January 6th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Good Morning! Hopefully in the next few weeks there are going to be some changes around here. Not necessarily good changes or changes I wanted, but unavoidable changes.

We have come to a point financially where I can no long write full time. I was given this opportunity through the generosity of my great aunt, who upon her death, left me a little bit of money; money I was able to stretch to subsidize my lack of contribution to the household funds for almost two years. Those funds have now completely run out and since my book sales cannot yet account for a livable income, I need to find a real “job”.

I have decided to try for a part-time position in retail. I have a LONG retail history, often throughout my life, retail jobs were held in conjunction with my “real” jobs. The reason I decided to go this route was, quite frankly, I missed the daily interaction with people. I figured by working part-time in retail, I would get that character building fodder (‘cause Heaven knows the characters you meet when working retail), and still have time to write.

The most significant change I anticipate with getting a job is I do not think I will be able to keep up with the DAILY writing challenges, especially if I get the 5:00 am shift I requested. I promise you, I will make every attempt to keep the blog going, but it may take some juggling until I can get into a rhythm of working again after being home for two years.

This is provided I actually get hired. I am not counting my chickens before they are hatched, I just didn’t want you to be surprised if you weren’t seeing posts as often as you were used to.

Okay, on that slightly sad note, I am going to get going. If my time is limited, I have some stories to work on. I wish you all a wonderful day & happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

I close my eyes and begin to imagine. At first, there’s only darkness. Then a faint distant cry of a lone gull pierces the nothingness. As the gull draws closer, his voice is joined by the repetitive lapping of the gently waves.

I relax further into my chair as the warmth of the sun begins to penetrate my frozen body, chasing every last trace of chill away. The scent of coconut teases me, but I cannot tell if it is from the oiled bronzed bodies or from the umbrellaed drink which has mysteriously appeared beside me. I smile around the straw as I take my first sip of the frosty fruity delight.

On a sigh, I let my hand drop to the side of the chair so I can drag my fingers through the warm powdery sand. I’m startled when something licks my hand and I sit bolt upright. I blink. Then I blink again. Gone are the palm trees swaying in the gentle breeze. Gone is the white sand, the tropical drink and the laughing bird. A shiver races up my spine as I realize it’s still January in New Jersey, and I won’t be warm any time soon.

Your Next Challenge is:

It was nice while it lasted…

You have 10 minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

November 26th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina – 

Good Morning! Yesterday was partially productive.

I wrote over four thousand words, so that was good. The reason I was able to write so much was because we got a really late start on cleaning the family room. The plan was I would write until my daughter, Dani, came home from school around noon. She would take a break and eat lunch. Then both daughters and I would tackle the family room.

Since my uncle is now coming to Thanksgiving again, and he has horrible allergies, we have to do a thorough cleaning. I’m talking everything has to be taken off every shelf and cleaned, the walls need to be wiped down, every piece of furniture needs to be moved and vacuumed (even the bottom of the couch). Every candle needs to be capped so no scent escapes. No air fresheners can be used. We practically need to sterilize the house, so it is A LOT of work, but it’s a heck of a lot better than having to call an ambulance again because he’s having a severe asthma attack.

So, back to why we didn’t finish the family room. My mother came and picked up my oldest daughter, Lys, yesterday morning at ten. When she was here, I told her she couldn’t keep my daughter out all day because I really needed her help. My mom told me she would have Lys back by two. Perfect, an hour later than I had planned, but still doable, because I figured it was a two hour project if all three of us worked together. We’d be done by four, and I’d get a break before I had to start cooking dinner.

This also worked well for Dani, because she was so tired when she came home from school, she got to take a nap until two. Since the house was quiet with Dani asleep and Lys out with my mom, I got to write for longer than I had planned. I came to a stopping point, the end of a chapter, and I look at the clock. 2:45, and still no Lys, so I send a text. No reply. 3:15 I call. No answer. 3:30, I call again. Again, no answer. At this point, she’s an hour and a half late and I can’t get a hold of her, so I’m thinking they got into an accident, because that’s how my brain works.

Five minutes later, Lys calls and says they are at Kohl’s. Needless to say, I am not able to keep the displeasure from my voice. She apologizes and tells me they will be home soon. Dani is still asleep on the couch, so I wake her up, and the two of us begin on the room. She helps me drag an old chair to the dumpster, which I had been planning on pitching for months, but never got around to doing and be darned if I was going to spend half an hour cleaning it if I was just throwing it away. Then we disposed of a ripped up desk chair as well.

The next thing on my agenda was to break down Colby’s cage and get it moved into Dani’s room for the holidays. There was nowhere in the family room to keep it where it wouldn’t be in the way. I begin folding up the crate, and Dani tells me she didn’t realize I had planned on moving it right then and she needed to go and make room in her room for it. Off she goes, leaving me alone in the family room. I look at the clock. 4:15. Still no Lys.

My phone rings, it’s my girlfriend Karolyn. I feel bad, because she had to listen to my five minute, without taking a breath, rant over not being able to get the room cleaned and how inconsiderate my mother was for keeping my daughter out when she knew I needed help. Karolyn listened, commiserated, sympathized, and like any true friend does, she got angry on my behalf, and then told me an even worse story about what happened to her, to make me feel better.

At 4:45, I hear the beep of my mother’s car alarm in the driveway, nearly THREE hours after when I should have been hearing the beep. I end my conversation with Karolyn, so I can glare at them when they come in the door. Now, I wasn’t going to say anything, because I really do hate confrontations, but they were sure going to know I was not happy. Then my mother makes the unfortunate mistake of telling me not to be mad at Lys, “they were having fun”. That’s when I lost it.

I told her I wasn’t mad at my daughter. My daughter wasn’t the one driving. My daughter wasn’t the one who had it explained to her how I needed help. My daughter wasn’t the one who promised to be home by two. Then, instead of just apologizing and being done with it, my mother has the nerve to point out that I was the only one cleaning, implying that if Dani wasn’t helping then why should Lys be required to help. That’s when I blew my second gasket, and set the record straight.

What fries my cookies is, my mom doesn’t think she did anything wrong. She freaks out when she’s entertaining for nine on New Year’s Day, and my husband and I do a large portion of the cooking for that day, plus my mother has a cleaning lady who cleans her house before the party. Wouldn’t it be logical to think I stress out a bit before an event, and any deviation from a set plan causes me a whole lot more stress, especially when I have to do all the cooking myself and I don’t have a person to clean my house for me?

Anyway, what’s done is done. I can’t change it, so as of right now, I am over it. Today, I will write until noon. Take a lunch break when Dani gets home from school. Then the three of us will tackle both the family room and the living room. We should be able to get both rooms immaculate by 4:30 – 5, and I can take a half hour break before I have to start dinner. Barring any unforeseen setbacks, I can get back on schedule and be able to breathe again.

On that note, let me get to Faerie Tale Queen. I hope you have a terrific day, and happy writing!

 Your Last Challenge was:

 The Black Friday experience…

Once every four or five years, I decide to brave the crowds and go shopping on Black Friday. Then, when I return home, I vow NEVER TO DO IT AGAIN. It is complete insanity, the lines, the traffic, the parking. It’s an unmitigated nightmare, but the one thing about Black Friday that disappoints me most is the attitude of the people.

Just the day before, they were gathered around a table with their loved ones giving thanks for all the many blessings they have in their lives, and on Friday their bodies are overtaken by trolls. They are mean. They are nasty. They are self-possessed. Tell me, is that 20% off video game worth you banging your cart into another person and then cursing them out for being in the way?

After the third time I utter “Merry Flippin’ Christmas to you to!” is when I usually give up and call it quits for the day. Black Friday is the anti-Christ as far as I’m concerned. It brings nothing but bad will and disdain. Sure it would be nice to finish up my Christmas shopping, but I think I will wait and do it next week, during the week, when there’s a chance of getting a stranger to smile back instead of sneer.

 

Your Next Challenge is:

 

You have 10 minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

September 4th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

 

It’s still dark outside. I set my alarm an hour earlier than I needed to be up so I could do my blog before we left for the beach. There will be six of us going today, my daughter, three of her friend, one little brother, and me. One friend was supposed to be watching her brother today and would not have been able to come to the beach, so I said we would take him too. It’s one of the girl’s birthdays today and I didn’t want the one friend to miss out spending the day with her because she had to babysit.

 

It has been a very long time since I’ve had a ten year old boy at the beach. If I remember correctly, at that age my son would spend the entire day either in the water or digging a hole to China in the sand. Hopefully this little boy will be the same. If not, I haven’t a clue as to how to entertain him.

 

As of today, my daughter’s tight circle of friends are all fourteen years old. It is a very small window of time when this happens because in a few weeks, the first, and quite ironically the tiniest, of the group turns fifteen. The other group members were at Sunday’s picnic, so they celebrated then, but my daughter wanted her friend’s actual birthday to be a little special…so I’m loading up my car with food, beach paraphernalia and kids, and we are going to have a great day. The last hoorah before they have to go back to school.

 

OK, I have to go make sandwiches and get the cooler packed up, so I hope you have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

 

Your Last Challenge was:

The day for one of my favorite fall activities is finally here and I think I’m more excited than the kids. I could not have produced a more perfect day than if I had conjured it myself. The air is crisp and the sky a cloudless blue; and although we need sweatshirts right now, before we are finished they will be tied around our waists or more than likely be handed off to Mom, their pack mule in residence.

We pile out of the car, bags in hand, and are immediately assailed with a cacophony of aromas; the hearty earth after a night of rain, the pungent rotting fruit, and, since the orchard is part of a working farm, the barnyard stench also vied for supremacy. The children wrinkled their noses, but I just smiled. As we walked closer to the entrance, another scent gently wafted through the air. Now the kids begin to show signs of interest. Without asking permission or whining and begging as they would have done when they were young, they detour directly to the barn/store, knowing I would not object in the least. I too smelled the newest batch of apple cider donuts emerging from the oven and my mouth was already watering.

 

Dang it, I never even made it into the orchard, never described the sweet taste of the pilfered apples or the joy in watching my adult children start acting like kids again. Oh well, rules are rules. Sad part is, with my daughter away at college, our only hope at a family apple picking is if we go up by her one weekend and my son agrees to come with us. The chances are not likely. I’ll just have to wait and start all over again when I have grandchildren and they are old enough to go (10 years at least from now).

 

Your Next Challenge is:

 

The Magical Realm is in an uproar…

 

You have 10 minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

September 1st Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

 

It is Sunday, September 1^st and I am going to apologize in advance, but I am about to get up on my soapbox. This rant is about being socially responsible when posting, sharing or forwarding alarming stories on Facebook, Twitter, wherever.

 

You see an alarming post and you feel compelled to share it. It could be about a missing child, a potential disaster, a beloved celebrity passing away, whatever. PLEASE take two minutes to verify the information is accurate, truthful and up to date. This can be done very easily by typing a few key words into your search engine of choice or by going to Snopes.com.

 

If the information is correct, then by all means, post it; but if it’s not, share the link on the original poster’s post debunking it so everyone who saw the original post is aware the information is not true and should not share it.
 

Here are a few examples of recent stories that have been flying around the internet:
 

Jackie Chan, star of multiple martial art movies, was rumored to have fallen to his death during a movie stunt. The poor man was forced to post a photo of himself, holding a current newspaper, to prove the rumors of his demise were greatly exaggerated. The rumor caused people who loved and cared about him a great deal of unwarranted pain.
 

 

In late June, early July, I saw postings looking for 2 and four year old brothers, Cole and Chase who had been kidnapped. Of course, as a mom, I was going to repost the alert, but I checked it out first. Turns out they were safely returned to their grandparents in APRIL. Same held true for several other Amber alerts. Unfortunately many more were valid and I did share the posts on my personal page, but wouldn’t it be good to know everyone I saw was valid?
 

Other alarming posts were photos of the ocean outside the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in Japan boiling, and color satellite photos of the leak headed straight for the west coast of North America. Upon further inspection, photos shot from a different angle showed the boiling water was actually just fog and in reality the color satellite photo was the path of the tsunami waves from the 2011 tsunami and not of a nuclear leak. YES, the plant is in a state of emergency, and yes we should all probably be concerned for the thousands of people the disaster will affect; but get the facts straight so you don’t cause a panic.

 

We need to ban together and stop these erroneous posts. They are the equivalent of yelling “FIRE” in a crowded movie theater. Think before you repost, and when you do repost, add a tagline stating verified on such-and-such a date. When you debunk something, post it. It is embarrassing to have something you have posted debunked and it makes you think twice before blindly reposting.

 

OK, I’m done complaining. I hope you have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

I can’t seem to get that song out of my head…

Chad pressed his hands to his temples and squeezed, hard. “Why can’t I get this song out of my head? What does it mean? Dammit!”

Several months ago, while on a call, Chad had been shot. Just a graze to the head, nothing life threatening, but the incident left a scar as well as an unusual side effect. He noticed the change when he returned to his first case after the accident. He and his partner Tom were assigned to a missing child case, a case with no clues, no leads.

That’s when the song “Under the Boardwalk” started playing over and over in his mind. It had tormented night and day until, out of frustration, he drove down to the beach and took a walk under the boardwalk, and that’s where he found the missing child, being held captive in a cage like a dog. The moment he freed her, the song stopped playing in his mind.

He had chocked it up to coincidence or he saw a clue which only registered subliminally, but then it happened again, and again.
 

Hmmm…may be a real story in there…

Your Next Challenge is:

 

Slowly he turned…step by step…inch by inch…

 

You have 10 minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

August 31st Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

It’s Saturday! First and foremost, I want to wish my Godmother a very Happy 78^th Birthday. Love you!

I spent the first few hours today completely unproductive. I read articles online about how Costco gave a mentally challenged man an opportunity for a career with their company, giving him a sense of pride and worth. It was truly heartwarming. Another article was about a growing trend toward childlessness – I couldn’t even imagine. I checked out the weather for this weekend and was distracted by various weather stories, like a man’s van getting hit by lightning, holy crow. Commented on a few friends’ posts, and before I knew it, two hours had slipped by. The internet can be a dangerous thing!

Now it’s time to be more productive! My neighbors are hosting their annual church picnic this weekend, so I want to get some yard work done so we are not an embarrassment to them and I’ve been bugging my hubby about cleaning out the garage, so hopefully we’ll be able to tackle it this weekend as well. We have an older house, and our attached garage is too small for our car (we can pull it in, but if we do, we can’t open the doors to get out of the car), so we use it for storage; Aka: the black hole, the garbage dump, hoarder’s heaven. It’s a holy mess and in desperate need of a serious purge.

I need to run to the post office again. B&N delivered yet another of my daughter’s school books here instead of shipping it directly to her school. The money I saved by ordering the books through them has been sucked up by having to turn around and mail them up to her. If their screens would show the actual delivery date BEFORE the order is finalized, this would save a whole lot of problems. Even still, I contacted them MINUTES after the order was placed and was told they would be able to correct the shipping address. One book was supposed to arrive on 8/21 and the other on 8/22. When I received a book on 8/21, it didn’t dawn on me it wasn’t the one from B&N but from Amazon (I thought I had cancelled it). When we returned home from dropping my daughter off at school, one of her books was waiting here for us, which I assumed was the one that was supposed to arrive on 8/22. Then another book was delivered yesterday – 8 days after they said it would arrive. I will think twice before I order books from B&N in the future.

OK, off to be more productive…hopefully. I hope you have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

  

Your Last Challenge was:

 

If I continue to sit here, will I hold Autumn at bay? I’m at the beach, so it must be summer; and if I stay right here forever, that means summer never has to end, right? Don’t call the men with the butterfly nets, I haven’t completely lost it. It’s just wishful thinking on my part. Although Autumn holds a certain charm, colorful foliage, apple picking, crisp clear days; I am not looking forward to the drop in temperature. I don’t want to think about snow and slush, nor the pain the cold weather causes both mentally and physically.

If it’s not summer anymore, that means the holidays are right around the corner. That’s right, only sixteen weeks left in the year. If I keep sitting here, then year end is far away in the future. There is no need to reflect on what was or wasn’t accomplished over the past year. I can just close my eyes, lean my head back, soak in the warm rays of the sun and think about nothing – no back-to-school, no cold, no holidays, no end of year, nothing.

Your Next Challenge is:

 

I can’t seem to get that song out of my head…

 

You have 10 minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

August 30th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –
 

Hope y’all are doing well this Friday morning! It’s Labor Day weekend already, can you believe it? We’ve already had a few cool nights. Where did the summer go? I don’t know about you, but when I was a kid, I remember it still being hot through most of September before it would cool down. Then in October we would get another warm week or two, which we called “Indian Summer”.

 

Having two or three days in a row in the nineties was rare and hitting a hundred degrees was big news, but now it’s common place. The weather has become very strange. Forty years ago there was a gentle wave that brought you through the seasons; you gradually climbed to the hottest first two weeks in August then slowly fell to the coldest first two weeks in February. It was easy, almost predictable. You hoped to have snow on Christmas, but you pretty much knew there was a big storm coming the second week in January. Unless it was raining, or the once in a blue moon it came really early, you knew you would only have to wear a light sweater on Easter and after Mother’s Day you could get away with shorts and they would get you through until the first week of October. Your heavy coat came out about a week before Thanksgiving. I’m not saying it was always exactly the same, but deviations were unusual and when they happened, folks talked about them for weeks, if not months or years.

 

Now, who the heck knows? We’ve had bathing suits on trying to catch a tan on eighty degree days in February and a blizzard two days before Halloween. One day it’s in the nineties, then boom it’s in the fifties and you’re looking around asking, “Who turned off the heat?”. Record cold, record heat, I’ve said it before and you will undoubtedly hear me say it again, it should have been labeled “Global Unrest” instead of “Global Warming”; because when we are wearing sweatshirts during the day in August, you can’t help but think “Global WARMING” is a bunch of hooey.

Not sure how I got there from basically saying “it’s Labor Day”. I’ll blame it on a pre-coffee blog posting. Today we will be organizing my daughter’s room, closet and drawers so she will have all her ducks in a row for the start of school. I was shocked when I suggested it yesterday, but she jumped all over the idea. We’ll get some done today and then finish up tomorrow. My daughter will be leaving around two this afternoon for another tour of the high school. Hopefully after the tour, she will be less stressed over the transition to the new school.

OK, I’ve rambled enough this morning. I hope you have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

 

Your Last Challenge was:

 

I had the hardest time learning how to…

 

I had the hardest time learning how to do many things, and yet others came with virtually no effort at all. It was almost as if I had somehow known the information already. For example, I had never taken a calculus class in my life, but I was able to teach it to a bunch of college students when I was in eighth grade. However, I’ll still occasionally glance down at my hand to see which one makes the “L” for left.

I can tie intricate macramé, but crocheting is beyond me. I can make a soufflé stand six inches above the pan, yet buttering toast is a challenge. My shoelaces still come undone, my spelling is atrocious and I never did learn how to work the VCR, all things which were taught to me over and over again; but there are so many things I have been show only once, or simply figured out on my own.

 

Out of time. You have just received a little more information as to who I really am, all the examples above are me; even the admission of having to consciously think over Right and Left.  

Your Next Challenge is:

 

 

You have 10 minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

August 29th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

So the paperwork took longer than anticipated and then I’m taking care of my son’s cats (25 miles away) while he’s on vacation, and my daughter had friends come over so the house needed to be cleaned, and we had back to school shopping to do. In other words, I never got to the blog yesterday, so I am apologizing yet again.

I’ve chatted with my older daughter several times over the last few days; she doesn’t like the food, but loves her classes except for the computer one but that has to do with the subject, not the teacher. He’s ex-military intelligence and seems like a fascinating guy.

When they gave the speeches at the school, they asked the parents to do one thing – if the child calls home with a problem or an issue say, “Did you ask someone at the college?”. I have been trying really hard to do that, and my daughter has had to deal with several issues on her own already (a wrong book, medical insurance, getting a job on campus, questions on one of her loans). I know by her doing this without our help is helping her to become an independent adult, but it has been tough not taking care of things for her. She’s dealing with it fine, mom’s just having issues letting go.

On the other hand, my youngest daughter has really been surprising me. She is nearly finished with her summer reading, and I haven’t had to prompt her once to get to it. She cleaned up after her friends last night, and today she cleared and set the table for dinner, then when we were done she helped clean up – ALL WITHOUT BEING ASKED. Needless to say, I’m stunned, happy, but stunned. Guess my youngest chickie is growing up too.

Well, it’s getting late, and as you know by now, I’m an early morning person, so I turn into a pumpkin around nine at night. Consider this my disclaimer as to the quality of the response to the writing challenge. J

 

Your Last Challenge was:

You and a group of friends all have busy lives and you don’t get to spend any time together anymore, so you decide to make a weekend getaway. You book rooms in an old mansion which has been converted to a bed and breakfast. The place is beautiful and at first you are completely enamored with it, but then some strange things start to happen.

 

“Kara, where did you find this place?” Jennie asked.

 “Online. Why, don’t you like it?”

 “It’s beautiful and all, it’s just, I don’t know…” Jennie trailed off not knowing how to finish her sentence.

Rose chimed in, “I know what you mean. I can’t shake the feeling that someone’s watching me.”

“And what’s with the owners?” Stephanie asked. “Every time I turn around one of them is there, just staring at me. I’m not sure who’s creepier, the husband or the wife.”

 

Yeah, I should know better than to try and write when everyone in the house is awake. The TVs are going, the dog is barking, the phone is buzzing with text messages. I give up! We’ll chat again tomorrow… until then, have a great evening and happy writing!

 

Your Next Challenge is:

 

I had the hardest time learning how to…

 

You have 10 minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

August 27th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Good morning. Day two with no kids around. My youngest spent another night at her friend’s house and won’t be home for a few hours yet. This is going to take a while to get used to, if I ever do. Even when she does get home, it will still be a quiet day because she still has not done her summer reading project. Heck, she hasn’t even started it and we are at the end of summer. She’ll have her nose in a book for the next few days. At least, this year’s book is short and a very quick read. That doesn’t mean I will not have to threaten her to get it finished.

I wish I could find the one book to spark her interest in reading. My middle daughter was the same way. She hated to read. Getting her to read was a battle. Then one day, just before her birthday, she asked me for the book “Twilight” by Stephanie Meyers – quite rolling your eyes, she asked for a book, so I was doing backflips. The book could have been “The Art of Farts” for all I cared if it got her reading. When she finished “Twilight” and asked for the next book in the series, I was overjoyed. By the end of the summer, she had read thirty-eight books and can still be found, quite often, with her nose in a book. So, as I said, I wish I could find the one book to spark my youngest daughter’s interest in reading, then these summer reading projects wouldn’t be such a nightmare.

I’m still gathering and photo copying two years’ worth of receipts to send to the insurance company. Hopefully I will have everything together and in the mail by Friday. It’s times like these where I really want to kick myself in the butt for not being more organized! So no more procrastinating, time to get to work.

Until tomorrow… have a great day and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

 

Tom leaned against the tree and stared unseeing into the backyard. Memories of that fateful day came flooding back.

“Please Grandpa, please.”

“I can’t right now Tommy, but I promise we’ll go as soon as I finish the chores.”

“But the fish are biting now. Look, I can see them jumping.”

“And they’ll still be jumping in a few hours. Go find something else to do. Maybe Grammy could use some help in the garden.”

Six year old Tommy hung his head and walked away from his grandfather. He didn’t want to wait. He knew the fish wouldn’t be there later, it would be just like last time when they waited.  They would sit in the boat for hours and have nothing to show for their time. Why did Grandpa need to do chores first? The chores would still be there when they got back.

“Hey Brat.”

Tommy looked up to see his big brother sitting on the back porch. “Leave me alone Joey. Aren’t there any bugs or frogs you could go bother?”

“What’s got you in such a mood?”

“Stupid chores. Why can’t Grandpa do the chores later? I want to go fishing. Look,” Tommy pointed to the creek, “they’d be jumping in our boat if we went now.”

“So let’s go.” Joey said as he hopped off the step and started to head toward the boat.

“Are you crazy? You know we’re not allowed to take the boat out by ourselves.”

“I’m almost nine years old. I’ve been out on that boat a million times, I can handle it.” Joey glared at his little brother. “So Brat, are you coming or are you going to be a baby?”

 

Definitely better than the last one, I just couldn’t form a thought I liked yesterday. For tomorrow I’ve decided to go back to a prompt style I used when I started this blog, and set up a scene for you to write a story. I’m still waiting for input from y’all as to what types of prompts you’d prefer. So until I do, I’m kinda shooting in the dark.

Your Next Challenge is:

 

You and a group of friends all have busy lives and you don’t get to spend any time together anymore, so you decide to make a weekend getaway. You book rooms in an old mansion which has been converted to a bed and breakfast. The place is beautiful and at first you are completely enamored with it, but then some strange things start to happen.

 

You have 10 minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.