Lauren's Lair: Here be dragons...

[D'Amalie]

village healer in the bronze age

Warning!  Here there be dragons!  Beware for you are crunchy and taste good.

[davina61]

Drink this nettle broth and chew on these rose hips !!!

[Sephirah]

Sometimes in my dreams I am a tall thin ginger haired woman that is the village healer in the bronze age, feels like a past life or is it just my excessive imagination. 

Could be both. Is it always the same woman, Davina?

Viva la difference!
Les chats sont les meilleurs! Cats are the best!

IMHO of course.  I always have at least two not more than three.

I think the issue is they don't seem to like me. I've had plenty literally hiss at me, ears flat back, then bolt. Where literally the opposite is true for dogs. Even the most vicious "I'd keep away from him if I were you" types just wag their tails and let me pet them. I dunno. What's the female equivalent to "Damien"? lol.

[Sephirah]

So... uh... I got a letter this morning from the people I have a credit card with. Have had it for coming on 25 years at this point. Back since 2001. I had to buy a lot of stuff to let me live in my house. You'd be surprised how much you have to change when you can't walk around. Stuff the NHS doesn't cover.

Anyway... they sent me a letter about 17 months ago. Talking about how I was barely making minimum payments on the balance, And that's true. It was hard. They were like "Okay, we will write you again in 18 months if things haven't changed." It sounded vaguely threatening.

But since then I've tried to live basically like a pauper, lol. To pay off a lot of this stuff. And the letter today... I didn't know whether to feel happy or like I was being patted on the head. It was like "We told you we would write to you... but GOOD NEWS!! You have made changes. You've paid off more!! So go you! Have a Scooby Snack! You are no longer on our watch list!! We don't need the SWAT team!"

And it's true... I have nixed a lot of it. By living hand to mouth for a long time. So that's good. Just the wording of it made me feel kind of... weird. Good girl! Who's a good girl! You are! lol.

[Lori Dee]

LOL. Fitting for a dog lover. 

But seriously, good for you. So many people spend their lives in debt. I have been bankrupt twice and have learned to only buy what I need, not necessarily what I want. Over the past two years, I was able to raise my credit score from the low end of "Good" to "Excellent" just by paying off my Jeep, a medical loan, and paying down my credit card balance. No easy feat, but you did it!

[Sephirah]

LOL. Fitting for a dog lover. 

Hah, that crossed my mind. If you ever saw the movie "Lady and the Tramp"... this is me:

But seriously, good for you. So many people spend their lives in debt. I have been bankrupt twice and have learned to only buy what I need, not necessarily what I want. Over the past two years, I was able to raise my credit score from the low end of "Good" to "Excellent" just by paying off my Jeep, a medical loan, and paying down my credit card balance. No easy feat, but you did it!

Thank you, Lori. And good on you, girl. You're right... it's a very easy thing to fall into and never get out of. I am proud of you, too. It takes a lot of self discipline to not have that stuff hanging over you. I have a ways to go yet. But I'm getting there. I don't have to buy more stuff to let me live. It's all good!

[tgirlamg]

 Credit card companies are big on the carrot and stick approach! Congrats on the well earned carrot sister! 🥕🐰👍

Hugs!

A💕

[Sephirah]

Credit card companies are big on the carrot and stick approach! Congrats on the well earned carrot sister! 🥕🐰👍

Hugs!

A💕

Thank you, Ash. <3 You girls inspire me. I don't always say it as much as I should. But you do. Thank you.

[davina61]

Yes Lauren it is the same women and I know its bronze age from the rings and jewellery (but I have watched Time Team and Alice Roberts who I have a crush on!)

[Lilis]

I don't get the appeal of cats. Like.. I honestly don't. I've always been a dog person. I had one cat in my life, when I was a kid. A big black thing. And she would wait on top of the gate to get into my house and just hiss at me.Then run off. I was like "whatever." Cats have always been like that with me, lol.

Man's best friend... and then some.

Women's best friend and then some.

I totally agree with Sarah!.

I've always liked both, and I mostly grew up with cats, like ten no neutered ones at a time!

So we always had kittens running around and giving them away was part of life.

I think maybe Lauren just never met a nice kitty. I should show her some of my cat pics one day...

Oh wait... might get eaten by a dragon!

Hissssssssssss.... 😾

ROFL! 🤣


~ Lilis 💞

[Sephirah]

I think maybe Lauren just never met a nice kitty. I should show her some of my cat pics one day...

This. I had a pet cat when I was a kid. This giant black monstrosity that used to wait for me coming home from school and try its hardest to lacerate my uniform. *shudders* Oh and the next door neighbour had a huge grey and white cat, they called him Moscow (no idea why). He freaked my mum out one night while she was watching a horror movie late at night. He used to perch himself on the bin outside our house and she told me she just looked out the window and saw these yellow eyes staring at her. And he used to come in our house and steal food.

Yeah... not really had the best experiences with felines, lol. I'm sure they're great, though.

Sorry for the late reply. Life stuff and kind of feeling emotionally... uh... not fit for purpose lately. I don't want to bring that here. Definitely been a Hyde couple of weeks, heh. Oh, and I hate hospitals.

I think I need Davina's kind of Bronze Age wise woman! Do you remember anything about the place where you are, Davina?

As far as dreams go... nothing of note aside from one dream. It was somewhat disjointed but I think it was set in the US, in the 60s or 70s. There were cars with those weird fins on the back? As big as a house. I was working in a care home and a lot of people got killed. And somehow I got the blame. But I got a card... like a birthday card... from an Irish girl (and don't ask how I know that, I just did, lol), saying she knew I didn't do it. And I was hiding out in a house, with this guy, and like every cop in the world showed up. It was... weird, lol.

[Mrs. Oliphant]

As the old saying goes: Life stuff happens. I'm glad you're back, Sephirah. Compared to yours, my dreams are so boring. Thanks for brightening my day.

[Sephirah]

As the old saying goes: Life stuff happens. I'm glad you're back, Sephirah. Compared to yours, my dreams are so boring. Thanks for brightening my day.

One person's boring is another person's Lord of the Rings. You might be surprised, Anni. <3

[Mrs. Oliphant]

Lord of the Rings

Lord of the Rings? Give me a break. Dune. Even CS Lewis and the Narnia tales. After The Hobbit, the entire premise fell apart (although my brother compared me favorably to Gollum the first time I grew my hair long after turning 60 but I sense we've covered this ground before). Begrudgingly, I'll grant anyone creative kudos for fantasy fiction who isn't named J.K.

[Sephirah]

Lord of the Rings? Give me a break. Dune. Even CS Lewis and the Narnia tales. After The Hobbit, the entire premise fell apart (although my brother compared me favorably to Gollum the first time I grew my hair long after turning 60 but I sense we've covered this ground before). Begrudgingly, I'll grant anyone creative kudos for fantasy fiction who isn't named J.K.

The Hobbit movies were... weird. They took a massive amount of creative license (read: made a ton of crap up for the audience). As someone who owns hardback copies of the originals and has wore them out reading both... I think Lord of the Rings got the best Hollywood treatment. And credit to those movies. Even 20+ years on, they still hold up. And the New Zealand tourist industry is probably making a fortune, lol.

The books are way different to the movies, though. In both cases.

I agree with you on the JK stuff. I won't say any more than that. She doesn't deserve the attention.

I read the Narnia books when I was a kid. In my "Escape life by hiding in an attic trawling through my grandma's book collection." That... all the Enid Blyton stuff... I was such a bookworm haha. It was like "The Neverending Story" but for real.

I never got into Dune. I've slogged through the books, even seen both of the movies and still can't get into it. I know it's like... awesome. But it just isn't my cup of coffee. If you want a really good fantasy author, google David Gemmell. Guy has genuine talent.

[Mrs. Oliphant]

David Gemmell. Guy has genuine talent

Mr. Gemmel is now at the top of my reading list (as soon as I finish with this biography of Vincent--you know, the one who said something to the effect 'love in an open hand').
  And I apologize for badmouthing LOTR (I read the Hobbit and loved it but only watched the trilogy movies although I almost fell in love with a nice Maori girl but that's a bit off topic). In my mind's eye, I can see you reading 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader' in your grandma's attic. That's exactly where CS intended people to read his books. Gemmel. Next on my list.

[Sephirah]

Mr. Gemmel is now at the top of my reading list (as soon as I finish with this biography of Vincent--you know, the one who said something to the effect 'love in an open hand').
  And I apologize for badmouthing LOTR (I read the Hobbit and loved it but only watched the trilogy movies although I almost fell in love with a nice Maori girl but that's a bit off topic). In my mind's eye, I can see you reading 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader' in your grandma's attic. That's exactly where CS intended people to read his books. Gemmel. Next on my list.

Don't apologise, Anni. You should really read the Lord of the Rings books, though. If only to see how much they cut out of it. It's still good for what it is. But they just didn't bother with a lot of the lore and world building. Tolkien literally invented all these languages off the top of his head. They had full lexicography. The guy was massively obsessed. Much like Trekkies revere Klingon... Tolkien literally invented his version of Elvish. Peter Jackson came closest to realising that vision but it's still massively cut down for Hollywood. The book has way more poetry in it, and poetic characters... like Tom Bombadil, who got cut out of the movies entirely.

It's a whole different experience. But then as an author yourself, I think you can kind of understand that.

[Mrs. Oliphant]

But then as an author yourself,

That's the kindest thing anyone has ever said to me. And, evidently like JRR, I refuse to cut a single word from my prolific (and perhaps prosaic) prose. Which might explain why I'm an unread author (a fact that will never stop me from filling reams of paper with words I wish I had invented).
  Sephirah, I'm serious about the kindest thing part. And Tolkein turned my world upside down when I read The Hobbit. Perhaps I should have never watched the movies. I'll move JRR Tolkein in front of Gemmel but I really want to finish 'Savage Beauty' (Edna was a firecracker).
  Prosaic. What an odd word to feel compelled to toss into a post.

[Sephirah]

That's the kindest thing anyone has ever said to me. And, evidently like JRR, I refuse to cut a single word from my prolific (and perhaps prosaic) prose. Which might explain why I'm an unread author (a fact that will never stop me from filling reams of paper with words I wish I had invented).
  Sephirah, I'm serious about the kindest thing part. And Tolkein turned my world upside down when I read The Hobbit. Perhaps I should have never watched the movies. I'll move JRR Tolkein in front of Gemmel but I really want to finish 'Savage Beauty' (Edna was a firecracker).
  Prosaic. What an odd word to feel compelled to toss into a post.

Anni, you have a very rare gift. You write naturally. Nothing is forced. I am actually in awe at how you manage to control all your characters. But it's more than that. The dialogue is natural. It never feels contrived. Girl, you have a very rare and special gift. I know where a lot of it comes from. You've told me... but I think it's more than that. Dreams can only take you so far. You take it so much further. You have that spark within you.

Y'all need to pester Annika to read her dreams, because I promise you, it's something else. Girl, you have a talent gifted to very few people in this world.

[davina61]

Back to my "dream" "past life" whatever, its in a collection of round houses. Strange we have a hill fort above where I was born and when they upgraded a junction the other side of the river from my flat they found round houses. Looks like this area was well populated back then, maybe that is why there is a Roman castle tump opposite where I went to junior school?