Scenes of Favorite Days # 4 – Ice Tree

Scenes of Favorite Days # 4 – Ice Tree

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Is it just me, or is this a very slow Monday?

The only thing interesting thing going on is we’re kind of waiting around for the snow to start later on today, and all day tomorrow. We do have a stew simmering on the stove for supper, though.

Anyway, here’s one more of my favorite days from quite a few years ago. Could be another like it this time around, too.

Ice tree and lightning – One winter, late in the night it was very cold and snowing. The dogs wanted to go out, which was normal for them every night about this time. No one else was up, just me and the dogs. I let them outside in the back yard, and made myself a cup of coffee.

As was my habit, too, I got my writing notebook and started writing. It’s a favorite time of mine to write – waiting for the dogs in the middle of the night. It was very dark out, the ground was covered in snow, and the tree was coated with so much ice on the branches, that it was bent over, sort of making a tunnel as they reached the ground. My dogs came walking through the tunnel of ice and snow.

The thing that made this night so beautiful though, was it was thundering and lightning like crazy. Every flash of the lightning made the ice and snow look like silver in the dark of night. Just so pretty to see that.

The photo shows our dog Weasel (RIP), walking under the ice tree tunnel the next morning. Still a pretty sight.

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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2020 BS

Writing – 10 Day Photo Challenge – Day 2

Writing – 10 Day Photo Challenge – Day 2

https://cassiaelisabeth.wordpress.com/2018/07/01/attention-photography-challenge/#comments

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Thanks for hosting this 10 Day Photo Challenge, Cassia!

Click the above link to see other entries.

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For today’s subject of the photo challenge, we have the word ‘writing’.

I think people’s handwriting changes over the years, and I know mine did. I once got in trouble at school, because I slanted my writing to the left, instead of the right, like they wanted us to. Later on, I guess we weren’t graded on our handwriting, so we just wrote however we wanted. It seems fine however you write, as long as you can read it.

For a few years I took shorthand writing, and that was fun. I used to be good at it, but now I’ve forgotten most of it. At one job I had, I took shorthand dictation for letters, and then typed them up.

An interesting job to have would be to analyze handwriting samples, but I don’t know how they’d do it. I know I write a bit different every time I do write something.

I’m not sure what we are supposed to show here, but here’s some of mine.

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Writing when I was 8 years old

Writing when I was 10 years old

Writing now

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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️

© 2018 BS

JINX CAR

JINX CAR

We owned a jinx car. Yes, we did. It was a pre-owned ’66 or ’67 Chevrolet Caprice. A big, old, boat of a car, with plush overstuffed seats, electric windows, and temperature controlled air conditioning. I despised that car.

The day we test drove it, it shimmied all over the highway. I think the wheels needed alignment, or something. We bought it, anyway.

First of all, I didn’t even want a different car. We traded in our ’65 Mustang (which I loved), for this monstrosity. Strike one…Strike two…the wheel thing…and well, the strikes kept coming. One thing or another was always wrong with it. You name it, it needed repairs.

When I first drove it up to where I worked at the time, everyone wanted to see our new car. So, out to the parking lot we all went. One girl was not impressed. She took me aside to tell me…this car is a jinx. Seems this very car had just been traded in by her grandparents, and they’d had nothing but trouble from it. I guess back then there were no ‘lemon’ laws or disclosure rules.

Anyway, the jinx car lived up to it’s reputation. We had it for awhile, costing us more in repairs than it was worth. Then, after coming home from overseas, I got that car out of storage. I got rid of it…traded it in…yes, I did. I was surprised the car lot people even gave me a dime for it.

I immediately bought another car that I loved…a ’69 Camaro. Now, that was a car. I looked much better driving a cool Camaro around town, in my twenties, instead of the old jinx car, for sure. And I don’t remember the new one giving us a bit of trouble!

Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed hearing about the jinx car!

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Here’s a picture of the Mustang we traded in. Sure wish we still had it! 🙂

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Thanks for visiting! Peace }i{

© 2016 BS

(Originally written for an A2Z post 4/11/14)

NOW YOU SEE IT – NOW YOU DON’T – for FFfAW

NOW YOU SEE IT – NOW YOU DON’T – for FFfAW 

https://flashfictionforaspiringwriters.wordpress.com/2016/08/22/fffaw-challenge-week-of-august-23-2016/

This story is written for the Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers challenge. It is a photo prompt, and should be no longer than 175 words in length. Enjoy!

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NOW YOU SEE IT – NOW YOU DON’T

“There’s his old pocket watch,” I hollered, as I dove for it, tackling it like a pro football player, before it could get away.

My family, I’ll admit, are a greedy bunch of gold-diggers, always looking for something for nothing, as the saying goes. So, when Gramps passed on, the will reading came as no surprise. We were all to gather out at the old homestead for a treasure hunt to beat all treasure hunts.

Gramps had hidden all his earthly treasures, and we had to find what we could. A time limit of two hours was specified. Any unfound goodies were to be donated to charity. So, we all began looking, inside, outside…everywhere.

But, something strange happened. As the items were found, they would be snatched away by an invisible hand, never to be seen again.

“What the heck, Gramps,” we wondered, but kept looking, grabbing what we could find.

When the two hours were up, we had nothing. I swear we heard Gramps laughing from beyond, as we trudged back to our cars.

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word count = 175

Thanks for visiting! Peace }i{

© 2016 BS

 

 

DEAR DIARY – APRIL 11 – APRIL 20 , 1961

DEAR DIARY – APRIL 11 – APRIL 20, 1961

These are the things I wrote in my diary, when I was 10 years old. 🙂

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Dear Diary,

4/11/61 – I went to school. When I came home I played. then I watched tv. M & O (parents friends) came over. Then I went to bed.

4/12/61 – I did not go to school. I had the cramp. I stayed in bed all day. After dinner we went to the store. When I came home I played. I felt better. I played out side. Then I watched tv. Then I went to bed.

4/13/61 – I went to school. I asked the teacher what they did yesterday. They went walking. They went to C’s house. (classmate) They saw all their dogs and chickens. Then they went over to E’s house. (classmate) C rode his pony. When I came home I played. I watched tv. Then I went to bed.  (for some reason I think I must have gotten the days wrong in here. I definitely remember going on this outing with the class…or maybe we went another time that I went?)

4/14/61 – I went to school. When I came home we went to B’s (my aunt’s sister-in-law?) When we came back, J (cousin) came over. She spent the night. Then we played. A sand storm. (guess we had a sand storm that day. Not unusual in the spring!) We went over to N’s (aunt). When we came home we went to bed.

4/15/61 – I did not go to school. J and I played all day. When she went home we went to Grannys house. We ate supper over there. When we went home we went to bed.

4/16/61 – I did not go to school I played with J (cousin). We went over to N’s (aunt) We went riding. When I came home I played. Then I watched tv. Then I went to bed.

4/17/61 – I went to school. After school I went to play with B (a classmate- I remember we had fun playing paper dolls). When I came home I played Then I watched tv and went to bed.

4/18/61 – I went to school. I rode my bicycle to school. When I came home I played outside. Then I watched tv. Then I went to bed.

4/19/61 – I went to school. At music I learned a new song. When I went home I got my report card. When I got home I played all day. Then I went to bed.

4/20/61 – I went to school. When I got home I played. Then I went to J’s house. When I came home I went to the dime store. When I came home we went to Grand pas. P (sister) tried to ride a little bicycle. When I came home we showed a fim (home movie film). Then I went to bed.

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Thanks for visiting! Peace }i{

© 2016 BS

Stream of Conciousness Saturday – SOCS – DATE

STREAM OF CONCIOUSNESS SATURDAY – SOCS – DATE 

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Aug. 20/16

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So, today’s Stream of Conciousness Saturday word prompt is ‘date’. We’re supposed to write about a date, some dates, the date, and really, I’m not good with numbers, or dates. I can remember some people’s birthdays, and anniversaries. But, I’m usually late for the date in sending them a card, because I forget to do that in time. I can remember our phone number, if I think on it a minute. Sometimes I have to look it up.

All these challenges we do on the blogs have dates they come around to get done in time. It gets confusing. If I didn’t see a notice on email, or see someone else’s posting, then I wouldn’t remember when to do it, or if I’d already did one for the week.

I have a habit of checking the date on food. You know, the expiration date. If it goes past that, I throw it out. The mister thinks that’s silly, and the date on there is just a suggestion, and you should just go by if is still smells good or bad. Me, I don’t want to take any chances, so out it goes.

There was something else I was going to say about dates. Oh, the fruit? Is it a fruit? I always did like them, but I don’t eat them any more. I know I saved some of the seeds to plant, but forgot to do it, and found some really old ones that I’d stuck back to save. I did plant some pomegranet seeds before. They make the cutest little plants! Now, when dates are picked they pretty much stay the same, dried out date, right? You still call it a date. So, why is it, with other fruits, they get named something else after they get dried out? Like grapes get a name change to raisins, and plums get a name change to prune. Sometimes cucumbers get a name change to pickles. Do you know of any more? I think I wrote a whole post about this one time. Can’t remember what I called it, though, but it’s here somewhere. It still bugs me, that some fruit gets special recognition when others don’t

Well, before this gets a name change into ‘why the heck am I writing about shape-shifting, name-changing fruits’, I’ll sign off.

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Thanks for visiting! Peace }i{

© 2016 BS

MY INTERVIEW!

MY INTERVIEW!

Here’s a link to the interview I did for Friday Phrases.

I have ghost stories to tell! – @ghostmmnc

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Thank you Friday Phrases, for thinking of me for an interview! I enjoyed answering the questions! 🙂

Friday Phrases is a weekly Twitter game I’ve been participating in for a long time. Every Friday, we write micro-fiction stories, phrases, poems, jokes, and whatever we want. There is usually a prompt word, but you can use it or not. I like to use it.

We write our phrase/story, in 140 characters or less, using the hashtag #FP , then tweet it so others can read it. We re-tweet theirs. They are always fun to read, and everyone is invited to play along.

Here’s a few I’ve written:

The prompt word was ‘wilderness’ …

~ 50 years after conquering the human race, they roamed freely in the wilderness of concrete and glass, never to fear bug spray again.

~ Sewer rat, sewer rat, eating garbage, growing fat, living free in all the mess, he is king of his wilderness.

The prompt words were ‘pulling strings’…

~ She screamed in pain when the lady pulled the strings. Her first time geting her eyebrows shaped by threading would be her last.

~ With an evil laugh the muse pulled the string holding the plot together – words scrambled for survival.

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Anyway, hope you enjoy reading the interview. It was fun to answer the questions. 🙂

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Not sure why there is a big gap in there!

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Thanks for visiting! Peace }i{

© 2016 BS

 

 

DIG – for FFfAW – FLASH FICTION for ASPIRING WRITERS – 7/26/16

DIG – FOR FFfAW – FLASH FICTION for ASPIRING WRITERS – 7/26/16 

This is a Flash Fiction Challenge. We are given a prompt photo to write something about, using between 75-100 words (plus or minus 25).

Find out more about this challenge by clicking below:

https://flashfictionforaspiringwriters.wordpress.com/2016/07/25/fffaw-challenge-week-of-july-26-2016/

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photo provided by Louise, with the Storyteller’s Abode

DIG

Dig, hoe, rake, plant

Dig, hoe, rake, plant

Jim Bob felt like an automaton, now, just like everyone else.

Dig, hoe, rake, plant

Straight rows, down the line, even spaces, he was not allowed to stop.

Strange voices, weird food, sickening smells…just keep going.

The plants talk to him, chanting…

Dig hoe, rake, plant

The aliens look on, and revel in their take-over of the Earthlings.

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word count = 123

Thanks for visiting! Peace }i{

© 2016 BS

DEAR DIARY – MARCH 25, 1961 – MARCH 31, 1961

DEAR DIARY – MARCH 25, 1961 – March 31, 1961

3/25/61 – I did not go to school. We was (were) going to the library. J (cousin) came over. She went to the library with us. When I got home J came over. We went to her house. It was V’s (cousin) birthday. She got two dollars, dresses, whistle, umbrella, sun glasses, make up, lepord (leopard) (not sure what the leopard was). Then we went home and went to bed.

3/26/61 – I did not go to school. I played outside. Granny came over. she stayed to eat dinner. When we took her home we looked in her garage. We found books. I got some funny books and what-nots. (I loved prowling around in her garage!) When we came home we got a bunch of books. When I got home I watched tv. Then I went to bed.

3/27/61 – I went to school. I painted a tree. I got paint all over my dress. I had a headack (headache). When I got home I went over to Grand-mas house she came over and I went with her. I played all day. When I came home I got my lessons. Then I watched tv. Then I went to bed.

3/28/61 – I went to school. I painted a picture. When I got home I played. Then I got my bye  bicycle tire pumped up. Then I rode it. A cold front came. I went in the house. I played. Then I went to bed.

3/29/61 – I went to school. I made a picture of a chicken. (haha I liked chickens even back when I was a kid of 10 years old! ) When I went home I played. Grand ma came over. She gave me a package. It was clothes. There were sweaters, skirts, blouses, dresses, shorts, and a bathing suit. I put them on. Then I played. Then I went to bed. (every so often my older cousin, who lived in another state, would send me a lot of her outgrown clothes. I thought they were so cool, because she was!)

3/30/61 – I went to school. I played. After lunch a little while we had ice-cream. When I went home I played. Then I read. I went in the bed with mother. then I went to bed. It was the last day of school. It is Easter holidays.

3/31/61 – I did not go to school. I played. Then I went over to J’s (cousin) house. They were molding. They were molding horses, lambs, fish, fruit, and roosters. When I went home I played. then I watched tv. Then I went to bed. (haha they were molding! sounds so funny, but actually they were using plaster of paris to pour into shaped molds. When they hardened, we’d paint them. We did this project quite a few times. It’s fun to do, and I’ve done some more, a few years ago)

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Thanks for visiting! Peace }i{

© 2016 BS

IF and THEN for Stream of Consciousness Saturday – SOCS

IF and THEN for Stream of Consciousness Saturday – SOCS

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS July 16/16

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If I’d get out of these jammies, and into some actual going out in public clothes, then I could go shopping. That’s what I want to do today.

If  we get through this blazing hot summer, then it would come freezing cold winter. But then, I’d be complaining about being too cold, and wishing for summer, again.

If I will continue to go through the junk I have in my closets and garage, to get rid of some of it, then I’d have room for some more junk to fill it up again.

If I knew anything else to write about if/then, then I would. I think I did think of some more things, but then promptly forgot them.

If I don’t stop typing OF instead of If, then I wouldn’t have to backspace to correct the typo, which I typoed too, if there is such a word, but I think I made it up just now. It started out as typho …which reminds me of typhoons, which I’ve been in, in Japan.

Well, there ya go…my descent into silliness or is it sillyness …nope first one was right (I got the squiggly red line on the 2nd one)… and nope, not gonna delete it, because it’s SOCS, and sometimes you just have to let it be.

Here’s a couple of songs with the titles including the words If and Then!

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Thanks for visiting! Peace }i{

© 2016 BS