Country Mouse Goes City – Friday Fictioneers

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It’s Wednesday!  Yes, just to confuse you, that means Friday Fictioneers… I’ve decided to do a reverse of last week’s thanks to Na’ama Yehuda‘s wonderful photo.  Thank you for allowing us to use it this week.  And always, thanks to Rochelle for hosting this weekly party. I just can’t resist it (besides, she’d have my head if I did – don’t be fooled by her size…)

And to my fellow Canadians…

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

 

©Na’ama Yehuda

 

Country Mouse Goes City

Rachael pinched herself. She was here. New York City! Great-Aunt Penelope invited her to stay for the summer in her brownstone on the Upper West Side. No cows, no chickens, no manure. No chores.

She was so excited when she saw a yellow cab she waved at the driver in excitement. With a squeal of his tires, he swerved and pulled up beside her, causing the guy behind to honk in anger. “Where do you wanna go?”

“Central Park, please.”

He shook his head. Stupid country folk. “You’re already here. Just cross the street.”

She blushed, “Silly me. Thank you!”

 

The Message – Crimson’s Creative Challenge #85

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A tad late – okay, more than a tad – but Crispina is not a stickler for these things. She’s so generous, the prompts stay up forever so, should the mood strike whenever then we can still play.  I couldn’t find a matchy-matchy but when I started looking I thought, I dunno… maybe this can work. And so, here is an itty-bitty poem in pictures and words that I wanted to share yesterday but didn’t.  Here it is today!

 

The Message

 

Follow the path, she said.  It will be easy to find

Keep on looking at the fences made of wood

With something special used to bind

He searched and he searched, as best as he could

Suddenly there it was, in pink entwined

And he knew, it true; with him, she stood

 

Voilà… short and sweet at 52 words 😉

 

 

Weekend Writing Prompt #163 – Unwelcome

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A word prompt to get your creativity flowing this weekend. How you use the prompt is up to you. Write a piece of flash fiction, a poem, a chapter for your novel…anything you like. Or take the challenge below – there are no prizes – it’s not a competition but rather a fun writing exercise. If you want to share what you come up with, please leave a link to it in the comments.  Thanks for hosting, Sammi.

Ruth was so concentrated on ripping out the vines creeping along the top of the cedar hedge, she never heard her son approach.

His\ “Mom, what’re you doing?” nearly made her jump out of her skin

“What’s it look like I’m doing? I’m pulling out these vines.

“Why? They’re kinda pretty, no?

“I admit they are. I’ve never seen yellow ones like these. Usually, they’re those pink ones that look like morning glories.”

“Poor unwelcome flowers.”

“They’re weeds!”

“Tomayto, tomahto.”

“They’ll take over. Remember the ‘Rumor Weed’?”

Ha ha Mom. You’re hilarious.

We are not a religious family at all. However, a friend of mine got us hooked on Veggie Tales and one of our favourites was LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed

The movie is a whole 33 minutes long but for anyone who wants to, just click here.

City Mouse Goes Country – Friday Fictioneers

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What day is it?  Wednesday!

What does that mean? Friday Fictioneers!

What? Yeah, well… yanno, sometimes there’s no explaining things.  This week our lovely leader Rochelle has chosen a picture by Todd Foltz.  You want to play? Click on the frog below and add your 100-word max story link.

©Todd Foltz

Click me to play!

City Mouse Goes Country

Betsy loved spending the summers at her grandparents.  She got to live a completely different life than the one she had in the city.  A life that was simple and felt more real.  She particularly enjoyed the chores Nana made her do.  Waking up with the sun, collecting eggs from the chickens was one of her favourites.  Who knew chickens could be so affectionate?

“Hullo Susie.  Hey there Gertrude.  You ladies have something for me this morning?” she asked as she scratched them under their chins.  They clucked their responses rubbed against her arm.

She wished she could live here forever.

 

A Brief, Bright Light

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Before surgery
Swimming in the lake
Bathtime with Daddy
I can sit by myself!
Tracy & Sébastien’s Wedding

 

He was a surprise, and arrived too soon, and with many challenges.  His heart was broken, but they believed it could be fixed, later.  In his seven-month, twenty three-day lifespan, I discovered a strength I did not know I had. I discovered I was capable of dealing with a sick child and giving him so much love and the best life I could for the five-and-a-half months we had him at home.  He saw his aunt barrel race, he kicked his feet in his grandmother’s lake and in our pool.  He was adored by all.  I refused to keep him in a bubble, knowing, I know not how, he would not be with us for a long time.  No medals, no ribbons, no accolades can ever match the self-respect and pride I feel for handling Austin’s birth, life and death with the grace I did.

 

Flowers bloom with joy

Nurtured by the sun until…

Silenced by winter

 

It’s all Merril‘s fault again.  I wasn’t going to participate in yesterday’s dVerse challenge because I thought it would be too hard. Then I read Merril’s and decided to go for it.  Lillian is the host and she asked us to write about one shining moment in a Haibun WITH a KIGO AND a SAIJIKI – what the hell are these things?

 

 

Weekend Writing Prompt #162 – Gallivant

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A word prompt to get your creativity flowing this weekend. How you use the prompt is up to you. Write a piece of flash fiction, a poem, a chapter for your novel…anything you like. Or take the challenge below – there are no prizes – it’s not a competition but rather a fun writing exercise. If you want to share what you come up with, please leave a link to it in the comments. Thanks for hosting, Sammi!

From the youngest age

Two, if rumours are true

When Mommy was busy

Out the door I flew

 

Mommy had no idea

I’d gone gallivanting

Till the phone rang

Guess who came visiting?

 

An exasperated sigh

Please send her home

What to do?

I still roam!

 

 

Me at 3-iah
Gallivanting in Tuscany

Peeping Tom – Friday Fictioneers

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It’s Wednesday!  Know how I know? Rochelle sends us the weekly pic to write our 100-word story inspired by that pic. This week, our hostess with the mostest is oot and aboot but she left us with her very own pic to use.  Should you want to participate, click on the frog below and add your link.  G’head, it’s fun!

©Rodchelle Wisoff-Fields

 

Click me to play

Peeping Tom

The best thing about having a basement bedroom was that it was separate from the rest of the family.  And it was cool – downright cold in summer thanks to the A/C.  I loved my space and could do my own thing, undisturbed.

I was changing for bed when suddenly a ruckus broke out and I could hear thundering steps above my head and yells followed by the front door slamming.  What the hell?

I looked out my window and saw my father and uncle chasing a guy down the street.

He’d been having a look-see at me without my knowing.

The Beat Must Go On

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Might be more out there than I usually am.  Hopefully not too far!  In response to dVerse Quadrille challenge, hosted by Mish who has given us the word “Drum” to play with.  I usually avoid the topics of the day but somehow, this felt like the direction to go in. I think I spent as much time creating my image as I did creating my verse!

 

 

 

Earth has lost her rhythm

Her drum is struggling

to keep time

 

So many instruments

trying to be heard

voices not melodious

 

Each believes it more

important than the other

cacophony

 

We need the backbone

that is the drum

to bring back some harmony

 

 

 

 

 

Weekend Writing Prompt #161 – Obdurate

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A word prompt to get your creativity flowing this weekend. How you use the prompt is up to you. Write a piece of flash fiction, a poem, a chapter for your novel…anything you like. Or take the challenge below – there are no prizes – it’s not a competition but rather a fun writing exercise. If you want to share what you come up with, please leave a link to it in the comments.

This was not an easy one, that is for sure. Thanks, Sammi for forcing us outside of our comfort zones.

You’d cut off your nose to spite your face, wouldn’t you?

You stand there, face set in stone, deaf to my suggestions

I thought you were being obnoxious, but no

You’re a whole other level of inflexible

You remain obdurate in your refusal to cede

Thwarting the potential for collaboration

Till one day when you get the brilliant idea

To do what I suggested months before

And audaciously claim it as yours

 

I Wanna Do It Again! – Crimson’s Creative Challenge #83

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Thought I was going to wait until tomorrow to post but got blown away by the wind outside and came in for a break.  It is time for Crispina‘s CCC number 83.  I seem to be in a reminiscing mood. Or the photo prompts are jarring old memories.  Either/or.  The horse in the background made me think of one of the horses at the ranch because he had the colourings of an Oreo cookie There was a fight between calling him Caffoon or Oreo, so they compromised and called him Cafforeo.  The things that remain in my memory banks, sheesh…

I Wanna Do It Again!

Summer of ’75, our family vacation was at Golden Acres Ranch in the Catskill Mountains of New York.  Think “Dirty Dancing” but with horses.  And I dunno if we were the only Gentiles there, but it sure felt like it.

(My youngest sister, Tracy, has been a horse fanatic since she can talk and walk. She tried to convince Dad that we could keep a horse in our backyard and she’d take care of it, promise!)

We were having a lesson in the main ring when Tracy’s horse, Cafforeo, took off like a bat outta hell, Tracy holding on tight, a smile the size of Canada across her face.

Mom and Dad and Mike, our teacher, ran like crazy to catch up with them, now safely in Cafforeo’s paddock.

“What did you do to make him take off like that?” Dad yelled.

“I dunno!  But I want to do it again!”

Didn’t have a picture of Tracy so here I am on my favourite horse named Muddy