The simplicity of my day to day. |
This is where I write my thoughts, feelings and my daily trials, tribulations and happy things
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Let's talk of graves, of worms, and epitaphs; Make dust our paper and with rainy eyes Write sorrow on the bosom of the earth, Let's choose executors and talk of wills” ― William Shakespeare, Richard II Planning for the unknown is never easy but are we ever ready? Do we trust a family member or a friend or a lawyer? How ready are you? Don’t you just love Shakespeare? What a way of saying it’s time to write your will! Wills can be the cause of many a family upset. A few years ago I was executor of my mother-in-laws will. When her husband died a few years earlier he’d expressed in his will that everything was left to his wife but after she died their youngest son was to get everything. Now my husband is the oldest of the five children and neither he nor any of the other three were mentioned, it was as if they’d never existed. Anyway their mother had other ideas and left everything equally between the five of them. Of course the youngest wasn’t happy and said her will wasn’t valid. How horrible it was. Eventually her will was recognised but none of the family now have anything to do with the youngest brother. There should be no such difficulty with our wills. Three kids, equal shares. But there have been so many instances of people I know of who didn’t leave a will and the mess they leave behind because of this can be devastating. The moral of this story is: Make a will people, and pay a lawyer to be executor, that way there’ll be no family squabbles. |
Let this quote inspire your writing “The scariest moment is always just before you start." ― Stephen King I didn’t know this quote existed before today, but it seems that I’ve lived my life according to it. I think of so many times I’ve tried not to think too much about something and gone in, feet or headfirst, knowing if I gave it too much thought I would talk myself out of it. The biggie was leaving home. Not just home, my brothers, friends, my house but my country. Huge decision made and executed in three months. Scary as hell. Abseiling. I was the first to go when asked, “so who’s going first?” That would be because if I left it and watched others do it first then I would talk myself out of it. Scuba diving: same scenario. I think the most scared I’ve been in recent years of beginning something new was when I joined my local writing group. I thought I didn’t belong there. Everyone was better than I was. Who was I kidding? Yes life is scary, but we need to take a big breath and just Do It. |
Use these thoughts to write the worst structured poem you possibly can. Venting, ranting, or complaining about something, sickness or bodily dysfunction. Have fun! Crutches! They’re such a Pain. No hands free Even to go for a wee Is not easy. Struggling, muddling through. The days seems longer and I’m not Feeling stronger. Hey! stop your moaning and groaning. What are you? A wimp? Toughen up, sunshine, you’re not alone. Grow a bit more backbone. There’s always someone worse. That’s true I don’t even need a nurse Tomorrow’s another day Ain’t that what THEY say? Whoever THEY may be. So I’ll pick up my sticks and walk the walk, Or at least I’ll shuffle and talk the talk. Oh, dear crutches, soon I’ll be out of your clutches. |
prompt: " an old dog never learns new tricks" its a saying I've heard since I was a kid.is it a truthful thing to say? can us old dogs really not learn new tricks? or do we just not want to? write me a story, poem or rant about it, please! This prompt made me literally think of an old dog story. Our daughter had a puppy who we were going look after for them for a month. Now we’d had this lively little thing before and she’s what I’d call an in and out creature. No sooner was she in than she’d want to go out. I’d be up and down constantly. No rest with this dog. So when I found out we were expected to have a month of this, then we put in a dog door. However we have an old dog of our own. She’s happy to stay inside most of the time, so we’d never needed a dog door for her. So at ten years of age we tried to sell the concept of a dog door to her. She hated it, was scared of it. It led to me crawling through it myself to show her how it was done! Along came Gigi the Labradoodle. She came with her luggage, bed and toys to stay while her mummy and daddy went on vacation. She took to our doggy door like a duck to water and Lucy, our ten year old dog, watched on. Eventually she attempted to follow Gigi outside. She put head through first, then retreated. Next she went halfway through. Of course there’s no coming back from that, so a push on her bum saw her through. Nowadays Lucy loves her door. So you can teach an old dog new tricks. |
Day 3466: April 8, 2024 Prompt: Begin your entry with "What if..." What if the world was a kinder place? I’m not religious but I’m sure who or whatever envisioned and made this place, which is outstanding in its beauty, endless bounty and has everything a population of human beings could possibly need, surely has to be beyond disappointed. We are more informed than at any other time in evolution. We’re supposed to be more clever, more knowledgeable. We can cure illness and disease. But we aren’t kinder, thoughtful or more peaceful. People fight for land that isn’t theirs. There are multiple wars, children are being killed without a qualm it seems. I realise it’s a sweeping statement to make, but on the whole we as a population are slowly but surely ruining the world. In my country we have the Great Barrier Reef. The coral is being bleached at such a rapid rate that before too much longer it will be a dead zone and no one will want to visit. The sea turtles are being choked by micro plastics, caught up in discarded fishing nets and the crown of thorns starfish is proliferating because of the rising temperatures of the ocean and is killing whole coral reefs. It’s beyond sad. Rainforests are being felled in greater numbers each year and as the earth warms further, fires and floods are increasing. So what if nothing is done to stop the warming trend? I know the best minds are working on a solution but is it too late. What if it is? You know, there is something to be said for being old. That way I don’t have to witness the devastation of my beautiful planet Earth. 287wors. |
Use these words in your entry today: mystery, small, determine, escape, sailboat, storm and a bullet casing. A bullet casing counts as one word in this instance. It’s a mystery to me how I’ve got the energy to even write in my blog. Todays been very tiring as I’ve been helping my granddaughter and four great grandchildren move house. But I’m determined to at least have a crack at incorporating these words into this tale. It never fails to surprise me when I see all the ‘stuff’ people move from house to house. There were so much of the ‘stuff’ that will simply get ‘stuffed’ back in a drawer or cupboard until the next upheaval. I’m pretty sure there is such a thing as a man drawer in everyone’s home. It’s the drawer that holds dead batteries, screws, bullet casings, coins and old phones. There was one such drawer that I simply emptied into the garbage and just hoped for the best that no one ever looks for the ‘stuff’ ever again. I eventually escaped the storm and the turmoil which was her new place at five pm this afternoon. There was still a mountain of boxes to empty when I left with the promise I’ll come back soon.😂 (my fingers were crossed behind my back) Their new place backs on to the river which is almost dry as we’ve had no rain for almost four months, so I wouldn’t have been able to use my sailboat even if I owned one! I came home desperately in need of a glass of wine unable to even think what we were going to have for dinner and bless his heart my husband placed a glass in my hand and a plate of delicious stew he’d made. |
Day 3461: April 3, 2024 Prompt: “I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close.” Pablo Neruda, 100 Love Sonnets Let this quote inspire you blog entry today. These are beautiful words. How wonderful it must be to be able to write such language. Having read the quote several times I had to wonder what sort of love he was writing about. As much as I love my husband, after all we’ve been married 59 years and I met him when we were both sixteen, I can’t say, hand on heart, my feelings were ever that intense. I can’t imagine having someone who would put me on such a pedestal and I wouldn’t like it. The intensity would be too overwhelming. No, I don’t think it’s a love between a man and a woman the words are meant for. Humans are too fallible, we would surely disappoint such a lover because of that fact. We couldn’t keep up, the scales would drop from his eyes on those mornings before teeth are cleaned, breath freshened and ablutions completed. The only love which would do justice to those beautiful words and sentiments is the love a mother has for her child. Your hand upon my chest is my hand, now those sentiments I can imagine a mother experiencing as a new baby’s hand rests upon a breast. |
Prompt: Life Skills What does the term "life skills" mean to you? What life skills, hard or soft, have you developed that serve you the best? Hard skills are education, certifications, money-making, etc. Soft skills are problem-solving, time management, patience, gratitude, listening ability, etc. I’ve developed, but also lost life skills over my life. When I was a little girl I loved to do embroidery, my Auntie showed me how. That was when everyone used embroidered tablecloths and handkerchiefs. I haven’t done any for nearly seventy years so I’m sure that skill has gone. Knitting was another. I think the last thing I knitted was a beautiful sweater with a motorbike motif on the back for my boyfriend. It was a labour of love for sixteen year old me. His mother threw the woollen sweater into the washing machine into hot water! It shrunk to the size that would fit a six year old. One life skill I’ve learned over the years is the art of listening without advising, that’s a great skill, one which I use all the time. Another great skill is the art of making my house look visitor ready in five minutes. It really works so long as no one opens any cupboard doors! |