Share Your World – 8/14/17

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

To participate in Cee’s ‘Share Your World,’ visit her site HERE.

Question # 1: When you leave a room, do you turn the lights off behind you or keep the lights on throughout your house most of the time?

I leave a lot of lights on in my house. When I was growing up, my dad always taught us to turn the light out in a room when we left it. He was very adamant about it. But I love light, and I find it very hard to make myself do that now. I don’t have lights on in every room in the house, but generally there’s light in my living room, kitchen, and back foyer area — as well as a light on the front porch.

Question # 2: What do you feel is the most enjoyable way to spend $500? 

Buying gifts for other people.

Question # 3: Complete this sentence: My favorite thing to do on my cell phone is…

Nothing. For me a cell phone is simply a tool to have available in case of an emergency when I’m away from home, or if I know someone will need to contact me when I’m away from home.

I have very strong feelings about the insanity of being addicted to cell phones and people who interrupt conversations with one person every time their cell phone dings and they want to see what some other person has to say. I’m fed up with being “put on hold’  every time a call or text comes into someone’s phone when they are supposed to be interested in talking to me, and I’ve about decided that the next time it happens, I’m going to terminate the conversation and walk away. And the next time I  have to stand in line behind someone at a check-out lane who will not stop talking or texting long enough to let the clerk finish that order, I may give them a good piece of my mind.

That conversation would be mild compared to what I’d have to say to the thousands of people who still text and drive. The idiots just insist that they can do both things at once, but they cannot do both things safely. Then there are those who do not send a text while they are driving, but they will read someone else’s text while flying down the road at 50 miles an hour. They all need to have their license revoked. Better that than give them a chance to murder someone with their irresponsible actions.

(Just a little venting — since this question offered such a great opportunity.)

Question # 4: What inspired you this past week?  Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination.

I’m always inspired by the beauty of Christmas art. This wallpaper picture especially caught my attention recently. If you enjoy this kind of photo and graphic art, you can find much more at this link to wallpapersafari.com.

FREE HD NATURE WALLPAPERS Christmas Nature Wallpaper

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Glaring: Daily Post Prompt

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

BI-SEXUAL SYMBOL

 

What a glaring mistake I have made.
But I hadn’t seen Ben for two years.
And he — oops, I mean she — hadn’t said —
Not a word of this change did I hear.

We were meeting old high school classmates:
A reunion of sorts — just a few.
And since Ben Hall and I had been friends,
I was hoping friendship to renew.

But as soon as I entered the room —
I could not see my friend anywhere —
All at once I was grabbed and hugged tight
By this big-bosomed gal with blond hair.

She pulled back and smiled, and I glared.
Bernice Hall was the name on her tag,
Then my brain saw the light, and I said,
“Ben, why have you come here in drag?”

Oh, but no, I was soon to find out
That Ol’ Ben had had surgery done.
Said he just couldn’t resist a change,
Because big-bosomed blonds have more fun.

 

What a glaring disgrace and abomination we have given place to in our society now. There will be a price to pay, and we will see hundreds of bodies mutilated and hundreds of lives destroyed in the next decade as a result.

Click HERE to visit Daily Post and learn how to participate in the challenge.

 

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Weekly Smile 83

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

Visit Trent’s World to participate in Weekly Smile.

 

Exif JPEG

This week I am smiling broadly because the Mockingbirds are back, nesting in my huge Blue Spruce tree in my front yard. They used to nest there, but I haven’t seen them in a couple years. But today I saw Mama bringing food to her babies there. It made me really happy. I didn’t get a picture of the nest, of course. The tree is huge and thick, so I couldn’t even begin to get deep enough inside to get that kind of shot. But I did include a picture of the tree itself. Of course this picture is a few years old, so the tree is even taller and and fatter now. You could say I raised it from a babe. Well, it was about 5 feet tall and bending way over to the side to get sun because it was growing in a tub beneath a super tall Blue Spruce that had had the lower branches cut off.

The poor baby was getting too big to grow straight anymore beneath that mature tree. Not only that, it was in an old wooden barrel, and it didn’t have room to spread it’s roots. So it had pushed it roots down through the slats in the barrel and into the ground. It belonged to my cousin, and he asked me one day if I wanted it. (That was 17 years ago.) I said I’d be thrilled to have it — but there was a small Sweet Gum in the yard when we’d bought the house, and I’d want it removed to place the Spruce there. He gladly removed the Sweet Gum and brought me the Blue Spruce. When we planted it, he drove a strong steel pipe into the ground and braced the Spruce’s trunk to it so that it would begin to grow straight. I prayed for it a lot in the early years, so that it would get a really solid hold in the ground and be able to grow properly.

Now, 17 years later, it is a gorgeous, stupendously healthy tree that stands well over twenty feet tall and would require at least a dozen people linking arms to reach around its circumference. I named the tree Big Blue, and yes, I do talk to it and love on it. I don’t hug it because it’s just too prickly, but every once in a while I pet it’s branches and pray for it. Over the years, it’s provided homes for Mockingbirds and Cardinals, and probably a few others that I haven’t been as aware of.  But this week, Mockingbirds have dibs on it, and I’m enjoying their enjoyment of their home.

 

 

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This Is The Way We Brush Our Teeth – Daily Post Prompt

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

TOOTHBRUSHES - PIXABAY

Be sure to use your toothbrush every day.
Or if you use it twice a day, that’s better yet.
Because if you will clean your teeth a lot,
Then when you see the dentist, you won’t have to fret.

Of course, it’s wise to floss as well as brush,
And then, after the flossing, we should always rinse
With something that will kill bacteria.
I guess with all the gunk we eat, it does make sense.

Anyway, I’m giving this advice —
The same advice my mommy always gave to me.
So hopefully, you won’t lose any teeth,
But keep a brilliant smile for everyone to see.

To participate in today’s challenge, visit Daily Post.

 

 

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Childhood’s Treasures: Daily Post Prompt

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

Exif JPEG

Sometimes treasures lie deep-buried,
‘Neath eons of soil and time,
Long resisting human efforts
To unearth and cleanse from grime.

But then there are rare occasions
When a prize will come to light
Resting beneath shallow waters
Waiting childhood’s keenest sight.

To the toddler on adventure,
Holding onto daddy’s hand,
Tide-smoothed pebbles, multicolored,
Constitute a treasure grand.

To participate in today’s prompt visit Daily Post.

 

 

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Friday Fictioneers 7.28.17: “Love On The Line # 2”

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

This week’s Friday Fictioneers picture prompt reminded me of a delightful and heart-melting true story that I read about several years ago. It took place during WWII, and involved a real U. S. serviceman, the woman who was the love of his life, and a tender-hearted, romantic telephone operator. I was so touched by the story that I told it (changing names, etc.) in a poem on this site about four years ago. That poem, however, in order to tell the whole story properly, took much more than 100 words.

But when I saw the picture today, I just couldn’t get away from that love story, so I’ve tried my best to squeeze it into the requirements for our FF challenge. I’m still 14 words over the limit, but if your romance outweighs your legalism, you might enjoy it anyway.

Today’s thought-provoking prompt comes to us from J. Hardy Carroll.

 

LOVE ON THE LINE

“Operator, I’m calling Susan Wheeler, St. Louis.”
“This blizzard may interfere with connection, sir.”
“Please try, my 2-day leave is almost gone.”

“Hello.”
“I have a call for Susan Wheeler from Bill Meadows in Boston.”
“This is Susan.”
“Hold please. Go ahead sir.”
“Susan! Sweetheart!”
“Oh, Bill, I was getting worried.”
“Honey, the blizzard’s too bad for me to get there, but I must ask you something important.”
ZZZZmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
“Sorry sir, we’ve lost your connection.”
“NO! Please. I’m trying to propose!”
“It’s no use sir.”
“Noooooooooo!”
“But she can hear me. Shall I relay your question?”
“Yes, please; I have to know! Ask her if she’ll marry me.”

“Great news, Sir. She says yes!”

If you’re interested enough to get the more complete version, here’s a link to the poem.

 

 

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Share Your World – July 24.2017

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

Cee’s ‘Share Your World’ challenge is a great way for bloggers to get to know one another better. If you’d like to participate, you can get the details HERE.

cropped-tea-cookies-on-apple-cloth-cropped.jpg

Question # 1: List some of your favorite types of teas.

My very favorite tea of all is English Breakfast Tea. I also enjoy Irish Breakfast Tea, and Chamomile Tea. I especially like Chamomile if I’m super stressed because it is a very soothing, calming drink.

Question # 2: If you had to describe your day as a traffic sign, what would it be?

I’m assuming this question means what kind of traffic sign would best represent what my day is like. That being the case, I’d have to say a “Yield” sign. That’s mainly because I’ve had several very stressful, problem-filled days this past week, and I know from past experience — and am being reminded again today — that the best way to deal with those days is to “yield” to the Lord and His promises. His Word says that we should cast all of our care on Him because He “cares for us affectionately and cares about us watchfully.” (1 Peter 5:6-7.) He has promised to deliver us from every evil and to heal us of every ill. So my job is to believe those promises and speak them over my life, yielding up my problems to Him so that He can solve them — and yielding myself to Him, knowing I’m coming out in victory.

Question # 3: What are a couple things people could do for you on a really bad day that would really help? 

Well, no matter what’s causing the bad day, prayer from friends who believe strongly in the Lord and His Word will always help. And, of course, in the same way that a mother’s kiss and a few of her home-baked cookies will help us when we are children — so a friend’s warm hug and a sweet treat prepared or purchased “just for me” always seems to help as well.

I’m reminded as I’m writing this of the first Christmas I faced after my mother’s death. I was in my early 30’s, but I felt some of the “little girl” coming to the surface during that first year without her. We had always been very close, and I missed her horribly. (I still miss her very much even 30 years later.) I was not actively grieving because I knew she was with the Lord Jesus and rejoicing in His presence. So I rejoiced in that truth. But my life had a very empty and lonely place nevertheless.

One day, just a few days before Christmas, a really good friend of mine came to my door unannounced with a gift — a plate piled absolutely full of all kinds of homemade Christmas cookies and candies. I was so surprised and delighted I didn’t have words. The specialness of the gift was not in the treats themselves, but in the fact that it brought a particular kind of comfort and love to me at that crucial time.

You see, all of my life, my mother had made loads of Christmas goodies every single year, and my sister and I found that one of our favorite Christmas experiences was working with her in the kitchen at those times — and then indulging in all those goodies for the next couple of weeks. In my sadness, I had not tried to bake or plan special menus during the holidays that year. I missed our special Christmas indulgences, but trying to make them myself just wasn’t the same. I think it was the love my mother put into making all of those things that had been the real blessing after all.

But when my friend handed me that plate, I felt the power of that same love. She had put together that gift as a special act of love for me personally, and that gift did more than anything else the whole year to make me feel less bereft and less hurt. It was almost as if my mother had sent her to me with those particular treats.

So even though it may sound a little trite to some people, the truth is that yes, in the midst of a really bad day or bad experience, sometimes just a little homemade cookie or fudge can change the whole atmosphere and direction of that day. It’s all about letting people know they are loved.

Question # 4: Regardless of your physical fitness, coordination, or agility, if you could be an athlete, what would you do?

Well, I have to admit that I am not big on athletics. I’m a person who walks briskly to help myself stay fit, but I rarely engage in athletic games. I like word games. However, I do enjoy playing tennis occasionally, and I really enjoyed archery when I was involved in it during my school years. I also loved dancing, and took several dance classes in college. But to say that I’d devote myself to any one of those things with the commitment and rigor required to be considered an “athlete” in that field would be stretching it a good deal.  So — I guess I’d just have to say I’d prefer to be a Scrabble or Bananagrams champion.

BANANAGRAMS GAME - PUB DOMAIN

 

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Weekly Smile 81

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

It’s hot as blazes here where I live — heat index of 108 even at night — so, naturally, my thoughts turn toward Christmas. Well, to be honest, I think about Christmas a lot anyway. It’s my favorite holiday, and because my family always celebrated in a big way, we have lots and lots of wonderful memories and traditions that we still enjoy. I always smile when I think about any of them. I always smile just thinking about Christmas. I listen to Christmas music and watch Christmas movies all year long, and I have a website devoted exclusively to that holiday. If you’d like to visit, here’s the link: “Merry Christmas, World!”

Anyway, one thing that made me smile this week was this picture I took of this gingerbread house. I didn’t construct it. A friend of mine did: a man who had always wanted to make a gingerbread house, but never had the opportunity as a child and evidently didn’t feel it was a seemly thing to an adult man to do. But a few years ago, at the age of 54, he decided to purchase a kit and build himself a gingerbread house. I was so happy that he took that plunge. He enjoyed it immensely, and when it came time to deconstruct (i. e. eat) it, he made sure I was there and shared it with me. The photo still makes me smile.

ks-gingerbread-tight-trim1

 

To participate in ‘Weekly Smile’ visit “Trent’s World.”

Friday Fictioneers: 7/14/17

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

To participate in this week’s Friday Fictioneers, visit Rochelle’s site. The picture prompt below is the property of  Janet Webb.

 

BETRAYED BY TECHNOLOGY

He’d done it. He smiled at the perfect job. He’d left her lying across the bed with the pill bottle in her hand. And she hadn’t even suspected that he’d doctored her drink.

She did love to drink, and that had made it so easy. He smiled again as he leaned back in his easy chair savoring his success. Leaving the lone candle burning was an artistic touch. And his fake alibi was so tight, he’d never be suspected.

Now, to call Bernard and report his success. Reaching into his pocket, he froze. Where the hell was his cell phone?

 

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Weekly Smile 80

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

Well, this week I’m sharing a lot more than a smile. I’m sure no one can watch this video without smiling, but I have to tell you that I laughed out loud — several times. These delightful birds had so much fun in this fountain. Several of them got completely carried away shoving their heads down into the bubbling font where the water was flowing in. And then they just threw the water all over themselves. In a couple segments of the tape, one of the birds keeps stepping on another whose just below him in an effort to get higher up on the fountain itself. If you want an hour of rest, refreshment, and just plain fun, watch this. Or just watch part of it. You’ll be glad you did.

 

Visit Trent’s Blog to learn how to take part in “Weekly Smile.”

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Share Your World – July 10, 2017

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

Taking out some time to participate in Cee’s ‘Share Your World’ this week. Hop over to the link to get the details and share some of your own world.

Question # 1:  How do you like to spend a rainy day?

RAIN IN CITY - ENLARGEDI generally like to take advantage of a rainy day to do one of two things: read a book or write a book. Sometimes I just want to snuggle down with a hot cup of coffee and a great book and while away the whole day. Other times, I sit down to my computer and write, write, write. Either way, I guess you could say I have “storytime.”

Question # 2:  List at least 5 favorite treats.

  1. Trips to the Great Smoky Mountains
  2. Teaching someone about Jesus Christ or teaching someone how to do something that will make them happy.
  3. A book that captures my attention and won’t let go and makes me feel happy when I get to the words “The End.”
  4. Easy conversation and playing word games with friends and/or family.
  5. Chocolate
  6. Chicken Salad
  7. Coffee — especially with friends

Question # 3:  Where’s your favorite place to take out-of-town guests.

I very rarely have out-of-town guests these days. When I do, I like to take them with me to church. We don’t have any great scenic areas or historic landmarks in my neck of the woods, so I’d have to take them on a trip with me to offer them that kind of entertainment. Since they are already on a ‘trip’ to see me, another ‘trip’ isn’t appealing. So we usually sit and visit or stop by a local restaurant for a quiet meal — where we can also sit and visit.

But as I was thinking about this question, I started remembering the years my family and I lived in Nashville, Tennessee. Almost all of our family was from the northeast, so we had a lot of out-of-state visitors during those years. We liked taking them to a lot of different places, but I think the two most popular things on the list were President Andrew Jackson’s home the Hermitage, and the original Grand Ole Opry (at the Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville.)

HERMITAGE - JIM BOWEN - LICENSE - CCBY2.0
Hermitage: Jim Bowen – License: CCBY2.0

My sister and I sat down one time and tried to count the number of times we’d been to the Hermitage, and I think we came up with 17 visits in about 3 years. Of course we didn’t mind, because we loved the place: old ante bellum plantation with everything you’d expect to see there. Since I’ve always been fascinated with history, it was like a dream come true to spend hours there.

Question # 4:  You are trapped in an elevator. Who would you want to be trapped with?

I do not want to be trapped in an elevator with anyone at all!!!  And this question reminds me of a story prompt I use with my students from time to time in my creative writing classes. It is not my own prompt, but one that was passed along by another teacher. You suddenly find yourself trapped in an elevator with the one person you cannot stand to be around. Tell the story.

 

 

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