Hey, it’s an alliterative title!
Wohoo.
Great. XD
Annnyway, I took pictures of these pretty flowers on our trip. The lighting and everything was perfect, so these turned out really well!
These aren’t exactly flowers, but I wanted to include them too. 🙂
I’m so glad God made flowers. 😀
***Allison***
Greetings and salutations! XD
Our county fair opens in about two weeks, and I’m so excited! These are my entries for the photography section of the fair. (The fair categories are in bold). The links will take you to the post where the photo was first featured on my blog. Enjoy!
Abstract: {Flower Overload, Part 2}
Action: {The View from the Roof}
Artistic (which means creative photo editing): {CWWC}
Close Up: {More Snow Pictures!}
Humorous: {Bunny Therapy}
Landscape: {Vacation, Part 1: Niagara Falls}
Patriotic: {Boom, Crackle, Bang!}
People: {The View from the Roof}
Pets: {Meet Casey the Kitten}
Pictorial: {Mystery Revealed! #8}
Rural (Um, I’ll take out the county name): {Gone Fishing}
Wildlife: {BIBPC #2: Praying Mantis’ Feast (and Other Critters)}
There we go – a few photography highlights from 2016. 🙂
Which photo was your favorite? Do you have an annual fair where you live? Do you enter things in it?
**Allison**
P. S. Hayley and I are renovating Art Lab! We’re adding a few more artists to the group and starting it up again. We’re also going to collect and repost all of the Art Lab posts onto the official Art Lab blog, so you can scroll through the posts with ease. 🙂 You can follow it if you like! Hopefully there will be an Art Lab post up tomorrow. 😀
I had a lot of fun taking these pictures on one of our trips to our neighbor’s pool. I love swimming! (And photography.)
My siblings and cousins were trying to throw each other off the inner tube. XD Very splashy indeed!
Pool water is so pretty.
I love these next pictures! I dripped water into the pool and took pictures of the splashes. Aren’t the bubble-pockets so neat?
I also really like this picture of my brother swimming.
Here are some more action pictures:
Last but not least, one of our neighbor’s dogs! I think his name is Biscuit.
There you are, folks! Which photo was your favorite? Have you ever taken pictures at the pool? Do you like swimming? (That was kind of a “duh” question. XD )
P. S. Are you getting tired of photography posts yet? I take lots of pictures and love sharing them with you, but I also want to post about more than one category. If you are getting tired of one kind of post or have suggestions for my blog, I’d love it if you’d take my blog survey! I’m not promising anything drastic, but perhaps the survey will tell me how I can up the enjoyment level just a bit for you. 🙂 (By the way, this is the same survey as I did a while ago, just so you know. 😉 )
Quite a few bloggers have done summer bucket list posts lately, and I enjoyed reading them! I thought it would be a good idea to make one myself. Some of the things on my bucket list are just fun things to do, and some are more like personal goals. I am actually going to try to do these things! *Gasp* XD At the end of the summer I will tell you if I accomplished these goals or not. 🙂
1. Read the Bible every day. I’m definitely going to try and do this.
2. Go to a movie theater. Guys, this may shock you, but I have NEVER been to a movie theater! (Well, unless museum theaters count.) But this summer we might possibly go see Finding Dory! We also are probably going to a summer theater thingy where it shows movies that already came out for only $1 a person. I can’t wait!
3. Get more sleep. 😛 Heh heh. 😉 My bedtime goal is to read a chapter of the Bible before I go to bed, and then read other books only if it’s before 10:30. Or maybe Mom could let us sleep in more… Just kidding! XD We do sleep in already.
4. Do stretches more often. I am rather un-flexible. (Well, my elbows are double-jointed (or at least hyper-flexible), but that doesn’t really count. 😛 I can sort of twist them around so they stick out the opposite way. XD Yeah, very weird but true.) Annnnnyway, as I was saying… I hope by the end of the summer I can at least touch my toes! XD
5. Paint and redecorate my room. My sister and I have been wanting to redo our bedroom for a long time. The wallpaper is kind of old and doesn’t really match our bedspreads and decorations. After we paint, I want to redecorate our room with goodies from Hobby Lobby. I LOVE HOBBY LOBBY!
6. Improve my swimming. Especially my endurance and speed. I could practice more if the water wasn’t so cold! XD I do love swimming though. Our neighbor has a nice pool that she very generously lets us use.
7. Watch the Olympics! I love watching the Olympics – especially the gymnastics and swimming. It’s so much fun to eat snacks and watch the Olympics with my family.
8. Cook something weird. Maybe a strange-sounding ethnic dish or just something that I wouldn’t usually try. And then eat it, of course. XD Speaking of weird foods, here is a strangish food my family eats: carrot salad (grated carrots, orange Jello, nuts, celery, and crushed pineapple). It probably sounds really weird, but it’s delicious! Have you tried it before?
9. Decorate cupcakes with friends. My friend and my sister and I want to make one of the recipes in my friend’s special-cupcakes book.
10. Go fishing. I love fishing at my uncle’s pond!
11. Make “masterpieces” from my three favorite mediums. In other words, I want to create something really good from polymer clay, take some really good pictures, and make some really good art.
12. Have a shaving cream fight. This would be so fun! And then wash off and go swim in the pool.
13. Do a photoshoot with friends. I would love to do a fun, creative photoshoot with my friends or family!
14. Add more things to my Etsy shop. I haven’t done much with my Etsy shop lately. I hope to add some new products and even get a few sales over the summer. 😀
15. Take lots of pictures on our vacation. This year we’re going to see Niagara falls and travel up around the Michigan/Great Lakes area. There is going to be lots of water (my favorite!) and I really want to get some good pictures. I’m thinking sunsets on the lakes and definitely photos of Niagara falls. 🙂 Also as a side note: it might be helpful if I don’t ruin my camera this year like I did on our last two vacations! UGH! (Both times it was because of sand. 😦 )
There you go! What is the #1 thing on your summer bucket list? Are you going to do any of the things on my list?
***Allison***
P. S. I have some announcements from around the blogosphere to share with you. 🙂 Rutvi is having a writing contest! Check it out here. Also, Clara is doing a really neat blog scavenger hunt. Definitely go check that out too! (I helped with the prize. *Smug look* XD Ha ha!)
I finally finished this birthday haul post a month after my birthday. XD It’s not really a birthday haul post, actually. It’s more just reviews of some of the things I got for my birthday. Get ready for a really long post!
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Mysterious Benedict Society Series:
Click here to see the Amazon listing
(The link is for the hardcover collection which I have. You can also get a paperback collection on Amazon.)
I absolutely LOVE this series by Trenton Lee Stewart. It’s probably my favorite series! “The Mysterious Benedict Society” is a group of extraordinary children who are sent on several extraordinary missions. The characters are so fun to read about – there’s Reynie, Sticky (you’ll understand his name when you read the books), Kate, and Constance. Once you pick up these books, it’s hard to put them down! They’re filled with exciting action, surprising plot twists, hilarious anecdotes, and riddles and puzzles that will stretch your brain.
Notes: The synopses are not actual back-of-the-book summaries, I just wrote them myself. Also, the pictures of each book are from their Amazon listing. If you click on the “via” links, it will take you to the listing. Some of the covers on the books below are a little different than mine, but mainly the same.
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The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict
Pages: 470
This book is a prequel to the series although you don’t necessarily have to read it first. (I didn’t.) Like in the rest of the series, the plot twists, clues, and riddles throughout the book keep your brain whirling. There are a bunch of mysteries in this book, and some of their conclusions may surprise you. It’s exciting to read how Nicholas uses his genius mind to solve problems and outsmart the Spiders and other fearsome foes. Nicholas also has a condition called narcolepsy (which is real by the way), which means he falls asleep at random times.
Synopsis: This story covers about a year in the childhood of Nicholas Benedict, the man behind The Mysterious Benedict Society. Nicholas moves to a new orphanage filled with surprises – from a huge library to a secret overlook, tough bullies to loyal friends, and maybe even a treasure! Nicholas will need all of his talents and genius to unpack the mysteries surrounding him – and to do so before it’s too late.
The Mysterious Benedict Society
Pages: 485
This is probably my favorite book in the series. I especially love the beginning when everything is so mysterious and there are gobs of strange riddles and puzzles that bend your brain. The book is exciting and clever, and some of the plot twists just blow you away. At the end you learn something totally unexpected and funny about Constance. You HAVE to read this, guys!
Synopsis: An advertisement in the newspaper starts it all: “Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?” Join Reynie, Sticky, Kate, and Constance on the adventure of their lives. After passing a series of mind-bending tests, they are sent on a very important mission: to save the world from an evil genius with a terrifying plan to control the world – and the minds of everyone in it. They will have to work as a team and put all of their extraordinary gifts to use after arriving at a strange institute. What is Mr. Curtain’s evil plan? Who is Milligan really? What is the Whisperer? These are just a few of the puzzling questions the Mysterious Benedict Society has to answer.
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey
Pages: 440
This isn’t my favorite book of the series, but it’s still great. I love that you learn something new about Constance in this book. Her newly discovered talent really adds to her personality. You also meet some new characters like Cannonball and the Bullfrogs. The duskwort plot thread is really interesting and exciting too. (See synopsis.) Here is a quote I like from this book: (Cannonball is comforting Constance, who is quite short, by the way.)
” ‘You know what I like about buttons?… They’re very small things that hold bigger things together. Awfully important, buttons – little but strong.’ ” – page 154
Isn’t that sweet? “Little but strong.” 😀
Synopsis: After a year apart the Mysterious Benedict Society reconvenes. They have been anticipating a surprise Mr. Benedict planned for them when they find out that someone has unpleasantly surprised him. Their beloved Mr. Benedict is in danger! Will the scavenger hunt lead them to their heart’s desire, or into a trap? In the meantime, Constance discovers a new talent, and a plant named duskwort is of imminent importance. If the duskwort falls into the wrong hands, everyone is doomed.
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner’s Dilemma
Pages: 391
The Prisoner’s Dilemma is the last book in the series. (Except for the puzzle book, but that doesn’t really count.) I really like it! It’s fun and suspenseful to follow the clues with the Mysterious Benedict Society gang, but not everything is as simple as it seems. You might be surprised – actually you probably will be! The end is quite satisfactory. 😀
Synopsis:
The Mysterious Benedict Society is bored, bored, bored. They have been cooped up together in Mr. Benedict’s house for months because it’s not safe to leave: Mr. Curtain will do anything to get back his precious Whisperer, including snatching up certain children in his way. But when Constance disappears after an appointment with the Whisperer, boredom is flung to the winds. Reynie, Sticky, and Kate are on a race against time to find their grumpy companion before the Ten Men do. They must decode secret messages and follow curiously easy clues… that lead them to an unexpected place. This adventure includes two brave girls and two smart boys, a Salamander, a missing friend, sneaky clues, a couple of “S” pies, a red bucket, and a few daring leaps.
The Mysterious Benedict Society – Mr. Benedict’s Book of Perplexing Puzzles, Elusive Enigmas, and Curious Conundrums
Whew! Why do the titles have to be so long? XD I’ll just abbreviate it “Perplexing Puzzles.” Perplexing Puzzles is a really fun book filled with… well, riddles and puzzles. It is a gorgeous book – it’s printed on glossy pages and the whole book is in color instead of black and white. Most of the puzzles are quite hard, but a few of them are easy. (There are hints in the back of the book to help you along. If you need another hint, I might be able to help you too! 😀 ) Scattered throughout the book are quotes from the series, illustrations and profiles, and other “archival materials” as it says. I love the a riddle at the very end that requires you to use letters and numbers from previous puzzles to reveal a last secret message.
Here is one of the riddles: (your answer has to fit in the blanks)
Umm… I can’t really do a synopsis of this one. XD
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Pros and cons: The covers all have delightful illustrations on them, and the books are all beautiful and well-made. Like I said, the Perplexing Puzzles book is particularly gorgeous. The box that they come in is really nice too! The inside looks like it has been plastered with newspaper clippings from the first puzzle in Perplexing Puzzles. Umm… there aren’t many cons. 😀 Of course I liked some books better than others, but I enjoyed them all. The one problem is that it’s a little hard to pry a book out of the case, but that’s okay. 🙂 I highly recommend both this series and this hardcover collection.
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Premo Polymer Clay
Click here to see the Amazon listing
(I’m pretty sure you can find a pack like this for cheaper if you shop around Amazon or stores like Michael’s or Hobby Lobby, but this is the listing I found.)
Premo brand polymer clay is a very good quality clay. (At least in my opinion and from what I’ve read.) You can see lots of things I made with it here.
Let me compare and contrast it with Sculpey III, a popular brand of clay made by the same company. Premo is more of a professional clay, while Sculpey III is more of a recreational, hobby-type clay, not meant to be super durable. Premo is much stronger when baked than Sculpey III, and not as gooey and hard to work with as Sculpey III can be. (But see “Pros and cons.”) Although I do think Sculpey III has more colors available. They are both good for different reasons, but I prefer Premo to Sculpey III.
Pros and cons: Usually I love this brand of polymer clay, but the pack I got this time was a lot softer than normal. That is really helpful for conditioning and mixing clay, but not so good for sculpting. Normally though, it’s a really great clay – not too hard, not too soft – and this sampler pack comes with some really neat options, such as translucent clay (which looks transparent-ish when you brush a gloss over it), and faux rock clay which really looks like rock! The sampler pack lasts a long time if you make small things, like I do, but I found it helpful to get an extra pack of white Premo clay because I use white a lot. Even though the changeable pliability is annoying, I would still recommend this product.
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Artist’s Pastels
Click here to see the Amazon listing
I requested these to use on polymer clay. They’re kind of like chalk. First you scrape them on paper to obtain colored powder, then you use a paintbrush to paint the powder onto baked or unbaked clay for more realistic shading effects. It’s kind of like paint, only more subtle. Pastels work very well for shading miniature food. The cookie on the left is not shaded with artist’s pastels, and the one on the right is. (Sorry, it’s not a very good picture, but trust me, some clay artists can do amazing things with artist’s pastels! Like Tracey, for instance.)
Pros and cons: Certain shades of brown are missing that would be helpful, but at least you can mix colors. I haven’t had much experience with artist’s pastels, but these work quite well for my purposes! I would recommend this product.
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“Gelly Roll” White Gel Pens:
Click here to see the Amazon listing
These pens are really nice! Not to mention there are three of them, so they should last me a while. 🙂 They have a fairly fine tip and write smoothly as long as you don’t write too fast. You can use them to mark highlights on your drawings, for things such as hair and eyes:
The ink is almost marker-resistant – you can see on the left of her hair one of the squiggles is slightly more muted. That’s where I drew over it with marker and the gel pen still showed through. When you draw on top of marker, the marker ink bleeds a tiny bit with the gel pen ink, so it’s usually not quite completely white. (In the picture above, the ink turned a little grayish.)
The white ink looks stunning on black paper! Here is an ATC I made with one of the gel pens:
Pros and cons: The pens write quite smoothly unless you write fast; then they’re a little scratchy. The optimum background seems to be black paper. The ink will smudge if you’re not careful, but it’s not super smudge-prone. I would recommend this product.
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PicMonkey Royale
I was really excited about getting this, because I use PicMonkey a lot. (Royale gives you access to lots more features – extra effects, overlays, collage options, and more. But you do have to pay for Royale. 😉 ) Three of my favorite things about PicMonkey Royale are the “Custom Effect” feature, Clone feature, and the Royale collage options. You make a custom effect by adding different effects to a photo like usual, then saving all the things you did as one effect that you can use over and over again.
Here is a photo I edited with Royale: (More kitten pictures coming soon! 😀 )
I used clone to “wipe off” some dirt, Miniature Effect, Eye Brighten, and then several other non-Royale effects and features. So cute!
Pros and cons: It’s definitely nice to be able to use features like clone, Custom Effect, extra Overlays and Collage layouts, and more. Pretty much the only con is the price. If you don’t use PicMonkey a lot, or don’t use it much besides the basic touch-ups which are free, you probably won’t need this. However, if you love photo-editing or PicMonkey or both, I recommend this feature!
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Of course I got a bunch more things for my birthday, but it would take a few more months to review them all at this rate. XD I hope you enjoyed this! Which was your favorite item? Do you have any of these things?
***Allison**
~If you signed up to participate in WordCrafters 2, please read this post!~
GUYS, IT’S FINALLY HERE! I’m just a tiny bit HUGELY excited, as you can tell. 😀 I hope you are too! We need to go over a few little things, and then I’ll give you the character profiles.
For the sake of the other participants who are eagerly awaiting their turn, please try to send in your story within 3-5 days of the last chapter being written. If you’re on vacation or you’re too busy to write, the next person in line can take your place. If you just can’t write your chapter, I can take you off the list completely, but I would appreciate if you tried your best to participate since you signed up in the first place. 🙂
Try to make your chapter less than 1,000 words and end your it with somewhat of a cliffhanger to give the next person a start. Click here to read the whole WordCrafters 1 story for examples.
If you have a blog, send me a link to your chapter. If you don’t have a blog, email me your chapter.
If you need to refresh your memory on the complete rules, click here.
Now, ready for the good stuff? I came up with a starter idea, and Josie wrote this wondermous first chapter! Definitely check it out. I will add her chapter to the “WordCrafters 2” page which is under the “WordCrafters” page. Make sure you know where the page is, because that’s where you can read the story as it grows so you know the background for writing your chapter.
And now for the character profiles! These are the main characters you will be writing about. Guys, I had entirely too much fun creating these. 😀 I hope you like them as much as I do!
Sorry Vivi and Pippin, but I just couldn’t resist putting two pictures of Esme on because they were so pretty. 🙂
Esme (Esmeralda) Kokani:
Esme is a gentle soul. She is very timid around strangers, but loves being with her friends. She is kind, tender, and affectionate, but also a bit vain and fragile – she’s afraid of getting her hands dirty or her dress torn. Although she is easily frightened and often cries about small things, in true trials she is amazingly strong. Esme loves animals, especially baby animals. She can’t stand to see anyone be in pain, but she’s squeamish at the sight of injuries. She is a brilliant artist with a vivid imagination. She always carries a small bear in her pocket to comfort her, but she is too embarrassed to tell her friends about it.
Esme is small and slender, with long, straight black hair; dark brown eyes; and creamy skin. She is eleven years old.
Vivi (Vivian) Brown:
Vivi is always on the go. “Vivacious” is the perfect adjective for her – she seems to have an endless supply of energy. She stands up for her friends if they are bullied or looked down upon. Vivi is athletic, outgoing, and very smart, but sometimes her strong nature gets the better of her and she becomes bossy and overbearing. Vivi also has a short temper; she never cries, but easily gets angry. She is very strong, both mentally and physically. Vivi shares Esme’s love of animals, but she prefers the big, noble animals like elk, bears, wolves, and eagles. She is a very good nurse.
Vivi is short and wiry, with shoulder-length, wavy blond hair; gray-blue eyes; and tanned skin. She is thirteen years old.
Pippin Merlin:
{via} I couldn’t find a very good picture of Pippin, but this is sort of him. Just imagine that his hair is curlier and he has a huge grin.
Pippin is always ready with a grin and a laugh. He often plays pranks on his friends, but he is tender-hearted and quick to comfort his victims. Pippin is easy-going, funny, and loyal, but he sometimes unintentionally hurts people with his frank comments, and is always accidentally getting himself and others into trouble with his lighthearted pranks. He is prone to spouting off terrible puns. He hates being called “Pippi.” Pippin is always prepared – he adores wearing clothes with lots of pockets which he stuffs with a conglomeration of useful and not-so-useful objects. Pippin is an optimist with an eager sense of humor that lightens every situation.
Pippin is tall and lanky, with curly red hair; twinkling hazel eyes; and freckled skin. He is sixteen years old.
Which character is your favorite? Mine might be Esme, but I love them all (since I’m their creator XD ).
*Drum roll* It’s time for the list! (I’ll also add this list to the WordCrafters 2 page.) This is the order in which you’ll write your chapters. Aria, it’s your turn to write a chapter now!
1. Josie
2. Aria
3. Grace
4. K.A.
5. CutePolarBear
6. Zielle
7. Nicole
8. Clara
9. Loren
10. Anika
11. Hayley
12. Katie T. (thewritingpegasus)
13. Daisymermaid
14. C.
15. Thegirlofmanyfictionalnames
16. Lily
17. Megan
18. Lainey
19. Chaespeedreader
20. Bella (Book Sweet)
21. Suzy
22. Danielle
23. Misty
24. Rebekah
25. Bella (Many Marigolds)
27. Maddy (K. A.’s sister)
26. Allison
If you have any questions at all, please drop me a comment!
ARE YOU EXCITED?
***Allison***
NOTICE: This is the last day to sign up for WordCrafters, guys! *Runs around with flashing lights and sirens* Okay, done with that. XD
Ahem. The. Last. CWWC. Challenge. Often I got pretty stressed out trying to finish my stories in time, but I loved how the prompts inspired me to write creatively. Sometimes I didn’t know how the story was going to turn out! Thank you so much for hosting CWWC, Loren! You did a great job. 😀 (By the way, I put several of my longer stories on a page called, uh…”Stories” up there with the rest of my pages below the header. I put each serial story on its own page so you can read it all at once instead of in little parts.)
Loren, I used the three prompts from this challenge.
I had to kind of rush for this, like usual, but I hope you enjoy it! 😀
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Rose the Runaway
Rose closed the book with a sigh. She scrambled to her feet on top of her bed, and held one arm above her head dramatically. She lifted her voice:
“Oh, that I should live to see thee so, dearest Evelyn. Why dost thou turn from me, thy life-long companion?” Rose shook her head at the thought of what poor Genevieve must have felt when she spoke that heart-rending passage. How could Evelyn have turned away from Genevieve? Especially when Genevieve had all of the qualities one could desire in a book heroine. She was brave, kind, and especially beautiful.
Rose wistfully recited another passage from the book: “Genevieve’s slender throat was milk-white, vying with the chain of pearls around it in purity and beauty. Her dreamy, violet eyes, so large and round, looked on everyone with gentleness. Her full, red lips spoke naught but love, and her slender, soft white fingers were filled with tenderness at every touch.”
Rose heaved another sigh from the depths of her nine-year-old soul. She gazed at herself dolefully in the mirror. No milk-white throat for Rose; hers was definitely brown. No dreamy, large violet eyes for Rose; only small gray slits peeping from under a heavy brow. No full red lips or soft fingers for Rose; her lips were pinched and thin like the rest of her, and her fingers were short and rough. Rose’s cherished dream was to grow up into a beautiful lady, as virtuous and charming as the best of heroines – like Genevieve.
Her second dream was to have a life worthy of a heroine. Rose figured that her life so far couldn’t have been more boring if it had tried. She hadn’t fallen off a cliff, graciously rescued her worst enemy, put out a fire, fallen down a well, or even broken an arm. The most exciting thing in Rose’s life had been when her family had moved across the street. And there was nothing heroic in moving if you didn’t have to change schools or move away from your friends.
But Rose was determined to do at least one exciting thing in life. She was going to run away from home. Once, when she was seven, Rose had tried to run away and promptly raced back to her house after meeting a large, growling dog; but this time Rose shouldered her pack resolutely and trotted off through the night. She had consulted several of her favorite books, finding out just how a heroine should go about running away.
“Our heroine, Rose, makes her escape,” Rose murmured into the night. “She sets off bravely, with only a few supplies in her knapsack. Will she be strong enough to survive?”
Rose tramped across two fields, crossed an empty highway, and headed up a hill.
“She has made it this far; our heroine will not give up now,” Rose spluttered between huffs and puffs. “Her legs ache with the strain as she climbs up the steep mountain. She shields her eyes and squints at the glaring snow topping the mountain. She gasps as her worn shoes hit the frozen powder. Can she make it?” It was the middle of summer, and Rose wouldn’t climb a mountain for her life, but that didn’t stop her imagination from embellishing her escape.
“Now the courageous Rose has reached the mountain top. She stands wearily atop it, taking in the view with her big, violet eyes.” Rose was getting tired now, but she quickly brightened up as her imagination concocted a picture in her mind. There was a picture of her in the newspaper. MISSING, it was captioned. Girl, nine years old. Light brown hair. Please call if you have any information of her whereabouts. Her father and mother knocked on every neighbor’s door, but always with the answer, “Sorry, I can’t help you.” This was something like it! Now she was really living like a story character.
By the time Rose crossed two more hills, she was exhausted. “Our heroine will just take a short rest before going on…” Rose yawned and cast her eyes about for a correct, bookish place to sleep for the night. There was now stack of hay, old barn, or abandoned house, but Rose decided a willow tree would do for shelter. She slipped off her knapsack and used it as a pillow.
“This is the life,” she murmured with contentment. Soon, however, Rose was not very content. The ground and a knapsack couldn’t hold a candle to her own bed at home. Every time she rolled over, she felt a new rock poke into her side. After an hour, Rose raised tragic eyes to the sky, and moaned.
She had to face the facts: she would never make a good runaway, not when she couldn’t sleep on soft grass for the night. Rose’s shoulders drooped as she picked up her knapsack and started for home. But though her eyes were downcast and she tried to look properly mournful, Rose was secretly glad she hadn’t made out to be a good runaway. Who would want to live on wild nuts and berries when you could have pancakes for breakfast any day?
Rose crossed a hill, then another, and another. And another. And another. Rose didn’t remember that there had been so many hills when she had crossed them the first time. Suddenly she stepped out into a clearing with a white farmhouse and a barn sitting in the moonlight. Rose was certain she hadn’t passed that spot before. A large lump rose in her throat.
She was lost.
At first Rose felt a thrill run through her. She couldn’t have planned it better herself. What was more romantic and story like than to run away from home and get lost? But after a few moments, she wasn’t so thrilled. She remembered that even though her life might be boring, it was wonderful. She loved her parents and her brother and sister, and she loved playing in her backyard with friends. She loved everything about her life, she realized, except that it was boring. What did boring matter now? All Rose wanted was to flop onto her bed and fall asleep, waking up to the smell of pancakes in the morning.
Rose shuddered, and felt tears burning in her eyes. She tramped slowly past the farmhouse and kept on going, who knows where. After a half hour of walking, she began to see some familiar landmarks. Soon Rose was racing down the lane that led to her house. Oh thank you, God, she prayed gratefully. Her father was walking up and down the road, shouting her name. Rose flew into his arms, knapsack and all.
“Oh Daddy! I’m so sorry! I won’t ever run away again! I don’t care if my life is boring. I love you, and Mommy, and Brent and Julia.” Rose broke off into sobs and let her father pat her back.
“It’s okay, Rose. It will be alright, my beautiful girl.”
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Rose woke to the smell of sizzling pancakes. What a strange dream, she thought, and curled back in bed with her book.
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See ya’!
***Allison***
This is it, guys! I’ve been writing “Beyond the Looking Glass” for every CWWC challenge so far, and this is the last part! I already have an idea for the next CWWC. 🙂
Loren, I used all three prompts from this challenge, plus the one about Ferrymen guarding mirrors. So four prompts. 😉
Remember, this is what happened last:
“It’s known to have many nasty side-effects…” One of which, apparently, is invisibility.
Enjoy!
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Beyond the Looking Glass, Part 8
An invisible Mother is hard to get used to. At each meal the conversation inevitably turns to Mother, and to two questions in particular: Will the invisibility ever wear off? Can we find some sort of cure?
One night we all agree that we will travel to the Ferrymen’s land together. My heart thumps like a wild thing inside my chest as we stand in front of the mirror in Mother and Father’s bedroom. Once again I gaze far down into the depths of my dark eyes reflected in the mirror, pulling with all my might, willing the land to reappear. Yes! I wrap my whole mind around the tiny scene buried deep inside my eyes, reaching for it until the mirror once again shows me a living picture of the land beyond the looking glass. Father, Mother, and I all plunge forward together into the mirror. We land on the other side, in the Ferrymen’s world, surrounded by shattered glass. This time there are three Ferrymen to meet us.
I explain our problem to them. They listen attentively, then huddle into a group and talk together in a strange clicking language. Finally the group breaks up and the first Ferryman approaches me. He signals us to follow him, and he flies over to a small mirror hidden away in a hollow tree. Father, Mother and I join hands once again. We have no idea where the mirror will lead us, but we trust the Ferryman.
We crash through the mirror successfully, and pick ourselves off the ground. We’re standing in a forest. In front of us is a small, round hut, with smoke curling out the chimney. I love it at once – the rounded door, the circular windows, the flowering vines creeping up the stone walls. We knock on the door and a small, bent old man with a thousand wrinkles in his face invites us in. His hair is snow-white and his eyes are ocean-blue. His brown, creased face reminds me of a molasses crinkle cookie.
“Come in, come in, and welcome. What can I help you with? The Ferrymen sent you, I presume?”
I am surprised that he knows but I nod, and explain our problem once again.
“Ah yes, my dear. You have come to the right man. Old Vandaff can get you straightened out.” He leads us into his house, and immediately my eyes are drawn to a wall filled with shelves. On those shelves stand rows and rows of the most beautiful bottles I have ever seen. They are filled with swirls and layers of delightful colors – lavenders, mints, yellows, and teals. The old man hobbles over to the shelves. “Pretty little things, ain’t they?” he asks with a grin. “There should be one here for invisibility…” he rubs his finger over the rows, whispering their names under his breath. “Starweed, lavender mist, nightflower… aha! Here it is: glitteroot. What a lovely plant. Have you seen glitteroot, my girl?” he asks me.
“I haven’t, sir, but it sounds beautiful.”
“Oh it is,” he exclaims. “And when it works its healing, it is more beautiful still. I will show you some glitteroot growing in the forest later. All of my cures are natural and forest-grown,” the old man says proudly. He carefully lifts the bottle from the shelf, pours a little of its purple-clouded contents into a measuring spoon, and mixes the syrup with a bit of warm water. “Come now, Miss Gray,” he gestures royally with his hands, “it’s time for us to see your pretty face.” He winks at the invisible spot where Mother stands and hands the cup into her invisible grasp.
I still can’t get over how the cup tilts up seemingly in midair when Mother drinks. She finishes the cup and… nothing happens. She’s still as invisible as ever. The old man catches our worried looks, and reassures us, “This is only the first part of the cure. We’ll need the lake to finish off the job. Follow me, please.”
We follow the old man down a narrow path. Along the way he points out some of the plants that were in the bottles, including glitteroot. It is a lovely plant, covered from its emerald leaves to its dark purple flowers with sparkling flakes of what looks like glitter. Finally we arrive at a huge lake. The old man tells Mother to get herself completely wet in the water. As she does, two amazing things happen.
The first thing is that Mother appears. Father and I splash out into the water, laughing and crying with relief. Father swings Mother around, and I hug them both. I stop hugging them when I see the water around Mother. Some sparkling substance is seeping into the water around Mother. It swirls around in the water, spreading gradually throughout the whole lake and spiraling madly up into the air around us. Twinkling stars of glitter dance around us as we stand in open-mouthed awe. It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
Sparkling stars of light
Dancing to an unknown song,
Singing in a silent voice
Radiant in joyful grace.
Finally the stars fade, and we splash slowly through the water to the old man. He stands there with a look of joy and pride on his face. “I told you it was beautiful. It never gets old,” he shook his head admiringly.
I don’t notice anything beside the path this time. I have eyes only for Mother. How glad I am to see her again! I notice that her eyes are brighter, her smile more sincere, than they had been before the Healing Lily. She is cured at last!
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My parents and I climb the stairs up to the flat roof outside my bedroom window that night. Father had said that’s what we used to do in our old house, when I was little. I had never been out on the roof because the creaking window would have been too loud for Mother before.
We unroll a blanket and lay on it on our backs, staring up at the stars. After a while I crawl to the edge of the roof and look down into the velvety darkness. I take a deep breath. The air seems more fresh up here, and the moon and stars look brighter. I feel free. I feel wonderful. I have my parents back, parents I didn’t even know where living. Life won’t be perfect, but it will be good. With Father and Mother by my side, I know it will be good.
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Ahh, you gotta love happy endings, right? Thank you all so much for your encouragement for this story! It made me happy to read your sweet comments. I’ll probably put this story all together on a page soon.
***Allison***
Misty, I used the word prompt, did a plot twist, and included swans in my story. Loren, I used 7 prompts. I don’t have time to add the pictures, but they were the monsters one, the hunting us one, the muddy forest one, the blue butterflies one, the Here Be Faeries one, the dragon-on-a-branch one, and the shattered glass one.
My commentary is going to be brief because I don’t have much time. (As usual for writing posts. XD )
Remember, Adele has just found her father…
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Beyond the Looking Glass, Part 7
“But… how are you alive? I thought you fell down a chasm!”
“I did. But I fell down here and as you can see, I survived to tell the tale!” Father grins. “The trolls were quite hospitable when they found me, and gathered up countless little things to make me comfortable. I took a while to recover from that fall.”
I remember something from Gwendolyn’s history lesson: “A little over a decade ago…the trolls living in Their land found something, we know not what…”
Now I know what they found – Father! Thirteen years ago Father fell into their world.
Father goes on, “Now I know why they were so eager to protect me: they wanted to conquer the world, and I was to help them. Apparently the troll king was not a favorite with his subjects, but they had no choice but to obey him. He commanded them to capture hundreds of Saepertines from the forest…”
“Wait, what are Saepertines?” I interrupt.
Father raises an eyebrow. “Look around you.”
I do, and see with a shudder the ghostly white, spiny monsters, stooped, terrifying. All this time They had miraculously kept back from Father and me.
“Oh,” I whisper, “you mean Them.”
Father nods. “When I saw a Saepertine for the first time, I was terrified, and when the trolls told me I was to be their Master I nearly fainted. But luckily they were as afraid of me as I was of them – they had never seen a human, you see. That was why the troll king needed me for his plan – they would finish off any troll in an instant. Soon I had them trained to despise everyone except for me and the trolls. All these years I have been trapped here longing for a sight of you and your mother.” His eyes light. “How is your mother, anyway?”
I look down at the ground. “She… she isn’t doing very well. She’s nearly deaf, and…”
Father cuts me off with a cry, “My Susan?!”
I nod sadly. “That’s why I’m here.” I tell him how I came here, and about the Healing Lily.
Father looks relieved. “So she won’t be deaf for long, then. But how are you going to get back to our world? I’ve been looking for an escape route for years.”
“The fairies and Ferrymen will help. They can help me with anything.”
Suddenly I’m jolted back to our immediate situation by the appearance of a soldier at the top of the pit. He, too, is paralyzed by fear at the sight of Them. “Father!” I shout, “We have to save the soldiers!” I realize that during the time I was sitting here talking, hundreds of soldiers may have met their death, falling prey to Them like I almost did.
“They are cunning, they are brave,
They are brutal, they are relentless,
And they are hunting us.”
Father face pales, and after giving me a quick hug, he disappears down a tunnel that must lead to other pits. I swallow hard. The monsters surrounding me evidently know that I am a sacred object, not to be touched, but I’m still frightened. I feel like Daniel in the lion’s den.
Father soon returns with a solemn look on his face. “Some soldiers have gone, never to return, but the Saepertines will reap no more harvest.”
I take a deep breath. “So are we ready to find the Healing Lily? Can you sneak out with me without being noticed?”
“Of course! Jonathan Gray can do anything with his daughter at his side.” He winks at me.
Oomph! I stumble over a log and land headfirst in muddy water. Yuck. By the time we reach the top of the mountain, Father and I are both covered in mud from head to toe.
Finding the Healing Lily is definitely not easy. For half an hour Father and I stumble over rocks and peer down crevices. As I turn to climb down a boulder, a faint glow catches my eye. It’s those butterflies again! I see the same glowing blue butterflies as I did when I entered the fairies’ kingdom. They explode in a glowing blue cloud when I approach them, and reveal the Healing Lily at last! According to Gwendolyn’s description, the Healing Lily is a small, cream colored flower with a brilliant purple center and five long, delicate petals. Yep.
“Father! I found it!”
Leaving the fairies was sad on both sides. Gwendolyn was happy that I had found the Healing Lily, but sad to see me go. Before I left, she flew up to me with a serious look on her face.
“I just thought I should tell you, Adele, that your mother may have to pay a price for using the Healing Lily. It’s known to have many nasty side-effects, especially if the person who takes it is really deaf. Sometimes…”
I quickly cut her off. “Thanks for the warning, Gwendolyn. I’m sure we’ll be alright.” I’m in a hurry to get back, so I race over to Father and pull him away from a conversation with the fairy king. “Goodbye, everyone! Thank you all so much!”
I thought over my adventures as I once again passed the sign with “Here be Faeries” painted on it. So much has happened since I saw that sign for the first time! I will remember this journey forever.
In the blink of an eye the forest disappeared and I’m back at the Ferrymen’s world. The swans are still floating serenely on the lake, and the dragon-bird Ferryman is still sitting on the branch of the tree. At our approach, he flaps down and escorts us to a mirror which reflects his whole land. Father and I hold hands and crash through the glass. I open my eyes to shattered glass shards all around me. The Healing Lily is still clutched tightly in my hands.
Father and I slip quietly down the stairs, where I prepare the lily as Gwendolyn instructed. Halfway through the process, Mother appears at the door and stares at us silently. Father beams at her, but she shows no signs of recognition.
I pour the mixture into a glass, and hand it to Mother. She looks confused, but drinks it all down anyway. I wait eagerly for her to say something, for a change to come over her.
It does. The change is beyond my wildest dreams.
My mother has vanished.
Before I can think, I feel a touch on my arm and a broken voice speaks to me.“Adele, my daughter, Jonathan, my husband! Welcome home!”
I gasp. “It’s known to have many nasty side-effects…” One of which, apparently, is invisibility.
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Duh-duh-duh-DUN! What will happen?
***Allison***
Allison Marie 