tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15733718113681883932024-03-13T04:31:41.942-07:00[Ginny] Romney's [insert topic here] Rants!Compulsive talker, singer, reader Ginny Romney shares her thoughts as the queen of the peanut gallery. A reformed pessimist writing her (hopefully) funny life story full of mishaps, travel and adventure.
Champion for AP Style. (Except for "okay.") Comments are appreciated, hate tweets cherished.Ginny-Gin-Ginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10340903080612520657noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1573371811368188393.post-90193447329844458542016-05-27T09:28:00.000-07:002016-05-27T09:28:06.241-07:00In which Ginny becomes a Duckling<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<i>This weekend I'm going to Duck Beach! I'm super excited to go again — this is a blog post I wrote after I first went two years ago and I never got the photos to work how I wanted and so I was too lazy to post it. I thought it would be fun to post it anyway. Here you go!</i><br />
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No, not in the classic fairytale sense, in the LDS-version of Spring Break sense! If you haven’t watched the documentary <a href="http://www.duckbeachmovie.com/" target="_blank">From Duck Beach to Eternity</a> (don’t worry, I haven’t either) let me enlighten you:<u></u><u></u></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of seashells. And tide pools (not pictured).</td></tr>
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Duck Beach is in Outer Banks, North Carolina. There are more beach houses then I have ever seen and they are practically mansions. During Memorial Day Weekend, single Mormons (members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) from the Eastern sea-board (and farther west!) flock to Duck Beach in droves, rent houses with their friends and many shenanigans commence. As a friend put it, "Duck beach: where you can spend time with your closest 500 Mormon friends."<br />
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From what I’ve heard, there’s always a New York house and that’s where a lot of the craziness goes down. My reports tell me that there was also a Tennessee house, a San Francisco house, a Utah house and multiple DC houses.<u></u><u></u></div>
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My friend Ashley decided to put a house together. And I kind of helped. Well, I was more like emotional support and helped with groceries.<u></u><u></u></div>
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Our house, aptly nicknamed “Procrastinator’s Paradise”, wasn’t open until Saturday but we were lucky enough to tack ourselves on to another house Friday night so we could set up and get all that pesky driving out of the way. Traffic was horrendous, but being at the beach was totally worth it! (Plus I’m from Arizona. I’m used to driving hours to get to the closest beach.) I wanted to check out the Atlantic ocean the moment we got there but it was late and started raining shortly after we arrived. The lightning was magnificent, but I knew my mom would kill me if I stayed outside for long. If I had a better camera (meaning, if I had an actual camera instead of my phone camera . . . .), I would post pictures. Just imagine monsoon-worthy lightning. It was lovely.<u></u><u></u><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Duck Doughnuts! <br />
One of our friends brought them Saturday morning.<br />
They're a delicious tradition (or so I'm told).</td></tr>
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I went to the beach first thing in the morning. I think that the beach is the most therapeutic place in the world. If I went once a month, I’m sure I’d be a lot saner than I am, haha. (Or less stressed? I don’t think I’m *actually* crazy. Just for the record.)<u></u><u></u></div>
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Differences I saw between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean:<u></u><u></u></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Atlantic Ocean!</td></tr>
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So, this wasn’t my first time in the Atlantic. Last summer, I got to dip my toes from Bath’s rocky shore, so the Atlantic from sandy Whalehead Beach was different in that regard. I’ve heard the Atlantic is warmer than the Pacific. Maybe it’s just early in the season, but they seem to be the same temperature to me. That didn’t stop me from going in, of course! Being in the waves is one of my favorite things, even if it got a little rough Monday.<u></u><u></u></div>
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There seemed to be more wildlife. The beach was full of little holes where crabs live. In the morning, the beach was covered with little crab tracks from their scurrying.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Home sweet home!</td></tr>
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The birds were my favorite. They would stay along the tide to eat something, I’m guessing, although I never saw what it was. They would run around on their little stick legs and then, when the wave was too big for them, they would all fly away, glide for a second, and then find a new spot where the tide was less intense.</div>
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Not everything was alive, though. Friday night’s storm brought a dead form of ray to the beach.</div>
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The next day, he was gone. The sea giveith and the sea taketh away.<u></u><u></u></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheerwine counts as wine, right?</td></tr>
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A lot of Saturday was spent taking care of house business. This was perfect because I am a pale who sunburns after three minutes in the sun. Ashley and I went to Food Lion, which is a grocery store. We were able to pick up this North Carolina exclusive soda called Cheerwine. Apparently it’s a big deal (Ashley was very adamant that we buy some.) Honestly, it tasted like cream soda to me. Others thought it tasted like cherry cream soda. Either way, it was good, especially as a creamsicle.</div>
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Saturday night, the Utah house got a sound permit for a dance party on the beach. It was, without a doubt, the most fun I’ve ever had at a dance. I don’t know if it was because it was under the stars, or because it was so dark no one could see my horrible dance moves, or if it was because it was on the beach and so everyone was uncoordinated and stumbling, but it was a blast! I laughed so hard. It was great! Only low point: they played Blurred Lines. I don’t know how anyone can listen to that song in good conscience, but that’s a rant for another time. [NOTE: When I first wrote this post, Weird Al's parody "Word Crimes" hadn't come out yet. I submit that it's much better song and now you can like the song and learn a thing or two about grammar.]<u></u></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The other people from our house may have wimped out, but we kept dancing!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Go Seahawks! Amen!</td></tr>
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Sunday we drove to Kitty Hawk for church in a junior high school! Apparently, the local branch rents out the junior high during Memorial Day weekend because there are so many young single LDS members for church that week.</div>
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The lost colony of Roanoke was nearby so I convinced everyone in my car that we HAD to go there.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Site of a Pre-Colonial alien abduction?!</td></tr>
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Cliff notes version for those of you who snoozed through American history: once upon a time, England sent men, women and children to the new world. They set up a colony in Roanoke. After a while, they ran out of supplies and sent the governor, John White, back to England to help them out. They decided on a sign, a Maltese cross, as a signal for danger. It took White a longer time than he expected to get back to the colony. By the time he arrived, the colony was deserted, there wasn’t a sign of anyone, including his daughter and granddaughter, Virginia Dare, the first English child to be born in America. The only thing that was left behind was two words carved into a tree and a post: “Cro” and “Croatoan.” White had to leave before conducting extensive searches because of a storm and the doomed colonists were never heard from again. Makes you grateful for modern technology, huh? I’m glad we don’t have to mess around with carving trees anymore.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smile, something bad happened here!</td></tr>
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Once we were home, it was mostly about relaxation. A lot of our housemates went down to the beach and I told a couple of fortunes (although maybe one shouldn’t divine on the Sabbath . . .)<u></u><u></u></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the fortune-seekers drew my caricature as payment.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise . . .</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_okdkS0_A8VjEogy9UDQ8qLYdUfi4kly1Jdqd1hPDMtB-UVkVjhkdxh9mMqG0CW10h8-dA5n-o2aKmHf1RBGnGsGOzzyX9cGDedVK1d75ZWy5BQrlcbO2eogtpkq1BiU9meTHaTl0qZZg/s1600/IMG_20140527_205300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_okdkS0_A8VjEogy9UDQ8qLYdUfi4kly1Jdqd1hPDMtB-UVkVjhkdxh9mMqG0CW10h8-dA5n-o2aKmHf1RBGnGsGOzzyX9cGDedVK1d75ZWy5BQrlcbO2eogtpkq1BiU9meTHaTl0qZZg/s1600/IMG_20140527_205300.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset (from the previous day.)</td></tr>
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Monday was a beach day. I woke up early to see the sunrise (quite a feat for me!) It was beautiful to see the sun kiss the ocean good morning.</div>
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Often I prefer sunsets (I’m not an early riser and sunrises are almost always orange. What’s up with that?) but I was glad to see the peaceful tide. The beach was almost entirely devoid of human footprints, but, in a couple of hours, the beach was a social scene! There were so many characters, including five guys in short, matching swim trunks. Couples were getting together and vying for attention which made people watching a glorious pastime.</div>
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I spent the whole day at the beach and then we drove home.</div>
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Before I sign off, I know you’re all dying to know: did I find romance at Duck Beach, a place famous for stormy make-outs (and, well, other things)?! Sorry kids, the only romance I internalized was the tragedy of Hazel and Augustus in <i>The Fault in Our Stars</i> by John Green. I cried salty tears by the salty waves. Oh, and the much-sadder-then-I-was-<wbr></wbr>expecting untimely love of Helen Loomis and Bill Forrester in <i>Dandelion Wine</i> by Ray Bradbury. Next beach trip I am taking fluffier beach reads; I need some escapism every now and again! Recommendations are always appreciated! (Unless I get a little more adventuresome and find myself a beach fling. But that seems like a lot more work and a little more awkward!) And I hope the beach blessed some of my friends in their blossoming Duck love. Only time will tell!<br />
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Ginny-Gin-Ginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10340903080612520657noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1573371811368188393.post-34695416448805088802015-07-31T11:49:00.000-07:002015-07-31T12:20:20.570-07:00Window to the Soul<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix_bACoQbVWRov0vpTrpglRTZUejhSCG7vnE5L6yz6LJ4xhVFLNHdkrpbTSh7bUqbtTbPJy3wxg9vGABYqp6h4u67Wn-_VTqSwSeCUUO95foYOyJCNJV-Mph5YivpWyUABV0oWQDXcv6mr/s1600/1610950_592225594254084_9156079637059161303_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix_bACoQbVWRov0vpTrpglRTZUejhSCG7vnE5L6yz6LJ4xhVFLNHdkrpbTSh7bUqbtTbPJy3wxg9vGABYqp6h4u67Wn-_VTqSwSeCUUO95foYOyJCNJV-Mph5YivpWyUABV0oWQDXcv6mr/s320/1610950_592225594254084_9156079637059161303_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I first saw this picture, I thought of writing an X-Files fanfiction, but, seeing as it’s Harry Potter’s 35th birthday, I thought I’d go further back in my fandom roots. Here’s something (loosely!) based off of J.K. Rowling’s beloved world.</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-a19779b8-e570-e7cb-de25-c2c0656b9d4f" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I enter the room, the excitement is a tingle in my skin. The light dims gradually and the air is a touch chiller, causing the couples to snuggle closer to one another. How romantic.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There he is. I’ve searched for him for days now.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I greet him by encircling my hands around his neck and bestowing a kiss </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">–</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> long and hard. My mouth encompasses his completely, my jaw latches over part of his. His eyes open wide then go black, windows now veiled forever as I taste his soul. The sweetness lingers on the back of my tongue.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This Flash Fiction Friday was inspired by dementors and the accompanying photo found by Kat!e Larson. Read the other lovely Flash Fiction Friday stories at the links below!</span></div>
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<a href="http://heartmindthoughtsemotions.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brianne Dosch</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> * </span><a href="http://rudwrite.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tiffany Jones</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> * </span><a href="http://katesnovelidea.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kat!e Larson</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> * </span><a href="http://qsstoryblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Quinlyn Shaughnessy</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> * </span><a href="http://ladyvioletsblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lady Violet</span></a>Ginny-Gin-Ginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10340903080612520657noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1573371811368188393.post-69908128234144808432015-06-20T21:22:00.000-07:002015-06-20T21:22:11.192-07:00Home Noir<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thunder shook the building and a tall brunette walked into the room. His face was rugged, not what I normally went for, but it did something for me.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He cleared his throat.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Can I help you?” I was in the business of helping people, but a little reminder never hurt anyone.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Babe, you know if he takes that experiment to school, he’ll never hear the end of it.” He was awfully familiar. I liked that.</span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-d7fbab54-13f2-524c-fff0-6212e65625db"><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You don’t need to say another word,” I replied. It wasn’t my idea to destroy it. But it was my job to get it done.</span></span><br />
<span><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">This Flash Fiction Friday was inspired by the amazing thunderstorm out my window and the prompt: </span></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">"It wasn't my idea to destroy it. But it was my job to get it done." from <a href="http://mandywallace.com/">mandywallace.com</a>.</span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Read the other lovely Flash Fiction Friday stories</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> at the links below!</span></i><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://heartmindthoughtsemotions.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Brianne Dosch</span></a><span style="text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"> * <a href="http://rudwrite.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Tiffany Jones</a> * </span><a href="http://katesnovelidea.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Kat!e Larson</span></a><span style="text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"> * </span><a href="http://qsstoryblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Quinlyn Shaughnessy</span></a><span style="text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"> * </span><span style="text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://ladyvioletsblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;">Lady Violet</a></span></span></div>
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Ginny-Gin-Ginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10340903080612520657noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1573371811368188393.post-6289100242570558722015-04-22T16:00:00.002-07:002015-04-22T16:00:56.471-07:00Wrapping Through Life + Memories of School Fundraisers<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Did you ever have to sell anything for school? </i></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDNA3Q6c_mLIcHBrJ9y-IXEzzWfSJoWp51joLw1jBIrZp1pzOBMfFcZOZ7s9p2dQcU9SLzuIg9pY4J8n90Hw-ztZPXaU-goWqy_4hv98466ZKOrjNblSFZVXd0la56gibNsLFzZwEC1_Vy/s1600/S026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDNA3Q6c_mLIcHBrJ9y-IXEzzWfSJoWp51joLw1jBIrZp1pzOBMfFcZOZ7s9p2dQcU9SLzuIg9pY4J8n90Hw-ztZPXaU-goWqy_4hv98466ZKOrjNblSFZVXd0la56gibNsLFzZwEC1_Vy/s1600/S026.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was cool because it was double sided.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">One year at Dilworth Elementary, we sold Sally Foster wrapping paper (which, I just found out via Google, has been </span><a href="http://www.entertainment.com/fundraising/" style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">discontinued</a><span style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">). The PTA did a little fashion show demonstrating how awesome wrapping paper was (I'm not kidding about this. There were full wrapping paper outfits.) and I wanted SO BADLY to get something cool out of the prize magazine. </span></i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></i></span></span>
<span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">I had to share all of my relatives with my sister and all the other neighborhood kids got to the old people on my street first, so Kendle and I both had only enough points to get little clackers, which my mom absconded because she was better at playing with it than we were. She made so much noise and Kendle and I hated it — talk about a role </span><span style="line-height: 22.0799999237061px; white-space: pre-wrap;">reversal</span><span style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">. (Woah. I didn't know that life event needed to be aired.)</span></i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22.0799999237061px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>If my wrapping paper experience had been a little different, this might have happened to me:</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Would you like to buy some wrapping paper, ma'am?" </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I launched into my sales pitch once the door creaked open.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Let's have a look — come inside for a cookie?" She warbled.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Invited inside? That prize for selling the most for my school fundraiser was in the bag!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Hmmm, these are a little pricey." She perused the pages as I munched away. "I can't buy today. I have to go . . . iron . . . my cat."</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As she closed the magazine, my eye caught her cupboards and a cat looked back at me. And another and another.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"I better go." I hightailed it out. Those prizes weren't so great anyway.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>This short story is a part of the illustrious Flash Fiction Friday. Read the other lovely stories, spun off the dialogue prompt: </i>"I have to go . . . iron . . . my cat."</span></span><i> at the links below!</i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://heartmindthoughtsemotions.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Brianne Dosch</span></a><span style="text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"> * <a href="http://rudwrite.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Tiffany Jones</a> * </span><a href="http://katesnovelidea.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Kat!e Larson</span></a><span style="text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"> * </span><a href="http://qsstoryblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Quinlyn Shaughnessy</span></a><span style="text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"> * </span><span style="text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://ladyvioletsblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;">Lady Violet</a></span></span></div>
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Ginny-Gin-Ginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10340903080612520657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1573371811368188393.post-51264889891933732052015-04-10T10:21:00.002-07:002015-04-10T10:21:46.224-07:00Human Again (but not the song from Disney's 'Beauty and the Beast')<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When he came to, he was holding a feather. He was holding. With a hand! He let go and touched his face. No beak, but a nose and a mouth. Smooth skin, not soft feathers. His face grew wet in the bright sunlight, something he hadn’t been able to do for years. He lifted the rough sleeve of the shift to his face to wipe the tears away, just noticing the feathers poking out from the other unfinished sleeve.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“I’m so sorry, brother.” Aoife's voice carried over the crowd. “There wasn’t time!”</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“What for?” He replied, laughing. “I’m whole again!”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>This short story is a part of the illustrious Flash Fiction Friday. Read the other lovely stories, spun off the prompt: </i><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">When he came to, he was holding a feather.</span></span></span> <i>from <a href="http://thesarcasticmuses.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">The Sarcastic Muse</a> at the links below!</i></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://heartmindthoughtsemotions.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Brianne Dosch</span></a><span style="text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"> * <a href="http://rudwrite.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Tiffany Jones</a> * </span><a href="http://katesnovelidea.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Kat!e Larson</span></a><span style="text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"> * </span><a href="http://qsstoryblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Quinlyn Shaughnessy</span></a><span style="text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"> * </span><span style="text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://ladyvioletsblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;">Lady Violet</a></span></span></div>
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Ginny-Gin-Ginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10340903080612520657noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1573371811368188393.post-92037738781116576132015-04-03T12:20:00.000-07:002015-04-03T12:34:06.389-07:00Learning Curve<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I would like to apologize for what is about to happen,” she whispered, then flipped the switch.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nothing. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Um, looks like we’re having technical difficulties.” She snapped the switch back and forth, then batted at her wispy bangs. “Hold please.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Eunice!” Her employer growled. “This is the second time this month.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Sorry, sir,” she called from behind the machine. “Something must have happened when I oiled the parts yesterday.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“And she came so highly recommended,” her employer moaned to the gagged man under the giant chrome prong.</span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-217125aa-80b6-069a-ef7a-4521b8fc10d2"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I think I’ve got it!” She flipped the switch and green slime exploded everywhere.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>This short story is a part of the illustrious Flash Fiction Friday. Read the other lovely stories, spun off the prompt: </i></span></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">“I would like to apologize to everyone for what is about to happen,” she said, then flipped the switch</span>. <i>from <a href="http://veiledinspiration.tumblr.com/post/114247436411/i-would-like-to-apologize-to-everyone-for-what-is" target="_blank">Veiled Inspiration</a> at the links below!</i></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: start;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://heartmindthoughtsemotions.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Brianne Dosch</span></a><span style="text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"> * <a href="http://rudwrite.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Tiffany Jones</a> * </span><a href="http://katesnovelidea.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Kat!e Larson</span></a><span style="text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"> * </span><a href="http://qsstoryblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Quinlyn Shaughnessy</span></a><span style="text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"> * </span><span style="text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://ladyvioletsblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;">Lady Violet</a></span></span></div>
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Ginny-Gin-Ginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10340903080612520657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1573371811368188393.post-90436449886078919132015-03-27T15:55:00.000-07:002015-03-27T15:55:36.002-07:00Cemetery Stroll<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“You’ll know him when you see him,” I told my little sister as I gingerly pried one of the coffins open. “Hello?” I called in, the sound reverberating. <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />“I think I’ve been dead since ‘98,” a voice called back. “It was the year the Maine sunk. Such a tragedy that one. And such a lovely boat, too.”<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />“He must be one of the old ones,” I said as I brought the lid down with a thud. “You can’t even smell anything."<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />"Hannah! Come over here!"<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Encased in crystal, there he was, as pristine as the day I first met him.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><i><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></i></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>This short story is a part of the illustrious Flash Fiction Friday. Read the other lovely stories, spun off the prompt: </i>"I think I've been dead since '98</span>."<i> at the links below!</i></span><br />
<div style="text-align: start;">
<div style="text-align: start;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://heartmindthoughtsemotions.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Brianne Dosch</span></a><span style="text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"> * <a href="http://rudwrite.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Tiffany Jones</a> * </span><a href="http://katesnovelidea.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Kat!e Larson</span></a><span style="text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"> * </span><a href="http://qsstoryblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Quinlyn Shaughnessy</span></a><span style="text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"> * </span><span style="text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://ladyvioletsblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;">Lady Violet</a></span></span></div>
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Ginny-Gin-Ginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10340903080612520657noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1573371811368188393.post-14973903720722230532015-03-20T14:46:00.000-07:002015-03-20T14:46:10.303-07:00Wings to Fly<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr4PLnUBNgZc_Gzl76AlVYpPZ16675DdYrZ9gFZp4lGI-kkoOskTzqnylLhF0NlS_qW39uVJTHHqlrcYJ9yMW-HXOD0_HsqBCxfyopWOTZyTJuMdcocnXwGpJLTSCIePxvTzV0aZuxqWMG/s1600/IMG_0626.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr4PLnUBNgZc_Gzl76AlVYpPZ16675DdYrZ9gFZp4lGI-kkoOskTzqnylLhF0NlS_qW39uVJTHHqlrcYJ9yMW-HXOD0_HsqBCxfyopWOTZyTJuMdcocnXwGpJLTSCIePxvTzV0aZuxqWMG/s1600/IMG_0626.JPG" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">She closed her eyes and counted backwards, eight, seven, six, five . . . .</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It never took the full eight seconds — counting was just a way to ignore the yelling around her. When she opened her eyes again, the hallway was filled with hundreds of butterflies, all nestled on the walls.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The ugliest words, the ones that hurt the most, were always the most beautiful, their lacy wings made from the patterns on her tear-stained face. As her breathing slowed, their wings started to flutter and they formed a multi colored cyclone, swirling and swirling until they vanished.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“No.” </span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She was back.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></i></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">This short story is a part of the illustrious Flash Fiction Friday. Read the other lovely stories, spun off the prompt: "</span></i></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.7000007629395px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The hallway was filled with hundreds of butterflies, all nestling on the walls.</span><i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">" at the links below!</i><br />
<div style="text-align: start;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://heartmindthoughtsemotions.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Brianne Dosch</span></a><span style="text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"> * <a href="http://rudwrite.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Tiffany Jones</a> * </span><a href="http://katesnovelidea.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Kat!e Larson</span></a><span style="text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"> * </span><a href="http://qsstoryblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Quinlyn Shaughnessy</span></a><span style="text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"> * </span><span style="text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://ladyvioletsblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;">Lady Violet</a></span></span></span></div>
Ginny-Gin-Ginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10340903080612520657noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1573371811368188393.post-19537087185018701192015-03-13T22:49:00.002-07:002015-03-13T22:50:44.863-07:00Running Shoes<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Careful, they're crystal."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"And you're putting that on my feet?"</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">She glared at me. I backpedaled. "They're the loveliest things I've seen. Ever. But do you think it's necessary?"</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Listen, honey, you'll never dance with such grace as you will tonight. Otherwise it won't just be your dress that is in ruins after midnight." Her grin no longer looked reassuring and grandmotherly. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I twirled gingerly, my ball gown billowing. "I'm really not that graceful."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"The prince is a shoe guy. This'll snag him."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">That clinched it.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"No thank you." I handed her the shoes. "I'd rather be able to walk."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><i><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">This short story is a part of the illustrious Flash Fiction Friday. Read the other lovely stories, spun off the prompt: "Careful with that, it's ..</span>." at the links below!</i></span><br />
<div style="text-align: start;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="http://heartmindthoughtsemotions.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Brianne Dosch</span></a><span style="text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"> * <a href="http://rudwrite.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Tiffany Jones</a> * </span><a href="http://katesnovelidea.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Kat!e Larson</span></a><span style="text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"> * </span><a href="http://qsstoryblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Quinlyn Shaughnessy</span></a><span style="text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"> * </span><span style="text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://ladyvioletsblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration: none;">Lady Violet</a></span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px;"></span>Ginny-Gin-Ginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10340903080612520657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1573371811368188393.post-26967357513679924492015-03-06T18:28:00.004-08:002015-03-06T18:28:48.167-08:00Lover's Present<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The night was darkening but Nebuchadnezzar could see the faint outline of his wife in the waning moon, her robes shining silver in the starlight.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She wandered up and down the steps, becoming a swirl of motion as she weaved in and out of the saplings.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Someday those will be mighty tree, my queen,” he called out, and she laughed, then suddenly disappeared.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He leaped over the terrace railing and onto the ground below, running toward the fallen form as fast as he could. “Amytis!”</span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-b7e38115-f20b-f47d-38c2-61714ad42bb7"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It’s so beautiful.” She pulled him down among the flowers and kissed him. “Thank you.”</span></span><br />
<span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<i><span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This short story is a part of the illustrious Flash Fiction Friday. Read the other lovely stories, spun off the prompt: "</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.7000007629395px; white-space: pre-wrap;">He leapt over the terrace railing and onto the ground below, running toward the fallen form as fast as he could." at the links below!</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.7000007629395px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://heartmindthoughtsemotions.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Brianne Dosch</span></a><span style="text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"> * </span><a href="http://katesnovelidea.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Kat!e Larson</span></a><span style="text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"> * </span><a href="http://qsstoryblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Quinlyn Shaughnessy</span></a><span style="text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"> * </span><a href="http://ladyvioletsblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Lady Violet</span></a>Ginny-Gin-Ginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10340903080612520657noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1573371811368188393.post-34080549050104301792015-02-27T23:57:00.000-08:002015-03-02T10:12:58.528-08:00Eye Cream Epiphany <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Put the third cream on with your ring finger, yes, that's just right. The ring finger has the softest touch and won't pull your skin to give you premature wrinkles." She hoped her feigned enthusiasm would be enough to hide the dead she felt inside as she rattled on, instructing the seven or so women who she once called her friends. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">How many times could someone be exploited before they considered themselves an enemy? An old coworker was already avoiding eye contact and she hadn't even asked them to sell their friends out yet. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">She had done the Uplift Unit gig.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">She had done her hundreds of facials.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">She had done the Color Parties with the prizes and the pushing and the guilting.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">And she had enough.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"You can keep the stuff," she heard herself say and she walked away. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">And never looked back.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-style: italic; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">This short story is a part of the illustrious Flash Fiction Friday. Read the other lovely stories, spun off the prompt "She had enough of parties."</span><span style="text-align: center; text-indent: -12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> from <a href="http://thesarcasticmuses.tumblr.com/">The Sarcastic Muse </a></span><i style="text-align: center; text-indent: -12pt;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">at the </span></i></span><i style="text-align: center; text-indent: -12pt;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">links below!</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://heartmindthoughtsemotions.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Brianne Dosch</span></a><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> * </span><a href="http://katesnovelidea.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Kat!e Larson</span></a><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> * </span><a href="http://qsstoryblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Quinlyn Shaughnessy</span></a><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"> * </span><a href="http://ladyvioletsblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Lady Violet</span></a></span></span></div>
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Ginny-Gin-Ginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10340903080612520657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1573371811368188393.post-14718561341601168152015-02-20T15:48:00.001-08:002015-02-20T15:49:52.062-08:00Breathing<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: -12pt;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRgFJKFfuUfYkyDgVGxXKrHbkP29nIokaEltboUbY-QWr1mhAQM_AkNVbHVd4V_xDuFbb333pB0G6lvb2UmIRiTNW-lk7EGHtTWcjZjJf3F69rX6gXdDE65j0H5rtyVjkiz9RBnsT_ILi4/s1600/988475_10205731788314682_6640624024177260329_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRgFJKFfuUfYkyDgVGxXKrHbkP29nIokaEltboUbY-QWr1mhAQM_AkNVbHVd4V_xDuFbb333pB0G6lvb2UmIRiTNW-lk7EGHtTWcjZjJf3F69rX6gXdDE65j0H5rtyVjkiz9RBnsT_ILi4/s1600/988475_10205731788314682_6640624024177260329_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dora studied him over her cup of cocoa and tried to discreetly rub her nose and smooth her hair at the same time; the steam was making her chilled nose run.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He caught her staring and she blushed but didn’t look away. She held her breath until he scooted closer. Their knees now touched.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bump. Bump. Bump.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She looked up. “What’s that noise?”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Oh, those are just Grandma’s masks.” He pulled a red plaid curtain aside to display a string of clay masks. “They remind me of windchimes.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Her smile slipped. “Harold, there’s no wind inside.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.38; text-indent: -12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh, that’s just them breathing.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-style: italic; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">This short story is a part of the illustrious Flash Fiction Friday. Read the other lovely stories, spun off the prompt (which is the picture with this post)</span><span style="line-height: 1.5; text-align: center; text-indent: -12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><i style="line-height: 1.15; text-align: center; text-indent: -12pt; white-space: normal;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">at the </span></i></span><i style="line-height: 1.15; text-align: center; text-indent: -12pt;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">links below!</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://heartmindthoughtsemotions.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brianne Dosch</span></a><span style="background-color: white; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> * </span><a href="http://katesnovelidea.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kat!e Larson</span></a><span style="background-color: white; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> * </span><a href="http://qsstoryblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Quinlyn Shaughnessy</span></a><span style="background-color: white; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> * </span><a href="http://ladyvioletsblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lady Violet</span></a></span></div>
Ginny-Gin-Ginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10340903080612520657noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1573371811368188393.post-40723874131158327622015-02-06T13:49:00.004-08:002015-02-06T13:49:39.755-08:00Saturday Morning<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: -12pt;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbRK9w_L86WGc1TYMqSUbwZ-KrnG8yYMcFHWwwh56IXpG2B_xNRthbOX_UlU3oYyotvgLH1MMix46Bd9h0s1hjss2CvI7RGwMUosMb25L3VeiJmeV_868YTB8Q9oNsXNRmaZueKARoUHVz/s1600/IMG_0331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbRK9w_L86WGc1TYMqSUbwZ-KrnG8yYMcFHWwwh56IXpG2B_xNRthbOX_UlU3oYyotvgLH1MMix46Bd9h0s1hjss2CvI7RGwMUosMb25L3VeiJmeV_868YTB8Q9oNsXNRmaZueKARoUHVz/s1600/IMG_0331.JPG" height="320" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The record shop was thick, hazy really, from the curls of incense slipping through the gaps in the curtained alcove.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Carlie shook her head and thought about holding her breath. Was it worth all of this? But she knew her woven pullover and Toms weren’t enough. She wasn’t quite ready to commit to a pixiecut and her eyesight wasn’t bad enough to merit Ray-Bans.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So she needed to at least buy one record. It was only fair. She continued rummaging through the alphabetized cartons.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There was a jingling sound from the bellydancing sarong rack in the corner as the air in the room changed and moved in an unnatural way.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At first, Carlie tasted it, this overwhelming taste of blue. It washed over her, again and again, in varying degrees. Pale, then dark, then dark again.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Head swimming, she stumbled to the front door and breathed the biting October air. </span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-23371353-5d9d-8a32-709b-cea9d24c6ed2"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her aunt was right. Those dirty hipsters.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-style: italic; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">This short story is a part of the illustrious Flash Fiction Friday. Read the other lovely stories, spun off the prompt: </span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">"The air in the room changed and moved in an unnatural way</span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px;">.</span><span style="line-height: 1.5; text-align: center; text-indent: -12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">" </span><i style="line-height: 1.15; text-align: center; text-indent: -12pt; white-space: normal;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">at the links below!</span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://heartmindthoughtsemotions.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brianne Dosch</span></a><span style="background-color: white; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> * </span><a href="http://katesnovelidea.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kat!e Larson</span></a><span style="background-color: white; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> * </span><a href="http://qsstoryblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Quinlyn Shaughnessy</span></a><span style="background-color: white; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> * </span><a href="http://ladyvioletsblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lady Violet</span></a></span><br />
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<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-hZVxU6Jpoe0%2FVNRibSZR1LI%2FAAAAAAAACx4%2FS7ZPE3lbcCE%2Fs1600%2FIMG_0331.JPG&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbRK9w_L86WGc1TYMqSUbwZ-KrnG8yYMcFHWwwh56IXpG2B_xNRthbOX_UlU3oYyotvgLH1MMix46Bd9h0s1hjss2CvI7RGwMUosMb25L3VeiJmeV_868YTB8Q9oNsXNRmaZueKARoUHVz/s1600/IMG_0331.JPG" -->Ginny-Gin-Ginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10340903080612520657noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1573371811368188393.post-43571060271651070542015-01-30T10:50:00.000-08:002015-01-30T10:50:02.501-08:00Swimming Lessons<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The water’s too cold! I don’t want to go in!”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Did you see that? There’s something in there!” The ten-year-old shrieked. “I won’t go in!”</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fed up, she nonchalantly shoved him in.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Down, down he sunk, leaving only a trail of bubbles that made their way to the surface. </span></span></div>
<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He looked up when he felt a splash but, instead of finding a teenage girl, he looked into the bright blue eyeball of a giant squid.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Commentary: Soooo, this one probably needs at least another 50 words or so to actually be complete. And sometimes I cheat and write more, but today I felt like sticking to the rules. Maybe I should talk to the group and see if there's any leniency? Or maybe I should write a tighter story, hahaha. I guess what happens to the whiner will be left up to your imagination.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This short story is a part of the illustrious Flash Fiction Friday. Read the other lovely stories, spun off the prompt: </span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; text-indent: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fed up of hearing his constant whining, the training instructor walked behind him nonchalantly and shoved him in the water.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; text-indent: -12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">" </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.15; text-indent: -12pt;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">at the links below!</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://heartmindthoughtsemotions.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brianne Dosch</span></a><span style="background-color: white; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> * </span><a href="http://katesnovelidea.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kat!e Larson</span></a><span style="background-color: white; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> * </span><a href="http://qsstoryblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Quinlyn Shaughnessy</span></a><span style="background-color: white; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> * </span><a href="http://ladyvioletsblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lady Violet</span></a></span></div>
Ginny-Gin-Ginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10340903080612520657noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1573371811368188393.post-63737261508217411902015-01-23T10:36:00.001-08:002015-01-23T10:36:12.655-08:00Slaughterhouse Nine<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He came up to the gate, covered in blood.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Hardy day at work, hon?” His wife kissed his lips, the only clean spot on his face, her nose only slightly wrinkled. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“The showers were out and I just couldn’t stand there any longer,” he said, dropping his head to her shoulder. She tensed for a second.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Your supervisor called me to say you had a hard day in the blood pit.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“It was fine, Kitty.” His eyes were hollow.</span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-1e2ca3a1-1812-f7e8-fc24-6b6a6e5f773b"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Take off your boots and your smock,” she coached him out of his protective gear, then opened the gate for him. “We can go home.”</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This short story is a part of the illustrious Flash Fiction Friday. Read the other lovely stories, spun off the prompt: </span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"A man, covered in blood, just walked up to the gate." </span><i style="line-height: 1.15;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">at the links below!</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://heartmindthoughtsemotions.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brianne Dosch</span></a><span style="background-color: white; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> * </span><a href="http://katesnovelidea.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kat!e Larson</span></a><span style="background-color: white; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> * </span><a href="http://qsstoryblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Quinlyn Shaughnessy</span></a><span style="background-color: white; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> * </span><a href="http://ladyvioletsblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lady Violet</span></a></span></div>
Ginny-Gin-Ginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10340903080612520657noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1573371811368188393.post-4383410879614293582015-01-16T13:22:00.000-08:002015-01-16T13:22:32.457-08:00Alienated<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s said in one moment, your life can change, but in his life, it was moments upon moments that had brought him here. Alone.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Alone, with only shards of what his life had been before. Perfectly alone, with only the memories </span><span style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">—</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the dreams </span><span style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">—</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> seen through cracked rose-colored glasses. Gone.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gone were his marriages, his daughters, his health, his job. Now that he tried to recover the past it was too late. Left.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Left with only the caustic-tinged future. He alternated between perspectives: the glory days and the pessimistic present. Forsaken.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With too much pride to know the difference.</span></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-12096bcc-f49e-0f81-09fe-4562d97aeb49" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This short story is a part of the illustrious Flash Fiction Friday. Read the other lovely stories, spun off the prompt: </span><span style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ah! what is not a dream by day</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To him whose eyes are cast</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On things around him with a ray</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Turned back upon the past?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">from <a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174152">Edgar Allan Poe’s poem A Dream</a> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">at the links below!</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://heartmindthoughtsemotions.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brianne Dosch</span></a><span style="background-color: white; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> * </span><a href="http://katesnovelidea.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kat!e Larson</span></a><span style="background-color: white; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> * </span><a href="http://qsstoryblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Quinlyn Shaughnessy</span></a><span style="background-color: white; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> * </span><a href="http://ladyvioletsblog.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lady Violet</span></a></span></div>
Ginny-Gin-Ginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10340903080612520657noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1573371811368188393.post-23100080304421403652015-01-09T15:24:00.001-08:002015-01-09T15:24:43.367-08:00Pranksters<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mary and me always play this game when we get a sub. I mean, it doesn’t really hurt anyone, because subs are stupid anyway. It’s like giving a fake name at Starbucks, isn’t that what you’re supposed to do? Mess with people. It’s just a joke.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, when we get this new sub in our fifth hour, we’re overjoyed. You can only keep the fake name going so long if you keep getting the same one. But a new sub, especially this young one, that’s fresh meat right there.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But before I can even open my mouth to tell her my name is Sarafina, she gives me a steely look and I swallow hard.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Nice to meet you, Kelly,” she says, softlike, but all 36 kids in my class can hear her. “Shall we get started?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Class goes okay, but Mary and me, we feel like failures. But, we get this bright idea and, when we turn in our worksheets on Egyptian mythology, we scribble the same answers and fill in the name slot, “You don’t even know my real name.”</span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-f91ae179-d101-755c-7d12-8f243f5b83df"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We feel clever until we realize two periods later that the papers go to our real teacher. And our real teacher is Mary’s mom.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline;"><i style="line-height: normal; white-space: normal;">This short story is a part of the illustrious Flash Fiction Friday. Read the other lovely stories, spun off the prompt: </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; white-space: normal;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; white-space: normal;">"</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;">You don't even know my real name.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">"</span><i style="line-height: normal;"> at the links below!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://heartmindthoughtsemotions.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Brianne Dosch</a> * <a href="http://katesnovelidea.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Kat!e Larson</a> * <a href="http://qsstoryblog.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Quinlyn Shaughnessy</a> * <a href="http://ladyvioletsblog.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Lady Violet</a></span></div>
Ginny-Gin-Ginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10340903080612520657noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1573371811368188393.post-81104771133690727042015-01-02T23:38:00.001-08:002015-01-09T15:25:08.358-08:00(Belated) Flash Fiction Friday: Two for the price of one!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometimes I get too distracted with family and have a hard time asking someone if I can borrow their computer to type up one hundred word stories. And word count is unwieldy on a cellphone. </span><br />
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Okay, enough excuses! Here are my two offerings for Flash Fiction Friday!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Playtime</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It may be strange, but for years, my only friend was mute. She never spoke, never made a sound, but the look in her eyes told me exactly what was about to happen.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When we played in my bedroom, I would whisper things to her as she stared out the window, unseeing. The room held no laughter. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But, as I whispered to her, images would whir across her glass eyes fringed with dark lashes. A burning forest. A missing child. A raging storm.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I would finger her glossy curls, the silence almost overwhelming.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In ways it was a lonely childhood.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Collector</span></b></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgBRSlPz7hLrez_iQtzvqdTfZ0WviNAKeVla-kr74P75Osfm1BALp1TIELCglhwwqZ4nx3HJ5_h_UQQnGNZ_uX_IDyEOiRuyJtEQfO8i17N5vcABpt-a5V8eY4WSMgd_VwrAgN3Ig-I05G/s1600/mason-jars.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgBRSlPz7hLrez_iQtzvqdTfZ0WviNAKeVla-kr74P75Osfm1BALp1TIELCglhwwqZ4nx3HJ5_h_UQQnGNZ_uX_IDyEOiRuyJtEQfO8i17N5vcABpt-a5V8eY4WSMgd_VwrAgN3Ig-I05G/s1600/mason-jars.jpeg" height="144" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Photo credit: blog.eversnapapp.com</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I promise I didn’t sell it, I just lost it and I heard you could find it,” he said.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I know, that’s why I find them,” the girl with the copper hair replied. “I’ll get it for you.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was in the blue jar, the one to the left that smelled like summer and felt like sea breeze.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She was always surprised by the disconnect between human and soul. This lovely specimen belonged to a man trying so hard to pretend like he couldn’t feel the discomfort of its absence, but his bodies unwitting cries to his soul were nearly the loudest she had heard.</span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-a8e89615-aeb4-4def-5dc3-d2732bbcb7d5"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Here you go.” She brought it to him, her hands gently cupped around it. “Gingers don’t steal souls, we just collect them.”</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="line-height: normal; white-space: normal;"><i>These short stories are a part of the illustrious Flash Fiction Friday. Read the other lovely stories, spun off the prompt: </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">"</span></span></span><span style="line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;">She never spoke, never made a sound, but the look in her eyes told me </span><span style="line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;">exactly what was about to happen.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">" and "It was the blue jar . . ."</span><i style="line-height: normal;"> at the links below!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://heartmindthoughtsemotions.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Brianne Dosch</a> * <a href="http://katesnovelidea.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Kat!e Larson</a> * <a href="http://qsstoryblog.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Quinlyn Shaughnessy</a> * <a href="http://ladyvioletsblog.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Lady Violet</a></span></div>
Ginny-Gin-Ginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10340903080612520657noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1573371811368188393.post-37825693390311780462014-12-19T15:58:00.001-08:002014-12-19T15:58:42.912-08:00Christmas Teatime<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Haha, I guess I have Christmas cookies on the brain! Here's another Flash Fiction Friday post!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Don’t you think tea time is weird? It’s not like we’re British.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her host offered her a plate of sugar cookies. “Don’t you think it has a certain charm?”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The blonde woman took one and munched away, alternately draining her tea cup. “Thanks for inviting me, just the same. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The host stirred her cup, the sugar cubes long dissolved. “I suppose it has.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her guest’s breath caught and she slumped to the table, her grip slipping on the cup as it fell to the floor.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The host brushed up the large pieces of broken glass, glad her guest had been considerate enough to drain the cup before she shattered it.</span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-0abc3de2-64f4-385c-f97d-390b28efbbdd"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The hemlock had been an impulse buy.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: normal; white-space: normal;"><i>This short story is a part of the illustrious Flash Fiction Friday. Read the other lovely stories, spun off the prompt: </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">"It was an impulse buy . . . .</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.31999969482422px; white-space: normal;">"</span><i style="line-height: normal; white-space: normal;"> at the links below!</i></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://heartmindthoughtsemotions.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Brianne Dosch</a> * <a href="http://katesnovelidea.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Kat!e Larson</a> * <a href="http://quinlynsblog.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Quinlyn Shaughnessy</a> * <a href="http://ladyvioletsblog.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Lady Violet</a></div>
Ginny-Gin-Ginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10340903080612520657noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1573371811368188393.post-7704367953938339052014-12-12T08:48:00.004-08:002014-12-12T08:48:50.004-08:00Crunch<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aaaand we're back with creative writing postings! Yay! I've joined a Flash Fiction group very similar to the last one, so you probably remember the deal: one hundred words inspired by the prompt. Every Friday! (It's another thing to look forward to after a long week :D)</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's my offering:</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He awoke, having blacked out after hearing the crunch. It wasn’t there. His leg was no longer there. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don’t think about it. Breathe. In and out, just in and out.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> He tried to calm himself. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Look around. Distract yourself.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He glanced around, but only felt more dread.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He was surrounded by sprinkles. His compatriots had fallen. Those brave, brave gingerbread men. Gone. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why was he spared?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Remember. Try to remember. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That man had attacked them. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">He looked down to see how he had fared and noticed a strand of dog fur peeking from the bitten leg. Saved by a hair.</span><br />
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: normal; white-space: normal;"><i>This short story is a part of the illustrious Flash Fiction Friday. Read the other lovely stories, spun off the prompt: </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">"What happened to all of them?</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.31999969482422px; white-space: normal;">"</span><i style="line-height: normal; white-space: normal;"> at the links below!</i></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIbcXVF2TtwlLVI4JpgUKuIayvp5vhmMHIxzRMC0YVzj3BLeQv80z9WnWxxqZPYIdJ5bMZfqUxX44x4eaMIXeyJkywP3tSITzhVN4gnBzf3mkSAysyKAVIZpM1yv8hs0JDhW73gkfew9kj/s1600/10849757_501081146701863_7873583271893886829_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIbcXVF2TtwlLVI4JpgUKuIayvp5vhmMHIxzRMC0YVzj3BLeQv80z9WnWxxqZPYIdJ5bMZfqUxX44x4eaMIXeyJkywP3tSITzhVN4gnBzf3mkSAysyKAVIZpM1yv8hs0JDhW73gkfew9kj/s1600/10849757_501081146701863_7873583271893886829_n.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="line-height: normal; white-space: normal;"><br /></i></span></span>
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<a href="http://heartmindthoughtsemotions.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Brianne Dosch</a> * <a href="http://katesnovelidea.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Kat!e Larson</a> * <a href="http://quinlynsblog.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Quinlyn Shaughnessy</a> * <a href="http://ladyvioletsblog.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Lady Violet</a></div>
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Ginny-Gin-Ginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10340903080612520657noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1573371811368188393.post-13650881093696578342014-12-09T22:30:00.000-08:002014-12-09T22:30:11.558-08:00"Baby it's Cold Outside": Why you shouldn't be creeped out<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
EVERY YEAR I have friends who talk about why "Baby it's Cold Outside" is the creepiest Christmas song ever. I disagree, because not only is it not a Christmas song (it talks about the cold, people! So it's a fall/winter/spring song depending on where you live), but there's a lot of versions of this song and so, accordingly, there can be a lot of readings of this wintertime classic.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2sJ9-JHLQH709oa8TxgiUuwnwCAt_qpdo3JMSxj9q96o1JvExbFntvVifaRjuaqUByj2Xi9X9C3k7AeMDh7opm73scWFH0masM_vfdnA7Kg2ayFY6AFOevNh-2_eZWTLAVgCf9NQN-Y2z/s1600/Khan-Noonien-Singh-star-trek-the-movies-13224149-900-1253.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2sJ9-JHLQH709oa8TxgiUuwnwCAt_qpdo3JMSxj9q96o1JvExbFntvVifaRjuaqUByj2Xi9X9C3k7AeMDh7opm73scWFH0masM_vfdnA7Kg2ayFY6AFOevNh-2_eZWTLAVgCf9NQN-Y2z/s1600/Khan-Noonien-Singh-star-trek-the-movies-13224149-900-1253.jpg" height="200" width="143" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Once a ladies man, <br />
always a ladies man. <br />
(Which is saying a lot; <br />
not everyone can rock a bad wig.)</td></tr>
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<b>A little history:</b> The first time most audiences heard this song was in Esther Williams' 1949 film <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041687/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Neptune's Daughter</a>. The song is a comedic number that takes place in either California or Florida (it has been a while since I've watched it and I don't want to shell out the money to watch it on Amazon.com to double check the state. Sorry kids.) during swimsuit season (so obviously it's not cold outside) and Ricardo Montalban (yes, Kahn) is trying to romance Esther Williams, who is aware and skeptical of his playboy ways (those South American polo players!), never mind the fact that she's going on a date to prevent him from dating her boy-crazy sister. They sing the song and then there's a reprise with Betty Grable as Esther Williams' little sister trying to convince Red Skelton (who is pretending to be Ricardo Montalban) to stay.<br />
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I know it sounds a little convoluted, so you just go watch the movie. I promise it's adorable, with all those things you love about old movies, like fashion shows and jazz musical numbers. (In case you don't want to watch a 40s musical, I found the song clip for you.)<br />
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/7MFJ7ie_yGU/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/7MFJ7ie_yGU&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/7MFJ7ie_yGU&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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The song won an Academy Award for best original song and it became attached to the Christmas season because of titular cold. </div>
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<b>More thoughts:</b> Some of the lyrics <i>are </i>distressing, I won't disagree with that. "The answer is no." is one that stands out for me and I know "Say, what's in this drink?" is frightening, to say the least. For what it's worth, when the song was written roofies hadn't been invented yet. Asking someone what they put in a cocktail isn't uncommon, and it my way to dance around any unpleasantness. In my opinion, the lyrics make it seem like the person protesting <i>would</i> like to stay, but doesn't want to have to contend with any scandalous rumors. So that's how I convince myself that the song is all good fun. And not creepy.</div>
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And if that's not enough to love the song again, the lyrics are less of an issue with Idina Menzel's duet with Michael Buble -- all references to drinks, cigarettes and "no means no" have been lifted and replaced with lyrics suitable for adorable lip-syncing children.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/6bbuBubZ1yE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Did I miss any arguments on either side? Let me know!<br />
<br />Ginny-Gin-Ginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10340903080612520657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1573371811368188393.post-7726098365349511122014-11-28T17:15:00.000-08:002014-11-28T17:24:14.058-08:00RIP Edwina<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thanksgiving is a massive affair for my family. Last year, the count was 55 people and 36 pies, and that wasn’t even everyone. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s always been a time of pie and family -- a sort of reunion for the Webb sisters, my grandma and my great-aunt. They reunite with as many of their children and grandchildren that can make it, and we eat and talk and talk and eat. After pie, we sing Christmas songs in SATB parts as my grandma plays the piano.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Every Thanksgiving is lovely, but some are more memorable than others, like the year Sunny the Alston’s dog ate all of the pies they were bringing. But some years get passed down as legends; none more so than the year of Edwina.</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVRRpNhrd1XC_cicjHx-BJtMrA604mIWRaMr1dO9otUgQclI1yCZOnxFIw3UrwSJmy2p0_TQZYa5x8Cp-zR7O1s4fxl-sj49VDWhHW6wjp9cmyDPlO2JtWlVLYKwbWozAwqtFDrePrNeI8/s1600/Living_turkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVRRpNhrd1XC_cicjHx-BJtMrA604mIWRaMr1dO9otUgQclI1yCZOnxFIw3UrwSJmy2p0_TQZYa5x8Cp-zR7O1s4fxl-sj49VDWhHW6wjp9cmyDPlO2JtWlVLYKwbWozAwqtFDrePrNeI8/s1600/Living_turkey.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not Edwina. Or the national bird of the U.S.A.</td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">First, it must be said, don’t ever name something you plan on eating. When you name an animal, it turns that livestock into a pet. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My family learned this the hard way when, one Thanksgiving, they were gifted a turkey and my oldest uncle christened it “Edwina.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Edwina lived in our backyard and, according to my grandma, “had the prettiest little gobble.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The morning came, the Arizona sun shining on Edwina, who glimpsed Teapot Mountain from our backyard for the last time.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My strongest uncle went to her side, machete in hand and began hacking. And hacking and hacking and hacking. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We blame the dull machete. But next time you read <a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/17?lang=eng" target="_blank">Alma 17</a>, keep in mind how remarkable it is that Ammon is able to cut off as many arms as he does. Because if it’s hard to chop off the head of a turkey, I can’t imagine how hard it is to get through an entire human arm.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think it’s safe to say the whole family was a little traumatized, but my pragmatic grandma pressed on, roasting her for the feast as was intended.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There she was, laid out on the faded turkey-print platter that had seen many a Thanksgiving, her plump flesh golden brown and (presumably) delicious.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My aunts and uncles and their cousins stared at Edwina, some of the eyes suspiciously shiny. They stared at the gravy my grandma had made from the drippings.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I can’t eat it!” One of the Alston cousins proclaimed. “It’s Edwina juice!”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Are you going to let her life be in vain?” My uncle said. “Edwina gave her life to us and we need to be thankful.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With that, some of the family dug in, but others abstained. They had, after all, loved the little turkey with a pretty gobble.</span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-3599620c-f918-4e29-5c94-19c9189df952"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We haven’t raised a family turkey since, but, as I ladle gravy over my potatoes each year, I can’t help but think of it as “Edwina juice.” </span></span>Ginny-Gin-Ginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10340903080612520657noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1573371811368188393.post-76198400323365663582014-08-26T22:21:00.001-07:002014-08-26T22:25:01.723-07:00Summer reading, had me a blast!<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
I always feel like Labor Day weekend is the death toll for summer, but it’s not the Autumnal Equinox yet! So, even though I posted this at the beginning of summer, it's not too late!</div>
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For the first time in a long time, I made a reading list. A <i>summer</i> reading list. Normally, I don’t do such things because I feel like reading lists ate confining: they keep you from actually reading what you want to read and I get stressed out if I’m not reading all the books fast enough, and then, when I start reading books that aren't on my reading list (I'm looking at you, all the John Green novels and <i>Mercy Thompson</i> books), I feel like I'm cheating. However, I decided to put my personal issues aside and give reading lists another shot. </div>
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I was inspired by a former teacher of mine, Todd Petersen, who posted<a href="http://www.toddpetersen.org/todd-robert-petersen/2014/4/summer-reading-list" target="_blank"> his summer reading list</a>. I followed his “assignment” and looked up the actual class rubric (I'm either a total nerd or a creeper!) to try to gain insight into the list parameters. There were three categories and I picked five for each: books I WANT, SHOULD and HAVE to read. I solicited advice from Facebook, and decided that “want” books were solely for pleasure, “should” books were those I felt would benefit me in some way (either socially or for personal writing) and “have” books were books I own that I haven’t read yet (my ten-year-old self would be ashamed that such a category could exist).</div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">These are the books I chose (plus the book of Isaiah; turns out Good Reads won’t let me add just one book from the Old Testament. How rude of them.)</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1472935-ginny?shelf=summer-2014&utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget" style="text-decoration: none;">Ginny's bookshelf: summer-2014</a>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/934848491?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget" title="Cress (The Lunar Chronicles, #3)"><img alt="Cress" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1379083526s/13206828.jpg" /></a>
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<img alt="5 of 5 stars" class=" staticStars" src="https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/stars/red_star_5_of_5.png" title="5 of 5 stars, it was amazing" />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/934848491?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget">Cress</a>
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by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4684322.Marissa_Meyer">Marissa Meyer</a>
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This has turned into a series I want to own! My inner feminist loves how well ALL the characters are developed. (But I especially love how many women characters there are and how they all have different dreams, fears, talents, personalit...
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tagged:
summer-2014
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/940066581?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget" title="Frankenstein"><img alt="Frankenstein" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1381512375s/18490.jpg" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/940066581?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget">Frankenstein</a>
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by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/11139.Mary_Shelley">Mary Shelley</a>
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tagged:
summer-2014
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/940078270?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget" title="To the Lighthouse"><img alt="To the Lighthouse" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1346239665s/59716.jpg" /></a>
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<img alt="0 of 5 stars" class=" staticStars" src="https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/stars/red_star_0_of_5.png" title="0 of 5 stars, " />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/940078270?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget">To the Lighthouse</a>
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by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6765.Virginia_Woolf">Virginia Woolf</a>
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tagged:
summer-2014
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/940078542?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget" title="All the President's Men"><img alt="All the President's Men" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347805228s/96123.jpg" /></a>
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<img alt="0 of 5 stars" class=" staticStars" src="https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/stars/red_star_0_of_5.png" title="0 of 5 stars, " />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/940078542?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget">All the President's Men</a>
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by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15445.Carl_Bernstein">Carl Bernstein</a>
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tagged:
summer-2014
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/940078750?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget" title="The Accursed"><img alt="The Accursed" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348425145s/15818440.jpg" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/940078750?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget">The Accursed</a>
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by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3524.Joyce_Carol_Oates">Joyce Carol Oates</a>
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tagged:
summer-2014
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/940078988?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget" title="Lord of the Flies"><img alt="Lord of the Flies" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327869409s/7624.jpg" /></a>
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<img alt="0 of 5 stars" class=" staticStars" src="https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/stars/red_star_0_of_5.png" title="0 of 5 stars, " />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/940078988?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget">Lord of the Flies</a>
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by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/306.William_Golding">William Golding</a>
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tagged:
summer-2014
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/940079324?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget" title="Hollow City (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, #2)"><img alt="Hollow City" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1381258937s/12396528.jpg" /></a>
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<img alt="4 of 5 stars" class=" staticStars" src="https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/stars/red_star_4_of_5.png" title="4 of 5 stars, really liked it" />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/940079324?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget">Hollow City</a>
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by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3046613.Ransom_Riggs">Ransom Riggs</a>
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I love Riggs descriptive language! (Especially when he talks about love. Man, some of those analogies . . . .) And the pictures are still so fun, even though at times they seemed a little forced in this installment. I need to read it aga...
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tagged:
summer-2014
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/940079770?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget" title="The Hollow City"><img alt="The Hollow City" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327433190s/13034956.jpg" /></a>
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<img alt="4 of 5 stars" class=" staticStars" src="https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/stars/red_star_4_of_5.png" title="4 of 5 stars, really liked it" />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/940079770?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget">The Hollow City</a>
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by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2740668.Dan_Wells">Dan Wells</a>
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Ugh. How to feel?
Scary book, which was kind of fun -- I had this sense of dread the whole time. I mean, I'm not sure I enjoyed it, but I kind of did. I like how Wells takes unconventional protagonists and runs with it. I also like the...
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tagged:
summer-2014
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/940079986?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget" title="The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)"><img alt="The Way of Kings" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388184640s/7235533.jpg" /></a>
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<img alt="3 of 5 stars" class=" staticStars" src="https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/stars/red_star_3_of_5.png" title="3 of 5 stars, liked it" />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/940079986?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget">The Way of Kings</a>
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by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/38550.Brandon_Sanderson">Brandon Sanderson</a>
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The last 200 pages were exhilarating! So why didn't I rate this higher? Because it took 1,000 pages to get there! I understand this is a part of Sanderson's fantasy epic so a lot of it was setting up the rest of series, but the jury's st...
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tagged:
summer-2014
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/940080237?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget" title="Life After Life"><img alt="Life After Life" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358173808s/15790842.jpg" /></a>
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<img alt="3 of 5 stars" class=" staticStars" src="https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/stars/red_star_3_of_5.png" title="3 of 5 stars, liked it" />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/940080237?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget">Life After Life</a>
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by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10015.Kate_Atkinson">Kate Atkinson</a>
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A fresh take on already-sung theme -- kind of a Groundhog Day meets reincarnation, but all within a historical fiction novel. Sometimes I get fixated on the land of "what-ifs," so the idea that so much can hang on one moment resonated wi...
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tagged:
summer-2014
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/940081833?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget" title="Dandelion Wine (Green Town, #1)"><img alt="Dandelion Wine" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1374049845s/50033.jpg" /></a>
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<img alt="4 of 5 stars" class=" staticStars" src="https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/stars/red_star_4_of_5.png" title="4 of 5 stars, really liked it" />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/940081833?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget">Dandelion Wine</a>
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by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1630.Ray_Bradbury">Ray Bradbury</a>
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Magically melancholy, Dandelion Wine paints a nostalgic picture that is the embodiment of summers of yore. (And the second book one read in a row where children are constantly philosophical. Which is a little bit unbelievable.) Lovely pr...
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tagged:
summer-2014
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/940086182?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget" title="North to the Orient"><img alt="North to the Orient" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1382942041s/110032.jpg" /></a>
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<img alt="0 of 5 stars" class=" staticStars" src="https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/stars/red_star_0_of_5.png" title="0 of 5 stars, " />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/940086182?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget">North to the Orient</a>
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by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21135.Anne_Morrow_Lindbergh">Anne Morrow Lindbergh</a>
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tagged:
summer-2014
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/940086936?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget" title="The Handmaid's Tale"><img alt="The Handmaid's Tale" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1294702760s/38447.jpg" /></a>
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<img alt="0 of 5 stars" class=" staticStars" src="https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/stars/red_star_0_of_5.png" title="0 of 5 stars, " />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/940086936?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget">The Handmaid's Tale</a>
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by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3472.Margaret_Atwood">Margaret Atwood</a>
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tagged:
summer-2014
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/940087255?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget" title="Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories"><img alt="Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1356451130s/23792.jpg" /></a>
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<img alt="0 of 5 stars" class=" staticStars" src="https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/stars/red_star_0_of_5.png" title="0 of 5 stars, " />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/940087255?utm_medium=api&utm_source=custom_widget">Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories</a>
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by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4273.Roald_Dahl">Roald Dahl</a>
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tagged:
summer-2014
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You’ll notice I haven’t read them all (the ones with reviews are ones I've read), but here’s what I’ve learned so far:</div>
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1. I finished all the books in the “want” category first. So maybe I need to change how I look at books I “have” to read so I can actually finish them.</div>
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2. Asking for suggestions was fun and something I need to do more often! It can be a lot of fun to read a genre that isn't my go-to.</div>
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3. Having a reading list made me think about what I was reading and why I was reading it. Was what I had expected to get from the book what I actually took away? Was I making the most of the book I was cheating on my reading list with? (I actually ditched a book because it wasn't exciting enough and didn't justify the guilt I was feeling for not reading from my list.) </div>
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4. I read borrowed or library books faster than ones I actually own.</div>
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5. Some books are better than others for certain situations.<i> Lord of the Flies</i> may not be the best book for your flight. And don't be surprised if people look at you strangely for tearing up while reading <i>Dandelion Wine</i> at the beach.</div>
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6. I still have a hard time with reading lists. (I would say "hate," but that's such a strong word.) I still feel like they make reading an assignment when it should be a joy. But I noticed how having a reading list expanded my reading horizons. So, maybe I'll keep doing a reading list. I'll just keep it a little more informal and account for my random library picks and obsessive author-binges.</div>
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Okay! I've got a month left! Better run off and actually finish <i>To the Lighthouse</i>! And let me know what I should read next as I procrastinate my reading list :D</div>
Ginny-Gin-Ginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10340903080612520657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1573371811368188393.post-26256051424320779152014-06-11T06:28:00.000-07:002014-06-11T06:28:31.735-07:00Red Light, Green Light<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
He had never seen anything like it, not in his 20 years of teaching.<u></u><u></u></div>
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“No, no, Sally. You’re supposed to <i>slow</i> traffic,” he said, his legs dangling from the stoplight where he perched.<u></u><u></u></div>
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“Sorry!” She stuck her tongue out, trying to concentrate on the yellow car that was hitting all the green lights at exactly the right time. “It’s too hard to make them go red!”<u></u><u></u></div>
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She shook her head and focused on a tabby instead. It walked into the intersection and four cars swerved to miss the suddenly blank-eyed stray.<u></u><u></u></div>
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“Good girl,” said the traffic devil. “Now let’s move on to highways.”</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>This short story is a part of the illustrious WonHundred Word Wednesday. Read the other stories, spun off the prompt: </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">"</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">He hadn't seen anything like it in twenty years of teaching</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">."</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> at the links below!</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://lindzeearmstrong.blogspot.com/">Lindzee Armstrong/Lydia Winters</a> * <a href="http://www.lauradbastian.com/">Laura D. Bastian</a> * <a href="http://blog.mistglenmoon.net/" target="_blank">Jenna Eatough</a> * <a href="http://www.rkgtheauthor.com/">R.K. Grow</a> * <a href="http://www.wendyknightauthor.blogspot.com/">Wendy Knight</a> * <a href="http://katesnovelidea.blogspot.com/">Kat!e Larson</a> * <a href="http://www.kellymartinbooks.blogspot.com/">Kelly Martin</a> * <a href="http://candamortensen.blogspot.com/">Canda Mortensen</a> * <a href="http://www.mirandadnelson.blogspot.com/">Miranda D. Nelson</a> * <a href="http://inklings-leahsanders.blogspot.com/">Leah Sanders</a> * <a href="http://angelaschroederauthor.blogspot.com/">Angela Schroeder</a> * <a href="http://wildscottkids.wordpress.com/">Amryn Scott</a> * <a href="http://jaclynweist.blogspot.com/">Jaclyn Weist</a> * <a href="http://www.krwilburn.com/my-blog.html">K.R. Wilburn</a> * <a href="http://thedistractedwriter.com/">Jessica Winn</a> * <a href="http://alisonmillerwoods.wordpress.com/">Alison Woods</a> * <a href="http://stephanieworlton.blogspot.com/">Stephanie Worlton</a></span></div>
Ginny-Gin-Ginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10340903080612520657noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1573371811368188393.post-55864391578112583612014-06-04T08:00:00.000-07:002014-06-04T11:30:17.785-07:00Mattel Intruder <div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">In the years I’ve lived here, I’ve never called it home. This is illogical; I was made for this house, but at first it felt too new. The wallpaper was too fresh, the sofa too springy – it wasn’t “lived in.” I had hardly begun to use the pristine china before *she* came – Miss Long Legs, with her painted smile and peroxide-blond hair. Right away she, the giant, chipped the china and warmed the house with her plastic boyfriend, their legs dangling over the edge of the four-poster bed. But what can I say? I’m a wooden vestige of </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">another era.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>This short story is a part of the illustrious WonHundred Word Wednesday. Read the other stories, spun off the prompt: </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">"</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">In all the years I've lived here, I never once called this place my home</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">."</span><i> at the links below!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://lindzeearmstrong.blogspot.com/">Lindzee Armstrong/Lydia Winters</a> * <a href="http://www.lauradbastian.com/">Laura D. Bastian</a> * <a href="http://www.rkgtheauthor.com/">R.K. Grow</a> * <a href="http://www.wendyknightauthor.blogspot.com/">Wendy Knight</a> * <a href="http://katesnovelidea.blogspot.com/">Kat!e Larson</a> * <a href="http://www.kellymartinbooks.blogspot.com/">Kelly Martin</a> * <a href="http://candamortensen.blogspot.com/">Canda Mortensen</a> * <a href="http://www.mirandadnelson.blogspot.com/">Miranda D. Nelson</a> * <a href="http://inklings-leahsanders.blogspot.com/">Leah Sanders</a> * <a href="http://angelaschroederauthor.blogspot.com/">Angela Schroeder</a> * <a href="http://wildscottkids.wordpress.com/">Amryn Scott</a> * <a href="http://jaclynweist.blogspot.com/">Jaclyn Weist</a> * <a href="http://www.krwilburn.com/my-blog.html">K.R. Wilburn</a> * <a href="http://thedistractedwriter.com/">Jessica Winn</a> * <a href="http://alisonmillerwoods.wordpress.com/">Alison Woods</a> * <a href="http://stephanieworlton.blogspot.com/">Stephanie Worlton</a></span></div>
Ginny-Gin-Ginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10340903080612520657noreply@blogger.com5