Netflix List for August

Today I decided to make a list.

These are the shows I want to try to catch up on, start or watch before the school year starts.

• The Great British Baking Show
• Supernatural
• Once
• The Who Was? show
• Great British Menu
• Father Brown
• Explained
• The 100

And a few episodes of Skin Wars and Zumbo's Just Desserts.

You may notice there is not much in the way of "heavy duty stuff" as my husband would say. There is more "fluff" because there is enough negative stuff in the world that we have to deal with, so instead of adding it to my que, I read about it to keep up with the current events.

Short, wide.. A show?

This is one of the stories that came out of a story prompt.

The prompt simply read : "The Cast of a Broadway Show." The 10 words that were supposed to be used were gargoyle, advertisement, shelter, cast, singularly, dwarf, arithmetic, rubber , scissors and calculating

I honestly have not used them all at this point in the story development. Fair warning.

Wanted: a singularly calculating dwarf- read the advertisement.

Sarah snapped the old fashioned news paper down on the dressing table in front of her. "why do people continually use the term "Dwarf"? There have been tv shows that have educated people, there have been discussions on public radio. I am a person with dwarfism. That's it!  she fumed to herself as she contemplated her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes almost glowed with anger, teal blue with swirls of gold sparkling, her hair was braided down her back in a complex 6 strand braid, her skin tanned from being outside shown a beautiful caramel. Sadly she knew from expertise that by mid winter she would be paler than some of her Irish friends. Genetics.

"I wonder what they want, and what the pay would be... Well, I could just call and leave a message asking for more information about the job. " as she thought her fingers dialed the number at the bottom of the ad, "maybe I should have blocked my caller id" the phone rang 2x and she took a deep breath to leave a message. "Yes?" inquired the deep cultured male voice on the other end of the line." Can I help you?" "um. My name is Sarah G. and I was wanting more information about the advertisement in the paper this morning" Do you fit the listed requirements?
Yes I do, I am 4"8, smart, sarcastic, calculating,  and sometimes a little to honest for my own good."

"I don't think all of those were in the paper, but I am glad to know that you have a sense of humor." he quipped dryly.  You sound like you would be a possible fit for this job, would you like to meet at the coffee shop near the intersection of E.Tudor and the Old Seward highway for more details about the job, around 5pm? I can promise you it is legal, morally upright and normally a lot of fun.

Sure! Sarah replied. "Do I need to bring a resume? Or anything?" The man on the other end of the phone smiled, she sounded enthusiastic, he just hoped she would still be interested once she learned all the details. "No, just yourself and a willingness to listen, no harm if you tell me you aren't interested once you hear all the details."

"How am I going to know who you are" she mused out loud.  She could hear the smile in his voice when he responded with " I will probably be the only one in the store with a 3 piece suit and a red carnation in my front pocket, its part of my image, please don't feel obligated to get dressed up, be comfortable, it is nearly autumn, I look forward to meeting the brave woman who answered an advertisement, see you soon." and the phone in her ear sounded that he had hung up.

To be continued.

The coffee store on E.Tudor and Old Seward Highway is a real place. The characters are made up. 

Time

Time 

Time waits not

Time slows and speeds

Time passes

Time flies

Time fades our memories

Time sharpens skills

Time softens loss

Time speaks of hope

Time allows change

Time is not to be counted on

Use your time wisely 

Time

Welcome

Welcome to Roses Ramblings.

This is the place where I practice the craft of writing. Some of the things in this blog may be fiction, some may be nonfiction, and some may be other forms of writing. Poems, thoughts, quotes(if I borrow I try to attribute to the correct person) and other thoughts that pop into my head.

I am currently trying to write on a regular basis, and I think a blog may be the best way to do it. I have been told my handwriting is nothing to write home about. :)

One of my friends challenged me to write  using a book of story prompts. I told them I would give it a try in the next few weeks. I may throw in some poetry for good measure, just whatever comes off my fingers and onto the paper, well screen in this case.

Come back and visit often, I plan to post 2x a week with a new thought, story or poem.

See you around

Soap Box #1

I have very few soap boxes..

This is a massive one. 

A.S.L (American Sign Language) is a complex, complete language with its own grammatical rules.

If you live in the USA this is the language of many of the Deaf/hard of Hearing communities near you. 

Until a few years ago, I had no concept of how vital this community and language would be to my life. 

I got dropped into that world and had to learn to swim. When someone from my family lost their hearing in one side in less than an hour. Yes. One hour. A nap and our lives changed. I was granted access to a wonderfully, diverse, rich, linguistic community. I went from clueless to being an advocate in less than a year, it took me longer to become functionally fluent in ASL. 

If you can hear and you live in the USA, I would highly recommend learning ASL. Because while you may never travel out of the country, anyone, at any time, can loose their hearing. If you meet someone who uses ASL and you try, I can almost promise that you will get a smile and respect for the attempt. More than just the ABC's, but the basics go a long way . 

"Equal Access" is something we talk about, brag about, but honestly we are still behind our potential. 

Favorite things part 1

My favorite things:

Musicals- I have not seen them all on stage, some I have seen as film adaptations.

• The Wizard of OZ
• Wicked
• Hamilton
• Matilda
• The Lion King
• Shrek
• The Cat in the Hat
• The Sound of Music
• Beauty and the Beast
• Cats
• In the Heights
• Kiss Me, Kate
• The Music Man
• My Fair Lady
• Rats
• The Phantom Of the Opera
• Chicago

Food

• chocolate
• real napoleon style pizza
• Cupcakes-
• Coffee - 
• Sushi- cooked and uncooked
• most Chinese food, not the Americanized versions of the traditional dishes
• Pho
• Thai food- not overly hot but flavorful
• Real authentic Italian grandmas cooking,put in front of me, I will gladly eat it.
• German food- its what I grew up eating. Real Schnitzel and spätzle, with chunky apple sauce
• polenta with cheese and sauce, pan fried
• my moms chicken enchiladas
• fresh fish from the ocean cooked simply
• Lobster rolls
• Tiramisu
• cheesecake- homemade pumpkin with a dark chocolate ganache is my absolute fav
• monster cookies
• apples with brie
• cheese in general, munster, brie, cheddar, and others. if I can balance the salty with sweet even better. Jam is great or Honey. 

I made myself hungry. Time for a snack. More of my favorite things at a later date.

The Reason for Rambling

More than once, someone told me that I should write/journal as it would be a good creative outlet. I ignored them.

The thought of writing for the sheer joy of the process was something that I didn't understand at all. The physical pen to paper routine was not comfortable, holding a pen was and is awkward. Then, when I started to type more frequently, the words seemed to flow, but I still refused to do it for myself.

 I would only write when my school or other circumstances required it. I could make up amazing stories to tell the kids I used to babysit, tutor or teach swimming to and their parents would often mention something about me writing the stories down, but I didn't do it then either.

Now, however, I am writing for me. To share the stories that I have made up over the years, to give myself a creative outlet that does not require getting hot and sweaty. I plan to write until I get more confident, and then I will write some more. Eventually I will worry about the grammar and the style, but for now this is just a place to get comfortable with sharing my writing with non teachers. I have stories to tell, and now with the encouragement of many people throughout my life its time to tell a few tales.