Tag: holidays

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Yuletide Aviary: A Short Story for Flashback Friday

Here’s a story I published a few years ago for the holidays. This story is also available in the free e-Book Weird Vivaria, which you’ll receive when you sign up for my email newsletter. Sign-up Here!

This is honestly my favorite story I’ve ever written. It’s about a bluejay and cardinal who work at the North Pole and they’re having a few drinks after finishing their work on Christmas Eve. Despite how the story sounds, it is Not family friendly. That doesn’t mean it’s bad for kids, but parents should read through it first and decide for themselves if it’s okay for their children.

I hope you enjoy it. And if you’ve read it before, I hope you enjoy it again. Here it is in five parts from the original posts when it was first published as a serial on my blog. If you want the full story, and a couple others, sign up for the newsletter.

Let me know in the comments what you think. Is this a story you’d like to see continued? I have no plans to continue the story, but maybe I’ll change my mind someday. Happy reading!

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Wacky Wednesday: March 17

For today’s Wacky Wednesday, we are starting with a new list of words. We now begin our trek into 1920’s slang. We’re bringing some of these terms back for the 2020’s. Many of these have short definitions so you’re getting many of them at once. First, we have Alderman which means a man’s potbelly. Next is Ameche (I’m not sure about pronunciation), which stood for a telephone. Then we have Ankle which has two meanings. As a verb is means to walk. As a noun is means a woman. And as a nice segue, our last word for the day is Babe which also refers to a woman.

For our holidays today, we all know it’s St. Patrick’s Day and I’m not going to get into the history or origins because there are a thousand other places you can find that info. If you don’t like research, we can’t be friends. Our token food holiday is National Corned Beef and Cabbage Day. This is appropriate for all the “Irish for a day” folks out there. I happen to be 10% Irish, so my celebrations have a different meaning this year. And finally, on the third Wednesday of March every year, it’s National Small Business Development Centers Day. SBDCs support entrepreneurs in the pursuit of small business ownership. Have a drink for the folks who’ve been helping small businesses since 1976.

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Wacky Wednesday: January 6

Welcome to the first wacky day of the new year. This one will be lots of fun. There are still several old English insults that we haven’t covered so let’s keep that trend going. Our first word is Mumblecrust. A mumblecrust is a toothless beggar and is derived from the name of a stock character in medieval theatrical farces. Our second word is Quisby. This is someone who shirks from work or lays around. In Victorian English, doing quisby meant the same thing. These insults don’t roll of the tongue like many others, but it can be fun to call someone a name and have them not know what it means.

There are several holidays today. For our token food holidays we have National Shortbread Day, this refers to the shortbread cookie of Scottish origin, and National Bean Day. Though this day is intended to celebrate the beans we usually eat; kidney, red, soy, etc…I also like to think of it as another day to celebrate the coffee bean. I do enjoy adding beans to soups as well. Today is also National Technology Day celebrating all things technology from smartphones to vehicles. And today is National Cuddle Up Day. January is the coldest month of the year and this day encourages everyone to cuddle up with loved ones for the many health benefits. Enjoy some shortbread as you cuddle with your significant other or even your pet. It’s always a good time for cuddles.