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A place to keep my entries for various contests and challenges |
| This book is not only a place to create, keep, and store contest entries, it's also a log of items that may one day become something more. |
Written for "Invalid Item"  prompt: Apple Cider Day, which was yesterday, Nov 18.I've enjoyed hot apple cider from my youth, and after I was older added hard apple cider to the list. Even though I could possibly look up some information and write about apple cider, something else deep within my brain triggered memories of a specific kind of apple cider, Dickens. I could write quite a lot on Dickens Cider, but it's easier, and more entertaining to just share the link, and remember, a Dickens Cider is sure to brighten any holiday... A proud member of "WdC SuperPower Reviewers Group" "Reading soothes the soul, writing sets it free." T.J. |
| Written for 1985857, two prompts, National Vasectomy Day and National Testosterone Awareness Day This is a make-up entry for Nov. 17 which was both Vasectomy Day and Testosterone Awareness Day among a few others. I found this a bit odd; does anyone else find it odd that they would have both of these on the same day? Sure, a vasectomy doesn't alter the production of testosterone in a man's system, but to have a day set aside for having one's fertility factory cut off from delivering the goods and having it on the same day set aside to create awareness of Testosterone seems a bit bizarre. I'm wondering, did anyone celebrate the clipping of the family jewels. There's a day for anything and everything it seems, but is there some gathering of vasectomy victims members? Maybe it' something the partner's of these brave men do in honor of the sacrifice they made. They wait till he's gone and then decorates up the house and invites friends and family over to celebrate their partner's vasectomy? "Hey, I'm celebrating my husbands fifteenth anniversary of disconnecting his balls. Yeah, we're grilling Rocky Mountain Oysters on the grill and having a kind of potluck. Hell yeah we'll have beer!" Meanwhile he and his clipped comrades are out someplace with a bonfire, naked, jumping and yelling, well aware of their testosterone levels. Male bonding I think they call it. I don't know, maybe I've taken this a bit out of context... A proud member of "WdC SuperPower Reviewers Group" "Reading soothes the soul, writing sets it free." T.J. |
| Written for "Invalid Item" , prompt: Great American Smokeout - stop smoking One blite (blog write) closer to being caught up; written for Nov. 16 I know, the Great American Smokeout is a day set aside for folks to kick the habit and stop smoking. However, I don't agree with this idea. Why? Well, say I want to quit smoking, so I think, "I'll quit on Nov. 16 during the Great American Smokeout." It sounds great, but what if I decide that in December or January? That means I'll be smoking for another ten or eleven months. No, in my opinion, everyday is the right day to quit smoking, so don't put it off for any reason. If you smoke annd seriously want to quit, then do it right away. But, that's not what I wanted to write about. I was looking through the prompts for Nov. 16 looking for something to write about to get one blite closer to being caught up. I seen the Smokeout Day and realized that I had gotten smoked out the 16th. Was it coincidence? I think not. What happened was this, I was steaming baby carrots for dinner, and while I waited I thought I would log into WdC for a bit. I do this quite often, and it's never a problem. But on this particular day, the house was suddenly full of a terrible smelling smoke. I closed my laptop and rushed into the kitchen to see smoke billowing from the top of the stove. I grabbed an oven mit and slid the smoking steamer off the burner. Then, I grabbed a knife and cut my way through the smoke to the window. (I didn't actually grab a knife, but the smoke was thick enough I think I could have cut it.) Anyway, I opened the window and fresh cold air began blowing in. It was windy and gusting right into the kitchen, which helped to move the smoke. The problem was, it was blowing through the entire house. I rushed to the bedrooms and closed the doors so the smoke wouldn't fill them, and then headed for the back door. My thoughts were twofold. One, by opening the back door, the smoke would blow out of the house quicker, and two, I couldn't breath because the smoke was so thick. My plan worked, I cleared the house of smoke rather quickly, and I was able to breath again. Once able to return in, I checked the steamer and sure enough, the juices from the carrots had filled the bottom of the kettle, but the water had boiled off and in it's place was a thick layer of carbonized carrot juice. I didn't understand what had caused this until I read that it was the Great American Smokeout and I had participated in getting smoked out. (Not remembering to turn the heat down from high may have also been a factor.) A proud member of "WdC SuperPower Reviewers Group" "Reading soothes the soul, writing sets it free." T.J. |
| Written for "Invalid Item" , prompt: Pack Your Mom's Lunch Day. I'm still trying to catch up, so this item is written for Nov, 15 which was, among other things, Pack Mom's Lunch Day. Growing up, my mom often packed my school lunch for me, but since she was a stay at home mom, I never had opportunity to pack one for her. Years later, however, I would often cook for her when I'd visit. I know, it's not quite the same as packing her a lunch, but lunch is lunch whether it's out of a paper bag or hot off the stove. Towards the end of her time wit us, she was in a care facility as her body began shutting down. The staff had a difficult time getting her to eat anything, so I would bring her items I knew she favored so she would be able to eat a little. Now, my mother-in-law is the mom I make lunch for. She lives in an apartment and tends to not eat very healthy. So, I make up big batches of wholesome, homemade soups, chili, and hot dishes a couple times a week for our dinner, and my wife and I bring her containers she can put in her freezer. In this way, I make sure she has nourishing meals at hand; something she can pop in the microwave and heat up easily for lunch or dinner. A proud member of "WdC SuperPower Reviewers Group" "Reading soothes the soul, writing sets it free." T.J. A proud member of "WdC SuperPower Reviewers Group" "Reading soothes the soul, writing sets it free." T.J. |
| Written for "Invalid Item" for November 14, make-up entry. In deciding what would be a good beverage to serve with Thanksgiving Dinner I stumbled upon something I did not know. I learned from a history teacher that the Puritans liked beer and had barrels of beer on the ships they sailed to settle in the New World. But, I didn't know that our first settlers drank beer for breakfast, including the children, or how important beer was to the early colonials. Most of us know a bit about the Boston Tea Party, but after understanding more about the colonist's love of beer, it only makes sense they would dump tea in the harbor, but would not waste a precious drop of their favorite brewed beverage. Most of this can be found relatively easily if one searches the history of beer in the United States. But what I found most interesting is that the Pilgrims may never had stopped at Plymouth Rock if it wasn't for beer. Originally they had planned on choosing a settlement that would provide rich farmland and a temperate climate, but instead settled on rocky land subject to brutal winters. Why? Because they were almost out of beer! This is taken from a passenger from the Mayflower, "We could not now take time for further search... our victuals being much spent, especially our beer..." There's more but I think this is enough to show how much beer influenced history. https://absolutebeer.com/beer101/a-brief-history-of-beer-in-colonial-america/ A proud member of "WdC SuperPower Reviewers Group" "Reading soothes the soul, writing sets it free." T.J. |
| Written for National Pickle Day; prompt: National Pickle Day! I was going to write about cleaning dirty hands and making bread today, but I seen it was National Pickle Day and had a change of mind. I had recently read that some brands of pickles do not state they are pickles on the label, which has social media claiming that they aren't pickles because of this. Of course, if you believe social media (which is also what most of the news is) you've got more issues than pickles. Just my opinion and I hope I haven't offended anyone important. Pickles can be a variety of items, so if anything, it would say pickled cucumbers or something similar. But in The U.S. most people think of pickles being pickled cucumbers. I fall into this category, it's just what we call them. But pickling can be accomplished with various vegetables, fruits, eggs, and meats. It was a way to preserve foods originally, but since pickled foods taste so good, it has continued over the years despite other means of preservation. Pickling foods is one of the oldest methods of preserving food. The exact origins of the process are unknown, but archaeologists believe ancient Mesopotamians pickled food as far back as 2400 B.C. and several centuries later, cucumbers, native to India, were pickled to preserve them for transport. This is likely where the term "pickles" for pickled cucumbers originated. A look at the history of pickles is rather interesting, and even though there have been alternate varieties of pickles over the centuries, the basic pickle hasn't changed. So, go enjoy a Gerkin or some Bread and Butter pickles or whatever type and style you favor. Eat them plain or deep fried, on a sandwich, or in food, after all, it is National Pickle Day! A proud member of "WdC SuperPower Reviewers Group" "Reading soothes the soul, writing sets it free." T.J. |
| Written for "Invalid Item" , prompt-free, vegan, and all-natural, written in a facility that enjoys peanuts, nuts, dairy, wheat, and meat. I was reading in the community Newsfeed and came across an entry in "Complex Numbers" called "Revisited: "Real Men Don't Worry About..."" . This gave me some thoughts on my past; memories from days gone by.I have never been into "manly" products and often just use what I know works, or what's on hand. I don't give a rat's behind if it smells like strawberries, coconuts, or an ocean breeze, as long as it works and doesn't smell foul or offensive. I do like to smell nice! In fact, I still follow some patterns that were set in my youth, for example, instead of purchasing liquid hand soap containers or refills, we reuse the pump dispensers we have by refilling them with Ivory Dish Soap. It's dye-free, has a pleasant and fresh scent, and cleans better than most of the lotion-enriched hand soaps. Growing up, we didn't have a lot and our soap consisted of a bar of Ivory. This was used for hands, body, and even our hair until I was in my teens and wanted shampoo because bar soaps leave the hair feeling stiff and gunky. I liked the smell of Prell, it was cheap, and it left my hair feeling soft. In time, I let my hair grow out long, mid-back and needed a conditioner as well. I saw a bottle of 3 in 1 body soap, shampoo, and conditioner by Old Spice and have used that ever since. Well, unless I run out, then I use whatever my wife has in the shower. A proud member of "WdC SuperPower Reviewers Group" "Reading soothes the soul, writing sets it free." T.J. |
| Written for "Invalid Item" , prompt: National Metal Day - Not music This is it, one more entry, and I'm all caught up, then I can go relax with some head-banging heavy metal music cranked up so high the speakers distort and my eyes go crossed! Actually, no. Well, yes, I'll be caught up, but no, I'll not be relaxing to metal; I'm not a fan of metal music, although there are some songs I like; not many, but there are some when the mood is right, that I can enjoy. Of course, that holds true with just about any type, or genre, of music. In looking further, I discovered that a lot of the music and bands I like are considered metal. I guess it's how a person classifies metal. In looking into metal bands (no, not rings) there are so many genres of metal and so many bands that fall into one category of metal or another that it starts to become confusing. For example, there's AC/DC, Steppenwolf, Nazareth, and Rush just to name a few that I grew up listening to. I guess I never gave it a lot of thought, it was just hard rock to me. When I think of metal I think of bands like Metallica, Korn, Megadeth, and Five Finger Death Punch. In writing this, I've learned a few things. Now, I have to say I enjoy a lot of metal music, but there's a lot I dislike as well. Who would have guessed it... A proud member of "WdC SuperPower Reviewers Group" "Reading soothes the soul, writing sets it free." T.J. A proud member of "WdC SuperPower Reviewers Group" "Reading soothes the soul, writing sets it free." T.J. |
| Written for "Invalid Item" ; no prompt followed. Yes, I looked through the prompts, but nothing moved me. So, I thought I would just wing this one and see what develops. I'm writing this entry to catch up, so it's for yesterday, Nov. 10. I know Andre isn't going to give a monkey's uncle what I write about, as long as there is plenty of banana rum and banana vodka at the bar. I wonder, however, why it's just rum and vodka he likes to drop bananas in. What about gin? I'm not a fan of gin (it's a long story involving a high school girlfriend and her cheap perfume; best to leave it at that), but I'm sure it could also be flavored like rum or vodka. I mean, there's sloe gin, which I don't mind, so why not infuse it with bananas instead of berries? Another, and one I think Andre would love, is tequila. But, instead of dropping a worm in the bottom, stuff a banana in it. Hell, let's call this swill delight baquila! Think of the possibilities. Strawberries and bananas are always good together, so let's whip up a strawberry margarita with fresh strawberries and baquila. In honor of Andre, I think we someone should market this idea. I can see the bottle on liquor store shelves now: Andre's Baquila (banana-infused tequila) Enjoy in moderation so there's more for Andre!   A proud member of "WdC SuperPower Reviewers Group" "Reading soothes the soul, writing sets it free." T.J. |
| Written for "Invalid Item" . Prompt: Chaos Never Dies Day - probably hectic I'm playing ketchup catch-up since I've fallen behind in W.C and in the November blog challenge over at the Nana Bar. Why, chaos! Especially on Thursday, the day I'm making up for with this entry. It started Wednesday eve when my sister-in-law called my wife to inform her of a family meeting. My mother-in-law, who is elderly, has her house up for sale and has moved into an assisted apartment. Some of her children approved, others did not, and the feuding began. To keep this short, things have progressed to some family members not speaking to others, concerns about how the money from the sale of the house will be divided, and a lot of greed, pettiness, and differences of opinions of what is best for mom. The family meeting was on Thursday, so I drove my wife over to attend and after a few hours my mom-in-law stated how she wanted everything to be settled. In the end, there was agreement and if everyone sticks to the agreement, hopefully, things will go smoothly. As I sat down to write this entry, chaos seemed fitting for a topic. After the meeting, the stress, and the anxiety, my wife and I took some time to evaluate the outcome and found peace and relaxation in listening to some favored music and a few drinks. A proud member of "WdC SuperPower Reviewers Group" "Reading soothes the soul, writing sets it free." T.J. |
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Man, you know nothing about monkey business! Never poke your nose in them.
