Tag Archives: Daily Prompt

Old Friends

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Old Friends

Peruse my stars or read my palm.
Your predictions raise no qualm
for sleep has spread its soothing balm,
and now my world is blesséd calm.

The dogs are stirring and at my door.
They have been fed, but they want more.
For their restlessness, I am the shore.
I am their center and their core.

My world once shaken is calming down.
I have no need to scour the town,
for though the planet may fuss and frown,
my world surrounds me like a velvet gown.

My friends are resting upstairs and near.
They have no reason to stir or fear,
for in my heart I hold them dear
and bless those bonds that brought them here.

Now I hear each leave her bed,
choosing company instead.
They brew their coffee but must be fed,
so from the pillow, I raise my head.

My pain diminished since my fall,
I move more easily down the hall
as camaraderie sounds its call,
and I go to join them all.

The prompt today is “calm.”

Over-enthusiastic

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I bought this cane with a built-in flashlight for my sister when I thought she was going to have knee surgery.  Little did I think that I’d be the one using it! (Her surgery was cancelled.)

 

Over-enthusiastic

My enthusiasm’s quickly fading
as my energy’s abating.
Took a fall this morning, so
I’m getting around mighty slow.
My knee is wrecked, I cannot bend it.
An Ace bandage I’ve found can’t mend it.
My wrist is swollen out an inch.
(Being a klutz is not a cinch.)

I hope I’m better by and by,
but I can’t bear to touch my thigh.
I didn’t see the vacuum cord
there on the floor, and then, oh Lord,
since I was rushing, I took a fall
and now I cannot run at all.
When it comes to walking, I’m a gimp.
I lurch and stumble, sway  and limp.

The only thing I’m grateful for
is how it happened and nothing more.
Two nights I’ve slaved and worked ’til four,
then gone to bed happy but sore.
I’ve painted, cleaned and stowed away
so I’d be ready for this day.
And although I’d had no warning
I’d take a tumble late this morning,

my work’s all done. I’ve trimmed the tree,
and the last thing put away IS ME!

 

The prompt today was enthusiasm.

Flight of Fortune

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A little over a year ago, I wrote this post about an unfortunate fortune told me by a stranger.  Because I have so much left to do today before company arrives tomorrow, workmen here now, more coming tonight and a trip to Costco in Guadalajara to accomplish before that, I’m going to link to my former post and perhaps write one later tonight, after I finish painting.  Here is the link: https://judydykstrabrown.com/2015/12/10/flight-of-fortune/

I had forgotten writing it so perhaps even if you regularly read my blog, it will seem fresh to you, as well.  Merry Xmas–coming up fast.  So excited to see my friends tomorrow who will fly in from Wyoming and California.

The prompt word today was “fortune.”

Poor Timing

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Senora! I’ve found more lights!  It looks promising.  I knew I had many more strands, but these look unfamiliar.

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So I pulled them out of the bag and untangled them, and when I plugged them in?  Out of seven strands, only one worked!  I mined the errant strands for a few replacement bulbs and tossed them into the trash. Planned obsolescence?

Poor Timing

Whoever wrote this prompt today cannot have all the facts
If he thinks merely by wanting to, I can just relax!

Relaxing’s fine for those who have all their “to do’s” done,
but until the last one’s checked off, it’s not yet time for fun.
It’s true that life is not all work. There’s wisdom in each word.
But to rest prematurely is clearly just absurd.

I’ll paint the window frame and then put up Christmas lights.
Then unpack nacimientos–those Mexican delights.
I’ll hide the suitcase of old clothes I’ve been meaning to sell,
then close the guest room closet–best described as hoarding Hell!

Clothes of every era. Clothes of every size.
If you are into “retro,” you’d find it quite the prize.
Then hang up all the pictures and replace all the art
that’s been consigned to the upstairs since my remodel’s start.

We’ve wiped and swept and blown and washed ’til all the dust is gone,
but now must put away the stuff all the dust was on!
Two days from now, houseguests arrive. ‘Til then my life is taxing,
It’s when they finally get here that I’ll have time for relaxing!

 

 

 

The prompt today is “relax.”

No Time for Moody

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What me, moody?  No time to be so.  Spent four hours decorating the Christmas tree last night.  Unfortunately, seems as though when Yolanda packed up the ornaments for me last year—very carefully, wrapping each one (but neglecting to put them in their regular boxes so I had two large cartons of empty boxes as well as one large carton of neatly wrapped ornaments) she also just cut the hanging loops off with the result that none of the 200 or more ornaments had anything to hang them from.  Plus, she seems to have thrown away the wire hangers the loops hung from, so not only did I need to cut and form 200 hangers from wire, but also figure out how to attach them!  I did so appreciate her untrimming the tree last year, but this year I think I’ll just cover it with plastic and store it in the laundry room!  Save hours next year.  (I didn’t mention untangling 4 long strands of Xmas lights to discover only one worked.)

But I’m not moody.  No time to be so.  Especially since after two days of painting the bathroom I discovered that the cement window frame I’d worked hours on to gouge out and sand away all the salitre, treat with vinegar, dry with fans, treat with Sin Salitre, dry overnight with fans, then fill with white cement, had one problem.  The day after I completed this three day process (due to need to dry completely,) when I ran a cloth over the job, it came off covered with powder.  I then used my hand.  Covered with white powder.  Commenced coughing coughing coughing from the dust.

Then a light bulb went on over my head.  I must have filled the holes with grout rather than cement!  They look exactly the same, and when Pasiano neglected to find the white cement for me, I went to find it myself in the garage and got a bag of grout instead.  Damn.  This would mean sanding it out, more dust, more coughing.  So, I found a bottle of grout sealant and  painted it on.  When it dries, I’m going to go ahead and paint over it anyway.  If it doesn’t work, I’ll do the job right after Xmas

My best friends will arrive to spend Xmas with me in 3 days.  28 people coming for a Xmas day potluck, need to visit Guadalajara to buy the ham and rolls and other party fare. Still need to find a place for all the retablos still residing on my dining room table.  Carpenter came today to take my kitchen island to fix so all of it’s drawers residing in different places on my counter top and dining room floor.  Two more boxes of Xmas decorations to find and no idea where they are hiding out, bathroom to finish painting, spare room full of material that was put upstairs during retiling and that needs to be put away. Lights and papel picado to string up, Nacimientos to set out, manger to assemble.

But moody?  No way.  I have no time to be moody.  Above is the Xmas tree I decorated last night.  It’s beginning to feel a lot like Xmas.  I did Aguinaldos (Christmas Bonuses) and gifts for Pasiano and Yolanda, wrapped up a Hello Kitty notebook for Yoli and a new laptop computer for Oscar, filled Xmas stockings for Marti and Patty, my looooooong time  friends who are visiting . (So excited they’ll be here for Xmas.)  Yes.  definitely, Xmas is in the air, as full of dust as it may be, as cluttered and stacked up and makeshift as it may be.  In three days all will be perfect.  And it is also perfect that all this activity leaves no room for moodiness.  Moody? Me? Never.

 

 

The prompt today is “moody.”

Wish List of a Youngest Daughter

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Fishing with dad and my sisters.


Wish List of a Youngest Daughter

Off and on, I’ve been wishing
my dad and I could go fishing.
I guess my sister could go along
so long as she does nothing wrong
like catch a fish bigger than mine
or tease or hum or brag or whine.

Perhaps she’ll sit back in the bed
and not up in the cab instead,
so Dad and I can be alone—
the truck a sort of “private zone.”
He’ll hit the bumps real hard so she
will wish she was in front with me.

Just like I always pray and pray
her friends and she will let me stay
with them, when they come for the night
and play without me, door shut tight.
Marvelous fun had down the hall,
but not with me.  I am too small.

That’s why, when Dad tells me a joke,
I’ll laugh real loud until I choke;
and my sister, sitting there behind
might feel left out, but I don’t mind.
And when we get to where we’re going,
to the stock dam, cattle lowing,

Dad will bait my hook for me
and sister, too, and then we’ll see
who will catch the biggest fish.
I guess it’s obvious that my wish
is that I’ll catch the biggest one,
and sister will go home with none!

The prompt today is “Fishing.”

Maddening Messes

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Click first photo to enlarge all.

It will all come together.  Four days to go until my company comes!

The prompt today was “maddening.”  How appropriate.

An Agnostic’s (Creed?) Query

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An Agnostic’s Creed Query

Who knows, in the end,
what will be good fortune, what folly?
We make our choices, take our chances,
drawing straws that synchronicity turns long
or misfortune cuts in two.
One person’s good luck
is another’s ruin—
life, perhaps, being the biggest lottery
while the lord of games sits above
in his windowed cage, viewing the results
of his design. The wheel? Blind luck,
but part of some larger mechanism
rigged to keep the house functioning
for purposes that the faithful, those addicted to the game,
repeat like a litany, still pulling the slot handle, sorting the cards,
assuring themselves, over and over,
that they are taken into account.

 

 

The prompt today was “folly.”

Conundrum

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A conundrum is a kind of riddle based upon some fanciful or fantastic resemblance between things quite unlike. It creates a puzzling question, of which the answer is or involves a pun. Solve this riddle and win a prize. (My admiration.) Try not to look at the comments until you’ve guessed the answer yourself. Then, please brag to me about it in the comments section!
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What does not think but has a head?
Has many stories never read?
For each of us, just one, not many.
Contains much heart, yet has not any.
Some say once gone, you can’t go back,
and though one letter it may lack,
with it, if you hit the ball,
you’ll have the finest luck of all.
Add “r” and cover all the bases,
and you’ll bring smiles to many faces.
And when you finally come in free,
you’ll find you have come back to me.

 

Today’s prompt word is “conundrum.”

Meat Market Surprise

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Version 2

Meat Market Surprise

Her low-cut dress clearly bespoke
her dire need to meet a bloke.
When she removed her swathing cloak,
a dozen men at once awoke
from barroom reveries to choke
on swallows of their Rum and Coke
or beer or whisky. “Okeedoke!”
their eyes said, as they shared the joke.
Which one would have the night’s best poke?
One chugged his drink, as if to stoke
his courage. One more took a toke.
They circled round, craving the yoke
of one night’s spree–perhaps a soak
in penthouse hot tub most Baroque?
Then, as though wishes could invoke
more luck, a mini-skirt and toque-
clad example of fine womanfolk
appeared , more passions to provoke—
another goddess made to evoke
a duel, heart attack or stroke!
But then, alas, their bubbles broke
as she sauntered up and pulled an oak
stool to the bar and spoke.
Her voice was sultry—fire and smoke—
as she killed their dreams in one fell stroke.
“Darling,” she said to the other miss,
enfolding her in an ardent kiss.

The prompt word today is “bespoke.”