Category: Stories of Jorie

Chart Your Course | A Wyrd And Wonder #bookstack as #JorieReads her Year 8 selections!

Posted Wednesday, 7 May, 2025 by jorielov 3 Comments

Wyrd And Wonder 2020 banner created by Imyril. Image Credit: Flaming phoenix by Sujono Sujono from 123RF.com.

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!!

You might have wondered where Jorie has been this first week of Wyrd And Wonder! I must admit, the first week of May did not quite play out the way I had thought it would – as I was gathering books from my local library which parlay into our lovely theme this year of #NauticalFantasy whilst I was happily diving inside the #bookstack I selected to read this May. Those stories are not quite within the theme, but one series is adjacent to the theme which was a happy surprise!

On the 2nd of May, late at night that Friday, my Mum went to the hospital – she had intense back and stomach pains and was truly uncomfortable. I was beside myself as I didn’t know how to help or what to do other than to drive her to the ER as I knew the answer had to be at the hospital. This is on the foot heels of her addressing her asthma which resumed after a long absence in her life. We have been sorting out with her doctors and insurance how to get inhalers and a nebulizer which seems to take longer than necessary to resolve but we were making progress. Then, that Friday, after I was home from my second job I knew something was wrong. We were in the ER from 10p to 130a and when they released her as she still had those same pains, but they were a bit reduced from when we arrived – I did question if they should run more tests and see what was causing the issues. They were convinced it was something more minor and would resolve on its own as her heart and lungs were cleared by the tests they had already run.

I was too exhausted to contemplate it further at that point and we went home. By 1045a Saturday morning we were back in the ER and why it took them *six!* hours to sort out it was her gallbladder causing all the pain and discomfort I am unsure. However, she was admitted to the hospital and surgery was scheduled for Sunday. Except that on Sunday, the 4th her levels were too elevated for surgery, and they had to push the surgery forward to Monday. I took off work on Saturday but went in on Monday as the timing of the surgery was originally scheduled for when I would be at work and afterwards, I could see her in her room as she recovered. Ironically, that didn’t quite go to plan!

Blessedly my boss let me go early as he knew I was growing worried about not knowing what was going on with Mum. The text alerts from the hospital never worked for me and so, I was in the dark. I arrived shortly before 2p and was stunned to find she wasn’t in her room. Apparently, her surgery time had shifted, and I was to hurry to the basement to see her before she went into the OR. On arrival in the family waiting room, I was informed I couldn’t see her as I missed my time window. I was about to leave and go home to return a bit later as I needed to check on my cats and change clothes, etc as I had come straight from work. I also needed to let my night boss know I couldn’t come in as I was going to be at the hospital waiting to speak with the surgeon post-op and to see Mum after she returned to her room. Thankfully that elevator is truly slow moving – as another nurse popped her head out of another door and said, “Come with me”. Somehow, I was able to see Mum after all right before she went into the OR and it was a blessing for both of us!

One interesting bit to note is that when it was time to ride the elevator it wasn’t arriving at all. There was someone from the hospital waiting with me and he said, “Where are you going?” I said first floor and he said, “Come with me” – we went through the secured door and through another one and I found myself in a steep staircase and then, promptly after two flights told “Here you go!” I was so dearly winded as that was more exercise than I usually get during a week – I said, “Thank you.” I had to get directions as I was on the ‘staff’ side of floor one and in a winding route, I made my way back to the front entrance. When I turned to thank him for his kindness again, he had already disappeared.

I returned about an hour later and spoke to one of the surgical nurses who went to find the nurse who had taken me back to see Mum. She let me know everything had gone well even though the surgery took a bit longer than expected (nearly two hours!) and that the surgeon would be out to see me as soon as he could. It would take another hour for me to see Mum as she was still in recovery. I might not have had alerts from the hospital, but I felt buffered by the kindness of nurses and staff who were looking out for me and Mum.

The surgeon was wicked kind and explained everything to me – he was thankful he had taken the case as it was an interesting one from the fact her gallbladder was so dearly inflamed. It was a living testament of prayer and divine interventions – I felt watched over from the moment we entered the hospital to the moment Mum was discharged. Everything just fit into place – she had wonderful and attentive nurses and most of them had wicked humour which helped loads! Including her doctor in the ER who not only helped her with this issue but with her asthma in the weeks prior to her surgery. We were truly blessed and to have her home now recovering is the best bit of all.

Thereby, my Wyrd And Wonder started off with a medical emergency and a rotation of visits to the local hospital – whilst I dreamt of fantastical worlds and characters I couldn’t wait to meet. I did play loads of hours of Puzzles and Spells (ie. the Harry Potter mobile game) — so I was still keeping a toe step into Fantasy, you could say! Laughs. I also put more books on hold at my library. Overall, it was a very intense week, and I am thankful calmer waters are arriving now. I hope if anyone has to go through something similar, they feel as supported as I did by the nurses as they truly are the unsung heroes of hospitals. They not only help patients, but they are the supportive shoulder for families, too, and it was especially kind how they helped me as I was navigating this alone. It was another new experience as I am used to having someone with me – they will have my gratitude forever.

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Journey with me into #WyrdAndWonder:

Wyrd And Wonder Prompt Challenge graphic created by Imyril using Mermaid image by Yuri Arcurs Photography (https://www.123rf.com/profile_peopleimages12). Used with permission.

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Posted Wednesday, 7 May, 2025 by jorielov in #25PagePreview, #WyrdAndWonder, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story, Stories of Jorie, Twitterland & Twitterverse Event

#TheSundayPost XX | Time to get our #SpookyReads on this #SpooktasticReads!

Posted Sunday, 20 October, 2024 by jorielov , , , 4 Comments

#TheSundayPost banner created by Jorie in Canva.

[Official Blurb] The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog. This is your news post, so personalize it! Include as much as you want or as little. Be creative, it can be a vlog or just a showcase of your goodies. Link up once a week or once a month, you decide. Book haul can include library books, yard sale finds, arcs and bought books…share them!

Enter your link on the post-

Sundays beginning at 12:01 am (CST) (link will be open all week)

Link back to this post or this blog

Visit others who have linked up

Read this week’s #TheSundayPost!

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Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

I didn’t think Autumn would ever arrive this year! :(

I had an inkling of hope Autumn was arriving when I caught a whisper of cooler winds and crisper weather was starting to become the new normal! It is such a blessing from the harsher wrath of Summer and for me, truly, when the Autumnal tides start to turn into my hours – I find myself blessedly happier for a season that invigorates my soul! It is such a calmer time of year.

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In regards to my life behind the blog:

I will admit, the past several months turnt out to be on the harder side of the ledger for myself and my family. Between bouts of illness and injuries to a hard-won Summer all the way round – to a resurgence of my migraines and some dreadful weather occurrences – it feels more like I’ve run into Autumn without realising what became of Summer! Oyy.

My Dad had some rough patches himself – and that was a difficult moment of time for Mum and I, too. I’ve had some good visits with him which gave me glimpses of the Dad I know is still with us even though more times than not it is hard to see that side of him. He’s gone through so many changes these past two years he’s been in long term care. That’s still an adjustment I feel because even though we’ve become accustomed to where we are in life with him right now, it still is so very different than it was before and sometimes that seems harder somehow. Mostly I try to put those thoughts aside and just enjoy the moments I am with him. I am sure other families who have gone through this know what I’m referring too.

As a special treat to ourselves, we resumed NetFlix and started to settle into watching “Young Sheldon” which was one of the last series I watched with my Dad. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel revisiting it again as I haven’t watched it since he entered the hospital all those months ago now. It was a bit like how I wasn’t sure if I would ever finish the Jurassic Park franchise until a new friend encouraged me to do that and now I’m glad I had. It was emotional for me going through the Jurassic World films without Dad and even, seeing the finale where everything concluded – but in some respects, I felt he was still there with me seeing it all himself, too. It was one of those quirky film series we got into as a daugher and her father – seeing that conclude this year was one bittersweet memory for me.

And, how that I’ve gone through Series 1-6 of Sheldon, I have the same reaction as I had with Jurassic. Time shifts forward but sometimes the mind and heart shifts backwards. I’m glad Mum took a liking to Sheldon – we both can’t follow him into the main series it was spun-off of as neither of us likes the humour of the ‘other’ show but prefer this one instead. Uniquely Series 7 isn’t yet available to be seen on NetFlix (or anywhere else without paying for the season itself) so part of me questioned why I didn’t research that before we started watching the show. We’re on this cliffhanger of sorts right after the tornado took out MeMaw’s house and like Mum, I would love to know how the series concludes although spoiler alert, I already knew George Sr. would pass on. I’ve become attached to George Sr. and part of me isn’t quite ready to let him go.

Between both my jobs and the weather, the months seem to be passing me by a bit too much lately. It is hard to find stillness when time keeps moving forward at such a fast pace. I try to carve out small moments of downtime and enjoy the days off I receive because I do work two jobs five days a week which sometimes can take its toll too. I’ve wanted to focus on my knitting but have barely touched it since earlier in Spring or late Winter; hard to tell when I last worked on it really! I also wanted to start travelling again with Mum – small day trips which we tried to get underway between Spring and Summer but alas, all the time just seemed to evaporate, and we only made it twice to have time ‘away’.

Despite the chaos of the recent storms and weather patterns, we have been blessed with a return to Autumnal temperatures which is lifting my own spirits quite a heap! I can start to wear my long-sleeved shirts and I’m about to dive into bringing out my sweaters and pullovers, too! Won’t that be grand? It has taken forever for Summer to conclude this year and I’m personally thankful the clingy humidity might soon be a thing of the past. I’ve already started drinking more lattes but I need to resume drinking more hot tea especially to curb getting anymore seasonal illnesses. 

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Posted Sunday, 20 October, 2024 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Memes, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story, Reading Challenges, Stories of Jorie, The Sunday Post

#TheSundayPost XVIII | Goodbye 2023, Hallo, Hallo 2024! And, a Happy Saint Pat’s, to you, too!

Posted Sunday, 17 March, 2024 by jorielov , , 2 Comments

#TheSundayPost banner created by Jorie in Canva.

[Official Blurb] The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog. This is your news post, so personalize it! Include as much as you want or as little. Be creative, it can be a vlog or just a showcase of your goodies. Link up once a week or once a month, you decide. Book haul can include library books, yard sale finds, arcs and bought books..share them!

  • Enter your link on the post-
  • Sundays beginning at 12:01 am (CST) (link will be open all week)
  • Link back to this post or this blog
  • Visit others who have linked up
  • Read this week’s #TheSundayPost!

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Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

And, what a wonderful New Year it is going to be!

I have taken a bit of an unplanned absence again from blogging regularly on Jorie Loves A Story – especially during the last several months – as reflective on how irregular my posts have become recently on my blog. (2023) was a bit of a difficult year for me as a book blogger – time was not a luxury I had a lot to spare and for whichever reason, whenever I did carve out space and time to blog – it either felt a bit rushed or more taxing than enjoyable to do. A lot of that stemmed from the fact my eyes needed the assistance of Progressive glasses – which I’ve mentioned previously during this series of updates and posts for #TheSundayPost.

Blessedly, for about a week and a handful of days now, I’ve been finding my life completely changed for the positive since they’ve arrived! (this was in late January!) If it weren’t for a co-worker who told me about Zenni Optical, I wouldn’t have them right now as the prices for glasses has escalated to such an extent that they are no longer affordable by any means. Zenni was a great option for me, as I ended up purchasing two pairs rather than one – as the secondary pair is for reading, blogging and knitting or anything up close and crafty! I am wicked thankful my co-worker took the time to tell me about the website and their services. Thereby, if your stateside and need glasses, I highly recommend them! I believe they shipped within a week of purchase, too.

So, that is the best news I can share – as it was a real struggle for me to read throughout (2023) as my eyes were just failing to see the words on the pages. It didn’t matter if I was reading large print either – as it just felt like my eyes were constantly out of focus and unable to discern what I was reading. It was proving to be very frustrating and of course, led to more than a few migraines as I was not accomplishing much at all except to over tax my already tired eyes. Yet, I missed reading and getting lost in the stories – so, I tried to read in smaller bursts of moments and still felt like I was treading water with futility to even attempt it. Thereby, as I was settling into trying to read some Sci Fi for #SciFiMonth this past November, I finally gave up the ship! It just wasn’t worth it anymore – and despite trying to write a few Sunday posts between November and January, to be honest with you, I was either too fatigued from work or too frustrated with the inability to see properly to even compose the posts themselves. This is why I took an unexpected absence and have only now just returnt online – both on my blog and on #bookstagram as well.

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In regards to my life behind the blog:

I would not consider myself a workaholic but I am quite sure if I were to reveal the hours I’ve worked since Thanksgiving, that might be the impression others might have of me. The truth is – I worked more hours over the Christmas holidays for one simple fact: there was NO ONE else to call in when quite literally EVERYONE called out. Even on the ‘managers only’ will work on Christmas Eve, guess who was called in? I knew it would happen though – as wherever you work, you know how things will go before they even happen if your in-step with your co-workers and their habits. I didn’t mind working over Christmas – as to be truthful, I’ve worked the last 3x Christmases and New Year’s and my Mum worked the 5x before mine, so in retrospect, we’re a holiday working family! And, that extends all the way back to my father who worked a LOT of holidays himself.

I spend a consider amount of time THINKING about reading, blogging and being socially bookish – whereas the amount of TIME I have to do those things is quite sproadically chaotic at the moment. I don’t have a dedicated day off – I have ‘half days’ off wherein I might work a partial day at one job or the other, and/or I could be double-stacked and work both jobs (spilt between day and night). Either way you slice it – I am working more than I am not working and sometimes, I admit, that does weigh on my heart and mind. I’ve missed having downtime to just unwind and chill.

Those were the days, eh?

And, yet, with 2024 just dawning into view (as I was writing this ahead of the New Year), I still remain hopeful I will be able to carve out a better work-life-balance as the months unfold forward. Now, if you were to tell me I relocated last year at the end of MARCH on the day I was meant to celebrate my 10th Blogoversary, I wouldn’t dare believe that that anniversay is nearly here ALL OVER AGAIN. Except, it will be the start of my 11th Year as a book blogger and it is just as wicked to celebrate as my 10th. In fact, moreso, as I am hopeful I can do a bit more this year as a reader and as a blogger than I could give to those passions throughout 2023. As I feel, last year was the year of angst and stress and time lost trying to sort out the balancing act of actively working 3x jobs and failing to find any proper time for myself and a way of living which didn’t involve work.

A few things have changed already – we have CATS again! Yes, we took the plunge and found a local rescue who allows you to visit with their cats and see if you can find a connection. We were going to visit with a mother and daughter but neither of them liked us (or you would be lead to believe when we were there by their reactions!) and that led us to our duo, our boys – a lovely black and grey tiger tabby and a big fluffy Garfield orange tabby – a bonded pair and the two cats we weren’t expecting to adopt but the two cats who found us and thereby said “Take us!”. It has been a strong learning curve as both of them have WAYY more energy than your typical 3 and 4 year old cats – but we think it might have to do with their previous lives and how they weren’t as free as they are with us now. They can be themselves and have the way of our home – whereas I think before they were severely restricted by where they could go and what they could do. We’re still sorting each other out – but their very loving cats and my anxiety and stress levels greatly reduced having them round. Except of course when they try our patience or become so naughty, you wonder how you can live with them as they get into different kinds of mischief and mayhem than our previously four cats did combined!

Laughs. So, there’s that – we’re cat people once more and we’re happy for it.

I’m also sorting out life wearing Progressive glasses and using readers for being crafty, reading, and blogging – which is an adjustment of its own kind and making. The biggest surprises have been just how much of my vision field was affected previously vs how much I can readily see and understand by sight nowadays! It is quite incredible and I am grateful for the change to have come at the start of a New Year, as it paves the road for 2024 to be a wicked good New Year for me and my vision.

Another reason I was offline as long as I was was due to my Dad. He had a lot of harder days than good – especially from November to December and extending through January and February, too. It is hard to put into words – but those were harder visits than anyone would want to have themselves. I keep holding my memories tight to mind but try to let those go as well when I’m round Dad. He’s different now and I understand that but sometimes the heart and mind don’t exactly know how to reconcile the differences. I do try to just take him where he is the day I’m with him and see where it goes from there and let it be as otherwise, it is just more emotional than it needs to be as I am sure you can imagine. For his part, he’s doing well – he’s in a good place with nurses who look after him and take care of his needs and that is a better place than he was a year ago. Time sometimes feels like it stands still with my Dad and other times, I feel like its passing us all by too quickly if that makes sense?!

In another revelation – I woke up knowing I was working today, as I always work Sundays, but without the knowledge of ‘which’ Sunday this particular Sunday is to the rest of the country. I only learnt it was Super Bowl Sunday as I was about to leave my shift and my boss said “Do you think we’ll all have a peaceful night knowing its the Super Bowl?” I just stared at him and said, “Huh? Oh, its that Sunday!” I could tell I landed on my face on that comment but really, it was the farest thing on my mind and even as I started to edit this post (so you can tell the longevity of this post and how long its been on EDIT and PAUSE), I had no intentions of seeing if you can stream the game as I find them boring and disappointing half the time I’ve bothered to search for them over the years. I remember watching one of the last Super Bowls with my Dad and we were both so annoyed with the teams – one seemed to be throwing it away with each missed goal or pass and the other team made it look too easy and there was no drama or tension, just goal after goal. The halftime show failed to intrigue us and we finally gave it up before the end and were equally disappointed in the final score the day after as it just felt like it was all foretold by the end of the first quarter!!

That was less than five years ago so if you watch these games, you might already know which one I’m referencing as it was painful just to watch it and realise that neither team really felt like they were into it at all. It felt more like a rite of passage rather than a ‘big final game’ and just something they had to do but not something they were passionate about playing. If that makes sense? Hopefuly this game tonight will be of years past where the teams give the people something to chew on and hold onto before the final quarter and make it a nail-biter of an ending like it always should be than something you can predict before half of the first quarter is done.

I have some other news as well but I’ll piece that out a bit slowly as I want to have future posts I can write and share and not just reveal ALL in one Sunday Post so to speak! Laughs. This does mark my return and I am wicked happy I feel more comfortable blogging now with new glasses and a new outlook on my future (as some of that has to do with other news not yet revealled) as things are in the mix this Winter and Spring. For now, just know I’m the bookish geek who is finding her way back into books and sorting out how to be more bookishly social once again.

And, that brings us to St. Patricks’! (let’s skip over the fact I worked that day!) I wasn’t sure how that particular Sunday would fare but it turnt out rather well all round! Especially as I did not have to go into OT (ie: overtime) and my Mum told me Dad was having a good day that day and I told my boss about that and just as I was meant to clock off, he said I could wind down early and get out on time — I was overjoyed! That doesn’t happen often and I, of course, took him up on his kindness. He understands about having elder parents and the changes that go with different stages of life – he also hoped I’d find Dad in equally good spirits as Mum had herself. Off we flew to the nursing home and guess what?! We were able to visit with Dad and he felt more like himself than I’ve seen him in a long, long time. We even celebrate Saint Pat’s as they had a bit of an ice cream social happening and they allowed Mum and I to join in which isn’t the norm! It was a smashing ending to a long and hard day — felt light as a feather that night and into that Monday, too!

On that front, Dad is getting more talkative and is responding a bit more too with our conversations and understanding the differences between our lives now, too. We were withholding quite a bit of information about what had changed as wells, he had more important things to deal with and that seemed like more burden than something worth sharing. He’s caught up to speed now and I’m grateful all the secrets are revealled as it was a bit stressful not to let things slip here or there. Also, it is just good to have Dad responding and feeling as if he’s more present with us, too, during those moments we’re there. I’ll admit, Mum sees him far more than I do and that has weighed heavily on my mind/heart/soul these last months but at the same time, I can’t go as often as she can because sometimes I’m so exhausted to the point I fall asleep after work on my ‘off half days’ that I just can’t go an inch further than it takes to get home.

That’s also why seeing him on Saint Pat’s was special. I wasn’t overly exhausted. I wasn’t stressed out and it just felt like everything aligned. I’m hoping to have more days like that one, too. As I have to remember not to work so many days all together at my day job as my regular shift is 8 hours and if I go into OT that stacks up the hours *but!* if I go in on my days’ off, that offsets my total hours and sometimes that just is overkill so to speak on what I can handle and not handle health wise. So, I’m being kinder to myself in that respect and trying to say “No.” more than “Yes.” Thankfully my bosses agree and already told me I volunteer more than my co-workers and that its okay I skip coming in on a day off rather than just extending an hour or so after my regular work days. Don’t get me wrong – I love my job, but we all have to have time away from work, too.

That same night, we had another meet-up with our mutual friend who likes crochet and knitting – plus, watching films and just having a girls’ night in. We’ve been slowing moving through the Jurassic Park/World films – she re-watched the Park films but those were still evident in my mind as I watched them with my Dad. It’s a whole thing we shared together and I’ll be diving into that in a future post (most likely the weekend after I finish seeing Jurassic World 3) but for now, I just wanted to say that those Sundays have become a bit of a balm to the soul for both Mum and I. It is lovely just have something in our lives that isn’t totally scheduled and is just a fun evening with a friend who likes the same things we do. Plus, there is a LOT of laughter and sharing of memories, too.

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Posted Sunday, 17 March, 2024 by jorielov in #WyrdAndWonder, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Memes, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story, Stories of Jorie, The Sunday Post

#TheSundayPost XVII | Jorie’s favourite time of year has arrived whilst #SpooktasticReads is underway!

Posted Sunday, 22 October, 2023 by jorielov , , , 2 Comments

#TheSundayPost banner created by Jorie in Canva.

[Official Blurb] The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog. This is your news post, so personalize it! Include as much as you want or as little. Be creative, it can be a vlog or just a showcase of your goodies. Link up once a week or once a month, you decide. Book haul can include library books, yard sale finds, arcs and bought books…share them!

  • Enter your link on the post-
  • Sundays beginning at 12:01 am (CST) (link will be open all week)
  • Link back to this post or this blog
  • Visit others who have linked up
  • Read this week’s #TheSundayPost!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

Isn’t it grand? Autumn has FINALLY arrived!

I had an inkling of hope Autumn was arriving when I caught a whisper of cooler winds and crisper weather was starting to become the new normal! It is such a blessing from the harsher wrath of Summer and for me, truly, when the Autumnal tides start to turn into my hours – I find myself blessedly happier for a season that invigorates my soul! It is such a calmer time of year.

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In regards to my life behind the blog:

I remember being at work one morning and wondering if the weather was ever going to turn as we have such long and expansive Summers here, it can become a bit overwhelming having to deal with them all the time. You tend to feel as if volcanic heat and muggy humidity is the ONLY season you’re going to experience the whole year through and that is part of the reason why I have a deep aversion to the Sun. It could take a full sabbatical from my life, and it would be too soon to return. I crave overcast skies, Wintry temperatures and the crisp feel to the air as you breathe rather than the alternative which everyone else seems to crave themselves. And, yet, one day at work – there was a whisper of change moving through the trees and the winds – and blessedly, that is what started to make the difference I am loving right now!

It isn’t full-on Autumn nor anything akin to Winter but I’ll take it! Even a smidge of a change is a positive step forward in my book! Laughs. Ergo, I’ve been concentrating on work the last while and not finding a lot of free time outside it save from visiting with my Dad. He has his good days and his indifferent days and anyone who has a loved one who has a form of dementia of any variety (as there are so many kinds nowadays) knows the uphill climb it sometimes feels like to have a conversation. There are other days where I feel we’re connecting (Mum and I to him) and there are days where it feels as if he doesn’t even notice we’re there which is all too common with people who have his same affliction. The mind isn’t kind when it loses its connections and its understanding of what is going on around the person.

Not too much to report on that front – I haven’t even sorted out which knitting project to pick up again nor have I done much on my off hours than catch up on some must needed rest! It hits me every so often where I get a lot of fatigue or outright exhaustion, and I just crash. I’ve slept through 13 hours recently due to how much the week can catch up to me in regard to how much output of energy it takes to maintain my work hours. Not that I mind – I enjoy my work environment and my co-workers’ company – but any job done well takes energy and spirit and sometimes I just need to let myself recharge. Which of course doesn’t also lend well to trying to read or blog! Laughs.

I have been a bit indulgent in drinking Autumnal lattes of late. I admit, there is something about the flavour profile of Autumn which warms my heart and spirit. I’m picky the most when it comes to Pumpkin Spice, but I have a new affection for different spins and combinations of flavour when it comes to Caramel which didn’t use to be the case! I drink more decafe lattes than anything else but every odd moon I’ll have a real latte as they say!

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Posted Sunday, 22 October, 2023 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Memes, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story, Reading Challenges, Stories of Jorie, The Sunday Post

#TheSundayPost XVI | Sometimes you have to look long and hard for the silver lining

Posted Sunday, 8 October, 2023 by jorielov , , 5 Comments

#TheSundayPost banner created by Jorie in Canva.

[Official Blurb] The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog. This is your news post, so personalize it! Include as much as you want or as little. Be creative, it can be a vlog or just a showcase of your goodies. Link up once a week or once a month, you decide. Book haul can include library books, yard sale finds, arcs and bought books..share them!

  • Enter your link on the post-
  • Sundays beginning at 12:01 am (CST) (link will be open all week)
  • Link back to this post or this blog
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Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

and bless you if you’ve held out a candle of hope I’d return!

This blog post germinated originally in March,

however, I had several MAJOR life changes between April & June;

specifically: an unplanned relocation and a new job which included 5x weeks
of training with a serious commute attached to it before I started to work locally.

AND, then, I thought I could finish and tweak this during August.

Best laid plans, as it took until the END of SEPTEMBER / EARLY OCTOBER
to post by the 8th of October! Though, *cough* that did involve a nearly dead computer!

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In regards to my life behind the blog:

As you might recall, I was attempting to journal my life earlier in the Spring of 2023 – wherein, I was enjoying the rhythm of writing #TheSundayPost as it was acting as a cathertic release for me. However, during the search for a new flat to rent I lost track of the hours – it came down to the very wire, too. We nearly didn’t find a flat in time and we were just blessed it all worked out in the end. It was one of those long weekends (of a move) where you were quite literally up for 24 hours straight relocating and settling into a new flat whilst maintaining your night job the ENTIRE week leading up to the ‘move day’. And, then, on the day of the move itself and the next day thereafter, you didn’t skip a shift and still somehow balanced all the chaotic balls as they threw themselves at you all at once.

Mum and I were so exhausted, we didn’t unpack a single box for two months, save our clothes and linens. We also ate out considerably, as to be frank, that relocation took the wind out of our sails. The main blessing though – as living in a neighbourhood for eight years, you get into a comfortable place with your neighbours, even if they sometimes would come and go with the tides. Relocating meant we’d be in a different neighbourhood and a different part of the city. So, all in all – that was a bit stressing, too. Until we met our new neighbours – mind you, only the ones closest to us – the rest of them seem to keep pretty much to themselves. On both sides, they look after us and we look after them, whilst being neighbourly and kind as well. It was a good fit on that side of it and we were thankful as it made the transition a bit easier on us.

Somewhere between May and June, I sorted out there was a new job opportunity which might be good for me to chase after and in a lot of respects, I am glad I took that leap of faith. I was hired at the end of May, but it wasn’t official until the first week of June. Training occupied the next 5x weeks of a gruelling commute whilst managing to arrive on time at my night job all the same! Some days, between the stress of the on-the-job training out of towne and the traffic on the commute, I am not sure how I kept my sanity. It was beyond hard but I muddled through and even found some joy along the way. I also started to gain confidence in what I was being trained to do and realised that if I could I’d like to give back eventually and help train others*. (*this will be discussed lateron in this post)

The hours and months morphed into each other as well. At one point, I was working 3x jobs round the clock so to speak and I still am in a way, as some of my hours were cut recently. I’m hoping they might bounce back into my schedule but for now, I’ve taken the high road. I’m trying not to stress out about how what I hoped the new job would provide isn’t quite what I hoped and looking at it as a positive experience despite the hurdles its giving me with a reduced work schedule. Aside from that angle of it – we’ve also lost a lot of the new employees who trained either alongside me or at different locations. I am not entirely sure why they’ve left, as they had different reasons but considering we’ve all been a team for a scant few momths now, it seems hard to believe there have been so many changes at my work place already. More of my co-workers are contemplating exiting in the next few weeks as well. I know its due to the cut in hours as this isn’t the best time for anyone to have reduced schedules and inconsistancies in their work lives. I can’t blame them at all and some of them, as I’ve gotten to know quite well in recent months and of whom will be missed.

I did decide to take a step in advancement – a small one, where I could give back a bit of the joy I had in being trained. I’m now a trainer myself and I have already taken on the challenges of training new staff. I enjoy being able to pass forward the knowledge that I have about the job but also, help others through the anxieties of what the job entails, as well, as it is long hours and sometimes very physically demanding work. I’ve trained just under 10x co-workers now and it makes my heart happy knowing that I’m helping them settle into the work with the knowledge I was given myself.

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Whilst all that was going on:

If I thought losing the ability to celebrate my 10th Blogoversary was going to be taxing,

I wasn’t quite prepared to be so physically exhausted to even acknowledge my 10th Blog’s Birthday!

This year, by far, has been an especially trying year all round.

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I realise my 10th Twitterversary is coming up in November, but to be fair, that one seems like one I’ll bypass or turn into a memo about losing what I loved about tweeting and am grateful for the memories I had. I wasn’t able to log onto my blog or my Twitter feeds this Summer with any kind of regularity – hence the strong reduction in posts and the clear absence of my voice online in any capacity. I’ve decided the fact I made it to my 10th Year is worth celebrating, which is why on my new profile on BlueSky (yes, I’m on there!) (look for @joriestory) I’ve mentioned just that – I am celebrating jorielovesastory.com!

I, knew, too — more changes were in the air for me as a socially bookish girl. Which meant endeaviouring to tackle new socially bookish frontiers and joining a few social communities that I might have hestitated to engage with previously. More disclosures coming in this post!

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Posted Sunday, 8 October, 2023 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Memes, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story, Stories of Jorie, The Sunday Post