Life in progress


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Daily Prompt – JusJoJan the 7th, 2020

Hello! And welcome to the Daily Prompt for the 7th day of Just Jot it January 2020! Your word of the day was selected by John at The Sound of One Hand Typing. Thank you so much, John! Please be sure to visit his blog to read his post and say hello. And follow him while you’re there, if you’re not already.

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 7th, 2020, is “mix.” Use the word “mix” any way you’d like. Enjoy!

If you’d like to see what I have so far on your prompt list, you can find it HERE.

Here are the rules:

1. Please be sure to link back to THIS POST for January 7th, 2020.

2. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but it’s never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the “jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list), counts as a “jot.” If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!

3. I’ll post prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. You’ll get a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday and on Saturday, when your prompt will be the Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS, which will appear at about 9:30am Friday. Each prompt post will include the rules.

4. Please ping back or link to the daily prompt. To ping back, just copy the URL from the daily prompt post, and paste it anywhere in your post. Check to make sure your link shows up where you want it to, and go back occasionally to see other bloggers’ entries – the more you visit others, the more they’ll visit you! Note: A) The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section. B) Ping backs only work if you’re blogging on WordPress. Everyone else must paste a link manually.

5. Tag your post JusJoJan and/or #JusJoJan.

6. Write anything! Any length will do! It can even be a photo or a drawing – you’re going to title it, right? There’s your jot!

7. The prompts will appear every day that’s neither a Wednesday nor a Saturday–Saturday’s JusJoJan prompt will be Stream of Consciousness Saturday. You’ll find the list of prompts below as they come in, which means I’ll be updating this post. Remember, you don’t have to use the prompts. Please write whatever inspires you. NOTE: If your post is NSFW, do not ping back. Please leave your link in the comments with a warning.

8. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.

9. Have fun!


13 Comments

#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


36 Comments

Daily Prompt – JusJoJan the 6th, 2020

It’s Monday, and the 6th day of Just Jot it January 2020! Your prompt today comes to you from Jill at J-Dubs Grin and Bear It. Thank you so much, Jill! Please be sure to visit her blog to read her post and say hello. And if you’re not already following her, do so while you’re there!

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 6th, 2020, is “possibility.” Use the word “possibility” any way you’d like. Have fun!

If you’d like to see what I have so far on your prompt list, you can find it HERE.

Here are the rules:

1. Please be sure to link back to THIS POST for January 6th, 2020.

2. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but it’s never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the “jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list), counts as a “jot.” If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!

3. I’ll post prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. You’ll get a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday and on Saturday, when your prompt will be the Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS, which will appear at about 9:30am Friday. Each prompt post will include the rules.

4. Please ping back or link to the daily prompt. To ping back, just copy the URL from the daily prompt post, and paste it anywhere in your post. Check to make sure your link shows up where you want it to, and go back occasionally to see other bloggers’ entries – the more you visit others, the more they’ll visit you! Note: A) The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section. B) Ping backs only work if you’re blogging on WordPress. Everyone else must paste a link manually.

5. Tag your post JusJoJan and/or #JusJoJan.

6. Write anything! Any length will do! It can even be a photo or a drawing – you’re going to title it, right? There’s your jot!

7. The prompts will appear every day that’s neither a Wednesday nor a Saturday–Saturday’s JusJoJan prompt will be Stream of Consciousness Saturday. You’ll find the list of prompts below as they come in, which means I’ll be updating this post. Remember, you don’t have to use the prompts. Please write whatever inspires you. NOTE: If your post is NSFW, do not ping back. Please leave your link in the comments with a warning.

8. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.

9. Have fun!


22 Comments

#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


47 Comments

Daily Prompt – JusJoJan the 5th, 2020

Hey there! It’s the 5th day of Just Jot it January 2020! I’m here with your prompt, which was generously supplied by Faye, of Faye’s Mystical Musings. Thank you so much, Faye! Please be sure to visit her blog to read her post and say hello. And give her a follow while you’re there!

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 5th, 2020, is “intention.” Use the word “intention” any way you’d like. Enjoy!

If you’d like to see what I have so far on your prompt list, you can find it HERE.

Here are the rules:

1. Please be sure to link back to THIS POST for January 5th, 2020.

2. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but it’s never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the “jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list), counts as a “jot.” If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!

3. I’ll post prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. You’ll get a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday and on Saturday, when your prompt will be the Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS, which will appear at about 9:30am Friday. Each prompt post will include the rules.

4. Please ping back or link to the daily prompt. To ping back, just copy the URL from the daily prompt post, and paste it anywhere in your post. Check to make sure your link shows up where you want it to, and go back occasionally to see other bloggers’ entries – the more you visit others, the more they’ll visit you! Note: A) The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section. B) Ping backs only work if you’re blogging on WordPress. Everyone else must paste a link manually.

5. Tag your post JusJoJan and/or #JusJoJan.

6. Write anything! Any length will do! It can even be a photo or a drawing – you’re going to title it, right? There’s your jot!

7. The prompts will appear every day that’s neither a Wednesday nor a Saturday–Saturday’s JusJoJan prompt will be Stream of Consciousness Saturday. You’ll find the list of prompts below as they come in, which means I’ll be updating this post. Remember, you don’t have to use the prompts. Please write whatever inspires you. NOTE: If your post is NSFW, do not ping back. Please leave your link in the comments with a warning.

8. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.

9. Have fun!


21 Comments

#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


18 Comments

Prompt Me Part 1 – #JusJoJan 2020

Week of January 5 – 10, 2020

I’m looking for prompt words for Just Jot it January! This is your chance to inspire other people and have your blog linked to the Daily Prompt post.

I’ve decided to do this weekly this year. I only need 5 prompt words today–if you miss getting your word in on this post, you’ll have another chance on Saturday, January 11th. I’ll schedule these posts at different times of the day so people all over the world get a chance to see it first.

Read the rules carefully! I need 5 single words to use in the Just Jot It January challenge, for January 5th through to the 10th. This is how you can be included:

  • The first 5 comments on this post that include a single word will be the prompts for the first full week of January. These prompts will go up on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. I’ll take care of One-Liner Wednesday and Stream of Consciousness Saturday myself.  If you write more than one word in your comment, for example, “My word is antidisestablishmentarianism,” I’ll ignore it. Same thing if you try to slip in two, even in two different comments–I’ll only accept the first. If I get the same word twice, I’ll only accept the first person who got to it. If you’re the second, feel free to try again. And please, remember this is a relatively G-rated blog, so nothing too risque.
  • I’ll link back to the blog of whomever gives me a prompt on the day I use it.
  • Make sure you get your comment in early. You don’t want to miss out!
  • Please don’t bother entering a prompt if your blog is inactive or if it exists only to sell things. If you haven’t posted in over a month and you’re only looking for clicks, your prompt word will be rejected. If, on the other hand, you’re planning to use JusJoJan to inspire you to get back into the swing of things, let me know immediately in a second comment — NOT the one you give your prompt word in. Remember, that’s ONE word only. If I can’t find a reasonable number of posts written in the last month that aren’t trying to sell a product, your prompt word will be rejected.
  • I observed a few years ago that many of our prompt words were negative in nature. I found they didn’t do as well as the more positive words. I don’t want to limit you, but please keep in mind that if your word is on the sadder or angrier side, your prompt may not get as much participation.
  • If you provide a prompt, I encourage you to join in as much as possible throughout the month.
  • Only one prompt per person for the month. If you get in this week, don’t try again next week.
  • NOTE: Please count the number of correct (one word only) comments ahead of yours. If there are already 5, save yours for January next week!

Please see the “Rules” post for a complete list of the prompt words. I’ll populate it as the words come in. Here’s the link in case you missed it: https://lindaghill.com/2019/12/31/just-jot-it-january-2020-the-rules/

Okay. Are you ready? Aaaaand… prompt! One word!

Edit: We have our five words for the week, so I shut the comments down. Sorry about the mix-up this morning with them being closed when the post went live. I’ll do better next week. I’ll add the new prompts to the Rules post. Thanks to the five bloggers who donated their prompts!


9 Comments

#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/


66 Comments

The Friday Reminder for #SoCS & #JusJoJan 2020 Daily Prompt – Jan. 4th

Welcome to the duel Daily 2020 Just Jot it January Prompt and the Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt for SATURDAY, JANUARY 4TH! For those of you joining SoCS for the first time, it’s a little different than the other prompts in that it’s not always a whole word. Much may be left up to your discretion: this week is no exception. Having said that, if you’re joining in from JusJoJan, don’t want to write stream of consciousness style, no worries. It’s up to you! If you do want to try it, please check out the rules below. It’s fun! Here’s your Saturday prompt:

Your prompt for #JusJoJan and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “ow.” Find a word that contains “ow” or use it as a word in your post. 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 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!!

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

You can also use the Just Jot it January badge! To find the rules for Just Jot it January, click here.

Here are the rules for SoCS:

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!


41 Comments

Daily Prompt – JusJoJan the 3rd, 2020

Welcome to the prompt for the 3rd day of Just Jot it January 2020! I hope the first two days of the prompt went smoothly. Of course, I have no idea because I’m writing this December 29th (last year! It’s like time travel!) in case of a power outage.

If you’d like to see the “Rules” post for what I have so far on your prompt list, you can find it HERE (I hope).

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 3rd, 2020, is “poke.” Find a word with “poke” in it or use the word “poke” any way you’d like. Enjoy!

Here are the rules:

1. Please be sure to link back to THIS POST for January 3rd, 2020.

2. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but it’s never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the “jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list), counts as a “jot.” If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!

3. I’ll post prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. You’ll get a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday and on Saturday, when your prompt will be the Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS, which will appear at about 9:30am Friday. Each prompt post will include the rules.

4. Please ping back or link to the daily prompt. To ping back, just copy the URL from the daily prompt post, and paste it anywhere in your post. Check to make sure your link shows up where you want it to, and go back occasionally to see other bloggers’ entries – the more you visit others, the more they’ll visit you! Note: A) The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section. B) Ping backs only work if you’re blogging on WordPress. Everyone else must paste a link manually.

5. Tag your post JusJoJan and/or #JusJoJan.

6. Write anything! Any length will do! It can even be a photo or a drawing – you’re going to title it, right? There’s your jot!

7. The prompts will appear every day that’s neither a Wednesday nor a Saturday–Saturday’s JusJoJan prompt will be Stream of Consciousness Saturday. You’ll find the list of prompts below as they come in, which means I’ll be updating this post. Remember, you don’t have to use the prompts. Please write whatever inspires you. NOTE: If your post is NSFW, do not ping back. Please leave your link in the comments with a warning.

8. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.

9. Have fun!