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Simply 6 Minutes: Kitties!

A little insight from a serious cat parent! Thanks John for you contribution!

The Sound of One Hand Typing

Now, everyone together: Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww…..

We got our first cat on New Year’s Eve, 1977, and since that time we’ve had at least one cat, and often more (on occasion, many more). Right now, we’re back to where we started, with just one, and have decided that this is it for a while. When she goes, we’re going to wait at least a year before we consider adopting again. We have a lot of things we want to redo in the house, most notably the kitchen and the bathrooms, and, with workmen walking in and out, we don’t want to have to lock a newcomer into a room, lest he or she dash out the door, or, as was the case the last time we had the bathroom done, disappear into the walls of the house and be lost forever (actually, the one that did that found her way out, but…

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@stinewriting Blog Christine Bialczak poetry Grief love NPM 21 poems poetry Poetry to enjoy stinewriting

National Poetry Month Scavenger Hunt

Write a quatern poem
https://murisopsis.wordpress.com/2021/03/31/looking-for-poetry/

Living Alone in a Cabin

Living alone in a cabin 
Wondering who might stop over 
Waiting all day by the window 
Hoping someone would come to call. 

Watching the clouds in the blue sky 
Living alone in a cabin 
Thinking that life was just perfect 
Never wanting to tell the truth. 

For hours and hours you wait so still 
Until someone can find you here 
Living alone in a cabin 
Finding solitude relaxing. 

Suddenly your wish is answered 
When you hear a knock on the door 
Open to see who’s to visit 
Living alone in a cabin.  

©2021 CBialczak Poetry
NPM 21

@stinewriting Blog Christine Bialczak poetry Fan Fiction Fan of... NaPoWriMo2021 poems poetry Poetry to enjoy stinewriting TheCatintheHatFanFIction

NaPoWriMo 2021: 4/9/2021

Find the information here: https://www.napowrimo.net/day-four-9/

Write a poem in the form of a “to-do list.” The fun of this prompt is to make it the “to-do list” of an unusual person or character.

The Cat makes a list

Well the Cat in the Hat 
was up to his tricks 
looking for kids 
to bring into the mix.  
He had a big list 
of things left to do 
like tidy his bag 
and polish his shoe. 
He also had things 
like talk to the fish, 
walk on a ball,
balance a dish, 
take a long walk, 
Sing a new song, 
play a new game, 
the list was real long. 
The Cat sat to think 
about what to do first 
he decided a drink  
who help quench his dry thirst 
When all of a sudden 
he finally found 
a book and a pen 
to write it all down. 
He wrote down his list 
in a second or two 
He loved the red ink 
and also the blue. 
He jotted and scribbled 
until the paper was full 
He put on his hat 
and gave it a pull 
He went on his way 
to find some kids to play 
and decided to leave 
the list to some other day. 

©2021 CBialczak Poetry Fanfiction
NaPoWriMo 2021

@stinewriting Blog Christine Bialczak poetry NaPoWriMo2021 poems poetry Poetry to enjoy stinewriting

NaPoWriMo 2021: 4/8/2021

Find the information here: https://www.napowrimo.net/day-four-9/

Today, I’d like to challenge you to read a few of the poems from Spoon River Anthology, and then write your own poem in the form of a monologue delivered by someone who is dead.

When I was reading the post about the anthology and then the optional prompt I thought of this family when I was a young child. The family was not very clean. Now looking back, perhaps they didn’t have the money to pay for detergents and soaps. Nearly everyone in town knew where they lived and although I am ashamed to admit this openly, we all used to hold our breath when we passed by their house on the bus. It is so mean and I am not proud of it but they came to mind. I think they may have come to mind because it is a family that is now haunting the living as revenge to all those people who were so cruel to them in life. This family is still alive as far as I know and I wish them no harm. I think if they knew, and maybe they did, then they would find some “humor” in their haunting!

Family Plot 

Before, they were known 
by the odor sent forth 
from their windows and doors. 

Now they lay together 
rotting into the earth 
emitting an odor much worse 
than any that came  
from their windows and doors. 

And he who lay beside them 
must live in death  
with an odor repulsive 
through dirt  
with no windows or doors. 

Together they rot in peace 
All sending their odor 
to all passersby 
as they did in life.  

©2021 CBialczak Poetry
NaPoWriMo 2021

@stinewriting Blog Christine Bialczak poetry Grief love NPM 21 poems poetry Poetry to enjoy stinewriting

National Poetry Month Scavenger Hunt

Write a Magic 9 poem using a theme of slavery, freedom, or manumission.
https://murisopsis.wordpress.com/2021/03/31/looking-for-poetry/

I am not totally sure this makes sense but I’m giving it a try!

Equality

I never believed in my mind 

That one is better than you 

I don’t believe in the kind 

Of treatment so bad to a man 

I looked and tried to find 

Peace and freedom for all 

Like peeling back the rind 

Of an orange given to you 

Because love is colorblind 

©2021 CBialczak Poetry
NPM 21

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Book Review: Before the Ruins

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Before the Ruins by Victoria Gosling is a wonderfully crafted mystery, set in modern day England, that weaves a whole cast of characters so intricately and a plot that keeps you engaged and anxious to read how she brings it all together at the end, revealing secrets and the truths around them.  

Andy, Em, Peter, Marcus and David have found friendship and comradery but are also in the process of learning how many secrets one group of friends can hold. As a young group of friends there are games to play and plenty of time to enjoy each other’s company. Andy conveys the impression that she leads the group, while also seemingly the least favored friend. With Em and Marcus close by her side the group works on solving an old mystery haunting The Manor since 1936, the missing diamonds.  As they age so do their problems, and the situations they find themselves in, while life seems to unravel around them. Where is Peter? What has happened to David? Who is telling the truth? Who can any of them believe? It isn’t until years later that loose ends are tied up, truths are told, and authentic relationships are revealed.  

I give this story 3.5 out of 5 stars for the compelling storyline and cast of characters.  Gosling is a native of the English countryside, which made some of the references confusing to a reader who is not familiar with places and situations specific to life in England. After reading through most of the story many phrases become understandable based on context and in the end, you don’t notice any impact of cultural differences at all.  

@stinewriting Blog Christine Bialczak poetry NaPoWriMo2021 poems poetry Poetry to enjoy stinewriting

NaPoWriMo 2021: 4/7/2021

Find the information here: https://www.napowrimo.net/day-four-9/

I wasn’t sure of the topic so I checked to see what “weird” holidays there were today. https://www.holidayscalendar.com/categories/weird/

My Shadorma

Happy National Beer Day!

Today came 
to offer me beer 
because of 
National 
Beer Day, a weird holiday 
That remembered me. 

My Fib

National Coffee Cake Day

Cake 
Day 
Coffee 
National 
Baking and Eating 
Nothing is better than fresh cake!

©2021 CBialczak Poetry
NaPoWriMo 2021

@stinewriting Blog Christine Bialczak poetry Grief love NPM 21 poems poetry Poetry to enjoy stinewriting

National Poetry Month Scavenger Hunt

Write a poem incorporating your favorite beverage, an automotive malfunction, and basketball
https://murisopsis.wordpress.com/2021/03/31/looking-for-poetry/

Flat Tire

I’m alone on the side of the road 
as I watch my tire deflate 
I think about having a beer 
but by then it will be too late 
So waiting I sit on the ball 
as I really have no good seat 
and wait for the tow truck to arrive 
as I space out and look at my feet 
I sit and think, “there is no hope” 
When in the horizon I see 
there is tow truck coming along 
and it’s coming there to help me. 
The driver was happy to see my good seat 
He said he played basketball 
He told me he had never been beat. 
So I laughed and tossed him the ball. 

©2021 CBialczak Poetry
NPM 21

@stinewriting Answer the questions Blog Random Writings stinewriting

12 Bloggerz! April 2021

Welcome to 12 Bloggerz!

Game #12– April 2021
Season 3
Meet the Bloggerz Directory: https://aguycalledbloke.blog/2021/04/07/12-bloggerz-april-2021/

Would you want to be a millionaire and if so why and if not why not? Yes. I could find plenty of good things to do with that kind of money. I would make sure my debt was gone and that I was comfortable. After that I would probably use the money to travel to areas that need help. I would be willing to do work to help needy areas…taking care of people, building things they need, helping in other ways.
Do you listen more to the voice in your head or your gut when making difficult decisions? Definitely my head…It is so damn loud I seem to have no choice.
Should we be afraid of our nightmares or see them as a sign of improvement? I am scared as hell! The good ones are fine, the others are just like dealing with stress but you are sleeping. I have told many people before that I had to get help from my therapist for my spider nightmares. Yeah, I am a true arachnophobe and don’t find spider pranks funny.
Are you a fan of cult movies and if so which ones and why? No, I don’t think I have ever seen one. I don’t really know what they are either so I don’t think I could say I was a fan.
What comedy film you could watch over and over? Either The Money Pit or Ace Ventura Pet Detective
How often can you listen to your favourite music for more than an hour in a day or a week without interruptions? I can listen forever…I just don’t know why people have to keep interrupting me! I don’t listen that often though because I sort of forget that is an enjoyable option in life.
What is in your opinion the best way to make an omelette? Eggs and Cheese
When was the last time you were completely naughty? Well, this is a PG site I believe so my answer will be family friendly…Last weekend I was a bit proud of myself!
What’s the secret to making someone laugh hard? It has to be about real life and something that is outright silly. Nothing embarrassing, nothing at anyone else’s expense. Usually it is when someone, me or someone else, just says something so odd yet fitting. Hard to explain. I just picture me and my daughter laughing with tears in the car about something I said…
How forgetful are you and why does the word look so silly when written? I am forgetful if put on the spot but I do remember quite a lot…especially those pieces of information that are completely useless and unrelated to anything. It looks silly when it is written because it looks like it should have another “t”.
What advice did your parents give you about LIFE that you too have passed on to your own children or friends? No one but you can make you happy.
How often do you surf for something on the internet but end up hours later looking at something else … why does it happen to you, what causes you to stray? That happens quite often. I start looking for something and like to dig a bit deeper. Every site has extra information that then peaks my interest in something else. Sometimes by the time I am exhausted and “done” with the computer I don’t even remember what I was on there for in the first place.

©2021 CBialczak