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 |   The simplicity of my day to day. |
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This is where I write my thoughts, feelings and my daily trials, tribulations and happy things
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| PROMPT November 16th This one will cover one of my favorite subjects, Food. Do you follow a certain regimen/diet when it comes to eating? Other than something you might be allergic to, are there any foods you avoid or limit yourself to? What's your favorite meal to prepare. Share your recipe if you like. (I have a 'killer' chocolate recipe!) Oh, it will be nice to talk food as John and I are on a ‘ten day lose ten pounds’ diet! We’re only on day three. John decided he was getting a bit of a belly, I think it’s because of the hormone therapy he’s on for prostate cancer. However because he’s always been slim, he’s not happy, so I’m joining him. I can always do with losing a bit of weight. Normally we eat a Mediterranean diet. Very little red meat, more chicken and fish. Loads of fruit and vegetables. John does have a sweet tooth though and we aren’t allowing ourselves any chocolate biscuits with our coffee. No alcohol 😳 I HATE dieting! I used to enjoy cooking for the family but now it’s just us two I don’t get the same pleasure out of it. Thinking of what to eat everyday and planning meals gets tedious. I’ll eat anything anyone else will prepare and serve me, just for the joy of not having to cook. When my husband was working away from home for eight months I almost lived on Subways🤣 |
| PROMPT November 15th You and your two best friends are going on a month-long road trip. Where are you going? What three items must be in your luggage for this trip to abe a great experience for you. This would be the road trip that was cancelled owing to you know what. 2020 was to be the road trip around England. Back home to see my family. But they were told it wasn’t just a trip to visit them. No, this was to go to all the places I never went to when I lived there for 28 years! This wasn’t a time to waste catching up and drinking tea, ( although I really wanted to do that too) After a week of catching up and drinking 🍵 we were to go to London. The tea drinking had been in Derbyshire. Tower Bridge, the Crown Jewels in fact all the places I had seen once but that was when I was a kid. I needed to see them again with the appreciation of adult eyes. Beefeaters, Guard changing at Buckingham Palace, all the touristy things, I was going to lap it up. Then from there Stone Henge. Yes I know it’s not as big as I thought, but I don’t care. Then the Lake District, Wordsworth Country. That’s a place I hadn’t been to. How crazy is that? I’d like to think I’d take a sketch pad and pencil to sit and draw and absorb these things and places. But, I’d probably wouldn’t. Money. That’s what I’d need to make these things special. Then I could stay at beautiful old Inns and hotels. I could experience everything, do tours with knowledgeable people, not have to pick and choose what I could afford. I’ve been to Shakespeare country before, seen his cottage etc but it was rushed. This time I was going to really take my time. Go to theatre shows, go to the Globe Theatre, absorb it all. Alas it wasn’t to be and now I’m not up to the long haul flight when and if it’s safe to fly. |
| PROMPT November 14th A Mystery Genre prompt tonight. You are researching your genealogy and find that ancestors from a different generations and different countries made visits to the same remote place. Tell us about this remote place. Why were your ancestors going there? Funny this should come up today, my son has decided to take up genealogy and wanted to know birth, marriage dates etc. Also yesterday we were discussing all our myriad of video tapes. Some of them date back over 40 years. I want to get them put on to USB sticks but my husband says it’s a waste of money and that no one will care about them when we’ve gone. I think they’re a treasured archive of our lives. Surely someone will care? Won’t they? As to the prompt, my family all went down the coal mines. Dirty stuff coal. Especially with global warming being so prevalent on everyone’s agenda. Maybe there was more than coal down there. Those men used to go down the shaft for ten hour shifts, generations of them. It was certainly a secret society, no one ever really knows what else went one, beside digging for black gold. |
| PROMPT November 13th A Science-Fiction type prompt tonight. In your world, all citizens are temporarily neutered at birth. When you want to become a parent, you must prove to the government that you’ll be suitable caretakers and providers before you are allowed to procreate. How do you 'prove to the government' that you'll be a good caretaker/parent. I’m not sure you can prove you would be capable of raising a child. I absolutely agree though there should be mandated parenting class for everyone thinking of pregnancy or adoption. I assume nobody looks at that newborn and says “you know what, baby? I’m going to make your life a misery!” But that’s what does happen to so many children. Despite their best intentions, parents often struggle and find it difficult, if not possible, to raise a happy child. If I was trying to prove to some panel of judges that I would be a good parent, I would first demonstrate my ability to create a peaceful and harmonious partnership with whoever I was intending to parent with. Perhaps there would be a stipulated time together before being allowed to apply for a parenting pass. Children need happy parents. I would need to prove we were financially stable. Not rich but certainly not living in poverty. Children require parents able to afford to supply their needs. |
| PROMPT November 11th A reminder I could say to myself before I’m tempted to respond to anger with anger, to fear with fear, to negativity with negativity is... Always count to ten. Remind yourself this is just one person’s opinion, you may not agree with something that someone says to you but they’re entitled to say it. Again, count to ten. It’s amazing just that small space before answering makes all the difference to one’s reaction. It gives you time to walk away from a situation if that’s what’s called for in the heat of the moment. Count to ten. This gives you time to repeat in your head what’s just been said. Did they really mean to insult, anger or distress? Quite often they didn’t. |
| You are desperate to use the bathroom. But, you share this with several others. It's down the hall (waaaay down the hall), and it's cold despite the heat being set to the 'normal' temperature. Being an older person, your legs and ability to hold it ain't what it used to be. How do you handle this dire situation? Well really it’s a no brainer. I’m old enough to know about toilets being waaaay down the backyard, never mind being down the hall. What did folks do then, especially in the middle of the night and the snow is six inches deep? Has everyone heard about a chamber pot? Also known as a guzunder (goes under the bed) Maybe the receptacle you would have to utilise in this prompts scenario isn’t made for purpose but I’m sure one could find something? When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go. |
| PROMPT November 10th Your neighbor’s hay crop is ready to harvest. Everyone in their family is sick and their Combine is broken. How do you respond to this situation? Is my Combine still working? Well, hopefully I would have the time in between getting my own hay crop in to bring in my neighbours too. Whatever I’ve heard about the farming community then there wouldn’t be a farmer who would watch a neighbours harvest go to waste. They pull together, for who knows who’s the next to need help. It may be me? Looking at this prompt makes me think of my neighbourhood. I know there are at least three of my close neighbours who would come to my aid if so needed. It goes without saying my husband and I will help anyone who needs us to help. No man is an island, as the saying goes. We all need help from others at sometime. |
| PROMPT November 9th You are having a very realistic dream. In this dream, you are approaching a castle. What unusual reason do you have to be at this castle? What do you say to the two guards standing outside it to gain entrance. The two guards are wearing bearskins on their heads, so I must be in London. The Queen is in residence, I know this as the Union Jack flag is flying full mast. I need to tell the Queen something really important. If only I could remember what it was I was supposed to tell her. I only know that the fate of humanity depends on my memory. Well, I could have told whoever it was that gave me this job, not to depend on me. My memory is getting worse. I’m sure I wrote it down, but I only find a shopping list in my hand. Tea, bread, dog food. I don’t suppose this is what the Queen needs to know? I stand at the gate and plead with the soldiers. “Let me in!” I scream. “The Queen will want to know this” The soldiers stare. They are inscrutable. Am I invisible? “You’ll be beheaded, you fools.” I jump up and down. Checking my pockets for the message I discover I have no pockets in this suit. , “Oh no! I’m naked.” |
| PROMPT November 8th What would you have to start doing now so that in 10 years you feel like you just had the best decade of your life? If I’m blessed to have another ten years, I’d like to do more of all the things I do now. More singing, more writing. Perhaps join the local theatre and perform on stage which I have always wanted to do. I’d have to take on character parts though, old women, crones, that sort of thing😳 I’d like to learn a musical instrument and play it well. Maybe the piano or guitar. I’d like to be physically able to do one of the world’s famous walks. I’d make a list of all the really high places in the world, I love heights, and would visit them all, so I could see the glory of nature with an unobstructed view. I’ll dream that these are all possible. |
| PROMPT November 7th Today's prompt is taken from a book I own. "Great Quotes From Great Leaders", published by Motorola, my employer. This one is from Norman Vincent Peale. "The trouble with most of us, is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism." Do you feel this is a valid statement? Tell us why you feel the way you do. People really hate to be criticised, even if it’s for their own good. Perhaps there’s a way to criticise without offending but no matter how it’s phrased, folk just recognise criticism, even when it’s sugar coated. Praise is great, but only when it’s deserved. For example people get praised in reviews for work that’s at best ok, but not actually praiseworthy. Does that ruin the writer? That may be going too far, but it may prevent that writer from examining the work, listening to suggestions and making improvements. I’ve noticed these days children get praised for just turning up. Comparing my school days with today’s, I notice one big difference. We used to know exactly where we were on the ladder. We actually were given a number to say where we sat. There were usually forty, or even more kids in classes. To be number one, or even in the top ten was wonderful. Not that I ever reached such greatness. But can you imagine how number forty felt? That was hard luck if they felt bad. That was life. I’m not sure kids today could tolerate being graded in such a black and white way. So yes I do believe that too much praise can hold back a person from striving for improvement, however too much harsh criticism can crush. Maybe there is a middle ground, a way to encourage without flattery. |
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