dog

Envy, Bony and Why The Beach Bum is So Bad

/ darkislethebooks / 1 Comment

Hi, how’s everyone? Hope you’re all well!! So exciting news! Envy comes out in three days’ time” THREE DAYS!! Woohoo. It’s another of the Sisters of Sin series, it’s romantic suspense (available as a paperback and romantic suspense Kindle book) and what I would describe as action adventure. The heroine is Izzy Starr, an assassin, who is given a job by her ex to see is an international chocolate company is indeed using child slavery on its African plantations.

Heres the blurb:

Envy loves her life as an assassin working for the Sisters of Sin…until her ex, Adam, shows up begging her for help.

Someone’s forcing children into slavery on African cocoa plantations.

Pretending to be a couple, Envy and Adam fly out to the Ivory Coast to investigate.

What they find sickens even her…and now she’s armed and very, very angry.

Enemies to lovers. Action and adventure. Fake relationship. Steamy Sex. Envy has it all.

https://geni.us/envydanelson

HALLOWEEN PARTY

Okay, so what else has been happening a Nelson Towers? Me and the kids were at a Halloween party on Saturday night at our next-door neighbours’ house. It was a fab party. I was originally going to go as Cruella de Vil. I’d bought the costume last year, but it came too late, so I brought it out Saturday afternoon only to find the damn thing doens’t fit me. Despite ordering a size up from my normal curvy self, this was waaaaaay too skinny fit for me. Sigh. Way to go costume makers! You’ve made a plump woman feel even fatter! Anyway, I dug out last year’s costume (a black stretchy dress) and wore that instead. I back-combed my hair (big mistake, took me ages to brush it on Sunday morning!) and donned black shoes. It was a fab night. Unfortunately, I forgot to get a picture of myself taken.

Our beloved Bonya, gone but not forgotten.

BONYA

The night had a tinge of sadness over it however. We had to have our beloved pug, Bonya, put down a few weeks ago. She was old and had various health issues, so it was the best thing to do for her. We were all devastated, and I couldn’t sleep properly for about a week afterwards. Apart from her farting, she was a terrible snorer, and my bedroom was just too quiet. Anyway, Bonya always came with us to any party our neighbours were having (and they have loads) and became known as Party Pug. This was our first party without the wee soul. She was missed. She will, however, never be forgotten…mainly for her lovely personality, her cuddly-ness and her farts that could clear a room. She was an amazing animal, and we were so lucky to have had her in our lives.

BOOKS

Right, on to happier things. So, my mum gave me a book, The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley, and I desperately want to like it. But it’s boring me to tears. It’s dragging on and on and I just don’t want to finish it. My mum really enjoyed this book and its sequels, but I’m going to have to give it back. I feel like I’m wasting my time on it. Sorry Lucinda Riley.

I am reading Robin Sharma’s The 5am Club, which, while the storyline is a bit cheesy in places, does have some good solid advice to give to people who want to improve their productivity and their lives in general. While I won’t be getting up at 5am, I am trying to get up earlier. I am very productive anyway, but I’m looking to add more hours to my day. I can’t do it after dinner (6pm-ish) as I’m just too tired by then, but maybe getting up at 6am instead of 7am is doable. I’ll let you know how I get on.

TELLY

Right, so there are some amazing programmes on tv right now and I’ll briefly take you through what I’ve been watching.

Firstly, I re-watched Carnival Row on Prime because it’s just so amazing. If you like fantasy and history, this is the series for you. It stars Cara Delevigne and Orlando Bloom, and is just amazing. I cannot wait for the second series!

Secondly, everyone’s been talking about The Empress on Netflix. It’s about the life of Empress Elizabeth of Austria and is excellent. It’s stunningly shot as well.

Thirdly, Walter Presents Agatha Christie’s HJerson (I watched in on More Four) is a superb Swedish crime drama based around a tv producer and an ex cop. Hjerson is the main character of Ariadne Oliver, the writer in the Poiro books. Anyway, this is a modern look at that character and what he might get up to. It’s clever, it’s funny and I just loved it.

Fourthly, again Walter Presents, Astrid: Murder in Paris is about a woman with autism who helps Parisian police investigate murders. It’s quirky and clever, and very very enjoyable.

Fifthly, (and I haven’t just been watching telly all day, promise), I watched The House of the Dragon. It was a bit of a drag at first. I stuck with it, though, as I’m such a huge Game of Thrones fan, and thank God it did heat up towards the end.

And finally, my current obsession thanks to a recommendation by my sister, Vicky, and that is The Tudors.  Oh my God, this series is so GOOOOOOOOD. Okay, not 100% accurate (the history lover in me has winced a few times at story lines that weren’t correct), but very addictive. I’m on season two right now.

A BIG RASPBERRY

Things I would not recommend are: The Beach Bum starring Mathew Macconaughey. It’s dire. I watched half of it hoping it would get better. It did not. I didn’t like the characters and the storyline dragged. A big raspberry from me!

WRITING LIFE

I’ve signed up to do another anthology, which is due out in February next year. I’ll let you know more nearer the time.

I’m also about to embark on writing a new fantasy book for adults. It’s set in Victorian Scotland. More on that later.

Right, I need to say adieu just now. I am away to the dentist to get a filling replaced. It fell out two-and-a-half years ago in the midst of the pandemic and this is me just getting it replaced now.  My dentist has only just reopened to non-urgent patients.

Okay, that’s me off now. Till next time.

Dawnxxx

 

Books, walks and a very tired pug

/ darkislethebooks / Leave a comment

Because life has been so bloody awful recently what with the pandemic and what’s been going on with America, I’ve decided to cheer us all up with some exotic images and blue skies. You are welcome.

So, how have you been? What have you been up to? I can’t say I’ve been doing anything different recently.  Just working away as usual, staying home and avoiding people. I can’t believe we’re still in this position nearly a year on. Anyway, there’s no point in moaning about it because it won’t change things.

Here’s a nice pic to cheer us up some more…

I’ve been watching a South Korean historical comedy drama called Hwarang. The reason why we’ve been watching it is because a member of BTS is in it and the girl loves BTS. I thought it would be rubbish, but it’s actually good and highly addictive. There’s a helluva lot of crying in it, but apart from that I’ve been enjoying it.

Started watching Finding Alice. First episode: pretty good, lots to think about and wonder about. Looking forward to the next episode.

Reading: I’ve been reading India Knight’s The Thrift Book. Read this years ago and enjoyed it then. Really enjoying it again. It’s like reading it for the first time again. Am reading it as I’m trying to be greener and to further cut down on food waste.

This week I’m intending to give baking bagels a go. My mum has sent me a recipe which I’m dying to make. Will share the outcome with you.

Am just about to take the dogs out for a walk, so speak to you when I come back.

It is now 3.30pm and me and girl took our three dogs out for a walk down the riverside and along to the park. We intended to be out for half an hour. An hour-and-a-half later, we’re back. We met a lot of people I know who are other dog walkers so we stopped to have a socially distanced chat with them all. It was lovely to have contact with humans who are not my family members. And it was nice to catch up. The dogs too met quite a few other dogs who are their friends. Yes, dogs have friends too. So, had a bit of a run around with them. It was lovely. The three dogs – we took Bonya our elderly pug with us, I don’t normally, but she was so exhausted – are now sleeping, curled up in cosy wee balls. Except Bon, who is unable to curl up and lies on her front for sleeping. I don’t normally walk her as she’s older (we’re not sure how old) and doesn’t cope well with walks. She’s enthusiastic for all of five minutes and then you have to drag her. We have a large garden for her to run around in so she’s not missing out on exercise if I don’t take her. Not that she’s an excitable, run-around-crazy type dog anyway. Her favourite thing, after eating, is sleeping. I don’t even have to look at her to know she’s asleep now. That’ll be her shattered for a few days.

Right, I am going to finish up here and bid you adieu. Until next time!

Dawn x

It’s hard to write a blog when you’ve done nothing :-)

/ darkislethebooks / Leave a comment

20200420_100353

Hello, hello, how are you all? Here’s another blog from lockdown. Not that I’ve that much exciting news to tell you. Above is an image I took of the River Clyde the other day. Not only proof that we’ve been having gorgeous and unseasonably warm/dry weather lately, but that the Clyde can look blue sometimes. The tide it out in this image and that’s Port Glasgow across the way, but it gives you an idea of how nice it’s been around here. Thank goodness, because I think if the weather had been dreadful things would be a lot more depressing for all of us who are having to stay indoors at the moment. People are already complaining of boredom and feeling depressed, awful weather would have made that worse for them.

I’m not going to ask you what you’ve been up to because, let’s face it, no matter where you are in the world, you are more than likely staying indoors to help stop the spread of Corona Virus. Instead, I’ll just ask you what you’ve been up to. Have you been watching copious amounts of telly? Started a new hobby? Baked until your fingers bled? Gardened until there’s barely a green bit of the garden left? 😉

I’ve been watching tv, but in small amounts. I’ve taken to watching Carnival Row again. Yes, again, for the fourth time. I love it that much. I’m also considering watching Game of Thrones again too. You see, apart from Killing Eve (which is bloody brilliant), there’s not much on the telly I want to watch right now. There haven’t been any decent history programmes or documentaries, I find a lot of comedies dire and I don’t watch soaps. So, it’s back to old favourites. I’m loving Carnival Row all over again and seeing things I didn’t notice before on the three other times I watched it.

20200415_105319

Here’s a pic of two of my dogs on a local beach. It’s a riverside beach and not the nicest of beaches, but it’s great for dog walking and the dogs don’t seem to mind the stones and detritus thrown there by the river.

What else have I been doing? I am writing, writing, writing. Just finished 2000 words of my assassin book plus did another few pages of my non fiction book. I’ve sent a tv programme I wrote to a scriptwriting competition. Not sure if it’s good enough, but we’ll see what happens. I’ve also been doing bits and pieces around the house – you know, the wee things that need done but never get done because you’re so busy. I have a whole list of those to do. Sigh. Well, I’m not going anywhere soon so I’d best be getting on with them! 🙂

A big hello to any newbies who are following this blog. Welcome and thanks for joining us. I’m please to say I have 831 subscribers to this blog and a few more subscribing to my newsletter. If you want to receive the newsletter,  add your email address to the Mailchimp signup form to the right of the page.

Right, depressingly, I have nothing else to tell you. I dream of going out for lunch some time soon with friends or taking the dogs and kids up to Oban for the day or going to my parents’ house for dinner. And I keep telling myself ‘It’s not forever, we will get back to normality soon.” I hope that’s true!

On that note, I wish you all a good week ahead. Stay safe and stay sane. Til next time

Dawn xx

PS big shout out to my aunt who turns 70 this coming week and to my friend Mark who has a birthday too. Happy birthday to you both.

 

Exciting news and a small loss

/ darkislethebooks / Leave a comment

Okay, so I’ve got some news I’m dying to tell you about, but I can’t tell you details yet. The first is that I am collaborating with a very dear friend of mine on a new book for kids. She’s a great illustrator and we work well together, so I am looking forward to doing that one.

The second is international. I’ve teamed up with a group of authors from the US, Australia and the UK to do a whole series of books, romantic thrillers. We’re just working out the details now, but we’re hoping to have the first book launched by the end of the year. I cannot wait to get started. I have already begun planning.

(Takes deep breath to calm down) Sorry I can’t tell you any more, but I will give you details as we go along.

So, back to reality, how are you? What’s been happening in your world? Apart from signing up for two projects, the rest of the week has been pretty mundane. The weather has been terrible, we lost a chicken (she died – I think it was the weather that did it, it’s been wet and miserable for weeks now), but on the plus side we still have three healthy chooks left. The dogs have been loving trailing through the mud on their wet and windy walks. Sorry, let me re-phrase that, the Yorkie and Jack/Chi have been loving the mud, the pug (who hates going out for walks and I have to force her to go) does not like getting her wee tippy toes wet. So we’ve been getting a fair bit of grumbling from her this week! 🙂

Millie – our Jack Russell/Chihuahua cross loves water and getting muddy. That’s her ‘crazy eyes’ look because I am holding up a ball – she’s ball mad – in order to make her look at the camera!
Casper – our Yorkshire terrier doesn’t like getting wet, but will happily put up with wet and mud in order to go a walk. He spends a lot of time sleeping and pacing between the living room and kitchen. I don’t know why.
Bonya – our pug, hates going walks, hates getting wet and spends her life sleeping on the sofa. She’s a lazy dog.

I’ve been beavering away at my uni course and have an assignment to hand in next week, but it’s a creative writing one and I am just loving doing it!

What else have I been up to? I attended a tarot reading at our local pub on Monday night. Let’s just say I was a bit sceptical when I went and I remain sceptical now. The guy doing the reading was nice, but the stuff he was telling me was way too general and I felt he kept looking at me for signs of information so he could add to it. Do you know what I mean? I think there are people who are genuinely psychic or something – and I’ve only met one who was so accurate it was scary – but most are just reading off their client. Anyway, we’ll see.

I am still making my way through M C Beaton’s Agatha Raisin books. They are a fab way of relaxing at night. I like to go to my bed at 9pm and read for an hour (sometimes two) before lights out. These are great books – I love the characters, I love the humour and the stories are great. It is murder and mayhem, but not so you can’t sleep at night (I don’t read dark murder stories or horror at bedtime because my mind goes into freefall with imagining things that go bump in the night and I can’t sleep).

Oh, I see it’s now raining again. It’s the type of rain that’s almost snow… you know the kind I mean? The type that when you look out you think ‘Is that snow?’ but it’s not settling. It’s not hail cos it’s too soft and too easy for the wind to blow about. Anyway, it’s bloody cold and miserable outside. I had to bring the chickens in last night and I kept them in a large cardboard box in the living room. They’d got soaked yesterday and were in their coop shivering. I was worried they’d get hypothermia, so I brought them in. Looks like they’ll be spending another night indoors tonight.

Right, I am off. Got another two blog posts to write and then I’m going to finish my assignment and then I’m going to start researching my kids book project. Til next time.

Dawn xx

A Furry Visitor, Uni and

/ darkislethebooks / Leave a comment

Well the house is full of doggy kisses and hugs just now as we babysit this week cutie (the white one above). Yes, my parents’ dog Winston is visiting and we are just loving it. The kids don’t want him to ever go home. He’s pictured above sitting on a chair next to his best friend, our Yorkie, Casper. The two of them love each other, which is lovely.

At this precise moment, both are fast asleep (as are my girls) and Winston is sleeping under the table:

I just love dogs. They are great creatures.

Anyway, how are you all today? Hope all is well in your world. This week has been really busy for me as I worked to get my first big assignment done for my university course. It was a tough one, about tradition and dissent. Anyway, it’s done and I sent it in and I can do nothing more now but sit and chew my fingernails whilst I await the results. Really hoping I do well in it. I am aiming to get a First for this course. That’s what I really want to get. So, although this is only the first module, I’m aiming to get as high marks as possible. I’ve done really well so far, but was a mark short of a distinction last time so fingers crossed I pass that mark this time. I hate waiting for results, it’s so nerve wracking.

Anyway, enough of my moaning. What else have I been up to? Well, really the assignment has taken up a lot of time, but I did managed to do some editing today on the sequel to Dusting Down Alcudia. I am still aiming to have that out in spring – late spring, but spring none-the-less. Also spoke to the lovely Jenny who is doing my audio book of Dusting Down Alcudia. That’s now at the editing stage and will be ready in a few short weeks. I am so excited about it. Will let you know when it’s available on Audible.

Last night was the first night in ages I managed to get any time to read, so continued with my book on the teenage brain and did a bit of Pyjama Profit, both of which are interesting books. See here for more info.

That’s it really. Sorry for being a bit dull today, but a writer’s life really isn’t that exciting (unless you are a travel writer, I suppose!). On that note, I am going to say adieu until next time. Got a son to pick up from school.

Til next time,

Dawn xxx

A small death and some great books on writing

/ darkislethebooks / Leave a comment

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

 

Peonies and Eli Wallach

/ darkislethebooks / Leave a comment

I do love flowers. This blog today is dedicated to the amazing Peony which is fast becoming my favourite flower (although I still love Tulips). In fact, there is a vase of beautiful pink peonies sitting close by as I write this. They are just big balls of beautifulness. I know that last sentence probably isn’t grammatically correct, but I don’t care. Today I celebrate the amazing Peony. My favourite summer flower.

Anyway, how are you all? Hope you are all well. We’re good at Nelson Towers. We’ve been enjoying a week of mostly hot sunny weather, which for any of you who live here or have visited, you’ll know, is very rare. I am actually sporting a light tan on my face and arms, which is good because usually I am so pale I look ill. I am not ill, just Scottish.

As I write, I am listening to Classic FM, which is the station I put on when I am writing novels and blogs and stuff. I find it is a good background sound and I am not distracted by it (ie wanting to sing along). This means I actually write. Anyway, my reason for telling you this is because the theme tune to The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is currently being played and it took me back to my early childhood when we had three TV channels and one of them always put on a good matinee on a Saturday or Sunday. My mother worked at the weekends, so we kids would watch what my dad watched and – you’re right – it would inevitably be a war movie or a western. These weekends are why I love a good war/western movie and that tune just brought it all back. Of course, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly was never on at the weekend matinee spot, but because I had already become addicted, when it was shown (at Christmas usually) I insisted on watching it. I have loved the Spaghetti Western ever since. And Clint Eastwood…but for different reasons!! I also think Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach were fab in this. I didn’t realise when watching The Holiday that was Eli Wallach playing the scriptwriter. The man who told Kate Winslet about the ‘meet cute’ (love that film). Images below are: Clint Eastwood (as Blondie/the man with no name) looking all handsome and in danger, Eli Wallach as Tuco, Lee Van Cleef as Sentenza/Angel Eyes and Eli Wallach in The Holiday playing Arthur Abbott.

Look at that! I’ve gone from Peonies to Spaghetti Westerns just on a memory from a tune on the radio. Now, where was I? Oh yes, peonies…

Right, so this week has been busy. I gutted out the garage, which was badly needing cleaned out, being a bit brutal with what was needed putting in the bin. So much so I accidentally had to dig our Christmas tree out of the skip I hired that is currently taking up our driveway. How daft am I ditching the Christmas tree? Anyway, I got it and put it back in the garage where it lives for most of the year. The skip is now full. I have a couple of bits and pieces to put in it and then it’ll be picked up next week and I can get my drive back. Actually it felt good clearing out. I haven’t totally gotten the garage the way I eventually want it, but that’s a work in progress.

Of course, one of the days I chose to clear out the garage was Wednesday which is fine if you have nothing else on. I go to my Zumba class on a Wednesday, so after a morning of clearing out and then my class later I wasn’t worth a button by that evening. I was sore and extremely tired. I think I must have flaked out about 9.30pm. Yesterday, I got up achy but alright. I took yesterday morning ‘off’ (ie didn’t do any heavy work in the house) as part of my recovery. 😉  Spent it watching an old episode of Monk (I have said before that I love cheesy American cop shows…you were warned of my addiction) and sorting out laundry (my life is so glamorous! Not!).

I also wrote some more of my next novel. Remember the adult novel I was writing? I have put that aside just now for a few weeks and will come back to it at a later date. I do this with every novel for one simple reason: I want to come back to it with fresh eyes with the intention of rooting out any errors and improving on the text. So I was without anything to write so I started a sequel to Dusting Down Alcudia (DDA). DDA is a romantic adventure story starring a Scottish archaeologist, Nina Esposito (her father was Spanish) and a handsome Texan called Jay Reynolds. She goes to Mallorca to seek out a fabled Roman treasure necklace and ends up finding love and more. The sequel is set in Perthshire, Scotland and is about a hunt for Jacobite treasure. I’ve written about 20,000 words already and am really getting into it. I think it helps that I’m getting up early specifically to write. I have more energy in the morning, the kids are sleeping and it’s peaceful in the house (apart from the gentle tones of classical music in the background thanks to Classic FM!).

I finished the Stephen King book The Gunslinger and, although I love Westerns (Spaghetti Westerns in particular), I do not really like this book. It’s okay. I have the sequel, but I don’t think I’ll read it.  I’m going to donate the books to my local library. Someone else will enjoy it. I am currently reading Nora Roberts’ Stars of Fortune. It’s a romantic fantasy (so right up my street) and is really good. So good, I was still up reading it at 11.30pm last night and am now bleary eyed!

Right, I am going to finish here and post this. I need to take the  boy to school and get the mutts out for their morning walk. Til next time!

Dawn xx

 

 

 

 

 

London, baking and no yeast

/ darkislethebooks / Leave a comment

Me on the London Eye showing how bad I am at taking a selfie. No pouts here…oh no sirree!

I cannot believe that I wrote a whole post the other day and totally forgot to mention that me and the kids had been down to London the other weekend. We went down to celebrate two birthdays: my darling daughter’s and my lovely friend Raymond’s. It was a great weekend – exhausting, but worth it. We arrived on the Friday night and met Raymond and others at a restaurant in Greenwich for dinner. The next day me and the kids met another friend, Richard, for lunch in Ping Pong in Soho (after sitting for several hours atop a tourist bus…it was a good tour, but too long). Then the four of us went to Madame Tussaud’s (the girl’s choice, I wouldn’t have bothered). It was alright, the kids enjoyed it, but I wouldn’t go back.

Here’s me taking a break with Han…he’s not much of a conversationalist!

Anyway, after all that we got back to our hotel about 6pm exhausted. We had a hour to chill out and get ready before heading to a pub in Blackheath (gorgeous place btw) for Raymond’s party. It was an excellent party and I would like to thank Raymond and  George for inviting me and the kids and for buying us dinner and for the party. I had a ball. Drank way too much wine and was dancing and singing all night! Thank you both.

On the Sunday, we had a quick shot on the London Eye (well it wasn’t quick cos we had to queue for an hour before we got on it and it’s very slow), which was good in the sense it was a lovely day and you could see for miles across the city. It’s worth doing once. It didn’t open til 11am so after the ride, we got a taxi up to Euston station to get our train back.

Sigh. Apparently there had been a derailment on the west coast line somewhere near Carlisle so our train back to Glasgow wasn’t running properly. We were advised to go to King’s Cross where we would get a train back to Glasgow. This proved to be false and we ended up on a train to Edinburgh. Then it was a two hour trip back home. We were knackered, but so glad to see our dogs who were staying with a friend who is a dog walker. She very kindly dropped them off for us. I really missed them.

It was a whirlwind of a weekend, but really good. Thoroughly enjoyed it…apart from the odd whinging from the kids that is!

Gratuitous shot of Casper with his doggy.

So I have decided to try and do a month of no buying things I don’t need. This will be horrendous for me because I have a bit of a book buying addiction (mainly with the help of Amazon). However, I have hundreds of books (literally) and I really don’t need any more. So, here’s my pledge to not buy anything I don’t need until April at the earliest. And I will not buy anything I don’t need by trying to persuade the sensible part of me that I really do need it…I don’t! That is what I will be asking myself: do you really need it? No, then put it back!

I will also try to stick tightly to a meal plan. I meal plan every week but you are lucky if I stick to half of what’s written. It’s just that I get to the day a certain meal is lined up for then decide I fancy something else. Not for this month. Nope, I will stick to it. Started tonight…made pizza for dinner. However, I didn’t have any yeast and I cannot find a shop in this area that has any yeast left. Every teensy bit of yeast has been snapped up by folk wanting to make bread because there was no bread in the shops over the last few days because of the snow. A small, annoyed part of me wonders how many of them actually made bread and how many of them just took the yeast just in case and have no intention of ever using it. I have a bread maker and I do make bread, so was a little put out (‘toys out the pram’ put out) when I was unable to buy yeast. Anyway, I made the pizza with a soda bread base…it doesn’t work that well as a base for pizza. Just letting you know. First cooking disaster of the year. Sigh.

Over the last few days I also made a massive pot of lentil soup (love it!) and banana muffin cake (I couldn’t find the muffin tins…the place is still in chaos as the extension is still not completely finished…so I made it as a cake), which the boy ate most of!

Right, I am going to end this here. I still have to iron school uniforms for tomorrow cos the kids are back at school! Yippee! Til next time.

Dawn xxx

 

The white stuff, Bagpuss and Enid

/ darkislethebooks / Leave a comment

I am not going to state the obvious and talk too much about the amazing weather we’ve been experiencing, so I thought I’d let the photos speak for themselves.  Above, my dogs have been loving the snow…well Millie and Casper have. The pug, Bonya, hasn’t been too keen on going out but as you can see from the photo above she has been out.

She prefers to lie on the back of our sofa against the radiator snoozing and snoring, dreaming happy pug dreams.

A wistful pic of Casper as he watches Millie from the comfort of our living room.

Footsteps in the snow last night. These are my kids’ footsteps and the trenches the dogs made.

Anyway enough about that, how are you? And what’s been happening in our household? Well, the extension is still ongoing and its finishing date has been further put back thanks to the snow. The flooring was supposed to go down yesterday (Thursday), but unfortunately the company couldn’t get here. Their van was stuck outside their office. They couldn’t have gotten into the house anyway as our estate is unpassable for cars. There have been a fair few drivers getting stuck trying to get out of the estate yesterday and today. One wonders: having witnessed others getting stuck why they bothered even trying? Didn’t they think it would happen to them?

Our local shops have already run out of about everything…once folk realised they were open there was a stampede (well okay not literally a stampede, but you know what I mean). We were okay because I had stocked up before the weather hit, but one of my neighbours popped round this morning with a loaf of bread and some milk anyway. I thought that was really, really nice of her. She stayed for a cuppa and we had a good blether. Every school in Scotland (just about) has been shut because of the weather since Wednesday, so it was nice to see and speak to an adult instead of my darling kiddies. Not that I don’t find my darling kiddies adorable and interesting (they read this blog), but it’s nice to have a conversation with someone who is nearer my age.

Me and the kids braved  the weather and walked to the local shops yesterday to get out of the house for a bit (we were a bit stir crazy although the boy had been in and out all day playing with his friend in the snow…they were soaking!) and to pick up additional supplies (crisps and sweets for them, crisps and wine for me). It took us a wee bit longer (we had to fight our way out of knee high snow to get to the main road which was, thankfully, cleared although the pavements weren’t), but we got there and back without injury or frostbite. There were quite a few folk out and about, but the village did seem a little too quiet and a bit eery.

Apparently, to combat the feeling of being stuck inside (and stuck in the village – the roads  in and out were all closed due to snow drifts today and yesterday), some of the villagers have organised a party in our local hall tonight…all welcome. BYOB. We would go if we lived closer, but we are at the other end of the village and I don’t fancy the walk at night, in the freezing cold.

Changing the subject, I have finally worked out who it is that Bonya reminds me of…

Bonya (above, lying on the back of the sofa as usual…I think she thinks she’s a cat) reminds me of….that saggy old, baggy old cat…

Bagpuss! Yup the resemblance is astounding especially the way she moves and gives me those sleepy eyes a la Bagpuss. Can’t understand why I didn’t see it before!

I sent in my first assignment for my degree course on Wednesday. I don’t know why but I was nervous about doing it. Hope I get a good mark. I really want to do well in it. Have started the second part of the module. The first part was about Reputations, this one is Traditions and Dissent. I’m reading about Plato and Socrates, philosophy and deductive arguments. It’s really interesting, very thought provoking.

For leisure reading I’ve been reading Looking for Enid: The Mysterious and Inventive Life of Enid Blyton by Duncan McLaren. It’s really quite different from normal biographies. It’s done in a part dreamy way, but it’s amusing. I didn’t know boys liked Enid Blyton too…I’ve never met anyone who read Enid when they were kids who wasn’t female, but evidently Enid fans were males too. Duncan is a huge fan and he goes to where she lived and fantasies what the Five Finder Outers would have made of the real life theft of two of Enid’s own first editions which were taken from her house. As a major fan of Enid, I’m really enjoying the book.

Quick flashback…

Here I am at the Enid Blyton exhibition at the Seven Stories Storytelling Centre in Newcastle a few years ago…I loved it!!

 

Right, on that note, I am going to end this blog here and go upstairs with a glass of milk (#livingawildlife) to continue reading aforementioned book. Keep safe in the snow. Til next time.

Dawn xxx

Meh

/ darkislethebooks / Leave a comment

Hello everyone. How’s things? Hope you’re all well.  Well it’s another miserable day in the west of Scotland today, much to our pug’s disgust. Our Bonya, who has to be prised out of bed most mornings to go on our morning walk, decided she would not walk in the rain (it was only spitting, not too bad), but would stand still in the park, watch us walk around the park and then rejoin us when we were leaving (we had to walk by her). She’s such a lazy wee thing at times. She’ll be back on the lead on the next walk and made to walk, she needs the exercise.

This week has been a bit depressing because we developed two leaks in the kitchen ceiling. The plumber thinks it’s coming from the shower or possibly the enclosed sink unit. Anyway, he’s coming back to rip some things out so he can have a proper look. Meanwhile I have a large hole in my kitchen ceiling which I’ll have to live with until the builders start doing that part of our extension project. Sigh. My house feels like it’s falling apart at the moment. At least by early next year I should have my new extension (I hope…I say this because the extension doesn’t seem to be going at a fast rate, quite the opposite).

Anyway, enough of my woes. This week we’ve had guising for Halloween (last night, me and the boy and some of his friends and a couple of other mums), my parents’ dog Winston to stay while they are on holiday (they are home today, we will miss him) and I’ve finished my biog of Bess of Hardwick. I am now on to reading Wild by Cheryl Strayed, which I’ve only just started but am already enjoying. I saw the film, so the Cheryl in my book is Reece Witherspoon. Read the part where her mother dies of cancer this morning and it brought back a lot of memories. However, the rest of the book should be enjoyable and hopefully uplifting.

Spent most of yesterday cleaning the house and sorting things.  Today it looks like I’ve not even touched the house. Sigh.

What is it that causes an entire tv remote to vanish into thin air? And why does it happen on the morning when I want to watch Outlander? Our tv remote has gone walkabout and NOBODY knows anything about it. I actually wonder if my kids are getting properly educated because they never seem to know anything that goes on in the house! 🙂 Anyway, have been forced to order a new remote and it should come tomorrow. In the meanwhile, I am Jamie Fraser-less and feeling peed off about it. It’s just added to all the crap that’s been going on this week: wet weather, two leaks, a messy house, no Outlander….

Anyway, worse things happen at sea and I suppose if these are my only moans this week I am lucky.

Right, I am going to finish up here and go and do some work on future blogs. Til next time.

Dawn xxx