This
meme was started by Delores a long time ago. Computer issues led her
to bow out for a while. The meme was too much fun to let go, and now
Words for Wednesday is provided by a number of people and has become a
movable 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 those prompts 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, and mixing and matching is encouraged.
Some
of us put our creation in comments on the post, and others post on
their own blog. I would really like it if as many people as possible
joined into this fun meme, which includes cheering on the other participants. If you are posting on your own blog - let me know so that I, and other participants, can come along and applaud.
- Thread
- Butterflies
- Say
- Unsuitable
- Sea
- Shattered
- Press
- Eyelids
- Spaghetti
- Standing
- Cardboard
- Dumped
Robyn counted to ten. Not enough. She started again. And again. At a thousand she pressed her hands on her eyelids and clutched her head in a vain attempt to stem the rage. You what? You signed me up to prepare dinner for FIFTY of your relatives? You really think I am going to be standing in your mothers badly equipped, tiny HOT kitchen preparing food for people who would willingly eat cardboard – if it came with a creamy sauce. Even if I just dumped spaghetti into a pot and added bottled tomato sauce it would be too good for them. And you have the absolute hide to say ‘it won’t be too bad, babe. You don’t like them anyway and this way you don’t have to talk to them.’
ReplyDeleteYou know I have other plans. Your inability to say no to your mother has shattered them. This time. Hear me now. Our relationship is hanging by a thread. A very, very narrow thread. This is the last time I will give in to your mother’s unsuitable demands. Next time she rings with these insane ideas you can tell her that I am down at the seaside, chasing butterflies and unavailable. You can tell her that and it will true. With or without you by my side.
Hi EC - I most definitely would be down at the seaside, chasing butterflies rather than having to spend an instant of time with your mother. Give me a break and never ever ask me again! Excellent - cheers Hilary
DeleteWhat and unpleasant proposition. This couple needs some counseling or he'll have to eat cardboard at her mother indefinitely as it looks like she's not sticking around for long. lol...
DeleteLet me know so that I can come and join you in the butterfly chase, Sue! Wonderful use of the prompts, as always.
DeleteOh gosh, poor Robyn! :) Great story! :)
DeleteHow often "This will be the last time!" will be said on this planet.
DeleteMay the Robyns on this planet be(come) consequent.
What a sad and unpleasant situation. I'd rather be chasing butterflies, too.
DeleteFifty relatives?? FIFTY!
DeleteOne giant pot of hot chilli and fifty spoons, that should do it. Or she could just order in a dozen buckets of KFC with chips and side salads, while she takes a break from chasing butterflies at the seaside.
River: Or her mother-in-law (of her partner) could order in the KFC if making the chilli and providing the spoons is beyond them.
DeleteI don't know why they even need the daughter in law. Only as a skivvy. Yes, I'd be at the beach with you chasing those glorious butterflies!!
DeleteXO
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Nobody volunteers me, i volunteer plenty myself, but this would be beyond the pale.
DeleteWell told!
Urgh! Last time indeed. I hope she follows through.
DeleteOh my goodness. This wonderful story came to close to home for me. Good job Sue!
DeleteI love this power piece, especially the main character. Robyn is a force to be reckoned with. Woo-hoo.
DeleteMore light and love to you, EC.
Excellent. Love them both, especially the idea of tossing it all and chasing butterflies by the sea.
DeleteGood one! Hoping Robyn's significant other gets the message.
DeleteExcellent. Love them both, especially the idea of tossing it all and chasing butterflies by the sea.
ReplyDeleteHi EC - another interesting post with some fun words - somewhat easier than last week! 2nd set:
ReplyDelete"Press, she shouted, get that cardboard folded neatly … we can only dump standing cardboard, taking up as little space as possible.
Watching carefully she could see the pair of eyes over the road peering out through the curtains … I bet his eyelids are pressed against those spaghetti shredded curtains.
Really I cannot be nice to him … he always glares – he knows I have very little money, and need to get the cardboard dumped."
Thanks EC - I'll be around to read ... cheers Hilary
I do the same with my cardboard but the city gets the money. Maybe this guy should follow suit and fold his cardboard too to buy some new curtains.
Delete'I cannot be nice to him.' Heh. Thumbs up, Hils.
DeleteHilary Melton Butcher: I do my very best to compress our cardboard waste too. Luckily there are no eyes peering at my gyrations. I don't think. I love your use of the prompts.
DeleteWe compress dutifully, and recycle appropriately, but as far as I know the neighbours are not especially curious about it! I'll cast an eye across the street when next I place the bundle at the kerb.
DeleteThat's really great Hilary! :)
DeleteThere is nothing like neighbourhood watch,eh?
DeleteA great lesson on recycling. Here in the states, we don't recycle like that and have no neighbors checking on our recycle bins.
DeleteI'm the mug who takes out a stanley knife and cuts up all the huge cardboard boxes in our recycling bin, just so I can fit in a weeks worth of newspapers and crushed milk cartons.
DeleteI'm like River, cutting it up folding it tiny. An awful nuisance, but no audience. Well done.
DeleteXO
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Ha! Good recycling one, Hilary.
DeleteHaving prying neighbors is such a nuisance. Good use of the prompts!
DeleteWell I have neighbors watching me folding and recycling cardboard - we all have to carry it to a container by the local bus stop ;) But nobody's prying, only applauding. I would have a hard time being nice to this guy as well, I think.
DeleteGreat job as always Hilary.
DeleteTaking a peek during my work break, i'll be thinking while my hands stay busy.
ReplyDeletemessymimi: Your hands are ALWAYS busy. I look forward to seeing where your mind takes you.
DeleteGot it, over here.
DeleteHer heart shattered she stared into the churning sea, giving herself a reprieve from her mother's nattering. "It's unsuitable to grieve over a silly cat," her mother would say, over and over. And maybe it was, but the skinny yellow tom with his torn ear and freckles on his lip, had been her best friend since she was a child and she would miss him terribly. If only he would use one of those nine lives to come back to her. The thought no sooner surfaced than the wind died and the sea quieted. In the distance she heard a forlorn meow. A thread of hope as fragile as a butterfly built inside her. She turned toward the sound. Trotting toward her was a bedraggled black kitten. As it got closer she noticed a single freckle on his lip and nick out of his ear. Her eyes filled and her heart warmed. She looked in the sky and whispered, "Thank you." As she scooped him up, he purred loudly in her ear and gave her cheek a flick of his little, rough-edged tongue. Her friend had come home.
ReplyDeleteAn endearing story. Well done.I'm glad for her.
DeleteSandra Cox: This is lovely. And made my eyes leak a little. There are so many furry friends I would gladly welcome home.
DeleteWell done, Sandra. An endearing tale.
DeleteOh Sandra, this melted my heart...♥
DeleteHeartwarming.
DeleteWe lost a "special" cat this summer. Her sister got killed seven years ago, the day our granddaughter was born. And as if Momo thought, the little girl were the incarnation of her sister, she would almost always follow the girl, wherever she crawled and later walked or ran.
This was so very lovely, Sandra. Your words were so expressive, I could almost feel the rough tongue of this new kitty on my cheek. It was quite heartwarming. Bleubeard was especially impressed.
DeleteI love this :)
DeleteA lovely story Sandra
DeleteXO
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Ahhh! A new kitty. Love that, Sandra.
DeleteThanks, all:) Appreciate the kind words.
DeleteAwww! Good story.
Deletewell written and heartwarming! Thank you.
DeleteOh I loved this story. My Luke SkyWalker cat recently disappeared and I know how she felt when her cat was found. Luke returned also.
DeleteI had difficulty picking up the thread of the conversation from my director as I had butterflies in my stomach. I was afraid that my knees were too stiff to be able to stand up and even to say something unsuitable if I crashed.
ReplyDeleteI saw a sea of people and hope that someone would shatter a glass to distract the crowd.
I pressed my eyelids together to get focused, and remembered my lines, feeling a bit self-conscious wearing a borrowed spaghetti strap gown and a Marilyn Monroe blond wig with my farmer tan.
One of our benefactor in our parish was being celebrated on his 75th birthday. I was asked to hide in the large birthday cardboard cake and pop from the tissue paper top at the appropriate time and sing Happy Birthday like Marlyn Monroe.
I was standing in a crouched position inside the cake and the rickety narrow platform I was standing on started to shift and I was literally dumped on the floor with the gentleman laughing hysterically as he prepared to symbolically cut the cake.
Amazingly no one in the crowd recognized me. When I got my composure, I sang in my most breathy voice, Happy Birthday Mister Fabro. The audience roared and applauded in delight. Unfortunately, this gentleman and friend passed away on November 21.
(post note) Everything is true except for the butterflies, the shattered glass and the pressed eyelids.
Julia
Julia: You popped out of a cake to sing Happy Birthday? How amazing. I would have loved to see that, and I am sorry that Mister Fabro and his friend have passed on - but very glad that they had this treat first. Well done you. On both counts.
DeleteGreat story about a real event! Bravo on both counts.
DeleteWhat a lovely story! :)
DeleteA kingdom for witnessing this!
DeleteHow endearing and it's amazing how art often imitates life.
DeleteA great story, that was a great deal of work and rehearsing.
DeleteXO
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Great one!
DeleteOh my gosh, Julia. How amazing. Great all the way around--except for your friend's passing.
DeleteIt sounds like you made it a most memorable event.
DeleteOh, but soo good that you could sing and celebrate him after all. Well written.
DeleteWow Julia, a great true story. Amazing how you were able to weave the prompts into this tale.
DeleteThread, the Butterflies Say is Unsuitable at Sea: too easily Shattered
ReplyDeleteAnd so we Press our Eyelids to the Spaghetti while Standing on
Cardboard that we and should have
Dumped.
Right to the point!
DeleteWe press our eyelids to the spaghetti.
DeleteI couldn't have said it better myself!
Nice Cloudia! :)
DeleteThis got the corners of my mouth close to my ear-lobes.
DeleteCloudia: I love it - and like Sean Jeating I am smiling broadly.
DeleteYou certainly didn't mince any words, Cloudia.
DeleteSweet and sharp, well done!
DeleteXO
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Very succinct!
DeleteShort and to the point!
DeleteI dumped the spaghetti on my eyelids to press it while standing on cardboard.
ReplyDeleteCloudia is trying to under do me.
That's great Mike! :)
DeleteAnd not only Cloudia, obviously.
DeleteHard times ahead, Mike.
Mike: Spaghetti on your eyelids? Eeeuw. Nice to see Captain Succinct continues to ride.
DeleteMaybe she succeded ;) I don't see all the words in your text ;) But good to read anyway.
DeleteWhat’s UNSUITABLE is a bit of a moving concept, and open to interpretation, I suppose. It’s safe to SAY, however, that most people have a basic idea of societal norms, and the old adage “When in Rome do as the Romans” holds a good deal of truth. Beatrice was out to SEA with such concepts. It wasn’t so much that she SHATTERED norms, she had no concept of what they were in the first place. Once, when STANDING, pressed against others in the line-up in a store, (obviously pre-COVID), she was seen to open a CARDBOARD box she had in her hands. Out scampered a chipmunk, her pet she told the other shoppers who stared at her in consternation, while some scurried around screaming to avoid the harmless little creature that had been so unceremoniously DUMPED among unfriendly aliens. The PRESS of people fighting to get away from the tiny rodent would have made you think that Godzilla had been set upon them. A BUTTERFLY would have been acceptable, it can’t run up your leg! One woman whose EYELIDS were overburdened with an excess of mascara looked like an erstwhile Rudy Giuliani as dark THREADS of colour streamed down her face, such was her terror, causing her to sweat profusely. Finally, Beatrice corralled her pet and replaced it in the box. You will not be amazed that everyone ceded their place in the queue so that Beatrice could be served first and leave the shop. As always, she looked a little dishevelled with hints of yesterday’s lunch inhabiting her sweater. Wonder what she looks like after she’s slurped on SPAGHETTI?
ReplyDeleteLoved that David!!! :)))
DeleteDavid M. Gascoigne: Huge smiles. There is a little of Beatrice in me. And how I wish I was less cowardly and could release more of her.
DeleteGiuliani. Phew! Don't get me started.
DeleteApart from that I enjoyed tremendously. It's not easy these day to jump a queue ... ;-)
I found this quite fun and humorous. I could almost imagine Beatrice jumping the queue in her rumpled, spaghetti stained sweater.
Delete"One woman whose EYELIDS were overburdened with an excess of mascara"
DeleteMarvelous line, great story.
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Beatrice is someone i want to meet. Loved the story!
DeleteFunny how poeple are afraid of such nice littel pets - I think I have more than a pinch of Beatrice in me ;) Well done.
DeleteI had a Beatrice too and now I know how her cruise went. Excellent tale David. Would you believe a mouse actually jumped out at me yesterday morning?
DeleteThis was great:) I especially enjoyed the Giuliani reference. Heh.
DeleteI always enjoy writing these rhyming stories on your blog EC.
ReplyDeleteI was shattered
and the butterflies scattered.
Deep within the murky sea
awaited Gorn smiling with glee.
It hopped onto the ship pounding the deck as it thread,
filling the crew with dread.
"Oh No" They say
"Its going to make us pay!"
The creature was unsuitable, that was irrefutable.
hardly big blond and beautiful!
Joked the crew in jest,
"Thank God it left!"
"Gorn"
Delete🖖 from Star Trek?? 😀
Very poetic! :)
DeleteSpacer Guy: Thank you for joining us again - and with a fun poem no less. I can think of a few visitors whose departure I welcome more than their arrival.
DeleteYep, sometimes we are happy to see them leave.
DeleteVery unusual, great take.
DeleteXO
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Well done!
DeleteI liked this very much, and I think the departuer of Goirn would fill me with gratitude as well.
DeleteWell rhymed!
Hooray SpacerGuy! Loved the poem. Delightful use of the prompts.
DeleteDo we have to use all the words?
ReplyDeleteThese butterflies say they are unsuitable for sea life, but I don't believe them.
Nice Sandi! :)
DeleteSandi: We don't have to use all of the words - and I love what you did with the ones you selected.
DeleteWell done!
DeleteFine, and no, we do not have to use all the words. I used only two ;) You did double up at least!
DeleteDumped in a cardboard box, I was left standing with spaghetti pressed into my eyelids.
ReplyDeleteObviously, it was a really bad day!
LOL Alex, a very bad day indeed!! :)
DeleteAlex J. Cavanaugh: That is two of you with spaghetti pressed to your eyelids. Eeeuw I say again.
DeleteMike 14 – 15 Alex.
DeleteHorrible thought but then my story has it ending that way, LOL.
DeleteXO
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Sounds like you need a break!
DeleteBad day at sea! Well done.
DeleteFrom the dusty cardboard box, I half-heartedly dumped the spaghetti into the pot of spitting water...standing wearily over the stove, eyelids nearly shut and my hand pressed over my heart. ♥
ReplyDeleteRain: Thank you so much for joining us. Your words are incredibly evocative. I can just see that tired cook - and hope she didn't have to clean up.
DeleteGo on talking, Robert Frost would probably say.
DeleteI'd like to know her whole story, keep us guessing!
DeleteXO
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She sounds very tired.
DeletePoor, tired cook. Well written, you painted a picture with those few lines.
DeleteBeen there. Done that:)
DeleteWithout batting an eyelid the prime minister had ordered to chase them out of town so that the eyes of drunken football fans and posh tourists would not get offended during the European Championship. A wonder he did not get standing ovations. Some pseudo discussion in the Press about the "cardboard box people", that's all.
ReplyDeleteHe had been busy with his dissertation at that time – 'Say's Law, Keynes, Milton et al. – always butterflies in his stomach and swaggering around; a master of highfalutin talk, preferable after some spaghetti and lots of wine about Chinese philosophers. There were no heavy seas to expect.
What did he know what it feels like to be labelled unsuitable, getting literally dumped, all hope shattered?
25 years later, Speaker's Corner. His clothes worn to threads, the voice of a middle aged man is to be heard:
"Once Zhuangzi dreamt he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting and fluttering around, happy with himself and doing as he pleased. He didn't know he was Zhuangzi. Suddenly he woke up and there he was, solid and unmistakable Zhuangzi. But he didn't know if he was Zhuangzi who had dreamt he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he was Zhuangzi. Between Zhuangzi and a butterfly there must be some distinction! This is called the Transformation of Things."
Sean Jeating: Oh. How I wish that politicians the world over didn't evict the unfortunate to avoid offending those with plenty.
DeleteIt sounds as if he learnt a lot in the time after he was unceremoniously dumped. I wonder whether he too have been moved on...
I am pretty certain that I would rather be a butterfly. Perhaps I am. Or one of me is...
Your creative mind has excelled again, Sean.
DeleteBeautiful and very sad and true take on the cardboard people offending those who walk by but could help them.
DeleteXO
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Very sobering and well told.
DeleteWell written, I hope the cardboard people helped him and forgot old regrets.
DeleteGood words and like your story EC.
ReplyDeleteMargaret D: Thank you.
DeleteLovely set of words EC, I have several ideas sparking in my mind already.
ReplyDeleteRiver: I look forward to seeing where they take you.
DeleteOh I had fun with this, used all the words.
ReplyDelete_____________________________________________________
She knew something was up as soon as she sat down at the cafe table in their favourite Italian restaurant by the sea for their standing Wednesday night dinner. It was in the way his eyelids drooped, a look she had found sexy when she first met him but now she knew it was when he was lying.
Butterflies invaded her stomach, she had nothing to say, so she grabbed the cardboard menu even though she knew it all off by heart.
It was a totally unsuitable place for a breakup, she mused, holding on to the thread of her shattered thoughts. She ordered the seafood spaghetti, her favourite.
He pressed on about needing space, he didn’t want to be tied to a relationship, they could be friends with benefits. He didn’t even notice she had said nothing as he now dived into his veal parmigiana.
There was only one thing for it. She stood up and holding her plate firmly between her hands, dumped the entire contents over his head and marched out the door.
___________________________________________________
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Much better than mine!
DeleteI suspect he deserved it!
DeleteWisewebwoman: I love it. And hope that he found it difficult to wash the last of that spaghetti from his face and hair.
DeleteWell done!
DeleteLove it :D
DeleteOh, well written.
DeleteGood for her. Job well done.
DeleteGood one!
DeleteShe couldn't deny the butterflies inside her anymore. He was unsuitable her father told her, but he could say that forever, and she'd never be able to forget him.
ReplyDeleteIt had only been a few days since she last saw him, but her heart would be shattered if she didn't at least glimpse his smile and those eyes the color of the sea. He was the thread that tethered her to earth. He was her true love.
Kind of smaltzy, but it's early here. I need to warm up my writer brain a bit.
cleemckenzie: Shmaltzy is fine. Sometimes that is just where the words take us - and I can (just) remember those early obsessive days....
DeleteSchmaltz can be a very good thing. This happens, you summed it up very well.
DeleteWell written indeed. If this is you warming up, the real stuff must be good.
DeleteNot one bit smaltzy. You used the prompts very well. "He was the thread that tethered her to earth." Beautiful!
DeleteI may be back with a post, no promise. and this time I'll fully participate. Thanks for being such a good friend!
ReplyDeleteYolanda Renee: I hope that you can get back to delight us with you very individual take on the prompts - but you have a very busy month ahead and I will totally understand if you can't. Hugs.
DeleteGreat to hear from you, surprised but glad you're still getting the email notifications. So many things are strange with blogger of late. I can't figure out why so many followers profile pictures aren't showing up now. One of these days I really must try to do something with your words; but it's not a skill I possess.
ReplyDeleteSandy: Blogger has been in weird mode for a while now. I hope you will play with our prompts some day - but understand if you don't.
DeleteEC, you b ok?
ReplyDeleteSandra Cox: Tired, stressed and hot but ok. Thank you.
DeleteIn my brain, I have already commented on your post, first thing this morning. If my internet gets any slower, it will be like having nothing. Anyway, I will comment and it might be again.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I love your story. I want to say that I will eat anything covered in sauce or gravy, too. :) Secondly, chasing butterflies at the seaside needs to be on my daily to-do list. ha. Finally, I hope I'm not that type of mother/motherinlaw. YOU are such a good writer. I enjoy when you write stories. I hope you write fiction.
T. Powell Coltrin: I am a dabbler rather than a writer but am very glad that you enjoy my efforts. Many, many thanks.
DeleteWonderful words, but my brain is rather mushy. I'm re-writing the earlier parts of Susan's story, hoping to eventually publish. This is what I could manage: WfW
ReplyDeleteCRUISE BLUES by Granny Annie
ReplyDeleteBeatrice held the thread firmly. It gave her butterflies in her stomach to think of what others would say. Would they believe this dress was unsuitable to wear at sea. She knew the first unkind word would leave her shattered. She was looking forward to the cruise she would take with her church group.
The cloth was in place and Bea wanted to press the material before she sewed the final pieces together. She picked up the iron and carefully smoothed the edges across the ironing board.
Humphrey began calling to her from the kitchen. “Where is my supper woman?” he demanded. “Are you thinking about that cruise again? You need to remember your wifely duties!”
Beatrice rushed into the kitchen where her husband was standing. She grabbed a dish from the cupboard and filled it with spaghetti. She was moving fast and accidentally dumped the bowl all over Humphrey. He was furious as he wiped tomato sauce off his eyelids. Bea was horrified and apologized over and over.
“What is that smell?” Humphrey demanded as he continued to brush off the spaghetti.
Bea's eyes opened wide and she ran into her sewing room only to find the iron had burned a hole in her cruise dress.
Aww, what a pity.
DeleteGranny Annie: That is so very sad. I hope she has time to make another...
DeleteArgh! Suggestion for improvement: Why did Bea not do to dear Humphrey what webwisewoman's protagonist did to her pain in the ass? ;-)
DeleteHow utterly sad.
DeleteIt's a shame the dress was ruined, but Humphrey definitely deserved the spaghetti spilled on him. Now if only a small asteroid could fall on him as he was walking out of the bar.
Deleteyou are amazing!
ReplyDeleteashok: ALL of the contributors to this meme are amazing. Each and every one.
DeleteAquí tenéis mi humilde aportación, con todas las palabra, y que espero sea de vuestro agrado.
ReplyDeleteMientras arreglaba los hilos rotos de mi red de pescar, a orillas del mar, se posó una joven mariposa sobre mi mano, que con el movimiento de sus alas, me quería decir, ¿si era inadecuado volar sobre las olas?, a lo que respondí: si el mar es el reino de marineros curtidos, y a veces no volvemos, ¿que sería de ti?...
Saludos, amiga, y gracias por la buena labor que haces, invitándonos a escribir.
Muy bien! Gracias por tu partecipación.
DeleteManuel: This is lovely. I wonder whether the butterfly did fly over the waves?
Delete¡Una hermosa historia!
DeleteUn cordial saludo, y muchas gracias Charlotte, Hijo de elefante y Messymimi, sois las tres muy amables.
DeleteDentro de unos días pasaré con más tiempo, para leer detenidamente tu nueva entrada.
Qué hermosa metáfora, Manuel.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWonderful word prompts, I enjoyed reading through the comments.
ReplyDeleteLove Affair with Food: Thank you. I really enjoy reading the wonderful ways that people use the prompts too.
DeleteZounds! Here I am tacking mine on at the end of the week!
ReplyDeletehttps://poetryofthenetherworld.blogspot.com/2021/12/once-upon-december-2021-once-upon.html
When reading the date, I thought "wait, it isn't January yet!"
I don't know why we do our dates ass-backwards in the U.S. It makes more sense to do day-month-year than month-day-year.
Ornery Owl of Naughty Netherworld Press and Readers Roost (Not Charlotte): I don't know why you do your dates that way either - and have been confused more than once trying to fill in dates on the PC.
DeleteOff to read your poem now.
I agree, date, month year is THE way to do it -- Or do it totally backwards, year, month, date, as I do when naming files so that they are sorted the rigth way by my computer. The US way makes it a shambles ;)
DeleteI read your poem, and a very sad, well written poem that was.
Echoing Charlotte. In "normal" life day/month/year, and when archiving year/month/day.
DeleteOh, and 'Zounds!' gave me a good laugh. The last time I read the word was deep in the past millennium. Thank you.
Esos pavos reales, son frecuentes de ver en muchos parque de España. Resultan maravillosos de ver , cuando abren sus alas, en señal de cortejo y dejan ver sus precioso plumaje.
ReplyDeleteQue tengas una buena semana.