Capture This ...

  Jennifer gave me this photo as my prompt on November 19, 2021. I thought about someone finding the leaf tucked in the pages of a book and what memory would be evoked by finding it. And I wrote this… Here on This Bench      I was determined to get all my boxes unpacked before the end of the weekend. If I didn’t, I was afraid that it would never happen—because, well, life happens. And then things like this don’t get done. I was unpacking books at the moment, and this, at least, was fun unpacking—and quick too. I wasn’t putting the books on the shelf in any particular order, so that made the whole process go even faster.      Halfway through my second box, I grabbed a handful that was probably one book too much, and the books all shot out of my hand and landed on the floor in front of the shelf.      I laughed. “Haste makes waste,” I said, mimicking an expression my grandmother used to say. Then I noticed a leaf on the floor and inhaled q...

Okay, I'm cheating... Jennifer gave me this photo as my prompt on November 14, 2021. It immediately reminded me of the below piece that is set in 1991. And I thought I would be able to write something new using this as my prompt, but every time I tried, I kept just thinking about the below piece, and I couldn't seem to come up with anything new. And since I'm already a prompt behind, I figured I would just pull this below scene from a longer piece I've been working on and call it a day! Yes, I'm cheating! We made the rules; we can break them! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Untitled (scene from a larger work in progress) They walked around the city for a little bit longer then headed back to the dorm. “So, are you coming with me to meet some people?” Mae shrugged. “I guess. I mean, I don’t really have anything else better to do.” “No phone calls you’re waiting on from Max?” He kept saying Max with a quick flourish of disdain. “Hey, what do you have against my boyfrien...

  Pretzel   (Word prompt given on October 29, 2021): Jill’s word for the week was pretzel, and at first I was thinking of yoga or how oddly some dogs sleep with their legs twisted up near their face. I walked around this wooded area while waiting for my daughter’s powderpuff practice to be over. It was freezing cold outside, and I saw this weed (or is it a vine with shoots)? The late-day warm winter light was shining at such an angle that it made this vine that had twisted itself into a pretzel glow! The little hairs and everything glowed a deep purplish red. It looked quite beautiful in the light. It’s one of those you had to be there things! 

  Growth  (Word prompt given on November 12, 2021):  The grade school near me was recently put up for sale, and soon after purchased. I worry about what they will do with the beautiful ginko trees that I have enjoyed visiting for decades. They are late in changing to their golden yellow this year, due to the warmer fall that we have enjoyed. I worry that the new owner might change their beautiful grounds. I am hopeful that they won’t. These beautiful trees have grown every year. I think they have been there before I was born, but not sure. Their beautiful leaves blanket the ground like yellow snow.

  Challenge  (Word prompt given on November 5, 2021):  Technology can sometimes be challenging for me. I tend to be a hoarder of photos and information. I will admit every device I own is pretty much at capacity, and in order to take new photos, I have to delete old ones. (Except for my new camera!) Also, another challenge I faced again this week was it is very hard to record things on your phone and capture photos with a camera at the same time. I have done this a few times, but it is not easy nor is it the best way to do things. I also broke my little pink portable flash drive that I plugged into my phone. I was tired, and I left it connected in my front hoodie pocket. I sat down, and the force from bending forward cracked it. It was pretty fragile but still…very upsetting. Luckily I can get the files off, but it’s just not a usable storage device anymore. So definitely a challenging week with technology. I need to back things up and make some space. Life is hectic....

Laughing Buddha I’m not a huge fan of nature. I mean, I appreciate its beauty and sometimes like to be outside—when it’s not too hot... or too cold... or too sunny... or too buggy. You get the idea. But, I do love inside nature, or rather houseplants!  When I was younger, my dad was someone who possessed a green thumb, and I so very much wanted to have plants in my room or later my house in my younger adult years. Sadly, I had not inherited his plant-tending gene. Over the years, my dad had given me several plants—probably because I would admire his. But I would end up killing every single one of them.  With each gift of foliage, it was the same pattern. At first they would thrive—for, like, a month or two. They would be absolutely beautiful, and I would think, “I’ve finally figured it out this time!” And then pretty much what seemed to be overnight, they just weren’t doing well. And before I knew it, they were dead.  Eventually, my dad told me that the next time he gave ...

Jennifer gave me this photo on October 31, 2021. At first glance I figured that I would write something about the animal, maybe. But when I sat down to write and looked at the picture, the thing that really stood out to me was the eyes and the lashes. And then I wrote this ... The Best of Friends “I would kill small children for her eyelashes!” Jessa leaned in toward her best friend Camille. “Just look at them! Oh, my God!” Camille laughed and casually leaned toward her right, pretending to reach for her purse. Then she leaned back toward Jessa. “Wow, you could put out a small forest fire by batting those things a few times.” She shook her head. “What I wouldn’t give …”  “So, anyway, Rick …” Jessa said.  “Yes, what about him?” “Well,” Jessa adjusted the napkin on her lap. “Are you going to let him get away with it?” Camille cleared her throat and then took a drink of water. She breathed out heavily and rolled her eyes. “I know I shouldn’t,” Camille said.  Je...

  Scatter (Word prompt given on October 29, 2021): Scatter. I initially had a lot of ideas for this one, but I could not take a photo of inside my brain (too many thoughts, things to do….and even my physical things are scattered everywhere—more so than usual.). We went to our community Halloween event, and there was an inviting bonfire with hay scattered for residents to sit on. I liked it and was going to use it, but when I saw the pumpkin field that we visit annually virtually empty with the remaining leftover pumpkins scattered….I knew that was what I was searching for! Granted a lot of those remaining were rotting or had big holes in them, but we still found some acceptable pumpkins. I am hoping these leftover pumpkins get adopted or feed to some animals. We went to the farm on Halloween itself. We had previously made a trip for pumpkins the night before, and Walmart was completely out of them. I was shocked! We were relieved that we were still able to get some.

Jennifer gave me this photo on October 23, 2021. Because my brain is twisted and because I watch a lot of true crime shows, I immediately thought of a serial killer taking a token from each kill and putting them together in this work of art. But after asking Jennifer about the image and her saying it was from the Women of Visions 40th anniversary celebration of Black female visual artist, I immediately decided not to go quite as twisted! So, I pulled out an old character from It Felt Wrong  posted on July 30, 2021, and here's what I came up with. Today I'm Not an Artist      I used to be an artist. I mean, I’m using that term loosely, but that was truly what I loved to do—planned on doing with my life.       And then I met Dale …       And he became what I loved doing the most—at least at first.       Things were exciting and dangerous in the beginning. Then they stopped being exciting, but by that point we...