“There are some days when I feel like I am talking to a brick wall…”
Ritu Bhathal
For Linda’s #1LinerWeds and #JusJoJan
One-Liner Wednesday – No Understanding #JusJoJan 11/1/23
11 Jan 2023 30 Comments
in #onelinerwednesday Tags: #1linerweds, #jusjojan, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, One Liner Wednesday
Periwinkle- #JusJoJan the 10th, 2023
10 Jan 2023 25 Comments
in #jusjojan Tags: #jusjojan, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging
Welcome to the daily prompt! Today is your tenth prompt for Just Jot it, January 2023, brought to you by Maggie. Thank you, Lauren! Please visit Maggie’s blog to read her post and say hello. And follow her while you’re there if you’re not already.
Your prompt for JusJoJan, January 10th 2023, is “periwinkle” Use the word “periwinkle” any way you’d like. Have fun writing!
Now, I know periwinkle is a colour. I even know it is a flower. (Clever me!)
But I didn’t know it was also the name of a small edible whelk!
Of course, I know what a winkle is…. but I didn’t know it was short for periwinkle!
You learn something new every day!
Chai And A Chat #218 #ChaiAndAChat with Jan 9th, 2023 #JusJoJan – Endurance
09 Jan 2023 39 Comments
in #jusjojan, Chai and a Chat Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Catch Up, Chai and a Chat
Aaand, it’s Monday again! Where does the time go?
I’m just grabbing my Green tea, which is my first brew of the day. Got yours?
(Adding a little #JusJoJan to the prompt, with the word Endurance by Destiny. Thanks Linda!)
- If we were having chai, I’d start by saying that the start of this year has been productive, but also, Oh, My Goodness, was I shattered by the end of the week! I took it extra easy on Monday, knowing I’d be back at work on Tuesday, but there never seem to be enough days to mentally prepare yourself for the start of term!
- If we were having chai, I’d tell you that school though it was only four days, it was busy. There were plenty of meetings needed, as is the norm for the start of term, as well as sickness abounding, with all these bugs, and the new Covid variant, plus Strep A… One of my classes was stricken with low attendance, the other very healthy. Still, it was lovely to see all the children again. It may only be two weeks, but my, don’t they grow in that time? But I was so tired by Friday… I needed the weekend, and a blank one, at that!
- If we were having chai, I’d say that I have been working on a few things, which I hope will help me with my Word Of The Year – Strength – and all I hope to achieve with it being the backbone of my thinking. The first, which I mentioned in a post last week, was regular exercise. So, (not so) Lil Man was tasked with creating a simple plan for me to help build my core strength and tone my muscles, and maybe lose a bit of weight! He’s doing his BTEC Sport and has transformed himself over the last year or so, so I do trust him… I think! He has me on a programme of light weights three days a week. Nothing too long right now. It takes around 20-25 minutes. We are doing a “Push/Pull/Legs” programme, and in between, I’ll try walking or using the treadmill once in a while, as well as getting the hula hooping going, too, for my waist. I am here to announce that I managed my first week! Yes, there will be a battle of wills as I say, “Don’t push me, I’m your mother!” He responds, “Well, I’m your PT, so you have to listen. Give me ten more reps!” I think he’s enjoying the power trip… But, this time, I’ll give it to him. It is some quality time with him that we have been lacking the last couple of years, and I miss my boy. Can’t believe he will be turning into an adult this year! And this is where my #JusJoJan prompt comes in handy, as I hope I am able to keep my endurance up and do this!
- If we were having chai, I’d proudly tell you that I have written each day of the year so far! Whether it was 10 words or 1000, I have added to the WIP for book three every day, and I feel pleased with myself. Keeping up with the #JusJoJan challenge this month will also encourage me to get back into the regular writing habit, so next month, I may not blog daily, but I will get used to taking myself off to my writing space and getting words down! I have added around 4k to the draft since New Year’s Day!
- If we were having chai, I’d have to mention a book I am currently reading a little each day. It is Menopausing my Davina McCall, and it is a game changer. I am lucky that I managed to have the conversations with my GP, and they have put me on HRT to combat some of the symptoms I have been feeling, but there is so much more in this bible, not only for the women embarking upon that time of their lives but also for the family, partners, other females in the family who will experience this too, at some point. A brilliant, informative read.
- If we were having chai, I would need to mention my darling, Sonu Singh. He’s had to get used to the house being a little quieter in the daytime as we all head off to school. At least he has Hubby Dearest working from home, but he does miss us all, too. He makes up for it in the evenings, lazing on Lil Man’s bed with him, or being my kindle holder on the weekends, as I have an early morning, or an afternoon read. Bless my lil kitty!
This week is definitely back to the usual grindstone. A full week at school and a vet appointment for Sonu Singh on the weekend. He’s going to love us. I hope I can keep up with the training and my writing, too… fingers crossed! 🤞🏽🤞🏽
And while you’re here, did you sign up for my mailing list? I am in the middle of writing an exclusive Chickpea Curry Lit story for my subscribers, and there will be news, tips and even recipes! You know you want to join… go on! Click the pic below to sign up!
Spidey’s Serene Sunday #409 and #JusJoJan the 8th, 2023 – Friendship
08 Jan 2023 29 Comments
in #jusjojan Tags: #jusjojan, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Friendship
We’re doing an amalgamation of posts here, today, with Spidey (with his newly spruced up graphic!), and Linda’s #JusJoJan, together!
Welcome to the daily prompt! Today is your eighth prompt for Just Jot it January 2023, and it’s brought to you by Jezzie. Thank you, Jezzie! Please be sure to visit Jezzie’s blog to read her post and say hello. And follow her while you’re there, if you’re not already.
Linda
Your prompt for JusJoJan January 8th 2023, is “friendship.” Use the word “friendship” any way you’d like. Have fun writing!
“True friends are always together in spirit.”
L.M. Montgomery
I count myself so lucky to be surrounded by friends in all aspects of my life.
Every day I work with a team of people who are more than colleagues. They see me and share the ups and downs of my life, as well as me doing the same with them. Honestly, I can’t call them colleagues when they are such good friends who sometimes know more about me than my family, and I feel blessed to have them.
I have my Tootie Frooties, too. A group of like-minded, similar-aged friends who have come together over the last few years. We are all British Indian, married, mums, working, and in need of people who are on the same wavelength! I found some of them as my closest friends.
I have my old friends, from way back, in school and at university, and some from past employment. We have less contact, but it is always wonderful to catch up at reunions whenever we get the chance.
I have my online friends, and again, I have many, many acquaintances, but I also have many real friends, some of whom I haven’t ever met, but our interactions over the years have built a bond so strong, we may as well have been meeting since childhood.
Then I have my best buddy.
A friendship that has lasted what will be thirty years come this September.
Nadia is the Buzz to my Woody.
We started an important chapter of our lives together. university days, when we were both tasting independence from our families, exploring the world of living out, going out, experimenting with all sorts (not bad, Mum, honestly!), and being sisters from other misters to one another.
We’ve experienced harrowing things together, including certain folk trying to prise our friendship apart, seeing as I am Sikh and she is Muslim.
Seriously, that is how petty some folk are, but we see beyond religion, and our hearts met and connected that first day of University when she would tell anyone who asked that I chatted her up at the mailboxes! I was only asking where they were, but still, it sparked a friendship that I treasure.
She’s seen me at my best, as well as at my worst. She’s the one who I know I can call on whenever. We don’t get to talk as much, and we haven’t seen each other for over three years due to Covid and life, but she’s that one who I can speak to after months, and we slip into conversations as if we had only been yakking the day before.
Cheers to a friendship that will never end.
#SoCS & #JusJuJan Jan. 7th, 2023 – Out Of The Box
07 Jan 2023 23 Comments
in #SoCS Tags: #jusjojan, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Linda G Hill, Socs
Linda’s SoCS prompt.
Your prompt for #JusJoJan and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “out of the box.” Write about the first thing that comes to mind when you think “out of the box.” Enjoy!
“Sonu, get OUT OF THE BOX!”
It’s a commonly used phrase in our house as the cat loves a box. Any box.
Pretty much like most cats out there.
Whether it’s a giant cardboard box that just housed the new washing machine, or the smallest of tissue boxes that he can barely fit his furry bottom into, he will sit there, regally, as if to say, “This is my new throne!”
Of course, he ends up with his favourite boxes. We tend to leave one or two around the house, even though he has plenty of choices with real cat beds dotted around, but he always comes back to the box.
Some he’s used until they have fallen apart. Some, he eyes up as we unpack a delivery, and you can see his mind whirring. “When will they be finished with my new home?” Some he looks at with disdain. Picky kitty, my cat is.
