23 days Italy, Switzerland and France trip on trains- Switzerland part 3

The last leg of our journey in Switzerland was based in Lausanne. By that stage, I was feeling like all Swiss cities looked remarkably similar and had no appetite for photos (my enthusiasm was not high in the first place compared to Mum). We tried to visit the Sauvabelin Tower but after getting off atContinue reading “23 days Italy, Switzerland and France trip on trains- Switzerland part 3”

Chinese Lore- a selection of mythical fauna (24)

Fei Fei Physical Description: Shaped like a racoon dog but a white tail. Special Properties: Adopting it as a pet removes anxieties. Long Chi Physical Description: Looks like a horned pig. Special Properties: Consuming its meat prevents nightmares. Flying Fish Physical Description: A pig-like fish with red patterns on its body. Special Properties: Consuming itsContinue reading “Chinese Lore- a selection of mythical fauna (24)”

Craft and Curiousity Reads 2024

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote I first learnt about this book through the UBC online novel writing courses and I was rather curious about it but the curiosity was not that acute that I searched for it straight away. In fact, it was only because I saw it in my library’s online catalogue thatContinue reading “Craft and Curiousity Reads 2024”

23 days Italy, Switzerland and France trip on trains- Switzerland part 2

Day 12 started our 3 days’ stay at Interlaken. The first day was spent at Interlaken and Brienz. We had breakfast at Cafe de Paris where we had two plain omelets. Since that was rather filling for us, we skipped lunch. There was really nothing at Interlaken (it was also raining that day) so weContinue reading “23 days Italy, Switzerland and France trip on trains- Switzerland part 2”

Remarkable Women in ancient China (22)- Wang Zhenyi

Who is she: Notable Life Events: Moonlake’s thoughts on her:  This is clearly a woman who knows what she wants from her life and works to cultivate that. I have great respect for her.  English Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wang_Zhenyi_(astronomer)

Craft and Curiousity reads 2024: Change of Plans 

I had just ordered In Cold Blood by Truman Capote from my local library because I had heard about it during the UBC novel writing courses and I found it on my local library’s electronic catalogue so I switched out the Lovely Bones.  I’m still contemplating the idea of swapping out the Shipping News forContinue reading “Craft and Curiousity reads 2024: Change of Plans “

Book analysis as learning tool

I’ve been doing book analyses on and off as a means to improve my own writing craft. This is something I picked up from the UBC novel writing courses. I mean, it’s a simple enough idea but the key takeaway or revelation was that you could use this to study specific craft elements which meansContinue reading “Book analysis as learning tool”

23 days Italy, Switzerland and France trip on trains- Switzerland part 1

Day 8, we finally left rainy Venice for Zurich. Not much to be said for the short flight but somehow we got completely turned around from the tram stop to our hotel, which was only 5 minutes away, and ended up lugging around two checked in luggages plus one hand carry and two backpacks forContinue reading “23 days Italy, Switzerland and France trip on trains- Switzerland part 1”

Chinese Lore- a selection of mythical fauna (23)

Wen Wen Physical Description: A bee-like insect with a forked tail and a tongue that grows backwards. Special Properties: It makes a loud sound. Ying Shao (or Baby Spoon) Physical Description: A magpie-like bird that has red eyes, a red beak, a white body and a tail shaped like a spoon. Special Properties: It makesContinue reading “Chinese Lore- a selection of mythical fauna (23)”