Cat Soup and Towels, An Odd Trio, But Only for Some

06 Jul 2014 2 Comments

by alightningbug in Mom Stuff, The Daily Prompt, Writing Tags: ,

The Daily Post’s prompt for July 5 is, An Odd Trio

Today, you can write about whatever you what — but your post must include, in whatever role you see fit, a cat, a bowl of soup, and a beach towel.

I’m happy to have these daily posts and how exactly I’ll work a cat, a bowl of soup, and a beach towel into these post remains to be seen as I type.

Looking around our home, it’s not that hard to see these three things. I don’t even need much in the way of imagination for these seemingly unconnected items.

I suppose that by owning two cats, it gives me a bit of a head start on cat-less bloggers. I like our cats. I like dogs too, but I don’t really know how dog owners manage without a larger home and a yard. Yet, we have neighbors who somehow manage just that.

We like soup and it can be quick and easy for humans with a busy schedule. It’s a light meal by itself, but pair it with a quick sandwich and you’ve got yourself a full-fledge meal. Yum! Our soup often awaits mealtime in a cupboard sitting in cans, not bowls until we’re actually eating it. By coincidence our cats await mealtime by the same cupboard when they’re not staring at us or yelping at us to feed them.

The cats are like clocks as far as mealtime goes. Even with hardly any daylight coming inside, the cats somehow still manage to tell time.

In the soup category. Get it, CAT-egory? We also like Ramen. To be fair, it’s not the healthiest option, but quick, easy, inexpensive. And we can doctor it up for added nutrition by adding frozen veggies and egg. If you don’t add the full seasoning packet, you’ll cut back on the amount of salt. There are lots of other ways to add flavor — garlic power, hot peppers, herbs.

Sometimes I even make homemade soup and freeze it. We have a Crock-pot type of slow cooker that makes fantastic broth. There’s something to be said for the benefits of slow cooking. Put it on in the morning before I leave for work, and there’s a meal when I get home.

I did not forget about that beach towel. While we don’t have a beach nearby we’ve actually managed a pool membership this year. Finally! And with the dark interior of our home, it could not have come at a better time. We enjoy our sunshine. And we’re making full use of all our beach towels. So I feel like the washing machine is going close to 24/7 keeping up with washing and drying ’em. OK, maybe not really 24/7, more like 3/3. Three hours, three days a week. Maybe four depending on our schedule.

The cats rather like the beach towels too. Without fail if I leave out a freshly laundered beach towel, there’s sure to be a cat on it soon unless I quickly move it out of harms way. They’re happy to add to the fluffy softness and warm ’em up for us when they’re done licking our soup bowls.

Strike a Chord: A Yellow Cello

04 Jul 2014 4 Comments

by alightningbug in Mom Stuff, School, The Daily Prompt, Writing Tags: , , , ,

The Daily Post’s prompt is, “Strike a Chord.”

Do you play an instrument? Is there a musical instrument which you find particularly pleasing? Tell us a story about your experience or relationship with an instrument of your choice.

If I could add another thing to the post from two days ago, “Something New, Back of the Queue,” it would be to learn an instrument. Playing music on something other than a record, cassette, CD, or MP3 player is something I never learned.

When I was in fourth grade, I started clarinet at school, but one squeak too many, and I was done. I purchased a plastic ocarina, and managed “Happy Birthday” following the instructions on the back of the packaging. I’m sure I just need more practice.

So when my daughter came home from the “instrument petting zoo” at school and told us she like to play the cello, I was pleased. I really enjoy the sound of the cello. It’s easier on the ears than violin when kids are just learning, and I didn’t have to worry that she’d inherit my talent for squeaking on a woodwind instrument. We have neighbors to think about. So, cello!

I love the meditative sound it can produce. It’s as if it can pick up the hum of the earth and play a tune with it. Even for beginners, it’s not at all unpleasant, and I truly enjoy hearing my daughter practice.

We’re renting a 1/2 cello, and somehow ended up with one that’s more a lovely shade of yellow than the amber brown of most. We should really get a larger size, but the 1/2 has been easier for taking on a school bus. And we’ve grown very fond of the yellow.

My daughter has been playing at school for three years now. And I’m looking forward to what the next will bring.

Writing 101, Day Three: Three Songs, a Trilogy

05 Jun 2014 Leave a comment

by alightningbug in Wordpress Writing 101, Writing Tags: , , ,

My take on assignment three is up. Check it out
The Daily Post Writing 101, Day Three: Three Songs, a Trilogy

The twist is to commit to a writing practice — the frequency and amount of time is up to us, but a minimum of fifteen uninterrupted minutes is recommended. I did that for assignment three — fifteen uninterrupted minutes, amazingly enough. I even tried to keep writing the entire time — keep my fingers moving — and not go back to edit anything as I wrote. Though, I admit to a bit of backspacing for an actual typo or two as I went — that’s practically reflex for me. I use a computer not paper. I let the words flow from a relatively uninterrupted stream of thought. After the fifteen minutes, I went back and edited a few more typos, punctuation, and a word or two. Nothing in the guidelines said we couldn’t do that. But I tried to keep the original stream primarily intact.

Going forward, I’m only going to commit to ten uninterrupted minutes five days a week because that’s a whole lot more likely, so I’m less likely to get frustrated when I can’t do it. I will, however, try for a longer stretch from time to time.

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