Wednesday June 21st, 2017

The exercise:

Write about: expansion.

The NHL is welcoming a new team next season, based out of Las Vegas, and they held their expansion draft this evening where the Golden Knights were able to select one player from each of the other thirty teams in order to fill out their roster.

Work today went fairly well. Hot and busy but got through it.

I know the yearlong prompt is looming once again. No promises on when, but we will get back to it before the end of the month.

Mine:

"We need to get bigger."

"Bigger isn't always better."

"Bigger...? What?"

"We shouldn't be increasing the size of the company just for the sake of getting bigger."

"I don't understand a single word you're saying right now."

"I just think we should be wary of a bigger is better mentality. Sometimes a company needs to establish itself at a certain size - maybe even shrink a bit - in order to thrive later on."

"Is that right? Well then, I've got an idea that you should like."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"Let's shrink the company a bit, shall we?"

"Sure. Wait, I mean... hold on... what are y-"

"You're fired."

Tuesday June 20th, 2017

The exercise:

Write two haiku about: the motorcycle gang.

U-Pick today went okay. I think most people have the strawberries they want now. Plus it was very hot out, so I imagine that kept a few people away. We'll do it again this Sunday (so that I can be there, as Kat's parents will be picking cherries Saturday morning and won't be able to help) and see how it goes. I suspect next Tuesday will be our last go for the season though.

Heading back to (my other) work tomorrow. Not feeling especially rested after the last four days, but hopefully it ends up being manageable.

Mine:

Their arrival in
town is announced by roaring
engines and locked doors

*     *     *

Black leather, ink all
over - they're here because they
just want to make friends...

Monday June 19th, 2017

The exercise:

Our writing word of the day is: stay.

Kat surprised me with a booking for a massage this afternoon as a Father's Day gift. It was awesome and much appreciated and lead to the below conversation with my sister and brother-in-law after I got home.

Speaking of whom, they left us shortly after I got back from said massage. They are missed by all of us already.

Mine:

Me: One day I'm going to book a massage where I can just stay on the table and sleep instead of having to get up right after it's done.

Sue: You could get one done at a hotel and then just have them wheel you back to your room.

Me: No. I don't want to move. I don't want to be moved. I just want to stay on the massage table and sleep.

Jake: You could get in done in your hotel room and then just roll off an-

Me: No. I want to stay on the table. I think next time I'll book a two hour session. The first hour will be the massage, the second hour will be for sleep.

Sue: Ooh, that's a good idea...

Sunday June 18th, 2017

The exercise:

Write about something that is: slippery.

Happy Father's Day to all the other dads out there. Hope yours was a good one - mine certainly was.

We had a big farm family dinner on our deck this evening, barbecuing salmon (three of them, actually) to go with potato salad, a green salad, and strawberry cake for dessert. Was a lot of fun.

Sue and Jake will be heading out tomorrow, but not until the afternoon so we still have a little more time left with them. I think both Max and Miles are going to miss them a lot when they go.

Mine:

Not an easy thing to grasp,
At least not for long.
For some it's too tall a task -
Soon it's all gone wrong.

For those in the public eye
Truth is elusive prey;
And usually, as time goes by,
Black and white turns grey.

I would never choose that life,
It's just not for me.
Some lies are too sharp a knife
To not wield with glee...

Saturday June 17th, 2017

The exercise:

Write a four line poem about: familiar faces.

Sorry about yesterday's prompt being so delayed. It seems like staying awake the night of my fourth day on at work is especially difficult.

U-Pick went pretty well today. Total sales were up from last Saturday but didn't quite reach Tuesday's numbers.

Looking forward to spending Father's Day with family tomorrow.

Mine:

I don't know your name,
Probably never will.
But it's nice to see
Your smiling face still

Friday June 16th, 2017

The exercise:

Write four lines of prose about: the troubadour.

Cooler weather for most of the day again meant another fairly quiet shift for me. I'm not expecting to have another four day shift like this one until September or maybe even October.

My sister Sue and brother-in-law Jake arrived just a few minutes after I got home from work. Excited to hang out with them for the next two days, and to get their help with picking strawberries for customers who'd rather not U-Pick, for whatever reason.

Speaking of... I should get some sleep. Need to get up early again to get setup and to make sure we've got a reasonable amount of pre-picked berries for those customers looking for them.

So... good night!

Mine:

"Where is my song? You promised me a song about my beloved wife."

"It is coming, sire, I assure you! It's just that... you see, I'm having a touch of trouble finding enough... appropriate words to rhyme with Queen Brit..."

Thursday June 15th, 2017

The exercise:

Write about: the hooligans.

With a strong wind blowing and dark clouds overhead, there were not a lot of people out and about at the parks and beaches today.

I don't imagine I'll have too many more days like that, so I'll take 'em when I can get 'em.

Mine:

"Okay, so what's on the agenda this evening?"

"You and me and the boys, we're gonna have some pints, right?"

"Right."

"Then we'll grab some food, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Then we'll get ourselves some more pints, right?"

"Okay."

"Then we'll get ourselves to the stadium for the match, am I right?"

"You're right."

"Then we'll get ourselves some more pints."

"Sure. Then what?"

"Oh, we don't need to figure that out now. It won't be up to us anyway, yeah?"

"What do you mean?"

"The beers will be making all the decisions by that point, right?"

"Oh... right, right."