Words for Wednesday & A Mystery

Monday, while waiting for our birthday lady to arrive, I visited a second hand shop just across the street from where we were celebrating. I saw many interesting things there. A few of those I bought, most not.
I found - and bought - a tin of

I saw - and did not buy - bookends shaped like comic figures, a carefully wrapped CD with the soundtrack from Grease featuring Hopelessly Devoted to You, a book on gland diseases in bovine for veterinary students, and another on Greek elegies. It was a very good second hand shop, and I hope to go there again.

I found - and bought - an owl shaped lunch box (not featured)  and these funny birds

If anybody has an inkling - or certain knowledge - of the use of these wooden creatures, I'd be happy to hear.

And with this I used the first batch of words from Words for Wednesday. Found here, and supplied by yours truly.

Here are all the words once again - I do not yet know if and for what I am going to use the second batch.
Alphabet
Bookends
Careful
Devoted
Gland
Elegy
     and/or
Fabulous
Island
Legend
Mirror
Yak
Violent

Words for Wednesday :: July 31 :: The Words

This meme was started by Delores a long time ago.  Troubles led her to bow out, but the meme was too much fun to let go, and now Words for Wednesday is provided by a number of people and has become a movable feast with Elephant's Child as our coordinator.

  Essentially the aim of this meme is to encourage us to write.  Each week we are given some prompts. These prompts can be words, phrases, music or images.

  Some of us put our creation in comments on the post, and others post on their own blog. This fun meme includes cheering on the other participants.

  And the more the merrier goes here as well, so if you are posting on your own blog then please tell us in the comments, so that all other participants, can come along and applaud.

This post goes live at 16.01 Tuesday my time. I have found out - hopefully now correct - that this is when Wednesday begins in Canberra.

For today the prompt are:
Alphabet
Bookends
Careful
Devoted
Gland
Elegy

Fabulous
Island
Legend
Mirror
Yak
Violent

Poetry Monday Catchup

Every Monday is Poetry Monday. Mimi of Messymimi's Meanderings and I have taken over the hosting duties, mostly the supplying of the prompts - only temporarily we hope - while Diane at On the Border is taking a break for health reasons.

  I have something more to ask of you: If you read this and the poetry of others, would you please leave a comment. Half - if not more - the fun of these challenges is receiving the responses of others.

     I have been slacking, with blogging as with almost everything else (all due to good reasons) but now I'm trying to catch up. These last two days has been better, busy and still cloudy and windy, but NO RAIN!
     Only due to no church and yet a birthday celebration, I suffered from the delusion that yesterday was Sunday! Of course it was not, and I am a day late with Poetry Monday. To make up for this, I also add a small haiku for the topic of last Monday, Conclusion.
     As I normally resort writing one of the short, very regulated verse forms when I'm busy -- either a Haiku or an Elfje -- this is what I have done these last Mondays.

Monday July 22nd: Conclusion
A wise man told me
That a conclusion simply
Is a posh ending.

Monday, July 29th: Holiday
Holiday
A time
With fun relaxation.
We are longing for
Sunshine.

 - - - - -

And for the coming Mondays we have these topics:
Aug. 5 Honey
Aug. 12 Cabinet
Aug. 19 Market
Aug. 26 Instrument

Colour of the Month :: August

Wow, it's almost August already.

I have been absent for some time, We have illnesses in the family, I had the root canal treated tooth extracted after all - and only after a lot of tooth ache - and it is the most rainy summer holidays ever, despite which we are still celebrating all the many birthdays of our birthday season.

 Each of these alone would be a good reason for not blogging much. Together they offer the perfect explanation for my prolonged "ghost presence" here ... at least I hope so.

The colour for August is

a colour I would have found fitting for the weather and my mood in July. I hope to find more optimism and positivity in the days to come.

Today is the last Sunday of July. And the day to say good bye to July's colour:

The fields right now are this colour. Wednesday it did not rain in the evening, and I went for a short walk. Look how wonderful the views are over the ripening fields.

Words for Wednesday :: July 24 :: The Words

This meme was started by Delores a long time ago.  Troubles led her to bow out, but the meme was too much fun to let go, and now Words for Wednesday is provided by a number of people and has become a movable feast with Elephant's Child as our coordinator.

  Essentially the aim of this meme is to encourage us to write.  Each week we are given some prompts. These prompts can be words, phrases, music or images.

  Some of us put our creation in comments on the post, and others post on their own blog. This fun meme includes cheering on the other participants.

  And the more the merrier goes here as well, so if you are posting on your own blog then please tell us in the comments, so that all other participants, can come along and applaud.

This post goes live at 16.01 Tuesday my time. I have found out - hopefully now correct - that this is when Wednesday begins in Canberra.

For today the prompt are:
Building
Tailfeather
Trees
Metal
Cloak
Linen
     and/or
Boots
Ring
Spirit
Opera Mints
Phone
Whole

Still Here Post

I am still here, but busy.

I'll be back soon

Words for Wednesday :: July 17 :: The Words

This meme was started by Delores a long time ago.  Troubles led her to bow out, but the meme was too much fun to let go, and now Words for Wednesday is provided by a number of people and has become a movable feast with Elephant's Child as our coordinator.

  Essentially the aim of this meme is to encourage us to write.  Each week we are given some prompts. These prompts can be words, phrases, music or images.

  Some of us put our creation in comments on the post, and others post on their own blog. This fun meme includes cheering on the other participants.

  And the more the merrier goes here as well, so if you are posting on your own blog then please tell us in the comments, so that all other participants, can come along and applaud.

This post goes live at 16.01 Tuesday my time. I have found out - hopefully now correct - that this is when Wednesday begins in Canberra.

For today the prompt are:
Harvest
Golden
Moon
Gentle
Cut
Stones
     and/or
Order
Panic
Quince
Roses
Soliloquy
Table

Poetry Monday :: Growth

Growth - It seems I cannot get away from whining about the weather and incessant rain. Well let it at least be nice and rhyming whinies then.

Growth is everywhere
Plants grow here and there
Weeds and beans,
Flowers, greens,
tomatoes and grains
Just because it rains.

Growth is here and there
In my place and their
weeds and tansies
peas and pansies
mildew and hen's banes
Just because it rains.

Growth is in the air
clouds like a nightmare.
Thunder rolls
and lightening flashes
Puddles in all holes
All is splish and splashes.

 - - - - -

Next Monday: Conclusion

Sunday Selections :: Colour24 :: Søndagsbilleder

Månedens farve juli

Colour of the Month July 

Kagekunst. Jeg købte en käsekuchen med frugtgelé hos vore polske bager.
Da jeg kom hjem med den, havde toppen smittet af på bagerpappet.
Moderne konditorkunst!

Bakery art. I bought a piece of berry cheesecake at our local, Polish bakery.
When I reached home, the jelly on top had made this impression inside the box.
Modern cake art!

Bageren i et supermarked hvor de ikke er til højere kagekunst, havde disse her muffins.
Nej, jeg købte ikke nogen, og Ugleungerne plagede heller ikke.

At a bakery in a supermarket, where cake art is not high priority I found these muffins.
No, I did not buy any, I only brought home this photo. Nobody asked for me to buy some. 

De havde også denne her sjove kage
GULDERODSKAGE
... jo, den er da fint gylden, og der er helt sikkert gulerødder i. Tihi.

They also had this cake with a funny spelling mistake: GULDERODSKAGE:
GULEROD means carrot, GULD means gold
And yes this cake sure is golden, and with carrots, but why combine the words in this crazy way?
KAGE means cake - you might have guessed.

Og en puppe. Jeg frygter den bliver til en stikkelsbærmåler.
Uanset endte den ude i haven igen.

And a pupa. I fear that it turns into a gooseberryleave-eanting Magpie moth.
I put it back into the garden anyway.

Vi var i cirkus. Det har vi været næsten hvert år i lang tid,
de seneste år i Cirkus Baldoni, som også i år.

We went to a circus. We've done that every year (almost) for a very long time.
The last many years Circus Baldoni has been our preferred, also this year.

Words for Wednesday :: part 2 or 3 or maybe 4 :: Gylfi & Thora 11

This last Wednesday I came up with the Words for Words for Wednesday. I wrote a whiney weather post, using the Words, but they also fit in with my continuing story of Gylfi and Thora. As usual I am
using the words in the order they were given

Here they are:

Agile
Bleak
Comfort
Dull
Even
Full
     and/or
This photo from Spencer Gurley, courtesy of Pexels

I continue the story from where I let off last Monday - I seem to be late in using the words in July - well here it is still Friday a few minutes more at least

-- 👀 --

Gylfi entered the room just as Thora hung up. "Who was it?" he asked letting down the catch of the day in the sink.

"The Fins," Thora replied. "They are on their way to Turku, and are going to brave the portals on their own."
"Fine, I have something I want to test," Gylfi said. "Would you mind preparing the fish, while I get them. What a luck I did not stop when I had enough for the two of us. I'll be hungry when we return."

"What mischief have you planned now!" Thora asked.

"Teleporting," Gylfi answered. "I have been practising every day, sometimes even more times a day. And I can teleport with the neighbour's cow for short distances."
Thora began laughing, "That's why Starri's Hildur has been complaining that her cow gives less milk recently. I overheard her at the bakers'." she turned serious: "But teleporting is dangerous."

"As I said, I have been practising, and I think I'm just naturally good at it. It's easy, and it does not make me dizzy or tired as portals and other kinds of magic does."

"You're a strange one, Gylfi," Thora said lovingly, "I'll take care of fish and whatever, just drink up your tea, have a few more cookies, and remember to bring some along when you go and get the Finnish twins, these caves are not a place for prolonged stays."

Gylfi smiled at Thora while he ate the last of yet another cookie, then he wrapped some in a napkin and stuffed in his pockets. He rose: "Thank you. I promise to take care, and only take one of them at a time. No need to hurry and risk our future teachers."

"Great, I look forward to seeing you, and them, home again."
Shortly after she heard the roar of Gylfi's old car and began scaling the fish.

Gylfi arrived at the end of the bumpy road near the farm before darkness fell. He parked the car well away from the farmhouse and with agile steps climbed the nearest mound. Yes, he could see the cave from there, he looked around, painting an inner picture of his surroundings. The glacier looked bleak in the van evening light. He had to hurry. He pulled out his wand, looked at the distant glacier and cast the spell.

He stood at the entrance to the cave.
He entered the cave, and when he no longer could see the road, and thus also was not visible from outside, he pulled his staff and with a softspoken Ljús and a swish it emitted a clear, golden light. He took comfort in the fact that he knew where he was going this time around. Caves were one of his weaknesses, never admitted to anybody, but he felt the pressure of the masses of stone and earth and ice on top of him almost like a physical pressure.

A gleam of dull blue told him that Taavi had lit his wand as well and was near the little portal in the back of the cave. He called, and even this small sound filled up the cave with warmth and life - and bats. Gylfi ducked, as the bats flew over his head and out into the new night.

He turned his light up to full and walked briskly over to the twins. The cave was unusually dry and it was easy gong. They greeted one another and the twins gladly accepted a couple of Thora's cookies.

Weather Whining! ~ WfW July 10

Is this summer?

Mimi at Messymimi's Meanderings has written s funny, witty and sunshiney post today - but oh, it makes me long for real summer and icecream cones.

We're already two full weeks and a bit into the Summer holidays and even past summer solstice, for heaven's sake, but we STILL have measly 17 degress. The sky is dull and cloudy and we see drizzle now and again.

We should be outside moaning a bit in the heat, collecting sunrays and memories as a comfort against the coming winter.

If this continues - and the forecast looks bleak - we're in for a winter with an upswing of seasonal depressions once again.

This is the weather forecast from YR.NO the Norwegian TV (NRK) and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute -- no, I have no idea how this turns into YR. It uses the same data as does the Danish ones, but its user interface is less bad.
Ever since BedreVejr.dk went offline the weather has been lousy. We hope for a return in the fullness of time.


And for this sorry piece, I used all the written prompts for this week's Words for Wednesday, given by me, but not the photo.

Agile
Bleak
Comfort
Dull
Even
Full
     and/or
This photo from Spencer Gurley, Pexels

Words for Wednesday :: July 10 :: The Words

This meme was started by Delores a long time ago.  Troubles led her to bow out, but the meme was too much fun to let go, and now Words for Wednesday is provided by a number of people and has become a movable feast with Elephant's Child as our coordinator.

  Essentially the aim of this meme is to encourage us to write.  Each week we are given some prompts. These prompts can be words, phrases, music or images.

  Some of us put our creation in comments on the post, and others post on their own blog. This fun meme includes cheering on the other participants.

  And the more the merrier goes here as well, so if you are posting on your own blog then please tell us in the comments, so that all other participants, can come along and applaud.

This post goes live at 16.01 Tuesday my time. I have found out - hopefully now correct - that this is when Wednesday begins in Canberra.

For today the prompt are:
Agile
Bleak
Comfort
Dull
Even
Full
     and/or
This photo from Spencer Gurley, Pexels

Poetry Monday :: Candid

Every Monday is Poetry Monday. Mimi of Messymimi's Meanderings and I have taken over the hosting duties, mostly the supplying of the prompts - only temporarily we hope - while Diane at On the Border is taking a break for health reasons.

  I have something more to ask of you: If you read this and the poetry of others, would you please leave a comment. Half - if not more - the fun of these challenges is receiving the responses of others.

This Monday's prompt is Candid


Candid ... this word means frank, outspoken, forthright.Today my poetry muse is stupid - maybe she's still in holiday mode. The only thing she comes up with is an old joke rhyme in Danish. It may hail from the  old Autograph Albums of my childhood. And it is in Danish too. A translation into English will follow.

  -- 👼 --

     Dagens ord er Candid - der betyder ligefrem, oprigtig eller noget i den dur.
     Min muse er vist stadig på ferie eller måske i drillehumør. I hvert fald er det eneste, hun har at tilbyde dette gamle vers, måske fra min barndoms poesibøger.

  -- 👼 --

At sætte mig til poesi
det er der ingen mening i.
Nu har jeg siddet her en time
og kan ikke få det til at rime.



To make me write in poetry
Is meaningless as well can be
I sat an hour here and see
No rhyme to show for my travail.

  -- 👼 --

Next Monday: Growth. I hope my muse is back and rested by then.

Words for Wednesday :: Thora & Gylfi 10

Finally I got myself pried away from gardening, Tour de France and other chores and projects and finished the next chapter in my continuing story of Thora and Gylfi. The Words were:

Fish
Kettle
Black
Human
Cloister
Serene
     And/or
Flagstone
Quarry
Bush
Rowan
Finnish
Mango

I continue where I left off, using the words in the order they were given as usual - only not mango. It did not fit in.

 Some days later, Gylfi was out fishing. He did not use any magic, but still he caught enough fish for dinner and some more, he gutted them and returned home.
Thora had been working in the garden, tending the early greens and encouraging them to grow, at the same time discouraging the aphids and other pests from eating their edibles and instead eating those that Thora and Gylfi regarded as weeds. She picked some early greens and flowers and herbs. Potatoes were still to be had in the root cellar, as were various cabbages and other roots. Soon the potatoes were simmering, and the other greens cleaned and cut. She buttered a huge pan and spread the roots and greens in it. Then she filled the herbs and spices in a glass, cut them with her scissors and added salt. This she would sprinkle over the fish before consigning them to the oven. She also filled the kettle with fresh water; black tea to warm them both after a day spent in the still cool Icelandic spring was a luxury they did not want to do without, they were human after all, and the warmth spell demanded much mental energy to maintain.  

While she waited for Gylfi to return home, she said her evening devotions. She looked at the photo of the cloister from the former Carmelite monastery in Elsinore. That place exuded a serene, almost holy atmosphere even from the old black and white photo. She wanted to go there again soon. The flagstones in the photo caught her eyes. A legend told that if you stayed in the cloister on a night where the moon was full, Kirstin Munk, the morganatic wife of king Christian IV, was supposed to appear where the light of the full moon fell on a certain flagstone.
Thora did not believe this to be true. But the old monastery held a fascination to her. She was awakened from her wool-gatherings by her owl, Brúnleit, that landed on the window sill with a small bird in it's sharp claws. Thora rose, and gently asked Brúnleit to let go of her quarry.
Protesting, but knowing that Thora was the master, the owl let go of the still fighting bird. Thora held it carefully and examined it with eyes and magic. Miraculously it had only a few punctures to the skin, nothing internal was damaged, only squeezed a bit. Thora gently placed the small bird in a bush under a huge rowan tree and put a protecting spell on it. The spell would wear off, but now it stood a chance.
Thora gave Brúnleit one of the savoury biscuits she kept for this purpose, and told her not to bring birds into the house. "If you must catch birds, eat them before you come here," she said sternly. The owl hooted softly and flew off to the rowan tree to sulk and eat her biscuit. Thora laughed to herself. She suspected the owl of deliberately bringing in an unharmed bird now and then to get the treats.
The phone rang, and as Thora picked it up and said: "Hello, Thora speaking," a lot of statics and a jumble of words followed. For a second Thora was about to hang up, then she recognised Taavi's voice and the Finnish word for hello. She quickly pulled out her wand and cast the language spell, hoping it would work through the telephone as well. It did, and Taavi told Thora that he and Tähti were on their way to the portal in Turku.

"Great," Thora said. "Have you decided to brave the portals alone?"
---
"Yes, fine! Just wait in the cave and I or Gylfi will be there -- See you! - Bye."

... to be continued

Sunday Selection & Colour24

As usual our weather is playing the "Who, me?" game with me. I go out to do something in the garden ... it begins raining. I go in and do indoor work or watch Tour de France - the rain stops.

Look for yourself how innocent our weather acts here. The big puddles and the wet tarmac are giveaways, the trees were still dripping wet.

     Vejret leger sit sædvanlige kispus med mig for øjeblikket. Når jeg går ud i haven, begynder det straks at regne. Går jeg indenfor og rydder op eller følger med i Tour de France, ja så skinner solen øjeblikkeligt.
     Prøv bare at se hvordan vejret spiller uskyldig og siger: "Hvem, mig?"  Det bliver bare afsløret af de store pytter og den våde asfalt. Træerne dryppede stadig.