A Shot of Laughter

Arthur peered down the hall. The coast was clear. Breathing a sigh of relief he ambled down the hall towards the game room. He felt like playing some shuffle board.

“There you are! I been looking all over for you.”

Charlotte was all smiles when she bumped into Arthur as she was coming out of another resident’s room. She hooked her arm around his and Arthur mumbled something under his breath.

“What did you say Arthur?” Bending her head towards him, she fluttered her green eyes at him. “Do you want to whisper sweet nothings into my ear?”

Arthur groaned. Not noticing his groan Charlotte told him how they should go to the square dance class together.

Nurse Julie was walking down the towards them and she noticed the look of desperation on Arthur’s face.

“Oh Arthur glad I found you. Come witb me so I can give you your shot.”

“A shot!” Arthur’s eyes got big.

“Yes, I need to do it now and then you will have to lie down for an hour afterwards.”

There was confusion written all over Arthur’s face and Charlotte looked crestfallen.

“A shot now? If you have to rest for an hour afterwards you will miss the square dancing class!”

His eyes suddenly brightened, and he saw Julie’s slight wink.

Putting a hand over his mouth he mumbled to Charlotte that he was so sorry but he has to listen to Nurse Julie!

Charlotte sadly let go of his arm and then saw Richard. “Richard, do you want to go….” Poor Richard looked frantically around for an escape.

Arthur grabbed Nurse Julie’s arm as they headed to her office.

When they entered her office Arthur’s eyes were dancing with delight. “That was great! I owe you one!”

“Roll up your sleeve, please.’

“Wh-what! You were joking about the shot, right?”

“Well you don’t need to sleep for an hour afterwards. Now roll up your sleeve please. ”

Arthur searched her face for a glimmer of a smile or a teasing gleam in her eye but she suddenly had become so serious.

“But. .but…I don’t like shots ..why do I neeed a shot…what is …”

“I don’t have time for your questions, old man.”

She reached into her pocket pulling out the largest needle Arthur ever did see!

Nurse Julie rolled up his sleeve, and then dissolved in laughter at the panicked look on his face.

When Arthur realized that it was all a joke he blew out a sigh of relief. Turning to Nurse Julie he said, “That was mean!” but there was a twinkle in his eye. ‘You are good! Of course I knew the whole time that you were fooling ”

Nurse Julia laughed, “yeah sure you did! Should I go tell Charlotte you can square dance now?’

Giving her a sheepish grin, he quickly walked out of her office to go play some shuffleboard. He could hear the echo of Nurse Julie’s laughter the whole way down the hall.

Tuesday’s Thoughts

In case you all wondered where Tuesday’s quotes were, here they are at last. Today wasn’t a regular Tuesday, but it was a good day. One of the things I did was soak up Vitamin D on a long walk with my sister in law and niece. Now with the people that plan ahead and do drafts when a day comes up thats different from usual they are still prepared. Than you have the people like me … Enjoy the quotes and I hope you got to enjoy some sun today.

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If you are too young you won’t understand this.

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The best “kitty litter” around!!

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No, my walk today wasn’t on the beach but that day is coming!

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Dracula Bird and Diamond Rain

Happy August! 1 more month of summer activities. We will be enjoying the zoo tomorrow with my sister in law’s family. Looking forward to a fun time. Hope your week starts off on a good note too!

Enjoy the following fun facts.

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I need to go to Australia.

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I always liked Corgis.

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Definitely a unique bird and not as scary as Dracula!

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Apparently Churchill was a cat lover!

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Yes, I know not an animal fact but you nevet know what to expect on here!

The Great Escape

Image from Pinterest

He smiled to himself while taking a seat beside his next victim.

“Did you bring the money?”

Silence.

“Just slide it over, noone will see.”

The newspaper shook some.

“Hurry up please, I have more stops to make and I have to get back to my cell before they notice me missing.”

The newspaper suddenly dropped on the ground and the person was gone in the blink of an eye.

Laughing out loud, Arthur bent down to pick up the newspaper and waited for someone else to come by.

It didn’t take long until he saw someone walking his way. Quickly he put the newspaper in front of his face.

“You are late! I said 11am sharp and its 11:01.”

The gentleman sitting beside Arthur got a confused look on his face.

“Hand it over.”

“Hand what over? Sir, I don’t know what you are talking about!”

“Oh No, you are one of them!” Arthur kept the newspaper in front of him hiding his wide smile as he spoke.

“One of who?” The gentleman was so confused now and half afraid. Standing up he shook his head and walked away.

Oh this was fun, thought Arthur. It sure beat sitting in his cell.

Thinking of what line he would use next the lady’s voice took him by surprise.

“Hand it over.”

Recognizing the voice his heart sank. He lowered the newspaper just enough to peer over it.

His eyes met Nurse Julie’s piercing eyes and raised eyebrows.

“What are we going to do with you? Mr. Appleton was throwing a fit this morning when he couldn’t find his golf cart!”

“The keys please.”

Reluctantly Arthur handed them over. It wasn’t all a loss, he had managed to stay out longer this time before he got caught.

Arthur did like Nurse Julie and he didn’t want her mad at him.

“I was only having some fun. How many times can one be expected to play Bingo. Plus that crazy Charlotte lady always sits beside me and talks my ear off! Not to mention that she must pour a gallon of perfume on herself!”

Laughing, Nurse Julia took Arthur’s arm while they walked to the golf cart. “She is sweet on you!”

Arthur groaned.

“Can we swing by the Dairy Queen, before you take me back to my cell?”

“Arthur! Stop calling it a cell! You aren’t at a jail. Its the Golden Oaks Home.”

“Whatever” he said, with a teasing glint in his eye. “Now about that icecream..”

Julie laughed, “You are impossible, you know! What flavor do you want this time?”

Friday’s Super Short Stories!

Sea turtles are amazing … When they are ready to make a nest, they will swim back to the beach where they were hatched at … it can be thousands of miles away sometimes, but they find their way back … With my sense of direction I was obviously not meant to be a sea turtle! 

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Another day of trying to nail jello to a tree! ( in other words trying to reason with your teen/young adult)

Discovering a new author is like finding a new type of candy … It whets your appetite for more … Read my first James Patterson book.

Second Chances

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Where would she go now? She may be wearing all white, but going to the “Chapel of Love” was not on her list of places to go.

Randy would be heart broken right now as he stood in a full church. All the guests would be there, except for one very important person,THE BRIDE!

Anastasia was glad for a little light. She had run without knowing where to run too. Panic hit her and she had bolted like lightning. Running away was something she was good at. Had done it a lot in her past. It looked like she was doomed to keep it up.

Randy was one of the most caring guys that she had ever met. He was amazing and the most amazing thing was that he loved her! He really did love her, no matter what her past had been like and all the things she was guilty of.

Why had she run? Now was the time to turn over a new leaf. She was being given another chance to make something good out of her life and so far she was failing.

While lying in the hospital in traction she had a lot of time to think and she knew she wanted to be a better person.

The Dr said she should have died, but she didn’t and that hit Anastasia hard. The fact that the Dr couldn’t explain how she had survived getting hit by the tractor trailer, gave her goosebumps.

In the hospital room one night she had vowed to make a difference. She was going to be kind and helpful to others. Most of all she was ready to stop running.

Shortly after that vow a whirlwind romance broke out between her and Randy, her physical therapist. Oh how she loved him! Without his encouragement she would not have made it through. Physical therapy was hard, but she pressed on. Learning to walk again was no easy feat. Randy’s arms had held her as she cried. He always knew how to make her smile again.

Feeling on the verge of tears she buried her face in her hands. Thoughts came back to her of Randy’s gentleness and the many ways that he had shown his love.

What was she doing hiding out in a dark barn? The guy, who was the love of her life wanted her. He accepted her faults and all. He still loved her, she was being an idiot! Stop running Anastasia, she told herself.

She knew what she had to do, she would go back! This was her time! Her day to shine and start anew. Anastasia squinted in the bright sunshine when coming out of the barn.

Standing there for a moment she took some deep breaths and then took off. The “Chapel of Love” was calling her name and Anastasia was ready to show the world that she could change. Everyone deserved a 2nd chance.

Miss. Anastasia was back! In the pasture a certain cow let out a loud Moo, staring at Anastasia until she was out of sight.

The Feuding Birds

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“How long do you think they will stay mad at each other?”

“Who knows! You know how stubborn they both can be.”

Gilda the goldfinch sighed. Her husband was right. Tilly and Milly were indeed stubborn.

The sisters drove all the other birds crazy. Sammy and Susie flew away yesterday. They were headed South. Gilda had expressed surprise for it was still summertime.

Sammy looked at Tilly and Milly and Gilda had her answer. She saw the glare in Sammy’s eyes. They had been squawking so loudly during the night, no one could sleep!

Thankfully they were quiet now, giving each other the silent treatment. The other birds were relieved, thinking how silence really was golden.

“Hi Gilda! So what are Tilly and Milly are worked up about now?” Brie the bluebird flew down to sit next to Gilda.

“Didn’t you hear all their fussing last night? How could you not know?” Gilda’s eyes widened in surprise, she had assumed that everyone knew why they were feuding. They hadn’t been quiet about it.

“I wasn’t here last night. I flew over to Benny’s nest.” There was a gleam in Brie’s blue eye.

Gilda was happy for her friend, she figured it wouldn’t be long before their two nests became one.

Sadly Brie had lost her husband awhile back. He had flown away to find some special feathers for their nest. He had seen a proud peacock strutting around at a neighboring farm. She had the most elegant feathers and he was sure he could find some that had dropped or she may be even willing to give him some.

Noone knew for sure what had happened, but he never came back. Rita the robin said she had seen other female bluebirds at the farm. Some birds put two and two together but noone talked about it. They wanted to respect Brie’s feelings.

“Well, I will fill you in the best I can. I tried my best to make sense of their tweeting. Milly must be the fastest tweeter there is!”

Lily caught a big, juicy worm and she shared it with Charlie the Cardinal. He is the new guy and Lily just wanted to be friendly.

Milly saw them sharing the worm and got all flustered. She griped at Lily and Lily got mad and squawked back at her. Told her she needed to be on a diet anyway!”

Brie’s eyes twinkled with mischief. “Oh I bet that made Milly mad!”

“It sure did! She pulled a feather from Lily. Lily pulled a feather from Milly and soon the feathers were flying. Poor Charlie didn’t know what to do.”

Some birds think he should have intervened and have called him a chicken. I don’t know if he will stay around now. He probably thinks we all are crazy.

So, Milly is insisting that Lily apologize for calling her fat and Lily said she never said she was fat. Now they stubbornly sit in silence on the branch.”

Brie rolled her eyes. “Those two are Dodo birds!”

Gilda laughed, “or Cuckoo! Both fit well.”

Gilda and Brie kept tweeting until Brie said she had to go. She had a nest to visit.

Night fell and still Tilly and Milly sat in silence and unmoving.

Just when the other birds thought their fight would never end, something happened.

In the blink of an eye, their argument ended, and nary a mean word was said again, by either one.

They lost their balance when strong winds blew and they fell off the branch.

That was the last anyone saw them. They just disappeared with no forwarding address but rumor has it that Rudy the neighbor’s cat gained some extra weight.

Tuesday’s Thoughts!

How is your Tuesday going? I enjoyed swinging on the porch swing this morning before it gets too hot and humid. Our porch swing is old and rusty, but it still swings, though it may squeak now. It was still relaxing as I was lying on it feeling glad that my work schedule is going back to normal once again. Not so many long night shifts anymore. I may be able to actually think a little clearer, now that I will be out of zombie mode. 

What is your favorite summer fruit? We bought a new type of melon this week. Picasso melon. It was speckled, like it had been splattered with paint. Its good, could be a little sweeter for me, but it beats out cantaloupe in my opinion. Watermelon, raspberries, and golden kiwis are what I have been enjoying the most this summer. 

 

One more month of summer left! It needs to slow down! Get a cold drink, slow down a little, and enjoy the following quotes.

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For all you “babies” of the family out there, we have to stick together! 🙂

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Caught Red Handed!

This is Part 2 to my Rising to the Challenge post. I wasn’t sure if I would continue this story and then a blogger friend gave me an idea. I have such creative readers! He suggested a twist as to why Raquel’s fashion drawings were not accepted. Thanks Jim! 🙂 Enjoy!

Mademoiselle Lavrigne was sitting in her studio poring over the drawings spread out all over her desk.

So amazing! She was thrilled with all the possibilities that could result from these designs.

Her phone buzzed. She pushed the speaker button. “What is it Holly, I am extremely busy.”

“There is a Mr.Rigalatto here to see you.”

Mademoiselle’s pulse quickened. Heat began to rise in her cheeks.

“Send him in please.”

This was it, she was counting on him loving these new designs. He was one of her biggest distributors. His women’s clothing store was among the very top ones in Paris.

“Welcome Pierre!” Shs walked over to him giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“I think you will be most pleased when you see these new designs.”

Pierre was a man of few words. He only nodded his head, then sat down at her desk to study the designs.

Mademoiselle felt as nervous as a runner at the starting line for a race. These designs had the potential to propel her far ahead to even more greatness.

He cleared his throat and acted like he was going to speak but he didn’t. Oh, the tension of waiting was making her head begin to ache.

Pierre rose up from the chair. “These are superior! Call me when the outfits are completed and I will give you my order. Wonderful work, darling. Natural talent at its best.” And leaving her with a kiss on the cheek he walked out the door.

Joy pulsated through her veins. She couldn’t wait to get started. Oh she dreamed about what all she could do with the money these new designs would bring her.

She had struck gold. A twinge of guilt struck her, but it didn’t stay. Mademoiselle was a lady of little conscience.

She pushed the speaker button, “Holly have my maid fix me some tea please.”

“This is her day off Ma’am. “

She rolled her eyes. Why did her staff think they needed time off? You just can’t get good help these days!

“Get the pool boy please. He can make me some tea.:

Most likely he wasn’t doing anything but floating around with the pool noodles. Such a doolally he was, though he did have luxurious looking hair, that she couldn’t deny.

Twenty minutes later he came into her studio with her cup of Chai Spice tea. She was busy looking at the designs and making notes. Barely looking up as he came in, she mumbled her thanks.

Setting down the hot tea he noticed the designs spread out everywhere.

“What do you think of my latest work?”

“They are brilliant!”

Madame eyes shined with pleasure.

“But they aren’t yours.” He muttered under his breath, while walking out the door. Oh, time couldn’t move fast enough!

Raquel’s drawings had always been so good! She had a natural talent and he had seen to it that www no one was going to steal from his sister’s best friend!.

When he had been home for a visit he saw the designs Raquel was working on. He was impressed!

Imagine his surprise when he heard and saw Mademoiselle showing off Raquel’s drawings, claiming them as her very own. It took all his self control to refrain from saying anything to her, but now the time was here!

Mademoiselle may think she is clever but she thinks too highly of herself. Everything was going as planned. Raquel was due to arrive in a few hours, escorted by Mr. Pierre Rigaletto. Pierre was good friends with Allister, and Alliister had told him the whole story.

Raquel was jubilant! Celebration was in the air! When confronted Mademoiselle backed down and started apologizing profusely.

“Thank you so much Allister! Raquel threw her arms around him. What would I have done without you.”

Allister blushed. “I am so glad it all worked out. You are a talented designer and you deserve your chance to shine!”

“And now thanks to you I will get it! But now is your time to shine Birthday boy!”

Now it was Allister’s turn to be surprised.

“Come follow me to the pool.”

When they got outside Allister was surprised to see his family and friends gathered around it.

“Surprise!”

They celebrated into the night, turning the pool lights on and singing Happy Birthday at the stroke of midnight.

“Can I be the first one to kiss the birthday boy?”

His eyes told her all she needed to know and happiness flooded through her. This may be their first kiss but not their last. The perfect ending to a perfect day.

Don’t Cheat a Raven!

Happy Sunday! How have you spent your Sunday? Hopefully its been enjoyable. Are you ready to learn some facts about unicorns, wolves, ravens and more? Read on and smile about feeling a little smarter now.

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But….unicorns are real … my Jackalope told me!

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Not sure that I would want cuddled by one of them.

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Who knew that ravens were so honest!

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Just because you are different from each other doesn’t mean you can’t be friends. 🙂

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I believe that dolphins have a better memory than I do!

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Another reason to like Johnny Depp.