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[gigya width=”120″ height=”240″ src=”A dark and scary night. A true story.
A dark and scary night. A true story.
by Janice Seagraves
It really is true, and it just happened Saturday night.
I was reading a book, rain pitter-patted outside and thunder rolled in the distance. While I reached an intense part of my paranormal novel (the heroine was getting chased around by a demon), I heard . . .
Boom, boom, boom against the security door.
I gasped, my eyes darting to the window.
A pair of bright yellow eyes stared back at me.
I clutched the arm of my couch in panic. My heart hitting a painful rhythm against my rib cage.
“Who-who’s there?” I asked in a shaking voice, feeling like I had just swallowed a lump of ice.
V
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V
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Meow.
Oh, crap. It’s just the cat.
Thursday’s Thirteen: Ancient beauty tips
Thirteen ancient beauty tips of the old world.
1. Lovely ladies of the Middle East used to grind up lead – which causes metal poisoning – and apply it to their lashes, eyebrows and eyelids.
2. In ancient Babylonia, unwanted facial hair was sanded off with a rough pumice stone.
3. Women in Edwardian England would gladly swallow a slimy tapeworm to keep themselves slim and trim. The parasite would digest most of the food the women ate, and it also destroyed their health.
4. Eating arsenic was another way to achieve beauty discovered by Englishwomen. The deadly poison – used in the 19th century – gave the skin an interesting glow while it shortened the life span.
5.Beautiful blonde highlights in the hair were achieved by Venetian ladies who poured lion urine on their tresses before sitting out in the sun.
6. Early Japanese geishas and Kabuki actors used nightingale droppings to remove the thick make-up from their faces.
7. Roman ladies rubbed brown seaweed on their faces as rouge, which did them no harm. But the white powder made from lead they rubbed on their faces gave them a slow death by lead poisoning as surely as it delighted their admirers.
8. Italian ladies of the past used to apply deadly nightshade to enhance their eyes. The poison dilates the pupils and makes people’s peepers look enormous and glowing.
9. Arabian ladies loved sleek and shiny hair, so they used camel urine to dip their raven-black hair in.
10. In the England of Queen Elizabeth I, great beauties of the time owed the rich red color of their lips to bugs. The squashed remains of insects were rubbed on the mouth for a ruby-red luster.
11. Face painting with white lead powder was also popular in Elizabeth’s time. The beautysecret caused the premature demise of a number of 16th century lovelies.
12. Crocodile dung made into a paste with donkey’s milk kept Cleopatra’s skin looking lovely in the Egyptian heat. She used it as a face mask – when Caesar wasn’t around.
13. In the early 10th century, emperor Li Yu of the Southern Tang dynasty in China ordered one of his slave girls to bind her feet in silk ribbons and dance on a platform littered with golden lotus flowers. From that day on, foot binding was often associated with the term golden lotus. At first, foot binding was something practiced only by those within the royal court but soon women of all social classes were eager to have dainty, “beautiful” and desirable feet.
This puts an new spin on the good ol’ days doesn’t it?
Aren’t you glad we live in this century where we just starves ourselves for beauty?
Thursday Thirteen: Strine
Most people are making their new years resolutions tonight, but of course I have to be different.
In my first book, Windswept Shores, which will be out in 2/4/20 my hero Seth is an Aussie. So of course I have him speak with a lot of slang or what they call in Austrilia strine.
Here is thirteen Aussie slang words, in no particular order:
- G’day–good day, a greeting. Usually conbine with . . .
- Mate–a buddy, or best friend, or someone you just met and don’t know their name yet, and you greet them with “G’day, mate.”
- Your shout–if you value your life, you will buy the next round of drinks.
- Brekky–the first meal of the day.
- Tea–the last meal of the day.
- Bloke–a man who you don’t know.
- Shelia–a woman, but its old and not use a lot anymore except by . . .
- Oldies–your parents, or old folks. Used by those under seventeen for anyone over the age of twenty.
- Chook–chicken, yes the kind that clucks.
- College–a private school, usually High School not collage in states or . . .
- Uni–University, or what we call collage in the states.
- Tucker–food, that stuff you tuck into your belly or tucker sack.
- Owsyerottenbleedinluckeh–Thought to be the longest word in the Austrialian language, it translates as things are not turning out as planned.
Thursday’s Thirteen: Night Before Christmas
Thursday’s thirteen, I had a little fun with:
THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS 1. ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even our house cats. 
The stockings were hung way away from the fire.
(What you want to see my house on fire?)
2. Our only daughter had staked out the living room,
In hopes of photographing Saint Nick.
4. And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
(Who the hell wears those things anymore?)
And my hubby had just passed out. And I worked on my edit on Windswept Shore, while visions of a best seller danced in my head.
5. When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
Away to the window I flew like a flash. (Oh Come on I amble over.)
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
(We have an old house it has sashes.)
The moon was hidden behind a thick veil of fog, frost glittered in the what little light came through the opened window.
When, what to my squinting eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer, and an emu
(Yes he’s back and Santa has him)
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
6. More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
“Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Emu!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”
7. As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
(I think they just ruined my roof.)
8. As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the old stove pipe attached to my heater St. Nicholas came with a bound.
(Breaking and entering, tisk tisk.)
9. He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
(He tracked up my living room, darn the little jerk.)
10. A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
His eyes — how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
(I think Santa has taken up drinking.)
11. His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
(Making asthma act up, and I coughed and wheezed.)
12. He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.
(Santa needs to go on a diet.)
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
(Too much caffeine huh?)
Too much cappachino he told me.
13. And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
and bumped his head into my ceiling. (He forgot I don’t have a chimney.)
He staggered out to his sleigh, (after I opened the door) to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.”
Thursday’s Thirteen: Veterans Day
Thursday’s thirteen: Veterans Day.
Today (well technically yesterday) across our country, Americans will pause to honor the men and women who have served and are serving in this country’s military forces.
1. Veterans Day was originally observed as Armistice Day in honor of the end of WWI fighting on 11/11/1918 at 11am.
2. Armistice Day (now Veterans Day) was observed as a yearly moment of silence at 11/11 at 11am. It became an official holiday and day off for most folks in 1938 and in 1954 was expanded to include all US veterans not just those who served in WWI.
3. Veterans Day is an annual American holiday honoring military veterans. Both a federal holiday and a state holiday in all states, it is usually observed on November 11.
4. World War I ended 91 years ago, in 1918, and only one American soldier is still alive, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. His name is Frank Woodruff Buckles, born in 1901 in Missouri. He went on to also serve in World War II, where he was captured by the Japanese and spent three years in a prison camp before being rescued.
5. The last surviving female WWI veteran died in 2007. She lived to be 109 years old, and was buried with full military honors.
6. Today in America, we have fewer than than 2 million World War II veterans still with us. We are losing these men and women at the rate of approximately 11,000-12,000 a week. Unfortunately, in another five years, we will have lost most of the “greatest generation.”
7. 33% of living US veterans (7.8 million) served during the Vietnam war.
8. 3.4 million Veterans are living with a service-related disability.
9. Veteran: one who had served in the armed forces.
10. Veteran’s day is the day that celebrates in memory of the Armistice, ending World War I in 1918. It honors the veterans of the armed forces.
11. November 11, Veterans Day is celebrated in the U.S and in France. Called Armistice Day in Belgium, French Guiana, and Tahiti. And Remembrance Day in Canada and Burma.
12. When knights in armor rode past their king, they raised their visors to identify themselves. This custom eventually became the military salute.
13. As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. –John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Thursday’s Thirteen: What says Halloween?
Halloween: as my daughter drapes my house in its Halloween splendor, I thought what really says Halloween?
1. Jack-o-lanterns?
1. Jack-o-lanterns?
2. Scarecrows?
3. Black cats?
3. Black cats?4. Fake webbing?
5. Little bitty chocolate bars?
6. Horror movies?
7. Costumes?8. Sculls?
7. Costumes?8. Sculls?
9. The colors black and orange?
10. Ghosts?
11. Bowls and bags filled with cheep candy?
12. The smell of warm (or burning) pumpkins mixed with candle wax on
Halloween night?
13. Little kids screaming tick-or-treat!
What says Halloween to you?
What says Halloween to you?
Thursday’s Thirteen: October’s to do list
Since its October first or nearly at this posting, here are thirteen things for October in no particular order.
I would have posted some photos but my internet service is acting funny.
1. Setting out the autumn decorations.
2. Getting out and decorating for Halloween. It’s not the same decorations as the autumn ones.
3. Raking fall leaves. I really hate this chore. We have sycamore trees, they have big leaves. Lots and lots of them.
4. Dusting the house and getting it ready, so I can shut all the windows for the cold season.
5. Picking out a pumpkin. I don’t do this quite so much now that my daughter is older.
6. Pulling out the spent spring flowers and planting fall bulbs or more mums.
7. Cleaning out my planters and planting some fall flowers.
8. Putting away all the shorts and summer clothes. Then digging out of the back of my closet for my long sleeve blouses and long pants. Cool weather clothes, oh how I miss thee.
9. Costume making time. My daughter has taken over this chore. She’s too old for trick-or-treating, but there’s an Ani-jam on Halloween that’s she’ll be attending. She won third place in the last one for her costume she had made.
10. Buying Halloween candy. We don’t get trick-or-treaters, we live too far out of town but I buy them for my small family. We like candy. 🙂
11. This year it’s on us for my daughter’s senior year school picture. It all has to be done by October 15th.
12. Get sign up for the Nanowritmo (National Novel Writer’s Month). It’s always a crazy month for me, but for the last three years I have finished in time with a 50,000 word novel.
13. Celebrate my hubby’s Birthday. His B-day is on the 29th.
Thursday’s Thirteen: Fall colors
Thirteen colors of Fall.
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1. Grass-Green
1. Grass-Green
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2. Light green of faded sycamore leaves.
2. Light green of faded sycamore leaves.
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3. Olive green of dry leaves.
3. Olive green of dry leaves.
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4. Red of maple leaves.
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4. Red of maple leaves.
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5. Gold of a fully mature Sunflower just ready to pick.
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6. Burgundy of mock cherry leaves.
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7. Light Brown of baked earth after the harvest.
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8. Dark brown of the earth when the first rains come.
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9. Tan of dried corn husks.
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10. Dried Wheat Yellow.
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11. Pumpkin-Orange.
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12. Deep Orange-red of fall decorations.
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13. With October just around the corner what is fall without Halloween-black?
Thursday’s thirteen: how to save money.
In these hard economic times it nice to know that there are ways to save money. Some of my advice is probably stuff you already know, but I hope some of it will surprise or encourage you to figure out ways to save on your household budget.
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1. Shop at dollar tree. This is what I do, but I leave hubby behind. He gets in there and he’s over whelmed. “Look at this and it’s only a dollar.” Yes dear, I know. Take deep breaths and calm down. He comes and the bill goes from $20-40 dollars to $80-90 dollars. Yeah, leave hubby at home and save $40 dollars.
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2. Buy an economical car. If you’re paying bukoo bucks at the tank, to fill your oversized tank it’s time to down size. We traded in our Cad for a Camry. Savings at fill-up was about half what it cost to fill-up the old car with premium unleaded. And the Camry uses regular. Another plus when the Cadillac broke down it usually cost us @ $400 to fix the darn thing. The Camry we still don’t know, we’re been driving with the “service soon” light on for four or five months now.
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3. Dump the gas powered mower and get electric. I did. Its lighter and no annoying trips to the gas station, and no argument with hubby about who got that smelly job. Cost: Priceless.
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4. Hire the neighbor kid to mow. The advantage here is you’re saving not only a trip to the gas station, but using the kid’s parent’s gas.
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5. Experiment with off brands, you might find one you like. I’m a diehard Producers customer for all my dairy products, but found Lucerne taste exactly the same and cost about a dollar or so less. That’s a dollar that I can spend at dollar tree, lol.
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6. Recycle. This should go without saying, but so many people ignore the obvious so I’ll spell it out in dollar signs. Cha-ching $$. Recycling helps the environment and puts money in your pocket. Yes it does. Have you ever taken in your recyclables to sell? You get paid to recycle, isn’t that fabulous? More dollar for dollar tree.
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7. Buy second hand clothes. I shop Salvation Army mostly, but don’t ignore the smaller places. I sometimes find stuff with the original tags still on them. That’s brand new never worn clothes a third to a quarter of the original cost. Mostly I get jeans for four to eight dollars, and that same pair at a department store can cost up to thirty and forty dollars, that’s up to a thirty dollar savings right there. You think your teen won’t go for it? I’ve taught my teenage daughter to shop at thrift stores, and she’s proud of the clothes she gets that doesn’t look like everyone else’s.
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8. Shop at Wal-mart. I know a lot of people do, but some still don’t. Yes, the customer service sucks and the lines are long, but you save money when you go there.
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9. Use coupons. I stopped a while back because when I got around to using them they were expired. But I found coupons in the flyers that come free to my house for some local restaurants, and they’re good for a couple of months. A coupon that pays for one full meal is worth its weight in gold. Well, its paper it isn’t going to weight much.
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10. Learn to cook bulk rice. San Francisco treat or not, pound for pound white or brown rice is cheaper than rice-a-ronie. If you want more flavor drop in a bullion cube.
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11. Join the shopping clubs. They are popping up everywhere, and I don’t mean Costco and Sam’s club. Though I heard you can save a lot of money, but you have to buy in to be a member. Sorry but I’m cheap. I mean the free ones, the ones that cost you nothing to join. I’m a proud member of Safeway, Office depot, Petco, Boarders and longs drugs.
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12. Say no to pets. I know Fido and fluffy are adorable and you can’t live without them, but how many pets do you really need? How about thinning the herd? Or how about downsizing your pets. Smaller dogs eat less, a lot less. I use to have a Cocker spaniel it took her a month or longer to eat a fifty pound bag of dog food. Small breeds eat less than that. Cats are cheaper to keep especially if they are outside, they can catch their own food.
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13. Say no to exotic pets. Yes, they are interesting, but they can cost you with frequent runs to the pet store for their equally exotic tastes in food. Exotic also mean delicate as in if they sneeze they die, and there goes the wad you just spend on buying and feeding them. And what are you going to do with fifty live crickets or whatever? Release them into the neighborhood? Yeah, your neighbors are going to love you.
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How do you save money? Do you have any tricks you’d like to share?
Janice Seagraves, Author 