RonovanWrites #Weekly #Tanka #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #225 Strike & Hunger

Lovely Ron with his Haiku Challenge prompt words this week:

Strike & Hunger

Frost, Nature, Winter, Snow, Ice, Detail

Pixabay Image


Cold strikes blades of grass
They hunger for rays of sun
To warm their chilled core

Ritu 2018

Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge Image 2016

https://ronovanwrites.com/2018/10/29/ronovanwrites-weekly-haiku-poetry-prompt-challenge-225-strikehunger/

Cake Book #MondayBlogs #AmWriting

Sorry, no, this is nothing about cookery books, but there are many references to baking, so please, read on!
Image result for cake book

Google Image

Just the other day I read a post by one of my favourite blonde writers, Lucy of Blonde Write More fame. Have you read any of her work? She is a brilliantly funny blogger, who writes great pieces on the ups and downs of writing. She has a hugely popular fictional serial going into its third series about Roxy Collins, a hapless single mum who is just desperate for love. You know you wanna check her blog out… here!

Lucy Mitchell

Gorgeous, isn’t she? And extremely talented too!

Anyway, she wrote a post likening writing a book to baking a cake, and it struck a chord.

She made me think of my own WIP, highly anticipated by a few of you who have been following my writing journey, and actually, Lucy has read the whole of my first draft and given me some fantastic feedback, along with His Geoffleship, pictured with us two below at the 2018 Annual Bloggers Bash!

20180519_130844

Lucy, Me and His Geoffleship – Two trusted opinions…

Anywho, her post about writing and cakes made me wonder about the words I had been baking writing over the last few years.

I think there have been many shorts, rather like literary cupcakes, small morsels that satisfy that little reading hunger. Of course, there have been a few that sunk, relegated to the writing file, never to be published (but not thrown away – never throw your words away, you don’t know when that strange idea of yours could be woven into another piece!)

My poetry book was like a tray of cupcakes. A variety of flavours, hopefully, something for all in the selection, and for those poetry gluttons, well, they just devoured the whole box book.

Oh, you haven’t read it yet? Well, if you fancy a little five star read… you can click on the link below to peruse and perhaps, purchase it?
mybook.to/poeticrituals
Shameless plug, I know, sorry… but that’s what us indies have to do!

And my WIP? My first draft, slowly being reread and rewritten? What kind of cake is that one?

Considering its age, I decided it was more of a fruitcake. It’s taken a long time to get this far. It’s not teenaged any more, it is a fully fledged adult, waiting to be released into the public, to gain its own independence!

But, like any good fruitcake, it’s needed the time for all the ingredients elements to mature. Every time I have revisited it, it is like adding another soaking of alcohol to the bake, and hopefully, all the waiting will produce something moist juicy to read, packing a punch with its storyline and characters!

Image result for fruitcake shaped like a book

Image from BBC Food

The submitting it to a competition didn’t work, but that doesn’t worry me. I need to do this set of tweaks, then I am contacting agents. I have faith in myself. If they don’t nibble the crumbs I toss them, I’ll 100% go indie.

So, for those of you who are interested, here is the first version of the possible blurb, for my baby, tentatively named Wedded StressΒ  Marriage Unarranged!

Aashi’s life was all set.
Or so she thought.
After finding out her fiancΓ© was not the man she thought, she vows to put him, and her innocence behind her.
Accompanied by her brothers and best friend, she embarks upon an enlightening journey, where memories created and new relationships forged, have far-reaching effects.

So… are you intrigued?

It’s set in 2000, in the Indian suburbs of Birmingham, UK – Yes Indian, because every city here seems to have a mini India where the Indians seem to congregate!
Spread between Birmingham and India too actually.
It’s a story of a British born Indian girl, Aashi, and her family, as they come to terms with her broken engagement.
There’s love, lust, humour, and a little bit of seriousness too…

One way or another, this cake will get eaten!!! (Or this book will get read… you know what I mean!) Just need the last bit of soaking editing, then we can begin the icing cover and blurb!

#AmWriting new

Tell me, is it a cake you might be tempted to sample?

Chai and a Chat – #4 #ChaiAndAChat

 

Well hello there!

Another week, another hot drink and time for a catch-up!

Chai and a Chat

  • If we were sipping a chai together, I’d say I’ve had an interesting half term. Not busy, but not quiet by any means!
  • If we were sipping a chai together,Β I’d tell you I got my nails done, again! This time a rather fetching and grown up deep purple. And Lil Princess joined me with some Halloween themed nails too!
  • If we were sipping chai together, I’d let you know that Lil Man definitely needs braces, so we are just waiting for them to be fitted. It’s going to be painful, I know, but if he listens, they could be off within a year.
  • If we were sipping chai together, I’d mention pumpkins. No, I don’t do pumpkin spiced lattes etc, the thought makes my stomach turn! But we do usually carve designs on them, ready for Halloween. This time, however, we won’t be home much in the evening, as Lil Princess has her first Halloween party to go to. It means we won’t be out and about, or at home waiting for trick or treaters. However, Krispy Kreme Donuts had a children’s workshop where the kids could carve pumpkins for the shop to use as decorations, so they got their fill there!
  • If we were sipping chai together, I’d let you know I nearly had my own Halloween scare the other day in the local shopping centre as Lil Man and his friend disappeared for nearly an hour. They had already been out and about and met back up with us. Being too cool for pumpkin carving, they felt us too boring to sit with, so mozied off around the corner. But they didn’t just sit at another booth, they disappeared! We tried to phone both of them – 27 calls, I made! Text messages, WhatsApp, nothing. Jeez kids, how come when you are at home your phone isn’t out of your hands, yet when we need you to answer a call or text, you can’t!Β  I was getting panic attacks, thinking my child had been kidnapped, hurt, in trouble… And was ruing the fact that I had taken my inhaler out of my bag, fearing an asthma attack! Anyway over 45 minutes later they sauntered over to where we were frantically waiting, with not a care in the world. “We were just over there mum,” pointing to a seat made out of an old car outside the TGI Fridays. No, they weren’t we had walked past several times, in anxiousness! “Then the last ten minutes, we went to the Lego shop.” Really??! Are you f***ing kidding me? I had been trying to work out how I would word this to my Hubby Dearest, that I had lost our son, and he had been with his friend in theΒ Lego store?? Needless to say, they got chastised, both in the shopping centre, and all the way home, and in the evening too… I went all Indian mum too, grabbing his ear (lightly, honestly!) And the phone was confiscated for an evening too. I think I’m okay now. Who told me to have kids…?
  • If we were sipping chai together, I’d be so excited to share that my Pops and Mum came over for two nights. We had such a lovely time to catch up, but it was marred only by the fact that Lil Man ended up with a crazy temperature for two days, and any plans we had to go out were scuppered. Still, quality time with them was the best. ❀ Pops is looking so wonderful, and mum is just my ever-loving mum, as always!
  • If we were sipping that chai together,Β I’d tell you Hubby Dearest has been back on the phone to Sky, this time on my parents’ behalf, and managed to negotiate a much cheaper monthly rate, brand new equipment, and installation for them too. He is such a dude, I love him 😍
  • If we were sipping that chai togetherΒ I’d tell you that we remotely celebrated my dear brother’s 40th birthday as well! Now we are a pair of siblings, 40 and over! Yikes!
  • If we were sipping that chai togetherΒ I’d suddenly remember that I forgot to mention that Lil Princess and I have tickets to go and watch the real Little Mix next year! How exciting!!!!

And for the week ahead?

  • If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies, I’d tell you I am back to school again today… But excited for several events coming up, the first being Halloween! We are planning on pumpkin carving with the children in Reception… wish us luck! And the school Halloween Disco is on as well, time for that after school teacher duty, for two discos – the 4-7-year-olds one and the 7-11-year-olds one!
  • If we were sipping that chai together, I’d say I am secretly scared that Lil Princess is going to that Halloween party… it seems kinda grown up, and she is only 10! She wants to be a zombie cheerleader. I mentioned that last week. The costume is here.Β  Yes, adults will be there, but the girl whose party it is is rather mature, though she’s the same age, and, well, she’s my little girl… She’s only ever been trick or treating with me… Not sure I’m ready to let go…
  • As I mop up the crumbsΒ I’d mention that with the clocks having gone back at the weekend, the mornings may be easier, but now I will be worrying about the kids walking home in the evening in the dark!!!

So, what’s your week been like, and what are you looking forward to?

If you want, drop a line in the comments, or even link back to this with a Chai and a Chat post of your own!

Spidey’s Serene Sunday – Part 193

img_00411

 

“If I cannot do great things, I can always do small things in a great way.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

Thank you, Spidey for another thought-provoking quote.

We aren’t all destined for greatΒ things, well, not in the way of all the celebrities and famous intellectuals out there.

But we all have great inside us.

We can all be ‘great‘ children/ / spouses/ parents/ friends/ (insert profession here) if we want to be.

Our little gestures may not set the world alight but that special dinner the kids asked for might make them feel, and say “You’re great mum!”. That drink you pour for your partner after a stressful day makes them appreciate you in a different way, because you ‘know’.

Those kinds of things.

They are all within our control. We can choose to make that little difference, that can be viewed as something huge by others.

And sure, if you end up doing something GREAT great, that is just wonderful.

But remember, if you are making a positive difference to those around you, you’re already doing great!

So… tell me about someone who made you feel great recently? 😘

Have a peaceful Sunday Peeps ❀ And enjoy your week!

#SoCS October 27/18 – Bone

Linda’s prompt for SoCS this week…

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is β€œbone.” Use it any way you like. Have fun!

Have you ever played the trombone?

Or have you ever really wanted to learn to play an instrument growing up?

Β 

When I was younger, there was always that musical inclination. I was blessed to have been sent to a wonderful private school where tuition for pretty much any instrument you wanted could be arranged.

My parents enquired about me learning the piano when I was a mere 4-year-old tot, but at that time they were told my fingers were too small to be able to play (funny, when you see the teeny musical prodigies on the internet nowadays, some are barely out of nappies!)

Having been told that was not possible, I tried a couple of others. I took recorder lessons, and even though I never took any exams, I enjoyed it, and I still have my original recorder with me, over thirty years later! I can still play a mean Polly Wolly Doodle too!

Then I attempted the guitar. Acoustic, it was, and though I wish I had been able to stick it out – quite fancied being the one at uni who could pull out her instrument (guitar, I mean – naughty!) and strum a tune, singing along melodically… but it wasn’t to be. The teacher, Mr Mason – I’ll never forget him – was rather strict, and I recall him sitting there with a pack of fruit Polos ever lesson. He would listen to me playing my practised tunes, all the while sticking the end of a pencil into the hole of the Polos and hooking one and popping it into his mouth. Then, if you had missed a note, or played incorrectly he’d use the end of that same pencil to rap your knuckles!

I told Pops and Mum that I couldn’t go on, and so the note was sent – my term’s notice had been given. My friend was in the same situation too. We dreaded our lessons, but knowing there were just a few weeks left made them more bearable. Then one day we went in and found a different Mr Mason sat there. A rather dapper young man who coincidentally had the same name as his predecessor. He was rather dishy, in our 10-year-old eyes, but the lessons weren’t meant to be.

My guitar sat there, gathering dust. And it also followed me to my marital home, along with the recorder.

At sixth form, I was firm in my decision to become a teacher and it was suggested that I try and learn a little piano as musical skills were always sought after in a teacher. The lady who was my tutor was astounded that I had been put off at a young age, and she tried to teach the 16-year-old Ritu, who was less sponge-like than the 4-year-old Ritu would have been like. I picked up a few things, but a few months of lessons weren’t going to make me a maestro.

This instrument also followed me to my now home, but not a full-sized piano. I had a large keyboard.

The kids love that there are so many instruments in our house. Lil Man is a dab hand at playing the Dhol drum, being self-taught to a degree, then taking lessons. Lil Princess is great at picking tunes out on the keyboard, and she is actually quite good at the ukelele!

And me? Well, I can sing, at least, and dream of a version of me that may have been one of those amazing pianists, tinkling the ebony and ivory keys for the listening pleasure of others!

Ivory – now, is that tooth or bone?

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And two Haiku penned a couple of years ago, dedicated to my musical journey!

Loved my recorder
Even though I couldn’t play
Very well at all!

***

Stood in Β a corner
My guitar gently weeps
Not played anymore

Ritu 2016

Catch ya later Peeps! Happy Saturday!

https://lindaghill.com/2018/10/26/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-oct-27-18/

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