Wednesday, 8 April 2020

Words for Wednesday










This meme was started by Delores a long time ago.  Words for Wednesday are now provided by a number of people and have become a moveable feast.


Essentially the aim is to encourage us to write.  Each week we are given a choice of prompts,which can be words, phrases, music or an image.  What we do with them is up to us:  a short story, prose, a song, a poem or treating them with ignore.  We can use some or all of the prompts.

Some of us put our creations on the post and others post on their own blog.  I would really like as many people as possible to join the meme, which includes cheering on other participants (definitely the more the merrier). If you are posting on your own blog, please let me know so that I, and the other participants, can come along and applaud.

The prompts are here this month.

This week's prompts are:

  1. Practice
  2. Bent
  3. Night 
  4. Fairy,
  5. Never
  6. Liquid

And/or

'Out of the frying pan and into the fire...'

Have fun.

127 comments:

  1. The cooking fairy was conspicuous by her absence on the night you were born.
    You can practice until the cows come home (and I know you do), but your cooking is poison. Out of the frying pan and into the fire is the best place for it.
    I have never, ever known anyone who can ruin a simple dish the way you can. The last poached egg you lovingly made me could be bent (and the crease marks remained after I tried to straighten it).
    I do love you, but I think I will just have a liquid lunch today.

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    1. Wow...that is some rotten cook. Great job.

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    2. Hahahaha! I love it! :)

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    3. This made me laugh too. I think she needs to start having restaurant meals delivered.

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    4. Your creation gave me a chuckle. Thank you.

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    5. Heeheehee! You have to have the touch, rather like with gardening and sewing (the ones i can't do).

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    6. This is a reminder of my sons cooking disasters.

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    7. This brings rotten cooking to a whole new level. Thanks, also thanks for the prompts. My Words for Wednesday is here.

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    8. Ha ha!! Brilliant.

      😂

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    9. That sounds like me, I'm afraid :) Sorry about the poached egg...

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    10. At least the cooking fairy didn't dessert me. I wouldn't be eating anywhere near her personally.

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    11. Hahaha. The cooking fairy wasn't exactly sprinkling fairy dust when I was born either.
      Elbow bumps:)

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    12. Hi Sue - so agree with the others ... what a delightful take - fun ... thank you for the laugh. Cheers Hilary

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    13. Love it! There's a show on TV called something like "The World's Worst Cooks," and after watching it a couple of times, I thought no WAY anyone could be that inept at basic meal preparation, but it sounds like the person you're writing about would be a perfect participant. :) Great job!

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    14. Love the image of those awful eggs. Bent eggs. Yeah a liquid lunch is a fair reward :)

      XO
      WWW

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  2. "Don't get bent out of shape, Axle. A little practice and you'll be night flying with the best of them. Never fear."
    "I don't know, Mephisto. I know I complained about the desk job but this feels like leaping from the frying pan into the fire. I never did move with speed of liquid ligntning required of the tooth fairy."

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    1. only slightly confused: Fairies have some really challenging jobs don't they? I suspect I would be best as a 'desk-fairy' and loved this.

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    2. Nothing confusing about this! Well done! :)

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    3. Every job is tough the first few weeks, there's always a learning curve, but you get there. Axle will, too.

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    4. The swiftest reaction by humans or fairies is from a Burn.

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    5. Poor Axle, let's hope tooth-fairying is not so bad after all.

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    6. Learning to be the tooth fairy would be tough work. Plus- the teeth. I would rather the desk job I think. :)
      ~Jess

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    7. This is really cute. Makes me think of the movie where Dwayne Johnson plays the tooth fairy. :)

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  3. Ouch! That's some horrible cookery skills. Well done on using all the words. Cheers and boogie boogie.

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    1. The Happy Whisk: He really is a rotten cook isn't he?

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    2. Yes! So very, very bad. Great write-up.

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  4. Fun story. Cooking takes some practice.

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    1. Susan Kane: And sometimes practice isn't enough.

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    1. Cloudia: Are you going to join us again this week?

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  6. She was hell-bent on changing the past. She was fully aware she might be jumping out of the frying pan, and into the fire, but what did she have to lose, she muttered to herself.

    Never again would she allow him to dictate the way she thought, the way she chose to live her life.

    To put it bluntly, she was desperate to put her desires into practice; to make them reality. How she wished she had a fairy godmother to grant her wishes immediately, but she knew she was living in a fool’s paradise. Real life was not that simple...that easy.

    Oh! How she wanted her life to be liquid...smooth and flowing free; to be as happy as a bird on the wing.

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    1. she should go ahead and jump, she may find the fire not so bad if she can at least think for herself again.

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    2. Lee: She should DEFINITELY jump. Soon.

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    3. You can't change the past, but you can start now to make a new future, and i hope she does.

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    4. Get ready steady "JUMP".

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    5. Well, I'd say go for it. Good use of the prompts.

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    6. She needs to take a deep breath and jump! Nice use of the words.

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    7. I sure hope she makes it, many of us have been there!

      XO
      WWW

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  7. The humans were jumping and skittering all over the pan. "I can't take this anymore," said one. "I'm rolling to the edge and jumping out." "Out of the frying pan into the fire?" said the other. "It will be a quicker death," said the first, as the giant's cannibal children watched and laughed gleefully.

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    Replies
    1. River: The dark side of you is coming out - and I really enjoyed it.

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    2. lol.....Wot EC sed!!!! :)

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    3. Ugh! What an awful way to go.

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    4. River you are wickedly cruel.

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    5. Oh, dear God. River...aaagh....you should write horror stories.

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    6. Oooooh! That was good. A whole new side of you... :)

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    7. I soooo love dark stuff, well done, great imagery.

      XO
      WWW

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  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. Sorry, messed up.

      You will find my silly little tale over here.

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    2. messymimi: I am really looking forward to reading it. As I do every week.

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  9. EC. I have posted Words on my blog This week and is waiting for your approval to transfer to your blog, could be a trifle dodgy.

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    1. Vest: Subject to a 'Read at your Own Risk' header feel free to post your take here. Mind you, my delicate tummy was not happy with some of it. But then my delicate tummy rejects things which aren't fiction as well.

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  10. Like your tale EC..lol
    Made me smile that's for sure.

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    1. Margaret D: Thank you - that was of course the aim.

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  11. Part one

    Wednesday, 8 April 2020
    Memories.Words on Wednesday
    Warning sensitive wording.
    Late in 1944, HMS King George V moved to Devonport for fourteen-inch gun calibration plus seven days leave for our crew. Then the ship sailed up to Greenock, Scotland, where we ammunitioned ship and took on stores. The British Monarch, King George VI, with Queen Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth (who is now the present Queen), Princess Margaret, and the Deputy Prime Minister, Clement Attlee visited the ship. We properly trained young seamen formed the guard of honour. I have nothing much to say about Greenock, as no one was allowed ashore except ‘Bona Fide Natives.’ KGV sailed for the Far East on 29 October 1944. Our first port of call was Gibraltar, mainly to take on fuel. Our next port of call was Malta, GC, where something definitely went wrong. There was plenty of activity ashore, mainly in the area called the ‘Gut’, Strata Stretta, or Straight Street, which was full of bawdy houses, bars and eateries. At one of the bars called the ‘QE’, Bobby and Sugar, two Spanish dancers, strutted their stuff. I returned on board ship with other sailors in a ‘dghaisa’ (a Maltese one-man rowing boat, similar to a gondola.) My run ashore cost me a torn shirt, my cap, and a shoe. When asked by the duty officer if I’d had a good time, I replied, “My bloody oath, I did.” “Well, young lad, you can swear on oath at the Commander’s defaulters table tomorrow,” he replied. I was quickly learning about what goes on in the rest of the world and was awarded seven days’ stoppage of leave and pay to assist my education. (Twenty years later when I was in Gibraltar serving on my last ship, HMS Maryland, I again met Sugar, one of the Spanish performers, at the small watering hole called ‘The Sugar Bar.’) The activities we were involved in during our stay in the Mediterranean were not worth mentioning, apart from the fact that the fastest speed I recall HMS King George V doing was after our bombardment of the German gun emplacements at Melos (or Milos.) We were close to shore having a look-see when we were *Out of the frying pan and into the fire. when Gerry opened up and we were straddled by shellfire. I was not amused as I observed it all from my action station on the ADP (Air Defence Position). After a further whacking, the German garrison surrendered.

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    1. Incidentally, the ancient movie "The Guns of Navarone", was spawned from this encounter by KGV at Melos. but the movie was totally out of whack with what really happened..

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  12. Alexandria, Egypt
    Our stay in Alexandria, Egypt was enjoyable. The canteen at the Services Club was super. Near the jetty, a dead dog floated upside down with his legs up, all bloated and smelly. After avoiding it for a couple of days, my duty as the bowman of the ship’s motor cutter gave me a chance to despatch it with a jab from my boat hook. It exploded. The ensuing smell was probably worse than the pig market smell in Jordan Road, Hong Kong on a warm day, but the fish enjoyed eating the thousands of little white squiggly things. Alexandria, Egypt, more commonly referred to as ‘Alex,’ was very diverse in the area of entertainment. This ranged from naughty postcards to absolute obscenities. I must admit that as a young sailor, curiosity got the better of me. I found a poorly printed locally- produced publication doing the rounds of the mess decks. The titles left little to the imagination. ‘The Naughty Countess’ was one and the other, ‘The Autobiography of a Flea.’ The eye-opening information contained in these very naughty books absolutely amazed me. In the Navy, these sorts of books were referred to as Alex AFO’s (Admiralty fleet orders.) Many tales have been recounted about a peculiar staged performance (which I hasten to admit I would never have seen) supposedly taking place between a very large woman and a donkey. War veterans have enjoyed many good laughs at reunions when the fabricated telegrams from an Alex Madam were read, stating, for example, “It is with regret that I inform you of the passing of the internationally-acclaimed donkey, ‘Lord Hee Whore’ aged fifty-one years, signed Fatima Omar, Madame, Sister Street, Alexandria, Egypt”. This was usually followed by some drunken twit stating, “Cor blimey! That bloody donkey led a long and fruitful life.”

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    1. Both of your stories are wonderful, Vest...thanks for sharing.:)

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    2. Sounds like a few genuine anecdotes there. I remember the Autobiography of a Flea. A very eye opening book which I read when I was about 20. Not sure if I was amused, titillated or shocked by it.

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    3. Like Jo said, this sounds like the real deal... memories more than fiction. No doubt, the sights and smells from part two left a deep impression on you. and the last sentence is priceless. Well done!

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  13. Ooh, good words! I'm always on the lookout for new prompts. Need to weave these into my WiP next time I'm stuck...

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    1. Deniz Bevan: Welcome and thank you. I hope you can weave these words into your WiP. And will share the finished cloth.

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  14. Hi EC - the words:

    Woman – where’s that liquid I wanted … another whisky I said … this wretched fairy needs bending … it’s too big for this miserable tree … why can’t you do anything right …?

    It’s Christmas – there’s so much going on … I haven’t time to fiddle around and no … I do not need to practice – that rag doll is just going to have to do: it’ll stay bent as it is.

    Frankly, I don’t care if the children won’t like what I’ve done … slurp … fill my glass again … their dreams after the night never interest me … I’ve no idea why they want to tell you … or why you cosset them …

    This is the last time I’ll be here … I can’t understand why you always need to be bent over … you’re not ill … I couldn’t care less – clear up as I’m off to bed. God help us … women … he mutters as he heads to the stairs.

    She on the other hand … exhales lightly … only a few more days until life changes – but he has to go.

    Cheers and I hope he's gone by Christmas 2020! Take care - Hilary

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    1. Hilary- Bravo! I love that you put these words into a story that I wouldn't have expected. He does seem like someone who has to go. :)
      ~Jess

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    2. I wonder how she is going to get rid of him. Good on Hilary.

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    3. Hilary Melton-Butcher: He most definitely needs to go. I suspect I would poison his whiskey. Or spit in it at the very least.

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    4. Thanks so much for all who commented here ... he definitely will be murdered somehow - possibly in his whisky ... and I'd definitely secretly be making his life difficult. Perhaps I've been slowly slowly poisoning him ... who knows!!

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    5. Ha. He has to go indeed. Great job, Hilary.

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    6. EC: Heh, on the spit in it:)

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    7. "Only a few days until life changes..." Makes me wonder how life is gonna change in a few days... perhaps she already added a bit of arsenic to his whiskey.

      Well done, Hilary!

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  15. I'd never heard of this meme before but I would love to start participating weekly. Thank you for these prompts, I had lots of fun. My interpretation is here on my blog: https://curiousdaydreams.com/2020/04/08/words-for-wednesday-the-green-fairy/

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    1. Anstice Brown: Welcome. Words for Wednesday will be here for this month and will then move to another host. Next month you can find them HERE. I am heading off to read where this week's prompts took you now.

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  16. It is always such fun to see the different directions these words and phrases take. Thanks for sharing. Take care.

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    1. Mason Canyon: I am blown away by the very different takes each and every week. Thank you - and you take care as well please.

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  17. Fairy liquid. Dettol handwash. Bleach. Mask. Wipes. Paracetamol. I read the list again. I didn’t need to. I had it memorised. Practice makes perfect. Only it didn’t. Too much practice. Nothing was perfect. I’d never get the lot unless I spent the whole night in the mile long queue, bent double over itself again and again. I turned back empty handed…out of the frying pan and into the fire…only I didn’t know which was the pan, where it ended and the fire began…

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    1. Nilanjana Bose: Ouch. I suspect similar lists and similar outcomes are haunting too many of us at the moment.

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    2. Hi Nila - what a fun take ... I've been avoiding those queues and thankfully can manage without worrying ... at the moment - take care - Hilary

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    3. That's a great description of how many people feel all over the world right now. Great use of the words!

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  18. What on earth do you mean, OUT OF THE FRYING PAN INTO THE FIRE? Me? How can you say such a thing?
    How can I say it? Are you serious? I think you PRACTICE it. You NEVER seem to learn from previous experiences and you launch yourself into one screwed up relationship after another, You have a real BENT for it.
    I was uncertain whether to laugh or cry when you said that you wanted to bring over your latest girlfriend last NIGHT, that this was the one, you had found true love, happiness was yours forever. Blah, blah, blah. I have heard it all before, at least nine times if my count is not faulty.
    When you walked through the door with that FAIRY, a five-year old shrink with a PhD by correspondence in four weeks could have seen that she was a walking facade, a brainless twit, hidden behind a wall of makeup you could scrape off with a trowel. And oh, she was soooooo pleased to meet me. Phony little bitch. And you can't even see it. I hope the sex is good. You must be getting something out of this. Stimulating conversation sure isn't on the menu.
    Why am I even bothering to rant? You are going to break off with this one sooner or later and do it all again.
    I think I will cancel my phone, change the lock on the door, and hole up with a shot or two of my favourite LIQUID. Desolation, desperation and disappointment will do that to you.

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    1. Sounds like another happy household David. Some people don't know how to choose their partners. I assume the favourite liquid is gin!!

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    2. David M. Gascoigne: Oh dear. I strongly suspect that similar thoughts (and hopefully not words) have found their way into many heads. A great (albeit sad) use of the prompts.

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    3. Hi David - sounds too true too often ... loved this take - wonderful story telling - take care - Hilary

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    4. Beautifully written! Boy, the ranter sure doesn't believe in mincing words. No wonder the poor slob with the bad relationship track record is tempted to drown his sorrows.

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  19. Not having the luxury of a dishwasher, I was doing some dishes in the sink this morning and noticed I was getting low on dish soap. Made me wish I could get Fairy Liquid which was what we used in England. I used to have a dishwasher when I lived in the US but now I would be out of practice loading one. I would probably overfill it and end up with bent racks. Mind you, I never realized how much I missed it. We would load it up every night after dinner and, there being only two of us, we would set it going every couple of days or so. That last sentence, Out of the Frying Pan and into the Fire, makes me think what lousy cooks the people of those days were if they were always losing their food into the fire.

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    1. Jo: Smiling here. We do have a dishwasher (at the other resident's insistence). It might go a fortnight between cycles. Some meals should (as my piece indicated) go into the fire rather than a plate.

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    2. I miss my dishwasher ... and used to perhaps leave it for 3 days ... but could do with one - makes clearing up so much easier! Take care - Hilary

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    3. When our dishwasher broke down a few years ago, I grew to appreciate how much work it was to clean up after 7 people when I was a child.

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    4. We have a dishwasher, but like you, I don't run it every day, so I kinda "wash" everything before I put it in there, which my hubby finds ridiculous. (I don't care what the dishwasher makers claim... there's no way ANY dishwasher can thoroughly clean three-day old hardened food remnants from the plates.) Then again, half the stuff I wash by hand, anyway. Yesterday, I cleaned out my china cabinet and washed a ton of dishes, doodads, and crystal by hand. It's good therapy, and it's a good job to have behind me.

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    5. I'm with your husband Susan. When I had my dishwasher, I just made sure the plates were well scraped and the dishwasher did the job perfectly even after three days. If you are going to rinse them by hand you might just as well do the whole job.

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  20. Replies
    1. The Ornery Old Lady: I am heading over now to read your creation.

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    1. Giancarlo: Thank you. It is early on Friday as I respond and we have gentle very welcome rain. I hope your day (and all the days to come) is healthy and happy.

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  22. Let's give 'er a go:

    Night after night, Jeff practiced his trombone for the next concert, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies. His father never thought that Jeff would be so awful. One night, after Jeff had stopped, his father silently grabbed the instrument, took it to the garage, and beat the hell out of it, until it was bent and broken. The he went to the cellar and cracked open what he called the "Golden Liquid" which was 70% alcohol. The trombone was never played again.

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    1. Susan Kane: Love it - and can so understand Jeff's father's destructive impulse.

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    2. HA! Many parents over the years have suffered at the torturous sounds their children make with various musical instruments. I was never tempted to destroy an instrument, but it was clear, early on, that none of our children are musically inclined. :)

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  23. My dear friend,
    How are you? I hope all is well with you and your family.

    Dropping by to say hello and wishing you all the best!
    Sending lots of hugs and Love!

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    1. sonia a. mascaro: How lovely to see you here. I have been thinking of you and hoping that you are safe.
      We are fine.
      I hope that you too can stay safe and well and am sending oceans of caring your way.

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  24. Oh very interesting post darling
    xx

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  25. I would love to have had a bash at these today, but am so short of time.😕
    I will try to get back to you later if I can.
    In the meantime, here's wishing everyone a fabulous Easter!! 😊😊

    Stay safe, dear Sue.

    With much love and hugs ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

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    1. Ygraine: Look after yourself. Please. And I hope your Easter is wonderful.
      Many hugs. Always.

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  26. Here's mine. Loved the words. Must read everyone else's now :)
    --------------------------------------------------------------
    Nighttime in my casa, I am cleaning up the kitchen while Kevin makes coffee. "Fairy Liquid?” sniffs my mother-in-law, “how can you use that poison on your dishes? Why don’t you use Dawn?”

    And so it goes, I think, looking helplessly at her son, my husband, who shrugs behind her back as he grinds the beans.
    There was a time when I would challenge her but never again. I let her words roll over me on her annual two week visits. Long years of practice had me refusing to get bent out of shape like before.

    I rinse out the heavy cast iron frying pan and slowly hand it to her to dry.

    “I read,” I say slowly to her as she reaches for it, “that a good crack with this on the head can kill someone quickly. Imagine! Gives a brand new meaning to into the fire, h’m?”
    _______________________________________________________________

    XO
    WWW

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    1. Oh yes, dunno about mother in law, my mother could have used a warning like this. I've always had a fairly heavy cast iron pan on hand too. Nothing wrong with Fairy Liquid either.

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    2. Wisewebwoman: Oh the temptation. And yes, I think many of us have known (by blood or marriage) someone like that. Loved your use of my prompts. Thank you.

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  27. P.C. Practice might have been a Bent copper working the Night shift, but no one would Never call him a Fairy, not with the Liquid funds he made for the east end mob.

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    1. Oh! Koopmans sneaks one past the defender, takes the shot and finally scores with a one-sentence usage of the Words.

      The crowd goes wild (and his brain looks forward to an extra hour of sleep!)

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    2. Mark Koopmans: Big, big smiles. I am too lazy to go wild, but big smiles just the same.

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  28. A bit of a clumsy effort but hey-ho, here it is:

    I’m so out of PRACTICE as far as my writing BENT is concerned that I can barely summon up that good FAIRY, ‘Imagination’. I see many a tormented NIGHT ahead as I struggle to write something - anything - remotely witty or entertaining. What will the regulars think of my meagre efforts? I’m going to need a bottle (or two, or three ) of amber LIQUID to see me through this dry patch. NEVER mind, I’ll take solace in sippin’ and thinkin’ (... and sippin’). That’s the best I can do right now. Over to you, the experts .

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    1. SpikesBestMate: Love it - and I think most of us OFTEN struggle with the prompts.
      Perhaps we can have a virtual sippin' and thinkin' party.

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  29. Now that sounds like my kind of thinkin' (and sippin') especially as the liquid involved is amber.

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  30. Unfortunately the more sippin' that's done, the less thinkin' and writin'. More likely to be 'sip n' snooze'!

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    1. SpikesBestMate: Sip n snooze works too. The new week's prompts are up, and I do hope you will join us again.

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  31. Practice, practice, that's what the fairy would keep in her soul, when she would go out at night. Her mother told her to be the best fairy she could be. "Fly and bless." "If you fell or got upset, that would be ok. Just keep loving yourself and practice." The Fairy loved the darkness. The stars looked like liquid gold. She loved all the shapes. Some even looked bent to her. Little Fairy never gave up! She kept going and became a Spiritual Fairy. She flew around the Universe helping to heal Mother Earth and all the beautiful souls.

    I hope this is ok EC? I'm not a writer, but I thought I would give it a try!
    Thanks to everyone for their great writes! Big Hugs! Keep Safe!

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    1. Well done! I'm a 'newbie' too and I think this is a great attempt. Maybe we can PRACTISE together and cheer each other on? Best of luck with the new list of prompts. I shall be checking you out!

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    2. Thanks SpikesBestMate! Big Hugs!

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    3. Magic Low Crow: I LOVED that you joined us. And your story. You live your life just like that little fairy. Thank you so much for joining the fun. Huge hugs.

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    4. Aww, thank you EC!! Big Hugs!

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