nichepoetryandprose

poetry and prose about place

Coming in April: A Book Fair for the Moncton Area

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April will be a welcome month for book lovers!

Come to the First Annual Greater Moncton/Riverview/Dieppe Independent Book Fair.

30 tables, 38 authors! Lots and lots of books!

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I will be there with all my books:

Kaye Eliot Mysteries,

Meniscus Science Fiction,

award-winning poetry

and, for the first time,

a children’s book!

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Wink in the Rain is about an elf who lives at the edge of a garden.

Wink loves the garden but he does not like the rain.

Visit with Wink and his friends as he finds a way to keep his wings dry.

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I often include black and white drawings in my books

but the drawings for Wink in the Rain needed lots of colour.

I used GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) to draw Wink, the plants in the garden,

the raindrops and Wink’s friend, the red-backed salamander.

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I will be showing Wink in the Rain for the first time at the Greater Moncton Independent Book Fair.

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Write the date in your calendar now: April 22nd. 10am – 4pm. Riverview Lions Community Center.

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If you are an author who’d like to participate in the Book Fair, please contact Allan Hudson at gmrdbookfair@gmail.com for details and registration.

Stay tuned for more about the Book Fair

and

Wink in the Rain!

All my best,

Jane

Written by jane tims

March 6, 2023 at 7:00 pm

New Science Fiction book! Meniscus: Return to Sintha

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It’s out!

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Meniscus: Return to Sintha

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You can order it now from Amazon.ca, in both paperback and e-book, here.

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Return to Sintha is the twelfth book in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series and number three in the Rosetta Stone Trilogy (beginning with Meniscus: Rosetta Stone). Abra, historian, uncovers a mystery in an ancient Dock-winder text and sets out to deliver the secret to all the populations of Prell-nan District on Meniscus.

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Also, Book Two in the Trilogy, Meniscus: The Struggle, is now available in e-book form.

Just click here.

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If you want to get a local paperback copy of Meniscus: Return to Sintha, I will have my order of paperback books no later than March 24 and after that they will be available from Dog Eared Books in Oromocto and Westminster Books in Fredericton. I will also have copies of all the Meniscus books at the Greater Moncton Riverview Dieppe Independent Book Fair at the Riverview Lions Club……. on Saturday April 22, 2023! I would love to see you there.

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All my best,

Alexandra (a.k.a. Jane)

Written by jane tims

March 4, 2023 at 9:51 am

Meniscus: Return to Sintha … meet the characters

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I have completed the final edits of my new book Meniscus: Return to Sintha and my beta reader’s comments are in. The book is heading towards its publication in early March, under my pen name Alexandra Tims.

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For this post, I will introduce you to some of the characters in the book. If you are a reader of the series, you will already know many of these characters, but some are new.

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In the book, Abra and Drag-on set out on a journey to deliver critical information about the Dock-winders to every population centre in the Prell-nan District of planet Meniscus. Abra’s friends, Tagret and Rist, set out in the opposite direction to help with the distribution of the information. The information will, they hope, end the Dock-winder hegemony, the enslavement of Humans and the indenture of Gel-Heads. That word ‘hegemony’ is known to me because my son is a political science major, but it may not be familiar to everyone:

hegemony: leadership or dominance, especially by one country or social group over others.

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The main characters in the book are:

Abra: historian, who studies the languages of aliens on Meniscus; married to the Slain, Trath, she lives in the abandoned Museum in Prell-nan;

Trath: a Slain, a dealer in the illegal drug bellwort and an addict; Abra’s husband;

Drag-on: an alien native to the planet; looks like a forkful of spaghetti without the fork; telepathic and friendly to Humans;

Tagret: chemist, brought to slavery on Meniscus and freed by the Slain, Rist, who is now her companion;

Rist: a Slain, a courier, once married to a Gel-head named Semala; now companion to Tagret;

Semala: a Gel-head and Rist’s wife; died in an accident on the road to Sintha but she still haunts Rist and Tagret.

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In each city, our heroes must find the small group of Humans who work for the Resistance.

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The Resistance includes:

Aella: known as The Whirlwind, the one-woman resistance in Enbricktow;

Di-gett’ath Roth’: The Blood-Let, resistance movement in Prell;

Ora-nen Uth: Curfew Dark, resistance movement in Sintha, a spirited group who meet in the darkest of alleyways;

Ora-toll: Light Tunnel, resistance movement in Nebul-nan;

Marneth Hath-arnthe Shadow Builders, resistance movement in Bleth-nan, includes the triplets, Twilla, Titha and Trill who talk in their own secret language;

In De’men, the only resistance is a group of three street-sweepers;

In Tre’men, the only resistance is a wizened Gel-head named Weddle.

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Now that you know some of the characters in Meniscus: Return to Sintha, I hope you will read the book, to find out what happens and if the information changes the hegemony on planet Meniscus.

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On the release date, I’ll let you know where the book will be available. If you want to catch up on the series, you could begin at the first book in the Return to Sintha Trilogy — Meniscus: Rosetta Stone, available at Westminster Books in Fredericton, Dog Eared Books in Oromocto or on Amazon.ca.

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All my best,

Alexandra (a.k.a. Jane)

Written by jane tims

February 19, 2023 at 3:19 pm

Taking part in the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s ‘Small Acts of Conservation’

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As part of an effort to enjoy these last days of winter and take a mindful approach to experiencing winter-bound nature, I have joined the Nature Conservancy Canada ‘Small Acts of Conservation Challenge.’

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The first unit in the challenge is ‘Explore a Winter Wonderland.’ I don’t do as much hiking as I once did, mostly due to the arthritis in my knees. However, we have a large property and lots of opportunities to take a walk in winter.

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One of my favorite short walks in the woods is a roundabout we completed last summer. The Rocky Road lets us turn around safely in our driveway. The roundabout is in the woods and driving through it is like a mini-exploration: there are birds to see since our feeders are nearby; there are always lots of animal tracks (deer, red and grey squirrel, mice, rabbit); in summer, we can see mosses, ferns, wetland plants, various shrubs and tree species (white pine, balsam fir, spruce, red maple and red oak).

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Although the Rocky Road is part of our driveway, it is also meant as a hiking path where I can walk safely, using a cane or my walker if needed. It is part of the ‘rocky road’ project started many years ago and described on this blog https://janetims.com/2011/11/13/plans-for-a-rocky-road/

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The first unit in the Nature Conservancy Challenge is ‘to follow trail etiquette and learn how you can stay safe during winter hikes.’

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Before I took the unit, I brainstormed what I knew about rules for the trail:

  • leave only tracks, take away nothing but photos;
  • follow the trail and limit incursions into wild areas;
  • move slowly and deliberately and do not fall;
  • use all your senses — seeing, hearing, smell, taste, touch
  • focus on the ground but don’t forget to look upward and outward.

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The Nature Conservancy says:

  • Enjoy the peace and quiet, and be respectful of others and the wildlife around you;
  • Minimize your impact. Stay on the trail and pack out what you pack in;
  • Respect nature. Take pictures only, and leave flowers, plants, rocks and wood behind for the enjoyment of others and for the integrity of the local ecosystem.

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To help me with my explorations of our rocky trail, I have found my book on identifying animal tracks in winter. Next time, I’ll follow the Nature Conservancy’s suggestion to use iNaturalist to help identify plants and animals I see on the trail.

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All my Best

Jane

Written by jane tims

February 6, 2023 at 12:35 pm

New science fiction book: Why visit the planet Meniscus?

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The next book in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series, Return to Sintha, will be here in March. Perhaps you’d like to know why you would want to visit Meniscus??? No, it is not a part of the knee, but a planet out there among the stars. The word ‘meniscus’ refers to its meaning as the ‘curved upper surface of a liquid in a tube’ and refers to the way water behaves (mis-behaves) on the alien planet.

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When you read, do you love:

  • adventure – lots of action and danger?
  • a short read (all the Meniscus stories are about 20,000 words or less)?
  • an interesting setting – lots of alien species, plant and animal?
  • an alien language with a dictionary and in-text translation of what the aliens are saying?
  • a bit of romance – not explicit, but relationships front and centre?
  • following the action with a map? and a glossary of alien terms for plant life, wild life and measurement?
  • an annotated list of all the characters in the Series?

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There are twelve previous titles in the Meniscus Series. You could start anywhere, but I recommend beginning with Crossing the Churn, Oral Traditions or Rosetta Stone.

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In my next post, I will talk a little about the setting of Return to Sintha and some of its main characters.

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All my Best,

Jane Tims (a.k.a. Alexandra)

Written by jane tims

February 3, 2023 at 6:29 pm

Next in the Meniscus Series: Cover Painting

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A new year and there will soon be a new book in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series! Meniscus: Return to Sintha is also the third in the Trilogy of Rosetta Stone/ The Struggle/ Return to Sintha. In the Trilogy, Abra, historian, translates an ancient Dock-winder manuscript and discovers a secret that could end the evil domination of the Dock-winders on the planet Meniscus. Meniscus: Return to Sintha reveals this secret and what happens when it is spread to every city on the planet.

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The new book begins with a scene that began many of the relationships and story threads in the Meniscus series. The Prologue tells the story of an adventure twenty years before when three Slain (Daniel, Rist and Belnar) and two women, one a Human (Meghan) and one a Gel-head (Semala), travelled the road to the town of Sintha with a kemet (a striped horse-like animal) and a cart. What happens during their trek along the road changes all their lives forever.

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One of the symbols introduced in the story is the ‘yellow ribbon’ given to Semala by Rist. Later Rist gives the same ribbon to his new love Tagret when they travel to Nebul-nan. The ribbon is lost in the Vastness as they try to escape the attack of a clear-snake. In the newest book, Abra spots the ribbon on the beach near Nebul-nan and ties it to a stick to dry. The ribbon is a symbol of Rist’s love for Semala (a Gel-head) and the effect the early relationship has on Rist and Tagret’s romance.

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By the way, there is a small logic problem with the ribbon in the drawing below. If you are the first to discover the problem and describe it in the comments, you will win a free copy of Meniscus: Return to Sintha!!!!!!

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The cover for the new book also depicts the yellow ribbon and the adventure on the road to Sintha. As with all the Meniscus book covers, the two moons, Cardoth roe and Cardoth grill-en, are depicted, shining in the Meniscus night.

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Discover another logic problem in the painting and you will win a copy of any book in the Meniscus Series, your choice.

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Meniscus: Return to Sintha will be out in early March, once I have done a final edit and my beta-reader has had a chance to have a look at the book.

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I love writing the Meniscus books and hope my readers will enjoy this one. The stories show how Humans, faced with the worst of challenges, can find the strength and ingenuity to prevail, build families and communities, and change for the better. And the stories show, as ancient Argenop wisdom says: “We may look different but we are all the same.”

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Enjoy whatever you are reading today and perhaps give these tales of the planet Meniscus a try. So far, there are eleven books in the Series but it is best to start reading at Meniscus: Crossing the Churn, Meniscus: Oral Traditions or Meniscus: Rosetta Stone.

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All my best

Alexandra (a.k.a. Jane)

Written by jane tims

January 25, 2023 at 7:00 am

making November warm #5

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I can watch birds any time of year of course. But, to me, November seems made for bird watching. Just seeing those tiny birds gobble up the various types of seed, makes me realize how lucky I am to be sheltered and warm on the bitterest of days.

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I do not feed the birds until November. In part, this is to reduce the chance of spreading the various viruses that plague the wild birds. This year, I discarded all my old feeders and found feeders that did not feature sitting surfaces. I think it is better for the birds to land and leave. Flat platforms gather moisture and breed pathogens. The new sunflower feeder has narrow wire perches and no way to sit among the seeds. I also feed with nyjer seed and that feeder also has no perches, just small holes where the birds can pull fresh seeds from the tube.

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We have a variety of birds at our feeders. I love the chickadees. They are greedy feeders, preferring the sunflower seed. They seem timid, landing only long enough to grab and go. But they often squabble with their own and other species.

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I also like the little nuthatches. This year we have both red-breasted and white-breasted nuthatches. They feed happily together. The red-breasted nuthatches will store seed in tree crevices. I have seen them poke seeds under the shingles of our house!

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We also have a small group of blue jays who love sunflower seeds and various types of finches who go after the nyjer seed. I do not see the diversity of birds I saw thirty years ago when we first fed the birds here. I think some of that is due to the large number of bird feeders in our area.

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The birds I would love to see at our feeders are the Canada jays. Forty years ago when I was working on the draft of my thesis up in our attic rooms, the grey jays, also called whiskey jacks, would come and say hello and eat scraps from my hand. The other bird I have never seen at our feeders (or anywhere) is the cardinal. My husband has seen them in our grey woods, but I have yet to add a cardinal to my Life List.

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All my best.

Stay warm!

Jane

Written by jane tims

November 23, 2022 at 7:00 am

still writing

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When I retired in 2012, I had my next phase of life well-planned. I had applied for a Creations grant and so stepped right into writing my first book. Since then, in ten years, I have published seven poetry books, twelve science fiction books and four Kaye Eliot Mysteries. Two of the poetry books were published with Chapel Street Editions; the rest, I have published myself with Kindle Direct, learning the formatting process as I go.

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I still have a few books waiting in the wings, including three books in my upcoming Writers Retreat Mysteries and five novellas in an Urban Adventure Series. I also have the poems for at least three more poetry collections, including one about ‘sounds in nature’ to be published by Chapel Street Editions next year. And I have new ideas all the time.

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At present, I am completing my first non-fiction book, a history of my great-grandmother Ella (Hawk) Norman (Ella:1859-1933). Ella began her life as one of the Pennsylvania Deutch, the community of German immigrants to Pennsylvania established in the 1700s. As an adult, Ella traveled to the west and spent years in Laramie, Wyoming, where she married, and Denver, Colorado where she built a life for herself and her young son.

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The book includes the research done by me and by my aunt, Dr. Jane Margaret Norman. Genealogy is a unique type of writing because the work can never be truly completed. There is so much still to learn about Ella and new tools, such as DNA analysis, are helping to add to her story. However, I have enough information to publish the book. Only a few more edits to go.

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The audience for this book will include Ella’s descendants and relatives in her Family Tree, as well as other genealogists who are interested in my methods. I have also included a creative element, a series of poems written as a tribute to Ella and her family.

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I think the book will also be of interest to those curious about ‘women’s history.’ Ella was one of those brave folks who traveled west in the 1880s at a time when the railroad made travel to the west more accessible than ever before. Her sister, Sadie Hawk, who was a big part of her life, was an example of a single woman who supported herself in a day when women had few rights and were at a disadvantage in a world where women were expected to marry.

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I have completed the painting for the cover of the book. The lower part of the image, a garden of columbines and poppies, represents the security of home in Pennsylvania. Ella stands at the edge of the garden path in silhouette, looking toward the west and the mountains near Laramie, Wyoming. My Uncle Francis who knew Ella, his grandmother, told me Ella never forgot the west after she returned to Pennsylvania and always planned to return some day.

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I wish you well with your own endeavors. If you are a writer, what projects are you working on and what stage in the process most intrigues you? If you are interested in your own family history, what ancestor interests you the most and why? If you are a reader, perhaps you will try one of my books, or look forward to the release of Ella-1859 to 1933.

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All my best!

Jane

Written by jane tims

November 21, 2022 at 7:20 am

making November warm #4

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Warm inside – warm all over!

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Various times in my life I have attended conferences or eaten in hotels where they have a tea caddy. Opening it is like opening a treasure chest. Perhaps you will find Earl Grey, or Orange Pekoe, or Camomile or Red Zinger. Happiness and warmth in a tea-bag!

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When I designed my kitchen, it was one of the first things I made for myself – a wooden box that opened to a wide selection of teas.

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I love coffee, but as a rule, when I am at home, it is a cup of tea I crave. I like a tea that is mild, a little sweet, with a nutty flavour. I love the fragrance of tea as it steeps and that tea occupies at least 2 of the senses, taste and smell. I also love the feeling of warmth from the inside-out. Tea is the perfect drink for November.

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There are rituals for making the perfect cup of tea, but my approach is simple. I start with cold water from our well, bring it to a boil, pour it into one of my favourite cups and then add the tea bag. I let it steep for 2 minutes and then remove the bag and add milk. No sugar in my tea.

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I use a special cup for my tea, one of those given to me by a friend over the years. She may recognize the cups she has gifted me and know who she is.

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So, if I am chilly this November, a cup of tea will make me warm.

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All my best!

I hope you’ll join me in drinking a cup of tea!

Jane

Written by jane tims

November 20, 2022 at 7:00 am

Posted in strategies for winter

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making November warm #3

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One way to keep warm is to expend energy.

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The cold days are perfect for housekeeping projects. I am a collector and my house is overflowing. I am trying to downsize, make my world a little easier to navigate. During November, I want to attend to my kitchen, to return it to the beautiful space it was meant to be.

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A few years ago, we decided to open the wall of a closet to make a throughway between our bedroom and bathroom. To do this, the closet had to be emptied and all of the closet contents ended up in the kitchen!

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Our kitchen is quite large, 14′ by 14′. It has white cupboards with green knobs, faux-granite countertops and a grey faux-stone floor. As I did with other rooms in the house, I decorated the kitchen according to a theme. Strawberries! A thin decorative border of strawberries, leaves and berries, runs around the room about a foot from the ceiling.

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The curtains are white with tiny red dots. I have a ceramic cookie jar shaped like a strawberry and a set of vintage cans with the same motif.

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On the wall is a strawberry cross-stitch started by my grandmother and finished by me.

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The wooden top to my dish-washing machine is painted with strawberries and my dishes are mostly (you guessed it) strawberry themed.

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Sounds nice, right? Not so much. There are so many things crammed into the kitchen, you would be hard-pressed to name the theme!

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So part of my ‘keeping warm’ in November is to empty my kitchen of non-kitchen things.

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My process is:

Make a plan for the next day: identify the item to be removed;

Dust and clean the item;

Decide if it is to be kept, discarded or given to a second-hand charity;

Move it to the appropriate place.

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So far, I have tackled a large Coleman cooler, my suitcase collection and a tote filled with swimming pool supplies. It is hard for me to let go of things. The Coleman cooler was easy to give away: we have another, newer cooler. The suitcases were harder; they included a set my husband gave me when I traveled so much in the 1980s. In the end, I decided to let them go; I have a smaller, newer suitcase. The pool supplies were harder. We don’t have a pool, but they include a beautiful inflatable palm tree. Every woman needs a beautiful inflatable palm tree. The tote remains in the corner of the kitchen.

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Next I need to remove several items under the kitchen table. They include: the above-mentioned strawberry canister set; a tote of items collected for use at our camp; a set of plastic fruit that once belonged to my Mom. Any guesses which of these may be kept, discarded or given away????

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Cleaning the kitchen will work in two ways to warm November:

1. the activity will be warming as I expend energy

2. making the decisions about keeping, discarding or giving away will take so much thought,

I will forget all about being cold.

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All my best!

Stay warm!

Jane

Written by jane tims

November 16, 2022 at 7:00 am

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