The Christmas Cake

 

My 75 words for Christmas....... Today's 75-word tale is by Stella Turner. 'The christmas cake' http://www.paragraphplanet.com/

 

I submitted a 75 word Christmas themed story and to be honest it was dire. So I re-submitted the 75 words below and it was chosen for December 27th 2011. Sometimes I can be very lazy in my writing thinking anything is better than nothing but that is so wrong... Poor writing is always worthless. I'm enjoying reading the 75 words on paragraphplanet each day some are excellent, some are good and some are not so good. I'll leave the reader to decided where my 75 words fall. 

 

The Christmas cake; it’s too rich and too dark, I’ve always hated it. The little piece of plastic holly and the red ribbon around its midriff shouts out I’m posh not like the sponge fingers you put in the homemade trifle. I stab the fork through the hard Brussels sprout and dream of steamed vegetables. We look at each other trying to find hope for the future. Christmas spirit comes out of a bottle, cheers.

The Weekend before Christmas

Saturday
Had hair dyed, legs waxed.
Realised I'm vain enough to want to look my best for people I haven't seen for a year.
Husband's works Christmas do.
Stayed the night at the hotel.
Room had a bath with a jacuzzi.
Late night.

Sunday
English and continental breakfast at hotel.
Took Son and his girlfriend to airport to fly to Poland for the Chrismas holidays.
Went to daughter's home to see her and 8 month old Grandson.
Bought two books delivered to my Amazon Kindle.
Early night :)
 

German Measles

My son has German Measles, his girlfriend is just getting over it. What is unusual is that they are thirty one and twenty eight. They both were quite ill with it and I'm thinking wonder if I've had it. My son reassures me that anyone over forty has little chance of catching it, so I'm safe :)

Someone has just told me that snow is forecast for thursday. I hate driving in it, so I'm hoping it won't arrive. I really need to stop worrying about things I can't control. I woke up this morning really happy, that was a strange feeling because I normally feel a bit down thinking its work tomorrow. My favourite time of the week is friday after work and saturday morning. When I retire every moment of the week will be my favourite time. I need to re-evaluate my thinking because at the moment I'm wishing my life away. I need to live in the moment, not sure how easy thats going to be :) 

Celebrating a life

Tomorrow is the day I'll celebrate the life of Rita and say goodbye. She was an amazing woman, listened to me without judging and gave good advice. I told her things I've never told anyone before. When she talked about first meeting her husband and the fun that had together, I marvelled in the love and respect they held for each other. She was outspoken, excellent company and I'll miss her. Heaven's gain, my loss.

I'm reading....

Finished reading Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending, really enjoyed it. I think its a clever little book well worthy of winning the Man Booker prize. I'm now reading Margaret Drabble's The Seven Sisters. I need to stop downloading books from Amazon on to my Kindle and read them all.
Sunday was the last week of Nik Perrings Flashfiction course. I feel as if I've learnt a great deal and I was delighted when Nik said my writing has improved. Wont win the Bridport prize just yet but I'm going to continue to try :)
Decided today that Winter will not start until the second week of January. I feel so much better all ready, think you call it positive thinking. This friday I have a day off work so am going to spend it Christmas shopping as every weekend leading up to Christmas I seem to be busy.   

The Hour

Next March I'm not giving the hour back without a fight. My body clock does not appreciate this hourly tweak every six months. We gain an hour then we lose an hour then we gain it back...its like yo- yo dieting except it's our body clock thats gaining or losing. It will take me at least a week before I feel normal again.

Driving home in the dark is depressing and later on when I go to work in the dark and return in the dark I will want to hibernate like a bear or a tortoise. I will want to go to bed at 8pm and refuse to believe it's time to get up at 6.45am when its pitch black. I work in an area which has no windows so some days, unless I go looking for natural daylight at lunchtime, all I will see is the artificial light or natural darkness.

Did I use the extra hour for good use? Yes I had an extra hour in bed, then felt guilty that maybe I should have done something creatively. Next March I won't have to worry about that aspect because the hour will be taken from us. I'll be wondering where it's gone and will it be back next October!

Tuesday could be the new Friday.....

Week 4 of the flash fiction course. This week's assignment is to write something that has happened to me in the first person then re-write it in the third person. Bit scary to think of something personal but I've decided to write about wanting to go to University at 16  but eventually getting a degree thirty years later!
Hope I can make it interesting and readable.

Just finished reading Caroline Smailes Like Bees to Honey on my kindle.  Really enjoyed it especially as I thought I knew where the story was heading and I was wrong. Love it when I'm proved wrong! Visit Amazon and read the reviews. Next story to read is the Man Booker winner Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending.  Hope that will be good too. Sometimes I find the prize winning novels are a bit too deep for me, dry tomes. Wonder if thats what they mean about dumbing down for the masses and I will like Barnes novella. I will tell you soon.

Just re read a few of my previous posts and realise I've said I'll tell you later and then I don't. I'm not sure how many of you are out there reading this blog but thank you if you are :)

Week Three

Great start this week. We had to think about our favourite first lines in novels and then write five of our own. Mine were 

 1) I think my baby is dying I tell the nurse, she shrugs too busy, too tired, to act on my words.

2) I know I’m barking up the wrong tree but that doesn’t stop me.

3) You’re dead I tell my friend I went to your funeral last week.

4) Ouch that hurt!

5) He laughed so much that I thought he would implode with mirth.

I wrote a story about the first one then decided to go with the last one.The story is in its first draft and I want to expand it but not sure how to. I'm hoping to get ideas from the others on the course.I'm enjoying this course so much.  

Walking to Work

Completed the assignments for week two. Written a very short story called Walking to Work. The idea came from Nik Perring asking us to think about What if? A simple exercise that has really got my imagination working overtime. I'm definitely thinking more about what and how I write.
This week I will have more time for the next assignment as I'm on holiday from work.
I have a long way to go before I'm even long listed in a competition but I'm determined to keep improving my writing by reading more and writing more.

To change the subject I'm watching the 1977 film Close Encounters of The Third Kind. It was so in front of its time, amazing, like George Orwell's 1984. Next saturday going to the Old Rep to see Tom Stoppard play Travesties. 

Week Two of the Writing Course

Managed to summarize the four stories into one sentence and got 3 out of 4 spot on :)  My story The Dowager was given a new title in the third draft and became All things Lost. It really needs several more drafts before it becomes a reasonable story. Nik gave me some valuable advice and encouraging comments. said it was a strong start, hope I'm going to finish well too :)

All in all I'm glad I'm doing this course, maybe one day I'll be placed in a writing competition, the Bridport Prize would be nice. Got to go, have work to do. Unfortunately its not course work but work work!

Week One: Nik Perring - Flash Fiction Course

Week One: I'm so excited. The e-mail arrived yesterday with a welcome to the course. I have to read four short stories and summarise each of them in no more than ONE sentence. This is going to be difficult for me as the first two I read, I had no idea what they are about. So I need to read them again and again and think carefully. It's going to be a real challenge. Then I have to write a short story suggested by prompts by Nik. This was the spooky bit as I'd written a piece a few weeks ago that fitted one of the promps. So once I've figured out the four short stories and taken on board the comments from the other people on the course and Nik on my story 'The Dowager' I will have enjoyed my first week.

Watching Golf is not what I want to do....

Golf is on the TV, I'm sure on a Thursday night we watch something, my husband Mr T assures me that we don't. So I'm on twitter and facebook trying to ignore the inane comments of the golf commentator. I'm also reading e-mails and trying to think of ideas for flash fiction. Heard some really great news today that my good friend Sal has won the Calderdale short story competition. She has been placed in competitions before but this is a FIRST... I would just like to be long listed or short listed but my writing is not good enough but one day with a lot of reading and writing it may be. Go to Sal's blog and read for yourself  http://sal-cobbledtogether.blogspot.com/ 

Tomorrow is my last day of a week's holiday from work and I'm keen to do something fun perhaps  I'll go to the art gallery or sit in the old cathedral and take photos with my new digital camera that Mr T bought me. Or maybe I'll just sit at home and watch TV, drink green tea and  wish I was being more active. In my next post I'll tell you what I did.

Oh nearly forgot to mention that Mr T and I went to see Bomber's Moon written by William Ivory and directed by Matt Aston. To quote 'Bomber's Moon is a critically acclaimed new play about hidden memories, dark secrets and the nature of faith. I enjoyed it greatly, the two actors Tim Dantay and Paul Greenwood were both excellent, if you get the chance to see it, go.....

Writing course....

just enrolled for Nik Perring's online 6 week writing course How to write Flash Fiction. It starts on October 3rd and I'm really looking forward to it. I enjoyed his collection of short stories Not So Perfect and my writing needs a much wanted helping hand. I'm looking forward to having assignments. I'm sure I'll be the most talentless on the course but then I'll have the most to learn and it will be worth every penny.....

In a few weeks time I'll be telling you all about my progress and sharing my flash stories.....

Venice is nice this time of year

So excited my words published on another blog 330words  ... New story: Stella takes us to Italy in the spooky yarn, 'Venice is nice this time of year' http://t.co/7sTJxa6

Tales Of My Corsa...

Saturday lunchtime my Corsa was back home, safe in its garage.Three weeks ago it suddenly stopped, like the severest heart attack, it literally died. It was a sunday afternoon. We called the motoring paramedics and within an hour the man who can had towed it to the garage. We pulled onto the garage forecourt and I  slowly walked into the reception feeling full of woe. The salesman explained the service department was fully booked until thursday so I took out my personal effects i.e. my works parking permit and my driving specs and had a lift back home.
Diagnosis was bad, my Corsa needed many new parts and a figure of £1600 quoted. Now the dilemma, buy a new car, buy a second hand car or repair my little Corsa. First option: I didn't want to spend a shed load of money. Second option: I didn't want to buy something that might die on me in a few months so I took the third option. my Corsa is eight years old, bought for my 50th birthday and has only 18,000 miles on the clock, looks new if it wasn't the old shape.
So my car has a new heart, I'm hoping it wont reject it or another organ fails. I think about its automatic transmission and I banish those thoughts. It is well and motoring well. Sometimes I think I'm a witch because if I think of something occassionally it happens. Like when my daughter was eating lashings of salad cream and I said you'll get mouth ulcers, next morning she woke with a huge, painful one. I know its co-incidence but I'm training myself to think only positive thought now :)
The good thing about my Corsa being seriously poorly was I took the bus to work. Now thats leads to Tales of the Bus but those stories I will leave for another day.

Can I manage without a.............

This morning felt like ripping my bladder out...pause whilst I ponder... 'can I manage without a bladder' maybe too disastrous to be without one. Just keep taking the 48 hour sachet relief...at least it tastes pleasant, a lemon fizzy drink. Tomorrow I will wake up and my bladder will have rejoined all my other organs working together (painlessly I hope) to maintain me.... :)  

sometimes it hurts to say YES..

I truely shouldn't have said yes.... I'd eaten my evening meal when the door bell rang...My son yells don't open the door. He runs downstairs and sees to the caller. 'Mother do you want a piece of my prawn and anchovy pizza.' Guess what I say yes please... Now I have raging indigestion....another word for GREED :(

Driving home from work....

Soft Cell's 'tainted love' followed by Charles and Eddie's 'would I lie to you' came on the radio...it was like heaven, two of my favourite songs. It was like I had chosen the play list. My all time favourite must be All Right Now  by Free. It reminds me when I was 16 and on holiday with three girlfriends at Margate. We stayed in two bedrooms above a cafe. I remember when we came in late at night the others would each take a frankfurter from a large opened tin full of brine... yuck.... We met a group of lads from East Kilbride and had such innocent fun. I felt so sophisticated, no more school, starting my first job soon, my whole life stretching out in front of me and I thought anyone over 21 was old...

What shall I write.....?

Writing a blog is really strange, I could write about the things I like... cheese, blue seas, palm trees, friends, family, laughter and the things I hate... spiders, cabbage, being bored. I love my apple green kindle, never thought I'd give up the printed word on paper. To be truthful I still buy books as well as e-books. I'd love to win a short story / flash fiction competition but know my writing is not up to scratch. I enter the competitions and for a nanosecond I believe I could win. The saying 'you have to be in it to win it' is a motto of mine hence I buy a lottery ticket every week :) Why would anyone be interested in my thoughts, its very egotistical and thats what keeps writers writing, the love of words and the thought that people might want to read those words.

About me...

Racing towards retirement when I'm going to write a brilliant novel that may or may not be published and age disgracefully.