Beware the Ides of Feb

Dreamtime Travel

Steaming coffee mug

The coffee is good today. Michaela must have set up the brewer, after a thorough wash of all the parts that even the Mom and Pop shops seem to need to have for a decent cup, at high traffic volume. I sashay over to a single table in the corner. The table has one chair and a padded bench seat that extends from one end of the wall to the windows opposite. I prefer the bench because I sit here several times a week to watch the customers wander in, sit or hurry out, all versions of my past and future selves filing through. Continue reading

All Are Welcome Here

Wife carrying Competition, jumping a hurdle

Image based on IBT(2014), with my apologies

A little flash fiction around a prompt of “Wife Carrying.” Because maybe that’s the true test of a strong partnership:

It’d never occurred to them that their participation might not be welcome. Celebrating the fortitude and stamina required to go the distance in marriage–what better way to do this than with a test of physical endurance?  Continue reading

Take a Chance, Change Your Life

three gnomes, nisse, Joulutonttu

Image by Annalise Batista from Pixabay

Extended version:  Take a Chance, Change Your Life

We were never quite clear about how they got into the tool shed, how long they’d been there, or where they came from originally. They’d arrived before we did, and will likely leave long after we’ve gone. If they ever do leave. Continue reading