A Letter from Santa Claus at Lapland Mailroom

Posted on October 22, 2018 by SpookyMrsGreen: Ghost Hunting, Vampire Books & Paranormal Family Adventures

I know that we have yet to enjoy Halloween and Bonfire Night, but I am determined to be organised when it comes to Christmas planning this year. That’s why I arranged for my daughters to receive personalised letters from Santa Claus courtesy of Lapland Mailroom.

#MummyMonday Christmas elves with a Letter from Santa Claus Lapland Letters review by SpookyMrsGreen.com mindful parenting and modern pagan lifestyle blog.
#MummyMonday Letter from Santa Claus

A Letter from Santa Claus at Lapland Mailroom

My girls have once again been (mostly) good this year. Indeed, we have had quite a tumultuous time. Back in March, my elder daughter experienced life-saving facial surgery and a stay at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital following a rather nasty ear infection. And just three months later, we moved to a new house, where our girls finally got their own bedrooms and we gained some outside space and a huge garden. We love our new home, and I want us to enjoy a traditional family celebration on Christmas Day.

Lapland Mailroom offer a great selection of personalised letters from Santa Claus or Father Christmas. You can choose different styles that each come with a personal touch for your child to appreciate. I chose two different ones for my girls, along with a complimentary activity pack to help them start their festivities early. If you order now, your letters will arrive right at the beginning of December, kicking off the festivities in style.

Gothic image of a vampire drinking blood from a wine glass while a woman lies unconscious on the bed behind him. 3D eBook cover image for “Christmas with the Vampires” by LGBT fantasy book writer Catherine Green. Vampire stories dark romance.
Christmas with the Vampires by paranormal author Catherine Green

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Crystals and Sage

Posted on October 10, 2018 by SpookyMrsGreen: Ghost Hunting, Vampire Books & Paranormal Family Adventures

There is a lot of trauma happening in the world right now, and especially within my circle of family and friends. We are experiencing grief, anxiety, job insecurity and the daily struggle with chronic health conditions. Well, that last one is mostly me.

#WitchyWednesday The Witch's Ceremonial Altar by SpookyMrsGreen.com mindful parenting and modern pagan lifestyle blog.
#WitchyWednesday The Witch’s Ceremonial Altar

Crystals and Sage

I am struggling with ingrowing eyelashes again. It is a condition I was born with, and one for which I have received many surgical procedures, different medications and other treatments. And this week my left eye is really sore. I just want to pull it out! But enough of that. I am helping a friend through bereavement, and I am working through long term mental health challenges with myself and close family members. There is a lot of heavy emotional activity.

How do we cope with this? We are all human, we laugh and cry, we shout and smile, we hide from the troubles, and we go out and fight them. Sometimes all we can do is simply keep calm and carry on, to coin the old wartime mantra.

One of my coping mechanisms as a witch is to use crystal therapy. I have researched the science behind crystals, and learned about their individual energy fields, so that I can instinctively choose which crystal will help me when I need it. And they look so pretty! I like to burn sage in my house to clear the air as well, especially when my husband is having a down day with his mental health, or when I have been in the company of what I call “energy vampires.” The sage smells lovely and wholesome, and I find myself mesmerized by the smoke as it curls and wafts around the room. Sometimes I will recite a little spell or incantation while I smudge, and other times I invite my daughters to help me. They love smudging with sage and are brilliant at helping to settle my aura when I feel short tempered or jittery.

How do you cope with the stress of daily life? Do you have a ritual or tool that helps? Please share in the comments below.

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Special Offer Discount Codes with trusted affiliate partners at SpookyMrsGreen.com.

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#ToyReview Thomas and Friends Shaped Christmas Puzzle

Posted on October 8, 2018 by SpookyMrsGreen: Ghost Hunting, Vampire Books & Paranormal Family Adventures

My youngest daughter, aged 5, loves jigsaw puzzles. She was incredibly excited to receive the Ravensburger Thomas and Friends shaped Christmas puzzle to review at home.

#ProductReview Thomas & Friends jigsaw puzzle from Ravensburger reviewed by SpookyMrsGreen.com mindful parenting and modern pagan lifestyle blog.
#ProductReview Thomas & Friends jigsaw puzzle

My Review

This 32-piece giant shaped floor puzzle is perfect for small hands, and a great little family activity for a cosy weekend at home. It comes with a Thomas and Friends Christmas themed door hanger as well, and I had a hard job trying to persuade my daughter that she would have to wait until December before she could display this on her bedroom door. My little darling!

I think the Ravensburger Thomas and Friends shaped Christmas jigsaw puzzle offers great value for money, generally retailing at £9.99. It makes a fabulous stocking filler, perhaps a nice little family gift for Christmas Eve, or is perfect for a festive birthday. My husband certainly enjoyed himself, helping our daughter to complete the puzzle, not that she needed any help. They spent a nice little half-hour together, and then enjoyed their finished creation for a while afterwards.

The Ravensburger Thomas and Friends shaped Christmas floor puzzle provides the usual high quality that we would expect from a heritage brand. The puzzle pieces are bright and colourful, with a smooth, glossy finish. There are no rough edges, the pieces fit together very snugly, and we found it easy to assemble on our slightly uneven carpet on the floor. It has a nice, unusual shape, and my daughter was very happy. In fact, she had to remake the jigsaw puzzle again before we persuaded her to pack it away and save it for Christmas, or as close as she can wait. Ho ho ho!

#ProductReview Thomas the Tank Engine Jigsaw Puzzle with SpookyMrsGreen.com mindful parenting and modern pagan lifestyle blog.
#ProductReview Thomas the Tank Engine Jigsaw Puzzle

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#Poem: “Season of the Witch” by Vampire Writer Catherine Green

Posted on October 3, 2018 by SpookyMrsGreen: Ghost Hunting, Vampire Books & Paranormal Family Adventures

October is here and we enter the Season of the Witch. Read my poem about the magical season of Halloween and Samhain.

#WitchyWednesday June morning sky by SpookyMrsGreen.com mindful parenting and modern pagan lifestyle blog.
#WitchyWednesday June morning sky

#Poem Season of the Witch

When the night grows longer

And the day is short,

The ground grows colder

And the weather is dull,

This is the Season of the Witch.

——

When you hear a whisper in the dark

And you know you are alone,

What is that sound, a ghost in the air?

Familiar, eerie, a voice in the night,

This is the Season of the Witch.

——

When you feel a presence

And you look behind,

There stands a figure, familiar, long lost

You feel their magic calling you home,

This is the Season of the Witch.

——

Image of book covers from the Redcliffe Novels paranormal menage series. MMF romance. Bisexual and gay romance. Gay werewolf romance. Paranormal author Catherine Green.
“It’s Complicated” (A Redcliffe Short Story) by paranormal author Catherine Green

Download your FREE copy of LGBT fantasy short story It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels) and meet the werewolves of Cornwall, England.  Click here. 

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Shock and Sadness

Posted on October 1, 2018 by SpookyMrsGreen: Ghost Hunting, Vampire Books & Paranormal Family Adventures

Today I want to talk about grief. Perhaps it is because I am growing older, but death seems to be coming closer. I was very fortunate to have all four of my grandparents until my mid-thirties. I now have two grandparents surviving, but they are both old and ill. My aunts, uncles and cousins still survive, although that is a whole other story currently unfolding. Death evaded me and my family for many years, only taking those that were elderly and had lived a good, long life.

It was a shock last week to learn of the death of someone younger, a parent of a close friend. That hit me very hard, not least because I want to support my friend. It was unexpected, quite sudden, and traumatic for those involved.

We now need to process our feelings, and yet normal life carries on. The world hasn’t ended. It just feels a bit empty, now that one of its lights has been extinguished. Does that make sense to you?

#WitchyWednesday Fairytale Woodland in York City Centre copyright Catherine Green of SpookyMrsGreen.com mindful parenting and modern pagan lifestyle blog.
#WitchyWednesday Fairytale Woodland in York City Centre

Shock and Sadness

I know that some of you reading this will have experienced grief and bereavement already. You might be experiencing it right now, and if you are, I send love and healing energy to aid in your emotional processing. We cannot escape grief. But we must learn to continue everyday life while feeling it. Our children need care and attention. Our work must continue. My friend faces a long and complicated legal process for various reasons, but she has people around her to help, myself included.

There are no words to express how I feel about this bereavement. I knew my friend’s mother. I spent time at their house, I attended family parties, I felt comfortable in her presence. I am very sad to hear of her death. And I feel even more sad for my friend who just lost her mother. We are here for you, C. Lots of love.

Cloud Sky Tree. #WitchyWednesday article by Catherine Green of SpookyMrsGreen.com mindful parenting and modern pagan lifestyle blog.
#WitchyWednesday

Download your FREE copy of LGBT fantasy short story It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels) and meet the werewolves of Cornwall, England.  Click here. 

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Life is Like the Eternal Ghost Hunt

Posted on September 26, 2018 by SpookyMrsGreen: Ghost Hunting, Vampire Books & Paranormal Family Adventures

We just celebrated the passing of Summer into Autumn: The Autumn Equinox. Known as Mabon in witch and pagan circles, it is a celebration of the second harvest, and a time when we prepare to batten down the hatches and wait out the storms of winter.

As the season changes, so my mood is changing as well. Read my blog post to see how I compare mundane life with my experiences as a ghost hunter.

Catherine Green the Ghost Hunter of SpookyMrsGreen.com mindful parenting and modern pagan lifestyle blog.
Catherine Green the Ghost Hunter

Life is Like the Eternal Ghost Hunt

Our storms have already arrived, with two very powerful ones hitting the UK last week. I even wondered if our driveway would flood on a couple of occasions, but the rain stopped just in time, and the drains continued to do their job. My mood is a strange one. I am happy that we finally moved house and that my family can settle and grow into the new space. It is the culmination of a quest that has taken me a good few years to achieve, if not longer. Now I am back to the eternal challenge of work, or lack of it, as the case may be. I have lots of work to do. I’m just not getting paid for it, and my finances are dire to say the least.

It seems to me that life is almost like those overnight ghost hunts I used to do. I put myself in a location that is reportedly haunted and very active, and I wait, and I call out in vain for a response, and I wait some more, and maybe occasionally, I hear a noise or a voice, or something moves under an ethereal force. That is how my writing work feels now, and indeed my career. I have applied for part time jobs in my local area and received no response. I continue to write, publish, post on social media, and all related activities, and I rarely get a response. Occasionally something happens that fills me with delight and anticipation, and then it turns out to be a huge let-down and the dream crashes around my ears.

“Is anybody there? Please, if you can hear me, make a noise, move something, say something!”

Image of book covers from the Redcliffe Novels paranormal menage series. MMF romance. Bisexual and gay romance. Gay werewolf romance. Paranormal author Catherine Green.
“It’s Complicated” (A Redcliffe Short Story) by paranormal author Catherine Green

Did you enjoy this article? Download your FREE copy of LGBT fantasy short story It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels) and meet the werewolves of Cornwall, England.  Click here. 

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My Boy, Baxter, the Best Family Dog

Posted on September 24, 2018 by SpookyMrsGreen: Ghost Hunting, Vampire Books & Paranormal Family Adventures

My dog is the best! He is a cheeky, noisy, clumsy, adorable crossbreed, and he is our boy.

Read my blog post to see how my family experienced the Staffordshire Bull Terrier when we rehomed a rescue dog.

#MummyMonday Baxter the Staffy X rescue dog sitting on New Brighton beach by SpookyMrsGreen.com mindful parenting and modern pagan lifestyle blog.
#MummyMonday Baxter the Staffy X rescue dog on New Brighton Beach

My Boy, Baxter

Baxter is a rescue dog, and we believe he is Welsh, since he was found near Wrexham and taken to a local dogs’ home, before being transferred to a home in Stoke-on-Trent, which is where we found him ten years ago. Our lives have never been the same since! The people at the dogs’ home told us that he never made a noise, and he had been house trained, so he was their most obedient and well-behaved dog. He soon changed his attitude when he realised that he had a home and we allowed him onto the sofa. Now we can’t get him off it!

Baxter has his own appreciation society in town, mainly comprised of children that are friends with my daughters, but their parents join in with doggy cuddles whenever they have the opportunity. They call Baxter the therapy dog, because he seems to recognize when he needs to be quiet with certain people, and with others he will play and bounce around. He is a Staffordshire Bull Terrier crossed with a Border Terrier (we think), and he has gorgeous big, brown eyes. He has very long ears that earned him the nickname Yoda, and he has a grey beard which makes him look older than he is. Although he is getting on in years now, possibly aged thirteen, he still thinks he is a puppy, and we still give him big, squishy cuddles at every opportunity.

We are a dog family. How about you?

Image of book covers from the Redcliffe Novels paranormal menage series. MMF romance. Bisexual and gay romance. Gay werewolf romance. Paranormal author Catherine Green.
“It’s Complicated” (A Redcliffe Short Story) by paranormal author Catherine Green

Did you enjoy this article? Download your FREE copy of LGBT fantasy short story It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels) and meet the werewolves of Cornwall, England.  Click here. 

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Is Anybody There?

Posted on September 21, 2018 by SpookyMrsGreen: Ghost Hunting, Vampire Books & Paranormal Family Adventures

Hello, can you hear me, do you read my blog posts? Is anybody out there?

Vampire writer Catherine Green working on her laptop at SpookyMrsGreen.com mindful parenting and modern pagan lifestyle blog.
Vampire writer Catherine Green working on her laptop

Do you read my blog posts?

This is a genuine question from a writer who has just about given up on her dreams. I will never stop writing. But I might stop publishing the stuff that I write. Because it seems to me that nobody cares, and I don’t mean that in a stroppy, arrogant way (well, maybe a little bit). I mean that I have spent almost ten years putting content on my blogs, building a mailing list, publishing novels and short stories, and trying desperately to encourage people to read them, and I have received barely any response. There is no marked improvement in stats, or any kind of measurable data for my blogs.

My books aren’t selling. All the online courses I completed, and all the tools and actions that I implemented to make it better have made no overall improvement. I am lucky if I sell three books per month if I am brutally honest. Such is the life of an indie author. And I know that I am a good writer. I am a bloody good writer. I just didn’t do things the right way. I chose the wrong college course, the wrong university degree, the wrong place to live. I don’t know. Somewhere along the line, I didn’t do what I should have done that would have enabled me to work in the industry, and to be paid for my work. Now I feel lost, and very alone. I don’t want pity, and I don’t want sympathy. I just want my audience. Where are you guys?

Image of book covers from the Redcliffe Novels paranormal menage series. MMF romance. Bisexual and gay romance. Gay werewolf romance. Paranormal author Catherine Green.
“It’s Complicated” (A Redcliffe Short Story) by paranormal author Catherine Green

Download your FREE copy of LGBT fantasy short story It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels) and meet the werewolves of Cornwall, England.  Click here. 

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Storm Ali: A Poem by Catherine Green

Posted on September 19, 2018 by SpookyMrsGreen: Ghost Hunting, Vampire Books & Paranormal Family Adventures

Storm Ali has ravaged the UK this week and I was inspired to write a poem about our experiences in Cheshire.

Tell me if you like it in the comments!

Image of heavy rain on a small suburban street in England. Storm Ali (Poem) written by poet Catherine Green for SpookyMrsGren.com mindful parenting and modern pagan lifestyle blog.
Storm Ali (Poem) written by poet Catherine Green

Storm Ali: A Poem by Catherine Green

The storm has arrived

And it sounds pretty fierce.

I can hear it outside

Lashing the windows

And rattling the doors.

—–

They call this one Storm Ali

I do not know why

But the rain is making puddles

And the trees are almost flat.

—–

My garden is a bog

My car thinks it’s a boat.

But wait, there’s a lull

I think the worst has passed.

—–

The doors have stopped rattling

The windows are intact.

Storm Ali’s moved on

And we can sleep at last.

Image of book covers from the Redcliffe Novels paranormal menage series. MMF romance. Bisexual and gay romance. Gay werewolf romance. Paranormal author Catherine Green.
“It’s Complicated” (A Redcliffe Short Story) by paranormal author Catherine Green

Download your FREE copy of LGBT fantasy short story It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels) and meet the werewolves of Cornwall, England.  Click here. 

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#BookReview: The Genie in Your Genes

Posted on September 7, 2018 by SpookyMrsGreen: Ghost Hunting, Vampire Books & Paranormal Family Adventures

I read this book for my spiritual book club, as a companion to the reiki course that I am currently studying. It was a fascinating book, quite challenging to read in places, and sometimes I did have to read a section twice until I could make sense of it.

#BookReview The Genie in Your Genes reviewed by Catherine Green for SpookyMrsGren.com mindful parenting and modern pagan lifestyle blog.
#BookReview The Genie in Your Genes

#BookReview: The Genie in Your Genes

This book is about science, and the connection between science and what we commonly call “magic” or “supernatural” occurrences. The human mind is a very powerful tool if used properly, but somewhere along the line, we forgot. We became obsessed with taking pills and medicine to fix our problems, and now we need new methods, because our bodies are becoming immune to the pills.

That is where The Genie in Your Genes comes in. The author, Dawson Church, discusses various medical studies from around the past twenty years or so. He looks at the connection between science and spiritual beliefs, and at how we can utilize methods of self-care so that we don’t need to keep visiting hospitals and doctors. He was very keen to promote EFT, which is something I have heard of but now I need to investigate more. Quite simply, if you want to change your life and your body for the better, you must read this book. It will help you to help yourself.

Image of book covers from the Redcliffe Novels paranormal menage series. MMF romance. Bisexual and gay romance. Gay werewolf romance. Paranormal author Catherine Green.
“It’s Complicated” (A Redcliffe Short Story) by paranormal author Catherine Green

Did you enjoy this article? Download your FREE short story from the Redcliffe Novels series by Catherine Green. Click here. 

Note: This article may contain affiliate links, meaning that if you shop using the links I share, I receive a small income at no extra cost to yourself. Thank you for supporting SpookyMrsGreen!

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