Keepsakes

Easy time.

Complete the following sentence:


If I could somehow set in stone three memories from the past year, so that I could always remember them vividly, those memories would be:
1.
2.
3.

There you go. We're all ears : )

"One small step for man...."

Okay, the new list has been released, and your name is on it! You get to be on the next space shuttle flight!
Of course, the media is camped out in your yard to get the big interview, and here are some of their questions:


1. What are you most looking forward to about the trip?

2. What part makes you nervous?

3. You're leaving in a month, and you'll be gone for 3 weeks. Anything you'll miss at home?

4. If you get to broadcast one sentence to earth from space, what can you imagine yourself saying?

5. Do you envision any difficulties readjusting to being back home?

Well? What do you say?

You Really Otter Join Us

Well, since all of two people remember being seven, a little memory work appears to be in order (although the same can be said for me, since my once-weekly postings have been so random lately).
That's okay, we'll do something different. Don't want to tax those over-worked memory banks for too long!

(But thanks to both of you, and if someone else suddenly remembers being 7, feel free to post on that last entry.)

How about some new poetry? (Wait, come back. You can do this.)

You might remember last year's haikus. Well, let's try cinquains this time.
Easy cheesy. Like this.

Five line poem.
Line 1: a one-word title, a noun that tells what the poem is about
Line 2: two adjectives describing the title
Line 3: three -ing action verbs
Line 4: a related phrase
Line 5: a synonym for the title
(Description from http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=43)

My attempt:

Otters
Playful, babyish
Flipping, darting, gliding
Not a worry in the world
Seapuppies


For your topic, you might choose animals, a certain friend, your favorite shirt. You name it.
Hope you'll share with us.. and feel free to write more than one.
(And by the way, if you are a home schooler and you make serious efforts on any of this site's challenges, you might ask your Mom to let you count it as part of your week's English. It's worth a shot : )

Sweet Seven

Good grief, what's it been, 6 weeks?

I'm so sorry....we had a wonderful wedding, and I guess I just took time off! But I have a new challenge for you. Something, uh, autobiographical.

I've let it pass, but "today" was 7/7. A pretty cool date, and it is past midnight as I prepare to go to bed. I've been thinking about the number 7, specifically the AGE 7. Our little 7-year-old has had a totally unpredictable year, with LOTS of challenges. It will always be some kind of reference point in her life. But through God's compassion and protection, she is marching through a turbulent year and doing great!

So I began to wonder: Since 7 may be one of the earliest ages many of us remember clearly, can you share a memory of the year you were 7? (If not, you can try years 6 or 8.)

Is there some special day or event that stands out above what may now be a colorful blur in your mind? If so, please share it with us. It doesn't have to be exciting, only something that managed to be a memory.

And just to make it more fun, can you write your account in exactly 7 sentences? (Unless you are not much past 7 now; then I'll be happy with 7 words : )

Oh, and thanks for painting such a terrific picture, Mr. Rockwell : )

If Only...

Now that was fun! Thanks, everyone who participated! You can still go back and add to the last post if you want.

Okay, something new. Time for an opinion poll, of sorts.
Before I give you the one question, I need to make sure you are in the right frame of mind to answer it.

If you are a student, great.
If you aren't a student, have you ever been one? Well, recall the happy-go-lucky (yeah, right) days of school. Put yourself once again in the schoolroom (or home schoolroom), long enough to answer the question (as you might have back then).
If you're reading this and you've never been a student: Hmm. How'd you manage that?

Here is the question:
If I ran the school, we'd completely do away with this subject: ___________________.
And here's why: __________________________. *

Rules :
1. It's okay to pick the same subject someone else chose. And your answer can be serious, fun, or just wishful thinking. But don't forget the "why?"

*2. And hey, let's add a twist: Whatever letter your subject starts with, you must also have a word in your reason that starts with the same letter. Here is an example:

I think I'd eliminate recess. Why? It takes too much time from our real goal of getting educated. (Sorry, I was trying to pick something no one else would. Don't believe the example for a second : )

Okay, you're on! Just be sure to raise your hand first : )

Happy Lists

C'mon, I know Mary isn't the only songwriter out there! But thanks, Mary.... I loved it!

Let's see, how about this week.... let's do something easy.

Take the letters of your name (first, middle, last -- you decide) and make a list of some things you like. Each entry can be one word or as many words as you want. You can list foods, activities, any combination of things (or ideas, or people) that grab your fancy or make you smile.

Shouldn't take you long, and since it's easy, maybe I'll be able to tell if we still have an audience. Besides Mary, that is : )

Here is a quick example:

BLOGMARM
B - Babies, and particularly little grandbaby David, who ALWAYS makes us smile.
L - Leisure time to just enjoy home, hearth and loved ones.
O- Open books: Bible, hymnals, fresh blank notebooks.
G- Good friends.
M- My hard-working husband.
A- All my precious family.
R- Roses, and all perky, colorful flowers.
M- Most of the items pictured above (especially the chocolate ones).

Wait! I need more letters.....(and by the way, it's completely okay to use something someone else mentioned. I don't have a monopoly on chocolate. Or babies : )

Tune Time

Thanks for all your wise nuggets of truth and fun!

And to not leave that last entry dangling, how about

...might just be too bashful to bubble?

(If that makes no sense to you, please see the last post and the creative responses it evoked.)

Okay, didn't really mean to leave that last post up for two weeks, but I got busy! On to new horizons....

Here is a fun job for you for this week:

1. Think of a family member (if that doesn't work, think of a friend).

2. Think of something they DO that drives you slightly nuts (don't get too personal.... we don't want to embarrass anyone).

3. Write a song (a verse or two will do) of, um, appreciation : )

Here's an example:

Tim, Tim
Ring, Ring,
I call you and I call you on your cell...
It's true
That you
Are busy but I call to no avail.

Tim, Tim
Ring, Ring,
You used to see I'd called and call me back...
But now
Somehow
You're successfully impossible to track!

Okay, your turn.

Any Ben Franklins Out There?

Now that was a fun story!

Thanks to ALL who participated! It was really fun to hear from people who live a distance from our North Carolina, uh, Just Write Office : ) A special thanks to the Bowes Family on the West Coast, who helped keep the last hours of the story hopping! Maybe we'll do it again in 6 months instead of waiting another year....

If you haven't yet read our story (and don't want to wait for the movie), check out the previous post and all the illustrious comments!

I don't want to leave you without a new writing challenge, so here's something you can be chewing on for the next week:

Try your hand at rewriting a well-known expression of wisdom, updating it for today or for your life. Please be very careful to be original and NOT to just use a redone expression you've heard before.

As we often do, we're adding a twist. I will give you the beginning of your saying. The first person who wants to try completing it should

a. Click on "Pencil Scratches"
b. Post the rest of the saying (your way). Start with "...."
c. Add a new "first half" for the next person to complete.
d. (Be careful to use a new "first half" and not one someone else has used.)
e. If these instructions are confusing, look at the "starter" below, then check the first few responses. We've done a few to get everyone started.

Here is the first starter : A bird in the hand.....



Your mind is probably chock-full of wise sayings, but just in case you
need help coming up with a starter, we found a great site with
lots of truisms. They're not all well-known, but you can browse and find that
perfect expression you were trying to remember, or one you'd forgotten about.
(The site includes BIble verses, but please don't rearrange any of those!)
Go to the site, type in a key word or click on a starting letter at the bottom of the page.
http://www.wiseoldsayings.com/wosdirectory.htm

Looking forward to your profound, renovated expressions!

Just - uh - Scouting Out Some Good Writers : )

Okay, I give up. It's getting harder and harder to get words out of you people! Where did you all go?

So, desperate times call for desperate measures, I guess. Last year, early in the life of this blog, we all collaborated on a continuous story. Folks around here have been asking for another one.

If you helped out with that story, you might remember that we ended up extending our deadline by four days, and by the time it was over we had 75 entries and a pretty crazy-fun story!

We did have some rules, and I think they worked out well, so I am going to use the same ones again. Here they are, with new dates:

1. I get to start it.

2. Try to keep it unified. Let's keep characters to a few, and events well coordinated (in other words, try to keep the story following some logical sequence). Having said that, you can still surprise us, it can take twists and turns, and it can definitely be funny!

3. Unique handicap: (This is a rule.) You can only add one sentence at a time (but you can add a short exclamation such as Oh! along with your sentence), and your sentence must start with the letter the last person's sentence ended with.

4. You can post as many times as you want, but you cannot post just after your last addition. You have to let there be 2 sentences in between each of your turns.

5. I guess it needs an end, so we'll set this deadline to end the story: Thursday, April 24th. If you really, really want to have the final word, you may have to stay up late, because on the 25th the party's over.

(Hope you read these carefully, because if you don't follow the rules, I have to (oh no!) DELETE your comment. Sorry....)

And by the way, if you want to go back and read our masterpiece from last year, go to the April 19, 2007, post, titled Hope You Don't Mind, Snoopy) .. or click here.

Ready for your opening sentence? (Do I hear a drum roll?)

Once again, we will borrow our opening line (loosely) from one of the masters:

When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem broke his arm.

All Together Now: A Rainbow?

Not a very politically ambitious lot, are you? Looks like Catherine is elected, or at least she wins the Just Write Nomination! Congratulations! If any of you still want to try your hand at a speech, go back to that post and go for it.


For this assignment, get out your trusty box of Crayolas (at least mentally). I'd love to see you give us a word picture.


Here is your assignment: Complete this sentence, and if you wish, make it into a paragraph:

The ___________est thing I know is _________________.

In the first blank, you must insert a COLOR. In the second blank, insert whatever it takes to complete the thought.

It can be any number of words, sentences or paragraphs, but draw us a word picture. Be creative, be vivid, make us see it. I'd give an example, but I don't want to steal your color. However, you may certainly use a color someone else has used, and you may put as many responses as you like.

I'm looking forward to reading your brilliant observations.... wait, I need to go get my sunglasses first.