#daily-blog — Public Fediverse posts

Celebration Day!

I’m in ‘quietly smug’ mode this morning. Acht, what the heck – forget the ‘quietly’ bit!

Who’d have thought when my old school pal, Paul, and I started our 1970s themed blog a few years back, it’d attract over a quarter of a million hits?! Or that it would become the #1 listed on Google searches for ‘1970s blogs’ or ‘1970s websites.’

And all this without any advertising / marketing or active promotion other than the likes of this.

I’ve reproduced below, todays celebratory post from the site. Please feel free to share it far and wide … and of course check out some of the 470 posts (170 are music related) written in light-hearted reflection of an exciting and fun time to be growing up … the 1960s and 1970s.

Many thanks to all who have visited our wee site over the years. 🥳🍾🎉

** (We always welcome contributions from other writers. If you lived through that period and have tales to tell, then check out the site’s ‘Contact’ page and hit us up.) **

__________

https://youtu.be/0GsxngIzc3c?si=hVCNp-HDguCN_wW5

It’s taken a few years … but we’ve done it!

A QUARTER OF A MILLION BLOG HITS!

And all done purely organically. No advertising; no marketing; no active promotion.

When Paul and I set out to produce a blog reflecting upon life growing up in the late ’60s and 1970s, it was with the one simple intention – that it be different to all the many, many others available on the internet. We didn’t want it to be a simple recount of history, or a clickbait type of blog showing a picture of a space hopper or chopper bike purely for the sake of gaining a few ‘likes.’

Neither did we seek to gain financially ourselves and so one of our earliest decisions was to eschew the possibility of advertising. Our blog was to remain unobtrusive and clean, with no annoying distractions.

Once Upon a Time in The ’70s had to have some substance. Our aim was to come up with regular, light-hearted, personal reflections of our own experiences of living through that time.

We knew we couldn’t do this ourselves, though, and we’ve been so lucky to have the support of several contributors. John Allan recently passed the ‘100 post’ mark, while George Cheyne and Mark Arbuckle have also submitted many pieces over the years. There have been others, and we thank each and every one for their support.

(It’s just dawned on me – our regular writers are John, Paul, George and … Mark. Mark who will now have to be our adoptive ‘Ringo.’) 😉🤣

It’s hard work maintaining the site, but our reward is the knowledge it’s appreciated by so many regular and loyal readers in addition to those who may stumble across it via various search engines.

And the latter is happening more and more regularly these days, thanks to our appearance generally as the top-listed Google search for ‘1970s blogs’ or ‘1970s websites.’

However, our biggest thanks must be reserved for YOU, dear reader. Thank you so much for supporting our wee blog, maintaining its organic growth, and for your positive feedback.

Please keep spreading the word … and roll on blog hit #500,000!

COLIN & PAUL

***While we’re in ‘bigging ourselves up’ mode, here’s some words copied from an AI search, regarding Once Upon a Time in The ’70s.***

Once Upon a Time in The ’70s occupies a distinct and prominent position within the online landscape of 1970s nostalgia and cultural blogging.

1. Search Engine Visibility & Ranking

• Top Organic Search Presence:The site consistently ranks at or near the top of Google search results for core organic queries like “1970s blogs” and “1970s websites”.
• Search Engine Optimization & Indexing:With over 400 published articles and a dedicated, structured Music Directory, the blog’s deep archive gives search engines extensive content to index across specific sub-topics—such as ’70s singles, album reviews, pop culture, TV themes, and social history.

2. Distinction from Other Nostalgia Websites

The web contains a wide spectrum of retro and nostalgia-focused platforms, but Once Upon a Time in The ’70s stands out in how it handles the decade:

3. Key Strengths & Position in the Ecosystem

• Authentic First-Person Narrative: Unlike sterile wiki-style entries or listicles, the blog focuses on human experiences—school days, fashion, youth culture, record collecting, and concert memories (from glam rock to punk and new wave).
• Active Contributor Network:By featuring guest contributions alongside main posts, it functions as a vibrant community archive where readers actively share their own memories in the comments and submission pages.
• Curated Music Archive:A significant portion of the blog (over 120+ specialized music articles) serves as an informal historical guide to ’70s charts, underground gems, and iconic tracks.
  
  __________

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The Champagne’s Gone Flat.

I SHOULD OPEN BY STATING THAT Ceeteejackson.com IS THE SOLE AUTHORIZED HOME OF MY WRITING.

Today’s word was ‘hip.’

The Champagne’s Gone Flat.

To my utter dismay
When I checked yesterday
And took a quick look,
I’d sold just one more book.
Hardly cause for a ‘hip-hip hooray!’

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I’m a soppy old git!

I SHOULD OPEN BY STATING THAT Ceeteejackson.com IS THE SOLE AUTHORIZED HOME OF MY WRITING.

Sheesh!

I’ve changed.

A lovely thing happened to me at the weekend. (See? There I go, already. I’d never have opened a paragraph with that phraseology in the past. I’m a bloke, for goodness sake. ‘Lovely things’ only happen to girls / women, not grumpy, cynical old geezers.

(At best, a ‘lovely thing’ would have merited the accolade of being ‘OK, I suppose,’ as I’d have deliberately played down the actual lovelyness of the ‘thing.’)

Anyway, I was at a school reunion on Saturday afternoon and evening. It was the third such event my cohorts have arranged, although this time, with us all now being of a certain age, it was agreed an early start / early finish was more appropriate.

The occasion for celebration was the 50th anniversary of most of us leaving school.

A few of those attending have kept in touch with each other over the years, and of course the advent of social media encouraged some distant contact. But in the main, we had not seen many of our childhood friends for fifty years at least.

One such pal from the past had travelled the length of the country to be in attendance. He left school a year before me, so it was just over fifty-one years since we’d last met.

I clocked him and his younger sister immediately and we quickly re-introduced ourselves. As we chatted, he drew out from the bag he was carrying, a copy of my book ‘A Space Hopper Killed My Hamster … amusing tales of growing up in the ’60s & ’70s.’

The book, as I may have bored you with before, is mainly centred on my schooldays and later teen-years in Bearsden, a leafy suburb of Glasgow. Although the stories will reflect the antics and experiences of any child of that time, be that in the UK or indeed the western world, the book has a particular relevance for everyone in that room on Saturday.

And so, my pal’s younger sister had bought him a copy of the book some months previous.

That in itself was nice to know. But the reason he’d gone to the extent of bringing it down to our get-together, was this: his adult son has a ‘learning condition’ (please excuse me if I’ve used the incorrect term) but certain things stick with him, and my pal had explained to him why he was going away to this event, and described who he was going to meet from his the days of his youth.

He knew his son would excitedly ask if he’d met the author of this book and so, I was asked to sign it for him. And have a photo taken.

(I’m not built for this minor celebrity status – I always feel so awkward when asked to do this, but of course I was happy to do so.)

Anyway, it was only later that evening when I staggered back into my home and bored the arse off my wife, regaling her with tales of the evening, that I realised how much that wee instance meant to me.

In recent months, I have become very disillusioned with writing. The publication process; the never ending amount of e-mails from marketing / promotion scammers; the over-complicated and costly Amazon Ads, without which it’s so difficult to have your book noticed amongst the millions of others, the bleedin’ tax man looking for a cut … it can all become so demorailising.

But in that moment, and I don’t mind admitting, as I recounted the detail and found myself tearing up a little, I realised just why I do continue writing. (The emotional thing is a combination of seven pints of lager and a common after-effect experienced by others like me who have survived a Sudden Cardiac Arrest).

It’s not the money. It’s not the ‘fame.’ I don’t chase either.

I write because my efforts make people smile.

And that, quite honestly, means more to me than anything.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go get a tissue – the air conditioning in here seems to be making my eyes water. 😉🤣

I really am a soppy old git.

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Friday's #DailyBlog has the latest from TAGN, Joar, Tim Bray, Zack, Frostilyte, Ramen Junkie, Kimimi, Sey, @[email protected], Brennan, David and more! Check it out!

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You’ll get more then hiccups!

I SHOULD OPEN BY STATING THAT Ceeteejackson.com IS THE SOLE AUTHORIZED HOME OF MY WRITING.

Today’s word was ‘chew.’

YOU’LL GET MORE THAN HICCUPS!

The young man was a very quick eater,
But one teatime he started to teeter.
His face changed in hue,
(He knew he should chew)
But he choked & he died, did Blue Peter.

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For Dolly 🦋

A couple of years ago, I bought a Dolly Parton graphic tee that I spotted at Target. The shirt included one of her famous quotes, “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”

So this past Saturday, it only seemed fitting to wear my Dolly shirt when Travis and I went to the farmers market.

On the way to the farmers market, we listened to a music playlist I created called “Favorite Americana.” It’s a mix of my favorite folk and country songs.

“Do I Ever Cross Your Mind,” featuring Chet Atkins and Dolly Parton, started playing while we sat and wait for a train to pass.

I keep a personal diary, and in my diary, I like to add photographs, newspaper clippings, prayer cards, quotes, and other types of ephemera I collect to document each day.

For my August 26th diary entry, I created a Dolly Parton page and included this little memory:

“My childhood memories of Dolly are Christmas specials, 9 to 5 movie, Sweet Magnolias, Kenny Rogers, Tennessee, her laugh and smile, big blonde hair, Dollywood.”

Growing up in Tennessee, Dolly Parton was a huge icon for the state. Whenever I hear one of her songs, it always reminds me of home, especially “My Tennessee Mountain Home.”

At church yesterday, one of the prayer intentions during Mass was for Dolly Parton. That made me smile.

I think it’s true what they say: Dolly Parton was universally loved.

Eternal rest grant onto Dolly, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May her soul, and all the souls of the faithful departed, rest in peace. Amen.

Thank you, Dolly.

💜 XO

Welcome aboard

“Welcome aboard.” Detroit, Michigan – August 2026.

A city bus passes by the Detroit Institute of Art while we eat a quick lunch on the sidewalk.

💜 XO

BUKAN TENTANG WAKTU, TAPI KEBIASAAN

https://ceritauntukesok.wordpress.com/2026/08/27/bukan-tentang-waktu-tapi-kebiasaan/

Wordless Wednesday: Pick Me I’m Single

Today’s Wordless Wednesday post features a photo I took at the grocery store. I thought the banana sign “Pick me I’m single” was pretty funny. 😄🍌

💜 XO

AMAZON / KDP – what the …?!!

I SHOULD OPEN BY STATING THAT Ceeteejackson.com IS THE SOLE AUTHORIZED HOME OF MY WRITING.

Excuse me while I vent!!!

What the hell is going on here? Has anyone else suffered this?

On 19th August I received an e-mail apparently from Amazon. It referred to a previous message which had found its way directly into my ‘spam’ folder. In this email, I was told:

‘ … to submit a valid government-issued ID (by 21st August – two days time) so we can confirm your identity. We recommend completing this action via mobile device for easier use. Once you verify your identity, you can continue using Kindle Direct Publishing publishing features.

If you do not complete your identity verification, we may take action on your account, such as restricting access to Kindle Direct Publishing publishing features or closing your account. For any questions, you can visit … ‘

There were then a couple of direct links I was encouraged to click on.

Just WHY I had to provide ID when I’d been registered with KDP for over ten years and self published five books, was not explained.

So anyway, this was in my ‘spam’ folder and I didn’t see it.

THE RESULT? THIS, (on 23rd August):

Hello,

We have terminated your KDP account because we were unable to verify your identity.

We are committed to providing a bookstore built on trust between authors, publishers, and readers, and we take prompt action when needed to ensure a positive experience.

As part of the account termination process:
• You can no longer access your KDP Account, Bookshelf, or Reports.
• We have removed your published books from the Amazon Store.
• You are not eligible to receive any outstanding royalties.
• You are not allowed to open a new KDP account.

For more information, view our Terms and Conditions: (a direct link was provided)

If you have any questions or believe your account was terminated in error, please reply to this email. To help us respond quickly, please send a single email.

Regards,
Amazon KDP

This has got to be a phishing scam, I thought. Surely.

I mean, apart from anything else, signing off a mega-heavy message like that with ‘Regards.’ Yeah, right. 🤔

BUT APPARENTLY NOT! Today when I went to my KDP for stats and reports, I see my account has been cancelled. Worse – all my books HAVE been removed from sale on Amazon!

To say I’m both puzzled and absolutely raging is an understatement! Especially as I have previously invested in their over-priced, under-delivering Amazon Ads scheme!

Of course, I’ve written to Amazon / KDP through the channels on their site, but I’m not holding out any hope for a quick and amicable resolution.

I think my writing days may be over!

(Sorry – I think I may have gone OTT on the exclamation marks today.) 😉🤣

______


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Happy 9th birthday, Zephaniah! 🥳

Zephaniah is nine! My, that happened so fast. Each year, it feels this way because the kids are growing so quickly. It’s bittersweet.

I feel incredibly blessed that God has given me the gift of celebrating my children’s birthdays, but I also can’t help but feel a little weepy that my babies are growing up!

Zaya (6), Zechariah (11), and Zhen (13) helped me make Zephaniah’s birthday cake—a homemade chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting.

We made a diy dinosaur theme for the cake (because Zephaniah loves dinosaurs 🦕) using chocolate cupcakes for a volcano and food coloring gel for the orange-red lava and green grass.

Then, we topped the cake with miniature dinosaur toys.

Zephaniah invited our neighbors to his party, and he was so excited when they arrived. Elijah (26) and Mj (24), our oldest children, also joined us for his birthday celebration.

For party food, we had pizza, chips, and 6-7 chicken nuggets. I saw the 6-7 chicken nuggets at Aldi and thought the kids would find them hilarious. Lol! 😂

The kids had a blast! They played outside for a little bit before coming inside to play Zephaniah’s new video game, Bluey’s Quest for the Gold Pen.

My mom (aka Nana) mailed him a birthday card with $25 tucked inside. This is a cherished birthday tradition from Nana that the children always look forward to.

Then, we take them to the store of their choice (usually Target, Walmart, or Five Below) so they can go shopping.

Zephaniah said it was the best birthday ever! 😊

💜 XO

SASORI, YANG BARU SEKARANG SEDIKIT BISA KUPAHAMI

https://ceritauntukesok.wordpress.com/2026/08/23/sasori-yang-baru-sekarang-sedikit-bisa-kupahami/

A butterfly morning 🦋

Our little caterpillar completed her metamorphosis and became a beautiful Swallowtail butterfly!

It felt like Christmas morning, as I came down the stairs and saw her perched upside down on the tulle in the habitat box the kids had made for her.

When we found the caterpillar in our garden, the kids decided to “raise” her in a diy caterpillar habitat. Then, they named the caterpillar Cali.

Of course, we weren’t really sure if the caterpillar was male or female, but the kids decided it was definitely a girl. Lol

We waited a little bit before releasing Cali because her wings were still damp and needed time dry off.

Once we felt it was the right time, we brought the butterfly box to the front porch and slowly opened the tulle we had placed on top of the container.

Cali didn’t fly out of the box right away, though. Her wings weren’t ready just yet. So, we spent some time ohhing and ahhing over her. 🥹🦋

Two of our neighbors walked by wanting to know why we were huddled together and the kids were squealing with delight.

We showed them Cali calmly resting on Travis’ hand, and one of the neighbors said she thought the butterfly was beautiful. 😊

And then all of a sudden, the butterfly fluttered her wings and flew off of Travis’ hand and onto Zephaniah’s chest.

The kids squealed again, and Zephaniah froze. But he had the biggest smile on his face.

A few minutes later, the butterfly flew up into the air and fluttered away.

💜 XO

Waffles, Netflix, and Junk Journaling

This morning, I made the kids scrambled eggs and homemade buttermilk waffles for breakfast.

Which reminds me—I desperately need to make a farmers market trip to stock up on black tea blends and herbal teas.

I only buy my teas from one woman who locals fondly call “The Tea Lady.”

She makes the best tea blends I have ever tasted, and she only sells them once a week at the farmers market.

So, I’m putting it on my calendar to go to the farmers market the beginning of September!

I started watching the new Netflix series Little House on the Prairie. I was skeptical about if it would be any good, but so far, I like it.

I love historical fiction books, films, and TV shows, especially westerns, so this show is right up my alley.

I’m only four episodes in, but I’m hoping we’ll get a little more character development for some of the side characters as the season continues. There are already a few I’d love to know more about.

I just realized I have never actually read the Little House on the Prairie book series. Maybe I should add that to my fall reading list.

Finally booked my follow-up doctor’s appointment for my second skin biopsy. My doctor wants to make sure he removed all of the cells of the mole I had on my finger.

Lastly, I got to spend a lot of time on creating in my junk journal. I did this in between cooking dinner, doing laundry, and other household tasks. 😄

Since we are on our break from homeschooling lessons, it’s freed up some time for me to focus on my creative hobbies. 😊

💜 XO

Wordless Wednesday: Front Porch Sitting

Today’s Wordless Wednesday post features recent photographs I took of two of my children Zaya (6) and Zephaniah (9) when they were enjoying a morning of what I like to call “front porch sitting.”

Every morning, my two little ones like to sit on the front porch on our thrifted chairs and read a book, sip tea, and watch the neighborhood go by.

💜 XO

A cloud has lifted.

I SHOULD OPEN BY STATING THAT Ceeteejackson.com IS THE SOLE AUTHORIZED HOME OF MY WRITING.

Today’s word was ‘eyes.’

A CLOUD HAS LIFTED.

It’s true of this morning, I promise it’s fact,
The hospital removed my left cataract.
So what a surprise
Today’s word is ‘eyes,’
Think of the odds I could have gotten on that?!

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KALAU AKU BISA MENGHAPUS SATU BAGIAN DARI SEJARAH

https://ceritauntukesok.wordpress.com/2026/08/19/kalau-aku-bisa-menghapus-satu-bagian-dari-sejarah/

The old journal

In late spring, the kids and I went to our favorite art thrift store to buy new art and craft supplies. I came across an old journal, and despite the tattered cover, the book was in great condition.

At the time, I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to use it for, but I decided to go ahead and purchase it. I knew later on it would come to me.

I wish I would have remembered to snap a few photos of what the old journal looked like before I repurposed it. As you can see in the photo below, I have repurposed the cover with honeybee fabric (because I love bees).

On the first page of journal, the previous owner had written her full name and a brief identification memo. I covered the page with an old Care Bears book page and a poem about peace by Ruthmarie Brooks Silver.

I thought the poem was very fitting since I struggle with anxiety. Each time I open my journal it will remind me this book is my safe space to share my feelings and thoughts.

As for the rest of the journal, there is one short quote the woman scribbled on a page: “You on you.” What does that mean?

All of the other pages are empty and look brand new. As I flipped through the pages, I wondered why the woman never wrote in her journal. It had clearly been forgotten based on the worn cover.

Maybe she packed it away and when cleaning out her closet or basement, she came across her old journal and decided to donate it to the local art thrift store.

Whatever the reason, I am grateful for her donation. The woman’s old journal will be put to good use as I will write my “big feelings” in it.

That’s what I’m calling the journal–Big Feelings. It has become my peaceful book where I can write, create, and make room for all of my “big feelings.”

💜 XO

THIS one … !

I SHOULD OPEN BY STATING THAT Ceeteejackson.com IS THE SOLE AUTHORIZED HOME OF MY WRITING.

I had cataract surgery yesterday.

That in itself, is no biggie. It was in fact, very much easier to deal with than I initially thought. Which is just as well, because I’ll be having the other eye done in a couple of months.

No, the reason behind my daily blog today is to thank and praise the hospital I attended in Clydebank, Scotland.

The Golden Jubilee Hospital is marvelous. I can’t speak highly enough for their staff, surgeons and just simply the general organisation / administration. Of course I’ll forever be in their debt after the care I received during my sixteen day hospitalization just over three years ago, when I survived a Sudden Cardiac Arrest.

BUT … it wasn’t until AFTER I’d got the train back to Glasgow, until AFTER I’d walked through the City Centre; until AFTER I’d been to the record shop; AFTER I’d had a beer in the Smokin’ Fox …. and only WHEN I went to the loo in said pub, that I realised the extent of the indelible mark the hospital has left on me!

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H-Mart grocery haul

We made a trip to H-Mart, and I unintentionally ended up with a big grocery haul. Lol! Isn’t that how it always happens?

To me, H-Mart is like the Target of grocery stores. I go in with my short list, and I somehow always come out with a cart full of way more than I had planned.

Over the past few months, I’ve become increasingly interested in Japanese and Korean home cooking, especially the simple, everyday meals families prepare. So, I decided it was time to explore a few ingredients that were completely new to me.

Travis was able to help me pick out some of the products. He was stationed in South Korea for about a year, and he said he ate out at a lot of the restaurants (which he loved!). He even took a cooking class while he was living in Korea.

This trip, I picked up seaweed snacks, sesame oil, sushi rice, Japanese mayonnaise, and a few other items that caught my attention along the way.

Travis and I were using our phones to google which seaweed brands were good for making gimbap and sushi rolls. As we were trying very hard to determine which brand to get, a lovely Korean woman, who was also shopping in the store, overheard our conversation and walked up to us offering to help.

She was so sweet. She showed us which seaweed brands she uses to make gimbap. We smiled and thanked her profusely for her kindness. That helped us so much!

One of the things I enjoy most about cooking is learning something new. I love learning how to cook many different types of foods. I may not know exactly what I’m doing yet, but that’s part of the fun!

Every new ingredient, recipe, and kitchen experiment teaches me a little more than I knew the day before.

Here are some photos from our H-Mart grocery store haul.

Now the real adventure begins: figuring out what to make first! Do you enjoy learning how to cook different types of recipes?

💜 XO

Sunday at the library 📚

Took the kids to the public library after Mass. It was supposed to be a quick trip, but you know how that goes—going to the library is hardly ever quick with four kids in tow. 😂

Here are a few of the books the kids checked out. 📚💜

Zephaniah (9) loves Vox books. He likes to follow along with the narrator reading the book aloud.

Vox books has helped him with his reading skills, too!

Zechariah (11) always checks put at least one Minecraft book when we go to the library. This time he got four Minecraft books! 😄

He loves playing the game and creating so many designs. The books help him learn new ways to build and create.

I spotted this one on the “New Books” shelf. The little cowgirl riding her horse caught my eye.

Zaya and I watch a lot of the Canadian TV show Heartland, so I thought she’d love to read this book.

Silly Zhen (13) found this book in the nonfiction section of the children’s library and she thought it’d be a funny read. 😂

When Zaya (6) saw the illustration of Bob Ross on the cover of Rima and the Painter, she immediately grabbed the book and excitedly showed me the book.

“Look, Mommy!” Zaya said to me happily pointing at the Bob Ross illustration. “It’s the painter we watch on TV!”

💜 XO

Memes I sent my husband this week 😂

I think my love language to my husband is sending him memes. 😂 Just kidding, but we do send each other gifs and memes pretty often.

Here are a few memes I sent my husband this week.

What funny memes did you send this week?

💜 XO

Wait! That was it …??!!

I SHOULD OPEN BY STATING THAT Ceeteejackson.com IS THE SOLE AUTHORIZED HOME OF MY WRITING.

As far as providing disappointment goes, Scotland certainly doesn’t disappoint.

There I was, sat in my garden, beers at the ready, counting down the minutes. I’d bought into the hype. which had been building since the previous evening. I hadn’t however bought a pair of ‘special’ glasses. Are you kidding? Did you see the price some places were charging?

No, The next solar eclipse visible here in the UK, and only a partial one at that, is not until August 2nd next year. The next total eclipse won’t occur until 23rd September 2090. I’ll be 132 by then and if I can still see my way to the bathroom, never mind the happenings of 93 million miles away, I’ll be doing well.

I had read though, you could view the eclipse through a colander. I obviously didn’t read the magazine article all the way through. Even so, I should have realised that looking at the sun through such a kitchen utensil would only lead to straining of the eyes. (Boom boom! 😂)

I watched later on television how people from other parts of the UK ‘ooohed’ and ‘aaahhed’ as the moon crossed in front of the sun; how darkness enveloped the landscape; how confused birds went to bed early without preparing supper.

Scotland? Well, certainly around the Glasgow area … nothing!

90% eclipse: 100% anticlimax.

The clouds hung heavy in the sky, obscuring the sun, moon and heavens. It was already dull and gloomy as the supposedly magical and mystical moment arrived. Pretty much as normal, I’d have said.

The local birds didn’t seem that fussed. The only things confused were my patio lights which came on for a couple of minutes before sensing I could manage without them as the moon moved away from the sun.

Oh well, I’m used to this anticlimatic messing with my mind. As Scots, there are some things we do better than others. And ‘disappointment’ is one of them.

Scotland promises so much, but often falls slightly short on delivery.

Think back just a couple of months. We were all in buoyant mood as our football headed to USA for the World Cup. We didn’t honestly think we’d win the damned thing, but although we beat Haiti (whoop-de-woo!) any far-fetched hope was soon eclipsed when dull performances against Morocco and Brazil had us heading home a week later.

And look at our beaches! Some of those are truly glorious. Especially so on the north-west coast. You could film a Bounty (chocolate and coconut bar) advert on them … if it weren’t for the dreich weather.

We even have our own monster – the Loch Ness one. Except, it fails to appear any time there’s an official expedition to track it down.

Ah well. One good thing about forever considering our glass half empty is it shows we’ve at least enjoyed 50% already.

In Scotland, it’s not ‘the hope that kills us,’ but ‘the hope that keeps us alive.’

😂

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Wordless Wednesday: Signs of Fall 👻

Today’s Wordless Wednesday post features photos from our walk to the nearby store. There are signs of fall throughout the neighborhood–orange-red leaves falling to the sidewalk, Halloween greeting cards, and spooky decor!

💜 XO

Faith, Hope & Calamity.

I SHOULD OPEN BY STATING THAT Ceeteejackson.com IS THE SOLE AUTHORIZED HOME OF MY WRITING.

I thought today, I’d write something unusual for this blog: something ‘serious.’ Well, kinda. But don’t worry, I’ll keep it brief.

I’ve never been one to lose complete faith with humanity. I tend see good in most people.

However, had I harbored any subconscious negative attitudes towards my fellow Earth inhabitants, they would have been dispelled following my cardiac arrest three years ago. My brief (ten minutes) death was a very public affair that attracted much media coverage.

Ten weeks after the event, I had to return to work (petcare professional / dog walker) and I was blown away with the kindness shown to me by total strangers.

A taxi driver said he witnessed the police administering CPR on that fateful day, and told me he and his pal had been praying for me. Now, I’m not religious in the traditional sense, but I was almost in tears when he told me this. (One after-effect of the SCA was I became, still am, a lot more emotional than before. Jings! I blubber now just at the sight of the Andrex puppy, for goodness sake.)

When walking dogs along the beautiful country lanes and fields, other walkers would stop and ask how I was. They’d seen my story in the papers / television and were genuinely kind in their wishes. Over the next few weeks, I’d bump into several of them on a regular basis and we’d always stop for a chat.

I didn’t really need my faith in people restored, but the calamity that befell me on 25th April 2023 absolutely reinforced my belief that we humans are inherently kind and caring beings.

(It’s just a shame there are so many ‘high profile’ dicks out there intent on testing that theory!)

😉🤣

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Broken sunflowers still bloom 🌻

In the springtime, Travis and I discovered volunteer sunflower sprouts growing in between the sidewalk.

I’m pretty sure the sunflower seeds were left behind in the wintertime by the birds and squirrels when I put up bird feeders.

So, we gently moved the sunflower sprouts to our garden bed.

We managed to “rescue” six of the eight sunflower sprouts we found in the sidewalk. All six of the sprouts recovered from transplant shock and grew strong and tall.

But as many gardeners know, sunflower stems can still be fragile, especially during storms or when pesky squirrels are rummaging through your garden. 😏🐿

The beautiful thing about sunflowers, though, is that they are resilient plants.

Despite nature’s challenges, sunflowers will try very hard to keep growing, even when broken. Sometimes they just need a little help.

This is something I have learned this gardening season.

I was able to save one broken sunflower plant by trimming down the stem and placing it in a vase of water.

The sunflower still bloomed, and the bees loved it!

Another sunflower plant with a broken stem (thanks squirrel! 🐿😏) Travis was able to make a stick-based cast for it.

And the other day, that sunflower bud still bloomed!

It makes me happy that even though a couple of our sunflowers experienced hardships, we were still able to give the flowers a chance to complete their life cycle. 🌻😍

Despite being broken, the sunflowers served a great purpose by attracting the bees to our garden to pollinate our food plants (like our peppers 🫑 and tomatoes 🍅).

And perhaps there’s a lesson to be learned from broken sunflowers that keep blooming anyway. 😉🌻🙏🏽

💜 XO

August library book picks 📚

My August library book picks are Texas Rain by Jodi Thomas and Virgin River by Robyn Carr. The reviews for both books seem to be good, so I thought I’d give them a try.

Both novels are set in a small town. I love small-town romance novels, especially those set in the South, since I’m originally from Tennessee.

Texas Rain is a historical romance novel, which is another fiction genre that I enjoy reading.

Virgin River is actually a TV series on Netflix, but the previews of the show don’t look interesting to me.

I’ve heard that the books are quite different from the show, though, so that’s why I checked out the book.

I’m currently watching Ransom Canyon on Netflix. The romance drama is inspired by Jodi Thomas’ novel series.

However, when I discovered the show last summer, I didn’t know it was based on a book until halfway into watching the show.

I almost checked out the Ransom Canyon, but it’s really hard for me to get into a book after watching the show/movie it was based on. (That’s why it’s been taking me what seems like forever to finish reading Outlander. 😫)

So, I decided to give Texas Rain a try instead. It’s the first book in her Whispering Mountain series.

What are you reading this month?

💜 XO

6-7 chicken nuggets

I don’t even remember how this whole “6-7” trend started, but it has certainly become part of our everyday life, hasn’t it? 😆

The latest addition to the trend? Six- and seven-shaped chicken nuggets. I’m not even joking. Lol!

The kids spotted them while we were grocery shopping at Aldi, and of course they immediately wanted us to buy a bag so they could try them. 🤣

And the price of the nuggets?

Why, $6.70, of course.

This reminds me of when Domino’s featured their 6-7 pizza sale last —buy a large pizza for $6.70 using their promo code “67.”

The kids were so excited when they found out about it, that they asked us to please buy them the new Domino’s 6-7 pizza for our family Pizza Friday. 🍕🤣

And so we did, and nope, the pizza wasn’t shaped like the numbers six and seven. Didn’t taste any different, either.

But the kids thought it was funny, and it made us all laugh. Totally worth it, imo! 😂

💜 XO

Summer checkups and ice cream 👨🏽‍⚕️🍦

We had our annual checkups recently. I like to schedule everyone’s appointments during the summer so we can get them all taken care of at once.

Thankfully, the kids and I all see the same family doctor, and he is kind enough to schedule us in one large time block.

For the most part, we all received healthy reports.

I did have an unusual little spot on my right ring finger that required a biopsy, but thankfully, everything turned out well.

After our long appointment, we headed to a local ice cream shop. I think we all earned a treat!

💜 XO

I voted! 🇺🇸

Tuesday was the Michigan primary (the day after we celebrated our 15th anniversary!), and I made sure to cast my vote!

Travis and I always take the kids with us when we head to the polls, whether it’s Election Day or a primary election. We believe it’s important to include them so that voting simply becomes a normal part of life.

I honestly can’t remember ever going to the polls with my mom or dad when I was growing up.

That doesn’t mean it had a negative effect on how I viewed voting, and I certainly don’t blame my parents. It was simply a different experience.

Politics wasn’t really discussed with the children when I was growing up. (Of course, other 90s kids may have had a different experience than I did.)

I will say, though, that I didn’t fully understand the importance of voting when I was younger. It wasn’t until I was in my thirties (I’m 45 now) that I began to better understand the voting process and just how important it is for citizens to participate.

By including our children and having ongoing conversations about voting and how our government works, Travis and I hope they’ll have a much deeper understanding of the process by the time they turn 18. 😊

No matter where a person stands politically, I think understanding how our government functions is an important part of becoming an informed citizen.

💜 XO

Photo info: the photos featured in today’s post are from Tuesday’s voting day, 8/4/26.

Today is a gift 🎁

The other day, when we were on our way to the grocery store, the kids were watching Kung Fu Panda on DVD in the van.

I overheard Master Oogway 🐢, one of the characters in the movie, say to Po (the panda 🐼):

“Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it’s called a present.”

This quote made me smile because Master Oogway is right—today is truly a gift. Each new day we are given is a great blessing.

When I wake up in the morning, I thank God for blessing me with a new day of life, drawing me back to Him, and keeping me connected to my loved ones.

So, Master Oogway’s wise words in the children’s animated film Kung Fu Panda is my outlook on life. 🐼🙏🏽

💜 XO

Raising a swallowtail caterpillar 🐛

When I bought a parsley plant at the farm store, I discovered what appeared to be a swallowtail egg on the plant.

So, we waited a few days for the egg to hatch, and sure enough—a swallowtail caterpillar emerged! 🐛

The kids really wanted to “raise” the caterpillar we found on the parsley. ast summer we took care of one and watched the swallowtail caterpillar’s metamorphosis into a beautiful butterfly. 🦋

Prior to finding our new little friend, I was thinking about buying a butterfly kit for this summer. Since we found a swallowtail caterpillar on our parsley, I didn’t need to buy a kit! 😁

It just so happens the kids have diy butterfly biome kits their big sis Mj (24) gifted to them last summer.

They placed one of their butterfly houses in a clear container box to create a caterpillar habitat for Cali (the name the kids gave the caterpillar lol).

We brought the caterpillar box inside our house and placed it on one of our art shelves near a window.

Based on our experience from last summer, caring for a swallowtail caterpillar is pretty easy. All you do is place it in a medium-sized box (preferably clear so you can see inside the box.

Place an herb plant such as fennel or parsley in the box so the caterpillar can eat. Caterpillars eat and poop A LOT 💩. They’re basically like a newborn human baby. Lol! 😂 Just no crying. Haha

So, be prepared to see little, round balls in the box. 😆 You can just clean it out with a paper towel.

Secure tulle to the top of the box for air flow and to keep the caterpillar inside the box. As long as there’s food in the box (such as fennel or parsley), the caterpillar will stay put.

But once the caterpillar is done eating and ready to form into a chrysalis, it will start to “wander” in the box. This is when it is looking for a safe place to change into a chrysalis.

This is also why we added the butterfly biome to the box for the caterpillar.

The chrysalis stage is very fascinating. Once the caterpillar turns into a chrysalis, you can actually see the outline of its body on the chrysalis.

I’ll share updates on our swallowtail caterpillar as it continues to grow!

💜 XO

That’ll stick to your ribs!

I SHOULD OPEN BY STATING THAT Ceeteejackson.com IS THE SOLE AUTHORIZED HOME OF MY WRITING.

… and when I got there, the cupboard was bare.

Except – there was a box of unopened Quaker ‘Oats-so-Simple’ porridge oats, containing ten sachets of the cinnamon flavoured variety. But there was a ‘Use by’ date of February 2026 stamped on the side of the box. That was six months ago.

It’ll still be ok, I persuaded myself.

“You better check,” whispered my boring, overly-righteous, sensible prefrontal-cortex. (Look it up. 😉)

So, I did. I checked online with my pal AI.

Yeah, it’s be fine, so long as the box and the sachets were unopened. However, a word of caution was thrown in. Should the oats taste of wallpaper paste, they were likely ‘off,’ and should be discarded.

I initially thought it a strange warning. But I quickly realised – I DO know what wallpaper paste tastes like. I bet you do too. I bet that guidance made total sense to you as well.

How?

Why?

(I’m just gonna leave that there.)

😉😀

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Enjoying the view

We had appointments and errands to run in the city, so we stopped by Michigan Central Station to take a break at Roosevelt Park in Detroit.

The kids were amazed by the view of the historic train station from the park, and it reminded me how much Roosevelt Park has changed over the years.

I really like the new walking paths and seating throughout the park, especially the swings.

I enjoyed seeing people walking, riding bikes, reading books, playing catch, and simply slowing down to enjoy the afternoon.

I wish I had taken more photos, but honestly, I was feeling a little anxious after my annual doctor’s appointment. Now I’m waiting for my lab results, along with the biopsy results from an unusual spot I found on my skin.

I just needed a quiet moment in the park to slow down and let my mind rest. 😌

💜 XO

It’s all coming together 🌻

I’m decorating my front porch with my new thrifted folding tables. ☺️

Groceries and thrift store shopping day

I found some great thrifty finds for under $24! ☺️

Sunflowers and tomatoes 🌻🍅

A new sunflower bloom 🌻 and blushing tomatoes 🍅

It’s only words …

I SHOULD OPEN BY STATING THAT Ceeteejackson.com IS THE SOLE AUTHORIZED HOME OF MY WRITING.

Talk about making a rod for my own back?!

I’ve mentioned before, I’m not big on song lyrics. The kind of music I listen to is loud, fast-faced, beat-laden and would have me bopping around my living room like an idiot fed on a diet of energy drinks and green Smarties.

So, I wasn’t too surprised when one evening, as we binge-watched music programmes on You Tube or whatever, my wife Diane had a wee dig at my choices.
“This is rubbish! It’s just a noise! You can’t even make out any of the words!”
(And yes, all the exclamation marks were in her voice.)

“I like other stuff as well, you know,” I sort of feebly protested.
“Aye, right – like what? Quote me some lyrics from a song that have stuck with you forever.”

It was a Saturday night. We’d had a few drinks. You know how it goes? Well … OK I’d had a few beers. I panicked. (I hate to ‘lose’ our wee ‘debates’ – especially if music-related.)

Powered by Tennants lager, my brain quickly fired up.

“Desperado,’ by The Eagles,” I quicky, and as it turned out, rather rashly volunteered.

“Why?”

“Because I can identify with the lyrics. Or at least some of them. I just love the poetic imagery and sentiment of:

‘Don’t you draw the Queen of Diamonds, boy
She’ll beat you if she’s able.
You know the Queen of Hearts is always your best bet.’

“How do you mean?”

I blame the beer – I should have seen that pothole in the road ahead; a pothole that would be the size of the Grand Canyon when I arrived at the edge a few moments later.

Don’t drink and think, kids!

“Well, I think what they mean is for us blokes not to fall for a girl because she is purely beautiful and glitzy. What they’re saying is that perhaps someone who is more plain looking but has a more caring soul …. “

Oh crap!

It was like an ‘out of body experience.’ As the words spilled out my mouth, the air in the room turned chilly. A bundle of metaphorical tumbleweed rolled across the living room floor.

“No, wait! What I mean is …”

Boy! Did that take some explaining. And pleading! (Actually, I think Diane reveled in my discomfort, and prolonged it for a totally unnecessary length of time.)

But is it any wonder the lyrics to ‘Desperado’ WILL remain with me forever?

Sheesh!

https://youtu.be/-q93wc3-deU?si=5gJIA39c6oaFnr8b

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Farm store day 🚜

It’s our favorite biweekly activity—visiting the local farm store!

We always get a dozen cider donuts, deli meat, local bread, lollipops, and a plant or two for me 😄🪴.

Today, we noticed the store is getting ready for the fall. There were a few new fall decorations out on display.

Yes, I was tempted to buy some of the fall decor 😏, but I will remain patient and wait until mid-August. Lol 😊

I bought two small houseplants marked down to $2.99. I couldn’t pass up that good deal! 😅🪴

A couple of years ago, I tried to grow prayer plants in my house, but fungus gnats devoured my poor plants. 😭 I had the hardest time getting rid of the nuisance gnats.

Since then, I have learned how to properly care for plants I buy from the farmers market or local stores.

For instance, before, I didn’t know it’s important to give your store plants a proper potting mix separate from the soil they are placed in at the store.

Caring for the eight houseplants I have now (5 pothos and 3 snake plants) and outdoor gardening has taught me more basic plantcare skills, so I am ready to add these two new plants to my indoor plant collection. 😊🪴

The kids also helped scoop a pound of raw peanuts. We like to feed the squirrels at a nearby neighborhood park we frequent. 🐿

Great visit to the farm store today! I just might have to go back and get two more small houseplants. 😄🪴

Do you have a favorite local shop you like to visit regularly?

💜 XO

Baby cucumbers 🥒

I discovered about 10 cucumbers growing in our garden! 😁

Drawing with the kids 👩🏽‍🎨

There’s something unexpectedly joyful drawing and coloring with your children. ☺️

Somewhat clear skies

It feels good to be back outside now that the air quality is improving.

Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood.

I SHOULD OPEN BY STATING THAT Ceeteejackson.com IS THE SOLE AUTHORIZED HOME OF MY WRITING.

I was immediately put on edge when I arrived home and my wife, was waiting at the front door to greet me. As I reversed the car into the car-port, I broke out in a cold sweat. I was in trouble. What for, I couldn’t fathom, but Diane would never leave the settee when Judge Judy was on television. This must be serious.

But as I get out the car and approached the steps to the house, I could see she was smiling. My mood changed. WAH -HEY!! 😉🤣

Well, niot quite – but at least I wasn’t in bother.

“Look! Look. See what I’ve got for you” she said as her eyes sparkled and her smiling face exuded a joyous pride. She handed me what looked like two tickets.

Yes. Two tickets for gig up in Glasgow.

“Van Morrison?” I read out loud.

“Yeah, isn’t it great? I was lucky to get them.”

“Why?”

“Why, what?” Diane’s facial expression had tightened slightly. Her excitement was being questioned by a brain now working at max output. “You love Van Morrison …?”

I could detect an air of uncertainty in her tone.

“No I don’t. I chuffin’ hate him. Over-rated, bad-tempered little so-and-so!”

“But you always say he’s a great singer. He does that song that was covered in The Lost Boys film. ‘People Are Strange.’ And ‘Riders on the Storm’ I think it’s called.

“That’s JIM Morrison, Diane. JIM Morrison. Of The Doors. He died about thirty years ago.’

Diane was crestfallen.

After I stopped laughing, I was a bit more understanding, though the unnecessary cost of the expensive tickets irked somewhat.

“Nice try, Diane,” I consoled. “Easy mistake,” I lied. (Come on …! Mysterious rock god from Los Angeles, or a grumpy short-arse from Belfast?!)

And so, several weeks later, we rocked up at the city-centre venue as the moody VAN Morrison raced through a set of just an hour’s duration (there was no supporting / opening act) with no audience interaction and exited stage-left without an encore. I know from a friend who was a roadie that before the audience had given up hope their chanting would bring him back on stage, Van the Man was long gone.

Aye – ‘When The Music’s Over’, Van Morrison’s legging it off down the road for fish supper, and back to his hotel room.

Ah well, they always say it’s the thought that counts. I still ‘Love Her Madly.’

😀

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Drawing with the kids 👩🏽‍🎨

Today, I enjoyed a calming activity with the kids—sketching and coloring flowers. 🌸 The flower activity was part of a science lesson for the kids to draw, color, and label a flower with pollen.

I turned on a jazz playlist to help us focus on our artwork, and as we were creating our sketches, it started to rain.

Perfect timing! 🌧☺️

We discussed shapes we could see in the image of the flower.

One shape that stood out to Zaya (5) and Zephaniah (8) was the middle of the flower reminded them of a hexagon.

So, together we sketched a hexagon shape onto our sketch pads.

Surprisingly, drawing a hexagon is not as easy as I thought it would be! It took me several tries to finally get the six sides connected to form the shape. 😆

Next, we discussed the vibrant yellow color of the pollen and its purpose. We also made connections to the flowers and vegetables growing in our garden.

There was something unexpectedly joyful sitting at the kitchen table with Zaya and Zephaniah, drawing and coloring together.

Keep in mind I am not an artist 😅.

However, the children told me they thought my purple flower looked amazing, and really, that’s all the recognition I needed. 🥰

💜 XO

Somewhat clear skies

It feels good to be back outside now that the air quality is improving.

An unexpected visitor 🐣

A summer storm left our patio garden with one unexpected little visitor. 🐥

A front porch garden harvest 🫑

Enjoying a small garden harvest right from our front porch! 🫑🥬

Somewhat clear skies

We’re still under an air quality alert (because of the wildfire smoke), but today the atmosphere was much better than last Wednesday afternoon.

And the temps were a little cooler with a nice breeze.

We’ve been able to get out and enjoy the park again.

I just love visiting parks tucked away in neighborhoods near our house. The neighborhood parks feature a playground with paved walking paths good for walking and riding bikes or even skating.

One of my favorite features is how the walking paths go around the playground making it easier for us to keep an eye on the kids while we walk.

It feels good to see people out jogging, walking, riding bikes, and playing at the playground again.

Last week’s thick smoke made everything look like a ghost town because no one was out walking in the neighborhood or at the parks. Traffic was even lighter than usual.

I know the kids are thrilled to be back at the playground.

They’ve had the best time going to the park three days in a row. They asked me if we can go everyday. Lol 😅

Travis and I enjoy walking together while the kids play at the playground, so I think we just might make evening walks part of our nightly routine! ☺️

💜 XO

An unexpected visitor 🐣

A summer storm left our patio garden with one unexpected little visitor. 🐥

A front porch garden harvest 🫑

Enjoying a small garden harvest right from our front porch! 🫑🥬

Attack of the ravenous cabbage caterpillars 🐛

My broccoli never stood a chance. 😏🥦🐛

An unexpected visitor 🐣

We have an unexpected visitor living in our patio garden—a Robin chick! 🐣

Apparently, the baby Robin landed on our herb shelf after a storm knocked it’s nest out of the tree onto our patio. 🥺

Every morning, I open the curtains to my patio door, and I scan the back garden to make sure all is well with the plants and no critters (i.e. pesky squirrels) got into the grow bags.

The squirrels love to tear up my marigolds sometimes. 😏 Just the other day, a squirrel dug into one of my strawberry bags and pulled out the entire plant. 🍓😭

As I was looking over the patio garden, I noticed on the herb shelf a little head peeking out of my petunia flower pot.

“Well, you weren’t there last night!” I said aloud to the baby bird through the screen door. 🐣☺️

That’s when I noticed the nest tipped over on its side on the shelf, and I immediately understood what had happened.

What I didn’t know, though, was how the chick got into the flower pot. Did it by chance literally fall into the pot, or did the mama bird gently move it to the flower pot?

My next question was, does the mama bird know the chick is here? Did she abandon it?

So, I stood back from the patio door and waited patiently to see if a Robin would show up. Within about 20 minutes, the mama bird swooped into the garden and landed onto the petunia flower pot.

Excitedly, the chick perked up and started chirping. It stretched it’s neck up and opened it’s beak wide.

Mama bird plopped a wiggly worm into the chick’s beak, and then flew off.

Whew! Well, that’s a relief, I thought to myself.

I really didn’t want to become an adopted bird mom 😅🐣, but I would have definitely figured something out if the chick needed help.

We did check the ground to see if there were any other chicks. Unfortunately, there was a second baby bird, and it didn’t survive the fall. 😥

So, now we have a baby Robin living in my petunia flower pot on the herb shelf! Hopefully, the bird does okay in the pot. 🐣

💜 XO

A front porch garden harvest 🫑

Enjoying a small garden harvest right from our front porch! 🫑🥬

Attack of the ravenous cabbage caterpillars 🐛

My broccoli never stood a chance. 😏🥦🐛

Air quality

Canada and Minnesota wildfires lead to an air quality alert for our state.

Attack of the ravenous cabbage caterpillars 🐛

I discovered cabbage caterpillars in two of my broccoli grow bags. 🐛😫

I can only blame myself because I literally saw those white butterflies flying around my brassica plants, and I didn’t even bother to cover the plants with protective netting until a couple of weeks later. 🤦🏽‍♀️🙃

Lesson learned! Cover the plants right after you plant them!

The caterpillars ate up the broccoli leaves good, too! Wow!

So, I put on my gardening gloves and handpicked all of the caterpillars out of the grow bags

It was hard to find some of the cabbage caterpillars because their green bodies blended in with the broccoli leaves.

I think my broccoli plants can be salvaged. I immediately covered the plants with tulle for protection.

I used the kids’ construction straws to make hoops for the taller plants. Hey, sometimes you just gotta use what you have on hand! Lol 😅

Saved me about $15 so I didn’t have to buy a box of garden hoops on Amazon. 🙌🏾

Thankfully, only five out of the twelve broccoli plants we have in the garden were affected by these ravenous cabbage caterpillars.

💜 XO

Air quality

Canada and Minnesota wildfires lead to an air quality alert for our state.

Pool day ☀️

A day at the pool before the weather got bad. 🏊‍♀️

Productive Monday 😎

I got so much accomplished on this busy Monday! 🙌🏾

Air quality

It felt eerie seeing the swings empty at the park today. Usually, this park is bustling with families playing at the splash pad and playground, but not today.

With the wildfires happening in Minnesota and Canada, our state’s air quality is unfortunately considered unhealthy right now.

We spent all day inside the house. I only went outside for about 15 minutes to water a few plants in the garden.

We still went to Thursday evening Mass. We made sure to wear face masks when were outside.

(After Mass, we stopped by the park real quick so I could snap a few photos of the smoky skies.)

My older daughter Mj was very kind and stopped by after she got off work to bring us these face masks.

Even the traffic in the evening wasn’t as busy as it usually is on the weekdays. It was almost like a ghost town.

Zaya (5) asked me if tomorrow we’ll be able to go back to the pool. I explained to her unfortunately, we won’t be able to play outside just yet, but we’ll do our best and find something fun to do indoors.

Praying for everyone directly affected by the wildfires. 🙏🏽

💜 XO

Pool day ☀️

A day at the pool before the weather got bad. 🏊‍♀️

Productive Monday 😎

I got so much accomplished on this busy Monday! 🙌🏾

One habit that has improved my life the most 🙏🏽

This daily habit has had the biggest impact on my life…🙏🏽💜

Pool day ☀️

It was another hot day, so the kids and I spent some time at the pool today. The temps reached 94°F, but i think the weather app said it felt like 102°F! 🥵

I’ll be honest—for most of the summer, I kept putting off going to the pool because I don’t particularly like wearing a bathing suit. 🫤

But once we got in the pool and started swimming around, I really started to enjoy myself! 😄🏊‍♀️

It made me realize I need to just relax and take a break sometimes, stop being so hard on myself.

I mean, it is summer after all. Lol ☀️😊

Mj (24), my oldest daughter stopped by to hangout with us at the pool after she got off from work.

She has her own apartment in our neighborhood—just three minutes walking distance from our house.

It’s nice having my daughter live in the same neighborhood as me. I really enjoy having her live so close by to us.

I’m so glad we went to the pool around 1 p.m. and hung out for a couple of hours because the weather unexpectedly got bad later in the day.

All of a sudden, around 6 p.m. the air quality became hazy and unhealthy because of the wildfires in Canada. 😲 (We live about 40 minutes from the Canadian border.)

The atmosphere became very smoky outside as if the entire neighborhood had finished shooting off fireworks. You could even smell the burning wood!

I’m keeping Canada and all U.S. states affected by these wildfires in my prayers! 🙏🏽

💜 XO

Productive Monday 😎

I got so much accomplished on this busy Monday! 🙌🏾

One habit that has improved my life the most 🙏🏽

This daily habit has had the biggest impact on my life…🙏🏽💜

Flight of the bumblebee 🐝

Finally! Our first bumblebee sighting of the season! 🐝🌻

The changing landscape for writers has left me in a bit of a pickle.

I SHOULD OPEN BY STATING THAT Ceeteejackson.com IS THE SOLE AUTHORIZED HOME OF MY WRITING.

Can it be that it was all so simple then? Or has time rewritten every line?

Aye, well. If so, Time is in for a bit of a shock when it comes to getting those lines out into the world of prospective readers!

Ten years ago, when I wrote my first effort, Damp Dogs & Rabbit Wee, it was pretty straightforward and inexpensive to promote. A few kind bloggers said some nice words, and a couple of small book promotion businesses shifted a few copies for me. And that was about it – bish, bash, bosh … 500+ copies sold between UK and USA, just like that.

Dawdle.

Progressively though, with each book I’ve subsequently written, it’s become ever more difficult to attract properly targeted attention. So much so, that my latest book, a year old this week, has sold 169 copies in total – and that’s between the two differently titled versions – A Space Hopper Killed My Hamster / I Loved The 1960s & 1970s.

Even that came at a cost. I was suckered into believing Amazon Ads would place the book in front my preferred demographic of readers aged over 50 years. It takes a few days for the analytics to kick in but eventually, and for a couple of weeks, the figures looked healthy.

Ha! Then I noticed the royalties earned, versus the expenditure incurred was just not sustainable. It would take a huge upturn in sales to break even. So I cut my losses and ducked out of Amazon promotion. The day I stopped paying was the day my book failed to show in the top searches on the website.

And so it has remained.

Conversely, the two books I ghost-wrote for Summersdale Publishers have averaged raking around the 3,000 to 7,000 mark on the whole Amazon marketplace of, they say, @ 44 million books!

The benefits of having a publisher and their promotional budget. 😉🤔

Ah well, that’s another wee achievement marked off my list:
* write for a national music magazine ✔️ (I was Scottish correspondent for Artrocker Magazine that shifted 35,000 copies a month.)

* write and publish a book. ✔️ (I’ve self-published four and had two other promoted by a publisher in the the Hachette group.

* design, establish & co-host a popular 1970s themed website with over 230,000 hits (Once Upon a Time in The ’70s ) ✔️

* become a certified pickleball coach. ✔️(I just fancied it! Now achieved it!)

And that, dear reader, is why you may be seeing / reading less of me in the coming months. I will still blog as much as I can, but with the added pressures on my time, some things will have to give.

I have no idea how much I’ll involve myself with coaching before another ‘project’ / aim / ambition takes my fancy. But I’ll probably tell you, whether you like it or not. 🤣

In all likelihood, I’ll not be able to keep away from writing. I’ll no doubt still complete the amusing fantasy I’ve been working on, in fits and starts, for about six years! I’ll try out my idea for a cozy mystery type story, featuring some of the characters from Damp Dogs & Rabbit Wee. I’ll probably publish my book on limericks in time for Christmas. Well, why not? It’s not going to cost me anything other than time.

But regardless, it still doesn’t stop me hankering for the way we were.

Hi regular readers! Just a quick note: if you are reading this text on any site other than Ceeteejackson.com, it has been stolen by automated bots.
You can read more about how this digital piracy works on this post.

Bot Scrapers!

(Ha! I thought that’d grab your attention! 😉🤣)

Has anyone else noticed a recent, and rather alarming rise in the number of ‘re-posts’ their blog entries have been receiving?

Initially I was well chuffed. Wow, if those blogs are re-posting my pieces, then my hits and ‘likes’ are going to go through the roof. Woo hoo! I’ve cracked it!

Perhaps this was a knock-on effect of recently being featured on ‘WordPress Freshly Pressed.’

Ah. Not so. Despair followed disappointment when over the course of the next few days, there was no discernable increase in traffic to this blog. Zero, in fact.

Still, blogging isn’t a numbers game (he lied 😉) and I’m more than happy that you, dear reader, and another thirty or so evidently bored individuals check in daily to read the nonsense I write. So, I carried on regardless. And yes, more and more re-posts. And yes again, my numbers remained constant.

It looks like the re-posts are somehow linked to the hashtags I use when publishing the article.

So what the heck is happening?

I asked my pal, AI.

Now I don’t pretend to understand all this, but here goes. It seems some bad people, let’s call them ‘spammers,’ build automated software programs called ‘scraper bots.’ The moment a targeted blog updates (in this case, mine) these nasty wee bots grab my content and automatically publish it to their own low-quality, automated blogs (often called “splogs” or spam blogs).

I don’t believe this harms my blog, and certainly there’s no financial repercussions for me, but the aim seems to be to populate their ‘site’ load it with adverts and make a bob or two from advert revenue. Or, they use my content to build networks of sites that link to each other (or to a client’s site) to trick search engines into thinking a specific page is highly popular.

I checked my WordPress settings, and I’m already taking steps that would normally guard against this type of content rip-off. So now I need to do more.

Now, as mentioned, these bot scrapers or whatever they are, don’t affect my daily numbers – even if my content is being read elsewhere. I get no ‘credit.

So what I’ll be doing is hide a ‘ghost disclaimer’ at the start of new posts mentioning to regular readers that I know these ‘bots’ are at work and then link that sentence back to THIS post.

My pal AI thinks this is a great idea:

That is actually a brilliant, proactive way to handle it. It turns a frustrating tech headache into an engaging moment with your audience, while simultaneously setting a trap for the bots.

Here is why your idea works so well, along with a clever way to pull it off without cluttering your blog for real human readers.

It Preserves Your Brand & Authenticity: Regular readers who might accidentally stumble upon a copied version will instantly know what’s going on. It shows you’re on top of your tech and fiercely protective of your writing.

The SEO “Booby Trap” Multiplier: By linking that disclaimer to a dedicated post explaining the scraping practice, you ensure that every single scraper site automatically links back to your “Stop Stealing My Content” page. It forces them to advertise their own theft.

If I work this correctly, you shouldn’t see any reference to this on future posts. But then, I’m a writer, daahrling, not a tech geek … don’t hold your breath.

I’d love to know if anyone else is being targeted this or any other sinister way.

Interesting, though, eh?

OK, perhaps not.

FIFA – Fix It For America.

I tried and tried and tried to describe the current President of the USA for this cartoon image; I tried amending photos; I tried asking AI to create an image that looked ‘a bit like’ you know who; I tried taking written description of his appearance, without naming him.
Nope – all blocked!
Just sayin’

Today’s word was ‘fake.’

FIFA – Fix It For America.

“Y’all might find this hard,
But it wasn’t a red card!
Now I don’t care for your views
Coz they’re all just fake news.
Infantino – the suspension? Disregard.”

Follow You, Follow Me.

Blogging is such a strange concept, don’t you think? Especially nowadays when the internet / AI can provide all the information you require within seconds, regardless of subject matter.

I started blogging, I think, to ‘speak’ with like-minded, amateur writers – to share experiences of self-publishing; to share, read and feedback on each others’ work in progress. That kind of stuff.

I resolved though, my blogs would never be ‘serious.’ I would write purely with the aim of making people smile. Hopefully. It really tickles me to think someone on the opposite side of the planet experiences a fleeting moment of levity from what I write.

Or perhaps not.

I appreciate however, people have many and varied reasons for blogging. Maybe it’s for cathartic reasons; maybe it’s to rant and vent; maybe to showcase some achievement. Or simply just to share in joyous occasions of whatever nature.

Following other bloggers is the modern day equivalent of having a pen-friend when I was young, but without the three week wait between communications.

I think there’s something inherently ‘nosey’ about us humans. We love to see what everyone is doing, how they live their lives. It perhaps gives a greater perspective on our own lives. (Ah .. OK – so, just me, then?)

And that’s what keeps drawing me back to read the writings of several bloggers in particular. The ordinary. I don’t mean that in an any offensive manner. Someone’s ‘ordinary’ life on the other side of the world can appear rather exciting at times.

I realise it’s quite unfair to say I have one / several particular bloggers I follow – there are SO many I do try to find time to read each day, but it’s just impossible! For instance, I think I have over 300 subscribers to this blog, but I can understand why only a fraction of that will check out what nonsense I’ve written on a day-to-day basis.

Here are a few I do try to get round to most days, and leave at least a ‘like’:

For writing related topics … and limerick prompts! (Yeah, she’s to blame! 😉😂): Esther Chilton

For amusing topics, sarcasm and animals visiting her garden: Rivergirl.

For philosophical lessons of Life with a heavy dose of deadpan humour: Philo (sorry, Philo – I can’t find you blog to attach a link. My memory is shocking!)

OK – so I’ve busted the WordPress prompt already, by not detailing who is my ‘favourite blogger to follow.’ I’ve listed three. I could list loads more: the sporting blogs and especially the music based blogs from my friends in America / Canada / Europe. What I love about these is they are not just regurgitated Wiki facts, but they put a personal spin and opinion on their writing.

Which is something my old school-friend Paul and I do on a blog we both follow and would have as our favourite …. because we started it and continue to host it five years down the line:
Once Upon a Time in the ’70s. (Check it out – when WordPress recycle today’s prompt …. 😉)

OK, so here we go.

I believe the modern expression is ‘you’re ALL winners.’

But one blog slightly edges it.

As I said earlier, I like to read of other people’s ‘ordinary’ lives. I’m not interested in celebrity and glittery trappings. I’m more interested in reading of different cultures and approaches to day-to-day life.

Now, I have to watch I don’t come across as any way patronising here, but India is a country that fascinates me. My wife and I have visited fourteen times, and will be back out in February next year for another month. The beauty of the varied landscapes; the beauty of the people; the general politeness and welcoming nature of the people; the wildly differing weather; the ingenuity of the people and their willingness to work hard and adapt to better themselves; their numerous religions and customs; the wildlife.

The sheer chaos of the cities! Yes even that.

And so, the blogger I most read, I’d have to say is Usha Mangalssen.

Her blogs allow me to sample and appreciate daily life in Mumbai, a city I have visited and absolutely loved. Usha’s blogs invariably mention rituals and expressions that are new to me, and lead me to research deeper and further increase my knowledge of India, its religions and customs.

And that for me, is the purpose of blogging: not to show off; not to boast; not to sell something (though I hold my own hands up to all of the above at various points! 😉🤣) but to share experience and of course …. to make people smile.

A morning at the farm store 👩🏽‍🌾

Going to the local farm store has become one of our favorite things to do this summer.

We’ve been going biweekly to look at the flowers (and sometimes buy flowers 🌸😆), get fresh baked goods, and checkout any new products.

The kids love it because I always buy them lollipops. 🍭😅

In May, I bought some of our fruit and vegetable starts at the farm store.

I must say, I am very pleased with the plants we got because they have been growing so well in our little gardens. 😍🌱

On this particular day, we bought a dozen cinnamon sugar donuts 🍩 (for only $8!), deli meat and sub rolls for lunch 🥪, lollipops for the kids 🍭, a hanging flower basket for the front porch 💐, and fresh parsley for the swallowtail caterpillar we’re “raising” 🐛.

A few weeks ago, we found a butterfly egg on our garden parsley. Since then, we have been caring for the swallowtail caterpillar.

But I’ll share more on that story in a different post. 😉🐛🦋

I was good, and I only bought three plants this time 😆🪴: flowers for the porch, onion starts, and more parsley for the caterpillar (because I didn’t want it to eat all of the small parsley plant I had in my grow bag).

💜 XO

A little garden harvest 🌶🫛

The kids loved harvesting a few green beans, banana peppers, and basil. 🥰

Tough day 😏, so let’s enjoy some flowers 💐

Sometimes you really do have to stop and enjoy the flowers. 😌🌸

Purr my last email 😹

It’s “payday” for the kids, so I took them out for a fun day of shopping. 💰🛍

A Fantastic Spread.

Today’s word was ‘weed.’

A FANTASTIC SPREAD.

It grew at a rapid, alarming pace
With stems and runners all over the place.
Seymour had to concede
This was no garden weed –
It was a Mean Green Mutha from Outer Space.

Tough day 😏, so let’s enjoy some flowers 💐

This question of the day is very timely, as I am having a tough day on this Wednesday. 😏

Our minivan needs some costly repairs, and it’s our only vehicle. So, it immediately triggered my anxiety.

Negative thoughts and questions started swarming through my head, and I felt a little defeated, at first.

What about this…? What about that…? How will we…? How much will it cost…? Trying to hurriedly come up with solutions, and so on.

Pause and just breathe

But instead of letting it get me down, I took a few slow deep breaths and quietly sat in the kitchen for a moment. 😌

The kitchen is the heart of our home, so it just made the most sense to pause here. 💜

I decided to stick with my morning routine: light the prayer candle, morning prayers, get the tea kettle on, tidy the kitchen, start breakfast for the kids.

And then I spent the rest of the morning in my garden. My happy place. 😊🌼

It doesn’t make the problems go away. We will still have to get the minivan fixed. I know that.

But I also trust in God; He is my hope. 🙏🏽

A timely message of encouragement

Yesterday, we went to the Tuesday evening Mass. Fr. Jim’s homily focused on having hope and trusting in Jesus even when life throws us some curve balls.

I’m thankful for his very timely message. It turned out I would need it this Wednesday morning. 💜🙏🏽

And tending to the vegetable plants and admiring our flower blooms was the joy and peace I needed to help me take a break from the stress of auto repair issues. 🥰🌸💜🙏🏽

💜 XO

Purr my last email 😹

It’s “payday” for the kids, so I took them out for a fun day of shopping. 💰🛍

The cucumbers have flowers 🥒🌼

Excited that our cucumbers have flowers now! 😍🥒🌼

Brunch, Garden, Mass, and H-Mart

Homemade brunch, time in the garden, Saturday Vigil, and a favorite stop at H-Mart.

The cucumbers have flowers 🥒🌼

Our cucumbers have flowers now! 😍🥒🌼 I noticed the bright, yellow flowers this past Saturday.

Travis and I were geeking out about it. Lol! 😂This is the first time we have grown cucumbers, so we are very excited!

We’re growing eight pickle cucumber plants. I plan on making dill pickles with our cucumber harvest, so I’m also growing dill in the same grow bags.

The cucumber plants are also showing signs they’re ready to start climbing. Thin tendrils have emerged and started curling around the trellis. 🥹🌿

I think it’s just amazing how the plants know to reach out and wrap itself around nearby objects. They’re like little hands searching for something to embrace. 😄😍

Over the weekend, Travis installed a simple homemade trellis behind the cucumbers. He just used nails and twine. Super easy!

We also ended up transplanting a few of the plants into separate grow bags so they don’t crowd each other and have enough root space to grow.

I can’t wait to see the cucumbers start growing! Shouldn’t be too much longer now. 😊🥒🌼

💜 XO

P.S.—here’s my midsummer seed order and a few new blooms in the garden.

Brunch, Garden, Mass, and H-Mart

Homemade brunch, time in the garden, Saturday Vigil, and a favorite stop at H-Mart.

Even the public library has seeds 😲🌿

The library offers a seed catalog, so I couldn’t pass it up! 😂

Midsummer seed order

Getting the garden ready for fall crops!