Life in progress

Category Archives: Blogs


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One-Liner Wednesday Badge – Vote Here!

All the entries are in and now it’s time to vote for our new One-Liner Wednesday Badge! The badge that wins will be displayed here on prompt day and everywhere there is a One-Liner Wednesday post published for at least the next year to come, so vote carefully.  Anyone, whether you participate in the prompt or not, can vote.

I’ll name them all to make it easier for voting purposes. Please make sure you look at all of them before you cast your vote. Here are the contestants in order according to when they entered:

Willow, with “Typewriter” https://willowdot21.wordpress.com/2016/02/09/one-liner-wednesday-badge-call-for-submissions/

Dean Kealy, with “Splashes on Purple” http://deankealy.com/2016/02/10/one-liner-wednesday-badge-design/

John Holton, with “White on Blue” https://thesoundofonehandtyping.wordpress.com/2016/02/10/rip-dan-hicks-1linerweds/ (it’s at the bottom of the post)

KG, with “1W” https://booksmusicandmovies.wordpress.com/2016/02/13/two-prompts-in-one-post/

Pamela, with “Squiggly Line” http://butterflysand.com/2016/02/13/design-contest/

Wes, with “Quotes” http://nearlywes.com/2016/02/14/one-liner-wednesday-badge-submission/

And Dan Antion, with “Clouds and Contrails” http://nofacilities.com/2016/02/14/one-liner-wednesday-badge/

The poll will close on Tuesday, February 16th, 2016 at 12:00 noon, EST (-5 GMT).

Best of luck to all the contestants!!


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Last Call for the One-Liner Wednesday Badge Contest

There are a little more than four hours left to get your entry in for the One-Liner Wednesday Badge contest, as of the publication of this post. The contest ends tonight (Sunday February 14th/16) at midnight, EST.

We have four more entries for everyone to look at, for a total of seven so far. The new ones that weren’t part of the last reminder post are:

From KG: https://booksmusicandmovies.wordpress.com/2016/02/13/two-prompts-in-one-post/

From Pamela: http://butterflysand.com/2016/02/13/design-contest/

From Wes: http://nearlywes.com/2016/02/14/one-liner-wednesday-badge-submission/

And from Dan: http://nofacilities.com/2016/02/14/one-liner-wednesday-badge/

Please check them out early! The voting will begin sometime tomorrow; the poll will close Tuesday at noon, to give me time to announce the winner before Wednesday’s prompt is published.

Don’t forget, if you want to get your entry in, do it now! You can find the guidelines to enter here: https://lindaghill.com/2016/02/08/one-liner-wednesday-badge-call-for-submissions/

Best of luck to all the contestants!


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#LoIsInDaBlog And Song Lyric Sunday – Madrigal by Rush

When I was in high school I was a huge fan of Rush. I still am. Back then, one of their songs in particular touched me – I wrote out the lyrics hundreds of times as an angsty, lovelorn teenager. It’s a simple ballad, not something you would expect from a progressive rock band that normally deals in intricate sounds from every instrument they play.

Anyway, the lyrics were what resounded in me the most. One of my courses was a typing class, so whenever we had free practice time I’d type the lyrics to Madrigal. It’s probably not one you’ve heard unless you own the album A Farewell to Kings. Here are the lyrics as I still remember them. If I’ve made a slight mistake it’s because I haven’t written them out in about 35 years:

Madrigal

When the dragons grow too mighty
To slay with pen or sword
I grow weary of the battle
And the storm I walk toward

When all around is madness
And there’s no safe port in view
I long to turn my path homeward
To stop a while with you.

When life becomes as barren
And as cold as winter skies
There’s a beacon in the darkness
In a distant pair of eyes

In vain to search for order
And in vain to search for truth
But these things can still be given
Your love has shown me proof.

~ lyrics by Neil Peart, music by Geddy Lee

Song Lyric Sunday is brought to you by the fabulous Helen, at This Thing Called Life One Word At A Time. Click the link and join in today!

And what’s even better is today Song Lyric Sunday is in conjunction with Love Is In Da Blog, by the beautiful Bee , at Just Fooling Around with Bee. You can join in with her prompts all month long!

Love Is In Da Blog

 


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#SoCS – Winter Tires on Deck

When I lived in Quebec I had no choice – winter tires are mandatory. If you get caught without them after, I think, the middle of November you get a ticket. If you get in an accident without them your insurance doesn’t cover you. I had a great mechanic there. I think he liked me. Then again, I spent thousands of dollars at his shop getting my transmission fixed on my Montana. When I bought snow tires from him he offered to store my all-seasons for free for the winter. He labeled them “Linda Montana” so he’d know who they belonged to.

Anyhow, they’re talking about enforcing the same law in Ontario. I really didn’t see much difference when I drove on snowy roads, if any, so it seems like an unnecessary expense. But there you go. Luckily I don’t need a mechanic in my life anymore. My best friend is one. Wow, did that sound bad? Can’t change it now. Sorry John.

It’s really cold out today. Finally. -38 with the wind. I was afraid my car wouldn’t start, but it did. Not without complaint though. I’m looking forward to the warmer weather, though I have a new problem…

The puppy has been going outside to do his business, but my yard has too many things in it that can hurt him, so he’s restricted to the deck. My deck has become a poop deck. It needed a good cleaning anyway, so as soon as the nice weather comes we’ll scrub it, sand it, sandblast it, whatever it takes to really really get it clean and then stain it. I just hope the puppy isn’t too attached to it being his personal toilet. Dinner on the deck could get interesting.

No one without a boat should have a poop deck.

This post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday: https://lindaghill.com/2016/02/12/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-feb-1316/

SoCS badge 2015

And Love Is In Da Blog: https://justfoolingaroundwithbee.wordpress.com/2016/02/12/loisindabl-prompt-for-13feb16-stream-of-consciousness/ because I love my puppy even if he poops on my deck.

Love Is In Da Blog


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Badge-Making Contest Reminder

Just a quick note to remind everyone that the contest for the weekly One-Liner Wednesday prompt badge is coming to a close on Sunday night. All entries must be in by 23:59 EST (-5 GMT).

Check out the competition so far. In order of their entries:

Willow: https://willowdot21.wordpress.com/2016/02/09/one-liner-wednesday-badge-call-for-submissions/

Dean: http://deankealy.com/2016/02/10/one-liner-wednesday-badge-design/

John: https://thesoundofonehandtyping.wordpress.com/2016/02/10/rip-dan-hicks-1linerweds/ (Go to the bottom of the post.)

Pretty cool, eh? If you want to give them a run for their money, start designing now!

You’ll find the rules here: https://lindaghill.com/2016/02/08/one-liner-wednesday-badge-call-for-submissions/ And don’t forget to vote on your favourite badge come Monday!


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The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Feb. 13/16

Today is Friday and time for the Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. It’s a long weekend here in Ontario, Canada, so that means it’s a looong weekend for me with the kids home. Wish me luck! Here’s this week’s prompt:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “tire.”  Use it with a prefix and/or and suffix or use it as is. Enjoy!

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 Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!

To make your post more visible, use the 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!!

SoCS badge 2015

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. 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.

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!


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Love Is In Da Blog – Wordless Wednesday

WW Dec 2014

Bee’s prompt today is Wordless Wednesday – flowers we love.


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One-Liner Wednesday – A Disco?

So on Sunday I walked into a restaurant and was greeted by the hostess, as you are. She glanced out the window and saw that there was an ambulance, lights flashing, at the seniors home across the street.

“Oh look at that,” she said. “An ambulance. It looks like a disco over there.”

I stared at her, a little flabbergasted, with a remark on the tip of my tongue that went something like, I doubt it does to the person the ambulance is there for. But I said nothing. Because once in a while, we all say something totally stupid.

 

Hey! Don’t forget the badge contest for One-Liner Wednesday! (Which, by the way, this post is NOT a good example of. In fact it’s a great example of how you can break the rules!) For details on the contest and to get your name (and/or your blog’s address) mentioned numerous times every week, click the link! https://lindaghill.com/2016/02/08/one-liner-wednesday-badge-call-for-submissions/ The contest closes Sunday and voting for the best badge starts Monday. Don’t delay – start designing now!

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Anyone who would like to try it out, 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 ping back, 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.

As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS), if you see a ping back 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. Make it either funny or inspirational.

3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.

4. Have fun!


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Tuesday Use It In A Sentence – Oasis

Is it weird that I remember the band, Oasis, more for the fights between Liam and Noel Gallagher than I remember their songs?

I suppose the theory that there’s no such thing as bad publicity is true. We humans seem to have a better memory for the negative than the positive.

The Tuesday Use It In A Sentence prompt is brought you this week by My Loving Wife at A Word Adventure. Click the link and join in today!


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One-Liner Wednesday Badge – Call for submissions!

I began One-Liner Wednesday on March 19th, 2014. It wasn’t until the summer of the same year that I turned it into a prompt.

My very first One-Liner Wednesday, before I made it a prompt.

Until now, One-Liner Wednesday has not had a badge to identify it. I intend to change that, but I need your help! Yes, once again I’m calling on all artists, photographers, and badge-makers to submit the best of your art thing to be voted upon for our new visual.

The guidelines for entry into the contest are as follows:

1. The design can be anything you want it to be but it must include either “One-Liner Wednesday” and your name and/or the name of your website.

2. Any pictures (art or photo) must be your own.

3. All entries will be posted here on my blog on Monday, February 15th, 2016, along with a poll that will close the next day, on Tuesday the 16th. I would ask that each of the entrants make a blog post on their own website with their artwork so that I can post links for voters to check them out, and that they link their post back HERE in the comment section no later than Sunday, February 14th. All links included here will be added to the voting list.

4. The winner’s badge will be available for anyone who participates in One-Liner Wednesday to post permanently on their website as a widget and/or to embed in each weekly One-Liner Wednesday post.

5. One entry per person. The contest is open to anyone with a blog, WordPress or otherwise (see #3 for entry requirements).

6, Poll results will not be available while the poll is open. If there is a tie, I will choose the winner myself.

7. If I’ve missed anything, or if you have any questions please ask in the comment section below.

8. Have fun!

So that’s it. Get out your paintbrushes and coloured pencils, your cameras, or whatever you generally art with and art away!