Happy Anniversary

Wow, I've been doing this for one whole week!   I know it doesn't sound like much, but I've been contemplating, visualizing, mentally writing and generally fussing over this blog for over a year!  I have always wanted to write a blog, but was late jumping on to the bandwagon.  From what I understand, the wagon has actually turned into a facebook page, and then into a 120 character tweet, which leaves no room for expressing yourself in detail.  Oh, the joys of technology!

First I had to come up with a name.  This was really difficult because I didn't want to reveal too much, nor too little.  I 'm not particularly exciting, and my few hobbies are hardly breath taking or awe inspiring.  I do love and collect owls.  Ceramic, wood, stone, paper, or feather, all are admired and displayed.  However, owls don't reflect what I do, my interests, or who I am.  I don't have any owl tattoos, and although owls are considered wise, they are not avid fiction readers.  Besides, any cool owl blog names I could think of were already taken.

I didn't want to come up with a cutesy blog name, because although I am a mother I am far from being a yummy mummy.  Once your children are taller than you and shaving, any mistakes that you may have made will require years of expensive therapy, not application of a cute little bunny shaped boo-boo sponge.  Any questionable habits will be corrected by their spouse, and you'll probably hear about that too.  They say that women raise their sons to be the men they wish they'd married, which doesn't mean that the women they marry will appreciate the effort that went into housebreaking them in the first place.  I have no claim to be the best mother in the world, but I did try my best with the information available to me at the time.  This blog may mention my family peripherally, but they are not the focus of my writing.

This blog is my soapbox.  My opportunity to voice my opinions and viewpoints.  To explain why I dye my hair purple and cultivate a cheerful attitude.  To try and share all the things that tickle my funny bone, and that I may not remember to tell anyone else.  Eventually I hope to hear from people who read the blog, so that we can laugh at the ridiculous together, share amazing books amongst ourselves and just not take life too seriously.


I was afraid that I would run out of things to say, but of course its early days yet.  I thought that I wouldn't have enough discipline to write something every day, but so far I've really enjoyed planning what to say next.  I am exercising my brain, and sitting down every day to communicate with the outer world.  If someone else reads and enjoys it, I am thrilled to pieces.  As long as I have a space where I can express myself, and the willpower to continue writing I have succeeded beyond my expectations.  This is a baby step, which will inevitably lead to larger steps, and then one day I'll take over the world, just like Pinky and the Brain.

They say that middle aged women are among the strongest demographic in the world in terms of financial buying power and influence.  However, the advertising, dress design and cosmetic industry focus on younger, attractive women.  Why, for instance, do they have twenty year old women gazing at their non-existent wrinkles and trying to sell me a magical potion to make me look younger?  And why are all the clothes either too tight, too short, or very ugly colours?  But that's another blog.  Or two.  And, even when my makeup is perfectly applied and I'm attractively dressed I'm generally overlooked in public until I thank someone for opening a door for me.  Oh, maybe that's why I dye my hair purple?  Certainly I either get a smile and a nod, or people's eyes slide over me and then flash back when they think I'm not looking, to be sure what they really saw.

Today I've been sidetracked from "Late Eclipses" by Seanan McGuire.  Although I'm still really enjoying the series, my Kobo needs to be recharged.  In the meantime I'm reading "The Next Ex" by Linda L. Richards.  It was blurbed by Laura Lippman, who is another author I read regularly, so I thought I'd give it a try.  So far I'm enjoying it.  The protagonist is a female stock broker who has left the New York city rat race and is enjoying life as a day trader in southern California.  It certainly is a completely different world, and the plot is starting to thicken nicely but the story is still totally believable.