Lately I was sitting in the car, signing along with a great Country song, and here it is, that old expression: ‘You can’t fit a camel through the eye of a needle’. I heard that expression before, and finally decided to go and research where it comes from… and here it was, in the bible: […]
Are ‘Old Sayings’ Too Cliché For Todays’ Writers?
Arriving home from a long day at work, Sara entered the living room with heavy footsteps and plopped down on the couch. “What a day,” she muttered as she fought back the tears of frustration. “I don’t think it could have gotten any worse.”
Just as her mind began to replay the day’s events, her two cats appeared. The gray tabby, Tiger, and the black cat, Soot, paused inside the doorway and gazed at Sara for a moment. When Sara turned to look at them, the two cats ran into the room and began chasing each other around.
Sara watch as Soot chased Tiger around a few times, going back and forth in front of the TV and around the coffee table. Then Tiger chased Soot around the table a few times, with Soot at one point jumping up on the couch and running across the back before jumping back down to the floor and continuing the chase. The chase came to an end when Tiger found a catnip mouse in a corner and began playing with it, kicking it in the air and batting it across the floor while Soot watched, only to have Soot eventually steal it and run off with it before batting it back towards Tiger.
As Sara watched the two cats, she slowly felt her frustration slipping away and a smile forming on her lips. When Soot suddenly began to chase his tail, she began to laugh.
At the sound of her laugh, the two cats paused in their play to look at her, then they ran over and jumped up into her lap. Sara stroked their soft fur and they began to purr. “Thank you, boys,” she said. “Your silly kitty antics were just what I needed. The two of you are definitely the best antidepressants.”
This post is part of the Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt, “antic”:
Allie came home from work and sat down on the couch with a sigh. It’d been a long day and she was exhausted. She leaned her head back against the cushion and closed her eyes, intending to rest for just a few minutes before getting ready for dinner.
The next thing she knew, there was a knock on her door. Startled awake, she jumped from the couch and hurried to the door. Peering out the peephole, she saw Eric standing on the doorstep. She wondered briefly why he was there, then she remembered. It was Valentine’s Day and they were going to have dinner together. But why was he early? She glanced at the clock on the wall and saw the time and gasped. She’d napped for longer than she’d intended.
She quickly opened the door and let Eric in. “Sorry,” she said as he stepped inside. “I fell asleep on the couch. I didn’t mean to nap so long.”
“It’s okay,” he said with a smile. “I totally understand. That’s happened to me a few times.”
Allie closed the door and told him, “Why don’t you go into the living room and have a seat. I’ll grab us some drinks and join you.”
“Sounds good,” he replied.
A few moments later, Allie joined Eric in the living room. As she handed him a glass of red wine, she noticed a small bag sitting on the floor next to him. “What’s that bag?” she asked as she sat beside him on the couch.
“Oh, that’s just a little Valentine’s present I got for you,” he said, taking a sip of wine.
She took a sip from her glass of wine. “Oh? What is it?”
“Just a little surprise that I think you’ll like,” he replied with a wink. “Do you want it now, or after dinner?”
“That’s a silly question,” she answered with a chuckle. “You know I hate to wait when it comes to presents.”
He chuckled. “True. You do hate to wait. All right, then, now it is.” He set the glass of wine down on the coffee table and picked up the bag. “I know you’ve wanted one of these for a while now.”
Allie took the bag from him and looked inside. Her eyes widened and she gasped. “Oh, Eric!” Reaching into the bag, she took out a small black kitten with a red ribbon around its neck.
“Do you like him?” he asked.
She gazed at the kitten with a grin on her face. The kitten let out a small mew and purred in her hands. “I love him! He’s adorable!” Then she noticed that the kitten has a small white patch on its chest in the shape of a heart. “Eric, look! He has a big heart on its chest!”
“I know. When I saw him, I knew I had to get him for you. I knew you’d been wanting a black kitten for a while, and he was perfect for a Valentine’s Day gift.”
“Oh, he is, Eric. You’re the best! Thank you!” She paused, having noticed something else. Something small, attached to the red ribbon. “Eric, what’s this?” she asked, removing the ribbon.
“Oh, that’s your other Valentine’s present,” he said, his tone suddenly serious. “Here, let me.” He took the ribbon from her and removed the small thing from it. Then he dropped to one knee on the floor and held the small thing – a ring – out to her. “Allie, will you marry me?”
Allie gasped again, then smiled. “Oh, Eric! Yes!” she answered, and as she kissed him, she thought how lucky she was to have to guys with big hearts now.
This post is part of the Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt, “heart”:
Jen sat at the table in the little coffee shop, her laptop sitting open in front of her, the colorful ribbons of its screensaver dancing across the monitor. She sipped her cappuccino as she watched the people sitting around her for a minute. Then she sat the mug down and tapped a key on the laptop to wake it up.
She opened a Word document and sat staring at it, her fingers poised to write something. But her fingers never moved. She just stared at the blank document and the blinking cursor patiently waiting for her.
She sat like that for a few minutes until she finally released a groan, slid her hands from the laptop and slumped back in her chair.
Her friend Riley came into the coffee shop at just that moment and spotted her. She called out to Jen and joined her at table.
“What’s up?” Riley asked. “You sounded so chipper on the phone the morning. Now you look…defeated.”
“I could just kick myself,” Jen muttered.
Riley raised a questioning eyebrow.
Jen sat up and grabbed her cappuccino. “I told you woke up with a great story idea, right?” Riley nodded and Jen took a sip before continuing. “Well, I was rushing around this morning, and I didn’t bother to make a note of the idea. I thought it was such a great idea that I’d be sure to remember it.”
Jen paused and Riley picked up the tale. “And when you got here and tried to start writing, you couldn’t remember the idea.”
Jen nodded.
Riley gave her head a small shake. “That’s why I keep telling you to make a note when you have a good idea, Jen. We’re just lying to ourselves if we think we don’t need to write it down.” Jen heaved a sigh and Riley continued. “But don’t feel so bad, Jen. It happens to us all. Even me. That’s why I keep reminding you.”
Jen gave her a small smile. “Thanks, Riley. Keep on reminding me, will you?” She raised her hand to signal to a waitress as she asked Riley, “Can I get you a cappuccino?”
This relatable post is part of the Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt, “make a note”:
As I’m sitting here, sipping on my Coke Zero Sugar, I’m trying to think of something creative, some sort of short little story to write for this prompt like I usually do. But I’m having trouble thinking of anything. No good ideas are coming to me.
Zip. Zilch. Nada.
Maybe just a brief flash of a possible scene. But not enough to build something on.
I think my tank of creative juices must be sitting close to zero right now. Looks like I’m going to have to try to do something to refill it.
Maybe I’ll try to take care of something around the house to see if I can get the creative juices flowing that way.
Or maybe if I try writing on my work in progress, I’ll have better luck coming up with something.
Or maybe I’ll just read a book instead to try to get the juices going.
I don’t know. But I’ll think of something.
Having zero creative ideas sure does stink sometimes when you’re a writer.
This post is part of the Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt, “zip, zero, zilch”:
I suppose you could consider me a “foodie”. I enjoy yummy, delicious foods and am usually willing to try new dishes (as long as they’re not too spicy, since spicy doesn’t agree with me much anymore). And I do enjoy cooking and baking and trying out new recipes. When I started using a crock pot and an air fryer (both of which I really enjoy using) I went looking for recipes and came across the website and app Yummly, and I really like it. I have found so many recipes on there that I have saved, and many that I have used frequently, like a crock pot lasagna, air fryer pork chops, air fryer chicken breasts, easy Korean ground beef, chicken parmesan, ….. I don’t know if I will be able to get through and try all the recipes I have saved, though. And there are so many other recipes on the site to look through and being added every day, that I’m sure the number of saved recipes I have will keep growing. And since I don’t have a big family to cook for, I’m always looking for simple, easy recipes, and Yummly hasn’t disappointed me yet.
Because I do have a sweet tooth, I like to bake, and frequently make brownies, cakes, pies, and cookies (but not from scratch – I’m not that good!) And because I’m a chocoholic, often the cakes, cookies, and pies are chocolate. For Christmas, I made sugar cookies and snickerdoodles, which of course were yummy. I would have made more things, but I didn’t have the time.
I fixed my first glazed spiral sliced ham yesterday for Christmas. I’ve fixed hams before, but had never glazed one before. Thankfully it turned out well and the brown sugar glaze was quite yummy.
I hope everyone enjoyed a yummy Christmas dinner and yummy Christmas desserts yesterday, too.
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This post is part of the Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt, “yum”:
He was walking home when he heard the faint cries of a cat in distress coming from a nearby park. Curious and worried, he followed the sound to a tree. Looking around, he spotted a scared kitten stuck on a low branch. He hadn’t climbed a tree in a long time, but the kitten’s plaintive cries spurred him into action. He climbed up and grabbed the kitten, then carefully made his way back down. As he reached the ground, he gave thanks that he was able to rescue the kitten and that he hadn’t had to climb very far. Otherwise, there might have been two creatures stuck up the tree in distress.
This post is part of the Tuesday Use It In A Sentence prompt, “distress”:
https://stephaniecolpron.wordpress.com/2021/11/30/tuesdayuseitinasentence-distress/
She hadn’t been in a festive mood and hadn’t done any decorating all season, causing her neighbors to start calling her Scrooge. But when her soldier husband called the day before Christmas Eve and said he would be able to come home for Christmas after all, she was zealous in her efforts to get all the decorating done.
This day-late post is part of the Tuesday Use It In A Sentence prompt, “zealous”:
https://stephaniecolpron.wordpress.com/2021/11/24/tuesdayuseitinasentence-zealous/
The sun is shining.
The air is warm.
Birds are singing.
Flowers are blooming.
The dark and cold
Of Winter
Is leaving
As the light and warmth
Of Spring
Is arriving,
Bringing with it
The promise
Of new life
And new hope.
Welcome Spring
With open arms
And embrace its
Promises to us.
In the misty moonlight, Aryn crouched on the rooftop and watched the building across the street. She wondered what she’d been thinking when she’d accepted the job. She’d been told it was a house that she’d have to break into. Except this huge building was no house. It was a mansion. The large building and its surrounding land took up at least half the block on that side of the street. And there were practically no trees, just some bushes and flower gardens. So she didn’t have anything to hide behind if she tried to sneak up.
Aryn watched as a pair of armed guards patrolled the outside of the mansion. She frowned as she tried to think. How was she going to get inside? The moonlight might be misty but it was still a full moon, so there was still plenty of light for her to been by the guards. Why, oh why, the young girl wondered, couldn’t her client have waited a few more days, so the moon wouldn’t be quite as bright? She understood how important the item they wanted her to get for them was, but surely a few more days wouldn’t hurt, would it?
The sound of horses clopping along the street reached Aryn, and she looked to see a carriage approaching the mansion from her left. Perfect! she thought. She quickly and quietly slipped down from roof. Keeping low to the ground, she ran up and jumped onto the back of the carriage as it turned onto the road leading up the mansion.
The carriage came to a stop in front of the mansion and the armed guards approached to talk with the driver and the occupants. While they were occupied, Aryn slid from the back of the carriage and quietly darted around to the side of the mansion. She paused to make sure she hadn’t been spotted, then crept along to the back of the mansion. There she found the servants entrance door. She checked it and found it locked, as she’d expected given the lateness of the night.
She pulled her cloth-wrapped lock picking tools from the leather pouch on her waist and got to work. Within moments, she heard the click of the lock. She put the tools away, quietly opened the door, and slipped inside.
After giving herself a few seconds to let her eyes adjust, Aryn closed the door and softly crept across the kitchen floor to the main area of the mansion, in search of the item she’d been hired to steal.
Aryn is a character I used once before on Stream of Consciousness Saturday. You can read it here.
And in case I gave anyone an earworm, here’s the Dean Martin song by the same name:
This post is part of the Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt, “-sty”:
The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Feb. 27, 2021
KL CALEY
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