Respond to this Friday Faithfuls challenge by writing anything about cosmic rays.
Of course I have one
Hidden away
Wear it when I feel
Those cosmic rays
Mostly invisible but feel them I do
That’s why the hat is nothing new
I advise you to make one too
Easy assembly, no need for glue
Just pull out the foil
A long bunch needs
To be twisted up
The heavy type succeeds.
Good luck but don’t share it
When you feel the rays
Be sure to wear it.
***
Still some icy spots and 75 mph gusty winds so loud at night you can’t sleep, but today it was sunny and 60F😵💫. Weird weather the past couple of years and the usual winds increasing but usually very cold which mean it’s now winter here. Today it was a mild warm wind. Lovely, except for hairdos. People looked crazy🙃😄! Everything here is copacetic so no complaints. Have a great weekend!🥳🎉🎊
***
The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Dec. 13, 2025
MLMM – “STOP and Smell the Roses”
First Line Friday:
Death by roses, she thought, death by roses, hanging her head, feeling totally defeated, tears streaming down onto her velvet dress. This blue velvet dress she had saved just to impress her mother, what a waste it was. She walked down to the waiting taxi and hesitated for a moment, looking back to the cemetery. Oh, mom, why didn’t I realize how much you needed me before it was too late? Stepping into the taxi she left for the airport.
Jane was late to the funeral, late to the internment, too late to help her mother, just too damn late for everything. Regrets now wouldn’t help, but they would plague Jane for the rest of her life. It was not all her fault; she was a young executive in another city and state. Flights home to keep abreast of her mother’s situation were not her priority as she fought to keep improving her career. The small town she grew up in didn’t call to her as much as her business did.
Jane’s mother Lydia led an ordinary life in an ordinary small town. She became a widow early on and raising Jane was the most important thing in her existence. Jane was young enough not to realize her mother’s predicament, and as many young people do, she was only concentrating on herself. Jane attended college away from home and her career took her even farther away. Lydia found herself at odds being home alone, and decided to volunteer at a nearby hospital. She was needed there and felt a fulfillment that had been missing since her husband’s death.
After a few months of socializing, Lydia fell in love with a patient. After his discharge they were always together. Unbeknownst to Lydia or her friends, the patient, Lloyd, had problems that were not addressed by the medical doctors.
When Lydia continued her volunteering, Lloyd took her absence as a personal affront. He had a hidden sinister side and when Lydia wouldn’t give up the hospital work, he retaliated. Researching the effects of certain available poisons, he purchased one he could apply to flowers. Lloyd knew Lydia’s favorites were roses. The night of her death he purchased her favorite roses, but left them in the car.
As they ate dinner, he asked her once more to please stop working in the hospital. Lydia knew he was jealous of her time away, but she was not going to give it up. She couldn’t understand why Lloyd wouldn’t want her to help others as she had helped him. Lloyd excused himself saying he had a surprise for her. He went to the car, retrieved the roses and went into the garage. After applying the nearly invisible poison, he returned to the dining room. He presented her with the lethal bouquet and she smiled. Lifting the roses to her face, she took a deep sniff of her favorite scent.
It only took a few moments for the poison to work. Lydia slumped onto the table. “Death by roses” thought Lloyd, “they’re your favorite, and now so am I.”
https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2017/12/08/first-line-friday-december-8th-2017/
***
Number 4:
I would take our entire family to Europe, to Albania to visit my middle son!
This Week’s Writer’s Workshop Prompts: December 11, 2025
strength in a plain act
everyday action demand
ordinary life
enduringness is proven
courage in the constancy
***
W3 Prompt #189: Wea’ve Written Weekly
love gift given accepted, tears and broken smile
salt water trickles down cheeks, then a hug soothing
words spoken sweet and secret, softly whispering
offering reciprocal, for a love gifted
***
*attempt of Imayo, 4 lines, 12 syllables, 7-5 divided
#TankaTuesday Poetry Challenge No. 42, Gift/Gifting, 12/09/25
Hello dVerse Poets! Today we’re writing prose instead of poetry. This is a dVerse prompt called Prosery. To participate, you take a line of poetry that I give you and insert it into your prose. I would prefer using a poetic line as inspiration, but that is not the prompt! So, do make certain you give attribution for the line and the poet.
For Prosery, your prose—fiction or nonfiction—may be up to 144 words, not including the title. Some people like to make it exactly 144 words, but that is not required. You must not alter the words, change the word order, or insert words into the line. However, you may change the punctuation.
Got it?
OK. So, here’s the line:
“The granites and schists
Of my dark and stubborn country.”
–Nan Shepherd, “The Hill Burns”
from In the Cairngorms (Edinburgh: The Moray Press, 1934)
https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/hill-burns/
***
Our history stands as a reminder of our weaknesses, promises gone awry, and dedication slipped into the granites and schists of my dark and stubborn country. Individual freedoms that were our lightness, our “rightness” are dwindling daily. Men with evil thoughts and deeds darken us every day. Their oily layers in these rocks seep out and stain our tenets of grace. We need to find the best of our original basic truths.
***
Prosery: Dark and Stubborn Country
the seasonal ache
always peace priority
adults want answers
excited children wishing
achieving hope in prayer
***
Monday Poetry Prompt: Ache
Share Your World: 8th December
The Bag Lady 
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