July 15 – Gummi Worm Day

July 15, 2018

Everyone of certain age will remember each Gummi Bears as kids. Introduced by Haribo in 1920, these lovely little fruity bears were a hit with kids and adults alike.

But it wasn’t enough. Then a company called Trolli brought out Gummi Worms…now you had a choice of shape for your jelly sweet hit.

Today we celebrate the Gummi Worm and to celebrate all you have to do is down a few worms – Gummi Worms that is. Kids can have them as is or decorating cakes. Adults, why not try them in cocktails as a fun addition?

Yummy Gummi.

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Writing, Sookie Stackhouse and the Southern Vampires

July 10, 2018


I don’t know what’s happening to me today. It’s 7.35pm and I have been chasing my tail all day. I got up later than I normally would and I’ve been trying to catch up with myself ever since. It’s weird how being an hour later in your schedule can knock you off your stride. Sigh. Still, never mind.

How are you all? Hope you’re hail and hearty and enjoying the day. It’s been overcast here all day after about three weeks of non stop sunshine, so it’s been nice that it’s been a bit cooler. I am not a sun worshipper, I like variety in weather, so while it’s been nice to see the sun I am now bored with it. Plus I don’t like being too hot. It’s been too hot. I’m not moaning about it, I’m just explaining why I like today’s weather.

I have been really, really busy writing and researching over the last week or so. I have finished the rough draft of my sequel to Dusting Down Alcudia. I hope it turns out to be good. It’s not good at the moment because, as I said, it’s very much the rough draft, it’s me getting the story down before I go back and edit it. I’ll edit it a few times before I send it to my editor to tidy up and then we’ll publish it. Anyway, it’s nowhere near that stage at the moment, but I’ll let you know when it is. I’ve also started to do my first edit of my murder mystery book. So far, so good.

I haven’t been up to much. My kids are at the stage where they don’t want to hang about with me and poo-pooh any suggestions I make for activities we could do. I wanted to go and see Patrick. They didn’t. We didn’t go. I think we are going to see The Incredibles 2 soon though. I loved the first film, it was so well done, and can’t wait to see the sequel.

Here’s a wee sneak peek…

Just finished the first in Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire series (it was known as True Blood on telly, loved that series). Dead Until Dark was great. Loved it and am looking forward to the next one in the series, which is Living Dead in Dallas. Can’t wait to go to bed tonight to start it! I know, I sound like a teenager, but I do love a good story. Other book news and I recently purchased a copy of Humans of New York by Brandon Stanton, a photographer who in 2010 decided to start taking pictures of 10,000 New Yorkers. His idea was to log them and he put their images online. I first came across him on Facebook. What he has also created is a fab book full of colourful and interesting human beings. There’s a little bit about their lives and where the pic was taken. Really interesting. I love things like that. People are so interesting. If you want to see some of the images pop along to the Humans of New York website.

Right, I am going to finish up here. I have dull housework stuff to do before I retire to the cosy warmth of my bed, snoring dogs beside me, to delve back into the life of waitress Sookie Stackhouse and the Southern Vampires! NB if you can’t be bothered reading the books (why that would be I can’t think because books are almost always better), try and watch the True Blood television series, it’s excellent.

Til next time,

Dawn xxx

 

July 6 – International Kissing Day

July 6, 2018

This must be one of my favourite international days because who doesn’t love kissing their nearest and dearest?

Launched in 2006, the aim of International Kissing Day is to celebrate kissing between lovers and the place it holds in our society.

To celebrate, wake up in the morning and kiss your partner with a kiss. Greet your friends with a quick peck on the cheeks and give your parents and hug and a kiss.

July 2 – World UFO Day

July 2, 2018

Today is World UFO Day, a day for UFO enthusiasts to celebrate their passion. Organised by WorldUFODay.com 17 years ago, there are loads of ways to celebrate such as:

  • Gathering at famous UFO hotspots such as Rozwell, New Mexico or Liverpool, England (yes apparently this is a great new place for UFO spotting)
  • Join groups of other UFO specialists to discuss evidence and theories
  • Have a party and theme it along UFO and alien lines!

July – Ice cream month

July 1, 2018

Who doesn’t love ice-cream?

Yippee! This month is Ice Cream Month where you have the excuse – if you need one – of eating ice cream every day for a month. And then standing on the scales in August and realising that maybe every day wasn’t such a good idea!

Anyway, Ice Cream Month is the brainchild of the American Dairy Association along with the then US President, Ronald Reagan and Kentucky Senator, Walter Dee Huddleston. They aimed to encourage more people to enjoy ice cream and boost sales of dairy.

Ice-cream is believed to have been invented in Ancient Greece, but the first true ice-cream was introduced to Italy by Catherine de Medici in the 16th century. It was the favourite of British King Charles 1 one hundred years later.

To celebrate Ice Cream Month, just enjoy your favourite ice-cream. Mine – and I know this is boring to some people – is home-made vanilla ice-cream, but I am also partial to a bit of Tablet ice-cream as well.

A small death and some great books on writing

June 30, 2018

Sam

It is with mixed feelings that I announce the passing of our guinea pig, Sam. Mixed because I was quite fond of the wee guy and am a little sad. However, being the sole caretaker and shoveler of his poo, I will not miss having to clean him out. RIP Sam…you were a good piggy, an excellent pet and a delight when you had your little conversations with yourself.

I buried him in the back garden next to my guinea pig, Darcy. The kids are untroubled by his passing, so we don’t have to deal with any explosions of dramatic grief, thank goodness. They basically ignored him, which is understandable on the boy’s part because he wasn’t his pig. He belonged to my daughter. Anyway, I now live in hope that he doesn’t get dug up by Millie – who has already tried to dig up Darcy. I’ve covered his little grave with a roof tile which is too heavy (I hope) for a small white dog to remove. We shall see.

So, how has your week been? Have you been enjoying the sunshine? I have and I haven’t. Being a northern person, I find the heat too much for me. Plus me and the kids were a bit unwell yesterday (Friday). I think the girl was suffering from a bit of heat stroke – her school had them all out doing PE in that horrendous high temperatures on Thursday. The boy was sick, I don’t know if it was a bug or the heat. I felt yucky yesterday – I think it was the heat. We are all fine now. Thank goodness. It’s a cooler day and we are staying indoors for most of the day.

I’ve been continuing to write the sequel to Dusting Down Alcudia. I am planning to re-launch Dusting Down Alcudia before Christmas (watch this space) and the sequel quickly after. My murder book is still on the back burner and I will start my first edit of it soon. I’ve also been continuing to studying marketing e-books and recommend Joanna Penn’s How to Market A Book. It is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to indie publish. The Miracle Morning for Writers by Hal Elrod (Author), Honoree Corder (Author), Steve Scott (Author), S.J. Scott (Author), James Altucher (Foreword) is another great book for would-be writers. It gives you hints and tips on making writing an every day habit and has great advice on getting your book published. If you are wondering why I – as an already published author – am reading these books is because I think all authors should know how to properly market their books. My work background is journalism and PR, which gives me a great start, but I didn’t know enough about other marketing avenues such as how to reach potential audiences, using social media and other great tips.

It’s been too hot to do much of anything so I have been staying inside and knitting whilst I watch telly. Above is a little lamb I knitted for my daughter – well she’s bagsied it! I don’t yet have a name for her (the lamb, that is, not my daughter who already has a name!), so if you have any suggestions, let me know. 😉

Books I have been reading – just finished Eloisa James’ Midnight Pleasures book which is a bodice ripper and was great fun. I haven’t read any romance books for years (unless you count things like Twilight etc) and I loved it. It was a great read. Totally predictable but really enjoyable. Haven’t chosen my next book to read yet, but I have lots. It’s too warm outside to read a heavy book (I leave Dickens and Scott and even Austen to read in the cosy winter months), so it will need to be something lighter.

Plans for the summer – we have none except that we all want to go and see the film Patrick. Yes, it’s partly because we have a pug and know how funny they are. Yes, it’s also because it looks funny. Anyway, that is the extent of our plans for the summer holidays. We aren’t going on holiday this year, but are looking forward to the next six-and-a-half weeks at home. I have bought the kids a new paddling pool (it’s quite large), a slip n slide and other outdoor games in the hope that the weather will hold and the kids can be prised away from their electronics to go outside and have fun. We shall see.

Anyway, I am going to finish my blog here for this week and shall leave you with a still from the aforementioned film. Here is the lovely Patrick (I think his real name is Harley)…

Til next time!

Dawn xxx