I'm pleasantly surprised by this twenty minute response to the 10 euphonious words prompt:

The lovely newlywed gazed up at the window valance. She wasn't sure what her she liked it or not. It was one of the myriad things that had come into her life along with her husband, his house, and his family that she just had to adjust to adjust to. Not all of them would be winners, but she and Richard would work things out. Celia relished the prospect of building their future together.

The first sip of tea shot a fiery pain into her right molar. She'd have to see the dentist about that. The sensitivity started right before the wedding and she hadn't had time to get it examined with the preparations and honeymoon and all.

"How's the tea dear?" Her mother-in-law asked. They were having their weekly cuppa together.

"Lovely, thank you," Celia answered with a smile. She felt like a horrible liar, but she was so anxious to please Mrs. Whittingham - "Mother" now, although Celia avoided saying it as much as possible - that it was unimaginable to complain about a toothache. Mrs. Whittingham would blame her for not brushing more carefully, or say it was her own fault for not seeing the dentist right away.

A new song on the radio caught Celia's attention. The singer's mellifluous voice ran through her like a low voltage charge, awakening a warmth inside. The jazzy number was richer than most songs Celia listened to and she found herself thoroughly enjoying it. Jazz was new to her, and wonderful.

"Oh dear. I don't care for this at all. Let's have another station now." Mrs. Whittingham moved the dial before Celia could protest. "I'm surprised they'd play that new-fangled American noise on the radio."

Celia could only nod politely in agreement. She wanted more of what she'd heard. Now that this feeling was unleashed she needed to explore it. She knew there were jazz clubs in London, but obviously didn't know anyone who'd been to one. She'd have to be discreet in her research because she didn't think Richard or "Mother" would find this new interest to be in good taste. But she wouldn't let their narrow minds stop her.

I swear I'm not just being bad or procrastinating or unable to write. I'm just SO DAMN BUSY! Trying to write a novel in the same month I have to account for every trip out of Canada in the last nine years, and documentation to prove it, along with having to explain all of my social ties to Canada, and working late at least a couple of nights every week mean that I'm just not on top of anything. But more writing will follow!

Halloween's Almost Here!

Blech! Spider web to the face. Gross, and completely appropriate for Halloween. Thin, sticky threads are matted in my eyebrows. The now-homeless spider had better not be nearby.

A centaur gallops up to my door before I can clean myself up and get inside.

"Trick-or-Treat!"

"Sorry kid, I don't do candy."

"But I said 'Trick-or-Treat.' That means you have to give me something."

"No it doesn't. There's no Halloween contract I signed. No law makes me. Go away now."

"Okay. But if you don't give me a treat then I get to play a trick on you."

Damn. The kid knows the history. A few years ago I wouldn't have expected it, but now that there's Wikipedia I guess I should know better.

"Good luck with that, little guy," I tell him as I slip through the door and close it in his face. I'll just have to be prepared for an egg in the mailbox or some t.p. in the morning. But I don't want to deal with anyone anymore tonight.

I'm so tired that I can barely stumble into bed before falling asleep.

Man, this morning I feel icky. All sticky and cotton-mouthed. I can hardly move. WTF? It's like I've woken up in a Kafka story to find myself in a giant spider web.

That little brat!




This is another product of Word Whips. I don't know how they have prompts that almost always work for me and almost no one else does.

An Opinion vs. an Argument

I've had a few conversations with various people recently where we have differences of opinion and I can't decide if we're actually arguing or just have different views. I used to be a very argumentative person and have worked to change that and mellow out, but how do I balance that with expressing that I have the right to disagree?

The second challenge for me has been that after these conversations I'll find out that he person I was talking to used incorrect evidence to make a point or I'll remember something to support one of my points that wasn't believed. I've just been letting it go, but it's frustrating because I want to say, "See, I  am perfectly justified in having this opinion. I'm not saying you're wrong, but you don't get to say I'm wrong either." I need to find a non-argumentative way to follow up on previous conversations. Or to not care about what other people think.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

One of my previous posts was "how does your family do turkey" and at the time my family doing turkey was having a friend prepare it. But since then, I've actually cooked a couple of darn good turkeys. So I can proudly say that I cook my own birds now, thank you very much. Remember, there's no point in being intimidated by something you might want to try.

Old people can be cool

A little while ago we went on a tour of Vancouver because it was advertised as a free community bus tour with stories about the city. Everyone else on the tour was at least a decade older than us. At first I felt silly, but watching all these older people actually talk to each other and introduce themselves to us made me feel like actually young people should be more open and outgoing.

Then a few nights later we went to hear a co-worker's dad's band play at the local Legion. As soon as the set began a group of middle-aged and older people started dancing. They were so unselfconsious and obviously enjoying themselves that it made me think again that maybe my generation has really missed out on something by being so unfriendly.

But then someone pointed out that maybe these guys were like us when they were young and they've just gotten less self-conscious with age. I hope so because otherwise we have a lonely future to look forward to.

Venice

As I step out of the train station bright, clear light washes over me. This is the lightest light I've ever seen. No heaviness to it like desert light, or filter like Vancouver light through the clouds.

The second thing I notice is the crowd. Rivers of people, tourists and sellers, wind across my field of view.

And there's the water, just beyond the crowd! My first glimpse of this famous water, after so many years of imagining. The big bridge to the left will take me across it, into the heart of this magical city.

I had heard there wasn't much life left here, that all that remains is a manufactured illusion of what used to be. But I can feel the history seeping through to the present. The spirit is here, even if the magic is waning.

The walk to our hotel is punctuated with pictures- I want to capture my first sight of a tiny alley, the first boat-filled canal, the flower boxes on the shuttered windows. My dreams haven't been crushed but are bursting with happiness.


That was a Word Whip timed writing on my first impression of Venice. It was the city I was most excited to visit on our honeymoon and tied with Paris for my favorite place on the trip. Some highlights:

 

This is the first small canal I saw and I made Derek stop so we could get a picture of it.

Derek in the first narrow street we walked through on the way to the hotel

 

 This is where we ended up if we turned right instead of left when leaving the hotel.

Once we got out of the walls around the hotel, this was our view.

 We had a couple of beautiful full moons.

 The Grand Canal from our gondola ride

 There was a buskers festival on!

 The Doge's Palace and city from the campanile

 After not going to any concerts in Paris, Prague or Vienna, we decided to go to hear some Vivaldi played by musicians in period costume.

 I tried to imagine which of the deserted islands would be the best place to hide a carousel as in The Thief Lord.

 The island of Burano has strict rules about painting buildings. Charming little place.

 

We tried to look happy on our last morning, but we really didn't want to leave.