FB3X Drabblerotic 2016 - O is for Otter

FB3X Drabblerotic

Share your drabbles, or flash fiction inspired by our word of the day. To join in, just post your piece to your blog/social media/website and add your link to the list with Title (Rating, Genre), e.g. A Little Bit of Fun (PG, Science Fiction) and then to perpetuate the cascade, add the list code to the bottom of your post :)

Title: Summer Outing (PG,m/m, familiars)
My Master list for Drabblerotic 2016. A to Z Challenge 2016
Author: charisstoma
Word count: 100


‘That there is a nice yummy snake,’ Lutrin thought. ‘And I have just the place to put him,’ as he eyed the long serpentine length glide by.

Smoothly Simon slid through the cool river water while Andy set out their meal on the blanket. Andy would soon join him in the water and then after their meal the blanket would provide a place for other pleasurable activities, a different activity using mouths undoubtedly being among them.

Andy’s angry shout warned him and Simon found himself with arms full of a very surprised, furry creature who’d also transformed into a man.

Prompt - photo

La Siesta, Ramon Martí Alsina, 1884. (Photo: Public Domain)

Spain's Prime Minister Wants to Formally Get Rid of Siestas
The afternoon nap has been on the ropes for years.

By Erik Shilling APRIL 14, 2016

You should probably take an afternoon nap today. Or at least think about it.

If you have a job, of course, this might take some doing, unless you live in Spain, where siestas are a long, famous tradition, enabled in part by federal law.

The Spanish workday generally starts at 10 a.m., takes a lengthy break at 3 p.m., and then ends around 8 p.m., with dinner often not until 10 p.m.


The origins of this arrangement are a little mysterious, though most seem to agree that farm workers took up that schedule decades ago, mostly to escape the searing summer heat.

The practice got a boost in 1942, when Spanish dictator Francisco Franco pushed the country's clocks permanently forward an hour, aligning with Germany's time zone, to keep in step with Franco's ally Hitler.

But for years now, siestas have been on the decline. In 2006, government employees started working 9-to-5, while most other workers kept to the old schedule.

And now Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy wants to formally bring everyone into the fold, in part to be more economically competitive with the rest of Europe.

Rajoy said last week that he would move forward with a law ending the Spanish workday at 6 p.m. if he can form another government, following Spanish elections in December that did not decide a clear winner. That may still be an open question, though opposition parties have also said they would go forward with similar proposals.

Which means that you should get your naps in now. It's always three o'clock somewhere.

recipe - Ketchup

Homemade Ketchup
Yields ( 1 ½ C (360mL) From Tomato to Ketchup by Roberta Basel

6 oz. (170 g) tomato paste
½ C (120mL) light corn syrup
½ C (120mL) white vinegar
¼ C (60 mL) water
1 T (15mL) sugar
1 t ( 5mL) salt
¼ t (1.2 mL) onion powder
1/8 t (.6 mL) garlic powder


1. Put all ingredients into a saucepan
2. Stir as you cook the mixture over medium heat. Mixture should become smooth. Heat the mixture until it boils.
3. Turn heat to low. Let mixture cook for 20 minutes, stirring often.
4. Take saucepan off stove and cover. Let cool.

5.Keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator.