Once Upon a Time....

....when I was very young, I loved to listen as my mother read to me from a big red book of fairy tales, which was Number One in a ten-volume encyclopedia-type set called Collier something (if I remember it right). Eventually I learned to read the books myself, and Red Number One became the most worn volume. I can still remember the old-fashioned, whimsical illustrations in The Three Bears, The Three Little Pigs, and The Three Billy Goats Gruff. What was it about threes?

Here's your mission (should you decide to accept it) :

Come up with a new fairy tale (nope, it doesn't have to have fairies or magic in it), titling it something like The Three _______ or The Adventures of the Three ___________.
Your "three" can be animals, but they don't have to be.

Wait, wait.... let me get my jammies and my teddy bear....
Okay, now I'm ready to listen.

What's Cookin' At Your Place?

"Happy Home Recipe"
Mary H. Knopinski

4 c. Love
6 c. Understanding
2 c. Loyalty
5 T. Hope
3 c. Forgiveness
2 T. Tenderness
1 c. Friendship
4 c. Faith
6 c. Kindness
1/2 c. Laughter

Mix Love and Loyalty thoroughly with Faith. Blend in Tenderness, Kindness, and Understanding. Add remaining ingredients and sprinkle generously with Laughter. Bake in sunshine and serve daily.

Okay, I (briefly) searched the internet and found the above "recipe." You've seen them, plaques or needlepoint samplers on the walls of homes, or maybe on throw pillows, with "recipes" for happy homes, happy kitchens, etc. And the ones I've seen really make pretty good sense.

So it's your turn. Please compose your own. It might be a recipe for friendship, a recipe for a boring day, a recipe for a healthy family, a recipe for a good book, a recipe for grandparents (or grandchildren), a recipe for a great pet (no, we're not cooking the pet!), a recipe for getting older (or staying younger), a recipe for success, a recipe for failure, a recipe for misery, a recipe for a great marriage, a recipe for a perfect afternoon, a recipe for -- oh, why not? -- mudpies.

Or a recipe for something else entirely.

Use your imagination..... what "recipe(s)" can you share? And no - in case you find the example somewhat, uh, mushy for your taste - yours doesn't have to be. It can be sweet; it can be tongue-in-cheek; it can be witty. Make yourself at home.

(By the way - in case you were wondering - the man in the picture is Roland Mesnier, who was born in France and grew up to be the White House Executive Pastry Chef for 25 years, before retiring in 2004. The things you take for granted! I didn't even know the job existed.....)

More or Less

I love to read all that you write! I wish I could really give the trip away....... Okay, another challenge. I hope you'll be brave and take this on. I want every challenge I give out to be fun for you, and if you make an honest effort to contribute, that's it.... you get an A. (Yep, you can tell your mom that; ask her to count it somehow :)




Today, I want you to write a short comparison / contrast piece. Think about 2 pets, 2 uncles, 2 trees in your yard, 2 books you've read, 2 ways you've schooled, 2 outfits, 2 books you've read, 2 of ANYTHING. But choose your topic, and as with any writing task, you've done the hardest part. Next, think about ways those 2 _________s are alike, and how they are different. And tell us. Use 5 - 10 sentences. Don't stress over it, just give it a try and see what happens. Waiting to read!

Tickets to Dreamland

Okay, there's this IMAGINARY (sorry) mini-essay contest.

Rules are: In ten sentences or less, you are to tell the three places in the WORLD you'd love to visit - and WHY - or WHAT you'd love to do or see there . . . . and if you win, VOILA! -- "they" will hand you the airplane tickets (for yourself and ten or twenty others that you'd like to bring).

You'll get to stay at each location for a week, and "they" will also provide travel money to cover meals, lodging and souvenirs! So, what would you say in your (hopefully winning) short essay?

(If I find out who "they" are, I'll let you know!)

Sweet Dreams. . .

Summer and Winter, and Springtime and Harvest...

Today as I stood in the yard, with my back to a rather rare and rambunctious wind, I found myself bewildered. Were the clouds trying to rain? If so, I never saw a drop. Was it just time to usher in the fall? (The leaves were definitely getting busy ....) I'd forgotten there was a hurricane - Gabrielle, I believe - coming in somewhere.

But the thoughts of fall and its impending arrival have made me think. And now I want to make you think.

Tell us: What is your favorite season? And why? And just for fun, use exactly twenty-eight words.

Waiting to hear!

Making Every Dollar (I Mean Word) Count

I remember teachers in school who were big on expensive words.

They'd say things like, "Why use a ten cent word, when you can use a five dollar word? " Meaning, make it visual, make your writing come to life, liven it up!

For example, which of these sentences is more fun?

(a) They danced all night.

OR

(b) The lively young couple, lost in the thrill of newfound love, frolicked and bounded all over the busy, dusty barn floor until the sun peeped through the little rough-cut windows, when they collapsed in laughter on the perimeter of golden hay.

(Silly, I know. I don't spend much time on these, but you get the idea.)

So.... ready? I will give you one measly boring sentence (like "a" above), and you turn it into a "b." You can go many directions with this, so I am only giving out one "a" and hoping to receive a a lot of "b's" for it. You are only limited by your imagination (and your very good taste).

(a) The bird went away.

Okay, "b's," anyone?

On The Wild Slide

Guess what? We had a really fun day at Emerald Pointe yesterday.

Let's suppose you've just gotten a letter from the powers-that-be at Emerald Pointe Wet & Wild, and they (having heard about your great imagination and intelligence) have requested that you design and develop a new ride, slide or attraction for their already cool water park. They need for you to put your idea into words and mail it back to them right away. (You also might wish to draw a sketch or two, for your personal files, to help you visualize your new masterpiece.)

So tell us, what will we all be lining up for next year??

Inspired to Admire

Okay, you can put your cute pets away..... that was fun!

New assignment: Write about someone you admire. Tell us who, and why.

RULES : (Please read carefully!)

1. It cannot be your mom or dad. Hopefully you do admire them, but maybe you can do that one privately sometime and give it to your parent(s) if you wish. Or save it and write a book about them when you're grown (if you ever have the time to spare :)

2. It can be anyone else, present day, past, someone you know, someone you wish you knew, someone real (not fictional).

3. It can be as many sentences as you want, but it must be 31 words. Nope, not "at least 31." Or "no more than 31." THIRTY- ONE. Exactly. ( Why 31? Because challenges are fun!)

4. If you can't narrow it down to one person, you can do as many entries as you want. 31 words. Each. Go for it!

Tour of the New Zoo

Okay, let's do something fun for the younger set. Your assignment today (old or young) is to make up an animal. Maybe he or she would be your perfect pet - or your perfect game to hunt! Whichever, describe it to us. Would it be a reptile, a fish, or a new class of animal altogether? Fur or scales? Color? Spots? SIZE? or size?

What kind of sound would it make, or how many teeth would it have?
How many legs, wings or trunks? What would it eat? Would it be cuddly, or ferocious? (And if you had one for a pet, what would you name it? What games would you play with it?) Would it make a helpful contribution to the world, or to your life?

You don't have to answer all these questions; just help us get to know your fictional creature.

It's Rhymin' Time Again...

Poets?? POETS !!
Where'd you go?
It's time for another poem...

Please use these guidelines as you fashion your lovely verse:

2 stanzas, 4 lines each. That means 8 lines.
Rhyme scheme:
A
B
A
B

C
D
C
D

Which only means that, in each part, the first & third line rhyme, and the second and fourth lines rhyme.
And write it about someone. It can be about the Lord, or it can be about your mom or your
brother or, okay, a pet.
It can be mushy-sweet, tearfully sad, or burst-out-laughing-funny. Or it can be cute. You decide. You can give it a title. Or not. You can make it like a letter to someone, or a
description of someone.
Just make it yours. Okay, wow me!