Friday, September 30, 2011

Friday Retro


LOL...I bet the Star Chief got a lot of mileage from this ad!  A roomy backseat is one heck of a selling point.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Thursday Short Story Slam - Bubbles


Bubbles.  Dia cringed and slunk back to the communal dressing room.  Those damn soapy circles had gotten her in more trouble through her lifetime, yet she could seem to get away from them.

As a kid, more than one of her mother’s temporary friends had given her a bottle of the liquid laughs.  Usually it came with a quick shove and a terse “go out and play will ya.”  What those winner friends seem to forget, or really probably didn’t give a rat’s ass about, was that they lived in Minneapolis, MN and for more months out of the year than not, it was freaking cold.  

Below zero cold.   In the dead of winter the weather was not really conducive for a young girl to be running around outside, blowing bubbles.  So her solution was just to do them in her room.  She’d sit on the older than her mattress and blow those soapy wonders into the air; dreaming about a time that wouldn’t be so bad.

Dia watched her reflection in the beat up old mirror as she applied more mascara to her already dark lashes.  God, those bubbles would piss her mom off something fierce.  When she would finally totter her way into Dia’s room, stinking of cigarettes, booze, and sex, she would scream a blue streak about the sticky, soap scum left on the battered up hardwoods.

Dia had learned to scrub floors by the age of six.

The squeak of the ancient door to her right drew her attention away from her face and to that of her best friend, Tika. 

“You’re on in five, D.  Don’t forget the non-skid shoes this time.  I just don’t know how you dance on that wet floor?  The bubbles are cool and all, but damn dangerous if ya ask me.”

Dia tuned out her friend, who would continue unimpeded if she wasn’t interrupted, and returned to doing her make-up.  Yeah, sure, bubbles are cool. 

Hell, maybe they were if you weren’t Dia’Mond  Barkawetz.  Yes, that was her real name.  What her mother had been thinking, she’d never know.  The name was as much of a pain as the damn bubbles were in her life.

“D, honey, you’re almost on and your face is only half done. “  Tika stepped to her side and turned the chair away from the mirror.  “Here, let me finish up for you.  The lashes are, well, dark.  Girl, did you forget what you were doing?  You’ve got to come back to me now, ya hear?  It’s just one more night, D.”

“You always say that, Tika. Yet here we still are.”  Dia looked up at her friend, who was franticly applying blush, shadow and lipstick in swift strokes.

“And I always mean it, D.  Unfortunately, the economy is still not in our favor and our Prince has yet to come…but he will, doll.  He will.”

Dia could hear her music starting as Tika pulled her from her seat and straightened the barely there top and bottom.  She dragged her to the stage where a bucket of suds waited and the room out front was filling with bubbles.  The suds were placed over each breast and the front of her panties and she was pushed on stage right before the spot light hit her.  The smile went on, the suds came off and she got to know the pole a whole lot better, but the entire time she stared up at those soapy wonders and dreamed about a time that wouldn’t be so bad.

~~~

Stop by Bluebell Books for more short story slams and more...

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Wednesday Word of the Day


Augury (au-gu-ry)

noun :: The art or practice of foretelling events; divination.

noun :: An omen; prediction; prognostication; indication of the future; presage.

~Hmmm, I once started a story about a lady wolf who practiced the art of augury...I need to find that again and see what else Branwen has to tell me for her story.  :)   Silly fact:  I can't say the word divination without attaching a really bad English accent to it!  LOL ~

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Livin' With it Tuesday...

So I spent much of Sunday playing with my blog.  (Yes, Bree, it is addicting!  ;)  Now I'm forcing myself to stop, drop and live with it for awhile...you know, see if it's me. 

I tried out a ton of different looks and backgrounds.  Pictures, abstracts and colors galore graced these pages, but the black was too black, the gray was not black enough, the purple was distracting - the red was sexy, just not quite right and the white...well, no thanks.

So I finally tried the gold and it seem to fit, especially with the B/W picture I wanted to use.  Of course, I still have to take my livin' with it time to know for sure, but so far so good.  I think this might be the one that sticks...unless I fix the white part of the picture.  LOL

I have a feeling I will be forever changing this baby!  Change is good - right?

What about you out there...do you like to change your blogs with the changing of the seasons?  As the urge grabs you or never, ever, ever!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Friday Retro...


Someone needs to put the hanky down, grab herself the beer and tell bubba to have dinner on the table in 30 minutes or less... 

LOL, yeah, I wouldn't have done well back then.  ~wink~

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Wednesday Word of the Day


Pleonasm \PLEE-uh-naz-uhm\, noun:
1. The use of more words than are necessary to express an idea; as, "I saw it with my own eyes."
2. An instance or example of pleonasm.
3. A superfluous word or expression.

~Huh, so this is the name of my run-on sentence problem!  LOL  Yes, I find plenty of pleonasm's during editing - which I suppose it the point of that step.  :)  See, now when I come across a pleonasm I'll know the name of the thing rather than calling it a crappy sentence.   ;)~

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Tuesday Teaser

 Here's a fun tease for this Tuesday morning...  I surprised myself by actually getting this one right!  Woot!

Good Luck and have fun!

~~~~
Risen

I'm seven times seventy,
Plus a decade more.
This has all happened before.
Red and gold, I am no liar.
My nursery will be made
From my funeral pyre.

Who am I?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Want a hint?

I'm a mythical creature.
.
.
.
.
.
Answer:
The phoenix!

The phoenix, in mythology, is a fabulous bird that periodically regenerated itself, used in literature as a symbol of death and resurrection. According to legend, the phoenix lived in Arabia; when it reached the end of its life (500 years), it burned itself on a pyre of flames, and from the ashes a new phoenix arose. As a sacred symbol in Egyptian religion, the phoenix represented the sun, which dies each night and rises again each morning. According to Herodotus, the bird was red and golden and resembled an eagle.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Sunday Scribblings - Easy



“Easy peasy, lemon squeezy,” Josie whispered as she dotted the last “i” and crossed the final “t” on her application.  College-bound some twenty years too late, but back she was going.  No more excuses.  Her daughter was eying graduate schools, her job was about to be flushed and the last date she’d been on was with a man who’d spent the night canonizing his mother. 

It was time to make some changes in her life.

Josie packed up her purse, grabbed the finished paperwork and tossed her empty Styrofoam coffee cup into the trash.  Instead of requesting an application by mail or downloading one she’d gone to the school and filled it out there—reducing the chances of chickening out. 

One thing she hadn’t counted on was the overwhelming fear washing over her body as she stood in line at the registrar’s office.  How could she do this? She thought, holding the packet of paper up in front of her.  She was too old to immerse herself in college life.  Her eyes darted to the dyed, pierced and tattooed youth walking passed her—she could be each and every one of their mothers.

“All you have to do is turn it in to the lady at the desk, beautiful.  It’s easy…”  The hushed voice filled her head even as his large warm body surrounded her from behind—touching, yet not.

Find more at Sunday Scribblings

Friday, September 16, 2011

Friday Retro


Well this is hardly subliminal.  Oye, but the vintage ads.  LOL

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Stand Still if You Will, My Friends


This picture prompt had me gulping...children's lit, not what I typically write.  I did some silly stories when my Darling Diva was small, but that's it...

So here goes...attempting new things helps us grow as writers, right?  ~wink~

~~~

“Stand still if you will, my friends
Just chill, just chill
Look at my bill, don’t race up the hill
Just chill, just chill.”

“First you, little B,
Then Thumper right after
Don’t look at the flash
Quack…I’m getting a rash.”

“Donald, hey Donald…
look at me, look at me”
“Stop taunting me Chip
I’m busy, you see…”

“Just one quick shot,
Of little old me…”

“Go back to the forest, C
Just let me be…”

“Meanee, meanee,
Be-bo-beanee.
Pic-a-pec-a
Ne-no-neanee”

“All I wanted was a picture
Of my silly, silly face,
Why don’t you like me?
Donald, your grace.”

“I like you just fine,
Chip, Chip-o-roo…
Go stand next to B
I’ll take one of you too…”

As the group gathered close
“All smiles” called the host,
The blub flashed bright,
Sending the group skittering into mad flight.

~~~
More posts at  Bluebell Books Blog

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Wednesday Word of the Day

Aplomb \uh-PLOM\, noun:
Assurance of manner or of action; self-possession; confidence; coolness.

~Aplomb is from the French word meaning "perpendicularity, equilibrium, steadiness, assurance," from the Old French phrase a plomb, from a, "according to" (from Latin ad) + plomb, "lead weight" (from Latin plumbum, "lead").~

LOL...you know I wouldn't associate self-possession and lead weight.  ~smile~

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Tuesday Brain Teaser

Mmm...too good of a picture not to use!  ;)
I'm a ten-letter word, but when I am heard,
It is a surprise, but I'm half that size.

My first sound is found when half isn't around.
When a pair is amiss, the other is called this.

The second has one where normally two form a pair.
You will get the nod if you look in a pod.

Together, my fifth and third hold music that is heard.
A pair you are seeking, alphabetically speaking.

And the fourth sound, it will be found
If you look where I send, in the middle of end.

What word am I?

Hint??

There are five letters that sound just like a word of ten letters. The word
means fitness or appropriateness to the purpose at hand.


Answer:

Expediency (XPDNC)

The five letters, XPDNC, sound just like the ten-letter word expediency.

After a divorce (a couple is amiss), the former partner is called an ex (X).

Normally there are two peas in a pod, but here we just want one pea (P).

C and D are beside each other in the alphabet, and together hold music as a CD.

In the middle of END is the letter N.

 


Sunday, September 11, 2011

Sounds of Silence

Such a powerful and moving moment in this mornings memorial.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Short Story Slam - Love Divine




The sails unfurled; yet I need.
The winds billow; he takes the lead.
Shall I see him again; will he return?
His touch upon my body, must I unlearn?

A piece of my heart is with him now
And ever shall it be, that is my vow.
Every ship I see on the great big blue
Reminds me of my time with you.

The days flow by, becoming weeks
The love in my heart springs from tiny leaks.
Months become years
My mind knows fears.

No longer in my youth, indeed
I now accept the truth, I’m freed.
I know pirate-mine,
Though painful, this forever love has been divine.

Read more Short Story Slams at Bluebell Books.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Wednesday Word of the Day


darkle \DAHR-kuhl\, verb:
1. To grow dark, gloomy, etc.
2. To appear dark; show indistinctly.

Darkle is a back-formation from the obsolete darkling, "to be in the dark.

~Definitely a good word to use in a vamp story.  :) ~

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Tuesday Tickle





Sooo....my tickle is two-fold today.  First, it is Back to School!!!  Yay, yay and rah, rah!  Sure, I love having my Darling Diva home with me during the summer, it gives us a chance to rebond and talk about just anything and everything.  We get to play games, watch movies and even discover new things that we each like...

Speaking of those new things, this is where my second tickle comes in...

So this summer, DD found a new singer whose songs she adores.  She has even had me listening to this singer.  And while I'm not on the adore side of the fence, I will say the songs are pretty darn good.  Thanks DD for suggesting I give Selena Gomez a try.

Now, in turn, I introduced DD to a little old show I loved as a kid - The Dick Van Dyke show.  Guess what, she likes it.  She told her Gma it was her new favorite show.  (Those words were part of my tickle)  Last night. however, as she sat stressing about going back to school, she watched the episode where Rob lost his wife, Laura every time the insurance guy came over or called.  And with the straightest face I've ever seen on DD, she looked at me and said...  "Why doesn't he just call her on her cell phone?"

Now after I got done laughing and caught my breath, I was able to calmly explain that in the 60's cell phones weren't even a glimmer in their inventors eye...shoot, for all I know, the cell phone inventor may not even have been born yet!

I love when I hear my kiddo or any kiddo's these days say things like that.  It reminds me of how much things have changed and how much more they will change.  Change is good, but back to school is better, and the schools really need to keep on top of those history classes!