Now, that’s a Conundrum!
(it’s also one of my favorite words!) 🙂
Oh those millennials!
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Author Archives: Carolyn Dennis-Willingham, Author
Please, do not kill me!
And the Bee spoke:
“Please do not let me perish. I am important to the world.
About one in three mouthful’s of your food is because I pollinated it.
My friends and I pollinate over $20 billion worth of crops each year.
Do you like flowers? We pollinate about 1/6th of all the flowers in the world.
We make a nectar called “honey.” This honey is an antioxidant and helps you improve brain function. We need you to eat this so you will remember how important we are.
Maybe because of our honey, we are very smart. We can figure out the shortest possible routes between flowers.
We work very hard. Because our wings beat 11.400 times per minute, we can buzz to our own music.
We have been around a very long time. Fossils of my ancestors date back to 150 million years ago.
WE NEED EACH OTHER! So, please, keep your poisonous pesticides away from us.
Thank you.” – Queen Bee
If Only…
Eleven-year-old Emma June just wants to Flee away from the bully and go to the flea circus . But she doesn’t listen to her instincts. And that’s when everything went wrong.
“Not over there, Carla. That boy gives me the creeps.” <Emma June>
“It’s only Rachael’s brother, for crying out loud.”
I remember the time I stayed overnight ay Rachael’s. Brandon kept peeking through her bedroom window trying to scare us by pretending to be an axe murderer.
“He’s a sixteen-yea- old bully,” I say.
“He’s not that bad. I’ve seen his good sides.”
“I’d rather go to the flea circus. They’re trained, you know. They can turn a miniature carousel two thousand times their size.”
“And they’re itchy.” Carla grabs my hand and leads me toward the Knock-Down-The-Milk-Bottle tent where Brandon stands motioning us forward with a bona-fide moonshine jug in his hand.
(excerpt from The Moonshine Thicket)
Mystery Blogger Award
Yippee! I was nominated for something! Thank you Andrei for giving me this challenge!
Okay, three things about me – I’m not much of a mystery. Since I wear my heart on my sleeve, what you see is what you get (for better or worse). I have published two novels, No Hill for a Stepper in 2011 and The Last Bordello in 2016. I have a third novel, The Moonshine Thicket, that is ready to be sent out to an agent but, so far, my finger can’t seem to press the “send” button. Another thing about me – I’m a pacifist but when I get to the gym, I plunk on my boxing gloves and pound the crap out of the pads the trainer holds for me.
Favorite blog posts? A Gift to Frame is one of my favorites. It’s awesome knowing that someone enjoyed my novel so much, they wrote me a hand-written letter. My very favorite was/is Remembering Who You Are. It includes a letter written by my sister for my milestone birthday. I also have a lot of fun going through my old journals, scanning various pages, and posting them in Raw Journal Kernels.
Okay, now on to answering Andrei’s questions:
- What makes you bored?
I don’t really get bored. If I do it’s because my creative juices have either been used up or are on short supply. Might mean I need an adult beverage or a nap.
2. What is my favorite pastime and why?
Spending time with my children and grandchildren. Why? Because I love them with every once of my being.
3. What is that one thing you would happily do again?
Helicopter rides are out. Hot air ballon ride? Nope. But I would happily return to Italy. I love the culture — the art, the artitechure, the food and mostly the people (who say what they mean and mean what they say). I studied Italian for over 4 years but I have forgotten SO much.
4. What is your favorite body part of the human body and why?
I could be snarky and ask for which gender. But I realize it doesn’t matter. Eyes. The eyes tell me all.
5. (Weird Question) If you were a bird, who would you sh*t on?
That’s a tough one. I’ve heard that it’s good luck to have a bird poop on your head . So if that’s true, the red cardinal would poop on the head of my kids and grandkids.
But, if it’s NOT good luck, I would gladly take a mighty Turkey Vulture dump on any politician that does NOT speak out against racism.
Now, for my nominations: It was hard to choose since I have so many cyber friends. For now, I nominate:
Here are my questions:
- If you could go back to one of your favorite pastimes in your childhood, what would it be?
- When you close your eyes, which of your favorite landscapes do you see? Describe.
- If you could make peace with someone in from your past, who would it be and why? (no need for a name)
- If someone wanted to recreate you from a recipe, what ingredients would they need?
- (Weird question) Can you tie a cherry stem using only your tongue?
WHAT IS MYSTERY BLOGGER AWARD?
“Mystery Blogger Award” is an award for amazing bloggers with ingenious posts. Their blog not only captivates; it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging; and they do it with so much love and passion.– Okoto Enigma
RULES
- Put the award logo/image on your blog
- List the rules.
- Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
- Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well
- Tell your readers 3 things about yourself
- You have to nominate people
- Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog
- Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice; with one weird or funny question (specify)
- Share a link to your best post(s)
From Silk to Brocade
I’ve been watching them all my life Those who walk in front of me The Elders While most of my childhood friends were caught up in the frenzy of their passions, the gossip of the young, the th…
Source: From Silk to Brocade
Hee, hee, hee
Where I’ve been and where I’m going
The Madam is PISSED!
Madam Fannie is furious after learning “soiled dove” Sadie snuck out to attend and heckle the Women’s Christian Temperance Union meeting!
photo used to make the point!
Reba returned to the stove, hissing like her frying bacon.
My temples throbbed. If the ache continued, I’d have to take a spoonful of that sorry laudanum and tuck myself in bed. “Now, I have to figure what to do. You have put me in a terrible situation. The girls know you betrayed my trust. We have rules in this house, and by God, girls in my establishment will Abide by them. How can I possibly let you get away with this?”
Quiet now, Sadie crossed her arms and laid her head on her forearms. Her shoulders quivered a silent shrug.
Reba shook her head. “Thinks I’m about to have another sighting, Miss Fannie. It’s starting to tell me something’s fixin’ to change around here.”
It didn’t hurt for Reba to season the disobedient girl with the fear of being fired and turned back out on the streets.
(excerpt from The Last Bordello)
Cono’s Cigar Box
“A cigar box alone may have no meaning, but the Treasures inside tell a story.”
I go to bed real happy. It had been a real good honest day’s work. We’d sold three dollars and twenty cents worth of those little seed packets and after tomorrow’s sell day I know I’m just one step closer to having me a brand new geetar.
I wrap my money in a dish towel and stuff, tie it up with a string and put it in my box of specials hidden under my bed. Nothing like an honest day’s work to make a feller wore out. I put my head on my pillow and go straight to sleep, out like Lottie’s eye.
The first thing I do next morning after waking up is pull out my cigar box. My other specials are in there; my Devils Claw, toothbrush, Tiger, my pocket knife, my piece of boxing glove lace, my penny from Uncle Will. But my dishtowel of money isn’t there. I leave my room and find Aunt Nolie sitting at the kitchen table eating a biscuit.
“It’s gone!” I say.
“What’s gone, Cono?”
“All my money’s gone. It ain’t where I put it!”
Excerpt from No Hill for a Stepper
The Magic In-Between
You know that state when you’re laying in bed? When you’re not asleep but not awake, and thoughts or images pop up from seemingly no where? Do you try to grab them before they slip away and make yourself remember?
I had one last night. But before I tell you this one, I’ll tell you one from the past.
During one– in particular– in-between, I caught a word, a name. “O. R. -something”, last name “Ryan.” So, of course, the next day, I made a search of O.R. Ryan. I kept looking until Orion appeared. Orion’s belt? I’d heard of it.
I didn’t know anything about stars except to look at them! Like I did that night before.
The next day, after telling my friend about what I found in my in-between, he said, “Yes, you can see Orion’s Belt clearly now from your backyard.”
I had been staring at Orion’s belt thinking about anything but the constellation.
But Orion had thought of me.
Last night, I saw an arched light blue wooden door. From my perspective, it appeared about five feet away from me. Like Mr. O. Ryan, there was no feeling attached to this door. Since I’m terribly interested in my in-between, I searched for a photo. It looked sort of like this, same color, same perspective, but without the ivy.
This door lives in Ireland, not the top of my bucket list of places to visit, nor the bottom.
So now I’m thinking. Did I write a poem, some analogy about a door? If I did, I’ll find it.
When you hear the whisper of magic in your in-between, grab it. It will tell you something. You just have to pay attention.
Carolyn Dennis-Willingham 