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 Life, Adventure, Family, Writing what else is there? Random thoughts. |
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WELCOME TO: GEMINI RISING   UPDATED INTRO 30 JUNE 2025: Just a little about me. I've been married for 33 years this past NOV and currently live in Southern California, but I grew up in New Hampshire.  me in my 20's I've got 2 boys who are young adults.  I work as a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. I enjoy my job a lot. Still. If you can believe that. I love to write. Thankfully both of my boys achieved Eagle Scout. My Scouting days are over and I'm back to focusing on my writing. I like to get out in nature, drink coffee and watch football. Here's a little bio about my zodiac. GEMINI: Gemini, the sign of the Twins, is dual-natured, elusive, complex and contradictory. On the one hand it produces the virtue of versatility, and on the other the vices of two-facedness and flightiness. The sign is linked with Mercury, the planet of childhood and youth, and its subjects tend to have the graces and faults of the young. When they are good, they are very attractive; when they are bad they are more the worse for being the charmers they are. Like children they are lively, and happy, if circumstances are right for them, or egocentric, imaginative and restless. Their good qualities are attractive and come easily to them. They are affectionate, courteous, kind, generous, and thoughtful towards the poor and suffering - provided none of the activities resulting from expressing these traits interferes too greatly with their own lives and comforts. Geminians can be successful in many walks of life though their general characteristics tend to make them unreliable. They are often skilled manipulators of language, in speech and writing, and may be: debaters, diplomats (though in politics they are more interested in theory than practice), orators, preachers (brilliant rather than profound), teachers, authors, poets, journalists, or lawyers. BLOG ACCOMPLISHMENTS: FEBRUARY 2026: I participated in:
this was a very different type of challenge for me and I enjoyed revisiting the soundtrack of my life. The blog earned the following merit badge: ![Merit Badge in WDC Soundtrackers
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Congratulations on successfully completing your 2026 playlist in the [Link To Item #soyl] challenge!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-WDC_Soundtrackers-1979333_7.gif){kind=tracking} DECEMBER 2025: I participated in:
this was a great challenge and I would highly recommend it if comes up again for next year. The blog earned the following merit badge: ![Merit Badge in Seasons Winter
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Congratulations on successfully completing 12 Poetic Days of Yule.
Enclosed is the bonus gps for trying the Terza Rima Sonnet successfully!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Seasons_Winter.gif) SEPTEMBER 2025:
Merit Badges collected and earned: ![Merit Badge in Writing.Com Birthday
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Thanks for rockin' WDC's birthday with me.
*^*Heart*^* Lyn](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/WDC-Writing.Com_Birthday.gif) Awardicon earned: The blog earned the Green 50K Awardicon for 1st Place. SEPTEMBER 2025:
Merit Badges collected and earned from "Earn the Badge 2025" ![Merit Badge in WdC Supportive Friend
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Thank you for participating in [Link To Item #2133333] . Congratulations on completing the September
2nd Daily Task.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/community-WdC_Supportive_Friend.gif) ![Merit Badge in Earn the Badge
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Thank you for your donation to [Link To Item #2133333] - from Purple Princess.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Earn_the_Badge-2093257_1.gif){kind=icon} ![Merit Badge in Music
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Thank you for participating in [Link To Item #2133333] . Congratulations on completing the September
3rd Daily Task.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Music-1050.gif) ![Merit Badge in Contests
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Thank you for participating in [Link To Item #2133333] . Congratulations on completing the September 1st daily task.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Contests-235.gif) ![Merit Badge in Growth
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Good job earning the Growth Merit Badge in [Link To Item #2133333]](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Growth-1150.gif) ![Merit Badge in Word Searches
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Great job participating in [Link To Item #2133333] and completing the September 5th task.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/type-Word_Searches-19000.gif) ![Merit Badge in Teamwork
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Great job for picking a teammate and completing the September 6th Task at [Link To Item #2133333]](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Teamwork-210.gif) SUMMER 2025:
Merit Badges Collected from Virtual Blogging &Virtual Blogging Friends: ![Merit Badge in Let Dreams Take Wing
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To my upcoming virtual traveling blog companion. Dream big and fly high!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Let_Dreams_Take_Wing-2335469_1.gif) ![Merit Badge in Normal Is Boring
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here's to another week of creating adventures!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/Kudos-Normal_Is_Boring.gif) ![Merit Badge in Blog Camping
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Thanks for completing [Link To User elusive4lyn] July 2025 blogging vacation!! Great job!!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Blog_Camping-1788309_13.gif) ![Merit Badge in Travel
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Woohoo! We’re halfway through!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Travel-1975.gif) ![Merit Badge in BCoF 2
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Thank you for your participation in BCoF's 50 States Virtual Blogging adventure.
*^*Heart*^* Lyn](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-BCoF_2-1901868_14.gif) ![Merit Badge in Endurance
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51 days of blogging takes commitment, and you rocked it.
*^*Heart*^* Lyn](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Endurance.gif) SEPTEMBER 2024: I participated in the
![Merit Badge in Nonfiction
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Congrats on your Honorable Mention in Blog Week Birthday Bastion 2024](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/type-Nonfiction.gif) Big thanks to ~Odyssey   for hosting the contest! OCTOBER 2024 & 2025 : I participated in the
![Merit Badge in Halloween
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Congratulations on completing the 13 Poetic Days of Halloween.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Halloween-2026567.gif) ![Merit Badge in Determination
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You rose to the poetry challenges in 12 Poetic Days of Halloween in grand style.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Determination-2500.gif) ![Merit Badge in Ghost
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Thank you for your successful completion of 13 Poetic Days of Halloween *^*Heart*^* Lyn](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Ghost-700.gif) Big Thanks to Witchy Woman   for hosting the contest!NOVEMBER 2025 : ![Merit Badge in WdC Positive Influence
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Thank you for all you do on WdC. I appreciate your encouragement and support *^*Hearto*^*](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/community-WdC_Positive_Influence.gif) from Tiggy  Find me at: WEBSITE: http://www.stephanieburkhart.com FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/StephanieBurkhartAuthor GOOD READS: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4031660.Stephanie_Burkhart YOU TUBE CHANNEL: http://www.youtube.com/user/botrina?feature=mhee  WARNING I intend to be open, honest, and forthright. No topic is off limits from religion to you name it, I'm going there. If you think you might be offended...back up now - this blog isn't for you. For those who "dare"  check out the "Gemini Rising..."  AI Disclaimer: I hate AI. Writing is creative. Be creative. Don't be a bot. Do not use my creative writing to teach an AI bot to read. Thank you. |
So I took this Madlib:
And this was my story: It had been 56 years since England’s last World Cup victory, and their manager was leaving nothing to chance. The referee had received the usual bribe of a whoopie cushion and the VAR had been replaced with episodes of Survivor Facing France in the final, England knew it would be war. The fans tried to intimidate the French team by singing My Heart will go on With the half-time score tied at 4 all, England saw the dream slipping away. So they swapped the French team’s half-time oranges with pizza, in the hopes of demoralising the team. The whistle blew for the start of the second half. England only needed to score 14 goals, and with Lionel Messi cheering them on, they knew they could do it. England ended up winning by 24 goals. Before France returned home they got revenge on England by swapping their victory champagne for Modelo, and were met at the airport in Paris by Indiana Jones who congratulated them on their revenge prank. England were hailed as heroes, and a holiday was declared where everyone was given 34 days off work. |
| Today was my "day off" from my support role and I took a vacation day. Joey and I drove an hour north to Whale's Tail, a water park in Lincoln, NH. We were used to Hurricane Harbor, so this was definitely not as busy or hectic. I would say most of the rides are designed for teenagers or young children, where you can find a bigger mix of rides for all ages at Hurricane Harbor. I did the Lazy River and Wave pool. Aly's daughter, Anna, rode the "Lighting Falls," ride with me as Joey said he didn't want to. It was a fun ride and I'm glad she did that. We left around 445 and then I went to see the cousins, Jordan and Zach in Franklin for an hour. We had a great visit and talked mostly about deer hunting, but Jordan showed me his chickens and I got to see his kids - ages 5, 3, and 5 months. It was good to see them and catch up with life. Family invigorates the soul. I will miss NH - I will miss how green it is. Sadly, Canada is on fire so the smoke is making the sky hazy, but hey, I'm used to this, living in California. Only 8 more months until retirement. Tomorrow I'm back to junking, donating and dumping, then Friday we fly. My husband said his services for his grandmother are scheduled for 3 August. Question for you: The World Cup final game is on 19 July. Who are you rooting for? Spain or Argentina? |
So I took this Madlib:
Here was my Story: Nobody could quite agree which moment would become the defining image of England's 2026 World Cup triumph. Some insisted it was the way England seemed to have a mysterious twelfth player who helped Bellingham score the first goal. The shot didn't look as though it was going in until it suddenly changed direction and flew straight past the opposition's goalkeeper. The crowd named him Gus and started to cheer him on in the hope he would help the team again at crucial moments. Others thought it was the interruption after the opposing team had scored the equaliser, when something entirely unexpected floated out of the crowd: a T-shirt. It landed neatly a few yards inside the touchline. The referee blew his whistle immediately. The assistant referees wandered over. The fourth official joined them. Players gathered in a puzzled semicircle while millions of viewers watched football's most serious discussion about fashion. "Is... is that dangerous?" Kane asked. "I honestly don't know," replied the referee. Television cameras soon found the culprit. Lionel Messi stood in the front row looking thoroughly unapologetic. He gave the crowd a small shrug before calling out, "It's my lucky T-shirt!" The officials eventually decided that Lionel Messi's T-shirt posed only a moderate threat to international football. A ball boy jogged over, picked it up with exaggerated care, and returned it to its owner to a standing ovation that lasted considerably longer than the interruption itself. Play resumed. Barely two minutes later, Bellingham slipped a perfect pass through the defence. Kane timed his run, steadied himself, and buried the ball into the bottom corner. England led once more. The final whistle finally arrived after what felt like several geological eras. Players collapsed onto the grass. Some laughed. Some cried. One substitute somehow managed to do both at the same time. As the trophy was lifted, the England supporters burst into a rousing chorus of "The Cup of Life ". The song rolled around the stadium until even neutral fans were joining in. Just as the captain lowered the trophy to share it with his teammates, a cheeky eagle appeared, seized one of the decorative ribbons attached to the handles, and, to everyone's astonishment, lifted the trophy just enough for it to wobble free before dragging it several yards across the grass. Thousands of people simply stared in disbelief as the bird strutted away with all the confidence of a creature that clearly believed it had won the tournament itself. Eventually it lost interest, abandoned its glittering prize near the centre circle, and flew off in search of something less heavy. The trophy was retrieved. The celebrations continued. Years later, people still argued about Gus, the flying T-shirt, and the unusually ambitious eagle. Yet everyone agreed on one thing: After sixty years of waiting, England had finally found the strangest possible way to bring football home. |
| I had a good night's sleep and got up on time! B-fast at the hotel, and then I was junking at 8 am. Got some more work done on the kitchen. it's starting to look better. My friend, Aly came over and we took 420 pounds to the dump and several bags of donations to the local "Goodwill." -- Most Kitchenware and salvageable kitchen appliances. After that, we took the dress and rosary to the funeral home. Our contact at the Funeral home, Tatyana, had the death certificates for us and I brought them down. The internment will be on 23 July at 1130 at the mausoleum. I believe Tatyana said they could record it for me which would be nice as we need to fly back to California on Friday, 17 July. After that, we went to Target, walked around, then chipotle for Joey. I was blown away at the price. In NH the same meal we get in California was $15.00. In California it is $28.00!! I cannot!! We took the scenic way back and I geeked out on the green grass.  I got back to the hotel and watched the FIFA game.  for France. But hey - Looking forward to see who will play Spain. I was impressed with Spain. They were playing to win. France was thieving oxygen. I am rooting for Argentina but you never know!!  After the game I met up with Aly and Jen and Bill at the Tap room. I had an NH flight of beer which was fab. I love fresh micro brew beer. Then I ordered the Korean BBQ chicken wings. Delicious! Afterwards I visited with my friend Karen for about an hour and now I'm back watching Beat Bobby Flay. Tomorrow we're the taking the day off from junking and dumping and going to a water park and visiting relatives. Yawn.... |
| Last night before going to bed I saw a TV show about the history of crackers in the USA. It was really interesting. Since I love cheez-its, it was really interesting to hear the history of cheez-its and how they were invented. Here's a short video of how Cheez-its are made now. I thought it was interesting, but Cheez-it's were invented in 1921 by Green & Green (father and son duo).It took a while to perfect the recipe and the hole in the middle is a must to make them cheez-its! Today I got over to the old house and did more work in the kitchen. I made 2 trips to the junk yard and junked 490 pounds so far. Cost was $49.00. Tomorrow I'll go back early to junk and dump some more. My friend Aly will help me. At one pm I need to go to the funeral home in Concord to drop off the dress and rosary. They received the casket so I believe the embalming process will began now. I don't think the internment ceremony will be until next week. My friends have said they'll take time to be with Christine so I'm very happy about that. Also last night - my husband called to say his grandmother passed.  She was in her 90's and had alzheimer's. The winds of change are in the air and they're kicking up. Feels like a summer storm.  Today after Junking and dumping, I did a load of laundry at the hotel and then met my friend, Aly, for dinner at Applebee's. I had steak and green beans. Very yummy. Looking forward to tomorrow's FIFA game! I need a stress relief! Question for you: Did you watch the FIFA games this year? Did you enjoy them? If you're not a FIFA fan, do you like Cheez-its? |
| Recap: I got up early and spent some time with Auntie Sue before heading out at 945 am. Auntie Sue left with her dog, Ruby to go to Alton for a week with her daughter. It should be fun for her and a nice getaway. I left her with a thank you card for her hospitality. My friend, Karen, let Joey hang out while I went cleaning with Christine at the old house. Two hours went fast. Tomorrow I'm going to there and taking bags of trash to the dump. I might have two loads. It's a lot. Then I'll go back and make more loads of trash. In the afternoon I hope to meet up with my friend, Aly. We'll see what happens. If Christine needs me to run errands in the afternoon, I will. Joey and I checked into the hotel at 330 pm. Karen let me grill at her house so we grilled steak and shrimp, had a salad and some garlic bread. It was a fabulous dinner. We visited for a bit and she showed me her Disney pins which she collects. She has a very impressive collection. I was very appreciative she let me cook and have a "home cooked" meal. I missed that. Question for you: what's your favorite home cooked meal?  |
| Today was a busy day in a different way. I got up, had b-fast (bagel and sausage) and headed out to our mother's house to help Christine clean. The house is wrecked and needs A LOT of work. We spent 2 hours there. Christine worked on some clothes and I worked in the kitchen. She took what was salvageable for clothes to the Planet bin and I dumped off the prescription meds at med drop off at the local pharmacy. Christine and I had lunch at the Puritan backroom which is a popular dining spot for this area. She had a chicken tender wrap and I had the hamburger. I only ate 1/2 because it was an 8 oz. It was delicious though. When I got back to Auntie Sue's went walking the local trail and brought McDonald's back for Joey. Tonight I'll watch the Argentina game and then tomorrow morning pack up. I'm hoping to meet up with my sister tomorrow from 1030 to about 1230 to do more cleaning. I had a nice fresh soft cone ice cream with Auntie Sue. It's been a while since I had fresh ice cream like that.  Question for you: What's your favorite flavor of ice cream? |
| Today, I had a great cup of coffee to start off my day. My cousin, Jordan, milks? his own maple sap, so he sent him to his mom, my Auntie Sue and she suggested I try it. It was perfect. It sweetened the coffee without over doing it. It was an errands day today, so went to the Post office, then the senior center to donate some canned goods then we went to the dump because it was DUMP day. Auntie Sue doesn't have trash service so she brings her trash to the dump. If anything, it made appreciate my trash service. After that we went to Target and got some odds and ends - batteries and a swim suit for Joey for next week. Christine and I sent in the final edit of the obit to the funeral home. Tomorrow we met up at 11:30 am to work on the house. Hope we don't find no surprises. The Post office told us how to address any "first class mail" involving a deceased person and I'll go over that tomorrow with my sister tomorrow. Then I had a wonderful lunch with my cousin Matt up in Concord. I had a French Onion Soup and a Poke wonton which was delicious but - believe it or not - had too much guacamole for me. When we got back we watched the Spain VS Belgium game. I placed my $$ on Spain to win and they did but I was biting my nails for a bit. It was a good game and I loved all the shots the goalkeepers saved. Afterwards I took a 2 mile walk with my Auntie down at the rail trail and enjoyed it. Interesting side note. On my Facebook feed a memory came up. It was me, my sister, and my cousin Matt at Hampton Beach - 16 years ago on 10 July. And here, 16 years later, I had another pic with my cousin Matt here in New Hampshire. There's no such as coincidences are there? I always love visiting with my cousins!  |
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Well, I'm working on settling in. I think that plane delay made me late ever since. haha! The plane delay threw off my sense of days and Monday flew by. I brought spaghetti and meatballs over to my sister and shared the meal with her on Monday evening. Tuesday, I caught up with her at the funeral home and we finalized arrangements. The meeting went smoothly which was good. My flight back to California is on Friday, 17th and we don't know if the interment will be before then, but I do have to get back to California. As I've said, my peace is made so I'm okay with whatever happens. Tues and Weds, Auntie Sue and I walked 2 miles on the Goffstown Rail Trail which is relatively flat and I enjoyed getting the exercise in. Weds and Today, I worked on cleaning my sister's kitchen from about 2 to 430. And yesterday I went to get a battery to start the "old" car. It's up and running now, but needs some love and attention. It's a nice car - a Honda CRV with all the bells and whistles, but it hasn't run for about 6 months. It probably wouldn't hurt to have an inspection. An oil change might be a good place to start. Tomorrow I'm taking off and hoping to catch up with family and the cousins. That would be nice. Saturday and Sunday I'm helping my sister clean the old house. Turns out my step-father was still getting mail and he died back in DEC 2023 so I'm planning to go to the post office to see if I can shut off his mail with the death certificate.  Today I sorted through some mail and disposed of unused prescriptions. On Sunday, I move to the hotel and hope to catch up with friends. Christine has me for errands, but I think we're going to try to get out a little - maybe go to the beach or the water park. Auntie Sue says we can come and visit in Alton so we might do that as well. Overall, time seems to be moving fast. I don't know if it's because I'm on the east coast and it's 3 hours ahead of California time or if it's just moving fast in general. Maybe it's a combo of both. I did get home from cleaning to see the end of the France and Morocco game, but I wish I could have seen more of the game. Oh well. Looking forward to tomorrow's game. I have been enjoying this FIFA tournament a lot and I'm going to miss it once the final game has been played. I can honestly say I miss New Hampshire. I miss my side of the family. I miss the nature. I miss the green grass and the smell of fresh air. I miss the "Americana" vibe, and the folksy vibe. In California there is always something to do. Here the world is simpler in a way, and there's something to be said about simple. |
| Okay busy day today. I had breakfast with family then off to clean my sister's kitchen while she's at work. Yesterday my sister and I met with the funeral home and it went well. More later. |
un: 
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