Photo by maitree rimthong on Pexels.com As a teenager, I recall my mum complaining when the cost of petrol went up from 4 shillings and fourpence per gallon in the late sixties and later swearing to give up beef when it threatened to approach £1 per lb. In the eighties we were paying 15% interest … Continue reading Living on Less
Author: Cathy Cade
After a career in libraries, I began writing in retirement and have had writing published in Scribble, Best of British, Tales of the Forest, Flash Fiction Magazine, The Poet, Writers Forum, and To Hull and Back Short Story Anthology, placed in four competitions, shortlisted in five and longlisted by the National Literacy Trust. (Always the bridesmaid…)
My verse, "The Year Before Christmas", is available from Amazon and Smashwords as are my books, "Witch Way and other ambiguous stories", "The Godmother", and "Pond People."
I live in the Cambridgeshire Fens most of the time, surrounded by flat but ever-changing fields. Other times I live across a garden fence from London’s historic Epping Forest.
What Every Vacuum Cleaner Salesman Knows
Recently I read, or heard (sorry, can't recall where; I think it was on TV) that every vacuum cleaner salesman knows if (s)he demonstrates their cleaner (or, in fact, any cleaner) on a newly-vacuumed carpet, it will bring up more muck. I thought I would try this for myself in our living room. I planned … Continue reading What Every Vacuum Cleaner Salesman Knows
Giraffe Stance
Be warned... giraffe stance will not enable you to paint your toenails. ### The truth is, I no longer know what I can do until I try it and find I can't. Cutting toenails on my right foot, for instance... and varnishing them. The doctor on the phone asked if I could bring my right … Continue reading Giraffe Stance
Pondkeeping
I just had a minor panic when I went to feed the fish and the pond was practically empty. The fish were huddled over the pump in the bottom well of the pond. Had I left it until I came back from shopping the water would have gone and the pump would have cut out … Continue reading Pondkeeping
Making Amends
For those outside the UK who asked, here is my story recently published in The People's Friend. These knitting needles had an agenda of their own. They were of a length my gran would have branded “pickle-stabbers” and Sandy used to say my ten thumbs weren’t safe in charge of a cocktail stick. The memory … Continue reading Making Amends
Buttons
No, not about Cindy-Ella's dog in my book The Godmother (shameless plug). This post is about the kind of buttons that fasten up through buttonholes (or not). ### Why do duvet covers have to have all those buttons that take forever to do up (when you're already shattered from stuffing the duvet into the thing)? … Continue reading Buttons
On the Other Hand
According to oprah.com, your brain never stops growing. Scientists once believed that some of our brain cells died off when we got older. But it's now clear that we not only hang on to our neurons—we grow new ones, too. Throughout a person's lifetime, the brain continually reshapes itself in response to what it learns. … Continue reading On the Other Hand
The Hum
### When I’m lying in bed at night I hear a background hum, or maybe it’s a vibration. It runs for a short while and then stops and quickly starts up again for another short burst, and then it continues for a longer period before starting the sequence again. It sounds like a motor starting … Continue reading The Hum
BBQ rules
So-o-o true... gotta love this blog post from Garfield Hug https://garfieldhug.wordpress.com/2022/05/27/bbq-rules/
That Which Is Write
Confession: the first thing I learned about ‘that’ is that it never needs a comma before it. It sounded too good to be true! Now I try it for size in my sentence, and if it sounds right, I use it. This is, of course, an over-simplification, but it works more often than not. It … Continue reading That Which Is Write
Writing Wrinkles 