Morning, everybody! Now, let me see. I seem to recall that today was important for some reason…
Oh, yeah! It's the day our neighbours to the south celebrate their country's birthday!
Happy Fourth of July all you 'Mericans among us!
I've got some A&P Eight o'Clock coffee perkin' away, and some Red Rose tea brewed up, so enjoy!
Hot day here. I may even have to turn on the A/C. I've already been in the pool once to cool off after my yoga workout, so…keep cool you all!
Hey there! It's CANADA DAY!
We've got some Muskoka Maple coffee today, plus someone tells me there's a Canada Breakfast tea, plus Red Rose Orange Pekoe, so that's what we'll feature today!
And I'm going to follow on the policy of the University of Waterloo, which unfortunately experienced hate crime stabbings last week, killing three students. As a result, I'm going to hoist the Canadian Pride flag!
Everyone kiss a moose today (or a beaver, however you want to interpret that), eh?
Quote by gillianleeza
They finally paved our road this afternoon. The whole thing makes no sense. The state is doing the paving, but the county has been replacing water lines, and the utilities are being put underground. Why would you pave roads that are still being dug into? Typical bureaucracy; no one talks to anyone else. Sigh...
So, Fred and Dave have breakfast together every morning at the same café, sitting at the table by the window.
They're sitting there one morning when a city truck pulls up, two guys jump out and dig a hole in the verge by the sidewalk, When they've finished, they toss the shovels in the back of the truck, mount up, and roar off.
The next day, nothing happens – the hole just sits there, a mound of dirt next to it.
The third day, another city truck pulls up, two guys get out with shovels, and start to fill the hole in.
Fred and Dave are more than slightly confused, so wander out to where the crew is and ask, "What's going on? Why did two guys from the city come and dig this hole, and now you're filling it in?"
One of the guys stops, leans on his shovel, and says, "We're planting trees for the city."
Fred looks at the partially filled hole and says, "But there's no tree in there!"
The guy looks at him as if he's simple and says, "Look, buddy, there are three crews, one to dig the holes, one to plant the trees, and a third to fill in the holes. We're the third crew, see?"
Fred looks at Dave, Dave looks at Fred and shrugs, "But – no one came to plant a tree!"
The guy looks exasperated, "Of course not. Henry and Carl were off sick yesterday!"
And he goes back to filling in the hole…
.
There doesn't have to be a reason for it. It's policy – and it's absolutely the same in Toronto, so you're not alone in your frustrations, Gillian!
Quote by DenimAngel
Hi folks
A beautiful day here . A break from running errands.
Jeff bite your tongue.. I'd be embarrassed if the Braves ever got as horribly snooty as the Yankees . But they are pretty good about keeping players long term .. Chipper Jones played 19 seasons with them and now works in the front office .
Pouring a large iced tea and mixing in some sugar and lemon,then giving the adorable critters fresh water and treats
The Braves and the Rays look like the teams to beat this year. I'm glad at least one of them has a fan that I like – and it ain't the Rays, who only have three fans in total anyway.
If Lost Wages doesn't want Oakland, they'd be well-advised to go after Tampa Bay, whose community doesn't seem to realize what they have!
I'll take some hot cocoa this late at night, and a couple of GF cookies, please and thank you!
Quote by ladysharon
Hi, everyone! It's been very busy on my end. First up, my daughter is going to the first grade and is diagnosed with autism, but can function. I'm looking into ways to help her overcome and work closely with her doctors and the school she attends to make sure she can reach her fullest potential socially, emotionally, mentally, physically, and academically. She is really smart and has an aptitude for math, and wants to become a doctor.
As for me, I finally got my website back up and running, and I am trying to edit a video for posting to YouTube. I hope to have it done and posted by the end of this week.
My writing mojo has been coming back slowly. I decided to dust off a couple of old stories I have on here and turn them into a book for future publishing. I have so many ideas, that I actually found a few notebooks I wrote fragments of stories, and one I am working on completing before I let my editor tear it apart before I publish it.
Hi, My Lady of Sharon! I'm James, and pleased to make your acquaintance-ship!
Speaking as a run-of-the-mill neurotypical, your daughter should be just fine, especially as she's good at math. Having studied some math myself, it's a great path through life.
I'll look forward to your ideas, as embodied in stories. And welcome home!
Thanks for the goodies, Sara! I'll grab a mug of Red Rose (from a tea bag) and wander back to Sara's Space, and see if I can peruse a story or two.
TBH, I'm glad the contest is over so I can read what I wanna now, and not prioritize the contest entries.
Quote by Molly
Oh no, is my link not working for y'all?
Your link works fine, I'm just saving people the extra steps!
OK! So the winners are in, and for once I'm in complete agreement with the top three!
Winner
1
Teeth of the Sky verbal
Second Place
2
Príšera Vnútri TheShyThespian
Third Place
3
Just Another Monstrous Tale WriterGirl
Runners Up
And YES! I made the Top 10! YEA!
Congratulations to Jeff, Jason, and WriterGirl for their fabulous stories!
And to everyone in the Top 10 – except, perhaps that weird story in the 8th place…
It was an intriguing competition – and thanks to Molly & the organizers!
Good morning, everybody! I'll just load up the coffee maker with Ethiopian beans, put on pots of Orange Pekoe (black) tea and Darjeeling teas, and then peruse the goodies.
Taking a Bear-sized mug of Orange Pekoe with a couple of GF cookies back to Sara's Space and see if I can catch up on some reading.
Hope everybody's well today! Kat, good luck with your treatments and your family!
Quote by gillianleeza
I miss my cats but don't feel ready for another pet. It's a cool, windy, rainy day here. It's nice to open the windows again.
However, it was a bit noisy in the street. They are paving our road and the grinder hit a manhole cover that had been paved over the last time the road was paved many years ago. It made an enormous sound and ripped up the manhole cover, and bent the whole thing while the grinder was throwing the asphalt down into the sewer. The county then had to come in with a few trucks and suck out the debris to prevent it from clogging everyone's sewer lines. They then blew out the lines. One should never use their facilities when they suck all the water out; it pulled the water out of one of our toilets. Not a fun day. Trying to get in and out of my driveway and street will be a challenge for a few days.
I hope everyone is doing well and that you receive good news, Kat.
I'll take a few cookies and try to get some sleep.
Cheers!
Sounds perfectly dreadful, Gillian. Part of the problem with losing institutional memory: no one knows about stuff that was done earlier, with results such as you've described. There's going to be a lot of that as the effects of the Great Boomer Retirement start to hit home.
I'll try that English Garden stuff Mendalla, although I'm not a big fan of Jasmine teas. And a GF cookie, if there's one floating around…
Quote by KatarinaTechgoddess
I feel like I’ve read that story rather recently but for the life of me can’t recall exactly where. It’s gonna bug me now till I figure it out.
I had a marvelous idea for a story and then discovered over tea that my neighbor who is a children’s author was writing a series of books that was basically the gist of the story I was going to write. Now I’m wondering if I got the idea from her subconsciously or if we had a conversation where I wasn’t 100% tuned in (my ADHD can make it hard for me to focus at times). Regardless, I’m thrilled for her and bummed for me. Not that I have time to do justice to such a story but it would have been fun.
…
I have an appointment today with the cancer doc to see if I get the “all clear” or whether another round of chemo is in my future. All good vibes welcome! Thanks!
Absolutely – good vibes from all of us, all day long!
Meanwhile, I once wrote a book about entrepreneurship (two actually, but this story relates to the first one). In it, I interviewed a woman by the name of Marci Lipman. She was a college drop-out who started by selling graphic art, framed and unframed, found she had an eye and talent for spotting good ones, and decided to make a business of it. She started making (having made) sweatshirts, sweaters, and t-shirts with eye-catching graphics that became immensely popular, which is quite an accomplishment in the incredibly competitive clothing business. Lady Jay still has a couple of her sweatshirts and they still look amazing, at least a decade later.
In my interview, I asked her about good ideas, and what you did if someone else had done your idea before. Her reply was, I found, immensely helpful.
"So it's been done before! So do it different, do it better! Everything's been done before. Don't let that stop you!"
An idea – for a story, an invention, a screenplay, a sweater – cannot be copyrighted, patented, or trademarked. It's only the specific expression or implementation that can be protected.
Moreover, as you have no intention of profiting from the idea, it would be difficult to sue for damages.
So I would say, Kat, that you should go ahead and write your version of that idea. If you want, you can tell your friend, or even acknowledge her idea in a prologue. If she objects, then don't, but foreswear for friendship, not for concern about copying.
As I said in both books on entrepreneurship: Good ideas are a dime a dozen; it's execution that pays the bills!
And you are outstanding at execution, my friend!
Quote by KatarinaTechgoddess
So, this morning, after my virtual meeting, I clicked on the news tab on my laptop and found this article about wind turbines mysteriously falling. Talk about creepy timing!
Giant Wind Turbines Keep Mysteriously Falling Over. This Shouldn't Be Happening. (msn.com)
Mayhaps you write the truth…literally! What you write becomes true…
Now THERE'S a scary thought, isn't it?
Mendalla, I love Kawartha Ice Cream, but I really hanker for some genuine (pronounced "GEN-u-wine") coffee ice cream, and I don't believe Kawartha does that. In fact, it's very hard to find in Canada anywhere, and becoming more difficult in the States as well.
It's always been my favourite flavour, ever since I was a kid.
And WG, we have a mourning dove that has hatched two nestlings in our front garden (in the chimney to our livingroom fireplace, silly thing), but we think a hawk got one. We've seen the other one flopping around, trying to fly, and then doing so in a panic when someone walks by.
This is what the management gurus call "motivation"!
And Jeff, I agree – Shy Thespian's story is a great addition. But I've generally been blown away by his writing!
Quote by gillianleeza
I need to do some cleaning because my middle son and his girlfriend are visiting this weekend and bringing her parents for dinner on Saturday so we can finally meet them. My son made me promise to behave, lol. I'll try my best.
Have a good Friday, everyone. Cheers!
Oh, but Gillian, that leaves SO much room for mischief!
As I tell my kids – I ALWAYS behave, just not always well!
😇
How about the Blue Jays? They're six games over .500, and would be in FIRST PLACE in the AL Central, AL West, or NL Central – and where are they in the AL East?
Fourth place, and 10 1/2 games out of first!
In fact, in the AL East, only the Boston Dead Sox are below .500 – by ONE GAME: at 34-35
Oy gevalt!
Quote by Mendalla
Seven! Seven strange and wonderful tales! Mwahahaha! lightning flashes, thunder crashes
You're really into this, aren't you, Mendalla!
One wonders what you're like once the sun goes down…
😲
Either that or you're REALLY into The Count from Sesame Street…
Quote by Mendalla
Welp, I gone done it. Hit "Publish". My comp entry is in the queue. Watch for it. Going to have some Kittie Zoomies and a cookie while I wait. Patiently. Really, I'm being patient. 😇
If that's "patient," then I'm glad I'm not your doctor!
We'll look for the entry marked "Ape".
Eagerly, of course.
OK, so my comp entry is up: The Legend of Taddi and the Monsters
It took a major re-write, but I think…well, it really doesn't matter what I think, does it?
Let's see what the critics say!
OK, I've submitted my entry…so damn the torpedos, and full speed ahead!
Or something like that.
Now I'll try to read the other stories.
I'm going to brew a big mug of Red Rose tea, and wander back to Sara's Space, and see what I can see…
Hi there! Well, at least I've got a draft of a comp story done. I have no idea how good or bad it is, but I've stored it. Tomorrow or Tuesday I'll have a last look at it, see if it needs some more polishing, and then hit PUBLISH.
I'll warn you all when I do so you can arrange to be out of town…
Good morning, campers! There's a forecast of rain around here today. Let's hope it happens. Lady Jay's garden is getting awfully dry, which means her flowers aren't happy, which means she's not happy, which means – guess who gets left holding the unhappy-bag?
I'll put on water for tea, and get the coffee started – Tanzanian Teaberry should do – then retire back to Sara's Space, and lounge around for a bit, see if anyone else wanders in.
I'll take a bug mig – or a big mug – of English Breakfast tea, please. And I'll check for GF cookies, then mosey on back to Sara's Space and find a comfy spot.
I don't want to read the comp entries yet as I have started my own. Not sure how it's going to work out, and haven't had enough time to do much on it, but there is hope!
See ya!
Well, so far I'm up to about 400 words – and with a strong suspicion that I'll finish closer to 1,000 words than 10,000!
Well, at least that will make it easier for the judges, right?
Hey there, hi there, ho there! I'm here, after a long stretch of time in which RL intruded too vigorously!
Myths and Monsters, eh? Hmmm…
I've got to think about that. I don't believe I'm going to come anywhere close to 10K words, but I am thinking that I want to go big, at least on the theme…
I don't have a real idea yet, just an itch at the back of my head. I'll have to sleep on it a while and see what happens.
Or to quote Curly, of The Three Stooges…"I'm trying to think, but nuttin happens!"
Likewise, Elyse. I have a project due next Tuesday, so even though I'm just back from holiday, I'm armpit-deep in work.
Oh, well – no time for writing, even just editing stuff I've already written.
But I'll be back!
I hope…
Quote by Mendalla
Ape wanders in. Ape sees brownies. Ape starts swiping.😊
Good morning, all. Here's some nice hot java to go with those brownies. Tea, too, Assam and English Breakfast.
I've put both lemonade and iced tea in the fridge. Help yourselves.
Bright and sunny here and looking good for the whole weekend.
Morning, Ape! I'll forego the brownies, but will take a Bear-sized mug of English Breakfast tea and mosey on back to Sara's corner and see what develops.
Blue Jays are on a bit of a roll against KC, but let's see how they do against Mike Trout and especially Shohei Otani of the Angels! Who knows? Maybe this year they'll be good.
Then home against a weak Detroit team, followed by a much better test against Tampa Bay.
Fingers crossed!
Quote by Mendalla
LOL. Maybe it's not his cat. Maybe it's the cop's cat. 🤣
Good morning, fellow writers, readers, and literati. The coffee is hot and ready. There's a couple pots of tea, Russian Caravan and English Breakfast. Hot water is on for other teas and hot beverages. And there's a pitcher of iced tea chilling in the fridge.
Had a hellish day at work yesterday and other things are bothering me, too. Events at another site I am on are making me rather glad this place is quiet. Still, we need some more life and oomph around here, I think. Maybe I'll try posting here more to see if I can draw some folks out of the woodwork.
(winkles his way out of the woodwork)
MAN! That wood is tight! Especially for a Bear of my stature!
It's not just this site, Mendalla. I've noticed that activity at other sites is down. I suspect it's some combination of end-of-pandemic and beginning-of-Spring. It's not your deodorant, so, as my Scottish forebears said, "Dinna fash yoursel'"
Quote by redwriter
After the ear op I mentioned weeks ago (supposed to be a two week job) the stitches finally came out last week--seven traumatic weeks of much blood and worry. Including evidence of an internal bleed in the chest area (obviously not connected to the ear problem). But I was kept in hospital for two nights undergoing various scans and tests. In the end it was decided that the blood thinning tablets I took were the cause of the problem, and I was given the choice of remaining on that tablet or not. As one doctor jokingly (at least I hope he was joking) put it, "Do you want to bleed to death or die from a stroke?" I am off the tablet awaiting review of alternatives. Now I must pick up on my half finished 'Anschluss' story. Writing does not go well with blood loss and writing of a little girl's reaction to that terrible time was never easy in any case.
Sorry to hear, Jim. Not sure whether I'd clock the doc that asked if I'd rather bleed to death or stroke out.
Glad they at least figured out what the problem was! Now a solution…that might be a bit more difficult.
Regardless – glad you're back!
