Life in progress

Monthly Archives: January 2024


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One-Liner Wednesday & #JusJoJan24 the 31st – Goals

Photo: “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” ~ Unknown

My new calendar for 2024, I’ve discovered, has a quote at the bottom of the page on every month. This one has an illustration of a child in a green hooded jacket playing with a toy dump truck full of snow.

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.

Here are the simple JusJoJan Rules:

1. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but it’s never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the “jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list), counts as a “jot.” If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!

2. I’ll post prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). The prompt will be the word in quotation marks in the title of my 2am post. You don’t have to follow the prompt every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. You’ll get a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday and on Saturday, when your prompt will be the Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS, which will appear at about 9:30am Friday. Each prompt post will include the rules.

2 a) 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

3. Please ping back or link to the daily prompt. To ping back, just copy the URL from the daily prompt post, and paste it anywhere in your post. Check to make sure your link shows up where you want it to, and go back occasionally to see other bloggers’ entries – the more you visit others, the more they’ll visit you! Note: A) The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section. B) Ping backs only work if you’re blogging on WordPress. Everyone else must paste a link manually.

4. Tag your post JusJoJan24 and/or #JusJoJan24.

5. Write anything! Any length will do! It can even be a photo or a drawing – you’re going to title it, right? There’s your jot!

6. If your post is NSFW, do not ping back. Please leave your link in the comments with a warning.

7. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.

8. Have fun!


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JusJoJan24 the 30th – My eyes!

This post is the last of my regular Just Jot it January 2024 efforts, and it’s an effort…

When I chose the word “calendar” for today’s prompt, there was no way I could have anticipated how I was going to use it.

Although, I think I’ve been here before now … at least once.

Where is here?

Here is sleep deprived. Here is a mother who stayed up all night last night with her son in the emergency room. You’ve heard this song before, right?

Anyhoo, he wasn’t admitted to hospital this time, and we were in and out of there in just ten short hours! That might be close to a record.

BUT! It did mean I missed something important. To me, at least.

I made an appointment to get my eyes checked in December—the appointment was for January 11th. A few days before that, the office called and told me the doctor wouldn’t be in, so she gave me another appointment. Guess for when?

So I called this morning from the emergency room to let them know I had to cancel the appointment this time.

I have another scheduled for February 15th. Three times lucky.

But oh, my poor wall calendar and all the covered up appointments!

This exhausted post is part of Just Jot it January! Want to join in? Just click here to get to the prompt and drop your link. It’s fun!

Thank you so much to everyone who joined in!


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Daily Prompt – JusJoJan the 30th, 2024

Well, this is it. Your thirtieth regular daily prompt for Just Jot it January 2024. I chose the word of the day myself. I’ll be back tomorrow with the final prompt of the month—the combination One-Liner Wednesday/JJJ24. And then, of course, we’ll have the wrap-up/we did it/where the heck did the time go post. So stay tuned!

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 30th, 2024 is “calendar.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

If you’d like to see the full prompt list, you can find the list HERE.

Here are the rules:

1. Please be sure to link back to THIS POST for Tuesday, January 30th, 2024.

2. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but it’s never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the “jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list), counts as a “jot.” If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!

3. I’ll post prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. You’ll get a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday and on Saturday, when your prompt will be the Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS, which will appear at about 9:30am Friday. Each prompt post will include the rules.

4. Please ping back or link to the daily prompt. To ping back, just copy the URL from the daily prompt post, and paste it anywhere in your post. Check to make sure your link shows up where you want it to, and go back occasionally to see other bloggers’ entries – the more you visit others, the more they’ll visit you! Note: A) The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section. B) Ping backs only work if you’re blogging on WordPress. Everyone else must paste a link manually.

5. Tag your post JusJoJan24 and/or #JusJoJan24.

6. Write anything! Any length will do! It can even be a photo or a drawing – you’re going to title it, right? There’s your jot!

7. The prompts will appear every day that’s neither a Wednesday nor a Saturday–Saturday’s JusJoJan prompt will be Stream of Consciousness Saturday. You’ll find the list of prompts below as they come in, which means I’ll be updating this post. Remember, you don’t have to use the prompts. Please write whatever inspires you. NOTE: If your post is NSFW, do not ping back. Please leave your link in the comments with a warning.

8. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.

9. Have fun!


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JusJoJan24 the 28th – Families

This post is part of Just Jot it January, and today’s prompt comes to us courtesy of Kim. Check out her blog here!

Some family members you can happily live with, some not so much.

But I don’t think you’ll disagree that there are some family members none of us want to live with: the members of the rodent family.

True story that happened many years ago:

I walked into my kitchen one morning in time to see a mouse run under my stove. I shrieked, not because I’m afraid of mice, but because it startled me. I immediately got down on my hands and knees to look for the little critter, but there was no sign of it. I pulled out the drawer under the stove—nothing. It had disappeared.

But there were droppings. Lots of droppings.

I had someone pull the stove out from the wall to see if there was a hole it could have gotten through, but nothing was obvious. The next step was to take the side panels off the stove. Sure enough, there were more droppings in the insulation between the outside and inside walls of my oven. They’d built a nest. In my stove.

So I sold the house.

…

…

Okay, the family of mice might not have been the entire reason I sold the house, but I never cooked in the oven again—I didn’t want to bake the little buggers alive!—and the oven stayed in the house when I moved.

I did leave a note for the new owners.

It went something like:

The stove is yours, but not yours alone …

This reminiscing post is part of Just Jot it January! Want to join in? Just click here to get to the prompt and drop your link. It’s fun!

Thank you so much again, Kim, for the prompt!


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Daily Prompt – JusJoJan the 29th, 2024

Hi! I’m here with your twenty-ninth prompt for Just Jot it January 2024! Today’s prompt is courtesy of Kim. Thanks so much, Kim! Please be sure to visit Kim’s blog to read her posts and say hello. And follow her while you’re there if you’re not already.

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 29th, 2024 is “family.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!

If you’d like to see what I have so far on your prompt list and what’s to come, you can find the list HERE.

Here are the rules:

1. Please be sure to link back to THIS POST for Monday, January 29th, 2024.

2. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but it’s never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the “jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list), counts as a “jot.” If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!

3. I’ll post prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. You’ll get a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday and on Saturday, when your prompt will be the Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS, which will appear at about 9:30am Friday. Each prompt post will include the rules.

4. Please ping back or link to the daily prompt. To ping back, just copy the URL from the daily prompt post, and paste it anywhere in your post. Check to make sure your link shows up where you want it to, and go back occasionally to see other bloggers’ entries – the more you visit others, the more they’ll visit you! Note: A) The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section. B) Ping backs only work if you’re blogging on WordPress. Everyone else must paste a link manually.

5. Tag your post JusJoJan24 and/or #JusJoJan24.

6. Write anything! Any length will do! It can even be a photo or a drawing – you’re going to title it, right? There’s your jot!

7. The prompts will appear every day that’s neither a Wednesday nor a Saturday–Saturday’s JusJoJan prompt will be Stream of Consciousness Saturday. You’ll find the list of prompts below as they come in, which means I’ll be updating this post. Remember, you don’t have to use the prompts. Please write whatever inspires you. NOTE: If your post is NSFW, do not ping back. Please leave your link in the comments with a warning.

8. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.

9. Have fun!


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JusJoJan24 the 28th – Changes

This post is part of Just Jot it January, and today’s prompt was kindly provided by Fandango. Check out his blog here!

Ah, how I’ve changed.

I used to be happy to walk into places where people congregate.

Malls, planes, crowded city streets, concerts—squashed in a sea of screaming, singing people? Let’s go!

But now …

No thanks.

I wonder sometimes if I’d have changed in this way even if it hadn’t been for the pandemic.

I mean, we change as we get older. Right?

There was a time when I thought I’d be happy to live my life spending all my spare time riding a horse. Sure, I’d like to do it again, but I don’t miss it.

So yeah. Congregating online has become more my speed. I can do that and be a desk jockey at the same time.

This thought-inducing post is part of Just Jot it January! Want to join in? Just click here to get to the prompt and drop your link. It’s fun!

Many thanks again, Fandango, for the prompt!


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Daily Prompt – JusJoJan the 28th, 2024

We’re back with our twenty-eighth prompt for Just Jot it January 2024! Our prompt for today comes to us from of Fandango. Thank you, Fandango! Please be sure to visit Fandango’s blog to read his posts and say hello. And follow him while you’re there if you’re not already.

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 28th, 2024 is “congregate.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

If you’d like to see what I have so far on your prompt list and what’s to come, you can find the list HERE.

Here are the rules:

1. Please be sure to link back to THIS POST for Sunday, January 28th, 2024.

2. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but it’s never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the “jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list), counts as a “jot.” If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!

3. I’ll post prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. You’ll get a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday and on Saturday, when your prompt will be the Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS, which will appear at about 9:30am Friday. Each prompt post will include the rules.

4. Please ping back or link to the daily prompt. To ping back, just copy the URL from the daily prompt post, and paste it anywhere in your post. Check to make sure your link shows up where you want it to, and go back occasionally to see other bloggers’ entries – the more you visit others, the more they’ll visit you! Note: A) The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section. B) Ping backs only work if you’re blogging on WordPress. Everyone else must paste a link manually.

5. Tag your post JusJoJan24 and/or #JusJoJan24.

6. Write anything! Any length will do! It can even be a photo or a drawing – you’re going to title it, right? There’s your jot!

7. The prompts will appear every day that’s neither a Wednesday nor a Saturday–Saturday’s JusJoJan prompt will be Stream of Consciousness Saturday. You’ll find the list of prompts below as they come in, which means I’ll be updating this post. Remember, you don’t have to use the prompts. Please write whatever inspires you. NOTE: If your post is NSFW, do not ping back. Please leave your link in the comments with a warning.

8. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.

9. Have fun!


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JusJoJan24 & #SoCS the 27th – The hardest thing

This post is part of Just Jot it January and my weekly prompt, Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Find the prompt and see how you can join in HERE.

When I post my SoCS prompts every week, I really take the idea of writing off the top of my head to heart when I sit down to write my own SoCS post. Sometimes.

Case in point: today, all day, I tried to figure out how I could put “make the call” into a post. What could I write about? I make so many calls every day, some literal, most not—I make a heck of a lot of decisions in a day.

But today, I just couldn’t decide what to write about.

So I made the call to just sit down and write my post.

And here I am.

Writing a post and having no idea what to write about … except not knowing what to write about.

Very meta.

This nonsensical post is part of Just Jot it January and SoCS! Want to join in? Just click here to get to the prompt and drop your link. It’s fun!

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

 


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JusJoJan24 the 26th – Who knew I’d miss it?

This post is part of Just Jot it January, and today’s prompt was kindly provided by Jemima. Check out her blog here!

Here in Ontario, Canada, we’ve had some pretty atrocious snow storms. I remember one year—I think it was in 1977—when the snow came down so hard and fast and there was so much wind, it completely buried our back door. There was a five-foot window above the door and the snow covered half of that too.

But that was then.

Now we have all this rain coming down, and it’s almost February!

I miss the snow. I miss the predictability of it.

And I miss winter feeling like winter, no matter how much I inevitably complain about it.

This strange harking-back post is part of Just Jot it January! Want to join in? Just click here to get to the prompt and drop your link. It’s fun!

Thanks again, Jemima, for the prompt!


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The Friday Reminder for #SoCS & #JusJoJan 2024 Daily Prompt – Jan. 27th

It’s Friday, and it’s also our final combination Daily 2024 Just Jot it January Prompt and the Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. This one is for SATURDAY, JANUARY 27th. Where did the month go? I think I say that every year, but it’s never any less confusing. I hope if you just joined for Just Jot it January that you’ll be back every Saturday all year ’round for SoCS!

For those of you joining SoCS for the first time, it’s a little different than the other prompts in that it’s not always a whole or single word. If you’re joining in from JusJoJan and don’t want to write stream of consciousness style, no worries. It’s up to you. If you do want to try it, please check out the rules below. It’s fun! Here’s your Saturday prompt:

Your prompt for #JusJoJan the 27th and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “make the call.” Use it as an idiom or use it literally. Have fun!

After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at 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 post. Anyone can join in!

To make your post more visible, use our 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/

You can also use the Just Jot it January badge! To find the rules for Just Jot it January, click here.

Here are the rules for SoCS:

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. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on 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 simply a single word to get your 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 everyone’s! 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 right 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!