Just stopping in to say hello. We did some driving around this morning and noticed a plethora of wind turbines. All I could think of was whether or not they were watching me. LOL!

Signals are spotty here, so I will keep this short except to say that I dislike the fact that the far right seems to have commandeered the American flag. Last I checked, the stars and stripes were for all Americans. That's as political as I am willing to get in a forum post.

Hope everyone enjoyed the holidays. We have a few more days up here in the thumb of Michigan before heading back downstate. Been enjoying being present in the moment with family. I'll be back more frequently soon.

Happy Belated Canada Day and Happy Early Independence Day! Just poking my nose in for a brief hello! The baby is napping, his parents are resting, and my hubby is working online. So, it gave me a chance to pop in to say hi! The air quality here in the thumb of Michigan has been irregular, with parts of the day seeming fine and other parts making breathing difficult for me. So, we've been taking advantage of outdoor time when we can. Been enjoying the visits from the humming birds and the bunnies!

Awfully quiet in here today! Just stopping in for a Coke Zero and a quick wave as I take a break from packing. Leaving tomorrow to head north again. More baby time!

So happy to see the results of the comp were about what I’d jotted down (although I had myself at 10th and snagged a 9th place instead). This was a little out of my forte, so I was excited to come up with a story that readers enjoyed. Congrats to Jeff, Jason, and WG for their podium spots!

If nothing else, this comp got me writing again. I’ve had a dry spell this month and I am hoping to be a bit more productive going forward. Although I’m heading back up to visit the kids/grandkids in a few days, so we shall see!

Congratulations to the top 3! Well chosen indeed! These stories were outstanding.

While my story wasn’t much of a monster tale, I’m grateful that it seemed to be well received. The best part of a small comp is that we all placed in the top ten! Gotta love that!

Thanks, Bear, for insisting that I enter. I had fun writing my story and I appreciate those of you who read and commented on it.

Thanks, Molly, for encouraging authors with fun competitions! I look forward to the next one.

Quote by DenimAngel

Hi peeps

Sorry it's been a while. Busy week running errands and taking friends to appointments. But I do have fresh cookies today. A large iced tea would be great

Pouring a large iced tea and mixing in sugar and lemon

Today's cookies are Summer themed: beach balls, flip flops, Hawaiian shirts , palm trees, watermelon, pineapple, ice cream and sunglasses

All are diabetic friendly, gluten-free and nut free friendly too

giving the adorable critters fresh water and treats

Today's a good day it's a quiet day with no errands

These look and sound delicious, Sara! Hope all is well!

Stopping in for an iced tea-lemonade. It’s VERY HOT and Humid today! Fortunately hubby has met me busy at the computer doing work for him. Bless our AC!

I got both good news and bad news yesterday. The doc says that things look good but she wants me to do a 5th round of treatment to make sure we got ALL the cancer cells. So mid-July I’ll do 2 more weeks. Ugh! But I’d rather be safe than sorry later.

Thanks for the good vibes y’all.

Quote by Mendalla

Actually, that's a story. I forget the title and who wrote it, but there is at least one story out there about a writer who's writing can change reality. Of course, I could write it and then that would become true. 😋

I feel like I’ve read that story rather recently but for the life of me can’t recall exactly where. It’s gonna bug me now till I figure it out.

I had a marvelous idea for a story and then discovered over tea that my neighbor who is a children’s author was writing a series of books that was basically the gist of the story I was going to write. Now I’m wondering if I got the idea from her subconsciously or if we had a conversation where I wasn’t 100% tuned in (my ADHD can make it hard for me to focus at times). Regardless, I’m thrilled for her and bummed for me. Not that I have time to do justice to such a story but it would have been fun.

Lost power around 6 from a bad storm. Was planning to go over the bridge to the mainland to get breakfast when our power came back around 7:15 so I just stayed home and made some egg bites. It took a bit longer to get my Internet back online. Then another part of the storm blew through. We shall see if the power and internet hold or not.

I have an appointment today with the cancer doc to see if I get the “all clear” or whether another round of chemo is in my future. All good vibes welcome! Thanks!

Quote by Mendalla

Ten is good, if not quite up to past levels. Unless there are some last minute ones that haven't passed moderation yet? It's a good bunch, anyhow.

It's a busy time of year, so maybe that had some folks sitting this one out. Which is a shame, because this was a really fun theme!

So, this morning, after my virtual meeting, I clicked on the news tab on my laptop and found this article about wind turbines mysteriously falling. Talk about creepy timing!

Giant Wind Turbines Keep Mysteriously Falling Over. This Shouldn't Be Happening. (msn.com)

Morning it is, and every morning that I wake up makes it start off as a good one. How the day progresses is another story. Lol.

I read as many comp stories as I could fit in before my eyelids grew too heavy last night. Will get to the rest after my meeting this morning. I am grateful for all of you who have read and liked/commented on mine so far. It’s not nearly as long as I had originally intended, but it’s what RL gave me time to complete by the deadline.

It’s quite windy on the beach today. I’m watching a man struggle with his canopy tent and wondering why he thinks he can win against Mother Nature. I understand he is on vacation, but he will be purchasing another canopy tent if he doesn’t surrender soon. Ah well.

Have a good one! I need to start my day🥰

Quote by verbal

Comp is closed. I’ve read and voted/commented on everything by the deadline, albeit barely.

A coffee and a cookie please.

Oh, I thought today was the deadline. I just submitted my entry. Ah well. if it's too late, so be it. I've been traveling and then sick with a stomach bug. But I figured I'd at least send it in. Now I need to get reading the others after supper.

Good afternoon all y'all! I've been a little MIA lately with travel, health concerns, and trying to deal with several friends' sudden deaths. But I'm working on a few stories and hope to start spending more time here again.

It was supposed to rain all day yesterday and most of today. We hardly got any at all. We could certainly use it.

The Rays won yet again today, beating the Boston Red Sox 9-3. That makes their record 13-0! Hopefully, that will bring in the fans. If not, they sent us a coupon for $10 off a ticket.

Been busy since we got back from Alabama. Hubby enlisted my Excel skills to help him with his work. Tomorrow we head to Nashville. He's got work there, and I'm tagging along. I expect to get some crafting done and maybe even finish some stories while he's at the office Monday and Tuesday. This weekend will be dedicated to sightseeing and being a couple!

Hope all y'all are enjoying your day/week.

8 hours and 4 minutes till I see my baby girl! Everyone else comes a little later.

I’m beyond excited. 🥰

Mesh - mush

Ethereal - phantom

Quote by gillianleeza

It's also hot here in Virginia, 87 the last time I checked. Spring weather is wild in the south. I had to dig through closets to find some shorts. It's an excellent excuse to clean out those closets. The more out-of-control things in my life are, the more I organize my house. My house is highly organized right now, thanks to problems with my dad. Sigh, I need a nap. I'll have a lemonade and enjoy some of Sarah's cookies for now.

I hope everyone is doing well.

Cheers!

Hugs for you. Dealing with aging parents can sap your energy. Of course so can organizing your house.

Back for more lemonade. It’s delish.

Sunny and HOT here. A TALL glass of lemonade sounds amazing.

My siblings have left, and I finally got caught up on reading/commenting on stories here.

Hitting the road to meet at my youngest's house tomorrow. The sibs and their kids will all be on hand to celebrate Easter.

Speaking of alligators...I saw one yesterday chilling at the golf course I drove by. I'm guessing he won.

Looking forward to Sara’s cookies. YUM!

The Rays beat the Tigers again. This time 12-2. Whoo hoo!

We rented Plane on Amazon Prime tonight. Very intense. We liked it a lot. Some implausible moments, but overall enjoyable. It helps that I like Girard Butler.

Quote by JustAnotherSapphic

I’ve been so busy with Drew that I forgot to tell y’all that Jane is actually going to be back a bit sooner than I’d thought.

New WL starts on April 11th, not the 17th. Brace yourselves cause the posts are coming.

I was wondering when we’d see some Jane posts. Not gonna lie, I was kinda missing those. 🥰

Grabbing some of that Iced Tea after a few hours on the beach (Under the umbrella, of course). The movie was really good, in my opinion. I really think D&D enthusiasts will really enjoy it for the accuracy, and others will enjoy the action and the humor. My brother stayed awake, so that's a big thumb's up from him. My hubby and sister enjoyed it but thought parts were slow. I didn't think that at all.

I've been stuck on where to go with a story that I am writing. Not sure if it's worth salvaging. It might have to sit dormant for a bit until a better direction occurs to me.

Off to get ready to go out to dinner.

Quote by Mendalla

I am a bit tempted. The reviews are much better than for any previous attempt at a D&D oor RPG-based movie and from the trailer, it looks like they nailed some of the monsters from my D&D days.

I will let you know how it is. 😎

Back to feeling like myself and happy to know I have 4 weeks to enjoy this burst of energy. More tests next Monday but a break from treatment and that makes me a happy Kat! Hope all y’all are enjoying your Friday and have something fun planned for the weekend. Taking my brother to see Dungeons and Dragons tonight. And YES, I’m not ashamed to admit the reason I am going is because Regé-Jean Page is one of the actors. Brother just likes popcorn. It’s a win-win.

My Rays won today!

And I had enough energy to work out at the gym. 😎

We watched Don’t Worry Darling. Florence Pugh was fabulous. Otherwise it was okay. I didn’t find it stellar, but it was entertaining enough.

Quote by verbal

I'm taking the main idea and trying to mold it into a short story.

I was depressed all day yesterday, thinking about abandoning 35,000 words, but you gotta do what you gotta do. I'd feel worse abandoning it at 45,000.

Anyway, better today. BASEBALL IN TWO DAYS! And the new story might be good. No coffee or tea or cookies out so I will whip that all up. Costco coffee it is! And the fanciest of teas! And basketball cookies!

I'm meeting with my tax person today. Sigh.

A coffee and a cookie would be the bee's knees.

Sometimes when I feel like my story is dumb or I can’t see it going any further, I just let it sit. I move onto something else and then come back several months (or even years) and see if I can revive it with fresh eyes. I hope that you find a way to salvage the heart of the story. In the meantime, cookies do make things less painful. 😉

Quote by Mendalla

Yeah, nasty down here, too. Started after lunch. Now we are under a wind warning here.

You and Bear just need to move further south. It’s been beach weather all weekend which has lifted my spirits immensely. My fabulous hubby made sure I was protected from the sun with two umbrellas. Only spent 2 hours out each day but it was a welcome change from the couch.

I will take a lemonade with a straw please. It will be another week before I can drink without straws.

Quote by verbal

Thanks for the set-up, and Happy Equinox everyone. Still feeling pretty lousy. So is Talia.

A coffee and some Nyquil please.

Hope you’re both feeling better soon.

I'll take my tea in the iced variety with a straw this morning. The overcast skies and windy weather have me in a bit of a funk. Funny how I've become so dependent on sunshine that I get annoyed when it doesn't show up.

Hope all y'all are having a good start to your weekend. We did enjoy having the neighbors over last night for corned beef and cabbage. Today will be a chill day until we take my brother to see Shazam later. He enjoys action movies and, of course, LOVES popcorn.