Wow, this week has whizzed by! In many ways, I am glad it has, but it also means that October is going way too quickly and before I know it NaNoWriMo will be here, and I am not quite ready yet!
I have had a very hectic week but have still managed to have found four fantastic posts for you to enjoy; all of them very different but very appealing in their own ways.
From This Day Forward This was a lovely post about memories associated with one thing in particular that many of us take for granted.
Tea and Paper Now I love a tutorial.. especially as there are so many things that I cannot do. As soon as I am feeling better I am going to check this one out as I have an account for ages and never used it.
Jen’s Pen Den More good advice. I like it when I am shown examples of things so that I can see how it is put into practice and Jen does just that. I think this is going to be very useful to me.
Smorgasbord – Variety is The Spice of Life I love Sally’s short stories, and this new series that she has recently started is brilliant. She draws you right into the story and has you wanting more!
Please take the time to visit all of these blogs if you haven’t already done so. I promise you will not be disappointed.
I have always had rather a passionate love affair with food, It is, after all, vital for our very survival. For some, though it is just fuel in order to keep the body functioning properly, and not something they particularly think much about. They eat when they need to, and ensure that they consume the right balance of nutrients to keep them within a healthy weight range.
For me, though, food is so much more than that, it is an experience. I love to savour and enjoy; it is a pleasure to be shared with others, whether it be around a huge table, or sitting on a towel at the beach! Give me a buffet and I am in my element; Eying up the selection of foods laid out, enticing me with their irresistible looks, and inviting me to devour them.
Even more than this is my desire to attend a ‘Medieval Banquet.’ Get out of the way Henry, that ham is mine! Just the thought of the succulent meats, tender vegetables, and plump juicy fruits not to mention all of the other goodies that would be on offer, is enough to send me into frenzy!!
Food is also linked to events, dates or occasions. For me Bonfire Nights as a child were wrapping up warmly against the chilly November night, watching the fireworks, and then eating something warm and hearty, such as a stew and jacket potatoes with chunks of bread. Christmas dinners, of course, with the traditional roast turkey, stuffing, pigs in blankets, sprouts (the only time I eat them), roast potatoes, and all the other trimmings. Once that was eaten, it was either a brisk walk or a slump on the sofa for a nap!
One more food I have to give a mention to is bacon. Just the smell it cooking, can rouse the laziest teenager from their bed to breakfast in record time! For me, it is caravanning holidays with my family. We always had cooked breakfast when we were on holiday, and the ‘full English’ was the perfect start to set us up for the day.
But, my love of food has cost me dearly. Well, actually, truth be told, not my love of food, more so my greed with food. As I got older, and life became a little tougher, I sought out my loyal and faithful love. It was always there for me and made me feel better. It gave me comfort and, for a while, respite. Unfortunately, it also gave me Type 2 diabetes.
My over-indulgence was to blame, I did not heed the danger signs, the weight continued to pile on and I did nothing to counteract it. I used food too much for comfort, paying no heed to the negative effect it was having on me.
However, this is a positive post. I can still have a good relationship with food, but not so much of an obsessive one. I can still eat the foods I enjoy, just in smaller quantities and not as often! The best thing though is that food can still be a pleasurable experience to be shared with others, and as long as I rein in my urges to eat everything in sight, I might even get to that banquet!
Those people who I did not understand who ‘ate to live’ rather than my philosophy of ‘living to eat’ had got it mostly right. However, I do believe that there should be no shame in enjoying food; I can still feel the comfort and warmth that food gives me, but I can eat sensibly so that my body can feel the benefits of it too!
I have got a wealth of wonderful blogs for you this week with posts about food, things going wrong, a brilliant short story, and what we may or may not find attractive.
I hope that this has whetted your appetite, and that you go and visit each of these blogs as there are still many goodies for you to feast on that I have not included. (Why does everything have to be about food for me? Bloody dieting)!
Nutsrock This post is from one of my favourite bloggers. Not only can Linda tell a funny story, but she is also a very practical and resourceful woman as you will see from reading this post.
Above The River I was directed to this blog by another blogger, and was thrilled that things do not always go right in her world either (I mean that in the nicest possible way)! I was bellowing with laughter at this post.
Eric’s Blog I know I am not an art connoisseur, (I can’t even draw), but I know what I like and this isn’t it! I am glad that Eric is on my side in this one as well.
A Reading Writer This post is by another of my Writing 101 classmates. The poem spoke to me about my own insecurities, but then I thought Sod it, who makes up the rules anyway?!
Lily Pups Life Another post that I can relate to well. This is an interesting post, and I am full off admiration for Lily for making a very hard decision. I wish her all the best.
Blonde Write More As you know, I love a bit of Flash Fiction and this story caught my eye, because of the clever interpretation of the prompt word.
Wow, these Friday Free-for-Alls are coming around quickly. I have got a few treats for you this week. A sumptuous soup, A list for when you are losing the will, and a vibrant vignette, not to mention a fondness for fountain pens! Please visit these blogs because it is so difficult not to choose every post that they write!
Joeyfully Stated As you might have guessed, this post is so much more than just about soup, although I got a warm, tingly feeling reading it!
Fear of The Reaper. We all have those days from Hell when we wonder why we had bothered getting up! This made me laugh ( I know I am mean, but some of it was funny, at least to me)!
My Write This is another blog that I found whilst on the Writing 101 course. I loved this story, and a few of his others too!
Travelling Banana. This post struck a chord with me, and brought back many fond memories.
Short and sweet again this week, but there are loads on these blogs to keep you going for a while!
Mike arrived home, furious. He had rushed home on orders from his wife, and just managed to catch the train. Exhausted, he tried to claim the last seat, but was barged out of the way by a lanky, long-haired lout, who told him to ‘eff off Grandad’.
Mum had gone all out thought Liz as she glanced through to the dining room. Clasping Zed’s hand she dragged him in to meet her parents.
“This is Zed:” you finally got to meet him. She looked at Mike, “I’m so excited Dad, we’re expecting a baby”.
This was written as a challenge for Writing 101, I have chosen to write a story in 100 words as it is so different in both word count and in content to what I normally write; fiction writing is totally out of my comfort zone.
Social media seems to be so popular now, that if you are not using it then you are seriously missing out on a whole new audience.
For today’s Writing 101 task, we are taking our inspiration from quotes that have been posted on Twitter.There were five inspirational quotes, each on a different topic that we could choose from. The quote above regarding education is the one that resonated most with me.
I love to learn new things, whether it be something work related, like administering intravenous drugs, or showing off a dress or skirt that I had made from scratch (actually I am not at this stage yet, even though I have made a few items of clothing)! Life is full or new and interesting things for us to try.
For me, learning fulfils my thirst for knowledge, but it is one that will never be fully quenched as I find something else that I need to learn about! This is why this quote is so apt, no matter how much I have studied and think I know,in the grand scheme of things, I am still pretty ignorant!
I am going to be embarking on a new job soon, which will involve yet more learning, plus I am going to undertake a huge project soon which is going to be my biggest challenge yet. All of this is going to involve intense learning, There will no doubt be tears, frustration, a good dose of swearing, and stomping about, but I can’t wait to get started!
Today for writing 101, our prompt was to choose one word from a selection of six prompt words and write about the one that ‘spoke’ to us the most. I chose ‘home’ as this word has the most meaning for me in so many ways…
When I was six years old my parents divorced and I moved from one end of the country to the other. Then, due to my Mum’s job we moved around some more until finally coming to the county where I have lived for most of the time since.
When I married my first husband, I moved around yet again as he changed jobs, and we always lived with other people. I used to spend at least 18 hours a day in one room due to his long hours, and other issues (I will write about them one day)! This went on for about 8 years until our eventual divorce. Although for the last 2 years I did at least see people as I worked with him for 18 hours per day!
My second marriage, sadly didn’t last long but for the first time we had our own place, albeit only for 6 months before I ended up moving back in with my parents and stayed there throughout my pregnancy, and for the first 10 weeks of Miss Hap’s life.
Then I got this house, which is finally my home. Myself and my baby daughter (at the time) moved in with no carpets, very little furniture (most of it donated to us), mismatched curtains and a small tv. It didn’t matter though as it was home. Our home. Over the 12 years I have been here, I have added carpets, matching curtains and a nice settee as well as some new furniture. More importantly I have planted the garden with the beautiful, fragrant roses that I love so much,
For once in my entire life, I was able to put down some roots, and settle down. I could decorate how I wanted and put up whichever pictures I liked. We have made so many memories here, which it why it is our home.
For the Tuesday Tidbit this week I thought I would have a light-hearted look at how the sex drive changes over the years.
The teenage boy is usually desperate to have sex and tries his hardest to find someone that will sleep with him. When this fails, it is not unknown for them to have a stash of adult mags, under the bed to ahem, pore over!
The teenage girl, however, does not know how to deal with her raging hormones, She does not want to risk sleeping with someone who isn’t in love with her, only to be dumped and have them blab and brag about it to all and sundry, causing her huge embarrassment. No, she will stamp and stomp around the house bursting into tears at the slightest provocation.
Both sexes in their twenties are usually raring to go when it comes to sex. They think they invented the Karma Sutra and are at it constantly several times per day, anywhere and everywhere they can. Forget eating and sleeping sex really is ‘the food of love’ at this stage.
During the thirties, things can slow down a little, especially for women, and particularly if they have young children. Tiredness can be a real passion killer, as can little uninvited visitors to the bedroom in the middle of the night. Men are more willing to risk it, but are often rebuffed, or end up with a little person wedged in the middle of the bed, which curtails any further sexy thoughts!
The forties and fifties. Women can very often reach their sexual peak during their 40s and 50s. more so if the kids are grown up! This is where the men very often slacken off due to ill health, or perhaps pressures of work. Things are starting to die down now and those all night sexual marathons are distant memories, replaced by perfunctory monthly couplings. This is where the women can feel rather let down and frustrated. However, for some that are going through ‘the change’, they are more than happy to lay off the sex for a while as they don’t need anything else to make them feel hot and sweaty!
The Sixties and beyond. This is a time when the menopause is usually finished, and some people are more relaxed due to having more time on their hands having retired from work. This is also when things can really go downhill for some men, Help is at hand, though, (or rather somewhere else), and there are those little blue pills that might be able to perk up the love life.
Now I know why they like to be called ‘recycled teenagers!’
Sex is fraught with the potential for embarrassment, and a good sense of humour very often ‘comes in handy’ (if you’ll pardon the pun) to deal with some of the most common cringeworthy moments that most of us have encountered at some stage in our sexual shenanigans!
Things are heating up, the pace is getting faster, and more passionate, then…. PARPPPPP. Oh No, someone has let one off! You both freeze as the horror of the moment sinks in; hopefully things will resume pretty quickly afterwards and the mood is not lost!
Ready for a bit of bedroom action, everything is going well….kissing and touching, breathing is getting heavier, your body is responding to the sensuous caresses but something is not quite right. You have noticed that your partner has backed off just a little. You are getting to the point now where touching is not enough, and as you reach for him, you realise that he is not quite ‘ready’. This is a bit of a tricky situation. You could try other things to ‘perk things up’ but sometimes it is just ‘flogging a dead horse’, or you could sulk, turn your back and seethe! The other option of course, is to just snuggle up together and reassure that it doesn’t matter.
If you have quite sensitive skin on your face, this one could be a problem. After a long, long night of hot and heavy action, and hours of passionate kissing, you might wake up in the morning with what looks like friction burns on your chin! I have actually had this happen to me and have had to think up some pretty (lame) excuse at work the next day as to how I got ‘that awful burn’ on my chin.
Waking up the next morning only to find there is a patch of blood on the sheets! Mother Nature had paid you an unexpected visit during the night. Mortifying!
Feeling sick just when things are getting going. This is really awkward as you cannot enjoy what is happening if there is a possibility of puking all over your partner! They won’t appreciate it either.
You have got a bit of unexpected child-free time that you decide to take advantage of during the day. You have a bit of ‘afternoon delight’ with your partner, and as you are lying together in the afterglow, you can hear sounds of kids playing outside. You realise that all the bedroom windows are open and that half the street probably heard what you have been up to. Cringe!
Whilst showing off your agility and flexibility getting into all sorts of interesting positions, you are attacked by CRAMP. It’s no good, you twist this way and that way trying to alleviate it, then end up leaping up and hopping about yowling in pain as it won’t go away! Passion is killed!
Linda has asked what one indulgence would we want to never give up for the One-Liner Wednesday post today, Hmm, this is tricky, as I have already given up smoking, rarely drink and have had to cut down on food, so that leaves me very little (vices) to indulge in!
I think it will have to be laughing at inappropriate times then, such as when someone trips up (as long as they haven’t hurt themselves)!
Rhyme and No Reason! 
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