Be safe out there all y’all who have wintery weather. It’s actually warm enough today that my brother wants to swim. Better yet, hubby worked a break into his schedule to join us.

Hope your hernia consultation goes well, Ape, without any surprises.

Hope you feel better Sara! Migraines can really take it out of you!

Thanks for the cookies. 🍪🥰

Quote by Mendalla

Good morning, Gil and all.

Snow on the ground and more on the way if the weather geeks are to be believed. I am half-inclined to head back South until March. After going in fits and starts, seems like winter is starting to happen in earnest.

Coffee is Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. Teas are English Breakfast and Cream of Earl Grey. Hot water is ready for hot chocolate or other teas.

Cold, snowy, bleak winters are why I sold my house in Michigan and moved into my vacation rental full time. No regrets. And when you live at the beach on an island, people come visit. So I still get to see family and friends.

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road? That’s a question for the ages, isn’t it? What if the answer is deeper than we know?

Please take a look at my recent story and find out:

https://www.storiesspace.com/stories/fantasy/why-did-the-chicken-cross-the-road

Many thanks!

If there are any giraffe cookies left, I call dibs.

I have a couple of Mardi Gras story possibilities swirling around in my head. Not sure if anything will come of them but I may take a break from napping to see if I can put anything in writing.

Hoping my energy doesn’t take too long to return now that round two of treatment is done. I have things that I need to accomplish this week.

On a side note, we paid the twenty bucks on Prime to see “Everything Everywhere All At Once” last night. It was different than any movie I’ve ever seen and I was a little doubtful at one point but I absolutely loved it. Hubby enjoyed it too. You have to pay attention, no playing games on your phone while watching this one. And you have to hang in there for a bit when it seems to go off the rails. But that is the whole point. The acting was outstanding and a scene toward the end between a mother and daughter made me cry. It was worth paying for in my opinion.

Quote by gillianleeza

It's been a busy week with various appointments for my Dad. He loves them because he enjoys talking with everyone and never stops. He exhausts everyone around him. But after he gets clearance from his doctors, he can have surgery.

For some reason, I am having difficulty dealing with losing my cat, Apollo. I wonder if it's because we don't have any pets now. When Hannibal died, we still had his brother. I wake up thinking he is on the bed with me. He acted more like a dog and would greet me at the door and follow me everywhere. We'd watch tv, and he'd even get up and follow me into the bathroom. I'm grateful for the extra time we had with him. He accidentally got out five years ago and was missing for five weeks. So these past five years were a bonus. He was such a sweet comfort when stress was too much.

It's going to be a quiet weekend. I see several naps in my future. I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Cheers!

Hugs for you! You’ve had a LOT going on lately. So of course losing your kitty seems even more heart wrenching than it might have. And losing a beloved pet is hard. Naps are good. They are restorative and good for the soul. Cuddle up with a favorite blanket and tune out.

Ten days of feeling like hell, followed by a celebration!

This looks fun! I may have to peek through my NOLA pix from a few years back to see if any spark an idea for me.

Happy Birthday, Larry!

Blinks…can’t believe Chessie let Jeff let her.

Honestly she loves me ninety percent of the time, loves my hubby at night when she wants extra attention, coexists with the kids when they visit, and tolerates my neighbors. The fact that she didn’t swat your hand is rather remarkable. Perhaps you are a cat whisperer.

My neighbor stopped by a bit ago. Okay so I have very invasive, yet treatable cancer, and I’m a lil miserable with the treatment side effects right now. But her hubby has Alzheimer’s and can no longer drive. After our visit I feel less sorry for myself. I hope I helped her as much as she helped me. She came to check on me, vent a little, and borrow nail polish remover.

If the Cookie Monster left anything besides crumbs, I’m gonna grab a few Scooby snacks and wash them down with a Coke Zero.

Happy Birthday to redwriter’s lady! I hope you’ll enjoy celebrating with her.

Sara, Chessie says MEOW! Which loosely translates to Thanks! She deserves a treat as she has been my constant companion throughout my treatment.

I’m doing more reading today, so if anyone wants to send a link my way to give your story or poem some attention, I’d be happy to like and comment for you.

I appreciate those of you who have taken a look at my latest here (link in my signature) “Why Did the Chicken across the Road?”

I'm gonna curl up with a cuppa tea and a cozy blanket (and my cat of course).

My brother just announced he wants to swim tomorrow. So I can stop feeling guilty for not taking him to the pool today. Life’s little mercies.

Thanks a million, Sara for filling the cookie jars! Im gonna put some of my favs in a ziplock baggy for later. 🥰

Quote by Mendalla

You're in Florida? We had to go around Florida to get back to N'Awlins from the Bahamas and it was possibly the coldest, windiest Southern cruise I have been on (I have done Alaska, hence the qualifier). Not bad here in NOLA, though. Low twenties Celsius.

Good evening. Visited the National WWII Museum, which is quite impressive.

And Jeff might seek political office? Cool, I guess. I have thought about taking a stab at council someday. Municipal politics are largely non-partisan in Canada so I wouldn't need to align myself with a party. Probably a retirement project, though.

Yes I’m in Florida and normally it’s cooler in January than other months but it’s been downright cold the past several days. And the winds have been wicked as well. Today looks calmer so far and rumor has it we will climb back into the 70s F today.

I have fond memories of NOLA and would love to go back some day. The history buff in me especially enjoyed the historical ghost tour. And the sweet tooth in me enjoyed the beignets.

My son dabbled in politics on his 20s but met a lovely woman and now he’s 31, married, and has two wonderful boys. His focus is on family these days as he doesn’t feel he could do justice to both. Perhaps he will consider it again when the kids are grown.

Sending hugs to Gillian. My mother passed in 2008 from Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s and the last two year of her life sucked. Now my neighbor’s husband has dementia and it’s so hard to watch his slow decline. He’s been taking aricept for the past year or so and it did seem to slow down the progression, but dementia is robbing them of what we’re suppose to be their golden years of travel and enjoying retirement. Dementia is cruel.

it’s a quiet morning here, so I will enjoy some tea and do some story editing.

Thanks, Bear! Tea and cookies for a chilly day!! At least the sun is out in full force again. Rumor has it tomorrow will be warmer. I wouldn’t whine but it’s been too cold to swim and that is how I manage my brother’s Physical Therapy.

Spent a good portion of my evening on the couch binge watching season 3 of Jack Ryan. Made it through episode 7 and had to call it a night.

I published a new story here that I finally finished editing if anyone is interested in taking a look.

https://www.storiesspace.com/stories/fantasy/why-did-the-chicken-cross-the-road

Hope all y’all had a good weekend.

Quote by rolandlytle

Good afternoon to all!

Aaron, my grandson, Is fine. However, he will be wearing a knee brace for a couple of weeks. Thanks, Verbal. I was a well-scouted catcher in high school until I broke my kneecap. A year later, I completely recovered. But no one scouts young catchers with knee injuries. I am sorry, Verbal, but I forgot your favorite baseball team. Who is it?

Gillian, the medication should be alright for a year or two past the expiration date. They set a date of 80-50% of the actual average date to be safe for drugs that do not require special handling. It is almost as bad in hospitals with that trifecta of respiratory diseases as it was at the worst of Covid.

Peace and health for everyone! JLYSDI! ❤️

Glad to hear your grandson is on the mend. Prayers for a speedy and full recovery.

Quote by JustAnotherSapphic

Oh god. I hesitate to even say this cause I really don’t want y’all to laugh at me (even though I know my taste in people can get interesting at times) but I - I was pretty much body slammed with feelings for Drew at the end of last week.

This is why I try not to hold them in but like - he’s really near and dear to my heart (and has been from his first day hosting TPIR) so yeah, I’m a bit of a mess.

Well hell! I had a lovely response all typed and hit the wrong button and it all disappeared! I should know better than to try to post from my phone. The gist of it was that people who truly care about you, Elyse, would never laugh at y’all. Feelings are feelings and can always express them among friends.

Doc says I have to wait until Friday to start round 2 of treatment since I’m still not 100% from the stomach bug that derailed me for nearly a week. But it’s supposed to be chilly this weekend so I won’t be missing much. It will be a good weekend to catch up on some reading

If there are any stories here you wish had gotten more attention along the way, feel free to drop me a message or, better yet, post the link for me here!

For the first time in DAYS, my stomach is finally returning to something resembling normal. Still off a bit, but I feel well enough to peek in the Scooby Doo cookie jar! (But just one cookie! Doc suggested small meals for a while).

Spoke to my "brother of the heart" this afternoon. We spent time catching up because I texted him this morning to let him know I was thinking about him. I've decided I need to do more of that...reach out to people. I'm notorious for getting lost in my own little world.

Hope all y'all are having a good day!

That story is really good! I recommend it as well.

https://www.storiesspace.com/stories/general/pa-smoked-a-pipe-and-it-smelled-fine

I was supposed to go to the dentist this morning too. However my stomach virus decided otherwise. I discovered that norovirus can be stubborn and hang on for days. ☹️

So, I’m gonna stay over here in my corner and sip on a cola. I did manage some toast today.

On the bright side, the 15 pounds I gained during the holidays (starting with Thanksgiving and ending with NY) is already more than half gone.

Quote by verbal

Yikes! I hate food poisoning! Feel better. I really enjoyed your micro - you described the terror and joy of parenthood in 100 words perfectly.

Roland, sorry your head is mushy today. I'm hoping things will improve, it's nice to see you around here.

We went out to breakfast at our favorite place, and the wait was long, and the food and coffee was cold, so I'm in an irritable mood. Trying to edit, but my head isn't in it. Maybe I'll take a nap.

Until then, I'll have a cookie to munch on.

Naps are underrated. I’ve taken several over the past couple of days and I highly recommend them.

Still not 100 % here but I’m starting to turn a corner I think. Oh maybe it’s just wishful thinking.

The daughter in the latest micro called me today when she lost the connection with her bf as he drove home from being out of state for a while. He said his car made a funny noise right before the connection was interrupted. A half hour had gone by and his phone kept going to voicemail. She was so concerned that she couldn’t get hold of him again that she called the police in the city where he was when the phone went dead. Turned out he lost signal and was fine. But she admitted that worrying about someone you love can cause huge amounts of anxiety. No kidding! Lol. Have to admit, it made me feel good that she still reaches out to me when she needs a calm voice.

Imma have another Coca Cola. I think it’s helping. Maybe tomorrow I will feel good enough to have a cookie too! Maybe I’ll just sneak one into a ziplock baggie for later. 😉

Been fighting a stomach bug the past few days. Although it could very well be food poisoning as that lasts longer than I realized. Only one other person got sick though, so it could be just stomach virus.

So I will skip my typical tea in favor of a Coca Cola. I will be in the corner, watching football (American that is) and working on a new story. Anything to keep my mind off my tummy.

Wow! I’m very glad I managed to finish this story in time! I am so excited to place in the top 3! Congratulations to everyone who placed! I’m so honored to have finally reached the podium!

There were some incredible stories in this comp!!

Quote by Mendalla

🤣Yeah, the 21st century seemed so far off at one time, eh. The original Bladerunner was set in 2019 (made in 1982). Last I checked, we didn't have androids and flying cars in 2019, though maybe I missed something. 😋The sequel came out in 2017 and is dated 2049. So maybe some of us will get to see how it compares to the real "future".

Back on October 21, 2015, my son and I went to a local old style theater to see “Back to the Future” since that was the date that Doc Brown and Marty McFly landed in the future. Fun times!

Quote by Mendalla

Better keep your distance from me then. 😜

More seriously, my maternal uncle had nut allergies and we used to think that's what killed him. Later learned his heart (their family's big weakness, it's what killed my mother) was the problem moreso than an anaphylactic reaction.

Nuts are only a problem if I ingest them. It would be rude for me to bite, so I think we are both safe. 😉 But I always carry my epi-pen just in case

Fortunately, I have a strong heart. But a weakness for cookies. Scooby Snacks will be my safe choice here. My daughter likes to make a dip called Pumpkin Fluff and we use Scooby Snacks for dipping. Sinfully delicious!

I am allergic to all nuts, sadly. But I LOVE Scooby Snacks! Many thanks for being the best cookie fairy ever, Sara! I'm gonna have some of that hot cocoa, too, even though it's seventy here today.

Wonders if there are any cookies left...

Tea will have to do.

Admittedly, I do my best poems and micros on my iPhone.

Good morning from the foggy beach! From my living room window I can’t tell the Gulf of Mexico is actually out there, the fog is so dense.

I’ve never tried Black Currant tea, but it sounds intriguing.

It might be a good day to write since it’s doubtful it will be a good beach day.

I making it my goal to write more stories here, even if they are micros or poetry.

I am also going to try to read more stories. Message me with a link if you have one you’d love me to check out.

A cuppa tea to relax before bedtime feels like just the thing!

Happy birthday Sara! 🥳🥳🥳

The fog rolled back in today, so it’s gloomy outside.