The garden took up a field on the dairy farm where crops were planted and maintained. The family all worked in the garden, planting and weeding potatoes, carrots, beans, cabbages, lettuce, tomatoes, and more. These vegetables provided sustenance for the family all winter long. The property also was lush with berry bushes and vines, from which juice, jellies and desserts were made.

This ideal farm life supported a large family, with each person helping to plant, and harvest the bounty. This lifestyle was common years ago, with each person doing their part to make all the hard work rewarding.

September 21: Flash Fiction Challenge

Soft

Green leaves

Fresh buds peeking

Newly mown grass scent

Spring

https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2017/09/23/saturday-mix-lucky-dip-23-september-2017%ef%bb%bf/

“Night and Day, you are the one…”  Cole Porter knew what he was talking about.  He’s one of my favorites.  I know this feeling.  I dedicate this song to – you know who you are.  Fred Astaire didn’t sing it well, he was a dancer, not a singer, but danced it well with Ginger Rogers in “The Gay Divorcee” made in 1934.  I tried to find a good video of it but the original wasn’t a great sound.  So I offer this, a rendition by Kevin Kline and John Barrowman from the movie “De-Lovely” depicting Cole Porter’s rise from the 1920s:

https://sammiscribbles.wordpress.com/2017/09/23/weekend-writing-prompt-21-day-and-night/

September 23.  Write a poem about an alien, any length or style.

Yes, I’m homosapien

Not an alien

Hard to believe

With no sleep achieved

Hair is a mess

Cough in my chest

Maybe if I digest

Coffee and protest?

I may look like a creep

But it’s just lack of sleep

I’m actually human

Yes, it’s true, man

A few hours of restful bliss

And I’ll be looking like this:

🤔😂🤠
https://sammiscribbles.wordpress.com/2017/09/23/month-of-Mini-Writing-Challenges/

Saturday morning here. Woken up at four as usual by upstairs neighbor activity. It’s useless to be upset, they aren’t to blame for their work schedules or crappy insulation in the walls, it’s just how it is. The problem is, your brain wakes up and starts thinking all kinds of things even though you want to just rest.

After everyone leaves, including the two hours later trash truck pick up, I fell back to sleep, hard. I had a horrible nightmare and woke up crying. It was eight-thirty. I couldn’t shake the feeling of the dream that my family member was hurt. I texted them for reassurance and all was fine. It’s an hour later and I still have the sad, eerie feeling.

Coffee is usually warm and soothing on a cool morning like today, but it isn’t working. Writing and reading isn’t helping. Thinking of the absolutely stunning rainbow we saw yesterday afternoon isn’t helping. What’s up with this?  
My thoughts are irrelevant to my family’s activities today. They will all be safe and carry on as usual. I’m going to turn on the tv and find a funny movie to watch 🙄😳🤔.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/irrelevant/

AUTUMN

Apple scented breeze

Unappreciated school begins 

Trees with jewel colors

Umber leaves descending

Meals of comfort food

Nutty acorns on the ground

http://rachelpoli.com/2017/09/22/time-to-write-autumn/



I could write a lot about leaves

A subject I love, and I believe

They have incomparable beauty

In spring and autumn, doing duty

For Mother Nature, it’s her will 

To change them before and after a chill.

Colors aside 

She must take pride

In her varied creations

Taking notations

Of all special hues

Which ones does she choose

To entertain us, however brief

The lives of each little leaf.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/leaf/

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “hot/cold.” Use one, use both, bonus points if you start your post with one and end with the other. Enjoy!

Hot and cold describes the behavior of a certain eleven year old I sit with once in a blue moon.  Out of his family’s view or principal and teacher’s views who know him well, he can be a warm, smiling boy, but his behavior is more like a three year old.  As long as he gets his way, it’s all fine.  But around others, including therapists and doctors, he’s a cold, sullen piece of ice that drives everyone who really knows him, crazy.  

This may sound harsh, but as some adopting parents realize, sometimes you receive, through all good intentions, what used to be known as a bad seed.  This is the case of this boy.  No matter of psychiatric intervention will help this boy who tells his family he wants to kill them.  He is dangerous to them, siblings, other children at school, and himself.  All the attempts at making him feel loved and special with attention have not worked.  Medications prescribed by mental health professionals don’t help.  There’s no “fixing” him.

I’m sure you think you might know a solution, or feel I’m speaking too harshly.  My response is, walk a week in his family’s shoes.  Next time you see a child screaming or throwing a fit in public, I ask you to think twice.  It may be an uncontrollable situation.  I’m sure in “the old days” a child exhibiting this behavior would be spanked, beaten, or worse.  The causes for such abherrant behavior for this boy is unknown, with records from another country not available.

To all of you adopting parents, thank you, and I wish you the best.  Life can be perfect, having a treasure of a child to complete your family, and I’m happy for you.  I encourage adoption because there are so many children needing homes and families.  To the parents whose hopefulness turned into a nightmare, I sympathize.  Good luck to all of you.

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Sept. 23/17

September 22.  Write a story in 50 words that includes the words: expedition, discovery and rainforest.

Charlie’s expedition to the rainforest was a hopeful mission. Previous treks had found the elusive cariel flower, known well by the native inhabitants as a powerful pain reliever. Charlie hoped they would be able to promote this discovery. However, extreme discontent ensued because the flower was considered a sacred plant.

https://sammiscribbles.com/Month-of-Mini-writing-Challenges/2017/09/22/

“Oh, Cinderella, we don’t have to clean today, it’s the big ball at the castle! Don’t you want to go?” Ruzella motioned her sister up the stairs to the bedroom. Ruzella and her sister Mergatroid loved their little sister so much they just wanted to see her happy. Cinderella’s mother was counting on this night to seal a marriage proposal from the Prince to Cinderella.

Mergatroid pulled out a beautiful sparkling gown for Cinderella. “We’ve been working on this dress for you ever since we received the Prince’s invitation. You’ll look lovely in this color, since it matches your eyes. We even had the cobbler fashion some glass slippers for you!” Ruzella added that she would fix Cinderella’s hair in the latest style.

Cinderella looked the dress up and down disapprovingly, touched the fabric and didn’t even smile. “I didn’t plan on going to the ball. I’m not interested in that Prince, I don’t care who he is!” Her sisters’ disappointment showed, but they just kept talking.

“We heard he’s looking for a young woman to marry, aren’t you at all curious about him?”

“It’s all planned. Mother insisted you go, without us.” The sisters really wanted to go but Mother said it was out of the question. They spread out the gown and accessories and hoped everything would go as planned by their mother.

A coach was waiting, and Cinderella rode to the castle. She was instantly asked to dance by the Prince. He fell head over heels for her immediately. It was only eleven pm but Cinderella was bored and left early. As she went down the steps, she lost her shoe, stopped, picked it up and headed home.

The Prince suddenly realized she wasn’t coming back and ran out the door. There was no sign of the beautiful girl he danced with. He had forgotten to ask her name.

Cinderella was swarmed by her family when she returned home. “How was it? Was he handsome? Did you dance? Tell us!”

“It was okay. He was a good dancer, but I wasn’t impressed. The whole thing was boring.” Her two sisters fainted from anticipation of a report of the night’s activities. The girls’ mother just flopped in a chair.

https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2017/09/21/tale-weaverfairy-tale-138-21917-reluctant-princess/