In Canada that is. Was a bit of a long trip but saw some interesting stuff along the way. Favourite might be Gdansk, Poland, which kind of surprised me. We even visited the shipyard in Gdansk where Lech Walesa worked and Solidarity started. There's a big "European Solidarity Centre" there that traces the history and has some artifacts and recreations from the era. Gdansk also has a lovely medieval-Renaissance Old Town. And it is all in walking distance.

Talinn, Estonia and Lubeck, Germany (our shore trip when we docked in Kiel) are also nice, historic cities.

Anyhow, I am back. Putting on some Deathwish Dark Roast coffee. Teas are English Breakast and Twining Four Red Fruits (which I discovered at our hotel in Oslo after the cruise). Hot water is available for whatever other hot drinks you might wish. Washed the pitchers and made fresh iced tea and lemonade. Sodas are stocked up.

So how goes it?

Quote by Molly
it's vanilla with melted peanut butter poured over it and then stirred until it's mixed and soft

Noted for future ... experimentation. 😉 Never head of this but it sounds tres yummy.

When the Wind Blows

Running. Swimming for me is more like "not drowning" 😲🙄😁

Backpack around the world or do a "world cruise"?

I have had many over the decades. Chocolate Mint Chip was a family favourite for a while. Butter Pecan (which is what I chose) is a longtime favourite as is Maple Walnut. And the buffet we frequent at home has a nice "no sugar added" cappuccino flavour that I like (Ape weirdness: I dislike coffee to drink but enjoy a lot of coffee-flavoured desserts). And sometimes just a nice basic chocolate or vanilla goes down best.

Quote by verbal
I am planning on writing a horror story about a demon in the MRI machine, so I will be sucking up the details.

Dang, that sounds great on paper. Hope you get this out. And hope all turns well with your brain.😊

Hello from Norway. One more day in Europe and then we are off home. Hope all are well.

Later, alligators!

Ape sneaks in and takes a polar bear and a lion

Currently hanging out in Copenhagen. Less than a week until homecoming, though.

Hope you're all keeping well.

And good morning!! I am off soon, but will sling the black stuff one more time.

Got some Deathwish Dark Roast for coffee. Perfect to launch a Monday.

Teapots are filled to the tippy top with Assam and Earl Grey. Hot water on standby if you favour something else.

Fresh pitchers of iced tea and lemonade are in the fridge along with assorted pops.

See you later, folks! Might pop by now and then but expect me to be scarce the next couple weeks.

Sounds like a bit of an adventure.

Doves, eh. I hear them around but haven't seen any nests this year.

Day is bright and sunny.

Sire - Site

It's happened but certainly not my usual. Depends on the stranger and situation.

WYE go on a vacation trip alone?

I stick to one unless it's really soft or flat, then might need a second.

WYR use Uber/taxi or transit in a strange city?

Oo, I tough. I loves me some Impressionism. Probably Monet would get the edge.

Landscape paintings or still life?

Packing is under way. Airport bus is booked. We are gonna be outta here soon. But I am still around for the weekend.

Putting on some Finnish Juhla Mokka dark roast coffee (since I will be hitting Helsinki).

Teas are Earl Grey and Raspberry Royale. Hot water is ready for other teas or hot bevvies.

Washed the pitchers and made fresh iced tea and lemonade. Sodas are stocked up.

Later, alligators.

Quote by Cora
I liked that movie so I choose Gary Oldman.

He played Dracula in Bram Stokers' Dracula directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

Painting.

Abstract or realist?

Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee (oh, what the heck) or Gary Oldman?

Woo hoo!

Congrats to WriterGirl and TomEccleston! Two great stories.

And congrats and thanks to all who entered. Interesting theme and it produced some interesting work.

Quote by Cora
I think it's awesome you are visiting islands on this cruise, Mendalla. Hopefully you will be inspired to write a story. Hawaii is supposed to be beautiful. My childhood best friend lives on the Big Island.

Not this cruise, that's a planned future one. Current cruise will be the Baltic Sea. Not as warm.

And the results are in. Go over and have a look. Then you can come back for some dark roast Blue Mountain coffee or English Breakfast tea while you mull them over.

Annoucing The Winners Of The It's Not What It Looks Like Competition | Stories Space

Quote by verbal
I think days at a time on ship reading and wandering around and looking at the water and sky sounds awesome.

My wife wants to do Hawaii out of LA someday. 10-11 days at sea for 5-6 days actually visiting the islands. Let's just say my laptop is coming along on that one. Could probably get a story or two written.

Quote by JamesPBear
Most of those "10 cities in 11 days" cruises don't show you all that much since you're in each city for such a short time.

That's my thinking, too, and one of the stops is a city we have been to. However, my wife is a driven, type-A sort so staying on the ship will not be a welcome suggestion unless she's really beat, too. Why she married a laidback ape remains a mystery to some.😉

And good morning!!

It's a lovely, if a bit chilly (yes, chilly on May 30, it's that kind of Spring) day in my neck of the woods.

Putting on some Deathwish Dark Roast for the coffee set, Darjeeling and Original Earl Grey for the tea crowd, and there's hot water for whatever other hot bevvies might turn your crank. Checked the fridge and we are looking good for cold ones.

Later, alligator.

Quote by Cora
About a week before the End Date, inspiration came to me.

StoriesSpace has a fickle muse, I find. 😉😊

Quote by DenimAngel

Brooks -n-Dunn concert sounds fun JEFF .

Strange as it sounds, this headbanger kind of agrees. I used to listen to a bit of so-called "New Country" and I recall these guys being a nice listen. Not something I'd ever be a hardcore fan of, but I wouldn't change the channel if one of their videos came on.

Jean-Michel Jarre with Brian May is like an 80s fantasy come to life. Top synth wizard meets one of the best guitarists of that generation.

I have been getting more creative with my playlists on Amazon Music. One new one is "Energize My Day", a list of songs that I find get my heart pumping and my mood rising. The leadoff track, appropriately, is "Energize Me" by After Forever, one of my favourite songs from the pen and voice of Floor Jansen (and one she still uses today in solo sets).

In the current configuration, the first four songs have Floor on vocals (1 After Forever, 2 Nightwish, 1 solo), and she appears again a couple more times later in the list. Need to shuffle things a bit. She really puts a lot of energy and verve into her singing even in studio, which is why she shows up so often.

Quote by JamesPBear
So far, I think I've got a decent chance of making the Top 10 in the current competition! Of course, it would be great if more people joined the fun, but then I expect there will be a last-minute rush.

There was but for this comp, that meant like 4 stories. At least ten matches the last comp so we aren't falling any further. Two days until the judging announcement is supposed to happen. No idea if things are happening on schedule or not. We will see on Friday, I guess.

Thanks for getting things going, Bear.

Headache gone, back is better. Worried about upcoming vacay. 10 cities in 11 days (cruise). Not sure if my body will be up for that pace but we shall see. I have a few more days off after we get home to recuperate anyhow.

Ape slumps in looking like he's come off a 3-day bender

Bad headache last night. Still not great this morning.

Coffee is PC Gourmet Medium. Teas are Red Rose and Earl Grey. Enjoy.

Ape scarfs a stars and strips heart cookie and a Red Rose and slumps back out

An interesting mix in this one, but the general idea is print publications that will take more than one form, so fiction, non-fiction, poetry, etc. A lot of more general literary journals, less genre-specialists in this one. There's one horror magazine that I noticed. Some with other focusses like feminist writing or specific styles (one specializing in tanka, for instance).

One that I think is kind of cool is The First Line, described as follows:

"This quarterly journal accepts fiction of 300-5,000 words that begins with a pre-set first line; 500-800 word critical essays about your favorite first line from a literary work; as well as some poetry. For their next submission period, the line for fiction is: ‘When she was eight, Alice Henderson briefly held the world record for filling her mouth with marbles.’ (Deadline 1 August 2024)."

Neat concept for a journal, eh? We've had the odd challenge here like that.

» 35 Print Literary Journals that Publish Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry (authorspublish.com)

Valerian

Pride of the Yankees