Random Ramblings And Medical Mutterings - June 24th 2022

As you may or may not know, it was the Summer Solstice on Tuesday.  So, for those who acknowledge or celebrate it: belated blessed solstice to you.

 

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We're starting to get some hot weather.  Well, hot to us.  I know some people wouldn't consider it hot, but for someone like me who considers temperatures in the 60s F to be hot, and a country like the UK with air conditioning usually not an option, it is considered hot.

 

Anyway, it's been in the 70s F too often for my liking, and creeping up to the low 80s a few times too.  I really hope we won't be in for too much of those kinds of temperatures this Summer.  I don't like hot weather.

 

Although, I expect Artemis will be glad if we do get a lot of hot weather, since Mediterranean tortoises like Hermann's Tortoises like hot weather.  Mind you, even Artemis can only deal with so much heat, so I expect even Artemis probably wouldn't want it to get too much above 80 F.

 

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Lilie and Logan got groomed on Tuesday. Just in time for the worst of the hot weather.

 

We had a dog groomer come to the house to do them this time, from a company called Dial A Dog.  So far we're pleased with them.  And we definitely love the fact the groomer comes to us, which is much easier.

 

Here are a couple of photos of my freshly groomed puppies.

 

Lilie:

 

Logan:

 

The dogs are booked for another grooming session on September 29th at 10:00am.

 

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I have a couple of completed craft projects to show you.

 

First of all, I finally finished the loom knitted gloves I was making.  So, for those who can and want to see them, here’s a photo:

I also made this little pillow.  It’s a lavender pillow, and I made it while teaching a class for the ACB Crafters on how to make one.  Anyway, here’s a photo of that too:

 

I have some other projects on the go, but have been doing an awful lot of starting but not completing projects lately.  I’ll show you things as and when I complete them – whenever that happens to be.

 

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We’ve moved things around so my craft room is now also where my computer is.  It makes it easier for me to access craft supplies when I’m on crafting calls, and at the same time puts me in a room where the dogs are less likely to bark at neighbours who are parking their cars outside our house when going to the local shop.

 

It meant a lot of moving about of things though, since the craft room was rather full.  But we pulled all the books out of there to make space for my computer desk, and are in the process of sorting through the books and papers to see what needs to be kept and what doesn’t (which wasn’t actually done when I got the stuff from Dad when he was handing me Nan’s stuff).  The books and papers we keep will go either in the bedroom with my Braille books and the audio books I’m holding on to (I’m getting rid of any I have digital copies of) or in Kelly’s office (formerly known as the computer room).

 

It was a lot of work, and we’re still not done sorting out the books and papers (which are currently being sorted on the floor in Kelly’s office, since there’s more space to do it in there) but we’ll be glad of it in the long run.  Besides, sorting through the books and papers is a task we’ve been wanting to do, and this is one way to force ourselves to do it.  And, at the same time, I get an office/craft room I can actually work in.

 

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I’ve got some medical stuff going on during this next week.  Today I’m going to get blood taken ready for my hematologist appointment next week, since apparently I need to get the blood taken the week before these days, and my appointment is July 1^st.  And on June 29^th I have an appointment with my own dentist, which is the appointment I had originally that I decided to keep, but since the packing that was put on the tooth beside the one the emergency dentist had to pull has come out it’s just as well I did keep it.

 

Interesting timing, since we’re right in the middle of convention activities with the ACB.  There’s some virtual only stuff going on right now, then a few days break, and then the hybrid convention during the first week or so of July.  And, since I’m not in a position to attend in person, I’m one of the people who will be helping out with hosting the virtual aspects of it.

 

I’m also one of the winners of the International Voices Contest they were running, so got my registration for attending any of those virtual events I’m not hosting free (otherwise I’d have had to pay to be able to attend any virtual convention events I’m not hosting).

 

It's going to be a busy few weeks for the ACB Community.

 

I’ll tell you one thing: I won’t be able to complain of boredom.  LOL!

 

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Plus, because of the recently released charity anthology I was involved with, I had an author interview go live yesterday (June 23^rd 2022).  If you’d like to read my interview, go to https://libraryoferana.wordpress.com/2022/06/23/author-interview-stand-together-anthology-victoria-zigler/

 

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That basically covers what's been going on around here, so I'll let this do for today.

 

No matter what's going on in your life at the moment, I hope you're staying safe and well, and have plenty of things happening to stop you complaining of boredom too.  Even better if they're things that make your heart happy.

 

Also, if it's hot with you too, I hope you're finding ways to keep cool.

#WordCrafters Book Blog Tour for "Hope For the Tarnished" + My #Review

Today is my stop on the WordCrafter Book Blog Tour for "Hope For the Tarnished" by Annie Chiappetta.  So, I have a short guest post for you from the author, as well as a review of the book. Check it out, and don't forget to check out the other stops on the tour when you're done.

 

 

 

 

Hi everyone. This will be my final post for this fabulous WordCrafter “Hope for the Tarnished” Book Blog Tour with Kaye. Thanks for being part of it and I am glad I am able to tell you more about the book. People ask me about Eddie and that they were relieved  he turned out to be a positive role model for Abbie. This  mirrored my life, as Eddie is based on someone I knew, who was a mentor for me when I was lost and looking for direction. Mentoring or coaching a young person is important and I am grateful for the adults in my life who took the time to nurture  and instruct me. This is one reason I wrote the book and why Eddie is portrayed as a positive  role model. 

Not sure what’s next but I’m sure I’ll be back soon. Until then, here is a haiku for your reading pleasure.

 

Quill is kite in sky

Words form stories in mind

White letters on blue

 

 

Ann Chiappetta

Ann is an artist and often refers to her love of words as a natural compensation after losing her vision in 1993. Once a designer of acrylic displays and furniture, Ann trained her creative senses to flow over from the visual to the literary arts. Years later, she has become a poet and author, honing her talent in various mediums, including web content for nonprofits, regular bylines for online literary publications, poetry, anthologies and guest editing in online literary journals, just to name a few projects of which she has contributed.

 

The author of five independently published books, Ann possesses a Master of Science in Marriage and family therapy from Iona College and an undergraduate degree from the College of New Rochelle, both located in Westchester County, New York.  A consultant and guest presenter, Ann visits schools promoting awareness and equality for people with disabilities.  She is the 2015 recipient of the WDOM Spirit of Independence award and the 2019 recipient of the GDUI Leiberg-Metz award for writing.

 

Find everything Annie on the web: www.annchiappetta.com

 

 

Hope For the Tarnished C 2022 Ann Chiappetta

 

You don’t choose who you love, it just happens. Follow young Abbie Raymond as she traverses concentric rings of tragedy, hope and healing.

 

About the book

 

Young Abbie struggles to cope with the traumatic experiences in her life. Ripped from everything familiar after her parents’ divorce, she is dropped into a strange neighborhood and is emotionally abandoned by her unstable mother. Abbie is caught up in the cruel nature   of one sister’s addictions and often rescued by her other sister’s sense of familial responsibility and love.

The story takes place in the 1970s, revealing family secrets   and the shift of cultural norms as Abbie leaves her doubts in the past, embracing a bright future.

 

$11.50/3.99 Purchasing links: Amazon/Kindle Smashwords

 

 

 

My review:

 

Hope for the Tarnished by Ann Chiappetta
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was an incredibly difficult book for me to review. On the one hand, it's an excellent coming of age story, which does a great job of showing some of the emotional struggles teenagers face as they enter adulthood. On the other hand, the story was somewhat spoiled for me by the fact the story starts with two horrific animal deaths, which made me almost scared to read on. I also feel like there were some scenes that were a bit too detailed for a coming of age story, though I accept that may be a personal preference thing.
 

Check out the other stops on the tour:

Monday (13) – Opening Day Post – Writing to be Read:
https://writingtoberead.com/2022/06/13/welcome-to-the-wordcrafter-hope-for-the-tarnished-book-blog-tour-review/
Tuesday (14) – Patty’s World – Guest Post:
https://pattysworlds.com/hope-for-the-tarnished-book-blog-tour-day-2/
Wednesday (15) – Writing to be Read – Interview:
https://writingtoberead.com/2022/06/15/day-3-of-the-wordcrafter-hope-for-the-tarnished-book-blog-tour/(opens in a new tab)
Thursday (16) –  Robbie’s Inspiration – Guest Post:
https://robertawrites235681907.wordpress.com/2022/06/16/roberta-writes-wordcrafter-hope-for-the-tarnished-book-blog-tour-and-guest-post/                                            
 

Catching Up And Checking In

I'm back to my normal now - for what it's worth - and, thanks to things piling up while I was too feverish and in too much pain to do anything about them (or even care that I wasn't) it's been a busy week of trying to catch up with things I got behind on while sick.  But I got caught up... I think.  And even at one point actually achieved inbox zero.

 

At least, I appear to be caught up on everything other than the reading I want and need to get done.  And I say both want and need here because there are some books I need to read - or need to read a certain amount of - for book club reading, and then there are some books I just want to read because they're ones I like the sound of, or new books by authors I love, or continuations of a series I started earlier in the year for the crafting book club and now want to read the rest of.  But I am on track for my Goodreads reading goal, so that's something.

I've also been busy doing things with the ACB, of course.  I mean, not only do I join some calls as a participant, but I now co-facilitate two calls, am trained to host not just regular Zoom calls but also webinar calls and calls with breakout rooms, I'm part of the ACB Crafters admin team, and now also part of the ACB Presents morning crew.  Since I was doing so much with them, I also decided to become an official member of ACB itself.

Speaking of the calls: you can check out some of the videos from the cooking call I co-facilitate on YouTube now, since Herbie's started putting them up on there.  The call is "Herbie's Cooking Corner" and if you'd like to check it out, just click here for the "Herbie's Cooking Corner" playlist Herbie has on his channel.  There are several episodes not up yet, but Herbie's working on it, and will get them uploaded when he can.

And, speaking of YouTube: I've been doing a load of karaoke songs (often, but not exclusively, songs from Disney movies) because I do karaoke with the ACB Community most Saturdays, and each time I've done them I've put them on my YouTube channel.  If you've missed them but would like to check them out and give them a listen, click here to check out my YouTube channel.

The petkids are doing well.  We're still keeping an eye on things with Lilie's legs, but she seems happy enough for now, and at least her skin irritation is under control.  But beyond that all is well with all three of the petkids we still have (Lilie the Westie, Logan the Cavapoo, and Artemis the Hermann's Tortoise - for anyone new here, or unsure).

That essentially covers what's been going on around here, so I'll let this do for today.

 

I hope you're safe, well, and happy, whatever you may be keeping yourself busy with these days.

Random Ramblings & Medical Mutterings - June 3rd 2022

I’m back to my normal health wise now.  So now I just need to try and remember all the things that I wanted to post about.  As it turns out, that’s actually easier said than done.  LOL! But I’ll do my best.

 

~

 

Lilie’s legs haven’t fully healed.  They won’t any more.  Anyway, she’s not as good at jumping and running as she was, and sometimes seems to have some discomfort with her legs.  But she’s happy in herself, so right now we’re just monitoring the situation, as well as helping her up on the sofa or bed so she doesn’t have to try and jump up there herself.

 

~

 

Beltane was May 1^st, but we didn’t end up doing anything for it.

 

May 2^nd was Kelly’s birthday, and that celebration was quiet too; we ordered pizza, but that’s about it.

 

Also, May 22^nd was our wedding anniversary, which again we didn’t do much for, though we did have Chinese food.

 

~

 

A lot of what’s kept me busy is ACB calls.  In particular, I’ve attended a lot of ACB Crafters calls (when I haven’t been feverish and in agony anyhow) as well as some Future In Sight crafting calls.  Both those are always fun, and both groups do some really great craft projects

 

For example: I put together and painted these wind chimes in a Future In Sight class a few weeks ago:

 

 

I’ve been doing a bit of work on other craft projects, but don’t have anything else to show you right now.

 

~

 

I've been on a load of other ACB calls to, including - but not limited to - training to do Zoom Webinar calls ready to help out with hosting for the virtual aspects of the ACB's convention next month.

~

And I can't think of anything else, so will let this do for today.