How Are You Going, Getting Ready for Christmas?


I’m curious. Are you ready for Christmas? I’ve heard there are some super-people who already have all their presents bought! Please, tell me they’re not also already gift-wrapped!

Me, I’m not even thinking about Christmas yet – other than to plan out some book promotion around that time – and yes, I think I will be able to sneak Raid in just after Christmas. And I’ll make it FREE for five days! So watch out for this Kidnapped Brides in space adventure around Boxing Day – a perfect addition to a new kindle!

raid, scifiromance, kindle unlimited,

On the homefront, the local birds have had an early Christmas present: a shallow birdbath so that they can have fresh water through the long, hot summer. They’re already using it, although I haven’t managed a photograph yet.

The Scent of the Season

Do you think Christmas has a scent? For me, it does. It smells of plastic!

As a kid, our Christmas tree was a plastic one that got dismantled every January, popped in its old cardboard box and pushed on top of a wardrobe for the next ten months. But every year when it was taken down, and the box opened, the lovely smell of stale plastic meant Christmas was coming. The tree is long gone, but the memory remains.

What particular scents stand out in your memory?

I use scent when I write a scene to try and evoke emotion directly. Scent seems to bypass logic and simply grab us by the … well, by the nose. 😉 We often know a place, even people, by scent. Hospitals are a powerful example. That smell of disinfectant, medicines and cooked cabbage makes me want to retreat every time.  If you can’t work out what has triggered a sudden emotion, concentrate for a second on what you’re smelling.

Do You Have Anything Left to Check Off Your To-Do List for 2017?

Apart from my writing and the standing to-do list item of “win Lotto” (difficult, since I seldom buy a ticket), I think I’m pretty much on track for 2017.

It’s been a beast of a year. The news is so full of horrors – and I’m not just talking about what passes for political governance these days – but the terrible things people do to each other and the tragedies of natural disasters. I actually stopped buying The Guardian Weekly partly because it was too depressing.

However, never doubt that even the littlest thing can bring change.

Last year, I scattered gypsophila (baby’s breath) seeds in the garden. Not one came up. I was disappointed, but resigned. Things happen. Gardening teaches you to accept your losses. But this year … guess what burst out of the ground and into flower? Yes, beautiful gypsophila. (Sorry, I missed taking a photo – my stupid ankle injury hobbled me). I guess the message of the baby’s breath is to hold onto hope, because life will surprise us with joy.

 

 


5 responses to “How Are You Going, Getting Ready for Christmas?”

  1. Ready for Christmas? Er, no. I have 3 birthdays to get through first – all on the same day. To be fair, one’s a fur baby and he won’t demand quite the same amount of attention. But I have thought about it, if that counts? LOL

    I am just amazed at your work ethic and how much you’ve accomplished, Jenny. Another book release. What the heck am I doing with my time?

    The scent of the season for me – the food. LOL Making rum balls, plum pudding, and White Christmas with Mum, the spiciness of the fruit mince pies that I can never, ever resist, and Dad cooking slathers of bacon on the BBQ Christmas morning for breakfast.

    It’s interesting about scents though. My aunt passed over twenty years ago, but every now and then I’ll get a waft of her perfume and I swear she’s in the room. She loved Lilac talcum powder, and I can’t smell it without thinking of her. Likewise I had too much rum one night and now the smell of it makes me sick…;)

    The checklist – finish more of the writing I said I was going to do without getting distracted by last minute competitions. LOL It’s a work in progress. 😉

    • Ooh birthdays! Fun chaos. And at least one of the family will be happy if you throw him a bone LOL I couldn’t resist the joke!

      Lilac is unusual these days. It’s funny how scents go out of fashion. My nana loved violet, which isn’t so popular either any more. Although, at least that’ll grow in the garden. I don’t think lilacs do well here – at least, I’ve not seen any?

      Distraction, procrastination and writing seem to go hand in hand … oh, and chocolate! Now, I need another coffee and to focus!

      • LOL Yes, one of them will especially like the bone.

        I don’t think I’ve smelled violet. Not sure lilacs grow here either. The other one she liked was Lily of the Valley.

        Yes to everything in your last paragraph. LOL

  2. That’s funny how our fondest childhood memories can even include plastic. It wasn’t so much what the tree was made of but rather what it meant to you. That’s very sweet.

    Mine was evergreen. Back in the day you got a real fir tree. If you were rich you got one of those aluminum trees that today are very chic again.

    I loved the smell of the tree. It was the closest to nature I ever got living in a Chicago apartment.

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