Saturday Wordzzle Challenge, Week 101

This is week 101 of the Saturday Wordzzle Challenge. Anyone new to the process can refer back here to find out how it works. For anyone new to wordzzles, the words for this week's mini are a memorial of sorts for our wordzzle/blogger friend Dr. John Linna who died last week. He will be missed.

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I wanted to share two things this week. We had two very late posts last week. One was from Stephen in AZ who shared that he has been posting late because he has not been feeling well. Maybe we can all send our prayers and good thought to him. I also - even though I don't like to play favorites - wanted to recommend that you stop by last week's other late post. Gabrielle wrote something truly wonderful using the words from 2 weeks ago and I'd hate for everyone to miss it.

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This week's words were: smoothness, crafty, purchase, brief, chirping, forever, shift, moonrise, lampshade, stereotype For the mini: remembrance, Dr. John, Agent 012, dragons, Fortress


My mini:

The dragons, led by the noble Fandango, had gathered en masse at the Fortress of Remembrance. Many were weeping unabashedly, something that Dragons seldom do even in the most dire of circumstances, but they had lost a great friend - a human - but a great friend, none-the-less. Dr. John Linna - whom they affectionately called Agent 012 - had offered friendship and had become a spokesperson of sorts for the Dragon community, greatly improving human-dragon relations. They had enjoyed his wit and his kindness and his generosity to his fellow humans and to the dragons. He would be written up (and remembered orally), they all agreed, in Dragon Lore. For today, they would collect their tears and put them into a crystal bottle, which Fandago himself would deliver to Dr. John's beloved wife Betty and to his children. Dragon's tears were reputed to have legendary healing powers because they were rare and made of love. Fandango wished they were as healing to dragons as they were to humans because he thought perhaps his heart had broken. Of all the treasures he had amassed over the centuries, his friendship with Dr. John was perhaps the one he held most precious. He knew that friends like Dr. John never really leave us. They stay in our hearts and our memories, but memory was different than life and though he was now enshrined in the Fortress of Memory, thing would never be the same.




My 10-word:


Samson could not believe that the crafty merchant had gotten him to purchase ten cases of Moonrise Moonshine, but apparently he had. The last thing Samson remembered was being told about its smoothness and the words "just have a taste." A couple of sips later it felt as though the earth had shifted and after that he had a brief and very vague recollection of dancing with a lampshade on his head (could it be he had done something that was so sterotypical?). This morning with a headache/hangover that made the sweet chirping of birds sound more like thunder, he thought perhaps he would give up drinking forever.



My mega:

The dragons had invited Raven to attend the ceremony at the Fortress of Remembrance for their friend Dr. John or Agent 012 as they had liked to call him. She had been more than a bit uneasy about the idea of attending a moonrise gathering of dragons but now she was glad she had decided to go. The the sight and sound of dragons weeping was something she would remember forever. It certainly shifted her existing stereotype of them as crafty, dangerous and cynical creatures. The memorial ceremony itself had been brief. The leader of the dragons - a dragon with a name like Tango or something like that - had appeared carrying what had (at first glance) appeared to her to be a lampshade. Fandango - that was the name - had later explained that it was a crystal container in which they would collect their tears to offer as a gift to the family. Anyway, Fandango had appeared, said something in a language which sounded oddly (especially given the massive size of dragons) like chirping except that there was a depth and smoothness to the tonality that was simultaneously moving and consoling and she found herself wishing she could purchase a recording of the sound for times when life was too much. She wished she could have brought her camera too record the occasion, but it had been expressly forbidden. She would have to remember it in her heart, along with Dr. John and so many other wonderful souls who had crossed through her life as she traversed this world. She asked if she could add some of her own tears to the dragons vial and they graciously allowed her to do so. It was not much, but it was all she had to offer.

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Words for next week's 10-word challenge are: sugar daddy, page, Copernicus, liquid, craggy, trapezoid, milquetoast, blizzard, food cream, dental problems


For the mini: Hersey kisses, pregnant, scarring, cadet, grist mill

Thanks for playing. For those who are new, here are some guidelines to make the process more fun.

Enjoy! See you next week!

DON'T FORGET TO ADD YOUR
NAME TO MR. LINKY!!!!!

The Dying Process

This is in two parts. Worth listening to. I have been where Olberman is now with his dying father. It is not an easy place to be. I wish there had been "death panel" discussions to help me through. Lucky for me, my parents and I had talked some about it and I had Dr. Jim. Not everyone has that.

Saturday Wordzzle Challenge, Week 100

This is week 100 of the Saturday Wordzzle Challenge. Anyone new to the process can refer back here to find out how it works. This week's words were stinkers... Sorry about that... and for miscounting. I try not to edit what comes to me unless I'm hungry or something like that and french fries, ketchup and cheeseburger all come at once... wouldn't be any fun if there were NO challenge...

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As many of you know, Dr. John, who has been with us almost from the onset of this Wordzzle meme, died early this week and will not be here to celebrate our 100 week milestone. I know many of us are going to miss Dr. John, Agent 012, Fandago, and all the other imaginative characters that sprang from this good man's head, not to mention his support and comments. Anyone wishing to offer thoughts of consolation to his wife Betty can find her here. I have made next week's mini challenge a tribute of sorts to John's memory.

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This week's words were: transfixed, treachery, basics, fragrance, sampler, pregnant, cartoons, lark, spartan and for the mini: rapid, camping, blandishments, transitory, plug-ins



My 10-(well 9 this week) word:


Alexander Spartan stood transfixed by the beauty of his pregnant wife and devastated by her treachery. He loved everything about her - she was a sampler of wonders from the fragrance her body gave off as she entered a room to the basics of her beauty and intelligence. But at the moment he felt like one of those cartoon characters who has been hit on the head and stands with a flock of little larks circling. Was the baby, he wondered, his?




The mega:


The rapid clarity with which Lucinda realized that camping was not even slightly romantic quickly translated itself into a sense of deep betrayal. While she had not expected a plethora what one might call plug-ins, still, she had not expected anything quite this Spartan and she was not, as they say, a happy camper. Not happy at all. Doesn't he know by now that I'm not some kind of "back t0 basics girl" she wondered to herself, growing increasingly irritated by the treachery of being lured into this hell with promises of blandishments like transfixing vistas, deer, butterflies, and a sampler of beautiful flowers to uplift her soul, not to mention starlight and a crackling fire. Instead there were ants, rain and the distinct fragrance not of flowers and fresh air but of skunk. It was like being in a bad cartoon from which she couldn't wake up. She wished it was a cartoon. She would club Fred over the head and then for an extra lark she would pour honey on him and stake him over an ant hole. Watching her face, her husband knew that he was in deep trouble and that her mood was not likely to be transitory unless there was some kind of major miracle. "Honey love," he said finally and when - after an extremely pregnant pause - she acknowledged him - he continued on... what would you say to me taking you to that motel we passed a couple of miles down the road and.... but he was unable to go any further since his she had transformed back into his beloved wife and thrown herself into his arms with the words... "and you must promise me that we will never ever ever ever go camping again..."



And the mini:


The transitory satisfaction the promised blandishments of various plug-ins brought to their eager downloaders was rather like the rapid realization for the inexperienced that camping was not all starry skies and bunnies, but also included ants, skunks and poison ivy.

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Words for next week's 10-word challenge are: smoothness, crafty, purchase, brief, chirping, forever, shift, moonrise, lampshade, stereotype


For the mini: remembrance, Dr. John, Agent 012, dragons, Fortress

Thanks for playing. For those who are new, here are some guidelines to make the process more fun.

Enjoy! See you next week!

DON'T FORGET TO ADD YOUR
NAME TO MR. LINKY!!!!!

Where Does the Money Go?

Got this in my email this morning and thought it was a good question.

A Death in the Blog Family

I've been gone from cyber space for a few days because my computer got attacked by a nasty virus.

I returned to learn that Dr. John, dedicated wordzzler and teller of Dragon Lore, died on Monday at age 70. His wife Betty was also a Wordzzle player. If you want to leave a message for her, you can post it here. I don't know an email address, I'm afraid, and maybe that is just as well. Grief needs time.

Dr. John's creative spirit and his voice as a teller of Fandango's Dragon lore will be missed.

Some Laughs

Please Scroll Down for the Saturday Wordzzle Challenge.


Well, The Daily Show was in great form last night. I thought this piece was utterly brilliant.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The Apparent Trap
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

The Daily Show was followed by Colbert who did one of his Word segments:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Word - Political Suicide
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Skate Expectations

The day before that they both did skits on the snow and climate change:

Colbert's wasn't that funny but it had some good points so I'm sharing it anyway.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
We're Off to See the Blizzard
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Skate Expectations

And the Daily Show.... this seemed funnier when I first heard it... or there's another clip that I haven't found... but it's still pretty funny.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Unusually Large Snowstorm
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Saturday Wordzzle Challenge, Week 99

This is week 99 of the Saturday Wordzzle Challenge. Anyone new to the process can refer back here to find out how it works. Hard to believe that next week will be our 100th episode of wordzzles. Wow. I apologize for next week's words. I just puts em down as they come into my head. Blame the muse and please accept my apologies.


This week's words were: thermometer, Pandora, vivid, langourous, Saturday, pancreas, apple dumplings, watch tower, lichen, sparrow and for the mini: rigid, spiritual, ribbon, web cam, vitamins



My mega:


Pandora Jones had always had a curious mind and a wonderfully vivid imagination. As a young girl she had spent langourous summer afternoons reading under the shade of the big oak tree at the creek's edge where she would explore the equivalent of cloud patterns in the lichen forming on the stones and watch sparrows, squirrels and other wild life with a mix of scientific and imaginative interest. On days when the thermometer said it was too hot for such pursuits, she would stay in writing stories about her dog Saturday, his bunny friend Apple Dumpling and their friend Ribbon, the cat. She would go into the attic play room call it a watch tower from which she waited lovingly for her prince (or her whaler husband or the king or...) to come home to her from the wars or the sea or... Unfortunately as she got older, this same wonderful imagination turned on her and she became a master hypochondriac. Her current obsession was her pancreas and she was making herself sick imagining the worst. No one could dissuade her from her rigid and determined belief that she was dying. In desperation her husband and family finally hired a spiritualist to talk with her. They set up a meeting via web cam. The woman was brilliant and though it took some persuading, finally talked Pandora away from death's door and into a vitamin regimen and a writing project. The result? Pandora wrote a best-selling children's book and lived to be 105.




My 10-word:


So much for langourous summer days, he thought. Frank didn't have to look at the thermometer to know that Fall was in the air and that their lazy summer weekends at Saturday Farm were about to fade into winter memory. It was time to cover up the beautiful new pancreas shaped pool (ok... so it was kidney shaped... that wasn't one of the words) until next year and bring in the deck furniture. He loved summer at the farm. There were magical walks in the woods watching sparrows and vibrant red cardinals and blue jays flitting around and looking for mushrooms that his wife Pandora would cook up for one of her magnificent dinners. In summer, they loved collecting rocks and plants and discovering all the different kinds of lichen on the rocks and tree trunks. Fall brought crisp cool days, vivid color and the crunch of leaves under foot. But winter at the farm had it's wonders too: curling up in front of the fireplace in the watch tower room as they called it and looking out at the deer in the snow-covered woods and fields or the thousand stars of a winter night. And then there was the anticipation of Spring and the re-emergence of life. And in every season there were Pandora's wonderful apple dumplings (made with apples picked from their own trees) and wonderful garden fresh salads. They both looked forward to the day when Saturday farm would be their every day home, but for now they counted every minute they spent their as a special blessing.



And the mini:


After the horrors of her rigid born-again religious up-bringing, Margaret felt so blessed that she had discovered a new spiritual home with the Reverend Rupert Ribbon and his Church of the Web Cam. She had only been taking his wonderful divinely blessed vitamins for a few weeks and she was already feeling so much better. It was a miracle. God was good.

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Words for next week's 10-word challenge are: transfixed, treachery, basics, fragrance, sampler, pregnant, cartoons, lark, spartan


For the mini: rapid, camping, blandishments, transitory, plug-ins

Thanks for playing. For those who are new, here are some guidelines to make the process more fun.

Enjoy! See you next week!

DON'T FORGET TO ADD YOUR
NAME TO MR. LINKY!!!!!

How to Cuddle with an Elephant Seal

Got this from a friend in my email today. I think it's quite wonderful....

Late update (April 7): I guess the original you tube post was taken down, but anyone wanting to see this video (which is really wonderful) can check here.

Rescue a Child

I was shocked to learn that the US has not signed on for this.

Saturday Wordzzle Challenge, Week 98

This is week 98 of the Saturday Wordzzle Challenge. Anyone new to the process can refer back here to find out how it works. I thought these words were going to be impossible but my brain seems to be working better than it has been of late. Anyway, I managed all three challenges this week. Looking forward to reading what others have come up with.




This week's words were: treasure chest, idiom, pantry, crippled, baying wolf, wind chill, time, angel, salamander, laundry list and for the mini: risque, radish, ring tone, ravishing, ruler



My 10-word:

The wind chill was something like 7 below zero as Sammy Salamander wandered lost, crippled and frightened in the icy wilderness. The sound of a baying wolf in the distance only added to his fear as he went again through the laundry list of reasons he had given himself for why it would be a good idea to go - in the dead of winter of all times - hunting for a treasure that probably didn't exist anyway. His stomach was rumbling and he wished he was home in his kitchen with a pantry full of foods to choose from. What an idiom I have been - I mean idiot, he thought, realizing that this was another sign he was in deep trouble. God, help me, he prayed. At first he thought he was imagining the angel, but - what have I got to lose by following her, he decided - and he let himself be led. He didn't know how long he hobbled through the snow but eventually, he smelled a wonderful aroma and then saw the cabin with lights in the window. That was how he met Theresa. He loved to tell the story of how she had saved him - body and soul - and of the Angel who brought them together and how that's why when they created their hotel, they called it The Treasure Chest Inn. He always ended the story with the line. "I went hunting for treasure and I found it.... and then he gave his wife a kiss.




The mini:


Ravishing Randy Roberts thought himself to be the ruler of his little cafe kingdom. His club, the Risque Radish, was doing very well indeed. So much so, that he had set I'm King of the World as the ring tone on his cell phone. He was a happy man.... and rich too! Life was good.




The maxi:

The pantry of Baying Wolf Bistro was a treasure chest for the hungry patron. It contained a vast laundry list of ingredients ranging from apples to deviled eggs to flounder to radishes and even zucchini and zweiback (or soup to nuts as the old idiom goes), It was a veritable cornucopia to delight any hungry palate. Stan "the Salamander" Gecko was the ruler of his kitchen - no foul language or risque stories were ever uttered around his stoves - his kitchen was sacred space to him. Stan was a chef of unparalleled talent. Crippled early in life, he had gravitated to cooking from an early age. He was a culinary genius and his meals not only tasted good but were ravishingly (and yes that word actually applied) beautiful to behold as well. Those who worked under him labored gladly under his stern direction because despite his strict rules, everything Stan did, was done with love. The Baying Wolf was world famous but not just for it's meals. Entering the restaurant one felt immediately engulfed in a warmth not just of flesh but of spirit. Cell phones were forbidden and no buzzes or noisy ring tones disturbed the peaceful serenity of a diner's meal. It was even reputed that his meals produced miracles - that those who ate at his table were cured of illnesses of both body and mind. Over time, his reputation grew so that patrons came from around the world and faced blizzards, hurricanes and wind chills of 20 below to experience one of Stan's astonishing meals. And many were healed, because love in every form creates miracles and when it is paired with the power of belief, it can be unstoppable. Some thought Stan was an Angel. Maybe he was. I myself think we are all angels when we listen to our higher selves. Whatever the truth, if you get a chance to have a meal at the Baying Wolf, take it. You'll never regret it.

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Words for next week's 10-word challenge are: thermometer, Pandora, vivid, langourous, Saturday, pancreas, apple dumplings, watch tower, lichen, sparrow


For the mini: rigid, spiritual, ribbon, web cam, vitamins

Thanks for playing. For those who are new, here are some guidelines to make the process more fun.

Enjoy! See you next week!

DON'T FORGET TO ADD YOUR NAME TO MR. LINKY!!!!!

Choice

I'm sorry I have been so scarce lately. I have just gone inward and can't seem to drag myself out to play. I'm so cranky about most of the things I want to talk about that it just makes me feel worse and isn't worth sharing because I feel pretty hopeless about the way our Congress has pretty much ceased to function (unless endless bickering and cheap shots are functioning). I feel pretty hopeless about a Supreme Court that has chosen to quite literally sell the government to those rich enough to buy it. As far as I'm concerned, too much corporate money and special interests are a major part of why our elected officials aren't functioning now. Besides the whole Constitutional issues around their decision, it seems to be the final blow against the one body in our government that was supposed to be above the fray. Of course when they appointed George Bush president 10 years ago, they put the first nail in the coffin of their reputation and their honor. Now the so-called opponents of "activist" judges seem to have turned the Supreme Court into a branch of the GOP.

But anyway, that's not why I'm posting. It's kind of why I haven't been posting. I'm depressed. Psychologically. Also (more seriously), I'm battling clinical depression and while it isn't quite kicking my butt, we seem to be in a pretty even match for my spirit and I'm tired. I think Spring will help when it arrives.... and it's not that far off now, really. The Groundhog has spoken... the days are getting longer.... there have been some blue skies and so far it has been a much kinder winter than last year.... at least here on the east coast. People in Iowa and other places are probably not thinking that it's been such a kind winter. But I'm rambling and still not getting to the point of why I climbed out of my pit to post.

Probably most of you have heard about the Anti-abortion ad that's scheduled to run during the Super Bowl. I've signed petitions against it. I think I wouldn't mind so much if CBS was willing to run a balancing opinion. But anyway, they have chosen to run it and it's probably not going to change anyone's mind, just make CBS a lot richer and lots of people cranky and lots of people happy. I am getting to the point... honestly.... Anyway, this morning, I got an email from Planned Parenthood asking me to sign the letter I've posted below. I really liked what they had to say. Which is that they support Mrs. Tebow (the person featured in the ad) having a right to consult and make a choice. They wish that option for everyone. I think it's a wise and thoughtful response.

Subject: That Super Bowl ad

The anti-choice group Focus on the Family is spending millions to run an ad during the Super Bowl featuring the star football player Tim Tebow and his mom talking about a deeply personal medical decision she made years ago, when she decided to continue her pregnancy against medical advice, due to what had been diagnosed as a high-risk pregnancy.

I stand with Planned Parenthood in respecting every woman -- including Mrs. Tebow -- to make important personal medical decisions for herself.

Tim Tebow's mother weighed medical and moral considerations and decided what was right for her. She made her choice in private, and without government interference. That's exactly what we want every woman to be able to do, and I'll continue to fight to make sure that is the case -- on Super Bowl Sunday, and every day.

Sincerely,

I thought this video that went with it, was nicely done too.

See you later for Wordzzles, I hope.
Happy Friday!