Life in progress

Category Archives: Life


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#JusJoJan 6/20 – Possibilities

Thanks so much to Jill for the prompt word today! You can find her own Just Jot it January post here! Check it out, say hi, and give her a follow!

Ah, possibilities. As much as the idea that all the possibilities out there can give us hope, and they often do for me, too many of them can stop us dead in our tracks.

I’m pretty decisive, but my son Alex is terrible at making decisions. Even when he’s only faced with two. I don’t know if it comes from making the wrong one at some point in his life–I don’t know where it comes from. But his indecision, faced with possibilities, has often led to him deciding to be punished rather than doing one of two things he’d actually enjoy doing. He gets punished because he’ll make a “final” decision that I’ll say okay to, and then he’ll immediately change his mind and when I put my foot down, he’ll have a tantrum.

I love having kids. They can be such a joy. But on the other hand …

 

This post is brought to you by Just Jot it January! Click the following link and join in! It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2020/01/06/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-6th-2020/

Love quickens beneath the moonlight …

Get your free copy of The Magician’s Sire: A Paranormal Romance → Click here


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#JusJoJan 5/20 – Goals and Intentions

First off, thanks again to Faye Therborne for the prompt! You can find her last post here! Go say hi!

Warning: Rambling ahead.

I’ve figured out that Goals x Intentions = Results, at least most of the time. But where does procrastination fit into the equation? Does it come before Intentions, making them negative, resulting in zero Results? Or does it come after Intentions, i.e. Goals x Intentions + Procrastination = Fewer Results? (I added Procrastination since it’s already negative, in the grand scheme of things.)

I suppose where it comes in depends on how much procrastination one commits oneself to.

Which is an interesting statement in and of itself, I realize now that I’ve written it. If I commit myself to procrastinate, isn’t that an intention? But that would be essentially deciding to fail at my goals. So why have them at all?

In case I lost you with the math (which, I admit, probably doesn’t make any sense anyway), I’ll put it another way. Goals are useless without intentions to back them up. For instance, if my goal is to win a million dollars but I have no intention of buying a lottery ticket, chances are I’m not going to magically win a million bucks. If I do follow through with my intention, I may get results. But if I procrastinate so long that I don’t get to the store in time to get my ticket, I’m back to square one, which is NOT a million dollars richer.

But hey, I’m probably preaching to the choir on the procrastination thing, am I right?

It’s an age-old question: why do we sabotage our goals with procrastination. Are strong, solid intentions enough to stave it off? Sometimes.

Definitely worth pondering.

This rambling post is brought to you by Just Jot it January! Click the following link and join in! It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2020/01/05/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-5th-2020/

Love quickens beneath the moonlight …

Get your free copy of The Magician’s Sire: A Paranormal Romance → Click here


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#SoCS & #JusJoJan 4/20 – Snow

We had our first snowfall of the year today. Until I moved to this town eight? nine? years ago, I’d seen one green Christmas in my entire life. I’ve lost count of how many we’ve had here. This last one passed without notice.

But now it’s all nice and white and fluffy. I went for a long walk with Alex this morning and am about to go on another one–it’s such a beautiful day out there!

There seems to be no end in sight for the snow now that it’s started. I hope Alex goes back to school on Monday, sans snow days. It’s been a loooong two weeks with no break from the caregiving job.

Here are some pictures and a video from today.

It’s amazing how much fluffy snow can accumulate on a tiny twig of a branch. There was no wind, so it stayed until it was too heavy and fell off.

I love my neighbourhood. Here’s a quiet garden surrounded by a wrought-iron fence and huge old red-brick houses. It’s closed off this time of year, probably to protect the roses. The steel benches would be too cold to sit on anyway!

A short video of the snow falling in the trees. I thought about how quiet it was until Alex started talking to his computer in the background. I was standing outside in my slippers with the door open when I took the video. Sorry about the size of the video. There doesn’t seem to be any way to make it smaller.

What’s the weather like where you are? So horrific what’s going on in Australia … I hope all of my readers from there are safe and not too hot.

This chilly post is brought to you by Just Jot it January,

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

… and Stream of Consciousness Saturday! Click the following link to find all the other participants’ links in the comment section and see how you, too, can join in. It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2020/01/03/the-friday-reminder-for-socs-jusjojan-2020-daily-prompt-jan-4th/

 

Love quickens beneath the moonlight …

Get your free copy of The Magician’s Sire: A Paranormal Romance → Click here


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#JusJoJan 3/20 – Nosehair is a Cannibal

“Poke” is the word of the day today. I had no idea what I was going to write for the prompt until I went out for a walk with Alex earlier. The answer to my conundrum was Nosehair.

If you’ve been around for forever, you might remember a tree I dubbed “Nosehair” for the branch it had growing out of its face. Yes, the tree has a face. I’m sure the only person who won’t be able to see it is Guy Thair.

Nosehair had a few posts dedicated to him–here’s one, and here’s another. You should check them out. They’re quite amusing if I do say so myself.

Today, though, getting back to my post, I found that someone had poked Nosehair with stick, sticking it in his mouth.

Do you see the face? He’s facing to the right, with a Roman nose and a dark spot for a mouth below.

You really have to zoom in to see the stick in his mouth (close to the blue car) in the picture above, but here’s a closeup:

Does this mean Nosehair is eating himself? Has he been turned into some sort of Ouroboros?

Something to ponder …

This slightly totally crazy post is brought to you by Just Jot it January! Click the following link and join in! It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2020/01/03/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-3rd-2020/


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#JusJoJan 2/20 – UFO

It’s not the first time I’ve seen strange lights in the sky. I had a stationary light, too bright to be a star but too far away to be anything but celestial, shining in my bedroom window for weeks.

But this is the first time I’ve actually managed to get a picture of one.

Click and expand to get a better look.

It’s about 11 o’clock from the moon, which is right in the middle of the photo. To describe what it looked like with the naked eye, it was like a giant bird with two halves that looked like wings, and it was just as bright as the moon.

It didn’t move from its position in relation to the moon, even when I drove. I watched it for a good five minutes.

Did anyone else see it? Has anyone else seen such a thing?

Or are they just watching me …? (Heehee.)

This weird post is part of Just Jot it January 2020! Today’s prompt was “a picture you’ve taken in the last week.” If you’d like to join in, just click the following link to see how. It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2020/01/02/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-2nd-2020/

 


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Concerning Just Jot it January 2020

I’m working on organizing this year’s JuJoJan. If you’re not familiar with what that is, there will be a post soon with all the details, the rules, and what you can expect if you’d like to join in.

The real purpose of this post is to let you know that my area is expecting 20-30mm of freezing rain overnight and mixtures of rain and snow all the way up to 6pm on Tuesday. The possibility of losing power is so great, I’m planning to schedule a bunch of posts to last the blog through ’til Saturday.

These will include:

1. The Rules post for Just Jot it January 2020, scheduled for December 31st.

2. One-Liner Wednesday/JusJoJan Day 1.

3. The Escapist Coloring Club Prompt January 1st.

4. The JusJoJan prompt for Thursday (Day 2).

5. Same for Day 3 plus the Friday SoCS prompt, which will also be the JusJoJan prompt for Day 4.

6. The request for JusJoJan prompts for the week starting January 5th–I’ll post that on Saturday the 4th without scheduling it.

In the event that I don’t show up online, I’d appreciate it if those of you who have participated in JusJoJan before would help those with questions. If I lose my power, I’ll try to at least get word out. Watch my Instagram feed @linda.g.hill as it will likely be easier to post there than anywhere. It’s the only app I have on my phone.

If, for some reason, I’m not back by Saturday, just link your posts to the December 31st Rules post and write whatever you want since there won’t be any prompts. And if I don’t lose my power, at least I’ll have all that done in advance!

Any questions, let me know. Watch for the Rules post first thing December 31st! All posts will be scheduled for 2am EST except the Friday SoCS prompt and the Coloring prompt, which will go out as usual at 9:30am EST.

 


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#SoCS – The Year 2019

It’s been a long year. Normally I’m wondering where the time has gone, but this year–2019–has been extra eventful, it seems. Thank goodness the hospitalizations of my mother and Alex, my youngest son, ended by the spring. My mum has fallen a few times this year, but (touch wood) she hasn’t broken her neck again. The smoking is usually the culprit. She always loses her balance outside.

On a personal note, the year has been productive. I’ve either written or finished two novels and three novellas over the past twelve months, on top of my job as an editor. It’s nice to have that sense of accomplishment.

Today I accomplished tripping up a curb while out walking with Alex. I managed to get my hands out of my pockets before I faceplanted on the pavement, thank goodness. But I have a goose egg on my knee, a nice bruise on one elbow, and my knuckles look like I’ve been in a fistfight.

And I don’t even smoke.

For those wondering if I’m doing Just Jot It January 2020, the answer is yes. I’ll post about it soon, I hope. The busy-ness of 2019 continues, and not having had a break from Alex since the beginning of July (aside from my weekend in Kingston when I was as sick as a dog) and no idea when I will again, I tend to be tired most of the time.

But I’m getting there. One step at a time.

Trying not to trip and fall.

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 all the other posts in the comment section and see how you can join in. It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2019/12/27/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-dec-28-19/


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#SoCS – Kringle Ingle

What day is it today? Okay, technically it’s Sunday where I am. But all day Saturday I was confused. Of course, having a kid home on a Friday because there’s no school will do that to a parent.

It’s almost time for Kris Kringle, as a matter of fact.

Kris Kringle to leave footprints on my shingles.

And slip down the chimney into my ingle. (Which I just found out is a fire in a fire place.)

Ouch.

Sing it with me …

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire …

Maybe that’s why his suit is red.

To symbolize the many times he’s been set alight.

Kringle crackling on an open fire …

That works.

Poor guy.

Speaking of Christmas, I think I’ve got almost all my shopping done. Already! I’m early this year. Normally I’m closing the stores at 5pm on Christmas Eve.

I had a salted caramel mocha at Starbucks today. Only they didn’t have the salt. So it was just a caramel mocha. Very disappointing. Especially since I had to practically mortgage my house to buy it.

I could say that it just didn’t make me tingle …

Ugh. That was a stretch.

What I will say in closing is I’ll have a Christmas present for you all soon. If you like paranormal romance, that is …

😉

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 all the other awesome posts in the comments and see how you, too, can join in! It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2019/12/20/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-dec-21-19/


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#SoCS – Loudness

I love loud music. I always have. I remember doing everything in my power as a teenager to simulate quadraphonics. My parents had one of those stereos that was a piece of furniture–a turntable, radio and 8-track built into a cabinet. It allowed an extra pair of speakers to be plugged into it, so I’d do that, then arrange them around the level of my waist somewhere when I was laying on my back on the floor with my head as close to the middle of the stereo as possible and I’d be surrounded by sound.

What sound, you ask? If you’ve never listened to the album “Equinox” by Styx with a pair of headphones, you need to do that. ASAP. Or, better yet, find a stereo that’s a piece of furniture with a turntable(!!!) and do what I did. There’s nothing that can compare to vinyl. NOTHING!

Okay, there is one thing. And it’s actually even better. And louder. A live concert. I luuurve concerts.

Lately, they’re the only time I get to listen to loud music anymore, because I never get time alone in my house. I made a new year’s resolution to spend a weekend alone in my house, ohhh … three years ago. (I checked on my blog because everything is on my blog. Except it feels longer than that. Like, two years longer than that. It still hasn’t happened.)

I attribute the lack of loud music to my sleep apnea.

How is that, you ask?

Well, let me tell you.

When I listen to loud music, I sing loud. It used to be that even if I couldn’t do so in my house, I could listen and sing in the car. Except I haven’t had a stereo in my car (that plays CDs or anything else) since the end of 2015 when I traded in my minivan for a 2000 Toyota.

Singing, I believe, strengthened the muscles in my throat. Since they’ve gone to the dogs, I stop breathing when I sleep on my back.

So yeah.

Rock on, dudes.

With headphones!!

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

This rocking post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday! Click the following link to find all the other loud posts in the comments, and join in! It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2019/12/13/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-dec-14-19/


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#SoCS – The Key

I’ve finally figured out that the key to getting stuff done is being organized. Who knew?

All week I’ve been trying to organize my time into blocks–from this point to then, I do that. From then to then, I do this. And so on. And I’ve actually been productive!

I call it the productivity key.

Yes, I just came up with that.

So now that I have my productivity key, what do I need next?

Oh yes, my endless riches key.

Somehow I think that one might take a bit more work. But hey, productivity is probably the first step. Right?

But what would I do with endless riches? End world hunger for a start. Then maybe get a haircut. I haven’t had one of those in four years. Because it’s been, like, really? What’s the point? It only grows back. And it’s not like anyone ever sees me.

I really need a key to getting out of the house.

Which is weird, because most people want a key to get into the house.

But I think a key to getting out is almost as important.

Of course you want to get in … especially when it’s raining or snowing. But getting out? That can be priceless.

I went Christmas shopping with Alex today. He’s decided he’s not afraid of Santa anymore, so this is the first time he’s been in a mall at the same time as Santa. And it was great!

My point (read: where I was going with this) is that I actually got to do some people watching today, and I realized it’s been a REALLY long time since I did that. I forgot what people looked like!

Okay, not really. But it was like a refresher course in society living. There’s not much society in my house.

Just family.

And family’s not really society.

Are they?

So the key to society?

Running away from home.

Yeah, that’s the ticket.

Productivity, endless riches, and running away from home.

Not necessarily in that order.

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

This escape-artist post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the following link to find all the other posts in the comments and join in! It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2019/12/06/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-dec-7-19/