Month: January 2025

Posted in Uncategorized

What Books Do You Want To Read?

Posted on by jennrae

I am in the middle of so many books right now, but I want to re read several books I used to own: Dracula, Frankenstein, Dune. I started the Death of Bunny Munro by Nick Cave, but I got distracted by other things and haven’t gotten back to it yet. I do want to finish reading soonish because I hear they may be making a movie of it.

I would like to read some aspiring writer’s work, I feel like I should help promote the indie writers more than I do currently. But I am unsure where to go, I see them advertised on twitter, but there are so many and I will have to choose some so I can maybe leave a review. Get some goodwill in the writing community. In theory someday I might actually take the plunge and try to publish something and it would be nice to be involved in the writing community and get the support, which of course, I should be giving in kind.

So, I will try. I will go on there today and try and pick some books that intrigue me. I prefer science fiction and fantasy, but I also like literature, historical fiction, and a good mystery suspense novel of course. Not into romance, but you never know, maybe I just haven’t read the right story.

If you have any recommendations, I am all ears, or typewritten clicks I suppose.

Daily writing prompt
What books do you want to read?
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Posted in Life, Writing

List Five Things You Do For Fun.

Posted on by jennrae

I enjoy drawing. I have a cartoony style that is unique and unpolished. I have used it to create portraits for characters in the past. But it is mostly just fun doodles. I’d like to try my hand at painting, I used to paint years ago.

I write short stories or character studies for fun. I like to write short fiction. It is fun to wrap up the story quickly. Short timed writes are especially fun because there is no pressure for it to be perfect.

I also listen to music for fun. It is also fun to see live music. I think music is the secret to changing a bad mood to a good mood. I can change my energy based on what I am listening to. And live shows are especially fun because it is like you are one with the crowd. It is a different kind of energy.

I also like to get out of town and see new things, find new experiences. Sometimes we will pick a place to explore and see what’s there. Get to know a different place. We found a virtual arcade that way and go carts, drive in theaters too. It is kind of cool to research a place for fun things to do that isn’t typically a tourist spot. You can find some fun shopping areas too with unique finds. And I enjoy bargain hunting and finding treasure.

I also like to walk or hike for fun, or just be out in nature. Camping is awesome for getting away and recharging the soul. We hiked to the lighthouse one year which is five miles one way. Walking in sand that is also cold and rocky with the sun on your back was a unique experience, but the tour of the lighthouse was well worth it. I need to do that again. It has been awhile.

Obviously I enjoy movies and books of course, and going to the theater or even the local playhouse is also very fun for me.

Daily writing prompt
List five things you do for fun.
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Posted in Uncategorized

Write About Your First Name: It’s Meaning, Significance, Etymology, etc.

Posted on by jennrae

My first name is actually Jennifer. I do not go by it generally. At Doctor’s offices, or a substitute teacher may call me that, but I have always been a Jenny for as long as I can remember. I was actually named after a Virginia, who went by Ginny. So, it was confusing as a kid when my Mom would be talking on the phone to her sister, and I would hear Ginny and to me it sounded a lot like Jenny, and I would be like huh? And then she would be like, I am on the phone!

But, technically, it is Jennifer which I had always read was Teutonic, Germanic, meaning white wave, whatever that means. And then later when I was in my twenties or thirties, someone told me it is actually the Germanic translation of the name Guinevere, which is the French translation of the Welsh name Wanaver. I was into Arthurian legend, of course, so, yeah King Arthur’s wife obviously the most well known Guinevere there is was the ultimate Jennifer.

That did make me like my name more. Part of the reason I hated it, is I only started getting called it when I started school, and the other part was that in the seventies everybody collectively decided to name their daughter Jennifer so there were several in every class I attended in school so I had to go by Jenny N, because there all ready was a Jennifer S, and a Jenni R, and a couple Jenn’s.

It was the name, and I always wanted to be unique and different, so it was sort of a downer that I had the most common name ever. Of course, now it isn’t. My son doesn’t have a single one in his class. But at the time, it was all over the place. I tried to go by my middle name in high school but it never stuck. Although, my family does call me by it sometimes.

Jennisfora is actually one of my oldest characters I ever made up, and I realize now a pretty obvious fantasy stand in for me anyway, so my first email was jennisfora@hotmail.com, still use it. So, I have been Jennisfora for a very long time as well, although it is not my legal name.

I have always had a hate love thing for the name Jennifer, but I have made my peace with it. I used to get angry at people calling me it, my name badge at work even says Jenny, but people will still do it anyway, and now I get it. It is a decent name and it is mine. Even if it isn’t my preferred choice.

Daily writing prompt
Write about your first name: its meaning, significance, etymology, etc.
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Posted in Uncategorized

If You Could Make Your Pet Understand One Thing, What Would It Be?

Posted on by jennrae

I would love it if she understood that sometimes I need to use the laptop, and that it is temporary. I am not sure what goes through her mind, but somehow me moving a mouse triggers unreasonable violence in her. She does it if I play games as well, she just doesn’t want me to use the computer.

I also wish she wouldn’t waste her food so much. She pretty much just eats the gravy off the top and leaves the meat. She used to be the most un-picky eater ever. But now she hates everything, even cat treats. She only wants gravy, and she eats her kibble. Keep in mind, I only got the canned meat to encourage my older cat Wuffles to get more fluids.

That sure backfired, as KitKat eats all the fluid out of it. I guess those are two things, not one. I guess, if I could only impart one thing, it would be that I love her despite all the destructiveness, that I love her no matter what. Unconditional love. I hope she does understand that, but who knows.

Daily writing prompt
If you could make your pet understand one thing, what would it be?
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Posted in Life

Can You Share A Positive Example Of Where You’ve Felt Loved?

Posted on by jennrae

A recent example of where I have felt loved was probably when my son noticed that one of my favorite coats was missing a button, and so he made it his mission for mother’s day to find a button and sew it on the coat, and he did just that. I can honestly say I was very touched. It meant more than a card, flowers, or candy. It was the most thoughtful thing. I hope his girlfriend realizes how lucky she is, because he is a good soul and has a kind heart.

There have been many times where I felt loved by someone for various things, but that is the one that stands out for me. It brought a tear to my eye because it was unexpected and I didn’t think he would really do it. Sometimes just noticing something and fixing it is worth more than spending a ton of money.

Daily writing prompt
Can you share a positive example of where you’ve felt loved?
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Posted in Life, Writing

Where Can You Reduce Clutter In Your Life?

Posted on by jennrae

If we are talking physical clutter, I am bad at keeping manuals and paperwork. I think I have had is known as a junk drawer just filled with various manuals of different gadgets and doodads. I also, as I am sure most of you know, have a plethora of DVDs and books. The DVDs I store in binders, although I need to buy more as my collection has outpaced my current ones.

I also have a 200 disc cd changer that I got when I was a teen, still works and holds my cd collection inside it, with folders telling me what disc is where, although I need to go through and reorganize it. I also tend to put the mail down on a desk or table and I don’t get to it right away.

I have a couple magazine subscriptions but I am getting better at letting them go into the recycling. If I really need a recipe I can always find it on the internet, so there is less reason to keep those.

If we are talking mental clutter, yes, I do worry about stuff I cannot control, although I am getting better at letting that stuff go too. You can only do so much, and I just don’t want to use my energy on things that I cannot solve.

Meditation and trying to clear my mind is something I want to do daily or at least every other day. It is so freeing to just let yourself be even if it is only for five or ten minutes. If you don’t do this, you should start. It is like setting aside time just for you. It is very calming and I can usually get more done afterwards.

I do need to reorganize my writing space so it is more inviting and gives me the right mood. I did have a eureka moment at the gym which I did jot down. I do not know if this idea is a new novel, or a new short story, but it will be something, that I do know.

Daily writing prompt
Where can you reduce clutter in your life?
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Posted in Life

What Is Your Favorite Animal?

Posted on by jennrae

I like most animals, unlike most people, as far as real life animals go, I do prefer cats. Big cats, little cats, weird cats. If we open it up to the fantastical, I love dragons and unicorns. There was a time where I had dragon, unicorn and white tiger figurines all over my house. I have over time lost or gotten rid of most of them. There are still some tigers around here, but it is a bit more subtle.

Kitkat broke a glass dragon when she was a kitten. She killed every houseplant I had, she just would uproot the plant and knock dirt all over the place. She just didn’t want them to live. I gave up on having houseplants, or most glass objects.

She was a chewer too, I had to get her dog toys. Cat toys would be destroyed in seconds, and she still would break the squeaker in the dog toys. She has a Kong ball. I am convinced she is a African wildcat that somehow escaped from the game farm. She would chew through wires too, so we had to get a wireless mouse for the computer. I told her she was hunting the wrong kind of mouse. But, despite all that, I still love her, and most cats I meet.

I also like dogs, I am just away from the house a little too much and have no yard to speak of. So, can’t really have a dog at the moment. But I do fuss over my parent’s basset hound, Bilbo who is incredibly cute and goofy. Maybe someday if I can get some property, I would love to have a dog. I had a sheltie as a kid named Buddy that I loved a lot. He was fun.

I had some bad experiences with horses, I am sure they are great. I always liked the look of them. But I had one that didn’t like me and one that was terribly skittish, so I didn’t bond like the girls in the books I liked to read did. But I love drawing them. They are beautiful. I guess if I had a pet dragon, or unicorn it probably would have ended badly as well, so I might just stick with my wildcat.

Daily writing prompt
What is your favorite animal?
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Posted in Uncategorized

Will post a blog post after work today, but here is a cute pic of my cat instead. :)

Posted on by jennrae
Hard to get anything done with KitKat blocking ye olde laptop
Posted in Life

Think Back On Your Most Memorable Road Trip.

Posted on by jennrae

My most memorable road trip as a child was when we drove down from NW Washington to northern California. We stopped at the Tillamook cheese factory in Oregon, and the redwood forests. I remember fitting into this tree that was so massive. And, I remember going to rest stops and I think we went to a beach someplace. The details are fuzzy. I think I was eleven.

I went on a more recent trip a few years ago with my son where we went from where we are to Hillsboro, Oregon. We stopped at Vancouver and went to the mall there. He had never been to a two story mall before, and it was busy so it reminded me of what malls used to be like. They had an arcade on the bottom part, and a go-cart racetrack outside the mall.

A lot of options besides shopping which made it more fun. In Hillsboro we ate at a good burger place called Killer Burger, and I took my son to a place for airsoft, which is why he wanted to go there. Someday, I’d like to go a little further, maybe down the coast, or perhaps further east like Idaho, or Montana.

Daily writing prompt
Think back on your most memorable road trip.
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Posted in Life

What Snack Would You Eat Right Now?

Posted on by jennrae

Quesadillas or chips and salsa sound good about now, maybe a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. When I get really hungry it doesn’t really matter.

Although, I don’t snack a lot, I keep it mostly to a couple meals. I usually skip breakfast, although I want to stop that, unless you count coffee.

And, then I have lunch, and then later dinner. If I am watching a game I may snack a bit more, but that is only occasionally. Or at a picnic, or potluck or a social event. Something unusual.

Although it is getting close to my lunch time, so I very well might make quesadillas since that sounds really good right now. Hope everyone is having a good Sunday.

Daily writing prompt
What snack would you eat right now?
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