Life in progress

Category Archives: Stream of Consciousness Saturday


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#SoCS – I Admit to Things

I have a few things to admit to today, it seems.

I admit that although I drive to the bus station, spend $4.50 to get on with Alex (because he loves bus rides) and do an entire route just to get off at the same station, it’s not all that bad, regardless of how much I complain about it. It’s one of the few times every week I get to observe people.

I admit to buying Alex a child’s ticket even though he’s sixteen years old. He’s small enough for me to get away with it, and it’s not as though he could get a job. His mentality is that of a six- going on two- going on adolescent-year-old.

I admit that I feel bad about the torture I put Belinda, my cover artist, through, considering I can’t pay her what she’s worth – a million bucks.

I admit that although I have my book set for release on June 27th, I have no idea how to organize a cover reveal (sorry, Belinda), or run a blog tour. (If anyone wants to help with these things once I get them figured out, please email me at bacamjoly at gmail dot com. Thanks!)

I admit to laughing at this until I cried

(Horrible of me to laugh – it’s all in the execution, though. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.)

I admit to wanting to read all the other admissions in the SoCS posts this week because I’m nosy.

I admit that I’ve run out of things to admit to. For now.

This post is part of Stream of Consciousness Saturday … er … Sunday. Click the link and read all the other posts – you’ll find them in the comments. And join in – it’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2017/06/09/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-june-1017/


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The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS June 10/17

It’s Friday and time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. Sorry for the late post. I’ve been busy formatting my novel and time slipped away from me. Also, I’m sick with a cold; I feel like I’ve been run over by a bus. Ah well. Here’s your prompt for this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “admit.” Use it any way you’d like. 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 Stream of Consciousness 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!!

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. 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!


by 8 Comments

#SoCS – The Weather

Whether you’re from the east coast or the west coast or somewhere in between, if you’re Canadian, you love to talk about the weather. It’s our national pasttime, aside from drinking our Timmie’s and jumping into a frozen lake on the first of January. …okay, not all of us are that brave. I’m not that brave. Scratch that last one.

The weather was lovely today. I sat outside (in the car) and read my book for an hour while I waited for my son to get out of his movie. With the windows down and everything! (In the car, not in the movie.) I sometimes hate not being able to fix my grammar when I write a SoCS post. Why did I make up that rule? Oh yeah. To make it feel like we’re actually sitting down, talking together. My grammar isn’t as good when I speak, compared to when I edit what I’ve written. And let’s face it, who’s going to stop listening to me because my spoken grammar sucks? Wait… nobody listens to me anyway. Never mind.

What was I talking about again? Oh yeah, the weather. It went up to 24C today. Perfect. My best friend, John, came over and cut the grass – he brought his own lawn mower since mine kicked the bucket. Luckily I only have a front yard to worry about. The back is still just dirt. And speaking of dirt (and mud), I had a smell outside today that was so rotten that I called the gas company to come and check to see if there was a leak. Turns out my next door neighbour was emptying his pool of skunky water. Yeah, it was that bad. And where did he drain it? Let’s just say Winston’s paws were wet when he came in.

Thank goodness for my back door neighbour’s beautiful yard. Makes up for my muddy one and the next door neighbour’s stinky one – as long as I keep the windows closed and the dog in. But who wants to do that with all this lovely weather?

Stream of Consciousness Saturday (yeah, I know, it’s Sunday now – shoot me) is brought to you by me and my prompt, here: check it out! https://lindaghill.com/2017/06/02/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-june-317/

 


by 36 Comments

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS June 3/17

Friday has come around again, and that means it’s time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. I’ve been busy getting my manuscript all scrubbed and polished for publication. The cover is finalized and it’s gone out to a few readers, hopefully for advance reviews. Fingers crossed, you should have it in your hands before the end of the month! So that’s why I’ve been so absent the last few days. How are all of you?

Here’s your prompt for this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “whether/weather.” Use one, use both, use them any way you’d like. Bonus points if you start and end your post with one (or each) of them. 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 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!!

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. 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!


by 11 Comments

#SoCS – Smell

I have a funny smell in my house right now. I think it’s a bag of garbage that needs to get out to the garage. Maybe I should put it out before it leaves by itself. Yeah, it’s gonna grow legs soon – that’s how ripe it’s getting.

It must really suck to have a sniffer as good as my dog’s. I can throw a dog biscuit out into the back yard and he’ll find it with his nose. He’ll start with a wide circle and go around and around in smaller circles until he finds it. It’s a target.

Winston

He’s definitely a hound.

When I write, I try to include smells. It helps to put a reader into the story when they can relate a smell to a scene. So what would fiction for dogs be like? All smells with the occasional command stuck in that they can relate to?

Other dog, other dog, cat, food, bone, SIT! Pant pant omnomnomnomnom…

Bestseller. New Pork Times.

This (woof!) post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the link and join in! https://lindaghill.com/2017/05/26/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-may-2717/


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The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS May 27/17

Friday’s here and with it, your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. I’ve been in a mad dash to get a project finished this week. Wrapped it up a couple of hours ago, so I’m free for the weekend. Relatively free, that is. I still have my little monster lovely son to look after. Here’s your prompt for this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “smell.” Use it any way you’d like. 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 Stream of Consciousness 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!!

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. 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!


by 30 Comments

#SoCS – All or Almost Nothing

All the time I’ve blogged up until now–all four and a half years–I’ve been jobless. Okay, I have the 24/7 job of single-handedly looking after my two disabled kids, but other than a paper route, I haven’t had a job that paid me anything. I haven’t needed to work due to the money my kids receive from the government, thank goodness. But that won’t last forever. If one of them decides to move out, or if I don’t receive as much money when Alex turns eighteen next year (which I expect will be the case), I won’t have enough money to keep a roof over their heads.

Thus, the career in editing. And my forced inattention to my blog and those who support it. It’s not an “all or nothing” situation yet, but you might have noticed that I’m not visiting you as much lately. It’s not a case that I don’t want to, believe me. There are just so many hours in a day.

To be honest, I feel almost guilty enough to stop doing the prompts. Although you seem to be doing okay without my input, I feel like I’m being rude. Please know I’m doing my best.

In other news, I’ve been trying to get out for walks more often. This editing gig requires a lot of time sitting on my butt, and I decided that before I’m able to take up the entire couch by myself, I needed to get some exercise. Unfortunately, my beloved waterfront trail is under water at the moment. Here are some before and after shots:

So instead of walking down at the waterfront, I’ve been strolling around the neighbourhood, taking pictures of doors and flowers and bunnies.

Join us in Stream of Consciousness Saturday! Click this link to find out how! You know what’s better than SoCS? Nothing!


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The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS May 20/17

It’s Friday, and time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. I’m spending the day with my youngest son, as he has a day off from school. It’s been loud, it’s been distracting, and there have been tickles. All in all, not too bad.

Here’s your prompt for this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “all or nothing.” Use one, use both, use them any way you’d like. Bonus points if you start and end your post with one (or each) of them. 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 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!!

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. 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!


by 16 Comments

#SoCS – Language

I find the mechanics of language both fascinating and frustrating. The acrobatics your tongue needs to accomplish when making its way around different languages is something I’ve never really mastered. I know enough French to make my way around Quebec without getting arrested–in Japan… let’s just say if I was about to be arrested, I was totally oblivious. Yet in the case of speaking French, I barely do. I can read most of it, and I can understand a lot of it when someone is speaking to me, but actually forming the words myself? I trip over my tongue like it’s six feet long. When I lived on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River, my local grocery store employees were used to me. They’d speak French, I spoke English, everything was understood and there was no gross salivation to worry about.

Japanese is a much easier language to speak. There’s very little tongue rolling going on, and most of the consonants sound the same as they do in English. Reading it? Pfft. Although I got to know the kanji for place names when I was there (because at the train stations they’re displayed in English, kana, and kanji), and obviously I learned the difference between “Men” and “Women” before I stepped off Canadian soil, much of the written language may as well be Greek. Or Japanese.

Lip reading, on the other hand, is a whole different subject when considering the tongue. Try it: say “dada” and “data.” Concentrate on what your lips look like when you say the two words. No difference. What changes is the position of the tongue. Even trying to say it with your mouth open, it’s impossible to show the difference to a deaf person. I was introduced to this difficulty when my Deaf son, Alex, was about four years old. The local children’s hospital (CHEO in Ottawa) had him in a program to see if he could ever learn to speak. He had hearing aids at the time, but they only allowed him to hear very loud noises. Speech wasn’t one of them. Eventually it was determined that because he never learned to suck as a baby (he’s tube fed to this day and he’s 16 years old) he’d never have the muscle control to speak. We gave up on the hearing aids when he started getting ear infections every other week. But back to the tongue. There are a few sounds that we make when we speak that are impossible to discern from our lips.

Holy spit balls, Batman! I just realized where the expression “mother tongue” came from! Sucking as a baby!!

…and, now I can’t concentrate on my stream of consciousness anymore.

This post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. To find the rules and join in, click the following link. Please do – it’s fun!! https://lindaghill.com/2017/05/12/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-may-1317/


by 33 Comments

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS May 13/17

Gah! I’m late again. But it’s still Friday, and that means it’s time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. It’s been a busy week for me, editing, proofreading, and finishing up yet another course. I’ve been totally immersed. So guess what? Here’s your prompt for this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “language.” Use it any way you’d like. 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 Stream of Consciousness 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!!

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. 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!