All posts by NewEngland_Muse

I'm a traditionally and self published author. I write in the genre of children and YA at the moment but working my way up to adults. I'm a sports loving, photo taking gal who loves to sing/dance to my own enjoyment. I love to laugh even at myself. I am also owned by 8 birds and 2 hamsters, and yes they know it. :)
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Guest Blog

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Today I have a special guest with me, Martin King.

He will be guest blogging for all of us to enjoy. His contact information will be at the end of the post.


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The great outdoors, the child’s playground. Where I grew up, we lived in a house on the very edge of Mother Nature. Country lanes, farms, fields and rambling hills ran for miles. Life was one great big adventure. And as such, the flora and fauna provided much to entertain us.

Do you remember sticky stuff as we used to call it, or perhaps sticky buds? It was that green stringy, plant stuff that stuck to your clothes. You would sneak up behind your mates and chuck it the back of their jumper. But then this is the best bit, when they realised it was there and pulled it off, it left behind millions of tiny green balls that took forever to pick off.

And there were rosehips, or more commonly known among our youthful ranks as ‘itching powder.’ Yes those harmless looking red capsules contained those little furry seeds that you could chuck down someone’s back. Then you would watch happily from a safe distance as they writhed around in the middle of the road.

What about cuckoo spit? That white spit stuff you would find on long grass. Inside were those little tiny hopping bugs. If you tried to touch them, they would spring away. Talking of grass, do you remember walking along a country lane and plucking the small grains off in your hand and through it up into the air? Or using a blade of grass to make the loudest noise?

Near our house were these plants that produced white berries. I don’t know what they were called, but we used to squeeze then and they would make a pooping sound. There are so many others too, like hunting conkers and making daisy chains, blowing dandelion clocks and throwing sycamore helicopters.

If you put a buttercup under somebody’s chin and it turned yellow, it meant they loved butter. Making perfume from mashed up rose petals, I guess I could go on and on. No doubt I have missed so many. The joys of nature provided many magical moments!

These blogs are all about fun and sharing. Thank you for reading a ‘#100blogfest’ blog. Please follow this link to find the next blog in the series: http://martinkingauthor.com/blog/7094550076

Ramblings

My Office

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This is my office. It is not big or fancy, but I am making it work.

On the far left you will see a rosary, cross and picture on the wall. This set has been in our family for 5 generations, my grandfather passed it on to me. It is all made by hand and it means a lot to me. My bookcase houses a combination of resources, supplies and inspiration. You would also see the books that I am in the process of reviewing for various authors.  Also included, one would see the books I have to read for my 2 book clubs, one of which I  run.  One shelve houses some of my lighthouses, colorful stones and shells.  Other  books included are for my research, reading pleasure and writings.  On the right are my cockatiels. They are normally let loose 95 percent of the time. The norm is one will be on me or on my keyboard at any given time. But they are my relaxation and stress release mechanism. What you don’t see are the many bookcases that surround this room.

I do have two doors I can close when I need the quiet. I know it is not much but  for the moment it’s ok

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Counting Sheep

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The old classic to help a person sleep- counting sheep. It has worked for generations for many people, well except for me. When I try to count sheep one of the following will happen.

-The sheep will run up to the fence and stop on a dime, refusing to jump.

-The sheep will run to the fence and take a big leap. However halfway over they fall onto the fence.

-The sheep will be running up to the fence and instead of jumping will go around.

-I will see a variety of sheep-white,black, spotted. In my mind I will start separating them into groups.

My mind just over analyzes the situation. Instead of seeing white fluffy sheep jumping over a fence, I have chaos and mayhem. My brain gets so worked up the last thing I am doing is sleeping. Yelling at them in my mind apparently does not work either. How hard can it be? It is not rocket science. I am not sure why my brain goes into overload. Somewhere along the way I must have missed the memo on how to do this properly. Yet after all the failed attempts, I still continue to try. Until I get it right, the golf channel will have to do. The best way for me right now to fall asleep.