Words for Wednesday August 27Cykelture med forhindringer ~ Biking Challenges

Word for Wednesday is a challenge that was started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable event with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

In August, Mimi of MessyMimi's Meanderings will supply us with prompts.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

Word for Wednesday er en udfordring, der startede for længe siden. Nu er det blevet en bevægelig begivenhed med Elephant's Child som vores koordinator og ordene bliver leveret af en række personer.

Meningen med denne udfordring er at få os til at skrive. Digte, historier, fortællinger, vittigheder, haiku, krydsord, ordspil, ... du bestemmer.
Brug alle ordene, nogle af dem eller kun et enkelt, eller måske endda ingen af dem, hvis det får din kreativitet til at blomstre. Alt er tilladt, men helst ikke noget vulgært eller fornærmende.

I august er det Mimi fra MessyMimi's Meanderings der giver os ordene.

Det er også en udfordring, hvor det gamle ordsprog »Jo flere, jo bedre« holder stik.

Så husk at følge linkene, gå tilbage og læse andres historier. Og skriv gerne en kommentar, når du har læst. Udfordringer som denne holdes i live af interaktion, kommentarer og opmuntring. Og vi har ALLE brug for opmuntring.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

Ordene den 27. august - The Words for August 27:
Horizon
Consciousness
Theorist
Great
Enhance
Enter
          and/or the following sentence
It took him a while to realize that everything he decided not to change, he was actually choosing.


I had some trouble unravelling the sentence to mean that not choosing is also a choice. I did not use it, neither all of the words.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

The past seven days my bike has been on the horizon of my consciousness most of my waking hours. Last Wednesday I wrote about my broken bike and ended with this optimistic statement: "Tomorrow I will hopefully pick up my bike again – and I hope that will be my last visit to the bike repair shop for a while."

"Tomorrow" - Thursday - nothing happened, and not Friday either. I was in town again for PE and shopping, and phoned the bike shop just before going home, hoping they just forgot to send me an SMS. No such luck. They needed a spare part, and although the delivery van had not been at their place yet, the chance of them finishing the bike that same day was not great even should the spare part arrive. Else Monday hopefully.

I waited patiently, getting around by bus and by walking which my stupid leg - the reason fro Friday's PE and quite another woeful tale - did not like at all. Tuesday I phoned once again. nope, no such luck, but Wednesday for sure. Wednesday I was once again in town, PE and shopping, 'running' from place to place, checking my mobile phone between each shop - nothing. I took the bus home, against all wont holding my mobile in my hand, so as to be able to hear any possible notifications. None came. The grandkids stayed at our place for a couple of days, so the rest of the day was spent learning, teaching and doing family things. In the late afternoon, I checked my 'phone once again. You do not need to be a great theorist to figure out when the SMS telling that my bike was ready had arrived - yup. half an hour after I arrived home.

     Today, I finally went to pick up my bike. It had been fitted with new, shiny pedals and was as good as new – now we just have to get used to each other again!

- - 🚲  - - 

Den sidste uges tid har min cykel været øverst i mine tanker meget af tiden. Sidste onsdag skrev jeg om min ødelagte cykel og sluttede med denne optimistiske bemærkning: »I morgen skulle jeg gerne kunne hente cyklen igen - og så håber jeg at det var det sidste besøg hos cykelsmeden i et stykke tid.«

»I morgen« - torsdag - skete der ingenting, og heller ikke fredag. Jeg var i byen igen, til fysioterapi og for at gå på indkøb. Da jeg var helt færdig, ringede jeg til cykelsmeden, i håbet om at han bare havde glemt at sende mig en SMS om at cyklen var færdig. Sådan var det desværre ikke. Der manglede en reservedel, og selvom fragtmanden ikke havde været der endnu, var chancen for at de kunne blive færdige med cyklen samme dag ikke stor, selv hvis reservedelen altså skulle ankomme. Forhåbentlig mandag.
     Jeg ventede tålmodigt og bøvlede rundt med bus og til fods, hvilket mit dumme ben – årsagen til fredagens fysioterapi og en helt anden sørgelig historie – slet ikke brød sig om. Tirsdag ringede jeg igen. Nej, den var ikke færdig, men onsdag ville den helt sikkert være færdig.
     Onsdag var jeg igen i byen, til mere træning og flere indkøb, og "løb" fra sted til sted og tjekkede min mobiltelefon mellem hver butik – intet. Jeg tog bussen hjem og ganske usædvanligt sad jeg med mobilen i hånden hele vejen hjem, så jeg kunne høre eventuelle beskeder. Der kom ingen. Børnebørnene var hos os i et par dage, så resten af dagen gik med at lære, undervise og familie. Sent på eftermiddagen tjekkede jeg min telefon igen. Man behøver ikke være geni for at regne ud, hvornår SMS'en om, at min cykel var færdig, var ankommet - naturligvis en halv time efter jeg kom hjem.
     I dag var jeg så endelig inde og hente min cykel. Den havde fået nye, fine pedaler og var god som ny - nu skal vi lige vænne os til hinanden igen!

Den fortabte cykel er hjemme igen  -- The lost bike is home again

Og den skal overnatte i vores nye skur for første gang i nat.

- - 🚲  - -

And it's going to 'sleep' in our new shed for the first time ever tonight.

Words for Wednesday August 20Cykelture med forhindringer ~ Biking Challenges

Word for Wednesday is a challenge that was started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable event with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

In August, Mimi of MessyMimi's Meanderings will supply us with prompts.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

Word for Wednesday er en udfordring, der startede for længe siden. Nu er det blevet en bevægelig begivenhed med Elephant's Child som vores koordinator og ordene bliver leveret af en række personer.

Meningen med denne udfordring er at få os til at skrive. Digte, historier, fortællinger, vittigheder, haiku, krydsord, ordspil, ... du bestemmer.
Brug alle ordene, nogle af dem eller kun et enkelt, eller måske endda ingen af dem, hvis det får din kreativitet til at blomstre. Alt er tilladt, men helst ikke noget vulgært eller fornærmende.

I august er det Mimi fra MessyMimi's Meanderings der giver os ordene.

Det er også en udfordring, hvor det gamle ordsprog »Jo flere, jo bedre« holder stik.

Så husk at følge linkene, gå tilbage og læse andres historier. Og skriv gerne en kommentar, når du har læst. Udfordringer som denne holdes i live af interaktion, kommentarer og opmuntring. Og vi har ALLE brug for opmuntring.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

Ordene den 20. august - The Words for August 20:
Absent
Satisfaction
Combination
Fun
Echo
Exempt
    And/or the following phrases
Between a rock and a hard place (in a difficult situation with no easy choices)
Knuckle down (applying oneself seriously to a task)
Long in the tooth (aging or getting old)

Jeg har som man kan  se, ikke brugt alle ordene, men jeg har også en idé mere.

As you can see, I did not use all the Words - but I have more ideas.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

Først på dansk

Som jeg fortalte i mit opslag tilbage i juli, er jeg begyndt at cykle, hver dag, så vidt muligt. Min cykel er ved at være pænt gammel, cirka 31 år, men velholdt og normalt velfungerende.
     De seneste godt fjorten dage har der godt nok været udfordringer med det med det velfungerende.

Første besøg hos cykelsmeden
Tirsdag den 5. - altså for to uger siden - var min cykel flad da jeg skulle ud ad døren.
     Næste dag, onsdag, skulle jeg nå alverdens ting og havde regnet med at have cyklen så det kunne lade sig gøre. Derfor skyndte jeg mig ind med cyklen til cykelsmeden - heldigvis kan man stadig have cyklen med bussen, og vores gode cykelsmed reparerer ofte fra dag til dag; nogen gange endda mens man venter eller går på indkøb.
     Men der var naturligvis travlt hos cykelsmeden, sommerhusfolket havde indleveret cykler i stor stil, og det gode vejr havde også lokket flere ud på vejene på cykel med deraf følgende reparationer. Cyklerne hang nærmest i lag på værkstedet, og min cykel kunne først være færdig igen torsdag.
    Jeg hentede den fredag morgen. Da havde jeg på grund af den manglende cykel og en tosset nakke, der gør mig svimmel af og til, siddet så meget stille, at jeg havde fået meget ondt i mit ene ben.

En kort visit hos lægen og cykelsmeden
     Så mandag i sidste uge cyklede jeg ind til lægen, der kiggede på mit smertende ben og heldigvis frikendte mig for blodpropper og henviste mig til fysioterapi. Der var jeg så fredag. Stadig på cykel, men uden helt at kunne se, hvor langt og hvor hurtigt jeg kørte, for min cykelcomputer var sær.
     Mandag i denne uge stod cykelcomputeren helt af, og jeg var forbi cykelsmeden igen, men han kunne ikke lige finde nogen fejl på den.
     Tirsdag - altså i går - skilte jeg den ad; og stod med tre dele i stedet for to. Ledningen var knækket. Jeg splejsede den og viklede elektrikertape om og tog en lille test-tur. Den virkede perfekt.

Tilbage til cykelsmeden igen!
     I dag skulle jeg igen til kiropraktoren, på cykel naturligvis, og nå ind og hente en pakke, og nå toget en times tid senere. Jeg er virkelig glad for min trofaste cykel, der gør den slags dage mulige ... men hvad skete der? Midt ude i skoven sagde det pludselig KRONK! og den ene pedal knækkede af.
     Jeg ringede til kiropraktoren og fortalte om mit problem. Så skyndte jeg mig efter bedste evne afsted, jeg hoppede op på cyklen og trillede når det gik ned ad bakke og luntede afsted med den når det gik opad. Den anden pedal havde sat sig fast, så jeg kunne ikke løbehjule afsted heller. Derfor tog det i stedet for de normale lige under 20 minutter, godt en halv time at nå derind.
     I morgen skulle jeg gerne kunne hente cyklen igen - og så håber jeg at det var det sidste besøg hos cykelsmeden i et stykke tid.

In English

As I mentioned in my post back in July, I have started biking almost every day. My bike is getting quite long in the teeth, if you can say this about a bike. It's an older model, 31 years old, but well maintained and usually in good working order.
However, over the last fortnight or so, there have been some challenges with this "good working order".

First visit to the bike repair shop
Tuesday the 5th – two weeks ago – my bike had a flat tyre when I was about to leave the house.
     The next day, Wednesday, I had all sorts of things to do and had counted on having my bike so that I could get everything done. So I hurried to the bike repair shop with my bike – luckily, you can still bring your bike on the bus, and our excellent bike repair shop often repairs bikes overnight; sometimes even while you wait or go shopping.
     But of course, the bike repair shop was busy. Summer house owners had brought in their bikes en masse, and the good weather had also lured more people out on the roads on their bikes, resulting in even more repairs. The bikes were practically stacked up in the workshop, and my bike wouldn't be ready until Thursday.
    I picked it up on Friday morning. The combination of an absent bike and my crazy neck that makes me dizzy from time to time, I had been sitting down so much that I had developed severe pain in my leg.


A quick visit to the doctor and the bike repair shop
So on Monday last week, I biked to the doctor, who looked at my aching leg and, fortunately, ruled out blood clots and referred me to physiotherapy. I went there on Friday. Still on my bike, but without being able to see how far and how fast I was riding, because my bike computer was acting up.

Monday this week, the bike computer stopped working altogether, and I went back to the bike repair shop, but they couldn't find anything wrong with it.

Tuesday – yesterday, that is – I took it apart and ended up with three parts instead of two. The wire was broken. I spliced it, wrapped it in electrical tape and took it for a little test ride. It worked perfectly.


Back to the bike repair shop again!
     Today I had an appointment at the chiropractor again, I went by bike of course. I also had to pick up a parcel and catch the train an hour later. I am really happy with my trusty bike, which makes days like this possible... but what happened? In the middle of the forest, there was a sudden CRACK! and one of the pedals broke off.

I called the chiropractor and told about my problem. Then I knuckled down trying to make it with a decent delay. I jumped on the bike coasting downhill and jumped off walking my bike quickly uphill. The other pedal was stuck, so I couldn't stand on that one and use it as a kick-bike either. For this reason it took me a good half hour to get there instead of the usual 20 minutes.
 
Tomorrow I will hopefully pick up my bike again – and I hope that will be my last visit to the bike repair shop for a while.

Words for Wednesday ~ August 13

Word for Wednesday is a challenge that was started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable event with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

In August, Mimi of MessyMimi's Meanderings will supply us with prompts.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

This Wednesday's prompts:
Easy
Student
Invasion
Encourage
Housing
Spectrum
        and/or the following archaic words
Gaud -- a trinket
Moil -- drudgery
Pore on -- think about, dwell on thoughtfully

Biking home today I got this idea for a story. Unfortunately only one of the archaic words  fit, but as we always say: "Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them", I feel good to go.

A Monday in the early summer just before the summer holidays. Or in other words towards the end of the first year on Unicorn Farm.

Susan sat on the garden swing when mom and dad returned from shopping. They looked at her, and mom asked, "But Susan! What happened?"

"It was an accident," Susan began, "and I lost my keys, and my bike is broken something terrible, and I think these pair of pants are only good for the bin."

"But what about you?" Mom asked.

"I'm bruised, and now after sitting, I feel stiff and sore all over, but nothing is broken or even sprained. I could walk home."

"Thank God," mom said, "come in and I'll scrub the wounds."

Susan followed mom into the big bathroom upstairs. Her right arm and leg were bloodied and filled with gravel and dirt.

Mom said: "This is going to hurt, but please remember what aunt Iris always says about scrubbing away the dirt?"

"I do! And her threatening to use a brush if hands are not enough!" Susan said, "I won't promise not to yell at you."

"Yell away," mum said, "but keep still."

Mom scrubbed the wounds with soap, as aunt Iris had taught her, and she even had to use a small brush on Susan's elbow. Susan whimpered and yelled a couple of times. Mom dried the wounds carefully with a clean towel, and put a band aid over the worst of them. "Now they're all clean at least, and you will mend. Luckily none of those need stitches."

"Phew!" Susan said, "I feel lucky after all."

When they came downstairs again, Dad had made coffee, and asked Susan to please tell what happened.

"I had been to the woods, as I told you this morning," Susan began.

What she did not tell was that she had been practising growing and plant mending spells in the woods - it was homework, and Thora had told that these spells would be allowed during the week.

"I was on my way home on my bike, when I saw a giant viper on the road just in front of me. It had that zig-zag pattern down its back and it was poised to strike. I could no way avoid it so I pulled up my legs as fast and far as I could. The wheels must have been hot from my hurrying home, because it went for my front tyre. It bit into it so violently that the tube tore, almost exploding, and having my legs up and all and running over the viper ... it threw me and the bike and the viper all together in one big mess.The viper was quite limp, I suppose it died. The bike was punctured and broken, and I was bleeding all over. I sat down and cried."

Susan took a sip of her coffee and continued: "But then I realised that I could not just sit there. Crying would not mend my bike or revive the viper. I don't know which made me more sad ... and I was growing sore and stiff. I tried walking with my bike, but it was too heavy, my arm and leg hurt, and the tube and tyre grated against the mudguard all the time. I could not walk it home."

Susan was again not telling the whole truth. She had pored on mending the bike and herself with magic, but she dared not run the risk of being expelled from Unicorn Farm.

"So in the end I stood my bike against a fence and locked it, then I walked home and discovered that I had lost my key out there too."

"What a luck the viper did not get you," mum said, "and are you sure it was a viper? They are not normally found here. Now at the place where you werre born, there were many vipers, and mice and one day a mouse even ... "

"Drink up your coffee and get into the van," dad interrupted. It was an old story. Mom had told it many times. "There's room for a bike and more in there, and I think that's a job for the mechanic. If we're lucky we can get there before he closes down for today."

"Sounds like a grand plan," mom said. "Susan, when do you need your bike again?"

"Need it," Susan said, "not until Thursday, when we have tennis lessons in the old sports place, but I'd like to have it back Wednesday after school, as we - me and some of the girls from school - planned a trip to the beach."

"That should be doable," dad said. "I know a  mechanic, who's good and fast. Get aboard!"

Susan climbed into the van, not without some moaning, the band aids stuck, and she had turned even more stiff and sore.

Susan told dad the way, and they found the bike still standing against the fence in its sad state. Dad searched for Susan's keys, but all he found was the viper, it really was a viper and a huge one for a viper 75 cm from snout to tail, and it's neck was broken. Dad loaded it, and the bike, in the behind of the car and drove very fast until they were again back in town.

"Just stay here, Susan," dad said. "I'll hand in your bike and be back in no time."

"Thanks, dad," Susan said and happily stayed in the warm van, not savouring the climb up and down once again, and dozed until dad returned and they headed for home.

Words for Wednesday ~ Onsdagsord

Word for Wednesday is a challenge that was started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable event with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

In July, MotherOwl - yes, that's me will supply us with prompts, but they'll appear at  Elephant's Child's blog. I wrote and sent them back in December last year, so they are as new to me as they are to you. I hope they'll get us all writing.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

Word for Wednesday er en udfordring, der startede for længe siden. Nu er det blevet en bevægelig begivenhed med Elephant's Child som vores koordinator og ordene bliver leveret af en række personer.

Den generelle idé med denne udfordring er at få os til at skrive. Digte, historier, fortællinger, vittigheder, haiku, krydsord, ordspil, ... du bestemmer.
Brug alle ordene, nogle af dem eller kun et enkelt, eller måske endda ingen af dem, hvis det får din kreativitet til at blomstre. Alt er tilladt, men helst ikke noget vulgært eller fornærmende.

I juli vil Uglemor – ja, det er mig – give os nye ord hver onsdag, men de vil blive offentliggjort på Elephant's Childs blog. Jeg skrev og sendte dem tilbage i december sidste år, så de er lige så nye for mig som for jer. Jeg håber, de vil få os alle til at skrive.

Det er også en udfordring, hvor det gamle ordsprog »Jo flere, jo bedre« holder stik.

Så husk at følge linkene, gå tilbage og læse andres historier. Og skriv gerne en kommentar, når du har læst. Udfordringer som denne holdes i live af interaktion, kommentarer og opmuntring. Og vi har ALLE brug for opmuntring.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

This Wednesday's Words:
Inquire
Constitute
Stray
Sway
Royal
Warn
    And/or
Window
Undo
Group
Cheerful
Black
Bewildered
Spotted

Making sentences with these word telling about my recent ideas. I do not know how many will see the light of day, and how many are just stray ideas in a bewildered mind.

This is a work in progress and I'll cheerfully add to it in the coming week.

When I saw all the left over pieces of wood from building our shed, I picked up the courage to inquire about what would happen to them. The answer was that they would end up, sorted, as material for new boards. But I was free to take any I could use.

Since then I have made it a part of my daily routine to check out the scrap pile. Some days ago I spotted a heap of cool coarse grained plywood / chipboard called OSB. I fell for their special looks, and as I told this Sunday got the idea to use those for puzzle pieces.

In the scrap pile I also found some normal plywood boards. One of these I cut into a big square, and I'm going to make a Barn Quilt to hang on the shed - this will probably be finished when the door and windows arrive.

I have no idea what a Barn Quilt is called in Danish, or whether it even exists. It is a patchwork/quilting pattern painted on a board and hung up on barns and outbuildings as decoration, or to convey a message, or to sway tourists to come inside.

It is usually made up by squares and triangles that constitute a named pattern – the names do not always have much to do with the appearance. I fell for a pattern called Cactus Rose*, I like it, and very importantly, so do the other residents of Owlery.

--  A  --  B  --  C  --

Denne onsdags ord er:
Spørge
Udgøre
Strejfe, strejfer, tilfældig
Svaje, overtale
Kongelig
Advare
     Og/eller
Vindue
Fortryd
Gruppe
Glad, genne, i godt humør
Sort
Forvirret
Plettet, få øje på,

Nu vil jeg skrive sætninger med disse ord, der fortæller om mine seneste ideer. Jeg ved ikke, hvor mange der vil se dagens lys, og hvor mange der bare er tilfældige ideer i en forvirret hjerne.

Dette er en liste under udarbejdelse, og jeg vil glad og gerne føje til den i den kommende uge.

Da jeg så alle de stumper og stykker af træ fra opførelsen af vores skur, tog jeg mod til mig og spurgte, hvad der ville ske med dem. Svaret var, at de ville ende med at blive sorteret og brugt som materiale til nye brædder. Men jeg måtte tage alle dem, jeg kunne bruge.

Siden da har jeg gjort det til en del af min daglige rutine at tjekke smid ud-bunken. For nogle dage siden fik jeg øje på en bunke interessante, grovkornet krydsfiner/spånplader kaldet OSB. Jeg faldt for deres specielle udseende og fik lyst til at bruge dem til puslebrikker, som jeg fortalte om i søndags

I bunken med affald fandt jeg også nogle normale krydsfinerplader. En af disse skar jeg ud i en stor firkant, og jeg vil lave en Barn Quilt til at hænge på skuret – den vil sandsynligvis være færdigt, når døren og vinduerne ankommer.

Jeg aner ikke, hvad Barn Quilt hedder på dansk, eller om det overhovedet findes. Det er et patchworkmønster, malet på en plade, og hængt op på lader og udhuse som dekoration, eller for at fortælle noget, eller overtale turister til at komme indenfor.

Det er normalt kvadrater og trekanter, der udgør et navngivent mønster - navnene har ikke altid så meget med udseenet at gøre. Jeg faldt for et mønster der hedder Kaktusrose* - jeg kan lide det, og meget vigtigt, det kan de andre indbyggere i Ugleboet også.

--  A  --  B  --  C  --

Today's Wordle 1.502 6/6
⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟩⬜⬜⬜🟨
🟩⬜⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
It was a fun, challenging Wordle. The Wordle Hints Page tells me: Today’s average difficulty is 6 guesses out of 6, or very challenging. But it was a good challenging

 - - - - - - - - -

* Der synes at være tusindvis af mønstre, der hedder kaktusrose. Det er den her.
LINK
It seems there's a gazilion different cactus rose quilt patters. Link is to the right one.

Find Familiars 7 ~ Trying to use up the Words

I still have these words left over from Wednesday's words:
Party
Note
Faucet
Jelly
Leather
Books

and then the infamous Bellowcat from last Wednesday. Let me see if I can end the story with these words.

I continue my story from previous chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Back to Trausti and his talk on Familiars:

"Also," Trausti continued, "not all Familiars are nice." He whistled another tune, and a very big bat flew in through the window and landed on the table and rubbed it's big, gargoyle-like head on Trausti's gloved hand. It was almost a third of Trausti's size, and so ugly that it was almost cute. Most of the apprentices could not help laughing.
"This male hammer headed bat comes from Africa," he said. "How it ended up here, I have no idea. I fetched it in a big banana crate in a supermarket, where it scared the man opening up the crate. A logical place for it to hide, as it's a fruit eater, living mainly from figs, mangoes and bananas." He looked at the apprentices, who were most of them studying the creature with interest. "The downsides? I can see you think. Apart from the size and the claws to fit this size, they are nocturnal and extremely noisy during their active period. And here we have another uncouth specimen. A giant cat-like creature approached Trausti, rubbing its head against his trousered leg. Suddenly the cat began breathing rapidly, panting like a bellows and expanding. Then it opened its maw, a gigantic, pink abyss. It raised its head, and Trausti quickly drew his wand, pointed it at the now enormously swollen cat and screamed: "haltu kjafti!"
Thora looked at him in disgust: "That's not a nice spell to use in front of the apprentices! Was that really necessary?"
Trausti looked squarely at her: "That was a Bellowcat. A few seconds more and we would all have been deaf. I thought she was a Sweller, she has never bellowed before." Trausti bent and examined the flaccid cat. He blanched, stood up and continued: "Any questions?"

There were a few, mostly variations of Will we ever get a Familiar, and What are Bellowcats and Swellers.
After listening to their questions, Trausti answered:
"Will you ever get a Familiar? Only time will tell. Once you're a true witch or wizard, you can begin looking for one. Or more possible the Familiar will find you. I think this is one of the subjects Gylfi has in mind for next year's curriculum." He looked at Gylfi, who nodded.
"Then to Swellers and Bellowcats. Bellowcats are an under-species of Swellers, at least that's what I have found out from studies. Swellers are cats that can increase their size by inhaling air, then they can soar by letting out the air slowly. They kind of fly, like a balloon where you let out the air. They are fun, and it can be a great help for the cat to get somewhere they cannot climb. They are able to steer, partly using their tail, partly by controlling the outlet of air. It takes training for a Sweller to become good at it. It is not a practical thing inside a house, notwithstanding any cat's natural ability to not break or turn over any object, and always land on their paws, flying cats are not a thing to bring into your living room. Bellowcats are a subspecies. They breath in the air rhythmically, like bellows, like what you saw earlier, instead of the steadier intake of Swellers. And instead of using the airflow for flying, they let out the air in one, big MEOW, loud enough to make anybody at close quarters deaf, break the window panes and any other glass nearby, and sometimes even killing the bellowcat himself. Normally Bellowcats are male and Swellers female, although male Swellers are sometimes found. They can interbreed with normal cats of any species, fortunately they generally limit themselves to housecats - fortunately for the world at large. Just imagine a lion-sized, or even a panther sized Bellowcat.

The apprentices left, discussing Familiars and strange cats in small groups. Susan went out in the dark evening with Heidi, Lis and Tage, it was crisp and cold, with a hint of snow in the air. "I forgot my notebook," Susan said, "wait for me please, it'll only be a second." She ran back into the Barn, and overheard Gylfi's, "... but it's male!" before he fell quiet. Susan excused herself, grasped the notebook and hurried back to her friends.

Curiouser and curiouser ... maybe to be continued.
You might say I used Note and Book
else I only got rid of Bellowcat
let's see what happens tomorrow.
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
* This means shut up, but its very rude, more like shut the bloody F... up!

Words for Wednesday ~ July 16

Word for Wednesday is a challenge that was started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable event with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

In July, MotherOwl - yes, that's me will supply us with prompts, but they'll appear at  Elephant's Child's blog. I wrote and sent them back in December last year, so they are as new to me as they are to you. I hope they'll get us all writing.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

I'm shocked writing the date. More than half the year has gone past already, and more than half the summer.

For today we had these words:
Party
Chance
Note
Faucet
Black
Idea
    And/or
Jelly
Leather
Books
Root
Amusement
Pardon
I'm going to be a bit "mad as a hatter" today. I only used the stricken words. 

Beg your pardon, but yesterday I thought out a crazy computer game. I am going to tell of it here for your amusement. It's called the Gooseberry Gardener.

The objective is to pick as many gooseberries as possible from one bush. Problem is, it's entangled in other bushes, other gooseberry bushes as well as redcurrant bushes. Every time you make a berry fall to the ground, be it one of the gooseberries, you're supposed to pick, another colour of gooseberry or some redcurrants, you lose a small amount of berries (d20, below 8 makes you lose 1 % of what you picked). The same happens if you prick your fingers on the gooseberry thorns (d20, below 10 makes you lose 1 % of what you picked).
I think I need to add some sort of saves, eg. every time you reach one whole kg or full berry picking container, go offload and none of these berries can be lost again.

Additional difficulties, DLCs in gamer lingo, can be added. Each DLC giving a level up, increasing the chance of more berries, but also the risks of a fail. Installing one = difficulty level 2, installing both = difficulty level 3:

• Weeds: Adds nettles and bindweeds, one will sting you, one will pull off berries, both making you lose some berries. Again roll d20, below 12 makes you lose 2 % of what you picked. 
• Optimistic Spring Gardener: Adds rebar poles and twine, meant to hold branches off the ground, now just adding to the tangle. And naturally having bindweed climbing the twine if Weeds is installed.

Pro gamers are invited to add: Approaching Thunderstorm. Making this a timed game, finish in time or get drenched.

Of course this game has its roots in real life. I'm sure you can guess what I did yestersday. I did pick all the green gooseberries (more than 10 kgs) - not the black or the red ones, and I initiated a similar game of  Blackcurrant Picker - minus the thorns - but lost to the Approaching Thunderstorm. I will continue playing again today.

Find Familiars 6

Continuing from yesterday ...

I continue my story from previous chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

After a short, quiet spell a bird flew in through the open window, an almost totally white buzzard landed on Trausti's outstretched arm. He fed it a small bit of meat, and it folded its wings and settled down.
"This is my familiar, unimaginatively called Haukur." A few of the apprentices laughed, and Susan smiled. 
"Gilvi, who was my coach in all things concerning Familiars, after my wife, Vigdís, died, chided me for my lack of imagination, I feel lucky not to possess overly much of this, as the miserable lives of some of the Familiars I look after, are scary without any imagination."
Trausti looked around on the apprentices, professors and guests, and noticed Tristan and David exchanging glances, but did not quite grasp the undercurrent. Had they ben dogs, he would have thought them imagining some easy to get treats.
He drew a breath and continued: "Now, I know that most of you here would like a Familiar. You imagine how nice it would be to have someone totally loyal, always ready to defend you, or for a cuddle," Haukur rubbed his beak against Trausti's thumb as if proving his words. Susan smiled, thinking of Granny's owls on the clothes line, she would think twice before accepting a rubbing from their lethal beaks.
"But you forget all the problems," Trausti continued, "How many of you have ever had a pet?" A bit less than a third of the apprentices raised their hands.
"Now think of all the trouble you've had, fights, visits to the vet, not being able to go visiting or on a sleepover because of that pet." Susan thought back to the long summer night when Knud - female in spite of the name - decided to have her litter of kittens in Susan's bed; to the many times she and Linda had spent hours catching a sick or injured cat in a box, without getting clawed, and waiting forever - and paying loads of money - at the vet's. Some of these problems would surely be lesser ...
"Some of these problems would probably be lesser," Trausti began, echoing her thoughts, "like getting your Familiar to the vet. But some would be way bigger. Imagine the vet asking from where you have that bat, or owl or what not. Imagine having your best non magic friends visiting, and the Familiar making an appearance, or for those of non magic families imagine your parents' and siblings' reaction to a Familiar." Susan shivered. Linda would not accept an owl in the family, and her parents would not be overjoyed either.

And here again I have to stop. I did not use 'Bellowcat'. I did use Cat, but I actually have an idea for Bellowcat 😕 I hope to find time later on.

- -  A  - -  B  - -  C  - -

Thursday's Wordle 1.482 5/6
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩
🟨🟩⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
This was a fun one. Today’s average difficulty is 5.4 guesses out of 6, or very challenging.

Words for Wednesday :: Find Familiars 5

Sort
Pollution
Crooked
Learned
Wanting
Industry
    And/or
Education
Colour
Withdraw
Coach
Bellow
Cat
    Yes Bellow and Cat were meant as two words ... I might give Bellowcat a try 😉

I continue my story from previous chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4

Susan got her problems sorted out before dinner. Dressed in a fresh tunic and skirt, she ate with the other Danes, Trausti sat with the Icelanders, enjoying the food and speaking freely with everybody. The only pollution to the good atmosphere was David's crooked friend. Susan had learned by trial and error which subjects to avoid, and so had most of the other apprentices, only the Norwegian Terje, who was a bit wanting in attention, could now and then spark an uncouth discussion over the plates.

When everybody was done eating, Jon rang the bell and asked the apprentices to re-arrange benches and tables so that everyone could sit facing the balcony in the western end of the Barn. Soon the barn was a hive of industry and magic, and chaos reigned for a short while, Then the last of the tables softly landed on its legs in front of the benches, guided by Selma's steady wand.

Gilvi stood up and walked to the free space under the balcony:"Dear fellow wizards, dear apprentices, and dear guests. Tonight Trausti Traustason will continue our education on the subject of familiars. Would everybody please be seated. The apprentices sit up here in front, at the benches behind the tables. Green," he pointed at the two leftmost benches, which turned a pale green, and continued towards the right he said: "Blue, yellow, purple and red." The benches took on the appropriate colour at his words. "Professors in the next row, on the benches with no tables, and finally our guests in the comfy chairs. Apprentices get your notebooks up and note anything you find interesting. There'll be question time afterwards, so don't fall asleep please." He smiled, as he knew that most of the apprentices really wanted a familiar and were going to listen well. "And with this I withdraw and give the stage to Trausti." He swung his wand and a gentle, golden light lit the area under the balcony and shone unto the tables in front of the apprentices.

Trausti stood still in the light. Then he whistled sharply two times. Then he waited.


And now we wait with Trausti, Susan, and everybody else at the Unicorn Farm, because I was so long writing this that bed time overtook me

Trying to use the Words for Wednesday ~ Part 2

Ferry
Determined
Box
Convey
Paste
First
    And/or
Family
Astonish
Obtain
Avoid
Magnificent

Even if those are my own words, I do not feel inspired by them.
I had some small, crazy stories from the last week or so to tell, and I did fit some of the words in.

But ater my crazy stories, I was still missing Ferry, Paste and Obtain.

The bike ride to and fro town did not give me any new ideas how to use these three words, but reminded me of a crazy bike ride some years ago.

The Dangers of the Woods
It was a Friday in December, or maybe January some years ago. I had an appointment in the bigger city about 20 km from home. I biked to the station in my normal small town, took my bike with me in the train and once arrived biked to my appointment.
  Everything went fine, but I had forgotten two things. My bike lamp, and the short winter days. Coming out from the appointment, dusk was already settling. Now what? I walked to the station, walking by bike, pondering my possibilities. I could leave my bike on my station, not a good idea on a Friday night, it would almost certainly be stolen or broken during the night. I could take the bike with me home by bus, then an expensive and burdensome endeavour, as buses were not easy to get into and some bus drivers said plain no to having a bike on board. Still pondering I passed the Danish equivalent of a Dollar store. I hurried in there and obtained a flash light, a very cheap, big one, using those big C-type batteries.
  All the way during the train ride back I debated with my inner self. Mildly put I did not look forward to the ride through the dark forest. I was afraid. On the other hand there was nothing to be afraid of. I knew from my many rides in new snow and daylight that almost nobody ever entered that wood. One person at each entry point, walking a dog, turning around not far in and leaving the way they had come was what I normally saw. And I had seen the very same thing biking through the woods on my way to the station.
  One look at the bus and its driver made up my mind for me. He was of the no-saying variety - and the bus an old model with three steps up in the middle. I mounted my bike and headed for the woods. The lamp was nothing special, actually quite bad, but I could find my way, and see that the morning's person walking the dog had been there again, one more set of paw-prints and footprints entered the wood and came put again. They had made it a bit farther in than in the morning.
   I had no problems following the paths, and even enjoyed the long descent to the small brook. I had just crossed the brook and begun the climb on thee other side, when I heard the most blood curling scream slightly in front of me and to the left. It sounded as if someone was being killed. I stopped, turned off the torch and froze. I thought to myself: "If there's a killer on the lose he did not hear me arriving over those screams. I am below him, no mater from where he'll arrive, I'll see him silhouetted against the sky before he can see me. I have a torch. I can blind him with it and get the hell out of here on my bike before he catches up with me. I can get out of the woods faster on my bike then he can run, and there's houses just outside at either end."
  I hefted the torch, it was heavy and could serve as a weapon if needs arose. I strained my eyes to penetrate the darkness. I listened. Everything was quiet. Then the scream returned. From the left, in front of me ... and from the highest of treetops.
   Rationality set in. Whatever was screaming was sitting high up in a treetop. It was in no way big and heavy enough to hurt me. Some bird, maybe. Maybe its prey screaming out its last in its claws. The biggest birds in these woods are buzzards - maybe a heron or a crane, but none of these are known to attack humans, and even then, if one attacked me, they would be able to peck and scratch me, but surely not harm me seriously - I was dressed in thick winter clothing, with a muffler round my neck. I also wore my biking helmet. I waited a bit longer. The scream, still murderous and very loud was heard again from the very same place. Now I was sure it was nothing dangerous. I lit the torch and biked home.
   I have heard this screaming several more times since then biking through the woods. Always in the same place, always in the tallest treetops.

--  A  --  B  --  C  --

And today's Wordle. I did not know the word, but had no problem figuring out what it was ;)
Wordle 1.477 4/6
⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜
🟨🟩⬜⬜🟨
🟩🟨⬜⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Today’s average difficulty is 5 guesses out of 6, or moderately challenging

Words for Wednesday ~Trying to use them

Ferry
Determined
Box
Convey
Paste
First
    And/or
Family
Astonish
Obtain
Avoid
Magnificent

Even if those are my own words, I do not feel inspired by them.
I have some small, crazy stories from the last week or so to tell, Maybe some of the words can fit into these.

Biking again
I am determined to get in better shape. Since having my gall bladder removed in January '24, all sorts of family related things happened, including, but not limited to the death of the Walrus (Granddad) and GrannyOwl (Grandma). The OwlBody was flabby and swollen, and running to the bus stop - 200 metres - left me panting for breath. My pants were too tight, bothering legs and tummy, my shoes and socks left deep marks when I took them off. Eww.
My weapon of choice is -- as long time readers might know -- my bike. Since May 30 I've been on my bike every day except three, spending hours biking around my little village, to and from shopping, and other appointments. And yesterday, for the first time my toes again felt like separate entities, I could hurry home - and avoid being drenched from the rain showers once again chasing my tail-feathers. This seems to be a recurring theme to my July biking.

A strange Dog
Some days ago, July 2, it was hot, 30 degrees.
Today it's half that and rain. Between these extremes we've had sunshine, clouds, showers and wind, always wind. The days since I began biking with winds in the daytime blowing less than 5m/s can be counted on one hand. This leads to me choosing my route after the direction of the wind to avoid headwinds going home - except for appointments where I cannot choose of course.
On that hot day, I was on my way to town with a strong wind against, I held my head a bit turned away from the wind, but not more so than I was still able to see the road. One of the dangers in the nearby woods are dogs. Dogs on long retractable leashes with deaf owners, or owners with earbuds.
That day, still on the tarmac road, I noticed a big, brown dog snuffing the leaves in the ditch. I could not see the owner, but the path through the woods was less than a fully unrolled leash away. I slowed down, ready to stop. As I came closer, I thought that it was a strange dog, and still no owner to be seen. Then with a start the "dog" leapt from the ditch where it had been drinking and into the woods, not a dog at all, but a doe, either a fallow deer, or more probable a roe deer. We have both in the woods, together with the magnificent red deer.

An Unexpected Thunderstorm
Before I left home, I had consulted the precipitation warning. No precipitation foreseen until thunder and violent showers in the evening. It was around eleven o'clock. But as I came out from the first supermarket, black clouds were gathering already filling up a bit of the sky. The forecast had told of no rain so I debated with myself if the clouds were just passing by. But when I came out from the second, of three, supermarkets almost the whole sky was covered in clouds. Astonished over the lack of precision in the forecast, I hurried into and out of the third place, and hurriedly biked home. All the while the thunder rolled and just a few minutes after I had arrived, and carried inside all the groceries - partly in paper bags, the rain came pouring down. Not for long, but I would have been drenched, and my groceries as well, had I been just a little slower.

Building
We had a big garage on our lot. It had been used by the previous owner for two lorries, but it was a rather useless building. It was big, like 56 square metres, unheated, draughty, with a roof made from coorugated  fibre cement sheets containing asbestos. After January 1st, 2025 it would become very expensive to get rid of this roof, so all of December we worked on and off on getting the sheets off and conveyed to the local recycling centre. Now local  builders are slowly building a smaller, more weather worthy construction. So far it looks more like a black box than a shed for bikes and things, but that'll change in weeks to come. 

Still missing Ferry, Paste and Obtain, but my bike is waiting to take me shopping before the rain gets any worse. I might find a story to suit, even if ferry is a far cry in our landlocked town. 

Words for Wednesday ~ Only the Words & IWSG

Word for Wednesday is a challenge that was started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable event with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

In July, MotherOwl - yes, that's me will supply us with prompts, but they'll appear at  Elephant's Child's blog. I wrote and sent them back in December last year, so they are as new to me as they are to you. I hope they'll get us all writing.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

This Wednesday's prompts:
Ferry
Determined
Box
Convey
Paste
First
    And/or
Family
Astonish
Obtain
Avoid
Magnificent

And I intended to return and write a story, or at least publish the Words if no writing happened ... Then I got busy, and it was hot (30 degress Celcius) the plants needed water as the automatic watering in my greenhouse had broken down ... I forgot, and only found out now, Thursday morning. I hope writing will happen today.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

Wednesday's Wordle 1.474 5/6
⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜
⬜🟨🟩⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Difficuly 4.8 - nailed it.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

July 2 question - Is there a genre you haven't tried writing in yet that you really want to try? If so, do you plan on trying it?

My answer - I do not know, I only think in genres when I do not like them. Ergo I know that I won't ever try romance, horror, or "adult" contents.
All other I think I could imagine writing, and I write what fits my idea for a plot, without ever considering the genre at all. As I like writing and get lots of ideas, I suppose that I will eventually write in most genres.

Words for Wednesday June 18

Word for Wednesday is a challenge that was started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable event with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

In June, Hilary Melton-Butcher will supply us with prompts, but they'll appear at  Elephant's Child.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

This Wednesday's prompts was turned into a crossword puzzle - thank you River! - it's not very difficult, but I had fun creating it. Clicking the imabe will make it expand - embiggen it as Elephant's Child says.

Today's Wordle 1.460 6/6
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜
🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Today’s average difficulty is 3.3 guesses out of 6, or easy breezy. Well, not that easy for me. Too many choices ;)

Words for Wednesday June 11.

I intended to write. I intended to use the words. but I felt empty, the words were uninspiring ... this is how far I have made it in the past week. Tomorrow new words will go online. So metter post whatr I have:

The words, which I did not use, were:
Tennis  
Turkish
Delight    
Melon   
Brook
    And/or
 Officers
Steps    
Conclusion     
Earliest  
Pan     
Asparagus

Trausti offered to bring Susan home. "But I'm not going home," Susan protested, "I'm going to the Unicorn Farm. After dinner today there's a talk on familiars ... I want to hear it."
"I know," Trausti said. "Who do you think will be giving that talk?"
"I thought Thora, but now you ask ... you will?" Susan said hesitating a bit.
Trausti nodded. "Yup. I will. Now let's get going. I guess you're mostly OK by now."
"Oh, I am," Susan said. "I'll have to change before dinner, but else I feel fine. Thanks a load, Mona, once again." Susan said to the woman sitting bewtween Trausti and ther husband, Jonas.
"Any time," Mona smiled, "now you know the way."

I hope to have my muse return - I want to write!!!

Tuesday's Wordle 1.459 4/6
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜🟨🟩🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Today’s average difficulty is 4.4 guesses out of 6, or moderately challenging. I did well!

Words for Wednesday 4 juni & IWSG

Word for Wednesday is a challenge that was started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable event with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

In June, Hilary Melton-Butcher will supply us with prompts, but they'll appear at  Elephant's Child.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

This Wednesday's prompts:

Almanac
Vegetables    
Smoke    
Rocky   
Pursuit
     And/or
 Tides        
Data          
Pearly        
Block      
Hedge
 
The dog and all the other animals seemed peaceful, well fed and used to living there. Susan got up and hurried along the road. She wanted to have a little time to herself before dinner. Suddenly her leg was pulled away from under her, and she fell head first into the ditch. "Ouch," she said, and put a hand to her nose, it came away smeared with blood. Oh no, she thought. Now I hit my nose again! I'll keep on bleeding for ever, I just hope it's not broken. She pulled out her handkerchief and held it to her nose, and tried to get out of the ditch one-handed. It hurt, and she began crying.
She was too old for crying, her dad always told her, but when it hurt, or when she got angry, she always began crying. It did not help. If only someone would help me, she thought. But I'm all alone, nobody knows where I am.
Then all hell broke loose, out from the blue house came all the animal inhabitants of the house. The dog bayed, the owl hooted, the cats hissed and meowed and a parrot squawked: "Take care, oh do take care." Two men came after them, Susan could not prevent herself from laughing through her tears. The parrot was too funny. "Oh dear," she said, "I think it's too late!" Only the words came out bubbling and strangely distorted. The younger man picked Susan up from the ditch, while the older one shooed, carried and hauled all the animals inside again.
"Come on in," the man said. "We'd better get you cleaned off before you can go home." Susan nodded, and supported by the man's strong arm, she entered the house.
In the kitchen he sat her on a chair gave her a wet towel and helped her rinse off her face and hands. A woman, about the same age hovered in the background and did some thing in behind a cupboard.
"Now, please tell me what happened and where you live," the man said. "I'm Jonas, the lady over there is my wife, Mona, and the other man is Trausti."
Susan sobbed, and tried to stop crying. She draw a couple of steadying breaths and said: "I'm Susan. I was out for a walk before dinner. I had a stone in my shoe," she looked down, "and I forgot to tie the laces. They tripped me." 
"And where do you live?" Jonas asked, "I think we better phone your parents, to tell them what happened. Can they come and get you? Or else I'll see you home."
"I'm staying with my aunt and uncle in their summerhouse, but they have gone shopping on the main land and won't be home for some time yet. Mom and Dad are at home, in Elsinore, please don't phone them, They can't do a thing and will only worry."
"Have a glass of lemonade to take the taste of blood," the lady said and placed a glass on the able in front of Susan. 
Susan's caution and sense of drama surfaced: "And it's safe to drink? You're not putting me asleep or anything. I should have told that I lived nearby, and my uncle was a wrestler and would come looking for me shortly."
"I think you've read too many mystery books," the lady said smiling. She drank up the glass and filled a new one from the jug and handed it to Susan. "Take this instead then."
Susan took the glass and drank deeply. The taste was just right, neither too sweet nor too tart.
"Let me feel your nose, the lady said. I'm Mona, by the way. I hope your nose is not broken.
I don't think so. Susan said. "When I hit my nose, it always bleed a lot. It hurts, but not that much ... more on the outside like."
"Yes you have lost some skin there, too," Mona said, and gently touched Susan's nose. "No, I don't think broken either. No need to take you to the hospital."
"Oh, no, please don't" Susan said, still woozy after the rapport with the animals and cold with the after-effects of the fall. "Just let me get back, then Thora will put it right." She shut up abruptly. Telling of the Unicorn Farm to strangers was not a good idea. Not even nice strangers.
But before Mona or Jonas could ask her anything Trausti, the other man, came into the kitchen. "OK, girl," he said gruffly. "All the animals answered to your call for help, even the lizards. Are you one of us?"
"One of us, whaadayou mean?"
"A witch, obviously," he said. "If you are, you know my son, Josh."
Susan looked around at the three persons staring back at her. She nodded, then she felt her head starting to swim, and everything go black.
Mona put her head down between her legs, and then laid her on the kitchen bench.
"Sorry," Trausti said. "I forgot how tiring animal talk is, here, have some of this cake."

Still lying down she gingerly ate some of the cake and emptied another glass of Mona's excellent lemonade. Then she asked: "Why, I mean, How ... What are you doing here, and all these animals?"

Trausti smiled. "That's a long story. It is my story, and Josh's story, and Jonas, Mona and Jan's story too."
"Jan?" Susan asked. More confused then ever.
"Yes," Trausti continued, "Mona and Jonas are Jan's parents, They and I moved here when the Unicorn Farm was founded. You might know that Jonas is a vet. A vet with magic is a strong thing indeed, and Jonas is the very best. I'm telling you a lot now, because I feel you can be trusted. Please don't go around blabbering."
"I don't - normally - mentioning Thora before was a slip. Only because I was so woozy still."
Trausti nodded, "We of course know Thora. It was her suggesting we came here. All those animals needed a home. Have you ever wondered what happens to familiars when they grow old, or when their witch or wizard dies?"
Susan sat up and shook her head: "Ow, it does not hurt much any more. She gingerly touched her nose. "It feels not very sore any longer either!"
Mona smirked: "I put some Knitbone elixir in that lemonade, you should be all good in an hour."
"Wow, thanks," Susan said and propped herself up on one elbow. Lying flat while being talked to felt intimidating.
Mona and Jonas sat down, and after a short pause Trausti did too. The dog came into the kitchen put it's muzzle into Susan's free hand and made happy sounds "It's OK. Everything will be fine," it thought at her. Susan smiled and caressed its stubbly-haired head.
Trausti continued telling: "We have a hospital, a retreat home for familiars here. That dog belonged to a man in the nearby town. He did not know he was a wizard, but the dog knew, and when the man died, it followed the whiff of magic in the air and came here. We travel a lot, we use the Portals at the Farm, we fly broomsticks, we teleport as well, and even go by car, train, bike and buses to look for old or left familiars all over Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway. Trausti has a place in Iceland as well, but mostly he's here. And we have a lady, Nicklas and Sanne's aunt actually taking care of the Faroese ones for us.

That owl here is Thora's old owl, Brúnleit III. Even if the lifespan of familiars are enhanced by the magic, they seldom live more than 15 years, and they cannot keep up with a busy witch or wizard for the last of those. We train replacement familiars and take care of the old ones. It is a worthy task for us.

   ...  To be continued

If you looked for any of the Words for Wednesday in vain you're right. I did not use even one of them. Hoping to continue, because, no it does not end here.

And last but not least a heartfelt THANK you to Anne E.G. Nydam, whose A-Z post is the direct inspiration for these chapters.

Today’s average difficulty is 4.5 guesses out of 6, or moderately challenging.
Wordle 1.446 5/6
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  The monthly question from the Insecure Writers' Support Group is due today, June 4th.
  I'd like to thank the crew for their never ceasing inspiration and quirky questions.

June 4 question - What were some books that impacted you as a child or young adult?

My answer - A number of books impacted me deeply. Here's a list of some of the books, and what they taught me:
The Little House books: Family life, keeping togetherness, toughing it out during adversity ... and making everything from scratch! I so wanted to move in next to Laura and her family.
Gone Away Lake, The Four Storey Mistake, and the other books in those two series: Adventure and friendship is awaiting just around the corner.
The Secret by Dorothy Clewes: Small people can work great things.
And a load of books on running from home, having high adventures (a series on four boys at sea in Danish The "Kurs"-series), some with magic (Krabat, The little Broomstick) and many like it: Magic exists, and it is not always good.

Words for Wednesday ~ Finally writing again!

Word for Wednesday is a challenge that was started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable event with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

In May, David M Gascoigne will supply us with prompts, but they'll appear at  Elephant's Child.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

This Wednesday's prompts:
Villian
Visit
Bone
Stork
Memory  
And/or
 
Imprinted
Human
Kink
Spring
Faithful

As I said some time ago, I have a story to tell, and I fear this might turn into one of my marathon-tales running over weeks and weeks before reaching its end. But I am writing again. I am happy!

Here we go. This is happening in the 3rd year on Unicorn Farm, in the short Shrove holidays - this was a thing in Denmark before the winter holiday in February was a thing, we had several single holidays spread over the year, the King and Queen's birthdays, Shrove Monday, Constitution day, and a bit more days in the Christmas holidays. 

Susan knew a villain when she saw one, and Tristan certainly was one. Ever since Christmas holidays she, Heidi, Tage and Lis had been sure he was a bad one. Helge and the Flower power girls were almost convinced, as were the Swedish bunch. Now he once again had decided to visit Unicorn Farm over the short Fastelavns (Shrovetide) holidays. Susan wanted to get away. She had met a stray dog when arriving - she had needed some fresh air after a long day at school and at home with smoking family visiting, and then the dizzying portal, and had went for a stroll before joining the other apprentices at the Farm.
    She sneaked a bone from the lunch and left. The bleak February sunshine was not exactly warm, rather with a promise of warmth to come, She walked along the dirt road engrossed in her own thoughts. Suddenly a big bird flew up. Was that a stork? Susan thought. No, no way, It's far too early. The storks only arrive in April. It must have been a heron or a crane ... bugger I always mix them up, the straight necked one. A crane Susan decided. Or maybe a swan. Swans, black swans ... they existed only two places in Denmark, she was told. In the moat around Castle Kronborg in Elsinore, she has seen these several times when crossing the castle grounds on her way to the beach. She still cherished the memory of one of the swans chasing off a fox one early morning. It had probably seen the cygnets as a quick breakfast, but it had not taken an angry mother swan into consideration. I had been one of the white ones, though. Black swans did not breed in Denmark.

She arrived at the small clump of trees where she had seen the stray yesterday. It had been OK, Susan had made sure of that using her animal skills, just wanting to be left alone. Susan though that it might be more sociable and hungry, today. She called for the dog, first with words, and then with her mind, but no dog came running towards her. Wondering Susan walked into the thicket. She found the place where the dog had slept, a shallow indentation,where the downtrodden grass still formed a nest-like structure, but it was quite cold. It had been dry for weeks and there was almost no chance of tracks, but Susan looked anyway. And yes, in the grass leading away from her she found what could me a path. She slowly walked along it, careful to keep to the undisturbed grass, looking at the ground. Her patience was rewarded with an imprint of a dog's paws where the thicket gave way to fields. Clear and sharp prints, not old. From here it was easy, the plowed fields was like an open book. She saw the dog chase, but never catch rabbits, looping back towards the thicket, remaking its mind, instead walking slowly - seen by the closer together paw prints - towards the short row of houses lining the road away from the water. Maybe they had been cooking something nice. Then she saw something she had not expected. Human footprints. Coming from the houses, standing still, meeting with the paw-prints, and then both set of prints walking away together, direction houses. This did not tally with the impression, Susan had gotten from the dog yesterday. "Leave me alone," it had told her. "I am weary, old and sad. I need time, time alone. Leave me, please."
A kink in the straight line of tracks, made Susan return to the barren fields. The sun, never high in the sky, was now nearing the horizon. At six she had to be back at the Farm. Three quarters of an hour left, her wristwatch told her. No time for dawdling.  She followed the traces onwards, now making a beeline for the small blue house placed a little distance from the others at the end of the row.
She walked onto the road, the field was cloggy, tiring to walk in, and she had seen what she needed to know where the dog was. Had the man kidnapped the dog? She had to know. It had seemed so listless, so sad yesterday. It should not end it's day as someone's plaything, or even worse one one of the places, Susan had heard of where they tested make up, drugs and medicine on animals. Susan was not sure the latter was true, she suspected her classmates once again were trying to pull her leg, but nonetheless, dogs were kidnapped now and then.
Walking on the road soon gave her steps back their spring, and she made good time getting to the blue house.

Behind the blue house, a small shed could be seen. This would be the perfect place to hide a dog. Susan passed the house and walked a bit further along before she sat down on a stone pulling off one shoe, as if to get rid of a stone. She cast about for traces of the dog. As she opened up her animal sense, she was almost knocked silly. The blue house had several animal inhabitants - and the dog was in there. In the house proper, not in the shed, along with cats, at least one owl, some amphibians, and rodents.
Susan suddenly knew the house, or at least she knew of the house. She had been here before. Years ago she bought a miniature grandfather clock for her doll's house. The wonder was that it was a real watch, faithfully keeping time ever since. She wondered if the clockmaker still lived there or what had happened.

... to be continued.

Words for Wednesday ~ Only the Words

Word for Wednesday is a challenge that was started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable event with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

In May, David M Gascoigne will supply us with prompts, but they'll appear at  Elephant's Child.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

This Wednesday's prompts:
People
Overjoyed
Single
Chore
Life
    And/or
Birthday
Plight
Juggle
Dog
Play

I have a great idea for the continuaion of last Wednesday's story, letting one more apprentice survive the loss og magic. But as I told Monday the Ookie-pookies have gotten hold of me, and I think that whatever I write is bad. No story today, only the Words.

Wordling today, I remembered to use pen & paper. Mostly this is a shortcut to better results for me. Today’s average difficulty is 5.2 guesses out of 6, or very challenging.
Wordle 1.432 4/6
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Words for Wednesday ~ May 14 & Wordle

Word for Wednesday is a challenge that was started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable event with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

In May, David M Gascoigne will supply us with prompts, but they'll appear at  Elephant's Child.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

This Wednesday's prompts:
Elbows
Imagine
Canal
Heavily
Population
    and/or
Mocked
Months
Annex
Support
Casino

I am slowly easing back into writing mode and continuing the story of Susan and the magic. I have an idea, only the words were not right. This is a warm-up, a prequel, something to get me into writing Susan's story again.
We're in the third year of Magic education at the Unicorn farm. Easter holiday maybe.
And as is my wont, I used all words in the order they were given.

Susan sat with her elbows propped on the windowsill and stared out into the blue beyond. She tried to imagine how life would be if she was allowed to move in at the Unicorn Farm, have a familiar and be a real witch. Every time she crossed the canal separating the island from the mainland she felt free and happy, and every time she went the other way, her heart was weighed down heavily by worries and speculations.

Thora had told them that witches and wizards made up a greater part of the population than they imagined, and that the Unicorn Farm was going to expand by opening up schools elsewhere as well.
100 apprentices was all the Farm on the island  had room for, even magically enhanced. and the trouble with buying foodstuff and suchlike for a larger amount of professors and apprentices would become insurmountable.

Susan felt mocked by the universe, as Brúnleit flew past the window. She was Thora's familiar, a short eared owl, in Icelandic a kattugla.

Susan's thought went back in time. She recalled when after months of work at an annex at a local hotel, her father had been invited to the opening ceremony attended by local supports and dignitaries. He had brought the whole family along, Mom, Linda and Susan. The most fun part had been the new casino and the bowling alley. But Susan still remembered her misgivings when somebody had mentioned that the annex had necessitated the felling of a small grove where some owls nested. Susan would have liked one of the owls as a pet, but she never told anyone. She was not even allowed a cat or a dog, so an owl would be unthinkable.

Wordle 1.425 4/6
I did bad today, using letter, I knew were not in. Sigh. I forgot my Pen & Paper method, and furthermore today's solution was a word not in my active vocabulary.
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