For this week Ron gave us ‘sing’ and ‘day’ for his weekly haiku challenge.
Tag: #Christmas
I might have mentioned before that I live on quite a large square. There are 7 houses along each little row with parking spaces in the middle. It is not a huge area, and I have been here for 12 years since Miss Hap was three months old.
Most of my neighbours have been here for the same amount of time, with a few exceptions of some ‘newcomers’ that have been here for a couple of years. It is surprising though how little I know about any of them. I tend to nod or say ‘hello’ to some of them in passing, and sometimes even have a little chat, but that is about it.
I have written all my Christmas cards out, except for the few that I give to the neighbours. Problem was, I didn’t know half of their names or those of their kids, which resulted in a quick text to Miss Hap (who was having a sleepover at her friend’s) to ask her to fill me in which she did.
Me and Mr Grump had to pop out this morning, but I was not feeling too good at all. My head was all over the place and I didn’t want to go out, but I did and quickly dished out a couple of the cards I had written giving the rest to Mr Grump to give out.
I moaned at him when he got to the car thinking he had pushed one through the wrong letterbox, but he hadn’t. That was me, I realised. I had given a card to next door that was meant for someone else! Embarrassingly, I had not written them one at that point either as they were the ones that I didn’t know all of their names as they had only been there for 2 years! The ones whose card it was have lived in the same house for twelve years and their daughter grew up with mine, being good friends!
As it was, one of the cards I put the house number, as nobody knew the name of the family, despite us always saying hello and them coming round to pick up parcels that we take in if they are out when the postman comes.
Just before dinner tonight, there was a knock at the door and I could hear Mr Grump laughing and talking. When he came in he had a card with him and a box of chocolates. I opened the card but was none the wiser when I saw who it was from, as I didn’t recognise any of the names. It turns out it was the family we had taken parcels in for, thanking us for it with the gift.What a nice thing to do.
I still feel bad that I didn’t have a clue what their names are though!
For this week’s challenge, we have ‘star’ to work with. Christmas being just around the corner, there are many star shaped decorations around the house, but I wanted to find something else. Staying with the Christmas theme, I came up with this:
A sweet Christmas treat
star of the show for Santa
Forget the sherry!
This will be my last Free-for-All-Friday for this year, due to it being Christmas and New Year, but I am sure it (or something like it) will be making an appearance next year!
I have got a sackful of treats for you to feast upon and I urge you to pay each of these blogs a visit. They have loads of delights in store for you, so go and have a poke about.
Twisted Short Stories Bee is back! This blog needs no introduction as the name rather gives it away, but suffice to say, she has a dark mind, and a brilliant way of telling gripping short stories, many with a macabre edge to them!
Beyond The Picket Fence I always love to look at things from a different perspective and this post is totally opposite to how I am (although it is how I wanted to be)!!!
Myths of the Mirror This is a great post with a wonderful message. That video was just what I needed to see this week. Brilliant.
Hummingbird Redemption Life is so fragile, and being at the wrong place at the wrong time can be catastrophic. This post is a reminder to live life.
Suzie Speaks This is a lovely story. There are still some wonderful people around, thank goodness, as there are also some idiots still!
So there you have your little stocking filler to keep you going for a while.
Wishing you Happy Holidays!
I was disappointed not to be able to take part in Hugh’s photo challenge last week as I didn’t encounter any funny signs.
However, he is back this week with a wonderful idea of a Christmas tree topper photo challenge that will raise money for charity. This I can take part in. It is such a wonderful thing to be part of as well.
My Christmas tree topper is a silver star. It came with my tree which you can read about here
Come and join in the fun and help Hugh raise money for Dog’s Trust Charity.
We have the lovely theme of ‘Christmas’ to use this week as our prompt for TJ’s household haiku challenge
Christmas means lots of things to me, one of them is hearing Christmas carols which always make me feel festive.
Out Christmas shopping
Stop for coffee and carols
Christmas is coming!
Another is my Christmas tableware. Now it is now that often that we actually have Christmas dinner at home, but I love my Christmas gravy boat…
Christmas gravy boat
Mr Grump smashed it last year
Sister replaced it!
Colleen has come up with a wonderful idea of us all sharing photos of our Christmas trees and she will collate all the pics so we get a good look of Christmas around the world.
My tree is an artificial 6ft black Christmas one. I have had this now for about 12 years. When I first moved into this house with Miss Hap (she was 3 months old at the time), I didn’t have any Christmas decorations, so my younger sister bought me this tree which came with some lovely silvery decorations which set it off perfectly.
I still use the same decorations. but I also have added to them a little over the years. Two of them were ones that Miss Hap Made when she was 4 and 5 years old
These two decorations were recently sent over to me from a special blogging friend Wendy. The shells are from near her home in Australia and she made these beautiful decorations in my favourite colours for me and some also for our mutual friend Mary-Anne who lives in Canada in her favourite colours. I actually received 5 of them, and they are so pretty.
The summer is now over
The clocks go back tonight
Dark winter evenings beckon
And the mornings are less bright
Halloween will be upon us
When the kids will knock our doors
Dressed as ghosts and vampires
Dripping with blood and gore
Next we celebrate Guy Fawkes
And his failed gunpowder plot
With fireworks and bonfires
Sparklers, the lot!
Then of course comes Christmas
With its season of goodwill
When Santa comes a calling
Looking for some stockings to fill
Then we start the New Year
With hopes and dream anew
Resolutions for improvements
Which last until week two!
February brings Valentine’s Day
When love is in the air
With hearts, and flowers and chocolates
And cute little teddy bears!
Then the winter’s over
Spring comes to say hello
And, seeing as this is Britain
We’ll probably get some snow!
Well, Ronovan promised that he would be tough with the prompt words this week for his weekly haiku challenge, and he has certainly delivered! We have got ‘pine’ and ‘grief’ to work with. I was pretty stumped with these, but refuse to be beaten so here is my attempt:
Pines, brown and withered
baubles hang, shaped like tear drops
mourn Christmas passing
- The last little rose has poked its head out of the now mass of leaves, (some of which are turning brown) and it won’t be long before they are cut back for next year.
- The blankets are out! Yes, the weather is turning chillier, and we all have our little blankets that we like to snuggle under in our house. Roxy nicked my place on the settee and Mr Grump fussed around setting her down so she is warm and snug
- The nights are drawing in very rapidly; it is now getting dark so much earlier in the evening and, unfortunately, the early mornings are also getting darker making it harder to get up.
- The dressing gowns are coming out of hibernation as well now, It won’t be long before the fleecy pyjamas get an airing either!
- Only the true stalwarts are still cutting about in shorts! I know the English like to get them on as soon as it is either officially ‘summer’ regardless of weather, or we get a bit of decent sunshine regardless of the season!
- The colds and flu have started already! Yes, as some of you know, Mr Grump has already got ‘man flu’ and no doubt the rest of us will end up succumbing to it!
- All the Christmas stuff has started making its way into the shops! Gah!
Marsha Ingrao Always Write
Having fun blogging with friends
Rachael's Thoughts
Lifestyle blog featuring the fabulous North East and beyond
My Window
Sharing my thoughts, poems, travel & art
WordPress.com Apps
Apps for any screen
Learning to write
Just your average PhD student using the internet to enhance their CV
Jemverse
Life in words
Stuff and what if...
Exploring writing and the creative randomness of life. Snapshots of moments.
Aakashsoyanthone
Aakashsoyanthone
Gin & Lemonade
...with a twist.
Peacock Poetry
by Sam Allen
Tallis Steelyard
The jumbled musings of Tallis Steelyard
Diary of a Dublin Housewife
Diary of a Dublin Housewife
Carolina Russo Art
Capturing Essence: Intuitive Watercolors, Fine Art, Illustrations, and Reiki-Infused Creations
Two on a Rant
Rants, humor, sarcasm, and a haiku-like substance? It's hard to know what's going to come out of our minds next.
We Are Holistic
Promoting a Healthy Mind, Body and Spirit
Cindy Knoke
Photography, Birds and Travel
pensitivity101
An onion has many layers. So have I!
Fatty McCupcakes
Rants, Ramblings, and Regrets
From Michigan to Germany
A family from Michigan living abroad in Germany.
Rhyme and No Reason! 
You must be logged in to post a comment.