I’ve decided to try some writing prompts to jump start my imagination. There are some great creative writing prompts at this website: www.creativewritingprompts.com This will be my first attempt at this, so don’t laugh. This particular prompt asks me to close my eyes and think about an object in the room. After about three minutes of concentrating on the object, I am to open my eyes and write about it without looking at it. This should be interesting….

It’s a vase. It sits on top of my armoire, under a large lamp, and doubles as a bookend. I’ve had this vase for as long as I can remember, yet I don’t know where it came from. It stands about 8 inches tall and is approximately 4 inches across at it’s widest point, which happens to be its middle section. The top of the vase is almost as wide as the middle, but it curves out over itself to form a sort of lip around the rim. It’s rough to the touch, as if sand was mixed in to the ceramic, and has a distinct ribbed feeling. It’s made up of various shades of brown, and the décor reminds me of those souvenirs of oddly blown glass, filled with layers of colored sand. I always thought it would look at home on a ranch in Arizona or Colorado. Even though it’s a vase, I’ve never actually put flowers in it. It has, however, been known to contain a book or two of matches, and it also acts as a temporary holding place for my daughter’s baby teeth, once the tooth fairy makes her rounds. Most of the time it goes unnoticed, but every now and then it catches my eye. When it does, I’m always glad it’s there.