Out of the mouths of Babes

out of the mouths

I had a brief interlude yesterday from my packing and organizing which has been monopolizing all of my time lately. I joined my sister and my grandbaby niece for an afternoon outing at the mall. We went for lunch and fridge hunting for my sister. We took little Mikeala in the stroller, as she enjoys going out on shopping ventures.

Me and my sis
Me and my sis

My sister isn’t a fan of shopping, a complete polar opposite to me and ironically also to her daughter and grand-daughter Mikeala, as we all love to shop. I’m sure the love for shopping is definitely a trait my nieces have inherited from me. As I don’t have any natural children of my own, my sister and I both refer to her daughter as my child born from her body. Little Mikeala is like a grand-daughter to me, and my sister graciously shares that honour with me.

My niece and grand-niece
My niece and grand-niece

Every time I see that child, my heart is full with love. I always look forward to seeing her beautiful, smiling face and hearing the latest humour that she so innocently dishes out. She is quite clever and I laugh at so much of what she talks about and can’t help but wonder how she comes up with some of the things she says. A child’s mind is pure and they don’t hesitate to say what they are thinking at the innocent age of three. I love the sound of her little voice with her little lisp.

Words with ‘s’ are pronounced ‘eth’ and she loves colours, especially purpo, gween and lello. While my sister was getting a demo on a fridge and the saleslady opened the freezer door to show how much space there was, my little monkey, Mikeala, was so engrossed with the demonstration and commented, “Oh look, we can put ornge and purpo freethies in there.” I burst out laughing at her logic and the excitement in her eyes when she said it. This child just lights up my heart!

Mikii

Earlier this month when she turned three, my nephew had asked my niece what Mikeala wanted for her birthday. He wanted to buy her a Mickey/Minnie mouse tea set as she loves them both. But my niece had mentioned that Mikeala now loved watching Spiderman on cartoons. So my nephew decided to get her the tea set and a Spiderman action figure.

When Mikeala opened the Spiderman figure, she decided she didn’t like it. She said it scared her dolly. It was a good thing she was given the tea set as well. Mikeala decided that she needed to bury the Spiderman figure under a pillow so it wouldn’t scare her doll. I asked her if she has made tea yet and she replied, “No thilly, children don’t drink tea!” I am busting a gut remembering the seriousness of her voice with her reply.

I don’t currently live very close to my sister’s house, thus I don’t often get to see her or the baby. But when I move in January, I will be back in her vicinity, about a five minute drive away. When my sister dropped me off after our afternoon out, I kissed Mikeala goodbye and with her big wide smile she said, “Aunty Debby, why can’t you move your house closer to Bubbie’s house so you can come and play with us?” Again my heart melted.

Just one more good thing about my move, I will be able to see my precious girl a lot more. There is nothing like the joy of a child to fill our hearts.

DGKaye©2014

Read any good #memoirs recently? Try author D.G. Kaye | deborahjay

Reviews

November was certainly a grand month for me in regards to being interviewed. I was delighted to find that the multi-talented author Deborah Jay had read and reviewed my first book Conflicted Hearts and then featured me and all my books on her very busy, successful blog page. Thank you kindly Deborah. And if you are interested in hearing Deborah’s thoughts on reading memoir for the first time and reading my book, please feel free to click the link below:

Read any good #memoirs recently? Try author D.G. Kaye | deborahjay.

So, What’s New?

What

Wow! What a busy time of year for so many of us! As I plow through my never ending list of things to do, I barely have moments to write, and find myself  often in the midst of a task, doing my creative thinking. Many times I drop whatever I’m doing or wake in the wee hours of the night to write down a fleeting thought when I have a light bulb idea for my books.

 

Due to my chaotic life at present, my writing commitment time is suffering. This past year has definitely presented some challenges for me and with them come many reflections of the loved ones I have lost this year.

 

I also blogged earlier this year about plans to sell my house and rent a condo to lighten the house maintenance load for my husband as he prepares for retirement in the coming year. This was a heavy decision for me because of our difference in age, I found myself not feeling ready for this big change. Yet I know I had to get on board with it because my husband is certainly entitled to some relaxation and enjoyment after working for 53 years. Along with this decision did come the fringe benefits. We will be in a position next year to be able to get out of the cold for the winter months, a huge consolation.

 

My husband is the kind of guy who can’t sit still and is always looking for something to do or fix. I can’t count how many times I’ve caught him shoveling snow or laying new grass and digging holes in the garden or CLIMBING A LADDER at almost 77 years old! I will no longer have to spy on him to catch him in motion doing these things with a bad shoulder and leg and will no longer have to come down hard on him for it. My worries will lessen and by next Christmas we will be snowbirds! We will be moving January 3rd 2015, in the dead of winter and by January’s end we shall be on a plane to Florida for a 2 week cruise.

DSC00116

My husband is counting down the days, while I cannot even see that far at this point, as much has to be done before the long awaited break from 2014 happens. We had planned to go to Arizona in March, but after searching with the help of our friends in Arizona, we couldn’t find any available rentals, as they were long booked by many more Canadians and superbowl fans. Arizona is hosting the annual superbowl this February, along with many other sporting events. It seems with every other person I talk to here that Arizona is a popular destination choice by many Canadians. So, we will go back there in late April and get a head start on booking plans for the following winter.

For now I am cleaning off my plate of duties. My home was sold in one week, thankfully, as I dislike the comings and goings of strangers in my home, not to mention, keeping it in ‘show condition’, with most of my possessions hidden so well, that even I couldn’t remember where I put half of my things. My days are filled with packing and running back and forth to the new place to meet workers for renos. I am not new to renos or home depot. I especially hate finding that there is always something else we need or forgot at each visit to the depot and have to go back there repeatedly for one thing or another.

To top things off, my husband is having eye surgery this coming week. This not only entails the two pre-op visits last week to a pretty far away hospital, but surgery day and two more post-op visits. On our last visit, we were told my husband cannot lift anything until after Christmas! I said, “Wow, how convenient,” as I now have zero help lifting things and boxes around the house. But, in late December, thankfully, some family members will be stepping up to the plate to help take some truck loads of our things over to the locker to lighten the load for moving day.

 

On a happier note, November was a month that I was invited to be interviewed by some talented authors and bloggers – five in total! I was so honoured to be recognized by them. You can find those posts and interviews here: AlanaMunroauthor WhenWomenInspire LaAudaciadeAquiles. My friend and author, Deborah Jay will be showcasing my newest book this coming week on her blog and a Christmas interview I did with VisionandVerse with author Carol Ann Kauffman, will be posted closer to Christmas.

sale new

 

I’ll leave you with a heads up, my newest book, Words We Carry, will be on sale starting today, Saturday, November 22, for one week on #Kindlecountdown. Now, you’ve all heard me bitch before about Amazon only doing this promo for the U.S. and U.K., intermittently. After sending them endless complaints about this, I can only hope that they will consider opening up this sale world-wide in the new year. I mean, sheesh, what is this the stone age?

question

 

And how’s your day?

More Bloggers Between the Covers | 4am Writer

Thank you

I think you all know that when I am posting my own news and opinions here that I like to repost articles I find of interest and helpful here to share with you all. Well, today I am reblogging a post I happily came across on another author’s site, 4 Am Writer, while catching up on blogs I like to follow. I was floored when I discovered that Kate had written a post about a few authors books she wanted to showcase, and I was gobsmacked to find that one of my books was chosen. Kate never informed me, I was just pleasantly surprised to find my book Meno-What? A Memoir being showcased. Thank you so much Kate! Please click on her link to the post below and while you are there, have a look at Kate’s site. She is an author and editor and offers many services.   More Bloggers Between the Covers | 4am Writer.

September Author Interview Answer #8 : What would you like to say to your readers? | International Book Promotion

international book promotions

Final part 8 of the memoir interview with myself and Linda Gray Sexton by International Book Promotion.

 

September Author Interview Answer #8 : What would you like to say to your readers? | International Book Promotion.

September Author Interview Answer #7:How do deal with people who disagree with your thoughts and views and how do you defend your point of views? | International Book Promotion

international book promotions

Part 7 of the memoir writer’s interview with myself and Linda Gray Sexton by International Book Promotion.

September Author Interview Answer #7:How do deal with people who disagree with your thoughts and views and how do you defend your point of views? | International Book Promotion.

Writing about people you know – treading the fine line | TJ Withers-Ryan

reblogging

 

Questions often arise about memoir writing regarding the legal rights we have as writers who write about people in their memoirs. Many question about the possibilities of being sued by characters included in the memoirs. Click the link below to read what TJ WithersRyan has to say about the issue.

 

Writing about people you know – treading the fine line | TJ Withers-Ryan.

Thank you for nominating me

onelovelyblogaward   Thank you Mary Perez, Reflections from the Heart for nominating me for this lovely award. It feels so rewarding when others take the time to read and appreciate the words of a fellow blogger.

thank-you-907818_1280

 

I am told to nominate some other bloggers who should also post the link to the one who nominated them, along with 7 facts about themselves. Now, I know many wonderful bloggers have been nominated in the past and may or may not have the time to continue on nominating others and posting, but I am going to put a few names here that I’d like to nominate whether they’ve already been nominated or not. These women are inspiring!

Know that I choose you:

Reflections LaTanya Davis

Healing Beyond Survival Mandy Smith

Cindy Grigg Cindy Grigg

IdealisticRebel Barbara Mattio

Aquileana Amalia Pedemonte

When Women Inspire Christy Birmingham

Now for 7 things about me:

1.  I love to be writing 2 books at any given time.

2.  I love to be reading 2 books at any given time.

3.  I function best under deadlines; usually self-imposed.

4.  I am the pickiest eater you will ever know.

5.  I made a plan earlier this year that there would be no more procrastinating when it came to life desires. My husband and I said we wanted to sell our home, invest the money and rent somewhere so that we could fulfill our dream of spending winters in Arizona. Our house is sold, we are moving in 7 weeks. We are on our way!

6.  When I make up my mind to do something, it’s done!

7.  I love being happy and trying to always make others smile and laugh.

Now pass the torch my lovely writing friends! 🙂