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 colour for April is Missing Green.
This week's prompts are:
- gentle
- organic
- standards
- odour
- moisture
- 20 years
- noses
- pregnant
- gloves
- high
As an aside all these words come from the box of a product we use regularly here. Can you guess what it is?
As always, have fun.
Forgive me. It IS election season here and I am feeling more than usually cynical.
ReplyDeleteOver the last twenty years Peter had been accurately described as a pedant but in election season he was on high alert.
The scent of power had reached the noses of the politicians. Peter could see that but what reached his nose was the odour of corruption. Pea green and incorruptible was missing and didn’t apply to any of them.
Peter supposed that you could at least say that the politicians were derived from living matter and therefore organic, but it was faint praise at best.
The pregnant pauses when a question was asked that the wannabe didn’t want to answer told him a lot. The nervous licking of lips or the moisture that appeared on the aspirant’s brow told him more than the words they couldn’t (or wouldn’t) say. He also mourned that the journalists were too gentle and treated the politicians with kid gloves, rarely pursuing unanswered questions, out and out fibs, or slippery redefinitions of common words and phrases. Standards are not being upheld.
Well said. Well done. Woot. Woot.
DeleteSandra sandracox.blogspot.com
very well done!
DeleteThat's right Elephant Child!
DeleteI can't imagine what product the words could be from!!
I hope you can tell us!
Thank you!
Very excellent EC and I agree with "standards are not being upheld" 100%. Are your words from a box of Hypo-Allergenic laundry powder?
DeleteKaterinas Blog and River: Not laundry powder and yes, I will divulge where the words come from, later in the week.
DeletePolitics has become like this the world over. Sickening, really.
DeleteI don't think those politicians break a sweat - they just spout fire and brimstone ... I wouldn't like to be anywhere near any of them. Excellent story on today's words - congratulations - cheers Hilary
DeleteOh yes I thought a box of soap powder ... ?
My thoughts were a laxative box?
DeleteCindi ... I hope not?!
DeleteCindi is closest - though the cats don't need laxatives. The words this week came from the cat's kitty litter packaging.
DeleteOh ah ... ha ha - clever EC ... thanks for the update! Cheers H xo
DeleteIt's so sad, it's hard to comment about the situation again and again because we keep saying the same things and nothing changes.
DeleteI hope for the best. Whatever that may be.
DeleteNo podies haver descrit una realitat tan bé.
DeleteEnhorabona, Sue!
First set puts me in mind of a garden.
ReplyDeleteAlex J. Cavanaugh: I can see that.
DeleteI'll go work on it.
ReplyDeletemessymimi: I have (as always) thoroughly enjoyed your take on the prompts.
DeleteThank you, EC, and it's over here if anyone wants to hop over.
Deletemessymimi:
DeleteAmb segons quins organismes s'ha d'anar molt viu, a l'hora de cobrar són els primers, a l'hora de tornar diners o donar explicacions ja és un altre cantar.
Molt bo! ;-)
mine is posted here!
ReplyDeleteCindi: I have read it. And applauded.
DeleteThank you much! I replied to your reply!
DeleteCindi; I loved it!
DeleteAplaudiments! 👏👏👏
DeleteInteresting set of words that I have no idea what to do with. I'll mix them with last week's selection and see what boils out.
ReplyDeleteRiver: I really look forward to seeing where the prompts take you.
DeleteI choose the second set of prompts (with one tiny change):
ReplyDeleteI never wanted to be pregnant. I am glad to not have children, honestly. But after meeting someone my age the other day at the beach, I was reminded of how one might need the help of one’s children in the next 20 years of life aka the potential ‘last chapter’. There was a group of us participating in the monthly litter pick-up that takes place down along the coast. Kitted out with hi-vis vests, gloves, pickers and trash bags, we moved in pairs fanning out from the strand line. I teamed up with M. as I liked her white coif. We got to talking and M. mentioned how challenging the pandemic had been. She’d lost both her parents and a sibling during the intense years of Covid. M. flew up to Oregon when she could in order to help out her mother after the sudden death of her father. M’s only sibling had started getting high back in secondary school. His addiction made him unavailable, if you will, and he wound up OD’ing shortly after the death of their Dad. At that point her mother’s health took a nose-dive and she then died. I hope M. feels like she did the best she could. Without her, her mother’s final time on earth may have been much more bleak.
Bea: Such a sad story, and I fear not at all rare. I share your hopes that M realises that she did the very best she could.
DeleteVery sad.
DeleteHi Bea - I'm sure too true - and so much hurt is still hidden/forgotten about by so many of us ... very pertinent in today's word - with thoughts - Hilary
DeleteOh, I'm so sorry for her losses. Covid was such a tragic time for everyone.
DeleteMy heart aches for all who lost someone to Covid, as we did, or to drugs.
DeleteIt can be hard to grow older and not have close relatives to help.
Poignant story. Thank you for sharing.
DeleteUna història molt punyent, qui no recorda la COVID?
DeleteLa veritat és que quan ets jove no penses en quan seràs gran, tot i que tenir fills no garanteix que et cuidin.
Gràcies!
Well written and poignant.
DeleteSandra sandracox.blogspot.com
20 years ago she was pregnant with the last of her 6 kids, and now one of her "babies" was about to make her a grandmother. Standards in pre-natal care had changed considerably since her 10 year breeding career came to an end.
ReplyDeleteNow every recommendation was about organic foods for Mom, which was a good change. And having a time in each day to meditate while listening to gentle white noise, would have been impossible with 4 children talking all at once and a 2 year old who was not yet speaking, but made herself known with her high pitched squeals.
She thought of all the happy times, the fun, vacations, holidays, and everyday life.She also remembered runny noses that needed tending and odors from moisture of unknown origins that occasionally puddled on the floor requiring rubber gloves and a disinfectant spray, realizing she would not give anything for all of the memories.
Anne in the kitchen: Lovely to have you joining us again - and with a heartwarming truth as well.
DeleteI am sure that many could relate to this.
DeleteHi Anne in the Kitchen - I'm sure there's so much truth in your thoughts ... having never been there - I can vaguely understand - cheers Hilary
DeleteI'm with Hilary, having never had bio kids, only fur-babies. But I did work with pre-schoolers for a time and remember well those odors and moisture of unknown origins!
DeleteI relate to it. My daughter-in-law's pregnancy was "the same but different" because of the changes over these many years.
DeleteI also can relate, to the many small ones and later to the differences when my grandchildren were born.
DeleteAh, memories...
DeleteAnne in the Kitchen:
DeleteDoncs aviat ho podrà tornar a recordar, els bons i menys bons moments, sent àvia. ;-)
I am a grandmother and I think it is the greatest gig in the world. I get to love my granddaughter unconditionally without any responsibility other than loving her.
DeleteMuch better than the actual raising of 3 imperfect sons, who had one imperfect mother.
Lovely stories.
ReplyDeleteMargaret D: They are. Which is lovely.
DeleteHi EC - here's mine ... all the words ...
ReplyDelete"The golf ladies had told me about the missing green … so my nose was out checking for the organic moistureful odour of grass heaps where the putting green used to be … and if I remembered my youth I'd see baby grass snakes on the grass piles basking in the sun, after the pregnant female had given birth – the wonders of nature.
I must remember to take my golfing gloves with me when I play … I'll need them for my game, as well as picking up the slithery serpents for a gentle look at these reptiles.
Then as so many years have passed … definitely more than three score and ten … and I'm sure you remember that 'score' used to mean twenty years … I'll settle down to the crossword with a Highball or two to round the day off …
Getting old isn't so bad … Highballs a-plenty … happy days!"
Cheers and I'll now read the other entries - Hilary
I wish I was there to share a highball with you! Well done with the prompts, Hilary.
DeleteI do love grass snakes, they are so beautiful!
DeleteHilary Melton-Butcher: With a range of visitors (me included) you might not get to the crossword today. Well done.
DeleteThanks EC - I'm not v good at crosswords ... I need a lot of help, or just forget them and enjoy my highballs! xo
DeleteIt's nice to retire, I'm sure.
DeleteGreat job, Hils. Save me a highball;)
DeleteSandra sandracox.blogspot.com
Perks of the (not having a) job.
DeleteHilary Melton-Butcher:
DeleteAquests moments són els millors, sobretot si estas jubilada. ;-)
Did you hear that Suzie Smith is PREGNANT again? That’s a lot of kids she has had over the past 20 YEARS and a few of them don’t look much alike, do they? I mean the NOSES on the two eldest boys look like different nationalities even. Many birds are socially monogamous and sexually promiscuous. Maybe Suzie has adopted the STANDARDS of wild nature; after all the HIGH road for one is not necessarily the high road for another. In this ORGANIC world there is increased practice of polyamory and other GENTLE ways to practice love, or lust, or simply to have fun. It’s a GENTLE household and the children seem to be well cared for. Better approach this topic with kid GLOVES, let our eyes not glow with the MOSITURE of sadness or opprobrium. The ODOUR of sanctimoniousness is sometimes overwhelming, but we probably all have more than enough skeletons in the closet to go around. And who was that guy who said, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone……..” Some words of wisdom are worth listening to.
ReplyDeleteGreat social statement David ... life is life isn't it ... and quite often mixed bags are the best! Fun take on the words ... not the easiest, I thought ... cheers Hilary
DeleteLOL. I had to read it a few times to realize that the two eldest boys were not birds! Well done!
DeleteDavid M. Gascoigne: Love it. And would certainly not be throwing stones.
DeleteAlways give grace, as we've been given so much ourselves.
DeleteLoved it, David:) Sandra sandracox.blogspot.com
DeleteGood story. No stones thrown here either, I have three brothers from three separate fathers, none of whom is my father.
DeleteWise words indeed!
DeleteDavid M. Gascoigne:
DeleteHas acabat el teu relat amb una gran i sàvia frase. ;-)
Interesting that the words come from a product box.
ReplyDeleteSandra sandracox.blogspot.com
Sandra Cox: And a kitty litter box at that.
DeleteMine is here:
ReplyDeleteThe Fish Market
J Cosmo Newbery: I have read it, and am blown away. I can see, hear, smell those markets - and ache for the pleading eyes.
DeleteLoved the mini vacation via your words!
DeleteJ Cosmo Newbery:
DeleteMolt bona descripció.
Ha estat com si fos allà mateix.
20 years ago, my friends started becoming moms, and now those babies are having babies. (A couple of them). I wonder, 20 years from now am I going to be like “All the babies are becoming grandparents!” Time flies.
ReplyDeleteDanielle: Time does indeed whizz past. I was never a good aunt. Now I am a great aunt (several times over) and one of my great nieces is over 30.
DeleteDanielle:
DeleteUna bona pregunta, però no sempre passa així. Tinc 67 anys, un fill casat de 37 anys i encara no m'han fet àvia.
;-)
Indeed, it does! Wonderful contribution!
DeleteYes, it's a beautiful cycle, enjoy it.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteFa 20 anys ella era molt feliç, estava embarassada del seu primer fill. Totes les atencions eren poques per aquell nadó que vindria al món, per això cada nit es posava una crema orgànica per la panxa i pels pits que li deixava la humitat suficient per tal que no es formessin estries i a més la pell molt suau amb una oloreta a nen petit. Aquella olor anava passant pels nassos de tota la gent al seu pas, no volia una crema estàndard, per això cada cop que se li acabava el pot, sortia cap a la farmàcia a comprar-ne un. Era una caminada llarga, deixava el parc tot verd a mà dreta i després de passar pel pont, dos carrers més i ja hi era. El farmacèutic, un xicot alt i prim, només en veure-la entrar ja tenia el pot a les mans; era molt simpàtic i sempre portava uns guants sanitaris per no contaminar res... Qui li havia de dir que després del primer fill, en tindria un altre i un altre, fins a sis... i que al segon ja no es posava cremes... i al tercer ja s'havia oblidat del pot, del farmacèutic i de les punyeteres estries...
ReplyDeleteAquest és el meu relat i el trobareu aquí :
https://elraconetdesalluna.blogspot.com/2025/04/lembarassada.html
Gràcies!
Quina història més bonica! Gràcies.
DeleteLa teva història és molt encertada. Com més nadons tinguis, menys temps per cuidar-te. Gràcies per la bona història!
Deletesa lluna: Love it - and translate worked as it should here today. Thank you. Six children though? It seems too many to me, but what would I know.
DeleteMoltíssimes gràcies a les tres!
DeleteEls nens ocupan gairebé tot el temps, ara sembla que no en tenen tants i que la implicació de la parella ens deixa més temps per cuidar-nos. Sis nens, avui dia, és impensable i no només pels cuidats de la dona! ;-)
I love how this meme keeps the creativity flowing in so many different ways. Can’t wait to see the unique responses this week.
ReplyDeleteMELODY JACOB: Isn't it a wonderful meme. I am so grateful to Delores for starting it.
DeleteI posted on the blog but here is mine for today (first prompts):
ReplyDeleteWe were walking down by the river - the gentle calls of birds hunting the muddy banks harmonised against the cicadas incessant beat, the glaring shimmer of the dry heat, the only moisture our sweat - all combined and seemed to defray our nerves after being read the standards and expectations the night before.
It was the odour that first alerted us - it seemed organic in nature, and it was just around the next corner. A crow cawed our approach.
This sounds like only the beginning of a story, I'd want to know more.
Deletejeannie: Welcome and thank you for joining us. Like messymimi I want/need to know more.
Deletejeanie:
DeleteMisteriosa i intrigant història, ens has deixat amb ganes de més. ;-)
What a hugely-popular blog hop. Sounds like a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteJacqui Murray--Writer-Teacher: Thank you It is a very popular meme.
DeleteWaving hi. Standards jumped out at me, since right now it seems the country has ZERO. I'm so fed up, each and everyday he says and does horrific things. 20 years is probably what it will take to undo all the horror he has caused. And I'll be to old if I'm still around to experience it.
ReplyDeleteSandy: Waving hi back. I watch what is happening in your country with horror. I feel for you. So much.
DeleteFor 20 years, our gentle, organic standards have kept noses happy—even those belonging to pregnant women! Our gloves lock in moisture and keep out odour, so you can work high above the mess (and the smell)!
ReplyDeleteI love missing green! 💚
Cloudia: Hooray for gentle organic standards. I suspect we need more of them.
Deletethecontemplativecat here. My stories have grown longer. sorry.
ReplyDelete• gentle
• organic
• standards
• odour
• moisture
And/or
• 20 years
• noses
• pregnant
• gloves
• high
It had been 20 years since Jessica had left her small town, pregnant with an elite whose name she refused to tell. With her nose held high and wearing dress gloves, Jessica escaped her small narrow-minded biddies in the dust of a dry July. Their standards didn’t include their own daughters who had left town for the same reason.
Jessica had sought out those embarrassed daughters at a tea house where they had once frequented. They were all gentle souls who had been seduced and/or raped by the same elitist, Sir Richard Chamber-Liston. Chances were highly possible that he was also their father.
On an agreed upon time, they gathered and arranged for a carriage to drive them back to their town in style. Swinging by Lord Richard’s house, they offloaded their belongings into the foyer of his mansion. Lady Evelyn Chambers-Liston greeted them warmly, knowing the meaning of their visit.
The pregnant ladies were shown to their rooms and made comfortable. Lady Evelyn had arranged for a grand welcome home , party for the Lord after his departure from the village. When he strode into his home where celebrating locals greeted him warmly. At that time, Jessica and her fellow disgraced women appeared and surrounded him.
Some of their mothers joined them, eventually penning him in. Silence was heavy as they tightened their circle. What happened next was the stuff of legends. Sir Richard would never father another baby; in fact, Sir Richard would have to pee while sitting down.
Blood aside, it was a grand party.
Susan Kane: I have responded to this comment twice today - and it has disappeared both times. Third time lucky? Sir Richard got his just desserts - and your stories are never too long.
Delete