Esther asks: “Can you tell a story in 25 words?”
We must use these four words: ‘scrooge’, ‘gnome’,
‘chimney’ and ‘glowing’. Here’s my 25 word story.
Author: Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬
Daughter of Sicilian immigrants, wife, mother, grammy, friend, empath, survivor, dreamer, storyteller, humorist, singer, musician, author, blogger, wannabe-poet, plant rescuer, cook, lover of good wine, food, iced cappuccino, elephants, the sea, Montauk, Sicily, movies and music, especially my beloved Beatles. ♡✒️♬
Getting To Know Me
Written for Kymber Hawke’s Get To Know You #46
Here are her three question and my three answers.
For The Right Price
Written for OLWG #397.
Our three prompts appear below.
This is my flash.
Want To Watch A Movie?
Every Christmas (and Easter), I like to get in at least one Bible movie. I have been enthralled by these movies since I was a child and they still hold a powerful message for me. The Nativity Story (2006) is a drama that focuses on the period in Mary and Joseph’s life when they journeyed to Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus.
In Nazareth, teenager Mary is betrothed to the local carpenter, Joseph. Mary is visited by an angel and told that she will fulfill a prophecy and as a virgin give birth to God’s son. Mary’s pregnancy brings her the scorn of the community and Joseph struggles to believe her seemingly outlandish story. Meanwhile, a census forces every man and his family to return to his place of birth. Joseph and Mary set out on a long and arduous journey to Bethlehem …. and danger is with them the entire way.
Here’s the trailer:
I’ll save you a seat. Enjoy the movie! 🎥 🍿 🥤
NAR©2024
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for Nancy ~ The Sicilian Storyteller, Nancy (The Sicilian Storyteller), The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk, and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Want To Watch A Movie?
Full disclosure: I’ve never been a Will Ferrell movie fan but a friend kept badgering me to watch Elf so, to get him off my back, I agreed. I loved this movie from the start and now I’m hooked. It doesn’t hurt that Zooey Deschanel is so adorable and James Caan has a great gift for comedy. And casting Ed Asner as Santa was a stroke of brilliance. Watch this movie; you’ll love it! I am an Elf convert; it wouldn’t be Christmas in my house without watching this wonderful movie.
Arguably Will Ferrell’s best movie ever, Elf follows Buddy, a boy who’s raised as one of Santa’s elves after he’s accidentally sent to the North Pole. However, he doesn’t exactly fit in with the rest of the workers. Determined to find his real father, Buddy leaves the North Pole and ventures to NYC to search for him. But when Buddy finally reunites with his dad, chaos ensues.
Here’s a teaser:
I’ll save you a seat. Enjoy the movie! 🎥 🍿 🥤
NAR©2024
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for Nancy ~ The Sicilian Storyteller, Nancy (The Sicilian Storyteller), The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk, and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Old Grey Whistle Test – May 30, 1975
Today in Jim Adams’ post ‘Emphasis On Album Acts’,
he has gone with a theme suggested by
“the only deadhead in the hameau” which
is to write about a song that was played on
the BBC’s ‘The Old Grey Whistle Test’ TV show.
Written for Song Lyric Sunday, here is my choice.
Want To Watch A Movie?
This is a movie Bill and I hadn’t heard of before. It’s not the type we usually watch but we were with our two oldest grands (15 & 13) and it was their pick. It was very entertaining and Kurt Russell is always great fun.
Here’s the skinny: siblings Kate and Teddy Pierce hatch a scheme to capture Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. When the plan goes awry, the kids join forces with a somewhat jolly Saint Nick (Russell) and his loyal elves to save the holiday before it’s too late. Older kids will like this one.
Let’s watch the trailer:
I’ll save you a seat. Enjoy the movie! 🎥 🍿 🥤
NAR©2024
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for Nancy ~ The Sicilian Storyteller, Nancy (The Sicilian Storyteller), The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk, and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Afternoons With Tom
Written for The Unicorn Challenge where we are
asked to get creative in 250 words or less using
the photo below as inspiration. This is my story.
Christmas Memories: An Ovi
Written for Ovi Poetry Challenge #79.
This week’s inspiration word is
“remember”. This is my Ovi.
Gone Fishing
Le Bourgeois
Written for Friday Fictioneers where our host Rochelle
asks us to use the photo below as inspiration
to write creatively in 100 words or less while
making every word count. This is my flash.
Want To Watch A Movie?
Last night we watched another B&W oldie .… The Shop Around the Corner from 1940. Here’s what the critics had to say. We agree.
Critics Consensus: Deftly directed by Ernst Lubitsch from a smart, funny script by Samson Raphaelson, The Shop Around the Corner is a romantic comedy in the finest sense of the term.
Alfred Kralik (James Stewart) and Klara Novak (Margaret Sullavan) are employees at Matuschek and Company, a general store in Budapest. Klara and Alfred are constantly at odds with each other, butting heads and disagreeing on almost everything. Both are enamored of their respective pen pals, who serve as welcome distractions in their lives. Little do they know, they are each the other’s pen pal and, despite outward differences, have unwittingly fallen in love through their letters. Oh, in case you think Mr. Matuschek looks familiar, he’s Frank Morgan who played the wizard in The Wizard of Oz.
I’ll save you a seat. Enjoy the movie! 🎥 🍿 🥤
NAR©2024
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for Nancy ~ The Sicilian Storyteller, Nancy (The Sicilian Storyteller), The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk, and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.
One Lump Or Two?
This is Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag – Week 51 and we are
asked to choose a song by a group or solo artist whose
name begins with the letters X, Y or Z. This is my choice.
Want To Watch A Movie?
Bill and I watched this beautifully bittersweet movie last night. We knew nothing about this 2023 film except for the brief description below; we were sold after watching the trailer. Paul Giamatti is an excellent actor and his performance was impeccable. There were some award-winning insults and one-liners delivered with great aplomb. If you’re looking for a lighthearted romcom, this is not for you. We enjoyed this one a lot and highly recommend it.
The Holdovers follows a curmudgeonly instructor (Paul Giamatti) at a New England prep school who is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually he forms an unlikely bond with one of them …. a damaged, brainy troublemaker (newcomer Dominic Sessa) …. and with the school’s head cook (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), who has just lost a son in Vietnam.
Let’s watch the trailer.
I’ll save you a seat. Enjoy the movie! 🎥 🍿 🥤
NAR©2024
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for Nancy ~ The Sicilian Storyteller, Nancy (The Sicilian Storyteller), The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk, and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.
A Dangerous Profession: Conclusion
Written for OLWG, FOWC and
Melissa’s Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge.
This is the conclusion to my story.
Lunchtime Dilemma
Written for Melissa’s Fandango Flash Fiction
Challenge #299. This is my first flash limerick.
Pull Up A Chair
Written for Ovi Poetry Challenge #78.
This week’s inspiration word is
“temptation”. This is my ovi.
Christmas With Mary
Written for Sammi’s Weekend Writing Prompt #394
incorporating the word “berate” in exactly 90 words.
I have also used one of the awesome images by Kevin
at No Theme Thursday. In 90 words, this is my story.
Santa Baby
Shweta is our host for the Saturday Six Word Challenge – #116.
This week’s prompt word is “blind”. I thought this image from Kevin
at No Theme Thursday worked quite well. This is my 6 word story.
This Or That
Written for Kymber Hawke’s Get To Know You #45.
Here are her three questions and my three answers.
Want To Watch A Movie? – Encore
Today’s movie suggestion comes from our friend SueW; check out her site; it’s a delight. https://nansfarm.net/.
This is a new one for me. Here’s what IMDB had to say about The Holiday:
Amanda lives in LA and is a movie trailer editor. Iris lives in Surrey and is a journalist. The two decide to swap houses for two weeks at Christmas – both trying to forget their troubled love lives .… until love finds them anyway.
Well, sounds like my kind of flick and it’s already on my watchlist. I know what we’ll be watching tonight!
Let’s check out the trailer:
I’ll save you a seat. Enjoy the movie! 🎥 🍿 🥤
NAR©2024
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for Nancy ~ The Sicilian Storyteller, Nancy (The Sicilian Storyteller), The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk, and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Want To Watch A Movie?
Bill and I have agreed (for research purposes) to watch more movies with a holiday theme. This is our first one and, boy, it’s an oldie but a goodie …. a true classic with one of my favorite actors …. Jack Lemmon. It’s not exactly a holiday movie, but most of the drama unfolds during the Christmas season, which earns it a spot on my list. The Apartment, which won five Oscars (including Best Picture), follows a lonely insurance worker named C.C. Baxter (Lemmon). To climb up the corporate ladder, he starts to lend his Upper West Side apartment to company bosses who are having romantic affairs. However, things get complicated when Baxter learns that his own manager is hooking up with the woman he has feelings for. They don’t make them like this anymore. Here’s the trailer:
I’ll save you a seat. Enjoy the movie! 🎥 🍿 🥤
NAR©2024
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for Nancy ~ The Sicilian Storyteller, Nancy (The Sicilian Storyteller), The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk, and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Here Comes The Sun
Written for Song Lyric Sunday. This week in his post,
“Best of the Best”, Jim Adams has asked his readers
to write about a song that won the Brit Award for
Outstanding Contribution to Music. Here is my choice.
WordPress Daily Prompt
The Continuing Adventures of George and Martha, Vol. 6: Potāto Potǎto
Written for The Unicorn Challenge where we are
asked to get creative in 250 words or less using
the photo below as inspiration. This is my story.
Final Surprise
Using one of the very cool graphics from Kevin
at No Theme Thursday, this has been written for
dVerse Poets Quadrille #214 – “Going Out With A Bang”.
Theme suggested by Punam; this is my 44 word quadrille.
Another World
Written for Friday Fictioneers. Our host Rochelle
asks us to use the photo below as inspiration
to write creatively in 100 words or less while
making every word count. This is my flash.
Things were easier then, life was different. Kids felt safe in their little bubbles. I’d cycle to my piano lessons, cutting through the empty lot without a shred of fear.
I’d ring the bell for my lesson; if my teacher didn’t answer immediately, I’d wait on the bench. One time I waited so long, I was about to leave when the door flew open and a girl came running out, sobbing, her clothes a disheveled mess. My teacher called out after her.
My only reason for ever feeling fear was the way my piano teacher looked at me that day.
NAR©2024
100 Words
This is “Wash Away Those Years” by Creed
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for Nancy ~ The Sicilian Storyteller, Nancy (The Sicilian Storyteller), The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk, and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.
A Walk On The Wild Side
My only excuse for what you’re about to read is that I have a lousy head cold, a cough and a sore throat which have thrown me off my game. I know the Mixed Music Bag prompt letters for December are X, Y and Z. However, in my Delsym Cough Syrup-induced stupor, I thought the letters were U, V and W. I spent too much time working on this post and I don’t have the energy or desire to start over. I could have ditched it and skipped this week all together but I think it’s a pretty good write so I decided to keep it as is. Today’s post is brought to you by the letter V.
Continue reading “A Walk On The Wild Side”With Love From Us: A Haibun
Written for dVerse Poetics where the theme is
“Despite and Still”. My inspiration is the poem seen below
written by John N. Morris. Here is my haibun.
The Elephant's Trunk 