Jaye Marie's Blog, page 39
August 18, 2024
A Day full of Bubbles…
This short video sums up our family day, full of fun and bubbles!
It was baby Frankie’s first birthday, a child full of joy and happiness… and she made sure we all shared !
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August 16, 2024
A Family Day…
No time for anything today. It’s another family day, so I am busy polishing my smile and looking for my happy face. It must be around here somewhere!
For one reason or another, I think there are secrets in our family. Sad secrets that no one wants to talk about yet, so it’s a bit like trying to avoid the cracks in the paving. Many hugs and patience will be the order of the day…
See you tomorrow…
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August 14, 2024
Would you Trust this Man? #Fiction
“No one is coming forward to introduce me, so I suppose it’s down to me.
I met Charlie Fletcher while working on the hotel renovation. I knew who she was, but she didn’t know about me, and I wanted to keep it that way.
I knew all about her sister, too, but I kept that information to myself.
The hotel was far from finished, so when Charlie offered to help, against my better judgment, I was pleased to accept. Even though I knew I would be risking everything.
That was when life became very complicated.
A body was found buried in the basement of the hotel. I was arrested for murder, but until they identified the body, I was safe for the moment…
At least I thought I was safe, away from prying eyes. But fate loves to interfere.
So, when Charlie Fletcher walked into the hotel, I didn’t want to be polite, for all those secrets from the past had come back to haunt me. I needed to watch my step, as the truth must not surface.
Hopefully, she wouldn’t get on with her sister again and return to London. That would suit me fine…”
I had fun writing about this character. I liked him, and couldn’t quite believe he was capable of murder.
I wonder what you will make of him?
excerpt from The Mystery of Folly’s End
It was a corner property, the edge of the building rounded in the Art Deco style. In contrast to its neighbours, this hotel looked old, forgotten and rather sad. The once-white paint was dingy and decaying, with weeds sprouting from every crack. There was an old nameplate propped on the front steps, so badly faded I couldn’t read it. The hotel looked abandoned and deserted. Surely, no one had been there in a very long time. An old ‘For Sale’ sign lay across the front steps.
I walked up these steps to the double doors of the front entrance and gave them a shove, but they were locked tight. Optimistically, I knocked on the glass panel and waited. I knocked again, rapidly coming to the conclusion that the hotel really was deserted.
I wandered around the corner of the road into the side street to see if there was another entrance. I found a double set of doors, and one of them was open. I put my head around the open door and announced my presence.
‘Hello… anyone there?’ There was a workbench covered in tools in the cluttered yard and the strong smell of wood shavings. I wasn’t sure what I thought would happen next, but my heart flipped when a man’s voice answered me. Was I about to meet this Stuart Rankin?
A tall man dressed in overalls with a mass of curly auburn hair and wood shavings clinging to the legs of his trousers appeared. ‘Well… what do you want?’
I hesitated, suddenly unsure of my mission. I decided to take the proverbial bull by the horns. ‘Are you Stuart Rankin?’
He looked me up and down before answering. Then, with a smirk and a faint Irish lilt, he replied, ‘And what if I am?’
‘I’m Angela Watson’s sister. Could you help me with information on the business accounts?’
‘Nope. Nothing to do with me.’ He turned away and picked up a hammer. If this was meant as a threat, it worked well. He stood there, passing the hammer from one hand to another as he waited for me to leave.
‘Well, I can’t find any account books, so if you don’t have them, maybe you know who does?’
He put the hammer down, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
‘There is an accountant. Come inside while I find his number.’ He vanished inside the building, leaving me to follow.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the hotel’s interior was a complete surprise. I was standing in the entrance hall leading to the foyer. It had been completely renovated, and even in the dim light, I could see the Victorian splendour returning. As an interior designer, I could appreciate how much work had been done and done very well.
‘Wow!’
‘I like wow…’ The voice came from behind me and made me jump. I turned and saw him standing there with his hands on his hips and a cheeky grin.
‘This is wonderful. You would never guess it could be like this, not from the outside.’
‘The plan was to leave the outside until last…’
I debated whether to say anything else, but it was too late. The question was out of my mouth before I could stop it. ‘Did Tom do any of this?’
‘Not lately, he hasn’t. How is the old devil anyway?’
My heart sank when I realised he didn’t know that Tom was dead. Hadn’t my sister contacted him at all?
He must have seen something on my face, for he stepped towards me. ‘What is it, has something happened?’
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August 13, 2024
Time for Another Storm?
I am really happy to report that my computer malfunction yesterday was simply a blown fuse. After I crawled under my desk, (and found the right plug) everything was back to normal in seconds!
Which is more than I can say for the weather. Yesterday was torture, as the temperature broke all records here in UK. It was unbearable indoors, but worse outside. We prayed for another one of those storms we had earlier this month, but so far, no takers!
I wrote this post at the time…
It was beginning to look as though the promised end to this hot weather had changed its mind and gone somewhere else. I patiently waited all day for the clouds to gather, but I waited in vain.
We have this problem all the time due to our close proximity to the South Downs, a row of hills between us and the coast. These Downs deflect most of the weather, so when the rest of the country is having torrential rain, we might get a few drops.
This is fine in the winter, and we are grateful to miss most of the foul weather. But not now, please?
Properly cheesed off, for I love a good thunderstorm, I carried on writing the next blog post, seeking refuge in my office. This is when Anita announced that she could hear thunder.
This didn’t register immediately, so convinced was I that we wouldn’t be having any kind of storm any time soon.
She kept on saying it, and it was getting a little annoying. It was bad enough that I was positively dripping with sweat, so hot I could scream. Ten minutes later, as I paused to reflect on my writing, I heard my first faint rumble.
The rumbles continued for over an hour. The sky grew ominously dark as the rumbles grew louder and grumpier. There was no rain, which seemed wrong. It was nearly as dark as night outside. There was no lightning either, or I hadn’t noticed any.
The writing was abandoned, and I went outside, intending to get wet if it did decide to rain.
It wasn’t much cooler outside, so a little rain would be welcome.
The thunder was almost continuous now, and I could literally feel it all around us. It was almost as though something was stopping it from stepping into our territory.
I love thunderstorms, and even though there was no lightning, I enjoyed the sound effects. The first raindrop hit my head like a bullet, and I could tell how big the drops were by the size of the wet patches on the paving.
Ten minutes later, I was forced to go inside as the heavens opened. The road outside was flooded in minutes.
It was a lot cooler afterwards, which was totally and completely fine with me…
See one, play one, maybe? We can but hope…
As soon as you like, pretty please?
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August 12, 2024
No Ordinary Day…
It certainly felt like an ordinary day despite the rising temperature outside. I did all the usual morning things: emails, weather, news, and WordPress; all washed down with several cups of tea.
I was just about to start a blog post, when a loud, odd sound came from the computer stack and my screen went blank. I sat there for a few minutes, probably hoping it would just another glitch, for we get a lot of those. But no, it seemed to have died.
For a few minutes, I couldn’t understand what had happened or what to do about it. Could it be a fuse? A power cut? Hoping for a miracle, I checked a few light switches. The lights all came on, so I knew my goose was cooked.
It’s times like these that I want to run away, as my brain doesn’t immediately come up with a possible solution. So I waited patiently for something to happen, and eventually, my brain considered that a fuse might have blown. Sounds like a plan, but did we even have any? And if, by some miracle, we did have some, did I really want to crawl under my desk to see if I could fix it?
Luckily, I have this mini laptop, so all is not lost. It’s not quite the same thing, but it’s much better than nothing.
It might take me a while to get myself under the desk, and I already know I would be wasting my time, so I am in no rush. I will let you know the outcome in the morning…
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Smorgasbord New Book Spotlight – #Paranormal – The #Mystery of Folly’s End by Jaye Marie
August 11, 2024
Serenity Sunday…
I am spending the weekend in relaxation, just because I can, really. It’s good to close the door on work and duty for a change. Back in the saddle on Monday, batteries fully charged!
Just in case you are still soldiering on, I am including one of my favourite quotes from Tiny Buddha.com…
So, consider yourself hugged, everybody!
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August 10, 2024
Poetry
Poetry
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August 9, 2024
A Cure for Stress?
Life has been tough lately for everyone.
Problems everywhere, and people not coping at all well with any of them.
My problems have been mild compared to some, but the stress and tension have been widespread, trying to derail or upset applecarts. Some Planet must be in retrograde or something, and all I can say is I hope is that it doesn’t last too long!
It occurred to me the other day that I haven’t been doing the one thing that always used to balance the mood books, if you know what I mean. I’m talking about crafts. Any kind of crafts really, but my all time favourite has always been crochet. I like to knit too, but this has become problematic, because the patterns seem more complicated than ever.
I don’t need a pattern to crochet, and its the perfect pastime for the evenings when the family watch TV.
I have been crocheting for two evenings now, and have put my world to rights while doing it. I have wanted to make granny squares for ages, but no idea what to do with them. Somehow, that doesn’t seem to matter though.
what would you do with them?
In two days I have gone from an ageing, not coping very well, worrier, to someone I recognise again. Calm and confident, capable, I think! of almost anything…
I might try some pencil sketching soon, something I haven’t done for a long time. Yay!
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