Snow has arrived

The snow has finally arrived, and winter is officially here on the Wet Coast. I know it doesn’t look like much white stuff compared to what you have been putting up with, but right now it is coming down in a clear fall. Will it block the drive? Not too likely. All our vehicles are 4 x wheel drive, this is Canada after all so we can get through most any kind of dump, unless the rain washes the driveway out. It is only -3 here, we have the wood fireplace going and it’s very cosy. I love that fireplace. We also have a gas one, and it works well, but there’s nothing like a wood burner.

Just got home from the World Outlook Conference in Vancouver.  What is the world outlook these days? Lots of upheaval and uncertainty. A bear market is on its way but not quite yet, according to most of the speakers. That’s good news, right?

Best Lies contest – winners and their answers :)

Dear Readers, I had a lot of fun with this contest. Thank you so much for your funny and often touching stories about lies. I know we all lie a bit when it’s awkward or hurtful to tell the truth, but some of these are hilarious. Have a look!

The most embarrassing lie was telling friends we were staying home and then meeting them unexpectedly at a restaurant with other friends.

Can’t really remember one, I’m so truthful. Maybe that is a lie… ?

I still hang my head over this particular lie—There I was, a 5th grader in gym class, not wanting to touch any of the boys. It was mandatory to participate in square dancing and that involved holding hands. The only person excused was one of my best friends who had a note from her mom excusing her because she had scabies on her hands. So, I got the brilliant idea to write a note that would excuse me from participation. Well, it was also forged *hangs head in shame* with my mother’s name and my excuse *covers face with hands* was that it was against my religion. I still wonder to this day why I thought it was a brilliant idea!

While I was a teenager I lied to a boy I liked because I was embarrassed to tell him I liked him. Instead I told him I liked him but not like that. To prove it, I started dating another loser. I really did like the first boy. I regret that now

I was very young and happily told my parents I’d brushed my teeth. Considering the meal we’d eaten, it was probably very obvious I hadn’t. Without a word, my father went to the bathroom, brought out my toothbrush and simply said, “It’s dry.”

One day we came home from the store to find several eggs splattered on the roof. We asked our boys, who had stayed home, what had happened. My oldest, who never got into trouble, stated with all seriousness that a bird must have laid them while in flight. So, you are saying we have chickens flying around here? we said. Must be, he said. He finally owned up and admitted that it was a pretty ridiculous stretch.

The funniest lie I ever told was when I was in high school many years ago. I was in math class with a friend when the teacher was writing/teaching on the whiteboard with his back to us. My friend and I were advanced in the class and often bored… One day I smacked myself in the face as hard as I could take it to leave a mark and make a loud sound, and exclaimed, “Ouch, damn it, Jacob.”

The teacher immediately turned around, pointed at Jacob, scolded him and told him to stop horsing around.

I’m sure my best lies would be telling mom – No, I didn’t eat it!!!

I don’t know that this is funny but it was my most tactful stretching of the truth!

For our wedding, my aunt from rural East Texas gave us a ceramic plate with raised fruit on it. The plate was intended to be a wall hanging. My aunt hand-painted it in bright colors, too! She was my favorite aunt but her talent was cooking, not art. It was soooo obviously an unskilled undertaking! So we hung the plate in our laundry area in the garage. Ouch! But when I wrote her my thank you card, I told her we hung it in a room that needed color! I miss her cooking!

I am a grandmother who enjoys traumatizing her grandchildren. My most recent was the story of where they came from. I told the eldest, a girl, she was left with her mother while she was waiting for the bus— an old guy came up to her and asked her to hold a bag for him but he never came back. When her bus came she decided to take it with her. Once she was on the bus and the bag started making noises, she realized it was a baby. I told the middle one, a boy, that she found him at the store when she asked the produce guy to pick her out a watermelon. She didn’t realize it was a baby till she got home and he started crying because he was hungry. The baby girl, well, it was storming outside and there was a huge boom and the sky lit up with lightening and a tree in the yard exploded. Their mother looked out the window to see the damage and there was a baby laying in a roasting pan on the front porch so she went outside to grab her. Yes the story changes. This is just the latest version and it depends on if they are harassing me or if I am being a brat. ?

Well it’s not so funny but the biggest whopper, was when I was in grade school, I have vitiligo and instead of letting the other students make fun of me, I said I was pushed into a bonfire and they were scars from the fire.

When my sister and I were was kids we were climbing a pine tree. The bark was skinned in a little spot and sap was running out. I told her it was where syrup was from so she tried it. Needless to say, she had that nasty taste in her mouth for awhile.

I’m not a good liar so I don’t tell them. However when I was a little girl I loved little Debbie oatmeal cream pies and I would sneak them out of the cabinet. My mom noticed they were disappearing rather rapidly and asked me about it. I told her I knew nothing about it and didn’t even know their whereabouts. I don’t know if she believed me or knew the truth. I just figure she blamed it on my Dad or sister

Thank you to everyone who participated. Leave a comment with your best lie!

 

 

Queen–I want to ride my bicycle

The weather is cooler and I went for a long bicycle ride yesterday. I ride along the road to get the best exercise—up and down the hills, some that are quite steep where I have to stop at the top of the hill to catch my breath and have a drink of water. Then I ride back home along the trails, which go up and down at a much more sedate pace, which suits me well as I’m tired by then.

Fall is definitely in the air. The huge maple leaves are falling heavily. Some of them are more than a foot in width. The colour is neat, but not as intense as in the east where the leaves turn a delightful red. Ours are more orange and yellow, depending on how fast the thermostat sank in the last few weeks.

I’m working on a new book—Book Six of The Last War, but it is coming slowly. There has been a lot of ‘life’ that has gotten in the way. None of which I regret. We’ve had family birthdays, family visits from near and far. We’ve had a new driveway put in, which is great because now the wave of dust from every vehicle is gone—what a relief.

So, as Queen so ably put it—

I want to ride my bicycle,

I want to ride my bike.

I want to ride my bicycle

I want to ride it where I like.

Dead Wrong! Did you leave a review?

DEAD WRONG  is available. Get it now! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G6YZ3BR/   books2read.com/DeadWRong

Like any new book, reviews are needed. Post a review, then send me an email with the link at – sylviegraysonauthor@gmail.com . You then let me know which of my other books you’d like for free,  and whether you use mobi or epub. I will send it out  to you right away. Easy peasy!

Excerpt from Dead Wrong—

He drove into the shadows of the old parking lot and drew his battered black pickup to a halt near the building entrance. There were a few cars scattered across the cracked blacktop but no one else was in sight. The  apartment building was old, a three-floor walk-up with battered stucco-clad walls and a flat roof. It had clearly seen better days.

The sky was heavily overcast and it looked like rain was imminent. Maybe that’s why everyone was indoors on this dreary February evening. He stepped out of the cab of his truck and stared at the building, hoping Billy was home. It was time to sort out a few things that had been left untended too long. He was in no rush to begin the encounter. On second  thought, knowing how Billy operated, he was better safe than sorry. He  reached behind the driver’s seat to grab the tire iron.

Billy Zach was an unpredictable man. Tonight, he wasn’t going to take any chances with how this played out. But he was going to deal with the  bastard, one way or the other. Why had no one stepped up to take control? This situation had gone on far too long. There were lots of people who should have challenged him over the issue of how he treated his girlfriend, but surprisingly no one had. Well, tonight there was a different agenda, and it was going to cost the asshole big time. He’d take care of things now, because it couldn’t be left any longer to chance.

As he approached the entrance, the front door opened and his target stepped out. Billy wore his usual worn denims low on his hips, feet stuffed into a pair of laceless runners. A faded green tee shirt showed beneath his heavy wool jacket. Most surprising was the bright red bruise forming in front of his left ear. Perhaps someone else had already tried to sort him out. A feeling of satisfaction settled in the man’s gut. Good timing, that’s what it was, remarkable timing to find him here like this.

“What do you want?” Billy snarled, glaring angrily as he came down the stairs. “Are you just hanging out here waiting for me? Coward! Couldn’t even knock on my door?”

“I’m no coward,” he said, determination rising in his chest. “I’ve come to give you a warning. You’d better take it to heart if you know what’s good for you.”

“Take it to heart?” Billy put back his head and laughed derisively. “What heart?” He was staring at him now, a strange penetrating gaze that sent an unwelcome shiver down the man’s backbone. “I don’t have a heart. And no measly warning from you is going to change that.”

“Forget it,” he said. “I’ve come to tell you it’s going to cost. Pay up or else. You owe me and you know it. This is your last chance…”

He suddenly lost his words because Billy took a long step forward and hit him square in the face with a closed fist. His head snapped back and he staggered as blood spurted from his nose. Before he could react, Billy took another heavy swing. At the last minute, he remembered the tire iron in his hand and aimed it squarely at the side of Billy’s head.

Zach fell, whirling in what seemed like slow motion toward the ground. The back of his skull connected with the concrete step behind him. There was a sharp crack like the sound of a hammer on tile. Billy Zach lay still.

*******

I love it when we connect, you can leave a comment for me any time,

Best, Sylvie

 

Visit to Maui – so beautiful

I have taken a break from writing and we are spending time in beautiful Maui. I love it here.

The special things about Maui—

  • Soft balmy air
  • Soft warm salty ocean
  • Doves cooing outside my window
  • Tiny lizards darting all over as I walk along
  • The beautiful palms rustling in the wind
  • Banks of flowers of all kinds and colours

Meanwhile back home, the weather has continued to look like late winter so I don’t miss it at all.

All has not been great here. I broke a crown on a back tooth on the plane on the way here. Found a great dentist who managed to file down the rough parts that were scraping the inside of my cheek and the side of my tongue. So now I’m much more comfortable.

We joined a gym and planned to work out every other day while here, plus a swim every day. We’ve done the swim, but I wrecked my lower back at the gym after the 3rd visit and had to find a chiropractor. Two visits later, I am starting to feel better and only using the ice pack twice a day! ?

Oh, well. It’s beautiful here, the people we meet are friendly and so helpful. We’ll certainly come back.