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For the avoidance of doubt... Yes... I definitely have an opinion... |
 Welcome to my Blog!! Having an opinion is better than not having a thought of your own. I have many of both.... Pull up a pew and grab a hot, steaming mug of your choice. |
| Prompt: "Sea of destiny" is a metaphor for the overwhelming, unpredictable circumstances of life and one's predetermined life path, with the journey through it's challenges leading to a final intended outcome or purpose." *** This whole quote feels like an oxymoron. One that gets worse to more you think about it. I hate the idea of a predetermined life path. I hate 'fated purpose' or 'destiny'. It always feels like a cop out... Ah it was fate fault it all when wrong... These things happen for a reason... They were always going to make it - it seems to dilute the hard work and sacrifice that goes into these things. I mean, I get it. There are certain elements that most of us go through that might make it seem predetermined, but I still don't like the idea. To me, that makes it feel like we have little control, and as I self-proclaimed control freak, that doesn't sit well with me. I at least want to maintain the illusion of control. Probably much like people who spend their life on the sea will agree, the sea/ocean only lets you think you are in charge. And what's the 'final intended outcome'? To drown? A battered ship? Shipwrecked on an island? The sea seems to come up in many metaphors. Love. Life. It can all be compared to the sea apparently. But to me, the seas or oceans are anything but predicable. They are vast, unpredictable, with chaos living just beneath the surface whether it's the undercurrent, riptides, or things that like to eat you. If life is like the sea, I'm surprised we aren't more traumatised. |
| Prompt: "A witch never gets caught. Don’t forget that she has magic in her fingers and devilry dancing in her blood." Roald Dahl, The Witches. Fall is a great time for witches. Do you have a favourite witch in a story or in folklore? *** Taking a mount to express my LOVE for Roald Dahl. His stories were such a big part of my childhood. I can't believe people try to ban his work... grrr I think it's hard to find a happy story or folklore about witches, at least in the UK. They are overwhelmingly cruel and dark, with a focus of the witch trials and persecution. I suppose if I had to choose one that stands out to me, I would go with Morgan Le Fey or Morgan the Fairy. I love the Arthurian legends. What's not to like - Kings, Knight, Wizard, Dragons, and Witches. There is a giant stone on the Gower Common in South Wales, where I grew up, that is referred to a 'King Arthur's Stone'. It's a local landmark; I am 99% sure it has absolutely nothing to do with King Authur, but why should that stop a story. The Welsh love to claim Merlin, Authur and Morgan Le Fey. I'm surprised we haven't fought the Cornish over it to be honest. She also turns up in Irish Legend as Morrigan the Battle Goddess, so she is VERY popular. As a goddess should be. There is a duality about Morgan Le Fey that I love; she is both malfeasant and benevolent. I think she, like most women, probably sits somewhere in the middle. I mean piss off a priestess and you are sure as Hel's fire going to know about it. There is also a certain air of mystery around her as the Arthurian lore doesn't really include a huge amount of correlating detail about her other than being a goddess, witch, or enchantress - I guess she could be all three. The stories change from being Arthur's sibling, to his protector, and probably the most famous now, his nemesis; it's the original family feud. Her name, Morgan, means 'born of the sea', so it's very apt that many of the legends that surround her show case her connection to water - Lady of the Lake... Within Welsh mythology there are also links to the Goddess Modron - a Welsh deity - and the myth is that she descended from her; I guess this would be the equivalent of being a daughter of Hecate. Her powers were believed to be so strong that she is said to have healed a fatally wounded King Arthur after the Battle of Camlann by taking him to a sacred and mystical island known as the Isle of Apples - I often wonder if this had ties to Eden. Either way she is amazing. Powerful, strong, underestimated, and misunderstood. |
| Prompt: If someone told you that a group of stars are going to appear in a certain pattern, foretelling an ancient curse is about to come true. Would you believe it or would you think of it as nonsense? And would you make up a story about it? *** I could definitely make a story up about it, who doesn't like a prophecy or curse. But I'm knee deep in Nano and my brain can't focus on too many things without melting. As for whether I would believe it or think of it as nonsense, I lean heavily toward the 'sure, why not' ilk. It makes for a good story. Nearly every curse seems to have a prophecy about how to undo said curse. It's certainly no less palatable that what's on the news every night. To be fair, what's happening in the world probably is a curse. I bet someone could link it to a passing comet or newly found astrological phenomena. At this stage I'd quite happily add aliens into the mix as well, but I get the impression Earth is probably like the Florida of the universe (apologises to people from Florida). I could also use Tasmania for an Aussi reference, or East Angelia for the UK, but there are a lot of Americans on here, so Florida probably makes more sense. I mean, don't get me wrong, I am not going to stop paying my bills or cancel plans because of this curse, but I am fully on board when it happens. As long as I'm not part of the cure... If I'm part of the cure, you are all doomed, just saying. Especially if it has anything thing to do with turning to the dark side, or becoming a member of the immortal dead, because I would get whiplash for how quickly I would agree to that. Just forewarning you all... |
| Prompt: October Is there something about this October and the fall season that makes you feel peaceful or calm? Or is October's energy exciting and stimulating? *** I LOVE October. It's my birth month, so I am very biased. Before I moved to the underside on the world... October represented nights drawing in, a wash on colour in the countryside, cosey evenings with hot chocolate or warm spiced apple juice (sorry US I can't call it cider unless it's alcoholic), storms rolling in, the switch in the weather and of course spooky season. And not just the trick or treating, because who doesn't like sweets/candy/lollies, I like Samhain - love the bon fires and divination in the flames, it's when I light a candle for my dad and talk to him. In Wales, where I am from, it's known as Nos Calan Gaeaf which means 'night of the winter calends' which I think is quite beautiful. It is very similar to Samhain ina lot of ways, which I think is Irish/Scottish, though technically the dates are different: Nos Calan Gaeaf 31st Oct and Samhain 1st Nov. However, I now live in the topsy-turvy world of Australia where the season are turned on their head. I find this incredibly discombobulating. I don't have seasonal affective disorder, I have seasonal what the actual f... disorder, because my head says its Oct therefore Samhain, or Dec therefore yule... but the weather says it's spring and summer and about 25C+ It's been the bane of my life since I moved here... This means I have to celebrate Halloween and Beltane at the same time - which because there's always a bon fire... but still. |
| Prompt: "After the keen still days of September, the October sun filled the world with mellow warmth...The maple tree in front of the doorstep burned like a gigantic red torch. The oaks along the roadway glowed yellow and bronze. The fields stretched like a carpet of jewels, emerald and topaz and garnet. Everywhere she walked the color shouted and sang around her." —Elizabeth George Speare, The Witch of Blackbird Pond. Describe what you see surrounding you. *** The September chill has started to dissipate, and the warmth of the Melbourne spring is making itself known. Its fleeting and shy. Unsure about actually making its presence known, hence the game of peekaboo I am currently playing with my hoodie. Like the weather, I can’t decide what to do, and I’m constantly getting it wrong. It’s too warm for jeans, but too cool for shorts. I need a hoodie, until the moment I step outside and then I need my sunglasses instead. It’s a meteorological roller-coaster. The land is just as confused as I am. Though, it seems to be quickly making up its mind. There is more green – everywhere. The grasses, bushes and trees are starting to sprout, looking more leafy by the day, but particularly today. It’s the starting gun in the race to keep the body corporate happy by keeping our lawns in order… Nothing worse that unruly green apparently. An afternoon in the garden may well be in order and it is starting to look a little over grown, a little wild. But the bees love it, as do the butterflies… they are worth the angry letter from the estate facilities management team, whose time would be better spent fixing the AC in the gym before the summer rolls in. The swans are also out on the lake again. It won’t be long until we see little feathery families out there, if the territorial flapping is anything to go by. The lake is apparently the place to be if you’re a black swan or a pelican… or one of the other wading birds. The lake has also settled. It’s less choppy, grey waves, and more perfectly chilled kayaking waves that reflect the very blue sky. It’s time to get stocked up in the sunscreen! |
| Prompt: Have you ever bought something because you felt sorry for it but secretly wanted it? *** Probably... though it probably isn't a secret. I'm easy to read. Very few things are a secret with me. I have a habit of placing emotional attachment on inanimate objects. This doesn't lead me to buy things because I feel sorry for it, although I will admit to buying the 'full set' because I don't want the others to feel left out, or because it's the last one....; but in all honesty, this is just my excuse for buying more sh!t that I don't need. It does frequently lead to me hanging on to things for far too long. I have the habit of finding things that many others would find ugly or twisted appealing, such as clothes, artwork, or pieces of furniture. I like the weird and quirky. Somethings are just so ugly that they are cute. But I can see the beauty in them. I think most people on WDC are the same, I think it's an author's trait - to see beyond the obvious. My husband will often look at me and say, "You want to buy it, don't you." - "Yes... yes my love, I will be buying the weird and wonderful thing." I love TKMaxx - especially at Halloween. A lot of the stuff there is seconds, with something not quite right with it. I like to can the broken things and make new things out of it. Could that me classed as buying something because I felt sorry for it? Maybe. I also hate buying things on their own - I have to buy them in twos or threes. Threes is my preference. Clusters look good in threes, or fives - never fours. I can live with twos to balance stuff out. |
| Prompt: "My work is the embodiment of dreams in one form or another." William Morris *** Or nightmares… I guess you could argue that they are still dreams. My work does not, in any way, shape, or form, embody my ‘nice’ dreams. I like my job. I’m good at what I do. But it is not a dream. It is a means to an end – the end being a roof over my head and food in my kids' bellies. My dreams are very separate to my job. Although, when I’m stressed it does pop up in my sleeping thoughts/subconscious. I would love to be an author – to create – but that’s because I love to write. But would it still be my dream if I had to do it? Would the fun if there were deadlines and publishing contracts? Most of my crazy plots come from my dreams/daydreams, so perhaps it’s a circular statement. |
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Funny about Florida. And I think you did hit on a fact, there. 
