Thursday October 31st, 2019

The exercise:

Write about: the monster within.

Happy Halloween! I shall share pictures of the boys' costumes tomorrow.

Wednesday October 30th, 2019

The exercise:

Write about something that has been: spooked.

Tuesday October 29th, 2019

The exercise:

Write two Halloween haiku.

Eh, why not...

Mine:

Cherubic faces
ask: Trick, or treat? Only fools
select the former.

*   *   *

Ghosts come to my door
all night; at least the neighbours
can see these ones too...

Monday October 28th, 2019

The exercise:

Write about something that is: ghoulish.

Sunday October 27th, 2019

The exercise:

Write about: the terror.

Well, Halloween doth approach.

Saturday October 26th, 2019

The exercise:

Write a four line poem about: gathering.

Between Miles' cold getting much worse overnight and a howling wind blowing for 90% of the day, today did not go as planned.

But Kat still made pancakes for breakfast, we had homemade pizza for dinner, and I made oven roasted pears for dessert. So, clearly, turning forty-young was not all bad.

Mine:

The Master heard the shots ring out down below,
Followed by metallic pings,
And with hands made clumsy by panic and sweat,
Began gathering his things

Friday October 25th, 2019

The exercise:

Write four lines of prose about: celebrations.

Work, at my request, got cinnamon buns from the bakery for my (one day early) birthday celebration this morning. It was yummy.

Looking forward to going out for dinner tomorrow night with Kat, and a family walk in the morning.

Thursday October 24th, 2019

The exercise:

Write about something that is going: down to the wire.

Wednesday October 23rd, 2019

The exercise:

Now that I've managed to reach October in my attempt to catch up on comments, we should probably revisit something, huh?

Looks like it's House of Mercy's turn for round two.

Tuesday October 22nd, 2019

The exercise:

Write two haiku about: room service.

Monday October 21st, 2019

The exercise:

Write about: being in the minority.

Looks like Trudeau's Liberals remain in charge after election day, but they are no longer in the majority. I'm okay with this.

Mostly because thank everything that is good in the world the Conservatives did not win.

Sunday October 20th, 2019

The exercise:

Write about someone or something that is: still standing.

Saturday October 19th, 2019

The exercise:

Write a four line poem about someone who is: jaded.

Just ten stanzas to go after this one in this yearlong journey.

Mine:

Charlie thought he had seen it all before, heard
Every song that's been sung;
But even he was caught off guard when Buddy
Opened fire on its young.

Friday October 18th, 2019

The exercise:

Write four lines of prose about: the rule book.

Thursday October 17th, 2019

The exercise:

Write about: the outpost.

Wednesday October 16th, 2019

The exercise:

Write about: insurance.

As promised yesterday, an explanation.

Mine:

So way back in March of 2010 we bought our 2006 Saturn Ion. Man, I look young in that picture.

Anyway.

Our Saturn has served us well over the years. It was our only car until we bought the Pontiac Montana in May of 2017. Which means it was our car when we got married, when first Max and then Miles were born. It got me through a pretty nasty accident a month before previously mentioned wedding.

But it's been slowly but surely nearing the end of its lifespan. It's broken down a couple times, once without the reason ever being determined. It's lost a couple hubcaps over the years. The stereo has been hit and miss for the last year or so (sometimes it stops working, other times the volume knob does not... function as expected).

Also: it's grey. We didn't want a grey car to begin with, but the price was right and we couldn't afford to be picky. But I was getting very, very tired of having a grey car.

So I've been keeping an eye out for a new ride, pretty much since I passed probation in July. Recently I had my eye on a marine blue 2017 Hyundai Elantra. It was out of my price range but the price went down once, then again... if it went down a third time I was planning on getting in touch with the dealership.

But somebody else decided two price drops was enough, and so it disappeared off their site.

Which was fine. Good, if I'm being honest. It was more car than I needed.

Shortly after that, however, a new contender entered the arena. Same dealership in Penticton, handily enough. So I emailed them to get a couple questions answered, then spent a week going back and forth via email trying to get the price I wanted. They dropped the sticker price by a bit, eventually agreed to waive all the extra fees (I'm sorry, but I ain't paying $499 for no cash grab nonsense), and... pointed out that they had the best price for the car I was looking at. In all of BC.

I went in on Saturday to take it for a test drive and figure out what they'd give me for the Saturn. I liked the drive, they gave me more than I was expecting for the trade in, and... now I'm the proud owner of this:


That's a 2018 Kia Rio. White. Would have preferred blue or red, but white is a sight better than grey. The price was right for a car this new, the mileage was what I wanted, and it has some nice features (already enjoying the heated steering wheel). I expect it will serve me well for many years to come.

So, yes, her name is Betty. As in Betty White. The name came to me at the dealership while I was waiting for them to finish washing and cleaning her. Because I am a creative person.

Oh, today's prompt. I felt like I did a lot of research on this purchase. Looked at a lot of different options. Negotiated hard on the price and the waiving of the fees.

The thing I forgot to think about? Car insurance. Turns out, they charge quite a bit more to insure a 2018 vehicle than a 2006 vehicle. Who'd a thunk it.

Anyway. Minor bump in the road. I am very happy with my purchase. The boys think it's pretty cool too. Kat is insisting that I let her drive it occasionally.

I told her I'm open to negotiations.

Tuesday October 15th, 2019

The exercise:

Write two haiku about: Betty White.

Yeah, you didn't read that wrong.

I'll explain tomorrow.

Monday October 14th, 2019

The exercise:

Write about: breaking bread.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all.

Sunday October 13th, 2019

The exercise:

Write about: trading places.

Saturday October 12th, 2019

The exercise:

Write a four line poem about something that is: steady.

Mine:

Buddy paused in its work, stashed the cocktails and
Brought its guns to the ready.
Scanning the courtyard, it found its first target
And its aim was rock steady.

Friday October 11th, 2019

The exercise:

Write four lines of prose about: bargaining.

Thursday October 10th, 2019

The exercise:

Write about: the spell book.

Wednesday October 9th, 2019

The exercise:

Write about something that is: brewing.

Tuesday October 8th, 2019

The exercise:

Write two haiku about a: black cat.

Monday October 7th, 2019

The exercise:

Write about something that is: bubbling.

Sunday October 6th, 2019

The exercise:

Write about: the concoction.

Saturday October 5th, 2019

The exercise:

Write a four line poem about: family.

Mine:

The kids rolled slowly through the red and grey murk.
It's like the world has gone mad,
Bucky observed, then stopped in its tracks and asked:
Brother... did I just see Dad?

Friday October 4th, 2019

The exercise:

Write four lines of prose about something or someone that has been: paid off.

Thursday October 3rd, 2019

The exercise:

Write about something or someone that is: in the clear.

We had the three month follow up appointment for Miles this morning. He's all good - no more tests, no more doctor visits.

And no more worrying for us.

Well, about that at least.

Wednesday October 2nd, 2019

The exercise:

Write about: the script.

Tuesday October 1st, 2019

The exercise:

Write two haiku about: whistles.

Or whistling, or the whistler, or tweet tweet - whatever you want to go with in this general area is good with me.