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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Blogging Circle of Friends " Day 3637 October 29 What are you writing in November? I’m just happy/relieved that October will be over. There are going to be new challenges, prompts and activities on WdC which don’t involve Halloween. I know I’m in the minority, but I’m not a fan of the event myself. I don’t begrudge the children of all the fun of dressing up and everything else which goes along with it, but as it wasn’t a thing in the UK when I was a kid it just doesn’t resonate. At this time of the year we were getting excited for Bonfire night or Guy Fawkes night. We would be saving all our pennies for fireworks, making bonfire toffee, building the biggest bonfire we could make and creating a guy to place on the top to burn. The bonfire would be a great excuse for all neighbours to get rid of anything that would burn. All the kids would be dressed warmly, waiting for the first fireworks to be lit. The sky would be filled with smoke and the air with the sounds of rockets as they screamed skyward. Penny bangers would make people scream as naughty boys would light them and throw them at the girls legs. All this takes place five days after Halloween, so that’s probably why it never really took off in England. However I’m sure it’s popular now, as it is worldwide, and that Bonfire Night has lost some of the joy that we innocent, social media lacking, breed of kids delighted in back then 80 years ago. |
Blogging Circle of Friends " DAY 3641 October 23, 2024 Use these words in your prompt today: selection, onions, potatoes, food recalls, awareness, and listeria. Well these are a great selection of suggested words today. They make me think of the impending summer season here in Australia. The warmer months and picnics, barbecues and flies. Yes, those pesky flies can ruin an outdoor event like nothing else can. The foods which call for the most awareness in the heat are those which need to be refrigerated at all times, like meat and especially chicken. There’s nothing worse than a platter of mixed items which have been standing in the sun. Wilted lettuce, cheese which has either dried up or melted come to mind. One needs to watch out for soft cheeses when pregnant or Listeria is a possibility. When I was pregnant with my babies no one knew anything about Listeria and all the other warnings new mums to be get told to watch out for these days. Sometimes there are food recalls when something gets contaminated. There was a case of a recall here last year when a fruit picker/packer decided to put sewing needles in strawberries! Thousands of punnets of fruit were recalled or dumped before dispatching them to the stores. If you really want to play safe, then stick to onions and potatoes, you really can’t go wrong. |
"Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Day 3261--October 21th, 2024 Prompt: Contacting the Dead How would you like if we lived in a world where contacting the dead were as easy as making a phone call? Who would you contact: family, friends, or any famous persons from the past? Tonight, about three hours ago I received a call from my son. His wife’s mother had called her a few minutes before to say my daughter-in-law’s father had just dropped dead! He’d been absolutely fine a few minutes before, then he’d just said he was feeling strange, then he stood up from his chair and literally dropped dead. His poor wife was left to give him CPR as well as calling an ambulance. Both their daughters live far away in different states. I’m sure my daughter-in-law and her mother wish with all their hearts they could just pick up a phone and call him, to ask him what happened and if he was ok wherever he was. I suppose that’s the only reason to contact the departed, to find out what happens after we take our last breath. We need reassurance that they didn’t suffer and to be able to say a proper goodbye. I hope I get to say a final goodbye, either when it’s my turn to go, or if anyone I love goes on before me. I was in Australia when my mother died in England. I never got to say goodbye to her. If I could, I’d give her a call today to let her know how many grandchildren I have now and great grandchildren too. I know she’d be surprised.😳 She is the only dead person who I’d want to contact, just to tell her how much I loved her and how much I still think of her today. |
Having fun with random words: pickle, sickle, laboratory lavatory, milk, silk, conference and reference. Have fun!
I’m in a bit of a pickle right now as I had my second cataract operation yesterday. The only way I can read now is if I expand the text size on my iPad. My distance sight is wonderful though, but It’ll be several weeks before I can get an eye test to get new glasses for reading. Then last night a mosquito bit me on my other eyelid and it’s swollen almost shut! Annoyingly I spilt milk on my silk pillow which was yet another aggravation. The weeds in my garden after the winter rains have flourished, it will take a sickle to clear some parts, but my husband isn’t yet up to getting in the garden after his bout with Covid last week. He’s still coughing and we’re waiting for the laboratory results to see if he has pneumonia. His cough has kept us both awake at night which led us getting up and visiting the kitchen several times for drinks, paracetamol and cough medicine as well as visits to the lavatory whilst we’re up. For future reference I should remind myself to wear a mask when going to the stores whilst this new Covid strain is going around the town and instead of having family visits with little kids with coughs and colds we should perhaps have a Zoom conference. |
"Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Day 3256 October 16, 2024 Prompt: "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion." Dolly Parton Steel Magnolias Write about this in your Blog entry today There have been so many times when it’s been difficult to tell if I was happy, sad, or even in pain! I think I’ve cried through all those times. You know those times when you’ve fallen off your bike or stubbed your toe and although you’re in pain you realise it’s your stupidity and the pain will soon disappear. It’s laughing at yourself through tears. I’ve cried when sad too, perhaps at a funeral when someone tells a funny anecdote about the deceased which makes you smile through the tears. But the best time is at the birth of a new baby, whether it’s been my own, my grandchildren or great grandchildren, the emotions are strong, overwhelming even and I’ve cried through each event. Mostly for relief that it’s over and the mum and baby are safe, and just for the miracle of birth and at the moment the new baby looks around at this world. |
Prompt: Songs What do you think of song lyrics in general and which songs have vivid memories for you? Also, do you remember if any song taught you anything about life? https://youtu.be/DmBSGlXqC4Q?si=IPSWuyZT-r-QZNtA I love song lyrics. I think the reason I’m not keen on many modern songs is because I can’t tell what they’re singing. The music may sound great and make you want to hum along but I need the words. I like songs with a meaning, songs that mean something to me. Songs that make me want to smile, dance, be sad or make me emotional. Even the song ‘I still call Australia Home,’ makes me cry, even when they are playing it on the Qantas ad! There are so many songs I can’t really choose. Anything off Norah Jones first couple of albums would be ok. The song lyrics I’ve chosen are from I hope you dance.’ There are many singers who have sung this, but it’s the words which I like and the sentiment. “If you have the chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.’ |
"Blogging Circle of Friends " Day 3633 October 14 Have you ever gotten lost when going to a party or a friend's house? What happened? My husband and I were invited to a friend’s Golden Wedding Anniversary party. It was being held quite a distance from where we live and so we decided to take our caravan and stay the night at the local caravan park. The village where our friends lived was in the country, with very few street lights. The caravan park was quite large, but empty when we arrived. So we parked up, before taking a walk around to stretch our legs. A wedding function was being set up at the back of the park, with tables and chairs and a floral arch for the nuptials. Anyway we set out to find the hall where our party was being held and as it wasn’t far we decided to walk. Being summer it still wasn’t dark. We passed a large group of stone garden gnomes at the entrance to the park which was down a gravely road off the main road. We commented how strange to see all those gnomes and wondered where they came from. So after the party finished around midnight we said our goodbyes and set off back to the park. Well, what we hadn’t considered was how dark it was going to be. We hadn’t brought a torch with us and had no idea of where we were. I’ve never seen darkness so dark! No matter how we tried to see it was impossible. I held on to my husband’s hand as we tried to navigate our way back to the caravan. I was sure we were about to drop down a hole in the road. Then at last I saw a gnome! Yes! This was the entrance to the gravel road. If those gnomes hadn’t been there we would have missed it. We began to speculate they may have been lost travellers who had been turned into stone! Eventually, relieved we reached the park. The wedding party was in full swing. There were party lights, music, laughter and dancing. It was great to be back where there was some life after our scary ordeal. We went to bed. A few hours later the loud voices shouting woke us up. There were sounds of a fist fight. Swearing, shouting, a woman screaming. Then the sounds of gunshots! We hunkered down in bed expecting a bullet to come flying through the flimsy exterior of our van at any moment. It transpired the wedding had been gate crashed by the brides ex! The police arrived. After a few hours everything calmed down. The police left and then screeching car tyres told us everyone was leaving. We were left in peace until morning. We then hightailed it out of this one horse town, never to return. |
What rapidly unraveling situation have we been plunked us into, anyway? You know that little voice in your head that is constantly reminding you / us what we should be doing instead of blogging.... it's your blog, you tell us.. Life for me has slowed considerably over the last few years. My health has needed attention and this year has been making sure it’s as good as it could be. Over the last eighteen months I’ve undergone two major surgeries requiring months of rehabilitation, plus my cataracts surgeries, (they were no biggie but on top of all the physiotherapy just another thing that needed doing.) I’ve had dental work, skin cancer checks and treatments, and soon to have an endoscopy to check my Barrett’s oesophagus. Then there have been family dramas, family housing problems and a sick dog! These have all taken my attention away from writing and yet I visit WdC each day and continue to write something new each week for contests. There is always something to take me away from writing, blogging and keeping in touch with the daily news here on WdC, something I ought to be taking care of but that’s called life isn’t it? |
Use these words in your entry today :ghouls, fools, meander, witches, snitches, strew, tales and sales. October prompts are difficult for me as I actually don’t like Halloween. I know that might be hard for the citizens of the USA to believe. I was raised in a country and in a time when it wasn’t on my radar at all. I’ve also seen the hype getting bigger each year in Australia but only over the last decade or so. WdC insists we write about witches and ghouls. and Ghostly tales in our posts. I took a meander through the available current contests like a fool, expecting there to be something not pertaining to Halloween strewn throughout the entire site. But as I feared I was setting myself up for failure. Each year I feel as if I ought to snitch to the StoryMaster and put in a complaint but that would be rather petty, after all who am I to begrudge the pleasure millions of people get from writing poems and stories about a Celtic pagan festival from 1200 years ago? And the sales of cheap plastic decorations destined to pollute the rivers and oceans will keep growing exponentially. Signed the Grinch🤷♀️ |
Prompt:"Better 3 hours too early then a minute too late. " William Shakespeare Write about this quote in your Blog entry today. Ooh, I don’t know the truth in this quote. Although I hate to be late, and I’m almost never late, to be there three hours before being expected wouldn’t be great would it? Imagine you were hosting a dinner party and the guests decided to arrive three hours before time. Wow any host or hostess would not be happy would they? Being late I find is extremely rude. What makes anyone think their time is more important than that other person waiting somewhere? If you’re going to be late then at least let your date know to expect to be waiting for you. My children learned the hard way about not turning up on time. Their father would tell them he’d be picking them up from their friends, a shopping expedition or the cinema etc when they were in their teens. If they weren’t there when he arrived at the agreed time he’d give them five minutes then he’d leave and they had to find their own way home! He only had to do it once. I have a friend who is always late. So confident I am that she will not be there on time that I automatically add thirty minutes to the time we agreed on. So don’t be three hours early but at least try to get there on time. |