The winners for the fourth Carrot Ranch Flash Fiction Rodeo contest are announced!
Winner of Flash Fiction Contest #4
28 Nov 2017 8 Comments
in #CarrotRanch, Challenges, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: #FFRodeo, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Carrot Ranch, Winners
Well, How The Flibbertygibbets Did That Happen?! #MondayBlogs
27 Nov 2017 75 Comments
in Children, Family, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Christmas, father christmas, November
I am seriously in a state of shock this morning!

Is it really the last Monday of November?
Meaning that the next one is in DECEMBER?
Which means Christmas is kinda just around the corner?
And I have hardly anything ready for that day???
AND…
We only have one month left of the year?!?
Three and a half weeks left of school, so there will be a lot of squeezing Christmassy things in, alongside the usual learning. One week is practically blocked out for Christmas performances – There are four different ones, and each has two slots. The half week at the end is filled with panto visits and class Christmas parties!
So, that’s just TWO weeks of real learning time left, within which I also have a formal observation to fit in, AND I have to, along with my Eco Council partner, arrange a Toy Swap sale for the kids, AND not forgetting another Governors meeting to finish the term off!
EEK!!!!
And while I’m on the subject, of How the Flibbertygibbets Did That Happen?… Since when did my nine-year-old decide she no longer believes in Father Christmas?!
I hoped to have at least one more year of the letters to Santa, and the PNP videos to show her, before the reality that Father Christmas is really mummy and daddy sinks in!
Instead, the last couple of months have been littered with ‘present opportunities’ where she has shown us what she wants us to buy her for Christmas, because she just, you know, knows it’s us who buys the stuff, not the Big Fat Fella in Red!
I am not ready for this!
I still kinda believe in the magic of Saint Nick!
Okay… let me get my shocked-self ready for school now, but really….
HOW THE FLIBBERTYGIBBETS DID THAT HAPPEN?????
Spidey’s Serene Sunday – Part 145
26 Nov 2017 26 Comments
in Spidey's Serene Sundays, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Kindness, Motivational, Quote, Serene, Spiderman, Spidey, Spidey's Serene Sunday

“We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone.” – Ronald Reagan
What a beautiful thought!
Thank you, Spidey for channelling Mr Reagan today!
There are so many problems in this world and though many of us can offer solutions in conversation, we know that our words alone can’t make the changes.
So what if as your average citizen of the world, we can’t solve world poverty, or stop wars happening in other countries?
We can still do something.
There is always someone on your doorstep who needs help, who would show gratitude for any assistance, be it a lift for your elderly neighbour, or a meal for a homeless person. You may be able to donate something to a family in need, or even donate your time to volunteer in a shelter or old folks home… See, it doesn’t always have to be financial help…
Rest assured that however small you think your contribution is, it would mean the world to the one receiving it.
Acts of kindness don’t have to be publicised either. It is great that there are these campaigns about Random Acts of Kindness, but why do them just so you get some recognition?
Help someone because you genuinely want to.
Make it a part of your everyday life, so it becomes second nature.
Have a Serene Sunday Peeps!
#SoCS Nov. 25/17 – Ink 🖋✒
25 Nov 2017 39 Comments
in #SoCS, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: #StreamofConsciousnessSaturday, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Fountain Pens, Handwriting, Ink, Ink Pens, writing
Linda’s prompt for SoCS this week…
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “ink.” Use it as a noun or a verb. Have fun!
It’s quite funny actually that this was the prompt for today, considering I wrote about using a fountain pen, or an ink pen, to improve my writing in my post on Cursive Writing the other day!
I have always loved a proper fountain pen, ever since I was given the go-ahead at school to graduate from pencil to the handwriting pens, then onto a proper ink pen!
I loved my first Parker pens and went from the plastic variety to the more posh metal ones. From Parker, we moved onto Waterman pens. And until the necessity of speed in writing, and the more common use of keyboards took over, I took great pride in writing with my fountain pen!
I used the simple cartridges mainly, but I even went through the stage of refilling my pen using the traditional bottles of ink… in the classroom!
Oh, the messes we made! Ink splodges decorating not only our fingers and pages, but even the desks we worked upon, and sometimes we were unaware of the dreaded smudge across our faces!
But boy, did I feel grown up with my fountain pen!
I was so excited for Lil Man when he was given his Pen Licence at school (yes they had official documents to say kids were ready to use a pen rather than pencil a few years ago in school!) He drove us crazy trying to find the right pen!
Then, as he grasped the technique, so I learned how fountain pens, and their ink, were probably the bane of my mother’s life. Thank goodness for washable ink! The splodges that I had coveted, on what I call my Writer’s Lump, on my right-hand middle finger, my callus developed from excessive handling of pens, were not as welcome when they were gracing the fingers of my own child!
He prefers a rollerball now. (Thank God!)
But still, I do love a good ink pen!
Nowadays, in my fast-paced life, it’s not as often as I like, that I sit and craft letters on a page, creating a thing of beauty, rather, a rushed scrawl which I often have trouble deciphering myself!!!! So, excuse me if I am a little rusty, but here is an example of my handwriting! It’s still not as great as I can usually do it, but it’s better than when I use a biro!

My most recent pen acquisition!
Happy Saturday Peeps!












