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Weekend Writing Prompt #91 – Helter-Skelter

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I was in such a rush to publish, I forgot my preamble!!  Thank you, Sammi Cox for hosting this weekly challenge!

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.

Word Prompt

Helter-Skelter

Challenge

There are those who like their days organised, scheduled down to the last minute, no surprises.

Others like to fly by the seat of their pants, helter-skelter style, loathing regiment of any sort.

While I have my structured moments, I’m also a carpe diem woman.  What does that mean?  After my appointments on Friday, I received a text from my friend, Linda:  “OK. You, me at Industria in an hour.”

I looked at the time of the text, saw I had a half-hour to change and join her.  It was unexpectedly crowded.  Why?  Unbeknownst to us, it was “Singles Night”.

What did that mean for us?  Dinner, conversation, and a show!!

Lights
Linda & me
Dancing on the bar?

A Way Out – Friday Fictioneers

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Good Wednesday morning, my Readers!  Yep, it is snowing again.  The upside is, it is only -9°C (16°F), with barely a windchill of -11°C (12°F) – positively balmy compared to the past few days!  AmIright?  To keep us warm – those of us “enjoying” winter, how’s about a little story?  A thank you must go out to Rochelle for keeping this show going for nigh on seven years now, and to Ted Strutz, for sharing this wonderful photo.

Do join in on the fun why don’t ya!  Click on the blue frog below to add your link to your 100-word story.  G’head.  It’s fun!

Get the Frog for your Blog

A Way Out

After days of walking in the woods, creating shelters out of twigs and leaves, Georgie was thrilled to see the old car.

“Hey, Fred! Looks like we found tonight’s shelter!”

“Yeah, well, I dunno.  If the windows are intact, it will be great, if not, we’ll be no better off than we’ve been so far.”

“Spoilsport.  Cushions for our poor hips!”

“Gotta hand it to you, Georgie; you are the most positive person I know.”

“You want positive?  How ’bout this?  Tomorrow, you MacGyver it and we get the hell outta here!”

“There’s positive, and there’s dreaming in Technicolor, Babe.”

Travel Tube – Tell Me a Story Challenge

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Di, over at Pensitivity101 decided to tag me in this chain of sorts… Seeing the photo and feeling it was way out of my comfort level, I, of course, could not refuse.  It’s a glutton-for-punishment thing…

Travel Tube

Jules felt the dizzying twist, spin and pull that always accompanied portal tube travel.  She didn’t think she’d ever get completely used to it even though she did notice that with each successive trip the nausea eased somewhat giving her the hope that one day she would actually fly through that ring and come out the other side with her peachy complexion intact rather than this greyish-green tint. She could also do without the burn of bile at the back of her throat just waiting for a moment of weakness.

How she managed to remain upright when she emerged was beyond her!

She could feel her senses return to normal and gingerly patted herself down to make sure all was intact.  Which was utterly ridiculous as she had been told to stop worrying about it.  Still, once satisfied, she surveyed her surroundings.

Dammit!  All that and I’m not even at 5th Avenue and 57th Street?  Gawd, she missed the olden days when you could use the subway…

167 words

So, here’s how it works… I had to

  1. Write a story based on the photo above,
  2. Pick a picture of my own, see below
  3. Tag three bloggers to play along (not easy, because not all like to play these sorts of games…)

So, without further ado, I nominate the following three bloggers, who, I want you to know, are under no obligation to play along at all…

  1. Crispina at Crimsonprose
  2. Lynn at Word Shamble
  3. Merril at Yesterday and Today

And here is my photo:

As mentioned, this is a totally voluntary thing!

No Water, Please! – Friday Fictioneers

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Good Thursday evening, my peeps!  Spent a few days away up in the Laurentians, taking in the fresh air, enjoying the snow and cottage life.  Back to reality…

I canna lie… looked at this hear picture for two days and finally asked my son what he saw.  A silly story was born.  Thank you, Rochelle and Priya for stumping me this week!

If you think you can play along with something original, please do!  Click on Rochelle’s name for the how-to’s and add your link by clicking on ze bleu frogue below…

©Priya Bajpal

Get the Frogue for your Blogue

No Water, Please!

“That’s a pretty jar.  Quite colourful.  What are they, love notes?”

“Nope.  Not love notes.  Not even paper.  They’re magical, though.”

“Really?  Why are some on the table?”

“I’m not sure they’ll fit.”

“Whatchu talkin’ about!  There’s lots of room.”

“Don’t be fooled.  One drop of water and the whole thing blows.”

“Hah!  What?  Do they turn nasty like in Gremlins?”

“Something like that…”

“Wait. What? You mean if I pour some of my water on these things—

“NO!  Don’t!”

Too late to stop him, I watched in horror as the pieces on the table grew into giant foam dinosaurs.

The 2018 Annual Attitude of Gratitude: Bloggers Flood The Internet With Happiness & Positivity!

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Dawn Quyle Landau of Tales from the Motherland has issued the 5th annual “50 Happy Things/Attitude of Gratitude” challenge and I am more than pleased to join in once again.  For instructions on the “how-to”, please click here.  Once you’ve figured out how to do it and have been inspired to do it (Why not?  How much can it hurt to bring forth things that make you happy?) click here to add your link.

There is absolutely no order to my following list.  I have set the timer for 15 minutes and this is basically stream of consciousness stuff (i.e. as it comes, I type).  All embellishments are added after the clock has run out and I’ve spell-checked my list 😉

  1. My boys – they remind me that I am human
  2. My home – protects me from the elements
  3. My family – all the way down to second cousins thrice removed
  4. My sisters – despite whatever goes on in life, they are there for me
  5. Mom – without her, I would not be
  6. Friends who are the chosen family
  7. Blogosphere – a world I could not have imagined ten years ago
  8. The friends I’ve made on the blogosphere – I cherish the connections I’ve made
  9. Going to Old Montreal for New Year’s Eve with good friends
  10. Getting on the ferris wheel for the midnight fireworks
  11. Friday Fictioneers – for teaching me how to cut the fluff and get to the point
  12. B – for pushing me to be a better writer while becoming a close friend
  13. My ability and joy of cooking
  14. Sharing my food with those I love
  15. My boys when they help me before I have to ask
  16. My computer – as a tool to connect and write
  17. Internet – bringing the world to my fingertips
  18. Brothers-in-law who help out for stuff that I just cannot do on my own
  19. Girlfriends – to share those things that you just can’t with family
  20. Blogging community – I keep learning
  21. Rochelle for her friendship and for trusting me with her lateest WIP (and any other writings)
  22. Julie for being my “culture friend” and my trusted date for stuff no one else is interested in
  23. Feeling part of my close knit gang
  24. Food – the diversity, the sensuality
  25. My taste buds – which permit me to enjoy all the flavours out there
  26. Good wine
  27. fun work colleagues
  28. New colleagues who seemed to really appreciate me
  29. Clients who appreciate me
  30. My legs for allowing me to take my walks
  31. My big-ass bathtub for when I need to get away from it all
  32. Reading – opening my world to other realms
  33. Writing, which allows me to let go of stuff
  34. Writing prompts that push me to do better
  35. My bed, where I get the rest I need or at least pretend to
  36. My hands which are capable of so much more than I thought
  37. Heating which protects me from the cold
  38. My capacity to love no matter how many times my heart is broken
  39. Being appreciated for what I offer
  40. My wit and sense of humour – keeps me sane
  41. Travel – I need to do more; experience other cultures
  42. The communities I’ve built – virtual and real
  43. Connections I’ve made with people from around the world
  44. A cozy fire, to gaze into, to snuggle with someone
  45. Zeke – who is not getting as much love as he should but will
  46. Eyes – to appreciate the beauty around me
  47. My smile, which seems to be what people remember about me
  48. My camera, which helps me to look at things differently and record the memories
  49. Being able to express myself and be open to others’ opinions
  50. Widow’s pension, which helps to make ends meet
  51. EI which permits me to take the time to rest between jobs
  52. Working a seasonal job which allows me to take the other seasons off
  53. Sense of smell, without it, I would never appreciate food and cooking so much
  54. My body – it may be quite as I would like it to be, but it’s mine and it functions
  55. Dishwashers – because sometimes, doing the dishes just blows
  56. My car – I can go anywhere when I want
  57. My resilience – even though it’s a word that bugs the shit out of me, it is the right word for me
  58. The close friends who will always include me in their happenings
  59. My ability to adapt to whatever life throws my way
  60. My boys – I am so proud of them both for the young men they are becoming
  61. That Iain has decided to go back to school to get a diploma in electricity
  62. That Aidan has decided to pursue an education in animation (yeah, yeah, it has another title that I always forget)
  63. That I know I can count on my sisters for anything
  64. My lack of cynicism – despite the world we live in
  65. My charm that can be helpful when I screw up
  66. Dark chocolate
  67. Camaraderie – that can be found
  68. Facebook – say what you will, I have kept in contact with many because of it
  69. Book, books and more books
  70. Potential for love – I’ve not given up

The Little Moments – Friday Fictioneers

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I’m not one to do the “woe is me” thing and this is definitely not one of them.  It is, however, the fourth anniversary of my “two weeks of WTF” that started on the 11th and ended on the 27th.  I can laugh and talk about Mick all the time with nary a tear but at this time of the year, there is more of a tightness in the chest, so to speak.

So, now that I got that out of the way, thank you to Rochelle for hosting this weekly challenge and this week, thanks (again) to Doug MacIlroy for allowing us to use (re-use for some) this lovely photograph.

Join in on the fun by clicking on the blue frog below!

 

Get the Frog for your Blog

The Little Moments

“Good God!  How you can work with that stuff you call music blaring?” I yelled.

“I like it, helps me to draw.  Keeps me in the groove.”

Shaking my head, I went back to writing my Friday Fictioneers story, while chatting on Facebook with my buddy Rochelle.  A new message pops up:

“Yo, Rog, what’s for lunch?”

“Dunno, Mick, hadn’t thought of it.”

“Let’s go out!”

“Lemme guess, The Cage?”

“Ya baby!  Meet me downstairs!”

“Lemme finish my story, first!”

“Gonna let me read it?”

“Of course.  You’re my muse again.”

These little moments are what I miss the most.

 

Feel the Rumble – Friday Fictioneers

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Good Wednesday evening, my peeps!  It’s Friday Fictioneers time and I have finally come up with something.  Having already written a post about my son’s love for trains as a boy and another on wanting to run away via train, I was a tad stumped.  What to write about?  My creative muse having abandoned me completely, I had to rely on a fond memory.

Thanks always to Rochelle for being the hostess with the mostest and this week, a thank you to Dawn M. Miller for the use of this beautiful picture.

Do try your hand at a 100-word story based on this photo by adding your link to the blue frog below!

 

Add the Frog to your Blog

Feel the Rumble

Sitting around the dinner table the sounds of her guests enjoying themselves pleased her.

Suddenly, everyone stilled, silence reigned and they turned to her wide-eyed.

“What the hell was that?” one queried.

“What do you mean?”

“That rumble.  Earthquake?  Didn’t you feel it?  And it sounds like glasses are crashing inside your china cabinet.”

“What rumble?”  She frowned.  “Oh that!  Ha ha!  That was the train!  I don’t even notice it anymore and I didn’t hear the glasses because of the party.  Every few months or so, I have to push them back because they jiggle with each train passing.