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Tag Archives: inspiration


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Paula, a psychiatrist, and a pandemic walk into a bar …

It’s been a while since I’ve gone into armchair-psychiatry mode so how’s about a little sit down, eh? While we’re here, why don’t we talk about the theoretical link between the pandemic of depression and social media?

Is there even a link? Let’s imagine for a moment there is.

I don’t want to write an entire dissertation here–I lack both the time and the energy to do research, thus, the armchair. But just grazing on the surface, it’s easy (I think) to see a few different realities that exist in social media that could, quite easily be the cause of depression.

The first and most obvious is the common troll. There are no lengths to which many will not go to attain their goal of making their target miserable. To the point of depression? Perhaps.

Second, the “keeping-up-with-the-Joneses” factor. Being inundated by how good everyone else’s meals look/kids are thriving/vacations turn out/book sales are going (that last one might be personal) can be enough to point out how much yours is/are not. It’s like being a rock in the way of the tide–it’s gonna wear you down eventually. To the point of depression? Maybe.

Third, and possibly least likely–your name isn’t Paula. Because who doesn’t want a name like Paula? (Be nice, Paula is reading your comments.) Could not being called Paula cause depression? Well, you can always change your name, so probably not.

What do you think?

NOTE: I am, in no way trying to make light of the very serious disease that is depression. I’ve suffered it myself, and I understand the debilitating nature of it.

Thanks to the three lovely ladies who gave me my three “P” words for today’s not-A-Z post. You’ll find their links under the words “psychiatry,” “pandemic,” and “Paula.”

I need suggestions for “Q” words for tomorrow’s not the A-Z Challenge post! I’ll take the first three. Note, the comments on my blog are newest on top. One word per person, and please keep ’em clean.

Thank you!


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Oops! No oestrogen for the octogenarian!

Okay, so nobody wants to think about an octogenarian‘s oestrogen. But if I can make a title out of the three words I’m given for my absolutely-not-the-A-Z-Challenge post, it seems I’m compelled to do it. Oops!

Speaking of octogenarians, I didn’t talk to my mother on the phone yesterday, though she called at least 30 times. She has a flip-phone. It’s a new one–they’re manufactured for people like my mum who need something simple to use. Only it turns out, she still can’t figure it out sometimes.

You see, she can open the phone, she can find the numbers she has saved, and she can call. But the moment she hits the enter button to connect the call, an option pops up on the screen that says “Cancel.” For some reason, she cannot resist pushing it when she sees it. So my phone keeps ringing once and stopping, or if I’m really quick, I can pick it up and listen to her hang up on me.

Seriously, the next thing I know I’m going to start getting calls from her, asking if my fridge is running.

What can I say about oestrogen?

You like that spelling?

It’s British for estrogen, in case you hadn’t figured it out.

I like it. Every time I see it, I want to start singing it: “O-estrogen, o-estrogen …” to the tune of “Oh Christmas Tree.”

And now you’ll never hear that song quite the same again.

Oops!

Thanks to the three lovely ladies who gave me my three “O” words for today’s not-A-Z post. You’ll find their links under the words “octogenarian,” “oestrogen,” and “oops.”

Tomorrow’s “P” day! Any suggestions for “P” words for my not the A-Z Challenge post? I’ll take the first three. Note, the comments on my blog are newest on top. One word per person, and please keep ’em clean.

Thank you!


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One-Liner Wednesday – The Moon

Can you see the moon, way up in the sky on an almost-cloudless day? Can you see Alex?

(The moon is about 7 o’clock from the highest peak on the house.)

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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Nostalgia’s got Nothin’ on the Narwhal

Okay, so I wrote the title and I’ve got nothing. I just didn’t want to delete the title, because I like it.

Who’s to say what a narwhal can remember? Are they capable of a nostalgic moment?

When I was just a little narwhal with a nose-spike only yea long, I used to swim upstream to school, both ways!

(Get it? School? … Fine, narwhals are mammals. Sue me.)

We know elephants are supposed to have good memories.

How about rhinos?

Are rhinos just land-narwhals?

We may never know.

Thanks to the three lovely ladies who gave me my three “N” words for today’s not-A-Z post. You’ll find their links under the words “nothing,” “narwhal,” and “nostalgic.”

I’m in need of suggestions for “O” day, for my absolutely not the A-Z Challenge post tomorrow. One word per person, and please keep ’em clean.

Thank you!


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Miraculous Marzipan Maven

I am no marzipan maven. In fact, I used to take the marzipan off of my Battenberg cake before I ate it. My mum used to buy them every week when I was young. Back when we had a Marks & Spencer in the mall. I haven’t seen one–an M&S in Canada, nor a Battenberg cake–in decades.

Not that that’s at all miraculous when you think about all the stores that are going out of business. We still have our Toys ‘R’ Us here, but Payless is pretty much gone if not completely.

Does M&S still exist in England?

I dread the day when all we have left is Amazon.

Thanks to the three lovely bloggers who gave me my three “M” words for today’s not-A-Z post. You’ll find their links under the words “marzipan,” “maven,” and “miraculous.”

I’m in need of suggestions for “N” day, for my absolutely not the A-Z Challenge post tomorrow. One word per person, and please keep ’em clean.

Ta!


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#SoCS – Slip of the lip

I let the lip slip, it seems. Once again, I’m late for my own party.

So I’ll just slip in here, in the back door rather than the grand entrance I really actually never make, and I’ll mingle with the crowd until everyone thinks I’ve always been here.

I know this makes no sense in regards to writing a blog post, but let’s pretend, shall we?

An appetizer? Why thank you.

I hadn’t realized I’d had this little affair catered. With wandering waiters dressed in crisp uniforms and everything!

Cocktail shrimp, anyone?

And a glass of champagne to loosen the lips and make all the guests happy.

And less likely to notice that I was late.

Do you ever feel like you’re just on the cusp of something? I overhear someone ask.

Well, now that you mention it, I do. But I haven’t a clue what it might be. Other than it’s bound to be pleasing. It’s just one of those feelings.

I do too, I say, but they look at me as if I’ve intruded so I walk away, wondering how my own party got so far out of hand.

Ah well. I suppose that’s what I get.

I can’t even enjoy a shindig in my own head.

Unless …

Let’s listen to music! I exclaim over the din of the crowd, and everyone cheers when I put on something everyone likes. Because I can do that at my imaginary party.

And everyone dances. I’m the toast of the party.

The SoCS party.

At least in my head.

 

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

 

This totally off the top of my head post is brought to you by the letter “L,” and by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the following link to find all the participating posts, and join in! It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2019/04/12/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-april-13-19/

I’m taking suggestions here for “M” words for Monday’s post. I’ll take the first three, one per person, and please make them safe for work. thank you!

 


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The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS April 13/19

It’s Friday, so welcome to your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt! During the month of April, I’ll use the appropriate letter of the day to correspond with the A to Z Challenge, so anyone who’s participating in both challenges can do so at the same time. Here’s your prompt:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “lip.” Use it as a word, or find a word with “lip”in it. As always, use any way you’d like. 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 pretty 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!!

SoCS badge by Pamela, at https://achronicalofhope.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 – Waiting

While it’s unfortunate that my mother, after being released from care in the emergency room, had to stay there until I could go and pick her up, I have to say, it was rather refreshing to have the ER doctors wait three hours to see me.

 

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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A Great Gregarious Gift

I knew the regular meaning of the word gregarious–outgoing, social–but I thought I’d look it up to see if there was anything else. And wouldn’t you know it, there was another definition to be found! From Merriam-Webster online:

a: of a plant : growing in a cluster or a colony
b: living in contiguous nests but not forming a true colony —used especially of wasps and bees
“b” is the sort of great gift I often find in the hedge at the front of my house. My best friend, John, has been stung after finding such a gregarious gift.
Hey, does that bow look suspiciously like insect wings? I wouldn’t open it if I were you! Might be a gargantuan wasp!

Thanks so much to the three ladies who gave me today’s “G” words. You’ll find their links under the words “gregarious,” “great,” and “gift.”

Care to give me some “H” words for tomorrow’s “absolutely-not-the-A-Z-Challenge-because-I-didn’t-sign-up-for-it-and-doing-it-anyway-would-be-wrong” post? One word per person in the comments, and keep ’em clean.

Ta!


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#SoCS – Flipping Fabulous

All day, while I’ve been sitting on the couch with my laptop, editing a book, I’ve considered writing my SoCS post about books. About fabricating stories.

The day passed.

I didn’t finish my edit as I’d hoped to.

It was Sunday already by the time I decided to switch off the editing project and start on my SoCS post. So to start, I thought I’d make up my “F” badge for my “absolutely NOT A to Z” post.

And I tried to draw books.

Then I discovered that books aren’t that easy to draw in Paint 3D. They’re so difficult, in fact, that I had to write “BOOK” on my drawing of a book, so everyone would know what it was.

Flipping fabulous, I thought.

So I opened a bottle of wine. Which I am now drinking to celebrate a full day of work that I didn’t get finished, and a pathetic excuse for a picture of a book.

And this, ladies and gentleman, is why I write ’em and edit ’em and don’t draw ’em. Or at the very least, why I get paid to write ’em and edit ’em, but I don’t get paid to draw ’em.

Unless you REEEALLY want to throw me some cash.

But not coins … they hurt when they ping off the noggin’.

I should mention here that I’m open for suggestions for “G” words for Monday’s post. Leave them in the comments, if you please. I’ll take the first three–one per person, must be polite. The words, not the people. But polite people are good, too.

Last words of advice: never drink and blog.

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

Okay, you can drink and blog if you want to.

This post is brought to you by the letter “F,” and by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the following link to find all the participating posts, and join in! It’s *hic* fun! https://lindaghill.com/2019/04/05/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-april-6-19/

NOTE: This post is NOT a passive-aggressive plea for validation of my mad Paint skillz. It’s just my thoughts as I thunk ’em. … Holy Shamoly! “Thunk” didn’t get a squiggly red line under it!! I’m totally using that word from now on. Or maybe it’s just out of context …

Nope! Looked it up.

thunk

\ ˈthəŋk  \

Definition of thunk

 (Entry 1 of 3)

dialectal past tense and past participle of THINK

Okay, I’m finishing this post now. And I’m turning my editor brain off. Honest.