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Linking up with Wordless Wednesday and Sandee at Comedy Plus.
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Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and has become a moveable feast of word or picture or music prompts to encourage us to write stories, poems, or whatever strikes our fancy.
This month, the prompts are being provided by Hilary Melton-Butcher and are being posted by Elephant's Child.
This week's prompts are:
- Brick
- Folly
- Carapace
- Hessian
- Snowdrop
- Grizzly
And/or
- Illustrator
- Violet
- Ailment
- Twigs
- Eureka
- Dinkum
“Mom, mom, mom! Whatcha doin’?” son came running in at the speed of a slamming screen door.
“Thinking about the FOLLY of waiting until the last minute to thaw out dinner, why?”
“Mom! Can I have a BRICK to paint?”
“Where would you get the brick, and...wait, what paint?” He had mom’s attention now, as she remembered the last time he got paint and tried to play book ILLUSTRATOR, right on the front porch.
“You know, the old pile dad used to build the outdoor fireplace. He’s got plenty of bricks left, and I want to paint one...”
“What paint?” she asked again.
“Or maybe more than one. The old paint dad found. He’s cleaning out the shed again.”
“And what,” she asked suspiciously and not without reason for it, “would you do with a painted brick or bricks?”
“At school today the teacher showed us a picture of a wall that’s decorated with different color tiles to make an artwork, and I want to make a big artwork out of painted bricks! I want to paint each one a different color and put them together to make a picture out in the field.”
“A brick mosaic be lots of fun to try,” mom said, beginning again to rummage in the freezer. “Do you have enough bricks?”
“Dad had a lot of leftover bricks,” he started in again, and mom yelled, “Eureka!”
“You-reek-a?” he tried to repeat. “You reek a what? Doesn’t reek mean how dad smells when he comes in from working in the garage?”
Mom laughed. “It’s a Greek word, it means ‘I’ve found it.’ I found the frozen spaghetti sauce I want to use in tonight’s dinner.”
“Mom! You won’t believe what we saw in the field!” daughter came in at a slightly slower speed than brother, but with no less enthusiasm.
“Last time I was out in the field, I noticed the TWIGS are starting to bud, and it won’t be long until the SNOWDROP and VIOLET bloom...”
“Mom, I mean it. We saw a GRIZZLY track.”
“Did you really?” son asked, awed. “Let’s go, you can show me!”
“DINKUM,” daughter said, “and it’s getting dark, too late to go look now.”
“What’s dinkum?” son and mom said at the same time. “Jinx!” both hollered, then laughed.
“Dinkum,” son tried out the word again. “Sounds like the name of an AILMENT.”
“Dinkum,” daughter tried to say with dignity, which made them laugh harder, “means ‘really and truly.’ They say that in Australia.”
“There hasn’t been a bear in this area in years,” mom said, still chuckling. “Who saw it, and are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” dad said, coming in. “As sure as my granny’s grandpa was a HESSIAN who deserted and switched sides.”
“That’s not a good thing,” mom said. “I mean, I’m all about wildlife, that’s why we moved out this way, but a bear that’s not afraid to get this close to people isn’t safe for it or us.”
“I know,” dad agreed. “Tomorrow I’ll call the wildlife ranger, let him know and see what he has to say.”
“Well, anyway,” son went back to his topic, “can I have the bricks and paint them with the paint dad found?”
“Once you get an idea in your head, it’s as hard as a turtle CARAPACE,” mom said, chuckling again. “Yes, you may paint as many bricks that are not attached to the house or any other building as you want. Keep them and the paint out by the shed. As for making a brick mosaic in the field, well, by the time you get your bricks painted, I hope we’ll have determined if it’s safe to go into the field or the forest. Now everyone out of the kitchen while I finish dinner.”
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Today is:
Annual Visit of the Poe Toaster -- the mysterious person who, for almost 75 years, dressed in black with a wide brimmed hat and scarf, annually visited Poe's grave on his birthday, leaving roses and cognac; has not been seen since 2009
Brew A Potion Day -- internet generated, no reasons given
Confederate Heroes Day -- Texas, US
Feast of Sultan (Sovereignty) -- Baha'i
Horror Novels Are Horrendous Day -- for Poe's birth anniversary
La Tamborrada -- San Sebastian, Spain (begins in the evening, a 24 hour drum jam session and the city's biggest fiesta)
Little Ricky Day -- marking the date of his arrival on "I Love Lucy"
National Popcorn Day
Neon Sign Day -- patented this day in 1915
Sacrifices to Apollon -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate)
St. Canute's Day a/k/a St. Knud (Patron of Denmark)
St. Henry of Uppsala's Day (Patron of the Catholic Cathedral of Helsinki; Finland; against storms)
Theophany/Epiphany -- Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Christians who still follow the Julian Calendar
Timket -- Ethiopian Orthodox Christian (with huge, colorful festivals through the whole country)
Blessing of the Waters -- Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sophia, Bayswater, London, UK
Tin Can Day -- patented this day in 1825
Birthdays Today:
Shawn Johnson, 1992
Jodie Sweetin, 1982
Frank Caliendo, 1974
Drea de Matteo, 1972
Shawn Wayans, 1971
Wendy Moniz, 1969
Junior Seau, 1969
Paul McCrane, 1961
William Ragsdale, 1961
Thomas Kinkade, 1958
Simon Rattle, 1955
Desi Arnaz, Jr., 1953
Dewey Bunnell, 1952
Robert Palmer, 1949
Paula Deen, 1947
Dolly Parton, 1946
Shelley Fabares, 1944
Janis Joplin, 1943
Michael Crawford, 1942
Phil Everly, 1939
Richard Lester, 1932
Robert MacNeil, 1931
Tippi Hedren, 1931
Fritz Weaver, 1926
Jean Stapleton, 1923
Guy Madison, 1922
John H. Johnson, 1918
Lester Flatt, 1914
Edgar J. Helms, 1863
Paul Cezanne, 1839
Edgar Allan Poe, 1809
Robert E. Lee, 1807
James Watt, 1736 (O.S. date)
Debuting/Premiering Today:
"48 Hours"(TV), 1988
"The Millionaire"(TV), 1955
"Woman of the Year"(Film), 1942
"Il Trovatore"(Verdi Opera), 1853
"Faust Part I"(Goethe tragic play), 1829
Today in History:
Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England completing his reconquest of Normandy, 1419
San Agustin Church in Manila is officially completed; it is currently the oldest church in the Philippines, 1607
The second group of ships of the First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay, 1788
The United Kingdom occupies the Cape of Good Hope, 1806
Ezra Daggett and Thomas Kensett obtain a patent for a process of storing food in tin cans, 1825
Goethe's Faust Part I premiers, 1829
Verdi's Il Trivatore preniers in Rome, 1853
The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jersey, 1883
Ibsen's play The Master Builder premiers in Berlin, 1893
Georges Claude patents the neon discharge tube for use in advertising, 1915
The US Senate votes against membership in League of Nations, 1920
Coopers Inc. sells the world's first briefs, 1930
For the only time in recorded history, snow falls in Miami, Florida, 1977
The last VW Beetle made in Germany leaves the plant, 1978
United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release 52 American hostages after 14 months of captivity, 1981
The Apple Lisa, the first commercial personal computer from Apple Inc. to have a graphical user interface and a computer mouse, is announced, 1983
Czech Republic and Slovakia join the United Nations, 1993
The New Horizons probe is launched by NASA on the first mission to Pluto, 2006
Calcium deposits are discovered on Mars by NASA’s Curiosity Rover, 2013
American skier Lindsey Vonn wins her 63rd World Cup, setting a new record, 2015