The RWH prompt from Write on Edge: In four hundred words or less, write a fiction piece based on a definition of the word “flavor.”

I’m not sure I totally got this prompt right, but I had lots of fun writing it. Thanks to Cameron for suggesting it:~)

“Class, swirl your wine and sniff it.” Mattie’s voice was so serious, Harrison almost laughed.

Usually, Mattie was the one laughing, but this was the final test for her Wine Educator Certificate. He was here to give her moral support.

Harrison swirled his wine. The woman beside him followed his example, but spilled wine down her shirt.

She giggled. “Oops, my bad!”

Mattie sighed. Harrison handed the woman his handkerchief, noticing her twinkly green eyes.

“Who wants to tell us what they smell?” Mattie asked.

The woman with the stained shirt waved her hand. “I’ll try!”

Mattie looked wary, but no one else volunteered. “Okay, Lilly, what do you smell?”

Lilly sniffed. The wine went up her nose. She sneezed. Red wine flew everywhere. People ducked. Harrison laughed out loud; he couldn’t help himself.

Lilly lifted her glass. “Sorry! It went up my nose. Let me try again.” Mattie stopped her.

“That’s okay, Lilly! Let’s taste our wine now.”

After everyone had a taste, Mattie asked Harrison, “What flavors do you taste in the wine, sir?

He swirled the wine in his mouth and spit it out. “I think I taste blackberries, a hint of vanilla and maybe…chocolate?”  He made his voice uncertain.

“You’ve got a good palate!” Mattie acted like he’d won a prize. Both knew he had more than a good palate! After all, he was a Master Sommelier.

“It tastes like wine to me, but it’s good!” Lilly put her glass down with a clunk. Red wine spilled again.

Mattie glared at Lilly, but didn’t say anything.

The class progressed. Lilly spilled more wine. She laughed at her klutziness. Harrison liked her ease with herself; she wasn’t pretentious, kind of like his favorite Pinot Noir.

As Mattie enthused about the flavors of wine, all Harrison wanted was to taste the flavors of Lilly. Breathing in her smell – jasmine, citrus, with a hint of deodorant – he watched her sip her wine. Heat rose in his face thinking about tasting her full red lips.

She left early, disappointing Harrison. But when he stepped outside, she was waiting wearing a sexy grin.

He discovered she was also a Sommelier, but hired to test Mattie’s ability to handle difficult students. Mattie passed, just barely.

Later that night over a bottle of wine, Harrison leaned over, kissed Lilly and said, “Hmmm. Sweet, slightly salty with just a hint of an excellent Pinot.

Cloud Pictures

Clouds make the best Story Photo shots. There are so many things you can see in clouds. I liked this one for the obvious reason; it looks like a backward “C” or like some sky goblin took a chunk out of it:~)

Picture One

Then there’s this picture. I loved the colors in this one. It reminds me of a recent post by Lynn of  Good Things Happened. In the post, she talks about the color cerulean, which I had to look up! Once I did, I could see why she mentioned it for the beautiful cloud pictures in her post.

I enjoy Lynn’s site because she always writes about three good things that happened to her. It’s a positive place. If you visit, be sure you click on her photographs to enlarge them.

What do you see?

There are so many shades of blue in the sky. The blues always seem perfect for the clouds; grays for stormy cloud days and cerulean for sunny cloud days. I’ve spent many a time watching the sky and letting my imagination create things in the clouds floating above me.

That’s your  challenge  today. Share what you see in one of these cloud pictures in the comment box. You can pick either the header picture of the dark stormy cloud or Picture One above. Be sure to indicate which picture you selected.

Come on, I know it’s summer and we’re all hot and bothered, but give it go!

The Talking Cloud

This is the extra credit challenge. Pick a picture and share a brief dialogue. Be sure to say which picture you picked. Those who participate, will be mentioned in the next post, along with a link.

I begged asked JC to give this extra credit challenge a try. Here’s his dialogue, based on the header picture:

“George, oh George hold me tight! Quickly I’m disappearing. Just remember, part of me is better than none of me.”

“Why should I hold you Martha, last time you said that you ran off with a cumulus cloud!”

Replies

I may slow with my replies this coming week. JC and I will be traveling some of the week and Internet may be sporadic.

Nah, Nah, Nah…

As most of you know, I like pictures of animals. I especially enjoy the ones that surprise me, where the animal does something that seems so “human.”

I’ve been reviewing pictures I’ve taken in the last year and came across the picture above. I immediately laughed because the first thing I thought of was the children’s song, which starts out “Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, look what I’ve got….”

Now, there are other versions to this song, but that’s the one that came to me as I looked at this seagull. He reminded me of the times when I would get something my brother and sister didn’t get and, of course, I would brag about it to make them jealous.

I usually got in trouble when I did this, but that didn’t stop me:~)

The Challenge

Your challenge today is to look at the following pictures and write the next words this animal would say if he or she could talk. You get to chose whether or not the animal is one of a few words or a “chatty kathy” and likes to talk a lot. Leave your “animal talk” in the comment box and be sure to indicate which picture you picked.

Picture One

Picture Two

Picture Three

Calendar Cover

Last week’s post, Story Photo: Cover Picture, asked for your help in picking the cover picture for my 2011 calendar. I’m pleased to announce that the winning picture is Picture A. It was a close race between this picture and Picture E. Only two votes separated them.

I really appreciate both the votes and your comments. Thank you!

The photograph for Picture A was taken by Carrie A. Healy

The Cherry on Top Award

I’m excited to report that I just received The Cherry on Top Award. I’ve climbed past the ice cream, slipped my way up the whipped cream to find myself sitting very proudly at the top. I want to thank Raul, Alien Ghost, for sending me this award.

I love visiting Raul’s site because his writings always keep me on my toes and makes me THINK. As a matter of fact, we have discovered the mutual talent of being able to make each other’s brain work so hard that they hurt:~)

As with most blogging awards, there are strings attached:~) Here are the rules for this award:

1-Answer this question: If you had the chance to go back and change one thing in your life, would you and what would it be?
2-Thank the person who gave you this award.
3-Pick 6 people/blogs and give them this award.
4-You have to inform the person that they have received this award.

If you had the chance to go back and change one thing in your life, would you and what would it be? If I could change anything, it would be to have been kinder to my mother after my dad died. I had no understanding of her pain at that time. Now that I’m older and wiser, I understand more about loss and grief. I appreciate this award for inspiring me to write these words. I believe what we write and say goes out to the Universe and wherever my mom is, she will hear them.

Pick 6 people/blogs and give them this award. I’m a bit of a rebel when it comes to these awards. I don’t like to send them to other people. Not because they don’t deserve the award, but simply because I don’t know how to choose. There are just too many wonderful sites that I love.

With this award, however, I have decided to send it to one person who is also a bit of a rebel. He was selected because I enjoy and recommend his site, and because I really want to know his answer to the question that accompanies this award. Therefore, I am sending The Cherry on Top Award to:

Ellis, What’s in my Head –I thought this award might be perfect for you:~) Also, I send it as a dare. Can you answer this question in a poem?

I have an empty space in my room and it’s begging to be filled with a picture. I want to hang just one picture in this spot and I need help choosing it.

I’ve narrowed the search to five and that’s where you and the Story Photo challenge come in.

The Challenge – Exercise Your Right to Vote

Today’s challenge is to look through the following pictures and vote for your favorite. To participate, you must pick only ONE picture or choose “none of the above”. Don’t worry, if you pick “none of the above” I will not toilet paper your blog:~)

BTW, you can only vote once, but you are allowed to threaten encourage others to vote the same way you did in the comment box. A little political influence can make decision-making much more fun:~)

Once you make your selection, here are some questions to consider:

1) What made you choose this picture?

2) What type of frame would you suggest?

3) If you picked “none of the above,” what were your reasons? Don’t worry; you won’t hurt my feelings. Well, maybe just a wee bit, but I’ll get over it… in about five years:~)

Here are the choices:

SELECTION ONE

SELECTION TWO

SELECTION THREE

SELECTION FOUR

SELECTION FIVE

SELECTION SIX:  NONE OF THE ABOVE

Just put your “selection”  in the comment box along with your answer(s) to the questions to consider.

Making the decision

Thank you in advance for helping me with this decision. As I will be out of town, I will collate the votes on my return and let you know what picture, if any, won. The results will be announced on Monday, July 12th in my Story Photo post.

NOTE: There will be a post on Thursday, July 8th. It’s about a very important subject to me and is one of the reasons I’m not around right now:~) I hope you will stop by and read it.

Have fun, be creative and enjoy:~)

Do you remember the movie When Harry Met Sally? There’s a scene where Sally is having lunch with two of her friends, Alice and Marie. Marie, who’s been having an affair with a married man for about two years, begins to complain about the fact that he’s never going to leave his wife.

It’s obvious her friends have heard this story again and again. In the movie, they keep telling her, “He’s not going to leave his wife!” Yet, Marie continues to complain.

Difficult People

Marie fits the profile of a person who constantly says “Yes, but…”. I call these people, “Yes But People”, and have been one myself. A Yes But Person is someone who talks about the same problem over and over again, but never seems to resolve it. They can be difficult people to deal with, but most of us have either been one, or dealt with one at some point in our lives.

Here’s the scenario. A person has a problem and asks for your advice. You listen, perhaps ask a few questions and offer some suggestions, to which they immediately shoot down with “Yes, I could do that, but…” (fill in the blank). This same scenario is repeated over and over.

This can be a very annoying and frustrating experience.  It’s like they’re stuck in quicksand. No matter how many times you try to give them a rope, they refuse to take it. It almost as if they are choosing to remain stuck.

That’s the problem with Yes But People. They aren’t intentionally difficult people. Rather, they are trapped in the cycle of being stuck, even if they don’t realize it. They can’t seem to move forward to resolve the problem that’s bugging them (and you).

What can you do?

Here are some suggestions you can try when dealing with anyone who is caught in the cycle of saying “Yes, but…”.

Acknowledge their fear, uncertainty and doubt.

Often people say “Yes, but…” because they are afraid of what they need to do. In Marie’s case, it seemed she was afraid that if she confronted her married boyfriend, he might end their relationship and she would be alone. Until they acknowledge their fears, it’s hard for these Yes But People to address their problem realistically.

Avoid getting caught up in solving their problems. Instead, put the responsibility back on them.

When dealing with a Yes But Person, you can’t solve their problems. They have to do it themselves. One way to help them move beyond saying “Yes, but…”,” is to ask them open-ended questions. These questions will force them to think of their own solutions, rather than shooting down yours. Here are some examples:

1. What’s keeping you from finding a solution to your problem?
2. What action could you take today to help with this problem?
3. If this were my problem, what would you suggest I do to solve it?

Another thing you can try is to brainstorm. This must be a two-way brainstorming session; you give a solution and they give a solution. It’s helpful to write down the solutions you both come up with, and then ask them to select their top three favorites.

Help them realize they are focusing on what they can’t do, rather than on what they can do.

Ask them to list the reasons why they CAN’T solve the problem. When they keep saying, “Yes, but I can’t do that for X reason”, you can say “Okay, and what else is stopping you?” Keep asking them “What else?” Eventually, they will get tired. When that happens, you can tactfully remind them that they’ve only been looking at what they can’t do about the problem, not what they can do.

Stop talking about the problem and ask them to write about it instead.

Sometimes talk is cheap and easy. Writing something down will make it more concrete. When a Yes But Person writes down their problem they have to define it in written words. During this process a problem not only becomes clearer, but solutions may become more apparent. If that is not the case, ask them to write down some possible solutions, as well.

Break the Cycle

The tips above will hopefully help the Yes But Person realize that they’re STUCK.  I must confess, however, that they may not always like it when you use these tips, but by doing so you keep your own sanity and perhaps assist them in breaking out of their “Yes, but…” cycle sooner.

Fortunately, most people stop being a Yes But Person when they become unstuck. In When Harry Met Sally, Marie did eventually solve her problem by finally realizing that her boyfriend was never going to leave his wife. She ended up meeting and falling in love with a man who wasn’t married.

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What suggestions do you have for helping a Yes But Person?

Have you ever been a Yes But Person and if so, who, or what, helped you?