Weekly Wordzzle Challenge # 150

Ok... Behind schedule as usual, but not as badly as usual. Just the mega still to do. Thought I'd put what's done up awhile, so Mr. Linky is available in case anybody decides to join in the challenge this week. 

Word for this week's 10-word challenge were: harpoon, holiday, stolen kisses, razor blades, freezing rain, martial arts, charging, galloping horses, paper mache, tuna salad sandwich and for the mini: clarinet, black eye, cropped, participants, wine

My 10-word:

The freezing rain outside her window didn't bother Sylvia Charging as she sat on the sofa in front of a blazing fire, totally absorbed in her book, Harpoon my Heart: Stolen Kisses of a Whaler's Wife. Her tuna salad sandwich sat untouched next to her as she sat rapt in a maze literary gore and passion, of galloping horses, martial arts fights, wrists slit with razor blades and a host, lovers trysts, rapes, secret romances and a host of other impossible events. The book was so incredibly bad and the events so impossible not only each on it's own, but collectively within the time framework of the story that it was virtually impossible for her to put it down. The writing itself was pretty good, which was odd considering. In any case, she was startled out of her compulsive reading when her son came in from school proudly offering a paper mache model of something (a dog, maybe?) into her hands. She wondered if there was some holiday she had forgotten about (paper mache seemed to be Matt's teacher's favorite approach to celebrating a variety of events) and realized that yes, indeed.... Mother's day was just around the corner. The dreadful book she had been so absorbed in only moments earlier, she gave her son a big hug and the two of them headed to the kitchen for hot cocoa and cookies.


My mini:

AlistaireWine glanced at the other participants in the American Idol Instrumental auditions and virtually dared them to say anything about his black eye or the odd cropped hair cut he was sporting. Instinctively, they all swallowed and took a step back, sensing that this was someone not to be messed with. Had they known what his trip to this gathering had cost him, they would have applauded even before he picked up his clarinet and began to play. As for the judges and the audience, snickers died in their throats as the first golden notes floated out around them. The package might be a bit rough around the edges, but this was not just a talented player they were hearing, it was musical, spiritual genius. He finished playing to that kind of silence that comes when magic has happened, when hearts have been touched, not just ears. And then the audience rose as to cheer. Only then did he weep. And only then did he smile.


The mega:


Browsing through the collection of items before him, attorney Johnson Cropped shook his head sadly. This was going to cost his employer a bundle. Harpoon Bay's Holiday House Hotel had been something of a black eye in the chain's otherwise sterling reputation, but this, well....  According to  reports from a number of unhappy guests, most of the decor at what was supposed to be an upscale resort, was comprised of paper mache objects that seemingly designed by the manager or his 7 year old daughter. The hotel had ignored most of the letters, but now one guest - who was suing them for a considerable sum - had sent photos of several of these decorations. The only two even remotely identifiable as anything in particular were a gray turtle shaped blob and a fairly ambitious trio of what were in this case labelled as "Galloping Horses".) The same guest sent photos of complimentary razor blades rusted in their cases and something alleging to be a tuna salad sandwich covered with mold in the in room refrigerator. This same guest (who was on his honeymoon of all things) also reported (with accompanying cell phone video) that freezing rain had leaked directly onto the bed devastating the couple's first night of marital bliss. The complimentary wine and champagne offered as part of the honeymoon package had been turned and was not palatable. (The bottles were enclosed in the complainant's package, along with his photos and a lab report from a chemist.) Also included was a recording (with cell phone video footage) of a rather hideous shrieking sound which was eventually diagnosed as the owner's 13-year old son playing the clarinet at 2 am. As if all this was not enough to ruin the couple's hope of consoling themselves with even some stolen kisses, there was more. The manager ran martial arts classes in the room directly below the honeymoon suite beginning at 6:00 am and running continuously until 10:00. Participants in these classes were neither quiet nor particularly conservative in their use of language (recording of this was also enclosed in the package).  Considering what the hotel had been charging and the devastation to what should have been a special time in his life, Attorney Cropped thought they would be wise to pay the relatively modest request of $250,000. If his clients insisted on going to court, he was pretty sure they might lose their shirts. For now, he would at least send flowers, a bottle of good champagne and an apology. He knew it was unprofessional, but he was rooting for the "enemy" on this one.

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Word for next week's 10-word challenge: hemp, jelly beans, monsoon season, floating on a cloud, strike a blow for freedom, cover, basement, mural, stir, judgment

And for the mini: water, charming, outer space, Franciscan monk, shaving

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.