I looked at my legs, amazed that so many moles would have developed overnight. I touched a few, gently, rubbing my fingers across the rough surface of first one and then another. I blinked and in the span of time that my eyes closed and opened again, the moles had multiplied until they covered nearly all the skin from my upper thighs to my knees. They overlapped and some were tall — raised to higher than two Oreo cookies stacked atop one another, and similar in appearance: dark under and above with a white middle. I wondered if they were…
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The rock was heavy but not: it had a hole in it.In the hole were two small scorpions, pinkish-gray. They were sleeping.I carried the rock around the house and showed the scorpions to the dogs. They were not impressed.The scorpions woke up and the war began — I flung the rock and flapped my hand as the smaller of the two scorpions had crawled out and onto my flesh.I crushed them: one by dropping the rock on it and standing on the rock, the other by stomping.I lifted the rock and saw a dark stain on the rug from where…
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Aches and pains do not stop my show. One day, I will have a stylish walking stick and will stroll-hobble to my hovercar. I will continue to pilot myself, even after those who are infants today are little more than dust. When I squint at products on store shelves, other patrons will call me \’mummy\’ behind my back and I will smile. No Guinness Book record, just the joy of long life.
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I would say that I am too excited for words, but if you are one of the News Ninjas and you looked at the latest newsletter, you know that is simply untrue.However, since writing and sending it, I have fewer words than before, meaning that this will be a short post. The newest addition to the publication list is titled \’Knowing Abbie\’ and it will be in print very soon! I received the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) day before yesterday and the Ninjas have it in their hot little email boxes (because it is a .pdf, so unless they print…
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I got hooked on essential oils last year. They are good for everything from aches and pains (topical use) to making the house smell great (diffuser) to adding to the flavor of your favorite foods.But I am not all that skilled in working essential oils into my dog routine. I have a great sister-friend who has made me some salves and sprays for my dogs that help with healing and ease irritation, but I didn\’t have anything to help with calming them when they get upset. Both are not fond of fireworks or other random noises (like pine cones falling…
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What to say when words are inadequate?What to do when anything is not enough?How to not cry when crying is all that seems right?How to comfort when no comfort can be found? I wrote in my head all night.It was that, or cry, which I did a little before going to bed: there is a young couple I know from my last church whose son (a wee babe) was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer last year. He was one of the happiest little boys ever. He even liked me; I don\’t feel I am very good with babies…
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Hey, Cave Dwellers: It is my honor to feature my writing colleague, Emerian Rich. She’s got three great pointers for new authors (and some not-so-new authors … just sayin’). Here she is! As writers, we have many bad habits that hinder our careers. I am just as guilty as the next author and some of us don’t even know we’re doing it. I’m going to bring to light three self-torturing habits we have, in hopes that we can all help each other stop the madness. We don’t support ourselves. Sounds weird, but it’s true. We wrote these stories, we love…
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He drove the little truck through the parking lot slowly, looking past us to a point in space none could see as he went by our set-up. I was in the park with my friends who give out food and my task was to get the signatures of those who picked up today\’s goods. My friend\’s husband has to provide a sign-in sheet to the food bank where he gets many of the items to show that he is, in fact, handing out what he is given.As I stood and looked to the south, I saw a dark sedan; the…
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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1wg1DNHbNU[/embedyt]Watching my dogs run in the sun, I laugh as Sputnik chases a butterfly. The Santa Ana wind is blowing and the gusts carry the insect higher into the blue bright heat of mid-day, but she does not give up. Back and forth she races beneath it, squinting into the sun and dust.I wonder how dogs keep sand-grit out of their eyes enough to not stop chasing what it is they are after.I cup my hand against my face as another gust blows sand at me angrily. My shadow on the ground does the same and I suspect my…
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We are two-dimensional beings most of the time. It is rare that we show 360 degrees of ourselves to anyone. The first husband had an image of me that I could never live up to and it made him angry. Well, he was already angry — the fact that I wasn\’t what he thought he had simply added fuel to his already stoked fire. I wrote some time ago about burying the best parts of me deep inside so they wouldn\’t be hurt during those years.Like an egg, or maybe more like a cocoon, I kept those parts carefully wrapped…