Hmm. I am fond of both, really, but probably piano. My favourite bowed string instrument is actually the cello.

Play a card game or play a board game?

I have always had a fondness for Bach, but Mozart is good too.

Symphony or opera?

Good morning!! Election Day in Ontario, but it's probably going to be boring. The odds of a change here are slim given we have a two-term premier who is fairly popular and, unlike some conservatives I could name, handled the pandemic and other crises quite sanely. Sadly, it's his more routine policies, like building unnecessary highways instead of supporting alternative, low-carbon means of transportation like transit and biking, that will keep me from voting for him.

For coffee today, some Muskoka Lumberjack. Teas are Canadian Breakfast and Vinyl Cafe. Hot water is on if you're craving something else hot.

Looks like the comp ended with 13 entries. Not bad but I would have loved to see it go higher. Now the countdown to the big decision begins. Who will it be? Who will it be?

Could there possibly be more? Not much time but if someone has something on the go ... hurry! I'm all caught up and need more to read, dang it. 😋

Quote by WriterGirl

And then there were twelve! A few hours left… can we get a baker’s dozen?

And AnnaBanana makes it 13!! Baker's dozen as requested. 😋

https://www.storiesspace.com/stories/flash-fiction/madame-thornes-final-fortune-2

Given that we have entries from our usual suspects, not sure what else may be out there. Would love to see a wave on the last day but not holding my breath. Will catch up on reading the last few today.

Depends on mood, doesn't it. Mostly rock (specifically metal) these days, though.

Acoustic or electric instruments?

Quote by WriterGirl

You notice the blinking cursor deviates from its regularly spaced intervals. You keep watching. It’s become a pattern of brief and sustained bleeps. Morse Code! You can’t believe what it’s saying — to you — and what then oozes from your mind to your fingers onto the keyboard and screen.

Now GO! 😈🤣

We need reactions on here instead of just the simple Like. This really merits a 🤣🤣🤣🤣 .

Europe. I've been to Mexico enough on cruises and there's a lot of Europe that I still need to see.

e-book or paper?

So Kat's in. Come on, we need 10 so we can have, well 10. It's hardly a top 10 if there's only ten, I guess.

If caffeine will help, I've got some Deathwish Dark Roast brewing. Tea is also available, Scottish Breakfast and Black Currant for today. Hot water is on if you're preferring some other tea or hot chocolate.

I started something on Saturday but then felt like hell yesterday so it is kind of stuck. Should be for, you know, but I am debating how to make it work here. Time will tell.

Quote by TomEccleston

Two days to the deadline and I'm still staring at a blank document with a blinking cursor. Oh the irony.

Take the first idea that comes to your head (that is SS suitable, of course 😉) and start writing. That's kind of how I got mine moving.

Quote by KatarinaTechgoddess

Ok, I finally submitted my story! I'll start reading the rest of the entries now that mine is finished.

That'll be nine. Can we at least get this comp to ten?

Plugged the comp on the other site again, just in case. I think at least one writer has mentioned entering who has not submitted yet so there's hope still. Also might drive some eyeballs to the stories.

Good (groan) morning! They plowed our sidewalks last night and the plow drifts were packed tight and frozen. Ugh. That's the kind of shovelling I can do without for sure. But, it is done.

I'm sipping Yorkshire tea right now to warm up, but there's also a pot of Raspberry Royale. For you coffee lovers, there's some Jamaican Blue Mountain brewed. And hot water is ready if you're craving another variety of tea or maybe some hot chocolate.

Hopefully it's a writing morning from here forward. Just need to decide what I feel like writing.

Okay, I am all caught up on reading entries. More stories! More stories!!

Quote by JustAnotherSapphic

No, I haven't died, but I do have a new poem out.

Welcome back. Nice to hear from you. Love the poem, too. Nice one for you to come back with. Hope all is well.

Quote by WriterGirl
I need to find a mate first, so he can do the shoveling, mow the grass, clean the gutters, etc. 🤣🤣🤣 I may as well put that on my dating profile.

LOL. I am sure there's guys out there looking to be the "man of the house" in that way. Not I. I am getting closer and closer to saying "eff it" and outsourcing that stuff. I'm already outsourcing some of the yard maintenance (fertilizing, weed control). Lawn mowing goes next. As Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) said in Lethal Weapon, "I'm too old for this shit".

Bagel. I have never really liked English muffins for some reason.

Burger or hot dog? (we are obsessed with food these days, eh)

(I was actually thinking of flavoured black teas. Should have specified.)

Sesame, raisin, etc. My current favourite is Cheddar Herb, from a local chain called Great Canadian Bagel.

Cream cheese on the bagel, or just butter?

New twist in the plot: After 26 films, the Broccoli family and the Eon Productions are stepping aside. For the history of the series, MGM has been the distributor (occasionally taking on other partners) with Eon producing. MGM was acquired by Amazon who have been itching to get the rights for themselves, thinking the series has franchise potential (TV spinoffs and that sort of thing). And the Broccolis and Amazon have finally come to a deal. Eon remains a partner, but Amazon MGM will now produce the movies (and other media properties) directly. Of course, the Fleming estate famously have had nothing to do with the movies or Eon in, well, eons so that none of the books written by other authors (Kingsley Amis, John Gardner, Raymond Benson, and more) after Fleming's death in 1964 have been available to the film producers. Whether Amazon might try to patch up relations with the estate remains to be seen.

Which is all to say that casting a new Bond might now have to wait until Amazon gets things moving on their version of Bond. The idea of a Marvel-style "universe" around Bond seems a bit ridiculous given the series is tightly focused on one specific character, but suggestions have been floated in the past for stories about side characters like Bond's CIA buddy Felix Leiter and the Bond comics currently being produced by Dynamite Comics have gone there.

The other thing hanging over it all, and some are suggesting this is why Eon did the deal now, is that there is only a decade left on Bond's copyright, at least on the Fleming novels, which means that in 2035, the door opens for rival Bonds.

My favourite singer is a year older today. Nothing heard from the lady herself yet, but fans have been posting greetings on her fan forum for a day or two already. The singer, in case you haven't realized from my past posting, is Floor Jansen, currently lead singer of the band Nightwish but also building her resume as a solo artist.

"Fire" is the song that, now nearly three years ago, was her first solo single after 20+ years in bands. This is a live performance from Dutch television from shortly after its initial release.

Neither, really. Not a fan. But maybe hot would be okay.

Fruity tea (like an Earl or a lemon) or spicy/savory tea (like a chai)?

Shovelled again but it wasn't much. Did the whole driveway solo in 15 or 20 minutes. Last couple rounds, it took me and the Mrs. 40-45 min. working together. No plows yet but given the amount, they might not plow my street. We shall see.

Putting on some Fire Roasted Saint Drogo coffee. For the tea crowd, some Duke of Earl and English Breakfast await. Or, if you prefer some of our other selection of teas, the kettle is full and waiting. Hot chocolate (with mini marshmallows), too.

Later, alligators.

No Time To Die

Sausage. More variety and flavour than bacon, I find.

With waffles or pancakes?

stamps feet and brushes off snow

Good morning. Just flurries now. Might get a couple cm later. Still, it's more snow and we, frankly, have quite enough already.

Putting on some Tobermory Flowerpot Island coffee in the ole coffee machine. Teas? Hm. Yorkshire Gold and Black Currant. The kettle is ready for those needing other hot beverages.

No new comp entries. Hope that just means we'll get a wave over the next week. Deadline is a week yesterday, after all. Will start reading them tonight, maybe. Been focused on home stuff since getting mine in.

I like beef if it is done right. Not a steak or roast but thin sliced and either stir-fried or in Korean bulgogi. That said, I do eat a lot of chicken, too.

Chicken roasted or fried?

It's funny how music can affect you. When Nightwish's tenth album Yesterwynde came out last year, I would not have pegged Spider Silk as being one of my favourite tracks. Five months on, it's in my top five from the album, maybe even top three on a good day. And they nicely put out a lyric video for it the other day.

Trigger warning: There are spiders. Lots and lots of spiders. (hey, look at the song's title)

Coke, if I must, but not really fond of either. Ginger ales and lemon-limey drinks like Sprite are more my usual.

Watch sports live or on TV?