STORY CUBE CHALLENGE #8 – ACTIONS 2 – JORGA AND ME

My best friend is Jorga, a tall black beauty with dark sparkling eyes and just a bit of tawny surrounding her snout and jowls.  We agree on everything.  At first glance, she appears to be very serious, but one look at her flopped over ears and you will see she is just a silly willy forever trying to herd squirrels.  Me, I’m small, mostly white with a few brown spots and long brown ears.  My hair is longer than Jorga’s.  I’m the serious one, all business when it comes to chasing birds.  I haven’t yet caught one, but boy when I do watch out.  I mostly practice with balls, but I’m very good at spotting and retrieving sticks big as logs.

Jorga’s Dad and my Mom are best friends too. Sometimes they bring us to the park and walk together holding hands while Jorga and I play, steal each other’s toys and chase our tails. Once in a while, they will ask us to speak to them and when we say nice things we get delicious treats.

We weren’t so rewarded last week when the siren music was playing outside. Jorga and I sang along in perfect harmony, however, in our excitement we got carried away, started roughhousing and knocked over a vase.  Voices were raised and fingers were shaken.  Both of us tucked our tails, ran and hid under the bed.  We were in even more trouble when my Mom stepped on a piece of the broken vase leaving the scent of blood all over the entranceway.  Jorga’s Dad wrapped up my Mom’s Owie and carried her to the couch for a rest then wiped away the scent of blood.

We stayed hidden under the bed, snuggled together having a nice sleep until it was time for dinner. I am happy Jorga is my best friend; she makes a nice warm place for me to rest my head and doesn’t eat all the food in my dish.

Cheryle  April 29, 2018

Check out more submissions at  A ‘lil Hoohaa Story Cube Challenge

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RECENT AWARDS

I would like to thank Aquileana, Julia and Rameesha for nominating me for several blogger awards:  The Premio Dardos Award, The Leibster Award and the Versatile Blogger Award.

I encourage you to pop in to each of these blogs and see what they have to offer.

Aquileana has an amazing history and mythology blog where I am learning so many interesting things.

Julia’s Red Page blog is a quirky collection of fashion, recipes, movie reviews, poetry and photography.  All excellently crafted to tantalize my visual and intellectual taste buds.

Rameesha has created a blog that is both beautiful and filled with thoughtful inspirational insight.

The criteria for the awards include posting the Award Logo on your page, link to your nominator, answer the questions pose, nominate other bloggers and create your own questions for your nominees to answer.

I am humbled and so happy to be nominated.  I appreciate their support and the encouragement the nominations represent.  However, I no longer accept awards as I have difficulty nominating others.  Not that I cannot find bloggers who are deserving, but because I agonize over picking one over another.  I have difficulty making decisions.  I will respond to the questions asked as part of the award, but decline the nomination process.

All of the bloggers I follow are wonderful and are deserving of awards, each for their own unique approach to life and style.    If you wish to be nominated for one of these awards, please let me know. It would make be happy to nominate your blog.

Julia from  https://myredpage.wordpress.com/2015/05/12/premio-dardos-award/

Rameesha at   https://rameeesha.wordpress.com/2015/05/10/yay-second-nomination/

Aquileana at        https://aquileana.wordpress.com/

Here are two sets of questions posed by my nominators.

1. Why do you blog?

I began blogging in January of this year (2015) in an attempt to give my day some structure, provide me with prompts and topics, a writing community and an opportunity to work on my discipline.

2. What do you blog about?

I am an introvert, not one to blog about my daily activities.  I do blog about meditation in The Meditation Cushion.  Other than the prompts I enjoy writing poetry, posting photos and am still looking for my voice.

3. What is your craziest passion?

I am addicted to chocolate. I’m not sure it can be called a passion, but I am passionate about it.  I can’t help it.  I can’t keep it in the house.  It’s crazy I know but that is the way it is.

4. What inspired you into writing?

I began writing when I was a young girl, Poetry commemorating the death of my Great Grandfather is the first time I can recall writing, other than for school projects.

5. What do you like to read in other blogs?

Inspirational topics, travel, other cultures, history, slices of life, poetry, photography and art.

6. What is your favorite book and how did it change you?

I love Anne of Green Gables and all the sequels.  It opened my eyes to the possibilities of female equality,  feminism and of being independent in a time when women weren’t thought of as being capable of leading their own lives.

7. What is your favorite quote?

Everything happens for a reason.  Not easy to accept sometimes, but in the end with hindsight it proves to be true.

8. What do you love about writing?

The words, the language, the putting down on paper my ideas and thoughts, the beauty of how words can be visually stimulating.

9. What are you most likely to think when you look up at the blue sky?

Wide open spaces, freedom.

10. How do you define happiness?

As a meditator happiness is a stabilized mind, where I don’t experience extreme highs and lows of emotions.  Helping others always makes me happy in my heart, always has always will.

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1.What is the thing you think about the moment you wake up?

My dreams and my day

2. What is satisfaction to you?

Getting to the point in a project when I know it is done.  There is no more to add or subtract, maybe just a little editing.

3. What is your surmise on sacrifice?

Sacrifice is essential for growth.  It is not always possible to take the step which sacrifices something you cherish, a belief, a relationship, the status quo in order to move forward to the unknown.

4. Where is the line between insanity and creativity?

I believe that depends on who is defining it.  Many people think creative people are insane, they live their lives so differently than the norm.  A person can be insane and not creative and visa versa.  Insanity is a destructive, negative force or mind set.  Creativity is born of creation and hope.

5. What defines you?

My soul, which represents all of my experiences from the beginning of existence until the present and the future.

6. If you had to teach someone one thing, what would you teach?

To meditate.  It helps people become compassionate and loving.  There is no room for hate and intolerance when meditating.

7. When you think of your home, what immediately comes to mind?

Sleeping in my own bed all comfy and cozy

8. What is infinity?

The illusion of time

9. If you dropped everything to pursue your dreams, what would you be risking?

Everything that represents stability, family, status quo, possibly sanity.

10. If you spend a day watching movies when you should be working a day wasted or well spent?

Well spent if I enjoyed the movies. I can always use them for inspiration.

Blogging 101 – Liebster Award

Thank you Sarah Best  http://sarahbesty.com/about/    for nominating me for the Liebster Award.  I appreciate your support and generosity for thinking of me.

Pop over to Sarah’s  site and check out her thoughts on contemporary issues.  She is a teacher, a writer and a life long learner.  Her blog reflects her passions about life and blogging.

I have agreed to answer the questions, but opted to not nominate others. I apologize if this annoys anyone.  Many of the blogs I follow do not accept awards, and I do not wish to inundate those who do with multiple requests or be a blog pest.    All of the blogs who I follow are wonderful and are deserving, each for their own unique approach to life.    If you wish to be nominated for this or another award, please let me know. I would be happy to nominate your blog.

I answered both sets of questions, the questions Sarah answered plus the questions she posed as part of the nomination.

The questions Sarah answered

1. How do you make time to blog?   I started blogging as a way to create a schedule for myself and to learn some discipline.  I try to begin my morning with at least on blogging activity.  Responding to comments or writing a post. I’m not always successful.
2. Do you have a blogging schedule or write when the mood takes you?  I do both.
3. Were your schools the best of days of your life?  No.  I felt like an outcast, oddball, different from everyone else.  We move around every few years.  I didn’t have the set of close friends who were always there, who knew me, who I knew well, who I could trust and rely on.
4. If your house was on fire, what is the possession you’d grab as you ran out of the door?  Oh my!.  Do I say my toy box, full of my writing and art supplies or my camera bag, full of my cameras and accessories?  Maybe I will start storing my camera bag in my toy box.
5. If someone offered you a seat on Richard Branson’s first space flight for fare paying passengers, would you go?   I have no interest in going into space, even for photographs or creative inspiration.
6. What city would you recommend others to visit?  Calgary.  It is a diverse city, which offers many indoor, outdoor, historical or cultural activities or events.  The city is close to the mountains and not far from the badlands.  The weather is usually great, sunny or not.
7. What is your signature dish?   Dessert – My mom’s Lemon Squares.
8. What genre of books are you most likely to choose?  The books I read usually depend on my mood, what I am doing at the time or where I am shopping. I will purchase Fantasy if I am looking for something to read and disappear.  When I am learning something new, I will pick up a book that is activity specific , ie meditation, spiritual healing, or craft related.  Finally if I am just browsing at a used book store, reference books always catch my eyes, – writing, photography, cooking, language, or any of the above.
9. Best film from your childhood?   I wouldn’t say these are the best films, but I have two that have stayed with me over the years.  I do not know their titles or the whole story anymore, but I do remember the feeling I had while watching them.   One was an animated movie that I believe is based on an Asian folktale. I was intrigued by the female character, her animal friends and of course the male prince who won her heart.  The 2nd movie is a western in which the heroine sets out to right some wrong, is captured by the bad guys and threatened with being thrown down a steep cliff into the Devils Canyon if she doesn’t comply.  Of course the American paradigm comes into play and a tall dark cowboy saves her.
10. How fare back can you trace your family history?  On my mothers’ side I can trace two lineages.  One lineage goes as far back as 1765 in Switzerland.  The other lineage reaches back to 1815 in  Carlow Ireland.

The questions Sarah posed as part of the nomination.

1. If you could give your 10 year old self one piece of advice, what would it be?  Develop a love for exercise such as running or walking.  Not just playing outside.  At some point you will stop playing outside and will need to maintain a regimen of daily physical exercise.
2. What was your favourite TV show when you were growing up?  I loved watching “A Family Affair”. It a series that ran from 1966 to 1971.  A story about three children who went to go live with their handsome Uncle Bill who was played by Brian Keith.   At first I was a little confused because Mrs. Beasley, Buffy’s doll, was identical to my invisible friend, Mrs. Beasley, who visited me when I lived in Germany.  She departed abruptly, leaving Mrs. Hamilton in her place.  I never bonded with Mrs. Hamilton and missed Mrs. Beasley immensely.  In my child’s mind Mrs. Beasley left me to become Buffy’s friend, my first experience with jealousy.
3. If given the chance/opportunity, would you make blogging and writing a full-time career?  This is not why I started blogging, but yes I would.
4. One flaw about yourself?  I avoid conflict to the point I can create more problems for myself and most likely to those around me.
5. Are you a generous person with your time?  I believe so.  I do a lot of volunteering.
6. Your favourite genre of music?  Only one    Rock and all of its’ sub genres.
7. Cheese or chocolate?   Chocolate
8. Your favourite board game?  Monopoly
9. Do you have a nickname?  Not anymore
10. Do you like scary films?   Yes, those starring: Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee, and those directed by Alfred Hitchcock or Roger Corman.