Mad Dogs, Englishmen and Me -- Janet Lane Walters #BWLAuthor #Exercise #Dieting

 

Mad Dogs, Englishmen and Me

Everyone probably knows the rest of that quote. Why me, you ask. It happened about a week ago. In the last eight months I’ve lost fifteen pounds. Well for the past two, I have remained at the same level. I would like to lose a bit more. What to do? The only way to achieve this is to exercise and walk.

Walk to me is boring. But I know I must. Now they say the early bird… You know the rest. I am not a morning oerson. I am awake and my brain works but my body refuses to exercise at that time. I spend the hours from seven AM until around twp PM convincing my self “I can do that.” Therefore, I have cone to grips with the midday sun. But I set forth, increasing the distance every day. My goal is to reach the hook and that’s three miles from my house. I figure in a year or two I will reach that goal. Then the problem will be walking back.

One good thing about doing this walk is I can think about my WIP. That is moving forward. Since the first of July, I’ve planned and now have about finished the rough draft. The total will be 40,000 words and I write tight in the beginning. I figure when I’m finished the book will be somewhere between 50,000 and 90,000 words. So every day, I hit the pavement while the midday sun is high and push myself another hundred steps forward.

My Places

https://twitter.com/JanetL717

 https://www.facebook.com/janet.l.walters.3?v=wall&story_f

bid=113639528680724

 http://bookswelove.net/

 http://wwweclecticwriter.blogspot.com

https://www.pinterest.com/shadyl717/

Buy Mark

http://bookswelove.net/walters-janet-lane/

2020 woes - throw in Shad fly swarm and Gypsy moth infestation, by J.C. Kavanagh

Book 2 of the Award-winning Twisted Climb series

Bugs. They're everywhere in Ontario, Canada.

In June, it started with the shad fly. A swarm of millions. We encountered the swarm near our home in south-central Ontario, and travelled several kilometres until we were clear of them. EW.

Driving into a swarm of shad flies

Smushed shad flies on my truck

... and on the antenna. What the heck?

Shad flies, also called May flies or fish flies (cuz they smell like fish when they're dead),
on the grill of my truck.

The next day, it took me a solid three hours of brush scrubbing and rinsing before the last of the critters were washed off my truck. Again I say - EW!

And then came the gypsy moth caterpillars...

First, they were crawling over trees, eating leaves, decimating forests.

Then, after 'hatching' from the pupae stage, the moths fly in your face, body-slam your back (can they see?), and lay eggs everywhere. Everywhere!

Mating moths (white-coloured female, brown-coloured male) beside tear-shaped pupae

The female gypsy moth and their egg patches

In Canada, duct tape is used for just about anything...
though this property owner forgot to put the 'sticky' side, out.

The gypsy moths (Latin name Lymantria dispar dispar), originated in Europe and were first detected in Ontario, Canada, in 1969. There have been multiple outbreaks over the years and Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources staff agree that this infestation is the worst one since 1990. Gypsy moth caterpillars are voracious eaters and prefer oak, maple, basswood, beech and white pine. They will eat the leaves/needles of these trees, stripping them to bare branches. While defoliation won't kill the tree, the damage will cause a significant decrease in the tree's natural growth. Surprising fact: only the caterpillars eat - the adult moths survive for about two weeks with the sole purpose of mating / laying eggs. I was recently camping at Killbear Provincial Park near Parry Sound and I can say first-hand the infestation there is horrible. Gypsy moths were everywhere. EW!

Personally, moths, caterpillars and shad flies don't bother me. But spiders... oh they bother me a lot. So it was with great goose-bumps and shudders that I included big, black, hairy, hand-sized spiders in Book 2 of The Twisted Climb series, Darkness Descends. Uncovering a spiders' nest is just one of many adventures encountered by Jayden, Connor and Max. If you love action / adventure / suspense / drama and a hint of the paranormal, you'll love The Twisted Climb books. No EWs involved. Well, maybe a few. Enjoy!

J.C. Kavanagh, author of

The Twisted Climb - Darkness Descends (Book 2)

voted BEST Young Adult Book 2018, Critters Readers Poll and Best YA Book FINALIST at The Word Guild, Canada

AND

The Twisted Climb,

voted BEST Young Adult Book 2016, P&E Readers Poll

Novels for teens, young adults and adults young at heart

Email: author.j.c.kavanagh@gmail.com

www.facebook.com/J.C.Kavanagh

www.amazon.com/author/jckavanagh

Twitter @JCKavanagh1 (Author J.C. Kavanagh)

The Society of Happy People

 

I do the usual things when considering a blog topic: review some of the lessons learned about my writing; explore the lives of important or interesting people and analyse the momentous events of the day. I also check the calendar for important dates. To my surprise, I learned that August is ‘Admit You’re Happy Month.’

I discovered some intriguing facts about this important occasion. Its roots go back to the founding of the Society of Happy People on August 8, 1999, by a lady named Pamela Gail Johnson, from the Dallas area in Texas.

In 1998, it occurred to her that many happy people exist, but keep their happiness to themselves and wondered where all these happy people are.

She originally thought that her idea made for a good essay, but with a little encouragement from friends, started the Society of Happy People. She still manages the Society, and her official title is “Chief Happiness Officer.” Despite describing herself as an introvert—she enjoys cooking, yoga, chatting with friends and her book club—she keeps busy as a Keynote and Motivational Speaker. For over two decades, she has inspired and motivated thousands of people to find and keep more happiness, optimism and positivity.

Adults typically smile twenty times a day, compared to children, who smile four hundred times a day. However, she states, “no matter how often you smile, the more you smile, the better.” Smiling is contagious; one smile starts another. It has definitive cognitive effects: smiling retrains the brain to think more positive thoughts.

For "Admit You're Happy Month,' Johnson has organized a “31 Day ~ 31 Happiness” Challenge. The goal is to make people take stock of their lives and to do things that make them and others happy. The Society presents a “Happy Challenge” each day which is posted on social media—Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. 

Smile, and be Happy!!

Mohan Ashtakala (www.mohanashtakala.com) is the author of "The Yoga Zapper," a fantasy, and "Karma Nation," a literary romance. He is published by Books We Love (www.bookswelove.com)