New Stuff on YouTube

I'm trying to make better use of my YouTube channel, and post on it more frequently.

 

So, to start doing so I uploaded the recording from my interview with Patty Fletcher on her "Talk-To-Tell-It-To-The-World-Marketing" podcast from last year.  Though, since it was an mp3, which isn't a supported file type for YouTube apparently, I had to use this online file converter to convert it to an mp4.  It's a long interview (around 45 minutes) but, anyway, for those who missed it last year, or who might want to give it a listen again for whatever reason, here it is:

I also did a short recording of me singing a song I sang on Sunday in the "ACB Presents" call.  The original inspiration for this song was “Open Up Your Heart (And Let The Sunshine In)” which was written by Stuart Hamblen.  Some of the lyrics are from the original song, others come from Patty Fletcher, while others are my own lyrics.  Anyway, I hope you enjoy this fun post-Thanksgiving song.

You can find and subscribe to my YouTube channel here.

#Crafting & #AmWriting & #Roleplaying & Friendsgiving

I finished all the Christmas present sacks.  I ended up making eight: the six I needed, and a couple of spares.  I showed you a picture of one a couple of weeks ago, so won't bother doing so again.

~

The photo above is a silver bell holiday ornament I made after joining the ACB Crafters on Zoom.  It’s made using a plastic cup covered in silver glitter, with a little bell like the kind you’d get on a cat’s collar inside it, and some wire sticking out of the top to hang it up.  It really jingles when you shake it, though not loudly.  Anyway, I thought it was a cute idea, so had to make one.  Naturally, since it’s me, I ended up getting as much glitter over myself - and everything near me - as I got on the ornament, which Kelly swears he's still cleaning up.  But never mind.  I had fun making it, and have a cute new addition to my holiday ornaments, which is the important thing.

 

~

 

For those who might be interested in knowing: I'm now working on a cushion cover that has tortoise patterns on one side and plain purple on the other, as well as some squares for a crochet blanket.

 

*~*

 

 I have no idea what happened with the narrator who was meant to be doing "Pawfect Pet Poems" for me.  She disappeared.  So, when it had been a couple of months with no communication, I had ACX dissolve the contract.  Now I'm trying again with a new narrator.  Let's hope I have better luck this time.  Though it's too late for it to be available in time for Christmas - probably even too late for it to be available before the end of 2021 - regardless of how quickly this narrator works, so I'm just hoping it won't be too far in to 2022 before I finally have "Pawfect Pet Poems" available in audio.  It's been a long time coming... I published the eBook and paperback versions in May and June respectively... So I'll most definitely be glad when I can finally say this one is available as an audiobook.

~

I've also just found a narrator to produce "Tedi And The Soothing Snow" in audio.  Though, as mentioned above, it's too late for it to be available in time for Christmas now, but hopefully we won't be too far in to 2022 before the audio version of "Tedi And The Soothing Snow" becomes available.

~

In the meantime, I'm working on finalizing a new book I plan to release next month, so watch for that.

*~*

 

 I've stopped doing my Wednesday roleplaying games, and told the group I'm gaming with on Mondays I won't be there for every session any more.  It's not that I don't enjoy the gaming, but that I felt it was the right decision for me.  So I stopped the weekly Wednesday game completely, but decided to not completely stop the Monday game, which is only once every three weeks anyhow.

~

Some of it is health and sleep pattern related, since my sleep pattern is all over the place, and I've reached the point healthwise where I really don't know from one day to the next how many spoons I'll have.  Some of it is being more active with ACB when spoon allowance lets me be.  Some of it is just feeling like I'm spending more time gaming than doing anything else, so wanting to scale back on it a bit.  But, like I said, I just felt it was the right thing to do, so I did.

 

*~*

Yesterday, as many of you know, was American Thanksgiving.  We don't have Thanksgiving here in the UK.  I mean, I do try to acknowledge Canadian Thanksgiving because of Kelly being Canadian, but we don't officially have Thanksgiving in the UK, and whatever we do for Canadian Thanksgiving is always just the two of us, and is really just us calling our dinner that day a Thanksgiving meal.

 

But this year I got to be a part of a fun event via the ACB called "Friendsgiving" throughout most of yesterday.  It was an online event where different pairs of hosts and facilitators took it in turns to host for an hour each to provide eight hours of company and entertainment for ACB members, whether people joined because they would otherwise have been spending Thanksgiving alone, or just popped in briefly between things they were doing with their friends and/or families.  They also live streamed it via something called ACB media, so those who didn't actually want to come in and chat but wanted some kind of company for the holiday, or who couldn't come on to chat because of family obligations but still didn't want to miss it, could listen in without having to be on the computer or phone to do so.

 

~

 

I thought it was a fantastic idea, and wasn't the only non-American person to join in (I happen to know there's another person from the UK who was there for a while, as well as someone from Finland).

 

And, no.  I wasn't there for the whole eight hours.  To be honest, I planned to be, but my sleep schedule is all over the place, so I ended up napping through hours two to four.  But I thoroughly enjoyed what I was there for, and am really glad they did it and I got to be a part of it.

I'm also proud of Lilie and Logan, who were very well behaved, despite me being on the computer so much.

 

~

 

Anyway, if you celebrated Thanksgiving in any shape or form, I hope you had a wonderful time.  And, whether you did or not, Happy Gratitude Day, as someone said to Patty, and she shared with us, yesterday.  Because, Thanksgiving or no, it never hurts to take some time to be grateful.

My Birthday, #Covid Passes, & ACB Zoom Calls

As many of you know, my birthday was last weekend.

 

Thank you to everyone who sent me birthday messages, cards, presents, or money. Each and every one was very much appreciated, and helped to make my birthday special - even those that came in late.

~

Presentwise I mostly got money and books, of course.  But my Dad and my brother, Wayne, got me some figures for a game called "Burrows & Badgers" (which I'd gotten myself a few figures for recently) where all the figures are animals.  If you're familiar with the "Redwall" books, think along those lines.  I have yet to read the rules or actually play the game, but the figures are really cool, so I'd want to collect them anyhow - even if (as might be the case regardless) they get used as ornaments more than gaming pieces.  And, speaking of animal themed gifts: my friend, Karl, sent me a cuddly giraffe and redcoated lemur (one as a birthday present, the other as an early Christmas present).  I'm getting quite the zoo with my teddy collection.  Which, by the way, is most definitely not a complaint, because I love cuddly animals.  Anyway, here are photos of those:

 

And here are the birthday cards I got from my Mam, Dad, Grandma, and friend, Rita:

~

Mam made me a vegan birthday cake from scratch.  It was a vanilla sponge with lemon butter icing.  It also has pinkish butter icing writing on it that says, "Victoria, 37 today," and a "Happy birthday" cake decoration.  Plus she put a pink ribbon around it.  Here's a photo:

Yes, it really is 100% vegan.

 

~

Between take-away and Mam making me a roast dinner, I didn't have to cook for all of my birthday weekend.  It's nice to have a break from cooking sometimes, even when it's something you like to do.

 

*~*

 

I try not to do posts complaining about things, but I have something I want to rant about a little, so I'm going to.  If you don't want to read my rant, I understand.  But it's my blog, so I'm going to say it.  Feel free to scroll down to the other topic of this post if you don't want to read my rant.

 

~

 

They've introduced Covid passes here.

 

You need a Covid pass to enter pubs, clubs, cinemas, events, etc.  To get one you need proof you've had both your vaccinations, plus valid photo ID (such as a passport or driver's lisence).

 

Needless to say, I can't get one.  Even if there's a way to get some kind of exemption for the fact I can't have that second shot for medical reasons (which, if there is, I've so far seen no way of getting it) I'd have a problem, since I don't have a valid passport, and obviously don't have a drivers lisence.  In fact, Kelly can't get one either, even though he's had both jabs, because he doesn't have any form of valid photo ID either.  Though at least in his case we could go to the hastle and expense of sorting out a new passport for him, and then he'd be good to go.

I don't like it.  Not because I want to go to these places as such - I don't go anywhere much, and would definitely be reluctant to go to potentially crowded places these days, Covid pass or no, with my rubbish immune system.  But the reason I don't like it is for the same reason a friend on Twitter was complaining about it: because they've taken away the choice.

Memorial services for those who died fighting for us to have freedom take place on the Sunday closest to November 11th here.  This year it was November 14th they took place.  These new Covid passes were required from November 15th.  So, they honour those who died to give us freedom one day, and snatch it away the following day.  As though the sacrifices made by those who fought - and those who stayed at home to keep things running as best they could while those men and boys fought - meant nothing.  As though those countless men and boys who lost their lives died for nothing.

 

A bit dramatic? Maybe.  But that's how it looks to me.

~

On top of that, people are losing their jobs if they don't have the vaccinations.  It doesn't matter if they have a reason to refuse it.  It's just, "Have the jab, or lose your job," and that's that.

I get that we need to try and get this pandemic under control, and the more people who have the jab, the better, since it will potentially lower the numbers of those who die from this over all (at least, that's the hope).  But I don't like where this is heading.  I don't like the fact the choice is being taken away.  Where's the freedom we fought so hard for?? Where's the freedom families were torn apart for?

~

Sure, as Kelly pointed out, "We have Netflix," and both of us prefer watching that, or a DVD or something, to going to the cinema anyhow.  But that's not the point, even if it's true.

It's like when we were in lockdown, only with only certain people being locked down.  Just like during the lockdowns, it's all about having that choice taken away.  I mean, staying home because you want to is one thing, and if you decided to stay in and watch something on a streaming service instead of going to the cinema, there's nothing wrong in that (regardless of what your reasons might be).  But doing it because you have no other choice is a different matter.  And I'm not saying I want to go, because I do prefer watching movies at home to going to a cinema.  Going to shops from time to time is more than enough for me, and nine times out of ten I order online or send someone else for even that anyhow (even though you don't need a Covid pass for shopping).  I'm saying I want to be able to decide for myself, and be able to go if I choose to, like we all should be able to do.

~

OK.  Rant over.

*~*

 

On a much more positive note: I've started being more active with the ACB (American Council of the Blind) Zoom calls.  Hey, at least it's something I can do sitting down, and without a Covid pass (sorry, I couldn't resist that comment).  Plus, it turns out it's a great distraction from pain, which isn't why I enjoy it, but is definitely a benifit I'm happy to accept and embrace.

 

I got involved with them through Patty inviting me to join her Free To Be Me call on Fridays back in April, and then becoming her co-facilitator for that call.  I'm not usually good at sticking with things involving me being part of a social group, because I don't like being around a lot of people as a rule.  But apparently that doesn't hold true when the people are inside my computer, since I'm loving joining in with the ACB community.  And a few days ago I was part of a podcast to talk about that, where I - along with several others - shared how involvement in the ACB calls started.  It was nice sharing, but even nicer hearing others talk about their own stories, and how much it means to them to be part of the ACB community.  It made me very glad I'd offered to facilitate for Patty when she went to train with her new guide dog, and then continued to fill in for her when she was moving right afterwards.

~

 

If anyone wants to know more about the Zoom calls, or wants to join me and Patty on Fridays to talk about books (or anything else we feel like chatting about) - whether visually impaired or not - let me know, and I'll make sure you get the information you need.

A #Tortoise, #BonfireNight, #Roleplaying, And Medical Mutterings

 

The above photo is just a random one of Artemis taken on October 30^th.  It’s a closeup Mam took of her when I was holding her.  You can even see part of her name on her personalized towel.  I’m just adding it in this post because I haven’t put it on my blog yet.  Plus, I happen to think my tortoise is adorable.

 

*~*

 

It was Bonfire Night here in the UK last Friday.

 

My enthusiasm for fireworks isn’t what it used to be, and given that I spent last Friday and Saturday evening – and a bit of Sunday evening too - comforting frightened dogs because apparently a lot of people felt setting off their own fireworks all evening was better than going a couple of miles to where the official displays were being held, I definitely wasn’t feeling any enthusiasm for them this year.

 

Even Mollie – who isn’t phased by storms or barking dogs – was pretty scared, though at least she calmed down some after I made sure the curtains were closed tightly and increased the volume on her favourite kind of music (Mollie’s always happiest when music is playing, and is a big fan of 80s music).  Only Artemis didn’t seem bothered, though this may be because she digs in early in the evenings at this time of year, and being buried under bedding in a box with thick wood and glass walls, in the room where Mollie’s music was playing, meant she couldn’t really hear them.  Either way, I was glad to be able to focus on comforting the dogs, knowing Artemis was fine, and Mollie was at least dealing with it OK.

 

Since the fireworks started around 5:30pm and didn’t stop until 10:00pm, I had to miss the Free To Be Me call I co-facilitate on Friday evenings via Zoom (which anyone who enjoys books and good conversation is welcome to join, by the way, so just drop me an eMail and I’ll give you the details if you want to come along).  By the end of the weekend I had a pretty sore throat, since I’ve discovered the best way to comfort Logan involves me singing to him, so I did a lot of singing last weekend.  My throat is fine now though.  Still, I really hope anyone who didn’t use up their fireworks last weekend has no plans to set them off this weekend.

 

*~*

 

There's a whole lot of roleplaying going on here lately.

 

We're still playing "The One Ring" (one based on the "Lord Of The Rings" trilogy) though half the party isn't playing right now for various reasons, mostly involving life commitments getting in the way, so our large group of nine players is now a smaller group of four players - at least for the time being.  And now we play via Discord rather than TeamSpeak, which essentially just means we use a different programme to chat to each other while we're gaming, since we're still not doing it face to face.

We're also still playing "Aberrant" (a superhero one) though it's now on Wednesdays instead of Tuesdays, and early in the new year we'll be switching GMs, so Kelly will be GM instead of our friend, Gareth.  And when we switch GMs we'll be playing different characters.

Plus, one of the things we're doing with my Dad when he comes to spend time and have dinner with us on Tuesdays is to play 5th edition Dungeons And Dragons - just me and Kelly, with Dad as GM.

So, like I said, a whole lot of roleplaying going on right now.

 

*~*

 

My hospital appointment on Monday was meant to be both to discuss the results of those blood tests they sent off and to check my levels.  Although, it only ended up being to discuss the test results because they decided, given how difficult it generally is to take blood from me and the fact they’re referring me to a Haematologist anyhow, to not bother taking blood this time around.

 

Anyway...

 

It turns out I have one of those viral infections that never really goes away, but just keeps going dormant for a while until something triggers it, which in my case keeps happening ,hence my keep getting a viral infection.  It doesn't reactivate much - if at all - in everyone who gets it, but it does have a habit of doing so, and is more prone to doing so in people with weakened immune systems, of which I'm one (my low platelets being indisputable evidence of that).  Lucky me.  There’s not really anything that can be done about it.  Normally they’d say just take some Paracetamol or something when it’s active and making me feel unwell, but since I can’t (I won’t bore you with the reasons, but I can’t take any of the medications they usually suggest for fevers, pain relief, etc) the only advice they can give me is to rest and drink plenty of fluids whenever I seem to be unwell again.

 

Plus, I finally have an explanation as to why I can’t shift this headache completely, and why I keep getting muscle cramps.  It turns out I have a mild form of Autoimmune Disease.  It’s at the level where it’s more of an annoyance than anything, and nothing needs to be done besides keeping an eye on things (hence the Haematologist referral).  They think I've had it for some time without realizing, and my bad reaction to the Covid jab earlier this year made it kick off and make itself known.  Again, since I can’t take the usual options for pain relief, all I can really do is deal with it as best I can, and make use of any natural pain relief options I find that help whenever it gets bad.  Well, and hope it doesn’t get worse.

 

In short, since it all boils down to the fact my immune system is rubbish, I keep getting viral infections, and it looks like I’m stuck dealing with this headache – all of which I could have told you myself already – the only new information is the knowledge of the labels to put on what I’m dealing with.  It’s nice to know what to call it, but doesn’t really offer much comfort or help with dealing with it.  Especially when you get informed that, “Tired, achy, and my head hurts,” is likely going to be your standard answer for how you’re feeling from now on, which is what the doctor told me when I told him that was how I was feeling when he asked me on Monday.

 

So, not exactly the best news I could hope for, but far from the worst.  I mean, it does mean I need to add to my list of health issues (and I'm speaking literally here; I do have a genuine list, which includes allergies as well as health issues).  However, on the bright side, because of my low platelet levels they were checking for Leukaemia, and I definitely don’t have that, or any of the other really nasty things like that which might have shown up on those tests they sent off a few weeks ago, which is awesome news!

#Paperback Now Available For "Tedi And The Soothing Snow" -A #Children'sBook About #Death, #Depression, And #Grief

 

Cover art composite by UPB

Set vector clip art illustrations of bored teddy bears(c)vectorpocket/Depositphoto

After losing his best friend, Arth, Tedi is so sad it feels like his heart is torn up inside of him. Now Tedi just sits by the window and cries, no longer caring about anything but how much he misses his friend, and seeing nothing of the beauty outside.

Mama Bear insists it will get easier in time, but Tedi’s not so sure; Tedi’s sure he’ll never be happy again. And, as Summer turns to Autumn, and then Autumn turns to Winter, it’s starting to look like Tedi might be right.

But is Tedi really right, or is it Mama Bear who’s right after all?

Unless you somehow missed seeing the posts about the release of this book last month, you'll already know you can buy "Tedi And The Soothing Snow" as an eBook in multiple formats from a variety of online retailers.  I won't list all the links in this post - if you'd like to buy an eBook of "Tedi And The Soothing Snow" you can check out the post I just linked to for purchase links.

However, what I would like to do in this post is tell you about the availability of the paperback version of "Tedi And The Soothing Snow" which you can now purchase via Amazon UK, Amazon US, Amazon Canada, many other Amazon sites, and all the places Amazon distributes their paperbacks to.

 

But, if eBooks and paperbacks aren't for you, bear in mind that I plan to start organizing the audio version soon, so if you're holding out for an audio book, please be patient a little longer, because I'll hopefully have that available for you soon - though it likely won't be until early next year now.

Regardless of your prefered format though, if you're on Goodreads and would like to add the book to your shelves, you can find the book's Goodreads page here.

 

No matter the format, if you buy and read the book, please consider leaving a review, whether on Goodreads, your blog, or the retailer you purchased the book from.  And don't forget to tell anyone you think might be interested in the book all about it.  Remember: reviews and word of mouth help authors sell books.  And I appreciate all reviews - whether short, long, or somewhere in between.

Celebrating #Halloween / #Samhain / #NosCalanGaeaf 2021 (Includes A #Holiday #Pet Photoshoot)

 Halloween.  Samhain.  Nos Calan Gaeaf.

Call it whichever of the three you want, or even something else.

 

Whichever you call it - and however you feel it should be acknowledged, honoured, or celebrated, or even if you don't feel it should - it happened this past weekend, as even those who don't celebrate it will know.

~

I kicked our celebrations off last Thursday (October 28th) by putting up our decorations, decorating the front door and living room window with the small selection of decorations I have. Then carved my pumpkins the following day, and added them to the display.

 

Here's this year's Mr. Pumpkin-Head, and a second Mr. Pumpkin-Head, since I did two this year:

 

And here are all my decorations:

 

 

Most of my Samhain decorations are decorations from previous years, except for the maple leaf lights decorating the glass of the front door, which were new additions to my decorations this year.  I spotted them on Amazon a couple of months ago, and couldn't resist.

 

~

Mam and I did a photo shoot with the three dogs before I carved my Mr. Pumpkin-Heads.

First, here's my sad looking - but utterly adorable - wizard, Logan, who didn't mind the dressing up, but wasn't happy about our choice of photoshoot location (he's not usually allowed up there, and was clearly convinced he'd get in trouble for it, despite me putting him there myself) hence him looking so unhappy.

 

 

Next, here's our happy cute little witch, Lilie, who doesn't usually like to play dressup much, but was really in to the idea of playing dressup for a photoshoot this year, and was most enthusiastic of all the petkids.

Finally, here's Mam's sweet and nervous little witch, Izabel:

Later, we got a nice photo of Artemis with my Mr. Pumpkin-Heads:

 

 

I'd have loved to have included Mollie too, but with her personality there really isn't a way to do it without causing her stress, so we didn't even try.

 

~

 

On Saturday and Sunday morning I did some baking, making chocolate pumpkin spice cookies, savory pumpkin pasties (most of those pasties became Saturday's dinner, and Sunday's lunch, but I froze a couple for another time) and pumpkin pie - all vegan.  Here are some photos of those, including a photo of a slice of the pumpkin pie with some soya squirty cream on a plate:

 

 

~

Sunday afternoon and early evening I watched Halloween movies while enjoying some of the goodies I baked, and several cups of the pumpkin pie spice tea I had in my tea subscription box.  I had the tea in my new "Nightmare Before Christmas" mug, which Kelly told me to buy myself when I observed recently that I didn't have a Halloween mug for the seasonal teas to be served in (which I only commented on because it mentions using your favourite Halloween mug in the brewing suggestions for the tea).  Here are photos of the mug, taken at different angles so you can see the images on it fully:

~

The movies I watched were "The Addams Family" which is a movie I've seen loads of times and love, "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" which I hadn't seen before and is an OK movie I give four out of five only because I'm rounding up, and a couple of short Disney Halloween movies called "Micky's Tale Of Two Witches" and "Toy Story Of Terror" which were both cute and entertaining and get five out of five stars from me (even if I'm not exactly their intended audience... LOL!).

 

I was going to watch more movies than that, but my Kindle died, the charger for it was upstairs, and I couldn't be bothered to go get it, so I switched to having Alexa read my book to me.  I'm currently reading the "Skulduggery Pleasant" series by Derek Landy - in case you'd like to know.  It's a very amusing and entertaining series, and I've so far given every book I've finished in it five out of five stars.

~

 

I brought a packet of ghost crumpets when I did my grocery order.  There were six in a packet, so I had two for breakfast each morning on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, with some vegan butter and orange marmalade on them.  Here's a picture of two of them on my Harry Potter plate:

 

~

 

For my Samhain feast I had a baked potato with pumpkin sage sauce, topped with some vegan cheese.

 

 

Having pumpkin sage sauce for my Samhain feast has become a bit of a tradition for me since I discovered the recipe several years ago.  Originally I had it with pasta - which was the recipe's serving suggestion - but I've not enjoyed pasta so much since becoming vegan, and was never a huge fan of it anyhow, so I've started serving it with a baked potato.  Even when I note down on my menu for the week that I'm planning to serve it with pasta, which is what I'd done this time.  Either way, it's a wonderful creamy pasta sauce, regardless of the milk you make it with, vegan or otherwise.

 

~

With this being our first year here (we moved here last December) many people still not allowing their children to go trick-or-treating because of Covid, parents who just don't allow it anyhow, the knowledge there were several events organized by local schools as alternatives to trick-or-treating, and the bad weather we were having (it was quite cold, extremely windy, and rather rainy) I wasn't sure whether we'd get any trick-or-treaters this year or not.  But I got some treats in - just in case.  Though I made sure they were something I could eat if no children came trick-or-treating.  I wanted to be prepared for both outcomes, since I didn't want to not have anything to give them if any children came calling, but also didn't want anything I brought to go to waste if nobody came.

As it turned out though, despite only giving one thing to each child, I came pretty close to running out of treats, which has only happened once before.  I mean, we didn't have nearly the kinds of numbers those in the US and Canada get.  We never do.  For some reason, despite the origins of Halloween being from over here, it seems to be a bigger thing over there.  But we did get a couple of dozen kids, and might have had a few more if I hadn't decided to turn off the lights before we actually did run out of treats (and, more to the point, so we could have dinner, which we'd been holding off until the doorbell stopped ringing).  I'll have to bear that in mind and get more treats in for next year.

~

Later in the evening - before I went to bed - I did a private meditation ritual, which is my prefered way of doing rituals, no matter the circumstances.  Kelly likes the props and incantations that go along with certain types of rituals, but I prefer the silence and solitude of meditation, and use nothing sometimes, though other times I'll maybe burn a scented candle or some incense, and perhaps have a crystal or other focus object to hold in my hands.  It's an indication of our different forms of the Pagan path, and why our attempts to do shared rituals never stuck, and those attempts were quickly abandoned.

 

~

 

On Tuesday Dad was here for gaming and dinner, and I made us a stew using leftover pumpkin sage sauce as the liquid part, which contained potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, swede, butternut squash, leeks, and onion.  Later, before he went home, we had some of what was left of my pumpkin pie with some of the soya squirty cream, and I sent him home with a couple of the cookies.

 

~

 

So, that's how I celebrated.

 

And now both Mr. Pumpkin-Heads are in my Dad's garden providing food for the wildlife who might consider pumpkin to be a tasty treat, since I sent them home with Dad on Tuesday.  I'm sure some of the wildlife will be glad of the food, especially given how Wintery the weather has become recently, but his garden is more suited to putting them out like that than our yard is.

 

How about you? Did you do anything to celebrate, and if so what?