Watching a documentary about the Oklahoma City bombing ties to Waco Texas and Jan 6th

Watching a documentary about the Oklahoma City bombing on Netflix Uk and learning more about the person who did it. He follows a book called The Turner Diaries about how a new order is set up to overthrow the governmentby starting an insurrection. It was on 19th April 1995 this the same date that the siege on a compound in Waco Texas finished. This why law enforcement agencies keep records and make sure that these domestic terrorism incidents have any connections?

There is one part when I was doing some research that caught my eye and that was when the insurrectionhappened on 6th Jan 2021 they called for the hanging of the Vice President Pence. This is also in the book called The Day Of The Rope. This ideology from the book was used on Jan 6th. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

He began publishing “The Turner Diaries” in 1975, as a serial in the group’s newspaper, “Attack!” The narrative, presented as found diary entries, follows white people who form terrorist cells and start a race war. The attacks they launch include a bombing of F.B.I. headquarters, a mortar attack on the Capitol and “the Day of the Rope,” in which “race traitors” are lynched, including “the politicians, the lawyers, the businessmen, the TV newscasters, the newspaper reporters and editors, the judges, the teachers, the school officials, the ‘civic leaders,’ the bureaucrats, the preachers.” Eventually, the group takes control of the United States and carries out genocide on a global scale.

All these ideology are going backward instead of forward making change for the better. But these home grown terrorists do not care what target or people die due to these attacks. 168 people working, doing their part died that day including children at the daycare center. This is not freedom the killing of innocent people and no part of a free democracy.  

Isn't It Good

I'm off work now for 11 days. Here in the UK we have Good Friday and a bank holiday Monday off. So I booked holiday for 5 days after. That's 11 days off including weekends. During this time I need to do some stuff around the house.

I want to decorate my living room a muted dark pink colour. I love vintage! Need to decide on colours, it’s stressful knowing what to choose.  

 

I like to get things done so I can do some planning and writing. I need to finish sorting out my planners, editing. I need to finish dictating all my research and dialogue and start printing it out, sort my story binders and do some reading. 

I wish had a office/library with a big vintage table, with those green shaded lights. The walls are covered with bookshelves showing my collection of vintage books and my vintage things I've collected, an old library card unit to store my craft supplies, an old map chest for paper storage and book nook area to read.

Wouldn't it be nice to wake up, walk into your room and you are at work, make myself a cup of tea, sit down, write and get paid for it. Dreams!

cut down on your shopping

With another hike in energy bills here in the UK and wages for up in April. But by the time bills go up we don't have a lot to show for in wage increase.

It's not just being affected here in the UK but all around the world. So here are some tips to help you no matter where you live on how to save money.

The main thing to do is cut down on non-essential spending and save for a period of time for items you need and want. 

Example: save each month for personal items. Buy in a 3, 6, 9, 12 month period.

Clothes and accessories 

Health and beauty 

Entertainment 

Eating out 

Hobbies

End of season Sales 

This is the perfect time to have money saved for any seasonal items you want to buy.

Pay off any outstanding debt

By paying off the smallest amount first and then rolling that amount onto the next amount To pay it off quicker.

For example: you are paying £20 to the smallest bill each month. You pay it off. The next bill is £30 So now you will pay £50 to get that bill paid off. In the USA it's called the snowball effect. 

Food Shopping 

Buy fruits and vegetables that are in season, don't forget to look in the reduced section. You can freeze certain things such as ready-made meals, vegetables, and fruit. Did you know you can freeze butter, milk and bread? Always good to have just in case.

Do research before shopping. Many supermarkets now are comparing prices to each other to get you to shop there.

I like online shopping because I can see the best prices across all supermarkets and discount stores. But not having a car is cheaper for me to buy with my food shopping or buy on another site due to delivery costs.

I still sometimes buy things I don't need but it’s mainly items to stock my store cupboard.

Freezer

Health & Beauty

Pantry

If you have a list and what you use on the regular with a list of favorite meals, you can make and freeze spaghetti sauce, lasagna, chinese. I buy jar curry do to life and time put it in the slow cooker and use the rice cooker. I haven't got around to making my own curry sauce which I would like to, so I can freeze portions.

Health & Beauty

Look around for deals and don't forget to check your store cards for points. 

Not everyone can shop at Costco but for my family it was cheaper to shop at supermarkets or amazon to buy in bulk. 

Supermarkets brands

I have been buying supermarket own brands for a long time. I watched a video on YouTube and found many brands make the same butter at the same location. So think before you buy. Check on the back there should be a code of the manufacturer site. 

I understand that they're certain brands we like. So save money elsewhere to buy the things you like. Mine is Dr Pepper. My eldest son's favorite brands are Heinz baked beans and Heinz ketchup.

Freezer

We like Iceland when doing bulk freezer shopping. They have good deals and brands. We don't really like a lot of ready-made meals but we like to stock up on ingredients to make quick items for meals.

The last item should be to write a shopping list and stick to a budget. If I see a product I need for myself like health and beauty and there is a deal on then I have to reduce my personal budget. Here in the UK we have 3 for 2 don't be fooled, it's 3 for a reduced price.

Happy shopping and hope these ideas will help you!

Sara

Don't Just

 

Mental Health Awareness Week from May 12-18th UK

Many people work out and eat right. But are you taking some time for yourself? That means catching up on sleep etc. I hate seeing these videos on YouTube morning routines “I got up at 5:00am!

Babe Please! I sometimes only sleep 4 hours and have a nap due to me not feeling well. Not everyone can get up at 5am because they're already working from a night shift. You know doctors, fire, police and us cleaners work different shifts. 

Take time to watch the sunset

But swaning is their fancy cars getting your nails done, shopping and doing errands is such hard work? But people say that stay at home moms are not doing enough. I had this looking after my 2 sons after being left and caused more mental health issues. What I didn't realise at the time was I was doing what I could.

Be sure to understand that everything you see could be fake. The Internet is very good at hiding the real stuff that happens. Go at your own pace. And don't forget to check in with yourself and take some time.

No it's not selfish or bad! But sometimes I've booked some time off, and can't go anywhere due to the cost of living at the moment. I'm having a stay at home vacation. And as I'm getting older I have to go and get some better glasses. It's time to face my reality that life happens so just go with it. You're Getting Older! But that's OK. The best piece of advice is to let go of things you don't need and remember you know what is best for you. So every week check in, breathe and sleep if you want.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Over the weekend I watched the show Apple Cider Vinegar on UK Netflix. I was astonished at how this young woman Bella Gibson made people believe her lies.

I think it's because people want to be a celebrity and have praise. This is a part of the TV show that I think they should have shown more. 

Especially due to the other show called Adolescence about certain aspects of social media and peers that can affect how young men think.

Young women are more likely to feel they need to become a sexual object then be respected for who they are.

Picture found in Internet

https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81637595?preventIntent=true

This also has an effect because young men then take advantage of young women and their insecurity.

What bothers me more is that the boyfriend stood by and let her do this and didn't speak up.

The meaning of the story is that these people that lie have people that enable them. Let them off the hook and ignore the real truth. Because of the monetary benefit it can bring.

With every invention that helps us can also be a hindrance used for improper means. That's why there needs to be more laws with social media and the internet.

But as with American politics, it is a tool that can be used to spread misinformation and conspiracy theories. 

It takes writers and voices like ours to call out these inconsistencies or we will forever be in a place of misleading information that could make you poor or even kill you. #Snakeoil

The London Blitz

 

The Blitz 

I watched a YouTube video about an American who had never heard of The Blitz and it isn't taught in US schools.

September 1940

For 57 nights the Germans bombed London. This was in an 8 month campaign of bombing British towns. Britain was at a loss due to the amount of German aircraft. 

London's docks were on fire; they called it the Black Saturday.

The Germans started bombing on civilians.

History is a snapshot of time.

This was also a time when Britain didn't have eggs and had to have powdered eggs. I know this because I've seen one of the Ration booklets my grandparents had. I heard stories as a child of when my grandfather was in the British Army working in the mess Hall. Well in some cases it was a make shift tent.

This is why the UK understands the feelings of the Ukraine people. 

Children and adults from all over the world need to learn about the fear and mayhem that war causes. 

Just think about it! You are sending your children to a different part of the country, while war is going on. This is what parents had to do in this time of history. 

The sound of sirens of incoming bombing must have been the dread that a number of people didn't want to hear. Hiding in the Tube stations living with the fear your house could be next?

King George and Queen Elizabeth remained in London at Buckingham Palace. On September 13, 1940 Buckingham Palace took extensive damage to the chapel.

The then Princess Elizabeth (who would become Queen) and her sister Princess Margaret were evacuated to Windsor castle for safety. 

While these bombing were going on, people were still going on with their daily lives and going to work. 

Not far from where I live in the UK, the city of Coventry was bombed on the 14th of November 1940 the most severe bombing ever occurred.

Coventry received major structural damage but nothing was off limits for the Germans.

Hitting all major utilities electric, gas and water. This is why the British still use washing up bowls because water was scarce.

Having water was a necessity not just for tea but to put out fires.

In this time of crisis nothing will do but a good cup of tea! It makes everyone feel better. The same as Americans sitting at their dining tables to bring families and friends together.

Something as little as that to have each other's company in such a time of need and comfort.

Many of you have probably heard of the word Enigma.

“a person or thing that is a mysterious or difficult to understand” Oxford Dictionary 

Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered no defence measures should be taken against the Germans. They didn't suspect the Cypher had been broken, especially as officers work for a highly classified organisation called Ultra. A highly level encrypted radio and teleprinter at the GC & SE at Bletchley Park.

  

The Second World war was won because of the Enigma machine and the dedicated men and women of Bletchley park and our Prime Minister at the time. 

But something that should never be overlooked is a man named Alan Turing who was a mathematician and computer scientist, cryptanalyst. He had a doctorate degree from Princeton, he graduated from King's College Cambridge. He played a crucial role in cracking the German Cipher coded messages.

Alan was a very gifted man but he was treated differently. Alan was a gay man. He was charged for being gay and went to prison. He killed himself on the 7th of June 1954. 

He was later honored by the Queen and then Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Due to his efforts during the second world war.

But what is forgotten is it doesn't really matter who we love, where we come from. What matters is we come together and we all united. 

But we must not let people assume or take freedom away from others because it could be your freedom that is next.

Writing A Story

 

Writing A Story

No matter what you write for TV, Film or Book writing needs to be let out on to the page.

Author Michael morpurgo on writing, he wrote War Horse. From a book to a film

https://youtu.be/QzAJ3oxYdy4?si=obYfyG2mKo6F7yxd

Life is sometimes not easy and throws you a Curveball. Sometimes and you have to go with it or not, that's the decision?

Writing nowadays is very similar and follows the same rules. But to be a writer you have to step out of your own box and have a good look around.

It may appear that some people have an easy life but we have different ways of thinking. Some people want to work a lot and make loads of money and do things that some of us wouldn't.

Some of us just want a life where we work to be comfortable, we pay our bills and are able to treat ourselves now and then.

We have to write from all different aspects of life: rich, poor, young, old. People that have disabilities and different sexual preferences.

Because in the end we are all still people!

Because this is who we are. As human beings we are curious about life, love and feelings.

But also our surroundings and what effects it has on us. 

Writing to some is difficult but it need not be. Write from experience and knowledge of your own circumstances. 

The trials and tribulations of everyday life put into words. The inner, most likely scenarios that life can take us down. The land of wonder, where everything along the path that is coming towards the character or characters to push the story forward. 

I would have to say I am a matter of fact writer. A writer that likes to write a beginning, a middle and an ending to the story. I think it's because I like to see how much a character has grown and gone through to where they end up at the end. 

I hate stories that leave the reader to imagine how the character ends up. Just tell us! Did they or didn't they? 

I think it goes back to my days as a young child reading Nancy Drew books and couldn't wait to find out who did it? It’s the mystery of who did it and why?

I think that is the question? Why? Why do we as humans do things? When we deep down know it might not work? Because of feelings. Hope, love, understanding.

To be a writer we have to write not just from the mind but the heart. The biggest mistake is someone misunderstanding good intentions. To assume what someone is before understanding their journey. 

How luck or tragedy Could change a person's life for good or bad. 

It's all in the details how one thing could lead to the next.  Let the story flow, it doesn't  matter how you write it or in what order? As Michael says the first draft just write don't  worry about mistakes, just get it on paper or on your computer.

Great writers like Jane Austin, Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens etc didn't write from a certain act or structure, they just put pen to paper and wrote their story.

Happy writing!

Sara

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Vintage stationery

I recently bought some inks as I want to make a book of shadows. Sorting out my bits and pieces of craft stuff for it. 

I wish I had a big house so I could have a office, craft and library space. I would have more room!

A Secretaire desk Bookcase to hold all my writing instruments, Shelf units for all my vintage decor and a lots of bookcases to display all my vintage reading books. 

I would love an old desk, a big wooden table, libary lamp with a green shade. so I could spread out; do my research and writing.

Well I can dream!

Atlantis: A myth, legend or fact?

Atlantis: A myth, legend or fact? 

As a young child I have been enchanted by myths and legends of old? The magic of Merlin and King Arthur. 

Stories of history over centuries ago. But still today conspiracies, the ideas of long lost civilisations and what happened to them, still have a methodology of storytelling! 

The idea of knowledgeable people for their buildings and their use of language. 

They used clay tablets and they wrote about their life's, just like we do today but in a notebook or on a computer and social media. 

They have found items in Pompeii of graffiti written on walls. Scrolls of writings that have been found all over the world of scribes writing in Egypt, where in fact from today we hold written word in libraries. This is what the great library of Alexandria was supposed to hold of great information for philosophers to debate and discuss.

The Egyptians left chiseled pictures of the great battles that were won and lost and used hieroglyphs to tell the stories to the next generation.

Hieroglyphs: a stylised picture of an object representing a word, syllable, or sound, as found in ancient Egyptian and certain other writing systems (from dictionary).

But even today tall tales are told of great ideals to advance the way the people think!

It was the Egyptians that told the story of an island that came to its demise by a great flood and was never seen again. It was passed down to scholars through the ages. This was told to a philosopher and he wrote about it in 2 books The Republic and Critias. His name was Plato, he was a philosopher of many subjects. 

I think he wrote these books as an err on the side of cautionary Tale as it taught. People in those days did not understand as we do today about how hurricanes and volcanoes work.

The gods would be unhappy" if you did not make an offering or follow the strict rules of the gods due to unwarranted behavior, these gods would strike you down. It is taught by many volumes from all different faiths in the world.

But I feel Plato could see both sides of the story? As for stories about great floods, is it plausible to think that these two stories have something in common? One of the great floods of Noah and his ark, to Poseidon, the Greek god and the island of Atlantis? I propose anything could be possible?

The time frame of the event is something that should be explored more, as we have changed calendars in the course of 10,000 years ago. Due to advancements in history and archaeology, we have to use science that can be used for the time frame. But Atlantis is lost, how can you find something that is lost? Well it is up to us to find it! You have to find clues and research?

Check back for part 2