WordPress Prompt for February 5, 2023

Something on your “to-do list” that never gets done.

There are many things on my to-do list that never get done. For the sake of brevity, I will mention just one of them in this blog post.

As some of you already know, I make art and do other creative projects. The art I make these days is strictly digital. However, over the past six months, I have bought a lot of art supplies so that I can make some traditional art. I used to make traditional art when I was younger. My problem now is that I can’t seem to get started making it. I keep making things digitally.

I want to use oil and chalk pastels, and make watercolor paintings. I want to draw with alcohol markers, pencils, pens, and fine-liners. I want to use my PrismaColor colored pencils, especially, because I bought the biggest set. I want to use my special art paper to draw and paint on. There is so much I want to do, but I don’t get it done.

I made this fractal on January 30, 2023.

WordPress Prompt for February 4, 2023

What’s your favorite thing to cook?

This may come as a bad surprise for many people, but I don’t cook. I simply don’t enjoy cooking. I do sometimes throw frozen food in the microwave, though, if that can be considered cooking.

When I was growing up, my mom did all the cooking. She cooked everything until the day I left home when I was 19. I moved in with my boyfriend, and he did all the cooking until our divorce in 2010. My next boyfriend did the cooking, again. Then, when I met my second husband in 2015, he did all the cooking. He still does it.

I have tried cooking before and I’ve made some delicious meals. My husband John was very impressed and enjoyed the food I made. However, I am not interested in cooking, and I do not find it to be fun or enjoyable in any way, other than the process of eating the food afterward.

John is 31 years older than I, so if I outlive him, I will have no choice but to cook my own meals. I am not looking forward to that. But, I can’t live off microwave food forever.

I made this fractal on January 28th, 2023.

Revival – A Two-Verse Dreamku

i was a wizard
who had a spell-working wand
in last night’s grim dream

i stepped on a toad
and waved my magic baton –
it came back to life

This is based on one of the dreams I had on July 23.  In the dream, I was a wizard with a magic wand.  I carried the wand on my back.  I accidentally stepped on a toad and killed it.  When I felt it, I lifted up my shoe to see the dead toad stuck to the bottom of it.  I felt terrible and very saddened and sickened by what had happened.  I pulled out my magic wand and moved it in circles above the toad while repeating, “Come back to life!” over and over again.  The toad returned to life once more.  I felt glad.

©2022 Stacey Guenther
All Rights Reserved

Frightened By Fireworks – A Flash Memoir

Photo by Dynamic Wang on Unsplash

When I was a child, my mother and father would take my younger sister and me to see fireworks for the Fourth of July celebrations.  I was not too fond of the loud noises because they startled me.  So, I would always cover my ears with my hands to avoid the terrible sounds.  The pyrotechnics were pleasant to observe visually, nevertheless.

These days, as an adult, I avoid fireworks whenever I can.  To this day, when an unexpected bang is heard in the house as neighbors light fireworks, I jump in my seat.  But, I still try to shield my ears.  I’m just like the many pets that feel anxiety because of fireworks.

Luckily, I live in a condo, and the homeowners’ association has banned fireworks in the neighborhood.  However, in surrounding blocks, some people light them, so I am not free from them entirely.  The good news is that our two kitties do not seem to be bothered by them.

Fireworks are unavoidable.  They happen every year and sometimes without warning.  Occasionally, randomly they will occur throughout the year as people use their leftovers.  It never fails that I get startled, especially when the fireworks are unexpected.  I would be better off without fireworks, and I’m sure many furry or feathered creatures would agree with me.

© Stacey Guenther  July 2, 2022

Written for https://flashfictionforthepracticalpractitioner.wordpress.com/2022/06/29/flash-fiction-for-the-purposeful-practitioner-2022-week-27/