As some of you may be aware life has been a challenge this year. My posts on here have been sporadic… to say the least. And yet -folk still drop by. They don’t always ‘Like’, but, hey they visit. Come to think of it they probably make a hasty retreat and vow to never call again. After all… there is a plethora of other rubbish to read out there. And then there is some really GOOD STUFF!
Anyhow… I just want to wish you all a very happy Christmas and say a huge thanks for following me, reading me and running away very quickly – when you realise what this blog has to offer.
I plan to reappear on here next year. Sooner, rather than later. You have been warned!
Wishing all of my victims a peaceful and contented Christmas. Yeah, right… like that is going to happen. Just survive, just survive!
See you on the other side.
Dorne x
P. S. If there are any spelling mistakes in this post, it doesn’t read very well, or you’re bored silly by it – that’ll be the fault of my cataracts.
Thanks to Micki Rose for this post and blog.
I have gone gluten free and am in my first week of the withdrawal symptoms. Feel rubbish at the moment, but hope to feel better and lose some of my big bottom!
I’ll be back to bore you with the details and explain my reasons for giving up gluten… when I can stay awake long enough.
Thanks for reading.
Dorne x
I am currently helping a particular chap who, we assume, is suffering with ‘gluten withdrawal’. This is a pretty common phenomenon when you remove what are essentially very addictive (and opoid-like) substances from your body. I wrote about this here and here too.
P is suffering from neurological symptoms (mostly anxiety and depression) and not having a very nice time of it. He has been searching for reassurance on the internet (as we all do!) and came up with a couple of really useful links, (actually ones already on this blog – follow the second link above), but we share them again here for anyone else needing them:
First, a LiveStrong piece: Gluten Free Diet and Withdrawal which details some of the theories why it happens to some people. It doesn’t happen severely to most people in my experience with patients so far, but almost everyone gets some form of…
To be lost in the moment – lovely.
Enjoyed this post and so I am reblogging it on Write Dorne.
Thanks to D Wallace Peach and thanks to you for dropping by.
Dorne x
I just spent 5 days editing without changing out of my pajamas. It seemed a good time to share an old guest post I had the honor of contributing to Seumas Gallacher’s wonderful blog. Thus…Writing in Pajamas.
To me, flannel pajamas are symbolic. Whenever I get the chance, I wear them all day, and in case you were wondering, I’m pj-clad as I type this post.
In my mother’s generation, all-day pajamas indicated a mortifying degree of sloth. Pinch-lipped gossips would roll their eyes toward heaven, conjuring images of beer before breakfast, dust bunnies, and soap operas. If a woman wore pajamas all day, she certainly didn’t chair the holiday bazaar or volunteer at the library. Her kids lacked appropriate moral supervision and, no doubt, roamed the neighborhood like hooligans. Never mind her neglected spouse nibbling TV dinners after a long day at the plant.
I’m reblogging this amazing short film from Dear Kitty. Some blog.
I can’t get my head around how old this bird may be and the amazing life she has experienced. Some hope in these troubled times I think.
Thanks for dropping by.
Dorne x
This video says about itself: 19 February 2016 World renowned oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle reflects on the incredible connection between a Laysan albatross named Wisdom, the oldest known bird in the world, and the Worldwide Voyage of Hōkūle‘a, as both have traveled countless thousands of miles over the last several decades. From the South China […]
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am delighted to announce that we have lift off.
Glimpses, my first book, is now available to buy as a paperback.
Glimpses – The new book of some of my short stories. Publication Date: Paperback: Now Available. Kindle: Tuesday 6th December 2016.
If you would like to order a copy, then please click on the link below and you’ll be taken to the Amazon site in the country you are based. Where Amazon is not available, you’ll be taken to the UK site.
If you would like a copy signed by me, the author, then leave me a message in the comments section and I’ll get back to you. Amazon doesn’t offer paperback versions in all countries, so I’d be delighted to sell and send you a paperback copy.
The Kindle version will be available from 6th December 2016 and is available to pre-order.
This is another of my posts that has also been published on My Trending Stories. If you love reading blogs check it out. Just allow plenty of time, as there is loads of really great reading material.
Another version of this appeared on here some time ago and is now in the colon of my blog… nice?
A brief letter to one of your favourite magazines could earn you a pretty good return for about ten to twenty minutes of work.
Here’s how!
All publications need feedback on how they’re doing with they’re readers. Whether it’s good or bad…they want and need to know what we think. This makes us – the reader VITAL. So vital in fact that these publications are prepared to pay good money, whether in actual cash, or enticing monetary equivalents.
But, the trick is to not write just any old letter. It does require a bit of thought.
Do some quick research.
No, this doesn’t involve months of scouring the internet, or being cocooned in the corner of a toasty warm library. Although that isn’t a bad idea! Take a look at the style of other reader’s letters.
For example:
The subjects they cover ( invariably they relate to the articles published in the magazine).
A rough word count of the letters. They don’t have room for your beautifully penned War and Peace!
The style of the writing.
Do they have a prize on offer that you could use? Ladies, could you really use that fishing rod? Oh – you fish! Cool! Guys, do you want that day at the health spa? The woman in your life will love it though and you – for at least a week afterwards!
Get the thing written.
These days you don’t even have to put pen to paper. Just tap away on your computer, laptop, phone, tablet, or on a quaint typewriter. Does anyone still use typewriters? Let us know.
Write the letter however you like.
Email makes life so much easier and cheaper doesn’t it? And there’s the added excitement that you may get an email back.
Do remember to spell and grammar check your work: and of course, write properly like what you does normally!
Editors are not idiots, nor teachers and they aren’t there to correct their readers!
Let’s think positive and assume that your letter is just what your favourite publication needs and it’s going to be published… great! It’s even been awarded the Star Letter accolade.
You’re published! However, sometimes changes will be made to your carefully crafted masterpiece. If this happens, take it in your stride. It really isn’t worth having a screaming hissy fit about it. Just think about the money/ beauty set/ paint/ tool kit, model sports car winging its way to you.
Once you’ve seen your name in print, you’ll want more.
Be warned…letter writing can be addictive.
One you’ve had the thrill of seeing your letter in print and have received a year’s free supply of cough medicine, you will be hooked. You’ll be chomping at the bit to get another five pounds, or something else for free and see your name in lights again! Okay… not quite in lights, but published – just the same.
Over the years I’ve received money, garden centre vouchers, extremely posh notebooks, dog beds and dog sweaters, ( yes, I like wearing dog sweaters!) for a few minutes of writing.
Go on, write your letter and press that SEND button now.
More importantly, once you’ve had a letter published it gives you the confidence to try again, and again. Letters become reviews and then you get really cocky and above yourself and try out a pitch on some poor, unsuspecting editor, for an article idea that you know they will just have to commission!
Really?
Sometimes, it actually works!
Just how do you progress from letters to reviews and articles?
I’ll be back to spill the beans on how I found my way into some of the publications I’ve been published in. Hard work, brilliant editors and a lot of luck helped me. I’m by no means a big-time writer and I have loads to learn. Don’t we all?
In the meantime…get writing those letters. And feel free to share your successes with us, either on here, or on My Trending Stories.
You’ll need your hankies for this one, but it is so worth it. Tears of disbelief and of joy, and hope. There are some good things to celebrate in this mad world.
Riley was rescued and helped his family. Isn’t this always the case with animals?
May I steal about 10 seconds of your Tuesday to show you this? I couldn’t help myself. With apologies to the guy that slipped on the ice. But, how he saved himself from a fall – magnificent! And I still haven’t stopped laughing. I clearly need to get out more…just not when it’s icy! Play it again – you know you want to!
I know it’s cruel…but I have slipped on ice so many times now, that I think it is about time I got to watch someone else and have a laugh at them. And I always hit the deck: this guy didn’t.
In fact I don’t need ice to fall on. I can do it on a perfectly dry surface and in a muddy field. That’s my best one. Face down in it – yes, really. But, no video to show you – sorry!
Thanks for dropping by and joining me in having a laugh at other folk’s expense! Have a great day.
Glimpses – The new book of some of my short stories. Publication Date: Paperback: Now Available. Kindle: Tuesday 6th December 2016. 
