Finders Keepers, Part II

Congrats to Mrs. Jenny for her Saturday Centus Centennial celebration - 100 weeks of fun. For this week's prompt, she returned to the very same one she used on her inaugural posting. It's in red below. 

My entry, a fictional piece, picks up where I left off a couple Saturday's ago with a story of a woman whose ill fortune seemed to be changing for the better. This week, the story continues, but in her own words. To read my original post, click HERE. For my post for this week... read on...

I removed the new boots and set them carefully in the closet, tossed the old tired dress on the chair and changed into running clothes. Glancing once more at the precious pearls still on my ears, I quickly laced my shoes and dashed out the door. 

The annoying slap slap of a poorly tied shoelace forbade me to ignore it, finally interrupting my run only a short distance up the trail.

My untied shoelace changed my life. As I leaned down to re-tie it, I kicked away a few leaves. When I turned my head slightly to look where the leaves had been, I was astonished to see a rubber-banded wad of hundred dollar bills nestled in a little indention in the muddy ground. 

I felt the smile forming. First the boots, then the pearls. Now this. Things were finally about to change. No. Not true. Things actually had changed.

Be sure to stop by Mrs. Jenny's to see what the other Centusians did with that wad of $100s. Happy Anniversary, Mrs. Jenny. Thanks for keeping us busy for so many Saturdays.

Exquisite Clouds

The clouds over the mountains are simply exquisite. Ever changing. Full bodied and rich with texture. Honestly, I never get tired of them (so long as they are backed by blue sky).

Oh, and this guy...he's pretty easy on the eyes, too. I love him.

I Snuck Over and Squoze My Scottie

Since neither snuck nor squoze are anywhere to be found in the dictionary, that leaves me with Scottie to stimulate your senses for Alphabe-Thursday where we’re spotlighting the slippery letter S this week.

The Skinny on Sweet Sublime Sassy Scotties. 

Soft. 

Scrappy.

Sensitive.

Strong.

Short-statured.

Smart.

Sound.

Solid.

Sturdy.

Splendid.

Special.

Silly.

Spunky.

Studly.

Surprising.

Stupendous.

Spontaneous.

Seldom Salivating, Simply Slobber-free.

Scandalously Snoopy Spelunkers.

Sometimes Seriously Schizo Scamps.

Squeezable.

Squirmy.

Stylish.

Scarcely Sedentary.

Sociable.

Stoic.

Showing Superb Stamina.

Spry.

Spirited.

Springy.

Salty.

Saucy.

Shenanigan-seekers.

Stubby. 

Seemingly Sawed-off. 

Sure-footed. 

Stretched-out Sleepers.

Spectacular. 

Speedy.

Shedless.

Striking.

Somewhat Spoiled (Supposed to be).

Sometimes Scruffy, Stickery, Stinky, Smelly and Snowball-Stuck unless Scrubbed Shiny with Shampoo and Shorn with Scissors. 

AND always always always sweet and sassy!

So, are you sold on such sensational Scotties?

Click here to see what scintillating stuff the other Alphabetarians are stirring up over at Mrs. Jenny's spot. Maybe you'll find a sesquipedalian showing off some superiority with special skills. 

Blue Eyes, Crazy Skies, and a Tree

Blue eyes.

Crazy skies. 

And a tree.

Trees for Tuesday

The Constants in My Life

Weather is a constant. Yes, I know. That sounds crazy. After all, who is always getting the blame for being wrong? Yes, the weatherman.

But weather is a constant. One thing you know for sure. Weather. Every day you will get some. Whether you like it or not. Whether the weather is what you expect or not.

Yesterday we had spring, almost summer-like weather. We sat outside and sunned ourselves...in shorts.

This morning. It's snowing again.

Yes. Weather. One of life's most inconsistent constants.

I Need My Sundays

Sunday is my day to unwind and recharge, both physically and spiritually. I need both. A Sunday that is relaxing and spiritually uplifting helps to make even the most hectic week that follows seem to go better. 

Sundays that are frenetic or lack spiritual quality....well... the days that follow are more likely to feel like a tangle of driftwood.

Hope your Sunday was relaxed and peaceful.

I Just Couldn't Resist

Who do they think they are? They can’t just leave me in here. I hear their voices. I don’t know what they’re saying but I can hear them laughing. They better not be laughing at me. This is not funny. I don’t want to be in here. Not when they’re out there, having a good time.

I’ll show them. Just watch me. Hmm, let me think.

I can do this. OK, here we go.

One-two-three…

Ohh, I almost made it. Just a tiny bit higher.

OK, one more time.

Up, over and outta here.

I’m living the dream, man! See ya!

(video courtesy of my hubs)

It's Saturday Centus time. I already posted this week, and normally I wouldn't post twice. But sweet Albert, our little escape artist, gave me this little gift I just had to use. Seriously, I'm living the Saturday Centus dream. It was worth finding another 100 words. Have a great day and be sure to escape on over to Mrs. Jenny's and see what the other Centusians have dreamed up by clicking here.

The Thing About Dreams

She danced on tiptoe the whole way home. Years of nightmares wiped away in an instant.

Donald was surely the man of her dreams. Handsome. Strong. Kind. Devoted to family. Well-worn photos he carried showed his longing for home.

She had pinched herself. I'm living the dream, man meets woman. Man and woman live happily ever after. In America.

The few months seemed like a lifetime. Walking. Laughing. Dreaming. Spending precious time together.

But today, today the dream ended. She had searched for him. Gone. Without warning. Without notice. His company had shipped out that morning. To America. Without her.

It's been a long week. If you've been following along, you know that we buried my hub's Uncle Donald this week, and along with him, we buried an unsolved mystery that has captivated us all. To catch up on the story, you might want to read my posts from Thursday and Friday. 

I hadn't planned to write any more about it, but then Mrs. Jenny gave us the perfect prompt (in red above) for this week's Saturday Centus, so how could I resist? Our instructions: exactly 100 words, including the prompt. 

With a few more words, I probably would have written of Donald's anguish when he was ordered to pack up and move out with no possibility of telling the young woman. At least, that's how it played out in my mind. Like that of the two star-crossed lovers whose dreams were not to be, my imagined story had to be cut short. 

Be sure to check out what the other Centusians are dreaming about this week by clicking here. 

Finishing

It's Friday. A good day for a funeral. A good day for family and friends. A good day.

Today we laid sweet Uncle Donald to rest. He was a true American hero, a true patriot. He loved his country. I'm so glad that some of the vets from the local VFW post turned out to give him a proper military farewell. It was really touching.

It was a beautiful day at this lovely setting in the mountains, albeit a bit windy.

The flag was removed from his coffin and presented to his sister, my mother-in-law. 

Remembrances were shared. I think we all feel like we know and love Uncle Donald a little more after this week. Speaking of remembrances...the photo of the mysterious woman that my sister-in-law found with his personal papers and such...it's in Uncle Donald's hand, in the casket with him. Somehow, it just seemed right.

The best part, always, is that the family gathers.

And the youngsters in the group, they found something to make them laugh...(ok, the headstone actually had the names of the children listed on it too, which I took the liberty to remove to protect the uncooked)...I have to admit it was an odd choice of wording...

The two remaining siblings, the youngest of the original eight. He's 90 and she's 85.

It was a good day. Even good ol' Ralphy thought so...

...and my brother-in-law, who got his car sold.