Started out in Prague,
I’ve so much to catalog.
Was I all agog!
[The photos that follow include Church of St. Nicholas, the Lennon Wall, St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague Castle, Powder Gate, the Astronomical Clock, Hotel Rott, Dvorák Museum, Alfons Mucha Museum, Petrin Park, The Loreto, and Konopište and Karlštejn Castle.]
Sweaty and winded,
Greeted with closed boarding gate,
Missed connecting flight.
Re-routing given,
This time a two-hour delay;
Murphy’s Law gone wild.
Frazzled since midnight
Checked-in carry-on is lost,
Along with my mind.
Image by Hymn
Tucked between pancakes,
Chocolate-chipped strawberries,
Coconut sprinkled.
****************
Pancake ingredients all mixed in a bowl:
1 ¼ cups pastry flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp raw sugar
1-2 tbsp flaxseed meal
¾-1 cup leftover cooked oatmeal
1-2 cups homemade tapioca pudding
1 egg
3 tbsps cooking oil (I used safflower oil)
Enough cups of almond milk (or flaxseed milk or any milk) to make your batter not too thick or thin, whichever you prefer
Image: Pixabay
“What a lovely little bistro, Edward.” Miss Rose Lee smiles at her distinguished looking suitor, as they are being escorted to their table. She’s happy for having used Seventy+Match.com, a mate matching service for people over 70 years old, and finding a fine gentleman in Edward Finnerman. As a long-time widow, Miss Lee has taken a while to find someone who might measure up to her late husband.
After seating them, their hostess says, “Only the early bird special is being served at this time. Let me get your server to take your drink orders.” She leaves them with a short menu.
“That’s different. Did you say you’ve been here before?” Rose asks.
“It is a fine place.” Edward gives the impression he’s been at the small restaurant before to make her think she is being taken to a quality café. He knows the restaurant only from having passed by it a few days ago, noting it just opened and offers early bird specials. Being new makes it look clean, too. A perfect place to have a first date with his recent lady friend, he thinks, and without spending much money.
A long-nosed man with droopy lids approaches their table and bows. “I am Rinaldo, your server for the evening. What libations may I serve you both?”
“Why, thank you, Rinaldo. What a romantic sounding name. Do you have a recommendation?” Rose is charmed by him.
Edward clears his throat and utters, “I think a small glass of Mogen David would be good for each of us.” Edward gives the menu to Rinaldo and thanks him as a sign of dismissal. He wasn’t counting on adding wine to the tab, but at least he’s getting the early bird special.
Rinaldo nods and takes the menu, murmuring, “Very good, sir.” He walks away.
“It’s so cozy here, isn’t it?” Rose beams at Edward.
“Yes, and good service too.” Edward sees Rinaldo with a large tray holding two covered dishes and two little wine glasses.
Rinaldo sets down the tray on the fold-out stand next to their table. He places their food and drinks before them, uncovering the two plates at the same time with a flourish. He bows and announces, “Today’s early bird is free-range robin, locally caught at sunrise. Enjoy.”
He leaves the two diners staring at their plate of a tiny roasted bird.
Image: Pixabay
Hot head, short fuse,
Sorry for the abuse.
Forgive the heel to butt,
I just treat you like my mutt.
Cushy bed, hot meal.
Make amends, begin to heal.
Now do me till I squeal,
That’ll seal the deal.
Lucille . . . ?
Part 1: Little Joe
“Squeak.”
Part 2: Little Joe and Jo
“Squeak, squeak.”
Part 3: Just Jo (and multiple squeaks)
“Wah.”
Image by blogetta
Art, art, where art thou?
Modern art, you’re elusive;
Appear before me.
Is there a message?
What mystery do you hold?
Oh, nothing at all.
Image: Pixabay
He snickers at me;
Poppy seed between my teeth.
That’s my morning bling.
Chomping my breakfast,
An everything bagel
Gives me my black gem.
Image: Pixabay
Their chemistry was right
At least at first sight,
For months they were tight
Then came the big fight.
Both their hearts took a bite
From each other they took flight,
Then after nearly a fortnight
They agreed to reunite.
But things don’t always crystallize
They soon realize,
When there’s no more to analyze,
Or a desire to compromise.
Image by Anna
Charlie thinks he is doing his boss a favor when he mentions the sound of scurrying feet above their paneled ceiling.
“I don’t like that. Reminds me of what Johnson, that guy two doors down from us told me last month. He was eating his lunch and suddenly this monster rodent lands in his soup. He lucked out that his bowl of hot liquid got that disease monger good. Ugh.” His boss shivers and continues, “I want you to put some traps up there now. Go to that hardware store a block from us. They should have something appropriate there.”
“Why can’t Ernie do it? He’s the Facilities guy.” Charlie looks around as if Ernie would appear.
“I’ll give you three reasons why . . . first, he’ll take weeks to get to it . . . he’s always got a more serious problem to deal with. Second, he’s afraid of heights so he won’t climb a ladder. That will add even more weeks because he’s going to have to find help; and third, he’s out sick today, so who knows when he’s coming back.”
Charlie regrets speaking up and catching guff from his boss again. As he walks inside the hardware store, he asks the guy behind the counter for help and buys a few mouse traps.
When Charlie returns to the office, his boss tells him he doesn’t want the details. “Just take care of the problem,” he commands.
Charlie places the ladder right under the area where he’s been hearing the muffled sounds. While holding a plastic bag that contains the traps and other supplies, he climbs the ladder and carefully pokes out a tile from the dropped ceiling. He sets the tile aside, along with his bag, inside the plenum space. He uses the flashlight on his smart phone to scan the surface. He can’t see anything over a foot from where he is, although the smell reminds him of sweaty socks.
As he reaches to place the traps in different parts of the ceiling, he hears a scuffling. From where he is, the sound seems heavier than the light scrabbling of mice. The hairs on the back of his neck stand out. His breathing is strained. As he prepares to scramble out of the area, he sees a large rat with red-rimmed eyes suddenly appear before him.
Lo and behold, the rat speaks, “Shh. I’m just bunking here for the week so I don’t have to take guff from my boss. You feel me?”
Karina Pinella 
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