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Let’s Get Real 1 and 2

/ Liz H-H / 25 Comments
golden butterfly on purple lilacs

Join us for a weekly blog party in Six Sentence Stories, hosted by Denise and attended by some mighty fine, fun folk. Prompt word=HELP. Read, write and come back for more SIX SENTENCE STORIES.  (Link goes active Wed night).

Let’s Get Real 1

It started out as an uncomfortable late-morning meeting over tea with her aunt, in which Elsa dressed as her mother had always insisted: pressed, pleated skirt; stiff white blouse with a Peter Pan collar; frilly-topped white anklets inside white sandals with slippery soles not meant for running.

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JusJoJan26 Day 15: Symbiotic

/ Liz H-H / 3 Comments

January 15 – “Symbiotic”. Many Thanks to Sally for today’s prompt, as we take a moment or two each day this month to reflect on words that come from the community. And thanks to Linda G Hill for getting us organized!

So, we have a graduate-level prompt for today, which means a bit more thinking about how we COULD respond to this word. And I’m all for that, especially because of the unravelling I see around me. And including me, sadly.

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JusJoJan Day 1-Mindfulness

/ Liz H-H / Leave a comment

January 1 – “Mindfulness”. Many thanks to Emily for today’s prompt, as we take a moment or two each day this month to reflect on words that come from the community. And thanks to Linda G Hill for getting us organized!

It snowed this morning. Again. I know it was this morning, probably after 7 am, because I didn’t see fresh tracks from the twin does that cross my back yard and jump over the waist-high fence that keeps our human neighborliness neighborly. The deer regularly stroll through before everybody gets up to start the bustle of their day. Cars running, lights snapping on in the winter dark, thump of young children’s feet on the thin wood floors, the jingle and crunch of a dog or cat eating and making music with their bowl of kibble. Meanwhile, I’m mindful in my dreams as I remember how busy life was when the kids were young.

Now they’re grown and I’m a gramma.

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FlashNano Day 26: “Write a story that includes a celebrity.”

/ Liz H-H / 15 Comments

You know the routine, and I’m so sad this is the last year Nancy Stohlman is hosting it! So here’s a holiday story to help you digest the holiday weekend (A little corny, but I know nothing about celebrity life, so…)

Janie was an up-and-coming starlet, a nice girl, but a little naïve. Her latest movie had just come out, and though she had a small part, the critics mostly liked her, said she was one to watch. She had a certain je ne sais quoi (noted by an early fan, and grabbed up from her socials and integrated into her marketing and promotions sites). And it did fit. But she had plans of her own for growing a solid, positive public image.

Being polite, never losing her temper or trashing others, remembering where she came from, avoiding situations that might lead to accusations of excess—all of these things came naturally to her. But celebrity can breed jealousy, can breed contempt, and even she was unable to avoid the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.

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Cougar Comes Around

/ Liz H-H / 10 Comments
Dirty glass bottle, top broekn off, on a wooden surface
© Ayr/Gray

Many thanks to Jenne Gray and C.E. Ayr for their photo prompt, THE UNICORN CHALLENGE.  03/28/25). No more than 250 words in length. [For those interested, a background flash, part of the Lula stories, is found here: https://valleyofthetrolls.blog/2024/10/02/mark-of-the-mountain-lion/ ]

Like most of the girls that found their way to Lula’s Saloon, Tucker found a way to fit in, using her own special gifts and learning other invaluable skills. All accepted Lula’s rules of community, or moved on.

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Little Red Tatterhood

/ Liz H-H / 15 Comments
Empty city street, except for a tree growing up in the middle of a wide red brick sidewalk. Tree has a dark vertical split near its basem with two bright red Amanita Muscaria mushrooms on either side of the split.

© Ayr/Gray

Perhaps Rose could have been more wary on her weekly walk to Granny’s apartment, but she knew the way and felt confident in her red cape and hood. How could she go wrong? It had plenty of pockets! And she had her wooden spoon to fend off any attackers.      Continue reading →