Rest Areas
“Hey, did you see the fancy new rest area they put out on the Interstate?”
“Love it, all that green grass and actual parking spaces.”
“And toilets that actually flush and won’t give you slivers.”
Monkey Man hosts the 160 Character Challenge. See what you can write in 160 characters or less, spaces included.
Fingers Are Digits Too
Jill: I’m glad you like the new digital camera, but how many pictures of me do you plan to take?
Today’s theme is Digital
Previously in Jack and Jill:
Be sure to visit the home page.
Suzie’s House 211: That’s My Dirty Dish!
Right after dinner, Ben carried the serving dishes into the kitchen and started washing.
“Mom? How many points did you say doing dishes is worth?”
“Five, but you have to do the hand wash too.” She came in with the dish of macaroni and tuna.
“Ok.” He could do hand wash. He thought. He’d always had help before, but he knew the basics. He opened the dishwasher to find it half full of dirties and started the water running to scrape, then turned to take a stack of plates from Vin.
“Hey!” Gene stood in the doorway, the bowl of string beans in his hand. “That’s MY job!”
55 – Communicator
Standing on the shore, looking out across the Atlantic, Marybeth put the shell to her ear. If Ted put the same kind of shell to his own ear, would they hear the same thing? Would it make them any closer? She had to try.
Not as good as a cell phone, but better than nothing.
The challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to write a story in exactly 55 words. Flash Fiction 55 is hosted by the G-man, a host with the most.
13 Steps in Buying a House.
1. Figure out whether or not you can afford to buy a house, and if so, what kind. A quick and dirty method is to compare how much you are likely to have to pay in mortgage, property tax, and homeowner’s insurance with how much you are paying in rent right now. If they come out close, and you don’t intend to move in the next ten years, it’s a no-brainer. Buy a house. You can get most of this info from places like Zillow.com.
2. Look over the houses available in the area you wish to live. You don’t have to commit yourself to working with an agent in order to do this. Most places will have something online that will list homes with details such as number of bedrooms and bathrooms, price, etc. They often show one or more pictures. For an example: http://www.realtor.com., www.zillow.com, and www.century21.com. Also google your local newspaper’s name to see if they have something online.
3. Shop for a mortgage. Bankers tend to act like you can only talk to one, but you can get them to run basic numbers, like how much of a mortgage you can afford, without a commitment or paying anything. Just don’t let them pull your credit reports or anything before you’re ready to commit because you could end up paying them for it, and keep in mind that the federal government has taken over the mortgage lending field in a big way. There isn’t that much variety in the loans offered.
Fwd: Cowboy Boots
Another one from the mail bag:
A Lady went into a bar in Montana and saw a cowboy with his feet propped up on a table. He had the biggest boots she’d ever seen.
> The woman asked the cowboy if it’s true what they say about men with big feet being well endowed.
> The cowboy grinned and said, ‘Shore is, little lady. Why don’t you come on out to the bunkhouse and let me prove it to you?’
> The woman wanted to find out for herself, so she spent the night with him. The next morning she handed him a $100 bill.
> Blushing, he said, ‘Well, thankya, ma’am. Ah’m real flattered. Ain’t nobody ever paid me fer mah services before.’
> ‘Don’t be flattered… take the money and buy yourself some boots that fit…’
Win a Copy of Before the Scandal by Suzanne Enoch
From the cover:
It was a scandal waiting to happen…
Colonel Phineas Bromley is a legend — on the battle field and in the bedroom. Though he’s won many wars, and even more hearts, nothing could prepare him for his new life. When Phin discovers that someone has been pushing his family toward ruin, he assumes the role of a legendary highwayman. Riding out in the middle of the night, hidden behind a mask, Phin heads straight into trouble… and into the arms of the ravishing girl next door.
Coming face-to-face with a masked man did not frighten Alyse donnelly as it should have. Instead she finds him rather dashing. But her foolish heart has led her into trouble before, and helping a fugitive may mean jeopardizing her onw plans, no matter how enticing his kisses. Now , as the danger grows, Alyse must make a choice between freedom… and the chance for a true love.
You can see teasers on this one here, here, and tomorrow.
Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win. Contest ends Thursday midnight. I’ll post the winner in my sidebar on Friday.
160 – Sleep
Random:
Sleep.
Drifts away like cotton balls in a strong breeze
soft and inviting
fleeting
bouncing away just as I reach for it.
Monkey Man hosts the 160 Character Challenge. See what you can write in 160 characters or less, spaces included.
A Deal
Jack: So… here’s the deal. You don’t pee on me anymore and I won’t kick you out. Agreed?
Tonic: Woof!
Jack: Good. Then we’re all square.
Jill: Now that you two aren’t squaring off anymore, I’ll go fix you both a square meal. I’ll bet you were getting hungry.
Jack: That’s for sure. It’s been days since you’ve fed either one of us.
Today’s theme is Square
Previously in Jack and Jill:
Be sure to visit the home page.
Suzie’s House 210 : First Step of a Block
Ben sat down in front of his mother’s computer. He pressed the power button and waited while the computer busied itself with coming to life – a combination of flashing lights and sound.
55 – The Knight Errant
Totally random picture:
One day the knight rode out to kill a dragon.
“Not another one,” the dragon groaned.
“Another? My, there are a lot of bones. I do believe that charred lump is wearing Sir Roderick’s boot.”
“Afraid?”
“Of course!”
“Then go away. I’m sleepy.”
“Ok.” and he tip-toed away.
The challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to write a story in exactly 55 words. Flash Fiction 55 is hosted by the G-man, a host with the most.
13 Sketches
The Girl wants to be a mangaka – that’s someone who draws graphic novels. She’s been working on her craft. These, along with most of my buttons, were drawn by her.
Beasties
Last Summer we were camping out when we ran across this thing:
Both The Girl and The Boy immediately started offering their ideas of what it was.
The Girl thought it might be the chrysalis of a butterfly until she noticed the legs, at which point she said “Ewww” and found an excuse to be as far from it as she could get, only to wander back and look at it again a minute later.
The Boy shrugged and started to say it was some bug, then stopped himself and started talking about pod people and alien invaders and was working up a real head of steam when Mr. Al saw it.
“Cicada.” Mr. Al said, then corrected himself. “Cicada skin.”
The two of us muttered about molting and the funny sound they make and how perfectly intact the thing is. Then The Girl found this:
Yep, a cicada. While The Girl and The Boy both said they didn’t think they were the same thing at all, I think it might actually have been the very same cicada.
What do you think?
