The best advice I have ever received. Day 10 @Writersbootcmp

Topic for day 10: The best advice I have ever received.....WritersBootcamp challenge:

Coming from a big family where I was always the youngest (I grew up with my aunts and uncles as if they were siblings). I have been given a lot of advice over the years, however two gems that really stood out for me came from the most unlikely sources.

1. My mom once told me that whenever someone loses a loved one, everyone will surround them with condolences and support. Even old friends you have not seen for years will come out of the woodwork to support you in your time of need until the funeral. A few close family members and friends will stick around in the long run but most often after the funeral, life goes on and everyone gets back to their own lives. That is when you need to be a good friend, when everyone else has moved on, that's when they will need you.

I found this to be so true and the reason it's an unlikely source is because my mom and I have never been close. (but that's a story for another blog)

2  While contemplating leaving my husband of 22 yrs a twitter friend named Sally told me to "Just take the plunge and jump!'' she said I wouldn't regret it and you know what, I don't!!! Thank you Sally for helping me to be brave.

Another unlikely source as this was someone I hardly knew, sure we had met a few times and spoken online, but I had only known her for a short period of time. She had been through a similar experience to me and we could relate to each other. I am no longer afraid of the future and making big life changes, because every so often they are the right ones to make and everything does work out in the end.

This is me and Sally on her wedding day in 2013

Pining........day 9 @Writersbootcmp

Pining......

7 am:

Sitting at the door looking out through the peephole.

My hind legs are aching, I can't hold this position for much longer.

I Jump onto the couch to get a better view out of the window..... nope, still no one there.

How long has it been? when is he coming back?

Why does his wife not seem to care? She has been asleep for hours.

I think I'll go wake her up, after all it must be breakfast time already.

11 am:

This window is boring, let me try jumping onto the table to get a better look.

Nope, the garden is still just as empty as before.

When is he coming home? it feels like years! maybe even decades.

I am sad, I feel abandoned. My heart is aching.

13:00

Yay the front door is open,maybe he's out there, in the garden.  Run, run, run like the wind.

Dammit the front gate is closed and still he has not returned.

May as well run around the garden and get some exercise while I'm here.

Oh look a cat........

15:00

Tired now....need a nap.....

16:00

I'm up. I'm up...is he home? where is he? oh that's just the post man. How disappointing.

May as well give him a little scare...

When is is he coming home? Is he coming back? 

17:00

Ooh what's that shiny thing on the floor there? is it a ball?....

Nope it's just a spoon.

When is he coming home? Why has he left me? Did I do something wrong?

WHY WHY WHY *whimper*

17:30

He's home!!!!!!! He's Home!!!!!!!! oh thank goodness, I was so worried. I thought you were gone forever.

Don't ever leave me again.

The  mind of your dog when you go to work.

Pet hate.....

Topic for day 8 : A love letter to my pet hate: ( an untidy house)

Dear neat and tidy house,

I love you, you make me feel secure and happy. I love how pretty everything looks when they are in their proper place. You give me a sense of control and stability when I feel like everything else in my life is spiralling out of control. You help me feel like I have control and everything is going to be okay. I feel like I cannot break up with you, for then my life would surely descend into utter chaos.

But for the sake of my family's sanity I think we should take a break. Like Rachel and Ross did on Friends.

Just while the children and grandchildren are visiting. After all what kind of life doesn't have a little chaos every now and then? I don't always have to be in control, I need to learn to be a bit more flexible and just learn to enjoy being around you, no matter what your condition. I think it will be good for you too, you will get to hear the laughter of children as they play and run around the house with not a care in the world. You will be filled with pride knowing that people are coming to us for our company and not because of the way we look.

After all, when it's just you and me and everyone else is gone, we can rekindle our moment of neatness and everything will be as it were. Come on, lets shake it up a little!!!!

Sincerely yours

Karen

PS: *throws cushions in the air, like I just don't care* ( I will put them back tomorrow.)

that's better

Art....Topic for day 7: Inspired by art (or an artwork or an artist) @Writersbootcmp

Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh

Art, Artist, Artistic, Art form, Artwork, Arty.....what is it? Is it a painting by a famous artist? A sketch so real it looks like a photograph or a stick figure drawing of you that your son brought home from preschool? The one you proudly display on your fridge even though you only have one eye and three fingers. Is it a song that makes you want to get up and dance or a ballad that makes you cry as you feel the songwriters heartache in every lyric. Is it a movie? you know the kind they show at cinema nouveau, usually long and drawn out with lots of sex in it. Is it a sculpture so anatomically correct that it looks like they dipped a body in clay? Can you eat it? I'm sure there are world renowned chefs who will tell you that the little offering on your dinner plate is their masterpiece. A book so engrossing that it reaches the number 1 bestseller list and the author now has a movie deal?

I have no idea what art is, I certainly won't be applying for a job as an art critic in my lifetime. You see I like symmetry and things to be neat and tidy, that's just the way I am. If you tell me that abstract art is truly something to behold, I would disagree and yet there is Picasso. Boy bands formed in a music producers studio are not artists in my opinion. They have their songs written for them. A manager tells them how to act and look. A wardrobe assistant tells them how to dress and a choreographer tells them how to dance. So who, then is the true artist here? And yet millions of screaming teenage fans (and some of their moms) would disagree with me.

I surely can't tell you what art is but I can tell you what it's not. It's not something mass produced cheaply and regurgitated year after year. It is unique to the artist, a sound, look or feel that is distinctly theirs.

What is art? It is anything that has the ability to evoke emotion.

The most beautiful piece of music ever composed.....

Solitude Day 6 @Writersbootcmp

Day 6: Doors and Windows.....

Kathy needed to get away from it all, time to think and reflect. The sudden death of her twin sister at age 27 had left a scar so deep she wasn't sure it would ever heal. Suicide is such a selfish act she thought. No one benefits and those left behind are just filled with questions. 

Kevin had been her rock, he was the love of her life and he was hurting too. She knew he would always be there for her but could she trust him? Then there was the letter she found one night while packing up Maggie's belongings. "Dear Maggie, I can't do this anymore. I hate lying to Kathy she deserves so much more. Yours Kevin"

What were they lying about? Why did Maggie slam the door in Kevin's face the last night she was alive?

So many questions, so much not said.

She rented a private cottage down by the lake. Two nights of solitude will be good for her. She could clear her mind of these thoughts and decide what she was going to do next. Should she confront him with the letter? or say nothing. Thoughts all racing through her head at once.

She arrived with her overnight bag and two ready made meals. The door was a little tricky to unlock. Three locks and a security pin to enter. After she was a million miles from anywhere so security was very important. The bedroom window had the most gorgeous view of the lake and also attracted the early morning sun. All the windows had wooden shutters to block out the harsh sunlight. She decided to close the bedroom shutters as she wanted to sleep in and didn't want the morning sunlight to disturb her much needed rest. She had not slept well for weeks now and felt exhausted.

It had been a very long 4 hour drive and she was tired so she opened the bottle of wine she had stashed last minute into her overnight bag and sat down with a big sigh.

"Tomorrow" she said out loud to herself "I'll decide tomorrow". 

And then just as she was about to drift off into a deep and peaceful sleep, there was a knock at the door.

Dream job Day 5 @Writersbootcmp challenge

I must admit I found this topic a bit of a challenge:  Topic for day 5: Find a job ad in the paper. Write about your life if you had that job.

I mean I already have two of the best jobs on the planet, why would I look for another one? First problem I found was that the only newspaper we had in the house was used to start a fire in the Jetmaster. So I deviated a little and searched online for a job I thought sounded interesting.
Job ad: A 5 star luxury Lodge situated on a beautiful Nature Reserve is looking for a lodge host (live in).

5:30 am Wake up, shower and get ready to face the day.

6:00 am Check bookings to see who is arriving today, check on breakfast requirements of current guests.

7:00 am Check with maintenance to make sure the hot water has been fixed in chalet 24

7:30 am Breakfast served to early guest in dining room, make sure guests who requested room service get their breakfast at 8 am.

8:00 am Have breakfast

8:30 am Cleaning staff arrive, hand out agenda, laundry detail etc.

9:00 am Welcome new arrivals and ensure they have correct rooms.

9:30 am Apologise for mix up in room 13 for incorrect breakfast order, ensure customer is satisfied with your apology.

10: am Organise day trips and outings for guests in rooms 12, 16 and 22.

11:00 am Tea break (sit and marvel at the awesome surroundings) you live and work on a nature reserve for goodness sake, soak it all in. Get interrupted by a complaint form room 14, go check it out.

12:00 am Oversee lunch detail

13:00 Have your own lunch by the river and contemplate living another life or being elsewhere.

14:00 Check out for guests in room 21, organise shuttle service.

15:00 Afternoon game drive for guests on the special stay package.

16:00 Check on domestic staff, ensure all empty rooms have been cleaned and linen has been replaced.

17:00 Domestic and gardening staff leave for the day, security check.

18:00 Ensure dinner requirements are met and welcome evening bar staff.

19:00 Retire to your room (with a much needed glass of wine) and hope no one calls with another complaint. Maybe watch a little TV

Oh how lucky I am to get to mingle with foreign guests of such a high calibre and to live in such beautiful surroundings.

I just couldn't live without.....Day 4 @Writersbootcmp

Obviously my first thought to this question was...My family, my children and my soon to be husband, but then upon reflection I realised, I could live without them. I just don't want to. 

My next thought was an income or my home, but again, realistically I could be homeless and I would still be alive with most of my faculties intact. I probably wouldn't be very happy, but you know...alive.

Then there are the frivolous things like, my cell phone and laptop that allow me to connect to the world. You often hear people say "I could never live without my phone"

So I had to think even deeper, what is the one thing that is constant in my life, the thing that if you took it away from me, I would still be alive, but would most certainly go insane without?

MUSIC!!!

Yes, I love music, all of it (except for heavy metal, can't stand it) I have an eclectic taste when it comes to music. The type of music I listen to depends on my mood at the time. I mostly enjoy classical music, it soothes my soul. I can listen to someone playing the piano, violin or acoustic guitar for hours and never get bored.

I have the radio on constantly when I am driving, I hate to drive in silence. When I get home the radio or CD player is on in the background keeping me company and when I'm in a party mood there is nothing better than an awesome sing-a-long pop song to get me going. Dancing stupidly in my lounge when no one is watching. And then there is karaoke!!! but that goes best with alcohol.

And on weeknights after dinner Scott sometimes whips out his guitar and plays while I sit in awe of the sound. That's when I am most happy.