Life in progress

Monthly Archives: February 2020


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The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Feb. 29/2020

Friday’s here and so is your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt! The sky’s looking pretty ominous where I am. They’re calling for snow all day. I have a feeling it’s going to get interesting. Here’s your prompt for this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “ect.” Find a word with the letters “ect” in it, and base your post on that word. (Not to be confused with “et cetera,” which is “etc.”) Enjoy!

After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here to this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!

To make your post more visible, use our beautiful SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!

2019-2020 SoCS Badge by Shelley! https://www.quaintrevival.com/

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing (typos can be fixed), and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. I will post the prompt here on my blog every Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The,’” or will simply be a single word to get you started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.  Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read all of them! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later or go to the previous week by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!


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One-Liner Wednesday – Written Off

Status update.

Last week I wrote this: Between Family Day on Monday, a snow day yesterday, and Alex complaining before bed that he’s going to be too sick to go to school tomorrow, I think I may just write off this week in terms of getting any work done.

Since then: Alex was off school sick Wednesday and Thursday, Friday was a teacher’s strike, Monday and Tuesday (yesterday) sick still, today we’re getting a foot of snow, so another snow day, tomorrow he has an appointment out of town so no school, and Friday there’s another teacher’s strike.

I’m hoping for Monday.

Winston still agrees.

Photo: My dog, Winston, looking like he’s up to no good.

If you would like to participate in this prompt, feel free to use the “One-Liner Wednesday” title in your post, and if you do, you can ping back here to help your blog get more exposure. To execute a pingback, just copy the URL in the address bar on this post, and paste it somewhere in the body of your post. Your link will show up in the comments below. Please ensure that the One-Liner Wednesday you’re pinging back to is this week’s! Otherwise, no one will likely see it but me.

NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, like Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS), if you see a pingback from someone else in my comment section, click and have a read. It’s bound to be short and sweet.

Unlike SoCS, this is not a prompt so there’s no need to stick to the same “theme.”

The rules that I’ve made for myself (but don’t always follow) for “One-Liner Wednesday” are:

1. Make it one sentence.

2. Try to make it either funny or inspirational.

3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.

4. Add our lovely badge to your post for extra exposure!

5. Have fun!

Badge by Laura @ riddlefromthemiddle.com


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#SoCS – The Sound of Silence

For a dog that’s not very big, Winston, my beagle/Basset cross has a big barrel chest and a huge voice. He always has, even when he was tiny.

He makes all kinds of noises other than the ones you’d expect. He can howl beautifully, and when he really wants attention, especially from someone who’s walked in the door (if they’re a friend or family), it’s almost as though he’s talking with his “rowr rowr rowr” that’s half howl, half cry.

But it’s the sounds he doesn’t make that kill me.

You know, the silent but deadly ones?

Why can’t a dog fart loudly so we can run away before it hits the nostrils?

I can be sitting here on the couch, minding my own business, when suddenly the room smells like I walked into a barn full of cows that have been eating the most sulfurous corn on the planet for three days without being mucked out.

It’s horrid!

I can’t even blame my own farts on the dog because everyone knows that nothing on earth smells as awful as he does.

You’d think all the tissues he eats would stifle some of it, but no!

I’m sure I could change his diet somehow, but he eats everything, including the garbage I’m sure the neighbours throw into my back yard, so there’s not much point in that.

I may have to get a clothes peg off the line outside …

2019-2020 SoCS Badge by Shelley! https://www.quaintrevival.com/

This stinky post was brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the following link to find all the other sweeter-smelling posts in the comment section and join in yourself. It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2020/02/21/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-feb-22-2020/


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The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Feb. 22/2020

It’s finally Friday! And that means it’s time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. It’s been quite the week for me. How has yours been? Here’s your prompt for this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “animal sounds.” Write about the sounds animals make and how you experience them. Have fun!

After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here to this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!

To make your post more visible, use our beautiful SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!

2019-2020 SoCS Badge by Shelley! https://www.quaintrevival.com/

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing (typos can be fixed), and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. I will post the prompt here on my blog every Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The,’” or will simply be a single word to get you started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.  Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read all of them! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later or go to the previous week by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!


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The Escapist Coloring Club – February 2020 mid-month reminder

I missed the middle of February by a bit, but I’m here anyway with your mid-month reminder to get colouring! You’ll find the links for the eight (count ’em, 8!) bloggers who have participated already this month below. Make sure you check them out! I’ll turn off the comments in this post and redirect you to the February 1st prompt to link your entries there, if you haven’t already posted.

Here’s what I’m working on this month. I’m astonished, with how busy I’ve been, that I’m almost finished it!

While I’ve been working on it, I’ve been listening to the audiobook of Jane Green’s Saving Grace. I just finished it last night. It’s a fantastic book! If you enjoy domestic thrillers, you’ll love it!

So back to colouring.

Thank you to our members who have posted so far! Here they are:

Anita at anitashope

June Ann at jaquintinwriter (June Ann, I got your name from your Twitter account. Let me know if that’s not right.)

Willow at willowdot21

Ruth at Ruth Blogs Here

Zhenzhen at Hinuha

Colline at Colline’s Blog

Jenna at revivedwriter

Dar at Darswords

Please visit them to see their wonderful colouring projects.

You can find the original post here. Join us! It’s fun and relaxing.

 

 


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One-Liner Wednesday – Ready to Write It Off

Between Family Day on Monday, a snow day yesterday, and Alex complaining before bed that he’s going to be too sick to go to school tomorrow, I think I may just write off this week in terms of getting any work done.

Winston agrees.

Photo: My dog, Winston, looking like he’s up to no good.

If you would like to participate in this prompt, feel free to use the “One-Liner Wednesday” title in your post, and if you do, you can ping back here to help your blog get more exposure. To execute a pingback, just copy the URL in the address bar on this post, and paste it somewhere in the body of your post. Your link will show up in the comments below. Please ensure that the One-Liner Wednesday you’re pinging back to is this week’s! Otherwise, no one will likely see it but me.

NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, like Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS), if you see a pingback from someone else in my comment section, click and have a read. It’s bound to be short and sweet.

Unlike SoCS, this is not a prompt so there’s no need to stick to the same “theme.”

The rules that I’ve made for myself (but don’t always follow) for “One-Liner Wednesday” are:

1. Make it one sentence.

2. Try to make it either funny or inspirational.

3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.

4. Add our lovely badge to your post for extra exposure!

5. Have fun!

Badge by Laura @ riddlefromthemiddle.com


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#SoCS – Cheeky Bugger

Is it Saturday? Oh. No. It’s Sunday already. And I’m late again for my own party.

I remember my mother calling me (and many other people) a cheeky bugger often. I was very cheeky indeed when I was younger. And when my mum was younger, too.

We took her out today to a restaurant to celebrate her 90th birthday. She only remembered when someone mentioned it. And she can’t remember how old she is. I can tell her and she’ll forget again in under a minute. Under 30 seconds, even.

But she’s still smoking. Her breathing sounds horrible–the nurse at the home asked me if I wanted to send her to the hospital tonight, but I can’t be there with her, so the nurse said they’ll keep an eye on her. She has a puffer. My mum, that is. I don’t know if the nurse has one.

It’s rotten, getting old.

My mother never gets involved in conversations. Can’t make decisions. The simplest things confuse her, like whether or not she should have two creams in her coffee or one. In that case, it’s not that she can’t decide, it’s that she doesn’t understand the concept.

But, she still knows she wants to smoke.

Perhaps it’s the only thing that keeps her alert.

A photo of my mum and Alex, signing “friend” together. Taken about 8 years ago.

Not sure how I got from “cheeky” to here. Ah well. Such is stream of consciousness writing.

2019-2020 SoCS Badge by Shelley! https://www.quaintrevival.com/

This post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the following link to find the other participants’ posts in the comment section and see how you, too, can join in! It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2020/02/14/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-feb-15-2020/


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The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Feb. 15/2020

Hey there! How are you? It’s that time again–time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. We’re into our seasonal deep freeze for this sunny Valentine’s Day. Hope you have a happy one! Here’s your prompt for this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “cheek.” Use it as a noun or a verb. Enjoy!

After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here to this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!

To make your post more visible, use our beautiful SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!

2019-2020 SoCS Badge by Shelley! https://www.quaintrevival.com/

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing (typos can be fixed), and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. I will post the prompt here on my blog every Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The,’” or will simply be a single word to get you started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.  Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read all of them! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later or go to the previous week by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!


by 61 Comments

One-Liner Wednesday – Thanks, Internet

Thanks to a stupid hoax going around the Internet yesterday saying it was the only day of the year you could stand a broom up, I now know what to do with my brooms when they keep falling over in the broom closet.

Photo: Two brooms standing up in the middle of the kitchen floor with no support. The cat is sniffing one, likely not believing it either.

If you would like to participate in this prompt, feel free to use the “One-Liner Wednesday” title in your post, and if you do, you can ping back here to help your blog get more exposure. To execute a pingback, just copy the URL in the address bar on this post, and paste it somewhere in the body of your post. Your link will show up in the comments below. Please ensure that the One-Liner Wednesday you’re pinging back to is this week’s! Otherwise, no one will likely see it but me.

NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, like Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS), if you see a pingback from someone else in my comment section, click and have a read. It’s bound to be short and sweet.

Unlike SoCS, this is not a prompt so there’s no need to stick to the same “theme.”

The rules that I’ve made for myself (but don’t always follow) for “One-Liner Wednesday” are:

1. Make it one sentence.

2. Try to make it either funny or inspirational.

3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.

4. Add our lovely badge to your post for extra exposure!

5. Have fun!

Badge by Laura @ riddlefromthemiddle.com


by 19 Comments

#SoCS – Unpacking a Thought

There are many ways to go about unpacking a thought or a problem. Some people find walking or exercising helps to clear the mind and open it up to new ideas. I get so many solutions in the shower for my problems when I come across them in my fiction writing, that by rights, I should be the cleanest person in Canada.

But often, when it comes to other issues I need to solve, writing is the best way to unpack what I’m trying to get at. The root can often be found by just spelling out the problem.

Sometimes a list can help, showing me from one step to the next how I can get from A (the problem) to Z (the most positive outcome).

Other times just this: stream of consciousness. You have to wonder what lives inside of our brains that just needs a little nudge to get out. Even memories of what worked before that we’ve long forgotten. They’re there, just buried by all the stress of what we NEED to remember on a daily basis, rather than the things that seem less important. Until they become important.

I have a feeling I’m going to look at this post later and cringe, so I might not reread it at all.

A glass or two of wine will do that.

Speaking of memories … I have no idea why, but I thought tonight of the first time I ever heard Enya. Her song Exile was in the movie L.A. Story. Such a beautiful song. Have a listen.

2019-2020 SoCS Badge by Shelley! https://www.quaintrevival.com/

This reflective post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the following link to see how you, too, can join in! It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2020/02/07/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-feb-8-2020/

 

Love quickens beneath the moonlight …

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