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 |   Theses are my thoughts and ramblings as I forge my way through this thing they call life. |
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These are my thoughts and ramblings as I forge my way through this thing they call Life. I blog with these groups:     "Blogging Circle of Friends "  [E] 
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30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT May 16th Do you believe in ghosts or other supernatural entities? Have you ever experienced something you could not explain? I am open to the possibility. After my father died by mother got a 'call' in her dream telling her it was 7 am and it was time to get up. She had forgotten to set her alarm that day and the dream woke her only to find out that it was in fact 7 am. My friend's brother, Clay, also got a phone call while he was babysitting my cousin. The man on the line asked if his daughter was okay. When Clay said yes, the man hung up. At the time, my aunt was going through colon cancer treatments and her father, my grandfather, had died several months before this. Grandpa was not a man of many words on the phone and he too had died of cancer. Blog City - Day 2131 Discuss this quote in your blog. “It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.” – Charles Spurgeon I agree with this. Some people can have so many things and be overwhelmed by them or take them for granted. While other people may not have much, but appreciate all they do have. This quote brings to mind the happy faces of children who may live in poverty, but still smile because they have their families close. That gets me thinking of the times we are in now as we pull together during this time of pandemic. Being alone with lots of things would be empty if I did not have other human or animal contact. It is the connection that keeps the sanity and brings the happiness. Practicing gratitude and appreciation is important to a happy life. Don't take the small things for granted. A smile can go a long way to making someone's day. |
30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT May 15th Write about a time when you or someone you know acted selflessly. What was the motivation and what were the results? I would say when my Grandmother went to work in town for a well to do family so that her older sister could attend teacher's college. Her income went to pay for her sister's schooling. She adored her sister, Jean and would have been only too happy to do this for her. The sad thing is, her sister died of pneumonia while at Teacher's College and never did get to teach. The thing is, Aunt Jean was a favourite to my grandmother's mother. I don't think her mother treated my grandmother all that well and later in life, my grandmother was the only one of her three remaining siblings to take the woman in when she got old. Even though she got the cruddy end of the stick, my grandmother was able to see the good through it all. Even with a physically and emotionally abusive husband, she would have done it all again because it meant having children and grandchildren that absolutely adored her. She was my champion. She was my strong foundation when my own world started to rattle and shake. I could always count on her unconditional love. I still miss my Gramzie. I am better for having had her in my life. |
30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT May 14th What was the best/worst letter or email you ever received or wrote? Write about the situation surrounding that letter, and why it was so significant. I am thinking this would be the letters I received when I was accepted into University and Teacher's College. I received two acceptance letters for Teacher's College and decided to go to Western in London instead of York University in Toronto. I jokingly say I accepted Western because I did not want to be driving into the sun both ways when I commuted to school. But the truth was, Western had a better special education program and that is my area of interest. Being accepted meant bettering myself. I come from a family where only two people on my mother's side attended university and none that I know of on my father's side of the family went. My father was an electrician and my mother was a secretary - both admirable professions, but I wanted more education. Going to university had always been a dream of mine. |
30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT May 13th Writing Sprint! Set a timer for 10 minutes and write without stopping about whatever comes to your mind. I challenge you to deny your urge to edit yourself as you write. If you must, you’re allowed to edit, but only after you finish your ten minute sprint. Ready? Set. GO! So I have set my timer for ten minutes. I find whenever I write in a sprint form I tend not to write anything of value because I am just trying to get the words done, but I have written enough this morning to already have my 750 words so this is an extra bit. Yesterday I posted my clock story to one of my work colleagues that sent in a picture of a grandfather clock. She liked it or at least said that she liked it. I am wondering how many people will just do a little bit of writing that they have polished up after all no worries. if you can clean it up and edit it after the ten minute bout anything can change. I am trying to not fix things n t on the first go of this but it is tricky. I like yesterday's post prompt of the what if aspect. I was also thinking what if I had gone to Paris after I finished high school or maybe even during University. What about a girl who goes to Paris and gets to stay in a friends apartment while her friend is away. She has a month or two to enjoy the place and take advantage of Parisian life. Taking a month long Paris Writer's Workshop. going to join the writing group at Unicorners. Making friends with people from around the world. Now that would be a cool experience... but as a story probably only for me. and that is okay. ten nine eight seven six five. Timer went off. Blog City - Day 2128 Prompt: What is your new normal these days? My new normal. The only thing I really miss is writing in cafes. Beyond that I am quite comfortable being at home. Every few days I head out to do a few errand like buy some groceries. I reward myself with a trip to Starbucks to use some of my stars. I have managed to get through all of April without having to pay for anything at Starbucks. My last trip to Walmart, which I tend to avoid, (but had to go to get my prescription because my doctor sent it there instead of Shoppers Drug Mart), I spent over $250 which is huge for me. But I bought groceries, cleaning supplies and gifts for my mother for Mother's Day as well as a few books for myself. I won't have to go back until I need to refill my prescription and that isn't for 100 days. I am not minding the teaching from a distance, but I would much rather be in my classroom with my students since I have an ASD class and they learn so much better when we are there with them. I feel for the parents having all of their children home. Many of our students have siblings, so parents are having to manage more than one educational program. It's a lot. I live with my 82 year old mother, so I don't put myself out there much. I also discourage her from venturing out too far. We have many a good laugh. I have one computer I can't open without upsetting my WiFi so I have to go to the Starbuck's parking lot to use it. Luckily, I have another computer and a Chromebook that I borrowed from the school. Another plus is that a lot of things have gone virtual. So I have been able to join a writing group in Paris that I have never been able to before. Eventbrite also has many writing sessions to connect people. |
30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT May 12th Write about a fork in the road in your life, and how you made the decision to go the direction you did. What would have happened if you chose the other path? This sounds like what I would do if I was coming up with a story idea. What if I had traveled after high school instead of going to University right away? What if my travels took me to England and France.? What if I met someone over there and didn't come back to Canada? What would I be doing? What if I started writing more seriously sooner? What if what if what if? What if I went to Simon Fraser University instead of staying at the University of Guelph where I went to high school? Would I be a more confident and secure adult? Would I have studied criminology.... then gone on to write more compelling mysteries? Life is all about choices. I made the ones I did. I hold to them, but I dream about the others... and work them into stories that take me into the 'what if/' world. |
30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT May 11th Look at a picture from your younger years. You don’t have to share the photo with us, but try to describe it in as much detail as possible. What led up to the photo being taken and what happened after? I remember a photo taken at my aunt and uncle's wedding back in 1972. I was five and I was the flower girl. The photo is of me and my Dad. We are outside of the Italian Canadian Club in Guelph and Dad is asking me if I am ready to go home. I have my finger in my mouth and my two front teeth are gone. My fine blond hair is pulled up and baby's breath has been worked in to the hairdo. My Dad is wearing a brown jacket. He is bent over giving me his full attention. I remember shaking my head, not wanting to go. I have no idea what happened after this photo, but my guess is I got my way and we went back in to the hall. Blog City - Day 2126 Prompt: “But mothers lie. It's in the job description,” says John Green. In your opinion, through which ways can mothers lie? I would love to know the context of this quote because it does not give me a warm feeling for this John Green guy. Still if mother's lie it is to protect their children, to protect their hearts and minds from the outside world. Or in the case of Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, it is to bring joy to the season. Mother's also tell you you are amazing and beautiful even when you are a punk ass kid with a zit filled face. They carry your self esteem when your peer group is cruel. They believe in you when you are just learning something new. They bolster your confidence when mistakes and setbacks happen. They are your cheer squad. I know I have been blessed to have a mother and a Grandmother like this, but not all children have this same luxury. Some don't have a mother's love to cocoon them through the rocky patches and some even have mothers who make the world come in far too soon. For those children, they always seem to be struggling in an uphill battle. A mother's love and protection are sustaining... necessary for future growth and prosperity. (And so is a father's love and protection). |
30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT May 10th The prompt today is very simple: Write about the person you call Mom. The song I've chosen for the day, one I absolutely love, says it all. Good Mother. I am blessed to have a good mother, one who is there for me. She's got my back. She's helped me develop into the person I am today. I am lucky to have been gifted with such a person. Just as she was gifted with my Grandmother. Both strong women who don't realize they are as strong as they are. I am also lucky that I live with my mother and can see her on this particular Mother's Day. We share a house. We able to help each other move through this life. My mother is 82 and continues to live in her own home. We are good for each other. Plans for today... I am thinking we are going to order in Chinese Food. That was her request last night. I also have a couple of books for her since she loves to read and is motoring through a lot of books these days. I think we'll both be happy when the libraries reopen. Maybe we'll watch a movie together or perhaps the Carol Burnett CD we have since we both enjoy a good laugh. We also need to take a picture of us having the wine my step-brother and his wife sent for Mother's Day. Lyrics for the song - Good Mother by Jann Arden I've got money in my pocket I like the color of my hair I've got a friend who loves me Got a house, I've got a car I've got a good mother And her voice is what keeps me here Feet on ground Heart in hand Facing forward Be yourself HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY. |
30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT May 9th Choose an event in your life that someone else remembers differently. Describe both memories and debate the differences. Who do you think is right? Why do you think you remember it differently? I have a friend who got pregnant at 23. She was unmarried and I had only met the guy she had been dating briefly in a pass-by when I dropped in to visit and he had been leaving. I hadn't been crazy about him. Any guy not interested in meeting a girl's besties is not a keeper. But I vividly remember her calling me at work and tearfully telling me she had gotten pregnant. Many years later, when her daughter was a teenager I heard her retell the tale to someone and I was struck by the change in the story. I figured she had changed the story so that her daughter did not realize that she had been an 'accident'. I kept my mouth shut, not wanting to argue over it. Her daughter is my God-daughter and I figured I would let it lie. Her daughter got to meet her biological father may years later when he had returned to Canada. She had not been impressed. I applaud my friend for not tainting her daughter's opinion of him and I also applaud her daughter for seeing through his self-centeredness to realize she had not been missing anything. Blog City - Day 2124 Flash Fiction: Write a short story about a clock. Father Time. Big Ben. Clocks had certainly gained a name for themselves. And here, in the old Atlanta home ,the Grandfather clock standing in the front hall of the stately mansion had also been named by the children years ago. The name stuck. Geoffrey. Geoffrey towered over the foyer like a stately butler, but he was more than that and the children had sensed it. They would stare up into his clock face and swear he was watching all the goings on. He had been there forever. He had seen everything. He hid the secrets of the house all within his cogs and wheels. His deep, droning chime pealed through the house on the hour and half hour marking time and fixing the events within his lacquered wooden frame. When Tully and his family came to visit he would stare up at Geoffrey uneasily. His mother would whisk him away scolding him for dallying, but he would always return. Curious. One evening dark into the night, Tully ventured from his bed in the wee hours of the morning. Geofrey's chime had dragged him from sleep and he wandered down to stare up at the regal face. The rhythmic tic tock seemed to lull Tully who stood rooted to the spot. Whispers rose up around him. When he looked around he saw no one, but the stately clock seemed to grow within the space. "You've come boy. Do you want to hear? Do you want to know the secrets I hold dear?' Tully nodded, unable to speak a word. "Death hides behind this great facsade. It shakes its fists upon the fraud." Tully's skin prickled as he felt a cold breeze float over him. He dared not move. "Ancestors killed to protect their name, now its happening all the same." Tully wrapped his arms around himself. "You must leave and take your mother, lest you stay and raise the bother." A ripple of fear tripped along Tully's spine. "Stay here and I foresee the trouble, get out before the state of rubble." Tully moved then. His feet carried him up the stairs where the sound of voices raised in anger caught and bounced around the balustrade. At his door he called out sharply. "Mama. Mama." She came then and he could see the bruise. Her face darkening in several hues. Her voice it soothed him and she ran her hand across his brow. "There, there." she cooed trying to reassure, but Tully tensed and would not relax. "Can we take a walk outside?' he whispered, muffled within her comforting hug. "Outside?" she questioned and looked into his eyes. A beat past and then she nodded. Taking his hand they slipped down the stairs, grabbed their coats and boots to go. Geoffrey chimed a deep goodbye as they sailed out into the worn out sky. Morning found the place in ruins. Dark with charred remains still foul. Smoke filled the air and choked all on the prowl. Only standing, seemly untouched was Geoffrey in the smoldering remains. One body was found a gun in hand. Whiskey in the other. Wrapped in blankets beyond the caution tape, Tully stood wrapped within his mother's embrace. Their shocked expressions taking in the scene. The wrecked, wicked, awful scene. Tully looked upon that clock and could swear he saw it wink and grin. Then he turned and taking his mother's hand led her off without a whim.   |
30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT May 8th Take a look at this list of values: https://liveboldandbloom.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/400-personal-values-list... Pick your top ten values and rank them based on how important they are to you. Then, write about the values you chose and if any have changed throughout your life. This list is very interesting. I did not know stillness was a value. Probably a good one to have if you are a tree or a mailman faced with a growling dog. My top ten does not include that one, but it does include: Fairness Faith Calmness Compassion Courtesy Creativity Fidelity Growth Gratitude Open-mindedness Respect As I read these over, I find they feel right. Putting them in order... now that is a challenge. I also see Love and Mindfulness as important. In fact, I think these values let the other values shine... they are the foundation of all the others. The others are in alphabetical order. That is one way to order them. I am also thinking calmness, to me, is synonymous with mindfulness. But if I had to chose between the two I would have to go with mindfulness in that it involves a presence within it - one of those underlying aspects again. Faith is both spiritual and hopeful in nature. Faith is within and outwards - a faith in myself and in humanity. Courtesy can also be implied in both Respect and Love. So if I rework this list it looks more like this: Love Faith Respect Mindfulness Compassion Open-mindedness Gratitude Creativity Growth Fidelity There I believe these to be ranked 1 - 10. Blog City - Day 2123 Use a famous movie line in your blog today, but don't tell what movie it is. I have to laugh when I read this because this line came up early in our confinement... I can't remember the context at the time, but now all I have to do is yell it and we both start laughing. "There's no crying in baseball!" Even reading it has me giggling. When I first saw the prompt I thought of this: "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." Then I considered my options. How to make this blog far more interesting than just dumping lines out there. So here's a little tale... "Why so serious?" Marty asked leaning over the table towards Jeb. "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse." Jeb said nodding as if that was the best plan. "May the force be with you." Cody piped up. "You think he'll refuse?" Marty asked as he lowered his mug. Cody shrugged, not seeming to care. "Why not ask me?" Arlon pushed, "I coulda been a contender." "Nah, not you." "Why, I oughtta." Arlon groused. "Oh lie down before you hurt yourself." Jeb fired back. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/best-movie-quotes-hollywoods-top-867142/... Got any guesses on what lines go with what movies? |
30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT May 7th Start your entry today with the words: “I used to believe...” I used to believe I was invincible I used to believe life would go on I used to believe that I could do anything I used to believe life was my oyster But then life happened.. Now I believe life is fleeting Now I believe you must cherish what you have Now I believe love and gratitude abide Now I believe in following my bliss Because life is too short to waste. Blog City - Day 2122 Prompt: Endure and Let Go. Use these terms in your Blog entry today. To endure We must learn to let go. Let go of being right Let go of being top dog Let go of fighting the uphill battle Let go of blaming ourselves Let go of blaming others Let go of holding grudges Let go And just breathe Be in the moment And let it endure. Time marches on What do you want to make of it? |
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I'd need some company after that ghost tour.
