Author: jacquelineobyikocha

A wordsmith with a vivid imagination, an eager mind and a burning desire to carve out tales. As I journey with my muse to that land of all possibilities and self discovery, I hope my personal evolution will serve as a beacon of inspiration for anyone who chooses to stop by.
Stream of Consciousness Saturday.

Facing The Screen – Stream of Consciousness Saturday

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I think that I may need to look into anti-glare for my laptop screen because it hurts my eyes at times, but I am not going to dwell on that right now ‘cos I’ve got to write in a hurry before I rush off to a last minute dress rehearsals.socsbadge2016-17

The Stream of Consciousness prompt for today, ‘screen’ brings the thought of the fashion show that I am participating in today to my mind.

I am almost as jumpy as a cat and have asked myself a thousand times if I thought through this very well before deciding to jump on a modelling wagon.

There will be lots of paparazzi camera screens capturing our wobbly strut down the ramp for providence and you know the screen of the camera can be merciless in picking up every stumble that you make.

Now wish me luck as I put on my game face to face all the intruding screens and hope to walk a straight line without melting into a nervous puddle. I will share my daring venture with you once I survive it 😉

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

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The Daily Post

Where is Home?

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Where is home? For a lot of us, it’s easy to point to that parcel of land, with its building and the things inside that make it their home. For an unfortunate number, there’s no home, but under the elements, with their misshapen belongings and a shredded piece of carton as their bed.

For a good number of us who are sojourners in various lands, our home has come to mean more than our physical abode. In my opinion, one of the sides of having lived in 3 Continents at various points in my life is that each of these places captures a piece of your heart with its essence and represents home one way or the other.

Over the years, my homes have differed from country to country, I have had to shed material belongings over and over, but I have ultimately gathered beautiful experiences and memories on my path with my family.

Walking home after an evening's stroll.
Walking home after an evening’s stroll.

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Friday Fiction in Five Sentences

The Carpet Bomb – Friday Fiction in Five Sentences

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A heavy and wretched cloak of sorrow hung over her, her incoherent mumbles and vacant eyes’ belie the once happy soul that lay within; many believe that she has lost her mind.

For her deeply lined face shows a map of the harsh hand life dealt her and her dejected haunting look, too uncomfortable to look at.

What they forgot was the loss of three healthy sons and her husband to a bomb in the market square.

What they didn’t know was how deeply she loved them and the excruciating pain of missing them.

What they failed to understand was that life’s pleasure was lost to her and each day, she trudged through the rubble praying for another explosion to take away her pain.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

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A Click A Day

The Two Men and The Minarets – A Click A Day

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Featured Blogs

Featured Posts 138 – Share Your Post Links

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‘PLEASE KEEP SENDING IN THE LINKS.’ 

Today’s featured blogs posts are:

How to overcome fear when facing real danger. In today’s World, security can’t be emphasized enough. My girl Tasha always shares practical stuff. Be informed

Are you like David? This is an uplifting post to start off your day. Like chicken soup for the soul. Please read 🙂

Enticing Food Labels In these days of so much sensory overload online, in the shops, on TV etc, how much attention do we really pay to the enticing words and labels that attract our eyes’ promising us one good thing after the other especially when it comes to food. Our health is our life and there are basic things that we must be attentive to. This is an important post.

The Last Words. How many of us suffer insomnia? I guess far too many. Brenda weaves an indicting prose inspired by insomnia. Take a read 😉

I try to be perfect for my adopted daughter, while not expecting perfection. Borrowing the writers’ words quoted below, this post makes your guts wrench.

Those affected by trauma can try to make sure their kids don’t have the same trauma….by not showing our trauma.

How do we try to be perfect while also not expecting or desiring perfection? I’ve been doing it for years and it is hurting me on the inside. At night I cry.

Last night my tears were for my real mother, the woman who spent years looking for me after I was trafficked by two white people.

Do step in and show some love.

‘Do you want more eyes on your words?’

Well then, add your LINK INTO THIS LOOP.

Comments are disabled here to keep the loop tidy. Any comments or link you want to send can be added through the link in the post.

Thank you for your understanding and regards.

‘We create a cohesive community when we come together. 

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Echos Of My Neighbourhood

Sail With Me – Echoes of My Neighbourhood

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My Muse chose to take me to the harbour for a quiet time on Saturday morning. With my laptop, notepad and camera, I tapped away, sipping my warm latte and enjoying the gentle breeze from the Gulf.

I am working on a story that involves a harbour scene and I needed to revitalize my mind. Thankfully, there are several harbours around here and if you want a bit of calm, it’s best to go a bit early in the day before everybody troops in.

It’s a lovely place to spend a couple of hours and there’s something about the gentle sea breeze that kindled my imagination made my words flow faster.

Pamela takes us on a scenic walk in her neighbourhood before Hurricane Matthew and I think I’m going to hold Lady Lee responsible for planting hungry ideas in my head with her sumptuous looking pot of curry. 

On Thursdays, I share pictures about ‘Echos of my Neighbourhood.

I would like to invite you to participate. The challenge is quite simple and you can find out more about it through this link.

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A Click A Day

Pitter-Patter – A Click A Day

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Pitter-Patter of adorable little feet

cute as buttons and just as neat

little babies are simply so sweet.

♥

I love children

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

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Gratitude

Going Down At Last – Personal

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For the first time in almost forever, my scale has shifted downwards. I stood on the treacherous thing this morning and voila, before my eyes, the arrow was going anti-clockwise instead of standing rigid or shifting forward like it always seemed to prefer doing.

Losing a few pounds may not seem like much to some keep fit nuts out there, but the humbling lesson that trying to lose weight is teaching me is that age does count with these things. My body is no longer 22 years old and shifting these lovely bumps has become an uphill task even with eating sensibly and not indulging in all the sweetness out there.

We often don’t know what we have, or maybe we do, but we are unable to appreciate the enormity of grace that abounds in our daily lives that we get to take these things for granted and maybe even become blasé about them. I remember my svelte pre-babies figure and though she’s still somewhere in my head and in this ample bodacious body of mine, she’s been absent for many moons now.

I always took it for granted that I would get her back with the snap of my fingers instead the reverse has been the case for such a while, that some days I just feel outrightly stressed and all this has only made my fibromyalgia pains worse. I don’t like to dwell and moan over my pains, especially in my legs, however, it’s nagging presence constantly reminds me of the excess body weight that I’m lugging around.

As much as I don’t shame my present state, I’m not happy with it and it’s consequences healthwise, thus, I’m am seriously thankful that the excess is finally responding to stimuli. My hope is to stay on course and that it continues to go downwards till I get to my appropriate BMI for the sake of my health.

However it may be, appreciate who you are at whatever stage you find yourself, never take it for granted even as you work to improve your state of being.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

If you wish to participate in a gratitude challenge, there are several gratitude/thankful platforms in the blogosphere that you can tune into and get your ithankful going on. I can’t express in words the enormity of Joy and fulfilment that comes from having a heart of gratitude. Please check out Maria’s blog,Colline’s blog and Bernadette’s for thankful/gratitude challenges.

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Challenges

Thank You and An Open Invitation.

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Almost remiss of me, I duly apologise for the delay in publishing this post. My life has been a rat race of late that each day I fall into bed all tuckered out.

I would like to thank all my dear blogger friends who made my last blog party rock. You guy’s know how to make a girl happy and some of you do have good dance steps 😉

I sincerely appreciate the support that I receive in this place from all of you.

For those who were unable to attend the monthly shindig, here’s the link to the party. There are loads of bloggers in there waiting to say hello to you. Do take a peek.

When you read the numbers upside down, the answer to the party riddle is: BILL IS BOSS HE SELLS OIL.

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NOW, to the interesting new thing coming up. You may be aware that The Writers’ Quote Wednesday which was primarily hosted by our amiable blogger Mistress, Colleen of Silver Threading and Ronovan, has been discontinued due to other exigencies.

However, with Colleen’s blessings, Bernadette of Haddon’s Musings and I have decided to pick up the Writers Quote baton because it is such an interesting series and it would be a shame to let it go.

Here’s the thing, we are looking for 2 more coordinators to join us in running this weekly series. Each week, a coordinator will give us a prompt word to work with, this way there’ll be four of us running the series as a team; it makes it more fun and lessens the burden when it’s just one coordinator.

Let me know if you are interested and what your thoughts are with regards to this. There are no hard and fast rules about the particular day that it should run, though the weekdays Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are preferable.

When we get other coordinators, the rules of engagement will be published and we hope to take off in November.

The intent of the writers’ quote series is to inspire your writing. You are free to write whatever you like based on the given prompt, but you must include your quote with your piece. You could write a story – preferably flash fiction,  poetry, music or even share songs.

This is an open invitation to all interested bloggers. Let’s keep the ink flowing. Hope to hear from you.

Jacqueline and Bernadette

 

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Featured Blogs

Featured Posts 137 – Share Your Post Links

jacquelineobyikochaLeave a comment

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‘PLEASE KEEP SENDING IN THE LINKS.’ 

Today’s featured blogs posts are:

Ex-pat This poem from Rick makes me smile because it hits home. As one who has lived the life of an ex-pat here and there in the past decade, I sometimes find myself adrift in my cup, pensive with thoughts of nostalgia of home across the ocean in Africa and home across the ocean in North America.

Hurricane Matthew Haiku The gust of the wind and ripping sounds captured in Pamela’s short video and haiku tells you how of the beautiful  side of nature even when it’s furious and frightening.

You are who you are? Who are you in all these things? A thought provoking poem.

Experience as an Untrained Teacher Have you ever taught before or imagined teaching? What was your experience as a rookie teacher?

Do step in and show some love.

‘Do you want more eyes on your words?’

Well then, add your LINK INTO THIS LOOP.

Comments are disabled here to keep the loop tidy. Any comments or link you want to send can be added through the link in the post.

Thank you for your understanding and regards.

‘We create a cohesive community when we come together. 

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