Just Jot It January Prompt: Final and Best 20190131

WOW!

 

A whole month of blogging! A whole month of chair yoga and the beginning of little walks. A whole month of Spanish and German lessons. Okay, I might have missed a day on each but only that so that means 30 days. The amount of a NaNo month! And only a month between NaNo and JusJoJan! I do have discipline! But as of today, I have to figure out how to maintain until the alphabet month.

Meanwhile, besides bragging rights the prompt calls for which blog was my favorite. I only this month discovered that I didn’t need to save YouTubes to my Media file and could just share the URL and the tubie would show up. Wahoo! So I think that’s a thing, too!

I have a couple favorite prompts and the blogs came out keeping me in suspense as to what else those words could produce. I think ‘cathartic‘, ‘serendipity‘, and ‘zoomies‘. I think there is more to explore there. Zoomies, just because it’s fun.

Thank you, Linda, for this great challenge! And to all of you who came up with these cool prompts to help us all get some writing into our day another big  THANK YOU!

 

Just Jot It January One-Liner Wednesday 20190130

I’ve made a whole month! Just jotting!

Only one more day of Just Jot It January. I missed one day but who’s counting? Both JuJoJan and 1-Liner Wednesday are challenges courtesy Linda G. Hill. Thanks for the fun.

 

Just Jot It January Prompt: Dirty 20190129

This is the very first thing that I thought of–okay, the second, with this prompt.

After the reminders of all that needs cleaning in the house this is what occurred next:

Don’t get me started on dirty tricks. Not a fan.

I would write more but I have a case of cat and dog paralysis.

Typing over Rosey and not being able to move because of Kali has limited this Jot.

I can’t believe Just Jot It January is nearly over. Thank you, Linda, for this fun challenge. Thank you, Jim, for getting Jotting down and dirty!

Just Jot It January Prompt: Testify 2019128

Testify

I had so much fun with posting YouTubes yesterday that I thought I’d do it one more time. Try not to yawn.

I have never had to do that. It is my worst nightmare. I can’t imagine being able to remember anything while talking in front of others. Once my anxiety levels of stagefright take over I have no words. Forget that I could save lives by what I know. Add to the fact that if I remember it wrong or use the wrong words a person could be put in jail or to death and the brain would shut down.

The amazing thing is I can sing in front of a crowd. But the words are to a melody and rhythm. And they are memorized with gesticulations. But you know how on the news the reporters go to a person asking about their experience? Yeah. My words would sound like a foreign language. The tongue would be tangled. I’d break out in a cold sweat. I feel amazed when I see people talking like they do, like educated folk that lend to the news story.

Nope. Not me. EVER.

I’ve had jobs where I had to sell. Totally the wrong job for me. They say that if you love something its easy to talk about. Maybe true with my friends and family. But not with strangers. That’s why I write. Even then I don’t capture what I feel to the depth I want.

Then there is the aphasia. I’ve had a form of that most of my life and now that I’m old it has gotten so much worse. Often I forget what the word for forgetting words is. The more tired, the lack of sleep, the pain and words go out the window. NaNoWriMo can be terrifying if I’m having those problems. I’ve learned a trick with it though. I gain wordage to boot. Brackets. [the word that means you have to get up in front of the judge and jury and talk] See? Later when I get to those brackets I will know that word and fill in that one word, in this case, testify.

With friends and family I can do that, “You know the word that means…” and really close friends can practically read my mind. What’s funny now is that as I age, so do they and it seems they are looking for words that I can find on the tip of my tongue. I know that is because I don’t have the anxiety of finding the word.

BUT the worst is when everyone is stuck. Like contagious stagefright. You can have a whole room of people looking for the word. What happens is that a different sort of ‘catchy’ happens then. The giggles.

Thanks, Linda and Dan!

Sunshine Bloggers Award

Wow! Thank you, Sadja for nominating me for the

The Rules

1. Thank the person who nominated you and provide a link back to their blog so others can find them. ✔️
2. Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you.✔️
3. Nominate 11 other bloggers and ask them 11 new questions. ( 5 questions and 6 nominations only) 🔵
4. Notify the nominees about it on one of their own posts.✔️
5. List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo on your post and/or your blog site.✔️

Sadje’s Questions to me:

What is the best thing about blogging?

There are several good reasons to blog. And rather than choose just one, I will share a couple. I love making new friends around the world. And I love the chance to write.

Have you written or plan to write a book? If so what is your genre?

I have lost count of the novels I have written. I think I have 13. I’ve written them for NaNoWriMo, either in November or inventing my own month. They are mostly sci-fi/fantasy. They were fun until the time to edit. I am horrid at getting that done.

Do you make life seriously or are you a happy-go-lucky person?

I used to be rather Pollyanna about things. I still mostly lean to the optimistic viewpoint. But lately, seriousness attacks me and threaten depression. I do have clinical depression but most meds don’t help. I have to work on it when I feel it coming in. Though there is plenty to be discouraged about, lack of sunshine can get to me. Thank goodness we have had a few sunny days to go and sit outside and absorb that vitamin D.

Do you believe in coincidence or you think everything is predestined?

I think the answer is somewhere in between. Though I have been a Tarot Card reader for a long time and even did it for a very short time for pay. I just felt that folks relied on it so much they didn’t mind spending their hard earned money just to find out if they would soon get rich. I did feel it worked well as a counseling device. I could use a card to find out what was hurting the client and help them find ways to work on that in their lives. But very few clients used that. They called often and wouldn’t try to get out of their own way. What that told me was that if something seemed coincidental too often you are drawing it to yourself by thinking on it a lot. And nothing is predestined that a thought process can’t pull you out. If you think all is doom and gloom and you look around and can prove it is, you have brought that to yourself. There are many books about manifesting. Yes, it is hard to do–until it isn’t.

Closing your eyes and imagine yourself in a place you have always wanted to visit. Where are you?

I miss the beach. Any beach. I miss being out on the ocean. We got to go on a cruise to Alaska once. Never would have thought this Southern California girl would like that cold. But I loved it. I figure it was the water that was made my inner mermaid happy.

Bloggers I would like to present this award to:

Well, here is where I will break the rules. I’ve gotten all the way to this part of awards before. I love all the blogs I follow. I have a hard time narrowing it down. And then people hesitate to accept because of this same reason. So here is what I’d like. If you want to accept this award, please let me know. If you want some questions to answer choose mine or follow the blog chain back and find a few you really have a desire to answer. I know everyone is busy right now, especially if you are trying to keep up with Just Jot It January.

 

Congratulations to you all. I hope that you guys can accept this and pay it forward, but if not you can give it a pass altogether or you can just answer the questions. Your call. If anyone feels able to answer my questions, please do.

#Keepitalive

#Awardsandnominations

#Sunshinebloggeraward

 

Just Jot It January Prompt: Cathartic 20190127

Remember how we all talked about dogs and the zoomies the other day? I wonder if they are having a cathartic reaction to something in their lives. I love a good dance it out (when no one is looking), a quick run around the yard (again when no one is looking–I hope).

It is too bad we all so close to our neighbors. I think a good scream it out or sing at the top of our lungs would be quite cathartic for all of us. It seems the only time I can do that is on a car trip by myself. Me and Babs doing Yentl or other Broadway musicals can bring me back to me.

Sometimes baking bread will do it with the punching down the dough. I think any physical burst of energy can pull out a lot of emotions without spending tons on psychiatrists and meds.

Another thing I love to do is watch shows like Beaches. That good cry at the end can clear out the cobwebs.

Lately, and this is a bit embarrassing to me, (wow! look above at all the cathartic embarrassments!) if I’m feeling a lot of hopelessness about the world, especially the rulers of the world (notice how vague that is!) I love watching non-stop disaster movies. The plots are similar, stupid rulers making stupid decisions for their own good and scientists that are being paid to find certain answers with no regard to truth, then the rulers say not to panic, which in turn becomes panic. Those we relate to live through it all or are emotional heroes.

And right now it seems knitting and binging horror/weirdness shows get me by until I can dance it out again.

Well, even writing this was cathartic. Thank you, Linda and Enthralling Journey. 

Just Jot It January/Stream of Consciousness Saturday Prompt: Ad/Add/AD

A friend and I were IMing each other. Every time her message arrived my laptop beeps. I like that as I don’t have to stay on the page but can follow my ADD (which isn’t on the prompt, by the way) and click on whichever tab I want to peruse.

But Kali goes nuts. She starts shaking and panting and won’t eat or drink. All those little noises the phone or laptop make to tell me someone wants my attention terrify her. Have any of you dealt with this? It’s been there since she moved in with us and I think my daughter had to deal with it also. I do remember when visiting my daughter that they couldn’t put on the oven because it made small ticking sounds. The would send Kali into a huge shaking fit. You have to cook so they just tried to ignore it and get the meal finished.

Our stove here doesn’t make a noise and the microwave doesn’t seem to upset her. So at least there’s that. But I miss many texts and IMs on my phone and laptop because I try to keep the sound down.

She looks calm but she’s blurry because of the shaking. At least she isn’t panting anymore. The IM conversation was a half hour ago.

She was a rescue way back when. It was her nervousness that ended her life at my daughters as she couldn’t be left alone without destroying the place. My daughter has to go out in the world and work, ya know. We took her in because we are home all the time, so…

We wanted to try her as an assistant dog for me but my anxiety gets way worse when I take her out with me into the busy world. We are only good for each other at home or out in the yard. Even walks make me more nervous because she wants to attack other dogs. She thinks she’s the alpha when the other dogs could eat her for lunch. So I have to be careful where I take her so we don’t have those encounters.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining about her. I love her dearly and in our days she sits connected to me nearly 24/7. I’m just concerned about how to deal with her ‘sound anxiety’. Any ideas?

Well, I didn’t exactly meet the prompt requirement but I did follow my stream. Thanks, Linda!

Just Jot It January Prompt: Balance 20190125

Balance

Not long ago I took Kali out first thing in the morning. One step out onto the porch and my feet were in the air and my shoulders hit the door threshold. There was ice on the porch landing that was invisible. I don’t think I was seriously hurt. Though the tailbone is even madder at me than it was before. I’m beginning to think that my chair yoga isn’t getting better due to that slip.

It is easy to lose our balance. It is something we strive for. But I wonder if it is even possible to have. Or if we have a slanted view of what balance should be. Though nature gives us a semblance of balance nothing really is. Not even our own faces are balanced. So have we mistaken what we should aim for?

When I am drawing I find it hard if the left eye is higher than the right or the corners of the mouth don’t line up properly. And for that reason, I have a hard time appreciating Piccaso’s modern art. But maybe he had something trying not to balance.

Had I been thinking of balance maybe I wouldn’t have fallen? I don’t know. As it was my hands did a good job grabbing at the door handle and the rail. It could have been way worse had the automatic reflex not kicked in. I was pretty amazed at that reflex. Have you ever tried to think through something like that?

I’m sorry. I’m meandering. All I wanted was to throw a little balance into this blog.

I know! I have shared plenty of pics of Kali and Rosey but the only good one of Teddy was one I share when we first moved here. I just cropped it and found an interesting balance between Teddy’s sweet self and the scenery. Did I ever tell you that Teddy used to love me best and I felt so very connected to him? He knew where to situate on me to purr away my pains. When Kali came he seemed to divorce himself from me. It has taken a year for that little guy to finally decide I am worth his trouble. Now I wake in the morning with three furries taking up my bed. All making sure I can’t move. Wish I could levitate those mornings so I wouldn’t have to disturb these loves.

Who cares about balance when there is this face in the world.

Once again, thank you, Linda, for Jotting fun. And JP for tossing my balance! 🙂

Just Jot It January Prompt: Zoomie 20190124

Zoomies

‘What are the Zoomies?’ I asked when I saw this prompt. So I looked it up. Here’s what I found on Chewy.com. Kali has done that a few times. Mostly when the cats start it.

Teddy will scratch the furniture. I think when my daughter was Kali’s mommy she would reprimand her cat so Kali assumed that was something she could take on herself.

Teddy is the youngest of our furries but this is his go-to position. He gets really grumpy if you wake him. He has taken on the Garfield attitudes. In fact, every night when we feed the wet food to all three, he needs to be picked up and brought to his food.

He was wiggling to get down to said food.

I’ve shared pictures of Rosy and Kali more often.  Just a quick reminder:

She is a mixture of regal and ready to grab your every attention.

Kali is always attached to my body somehow or in my face. That may be why I have more pictures of her.

Anyway, so the two old ladies, Rosey and Kali think they are the bosses of Teddy. Poor guy. So when he attempts to scratch the furniture Kali will jump off my lap to go chase him and then Rosey will join in and there will be a blurry elephant race around the living room, hallway, kitchen, and bedroom. I say elephant because as floppy-soggy as they are on our laps, they can make the biggest thumping noise. It seems like they’re having fun. Most of the time the ‘bitch-slappers’ aren’t brought out. Rosey’s polydactyl ones are scariest. Kali has learned to respect those paws.

So, I assume Zoomies aren’t just something dogs get as all three seem to get them. Kali will run like crazy outside but it is usually bush to bush trying to find that perfect spot. But it’s a blurry furry mess as they run around like crazies. Most of the time it is all three going for it. Then they assume their previous positions. Sleeping more than likely.

Thanks, Linda! Thanks, Bee!

Just Jot It January One-Liner Wednesday 20190123

You gotta know things are bad if I choose to start binging True Blood over watching another moment of news or hang out at FaceBook.

Nope. I don’t usually like vampires.  I have to admit that between my husband and bestie have broken my anti-horror stance over the last decade. And sadly, I think I like it. Both The Walking Dead and TrueBlood have more story than horror. I like watching the characters grow through the weird world they are in. I can relate.

Thank goodness for One-liner Wednesday. I don’t think I could have done more today.