torsdag den 14. august 2025

Fredagsfrustration ~ bagerier
Friday Frustration ~ Bakeries

Da vi flyttede ind i nærheden af Helsinge for snart længe siden, var der - ud over supermarkedernes bake-off og et bageri i Kvickly - et herregodt bageri & konditori ved Gadekæret.
  - 🥨 -
When we moved here, long ago now, we had an excellent bakery, called the "Village Pond Bakery & Tearoom". Of course the local supermarkets also sold baked goods, but for cakes, this was where you went. 


Det er der ikke længere. Efter en periode med skiftende ejere - hvoraf den sidste var den fantastiske Sir Bake-a-lot, der åbnede i september 2018, men måtte lukke på grund af helbredsproblemer i juli 2019.
  - 🥨 -
This was long ago. After a period of rapidly changing owners the last and best - Sir Bake-a-lot - had to close down for health reasons in 2019.

Kun kringlen er tilbage    -  🥨  -   Only the pretzel remains

4. maj 2023 åbnede så den polske bager. Han lukkede for godt en uge siden, 6 august 2025. Der var åbenbart ikke kunder nok.
  - 🥨 -
In May 2023 our Polish bakery opened. But sadly he had to close about a week ago. People did not buy enough bread and cakes there.

Det synes jeg er sølle i en by af Helsinges størrelse. Byen selv er på knap 10.000 indbyggere og har et stort opland. Der burde være basis for en god bagerbutik her.
  - 🥨 -
I think this is lousy. Helsinge is not the largest of towns, but it has almost 10,000 inhabitants in the town proper and a big hinterland - lots of rural area surrounding it - and it should be possible to run one real good bakery here.

onsdag den 13. august 2025

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.

mandag den 11. august 2025

Poetry Monday :: Bisquit


Mandagsdigtet er en blogleg, som Mimi fra Messymimi's Meanderings og jeg har overtaget - midlertidigt håber vi - fra Diane, der slapper af og rejser verden rundt med sin mand. Vi håber hun er parat til at tage over igen, når hun kommer hjem.

For at kunne fortsætte denne blogleg uden at overanstrenge os selv – vi vil skrive digte og fjolle lidt rundt, ikke rive os i håret over at have glemt at finde nye på stikord - har Mimi og jeg besluttet at vi fra den 4. august hægter os på gruppen  365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts. Det er en Facebook-gruppe, der udgiver et stikord til hver dag i året, men bare rolig, stikordene vil stadig være at finde både her og på Mimis blog.

- A - - B - - C -

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 and relaxation, travelling the world with her husband as far as we can tell.
 
We just hope she's going to take back over once she returns home.

In order to to continue this challenge and not overexert ourselves - we want to write poems and goof around a bit, not spend time pulling out our hairs over forgetting to find new prompts - Mimi and I have decided to latch onto the 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts group. This is a Facebook group with a prompt for each day of the year, but no worries, the prompts will still be here and at Mimi's blog.

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


Today's subject is Bisquit.

But you won't get a poem about biscuits. Because yesterday, the Writer found a big, beautiful toad in the garden. It peed on him, as toads do, and after we had all admired it, it was put out in the dome.

Many years ago, the Owlets and I made one of those nonsense verses that are fun to make and pop up from time to time over the years. It's running through my head now, so here it is
:

Peeing toads are toady-peeing almost all day long
and in between they sing us all a crazy toady song.

To make up for the brevity and inanity of the poem, you'll have a photo of the toad.


- -  A  - -  B  - -  C  - -  

Dagens stikord er Bisquit.

    Men I får nu ikke noget digt om kiks. For i går fandt Skribenten en stor, flot tudse ude i haven. Den tissede på ham, som tudser jo gør, og efter at vi havde beundret den alle sammen, blev den sat ud i domen.
    For mange år siden lavede Ugleungerne og jeg en af den slags nonsensvers, som er sjove at lave, og som dukker op af og til igennem årene. Det kører fundt inde i mit hoved nu, så det kommer her:


Tisse-tudser tudse-tisser hele dagen lang
og ind i mellem synger de en tosset tudsesang.

Indrømmet, kort og fjollet, så I fortjener et foto af tudsen også.


onsdag den 6. august 2025

The WORDS only for Wednesday & 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 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:
District
Slippery
Feast
Stop
Paper
Recruit
    and/or
Concede
Threaten
Screen
Gain
Enhance
Gasp

It is still Tuesday as I write this, and I hope to find time to write something tomorrow.


- - A - - B - - C - - 

August 6 question - What is the most unethical practice in the publishing industry?

My answer - Paying translators peanuts!

I wrote this on Kate Larkindale's blog, and thought it needed to be added here:
Not only does is go against he "pay a worker his wages" it also deprives the readers of the pleasure they could have had from a better book if the translator had had the time to do a good/better job.

mandag den 4. august 2025

Poetry Monday :: Building ~ Should have been LONELY

Service announcement:
Today is actually the 4th of August - for which date we have the prompt Lonely.
But I erroneously used this prompt July 28th. The prompt then should have been Building, the last from Mimi and me. It seems this prompt disappeared as we went from June to July.
And as promised I'll write a poem next Monday - today - with Building as a prompt. And from now I promise to be more careful in my copy/pasting of prompts - be it for Poetry Monday or for Words for Wednesday!


- A - - B - - C -

Kære læsere, som I måske kan læse på engelsk, klokkede jeg i det og rodede rundt i stikordene for i dag og sidste mandag. Derfor bruger jeg nu i dag det stikord, Building - Bygge eller bygning, som jeg skulle have brugt sidste mandag. Det er sket lidt for tit på det seneste, så jeg lover at være mere forsigtig fremover.

Til gengæld kommer der ikke noget digt på dansk lige nu. Jeg har plukket blommer, og de nærmest mugner mens jeg putter dem i gryden, så jeg skal lige tage mig af de sidste inden sengetid.

Mandagsdigtet er en blogleg, som Mimi fra Messymimi's Meanderings og jeg har overtaget - midlertidigt håber vi - fra Diane, der slapper af og rejser verden rundt med sin mand. Vi håber hun er parat til at tage over igen, når hun kommer hjem.

For at kunne fortsætte denne blogleg uden at overanstrenge os selv – vi vil skrive digte og fjolle lidt rundt, ikke rive os i håret over at have glemt at finde nye på stikord - har Mimi og jeg besluttet at vi fra den 4. august hægter os på gruppen  365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts. Det er en Facebook-gruppe, der udgiver et stikord til hver dag i året, men bare rolig, stikordene vil stadig være at finde både her og på Mimis blog.

- A - - B - - C -

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 and relaxation, travelling the world with her husband as far as we can tell.
 
We just hope she's going to take back over once she returns home.

In order to to continue this challenge and not overexert ourselves - we want to write poems and goof around a bit, not spend time pulling out our hairs over forgetting to find new prompts - Mimi and I have decided to latch onto the 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts group. This is a Facebook group with a prompt for each day of the year, but no worries, the prompts will still be here and at Mimi's blog.

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


Today's subject - in my world - is Building.

They're building a shed
it is white, green, and red.
I wait for the finish
for windows and door.
Our mess will diminish
When there we can store
our bikes and our tools
our ladders and stools.
Our apples in crates
and hang our skates
in their laces:
There'll be smiles on our faces.


 - - - - - - - - -
Coming prompts
:
Aug 11 Biscuits
Aug 18 Don’t be afraid
Aug 25 Wonderful
Sep 1 Under the sea

Sep 8 Big City
Sep 15 Tea fusing
Sep 22 Kitchen
Sep 29 Snuggles

søndag den 3. august 2025

Sunday Selections :: First Sunday of August
Søndagsbilleder :: første søndag i august

Strågul - det er augusts farve

Straw yellow is the theme colour of August.

Linden fruits, fuzzy and straw golden   -   Lindetræ med frugter. lodne og strågyldne.

Ikke spor strågule  -  Aronia  -  Not the least bit straw coloured

Blind passager i Gribskovbanen, gad vide hvor længe han klarer den
  - 
Stowaway in our local train. I wonder how long he'll stay alive.

torsdag den 31. juli 2025

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.

tirsdag den 29. juli 2025

Colour25 - august

Der bliver høstet på højtryk rundt om os, og jeg ønsker mig en ny halmballe til skydeøvelser, så månedens farve bliver strågul - eller strågylden om man vil.

-- 💛 --

Egentlig går udfordringen ud på at finde og fotografere en eller flere ting med månedens farve og så lægge billederne op på sin blog, men efterhånden har det udviklet sig, så man må gøre stort set som man lyster, så længe det hverken er uforskammet eller vulgært.
    Og ja, jeg har valgt mange gule farver i år. Måskke er 202 bare et gult år.
The harvest is going on full steam all around us, and I'd very much like a new bale for shooting at. Ergo the colour for August is straw yellow, or straw golden as you like.

-- 💛 --

I challenge you to find something containing this colour, photograph it, and post the photo on your blog one of the Sundays in August.

If you want to incorporate the colour into another challenge - for instance the Words for Wednesday - this is also fine.

If you have other ideas for the use, this is fine as well - and as usual with these challenges, most anything goes, only nothing rude or vulgar, please.

Yes, there's many yellow colours in 2025 so far. Maybe it's just a yellow year?

mandag den 28. juli 2025

Poetry Monday :: Lonely ~
Opdateret med dansk digt

Service announcement:
Of course yesterday was not the 4th of August - for which date we have the prompt Lonely.
It was July - still is - and the date, as announced by my date header, is the 28th.
I blame my old eyes, new PC, and crazy times.
Rightfully the prompt should have been Building, the last from Mimi and me. It seems this prompt disappeared as we went from June to July.
I'm not going to write a new poem for this Monday, but instead write a poem next Monday with Building as a prompt. And from now I promise to be more careful in my copy/pasting of prompts - be it for Poetry Monday or for Words for Wednesday!


Dear readers ... on repeat: MotherOwl's new, old computer still needs some working out. It's tough times upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 11. In a few days more my computer savvy son comes by - he works at a helpdesk, so ...  I seriously hope I'm done strongarming it into doing what I want it to do -  instead of me doing what it wants me to do.

Reading of blogs, commenting and hopefully writing will slowly resume.

- A - - B - - C -

Kære læsere, dette er en genudsendelse: Uglemors  nye, brugte computer volder stadig knuder - det er tough times at gå fra Windows 7 til Windows 11. Om et par dage  komer min computerekspert-søn hjem på besøg - det er det, han atrbejder med, så ... vi skulle gerne få computeren til at gøre som jeg ønsker og ikke den anden vej rundt.
     Blogging, læsning af blogs og kommentarer er langsomt gået i gang.

Mandagsdigtet er en blogleg, som Mimi fra Messymimi's Meanderings og jeg har overtaget - midlertidigt håber vi - fra Diane, der slapper af og rejser verden rundt med sin mand. Vi håber hun er parat til at tage over igen, når hun kommer hjem.

Dagens tema er:
Ensom, eller enlig, og der skal nok komme noget på dansk senere, men lige nu skinner solen, så jeg er smuttet!

For at kunne fortsætte denne blogleg uden at overanstrenge os selv – vi vil skrive digte og fjolle lidt rundt, ikke rive os i håret over at have glemt at finde nye på stikord - har Mimi og jeg besluttet at vi fra den 4. august hægter os på gruppen  365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts. Det er en Facebook-gruppe, der udgiver et stikord til hver dag i året, men bare rolig, stikordene vil stadig være at finde både her og på Mimis blog.

- A - - B - - C -

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 and relaxation, travelling the world with her husband as far as we can tell.
 
We just hope she's going to take back over once she returns home.

In order to to continue this challenge and not overexert ourselves - we want to write poems and goof around a bit, not spend time pulling out our hairs over forgetting to find new prompts - Mimi and I have decided to latch onto the 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts group. This is a Facebook group with a prompt for each day of the year, but no worries, the prompts will still be here and at Mimi's blog.

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


Today's subject in my world! is Lonely.


Late Summer's Lament

One lonely swallow does not make spring
It takes a flock for Spring to bring.
I hope the geese don't do the same thing
to fall
because this time yesterday I saw
them all
fly Southward while I watched in awe.
But y'all
It's far too early now for fall
I want to swim, to run and drink
the sun.
In autumn with its winds and pall
no fun
is to be had by hungry me - cold days stink!


Og på dansk

Sensommerklage
En enlig svale gør ingen sommer.
Jeg håber ikke at vinter kommer,
når man ser flokke af gæs i skyen.
Det så jeg nemlig i går i byen,
og det er slet ikke tid endnu
til regn og kulde - åh gys og gru!
Jeg vil ha' lidt mere sol på næsen,
for jeg er sulten og ikke kræsen,
jeg spiser hver en bid sol og blåt
og samler forsvar mod vintergråt.


- - - - -
Coming prompts:
Aug 4 Lonely  - The first one from he 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts.
Aug 11 Biscuits
Aug 18 Don’t be afraid
Aug 25 Wonderful
Sep 1 Under the sea
Sep 8 Big City
Sep 15 Tea fusing
Sep 22 Kitchen
Sep 29 Snuggles

søndag den 27. juli 2025

Søndagsbilleder ~ den fjerde søndag i juli
Sunday Selections ~ Fourth Sunday of July

Så er det sidste søndag med skriveglædelilla.

Den farve har været svær at finde, og skriveglæden har det også været så som så med. Den nye computer og dens "sjove" ideer har ikke ligefrem gjort det nemt.

Men lige udenfor døren har jeg noget, der passer til farven - blomster og sjove kløvere.


Last Sunday of Writing Pleasure Purple.

I've had a hard time finding anything of that colour, and the writing has also not happened overmuch. The antics of my new computer have not exactly been a help either.

I realised, that I have something this colour outside my door.
Flowers and clover.


     Så i dag trængte jeg til at lave andet end at kæmpe med computere. Jeg startede på og fortsatte et par projekter. Det her er det mest fotogene af dem.
     Håndværkerne, der bygger vores udhus bruger noget sej spånplade, og jeg må gerne tage resterne. Så jeg klippede nogle skabeloner, fandt stiksaven frem - og gav den en ny klinge! - og lavede masser af savsmuld.
🧩
Today, I needed to do something other than wrangle computers. I started and continued a few projects. This is the most photogenic of them.
The carpenters building our outhouse are using some cool coarse grained plywood / chipboard, and I'm allowed to take the leftovers. So I cut out some templates, got out the jigsaw – and gave it a new blade! – and made lots of sawdust.

Selvfølgelig kom der andet end savsmuld ud af det. Her er én af brikkerne
🧩
Of course I did not only make sawdust. Here's one of the pieces.

Og dem alle sammen i min sankekurv kasse
🧩
And all of them in my gathering basket crate

Og det færdige puslespil
🧩
And the finished puzzle

Nu skal alle brikkerne slibes let og males med laserende træbeskyttelse i forskellige farver.
🧩
Now all the pieces need a light sanding and a coat of transparent paint in different colours.

torsdag den 24. juli 2025

New Computer Troubles & Wordle

Now I have some new, innovative, creative, hitherto unknown, ... troubles with my Blogger.
  • This browser - that I normally use for blogging - do remember who I am, but keeps on crashing whenever I delete anything, and the Ad Blocker does not work with Windows 11.
  • My other solution, Firefox, is stellar when it comes to AdBlocking and deleting. but it cannot remember who I am, forcing me to log in every single time I want to comment somewhere, or write a blog post, or ...
I do not know what's worse, and I have tried all the usual things to solve this, restart, clear cache and so on, log out and in again, and any combinations of these you can imagine, to no avail. My tech savy son, who helped me install it all, is on a holiday, so ... I'll just have to wait till he returns, I suppose.



And I want to show off
Thursday's Wordle 1.496 2/6
🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Today’s average difficulty is 5.2 guesses out of 6, or very challenging. It was a lucky guess, but I'm happy!

tirsdag den 22. juli 2025

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!

mandag den 21. juli 2025

Poetry Monday :: Quince

Dear readers ... MotherOwl's new, old computer still needs some working out. It's tough times upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 11. In a few days more I seriously hope I'm done strongarming it into doing what I want it to do -  instead of me doing what it wants me to do.

Reading of blogs, commenting and hopefully writing will resume soon - I hope.

- A - - B - - C -

Kære læsere, Uglemors  nye, brugte computer volder stadig knuder - det er tough times at gå fra Windows 7 til Windows 11. Derfor vil det nok vare et par dage mere, før hun er færdig med at kæmpe med installationer og få computeren til at gøre so hun ønsker og ikke den anden vej rundt.
Blogging, læsning af blogs og kommentarer vil komme i gang igen snart!

Mandagsdigtet er en blogleg, som Mimi fra Messymimi's Meanderings og jeg har overtaget - midlertidigt håber vi - fra Diane, der slapper af og rejser verden rundt med sin mand. Vi håber hun er parat til at tage over igen, når hun kommer hjem.

Dagens tema er:
Kvæder og jeg havde fået en god idé på dansk også, men så skulle jeg lige vande mine nyplantede krydderurter, og ideen forduftede sammen med vandet.

For at kunne fortsætte denne blogleg uden at overanstrenge os selv – vi vil skrive digte og fjolle lidt rundt, ikke rive os i håret over at have glemt at finde nye på stikord - har Mimi og jeg besluttet at vi hægter os på gruppen  365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts. Det er en Facebook-gruppe, der udgiver et stikord til hver dag i året.
     Dette er så det sidste af vores stikord, men bare rolig, stikordene vil stadig være at finde både her og på Mimis blog.


- A - - B - - C -

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 and relaxation, travelling the world with her husband as far as we can tell.
 
We just hope she's going to take back over once she returns home.

In order to to continue this challenge and not overexert ourselves - we want to write poems and goof around a bit, not spend time pulling out our hairs over forgetting to find new prompts - Mimi and I have decided to latch onto the 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts group. This is a Facebook group with a prompt for each day of the year.

This is the last prompt by Mimi or me, b
ut no worries, the prompts will still be here and at Mimi's blog.

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


Today's subject is Quince.

We eat a lot of quince
we've done so ever since
I got my English jam-book.
So every fall
I pick them all
And cook my jam
I follow Pam*
and more quince cheese I cook.

 ____________________________________________________________________

*Pam: The jam book is Pam the Jam's excellent Book of Preserves:

- - - - - - - - - -

Up and coming subjects:
July 21 Quince (Today) - the last one coming from Mimi and me.
Aug 4 Lonely  -
The first one from he 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts.
Aug 11 Biscuits
Aug 18 Don’t be afraid
Aug 25 Wonderful


 --  A  --  B  --  C  --

And the Wordle 1.493 6/6
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Today’s average difficulty is 5.4 guesses out of 6, or very challenging. I find this average difficulty by clicking the bulb, which takes me to today's Wordle Review page where we can find (clickable) hints and the solution.

I don't go here until I have solved the Wordle - or not.

Lowermost on this page - before ads for themselves, games and news, is Further reading  I love this statement: See the archive for past and future posts.
If I click the link, I see only past posts 😁

søndag den 20. juli 2025

Sunday Selection :: Writing Pleasure Purple

I am still wrangling my new PC - Getting the pictures from my camera in there is tough. There's no slot for the memorycard from the camera any longer, and all sorts of strange pop-ups are trying to take over my transfer when I finally get the PC and camera to interact.

But here's a few of the photos from this week that suceeded in being taken, looking somewhat OK and finding their way into my folders.

First - this year again we visited the sandsculpture featival in Hundested meeting old aquaintances

- ⏳ -

Jeg kæmper stadig med min nye computer - det er bøvlet at få billederne fra mit kamera ind på den. Der er ikke længere et hul til hukommelseskortet fra kameraet, og når jeg endelig får computer og kamera til at tale sammen, er der alle mulige mærkelige pop op-vinduer der forsøger at overtage det hele.
     Men her er et par af de billeder fra denne uge. Det lykkedes at få dem taget, de ser nogenlunde ud, og de har fundet vej til de rigtige mapper.
     Igen i år besøgte vi sandskulptur-festivalen i Hundested og mødte gamle bekendte. Vi har så vidt jeg ved kun misset den to gange siden den åbnede i 2012, nemlig 2016 og 2024.
I think he's been there from the very start - ⏳ - Jeg tror ham her har været med fra starten.

This one has been here for some years too - ⏳ - Denne her har også nogle år på bagen.


Hvorimod denne her var helt ny - ⏳ - This one was all new
Årets tema er Showtime, alt kan ske  - ⏳ - Theme of the year: Showtime, Anything can Happen.

    - ⏳ -

Then we go home again - ⏳ - Så tager vi hjem igen

Jeg har fået klinte hjem i haven - ⏳ - I've had a corncockle grow in my garden.

Dette er et overskudsprodukt - ⏳ - This is a byproduct

Saltlage, nu kogt ind til salt - ⏳ - brine, now boiled and dried and turned into salt

Det blev brugt til at salte de her slåen, der nu står i eddikelage og trækker. De bliver til slåliven
- ⏳ -
The brine was used for these sloeberries, now in another liquid made of vinegar, sugar and water. This will turn them into slolives, or Nordic olives.

Jeg plukkede også gyldne stikkelsbær, de blev til en gylden stikkelsbærtærte. Det var ikke så godt som det gyldne syltetøj fra sidste år, så ikke flere gyldne tærter.
- ⏳ -
I also picked all the golden gooseberries, they were made into a gooseberrypie. It was nothing special, as opposed to the golden jam from 2024. No more golden gooseberry pies.


And finally scroll down and see today's Wordle solution - it is fun - and Writing Pleasure Purple ;)
- ⏳ -
Og til sidst dagens Wordle, med en sjov - og skriveglædelilla løsning længere nede.


Sunday's Wordle 1.492 4/6
⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜
🟩🟩⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Another one with green and grey letters only .... this made me want to play
Solution will be revealed, so scroll with care

Endnu en løsning med kun grå og grønne bogstaver ... Jeg fik lyst til at lege
Dagens løsning vil blive afsløret længere nede, så scroll med forsigtighed.


 * * * *

* * *

 * *

 *


The solution as it was - and with the colours inverted, which makes the green letters turn
Writing Pleasure Purple

Løsningen som den ser ud - og med farverne inverteret. Det får de grønne bogstaver til at blive Skriveglædelilla



onsdag den 16. juli 2025

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.

mandag den 14. juli 2025

Poetry Monday :: Salt

Dear readers ... I am not blogging much right now and for the next couple of days. I just got a new old computer and I have to install everything back in ... and wrestle it until it does what I want it to do -  instead of me doing what it wants me to do.

Reading of blogs, commenting and hopefully writing will resume soon - I hope.

- A - - B - - C -

Kære læsere, da Uglemor fik en nybrugt computer i går, vil det lige vare et par dage, før hun er færdig med at kæmpe med installationer og få computeren til at gøre so hun ønsker og ikke dne anden vej rundt.
Blogging, læsning af blogs og kommentarer vil komme i gang igen snart!

- A - - B - - C -

Mandagsdigtet er en blogleg, som Mimi fra Messymimi's Meanderings og jeg har overtaget - midlertidigt håber vi - fra Diane, der slapper af og rejser verden rundt med sin mand. Vi håber hun er parat til at tage over igen, når hun kommer hjem.

Dagens tema er:
Salt, der fik mig til at tænke på drilleverset "Gråskæg Halt" fra "Skyggens lærling" af John Flanagan ... det var bare sådan, at verset med Halt og salt kun findes i den danske udgave - Skyggens lærling - Troldmanden fra nord (tror jeg nok) Så nu har jeg stjålet John Flanagans originaltekst og lavet omkvædet om efter den danske udgave - efter bedste evne og hukommelse. Måske finder jeg bogen - bortført af en eller anden ugleunge - eller måske bare forlagt - vi har MANGE bøger! Så kommer verset på dansk.

For at kunne fortsætte denne blogleg uden at overanstrenge os selv – vi vil skrive digte og fjolle lidt rundt, ikke rive os i håret over at have glemt at finde nye på stikord - har Mimi og jeg besluttet at vi hægter os på gruppen  365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts. Det er en Facebook-gruppe, der udgiver et stikord til hver dag i året. Vi starter den første mandag i august – og bare rolig, stikordene vil stadig være at finde både her og på Mimis blog.

- A - - B - - C -

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 and relaxation, travelling the world with her husband as far as we can tell.
 
We just hope she's going to take back over once she returns home.

In order to to continue this challenge and not overexert ourselves - we want to write poems and goof around a bit, not spend time pulling out our hairs over forgetting to find new prompts - Mimi and I have decided to latch onto the 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts group. This is a Facebook group with a prompt for each day of the year. We'll do this from August 4th, the first Monday of August. But no worries, the prompts will still be here and at Mimi's blog.

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


Today's subject is Salt. This made a song from John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice chase its tail through my brains ... only the "salt" refrain is from the Danish books and does not exist in the English version :)

NOTE:
Only the refrain was remade by me; the verse cited here are the ones most alike to the Danish version and written by John Flanagan in one of the Ranger's Apprentice books, I think it's from The Sorcerer of the North.
LINK to the whole text
.


    Greybeard Halt, Greybeard Halt
    Worth his weight in salt.
    Greybeard Halt, Greybeard Halt
    He makes the thieves at fault.

Greybeard Halt, he lost a bet
He lost his winter cloak
When winter comes, Halt stays warm
By sleeping 'mongst the goats.


    Greybeard Halt, Greybeard Halt
    Worth his weight in salt.
    Greybeard Halt, Greybeard Halt
    He makes the thieves at fault.

Greybeard Halt is a fighting man
I’ve heard common talk
That Greybeard Halt, he cuts his hair
With his saxe knife and fork!

    Greybeard Halt, Greybeard Halt
    Worth his weight in salt.
    Greybeard Halt, Greybeard Halt
    He makes the thieves at fault.

Every Monday we'll meet and write poetry once again.

July 14 Salt
(Today)
July 21 Quince
Aug 4 Lonely
Aug 11 Biscuits
Aug 18 Don’t be afraid
Aug 25 Wonderful

   

torsdag den 10. juli 2025

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.

onsdag den 9. juli 2025

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


mandag den 7. juli 2025

Poetry Monday :: Park

Mandagsdigtet er en blogleg, som Mimi fra Messymimi's Meanderings og jeg har overtaget - midlertidigt håber vi - fra Diane, der slapper af og rejser verden rundt med sin mand. Vi håber hun er parat til at tage over igen, når hun kommer hjem.

Dagens tema er:
Park, der på engelsk også kan betyde parkere.

I dag fik jeg faktisk skrevet noget på dansk. Et elfje. Det er en type vers, det er let at skrive, men forhåbentlig ikke al for kedeligt at læse. Læs mere om Elfje her.

For at kunne fortsætte denne blogleg uden at overanstrenge os selv – vi vil skrive digte og fjolle lidt rundt, ikke rive os i håret over at have glemt at finde nye på stikord - har Mimi og jeg besluttet at vi hægter os på gruppen  365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts. Det er en Facebook-gruppe, der udgiver et stikord til hver dag i året. Vi starter den første mandag i august – og bare rolig, stikordene vil stadig være at finde både her og på Mimis blog.


- A - - B - - C -

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 and relaxation, travelling the world with her husband as far as we can tell.
 
We just hope she's going to take back over once she returns home.

In order to to continue this challenge and not overexert ourselves - we want to write poems and goof around a bit, not spend time pulling out our hairs over forgetting to find new prompts - Mimi and I have decided to latch onto the 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts group. This is a Facebook group with a prompt for each day of the year. We'll do this from August 4th, the first Monday of August. But no worries, the prompts will still be here and at Mimi's blog.

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


Park
I made an Elfje. This is a type of verse that's easy to write, and not too boring to read, I hope. The rules are quite simple. Five lines, eleven words, distributed like this:
  1. One word. This word symbolizes a colour or feature. The word sets the atmosphere.
  2. Two words. expanding on or describing line 1.
  3. Three words. Giving more information about the person or the object. You describe where the person or the object is, who the person or what the object is, or what the person or object is doing. This sentence usually starts with the word ‘he’, ‘she’ or ‘it.’
  4.   Four words. Something about yourself in relation to the person or the object. This sentence is your conclusion.
  5.   One word. This word is called the ‘Bomb.’ It is the essence of the poem.
Read more about Elfjes here.

Trees
some flowers
and a lake
A place to relax.
Park.

And in Danish ~ Og så på dansk

Træer,
en sø
og nogle ænder.
Her slapper vi af
Park!

- - - - - -

Every Monday we'll meet and write poetry once again.

July 7 Park (Today)
July 14 Salt
July 21 Quince
Aug 4 Lonely
Aug 11 Biscuits
Aug 18 Don’t be afraid
Aug 25 Wonderful