Saturday Centus ~ The Director

Late again for Saturday Centus ... I am beginning to wonder if I will ever be on time  again ... Luckily we actually have a week to hand these in to Jenny, and her Saturday Centus Meme.  Jenny played no tricks this week, we had an 8 word prompt which is "We know where all the bodies are buried."  We also had 100 words, plus the prompt words to play with, and wouldn't you know it, i came right in at 108 ... after i did a major edit ... lol!

The Director, the genius of both his genre and his generation, was having a tough day.

“Take 108”

“Action” yelled the Director.

“Give up, we know where you … um, hid”

“Cut” roared the Director,  “It’s a simple line you idiot, We know where all the bodies are buried”

“Quiet on set, Take 109”

“Action”

“Give up, we know you buried …”

“Cut” the Director shouted as he thought to himself, I know where all of the bodies are buried and that’s where this idiot actor is going wind up … right beside my dear old Auntie Astrid, the Gardner and the neighbour’s yappy dog.

“Quiet on set”

I hope you enjoyed my little offering this week.  As always, just click on the Jenny button below to read other interesting short stories!

Hey Jerk!

Now that i have your attention ... and since it is "J" day over at Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday meme, I thought that i would talk about my nick names ... and guess what, they almost all start with J.

My given name is Joanne ... the name that I go by, is of course Jo ... then there is the Beatles variation, JoJo ... and some of my friends have whittled that down even further to just JJ, and some just call me J ... my daughter says my "hood" name is Lil' J and she calls me that quite a bit! So call me any of these names, they work ... just don't ever call me Joan, that is a completely different name.

I used to be called "Crash" ... that had something to do with me being in a rash of car accidents (hey, they weren't all my fault) and ended in on huge slow motion crash ... where i confused the brake for the gas (it happens) and hit my Dad's  5th wheel, pushing it into a small wall, and driving its huge hitch right through my windshield, narrowly missing me ... and it was all slo mo ... i couldn't figure out why i kept moving ... thankfully, no one was around, because i was so coated in glass i had to strip to the skivies outside ... yup ... thankfully i have left that nickname (and accidents) far behind me.

And finally my favourite nickname "Jerk."  Yes, that's what my family calls me ... my dad gave me the moniker before I could walk ... Okay, when I was a wee thing, i did not crawl ... instead i would tuck one leg under, put the other leg in front of me and scooch across the floor on my butt in a jerky motion ... so yeah, this name, that others would not like to be associated with, is actually a term of affection in mine! When I am called Jerk, all is well ... when someone calls me by my given name ... that means all is not well and when someone Middle names me (hasn't happened for a long time) ... well you all know where middle naming leads ...

Jerk and her Dad!!!

thanks so much for stopping by and reading ... linking up to my girl Jenny

My January 12 ...

So what is "January 12" you ask? ... okay, it's not a date ... it's a thing ... well kinda of a thing.  I got the idea from my friend Kathy's blog ... she is doing Project 365, which is taking a picture each day for all 365 + the extra day.  I off course started this, but i totally fell of the wagon by about the 3rd of January ... yeah yeah, i do procrastinate, or forget to charge my camera or both ...

So anyways, the 12 is 12 shots on the 12th day of each month ... and because i was slow starting these photos were snapped on the 17th ... yeah, i was a little slow again ...  I am going to be putting all of these pics in my Smash Journal, and i will have a little "day in the life of" book at the end of the year ...

So for those of  you who are still with me, here's what my day looked like ...

I love to have flowers in the house, although with my budget I rarely buy them ... this little group was picked out by my daughter

Drop daughter off at her volunteer job way across town.  My daughter loves to volunteer and help others.

A latte and a good read is called for ... i have some time to kill before I pick up my girl.  My good friend Lynn, has 3 items published in this issue ... it's always fun to spot a friend's published work.

I accidentally stopped off at Michaels ... well they had these great sales ... okay, i bought a little plastic storage container for paper, that's it ... nothing else ...

Still waiting for daughter so i stop by the park ... the clouds are lifting, the skies are blue and the sun is out!

 Bonus Picture ... love these pilings that are no longer sunk into the river!

 Now the last time Daughter had a party, and people slept over, one of them made the comment "this is a pillow?"  okay, I hadn't picked up new pillows for well ... a long time, ours were almost totally flat, so it was off to the Bay for the 50% off sale on pillows.

 These are the contents of my purse ... well, add the camera and you have it all ... i love the pink and black lace bags my daughter picked up for me at H&M ... one has lipstick, necessities etc, and the other has tape, and pens and markers ... just in case i get the urge to create on the go!

 I am actually using a Tim Holtz tote bag (daughter gave it to me for christmas) for a purse ... so i can cram a whole lot of stuff in

 Just some random stuff in my scrap room ...

Awe, what would a day be without the love of my little girl Honey ... Honey is such a good good girl, and waits so patiently for us when we are out ...

Okay, I totally take back that comment about Honey being a "good" girl ... today she decided to take on a yoga mat while we were out ... Honey 1, Yoga Mat 0

I needed a coffee in my favourite mug after the yoga mat fiasco ...

And that was my day ... how was yours?

The Climb ~ Epilogue

Well Jenny gave us another twist this week.  This time around we have 150 words .... yeah!!! and we have to write an epilogue to our previous entries.  So I have repeated part 1 & part 2 from the last couple of weeks and I have tried my darnedest to wrap the story up with this weeks epilogue.

Part 1

Hanging off a cliff  “keep moving” he thought, “don’t lose momentum,” as he dangled by two arms from the top of the cliff, a bead of sweat trickled into his eye, stinging.  A second passed in an hour, his arms began to shake.  “Focus!” he yelled at himself, knowing full well that his arms could only support his dead weight for a few more moments … he had underestimated the climb … a tragic mistake for any free style climber …he shifted his weight on to his right arm as his left hand searched for something other than sand and soil to grab onto.

Part 2

Panicking now, his left hand sweeping blindly, he finds a root to grasp onto. Summoning his remaining strength he pulls his body up only to hear a loud snap.  He lets out a yelp as he falls. “Jon, you’re having that dream again,” she says sleepily as she pokes him.

Epilogue

“Sorry Babe,” he replies, voice low and shaky.  He hastily wipes the sweat from his brow with the sheet. 

“Jon, what’s going on? I mean is the dream getting worse?”

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” he says, still shaking “I have been seeing someone”

“What the?”

 “No, babe, I mean not like that, I have been seeing a therapist … for a couple of weeks now actually.”

“Whaaaaat?” she says emphatically.

“Yeah, um, I’ve been seeing this guy about my dreams, and at first I thought well he would just tell me it’s no big deal and to just get over it, take a sleeping pill or whatever.

“And?” she whispers

“Well it turns out I have anxiety issues about becoming a father”

“Jon you are an amazing, loving husband, don’t worry, you are going to be great.  Here, feel him kick” as she gently places his hand on her belly.

Thank you so so much for reading, and extra thanks for leaving your comments ... and if you have some time, check out some other 3 part stories ... just check on the Jenny button below.

Imagine

Imagine …

All the people …

Imagine peace … sometimes I do … I sit and I meditate on peace, trying so hard to see what it would look like … what the world would be without weapons, fear and hate … I see a beautiful world, with rich red soil and lush vegetation … and under a large tree, sit all of the world peace leaders … meditating and teaching us all by their example… I see a world where no one’s ego needs to satisfied by power, where there is no poverty, where one nation helps another because its just the right thing to do …  

And then I wake up and realize that there will never be world peace … that the human race is always ready, willing and able to hate and to fight …

We are such a sorry species … but I will continue to Imagine, continue to meditate and hope for peace.

A winter rainbow ... peace in a storm ...

Saturday Centus ~ The Climb, part 2

Last week, Jenny challenged us to write a cliffhanger using the prompt "Hanging off a cliff" and using only 104 words.  This week we are to finish our story, but with a measly 50 words ... talk about a tough challenge.  My first draft was 132 words, and it took me forever to edit it down to 50 ... but here it is, finished!  I hope you enjoy!  Part 1 is repeated, below is part 2.

Part 1

Hanging off a cliff  “keep moving” he thought, “don’t lose momentum,” as he dangled by two arms from the top of the cliff, a bead of sweat trickled into his eye, stinging.  A second passed in an hour, his arms began to shake.  “Focus!” he yelled at himself, knowing full well that his arms could only support his dead weight for a few more moments … he had underestimated the climb … a tragic mistake for any free style climber …he shifted his weight on to his right arm as his left hand searched for something other than sand and soil to grab onto.

Part 2

Panicking now, his left hand sweeping blindly, he finds a root to grasp onto. Summoning his remaining strength he pulls his body up only to hear a loud snap.  He lets out a yelp as he falls. “Jon, you’re having that dream again,” she says sleepily as she pokes him.

I actually wanted to make this about a man have repeated nightmares over the impending birth of a first child ... but the shorter version leaves it to your imagination.

Thanks so much for stopping by, if you want to join us or read other entertaining entries, just click on the Jenny button below!

Happy?

Once again, it's time for Alphabe-Thursday with Jenny Matlock, and todays letter is "H" ... one heck of a letter don'tcha think?  I am behind this round, i didn't start until last week, but i do want to catch up and complete this round, I really missed doing it last round ... so look for A - F soon!  and oh, in case you are wondering, i had themes the last two rounds ... and this round is also a theme ... it's words that just resonate with me somehow or in some way.

This happened way back when .... when my daughter was about 3ish.  It was Grandpa's birthday ... I had dressed my wee girl up, shiny black patten Mary Jane's, white tights and a big flouncy blue dress and a blue bow on her crimped hair ... Grandpa was sitting in the family room, and when my daughter saw him she ran racing to him at full speed ... she stopped right in front of him and with the most enthusiasm i had seen in her she said a very loud "Happy to You!!!" ... She then clambered onto Grandpa's knee as we all kind of stood around laughing merrily!  It was so cute and funny as in her enthusiasm she had forgotten the word "Birthday."

Years later, the little quote "Happy to you" by my daughter, has become a family standard.  And every time my daughter says it to someone I can easily recall that scene of almost 20 years ago and it always makes me happy ... yes always!!!

Recently we had a "happy to you" moment ... just see the pictures below!  This moment made me so very happy ... it was a blast and I felt like a kid again.

awe, yes ... a carousel ride ... what a wonderful "happy!"

this is a wooden 1912 C.W. Parker carousel, fully restored and it is just gorgeous, and i am Happy on my favourite horse!

Hayley, riding Valiant, and trying to take pictures of me ... lol!

Vivienne, my favourite horse ... usually my daughter rides her, but this time I hopped on.

Valiant, directly ahead of Vivienne ... my daughter rode him this time.

I think this is Belle ...  isn't she a beauty?

and to complete the scene a 1925 fully restored Wurlitzer ... the tunes coming out of this could make even Scrooge happy!

My wish for all of you is a lifetime of "Happy to You's" ... Happy is such an amazing feeling ... so enjoy it, explore it and spread it around!
"Happy to you." ~ Hayley West

Saturday Centus ~ The Climb

okay, so i am really really late this week ...  but i figure it's better than not doing it at all (which is what i have been doing lately!)

And that darn Jenny!  This weeks was tough ... first we had to use a literary device, namely a cliffhanger, and on top of it we had to use the following prompt "hanging off a cliff."  and as usual, we had 100 words, plus the prompt words ... and I came in right on target at 104.  Here's my take ...

Hanging off a cliff  “keep moving” he thought, “don’t lose momentum,” as he dangled by two arms from the top of the cliff, a bead of sweat trickled into his eye, stinging.  A second passed in an hour, his arms began to shake.  “Focus!” he yelled at himself, knowing full well that his arms could only support his dead weight for a few more moments … he had underestimated the climb … a tragic mistake for any free style climber …he shifted his weight on to his right arm as his left hand searched for something other than sand and soil to grab onto.

Thanks so much for reading and commenting ... you know i love your comments!  Linking up to my favourite meme, Saturday Centus.  If you want to follow along, just click the Jenny button below!

Welcome Gentle Readers ...

Is it me, or is "gentle" one of those words that seems to be taking a back seat these days ... oh i can find lots of gentle's ... in the movies ... or in books ... and even quotes ... i just can't find the word in current culture ... it's rarely if ever, in the press,  the news, tv, radio and such ... It's not a term that I hear enough of ... and I long for it.  I long for a much gentler society, and much gentler world ...

Remember to be gentle with yourself and others. We are all children of chance and none can say why some fields will blossom while others lay brown beneath the August sun.


Kent Nerburn


Gentle blossoms kissed by early spring snow (photo taken 2 years ago)

Coming to you from Alphabe-Thursdays at Jenny's.  Just click the link below to read other much more interesting G posts (there i go, not being as gentle to myself as i should) ... Just click on the Jenny button below.