Life in progress

Category Archives: Life


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#SoCS – Can Can-Can

Can I catch a break? Seems not today. Dealt with a cold and bad behaviour from my kiddie who’s about to become an adult-ie. He was supposed to have his eighteenth birthday party dinner with the family tonight but instead he ended up going to his room for hitting me. He’s still only about 5 feet tall and not muscular at all (I can still pick him up), so he didn’t do any damage, but that’s not the point. He’s still at the terrible-twos-going-on-adolescent stage of his life.

But I did kind of catch a break. When you think of the brighter side, at least I didn’t have to get out of my pj’s today to go to the store and get a cake. And I’m feeling a bit better, so that’s something.

I suppose all in all I don’t have it that bad. I have a roof over my head and a way to communicate to the world. I have a little bit of an income, though that will have to change, again, since Alex is turning eighteen. I stand to lose a huge chunk of my income starting Tuesday. Like, about half of it. Wanna buy a book?

In all honesty, I’ve been working quite hard at marketing these last few weeks. It hasn’t got me very far, but I’m hoping it’s just a learning curve. I’ve been playing around with Canva–a free online graphics-making site. I made this tonight:

It’s fun to play with.

Can I get better at it? Sure I can. And I will.

I can also finish the third book in my series and maybe even write another book before the year is out. I’m incredibly motivated right now, and I’m itching to act like an author again. I feel like I can do this.

Which isn’t a good attitude to go to bed with, because I’m probably going to stay awake plotting a new book, or my life or something.

Where was I going with the title of this post? Oh yeah.

Can I admit something?

I always wondered if Cannes was where the can-can originated.

I can look it up.

But it’s late.

I used to be able to do the can-can. Now I can only do it with my fingers.

Still, I’m glad I can.

SoCS badge by Pamela, at https://achronicalofhope.com/

This post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the following link to see all the other posts and join in! https://lindaghill.com/2018/10/19/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-oct-20-18/ It’s fun!


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#SoCS – Precious Words

One for the record books–the day I was a full hour and fifteen minutes late starting on my own prompt.

A few times today (yesterday) I actually sat down to write this, but I got distracted. Pulled away, or at the very least had the feeling that if I started, I wouldn’t be able to finish.

Which is my most-used excuse for not writing fiction.

So I’m sitting here now, in the wee hours of Sunday morning with my cup of peppermint tea, waiting for the Tylenol to kick in. And now, I will close my eyes and type.

How are our words precious?

They have such power. Our voices–the way we communicate, whether by voice itself or by written word–have the power to affect so much. So many others. It’s not the words themselves, but the way we choose to use them. Our expressions, our tone, our gestures … our voice.

Writers starting out are often confused over what we refer to as authorial voice. As an editor, I can see a writer’s voice as plain as day. It’s much like we speak. Because our thoughts drive both our speech and the way we write, they come out very similar in structure.

And those inner voices … Those, if we really pay attention to them, show the real us, if only to ourselves. Can you imagine if we said everything we thought? Ha! My stream of consciousness just went haywire. If only I could type as fast as I think.

But maybe I overthink things like this because I have such a passion for words. They have the potential for such beauty and such ugliness, all of which drive the human spirit–create our experiences of others and even ourselves. They can inspire us and they can scar us. Lift us up or drive us into the pit of despair.

Words are precious.

If we could all use them both wisely and with kindness and empathy, the world could be without conflict.

And I’d be out of a job.

(Because without conflict, a story is boring. 😛 )

SoCS badge by Pamela, at https://achronicalofhope.com/

This extremely late and utterly rambling post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the link to find all the entries in the comments. And join in! https://lindaghill.com/2018/10/12/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-oct-13-18/


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One-Liner Wednesday – A Canadian Thanksgiving

Thankful for new gifts and for things as old as I am that are still around.

What are you thankful for?

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!


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#SoCS – In the Cards

The concept of fate is debatable. I’ve always kind of believed in it. Especially when it suited me the most.

When something good happens, it’s luck. When something bad happens, it was bound to be. Bound as in tied up, unable to escape fate with a bow on top.

Until, of course, something good proves to have mixed results.

Was I fated to meet my ex? Of course–we had three kids. They were fated to come into existence, to change other people’s lives in their path.

Yeah, totally a mixed bag of beliefs.

Then there are the literal “in the cards” cards. I used to play around with Tarot cards a lot. I have no idea where they went when I moved eight years ago. Or maybe it was nine now … No matter. I haven’t seen them in close to a decade.

I used to wonder if I was just reading what I wanted to read in them. I mean seriously, so much interpretation!

But then once in a while I’d have a really specific question in mind and there was no doubt they were talking to me.

Happened more with the Angel cards.

I know where they are.

I still get them out once in a while.

Do they predict the future or show me what’s “in the cards,” so to speak? Again, totally up for interpretation.

They say that things you don’t believe in, won’t come true. But maybe it’s all in our heads.

Or maybe we just choose not to see it.

SoCS badge by Pamela, at https://achronicalofhope.com/

This mystical post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Sunday Saturday. Click the following link to find all the posts in the comments, and join in! https://lindaghill.com/2018/10/05/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-oct-6-18/


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#SoCS – Dominated

How do you function when your mind is dominated by stress and anxiety?

How to cope when your mind is awhirl with worry?

Meh. It’s par for the course these days. Sometimes I feel like I’m being kept afloat by all that’s constantly to-do in my life. Does anyone have it easier than I do? I doubt it. Same shit, different set of circumstances.

We all have something that dominates us, I believe. Whether it comes in the form of another human being, a situation that we can’t get out of, piles of work or worry and stress …

But there can be momentary escape. For some it only comes with sleep, with alcohol, with a favorite pastime …

Problem is nothing stands still. Not even the earth.

This very late post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the following link to find all the participants’ posts linked in the comment section, and join in! It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2018/09/28/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-sept-29-18/


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Here we go again

It’s 9:40 pm and this is the first time I’ve been able to really get on the Internet today. I’ve been working all day, which is good! Unfortunately, this is what it’s going to be like for the next three weeks or so, so guess what?

I’m going to have to put off my month of prompts again. 😩

Before you start throwing tomatoes at me, let me ask you something:

What do you think of March? I considered February, but that will be right on the back of Just Jot it January. March, on the other hand, is going to bring us into A-Z April with some momentum.

Okay, you can throw the tomatoes now.


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One-Liner Wednesday – Clippity-clop

Now I know where the squirrel–the one who walks across my roof when I’m trying to sleep in–got his hobnail boots from.

(Pictured: a poured-concrete sidewalk slab with squirrel footprints in the cement.)

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!