Introducing… WordCrafters 3!

May 26, 2017 | Allison

WordCrafters 3 (1280x1280) (800x800)

*Dances around throwing confetti* YIPPEE IT’S HERE! Guys, I am super excited for this round of WordCrafters! It feels like forever since I started the last one. And I’m especially excited for this one because Josie and I have some special plans for WordCrafters 3. 😀 AHHH I can’t wait to tell you guys about them! 😀

But first…

What Is WordCrafters?

Basically, WordCrafters is a story-chain where you collaborate with other writers to create a unique book. At the kick-off of WordCrafters, my blogger friend Josie and I will start the story by writing the first chapter, and then you guys take it from there. Each participant picks up where the last left off and writes just one chapter, and then Josie and I will conclude the book. Chapter by chapter, writer by writer, we’ve written a whole story!

I created WordCrafters last year with the excellent help and advice of the lovely Josie (otherwise known as Été), and since then we have successfully completed two WordCrafters stories, here and here. You should definitely check them out – all of the participants did an AMAZING job! 😀

How to Enter

*IMPORTANT* Please finish reading this post before entering. 🙂

If you are 10-18 and have a parent’s permission, just enter by commenting on this post!
Also, before entering, please take time to consider not just whether you want to enter, but whether you will realistically be able to participate when your turn comes. We would absolutely love to have you, but please don’t just sign up thinking, “Huh, this might be fun,” but then decide you don’t feel like doing it after all when it comes to your turn. It not only complicates things for Josie and me, it’s also not very considerate of the other participants. Of course, this is just a writing challenge! It’s not going to be the end of the world if you can’t write your chapter, and no one’s going to be outraged or anything, but we would greatly appreciate if you at least make an honest effort to fulfill your commitment, as small as it is. 🙂 And if you really wanted to write your chapter but had something come up, we will be happy to rework your turn if possible. Thanks, guys! ♥

Rules for Content

PLEASE keep your writing squeaky clean. Especially because this challenge is for kids, please don’t use any inappropriate content, which includes bad language, extreme violence, etc. It’s perfectly all right to use fairytale magic (think Narnia and Cinderella) and even to kill a character (as long as it’s not a main character), but just don’t make it overly gruesome. If you have questions about what can and can’t be allowed, please just ask! We reserve the right to refuse or edit out any offensive content.

Guidelines for Writing Your Chapter

I will notify you when it’s your turn to write a chapter. Please try to respond as soon as possible so I know my notification went through. 🙂
Please try to complete your chapter within one week. I know this is a change from the previous WordCrafters, but Josie and I both though we should set some limit this time. Last WordCrafters took a looong time to complete, and it didn’t seem very considerate to the other people who were waiting for a chance to enter the next one. Plus, it works best if we can mostly finish up WordCrafters over the summer when everyone has more time to write. 😉
When your chapter is finished, post it on your blog and link back to this post. I’ll read your chapter and then add it to the WordCrafters 3 page up there at the top of my blog. (Or you can click here.)
After you submit your chapter, I will let the next participant know it’s their turn. And there we go! That’s the pattern until all of the participants have had a chance to write their chapter.

What If I Don’t Have a Blog?

If you want to enter this challenge but you don’t have a blog, that’s fine! Just comment below saying that you’d like to enter and you’re not a blogger. I’ll notify you of your turn by email, and you can send your chapter to Josie or me via our contact forms.

What Will the Story Be About?

Ooh, this is the fun part. 😀 I’ll give you guys more details and pictures of the characters on the starting day, but here are the basics:

Characters: OOH guess what? In this story, all of the main characters from the previous two WordCrafters are going to meet each other and go on an adventure together! In case you need a refresher, here are the characters:

Alalia: For Alalia, books are her life. Most of the time Alalia is quiet, but her mind is always observing things, imagining things. She is shy, stubborn, tender-hearted, creative, and loves reading and writing. Alalia is of average height and weight, with straight brown hair blue eyes, and olive skin. She is thirteen years old.
Jacob: Jacob is always up for an adventure. He loves any activity that gets your heart racing. Jacob is helpful, caring, and kind, especially to younger kids. Jacob is a bit over six feet tall, has messy black hair, dark brown eyes, and medium skin. He is sixteen years old.
Pippin: Pippin is always ready with a grin and a laugh. He 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. Pippin is tall and lanky, with curly red hair; twinkling hazel eyes; and freckled skin. He is sixteen, almost seventeen years old.
Vivi: Vivi is always on the go. She 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 very rarely cries, but easily gets angry. Vivi is short and wiry, with shoulder-length, wavy blond hair; gray-blue eyes; and tanned skin. She is thirteen years old.
Esme: Esme is gentle soul. She is kind, tender, and affectionate, but also a bit fragile and proud of her beauty – she doesn’t like 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 is small and slender, with long, straight black hair; dark brown eyes; and creamy skin. She is eleven years old.

Plot: This is another thing we’re doing a bit different this time. Josie and I are going to give you guys a bit more of an outline than we usually do because… well, I’ll talk about that at the end of the post. 😉 We’re still working out the details of the plot, but here’s a short synopsis, subject to change:

The five kids meet each other on a vacation and discover that they share a secret: they are the only humans to have ever traveled to the hidden world of Fairyland. One day they find a stack of envelopes in the mail, labeled “From Ariel. To Whom It May Concern.” Upon opening the letters, they find that the envelopes contain a series of mysteries, along with clues that just might lead them to the solutions. Is the sender of the letters really Snow White’s sister? Why did she disappear and where did she go? And who is that mysterious stranger that appears to be following them? The clues lead the five friends to a surprising solution… and into big trouble. If this is a fairytale, where’s the happy ending?

When Will WordCrafters 3 Start?

Josie and I will post the first chapter of WordCrafters 3 on June 15. That means you have about 20 days to sign up. O.o

One More Thing…

Okay, guys, I know this is getting rather long but I have one more really exciting thing to tell you! After this round of WordCrafters is completed, if all goes well we’re hoping to make all three WordCrafters so far into a book! That’s why Josie and I are giving you guys a bit more of a plot outline, because this round is going to be the last book in the “series” if you want to call it that. What do you guys think about self-publishing it? Would you be interested in helping us edit it?

*********************

AHHH I’M SO EXCITED! Are you? If you have any questions, please feel free to talk to Josie or me.

Thanks for reading, my friends! ♥

***Allison***

How to Use a Grain Bin for Acrobatic Training

October 27, 2016October 27, 2016 | Allison

Have you ever played in grain bins? If not, you are missing out.

Since I’m guessing most of you have in fact never played in grain bins, I have kindly compiled a tutorial to show you how it’s done. 😀 (Even though the pictures are *ahem* not my best – the grain bins don’t have what you’d call perfect lighting.)

First, you must find a grain bin. Fortunately that’s not too hard for us since we have several on our farm. You’ll need to find one that has corn in it, or the fun will be considerably diminished. (Although empty grain bins are good for letting your dog catch mice in.) Make sure the bin isn’t too full so you’ll have plenty of room for your acrobatics.

An example of a good grain bin choice: (Fun fact: did you know this grain bin can hold about 45,000 bushels of corn when it’s full?!)

Next you must enter the grain bin. Depending on how full it is, you will either need to climb in through the door or else climb a ladder/staircase and enter through a trapdoor. We chose the latter. (But not the ladder. Heh heh.) Some advice while climbing: don’t look down and try not to dwell on the seeming frailty of the staircase.

Now comes the hard part: getting in. This takes a good bit of courage the first time, because you’re pretty much looking down into a cavernous black hole. Also the trapdoor is usually rather small. But be brave – adventure awaits!

Climb down the ladder. Once inside, the grain bin looks quite light, and you shouldn’t feel claustrophobic anymore. In fact, you wonder why you were worried. (You remember again when you climb out.)

Time for the fun to begin! One of the best things to do in a grain bin is practice your acrobatic skills: in other words, jump off the ladder a lot. It’s kind of like jumping off of a hay loft into hay, only more… corny. Plus you get an added bonus of sinking up to your knees in corn kernels!

grain-bins-6-1280x960 — If you’re wondering what all that annoying bokeh comes from, the answer is corn dust.

If you tire of acrobatics, you can always bury your friend in the corn or throw handfuls at the metal wall to make a satisfactory ringing sound. It’s also fun to play “Whales.”

Whales Instructions: fill someone’s socks (preferably your sibling’s/friend’s) with corn, and tie off the top. You have made a “whale.” Now divide up into two teams with equal amounts of whales per team, select a battle cry (“FOR NARNIA!”) and throw your corn-filled aquatic mammals at the other team, making sure not to cross the invisible middle line. Each participant is out after being hit three times. If you catch a whale, the person who threw it loses a life. Whichever team has the last person standing wins!

HA HA HA that was so fun to write. XD I hope you enjoyed this helpful how-to, and I trust you will refer to it if the need arises. XD

***Allison***

P. S. You have only day to enter my giveaway! (Thank you soooo much, everyone who entered so far!) I will post the winner on October 29th. I can’t wait to see who wins!

Beach Sunset + BIBPC #3

August 16, 2016 | Allison

We went to a Lake Eerie beach on our vacation right as the sun set. It was absolutely gorgeous!

-Allison(Vacation) 082 (1280x960) — I love this picture with the lighthouse and the orange sky!

-Allison(Vacation) 076 (1280x960) — Whoa! I don’t think the sunset was quite THIS bright in real life.

I love sunsets and beaches, so a sunset on the beach equals twice the love! 😀

Now for my BIBPC entry. The category this time was “Worth It.”

Story Behind the Photo: My friend is posing for a picture after we had a big shaving cream fight with her and her siblings. It was so. Much. Fun. Even though we and the lawn got super messy (we had to take showers and change, as you can imagine), and the smell of shaving cream was everywhere for a while, it was definitely worth it!

***Allison***

P. S. Oops! You guys were right! Two of the flower pictures in the garden post were the same. I changed it now. 😉 If that affected your guess, please feel free to guess again!

Let’s Play a Little Game…

August 15, 2016August 16, 2016 | Allison

I was out taking pictures of the garden this morning when I had an idea. It’s garden season, so let’s play a little garden game…

The Rules:

Your job is to match 9 different flowers to the 9 different vegetables they produce. For instance “tomato and __ (insert number)” match, or “#1 and #__ ” match. One vegetable can match a flower from either collage. BUT! I’ve included one extra flower that does not match any of the vegetables to make things more interesting. 😛 Next Monday I shall reveal the answers and the winners (see below). It’s kinda similar to my sister’s “Name that Flower” game. As in Mystery Pictures, I won’t approve guess comments until I reveal the answers.

*Update* Oops! The 4th and 8th flower pictures were actually the same. Sorry about that! I fixed it, though. Thank you for telling me, Rapunzel!

The Points:

1 point for each pair you match correctly
1 bonus point for correctly telling me which flower is the trick flower
2 bonus points for correctly identifying the trick flower
And no going outside in your garden to check your answers! (Or looking them up on Google. (Or Bing, Megan.) *Shakes finger*)

Ahem.

I’ll tell you the vegetables, and you tell me their matching flowers:

Okra
Cucumber
Green Bean
Tomato (I hope you knew that already)

5. Lima bean

6. Lettuce

7. Asparagus

8. Corn

9. Butternut Squash

And here’s the extra flower which may either match one those vegetables up there, or it may be the trick flower. Who knows?

I hope you enjoyed this slightly strange, random game; I know I’ll enjoy reading your guesses! 😀

Do you have a garden? Do you like gardening? What is your favorite of those veggies up there?

**Allison***

Summer Fun: Shaving Cream Fight

July 7, 2016July 7, 2016 | Allison

We had a shaving cream battle with our friends, and it was SO MUCH FUN! We each were supplied with a bottle of the really cheap shaving cream (like 97 cents per bottle), and teamed up girls against boys. It was super messy, but in the best way!

Some tips:

Do this on a hot day ’cause you’re going to need to rinse off under a hose. 😉
Make sure it’s okay to get the yard messy because it will get messy – but don’t worry, after a good rainshower everything should be squeaky clean again.
Be warned: the smell of shaving cream will be everywhere!

Just look at that glorious mess! 😀

I guess I can check that off my bucket list!

Does a shaving cream fight sound fun to you? Do you like to get messy?

***Allison***

P. S. I HAVE OVER 150 FOLLOWERS OH MY GOODNESS THANK YOU SO MUCH I’M RUNNING OUT OF BREATH SO I THINK I’LL STOP NOW! *Pant, wheeze, cough*

Mystery Revealed! #7

April 26, 2016April 26, 2016 | Allison

Duh-duh-duh-DUN! I will now reveal the answers to these mysterious pictures.

But before that, let me just say THANK YOU! A total of 22 people guessed this time, which is waaay more guesses than my mystery pictures have ever gotten. You don’t know how happy it made me to read all of your guesses. 😀

Anyway, moving on… I’ll reveal the mysteries first and then tell you the winners. 🙂

#1. Soft drink lid.

#2. Carpet

#3. Tire

#4. Banana

#5. Zipper

#6. Feather (A chicken feather, to be exact. 🙂 )

#7. Asparagus

#8. Clothespin

Ta-daa!

Okay. Now for the winners. Aaah, the suspense! XD. I’m just going to do 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. If you’d like to read all of the guesses, check out the comments on the mystery pictures post. I’ll add links to the winners’ blogs if they have one.

So.

1st place (8 points) goes to…

K. A.

Hayley

Abigail and Clara (my cousins 🙂 ♥)

It’s a three-way tie!

Congratulations, my friends! You got them all right! Your prize is… well nothing, sorry. 😦 Hold on! I think I can manage a virtue chocolate sampler box for you. *Hands them out* Enjoy! XD XD XD

2nd place (7 points) goes to…

Rutvi

CutePolarBear

Clara

thegirlofmanyfictionalnames

Rapunzel

It’s a five-way tie!

Congrats, guys! You almost got them all right, but… *Sniff* you missed one. 😦 XD That’s okay, you still get a mini virtual chocolate sampler box. *Passes them out*

3rd place (6 points) goes to…

Nicole

Another five-way tie!

Congrats again! You made it to the finals! XD Let’s see… *Rummages in candy bag* okay, you each get a virtual chocolate truffle *Hands them to you*

That was so much fun! (At least for me. XD ) Come back and do it again sometime, won’t you?

***Allison***

Reflections at the Pond

March 29, 2016March 30, 2016 | Allison

I took these pictures on a gorgeous clear spring morning. I was getting milk from the dairy, and the pond was too beautiful to resist! The water was glassy and calm, and the reflections in the water were almost perfect! The reflection of a Canada goose swimming about looked especially neat. (We have a pair of geese nesting at our pond. Yay!)

First, a couple of flowers from around the pond: (Click to enlarge.)

Henbit

Pepperweed?

Next, the stunningly beautiful barbed wire fence. XD Just kidding!

-Allison(pond, geese) 008 (1280x960) — Bokeh!

Now some pond scenery:

-Allison(pond, geese) 011 (1280x245) — This panorama really bent the pond. Now it looks like a boomerang!

And now for the geese! The mother goose was sitting still as a statue on her nest by the pond. She looks rather wary.

And here’s the father, keeping guard. 😀 Isn’t his reflection neat?

-Allison(pond, geese) 021 (1280x960) — Cow in the background. 😉

And more reflections…

-Allison(pond, geese) 022 (1280x960) — An underwater tree? 😀 I really like this picture.

WAIT! Did any of you notice something wrong with those pictures? You should have! All of that last chunk of photos except for the first three were upside down reflections! Some of the reflections were so smooth that you could hardly notice, but some of them just didn’t look right (like the last one). Heh heh. Did you notice that or not?

See ya’ later! ♥

***Allison***

Mystery Pictures Post #6

January 23, 2016March 16, 2020 | Allison

Hey guys! In my last post I said, “stay tuned for mystery pictures!” or something like that, and here they are! At first I thought I would post them another day, because… IT’S SNOWING HERE! LIKE, A LOT! LIKE TWO FEET OF SNOW! Ahem. So, of course I took pictures, but I decided to post about that another day, because I’ll probably be getting even more pictures before it stops snowing. So anyway… Here they are!

Oh, right. If you don’t know how to play, here are the rules: I will show you a few close-up pictures of ordinary objects that don’t look so ordinary when they’re close up, and you try to guess what they are. Just comment below the post with your guesses, and I will reveal the answers and the winners next Saturday, the 30th! (Update: see the end of the post for answers!) Don’t worry if your comments aren’t showing up, because I don’t approve guess-comments until I reveal the mystery. And you can see my other mystery pictures post here.

#1.

#2.

#3.

#4.

#5.

Guess away! I can’t wait to read all of your guesses – correct or not! (Actually, it’s probably more fun to read incorrect guesses, just to see what you thought they were. XD) Whenever I post mystery pictures, I always wonder whether they were too easy, too hard, or just right. I’m guessing these might be a tad too easy on most, but hard for some, so I hope it turns out to be just right!

***Allison***

P. S. Click here to see the answers!

Mystery Revealed! #5 (Christmas Edition)

December 19, 2015December 19, 2015 | Allison

Drum roll, please! Duh-duh-duh-DUN! Thank you very much.

And now I will reveal the mysteries.

#1. Ornament

#2. Evergreen needles (specifically needles from our Christmas tree. ☺)

#3. Poinsettia

#4. Ceiling fan (for some reason I really like this picture)

#5. Gift bow

And that’s it! Now. Here are the winners, with links to their blogs if they have any. The winners are…

#1. Rapunzel! She is the only one who guessed everything right – Congratulations!

(Wait! Actually, my sister Megan got them all right too, but it’s easier for her, like she said in her comment, because she lives in the same house as I do, and sometimes she sees me taking pictures of the things… But I’m still very glad you guessed, Megan!)

#2. Genna and Josie

#3. Misty and Emma

#4. K. A.

I just did first and second place winners this time, but if you want to see the blogs of the other people who guessed, please go check them out via the comments below.

Again, thank you so much for playing, everyone! No matter how many you got right, I had lots of fun reading your guesses, and I hope you had fun playing too!

***Allison***