Halloween Socks!

February 29, 2016February 29, 2016 The Indecisive Eejit46 Comments

Some people have asked about other stories involving Polly Carmichael, this was by far her most exciting escapade, so as requested I am reposting. Apologies if you have read it before.

“Polly Carmichael you are not going Trick or Treating dressed as a sock, and that is the end of it! What on earth has possessed you anyway girl, I’ve told you that you can have any outfit you want and you choose to go as a sock. Honestly, you and your imagination, it causes me nothing but trouble.”

Mrs Carmichael was not impressed and neither was a frustrated Polly, who with crossed arms, pouted throughout her Mothers lengthy tirade.

“But Mama I…….”

“But Mama nothing young lady, where on earth did you get this foolish idea?”

Looking anywhere but at her Mother, Polly whispered “Patricia.”

“Patricia who? The lady who runs the wool shop at the end of the street, Lemon Lime Follies?”

“Yes Mama.”

“Well at least I know you are safe when you are there, but what have I told you about walking on the road unaccompanied and what is it with your sudden fascination for socks, I just don’t understand!”

Ah, there it was, the question that Polly dreaded most of all.

How could Polly explain to her Mother about the wonderful lady in the shop who made knitting fun and told amazing stories of far away lands, dragons and ghosts. Who made the socks she knitted dance by the glow of the fire with her magic knitting needles as she served up delicious buns and sweets to be munched upon.

She had to go tonight and she had to be a sock!

For the last three months a secret war had been waging in drawers all throughout the sleepy little village of Cosy Toe, unbeknown to any of it’s inhabitants.

Sabrina De La Fibrè, on moving to the village had spotted a gap in the market for manufacturing socks. Patricia could knit, boy could she, but her socks were mischievous and caused no end of trouble during their creation. Although funny and harmless, their high jinx meant supply could not currently meet demand. Sabrina, a clever and calculating witch, wheedled her way into the towns good graces and became the number one supplier with her bright colours, bold designs and catchy slogans. However unlike the woolen socks born in the shop which were crafted with love and care, Sabrina’s synthetic fibres were laced with the misery that radiated from her cold dark heart!

On Halloween night they were going to dance anyone who wore them straight into the river to be carried away forever.

“Okay Mama, I will wear last years costume if you will just let me leave now, the festivities have already started” begged Polly.

“Oh for goodness sake off you go, but we shall continue this conversation. Do not be late!”

Polly grabbed the costume from the chair and moved forward like she was heading to get changed, but as soon as her mother turned away she darted out through the back door and ran as fast as she could all the way to Lemon, Lime, Follies.

Patricia was already at the door and ushered her in, checking up and down the street to make sure she had not been seen. Giving her a warm hug and brushing the hair from Polly’s eyes she said “You all set?”

“Yep” said Polly with a smile and a salute, before climbing into the sock costume laid out in front of the fire.

Patricia lifted a basket from the table, lined with quilted fabric and as soft as a feather, set it on the floor, and proceeded to let out the loudest whistle Polly had ever heard in her life. A chorus of squeals and whee’s of delighted echoed all through the room as hundred of little socks emerged from the shadows, running, bouncing and somersaulting, before eventually diving into the basket.

“Be good little one’s,” Patricia whispered before handing them to Polly. “And to you child, best of luck. I have added extra love into the costume to keep you safe. We don’t have much time, so hurry along.”

Stepping out into the cold, Polly headed towards the town, keeping her head down and avoiding all the glances from the other trick or treaters. She could hear giggling and knew it was at her costume, but resolute she marched on knowing that she would have the last laugh tonight, god willing.

As she approached the town, she became aware of someone making a speech. Hurrying closer she realised it was none other than Sabrina De La Fibrè herself, courting the crowd who had become unusually sombre considering this was supposed to be a celebration. All at once, as if on cue the crowd turned and started to walk towards the river.

“Where are you going Jaded?” she asked the girl who had just become Poet Laureate. No reply. Polly tugged her sleeve trying to gain some sort of response. Nothing, nothing at all. With dead pan faces the crowd continued to march. The only sound that split the night was the evil laughter of the witch.

Knowing the time was now, Polly ran to the front of the crowd and setting the basket on the ground shouted to all the little socks to get to work. With yelps of glee and jumps for joy the little socks began to surround the villagers, encompassing them in a circle. The larger socks drew together to form a platform onto which Polly gingerly stepped. Clearing her throat she recited the words that Patricia had taught her:

Attention feet of all who stand,
Do you know to where you roam
You seem to be heading for the river,
when you really should be going home.

The evil lady tricked you,
There is a darkness at your feet,
feel how weary your legs are,
Would you not rather have a seat.

Remember the days of woolen socks
when your feet felt warm and safe,
not like that new material
that makes you itch and chafe.

Take off your socks and sit a while,
rest your weary heads,
and when you are feeling more refreshed,
head home wards to your beds.

One by one the townspeople fell to the ground, as if in deep slumber, smiles upon their content faces. The little socks jumped up and down with delight, until that is, they saw the witch approaching with a face like thunder.

Banding together they formed lines in front of Polly, a little army protecting it’s precious cargo.

The witch sneered and laughed, “Do you think you can stop me! NOTHING can stop me!!”

“Do you think so” roared the little socks as they started to unravel, joining and growing, binding and making the strongest rope the world had ever seen. Moving forward they started at the witches feet and wove a path up her body encasing her in a tight cocoon, so tight in fact she could not even scream. On and on they worked until not even an inch of her could be seen. Then they started to sing and squeeze. Polly could not hear the words, but the tune made her feel relaxed and happy, as the little socks squeezed and squeezed until eventually the wicked witch exploded into a million pieces that fell to the ground like black snow.

Polly felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Patricia standing behind her. “Well done Polly, I knew you could do it, you certainly knocked the socks off them all!”

My entry for the Okay, What if? Weekly Writing Challenge.

It’s probably not what I wanted it to be, but as I had no clear idea of where I was going with it, it will have to do. It has literally made my brain ache :)

New Year, New You?

January 7, 2015 The Indecisive Eejit18 Comments

What if you could relive any year of your life starting on New Year’s day?

That was the question Jed asked for last weeks Wednesday’s What If?, but as he quite rightly pointed out, it is cryptic, as it would mean you would have to relive every day of every year from that point on.

It’s a tempting prospect, the thought of being able to pick a point in your life and essentially start again, and a hasty decision could turn it into a reality. Shake hands with the little man at the door, nod your agreement and it’s all systems go. However, on further inspection, it is perhaps not a decision that should be taken lightly.

Everyone has bad days, weeks, months, and sometimes at the end of a year there is the temptation to say I’m glad that year is over, I hope the next one is better. Perhaps that is because we, especially me, have a tendency to focus on the bad things and forget about all the other amazing little things that happened to actually keeps us moving towards the beginning of the next shiny bright New Year.

If you returned to erase the bad, you would also erase all the people you met, all the love you received, all the happiness you gave sometimes with just a smile aimed at a stranger, and there is no guarantee that the same bad thing will not happen again, only at a different time.

That said, if you played this scenario right, you may just be able to turn it to your advantage:

Ever been tempted to try plastic surgery, save up, give it a go, and then if you don’t like the results just rewind time and spend the money on something different.
Relationship going down the skids? Save yourself the heartache and rewind time and forget that he / she ever existed.

These are only a couple of ideas from the millions that are floating around in the empty cavity that exists between my ears.

If, however, you are asking me what I would do, well then it’s simple. I’ll stay just as I am thanks, there were times it was tough enough getting though the last 40 odd years on this planet, I’m not sure that I want to relive them.

Sometimes the best moments are left as memories.

There’s a what, in the where….

January 27, 2014January 27, 2014 The Indecisive Eejit21 Comments

The fact that he had just been told there was a spaceship in his neighbours garage should really have caused Seamus some concern right? The thing is, if you knew anything about the man next door at all, then you would understand that in the grand scheme of things a little spaceship wasn’t that much out of character.

So the news found Seamus calmly shrugging his shoulders as opposed to running about the yard like a headless chicken, whilst squealing like a pig!

“So what does he plan to do with this spaceship then?” he asked.

“Well dance to it I presume,” said Billy looking at his best friend quizzically. “What the feck did you think he was going to do with it?”

Seamus started to laugh, until that is he looked at Billy’s face and realised that he was actually serious.

“Is there some kind of little dance you do to get it started? Does dancing make it happy? How the hell can you dance to a spaceship, Billy ffs, catch yourself on!”

“There’s no need for the sarcasm sunshine, I’m pretty sure you press a button to turn it on, and dancing to it certainly seems to make him next door happy. Yesterday I heard him singing along to it as well.”

“Billy sometimes I wonder about yo….” started an exasperated Seamus.

“Look if you don’t believe me, see for yourself, there he goes now to get it started,” said Billy pointing towards the garage at the top of the garden.

Sure enough, giving them a wave, their neighbour slipped in through the garage doors. Many bangs and clanks could be heard from within.

“Any minute now,” shouted an excited Billy bouncing up and down.

Next thing Seamus sees are the doors of the garage being flung open and he can hardly believe what his ears are hearing, as out of the garage comes the all to familiar lyrics….

♪ Looking in your eyes I see a paradise, This world that I found is too good to be true.
Standing here beside you, Want so much to give you…… ♪

“I know what I want to give you Billy ya fecking dickhead, that’s not a spaceship, that’s Starship!! See if I get my hands on you……”

Written for the Okay, What If? Month Long Writing Challenge – What if you discovered a space-ship in your neighbor’s garage?

Sleep typing…

January 21, 2014 The Indecisive Eejit53 Comments

The past few days have been weird around blogsphere what with everything going on. I wanted to write yesterday, but the post was in pieces and I couldn’t quite manage to pull it together, so in the end I gave up and watched a few episodes of ‘Life Unexpected’ instead.

I also wanted to start work on a new What If? piece for Jed and his blog, but again I couldn’t get anything to stick. Any suggestions for me?

I’m sure it has not escaped your notice that despite my big girl bragging about changing my page and forcing it to grow up, there are little or no differences at all. Now, before you get all judgmental on me, it has NOTHING to do with me being lazy and EVERYTHING to do with me not being able to find a theme that I like as much as my current one. I tried each and every one in WordPress, on Saturday night, cos ~~I’ve no social life~~ thats just how I roll! In the end I gave up. I need more time to make an informed decision so that when I start the begging process with Paul regarding a new banner I know exactly what I am asking for! That said I have help on tap with regards to CSS cos my good friend from No Blog Intended passed her exam with flying colours! Well done young lady :)

This is only going to be a short post, I managed a 10 hours shift in work today, the first since I had my accident and do you know what, it felt good. The Diamond Dancer and I didn’t stop and I was amazed at how quickly the time went and the amount we were able to achieve in it.

I’d left dinner out for the olds with instructions on what to do. It seems they managed ok, apart from one phone call from the Fathership asking what number on the cooker the spuds had to be turned on to. It would appear however that unless something is able to go in the dishwasher neither of the ‘ships’ will touch it, meaning after arriving home at 9.45pm I had to start and wash the pots and pans and then prepare tomorrow nights dinner. Next time I go out, they can order in and I will leave out paper plates and cups. Problem solved!

That’s about all I can manage, I really don’t want to wake up in the morning with ‘qwerty’ embedded on my forehead because I fell asleep at the keyboard!

One last thing tho before I go, can I please (if I have not already) draw your attention to my new page entitled ‘Challenges’. On it you can find the most recent ones from Okay, What if?, Robs Surf Report and also Steve’s Monday Music Challenge. Check them out and put in an entry, go on I dare ya!

Night night now :)

P.s The video at the top is The Crooked Kind by Radical Face. It’s my song of choice for this week. It’s been on repeat since I first heard it!

Under no obligation.

January 4, 2014 The Indecisive Eejit4 Comments

Obligation – an act or course of action to which a person is morally or legally bound; a duty or commitment.

This week Jed from Okay, What if? challenged us to think about what life would be like if we had no obligations in the New Year.

It’s a very complex issue, as we have many obligations in our daily lives. I’m terrible at saying the word ‘no’, I think it in my head but it’s never what comes out of my mouth, therefore I place myself under unnecessary obligations all the time .

The biggest one in my life at the minute would have to be work. In fact for a long time everything was about work. Something changed though, I am not sure whether it was to do with the time I had to take off because of injury, a change in job, a change of office, or simply the fact that I have more obligations at home, but I don’t seem to have the same enthusiasm I once had. I like being challenged and kept under a little bit of pressure, those are the conditions under which I thrive.

Even though, at present, I no longer do my part time job, I still feel obligated to them. Another firm approached me about a position if I ever consider making a return, but I don’t feel like I could make the move without giving my old firm another try, even though I know the new position would be less stressful as there is a better structure of management in place.

Home life has become more of an obligation in the last year or so, although it falls more into the ‘sense of duty’ category. It somehow does not seem right to refer to looking after a parent as an obligation, it makes it seem cold and clinical .

I think it is expected that we look after those who have looked after us. We don’t always have to like it, but its the way of the world.

We’ve been given this life, and we have an obligation to see it through to the end.

Jiggling Jingle Bells!

December 22, 2013 The Indecisive Eejit29 Comments

Writing challenge. What if you could rewrite your favourite Christmas song?

So Jed from over at Okay, What if? has set us the above challenge. Right from the outset I liked the idea, however I have to be honest and say it was a little harder than I initially thought!

Anyway for your entertainment, here is my remake of that old classic ‘Jingle Bells’. Remember you can’t just read it, you have to sing along, to the tune of , yep you guessed it, well, Jingle Bells of course!

Laughing in the snow,
They say more is on the way,
There are presents still to wrap,
and food to cook for the big day.

The sprouts they do their work,
They produce cool musical toots,
Lets hope we cook the turkey right,
So we don’t give ourselves the scoots!

Jingle Bells, Santa Smells,
He’s had too many greens,
He gets the presents muddled up,
and gives everyone a tin of beans.

Jingle Bells, now the whole town smells
There are lots of musical toots,
Santa lets a big one rip
and blows himself clean out of his boots!

It might be random but..

December 17, 2013December 17, 2013 The Indecisive Eejit17 Comments

Ok so earlier I did a post and said I wanted five more follows so I could reach my dream of 200. I did get three more, thank you very much new followers, but more random than that, I got a new little notification of an award:

It’s kind of a random number right? Although I am not complaining about the likes, thank you everyone! After Googling this little conundrum I was glad to note that others were as confused as I upon receiving this award.

Leet (or “1337“), also known as eleet or leetspeak, is an alternative alphabetfor the English languagethat is used primarily on the Internet. It uses various combinations of ASCIIcharacters to replace Latinateletters. For example, leet spellings of the word leet include 1337 andl33t; eleet may be spelled 31337 or 3l33t.

The term leet is derived from the word elite

So there you have it, in simple terms, WordPress have a damn fine sense of humour!

In Other News!

Hot off the press, the latest edition of the Okay, What If Challenge has been released and this week there is a definite Christmas feel.

Writing challenge. What if you could rewrite your favorite Christmas song?

I mean who hasn’t wanted to do that at some stage, in fact I am sure some of us already have while under the guise of the demon drink. If you would like to participate in the challenge, then click the link for more information.

Secondly, it’s Monday! Sorry to be the bearer of bad news to anyone who had not realised. Monday’s suck, of that there is no doubt, but it’s not all doom and gloom because it’s also the day that Steve from Steve says issues the weeks Monday (funnily enough) Music Challenge. If you are not sure you’re on the right path, or which direction you should take, let the mystic music guide you, so far its been freakishly accurate, well for me anyways. For more information click here.

Last, but not least we have Rob, from Robs Surf Report, and his Haiku Challenge, which this month has the theme of Epic Fantasy. It certainly makes you think. I found my first foray challenging but entertaining. For more information, click here.

And on that note I shall leave you with a Christmas advertisement for the present I want from Kris Kringle, none other than Santa Claus himself, a Buffalo Tom Peabody Plunger, something no home should be without. Head here to order!

Till next time!

Who did you say you were again?

December 15, 2013 The Indecisive Eejit17 Comments

256px-A&P,_COFFEE,_SANTA_CLAUS — Image by George Eastman House

So the other day, something very strange happened.

Still feeling a little glum after all the trauma of the card writing and the last minute frantic gift buying I decided I needed a time out and a little peace and quiet, so I headed into a well known coffee franchise and rewarded myself with a hefty serving of cappuccino. It seemed I had underestimated the peace and quiet aspect though, as a great number of other Christmas Shoppers had also elected to rest their weary legs. As luck would have it I found a small table tucked away in the corner, and there I sat mindlessly stirring my coffee while contemplating life in general.

“Mind if I sit here?”

Snapping out of my daydream I looked up to see a gentleman of around 60 years of age smiling down at me.

“No, sit away, let me just move my stuff. Nice beard and tache by the way, is that left over from Movember?”

He laughed, a nice tinkling kind of laugh. “No, that’s pretty much there all year round.”

“It’s cool, it’s so white, it’s almost like snow!”

Again he laughed. “Indeed. So what’s with the long face?”

This time I laughed, “You do realise that’s what the bar man said to the crocodile when it asked for a pint.”

“Ah, the old ones are the best. Seriously, why so glum?”

I shrugged my shoulders, “Meh. Just not loving the Christmas vibe at the minute.”

“Any particular reason why?”

“None specifically, just lots of different little random ones, money, time, stress…go me, bah bloody humbug!”

He appeared thoughtful for a minute, “Hmm, are you not excited to see what Santa has brought you for Christmas?”

It was at this point that the mouthful of coffee I happened to be savouring left me and met in tiny droplets all over the gentleman’s face. “I’m sorry, that was unintentional, but I mean come on, Santa, what age do you think I am?”

“I think you are never to old to believe in Santa Claus, he, after all, believes in you.”

“Does he indeed. Well that’s good to know.”

“I note the sarcasm young lady, but he never gave up on you the year you hunted the house high and low looking for your Christmas presents. Come Christmas morning you still got the cabbage patch doll you asked for.”

“Yeah, that is true….wait a minute..how did you……”

“And he never forgot you the year you tried so hard to find out what your presents were, that your parents told you if you didn’t stop harping on they were going to sell you at the market.”

I laughed, “Yeah there is that too….hang on here…..”

“And he didn’t forget you the year you thought he had delivered your presents to your Sister. The look on your face when she pulled the football gloves you had asked for out of her stocking, oh how I….ahem, I mean oh how Santa must have laughed.”

“Wait just a minute, you said I…….”

“Anyway I must go, it’s been lovely to chat.”

“Wait I didn’t catch your name?”

“Well it’s Kris my dear, Kris Kringle and it’s been lovely to meet you.”

“It’s been nice to meet you too Mr Kringle,” and with that he was gone.

Funny thing is, the name is really familiar but I can’t think where I know it from, I’m sure it will come to me. It’s weird, but the Christmas cappuccino must have been just what I needed, because ever since that day I have been really looking forward to Christmas!

Written for the Okay, what if? Challenge, “What if you could have a conversation with Santa.”

What if you could be thankful?

November 29, 2013May 1, 2020 The Indecisive Eejit19 Comments

Thank You - Frelon — Image by Frelon (Pierre C)

What if you could tell anyone that you were thankful for them or something they had done to make a difference in your life?

Here’s the thing, there are a lot of people in my life (outside of my blog) who I am both extremely thankful for and to. If I were to list them all, it would be the longest post in history and you would be asleep by the second paragraph. Names and incidents would hold no meaning for you, so therefore would not hold your interest.

So lets see if this does:

Dear Indecisive Eejit,

I know you were previously known as ‘The Geeky G4mer’ but I’m pretty sure everyone has forgotten about that now, we have all come to love your new name, it seems to suit you better.

Thanks for coming along when you did, you were just in the nick of time to save me from the brink of insanity. I think I’d gotten a little bit lost along the way and you helped to give me focus and direction. You pushed me and with your guidance I have been able to achieve things I never thought would be possible.

I’m not known for sticking at hobbies or pastimes, I’ll try it for a while, but usually when the going gets tough I bail out. You were smart though, you had a way to combat that and keep me interested. You brought some amazing people to help me, who added their hands to yours and assisted with lifting my spirits.

Every like and comment, whether it be from followers or strangers is like a little pat on the back, urging me forward, keeping me going. Followers are like a shake of the hand. They mean business, they want to stick around. They acknowledge your crazy traits, but still love you anyway. Mind you, you brought me some right loopy ones yourself, but I like that.

You’ve reminded me that reading can be fun and informative. I’ve discovered people with similar problems to my own, who but despite it all remain upbeat and a positive influence for others.

I’m learning every day, geography made easy, just by figuring out where people live. Language, through reading and observing translations. Art appreciation, through photographs and cartoons and even writing. The broadening of my musical horizons and much much more. I would never have managed all this on my own.

I might not get time everyday to like or comment on every post I read, for some posts there is nothing to be added, but I do try and keep up with everything as much as I can.

I’m thankful every day that I have you, even though I might not get to see you every day. You’ve been good for me, you’re helping me find my funny.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to you, and all those other wonderful people you introduce me to everyday…you’re amazing!!

Juls x

Prompted by the Okay, What if? weekly challenge, which can be found here! (there is also a link in the side bar)

What if I spoke my mind?

November 21, 2013 The Indecisive Eejit29 Comments

In response to this weeks Okay, What if? Weekly Writing Challenge. – What if I spoke my Mind!

I’m terrible at speaking up, I always have things to say, but more often than not I back down as I am not a fan of confrontation.

Jed’s theme for this challenge reminded me of an incident that happened on the train last week. It is an occasion where I wanted to speak my mind, but aside from that it also made me realise how two people can view the same situation in different ways.

I remember the morning in question, because I was debating doing the change over at the first station where the train turns into an express. It was a busy morning and there were already people standing in the aisle’s and doorways. I glanced back and decided not to bother, I had a seat and blog reading was particularly good that morning.

The conductor was moving down the train towards the doors right behind my seat as the train had already pulled into the station. People were trying to get off by wading through the crowd trying to get on. It was a bit of a human traffic jam.

A lady (and I use that term very loosely) entering the train obviously spied the empty seat beside me and pushed against the crowd to reach it. In doing so she met the conductor trying to go the other way and pushed towards him too, until he eventually said something along the lines of, can you let people get off first.

Having experienced first hand, trying to leave a train against the flow, I thought the lady pushy and rude, I’ve blogged before about how I feel it is polite to let other passengers leave before entering a train.

I said nothing. What I wanted to say was, “Seriously, have you no patience, like none at all. Could you not have waited until everyone was off. You practically shoved the conductor out of the way.”

It’s funny how when something happens, you become aware of someone, who you would normally never have paid any attention to. Subconsciously you place yourself on guard.

A couple of stops later this lady picks up her mobile and phones someone. I don’t usually listen to other people’s conversations, although on a train, sometimes it is extremely hard not to.

Obviously the person she was talking to was either a partner or family member, who also it would seem works for the transport company who run the trains. She told them that she felt like putting in a complaint against the conductor because he was rude and also because of the way he pushed her to the side. I believe she said that she did not like the way he had laid hands on her. She told the person on the phone she had the staff number and they were obviously going to try and obtain the name of the conductor.

I swear she had to know I was listening, because a couple of times I turned and gave her the look, the ‘are you for fecking real’ look! I was actually getting quite annoyed and wanted to jump up and down yelling ‘what the absolute f*ck!!!’ See how cross I was, I never use the word absolute, I can’t even spell it ffs.

I had not witnessed any of the things she said, and my perception of the incident was totally different. I thought she was the one who was rude and pushy and if I’d had the balls to speak my mind I’d have told her that an all!!

For more information on this Challenge and to follow Okay, What if? click the picture below: