Coronavirus #Self-Care #Daughters #Nails #Beauty #Authors #Bloggers #Promos #Montreal #Travel #Dreams #Disturbing

Last year in May my daughters and I went to Montreal and treated ourselves to salon nail gels.

So, we thought as we’re in Lockdown why not do it this at home instead? We clubbed together to buy a gel nail set from Amazon complete with nail gel polish, base, and top coat.

Saturday 4th April we cheered ourselves up, by painting our nails.

It wasn’t quite salon luxury – I donned the necessary hygiene accessories: gloves, disinfectant wipes to clean, a fresh sheet of newspaper for each person, etc, and we were ready to go. (Don’t do this at home if anyone is ill – i.e. has a cough, sore throat or any symptoms of Coronavirus, or if you are at high risk of getting the virus, or have serious underlying health conditions.)

I pretended I was a professional! And we had a good laugh. We even joked with my hubby that he could have a go to but he declined.

When it came to my turn I chose a neon colour, I love jazzy nail shades. Inadvertently, I chose the same brightness of colour I had last year in Montreal, though the shade this time is more pink/red than pink/purple! My eldest daughter went for red and my youngest for a pink, plus she decided to paint one nail on each hand in glitter purple.

They turned out really well and took ages to do, so it’s a great way to spend time!

Poor hubby felt a bit left out. He disappeared in the garden with earphones to listen to music but when he saw our nails he said he thought they were very nice. And, he even said my longer hair, (which I normally get cut every 6 weeks,) suited me.

Later on I skyped mum and dad which really cheered me up too. My dad always says the nicest things – I think he thinks I’m perfect! Lol, so if I ever need a boost to my ego all I need is a five minute chat with him. Mum and dad are both staying fairly cheerful considering everything. Bless them.

Then…

A Frightening Dream

Last night I had the most frightening dream. I was on campus somewhere, (a mature student!) and these three young lads terrorised me, (one was only fifteen,) as I walked home one night, They taunted me with sexual innuendos and followed me all the way to my bus stop. Then they sat near me on the bus home. I was terrified that they were planning to get off at the same stop as me. By chance a friend of mine joined me on the bus, and they started chatting to her as if everything was normal. I asked her to move with me to the back of the bus, so I could tell her what happened without them hearing. She seemed a bit surprised by my request but did as I asked. As soon as we were seated I explained what had happened – how they had been suggestive, threatening and lewd. She was shocked to hear that. We were so relieved when they got off the bus before us.

If I was analysing this dream I’d say it shows the depth of my anxiety and uncertainty about life at the moment. We have no idea how long Lockdown will continue, how many people will become infected, or how many will die. It is so unsettling, upsetting and disturbing.

So, it’s even more important to focus on those things that will lift your mood and take your mind off the situation. Whatever makes you happy – whether it is pottering in the garden, drawing and painting, watching TV, reading a book, keeping fit, caring for your house plants, meditating, or painting your nails! Everything that makes you happy is so important right now.

Here are my Montreal inspired posts:

https://mjmallon.com/2019/06/16/scrummy-food-tulips-and-cocktails-food-montreal-canada-holiday-tulips/

https://mjmallon.com/2019/05/26/grafitti-murals-montreal-canada/

https://mjmallon.com/2019/06/06/notre-dame-basilica-montreal-canada-travel-holiday/

https://mjmallon.com/2019/06/11/colleens-2019-weekly-tanka-tuesday-poetry-challenge-no-131-synonymsonly/

Some links from my blogging and author friends:

A scam to be aware of via Hugh: https://hughsviewsandnews.com/2020/04/02/warning-covid-19-scam/

From my friend Ritu –

From Charli Mills at Carrot Ranch: https://keweenawnow.blogspot.com/2020/04/guest-article-keweenaw-joins-grassroots.html/

An article featuring a couple of bloggers/authors I follow: Darlene Foster, Debby Harris:Views of COVID 19 – Thailand, Mexico, Spain and Australia – https://traveltalesoflife.com/views-of-covid-19-thailand-mexico-spain-and-australia/

From Richard Dees who is in self isolation in Devon – all his daughters are in the nursing profession – one daughter is a midwife, another one is a nurse in ITU, (her husband is a consultant,) and daughter three is in her third year nursing training. Do pop over to his blog to say hello. He has some books on sale: https:///another-week-has-passed/

Natalie Ducey is offering a free download of her poetry: https://natalieducey.com/2020/04/04/the-hearts-lullaby-poetry-collection/

Last day of Anne Allen’s promo #booklovers Bargain! The Guernsey Novels Books 1-3 boxset only 99p/99c until 5/4/20 drama/love/mystery on a beautiful island https://books2read.com/TheGuernseyNovels1-3 @AnneAllen21 #guernseynovels

Stay safe, stay well, stay in!

Available for free on kindle unlimited and to buy in kindle and paperback: http://mybook.to/MrSagittarius

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Scrummy Food, Tulips and Cocktails #Food #Montreal #Canada #Holiday #Tulips

One of the things I discovered as we were sitting in the taxi on route to catch our bus to Heathrow was I’d forgotten my coat! So, I ended up borrowing my eldest daughter’s jacket when I could – this furry brown one was my favourite!

Here I am at Venice, Montreal, wearing her jacket and my woolly hat! And here she is when she grabbed it back on a later day outside Bevo Bar and Pizzeria!410 Rue Saint Vincent, Montreal QC H2Y 3A5

As you can see we stopped for a cocktail – the first of many!!! We went there on another evening to sample their fantastic pizzas. Yum…

I did buy myself a new jacket… think tulips and jazzy coat. I’m in the slideshow below. The tulips were stunning at the Botanical Gardens, Montreal. Talk about a field of colour…

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Getting back to cocktails. See the green one below? That was my favourite! We were on a rooftop bar, and it was the bizz!

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The food… Boy, was it tasty – my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Here are a few of the amazing dishes we tried… Look at this plate of beautiful food at Arthurs Nosh Bar… 4621 Notre-Dame O Rue, Montreal QC H4C 1S5 Not only does it look like a work of art it tasted like one too! It was well worth the wait. We had to queue to get in but this looked and tasted fantastic. A definite favourite!

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And these two meals were from the same pub which was very near our AirBnB, Pub Bishop and Bagg 52 Rue Saint Viateur O, Montreal QC H2T 2K8 the food was amazing. See those potatoes they were cooked to perfection. Yum… And there vegetarian option was fantastic too. All very hearty but tasty food.

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Then, we tried a vegetarian/vegan place called Lov. I chose the vegan burger and it was fab. 464 McGill Rue, Montral QC H2Y 2H2

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https://www.lov.com/
At Taiyo we ordered from a tablet on our table and after a while we couldn’t quite remember just how much we ordered! Needless to say we ate everything but had less room for the amazing banana fritters. 1709 Rue Saint-Denis, Montréal H2X 3K4.

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Montreal is definitely a foodie’s paradise. This is just a sample of some of the amazing restaurants we went to and the cocktails… what can I say? Whilst on holiday, it’s imperative to let your hair down!

Time for a diet… and detox. Lol.

Do check out my other Montreal posts:

https://mjmallon.com/2019/06/06/notre-dame-basilica-montreal-canada-travel-holiday/

https://mjmallon.com/2019/05/26/grafitti-murals-montreal-canada/

And check out this post on Canadian travel:

https://noatech.travel.blog/2019/06/09/16-top-rated-tourist-attractions-in-canada/

Have you been to Montreal?

Do comment, I’d love to here from you.

A magical blog of books, writing and inspiration

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Colleen’s 2019 Weekly #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge No. 131 #SynonymsOnly

 

It’s nice to welcome Colleen back after her break finding and settling in to her new home in Arizona. I’ve missed writing poetry but I’ve been super busy getting feedback back from my early readers and beta readers on my WIP: The Curse of Time Book 2 Golden Healer.

The synonyms I’ve chosen for beginning are dawn, and for consume – exhausted.

The tulips are from my recent trip to Montreal, Canada – Botanic Gardens. I had a wonderful time there on holiday with my two daughters.

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Fields of Bright Tulips

With every dawn

Inspiration finds a way

To bloom in choice words

Until exhausted I dream

Fields of bright tulips

 

 

Hope you enjoyed my tanka poem.

Bye for now, happy creating!

 

A magical blog of books, writing and inspiration

 

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Buy Book: myBook.to/TheCurseofTime

Social Media Links

Authors Websitehttps://mjmallon.com
Collaborative Bloghttps://sistersofthefey.wordpress.com
Twitter: @Marjorie_Mallon and @curseof_time
#ABRSC: Authors Bloggers Rainbow Support Club on Facebook
Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17064826.M_J_Mallon

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Notre-Dame Basilica #Montreal #Canada #travel #holiday

 

This beautiful basilica is situated in Old Montreal, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The church is located at 110 Notre-Dame Street West and faces the Place d’Armes square.

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It is a truly stunning church, perhaps one of the most beautiful I have seen. The colour and splendour of the interior is so dramatic that you can’t help but draw a breath of astonishment as you walk in. Moreover, there is a definite sense of calm in this church, a spiritual feeling which is apparent from the moment you arrive.

I would definitely recommend it as a must see location if you are visiting Montreal.
Here is a short extract from Wikipedia singing its praises:

The interior of the church is amongst the most dramatic in the world and regarded as a masterpiece of Gothic Revival architecture.[1] The vaults are coloured deep blue and decorated with golden stars, and the rest of the sanctuary is decorated in blues, azures, reds, purples, silver, and gold. It is filled with hundreds of intricate wooden carvings and several religious statues. Unusual for a church, the stained glass windows along the walls of the sanctuary do not depict biblical scenes, but rather scenes from the religious history of Montreal. It also has a Casavant Frères pipe organ, dated 1891, which comprises four keyboards, 92 stops using electropneumatic action and an adjustable combination system, 7000 individual pipes and a pedal board.[2][3]

I had the fortune to visit Montreal with my two daughters in May. Here they are in the photo below walking ahead of me taking in the spectacular view…

Approximately 11 million people visit Notre-Dame every year, making it one of the most visited monuments in North America.[4]

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And here’s another image for you to enjoy.

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Unfortunately my photos do not do it justice.

Find out more here: https://www.basiliquenotredame.ca/en/

I hope you get a chance to visit.

Do comment, I’d love to hear if you’ve been.

My previous post about Montreal: https://mjmallon.com/2019/05/26/grafitti-murals-montreal-canada/

Do check out this post about all the wonderful tourist attractions in Canada: https://noatech.travel.blog/2019/06/09/16-top-rated-tourist-attractions-in-canada/

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A magical blog of books, writing and inspiration

Buy Book: myBook.to/TheCurseofTime

 

Social Media Links

Authors Websitehttps://mjmallon.com
Collaborative Bloghttps://sistersofthefey.wordpress.com
Twitter: @Marjorie_Mallon and @curseof_time
#ABRSC: Authors Bloggers Rainbow Support Club on Facebook
Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17064826.M_J_Mallon

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mjmallonauthor/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mjmallonauthor/

 

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Grafitti Murals – Montreal Canada

 

20190518_112617.jpgI’m just back from a lovely holiday with my two daughters in Montreal.

Everywhere I looked there appeared to be Grafitti murals on the streets. Being a big fan of Graffiti murals I thought I’d share them with you.

See the one above? It’s the very first mural I saw on my holiday situated near our Airbnb in Laurier.

Eerie isn’t it?

Here are some of the other ones I came across…  The girl in the mural below looks sad too…

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I like how the next mural blends in with it surroundings. The real flowers joining the painted flowers in an unusual way! We stopped in this area for a coffee at Cafe Olympico.

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The next one’s kind of exotic. But those bushes really need cutting back! We’re missing out on the bottom part of the mural in Quartier Latin.

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This is also in the Quartier Latin. Very bright and vibrant like this area of Montreal.

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Then here’s one from Mont-Royal

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If you are planning on visiting Montreal and would like to find out more about their street art check out this post: https://www.mtl.org/en/experience/montreal-murals-101

Have you visited Montreal? What are you waiting for…

 

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Buy Book: myBook.to/TheCurseofTime

Unique Selling Point: Unique, Imaginative, ‘Charming, enchanting and richly layered this is purely delightful.’

Social Media Links

Authors Websitehttps://mjmallon.com
Collaborative Bloghttps://sistersofthefey.wordpress.com
Twitter: @Marjorie_Mallon and @curseof_time
#ABRSC: Authors Bloggers Rainbow Support Club on Facebook
Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17064826.M_J_Mallon

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