Weekly Wordzzle Challenge # 222, 2nd Attempt

OK... Second try after a week when I just blahed out of doing wordzzles even after I posted the words. Hopefully, with no earth ending storms threatening to blow my little house away, I will get the task done this week. We are expecting snow and the sky is all gray and gloomy, but.... I'm back down to my  normal level of crazy, so hopefully I will even post this today. (I've had all week, but do you think I have used that time, so all I'd have to do is just hit "publish"? Nope. Last minute to the end.

FINISHED... EARLY EVEN. Go me!  Not that thrilled with this week's offerings except that I'm glad they are done. I kind of like the idea of the last one but don't think I quite pulled it off and I'm too lazy to put any more effort into it. First one is so-so. The mini is just a boring cheat. So it goes.


Words for this week's 10-word challenge were: howling woman, experience, selection, for sale, star, crackers, you've got mail, limp, fuzz, characteristic  And for the mini: birds in flight, rainy day, ribbon, blanket, Yikes!


Marilyn's dream began with a flock of birds in flight on what seemed to be a rainy day. She thought they were crows, but she wasn't really certain. They flew in a silent ribbon across the sky, forming a variety of odd shapes, beginning with an arrow which then morphed into a star.  That was followed by something that looked like fire cracker and then a fourth shape but her memory got fuzzy at that point about what the remaining formations were.  The next thing she remembered was a howling woman wrapped in a colorful, blanket whose pattern was characteristic of the Navaho weaving Marilyn loved so much, although it was clearly not authentic. (This information seemed important for some reason, though she had no idea why.) The woman was staring up at the birds and shouting "Yikes! Yikes! Oh my God, look at the birds! It's a sign!" and waving her arms around frantically before collapsing into a limp heap on the ground that quickly turned into a pile of colorful autumn leaves.  It was one of those surreal dreams one experiences and feels as though there is a message being delivered in some unbreakable code. An hour later, showered, sipping her from a steaming cup of coffee, she logged onto the computer. "You've got mail," the cheery voice announced. Scanning the list of emails, she gasped.... top of the list was one from As the Crow Flies with the Subject line: For Sale - Amazing Selection of Native American crafts and blankets. Guess I'd better check this out. Talk about a divine message. Wow. It turned out to be a fantastic sale. She bought herself the long wished for Navaho blanket (it was SO beautiful) as well as Christmas gifts for everyone on her list.


My  mini:

Gazing out the big picture window in his living room on a rainy day in late October, Felix Martinson called to his wife, "Marilyn, Marilyn... come quick. You've got to see this huge flock of birds in flight. They are amazing! It almost looks like they are making shapes as they fly."  Arriving at her husband's side, Marilyn Martinson gasped out a loud "Yikes!"  Felix, baby... you know my Navaho blanket that I love so much. Five years ago I had a dream that looked just like this! And when I woke up, there was an email with a sale. Honest. In the dream they flew in in that same ribbon or river of motion and drawing different pictures. I think maybe I'll check my email. Maybe I can find some good Christmas gifts again. What makes this story even more remarkable is that when she checked her email... there was indeed another excellent sale. "The universe works in wondrous ways, sometimes, doesn't it?," she said to Felix later that evening. Felix, who was somewhat less of a romantic than Marilyn, none-the-less, replied, "yes dear."  "I know you are humoring me, love, but one of these days you'll see I'm right." "Yes dear," he said again with a smile. "I love you either way."


And my 10-word:  

The howling woman limped slowly down the street, her hair matted and filthy.  Her eyes shone with the characteristic glazed stare of lunacy and she was offering passers buy an apple or peach or some kind of fruit that was fuzzy with mold, while shouting a peculiar selection of random phrases: "You've got mail," she would shriek at one person. "I'm not for sale," she would say to the next, or "I'm a star. Do you want my autograph?". A group of five teens, sitting on a stoop, giggled as she walked by. "She's crackers," one of them said, "disgusting freak." Three of the others laughed, but the fifth whose life had been somewhat less sheltered challenged her friends. "It's not funny," she said, "it's sad. She could be someone's mother. She needs help, not scorn." So saying, she went into the house and came back a few minutes later with a blanket and a sandwich. Approaching the mad woman with some trepidation, she offered her the food and blanket. What happened next was an experience none of them would ever forget although it lasted only for a fleeting moment or two. "The woman's whole demeanor shifted, briefly and took on the shining radiance of a child or an angel. The lunacy vanished and the girls saw that it masked a beautiful and gentle soul. "How kind of you," she said, in a voice of rich eloquence and gentility. "I am most grateful for your thoughtfulness. Can you see me? You must be an angel. I thought all the angels had died.... Please take this golden apple," she continued, handing the moldy fruit to her benefactor as a token of my thanks." Then - as though a switch had flipped - she returned to madness and hobbled on, still muttering, "I thought all the angels had died." 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words for next week's 10-word challenge:  horrors, family, ginger, relevant, center, cheaters never prosper, flag, twine, mayonaisse, he's got my vote,

And for the mini: books, pressed, off the wall, anchor, lavender

Thanks you for playing.  Newcomers can check here for some guidelines to make the game more fun. There are no rules, just some general guidelines and tricks.