Raven's Wordzzle and An Award

It's been a long time since I participated in the Wordzzle Challenge so I thought I'd surprise Raven with at least the mini challenge. You can click the badge to read other participants entries.
For what it's worth here's mine:

Obama says the recovery for the economy is a long way off, Michael Jackson is leading the choir in heaven this week and teaching the angels to moonwalk, I need a ladder to wash my windows and I haven't a clue where one is, AND the structure of this sentence is way too long by most standards.

There you have it. All the words are in one sentence in the order in which Raven submitted them.

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Did you all see Raven's post yesterday? It was her birthday. Once again Raven, HAPPY BIRTHDAY and Best Wishes for many, many more!!!


I'd like to thank Jientje for the blog award she bestowed on me yesterday for my photoblog, Carletta's Captures. Thanks Jientje! It was my first award for that blog which makes it that much nicer. If you didn't know I had a photoblog and haven't checked it out click on over there if you have time and see my photos of wild baby turkeys. These little guys can already fly!

Raven's Wordzzle Challenge

Camera Critters is here: Carletta's Captures

Time again for Raven's Wordzzle. Anyone new to the challenge can go here for more information. Click the badge to visit Raven and visit all others playing today.

Here is my mega challenge for this week:

Lois held her cell phone to her ear listening impatiently to her mother describe a reading at the Poet’s Corner gathering that afternoon about a legendary panther. While she loved her mother dearly and enjoyed their daily conversations the fast of the past twelve hours that she had had to endure for her routine blood work had left her feeling drained and trembling. Looking at her mirror image in the partition that separated her from the next booth she even looked pale and dispirited. At this moment all she wanted was to sink her teeth into the Big Mac in front of her and gulp down the largest soft drink she could find. At the moment it was her only salvation.

In between bites and ‘uh-huhs’ she listened to her mother describe the story about a panther that prowled along a mountain highway. The story had been written by a group of hikers who first encountered the panther while roasting marshmallows around a campfire during a camping trip. Before turning in for the night the hikers had been taking turns telling made up stories. Their imagination conjured up a story about a serial killer, one about a group of fighting frogs possessed with green power, and even one about the cartography skills needed by Columbus to sail his ships. It was well into their round of stories that the panther fearless of the fire appeared at the edge to the camp circle.

“Oh my, Lois darling, I’m going on and on and I have forgotten to ask about your appointment. Did everything go well? Have you had anything to eat?”
“Yes Mom I’m fine. I’m eating a burger now; but what’s the rest of the hikers’ story?”
“We can talk about that later dear. I bought their book and got an autograph from each of the sweet young men. When I’m finished you can read the book yourself. Now, you finish your lunch and I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Bye now my dear.”

Raven's Wordzzle Challenge

Camera Critters is here - Carletta's Captures

Time again for Raven's Wordzzle. Anyone new to the challenge can go here for more information.

Here is my mini offering this week with all words in a single sentence:

After fighting through his inner demons and rewriting his transcript three times, Kingdom Come was ecstatic that his new novel Take Names had become a best seller.

And here is my ten word offering for this week:
(With a nod to Jay S. all the words -following the dialogue- are in the order Raven gave them in.)

“Sorry Keith; but that isn’t correct said Mr. Taylor. Who can help Keith out?”
“I can Mr. Taylor said Johnny.”
“By all means Mr. Baker you may proceed.”
Very eloquently Johnny recited, “Pluralism is a condition in which numerous distinct ethnic, religious, or cultural groups are present and tolerated within a society.”
“Well done Johnny” Mr. Taylor praised.
Where was the humanity of always being in the shadow of someone else? Why didn’t good fortune and karma ricochet off that person and onto you and help bring you out into the spotlight Keith thought! He couldn’t understand what was so wrong about his not understanding pluralism. They had only started studying it yesterday! Oh, but Mr. Social Studies himself, Johnny Baker, had probably studied all night as usual to be THE STUDENT with all the answers.
Long ago in an elementary mathematics class Keith knew he would never shine as brightly in the classroom as Johnny Baker. Johnny always had all the answers, all the CORRECT answers. Johnny had come into his own personhood early in life. Keith expected that when Johnny started kindergarten that the printing press at the local paper probably ran all night turning out the next morning’s edition with news that the local school had a boy genius on their hands. It was true that Johnny had always been at the top of the class and Keith just behind him never able to surpass the intelligence of Johnny.
Keith sat staring out the window, a smile slowly spreading across this face. He imagined Johnny sitting somewhere someday in a psychologists office looking at some ink spot that reminded him of cheerleader pom poms and wondering why he had joined the Choral Society instead of trying out for football. The thought made Keith feel better and he could hardly wait for the afternoon bell to ring and football practice to begin.

Just in case you're missing winter. NOT! :)

Raven's Saturday Wordzzle Challenge

My Camera Critters Post is at Carletta's Captures

Time again for Raven's Wordzzle. Anyone new to the challenge can go here for more information.
This is my mega challenge with all fifteen words:

Beau and Laura had met in college their sophomore year. As it happened Beau’s fraternity was holding a fund-raising event to help purchase a new Wizard 500 Telescope for the science department and Laura’s sorority was holding a walk-a-thon to benefit a local school that had experienced a salmonella outbreak. They had met while standing in line at the Office of Student affairs to get the final approvals needed for their organization’s activities. At first they had a luke warm reaction to each other but over the next few weeks soon found themselves drawn to each other like Esther and Ben Hur.

Now in their junior year they found themselves on the way to the Sugar Bowl with a few of their best friends all of whom were wearing brand new cotton T-shirts proclaiming their school’s team as number one!

This trip was going to be a challenge for Beau. He wanted to ask Laura to marry him. He and his fraternity brothers had cooked up an elaborate scheme for a proposal. An invitation for Laura had been sent ahead by snail mail a week earlier to the hotel where they would be staying. It would be given to her when she arrived in her hotel suite. It would invite her to attend a reception after the game to purportedly help surprise Beau with a prestigious fraternity award. However, when she arrived at that destination only Beau would be present and dinner would be an intimate setup for two with lots of sparkling cider which was Laura’s favorite drink.

Beau was sure Laura loved him and would say yes to becoming his wife. He could almost bank on that. What he wasn’t sure about was her reaction when he would tell her he wanted to drop out of college and become a master carpenter. He’d just have to wait and see. He didn’t have time to be melancholy. It was his turn to drive and it was a long way to New Orleans.

And, look who's back!

Yes, they are finally back in my neighborhood. I had been lamenting that everyone had seen them but me. Finally on Wednesday morning there they were.
I just love to sit and watch them cock their little heads and listen for worms and my, oh my, don't they grab them quickly!
I couldn't get very close so this isn't as clear as I'd like it to be so I had to play with the image just a bit. Today on my photoblog I have posted this image with some dry brush effects that I'm liking pretty well. If you have time I invite you to go have a look.
Carletta's Captures
For more wordzzles click on the badge at the top of my post.

Raven's Wordzzle and... Carletta's Wildlife Shot of the Day

***For Camera Critters Click Here.***

This is week 53 of Raven's Wordzzle Challenge. Anyone new to the process can refer back here to find out how it works.

Sometimes my friends life takes precedence over blogging. What! Oh yes, I'm afraid it's so! Is your mouth dropping at such a ridiculous statement? It could very well be true or maybe it's just my way of saying I was lazy and only attempted the mini challenge this week. Does that sound more like it? Yeh, I thought so to.

Without further ado here is my mini challenge for this week - all in one sentence:

Roofer was a Nomad from Siberia who carried a lucky shamrock in this pocket, loved citrus fruit and hummed twinkle twinkle little star as he herded his reindeer in the tundra.

There it is short and sweet. Now go visit those wonderful other participants who really know how to tell a story - click the badge above.

Wildlife Photo of the Day

This little guy likes to grab a walnut from my neighbor's tree, run to the flowerbed under my oak tree, shell his walnut (see that mess there in the corner) and then run off with his treasure.
For another look at him shelling the walnut click for my photoblog.

Raven's Saturday Wordzzle

I haven't played Raven's Wordzzle for quite some time. I saw that she was back posting yesterday after a week's absence. In her words she is climbing out of the hole she has been in and I want her to know I have missed her a great deal. No literary genius here Raven, just a little support for a dear blogging friend - YOU. Welcome back.

And now, here's my ten word offering for this week:

Shoveling snow and ice off the steps and sidewalks wasn’t exactly Crabby’s idea of fun. Yet, it was a necessity if he wanted to remain hmmm….what was that geometry term, oh yeah, perpendicular to the sidewalk. Besides he needed a path to the mailbox. A good forty-five minutes later on this cold and snowy Saturday morning Crabby found his mailbox overflowing.
Inside were his Netflix movies for the week, his Book of the Month club selection of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy in time for Monday’s Sci-fi club meeting, the ever present monthly mortgage bill, and the New York Times with a front page headline about that skunk of a man who had had such a flagrant disregard for other people’s monies. Crabby guessed the story must be true. After all, here it was in the Times!

And here's my mini challenge:

Crabby’s wife could be pragmatic on this Saturday morning and get busy doing a couple of loads of laundry that desperately needed done. She could even mix up a nice chef salad that she would later sprinkle with safflower oil and serve to Crabby for lunch. Or, she could sit in the lounge chair with her eyes closed and listen to her CD of Gregorian chants. After all, the Benedictine monks of Santo Domingo believed the chants could inspire calm and serenity. One thing she was certain of – she didn’t need a crystal ball to tell her which would be preferable.

*** Camera Critters is at Carletta's Captures.***

Raven's Wordzzle Challenge

To find the rules and guidelines for this challenge go here. To join our hostess Raven and check out other Wordzzles please click the badge. It will take you straight to Raven's Nest.

Here is my ten word offering for this week:
Katie hoped to one day be a famous author; but any fame would probably be posthumous. If it never happened it most likely would be because of the flagrant style of most of her recent written works. She worked seven days a week as a columnist for the local paper and tried to keep her writing within the professional boundaries her editor expected. Sometimes her colleagues thought she was just too far out there.
Katie’s greatest achievements had been when she wrote the entertainment column for the paper. One article about local Civil War Enactments and another about a promising up and coming clarinet player both earned her accolades. It seemed she was well on her way to a rewarding career.
More recently she covered a showing at the local art gallery of a Microwave Pyramid. The artist entitled it “Absent Without Leave.” Not liking or understanding it too well, Katie had remarked in her article that the title was probably more about the mindset of the artist than the piece itself. That didn’t set well with the Editor and Chief at all especially since his wife served on the board of the gallery. Katie hadn’t any regard for protocol as to how one would expect to be dressed on the opening night of the exhibit either. She showed up in blue jeans and sat comfortably all evening eating cheese and crackers and sipping wine.

Here is my five word offering - in one sentence:
The thermometer might have said it was a comfortable 72 degrees in the sanctuary but a chill came over the congregation when the visiting evangelical leader without any sugar coated sentiments announced the local tractor pull, in which many participated, was a masquerade for heathens!

Saturday Wordzzle

The Views from Raven's Nest is where you'll find the rules, next week's words, and today's participants. Click the badge and you're there. I hope you'll read mine first. :)
(I didn't see the revised set of words. I used the original list.)

Here is my offering for the ten word challenge:
Climbing in the Jeep and fastening her seat belt Liz was making a last minute run to the store. Her doctor had told her she could take some over- the-counter meds for her current allergies and she wanted to get some for her trip. While she was there she would pick up moisturizing cream, dog biscuits for Fido and some of those Flip-Flop crunchy pickles she liked so much. Tomorrow she would be a computer programmer on the move up – yes siree she thought – ready or not here I come Chicago!

Here is my mini challenge:
Tom was taking his wife on holiday. Because of her mercurial nature she couldn’t decide among the many places he had offered to take her but had finally persuaded him to visit Pompeii. Personally Tom had no urge to see bodies preserved in what was once molten lava. He’d much rather buy her a diamond tennis bracelet, anchor the yacht in the Bahamas and partake in drunken gluttony. Now that sounded like a holiday. However, his lovely wife usually got her way so this time it would be a Pompeii getaway. Tom just hoped Mount Vesuvius was content to lie dormant during their stay. He’d certainly be keeping his fingers crossed.

And, my mega challenge:
Tom and Liz rarely had time for a family picnic. Their respective careers, his as a doctor of allergies and hers as a computer programmer for a huge Chicago conglomerate, took most of their time and energy.
On this beautiful sunshiny day the children left their usual mercurial twists of temperament at home and each could hardly wait to get their seat belt unbuckled once the car came to a stop in the park. The sound of their flip-flop sandals echoed on the concrete as they ran for the swings. Grabbing a bag of dog biscuits Tom escorted Fido to a nearby doggie rest area.
Liz headed for the nearest empty picnic table with a basket of treats to enjoy when the kids got the munchies. Lately the whole family had succumbed to gluttony when it came to pickles and she had made sure that morning to pack a huge jar to go with the lunch sandwiches. They had even stopped and picked up Chili’s Molten Chocolate Cake for dessert. Liz hoped it would survive on the ice in the cooler until it was time to be eaten.
As she stood rubbing the moisturizing suntan lotion on her arms her eyes fell to the tennis bracelet with the gold anchor on her right arm. Tom had given it to her after a long ago visit to Pompeii after which they had spent days anchored off the coast of Naples. He had told her it was the best vacation he had ever had.
The sound of her children shouting ‘Mom, can we play hide and seek around the trees like we used to do’ brought her back to reality.
‘Yes, she answered, you two go hide and I’ll find you.'
She covered her eyes and began counting. At the number ten she yelled, ‘Ready or not here I come!’

Raven's Saturday Wordzzle Challenge

The daycare room was filled with children playing. Ginny's Mommy had come to retrieve her little bundle of joy.

"Are you ready to go home Ginny?"

Ginny sat quietly playing with her alphabetical blocks in the corner. The daycare assistant said she had been playing with them all day. One of the older children had tried showing her how to stack the blocks like a tower but she couldn't get too many stacked before they tumbled to the ground.

"It's time to go now Sweetie." Mommy called as she approached carrying Ginny's favorite penguin shaped floppy hat that she had worn that morning over her cinnamon colored hair.

Continuing to play with her blocks Ginny looked up at her Mommy and exclaimed, "Static Mommy, Static!"

To check out all the guidelines visit Raven by clicking on the badge!

Raven's Saturday Wordzzle Challenge

Be sure to click on the badge to find the guidelines to Raven's writing challenge and to check out those who wrote along with her today.
I will have to state from the beginning that I wasn't very creative this week. I kept looking at the words and then putting them down so this week I'm only offering a short mini challenge. It sounds like I'm starting to apologize here and since I always tell Raven to stop apologizing I should hush and just give you what I got!
This is my offering for the five word mini challenge:
Wanda Boondoogle was sure beyond the shadow of a doubt that she was moronic. Why else would she have married a tycoon with an insipid personality who had such a totalitarian view of marriage!!

Raven's Saturday Wordzzle Challenge

Many thanks to Raven for hosting the Wordzzle Challenge. Click on the badge to visit her site and to read other participants stories. There you can grab the words and check out the guidelines and even try your own hands at writing a coherent paragraph with Raven's words.

Give it a try. We would love for you to join us next week!

This is my offering for the mini challenge:

Julie knew she had blatantly been ignoring her cholesterol. She wondered if constricted blood flow was responsible for her imagining a poltergeist of the Birdman of Alcatraz staring at her from the window of the washing machine.

This is my first attempt at the mega challenge:

It was Sunday afternoon after a night at the Rainbow Cactus which was the town’s hottest new gay bar when Johnny strolled into the kitchen to find his roommates gathered around the table
“Well, good morning sunshine, Andy teased. “It’s nice to see your smiling face.”
“He looks more like a poltergeist to me. Adam retorted. “It’s probably that plethora of suitors he had.”
Johnny blurted. “You’re just jealous because you and Brad broke up.”
“What!” Frankie exclaimed.
“Tattletale!” Adam cried at Johnny. “Sometimes I wish you were mute!”
“Don’t be so lovelorn. Go turn the washing machine to the spin cycle and sit on it. That will calm you down a bit.” Johnny laughed.
“Where are the Cheerios?” Andy asked. “I have been trying to watch my cholesterol.”
“They’re on the fridge.” “Honestly, if you weren’t so myopic.” Thomas huffed without even looking up from the book he was reading.
“You don’t even know what that word means.” Andy retorted.
With his face buried in the refrigerator Johnny called out, “Yes, he does he’s a homogeneous.” They all burst into peels of laughter.
“What are you reading?” Andy asked curiously.
“It’s about the Birdman of Alcatraz.” Thomas replied with militant shortness.
“It’s better than those poltergeist stories he was reading.” Adam interjected.
“Every time he couldn’t find something he was sure we were being haunted by Liberace.
I think he’s just flighty.”
Rolling his eyes Thomas put his book down and asked the group, "So how was the drag show last night?”
“I loved it and the techno music always makes me feel digitalized.” Andy replied with a huge smile.
“What are you a TV?” Adam asked. “I wish you had a mute button.”
“That attitude is blatantly why you are single.” Johnny replied. “You need to get laid.”
“You’d think with that cornucopia of delicious men he’d have at least got some digits.” Frankie replied.
“Yeah, then he could have felt digitalized too.” Johnny retorted as the group again broke into a round of laughter.

Raven's Saturday Wordzzle

It's Saturday which means it's time for Raven's Wordzzle. Each week she gives out lists of words that we the participants try to use in a coherent paragraph. Some participants are REALLY good at this so I invite you to click on the badge above and visit everyone who is writing with Raven today.

Here is my offering for the mini challenge:

Without the proper investments to see her through her waning years in style, Emily found her before death penalty was sitting in a substandard convalescent home petting the purring cat on her lap and reminising about the backseat of an old blue Mercury.

Raven's Saturday Wordzzle

Each week Raven throws out groups of words for us to take and put in a short coherent paragraph. The challenge gets our creative juices rolling and we get to be writers for a day. Some of Raven's regulars are extremely good at this so I hope you'll click on the logo and head over to her place and read some REALLY good stories.
I only attempted the mini challenge this week. The words for that challenge I've highlighted in blue.

Here is my offering for the mini challenge:

Johnny drank his coffee and munched on a poppy seed muffin as he scanned his eyes over the diagram of his new car for the upcoming drag race. He was overly excited to be racing in his hometown of Charleston, West Virginia. He'd raced numerous places across the United States but was looking forward to being in front of a hometown crowd. In no uncertain terms that whole hometown boy makes good theme appealed to him. As he sat there daydreaming he imagined Take Me Home Country Roads would be playing over the loud speakers at the starting lineup and good ole John Denver would be up there in heaven swinging from a star, listening in and cheering him on!

Raven's Wordzzle

It's Saturday and time for Raven's Wordzzle. Each week Raven gives us a number of words to get our creativity going and we use them in a short coherent paragraph. The words given to us from Raven are in blue.

Make sure you click on the logo above to visit Raven and the other players this week. You'll find lots of imaginative uses of the words involved.

Here is my offering for the mini challenge:

Aidan had spent the better part of the afternoon at the Jurassic Park bar sitting on a toadstool shaped seat having a very long liquid lunch. So liquid in fact that he had begun imagining being home in manacles with the gorgeous redhead seated at the other end of the bar. He wasn't so far gone yet not to remember that she was with the drummer of the band Counting Sheep that was playing that screeching tune in the far corner of the room. For now he'd keep his daydreams to himself. He wasn't about to get whacked over the head with a set of drumsticks. His head was already hurting enough as it was. No, this was one daydream that would have to wait.

And, my offering for the ten word challenge:

Marjorie sat at her laptop watching the falling leaves float gently by the window. She used a Popsicle stick to scoop caviar from the can in front of her. She knew it was said you should use a suitable utensil of gold, horn, or wood. Well, the stick would have to do. Besides, she could scrap every last bite from around the inside of the can. Yes, it seemed almost decadent but she had a taste for its luscious flavor and nothing else would deliver the pure satisfaction. Maybe it would help pacifier her so that she could make a logical decision about her upcoming vacation. She had been surfing the WEB trying to decide between going to Alaska looking for grizzly bears or to Jamaica to lie in a lounge chair beside a fusion of sand and sea. A long leisurely vacation was a two year old dream just waiting to be fulfilled. She had saved every penny she could to make the dream a reality and now with money to spare in the bank she felt invincible. Invincible maybe, crazy she guessed for snacking on expensive caviar!

Saturday Wordzzle Challenge

It's Saturday and time for me to try out Raven's Wordzzle Challenge.

Here is my mini challenge:

On the industrial side of town I work in a bovine factory where the maggots turn the waste products into a nightly buffet dinner. I keep my lipstick in the thermal pocket of my overalls so as not to forget what it's like to be feminized. A woman in a man's world! Mama didn't tell me there would be days like THIS!

And for the first time I tried the mega challenge:

Leaning against my pillowcase pacified by my industrialized piece of tiramisu I sat transfixed watching the history channel on TV. Oh, to be the Queen of the Nile or live the life of a Swami! This channel was much better than Animal Planet had been with its specials about the maggot life cycle and the bovine world and a narrator who had the voice inflection of Fran Dresher. Honestly, I should have been working on my college science paper about micro climates and thermal pockets. However, all the grammatical requirements caused an evacuation of brain cells. Ah, forget it all; I’d much rather take a relaxing feminized bath. Click!

Raven's Saturday Wordzzle Challenge

Each Saturday Raven hosts her Wordzzle Challenge. She gives us a bunch of random words and phrases to make into a SHORT paragraph. It's great fun and a good challenge for your creativity.

I don't feel I've been very good in my couple of attempts at the challenge; but, Raven is an exceptional writer so be sure to check hers out. Just click on the icon to go to Raven's and all the other participants doing today's challenge.

The following is my mini challenge for this week.

It was not a flourishing business by any means. Only a fragment of the nightly Karaoke talent at the club was anything more than insipid crooning. You could juxtapose the competitors on the stage at the end of the night and looking at their zombie-like faces swear they didn't have enough hemoglobin to be able to breathe little alone sing. No Sirree, unless something changed soon this business was going belly up.

Rain Rain Go Away

This was yesterday at my house. As you can see the deck gate was open, the fake palm tree in the corner ready to be lighted for a touch of fun and ambience, and the grill just out of sight ready to be fired up for ribs and corn on the cob. What else do you see? Do you see my visitor? Sure you can! Right there he is - Mr. RAIN! He stayed and kept us company ALL DAY!

Hope everyone is still enjoying a Happy 4th of July weekend!

Today I'm participating in a meme hosted by Raven at Raven's Nest. Each week she gives out a list of random words to use in a complete paragraph. I've been promising her I would attempt it so here is my somewhat feeble attempt to be creative today. Clicking on the icon will take you to Raven's Nest.

This is the mini challenge using the five random words she suggested.

The mysterious stranger sat across the restaurant at a small table. I glanced at him frequently thinking I knew him from somewhere, but where? I noticed too that he seemed to look my way a little more often than necessary. Music from the nearby dance floor was a soothing old blues song and I soon got lost in its rhythm.
The waiter appeared ever so quietly at my table silently placing my filet of sole in front of me. I had ordered a lunch sized portion for my dinner; but what I saw was an elephantine plate of fish. I had come to this particular restaurant for its excellent dessert menu and by golly I was going to have that velvet cake no matter what! The gasp that had escaped my mouth startled my waiter. I quickly explained my dilemma to him.
“Look, it’s either eat all of this and have no dessert or take part of it home for later. I really want dessert so could you please help me out here!”
He didn’t seem sympathetic to my plight at all and with rolling eyes and a shake of his head he marched off to the kitchen to get me a carry out box.
As I was about to pick up my fork I noticed the mysterious stranger approaching my table. He leaned down and whispered, “It’s nice to see a woman who really knows what she wants. Do you mind if I have dessert with you?” As soon as he had begun to speak I knew it was an old and very dear friend from school that I hadn’t seen in over thirty years. We had been wonderful friends and had lost touch. I think my heart skipped a couple of beats. The evening was certainly getting better minute by minute. Oh waiter!