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Just Jot It January, Magnify


Just Jot It January is Linda’s baby. 😀
January 2 – “Magnify” from Barbara https://teleportingweena.wordpress.com/

First of all, I want to lead you to Barbara’s take on ‘Magnify’ as it reflects my own journey with screens and reading and tools that can help those issues. Click here.

Photo by Juan Pablo Serrano on Pexels.com

The reason I love the acoustic piano more than my electronic keyboard is that you can express emotions on it. With signs, you can guess how hard or soft a touch you need to bring out the depth of a song.

See the less-than sign?

It means to gradually

minimize your

touch.

The greater-than sign <

<

It means

You play quietly and

Magnify your touch

I have not found the ability to do that on my electric keyboard with feeling. Nor can I do that on my recorder. I know you can with a violin. But it is most satisfying when singing with a choir, and the director and music ask you to unify as you and your fellow singers magnify the sound.

The voice magnifies so well. Sometimes you need to whisper. But there are times for an actual

Yell!

When we need to be heard we need to

MAGNIFY



Second Grave on the Left by Darynda Jones
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Because I am already on book 6, I am including the blurb to remind me what was in the second book.

Charley Davidson, Grim Reaper Extraordinaire, is back in this sexy, suspenseful novel of supernatural shenanigans.

When Charley is rudely awakened in the middle of the night by her best friend, who tells her to get dressed quickly and tosses clothes out of the closet at her, she can’t help but wonder what Cookie’s up to. Leather scrunch boots with a floral miniskirt? Together? Seriously?

Cookie explains that a friend of hers named Mimi disappeared five days earlier and that she just got a text from her setting up a meet at a coffee shop downtown. They show up at the coffee shop, but no Mimi. But Charley finds a message on the bathroom wall. Mimi left a clue, a woman’s name. Mimi’s husband explains that his wife had been acting strange since she found out an old friend of hers from high school had been found murdered a couple of weeks prior. The same woman Mimi had named in her message.

Meanwhile, Reyes Alexander Farrow (otherwise known as the Son of Satan, yes, literally) has left his corporeal body and is haunting Charley. He’s left his body because he’s being tortured by demons who want to lure Charley closer. But Reyes can’t let that happen. Because if the demons get to Charley, they’ll have a portal to heaven. And if they have a portal to heaven… well, let’s just say it wouldn’t be pretty. Can Charley handle hot nights with Reyes and even hotter days tracking down a missing woman? Will Cookie ever get a true fashion sense? And is there enough coffee and chocolate in the world to fuel them as they do?

Even with the blurb, I am having a hard time zeroing in on any one of the five books. So I’ll be general in my review. These books are a fun mix of Ghost Whisperer, Ghostbusters, and other silly paranormal detective stories. Every one of these books keeps me laughing. My favorite parts are the chapter titles from T-Shirts, bumper stickers, and posters.

Darynda Jones writes with levity. Tongue in cheek or outright humor. We all need that right now. Lorelei King, as the narrator, makes the stories more fun. In fact, I love Ms. King’s work so much that I ordered her book about learning to narrate.

Libby has all of the books available. I hope you get the chance to listen to these.

View all my reviews

Just Jot It January, Mindfulness


January 1st, the JJJ prompt is “Mindfulness” from Emily https://zombieflamingoes.com/. Thank you, Emily!

This fun Just Jot it January prompt is brought to us by Linda G. Hill.

Today is the day I reflect on possibilities. I don’t resolve. I have never found change in pure willfulness. Instead, I think globally, universally, and down to cellular possibilities. The things I want to delve into with thought, prayer, and desire. Some say cellular is universal. Reflecting on how the atom looks like a solar system keeps my thoughts meandering. When we think of the word ‘enthusiasm,’ we learn that it breaks down to ‘God in you.’ And that is when I draw the conclusion that if I feel excited, and if I spend the time being mindful about it, I can breathe a spark into a flame. Writing about the ideas helps me to decide if it’s worth it for me. We can’t be everything; we can’t be perfect. But we can grow in areas we feel drawn to.

Last year, in October 2024, on the advice of a friend (thanks, Yve), I found an old financial journal and turned I into a piano journal. In a few days, I will have filled all the pages. I started by sitting at the piano just long enough to enjoy the feeling. Sometimes that was to play a scale or diddy, as long as I could feel the joy. The minute it felt like work, or was in any way painful, I got up and walked away to do something else I might enjoy. But I wrote the bits I did, how long, feelings about the piece, and a bit of a grade of how well I did. Not to judge myself, but to watch for improvement and have a recording of what worked for me.

I have gained confidence and skill, going from five-minute gigs to over an hour. I even did a couple two-hours stints. I loved being deeply into the music, filling my heart with beauty. Not of my skill, but how it all works. I will be looking for a new music journal. It doesn’t need to be much, and I am sure I have an empty something with lines around here.

What I won’t use is my everything journal. My husband gave it to me for Christmas. Isn’t it gorgeous? It came with its own pen (I may replace it with an erasable, as a perfect journal will hurt me if I have a bunch of scratch-outs).

Now I need to write my first entry. Shh! No peeking! Possibilities are popping. And I must meet them with mindfulness to cultivate enthusiasm. New habits await.

One-Liner Wednesday


I was going to use this: COVID+Bookend Holidays=Confusion

But this is better:

From Sandra Boynton:  Happy New Year wherever you are.
Thank you, Linda, for all you do!

Truth


Share Your World


Here are this week’s questions:

1.  Do you stay up to toast in the New Year?

I’m always up at midnight. So mostly I’m up. I don’t party. But my husband, family and friends share our wishes of the best for the new year.


2.  Have you ever kept any New Year Resolutions made in the past?

Long ago a bestie and I made the decision not to resolve but to write possibilities. Things we’d like to see happen and put our thoughts towards. Often, for us, that works as a better way to find where to apply our energy.


3.  Do you have any plans for 2026?

My aim for everyday is to improve myself. I am the only one I can control and that is a challenge on my best days.


4.  What was the highlight/s of 2025 for you?

Getting to go to Crater Lake with family.

Getting to know my adult children better.

Camping with my friend, Yve, in Tumalo State Park

Sunday Funny


Because I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.

And even that’s been sparse.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday, plot


Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “plot.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

My stream is more of a dot.

COVID dries up every thought.

How could one come up with a plot?

Well, sadly, this is all I got.


First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson, #1)First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Okay, even if I give you the blurb, I don’t know if it would help you decide to read/listen to this book. Oh, heck:

A smashing, award-winning debut novel that introduces Charley Davidson: part-time private investigator and full-time Grim Reaper. Charley sees dead people. That’s right, she sees dead people. And it’s her job to convince them to “go into the light”. But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (i.e., murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice.

Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she’s been having about an Entity who has been following her all her life… and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely.

This is a thrilling debut novel from an exciting newcomer to the world of paranormal romantic suspense. The audio includes a sneak peek of Second Grave on the Left. (From the GoodReads page for the book).

Don’t think of it as dark or twisty. More like, “Sarcastic much?” Yes, that was a leaning toward Buffy and similar shows and books. Tongue-in-cheek and other kinds of funny. Hard to read at bedtime as guffaws blurt out and wake my husband.

My friend, Cher, recommended this series. After the wonderful Outlander tomes, I needed something light and fun. I want to thank Libby for having the series ready one right after another.

View all my reviews

One-Liner Wednesday


This one is easy:

Merry Christmas Linda G. Hill
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