Being alone on Mother's Day

It's Mother's Day 2015. I am alone.

My kids are away and have forgotten to gift me with flowers.  As a consolation, they have been sending me instant messages, cute stickers and Tweets.  


Welcome to the next generation, the new age of sentimental expression.
 
The cats seem apathetic but helped me express some former-Catholic, Motherly guilt.

That writing session took a lot out of me so I'm going to trim this bittersweet post by recycling some previous ones about Mothers Day and Motherly references in the Novel.

Thanks for dropping by.


Call your Mom.

T

Lion or Lamb?

Hello there, March!

So glad to see you and say farewell to frosty February!

February Haiku 2 For the shortest month Also coldest and bitter Bidding you farewell! FTL
— Florence T Lyon (@FloTLyon) February 26, 2015

So far this Sunday morning, you seem calm and dull.  Are you a gentle lamb or a lion in sheep's clothing?  Ah, weather lore and folksy interpretations, I love ya! 

I shall celebrate this new month, a chance to do some pre-spring cleaning and celebrate birth as we ease into the Year of the Sheep.

T
 

Blending traditions like there's no tomorrow

I'm not a fan of Valentine's Day.

I would not go out of my way to ruin the fun for all the lovers yet I feel sorry for the flowers suffering unnecessary carnage. 

No, I'm not bitter that I had nobody special to share this Hallmark holiday with.... I can celebrate it with my children and merge it with other tasty, shiny events this month.  I shall wait another day or two before I enjoy the savings on all the retail chocolate!  Bwaa-ha-ha-haaaaa.

It was a bittersweet day on February 14, 2015 when Michele Ferrero passed away. I shall think of him every time I bite into, every time I savour one of those tasty, chocolate-y, nutty Ferrero Rocher nuggets. There were times when they helped me through tearful drafts of the novel when Gummy Bears just would not do. Thank you, sir.
 
Wishing all visitors a safe, enjoyable and chocolate-y Valentines'-Flag Day-Family Day weekend and a prosperous, healthy Lunar New Year. 

  
Would you like a little taste from The Year of the Rabbit?

• Drop by the novel's domain;
• Read some excerpts;
• Download a few free chapters from Smashwords;
• Read comments from others;

Otherwise, stick around for a few years as we work on a shiny new print edition, due out by 2023.

Thanks for dropping by.

T (aka Flo)

Celebrating the Lunar New Year 2015

If you're from the Ottawa or Eastern Ontario area, you will commiserate with me as we receive more snow.

My excuses for not going out today:

1. I am completing support tasks for my writing group and enjoying the meticulous order of things;
2. There's too much frickin' snow - especially for a short-legged bus mouse.  

It would be nice to get out to the inaugural Lunar New Year celebrations in Ottawa or some kind of winter carnival activity. I would much rather attend the former because it happens indoors, celebrates the anticipation of spring and a new year coming on February 19th. There will likely be tasty treats, colourful decorations and firecrackers. 

Forget the firecrackers!  I'm not fond of sudden, loud noises.  I understand the original intention was to scare away the nasty lion or dragon that would come down from the mountains. 

I'm not all that superstitious but I like to explore and appreciate different traditions.  The Chinese New Year is special to me and Sera Fletcher, a character in the novel.

In less than two weeks, we will enter The Year of the Sheep (or goat, depending on whom you consult).

The resident artiste finally finished the Sheep illustration I commissioned a while back.  She has been creating Zodiac pictures in lieu of paying rent yet took a little longer than expected due to her personal projects. 

Delays aside, I love her style. I like to think creativity runs in our family - or  frolics and bounds as we monkey around. 

I'm not sure if or how we will use all of the illustrations in the next print edition of the novel but they sure provided a nice distraction and collaboration exercise over the past couple of years. We also got to fine tune our communication skills.

You may want to see the artiste's comic art work on Patreon. You can support her quest to be independent and to move out from under my "motherly oppression".  

Kidding aside, do you want to know more about The Year of the Rabbit?

• Drop by the novel's domain;
• Read some excerpts;
• Download a few free chapters from Smashwords;
• Read comments from others;
• Like the novel on Facebook;
• Stick around for a few years as we work on the second edition (by 2023).

Thanks for dropping by.

T (aka Flo)