Today at RDP, Martha asks us to get creative
with the word ‘optimism’. Thanks, Martha!
Here’s where the prompt word took me.
Tag: Granddaughter
RDP Thursday: parallel
Today at RDP, leapingtoes asks us to get
creative with the word ‘parallel’. Thanks, Toes!
Here’s where the prompt word took me.
RDP Wednesday: gorgeous
Today at RDP, sgeoil asks us to get creative
with the word ‘gorgeous’. Thanks, Heather!
Here’s where the prompt word took me.
RDP Tuesday: pet
Today at RDP, we are asked to share a story,
poem, photo, painting, essay, etc., focusing
on the word ‘pet’. Here’s my take.
That Old Rockin’ Chair’s Got Me
Written for Mark’s Today’s Writing Practice #9
where we’re given photo and written prompts.
Here’s where the prompts took me.
Colette
Written for Esther’s Writing Prompts – 77
where the prompt word this week is ‘small’.
Here’s where the prompt took me ….
a poem about our youngest granddaughter.
Ten Dollar Words
A few years ago, I wrote a story I really loved.
I knew I wanted to use it again today but needed
to chop off about 150 words to make it work.
I sure hope it’s as good today as it was then.
This is Friday Fictioneers and here is my story.
L’épée
Shweta is our host for the
Saturday Six Word Challenge (6WSP) #123.
This week’s prompt word is “balance”.
Here is my 6 word story.
Potty Mouth
Written for OLWG #402. The three prompts
for this week are given below. This my story.
My Baby’s Baby: An Ovi
Written for Ovi Poetry Challenge #84.
This week’s inspiration word is
“open”. Keeping with the theme
of positivity, this is my Ovi.
Hook, Line and Sinker
Written for Gerry C & Sue W’s Weekly Prompts
Wednesday Challenge . The prompt word this
week is “socks” and this is my response.
Get That Cat-A-Comb!
Getting To Know Me – 9/24
Written for Kymber Hawke’s Get To Know You #36.
Here are her three questions and my answers.
- What type of food would you NEVER eat?
Capozzelli di Angnelli, an Italian delicacy which translated into English means “Head of the Sheep”. This is a dish of baked sheep’s head that is considered a macho ritual. It is made by lopping the sheep’s head in half, topping with tomato sauce and sprinkling with breadcrumbs seasoned with rosemary, salt, garlic and oregano, and then baking it in a slow oven for four or five hours. I’m sure brains and other parts of an animal’s head are eaten by other nationalities besides Italian but that doesn’t make it any less disgusting to me. There were certain Italian treats which my father liked to eat such as tripe (the first or second stomach of a cow), and eels. I’ve had eels and thought they were very tasty but I could never bring myself to try tripe. Thank goodness, my mother never made Capozzelli di Angnelli nor did any of my relatives. All I can think of is that scene from Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom where the people sat around eating monkey brains!
2. What is your go-to movie?
Easy …. well, sort of. If I’m channel surfing and land on any of the Godfather movies, I will always stop and watch. I’m one of those people who insists on watching a movie from the very beginning. Even if we put a movie on five minutes after it started, I won’t watch. Hey, a lot can happen in those first five minutes! The Godfather is one movie I will watch regardless of where the action is when I put the movie on.
Another all-time favorite is The Wizard of Oz. That classic holds a lot of sentimental meaning for me. It’s also a great film for its cinematography and musical numbers.
Also, let’s not forget Mel Brooks .… the last of the comedic geniuses. I adore Mel and all his work and will watch any of his movies anytime. My favorite Mel Brooks film is “Young Frankenstein” with “History of the World” a close second.
- What’s the last thing that made you laugh out loud?
Not a thing but a who … and that would be our 4 ½ year old granddaughter Colette. That child makes me laugh a lot … especially during my recuperation; she has a finely developed sense of humor and she cracks me up with her facial expressions and many of the things she says and does. The other day was my husband’s birthday and he asked for (and received) the Duck Vacuum … a mini personal vacuum cleaner. The day it arrived happened to be one of the days we watch Colette. She was excited about a package being delivered and when we opened the box, she wanted to use the vacuum immediately. This kid loves to clean! Of course, she also happened to be wearing every piece of jewelry from her collection that day! I took a video of her vacuuming our bedroom; it’s hilarious. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to post videos here so I settled for a couple of still photos. I had a great laugh watching her that day! 💜
Well, this was fun! Hope you all enjoyed getting to know me just a little bit. Thanks to Kymber Hawke for a very enjoyable prompt.
NAR©2024
This is “Like To Get To Know You” by Spanky and Our Gang
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.
My Baby’s Baby: A Dectina Refrain
It’s
really
amazing
how time flies by.
People say ‘don’t blink’;
where did fifteen years go?
She is my baby’s baby,
his first child and my first grandchild;
our world changed the instant she was born.
It’s really amazing how time flies by.
This is my beautiful granddaughter Mckenna; she’s funny and fun to be with. At one time she wanted to be a writer; now she’s hoping to become a professional musician in an orchestra. Her instrument of choice is the baritone sax … a powerhouse! She just finished her freshman year of high school and was accepted into the National Honor Society. She’s been a member of her school’s swim team for the last couple of years and today she will start her first job as a lifeguard for her town’s public pool. She really wanted that job and is psyched she passed the test. So are we! Congratulations, Mckenna! We’re so proud of you!
NAR©2024
This is “Don’t Blink” by Kenny Chesney
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.
The Evolution Of Kukla
© NAR
We’ve all said it before….
“Where did the time go?“
“My, how they’ve grown!“
“Time flies!“
….and any other cliché you care to toss out.
But …. let’s get real! Where did the time go and how did she get so big?
Our youngest grandchild, 4-year-old Colette, is not a wee one any longer. Of course, we’ve noticed some of the clothes we keep for her at our house have gotten snug but now she can help herself to anything in the refrigerator, open the latch on the gate leading to the front yard without any assistance and we’ve had to make some adjustments to her car seat. However, nothing brings home how much she’s grown in nine months like these two side-by-side photos.
Back in September on the first day of nursery school, she was a giddy little tyke bubbling with enthusiasm and now she’s a beautiful little girl looking so very mature and confident, pictured on the last day of school on June 5.
Colette’s on a steady course to independence …. dressing and showering by herself (with some careful supervision), using a “grown up” drinking glass instead of one with a lid and straw, calling her parents “Mom & Dad” instead of “Mommy & Daddy”, and a bunch of little changes we see on a regular basis.
Our son drops her off for us to babysit each week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and the occasional Saturday; now that she’s able to do so much on her own, it’s a lot easier for us but sometimes we sure do miss that giggly, squirmy toddler! Time is going far too fast.
She’ll always be our little Kukla, no matter how old she gets; that’s something no amount of time will ever change!
NAR©2024
This is “What A Difference A Day Makes” by Dinah Washington
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Perfect Day For Planting
Written for Six Sentence Story where we are asked
to be creative in no more than six sentences
using the word “light”. This is my story.
We got a late start with spring cleaning in our yard, especially along the side of the house where our attached garage is located; even though the gardeners had cleared a lot of old shrubbery away for some new plants and bushes, it was just not meant to be after we were derailed by the sudden death of my husband’s twin brother on April 2 and me being sidelined since the first week of May by a major sinus infection (the heavy-duty antibiotics have left me “out of commission” and able to eat only extremely light meals or, at times, nothing at all).
In mid-May, we put in a couple of small white azaleas, relocated a baby rhododendron which wasn’t doing well in the far back corner of the yard and planted a bit of Blue Bugle and Lilies of the Valley for light ground cover (along the side of the house, not visible in this pic), but that’s as far as our broken spirits and depleted bodies would allow us go.
When Colette is here with us (Tuesdays, Thursdays and the occasional Saturday or Sunday) and the weather is good, she wants to be outside; hell, even if the weather isn’t good, she wants to be outside – a phenomenon about most children that escapes me as they (well, she definitely) seem to be impervious to heat or cold or rain or snow or wind – all the elements, times when Bill and I would prefer being inside nestled in our recliners with a lightweight blanket.
Speaking of nestled, we discovered that sparrows had made their nest in an old watering can in the corner of Colette’s playhouse; the mama and papa birds are very resourceful, building the new home in a location almost invisible to us, one which I discovered quite by accident when I heard a faint chirping noise coming from the playhouse and …. with my trusty flashlight in hand …. I went to take a peek but was immediately dive-bombed by a wildly protective kamikaze sparrow which, when it sped just inches by my head, had me believing it was a small bat …. terrifying!
Tuesday the temps soared to a scorching 86ºF – a leap from the mild low-70s of just the day before – so it was, according to Colette, the “perfect day for planting!” …. a concept I did not agree with thinking it was too hot and we would be in direct blazing sunlight for the entire time …. but I did not object (mainly because the child could not be dissuaded and it was far less taxing than yet another round of the Disney edition of Monopoly); armed with our faithful spades, Bill with his macho shovel and pitchfork, we planted another azalea along the side of the house, then Colette and I pulled all the weeds and detritus from the two ancient cement planters on either side of the bench you see in the above photo, replacing all of what was growing in them as haphazardly as Albert Einstein’s hair with two bright pink kalanchoe plants, then stood back to proudly bask in the glory of our gardening prowess.
Of course, manual labor such as that demands a reward and certainly not a monetary one which would be looked upon with disdain and confusion by a 4-year-old whose idea of recompense consists solely of instant gratification in the form of ice cream – the I-don’t-give-a-hoot-how-messy-I-get kind – and after getting Colette situated in her pink fairy chair, pinning up her waist-length hair and snapping on the 15-year-old bib we originally used for our first grandchild, Mckenna, I disappeared into the kitchen and returned with fudge-covered vanilla ice cream pops for Colette and Bill and a lemon ice for me; judging by the look on her face and the twinkling, totally satisfied light in her eyes (photo below), Colette was over the moon with her sweet, sloppy treat and …. you know …. she was right after all about it being the “perfect day for planting!”
NAR©2024
This is “Let It Grow” by Eric Clapton
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.
It’s All Going To Be OK
Written for Six Sentence Story ~ “tonic” and
Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie, Sunday Confessionals ~ “sweet”
It doesn’t happen very often but last Sunday was a rare babysitting day for us; our usual days to watch our 4-year-old granddaughter Colette are Tuesday and Thursday but both our son and daughter-in-law (Colette’s mom & dad) had to work over the weekend. That was a rarity for them as well, but one is a librarian and the other a doctor and with both the library and the hospital open every day of the week, they sometimes pull a weekend shift but seldom do their rotations coincide as they did last Sunday.
My husband Bill has been having good and bad days this month, thinking about and missing his twin brother who died suddenly on April 2, so our son has been extra considerate, asking if watching Colette at this time is too much of an imposition; we answer without hesitation “Not at all …. in fact, just the opposite!”
Colette is always fun to be with but recently she has been a true blessing and a much-needed distraction …. a tonic, a balm for our sad and broken hearts, a healing magical concoction of love, joy, sunshine and humor blended with a combination of innocent wisdom and an intuitive nature that defies her tender age.
We were looking through some old photo albums with Colette …. snapshots of Bill and his brother as babies, as kids growing up on City Island, our wedding photos …. and even though Colette knew Bill’s brother and saw them together many times, seeing those photos left an impression on her, especially the ones of Bill and Jim when they were babies; it’s true, you know, that when our kids and grandkids are little and they look at us, they only see us as we are and have no idea we were ever any younger than we are right now.
One particularly sweet photo of Bill and Jim brought tears to my husband’s eyes and though he tried to hide his tears, they spilled through his fingers causing Colette to ask why he was so sad and we explained that Uncle Jim was gone, that he had left us to be with God in heaven; she thought for a second, put her little hand on Bill’s and said “Well, that’s ok, Grampy; don’t worry because God will take good care of him and it’s all going to be ok.”
NAR©2024
This is Stevie Wonder with “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life”
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.
KUKLA HUGS
Today Sadje is asking us
“What do you see?“
Using her image along with
Eugi’s word prompt “boundless”
and Fandango’s word prompt “back”,
this is my response.
I stand at the doorway and watch
as she stretches her legs from her car seat
in the back of her daddy’s car,
grunting with that Little Engine That Could determination
until her fur-trimmed black ankle boots finally reach the curb.
With the boundless spirit of a 3 year old,
she runs up the path to our front door,
stops for a second to wave at our North Pole decorations,
and gaily calls out “Grammy! Grampy! It’s your Kukla! I’m here!” ….
my nickname for our youngest granddaughter, Colette.
She flings herself into my arms
and we share a big warm Kukla Hug.
Her hugs are the best and I don’t want to let go.
Eyes smiling, she excitedly tells me
she saw Santa and the elves outside
and asks if we can bake Christmas cookies today.
Every day with her really is
the most wonderful time of the year.
NAR © 2023
This is Pentatonix with “The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year”
Please join us today
for a very special
holiday edition of
“Be Our Guest”.
https://rhythmsection.blog/
COLETTE
This is a little something I wrote for ‘Six Sentence Stories’ on the site GirlieOnThe Edge. We are to write a story of exactly six sentences, this week using the prompt word ‘strike’. Thanks to Denise Farley of GirlieOnTheEdge for coming up with this fun and challenging idea. I hope you enjoy my six sentence story, ‘Colette’.
She is our miracle baby, the light of our lives, the most precious gift anyone could ever hope for.
No matter how miserable I’m feeling with deep-rooted arthritis pain that won’t let go, no matter how tired I am and long to hide myself away and do nothing but write, the moment she smiles at me my pain washes away.
She’s like a lightning bolt, a heavenly strike from the skies that penetrates the top of my head and courses its way down to my toes, spreading joy, happiness and love throughout my body.
She is Colette, our perfect 28-month-old granddaughter, with the face of an angel and the determined heart of a lion.
When I am with her there is no force that can strike me down for she fills me every day with never-ending joy and an ineffable love.
I love you, my sweet baby girl, beyond the moon and the stars and all the galaxies in the universe.
NAR © 2022
FOR COLETTE
She sleeps in her crib.
Perfection of confection.
Life is sweet indeed.
NAR © 2022
SO SHE WENT AND DID IT!
And why not?!
My beautiful granddaughter, just one month from her 13th birthday, discovered the blues and turned into a rock star with a brave new attitude – and I couldn’t love her more for it! Truth be told, she always had confidence and bravado; now she’s just braver and newer with a whole lot more attitude. She is the epitome of cool.
Mckenna made a bold move, something many of us would vacillate over for weeks on end. Why, it takes me forever to decide whether I want fries with that or not! She’s in middle school now – that’s big league! She was ready to take on the challenge. She’s been ready for this change for a while now and Mom at last gave the thumbs up. (Kudos to Mom for holding out as long as she did.)
This kid. My first grandchild. My first baby’s first baby – quite a mind-blowing concept, isn’t it? I’ve said this many times: “You think you can never love anyone or anything more than your children … until you have grandchildren”. Those of you who are grandparents know what I mean; if you’re not, I hope you get to experience that relationship sometime in your life.
Every grandparent thinks their grandchildren are the best things since the potato peeler. I’ve never heard any friend of mine say “My grand kids are real pains in the butt and I wish they’d just leave me the hell alone!” Well, think about the long lonely months just a couple of years ago when we could only see our grandchildren through the front windows of their houses because of a little thing called COVID. We’d make signs proclaiming our love, drop off groceries or birthday presents and blow kisses. Mckenna went through a rough time back then; most kids did. What the children must have been thinking! My daughter-in law is a fantastic pediatric nurse and a great Mom; she had a handle on things and knew how to explain to the kids what was going on but they still worried. Seeing us whenever we could drop by was one thing; not being with us was quite another and kids have huge imaginations. The first time we were allowed to be physically together, Mckenna hugged me for close to ten minutes and wouldn’t let go. And I didn’t want her to let go.
Mckenna will always hold a special place in my heart, not just because she’s my first grandchild but because she’s a fabulous person. When she was an infant her Mom would drop her off at our house so we could babysit. Mom always said “Please don’t let her nap on you; put her in her crib.” I nodded and proceeded to let Mckenna nap on my shoulder, sometimes up to three hours. That was a real bonding experience for me and Mckenna. Don’t tell Mom; that’s our little secret.
Mckenna’s a great student, active in a variety of sports, plays several musical instruments, is in drama club and probably tons of other stuff this aging brain of mine cannot remember. She has lots of friends and loves to read and write stories (Check out her guest posts here on my site; one of her stories got more ‘likes’ in one day than any of mine! That’s my girl!). She loves music, Harry Potter, WWE Wrestling, nail polish, Junior Mints and jewelry but is not beyond getting on the floor with her younger brothers and playing with their huge LEGO collection. You know, all teen girl stuff.
And speaking of her brothers, she loves them, too, but there are those days when all they have to do is breathe a bit too loudly and she turns on them like a she-wolf. You know, all teen girl stuff.
What can I say other than I love this kid – excuse me, this young lady. I hope I can be just like her when I grow up!
NAR © 2022
The Elephant's Trunk 