August 5th Challenge - My 100th Blog Entry!

Hi, it’s Christina –

Happy Monday Morning! As you may have guessed from my friend Karolyn’s response to the challenge question (on FB – I still need to copy it to the blog), we are headed to the beach today. Which means, in order to get this blog done, make lunches and get our stuff together, I’m up before dawn again. Not that I mind. Everyone’s life is so crazy and fast paced, that it is hard to find time to get together with friends. So when the opportunity arises, I try to snatch it with both hands.

Over time through this blog, I’m sure you will hear me mention some of my friends. I have been pretty blessed in the friends department, as a number of my friends I have had for over twenty, thirty and even forty years. Karolyn is one of them, so I am excited to get to spend some time with her today. Our daughters are all old enough they can entertain themselves, so we will have six hours to chat. I can’t wait!

So now I have one last load of towels to throw in the dryer so they can be packed, watermelon to cut, chicken and tuna salads to make, cooler to pack, car to pack, and somewhere during that COFFEEEEEEE. See, I put you guys even above my need for caffeine this morning, and that need is becoming strong, so let’s get to it. Have a great day y’all and happy writing!

 

Your Last Challenge was:

Write a story containing these three words: Light, Cave & Shell.

For years I have been coming to this tiny strip of beach just north of Bar Harbor, Maine. I stay in an itty-bitty cabin; a bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a porch, that’s it, but it is right on the water and I love it. I started coming here as a kid, and now as an adult, it is my escape cottage.

If asked, I would say I knew every inch of this beach like the back of my hand, so I was quite surprised when I stumbled upon a cave I had never seen. I decided to take a walk after dinner. I do this often. One more dose of crisp salty air would relax me so I could sleep soundly. I would walk for an hour or so, gathering shells or skipping rocks into the ocean if the water was calm.

I had bent down to pick up a shell and a flicker of light caught my eye. I turned to where I thought the light was coming from and scanned the rocky cliff for the source. At first I saw nothing, but then it happened again, a burst of light reflected off the rock. As I approached, it became more apparent the light was coming from inside a cave. But what could be causing it?

 

Dang it, ran out of time. L I am SO not a short story person. OK, off to get ready. Hope you find tomorrow’s challenge fun. Again, have a great day!

 

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.

July 11th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Good morning all. I spent a good chunk of yesterday on the phone with two financial aid places, the college and the government, because when I checked with the college my daughter will be going to see if there was anything else they needed from me, they looked into my status and our loan came up expired. Not quite sure what happened, no one could explain why it happened, but I’m glad I checked. Long story short, I had to fill out all the loan paperwork again, but it wasn’t terrible. Almost all the information was prefilled from the last time, so all I had to do was check the boxes that I read everything, agree not to be a dirt-bag and repay the loan, then sign and submit. In half an hour I was calling the college back to tell them everything went through and I got a pop-up screen stating the college should be informed with 24 hours. Needless to say, I was relieved everything worked out.

I did get quite a bit of quiet time to write yesterday as well. I guess all the activities had caught up to the girls and they crashed. I had been up since 5 am writing, then after the whole student loan fiasco, I had a horrible headache, so at 1:30 pm, I took some aspirin and went to lay down for a bit. A little before 2:00 pm, I finally hear the girls start to stir. If you don’t count the times I was violently ill, I don’t think I have EVER even slept until noon let alone two in the afternoon, and it wasn’t just one kid, it was all three of them! Whatever, they are on vacation, it’s not like they had anything pressing to do.

Last night the girl’s all slept over my sister-in-law’s house, but they will be back here by eleven, because we are bringing the cousin back home today. We’re meeting her mom just over the Verrazano, so at least I don’t have to go all the way to Long Island! I already told the mom and daughter that she is welcome here any time and we are even planning on a two week visit next summer.

OK, enough chit-chat, on to the challenge and then to camp. I only hit 22K yesterday, so as far as I’m concerned, I’m way behind and I’m starting to stress!

 

Your Last Challenge was:

Write a story using the following three words, Cabin, Fire, and Vampire.

 

I peeked open my eyes and saw it was a chilly, rainy, Autumn Saturday. I had nowhere I had to go, and nothing I had to do. Yippee! I yawned, stretched, slid out of bed and yelped as my feet hit the cold floor. First order of business, build a fire, then coffee, fire first, coffee next. I grabbed my robe, rummaged around for slippers but had to settle for a pair of socks, then carefully padded down the stairs to the living room. The living room’s fireplace was the cabin’s focal point and one of its prettier features, along with the wall of glass overlooking the forest and lake, and the completely appointed gourmet kitchen, the fireplace was a work of art. It stood right in the center of the room and it was more of a fire pit than a fire place.

Since my teeth had actually started to chatter, I stopped admiring the room and went to work building the fire. When it was roaring and the room started to warm, I headed to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. I guess I’ll have to turn the heat on tonight. I hate doing that so early in the season, but I hate freezing in the morning more! I spread my hands on the counter and stared at the coffee maker, willing it to drip faster. So what am I going to do today? I squinted at the dreary dripping mess outside the window. Well, I’m definitely not going out in that. Perhaps a book. Coffee in hand, I shuffled back to the living room and over to the bookcase to peruse the selection when a book caught my eye. What a perfect day to read a vampire story, I thought, but not one of those modern day mushy vampire love stories. They would not do on a day like today. I reached up and gently removed a very old copy of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, walked over to the couch, put down my coffee then settled in for a good scare.

 

Your Next Challenge is (thanks Beth):

 

Would you change if you won the lottery?

 

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.

July 10th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

The beach was lovely yesterday. Not that the weather was perfect, yes it was sunny, but there was no breeze for the first few hours, so it was sweltering hot. Not that the water was perfect, it was cold still, and for some reason there were zillions of dead sand fleas in it, YUCK. It was lovely because I got to sit near the ocean, watching and listening to the waves, which is something I would do every day if I could.

I did bring my laptop with me with the intentions of going to camp while sitting on the sand, but it was an epic fail. I wrote maybe 500 words, half of which I’m going to be deleting, and gave up. The sun was so bright, I was straining to see the screen. When I started getting a headache, I close the computer and opened Once Upon a Tower by Eloisa James. The day got much more enjoyable after that.

We left the beach early because there were clouds forming on the horizon which started to worry me and I’m glad we did. Roughly fifteen minutes after we left, supposedly they got hit by a wicked storm. We missed everything and had a sunny ride the whole way home.

I have noticed something interesting going on. I have increased my Twitter followers by 25% in the past week or so, but I have no idea why that is. I would love to find out so I can keep doing whatever I’m doing!

OK, got to get going. Somehow I need to pull an extra 2,500 to get caught up. Don’t think I’ll be able to do it today, I already hear critters stirring.

Your Last Challenge was:

 

I round the corner, see the spot and for a moment I’m six years old again; fishing pole in one hand, my grandfather’s hand in the other. I sit on the edge of the wall, dangle my feet. I notice how much closer to the water they are, and my red, perpetually dirty and untied Keds have been replaced by sandals with polished toes peaking through. I skip a rock over the water’s surface – one, two, three, plop – and sit back and watch the ripples grow until they lap beneath my dangling feet. My hands begin to itch for a fishing pole when I see a fish jump out of the water, but mostly my heart aches for the companion who is no longer sitting by my side.

 

Your Next Challenge is:

 

Write a story using the following three words, Cabin, Fire, and Vampire.

 

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.