Full Circle – Carpe Diem #3

“Called ”Full Circle” … the goal is to write haiku with the twelve (12) words given. It’s a kind of word-whirl and you have to use the words given in the clock-wise direction. So every word has to come in the line of it’s place on the clock e.g. mirror you have to use for line one (1) and leaves for line two (2) and so on.”
I will give you twelve (12) words (for every ”hour”) one word. The goal is to write haiku using the words as given in the clock wise way.

Here are the 12 (twelve) words:

1. mirror
2. leaves
3. rain
4. butterfly
5. chrysanthemum
6. breeze
7. stars
8. clouds
9. ocean
10. daisies
11. cow shed
12. secret

The mirror reflects

the leaves falling from the trees

in the lashing rainP1030041

________________

Butterfly wings perch

amid the chrysanthemum

fanning in the breeze

_____________________

Stars glimmer above

Uninterrupted by clouds

the ocean shimmersIMG_0149

_____________________

Daisies grow taller

Around the broken cow shed

What secrets lie there?P1040256

___________________

To see more Full Circle Haiku or to join in the fun check out this post.

Share Your World – Week 35

….can’t believe that it’s already week 35…check out Cee’s Photography for more great posts of Share Your World or join in

Have your blogging goals changed?

I think they have. I started as an incentive to lose weight and record stories from my childhood. I still do a little of both but now it’s become a venue for sharing my art, photography, and life’s adventures and challenges.

If you were to perform in the circus, what would you do?

I don’t know why this came to my head first but I thought clown. I’m not a big fan of clowns but I do like to make people laugh.

If you could go back and talk to yourself at age 18 what advice would you give yourself? Or if you are younger than 25 what words of wisdom would you like to tell yourself at age 45?

I would tell myself to pursue my interests, take risks. I was very practical and played it pretty safe at 18 but I was also somewhat romantic and probably naive. My biggest piece of advice would be to put aside money for retirement and not touch it. I’ve been lucky to have a job with a great pension plan and to own a house in the city. Not everyone is as fortunate and sometimes I think we could have been better prepared.

What is your favorite comfort snack food?

My favourite comfort foods are ice-cream and cheese. Not at the same time. When I want something sweet it would be ice-cream and for my savoury moments it has to be cheese.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I’m grateful for a wonderful birthday week with family and friends. I spent the day with one of my oldest friends at the spa earlier in the week. My good friend L took me to the nail place and she treated me to a pedicure. My aunt and cousin sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers, my sisters sent me gifts through the mail, my son called me long distance from the Netherlands, my daughters and I spent time together at the CNE, my husband cooked a magnificent meal for six of us and my dear friends at the cottage prepared a birthday lunch with cake done in the BBQ and gave me a set of beautiful earrings. WOW!

I’m looking forward to using my new Jawbone Up (a gift from my family) to record my fitness and sleeping patterns and learning some new songs on my ukulele from the ukulele book that my sister sent me. I’m also looking forward to going back to school (believe it or not) to catch up with my colleagues and meet my new students. Getting the library up and running is number one on my priority list. I just hope I get some help doing it.

Writing Lists – Jobs I’ve had since I was 10

 Anna Fonté challenges you to write a list that transcends its orderly or numbered format

I’ve always had a job as long as I can remember. I remember my first paying job was to babysit my neighbours disabled daughter for an hour or so when I was just eight years old.

1. Babysitting

2. Paper route

3. Cashier in my parents’ milk store

4. Working in Woolworths keeping shelves tidy

5. Sales clerk in my parents’ fabric store

6. Embossing metal address plates at Pitney Bowes

7. Factory worker – vacuum packing perfume samples

8. Cashier at Dominion

9. Waitress

10. Assembly line at Mattell Toy Co. making Barbie tents

11. Chamber maid at a small hotel in Germany

12. Office clerk at Ontario Produce

13. Family Studies Teacher

14. Delivering Flowers

15. Selling Regal products

16. Selling and demonstrating needlecraft kits

17. Doing house parties for a line of clothing

18. Colour consultant and make-up artist

19. Making and selling crafts at local craft shows

20. Guidance counsellor

21. On a writing panel creating an educational document

22. Census taker for election lists

23. Delivering flyers

24. Teaching knitting classes at the community school

25. Chairperson and grade 5 homeroom teacher

26. Librarian and art teacher

All these jobs were paid positions. I’m sure I’ve missed one or two along the way. As I head towards retirement I’m already thinking about my next career.

For more tips on writing lists check out The Daily Post Writing Challenge – List Lesson

Fiction in 50: A Tiny Beautiful Thing

….in 50 words or less write about this month’s theme

A Tiny Beautiful Thing

When the photos first appeared on the screen I noticed some visitors along the edges of the image. A photobomb? First they were out of focus but in the next shot they jumped out at me. How had I missed them when they were only inches from my face?

P1020654 P1020656

If you’d like to read some more short stories or try your hand at Fiction in 50 go to

The Book Shelf Gargoyle.