Welcome to the end of another work-at-home week. The news has hardly been bursting with feel-good stories these days, but occasionally I’ll see a post or article that makes me smile.
One such post this week was NPR’s A Baaaad Crew Takes Over A Welsh Town: A Herd Of Goats article on Tuesday. Apparently, the town of Llandudno in northern Wales–the streets stay-at-home empty of people–is now home to a herd of wild Kashmiri goats that have roamed down from the nearby coastal headland. The picture accompanying the article is sure to make you smile.
There have been other feel-good stories on the news, mixed in with the bad: people providing food to the hungry, kids making masks to to donate, stores setting aside special hours for their more vulnerable shoppers.
These are interesting times.
I’m lucky enough to still be working–although from home instead of the office, and on emergent work instead of my usual projects–so things aren’t much different than they usually are. Sure, grocery shopping is now almost a treat (I get to leave the house!), although there is that lottery-aspect (will there be any bread, meat, or [fingers crossed] paper goods?). As a natural-born introvert, this should be right up my alley, and it is, except for that nagging worry about what’s coming next and how bad it will be. Ironically, this is one time when I wish I didn’t really understand all those charts the health department is putting out.
For now, I’ll continue doing my part (stay home, wash hands, etc.), and take a break now and then to enjoy the fact that I can walk out on the back deck in the middle of the workday to enjoy the sunshine for a few minutes. This evening, instead of watching the news, I think I’ll give today’s writing prompt and random words a try .
Care to join me?
For those of you working away on a story (whether a first draft or a polished version on its way to publication), if you’re not feeling random, we’d love to hear a bit – whether it’s a scene, a paragraph, or even a phrase that you are especially pleased with and would like to share.
If you don’t have a story in progress, or just want to work on something new, I hope either today’s random words or writing prompt will catch your creative fancy.
Ready?
What if: “Your character is really, really bored?
Feel free to interpret the “What if” any way you choose (or ignore it completely) and include any (or all) of the following random words:
fringe thumb audience goat
strong chisel background fence
robber lovesick bittersweet timid
chemical crash airship purple
I look forward to seeing your stories in the comments. If you’re not feeling in the writing mood today, or don’t have time, feel free to post suggestions you might have for future “what-if” prompts. Ideas are always welcome.
Happy writing to all!
Eight Ladies Writing 
I loved the story and photos of the goats! And I got a kick out of the one guy who called them the goat overlords. It must feel like that, if they’re the only creatures allowed to walk the streets.
So I put them into my sprint:
Week Four: [Still] Staying at Home
Apolline Bradshaw glued the purple fringe to the plastic airship and sat back to examine her work. The glue gave off a strong chemical smell, and she’d gotten some of the stuff on her thumb, too. She’d probably have to chisel it off.
“That plane would crash if you tried to fly it,” said her twin sister Arrietty, an audience of one, as she sat in the background with her book.
“It’s not for flying,” said Apolline. “It’s a luxury retreat for your lovesick hamster.”
Arrietty’s hamster Brembilla had, indeed, languished ever since her partner and longtime companion, Biddle, had escaped the confines of the hamster run and disappeared out the window.
“Thank you,” Arrietty said. “I think she’ll love it. Life has been bittersweet for her lately.”
“If she weren’t so timid, she’d have gone with Biddle,” Apolline said, not as sympathetic to Brembilla’s plight as Arrietty was.
“The goats are back,” Arrietty said, looking out the window and diplomatically changing the subject. “They’re eating the fence.”
“I wonder if we should make them an apron?” Apolline said. “That could get messy.”
The quarantine looked to be a long one.
What fun, Kay. I don’t know what I liked best: the character names or the idea of a lovesick hamster.