I have been tagged by Janice who blogs at On the land to participate in the ‘3 Days, 3 Quotes Challenge’.
Many thanks to Janice for inviting me to participate in this challenge. I have thoroughly enjoyed taking part.
Janice blogs about our world and how important it is to care and nourish it: Caring About Our World; Reflecting About Life. She hopes to encourage us to move towards a cleaner, more sustainable future and away from the worst consequences of climate change.
2. Share one new quote on three consecutive days on your blog. They can be from anywhere, anyone, or anything that inspires you… Which means, it can be from yourself, too!
3. On each of the three days, nominate 3 more bloggers to carry on this mission impossible endeavor (if they dare!).
So for my final day I’m considering a much sought after emotion: happiness.
What is happiness? Can I attempt to write a quote about happiness, in a few select words?
Here’s my quote:
Happiness is simply beautiful unforgettable moments captured and shared with like minded individuals, family and friends, a life truly lived.
Perhaps it is easy to see why I have used the word shared in my quote, because as humans we have a need to love and to be loved. But why would I consider adding captured? My answer lies in the very fleeting nature of life itself, and the fact that life is often interrupted by outside influences which bombard, confuse and distract us. So we have to capture those wonderful fleeting experiences while we can!
In those moments when I am doing Tai Chi, I can sometimes drift into a state of blissful harmony. It is a shared moment, as the hall is full of other people doing Tai Chi too. Unfortunately it doesn’t always happen, if I am feeling particularly stressed before I start a class it can be difficult to achieve. Equally it can be extremely hard to master if I have drank too much stimulating coffee beforehand too! But sometimes I do manage to get into the Tai Chi zone. When this happens it is marvellous but it can have unexpected effects. Sometimes I am so relaxed after Tai Chi that I find it difficult to return to focusing on the everyday things that I need to do! The other day I was reversing out of the car park after a Tai Chi session and I nearly had an accident, I didn’t notice the car behind me backing out! So perhaps, taking a moment to re-focus is a good idea after Tai Chi, as it works on a much deeper level than normal exercise, if you do it right! I’ve been practising Tai Chi for eight years, and I am now at Continuing level. Often I find myself wanting to fall asleep after two hours of Tai Chi, it must be my bodies way of saying it wants to shut down and re-balance itself. This is also true if you go for an Aromatherapy massage, or a holistic treatment, often you feel in need of a pampering rest afterwards, and a big glass or two of detoxing water doesn’t go a amiss.
Given that it is increasingly difficult to turn off and relax in this modern world in which we find ourselves, we could all benefit enormously from finding some personal way of capturing those quiet moments of reflection and Tai Chi is my way of doing that, a bit of walking meditation if you like, a dance of the soul. A difficult dance of the soul to learn, there are one hundred and eight moves but when you do master it, it’s well worth the effort! But for everyone their quiet meditation, or blissful moment can be different, as individuals we must all find our own dance of the soul that is perfect for us.
Coming full circle is my next question.
What inspired this post? It all began with Gandhi’s simple but thought provoking quote about the nature of happiness:
Happiness is when what you think,
what you say,
and what you do are in harmony.
Gandhi
Happiness is not fame and fortune, popularity, or materialism it is simply being a much simpler person, stripping back expectations perhaps, and living in harmony.
So to finish the 3 day 3 quote challenge I’ve written a humorous haiku inspired by Gandhi’s words:
My nominees:
For the last day I’m not going to nominate anyone in particular. I’m going to break the rules a bit, because I went to Tai Chi yesterday and I slept like a log, so I’m still in fuzzy brain mode and sometimes rules can be a bit restrictive! Anyone who would like to take part, please do join in!
Or just come and chat and tell us your perfect way to find a moment’s happiness.
Hope you liked my final day’s quote and my haiku too!!
This Monday I’m doing something a little bit different for #MondayBlogs I’m exercising my word muscles with the intention of entering into Chris the Story Reading Ape’s79 Words story challenge.
The next 79 story challenge entries will be going live soon – I’ve been a bit quick off the racing block – the shot gun hasn’t been fired just yet, so check the following link to the previous entry to find out more, and to read the previous entrants stories.
I believe when your entry is ready remember to check back with Chris for details how to enter. No cheating, wait for the shot gun!
79 words sounds pretty accurate, not much room for manoeuvre, I wander if I can rise to the challenge?
Well the good news is I have an idea, that’s a start. It’s funny where you find ideas, the other day I was out jogging, and being a seriously rubbish jogger (I kind of jog walk, mainly walk if I’m honest!) I don’t need much of an excuse to take any opportunity to stop and take an extended breather. So, on this particular day I saw this little shop, in the village that I’ve always been curious to go in and explore. So I took the plunge and went in, dressed in my leggings, and trainers, goodness knows what the shop keeper must have thought!
Anyway to cut a long story short it was an Alladin’s Cave of Antiques and inspired my flash fiction Halloween themed story below:
The Halloween Brooch
Inside the shop I heard raised voices. I lunged in. The mysterious voices began to whisper. It was cramped, hardly room to move or breathe. Antiques jostled for my attention on over stacked shelves. I picked up a tiny painted brooch of a young girl crying. I heard a high pitched scream echoing, then riotous laughter. When I saw my reflection in an antique mirror, I wailed. A wrinkled granny stared back at me wearing the brooch, she cackled.
I have an important announcement to make Kyrosmagica is now taking its first delicate steps into the …… unknown …. new civilisations … space dock….. no only kidding, I’m partaking in the delights of Instagram. You will probably have noticed by now that I love taking photos. All sorts of weird and wonderful things catch my eye, even fabulous ceilings like the one above, so I will be posting my favourite inspiring images and sharing them with you.
There will be something for everyone, I hope!
Whether that might be pretty trees, colourful flowers, tasty food, (I love my grub,) lovely places, candles, clocks, crystals, and of course bookish/blog related posts. Stolen cats (yes, I might need to pinch some as I don’t own one, a serious setback to an Instagram user. Any cats free for a sitting? You know who to contact, details below.
So please do follow me on Instagram too, this is a new endeavour and this empty handed lover of cats needs all the support she can get, help me crank up my follower notch a little if you can. If you do I promise I will purr….. I can’t wait to connect with new followers on Instagram and see all your lovely photos from all over the world. Already I’ve discovered some wonderful photos locally here in Cambridge, and further afield in exotic faraway places.
So do join me on this journey.
Yesterday with this in mind I went out on my first Instagram specific photography jaunt, the weather wasn’t what I’d call optimum, it was a bit of a grey day, it could have been sunnier but nevertheless I managed to get a few photos without being rained upon.
I have lots of ideas planned for my Instagram page and I am very excited about this!!!
Funnily enough I saw another person taking a close up photo of tree bark, I reckon she must be a keen Instagram enthusiast too! Either that or she is studying botany. At about the same time I nearly took a photo of my feet walking but I saved that gem of wonderment for next time!! Don’t laugh, people do this on Instagram all the time!
One particular image that caught my eye was a simple blue balloon that had floated up to the top of the ceiling in the shopping centre in Cambridge, and was trapped there. Can you imagine what that child’s reaction must have been when it floated away? No doubt tears were shed. I guess it might have been a birthday balloon, it looked shiny and fancy. I loved the contrast of the round, blue balloon, against the crisp lines of the ceiling structure.
Here’s the rest of my selection from yesterday, which you can see on my Instagram too, most of which have an Autumnal/Halloween theme:
Starting off with some candles on display in a shop, I love candles, tea lights, and aromatic delights so it’s not surprising that these featured.
Some Lush Halloween Bath Bombs perhaps, I love my smellies!
This colourful tree by the colleges and other pretty spots in the park on the way to Cambridge town centre caught my eye too:
It does look kind of deserted doesn’t it? There were people around but they kindly moved out of the way for my photography stint!
And did I mention that I like to eat? I think I did. This window display at Patisserie Valerie made me halt in my tracks. It’s enough to make anyone’s mouth water!! So have a cake or two on me ………………
Hope you like them!!! Napkin anyone?
Thanks so much to all my lovely followers for continuing to support me in all that I do here in this blog, on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and Goodreads, and now on Instagram. It means so much.
My entry for Rachael Ritchey’s Blog Battle this week is returning to a character I have visited in previous blog battles. This is an idea I am developing as a continuation from the first manuscript I have written, Krystallos. I intend the sequel to Krystallos to be darker. I am struggling with where to go with this so this is me flexing my writing muscles. Somehow writing this short story has really helped me solidify some ideas I have so I hope you like it. The focus is on the male character Ryder, and the inspiration this week has come from the Blood Moon!!
This sits very well with my blog theme this month which happens to be Halloween!!
It began with a rocking horse, a child’s toy, its springs were old and needed replacing. Ryder discovered this antique wonder in a quirky street in the lanes in Brighton. He carried it down the colourful street, and joined the queue for the busy student bus back to campus. A couple of ladies stared at his greediness, his decadence, taking up two seats on the bus. Ryder smirked, and patted the rocking horse’s head. The ladies glared. The corner of his mouth twisted, a smile with obvious intent.
When he brought the rocking horse back to his flat, his flatmates exchanged glances, it did much to catalogue Ryder even further into the depths of the oddity section. Only Olivia, his recent conquest gave him the benefit of the doubt. He appreciated that and made a mental note to reward her later. A midnight kiss would be in order.
After he left the warm embrace of slumbering Olivia the moon lay heavy in the sky, its orb red against the blackness. Ryder hung out his bedroom window staring, pleading with the moon to notice him. He dangled precariously, goading the moon to come closer. The pumpkin moon glowed red, blood red, a bleeding heart. The rocking horse began to move slowly absorbing the moon’s vital blood energy. Ryder could hear it behind him, creaking joints jarring to and fro. Then he heard the sound of an ice cream van, its tune winding its way towards him. He hung further out of the window wondering about this strange phenomenon, an ice cream van in the middle of the night. He grabbed his jacket, rushing to catch the van before it disappeared.
Outside he dashed, his senses filled with the promise of a midnight feast of sugary ice-cream. But, no van appeared. He waited. Displeased. Again he heard the jingle of the van teasing him, laughing at his foolish, childlike desires. The music grew louder and louder, he covered his ears and turned away, now desperate to escape. The van came to a screeching halt just as he took his first step. Ryder smiled. The hatch opened, a man peered out. He had a round face, the roundest face that Ryder had ever seen, vanilla white, pock marked, hair as black as the midnight sky.
There were no signs to state what kind of ice cream he sold. Ryder waited for him to speak.
“Well, I haven’t got all night, what do you want?” said the man, as his creamy white face turned a surly red.
“I’m not sure,” replied Ryder, “What ice creams do you sell?”
“Ice creams? What? No ice creams here young man.”
“But you’re riding in an ice cream van, playing the jingle calling hungry kids.”
“That’s true, but that’s not what I do.”
“What do you do?” asked Ryder, frowning.
“Hop aboard, ride the van and you’ll find out,” said the man, his face returning to its original brilliant white.
Ryder hesitated. This was strange, but Ryder thrived on strange, so he agreed. The man opened the back of the van and Ryder climbed in.
Inside the van Ryder could see only darkness. A blackness drifted towards him filling his senses with a bleak sense of loss. The man handed him a tiny torch that gave off brilliant light.
“Come, this way,” he said.
The van was motionless, yet Ryder could swear that he felt movement. They walked and walked further into the darkness.
Suddenly they stopped.
A bright light shone from the torch on to a patch of turf. How curious. This van was playing with Ryder’s senses, revealing a vast land which stretched its tendril like fingers, shadows extending everywhere.
Ryder recognised the land. It was no picnic venue. He sighed.
“Home,” he said.
“Yes,” said the man.
“Why have you brought me here?”
“It’s nearly Halloween lad, when tainted creatures must visit the place of their birth.”
He heard the sound of the fairground, the laughter, candy floss and excitement beckoning, but behind it all he knew there was the ride.
There was no point in pleading with the man, asking him to take him back. He had to accept his fate, whatever that might be.
“Come your ride awaits you,” said the man.
Ryder lifted heavy feet, a ghostly chill settling in his bones.
The man opened the door of the roller coaster and let him in. The rollercoaster groaned. Ryder’s soul cried.
A jingle began to play, a cheerful ditty, but Ryder knew this would be short lived, soon he would hear a tune that would throw him into oblivion, and there was nothing he could do. Nothing at all.
The clamp locked around him. He gripped the sides of his seat, clenched his teeth, and prepared to ride. It started off slowly, a gentle teasing introduction, but soon the ride picked up pace, the jingle attempting to keep up with the speed of the ride.
Ryder’s face and body took a vicious pounding, his flesh almost ripping from him, his heart exploding, sweat dripping from his brow.
Then it stopped. No gentle ending. Just abrupt, no time to think.
Ryder could only see shadows. No light, no moon, no sun, no happiness only the bleakest most appalling darkness. A blanket of despair.
Then he focused.
A figure appeared. Hazy. At first he was uncertain whether it was male or female, but as his eyes grew accustomed to the light he knew who it was.
“Hello mother,” he said.
His mother walked towards him, she unbuckled the clamp, but said nothing. It was not their way, emotion was not tolerated in this land of childlike dreams, and nightmares.
He touched his eye, but knew the answer already, the beautiful crystal had been wrenched, a rip caused by the ride. His eye wept. What price would he pay for its release? Only time would tell.
Rules:
1000 words max
fictional tale (or true if you really want)
PG (no more than PG-13) Content – let’s keep this family friendly!
Your story must contain the word(s) from the theme and/or be centered around the theme in a way that shows it is clearly related
Go for the entertainment value!
State the Genre of your story at the top of your post.
Post your story on Tuesday, by 11:59 PM PST
Use the hashtag #BlogBattle when tweeting your story, put a link back to your #BlogBattle Short Story in the comments section of this page, and/or include a link to this page in your own blog post (it creates a “ping-back” which will alert me and our friends to your #BlogBattle post)
My ILove Books A-Z of my Book Reviews on my blog. While I was up in Edinburgh my wise owl of a brother suggested that it would be a good idea to have an awesome A – Z list. Yes this is a terrific idea, but it’s taken me ages to compile! Thanks Donald!!! Siblings huh! Only kidding, I appreciate your input. To date I’ve done 125 reviews, (I’m losing count,) if you include my Goodreads reviews too. Well, I never, somehow I didn’t realise that I’d written that many. Maybe I have a twin who has written reviews too? Gosh, she’s been busy. I feel quite faint. My twin is hyper, or maybe she has a special magic wand to conjure up reviews. Pass me the smelling salts. I should have done an A-Z right at the beginning, that twin of mine is hyperactive, but she isn’t very organised! Ack.
So my wise old owl tip for new bloggers is don’t delay, do an A-Z of your reviews right at the beginning, it saves you a lot of time and hassle in the long run…..
Do to the ever-growing number of reviews…. I have now split the list into two sections authors surnames: A – M, which you’ll find in this blog post, and an N-Z.
Some of the reviews featured below I wrote a long time ago when this blogging/reviewing lark was new to me and some I’ve written not too long ago. There are a range of genres to choose from, broadly ranging from YA, to Historical Fiction, Crime, Asian Literature, Paranormal, Magic, Literary Fiction, and Science Fiction.
The list includes my rating, from 3 to 5 stars – please bear in mind that I don’t read and rate books that I don’t enjoy – Life is too short for that! So please don’t bombard me with requests to do reviews. I just tend to choose what I want to read, I’m a bit of a fussy old owl that way. Unless you’re willing to pay me a ton of money then I would be more than happy to oblige! As well as this I’ve added type of genre, star rating, etc…
At the end of the list there are a few special interest books too.
I’m thrilled to be taking part again, this is only my second week! Bit of catching up to do. Hurrah!! What am I up to? Julia at My Red Page’s Camera Lucida Photo Challenge.
an object, quality, or event whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else.
a gesture or action used to convey information or an instruction.
a notice on public display that gives information or instructions in a written or symbolic form.
For this week’s prompt I wanted to focus on doing a light-hearted post about funny signs rather than a serious photography post.
PART 1 : THE MYSTERY OF THE PARKING LOLLIPOP LIFEBUOY
My photos didn’t come out too great so with that in mind I thought I’d challenge myself to do this funny post. How can I make fairly boring photos interesting? Apply a sprinkling of humour, a bit of an adventure, a dollop of Tintin and Snowy mystery… Me hopes.. to spice up these photos.
My first photo to the left of the trio of mediocre-ness is odd, the yellow out of focused sign says: Have you paid for parking? Don’t worry it didn’t speak to me personally I just read it while I was waiting at the bus stop. Also that yellow STOP sign painted on the ground on that far right photo caught my eye. I think the other folks at the bus stop probably thought I’m a bit loopy taking photos of it and its neighbour a round circular object that isn’t a lollipop. The yellow parking sign is placed right beside a sharp incline with wild grasses and plants growing, no car park immediately behind or near it. Of course it makes sense if you know that you can park and ride at this site. So no real mystery after all or is there? Of course there is a mystery there has to be or else this post would be oh so dull. Here’s a clue: wonder of wonders there is a red lifebuoy next to it. That one’s specially for Julia, I know she likes the colour red. There is no lake or river here, and never has been as long as I’ve been in residence in Cambridge so why would I park my yacht, or possibly my rubber dinghy nearby, and then get a bus? More importantly why would I need saving? The Tintin and Snowy plot thickens. Don’t disappear meet them in PART 2 BELOW.
PART 2 Tintin and The Stone Wall To Nowhere.
Then I found the answer, I walked through the park to the other side of town looking for more strange signs and I came across this beauty for you dog walkers out there, apparently when your dog poos, fire comes out of its a**. That’s a revelation to me!! What have you been feeding your dog? Chillis, curry sauce, hot paprika? So that’s my answer to this peculiar mystery, I need saving from doggie poops that combust by themselves! Who needs fire lighters for BBQ’s, oops that’s getting a bit too much. Moving swiftly on. Let’s get serious now, be good citizens, don’t let your dog off its lead just in case it tries to sneak through a stone wall.
Back to the parking issue, and to my friends Tintin and Snowy my final photo’s caption is NO PARKING GOODS ENTRANCE. What? There is nowhere here to park your car, yacht, or dinghy either, just in case you’re wondering. There is just a solid brick wall, this does not count as an entrance for your goods. They’d have to be invisible goods to get in there. Ah magic and wizardry, perhaps this is a stone wall to nowhere. I’m so curious – what is behind those bars on that window? I hope there isn’t a prisoner in there …… Really there’s no way in, and no way out either. I’m not kidding, it’s kind of getting a bit Dr. Who ish…. Snowy would be relieved to know that even a little spider couldn’t get through those crevices, believe me, let alone you and your trusty dog on its lead. Maybe there is scotch whisky in there, now that would get Snowy on the trail, he like a little tipple. If Dr. Who is busy with his tardis lets get Tintin, and Snowy on the trail, this sounds like an adventure for a man and his dog. I loved those books as a kid, The Adventures of Tintin, the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. I must re-read! We could call this Tintin adventure The Stone Wall To Nowhere, or just simply The Stone Wall, that sounds very Tintinesque.
Anyway, getting back to reality, (a bit,) I suppose you could smash a window and get in that way, but your dog and Snowy might not approve, he or she might think it is a very bad idea. Let’s face it he or she just wants to go to the park. To do a you know what…. Sensible dog… Fire extinguisher at the ready. Call the fire brigade!!!
Hope you enjoyed my wacky contribution to Camera Lucida, I enjoyed writing this so much!
It’s a bit of daftness to keep you entertained at the start of the week. Happy Humorous Monday, Folks….
Oh if you fancy writing a piece of flash fiction, or a short story about this theme do have a go, I think it would make for fun reading…… I might write one too….
Bye for now. I’ve got to get my shades on and play poker with my imaginary dog, see you later!
I’ve been out of the loop of Haiku challenges for a while as I’ve been up in Edinburgh looking after my mum after her operation. Luckily she’s as fit as a fiddle and bouncing back to health at a miraculous pace. She’s a regular churchgoer and apparently the congregation pray for those who are ill or in hospital, and in her case it seems to have worked, quite amazing, not much pain, just a bit tired as if she’s had a serious case of man flu or something.
So in between helping my mum out I managed to have a bit of a holiday in Edinburgh, taking in the delights of the Edinburgh International Festival, and the Book Festival too, you may have seen some of my recent blog posts.
My first haiku is about my experience on the train coming home from Edinburgh. I was sitting opposite a Chinese lady and her son. She was obviously hungry as she rummaged in her bag and pulled out a large chocolate cheesecake, (it looked like it served four people,) and sat there and ate the majority of it all by herself. Her son nibbled on a chocolate and in a short while finished off the last remaining crumbs of that cheesecake before polishing off a packet of crisps. This amused me no end. I know that Chinese people love their food, (my mum’s from Malaysia so I know this without a shadow of a doubt,) but I always thought they prefer savoury to sweet so this astonished me. In fact they were very entertaining to listen to, the lady started telling the people sitting next to her about all her travels in the Far East, so I got my eavesdropping ears on, (an absolute must if you have any aspirations to be a writer,) and had a jolly old-time. It ended up being a very interesting journey home.
So this haiku is an eves-dropping thank you for the Chinese lady on the train, and a celebration of her eating so much chocolate cheesecake in one sitting! I hope she likes cats, didn’t have an upset tummy afterwards, and will forgive me for being such a nosey parker.
Isn’t this picture cute?
A Sweet Bridge Too Far
Moving train journey
Kitty! Choc cheesecake delight
A sweet bridge too far?
And the next one, which I have entitled We’re Finished Lover, well I don’t know where this one came from!
Oh I tell I lie, whilst I was up in Edinburgh at the Book Festival I saw a little haiku book that caught my eye, it’s called Haiku for The Single Girl by Beth Griffenhagen, with wonderful illustrations by Cynthia Vehslage Meyers (Illustrator) so it inspired me to write this haiku:
We’re Finished Lover
Move an inch baby
Don’t dare cross that bridge sweetheart
We’re finished lover
Hope you enjoy my couple of haiku offerings this week. Haiku always make me smile, I hope they make you smile too.
Join in challenges. There are so many to choose from, try out a few and see which ones appeal. Join in when you want to and don’t beat yourself up when you haven’t got the time.I usually take part in the following fantastic challenges:
Try out new things, be spontaneous and adventurous.
If you can write a Book Review then do, these nuggets of pure gold support authors so much. Or do Bookish posts and memes such as The Friday 56 via Freda’s Voice: http://www.fredasvoice.com/ or Book Beginnings, via Rose City Readers, http://www.rosecityreader.com/. I particularly take great pleasure in supporting new authors, that’s one particular blogging activity that is very dear to my heart. That’s why I love going to Book festivals, both here in Cambridge, and in Edinburgh, I love discovering new up and coming authors.
If you do Book Reviews it is a great idea to have an A – Z list of all your reviews. Do this right at the beginning otherwise it is a lot of work to catch up with this. I’m currently compiling my A – Z list of Book Reviews and it’s taking me a long time to do this as I have 58 reviews on this blog and counting …….!!!! EEK!!!
Don’t be afraid to be who you are, in fact being yourself is super important, if you pretend to be someone else it will probably show.
Chat to people via comments, like and appreciate other bloggers posts, make it a community endeavour.
Have a laugh, but be serious when you need to. Life is made up of both darkness and light so share both.
Help and support other bloggers, this is a community so encourage others to fulfil their potential too.
Get to know other bloggers if you can, meeting them in person at a blogger’s event is such a brilliant thing to do. But don’t meet up with random strangers, keep safe! I’d recommend this kind of organised event wholeheartedly, even if like me you’re intrinsically shy, push your boundaries. I went along to the Bloggers Bash in London on 1st of August and it was such a success: https://atomic-temporary-67364188.wpcomstaging.com/2015/08/02/the-bloggers-bash-oh-what-a-day/
This blogging lark takes time, so be patient, developing a blog isn’t an overnight activity it takes a lot of hard work. I blog at all sorts of weird times of the day, forget to talk to my family, burn the dinner, done it all! Be aware that it is quite addictive!!!!!! No, that’s a lie it is 100% quiteaddictive.
Remember to breathe, take in the odd bit of fresh air, watch the squirrels in your garden, don’t sit in front of your keyboard all the time! You have to experience life so you have something to write about.
Don’t take it personally if people follow your blog and then seem to vanish into thin air, this happens. In fact in general try not to be too sensitive, just shrug it off. If people want to read your blog they will, especially if you write great content, so focus on that. That’s my no. 1 tip.
I’ve been very slow with this post, life has been extremely busy just recently, I’ve been helping out my mum up in Edinburgh after her operation, and taking in some of the sights of The Edinburgh International Festival which I’ve shared with you in my recent blog posts. So that’s my excuse.
To make up for my tardiness I’ll try to make this post as humorous as I can, I like a little giggle….
Blogging, well I never, over a year ago if you’d told me I’d be receiving awards for blogging I would have looked at you as if you were barking mad. I would not have believed it. Also I certainly would not have imagined that I’d end up going to a Bloggers Bash on the 1st August in London. No, I’d say stop teasing me, but yes I did go, and it’s been such an experience. What an adventure. Why didn’t I do this Blogging lark years ago? It’s a terrible setback being such a slow developer, ack, that’s life, have to accept that NOW is my time, and I’m lapping it up, loving each and every minute of this Blogging journey. Oh, a thought just occurred to me Blogging rhymes with Snogging. Random thoughts like this are always creeping into my mind. Have you ever noticed that before? No of course you haven’t, and even if you had you’d keep it to yourself wouldn’t you? There are some similarities between the two words I suppose, kissing is connecting with someone, on a personal level, and blogging does all of these things on a much wider platform…. That’s what I love about blogging you can say the most incredibly nutty things and get away with it…
Well, I hope I got away with it! I mean, please don’t unfollow me!! EEK!!
Awards are the icing on the cake, and a great way to shout out about great blogs. Hopefully the bloggers that I’m nominated accept awards – I know that many bloggers don’t accept awards due to time constraints. If I’ve nominated you and you don’t accept awards that’s fine don’t worry, I won’t turn up on your front door step, stand on my tippee toes, and and force you to join in! This Five Foot Four girl is a gentle soul so no cause for concern on that count. I’ll just smile and say, “No Can Do, No worries,” blow you a bloggy kiss and get going!
Right, where did all that randomness come from? Started off talking about my small frame and ended up having a bit of a moment. Well I’m writing parts of this while consuming a glass or two of wine, that’s my secret.
The other thing I like about blogging is the way that it encourages you to explore all sorts of creative activities and takes you on new pathways. When I started this blog it was mainly about books, and writing and now it’s kind of expanding in all sorts of directions: haiku, photography challenges, and general craziness, with a touch of magic. I called it Kyrosmagica so it was bound to happen. I’m casting a spell on you…. Beware!!
Here are the rules of the award which I’ve pinched word for word from Beaton’s blog:
The Rules:
Select 15 other blogs you want to give the award to. Do some digging if you must! Find those blogs. You cannot nominate yourself or the person who has nominated you.
Write a post to show off your award! Give a brief story of how your blog got started, and give a piece or two of advice to new bloggers.
Thank whoever nominated you, and provide a link to their blog.
List who you’ve nominated in the post.
Make sure to also attach the award itself! (You can do this by right-clicking, saving, and uploading the image above).
Comment on each blog and let them know you’ve nominated them.
Provide a link to the award post you created.
Provide a link to the original post on Edge Of Night. That way, anyone can find the original guidelines and post if needed, and we can keep it from mutating and becoming confusing!
Without any more jokes about snogging, casting spells, or yapping on about my lack of height, I’d like to nominate some wonderful blogs for this award:
This is quite tricky as I have nominated quite a few people before for various awards so with this in mind I’ve tried to come up with some new nominees, hope I’ve succeeded, if I’ve nominated you before well that’s my failing memory’s fault…
Here in no particular pecking order, (couldn’t resist that!) my nominees for Blogger Recognition Award are:
Sharukh Bamboat at India Destination blog. I’ve always wanted to go to India but have never been, so this is my way to go there on a virtual visit: https://indiadestinationsblog.wordpress.com/
EmMakwall Explains it all, especially her passion for films, television, humour, and soundtracks: http://emmakwall.com/
Kayleigh, a Scottish lass who blogs about books, life, and everything in between. She is a fellow Edinburgh Book Festival enthusiast. You can find her blogging at Miserable and Magical: https://kayleighm8.wordpress.com/
Hugh over at Hugh’s Views and News, I met him at the Bloggers Bash in London and he’s a lovely bloke, most definitely one to follow: http://hughsviewsandnews.com/
I’m a devotee of holistic health so I’d recommend Holistic Health Consultant, Reiki Master, and Nutritionalist, Gina Briganti’s blog: http://ginabriganti.com/
This week I’m taking part in Rachael Ritchey’s Short Story Writing Blog Battle. Here’s a link to her blog if you’d like to take part in this fun community of writers: http://rachaelritchey.com/blogbattle/
Week 25 Theme is Legumes
Date to Post: Tuesday, September 1st, 2015
This was a tough one, Legumes, huh, not the easiest of themes but I enjoy a challenge so why not?
The cupboards were practically empty apart from a few sorry almost forgotten tins of vegetables. Ryder picked them up, checked their sell by dates, and shrugged. A week or two past their sell by date wouldn’t kill him! He set them out on the kitchen counter and proceeded to open all of his flatmate’s cupboards looking for a large enough frying pan to create his imagined feast. He opened and shut the doors slamming them without any thought for his sleeping flatmates. He found a large wok that didn’t belong to him, but no matter, he decided that no one would notice if he borrowed it for this early morning feast. He set the flame to full throttle, flooding the pan with a cascade of vibrant vegetables, and loud legumes. The sizzling sound made him smile he loved the buzz of riotous noise in the silence of the early morning.
He waited patiently for the moment when someone would burst through the door and discover his antics and somebody always did, today was no exception. Olivia burst into the kitchen, a bleary-eyed look lay crumpled on her face. She scowled at him. Ryder couldn’t help but smile; Olivia was wearing her skimpy pyjamas again. Olivia must have clocked his lecherous look, but it was apparent from the dirty look that she gave him that she wasn’t in the mood for Ryder’s attempts at four a.m. flirting.
“What are you doing Ryder? It’s four o’clock in the morning, I’ve got a lecture at nine.”
“Making you breakfast,” said Ryder with a grin.
“Huh, that’s not funny, Ryder you’re driving everyone crazy with your early morning stir fries.”
“Oh, you’re too pent-up Olivia, you need to learn how to relax. Let me give your shoulders a rub.”
Olivia gave him a look that said that sounds about as appealing as a torturous Chinese burn. “Get lost Ryder, stop being such a creep.”
“I’m only trying to make it up to you Olivia, sit down, I’ll prepare you a very special VIP breakfast.”
Olivia looked at the legumes in the frying pan and pulled a face.
“I don’t eat out of date rabbit food.”
“Ah, but you haven’t eaten my rabbit food, trust me it will be amazing,” said Ryder, his eyes momentarily lifted their attention from the flambéed frying pan, and lingered on Olivia. There was something elemental in that look, Ryder knew it, it came naturally to him, he could turn on charm like a blazing uncontrollable flame.
Olivia’s barriers began to melt; little by little she began to return his look, now it was easy, all he needed to do was stare back, to penetrate the layers of Olivia’s resistance with his wicked eyes. He just hoped she didn’t faint, that would be annoying. He liked girls to be awake; they were far more interesting that way. He’d have to be careful not to employ too much Ryder charm, just the right amount of gentle coercion had to be used, a few words would help too.
“It’s not Rabbit food, Olivia it’s a feast fit for a king.”
Ryder set the food out on the table. It did not bear any resemblance to the simple dish of legumes he had just been cooking. Its centrepiece was an enormous, flat, round Indian delicacy resembling a chapatis pancake, and on the side was a bowl of richly spiced curry sauce with a side dish of fragrant legumes. The aroma would make you feel as if you’d been re-born in curry heaven.
Olivia gasped. Curry was her favourite, Ryder knew that.
“Sit down, Olivia join me,” Ryder said, his words gently caressing Olivia’s unsuspecting ears.
Olivia practically dived to sit down. She acted like she’d been on an enforced hunger strike and was now able to eat again.
But something stopped her from touching a bite. She just sat there staring at the food, her outstretched hand hung in the air as if she was about to pick up a chapatti. The reel of her life waited temporarily suspended for a second.
“Do help yourself,” said Ryder with a smirk.
There were no plates on the table, no cutlery, or napkins. Olivia picked up the chapatti, filled it with curry sauce and legumes and rolled it on the table as if this was the most natural thing to do. She downed that chapatti in a few ferocious bites and licked her lips.
“Don’t you want a plate?’ asked Ryder raising an eyebrow in mock horror.
Olivia blushed. It was obvious from her reaction that she was mortified by her own behaviour. This was so unlike Olivia. Olivia had a reputation for being neat and tidy, and would normally never eat off a table, particularly one in a messy student flat.
She glanced at the table, and her expression said it all. Poor Olivia turned a nasty shade of green, the exact colour of the curry that she had just wolfed down. She ran to the toilet to be sick.
As soon as she fled out the door, Ryder laughed. It wasn’t a nice laugh. He could hear her retching, but he did nothing to help her. When he stopped laughing a wretched feeling came over him, what had he done? He felt the crystal in his eye smarting, it was vibrating, sending spasms of guilt throughout his body. That wretched crystal, he wished he could dive a dagger into his eye and rip it out.
But he couldn’t do that, not without blinding himself, the crystal was there for keeps. He had no choice, the crystal fragment acted like a conscience making him want to help Olivia. So he tucked her into bed, and crept in next to her, she didn’t seem to mind. She thought he was a nice guy, but he and the the crystal knew otherwise. Afterwards he shed crystal tears; a deep feeling of disgust filled his being. He was tainted, a lost soul, blinded by the splendour of his own shadow, with no way of being saved.
Rules:
1.1000 words max
2.fictional tale (or true if you really want)
3.PG (no more than PG-13) Content – let’s keep this family friendly!
4.Your story must contain the word(s) from the theme and/or be centered around the theme in a way that shows it is clearly related
5.Go for the entertainment value!
6.State the Genre of your story at the top of your post.
7.Post your story on Tuesday, by 11:59 PM PST
8.Use the hashtag #BlogBattle when tweeting your story, put a link back to your #BlogBattle Short Story in the comments section of this page, and/or include a link to this page in your own blog post (it creates a “ping-back” which will alert me and our friends to your #BlogBattle post)
9.Have fun!
I hope you liked my contribution to this week’s blog battle. Do let me know what you think. Don’t forget to vote for your favourite story.
I just found this in my draft folder, seem to have forgotten to post this, the powers of my memory are obviously declining. So here goes…..
I took this photograph of the Cutty Sark the evening we picked up my eldest daughter and all her possessions from her University at the end of term, she needed to vacate her flat.
Her first year gone already, how did that happen? Eek, time is flying past too fast. Slow down, dearest, I can’t keep up with you. Anyway getting back to her vacating the flat when I say all her possessions I mean all her possessions! All apart from her crutches no we left those behind, (she broke her ankle this term, poor girl,) hope those crutches don’t come in handy to the next person renting her room! No more broken ankles me hopes.
Luckily we just had enough room in the car for the rest of us and no more, we couldn’t have squeezed another tiny person in there believe me. Girls and our belongings! I tell you half of our car boot was filled with her university books, well this she could be forgiven for, she is a English Literature student after all! My husband commented that when he went to university all he had was a large rucksack! Nowadays an oversized rucksack would just about do for her books, and you wouldn’t want to carry those on your back and that’s a fact!
We travelled back to London from Brighton and had a fantastic night out in Greenwich, and stayed overnight at my sister in law’s house. It was a truly memorable night, we had a lovely meal and ended up in a pub singing along to a band.
There must have been some kind of event on at The Greenwich Observatory as there were several classic cars on display as you can see, very posh!
Here’s a couple of photos of this fantastic evening view, I couldn’t quite do it justice, I need a better camera, I just took these on my mobile phone. But still, I think it gives you an indication of what a beautiful night it was.
On the way to the pub a young man ran by us and threw lots of pound coins on the ground! I don’t know if he was drunk, or just wanting to share his money with passing strangers! A kind contribution for next year’s rent for my daughter? Perhaps! Given how much her annual rent costs all donations even pound coins gratefully received!
Oh, I do attract these kind of uncanny happenings, I wonder what it is about me?
Mustn’t complain it does give me lots of ideas for stories!
Such a funny and memorable night, I’ve been intending to share this with you for ages. It’s taken me a while to get around to it.
I hope you enjoyed my photos, all comments gratefully received in lieu of pound coins! Next year’s rent is looming…….
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M J Mallon YA Author and Poet 