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Category Archives: Challenges

Breakfast

03 Jun

101_5843June 3 — on my table

Here’s an unusual sight for a Monday morning. Rarely is there a hot breakfast on my table. I’ve normally got a bowl of cereal or some toast in my lap while I’m sitting in front of the computer (an accident waiting to happen, I know). But I’ve got company this week, and I thought a considerate host should provide a more substantial breakfast for her guest (staying in so many B&Bs around the UK has rubbed off on me). So I pulled out all the stops, serving up my mom’s sausage and egg casserole recipe, some hot, toasted crumpets, and a bowl of fresh fruit. Tomorrow’s menu consists of today’s leftovers or a bowl of cereal. 🙂

June Photo a Day hosted by Chantelle at Fat Mum Slim

 
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Posted by on June 3, 2013 in Challenges, Photography

 

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Tea

02 Jun

101_5841June 2 — a moment

I have fully embraced the concept of afternoon tea since living in England, and I especially love the days when I’m caught up enough on my to-do list to enjoy my cuppa in the conservatory (sunroom). There is nothing better than sipping an afternoon blend, watching the fish swim nonchalantly around the pond, and admiring whatever new blossoms have appeared since I last had a moment to relax.

June Photo a Day hosted by Chantelle at Fat Mum Slim

 

 
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Posted by on June 2, 2013 in Challenges, Photography

 

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Shutterbug

01 Jun
B is for…butler
B is for…bumper to bumper
B is for…bully
B is for…bud and blossom

Today marks the start of a month-long concentration on the photography side of my blog. When I set out my reasons for this blog back in January, honing my photography skills through daily photo walks was part of the plan. I have not stuck to that…it’s been too easy to go through my photo archives to find pictures that go with whatever I’ve chosen to write about for the day. So in June, I am putting writing on the back burner, and devoting the time I’d normally spend at the keyboard to getting out and about with my camera. I’ve decided to play along with the June schedule of prompts set out by Chantelle on her Fat Mum Slim blog and shown below. Today kicks off the challenge with four fresh new photos specifically taken with B is for… in mind. Enjoy!

JUNE-PHOTO-A-DAY_zpsda153a55

 
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Posted by on June 1, 2013 in Challenges, Photography

 

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Prom

31 May

window-dressing-janet-webbPhoto copyright Janet Webb

“Where d’ya think yer goin’, dressed like dat?” Daddy slurred from his chair, slinging back another finger of Jack. “You turnin’ inta a tramp, just like yer mama.”

Daddy’s been in the bottom of a bottle since Mama defected from the family three years ago. Every ounce of kindness in him has been pickled. But the familiar accusation stings more than usual tonight. I’d actually hoped he might smile like he used to and call me his little princess.

“It’s prom night, Daddy. We talked about this, remember? Right now, most fathers are telling their daughters how beautiful they look.”

Exactly 100 words for this week’s installment of Friday Fictioneers, the place where anyone is welcome to link up with his or her own little story spun from the photo prompt offered by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields.

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Posts I commented on today:
Tea–a haiku with photo (This, That and the Other Thing)
Who Does the Dress Belong To? (Short Stories and Random Thoughts)  new blog of the day
Day 27, Monday: A Letter To My Readers (The Sock Zone)  another new blog

 
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Posted by on May 31, 2013 in Challenges, Fiction

 

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Pathways

26 May

Ailsa, at Where’s my backpack? has chosen Travel Theme: Pathways for this week. I’ve travelled down many paths in my time, but my favorites always seem to take me by the water. Here are a few from the past year….

Path across the Blue Lagoon, Reykjavik, Iceland
Coastal walk, Birling Gap, England
Causeway to St. Michael’s Mount, Cornwall, England
Canal Towpath, Cropredy, England

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Posts I commented on today:
(In case you missed the reason for this, I participated in the A to Z Blogging Challenge in April, and though I posted every day, I was lousy at visiting and commenting on other participants’ blogs. So for each day in May, I’ve vowed to visit and comment on three posts from the various blogging communities whose members have supported my efforts. At least one post MUST be from a new blog I haven’t yet visited.)
The Bat & I (rarasaur)
New Best Friends (Northwest Photographer)
Friday Fictioneers (HEY BEERGUT!!)  new blog of the day

 
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Posted by on May 26, 2013 in Challenges, Photography, Sunday Best

 

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Mercy

24 May

danny-bowmanPhoto copyright Danny Bowman

“Hi! This is Samantha. I must be in class, so leave me a message and I’ll call you back!”

Beep.

“I’ve paid $39.99 a month for the last six years to keep my daughter’s cell phone active, just to hear that message. She’s never going to call me back, but the smile in her voice gets me out of bed each morning. Samantha paid with her life for this man’s three-martini lunch. But as a father, I understand he is losing the same things I lost. Please consider parole. Free him to make a lifetime’s memories with his own daughter.”

Thanks to Rochelle Wisoff-Fields for presenting another opportunity for us Friday Fictioneers to try to cram an entire story into only 100 words!

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Posts I commented on today (all of whom are Friday Fictioneers):
(In case you missed the reason for this, I participated in the A to Z Blogging Challenge in April, and though I posted every day, I was lousy at visiting and commenting on other participants’ blogs. So for each day in May, I’ve vowed to visit and comment on three posts from the various blogging communities whose members have supported my efforts. One post MUST be from a new blog I haven’t yet visited.)

Friday Fiction–Listening (elmowrites)
Upgraded Service–Friday Fictioneers (Björn Rudbergs Writings)
Flash Fiction Friday–Scavenger Hunt (The Bradley Chronicles)  new blog of the day

 
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Posted by on May 24, 2013 in Challenges, Fiction

 

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Elements

20 May
Kilauea’s lava meets the Pacific
Fire + water = earth + air
Waves lap at the encroaching lava
Ribbons of fire ooze into the ocean

When Ailsa at Where’s my backpack? asked for photos of the four elements in this week’s Travel Theme: The Four Elements challenge, I immediately thought of Hawaii. My experience on the big island, hiking across the lava fields of Mt. Kilauea to the coast, sticks in my mind as a time when the four elements of earth, air, fire, and water all came together. The bright orange fire of the lava oozed from the volcano until it encountered the cooling waters of the Pacific Ocean. When the two met, the water was vaporized, becoming air, while the fiery lava was cooled, becoming new earth.

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Posts I commented on today:
(In case you missed the reason for this, I participated in the A to Z Blogging Challenge in April, and though I posted every day, I was lousy at visiting and commenting on other blogs. So for each day in May, I’ve vowed to visit and comment on three posts, one of which MUST be from a new blog I haven’t yet visited.)

In Praise of Paper (Nouveau Scarecrow)
Travel Theme: Four Elements (Moments in Your Life)  new blog of the day
Friday Fiction: Every Journey… (elmo writes)

 
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Posted by on May 20, 2013 in Challenges, Photography

 
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