Life in progress


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What Day is it Anyway? Monday, June 1st, 2020

My day today so far–5:57pm: 

Alex and I got out for a walk today. Three days in a row now with no rain and no extreme heat! In fact, we needed sweaters. Crazy weather, but that’s Canada for you.

As we walked past the park today, I found some painted rocks.

Love
Peace
There’s a lot of love still to be discovered

What a lovely message of hope they were.

Then for supper, one of the ladies who worked with my son, Chris, at the high school and now works with disabled kids at Alex’s camp and his baseball club contacted me to ask me if it would be okay if her friend dropped off individual meals for Chris and Alex. I said sure! That happened today, making the kids very happy.

On a sad note, they officially canceled Alex’s camp for the summer. Baseball is out too, so it’s going to be a loooong three more months before school (maybe) starts in September.

Yesterday:

Last night, actually, I was late putting Alex to bed. He was in his room with his laptop at 12:05 when he started screaming. I ran in there to see what was wrong: he was pointing at the date. “It’s June 1st!” he signed.

Me: Yeah, it’s after midnight.

Alex: But it’s JUNE!!!

Me: (trying not to laugh) Yes, the date changes after midnight every day.

Alex: My mind is blown!

Apparently no one told him that the date changes before he wakes up in the morning. The little things you don’t think to teach your kids unless they ask …

Why I’m writing this post:

Because if you’re like me and stuck at home already, or if you’re going to be like me soon, the days of the week are hell to keep track of. We have a wonderful community here on WordPress and all over the Internet as well, and I’m sure many people are feeling nervous and/or isolated. I want to make sure every one of us has somewhere to congregate and someone to talk to.

I want everyone to know that you can start discussions with each other in the comments, and if you’d like to write your own “What Day is it Anyway?” post, you can link to this one. Hashtag #WDIIA.

Let’s keep in touch!


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The Escapist Coloring Club Prompt – June 1, 2020

It’s June 1st already, and here I am with your Escapist Coloring Club prompt. If you’d like to join the club, all you have to do is post pictures of your own colouring, your kids’ colouring, or that of anyone you know and have permission to share. This is a month-long prompt, which means you have all of June to link back here.

Once again, I missed the mid-month reminder and once again I failed to finish colouring my calendar page. Ah well. Life goes on, right? Here is the before picture of my May project, which I should have posted in the middle of the month:

The plan was to colour the butterfly in primary colours in marker, and do the flowers in muted colours of pencil.

Here’s what I got done: (Click for a closer look.)

And here’s the whole thing:

I got most of it done earlier in the month, so it was cheerful to look at, even unfinished.

Thank you so much to everyone who joined in in May! Here are all the projects from last month, in case you missed any:

Willow at willowdot21

June Ann at jaquintinwriter

Margret at Margret’s Life Journey

Barbara at Teleportingweena

Anita at anitashope

Dar at Darswords

Ruth at Ruth Blogs Here

Janet at Janet’s Smiles

Colline at Colline’s Blog

Jenna at revivedwriter

I look forward to seeing your new projects throughout the coming month!

Please find the “rules” below.

1. This prompt is designed for relaxation. As such, I encourage you to take your time to link your own post here, BUT, when you comment, please click the “Notify me of new comments via email” button. That way you’ll receive a notification when someone else links their project and you won’t miss anything. As with all the prompts, the more you visit others, the more your community of like-minded people grows.

2. Ping back! It’s important so that I and other people can come and read your post. To execute a pingback, just copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into the body of your post. 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.

3. There will be a prompt on the first of every month. I will try to post the prompt here on my blog at 9:30am -5 GMT. The prompt will simply be photos of my own colouring project. If you would like to host this prompt on your blog on another week during the month, either once, occasionally, or on a regular basis, please e-mail me at hilllindagmaru at gmail dot com and we’ll get you set up. All I ask is that you have an active blog and that you regularly reply to comments and visit other blogs.

4. Feel free to use The Escapist Coloring Club badge in your post.

5. Have fun!


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What Day is it Anyway? #SoCS Edition Saturday, May 30th, 2020

Sorry I’ve been so scarce ’round here the past few days. They’ve been rough ones. But I’m sure you don’t need me splayin’ my woes on the screen …

I’ve been too tired to stay awake and too restless to go to sleep. Does that make sense? Maybe I need more naps.

We finally got out for a walk today. First time in a week. It’s downright cold tonight after the scorching heat we had on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. It feels good to have cold feet again.

The poppies are growing nicely in the neighbour’s front yard.

I have to get up early and go to the grocery store tomorrow. I think even after all this worry is finished I may stick to going once a week. It’s making me more cautious about what I buy and saving me money, I think, in the long run. Plus, since I go so early in the morning, the only thing I’m craving is coffee, so the impulse buying is at a minimum.

There’s nothing more expensive than going shopping when you’re hungry, after all.

 

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

This adaptation of #WDIIA and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is brought to you by both. To join us in the SoCS tradition, click the following link where you’ll find all the instructions and the other participants’ posts in the comments. It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2020/05/29/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-may-30-2020/ Or you can link to this post if you just want to write a What Day is it Anyway? post.


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The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS May 30/2020

Friday’s here, and that means it’s time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. Sleep wasn’t my friend last night, but this morning I managed a bit, which is why I’m a little late. Sorry. Here’s your SoCS prompt for this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “spay/splay/spray.” Use one, use two, use ’em all, it’s up to you. Have fun!

After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here to 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 beautiful 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/

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. I will post the prompt here on my blog every 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 will simply be a single word to get you 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 all of them! 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 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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One-Liner Wednesday, May 27th, 2020 – Peace

Click for a better look.

I just wanted a photo of the turtles on the raft, but the reflection of the sky on the water turned out to be the best part.

Photo: A turtle pond, surrounded by trees and a narrow path beyond which is the lake. The sky was cloudy, but the blue shone through in places. On a raft in the middle of the pond are a few turtles sunning themselves.

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!

Badge by Laura @ riddlefromthemiddle.com


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What Day is it Anyway? Tuesday, May 26th, 2020

My day today so far–3:32pm: 

I woke up this morning convinced it was Saturday. Why? I have no idea.

In other news …

Alex and I went through our yearly battle of the fans. Aside from his fear of anyone in masks (Halloween, the school mascot, and even Santa are the worst), he has a fear of ceiling fans. I don’t know if he’s seen one fly off its moorings online or something, but we go through this every time it starts to get hot outside and I want to turn them on for the first time.

I get that he’s scared, and I think he actually gets that it’s irrational–I ask him, “Did it hurt you last year?” “No,” he says–but until I can convince him to just ignore it, he won’t let me leave it on.

So this morning I said fine. If he doesn’t want it on, I’ll take away the floor fan too.

Five minutes.

The ceiling fan is on for yet another summer.

Yesterday:

Yesterday, and today, and tomorrow, and until Saturday it’s going to be the same: work at home. Too hot to go out. High this afternoon, 33C, 40C with the humidity. (That’s 91F and 104F.)

Why I’m writing this post:

Because if you’re like me and stuck at home already, or if you’re going to be like me soon, the days of the week are hell to keep track of. We have a wonderful community here on WordPress and all over the Internet as well, and I’m sure many people are feeling nervous and/or isolated. I want to make sure every one of us has somewhere to congregate and someone to talk to.

I want everyone to know that you can start discussions with each other in the comments, and if you’d like to write your own “What Day is it Anyway?” post, you can link to this one. Hashtag #WDIIA.

Let’s keep in touch!


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What Day is it Anyway? Sunday, May 24th, 2020

My day today so far–10:59pm: 

Another weekend bites the dust. Tomorrow? It’ll feel like the weekend.

It’s about to get hot here, so I asked my best friend, John, to come over and put my A/C unit in the kitchen window. My brain doesn’t work in the humidity, so I really need it. That was the second time in two days I saw John, and yesterday was the first time in an age. Hanging out together is one of the casualties of this whole virus thing. Ah well. There’s the phone. He didn’t stay long today.

I went out for a walk by myself this afternoon, since Alex decided he wanted to be lazy.

I hung out with the geese. They don’t care about the virus.

Yesterday:

I sent a frantic text to John that read: Help! We’re trapped inside the house by murder hornets!

Okay, so they might not have been murder hornets, exactly, but I’m convinced they would have done away with me if I’d let them get close enough.

I saw three (count ’em: 3!!) of them through the window in the top of my wooden front door, between that and the screen door. There’s no way to get to the front of my house through the back door without hopping fences. So the only alternative was to be rescued from the outside. Ain’t no way I was opening the front door and letting them in the house.

The excitement never ends.

Anyway, I opened the door a crack and sprayed them, so by the time John got over to my place, they were dead. We still don’t know where they came from, but you can bet your booties I’ll be careful every time I open the door from now on.

Why I’m writing this post:

Because if you’re like me and stuck at home already, or if you’re going to be like me soon, the days of the week are hell to keep track of. We have a wonderful community here on WordPress and all over the Internet as well, and I’m sure many people are feeling nervous and/or isolated. I want to make sure every one of us has somewhere to congregate and someone to talk to.

I want everyone to know that you can start discussions with each other in the comments, and if you’d like to write your own “What Day is it Anyway?” post, you can link to this one. Hashtag #WDIIA.

Let’s keep in touch!


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What Day is it Anyway? #SoCS Edition Saturday, May 23rd, 2020

Choices aren’t terribly abundant these days. There are few places most of us can choose to go, to buy, to eat … But the choices we do have are important ones. For some of us, they’re life and death.

I don’t want to get on a soapbox.

But there are so many people not taking Covid-19 seriously, and it saddens me greatly. People who think it will never happen to them, or worse, people who think it’s a conspiracy.

Thousands of people went out today in Toronto because the weather was nice.

In a week or two, we’ll be locked down again like it’s March all over again. Not that I’m planning to do anything differently than I am now anyway, but it’s going to suck for people who truly have difficulties with having to stay at home.

And, of course, it’s going to suck even more for those who die or lose someone.

Patience seems to be barely a thing any more. And I get it–no one wants this. No one wants the level of change we’re experiencing. But the less patient we are, the longer it will go on.

People say they’re dying to go out.

I say, yes, they are. 😦

 

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

This adaptation of #WDIIA and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is brought to you by both. To join us in the SoCS tradition, click the following link where you’ll find all the instructions and the other participants’ posts in the comments. It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2020/05/22/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-may-23-2020/ Or you can link to this post if you just want to write a What Day is it Anyway? post.


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The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS May 23/2020

Gah! I’m late! It’s Friday, and time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. I was so good about getting up early yesterday, so I thought I’d wait until this morning to post this. Silly me, I slept in. Here, finally, is your SoCS prompt for this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “ch.” Find a word that starts with “ch” and use it as your prompt word. Bonus points if you start your post with that word. Enjoy!

After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here to 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 beautiful 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/

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. I will post the prompt here on my blog every 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 will simply be a single word to get you 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 all of them! 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 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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What Day is it Anyway? Thursday, May 21st, 2020

My day today so far–3:41pm: 

We’ve been having lovely weather, so we managed to get out for walks. Winston (my dog) was covered in so much loose hair this morning when I let him out of his crate, I wondered if I could weave a carpet out of it. Shedding is just one thing to love about this time of year, isn’t it?

They finally came around this morning to remove the stump from the tree on my front lawn that the city cut down. It feels like closure. Like I’ve had remains of a friend, a constant reminder of loss, taken away. Yeah, it was only a tree. But when it came down, it felt life-changing. Then all this happened, and, well, it kinda feels like everything can start going back to some sense of normalcy now. Weird? Probably.

Yesterday:

I took some pretty pictures of spring while we were out walking.

Photos: Cherry and apple blossoms in white and pink.

And two days ago:

My new short story came out!

Pixy is only 99 cents or free if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited, so if you like lighthearted paranormal romance stories, you’ll love this short, delightful love story. Pick it up today! (Click the photo below.)

Many thanks. 🙂

Why I’m writing this post:

Because if you’re like me and stuck at home already, or if you’re going to be like me soon, the days of the week are hell to keep track of. We have a wonderful community here on WordPress and all over the Internet as well, and I’m sure many people are feeling nervous and/or isolated. I want to make sure every one of us has somewhere to congregate and someone to talk to.

I want everyone to know that you can start discussions with each other in the comments, and if you’d like to write your own “What Day is it Anyway?” post, you can link to this one. Hashtag #WDIIA.

Let’s keep in touch!