Bio

I’m happy to be updating my bio today, July 21st/2021.  I haven’t deleted the first bio which is below this one – that’s so anyone interested can read to see how my blog has evolved and so have I.   In a few days, July 25th to be exact, I will be seventy-two years old.  My blogging has always brought me lots of joy and excitement.  Many people from all over the world  have visited the site and I stand in awe of that.  I’ve always been and still am grateful to my younger brother, Ronald Mitra Janki of Simply Spectacular Designs for getting me embarked on this journey.

I’m happy that I was able to author a book called “Late Blooms:  Inspiration for Seniors” using some of my posts on life and aging.  This was done to celebrate my 70th Birthday.  I also put quotes, poems, photos, and some of my art projects in there because people went back many times to a particular post just for the poem or the quotes there.  I wanted it to be a coffee table book – the kind that one might pick up and enjoy from time to time.  This could be for the pictures, a blog post, a quote or quotes, or maybe a poem.

It’s been a great joy for me to hear that many people are enjoying Late Blooms in just this way.   This was never intended to be a money-making project but more of a sharing and gifting to others of the “work” I’ve been doing over the last many years.  It’s been wonderful for me to be able to gift friends and family  with this book.  Copies are also available at Amazon and the link is:  www.amazon.com/author/jeansamaroo

 

Before I had even finished putting “Late Blooms:  Inspiration for Seniors” together, I started working on my children’s story called “Making New Friends.”    As a teenager I worked in the Children’s Department of a library and always thought I would write a few children’s books.  However, life got in the way and with one thing and another, it never happened.

It didn’t seem too late to add this to the 70th Birthday year and that’s how my children’s book came about.  Coincidentally, I did take a children’s course called “Writing for Young Readers:  Opening the Treasure Chest.”    I think that it’s a beautiful story for young children from toddlers to Senior Kindergarten/Grade 1.  I’ll share the description below for you as that tells more. Children will love the illustrations.  They really bring the story to life and I’m very happy to have found such talented and dedicated artists to do this work.

DESCRIPTION

This story about two little mice named Jake and Buddy is sure to delight little ones. One day the mice are feeling particularly lonely and the old routine is just not enough. Jake comes up with a brilliant idea about how they could escape to the cottage with their human family. The story unfolds with how they go about this and have adventure, fun, and find new friends along the way. The themes of loneliness, friendship, and acceptance of those who are different are captured in the story in a fun way. By the end of the story, children are sure to fall In love with Jake and Buddy and their new mouse friends, Chalkie and Ginger. Children will come to understand what it means to be a friend. The illustrations are heart-warming and will appeal to children. The language is simple and after a few readings children are sure to recognize many words. Parents, grandparents, teachers and librarians, are sure to delight in reading this book to and with the little ones in their lives. Don’t miss out on the fun!

 

My last project was this year after the Biden/Harris Inauguration and also for International Women’s Day on March 8/2021.  It’s a celebration of the first female Vice-President of the United States being a woman.  I thought that if women had anything to celebrate this year, it was truly that.  It’s an ebook that shares the voices of several women and how they felt about this historic event.    I invited over fifty women to participate but ended up with twelve responses.  Nevertheless, I went ahead with “Strong Women Make History.”  There are poems (Amanda Gorman’s), quotes, some of my own blog posts, and pictures – a something for everyone kind of ebook.  This is available on Amazon Kindle and I’ll share the description below with you.

 

 

DESCRIPTION

“Strong Women Make History” is a rare compilation of the voices of several women who share their feelings around the historic Inauguration of January 20/2021. The Biden/Harris Inauguration was a first in American history and women, particularly in North America, had strong, positive feelings about this. Having a woman as Vice-President of this leading nation was something that women all over the world could resonate with. For some, just having a woman was enough. For others, it was a combination of Kamala Harris, the first U.S. Vice-President being both a woman and one of colour. This was particularly true for women of colour, immigrant women, the marginalized, and those who continue the struggle for women’s rights. They now had someone like them in a position of leadership that they could identify with. The Editor of this book felt there was a need within herself to celebrate this historic event for women in a special way. She reflected on this and invited several women to share their reflections/thoughts on this and she noticed that the theme of “strong” women seemed to be coming through in her own reflections. She also noticed this is what was coming through in what others had shared. It wasn’t the physical strength that women had that the word “strong” denoted – rather it was their perseverance, hard work, sacrificial living, hopefulness and endurance that made them strong. This is why the title of this ebook is “Strong Women Make History.” This book was also put together for International Women’s Day (2021) and is a celebration of how far we’ve come as women in being able to share our voices and stories with one another and the world. Many women shared not only about the Inauguration but about their lives as women and it’s enjoyable to read what they have to say. It’s been said that “Sisterhood is powerful” and if you feel empowered, enriched, or inspired by anything In this book, that’s a blessing. We have truly formed a sisterhood. Happy reading!

 

FIRST BIOGRAPHY WHEN I STARTED BLOGGING

I’m from Planet Earth and my time here is limited.  As the old saying goes: “There’s no time like the present, No present like time. And life can be over in the space of a rhyme. (Georgia Byng)  For this reason, I want to share some of my photos and thoughts with you.  I’m in my sixties and a lot of what I say here will reflect my age.

Some of us learn and are good at the same hobbies throughout our lives and others like me are “late bloomers.” A few years ago, I was given a camera by my husband and son as a Christmas present and started taking pictures here and there. Taking photos with a digital camera is lots of fun. However, I am just learning to make collages of my photos and find this very exciting.  I usually send all of my new collages to my brother of Simply Spectacular Designs and he’s the main supporter for my blog.  He’s the one who got me set up here on Word Press and this new venture for me.

When I was younger, I thought that people in their 50’s and 60’s were quite ancient and that they didn’t know very much.  I’m sure all younger people still feel this way. This is why, it is particularly exciting for me to be learning new things now. I am learning that in every phase of life, even where others feel that there is no growth or room for growth, that there is.  After all, “we did not change as we grew older; we just became more clearly ourselves.”(Lynn Hall)  Becoming who we truly are is the “big” growth.

In most of early life, we are conditioned to be what well-meaning others want us to be. To be in this phase of life is a time to really explore and grow into whatever life is beckoning us to. Hope we can share some good photos and meaningful exchanges here that will increase our happiness and we can bloom well together.

Jean