SoCS: Back to…. (oops! Back of the Frig)

 Today’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “back of the fridge.” Write the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the phrase “back of the fridge.” Enjoy!

Back to the future! Maybe one day, in the future, I’ll hire and exterminator for the waterbugs, aka American cockroaches, like I threaten to do often. I have no problem taking spiders, moths, or beetles outside in a cup. Who knows why the waterbugs creep me out so much. Maybe they freaked my mom out and she passed it on to me like her red hair and soft green eyes.

I haven’t hired an exterminator in spite of frequent threats (like the bugs can hear me), because I think the exterminator chemicals will be toxic to more than bugs. I do have termite contract, but that’s different. They don’t spray.

How does this relate to the prompt? I have to keep all food in the refrigerator, unless it’s canned or tightly wrapped. That includes bananas and the butternut squash they’ve been gnawing on. Gross, I know. If I lived in the mountains, it would not be an issue since I don’t leave food out or open for the smaller German cockroaches. But here in the sub-tropical south, the bigger cousins are prolific. Climate change may be a factor in their abundance, too. I found some old diatomaceous earth and spread it around their pathways. Last night, I put some peppermint out on cotton balls (where Marley can’t reach) along with the citrus spray. The cedar oil spray works, but the smell is awfully strong.

We are now approaching the time of year when a few bugs will come in from the cold, but mostly they die back until late spring. What a relief. I’m determined to leave no food available so maybe they will go back outside and stay there.

“Back to the howling old owl in the woods,” as Elton John sang in “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” Do owls eat bugs? The song says something about them hunting the toads.

As for the toads and frogs, I hope they make it “Back to the River. Back to the Forest!” as Elliot encouraged them in E.T. I love it when the other kids in the classroom start chanting:

“Back to the River. Back to the Forest!“

And then there’s Galadriel telling Sauron to go “back to the void from whence you came!” I think that’s what she’s saying. Perhaps I shall tell that to the nameless ones if they come in through the tiny cracks.

Yeah. Galadriel. The ultimate exterminator. No, that was Frodo. And Sam. They all played a part.

(I just realized that I blatantly misread this prompt as back to the frig, but it was supposed to be “back of the fridge,” which makes more sense as a prompt. Oh well. I must have needed a laugh and Galadriel’s power.)

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For more streamy streams and the ruly rules,

visit our SoCS host, Linda Hill by clicking HERE.

SoCS: Flirty Lines, Old Songs & Giant Frogs

Today’s SoCS prompt is: “coffee, tea, or me.” Find a flirty phrase of your own or use “coffee, tea, or me” in your post. Have fun!

I’ve heard that phrase, “Coffee, tea, or me,” in the 70s. But oddly, I didn’t know where it came from, so I looked it up. No, this is not planning. It’s curiosity. What’s even more odd is that I didn’t remember it was a movie. The book was published in the 1960s and was about uninhibited stewardesses and their escapades. It was made into movie in which appeared in 1973. That was about the time when I started working at the local movie theatre. Working concessions, and later, the box office was my high school and early college job, so you’d think I would have remembered this was a movie. But alas, sometimes I knew something very well in the 70s and don’t remember now. There’s only so much room in this brain.

I was probably much more flirty in the 70s. Yet, I don’t clearly remember any flirty phrases I used then. My friend had one: “Hi guy, Wanna Try?” She didn’t usually say this to a guy, but would say it when talking about a guy and rolling her eyes in a flirtatious way.

Eyes can be very flirtatious. Probably more than we realize. There’s a wink, or a smile, and all sorts of things like pheromones’ beyond our conscious awareness. In the seventies, I would be more likely to sing a song, maybe something by Donna Summer. Or maybe I’m just making this up in my head. Seems like I almost remember singing to someone…. I was going to find a Donna Summer video, but feel free to look for yourself. My stream is rolling.

I did sing for David when we reconnected in 2011. I danced around him at night on the beach singing, “It’s a Marvelous Night for a Moondance.” I’ll go find that one later maybe. I asked David tonight (Friday which if your reading this was last night) if I have or had any flirty expressions. He said, “Not really, but you do say, ‘Hi Handsome,’ sometimes.”  I say that to him because he is handsome. It is kinda flirty. When we dated in the 70s he used to say, “If you feel froggy, JUMP!” That wasn’t exactly flirty, but it was funny in a goofy way.

I just took a slight detour to listen to “Moondance.” I don’t know all those words, so I probably didn’t sing much of it. But I do know all the words to “Blue Moon.” And I’m sure I’ve sung that one to my love. Here’s a very relaxing version:

 

And since that was soooo serious, let’s end with feeling froggy. These are giant frogs at the local aquarium. They look like they’re about to jump, don’t they?

 

“Here’s lookin’ at you, kid.”

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Thanks for a fun prompt, Linda! For more flirty streams of consciousness, visit:

https://lindaghill.com/2020/06/26/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-june-27-2020/

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing (typos can be fixed), and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. I will post the prompt here on my blog every Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The,’” or will simply be a single word to get you started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.  Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read all of them! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later or go to the previous week by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!

Good News Tuesday: Redirecting Unused Food, Dissection Alternatives, Helping Koalas, and New Zealand’s Legislation for the Planet

Seeking Balance One Tuesday at a Time

 

Italian Law Directs Wasted Food to the Hungry

Global Citizen reports that Italy has passed a law to send unsold food to charities.  It’s shameful how much food is thrown away when so many people are hungry. The article gives example of how much of the food thrown away is edible:

“….if white rice is mis-labeled basmati rice, it’s food waste. If a vegetable is misshapen it’s food waste. If a cereal box has a tear, food waste. A can with a ripped label also food waste. A bruised fruit, yup, food waste.”

While some countries impose penalties for wasted food, Italy is providing incentives.

You can read more about Italy’s initiative here.

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Realistic Replica Can Save Frogs from Dissection

SynDaver—the world’s leading manufacturer of hyper-realistic, synthetic human and animal surgical trainers has created a realistic enough non-living frog model for dissection. Despite the replica being more expensive than a real frog, its synthetic tissues are reusable and free of harmful chemicals like formaldehyde. At least 3 million frogs are killed annually in the name of educational dissection. Isn’t it time we moved toward more humane educational pursuits?

If you’d like to read more about this innovation, click here for the Good News Network article.

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Helping Koalas and Kangaroos in Australia

A group of Dutch quilters making mittens for koalas and pouches for kangaroos suffering from fires in Australia. The mittens and pouches must be made entirely of cotton. Here’s the story from SBS  Dutch.

Other good news within this terrible fire, is that $1,705,390 has been raised to help animals in Australia. Here’s a link to the fundraiserfor the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital.  THANK YOU to all the helpers!

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New Zealand Commits to Becoming Carbon Neutral by 2050

“In a historic show of bipartisan agreement” New Zealand passed a new law that will require the nation to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2050.  The Good News Network provides details, and Prime Minister, Jacinda Arden, inspires:

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Got good news?

Please share in the comments!