me was a little boy in a sailor suit.  He smiled, turned, and started walking away.  He’d only taken a couple of steps when he vanished.

 

I never saw him again, and to my knowledge nobody else saw him at all.

 

~

 

The third happened in the flat I lived in when I first moved out of my parents’ house.

 

I put the plug in the bath, leaving the water running, before heading to the bedroom to fetch my pyjamas.  When I got back to the bathroom, the plug was gone.  It had literally disappeared.

 

The plughole was empty, it wasn’t attached to the chain that usually attaches them to the bath (not surprisingly, since the chain had snapped before this) and it wasn’t on the side of the bath near the tap (which is where I’d kept the plug since its chain snapped, so where it would have been if I hadn’t put it in after all).

 

After searching the bathroom for several minutes, I gave up and fetched the kitchen sink’s plug for my bath.  It didn’t fit right, so I had to hold it until the water was deep enough that water pressure would keep it there, and had to be careful not to knock it with my foot, but it allowed me to have my bath.

 

For the next several days I searched for that plug.  My Mam even came to help me look.  We searched the entire flat, but it was nowhere to be found.

 

Until three weeks later, when it was suddenly back in the bath.

 

I lived alone in the flat, and nobody could have gotten in without my knowledge.  Plus, why would someone break in to steal my plug? Especially since I had much better things to steal.

 

~

 

I’ve also had visits from two of the petkids I’ve lost – the two I was most closely bonded with when they were alive.

 

The first was my Oriental cat, Chance.  I felt him jump on my bed one night the Halloween two years after he died... Felt the weight of him beside me on the bed.  Heard his purr.  Felt his silky soft fur rub against my hand.  And then he was gone.

 

I had a similar visit from my Westie, Kero, two Halloweens after he died.

 

It’s like my boys wanted to say one final, “Goodbye,” to me before they moved on.

 

*~*~* 

    

How about you? Have you had any spooky encounters of your own? If so, I'd love to hear about them. 

    

    Oh, and... Happy Halloween, or blessed Samhain... Whichever you'd rather I use for you.

 

Or, as Welsh speakers say here in Wales, "Nos Calan Gaeaf Hapus," (which translates to, "Happy Eve of the Winter Kalend," since November 1st marks the first day of the Celtic Winter, and Celtic new year).

Random Ramblings - October 29th 2021

This post is mainly petkid-related, but also contains some other random things I wanted to share.  Enjoy!

 

*~*

 

I took some new photos of Artemis when she was playing in her vivarium after I cleaned it last week.  I'd originally only planned on getting a new shot of her just standing in her vivarium to show how big she's gotten, which is what the first photo is.  But right after I closed the glass doors of her vivarium I heard her making scratching noises, so opened the door back up to see what she was up to, and found her trying to climb her hanging vines.  And then, a few minutes later, caught her peering around the edge of her cave as though checking the coast was clear to come out from behind it.  Anyway, here are the photos:

~

I got a couple of new photos of Mollie too, though they're not fantastic, because she kept darting for cover every time she realized I was trying to take her photo.  Here are the two reasonable photos I got though:

~

 

Artemis is way easier to get photos of.  Mollie is not a fan of the flashy thing.  Plus, it's much easier for someone without sight like me to keep track of Artemis' movements than Mollie's, since tortoises move much slower than chinchillas (though tortoises actually do move faster than you might expect).

 

*~*

Both dogs were meant to get groomed last week, but Logan had more knots in his fur than the groomer expected and she hadn't allowed enough time to work on those and still have time to deal with Lilie.  I had mentioned he had knots in his fur, because Logan has fur with a hint of the poodle curl and the silky fineness of a spaniel, which tangles and knots almost as fast as I brush him, and where the dogs had ended up overdue for their grooming due to their August appointment getting cancelled and my having trouble getting them a new appointment quickly, his tangles had gotten incredibly bad.

 

~

 

Anyway, to cut a long story short, we ended up deciding to leave Lilie with the groomer and bring Logan home to do what we could for him ourselves, which essentially boiled down to giving him a home haircut, since we couldn't comb out the knots, so ended upp cutting them out instead.  We did it that way because Lilie is too excitable for us to manage to do ourselves, where as Logan is much more laid back.  Plus, Lilie's claws were a big issue and we couldn't do those ourselves.

 

Well, Logan looks kind of  scruffy, and his haircut is uneven, but at least he's got no knots and tangles in his fur anymore, which is what the groomer said was the important thing.  She said to get the tangles out as quickly as we could - even if we had to take him to another groomer, or cut him ourselves - and worry about making him look tidy again when his fur grows back enough for him to have a proper grooming session in a couple of months time.  So, that's what we did.  And here's the result:

~

 

Amusingly, Logan actually slept through most of the process.  He must really trust me to fall asleep when I'm wielding a pair of scissors near him, that's for sure.  I know I wouldn't have been sleeping in his position... I think few people or animals would have been that relaxed when a blind person was using scissors on them.  But somehow Logan was sleeping so soundly he was snoring a lot of the time, and didn't seem to care about anything besides the fact I was paying attention to him.  I tell you, my dog's mental.  On the bright side, it made it easier to deal with his grooming needs with him asleep.

*~*

I've been making some holiday themed fabric bags as reusable alternatives to wrapping paper for gift giving this year.  Here's one of them so you can see what they look like:

I thought it would be nice to use bags that can be reused for gift giving, rather than wrapping paper that will just be torn and thrown away.  And I thought it would be even nicer still if I made them myself.  But I wanted them to still look festive, hence the holiday themed fabric.  I still need to make a couple more, and also make tags so I know which bag is for who, but I thought I'd show you one of the completed bags so you can get an idea of what they'll look like when I've sewn each one.

 

*~**

 

Two weeks ago, I got a call from the hospital asking me to go there to see their doctor again, since he wanted to discuss my test results with me.  I was kind of concerned, since the only thing I could think of was that they saw something they felt needed discussing in the results of the tests they sent off when I was there a couple of weeks before.  Bearing in mind, they said they'd only get in touch about them if there was something of note in the results.  Anyway, I was meant to go last Thursday (October 21st).

Then, a couple of days later, I got a call telling me not to go to that appointment after all, because the doctor wanted a couple more weeks before he saw me so as to be able to have enough time pass between blood tests, because he wanted to check my levels again.  Which suggests he wants to check my heamoglobin and platelet levels again.  And they've made me an appointment for November 8th.

So, now I'm not entirely certain if they found something in those tests they're concerned about, just want to check my levels - especially with how low my platelets were last time - or both.  I guess I'll find out on November 8th.  In the meantime, I'm trying not to worry about it.  Yeah, anyone who knows me knows how well that's working out.  LOL! But I'm trying.

*~*

I feel like I've said this a lot this year, but: our weather's been a bit all over the place recently, with mild almost warm days, rather chilly days, dry days, wet days, days somewhere in between, and days where it can't decide which to be.  We've even had a couple of storms.  Mostly rainstorms - Wales is good at those.  But there was an impressive thunderstorm early on the morning of October 20th.

 

At least, I thought it was an impressive thunderstorm.  Logan wasn't so impressed.  He's still not a huge fan of storms.  OK... He hates them.  Though at least he doesn't get quite as scared as he used to, and only cowers against me rather than whining and barking in fear like he did as a puppy.   Lilie isn't really bothered by them.  Neither is Mollie, except if storms cut off the power and she loses her music or TV.  And as for Artemis... She was sleeping, and I'm not even sure she noticed the storm happened (though I strongly suspect she knew it was coming, since she dug in early the night before the storm).

 

~

 

We tried filming the thunderstorm, but - though it was impressive, asI said - the thunder and lightning were spaced so far apart we kept missing getting it on camera. We did, however, get a video of the rain, where you can also hear my wind chimes tinkling in the wind that accompanied the rain.  And here it is:

*~*

Lilie had a vet checkup yesterday.

 

She has to be evaluated regularly because of the pills she has for her skin irritation issue.

The skin irritation issue (which is a common problem for certain breeds, Westies among them) has moved to her ears, so now - on top of the pill she has every day - she has to have drops in her ears.  At least for a while.  As it stands at the moment, it's twice a day for a week, once a day for another week, and then every other day for a couple of weeks.  After that we talk to the vet again.

The Emoji Book Tag - #AmReading

I recently saw Cat over at The Strawberry Post do this interesting and short book tag that looked fun to do, and I couldn't resist joining in.  It’s called the Emoji book tag, and the idea is that you have a look at your phone, tablet, etc, when typing and see the first five emojis you have on there (your most recently used, or most popular) and see if you can match a book to the emoji.

 

If you'd like to check out Cat's post, you can do so here.  Also, feel free to play along too, whether in the comments section of this post or on your own blog.  But make sure you let me know where I can find your answers, because I'd hate to miss them.

For now though, let’s take a look at the five emojis I apparently use most, and see what books I can match to them, shall we? And, by the way, I'm going to do the same thing as Cat did and concentrate on books I've read this year, since I happen to agree with her that it's a great idea considering the theme of the tag. So, let's check out my list of emojis and books.

 ~ 

1. 👍 Thumbs up.

 

 "Skin Taker" (Chronicles Of Ancient Darkness, #8) by Michelle Paver - in fact, the whole series gets a very firm thumbs up from me.  If you enjoy historical fantasy there's a good chance you'll enjoy this one.

 

2. 💜 Purple heart.

 

 "Kingfall" (The Kingfall Histories, #1) by David Estes - in fact all the series so far.  If you love epic fantasies, you should totally check out this series, as well as the "Fatemarked" series, which is set in the same world, but a while before the events of this one.

 

3. 😢 Crying face.

 

 "Water For Elephants" by Sara Gruen.  Seriously, if you can read this one without crying, you have a heart of stone.

 

4. 😊 Smiling face.

 

"The Midnight Library" by Matt Haig.  I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did, but it turned out to be an excellent read, with some parts that really make you appreciate those small things in life.

 

5. 🎂  Birthday cake.

"Meant To Be Immortal" (Argeneau, #32) by Lynsay Sands.  OK, with this one I'm clutching at straws for connections.  But I would be with any book I've so far read this year to use it for the birthday cake emoji, so... *shrugs* There is cake involved in it, which counts, right? Anyway, if you're a fan of paranormal romances involving vampires, like a creative vampire origin story, and don't mind when things get a bit steamy in places (if you know what I mean) you should definitely check out not just this book, but the whole series.  They're best read in order if you can, but to be honest you can just pick up the series with whichever book you want and not be lost.