Capture Colour And Bring It In...

Hi!

The world living just beyond the glass is grey, snow falling, gently, deceivingly benign, for as the temperature rollercoasters, the layers of crystals create a most treacherous trap. This shining carpet of diamonds blankets brilliantly the perilous menace beneath. 

This grey world is not without its charm, for it sparks the creation of phenomenal forts, and dreams of medals dipped in gold. It inspires the long, knee-deep, trek to the top of jewel-encrusted slopes only to turn around, jump on, and invite the sharp wind to slap your cheeks as your sled flies down the hill at what feels like the speed of light. 

This grey creates a yearning for the colours that bathe the world beyond the glass in every other season. The brights and deeps, shades and hues, the dazzling yellows, subtle blues. Capture colour and bring it in, in photos, in fabric, in food, and in flowers. Gather colour, hold it hostage until the grey relents to the pageantry brought forth by beautiful Spring showers.

Without the grey, would the colours seem as bright? Without darkness, do we truly appreciate the light?

I know its cliche, but that doesn't mean its wrong. 

Now, you'll have to excuse me as I fill my thermos with "special coffee", throw on my plaid toque, Hawaiin shirt, attach my snow shows to my flip-flops and head on out to go tobogganing. 

It makes me smile to think that most of you will think that that has never happened.......

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So..... on the writing front.....

For those who have been inquiring, I'm happy to let you know that my next children's books "Laney In The Middle" and "Busy Izzy" have both entered the polishing stage. 

For those who have been asking about the next novel in the "Once Broken" series, I promise you I am working on it as fast as I can and will keep you posted, for sure. 

Thanks so much for your interest in all of it! 

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Until next time....

May your coffee always be "special", and your toboggan run true.

May you be able to hold on tight and duck for the inevitable fence you'll run through.

May your cheeks get rosie, your fingers remain toasty, and your toes stay warm and dry.

May the sheer delight in all of it be enough to bring joyous tears to your eye. 

May you, when the runs are done and the day is over, curl up, content, wrapped in hues and shades.

May you accept the grey as merely a season, and smile, for where laughter thrives, darkness fades. 

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www.margyreidbooks.com 

I Know It's Pretty, But......

Hi!



I know that in the grand scheme of everything that is happening all over the world right now, the fact that it's winter in Canada in the middle of January is hardly news.


I know it's pretty, but it's starting to feel long. The short days, the crazy weather, the hesitation in planning the slightest road trip due to said crazy weather, the winter emergency travel kit that takes up the space of a bulky wrestler in the back seat. All of it, it's just long.

The rutted up, icy parking lots across which the push of a cart of groceries is pretty much guaranteed to result in at least one prematurely scrambled egg.

Figuring out/Guessing where the lanes are supposed to be on unfamiliar streets in unfamiliar cities.

Learning the winter math formula of:  Time outside = Layers of clothing
                                                                                     Minutes since last pee


I know it's pretty, but, it's been dang near a month since the winter solstice and the days, though they are getting longer, are doing so about as quickly as a blind snail could ride a unicycle through a maze lined with double-sided carpet tape. Sunrise today was 9:07am, sunset will be 5:33pm. Blind snail after a couple of tequila shots.

We are likely a couple of months away from a time wherein the bite of the wind will soften, a few months from the first signs of green, so we do what we do to get through.

I, for one, will settle for watching movies set in Hawaii, drinking tropical cocktails, and spending as much time in the sun as I can. I will participate in goofy shenanigans with my hubby which, for the most part, lead to inevitable, if not accidental, awesome adventures.

We will do the winter math, and take those lane-guessing road trips in questionable weather with our wrestler in the back seat.

We will spend time with grandbabies, kids, siblings, and friends creating epic lego masterpieces, playing board games, watching movies and solving the world's problems. As to which group will participate in what activity, well, I'll leave that for you to ponder.


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Well folks, that about does it for now.....


May you stay warm playing board games and doing other fun things.
May you become a connoisseur of small-town rink burgers and chicken wings.

May you find a way to escape the freezer, visit somewhere with palm trees, swim-up bars, and cabana boys.
May you, if you can't, pour a tropical cocktail, play some reggae, light your "ocean" candle, fill your tub with pool toys.

May the next few months fly by without a single hint of the -50, hurts to breathe, kind of chill.
May the next few months fly by.....yeah.....that.


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www.margyreidbooks.com   























                                                                

Congratulations, Idiot King!

Hi!


Yes these photos depict a subsection of my family, and yes they are adorable, but that's beside the point.

They, in this instance, are representative of hard-working families everywhere. The kinds of families for whom a missed paycheck means making a choice between your car payment and your electricity. A choice between groceries or heat, mortgage or medical bill.

I know. I'm Canadian. Not my problem. But, I'm human. I'm a human that has had to make those choices. I, unlike the guy who lives in the Whitehouse, understand the panic of having to find money where there is none. I understand stretching $5 into a meal for 6. I've had to make the calls to the utility companies begging for time to pay. I get it.

I've been following this screwed up trek from there to here that has been taking place south of the 49th parallel.

So how did they get here? I don't know that the how really matters. To me, the more important question is why.


Telling blatant lies to create fear.

The lies he's trying to perpetuate aren't standing up to actual facts, so what does he do? Hmmmm, hey, if all else fails, make up another caravan!

I just don't get it.

His whole argument is about border security, right?

Well, with his shutdown, some of the very people charged with the responsibility of doing just that are being forced to do this very important job without pay.

Let's just say I work for TSA. I'm not getting paid. I still have to make rent. I'm going to go and get some kind of side hustle. I'll bartend, walk dogs, shovel snow, likely all of the above. Now, after earning as much as I can doing these things, I have to go to my regular job...for free. Am I going to be at the top of my game? I'm exhausted, stressed to the eyeballs, and the help my boss gives? Adjust.


Now, let's say I'm an air traffic controller, a guard at a prison, or I patrol the coasts.

These jobs, by their very definition, are already some of the most stressful you can have. Add the stress of no paycheck and everything that entails?


Such a small fraction of American citizens even want the "wall". A wall that we heard chanted ad nauseam that Mexico was going to pay for, a wall that can be defeated by a well-placed ladder.

So, he is walking out of meetings, threatening to declare a national emergency, and holding his breath 'til he turns blue over a wall that the majority of people don't want, that they were never supposed to have to pay for, and, in the end, won't work.

He's doing all of this, all while trying to create another fictitious caravan of boogiemen who are coming to take over lake houses in Minnesota.

He's dong all of this, while the people who work every day to keep your country safe slowly watch their lives turn to crap.


Again, to me, the importance of this rests in the why.

From the outside looking in, I'm not going to lie, it's scary to watch as this guy manipulates through lies and fear. It's scary to see how many believe his racist driven bullcrap. It's scary to see how many people are willing to kiss the ring of the idiot king.

Why? He's a racist driven by ego who has screwed over almost every hardworking person that has had the misfortune of working for him.

Why? Nobody has ever said "no" to him wherein he had no choice but to accept it. He doesn't know how to handle it. So he has tantrums, threatens, lies, pouts, threatens some more, lies some more and holds hostages. Seems to me, the biggest, most dangerous terrorist you have within your precious borders is the guy sitting in the most powerful chair.


So congratulations, idiot king. You have successfully, finally done something that no leader before you has ever done. Something you claim often, but up til now, has never, not once, been true. You are the proud owner of the longest shutdown in history.


There are no actual facts that back up his "crisis" or the need for a wall across the entirety of your southern border. That should matter.


In the meantime, my heart goes out to the hostages. Hang in there, hopefully, it will be over soon.




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Until next time...


May you allow yourself to break free of the gaslight, break free of the racist lies.
May you allow yourself to see the emperor is naked, despite the white hood he flirtatiously tries.

May you see through the words of hate, the rhetoric spewed to create fear and hate.
May you, when you look closely, see these are your grandparents seeking refuge, the only difference, the date.

May you find your way through the fog, a way to see what is actually and factually true.
May you find your way, I'll have a cold one waiting for you, neighbour, when you do.



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www.margyreidbooks.com

It's Not Funny.....At Least Not Right Away...

Hi!


Well, we're in it now!




2019 is officially upon us.


Not to sound complainy, but I'm gonna. I'm gonna for good reason. Wanna know why? 'Cuz it's not funny...at least, not right away.



It's not funny.


It's not funny to have menstrual cramps and hot flashes at the exact. same. friggin'. time.

It's not funny to try to write books, do the books for the shop, and book wedding gigs when sleep avoids you like it owes you money and your brain is functioning at the capacity of an ADHD meerkat tripping on a combination of sugar, caffeine, LSD, and weed.


It's not funny playing 'why did I come into the kitchen' and 'hide the pimple' on the same day.


It's not funny trying to find a movie that suits the current mood for a tearjerking, poignant, romantic comedy musical that blows crap up, has awesome fight scenes, but also finishes with an epic, satisfying, happy ending.


It's not funny when the verbal filtre, the filtre whose single, one, and only job is to distill the words and tone that spew from the mouth becomes possessed by some freaked-out, dark, mean, sarcastic a**hole demon.


It's not funny, at least not right away. Thankfully, and luckily, both my DNA and that of my hubby were generously marinated in humour before being strung together to create who we are.


Over time and through many crap storms, that marinade has carried us through.


Gotta love a good marinade.



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So, hot flashes and all, we are off and running into the new year.


I'm looking forward to whatever it has to offer, the opportunities it will provide, and the inevitable surprises it will bring.


I'm sure it won't be without challenges... but that's why we have the marinade... oh...and vodka...that is also why we have vodka.


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Oh, I almost forgot. New Year's Resolutions.

Keep the a**hole demon in check. If found not to be possible, waterboard the b*tch with tequila.

The end.


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May your new year bring you peace of mind, bring you joy, bring you bliss.
May you have a blast creating new memories, new adventures, from the heart, I wish you this.

May any and all stumbling blocks create a pratt fall from which a giggle can be extracted.
May you allow the humour to be your lifeline when crap storms hit, and life feels fracted.

May you understand that it's okay to laugh in the face of darkness, not just okay, but paramount.
May you see that love and laughter are our reasons for being, let every hug and every giggle count.


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I have room for a few more school/library/event bookings. Just let me know what dates you might be interested in!

In the mean time....

www.margyreidbooks.com