Amanda Flieder
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Welcome to the Blog for Amanda Flieder
​Updates on Fridays

Thoughts, Words and Random Ideas...

Hide and Seek: Part 2

10/31/2021

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    A special Sunday update so my Halloween story for this year is finished in time for some creepy evening reading. Plus, the free downloads are available! :)
    We carved up pumpkins this morning, ones we grew in our own garden this summer. The kids chose happy faces and these have to be the most joy filled jack o' lanterns I've ever seen. We'll only have them out for a few hours tonight, then into the fridge with them because - oh my goodness! - garden pumpkins taste absolutely amazing compared to the store-bought flavor I'm used to. I can't wait to make muffins and then try baking a pumpkin pie for the first time! 
Hide and Seek by Amanda Flieder
Click the image to read the complete story :) FREE downloads available!
    This weekend's pain management has just been rest. I'm completely over-using my body right now and things are not holding up well. Our shirts and stickers business has been busy, as well as our freeze dried foods business (we'll be doing a bunch of small markets throughout November and that's really exciting), and general at-home-mom-job things all combined in the past couple of weeks to simply be too much. Thankfully I could spend half of yesterday in bed. And the past two nights I was able to overcome the anxiety monsters before 1am so got adequate sleep for the first times in... let's not count that, okay?
    Moral of the story: be nice to your body because chronic pain issues can really hurt a lot more when combined with strains, possible stress fractures, and pinched nerves.
    Tonight, though, with a bit of pain meds and some willful ignoring of pain signals, I'll be able to go out with the kids for a couple hours of covid-safe Trick or Treating. I'm really hoping the neighbor who had a candy bucket duct taped to the top of the remote control car is again delivering candy to the end of the driveway in the same creative way. My kids absolutely loved the "RC Delivery" last year.
    I hope you're having a great weekend!
Picture

2

        Dinnah’s my best friend in the whole world, baby Stacy. When she was my size, we’d sit in the closet when she was sad and I’d sing to her until she was happy again. Shh-shh-shh, don’t cry. She’ll be here in just a moment and she can warm you right up. See? She’s got a puffy, warm coat on and a little holder inside just for you. See? Here she is. I told you she’d be here and keep you warm.
        Dinnah? I know I said I wanted to play on the swings, but I can see your breath and I saw baby Stacy’s, too, when we first came out before you zipped her into your coat so I think it’s too cold for you and baby Stacy to play outside. And it’s very dark and very late for a baby to play out here…

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Hide and seek: Part 1

10/29/2021

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    Hello! This is a weird little story, which makes it perfect for Halloween weekend. I'll post up Part 2 on Sunday as this isn't the story that I want to start on November 5.
    Happy Halloween!
Silver moon on a dark night above a field light painted to show yellowed grasses
Photo by Luca, www.unsplash.com

Part 1

        ​Hi, Dinnah. It’s very late to play, isn’t it? You’re crying. Did you have a bad dream? Here, tuck into my blanket. I’ll always share my blanket any time with you.
        In the closet it is safe and all the toys each have a place.
        It’s like a little rhyme, you know? I still like rhyming. Do you still like rhyming? Do you remember this one from when we first met: I am Alice and I like to play, so we’ll be friends all night and day?

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Posting Break

10/24/2021

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    No updates this weekend, no story parts to post, and so I totally forgot to make a note in here on Friday that... this week there aren't any updates lol. A new story will be starting on November 5, and I'll have a Halloween update on October 29. See you then!
Check out my Short Stories! Come and read for free :)
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Daion Echoes through Transglass: Ebooks!

10/15/2021

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Daion Echoes through Transglass by Amanda Flieder
Now that this novella is completely blogged, the FREE ebooks are available! Click the image above to grab your download :)
    There's been a lot of irony in my house this week as I tell my kids – daily – to go to bed on time to make sure they're getting enough sleep... and then I stay up way too late every night lol. The work/life balance is made of a lot of blurred lines when the work is home-based. And I like doing it, so it doesn't really feel like working. At least, not until I'm exhausted and ready for the weekend but it's only Wednesday... 
    Maybe if I put even more alarms in my phone as reminders of things like "hey, time for supper" and "don't stay up until 2am"? More reminders will help, right? Right?!
    Completely unrelated* to the above paragraphs, the kids have Monday and Tuesday next week off school due to school board Professional Development days, and I'm so, so happy for another long weekend.

* Yeah, no, totally related lol.
    As for writing, I got a couple hours in on editing, a new story idea ambushed my brain, and I think I know which short story to start in November. I've narrowed it down to a choice between a couple of my stories, at least. (*Whispers*: that's a lie. I'm lying. I have, like, five stories that are close to ready and I can get editing passes done on to start at the beginning of November. Each of them is the one I want to start posting whenever I'm editing it. This decision is becoming harder than it really needs to be.)
    Those municipal elections I was ranting about a couple of weeks ago? They're officially scheduled for this coming Monday. Most people I know already voted at the advanced polls, so we're all just waiting for word of how things are going to be. I really hope a couple of my chosen candidates get elected. Due to the outcome of the federal election we just had, I don't have high expectations that what I'm hoping for will happen, but unsinkable optimism for the win because I'm still hopeful.
    Otherwise in life, we'll be working at an outdoor vendor market tomorrow (October 16) at the Lessard Community Hall in Edmonton. We'll be hocking our freeze-dried candies, treats, fruits and veggies to the masses. I'm looking forward to it. In my very limited experience, selling candy at a farmers-market style event is the very best form of retail work. I hope you get to have a great weekend!
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Daion Echoes through Transglass: Epilogue

10/8/2021

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    Sick kids for half of this week, thankfully just colds they recovered from fairly quick and only a few days of school were missed. Their teachers were so good about communicating, too, which meant we had bits of homework to keep everyone from getting too bored while stuck at home. And now it's a long weekend (Canadian Thanksgiving), so I guess sleep schedules are officially wrecked lol.
    Autumn clean-up cravings hit me hard this year, so the past couple weeks have been yard and house clean-up (and clean-out lol). The yard looks pretty good, but half the house is a shambles of half-finished tasks. At least it's possible to see the end result peeking through the remaining mess. Progress!
Daion Echoes through Transglass by Amanda Flieder
The Epilogue is out! The story is told! Click the image to read from the beginning, and check back next week for the free downloads :)
    I've been able to pick and poke at a couple of my short stories during this past week. Not much happened for new words, but lots of editing improvements were had during the hours at my keyboard. I've been able to sort of get a plan together for the next story to blog out, which will start November 5th if all goes well. Keep an eye here next week for the free downloads of Daion Echoes through Transglass. I hope you get to have a good weekend!

Epilogue

        Trevor crouched to adjust her son’s jacket, making sure the brilliant green of the collar trimming complimented Lott’s eyes as well as she believed it should. She also checked that his shirt was staying tucked. The full-faced frown he directed at her was achingly similar to the expression his father wore every time she’d fussed about his appearance and she smiled to see the resemblance. This little boy in front of her was growing out of everything again and she hadn’t had time to shop for a new shirt after realizing this one was too small only an hour before they’d had to leave the house. If she’d known yesterday…
        She never thought she’d one cycle live landside, but here she was, counting hours and days. Here we are, she corrected the thought and hugged her boy.

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Daion Echoes through Transglass: 7-5

10/1/2021

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    Well, we're one election down and one to go. The sham of a federal election barely concealing the attempted power grab was an expensive failure on the part of the Liberals to gain a majority seating in parliament. Thank goodness it failed. I unfortunately am one of the many Canadians who live in the majority of Canada which is not southern Ontario, and therefore is obviously not the federal "favorite child" who controls election results in our current voting system.
​    Ahem: <Steps onto soapbox to rant>.
Fair Vote Canada's pie graph comparing the differences in popular vote percentage and awarded seats
Canada voted, but your vote may not count. Click the image to read the full article in the Halifax Examiner.
    My personal hope in the federal election was for a weak Conservative minority, intent on recession and pandemic economic recovery, balanced by a strong NDP opposition to ensure fair and equal opportunity for Canadians throughout the recoveries, with both parties working together for electoral reform, a just transition to renewable energy, and positive climate crisis action. That... didn't happen.
    Once again, our proven-utter-failure First Past the Post voting system let down Canadians. And, once again, it looks like political jockeying is going to force regular people to keep demanding actual, progressive, meaningful change because our supposed representatives prefer to represent self-interest rather than Canadians.

    The balance of our country's federal power essentially didn't shift, so this election (costing a reported $600 million Canadian dollars) was truly a monumental waste. The only reason we had a snap federal election was because the Liberal party, lead by the internationally recognized fool, Justin Trudeau, believed it's swallowed propaganda in Ontario was willingly eaten by the rest of the country. Now all Canadians have to deal with another term of unconcealed lies, global embarrassment, and both weak climate change policy and inaction for electoral reform. Thanks to the gerrymandering to hold Liberals strong in key Ontario ridings, of which those supporters seem to believe they "saved" us from evil Conservative overlords, all of Canada is stuck with those ridings' proven inept party of choice. Again.
Image of Canada with the percentages of
Canada desperately needs electoral reform, click the image to read more from Fair Vote Canada.
    As for the other election, advance polls for our city's mayorship start this coming Monday. I don't even know where to begin to look for those who are not blatantly corrupt or self-serving at these small polls. Our Premier is watching in surprise as our health care system collapses, after jumping gleefully onto every opportunity he was able to create to reach this point, and cities and townships are trapped in the nightmare of trying to keep the peace as constituents die and protest. And the main question I hear on the radio that Edmonton politicians seem to be focusing on during the past couple of weeks is: "How can we revitalize the downtown core?"
    Seriously? That's their Big Question?
    Bit of back story for you, friends. As warned by every city who tried to influence the decision, a downtown stadium and/or arena deters people from an area due to the crime they attract. The arena our city's politicians at the time demanded was "in the interest of revitalizing the downtown community and businesses" was voted down by constituents three times before being pushed through in a backdoor deal. It has since been a financial drain on the city and – surprise, surprise – a draw for crime activity within the downtown core, ensuring accelerated small business closures and less people visiting the remaining businesses and downtown events (and that was before Covid showed up and geared the decline to an even faster pace).
    Sorry, Useless Folks Making Selfish Decisions, you killed downtown Edmonton when you lined your pockets with the money skimmed on the backdoor arena deal. Now we all have to live with that failure.
    How about, instead of flogging that long-dead horse of "revitalizing downtown", you start acknowledging the growing numbers of Covid deaths and Long Covid survivors and enact useful aide and support for our community's families and victims? How about some city-wide contact tracing, and support for Edmonton Districts' schools and teachers to re-implement 2-week isolations after close contacts? What about ensuring safe access to opioids and addiction recovery support for those growing numbers of people with addictions whom our provincial government has denied by closing safe dosing locations? What steps is Edmonton taking
– aside from lip service – toward meaningful Truth and Reconciliation with our local Indigenous populations, inclusive of city policing reform? And, as our federal government chokes any chance of economic recovery for the main industries Edmonton supports, how will the city ensure housing security and affordable access to retraining for skilled workers and their families?
    The city is in crisis, which is doubled due to your own actions and those of the politicians before and above you, and your talking point is to "revitalize downtown" while holding an election in the middle of a pandemic. Awesome.
    Just. Freakin'. Awesome.
    Sigh: <Climbs off soapbox>.
    On a non-politics note, I got some writing time this past week and I loved every minute of it. This weekend appears to have more available hours I can spend at my keyboard, too.
​    That creative activity combines nicely with the expected sunny Autumn weather perfect for hanging out with my kids in. Some walks and playground time is definitely in order for the next few days. With things outside my little world the way they are right now, thank goodness for some escapism and family time. :)  I hope you get to have a good weekend!
Daion Echoes through Transglass by Amanda Flieder
Need to know what led up to now in the story? Click the image above to read from the beginning :)

7-5

        “Looks like the handle for a manual hand crank,” Lissa said, not impressed.
        “Well, yeah, this is,” Leo agreed. “But,” he said, drawing out the word as he gave the handle a shove and started rotating the circle in the floor. Heavy decking scissored closed across the top of the tunnel gap, covering the small pit completely and interlocking in the same pattern as emergency doors. Leo kept cranking and a smooth, third, thinner section of decking slid across the top and then lifted to be level with the floor under the current flooring. It hissed as the mechanical autoseal inflated.
        “So, rather than escape the same way you got in, we’re both now stuck in here?” Lissa asked.

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    AManda FLIEDER

    A weekly blog updating on Fridays with quick personal blurbs about me, as in what's going on during my life as an Author and mom, and that doles out my short stories and novellas in bite-sized parts for everyone to read for free!

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