Journalling in July – Week 5

My bloggy buddy Sue from Sizzling Towards 60 is on a mission this month to get more people journaling. I journal daily – mostly in bullet points – but Sue’s come up with a great list of prompts if you’ve always thought that you might like to journal but don’t really know where to start.

Each Saturday in July (and the first Saturday in August) Sue and another bloggy buddy, Deb from Deb’s World are hosting a journaling linky showcasing the week’s prompts. Here goes for this week’s prompts…

Day 28 – A Daydream

Okay, I could daydream for Australia. I daydream in mini-series. You have been warned.

My favourite daydream is the one where I’m making a fortune out of my books and can spend my days writing, and travel to cool places (flying premium economy, of course) to research, knowing that I can take the travel as a tax deduction.

The BBC has commissioned a series of The Cotswolds Culinary and Cookbook Society mysteries and bought the rights to Time For Tea from me. (You’ll need to wait to read Escape To Curlew Cottage to know what I’m talking about.)

I’m earning enough to rent the space in the little Queenslander that’s for lease on Mooloolaba Esplanade to run my empire from and to test recipes in. My husband has been coaxed out of retirement and now miraculously knows the difference between Twitter and Instagram, can format books and deal with Amazon algorithms and is taking care of all of my social media, marketing and administration. 

We’re in the process of buying a place in the hinterland to act as a writer’s retreat that we’ll run as a not for profit to help other people get their start. Or maybe it’s a bookshop/tearoom/community learning space where women can go to learn about things – like the one that Kate is planning for Arrowtown in Happy Ever After.

Clancy’s Campfire is a best-selling cookbook in the caravan and camping category and has turned into a successful family business with the logo seen on all good polo shirts, SUV wheel covers and we even have our own line of cast iron dutch ovens. There is talk of taking over the Saturday afternoon 5pm slot on channel 7.

I could go on, but will leave it there…

Day 29 – Freestyle – any subject that you choose or feel moved to write about

At 2.16am this morning the landline rang. Now, at 2.16am when your landline rings you wake with a start and a whole lot of worries. You see, the only people who ever ring us on that number are:

• My parents
• My husband’s mother
• A whole host of spammers: the ones purporting to be from Telstra telling us that our internet is compromised, the ones purporting to be from the NBN telling us that our internet will be cut off, the ones purporting to be from the National Accident Fund (whatever that is), the ones purporting to be from Australian Federal Police about an outstanding warrant or the ones purporting to be from the Australian Taxation Office.

You guessed it – it was a spammer. Yesterday while I was working, I had a dozen calls in the same vein, but this morning was the first time we’ve had one ring outside the usual contact times that these people feed into their power diallers.

Then just as I was getting back to sleep it rang again. The phone is now on Do Not Disturb and not ringing at all – I must remember to tell the parents to call on our mobiles.

We originally weren’t going to get a physical handset for the landline when we moved into this house, but I need one for when I’m on teleconferences etc.

The problems began before that though. We requested a silent number from Telstra so we wouldn’t be annoyed by the spammers but the number we were given wasn’t a new one, but a recycled one – previously held by someone who had a lot of debt issues….obviously including Telstra, the real Telstra – who still ring regularly looking for him.

Anyways, there’s no way of stopping the spammers, Telstra has refunded the money we paid to have the silent number and advised that there are no new numbers available in this area and that all currently available numbers are recycled.

Suffice to say the phone is now permanently on silent.

Day 30 – My Best Friend

Sure, I have people besties, but my absolute best friend is my furry one @adventurespaniel

The walk we go on every lunchtime is her best walk ever, unless we change route and then that’s the best walk ever. Her dinner every night is the best dinner ever, unless she gets leftovers and then that’s the best dinner ever. 

Every time she sets eyes on me it’s as though she hasn’t seen me in ages – even if I had only just gone to the bathroom/ out to put the rubbish in the bin/ got up when she was asleep/ disappeared from her view momentarily. Thank goodness you’re alright Mum!

If I’m having a bad day her waggy tail makes me smile. If I’ve been away her greeting is the biggest one. Seeing me makes her day and she makes mine.

She spends the rest of her day curled up on her mat in my office or on the mat under my desk. She guards my office against people without appointments (ie husband and daughter), looks interested whenever I talk to myself, and never argues with me.

To her going to work every day (ie walking up 6 stairs with my cup of tea and the laptop) is the best thing to happen all day – except for when we knock off which is also the best thing to happen all day.

My ambition really is to be the person my dog knows I am.

Day 31 – How has this challenge changed me?

While I journal daily, usually in bullet points, this has been a bit of a self-reflection activity for me and one that I’ve enjoyed participating in. Thanks, Sue, for the prompts and the inspiration.