A New Year Tidy Up!

I do hope everyone has enjoyed the festivities and is full of energy for next 12 months! At the end of a packed year of writing I am contemplating and re-organising! I was running three blogs badly over the last year and have decided to give them all a makeover.  

This blog was set up to talk about my adventures in fulfilling an ambition to write a book (or two or more:) I was to blog about writing the books, research needed, planning etc. and about publishing them.  Did you ever kiss a frog was a more personal blog about my life and interests and Live Journal was to be about reading and books - well that last has been sadly neglected and in fact I am relocating it altogether to Wordpress.

I have been cluttering up this blog with everything- blog hops - challenges - competitions you name it well its original purpose is in danger of being lost in the thicket.  This last week of the year I am moving blog hop entries - challenges and guest blogs over to the brand new Wordpress blog which will deal with these and writing posts in general as well as reading and books.  This  site then will be cleared for it's proper role of showcasing the publications of moi!  Did you ever kiss a frog will remain where I spend idle moments in my garden, on my travels back in time and crafting, cooking etc.

Of course this tidy up will only work if I keep an eye on blog posts and instead of wittering on about 'must do better' just  get on with actually posting every week.  The problem I think is that by posting everything on here I lost the sefuty chronicles, I am reclaiming them in  2012 - brave words well lets see how well I can do!

I apologize if you wandered here looking for ROW80 or Fellow Writers blog hops they will be found when the move is complete over on Wordpress  (address will be added when all is secure - this is a work in progress)

Many posts will overlap with each other as many of my personal interests feed into my books and of course in researching I read many books which will feed into the reading blog but there should be enough unique content to keep all three blogs humming contentedly - if I remember to post - no promises but I have sorted out lists of potential posts and will def. try and do better in 2012.

Christmas Begins At 7 A.M.

 

Those of us participating in the 12 days of Christmas Reading list have been asked to post a short memory or tradition of our Christmas.  I have so many memories it was difficult to chose but this one is still after all these decades clear as spring water in my mind.   I believed in Father Christmas - believed in the warnings of be good or. . .  and lived in a time when we did exactly as we were told and didn't really discuss much with our parents!! the tail end of  'children should be seen but not heard' and sometimes not even seen:)  I had a  happy childhood and used to enjoy Christmas very much,  maybe this is why this small incident was so shattering at the time and has remained so long. I think I was about five at the time.

CHRISTMAS BEGINS AT 7 A.M.

Christmas began at 7.00 a.m. in our house, sixty five or so years ago.  If we woke before then we had to remain quiet, in bed and not turn on the lights.  Dad would tell us when the time arrived.  There was no ban on feeling Santa’s sock (one of Dad’s old naval socks) and guessing what Father Christmas had left us.  Now there never were any real surprises – goods were not that plentiful in Britain just after WW2.  We always had a banana, a mandarin, an apple and a coin, usually a half crown – riches back then!  Also one or two of the following: pencils, plain or coloured, chalks, colouring books maybe a comic or a pad of paper to draw on.  We had other presents too left on the end of our beds from relatives who lived to far away to join us.

One dark Christmas I woke first and carefully leant down the bed to find Santa’s sock.  Nothing!  The relatives presents?  No.  Unbelieving I crawled, feeling the floor all around and under my bed.  Nothing!  I suffered increasing panic, mentally counting up all the times I had been naughty during the year.  Surely, I thought in despair, I hadn’t been that bad.  Had I?  Creeping back under the covers I silently sobbed myself to sleep.  No noise before 7.00 a.m.  Besides, what would I have said if I had called to my parents?  Look how bad I am?  They probably knew that already.

Before I knew it my sister was waking me, excitedly telling me it was time to open Santa’s sock and the parcels.  I remembered I had none and wouldn’t sit up.  Until, that is, she pushed my sock onto my bed.  Flabbergasted I sat up.  Not only a sock but the other presents also on my bed – waiting for me.  I had been forgiven.

Of course years later, when I knew about these things, I plotted the time line.  I had woken before my parents had gone to bed, before they had laid the filled sock and parcels on my bed!    

 
If you click the 12 days of Christmas link you will find other memories and the reading list complete with give aways.  Try a new author for Christmas or the latest from a favourite.