Life in progress


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One-Liner Wednesday – In the End

“In the end, what we regret most are the chances we never took.”

~Frasier Crane

 

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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. As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday, 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.

The rules that I’ve made for myself for “One-Liner Wednesday” are as follows:

1. Make it one sentence.

2. Make it either funny or inspirational.

Have fun!


19 Comments

Just Jot it July – Busyness

On Monday, Alex started camp, and silly me, I thought that meant I’d have time to myself this week.

Monday morning started at 4am, with a very excited camper. Most of my day was lost having a nap.

Tuesday wake-up time was better, but I still had to go to camp to feed him, since it’s not “allowed” at YMCA day camps for the employees to “do anything like giving kids medicine, etc.” …which apparently lumps in feeding my kid because he’s tube fed. … It’s FEEDING! You’re not going to overdose him! After that, I had to go and meet a real estate agent at my mother’s condo. I’m trying to sell it since she’s in a retirement home. The good news? I may be able to get $1,000 more for it now than I bought it for five years ago. (Yes, I own it. Long story.) (And yes, that’s only three zeros.)

Tomorrow, Alex’s brother, Fred, is going to feed him, but I have to go in the morning to bottle my white wine (at this point I’m thinking maybe that should be whine) (unless my dear dear best friend does it for me *bats eyelashes*) and then I’m picking up mom for a trip to the bank and the doctor. Woohoo! Fun times.

THURSDAY, I have 124 papers to deliver in the morning, then take a nice hour long drive to feed Alex because they’re going on a field trip that day, and an hour back home. To the same city I’m going to for my vacation on Friday. Because I needed to drive there twice.

But the bestest news is, I’m on vacation next week!! Four days and three nights in Kingston to do research/get inspired for my novels (I can say novels with a plural now, because I’m almost 8,000 words into the sequel) and then a week at home all by my lonesome. Isn’t that awesome??

Now all I have to do is get through the next couple of days.

P.S. For all you SoCS participants, I’ll be posting the prompt early Friday and scheduling my own Saturday SoCS post but I won’t be online for the weekend. More about that on Friday.

P.P.S. If you’d like to join in Miss Lou’s Just Jot it July, go here to find the rules: http://misslouella.wordpress.com/2014/07/07/just-jot-it-july/


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Just Jot It July – 1st Edition

Miss Lou over at Miss Lou Acquiring Lore has done me the great honour of taking up the gauntlet in the “Just Jot It” series I began back in January, with Just Jot It July.

So this is me, just jotting about her month-long event for anyone who wishes to take part.

The rules are easy– you can find them here: http://misslouella.wordpress.com/2014/07/07/just-jot-it-july/

I think it’s pretty well known here on WordPress by anyone who has been around for at least one summer (like me) that July and August are the slowest months hereabouts. Posts drop off because of holidays, people go on hiatus… hiatuses… hiati… Heck they sometimes even to to Haiti!  …where was I… Oh yes! Vacations! They also mean that there aren’t as many people read our posts, so our view counts tend to go down.

For these reasons, it’s great to have prompts to keep us going. And that’s what Just Jot It July is all about.

So go and check it out, jot down your own post, and join in the jotting fun!


20 Comments

A New Record!

Not including my own post, we had a record number of participants yesterday for Stream of Consciousness Saturday! I’d like to say thank you once again to all who took part, as well as everyone who enjoyed reading the posts. As always, my main goal for hosting prompts is to help everyone build their community of bloggers.

So if you discovered a new, awesome blog, good for you! I know I’ve found many through the course of this weekly event. And if you’ve also gained followers then that’s wonderful too. Congratulations!

Here are the twenty-two participants this week in reverse order, in case you didn’t get to some of the later entrants:

Pav: http://pavorisms.wordpress.com/2014/07/05/off-on-the-wrong-tooth/

Shanjeniah: http://shanjeniah.com/2014/07/05/socs-body-language/

Michael: http://summerstommy.com/2014/07/06/prompt-for-socs-july-514-arria/

SomeKernelsOfTruth: http://somekernelsoftruth.com/2014/07/05/what-id-really-like-to-say-in-the-body-of-a-cover-letter-for-a-job/

Helen: http://helenespinosa.wordpress.com/2014/07/05/thoughts-and-bodies/

Willow: http://willowdot21.wordpress.com/2014/07/05/precious-body-stream-of-consciousness-saturday/

Jeanne: http://jeanneowensauthor.wordpress.com/2014/07/05/exercising-the-body-mind-and-spirit/

Rose: http://rosebfischer.com/2014/07/05/socs-i-am-not-your-inspiration/

Rivers, streams, and painted turtle shells: http://paintedturtleshells.wordpress.com/2014/07/05/stream-of-consciousness-saturday-july-5/

Soulful Poet’s Heart: http://soulfulpoetsheart.wordpress.com/2014/07/05/the-floor-of-despair/

Bee: http://beehalton.com/2014/07/the-body-of-socs.html

Doobster: http://mindfuldigressions.com/2014/07/05/no-body-no-homicide/

Irene: http://irenedesign2011.com/2014/07/05/body-mind-this-post-is-a-part-of-socs/

Forty c’est Fantastique!: http://fortyandfantastique.wordpress.com/2014/07/05/anybody-socs/

Traces of the Soul: http://tracesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2014/07/05/stream-of-consciousness-socs-july-5-2014/

People, Places, and Perspectives: http://minahmisteri.wordpress.com/2014/07/05/body-not-in-the-usual-sense/

John: http://johnwhowell.com/2014/07/05/4695/

Fabricating Fiction: http://fabricatingfiction.wordpress.com/2014/07/05/socs-my-body-is-awesome/

Joanne: http://topofjcsmind.wordpress.com/2014/07/05/socs-body/

Wandering Story Teller: http://awanderingstoryteller.wordpress.com/2014/07/05/a-womans-body/

KG: http://booksmusicandmovies.wordpress.com/2014/07/05/socs-too-many-bodies/

My Leaky Boat: http://myleakyboat.com/blog/?p=779

We had plenty of return SoCS’ers as well as a few newcomers this week. Make sure you check them all out. Some really awesome posts listed above!

Thanks again, and I look forward to seeing you all back next week. And don’t forget, bring your friends!

 

 


8 Comments

Just a quick note of thanks and an apology

First, I’d like to say thank you so much to everyone who participated in SoCS today. We’ve almost hit the record number of posts – two more and we’ll have beat the previous record of 21. I so appreciate everyone making this weekly event a success! You’re all awesome!!

My apology is to all of you who have posted today whose posts I haven’t read and to all of you who have left comments that I haven’t answered. My sight is incredibly blurry tonight, so I think I’ll close the computer and hope tomorrow is better.

Goodnight world, and pleasant dreams to all.


40 Comments

Precious Body – Stream of Consciousness Saturday (Body)

“Is he always this happy?”

It’s the question I am most asked about my thirteen year old son. At 60 pounds and 4’3″, with the amount of enthusiasm he has for everything, he can easily pass for an eight year old.

Born Deaf, his lungs are compressed by his large, deformed heart. He’s barrel-chested and is covered in scars, least of which is the tube in his stomach from whence he receives 99% of his nutrition. He is hooked up to a feeding machine about five hours a day. I’m sure he experiences pain – more than likely he’s been through more than most of us in his short life.

But I marvel at his little body. That he keeps going without complaint – he’s never known any different. I’m sure he’s realized by now that he’s not the same as most kids. One of his major goals in life is to eat in the cafeteria with the other kids at school, instead of being sent to the infirmary for lunch every day.

It amazes me what the human body can endure and still keep going. We think of ourselves as fragile. We grieve when something stops working. Our eyesight fades, our hearing goes, our muscles tire more easily – but imagine if you had always been this way.

My son is a constant inspiration to me. Everywhere he goes he makes people smile with his joy in life.

The answer to the question: “Yes.”

 

This post is part of SoCS: https://lindaghill.wordpress.com/2014/07/04/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-july-514/  Click the link to read the rules and join in!

 

 


26 Comments

Am I wrong?

When I write short fiction, I like people to have to think about what they’ve read. I tend not to over-explain things – I think of short fiction the way I think of a joke. If you have to explain it, it loses something.

My father had a very dry sense of humour. Think John Cleese, and you’ll have an idea of what my dad was like. For years I didn’t “get” his jokes – say from the ages of 0 to 4. After that I learned to think about what I was being told, and to this day I prefer dry humour over any other kind. So my fiction – at least anything shorter than a novel – leans that way, especially the funny fiction. It’s different with longer works. I know when I don’t understand a novel I usually end up putting it down because it only gets worse.

But I often wonder if I’m being too obscure. Take the little story I wrote yesterday. It makes sense if you can figure out what I’ve done with it… but I have no idea if anyone who read it, did.  If you’d like to humour me and give it a read, it’s only about 100 words long. Here it is: http://lindaghillfiction.wordpress.com/2014/07/03/fishin-pole-blues/

Otherwise, I’d like to hear from you. What do you prefer? Do you like to think about what you read in fiction? Or do you prefer to have it all laid out?

 


37 Comments

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for SoCS July 5/14

First, to my American friends, Happy 4th of July! I hope your day is filled with family, friends and fireworks. Second, today’s prompt will have nothing to do with Independence Day, but extra points to you if you can figure out how to connect the two. For this Saturday’s Stream of Consciousness post, I’d like to give you a word that might not seem at first as though there are many places you can take it. But give it a little thought. There’s more to it than meets the eye.

This week’s prompt word is “body.” Do with it whatever comes to mind, and don’t forget – it doesn’t have to be non-fiction. Have fun!

After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at the prompt page in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Don’t hesitate to join in!

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,” or “Begin with the word ‘The’.”

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people will come and read your post! The way to ping back, is to just copy and paste the URL of my post somewhere on your post. Then your URL will show up in my comments, for everyone to see. For example, in your post you can copy and paste the following: This post is part of SoCS: https://lindaghill.wordpress.com/2014/07/04/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-july-514/  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. Have fun!


18 Comments

Summer Blossoms

blossoms

Click the photo for a close-up

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m not sure what kind of tree this is, but I thought the blossoms were pretty.

CAM00304

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course my helper for today’s paper route wanted his picture taken with one. Not sure what was distracting him, but the good news is, nothing ran me over.


18 Comments

One-Liner Wednesday – Quite Witty

When asked by a reader who complained that a gay couple was moving in across the street what he could do to improve the quality of the neighborhood, “Dear Abby” replied, “You could move.”
Abigail Van Buren

 

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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. As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday, 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.

The rules that I’ve made for myself for “One-Liner Wednesday” are as follows:

1. Make it one sentence.

2. Make it either funny or inspirational.

Have fun!