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
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.
#WitchyWednesday
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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
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!”
LGBT werewolf fantasy story “It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels)” by Catherine Green
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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 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?
#MummyMonday Baxter and Mummy.Baxter the Superstar Dog #MummyMonday Toddler and Family Dog
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Hello, can you hear me, do you read my blog posts? Is anybody out there?
Catherine from SpookyMrsGreen.com
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?
LGBT werewolf fantasy story “It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels)” by 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.
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
#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.
LGBT werewolf fantasy story “It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels)” by Catherine Green
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Last week my husband and I had a whole twenty-four hours together, child free. It was amazing! Thank you, Mum, for taking our little darlings off our hands for a few days. We still had the dog, but he was easily pleased with a visit to some local woodland.
It was a new place for us to visit, and one that my husband had explored on his way home from work a couple of times. It lies just next to the main road that links Chester to the M6, and I have driven that stretch many hundreds, if not thousands, of times on my old work commute. I do not miss those days!
SpookyMrsGreen in the Trees
Tall, Old Trees: a Lesson in Patience
Anyway, my husband decided we should go for a walk in this woodland, and I am so glad that we did. Our dog had lots of fun running up and down the valley that surrounded a brook, now almost dried up following the heatwave. I was awed by the huge, ancient trees that crowd this expanse of land. They look wonderful, so majestic, and they have stood here for I don’t know how many centuries, while the world passed them by. It got me thinking about my place in life.
I am currently feeling very frustrated about my career, or lack thereof. I am a writer, but I don’t earn a regular wage or keep regular work hours. In fact, I don’t earn any wage to speak of, save for a bit of pocket money here and there. And now I must look for a “regular” job because my husband’s job is under threat and we have a family to provide for.
Why aren’t my books selling?
Why aren’t my books selling? I don’t know. I have spent the past seven years studying and experimenting with social media, paid advertising (when I could afford it), exhibiting, networking, and I have done a course on how to market my books. It is not working. I am doing everything that “the experts” tell me do, and I am seeing no results. Perhaps it will take another ten or twenty years for my books to become popular. Maybe they just aren’t what readers are seeking right now. In the meantime, I will have to sacrifice some writing time in favour of paid employment, if that’s what it takes. I am not happy about the situation, but I see no other solution.
Take a lesson from the trees
And so, I take a lesson from the grand, old trees in our local woods: I will do what I do, quietly and unobtrusively, until one day someone stumbles across me (my books) and takes a moment to appreciate what they see. We all matter. We just don’t all get seen or appreciated as much as we might like. Keep going, fellow writers. You are wonderful!
LGBT werewolf fantasy story “It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels)” by Catherine Green
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My family and I visited Seahouses in Northumberland whilst on holiday, and we took a boat trip around the Farne Islands. We chose the Grey Seal Cruise which lasted for around an hour and a half, and it was lovely.
#MummyMonday Family holiday visit to the Farne Islands
Boat Trip #VisitNorthumberland
After some initial chaos getting our dog onto the boat, we soon settled down as it motored out of the harbour. Poor Baxter does not like sailing! He calmed down after a while and enjoyed some reassuring cuddles from his daddy and grandma.
My daughters and I took in the sights and inhaled the fresh sea air, until it got a bit choppy and our youngest went a little pale. She soon recovered! We had a slight delay when we came across a stranded boat near the Farne Islands, but both crews worked together to get it moving again, and we all went on our way, phew! The views of the Grace Darling Lighthouse, the National Trust properties, and of course the seals and sea birds were amazing. It was a very enjoyable boat trip!
LGBT werewolf fantasy story “It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels)” by Catherine Green
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Let the adventure begin: Schleich is releasing some completely new products as part of its Eldrador Creatures brand – and it’s all very exciting!
The brand-new monsters and beings from the Eldrador Creatures lava, ice, water and stone worlds offer plenty of action-packed fun. There are 12 new and very dangerous-looking figurines seeking to win the superweapon back from the evil forces.
#ToyReview Schleich Toys Eldrador
#ToyReview: Eldrador Creatures
My daughters received their own Eldrador Creature, a Kraken, to review, and they were a little unsure about it. I loved the figurine, so magical and evocative of an underwater world full of adventures. These toys are aimed at boys aged 5+ but I managed to almost persuade my 7-year-old daughter that she could play with it. I don’t want a house full of pink and fluffy toys!
The Eldrador Creatures are beautifully detailed, with vibrant painted accents, a removable weapon in their hands, and arms that can move up and down. Children could easily incorporate them into playtime with other toys or use them in their own imaginary worlds. The possibilities are endless! Retailing at £15.99, they offer great value for money and are ideal for gifts.
Special Offer Discount Codes
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Note: I received the product in return for an honest review.
SpookyMrsGreen 