Wednesday, 15 December 2021

Words for Wednesday 15/12/3032




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.

The prompts will be here this month.  Huge thanks to all those who offered to provide the prompts next year.  We have all of the year covered and I will put up a post soon to tell you where to find them.

This week's prompts are a selection of phrases relating to love and/or relationships.  You can use some of them, all of them or add your own;
 
  1. Out of sight, out of mind
  2. Absence makes the heart grow fonder
  3. Puppy love
  4. Love laughs at locksmiths
  5. Love is blind 
  6. A face that only a mother could love



Have fun.  I will be out for a lot of the day (again), but look forward to reading your responses when I return.

 

90 comments:

  1. You call it madness, but I call it love. And love is all that I (or you) need.
    It began when we were toddlers, puppy love I suppose. Just the same this old dog has learnt nothing. I loved you then, and I love you still.
    Your father didn’t approve (believing that hoary adage that out of sight was out of mind) and spirited you away. I suspect he would have locked you in a chastity belt if he could despite the fact that love laughs at locksmiths. He is gone now, and absence made my heart grow stronger. Love has found its way. He told you that love is blind, but it sees more than he ever did. And no, you do NOT have a face that only a mother could love. I see past the imperfections that our society focuses on, and see your inner soul. Your beauty is so much more than skin deep. Your eyes, your voice, your soul are all beautiful. Beautiful (and loved) till the end of time. Your time, my time, for all time…

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    1. Sue - that's a brilliant piece of writing ... really thought provoking ... Love is, just it is ... thank you ... Hilary

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    2. Quite lovely.
      The light will be on when you get home:)

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    3. Ah, what a lovely story! Thanks for the smile. :-)

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    4. More proof that you're incredibly eloquent. I love this full story that's concise yet evocative and complete. SO GOOD.

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    5. That was wonderful!! I love the inclusion of "chastity belt"!! ☺

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  2. Hi EC - Puppy Love ... the best sort of love! Devoted animals ... and cats too ... but Love can be elusive. Great I'll be back to read - cheers Hilary

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    1. Hilary Melton-Butcher: Love from animals melts my stony heard. And reminds me of a card my mother gave my father. On the front it said YOU MEN ARE SUCH ANIMALS!!!! The inside said, Happy Birthday from an animal lover...

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    2. That's a great card ... and well remembered! Excellent - cheers H

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    3. Well said, Hils.
      Funny card, EC:)

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  3. Love is blind, and it's a good thing too because only your mother could love your face.

    Hmm....well, I tried.

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    1. Sandi: That is clever - and cruel. That was a phrase I often heard growing up, but haven't heard in years.

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    2. You've reminded me of the ugly girl song...

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  4. It might be said by those unfamiliar with love that Claude had A FACE ONLY A MOTHER COULD LOVE. If one’s superficial assessment of love was based on physical aspects alone, one might perhaps, in an unkind moment, arrive at such a conclusion. LOVE IS BLIND to such superficiality, however, a fact that Claude’s sister, Ophelia, was incapable of recognizing. Blessed with beauty – of that there was no denying – Ophelia bounced from one bout of PUPPY LOVE to another, with neither sincerity nor commitment as part of the equation. Claude, on the other hand, in a serendipitous stroke of fate, had taken up with Lucy. It would never have happened had not Lucy’s car broken down in a driving rainstorm. Not only did Claude stop to check to see if he could start her vehicle, he offered to take her home when that proved not to be possible. Lucy was until then of the opinion that boys were better OUT OF SIGHT OUT OF MIND based on several attempts at a relationship with superficial jerks. She was instantly taken by Claude’s kindness, his self-effacing demeanour and his quick sense of humour. Lucy knew Ophelia and could barely believe the difference between brother and sister. Ophelia was already so obsessed with her physical appearance she was contemplating botox and face tucks, frequenting tanning salons and verged on anorexic. Her opinon of the boys she dated and tossed aside was OUT OF SIGHT OUT OF MIND. Meantime, Claude, a standout student at Nirvana University, was proving his mettle and won a place on a research team to The Maldives, leaving for three months. Lucy found that ABSENCE MAKES THE HEART GROW FONDER and she missed Claude so much. Intelligence, wit and empathy are forever, beauty is only skin deep. LOVE LAUGHS AT LOCKSMITHS and as soon as Claude returned home they made plans to be married. Ophelia meantime carried on trying to improve on nature, with results that were exactly the opposite. And as her beauty waned so did the attention from the slavering crowd of hormone-fuelled males. Oh to find a Claude, she thought!

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    1. David M. Gascoigne: There is hope for Ophelia if she realises that she (and the world) needs more Claudes. Great use of my prompts which I found challenging (despite them being my own).

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    2. Spake Olivia: Love, love, my beauty for love.

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    3. Great use of EC's prompts. You did weave a strong tale of lost love.

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    4. David that was great, so well written! I've known some Ophelias that's for sure!

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  5. Got a meeting tonight, but i'll get back to it as soon as i can.

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  6. Miriam decided to join in the fun this week. Here is her submission (pretty damn good if you ask me!).

    The minute the bandages were removed the compassionate eyes of the doctor told me, without words, what a mirror would later confirm. Though I really didn’t need a mirror. There was no misinterpreting the pity that a quick glance at the face of my best friend, Susan, revealed. She had been the one I had asked to contact Simon to give him the news.
    I had been hoping that Simon would have travelled to be there for this moment and my heart ached with the need to see him. From the very first minute it had never been, for us, OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND. We emailed, texted and spoke on the phone many times a day. When we met online our attraction was immediate but friends told me it was only PUPPY LOVE. They cautioned me that despite the profile picture showing a handsome man with an open smile he probably had A FACE ONLY A MOTHER COULD LOVE. But I knew LOVE IS BLIND. We both knew we had obstacles ahead of us but we told each other that LOVE LAUGHS AT LOCKSMITHS.
    Finally, with the bandages removed from my face I opened my phone and searched among the long list of unopened emails for the latest message from Simon. As I started to read my smile faded, tears blurred my vision and slipped down my scar lined cheeks and I realized I was about to find out if it is true that ABSENCE MAKES THE HEART GROW FONDER.

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    1. Pretty damn sad.
      Too easy it would be to write:
      Und die Moral von der Geschicht': Trau einem profile picture nicht.

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    2. Miriam: This is heartrending and lovely. Thank you so much for joining us.

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    3. Wow Miriam, glad you decided to join the challenge and great use of the prompts.

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    4. Oh that is very emotional, thanks Miriam!!! ☺

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    5. Ohh, hoping for q happy ending despite the bleak prospect.

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  7. Out of sight, out of mind versus Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Ah, those phrases! Blind puppy love laughs at locksmiths.
    He smiled at the one in the mirror: "Perhaps she thought that if mother could love my face, she could as well."
    The one in the mirror smiled back.
    He had not heard the door got opened. But he smelled her, now felt her hands touching his cheeks, her lips on his.. And her voice: "How was you day, love?"

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    1. Sean Jeating: Ahhh. It seems that she does love him, despite his face, which is wonderful.

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    2. He is blind, Sue.
      *
      And here is the missing 'r'. ;-)

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    3. Good use of the prompts. I did not get that he is blind.

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    4. Sean Jeating: I did not pick that up - though I should have given the clues. And it is a lovely story on lots of levels...

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    5. Well written. I had to re-read to find the missing "r" - that's a compliment as I'm also a proof reader ;)

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    6. Thank you all. I am glad you enjoyed what you read.
      @ Charlotte: When blogging, I do register a typo / slip of the pen with a lenient smile. Otherwise, though, ...

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  8. Out of sight, out of mind is the opposite of absence makes the heart grow fonder.

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    1. Mike: It is. There are a number of familiar sayings which are opposite.

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    1. Margaret D: I have heard them all at one time or another.

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  10. i have only just now been able to connect to the internet after trucks were in my street all day. I have never heard "love laughs at locksmiths"

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    1. River: I am glad you have your power back. I have found that I am addicted to internet access. That phrase was one I heard as a child - but haven't in rather a lot of years since...

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  11. Something new I learned today. Love laughs at locksmiths is a phrase I have never heard of. Hope your day out is for pleasure and that it will be a great one.

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    1. DeniseinVA: My busyness was a mixed bag. Out again today. I hope your day(s) go well.

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  12. These were challenging prompts EC. Thanks for putting our minds to work. My story is posted on my page Fools Rush In Granny Annie http://granan10.blogspot.com/2021/12/words-for-wednesday-12-15-2021.html

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    1. Granny Annie: I read your story and was delighted at the very different slant you gave the phrases.

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  13. Like DeniseinVA above, I've never hard of Love laughs at locksmiths, going to have to look that one up. Got a kick out of how 1 and 2 are the direct opposite. I tend to think out of site, out of mind is more accurate. Thanks for the visit, always appreciated. Knitting with my fun colors as I blog visit.

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    1. Sandy: I am blown away that you can knit and blog visit. I suspect that out of sight out of mind often is the more accurate - which says nothing good about the love in question...

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  14. Interesting development of the game!

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    1. Cloudia: It has produced some great takes hasn't it?

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  16. Oops, Take Two:

    I hate this cold weather. My ex loves it, that idiot. He'd stay inside when the sun was out. Yeah, he kept our Star out of sight, out of mind. Weirdo. To me,absence makes the heart grow fonder. If I don't see and feel the sun, I'm like a whiny teen whose puppy love fantasy fixation rejected her request for a dance. Just one freakin dance. What's wrong with him? Doesn't he see how cute and innocent I'm (pretending to be)? Love is blind, I guess.

    Damnit, my doorknob is jammed. The key won't budge. Happens every winter, and I hate this. I'll have to call a locksmith.

    He arrives ten minutes later. I'm drenched, having stood out in the cold and rain. Practically as frigid as my ex was, even on warm night. (That's a story for a different time.) I imagine I now have the face that only a mother could love.

    He's a cutie, though, and so sweet. I don't see a wedding ring. Is this because "Love laughs at locksmiths"? I don't know. I never heard that before, but apparently it's a thing. Regardless, within seconds, my hero's fixed the problem.

    "Tell you what, I won't charge you. Happy holidays."
    "You made my day! Thank you so much."
    "No problem. I loosened it for you." I couldn't remember the last time a man said this to me. It'd take a while for me to dry up now, if you know what I mean.

    "What's your name?" I extended my hand.
    "Brandon."
    "Brandon, I'm Robyn. I think I'll keep you on speed dial." I winked.
    Brandon winked back.
    It was a great day after all.

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    1. Rawknrobyn: Big smiles. 😎 Despite preferring cold weather to warm I really liked your take on the prompts. And a big hooray for Brandon's, where ever they appear.

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    2. A doorknob jammed at the right time, not necessarily is a mishap, eh? ;-)
      Enjoyed this.

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    3. Sometimes fate needs a small push - or a jammed doorknob.

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    4. Thank you, all. Such a nice, thoughtful crew around here. EC's as good as they get.

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  17. "Love is blind," shouted the old lady, with failing eyesight, to her deaf husband.
    Reading her lips, he shouted back, "Absence makes the heart grow stronger."
    "Out of sight, out of mind," she yelled.
    "I can't top that. How about a cup of coffee?" He put his arm around her and kissed her.
    Together they walked hand in hand to the kitchen.

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    1. Sandra Cox: Big smiles. I hope to be one a member of that couple in the fullness of time.

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    2. Awww! Their hearts speak even if they can't much hear one another.

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  18. True Story: Last May, my hound dog Jack had to get 16 teeth removed! My love is blind for all of my pets, and I'm sure some people would say that some dogs have a face that only a mother could love - even a fur mother! I struggled to find the money to pay for this expensive surgery, but as they say, love laughs at locksmiths and I found a way to help my little doggie. That entire day I had knots in my stomach and I missed him so much! I was so afraid that Jack would think I abandoned him when I left him at the vet that morning, then forget about me...out of sight, out of mind. But you know, it's very true that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Not only had I fallen in love again with my hound dog when I picked him up, in his woozy state, his little tail wagged and he snuggled right up against me, showing me that beloved puppy love that only he can bestow! ♥♥

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    1. Rain: This is lovely. So many of us know that knot in our tummies when we take our beloved furs to the vet. I for one apologise all the way there. I am so glad that Jack came through his surgery well and was pleased to see you again.

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    2. 16 teeth at once?! Who would not need a lot of tender loving care? Hope Jack is well.

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    3. You're a good dog mommy, Rain.

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    4. EC: Yes, when the furries are in pain, it's so tough...Jack is very resilient!! ☺

      Sean, Jack was a rescue with bad teeth when I got him, dogs typically have 42 teeth, he mostly lost the molars and premolars! He's just fine, recovered within a week! He's like a puppy now, no pain! ☺☺

      Thank you Sandra! ☺☺

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    5. Our pets are sometimes our best family members.

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