Dialogue

Day 13 of the WritersBootcamp challenge and the topic is: Dialogue....

According to the online Oxford dictionary dialogue is: A conversation between two or more people as a feature of a book, play or film. Or a discussion between two or more people or groups, especially one directed towards exploration of a particular subject or resolution of a problem. 

These are all great and I am the type of person who loves nothing more than a scintillating conversation with friends but for me the best type of dialogue is the silent one you have with your partner. You know when you can sit beside each other and just know what the other is thinking. Or when you are able to finish each other's thoughts and sentences. Those special moments together when verbal dialogue isn't necessary.

You can tell by his body language what kind of mood he is in or when you just know that tonight its on like a scone, just by his smile, a look or simple body language.

Those are special moments, with a whole lot of inner dialogue that only you two 'get' and you can have a meaningful conversation without saying anything at all.

What makes me laugh more than anything else is...

Day 12 of WritersBootamp, topic: What makes me laugh more than anything else is....

This was an easy one for me as I work with children, they are life's little jesters. I could write a book just based on the things I have heard preschool kids say. They have no off button and speak uncensored about whatever pops into their little heads. They keep me entertained day in and day out and there is never a dull moment in my classroom. So to answer this question in one word; What makes me laugh more than anything else is: children.

But this got me thinking, besides my teaching job, outside of school, where else do I find laughter?

My fiance has quite a wicked sense of humour, its one of the things that drew me to him and he makes me laugh on a regular basis. I think it is very important in a relationship, to make your partner laugh and to 'get' one another's humour.

My taste in comedy and sitcoms has changed over the years and as I grow older I realise that the new type of slapstick comedy that is quite prevalent these days is not for me. I hear many of my friends raving about, Big bang theory and modern family to name a few, but whenever I try watching these programmes I don't really have the same reaction. I may find one or two things mildly amusing but nothing that makes me belly laugh. You know, when you laugh so hard you literally have a tummy ache.

Maybe I'm just getting old but the only television sitcom that ever did that (and still does to this day) is the TV series Friends. Now there is a sitcom that I can honestly say makes me LOL (laugh out loud) literally.

1 Food and 1 drink for the rest of my life @WritersBootcmp

Day 11 WritersBootcamp challenge Topic: 1 Food and 1 drink for the rest of my life....

Hmmmm this is not a topic I have a lot of experience in as I am not the chef in our household. I hate cooking and really could not be bothered if I had a toasted cheese sandwich for supper, but here goes....

Also I couldn't pick just one!

Food:

Things I can cook really well: Nachos, macaroni and cheese, roast chicken and veggies.

Things I don't like to eat: Liver, kidneys, sushi, oysters and lasagne. (my foodie friends have just unfollowed me on twitter).

Things I do love:

Pecan nut pie....preferably warm with cream. Yummy!!!

All kinds of deserts and tarts.

Mutton curry

Stew

Drink:

When I am really thirsty: Water, always

To celebrate, have a party or just go out and have fun: Champagne and cocktails

To numb the hurt or when I have had a bad day: Wine

The best advice I have ever received. Day 10 @Writersbootcmp

Topic for day 10: The best advice I have ever received.....WritersBootcamp challenge:

Coming from a big family where I was always the youngest (I grew up with my aunts and uncles as if they were siblings). I have been given a lot of advice over the years, however two gems that really stood out for me came from the most unlikely sources.

1. My mom once told me that whenever someone loses a loved one, everyone will surround them with condolences and support. Even old friends you have not seen for years will come out of the woodwork to support you in your time of need until the funeral. A few close family members and friends will stick around in the long run but most often after the funeral, life goes on and everyone gets back to their own lives. That is when you need to be a good friend, when everyone else has moved on, that's when they will need you.

I found this to be so true and the reason it's an unlikely source is because my mom and I have never been close. (but that's a story for another blog)

2  While contemplating leaving my husband of 22 yrs a twitter friend named Sally told me to "Just take the plunge and jump!'' she said I wouldn't regret it and you know what, I don't!!! Thank you Sally for helping me to be brave.

Another unlikely source as this was someone I hardly knew, sure we had met a few times and spoken online, but I had only known her for a short period of time. She had been through a similar experience to me and we could relate to each other. I am no longer afraid of the future and making big life changes, because every so often they are the right ones to make and everything does work out in the end.

This is me and Sally on her wedding day in 2013

Pining........day 9 @Writersbootcmp

Pining......

7 am:

Sitting at the door looking out through the peephole.

My hind legs are aching, I can't hold this position for much longer.

I Jump onto the couch to get a better view out of the window..... nope, still no one there.

How long has it been? when is he coming back?

Why does his wife not seem to care? She has been asleep for hours.

I think I'll go wake her up, after all it must be breakfast time already.

11 am:

This window is boring, let me try jumping onto the table to get a better look.

Nope, the garden is still just as empty as before.

When is he coming home? it feels like years! maybe even decades.

I am sad, I feel abandoned. My heart is aching.

13:00

Yay the front door is open,maybe he's out there, in the garden.  Run, run, run like the wind.

Dammit the front gate is closed and still he has not returned.

May as well run around the garden and get some exercise while I'm here.

Oh look a cat........

15:00

Tired now....need a nap.....

16:00

I'm up. I'm up...is he home? where is he? oh that's just the post man. How disappointing.

May as well give him a little scare...

When is is he coming home? Is he coming back? 

17:00

Ooh what's that shiny thing on the floor there? is it a ball?....

Nope it's just a spoon.

When is he coming home? Why has he left me? Did I do something wrong?

WHY WHY WHY *whimper*

17:30

He's home!!!!!!! He's Home!!!!!!!! oh thank goodness, I was so worried. I thought you were gone forever.

Don't ever leave me again.

The  mind of your dog when you go to work.

Pet hate.....

Topic for day 8 : A love letter to my pet hate: ( an untidy house)

Dear neat and tidy house,

I love you, you make me feel secure and happy. I love how pretty everything looks when they are in their proper place. You give me a sense of control and stability when I feel like everything else in my life is spiralling out of control. You help me feel like I have control and everything is going to be okay. I feel like I cannot break up with you, for then my life would surely descend into utter chaos.

But for the sake of my family's sanity I think we should take a break. Like Rachel and Ross did on Friends.

Just while the children and grandchildren are visiting. After all what kind of life doesn't have a little chaos every now and then? I don't always have to be in control, I need to learn to be a bit more flexible and just learn to enjoy being around you, no matter what your condition. I think it will be good for you too, you will get to hear the laughter of children as they play and run around the house with not a care in the world. You will be filled with pride knowing that people are coming to us for our company and not because of the way we look.

After all, when it's just you and me and everyone else is gone, we can rekindle our moment of neatness and everything will be as it were. Come on, lets shake it up a little!!!!

Sincerely yours

Karen

PS: *throws cushions in the air, like I just don't care* ( I will put them back tomorrow.)

that's better

Art....Topic for day 7: Inspired by art (or an artwork or an artist) @Writersbootcmp

Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh

Art, Artist, Artistic, Art form, Artwork, Arty.....what is it? Is it a painting by a famous artist? A sketch so real it looks like a photograph or a stick figure drawing of you that your son brought home from preschool? The one you proudly display on your fridge even though you only have one eye and three fingers. Is it a song that makes you want to get up and dance or a ballad that makes you cry as you feel the songwriters heartache in every lyric. Is it a movie? you know the kind they show at cinema nouveau, usually long and drawn out with lots of sex in it. Is it a sculpture so anatomically correct that it looks like they dipped a body in clay? Can you eat it? I'm sure there are world renowned chefs who will tell you that the little offering on your dinner plate is their masterpiece. A book so engrossing that it reaches the number 1 bestseller list and the author now has a movie deal?

I have no idea what art is, I certainly won't be applying for a job as an art critic in my lifetime. You see I like symmetry and things to be neat and tidy, that's just the way I am. If you tell me that abstract art is truly something to behold, I would disagree and yet there is Picasso. Boy bands formed in a music producers studio are not artists in my opinion. They have their songs written for them. A manager tells them how to act and look. A wardrobe assistant tells them how to dress and a choreographer tells them how to dance. So who, then is the true artist here? And yet millions of screaming teenage fans (and some of their moms) would disagree with me.

I surely can't tell you what art is but I can tell you what it's not. It's not something mass produced cheaply and regurgitated year after year. It is unique to the artist, a sound, look or feel that is distinctly theirs.

What is art? It is anything that has the ability to evoke emotion.

The most beautiful piece of music ever composed.....