It’s the little things…

Almost since the day we married, hubs and I have always been big on celebrating our wins. Back in the day, we celebrated with weekends away, foreign holidays, meals out, new clothes … you get the drift. Since I started writing to get published, we’ve marked each book release with luxury chocolate and a bottle of champagne (I save the corks!)

Well, times change… Although we still celebrate our wins, the way we choose to do so has kind of morphed into, shall we say, more prosaic means. Vivvy is a huge part of our lives now and neither of us enjoy leaving her for very long, although we have the very best friends who look after her for us – in fact, Viv can barely contain her excitement when we roll up to their house and she shoots out of the car without barely a backward glance for mum and dad. Typical! But since we miss her so much when we’re away, we tend not to want to go away that much, so the holidays and city breaks have taken a backseat, celebration wise.

Not that the actual celebrations have waned. If anything, we find more to celebrate as we get older, or that maybe because we look for any excuse since we found our new celebratory purchase 🙂

Belgiun buns!

They’re our new addiction. We’ll celebrate anything … a day when it doesn’t rain, bin collection day, garden waste disposal day, grocery shopping day, when the window cleaner comes day, daylight saving day … you name it 🙂 In fact, getting my blog post up on time today calls for celebration…

We buy ours from the bakery, but here’s the recipe for you cooks out there: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/belgian-buns

Books, Books, and more Books

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We have had one of the weirdest weather patterns this year. I know from the news and friends that it isn’t just here in Arizona. And, getting it in perspective, most of the time I’m loving the weather here at … Continue reading →

Going Back

I can hardly believe we are almost a third of the way through 2023. It’s scary when I consider what I have or haven’t achieved so far this year. With all that has gone on (nursing and worrying over my 97-year-old mum, looking after Dave pre and post his hip replacement, weeks without a washing machine, and so on) I’ve surprised myself by finally getting back into editing mode with my novel, two successful paintings completed, with another in progress, and one not so complete but will be soon.

What I have had problems with is reading. Considering how much I used to read, even known on Amazon as “AvidReader”, no matter what I started, I could not finish, either losing interest, the story didn’t engage me, or I was too tired to read anything. Most unlike me, normally having 2 if not 3 books on the go: 1 for reading in bed; another when there’s nothing decent on television, which is often; and in the summer, 1 in the garden. But for the past few months I can hold my hand up and say nothing I pick up inspires me to continue.

Truth is, I missed reading and determined to retrieve my lost mojo. Like my music tastes, I enjoy many genres but autobiographies are not ones I generally turn to. I can count on my hand the few that I have read: The Moon’s a Balloon, and Bring on the Empty Horses by David Niven; one about the composer Claude Debussy; and 2 years ago the autobiography of a close childhood friend, Peter Beaven, Director of Music at the Royal Military Chapel, Sandhurst, who sadly passed away suddenly this January.

Chance would have it, good old Amazon flashed up an autobiography on special offer. It was for Not Dead Yet, by Phil Collins, the singer/songwriter/drummer/actor. I enjoy his music and singing, and knew Phil came from my home town in West London. But apart from his music, that’s all I did know about him. Curious, I bought the book.

Although I am still reading it (I’m half-way through), I am so pleased I did. I learned that Phil, 2 years older than me, grew up a few streets away, his mother worked in a toy shop I knew well (I was probably served by her), and that teenage Phil frequented the same clubs, pubs bars and nightclubs I did. It is quite possible we were there at the same time on occasion.

Reading about familiar places and haunts, streets, cafes, incidents I remember came to life again, going back in time. He talks about the background to many of his songs and albums, the highs and lows of touring, his marriages and divorces, his children including the actress Lily Collins, how the music industry has changed since the 1970s, the concerts, the other bands and musicians he’s played with. His part in the film Buster, about the 1960s Great Train Robbery. His writing style is relaxed and full of humour, wit and sometimes with a sadness. In reading, it is his voice you hear, speaking as he would directly to you in normal conversation. I’m loving it. So much so, each night this week I’ve gone to bed early in order to delve into the world of music and rock&roll and visit memory lane.

My reading mojo has returned. Yay!

Kit Domino’s websites and blogs

Happy Spring Forward

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I’m laughing at my subject line. I hate spring forward. It drives me crazy. If you live in a place you don’t have to change your clocks that’s great. I missed a few months. Sorry about that. I didn’t have … Continue reading →

Souvenirs

If you travel, do you pick up souvenirs as you go? It used to be, when I traveled, I picked up something for each of the kids, then each of the grandkids, as well as cool stuff for our home, so that I’d have reminders of the wonderful trips we’ve taken.

Then our family exploded in size. We have 5 children (plus partners), 10 grandchildren, and are about to welcome our 3^rd great-grandchild. I can’t leave enough empty room in my suitcase for that many gifts! As well, the bank account would take a significant hit. I love every single one of our family, but there came a point where no one got a “My grandparents went to [insert destination here] and all I got was this lousy t-shirt” gifts. Lol.

Nowadays, hubby and I are old enough that we’re more into downsizing than clutter. We still travel, and still shop, but buying something for the house has to be purposeful and meaningful. For instance, last year we remodeled our family room. Pictures ended up in different spots and we had a place where we needed to buy something to go there. So, while in Alaska on a cruise, we bought the art pictured below.

And, when we took a road trip to Mt. Rushmore, where I based my Earth Legacy dystopian fantasy series, I bought a coffee mug. It’s the perfect size and I use it 6 days out of every week, so it’s very useful.

I can see why destinations encourage younger people to visit. They haven’t yet filled their house with knickknacks like we have. While we’re not done traveling (I hope) we tend to leave our money in restaurants more than gift shops these days. Or spend it on experiences. Making memories is what it’s really all about, right?

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