a cooking pot and twisted tales
Thoughts and Tales…A Lifestyle Blog with a Zing.
Except your blog is a hot house plant,
That needs to be kept indoors
Pampered and molly-coddled
Then you can remain hidden in the dark
However, if you want to be a hardy planted blog
You need to get out into the sunny side
Of meeting others
So that you don’t
Suffer stunted growth.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
*******An opportunity presents itself through this party link. It’s hopping in here.
Jump right into the fray. You are welcome.
Mike held his breath and closed his eyes. Anxiety curled in his stomach like viper.
He knew that the roll of the dice determined his doom.
For minutes, he reviled himself for the gambling, which overtook his senses.
Going to town with the lads had turned out not to be a very good idea.
A mug of beer became several and a roll of dice turned into several rolls too many.
‘I should have stuck with the coin machines.’ He thought.
‘What will I tell Bernadette?‘
‘How do I explain that I have lost the inheritance.’ ‘That we are heading for the poor house?‘
Like a man waiting for the knell of the tomb bell, the jingle of dices sounded ominous and then it stopped.
Gasps, shifting of bar stools and music in the background sounded louder.
Bracing himself he opened his eyes.
Incredible! By some lucky God of Roulette he won.
‘You lucky son of a gun,’ Todd pounded his back.
‘Well, drinks are on you.’
He collected his winnings, left several dollar bills for drinks and decided to go home.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
In response to the FFAW photo prompt above. Thank you Etol for the photo and Priceless Joy for your enabling platform.
![1453028628566[1]](https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/14530286285661.jpg)
The call for prayers blared through the loud speakers, the pull of the voice sounds compelling, but prayers are the furthest thing on Aashish’s mind.
He feels sad. He has no money to apply for residence visa for his wife and two daughters to join him and the much that he earns is barely enough to tide him over, after he had sent some home.
It’s Sunita’s birthday today, he thought that by now they would have been with him.
His children are growing up without him and yet the fortune that he sought, leaving them behind eluded him.
He pulls out the crumpled, almost faded picture of his family. It was taken years back in one of the quick snap booths, on one of their rare visits to town. It has been five long years, since he last set eyes on them. He has failed them and his shoulders slump further.
Sometimes his spirits are buoyed with stories of people winning lotteries and he struggled to buy a ticket, but it was always someone else who won.
He felt he was better off back home on his farm in Nepal and doing odd jobs to augment their meagre income.
At least he will get to be with his family again and he will be happier again and Anu will understand, he hopes.
Being away from his wife has been the hardest part. The fees for entertaining himself with one of the willing ladies was just too much luxury for him.
With a sigh of pent up emotions, he fished out his rubber-bound telephone from his pocket and dialed his brother’s number.
Hello Aadit, tell Anu that I am coming home, he said.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
From my neighbours yards, I harvested these thoughts and would like to share them with you.
Feeding The Tiger, Fighting The Lions, from Deborah Crocker.
Getting That Book Constructed For Submission, from Connie Jasperson
How to easily find time for stress free blogging , from Janice Wald
I enjoyed reading Life Lessons from voyager of freedom.
Curative list of 2016 writing competitions from Yelhispressing
A little teaser for you from A Momma’s view.
A tale of two dips, from what’s for dinner moms.
The tiny cry is simply magical.
The best sound that she’s ever heard.
For sixteen years she waited in the Lords chambers, until her faith had virtually shriveled to nothing.
Raising her tired arms, she holds them out for her brand new bundle of love.
At last, when she no longer expected it, fate chose to visit her in Wintertime.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Image credit: Pinterest.
On Thursday’s, I share a picture about ‘Echos of my Neighbourhood.’
I would like to invite you to participate. The challenge is quite simple.
Every Thursday, share a photo of bits and pieces of wherever you are at any point in time. It could be houses, backgrounds of your neighbourhood, activities and so forth and you can tag it Echos of my Neighbourhood, add my link to your post so that I will get the ping from your post.
Every other Thursday, I will publish a post with the links of all those who participated the previous week.
This is just a fun way of getting to see more of the World around us through your eyes, since we cannot all be at those places, we can at least see them through you.
I look forward to seeing your pictures.
Best regards,
Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
At night, when these skyscrapers come alive with the twinkle of their lights, I simply let my mind absorb it’s beauty and roam free. I think of all the humans contained within. The Good, The Bad, The Ugly and The Downright Dodgy.
![1452704405830[1]](https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/14527044058301.jpg)
![1452754697430[1]](https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/14527546974301.jpg?w=663)
Last Week Thursday, Echoes received a decent number of entries from these awesome bloggers below and I encourage you to take a quick sneak peek.
From Kat Myrman’s glimpse of her hometown, we see Dr. Pepper bringing the Superheros to town.
Oba’s shot of Lagos ‘Okada’ had me thinking of my Lasgidi home.
Pancake Bunnykins glimpse of the beautiful Suriname River behind Zorg Hospital makes you think it’s more like a hotel.
Never a dull bling shows us some insights of her work neighbourhood and that very cute live bunny.
There is definitely something stunning about black and white pictures and Tildy of Beespeak shows us snippets of her neighbourhood in black and white.
Spiritual Journeys queer tree deceives the eyes.
Now, let’s see yours.
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![1450609106065[1]](https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/14506091060651.jpg)
If wishes were mere thoughts to achieve reality
Mondays, will surely never come
For so many would have wished it away.
Quick Fun and Bizarre Fact:
I read somewhere that;
”Billy goats urinate on their own heads to smell more attractive to females.”
How do they achieve such a feat is what I ask?
It’s lovely to start the week and each day as much as we can with a smile and positive outlook. I find Leannenz Monday memes interesting.
Do have a fruitful and blessed week awesome people.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
The artistry of graffiti
Can be quite an entreaty
Which makes lithography of geography
And tells picto-tales of the polity
They are made by toughies
Who appear like Buffy
But inside they are really fluffy
And are simply all goofy
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
What if your poem could be scribbled all over a giant wall? Check out @atownend intriguing prompt for Writing 101, Day 8, Graffiti.
![1449906776293[1]](https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/14499067762931.jpg)
Day or Night
Cold or Wet
Hot or Dry
The day is bright
It’s all in the mind.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Have a good day today, where ever you are. Shalom
Tess tried not to feel upset and anxious.
45 minutes…
She has been waiting for 45 minutes and the small sips of her drink had dwindled to the last remaining drop.
”After this drink, I am just going to leave,” she muttered.
”It’s not as if I needed this drink that badly, but I couldn’t very well sit and twiddle my thumbs while waiting for a dude who obviously has no plans of turning up.”
The Goose and Berry was not really her kind of place.
It’s a testosterone filled pub where men stared unabashedly at her, which made her throat tighten in discomfort.
”My mistake not to have taken Kate’s advise to heart.” She chided herself.
As the queen of online dates Kate has quite some experience under her belt.
”Always breeze in 10-15 minutes after the agreed time and if the dude is not seated and waiting, walk out quietly.” ”Never set off on the footing of sitting around and waiting for the guy to turn up.” A very bad trend! Kate advised.
Just as she signaled the waiter for her bill with her lovely manicured fingers, her late date came breezing in and as he ambled over, her internally wired male data appreciation did a quick scan.
He’s not bad looking.
”Tall” – Check
”Attractive” – Check very attractive.
Nicely turned out in his fitted deep blue jeans and light blue checkered shirt with rolled sleeves, which showed off appropriately muscled and brawny arms.
Not bad by half an inch, her inner goddess muttered but he obviously sucked at time keeping.
With a wry smile of apology he drawled an excuse of a meeting running late and battery running low.
He is easy on the eye like Sunday morning and she was willing to take his excuse.
”Who knows? We might hit it off.” She thought.
She felt the stirrings of attraction – on her side at least, and as she ran her appreciative eyes once again from his face downwards, her zoom lens zeroed in on a well placed hickey by his left ear.
She blinked and stared. Yes indeed, its a hickey and even a faint trace of lipstick and powder on his collar.
Maybe it’s an enthusiastic colleague, she excused the hickey.
”My apologies once again,” Tim said. ”So what would you like to eat, have you had something?”
”Hmm!” She thought ”Ah! A guy who likes to take charge of things.”
They ordered and got comfortable in getting better acquainted beyond the online basics and everything seemed to rhyme well, but Tess’s eyes couldn’t stay away from straying to the hickey and powdered collar now and again.
He had her laughing in no time, sending the right vibes up and down her spine.
”He’s worth several more dates.” Her inner goddess sighed in agreement.
”Good sense of humour” – check.
”Seems confident in himself” – check.
She tried to rein in her runaway thoughts, but he stood up suddenly and before she could say Linda, a buxom fireball of a lady descended on them, fireballs stance all taut and poised for a showdown.
”Tim, what a surprise.” Uttered fireball in a voice that dripped with lethal anger and not too surprised.
”This must be your illustrious business partner.” Fireball gave Tess a disdainful look.
Tess was quick to deduce that fireball must be the hickey planter and lipstick owner.
”Close your mouth darling. I am sure you thought I was too stupid not to know that something didn’t add up with your sudden flux of meetings in recent times. I had to confirm my suspicions for myself.”
Tess quickly gathered her wits and her handbag and made a quick exit. She didn’t want to get caught in the flak of an angry woman’s tirade.
”What a philandering Tomcat!” She shook her head as she tried to process the entire scene.
”Why on Earth do I always manage to find the dodgy, cheating characters?” She muttered in resigned sadness.
To be continued…Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
The links to other parts are attached in case you haven’t read the previous series.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
As you know, I always like to excavate other neighbours treasures and I offer some to you today 🙂
Nutstrok always has me howling in laughter.
This quote by Deb put a smile on my face.
A new cooking discovery at Chez Gharkepakwan.
Lovely pictures of beautiful libraries to visit from Noirfifre.
I am not old by Non smoking lady bug.
Best song for grammar police found in Deb’s backyard.
Helpful tips for those who experience allergic, reactions from Smiling away allergies.
Today’s inspiration from Etta.
Some vibrant Christmas cheer from Lucid Gypsy.
One Love Many Names from Blabberwockying.
a cooking pot and twisted tales 