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Friday, May 10, 2013

I've Been Robbed!

Erin in one of her creations. All her costumes are accurate to the time period.  The skirt alone weighed nearly ten pounds!


Recently, my daughter Erin and family attended the Renaissance Faire near Pasadena, California.  In years past, Erin had been an active member of the Guild which provided an Elizabethan presence, complete with all degrees of nobility.  Normally, Erin and Brian would have been clothed in expensive and accurate costumes she has created over the years.
  
Sunshine's first Faire in her mother's arms

The problems were that Bright Eyes and Sunshine have outgrown their old costumes.
 
Erin, Sunshine, Brian, and Bright Eyes

They went to the Faire as tourists, in shorts and sandals and lathered in sunscreen.  The girls wore tattered fairy wings left over from Halloween, and they had a grand time, the best Erin could remember.  

Freedom from the heavy costumes and the burden of being in character allowed them to explore, experience, run, and play.  

Freedom—aaahhhh.

At the end of the day, they arrived home drenched in sweat and caked in dust-turned-mud.  Erin took the girls in through the garage, stripped them down, and threw the damp clothes straight into the washer.

Bright Eyes is a modest 8 ½ year-old.  She wrapped a large shirt around herself, and ran up to the bath tub. 

But Sunshine, oh 7 year-old Sunshine.  She was born nude and would live her entire life as a nudist, if given the chance.  She stripped down and streaked through the house.  She ran into Daddy at the foot of the stairs, only then realizing that she was naked.

Sunshine smiled big, threw her arms open wide, and exclaimed, “I’ve been robbed!”  Giggling, she raced up the stairs to join her sister in the tub.

Robbed, in deed.

Freedom: aaahhhhhh!

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Wednesday Words: The Intrepid Benjamin

Warm laundry...mmmm


Being intrepid did not always work in Little Man's best interests.

When Mummy turned her back, he crawled toward a vase, which resulted in a crash and broken glass.  Then Little Man discovered a spoon and Daddy’s iPad.  Just a few bashes resulted in a clang, a flash¸ and some loud buzzing.

Yes, being intrepid could possibly drive Mummy over an emotional cliff.

I crawled here, and stood up.  NOW what do I do?
Many thanks to Delores at myfeatherednest  for the Wednesday Words.  Please visit her site and read about Tod in a cliffhanger.

Reflections on the A-to-Z 2013 Challenge






April has ended, and with it, the A to Z 2013 Challenge!  What a rush!  What an outpouring of writing and talent!

Reflection time?  You betcha.

Introspection:

I approached this year differently.  I wrote two letters in a combined theme---A with B on April 1 & 2, etc.  I really enjoyed this as it was a challenge and mentally entertaining. 

Also challenging was keeping the posts short, two-hundred words or so.  The K-L posts were the longest, since those were stories.  Using less and more precise words strengthened the writing.

Playing with words and ideas—those are the joys of writing.


Overall Reflections:

What others’ blog postings did I consider successful? 

Topics which were universally interesting engaged me immediately.  I enjoyed reading and learning about people's lives, countries, cultures, etc.  Good writing is good writing, period.

What made some blog postings hard to read, thus shortening my interest?

Lengthy dense writing lost me.  

Long, over-written paragraphs with no space-breaks were difficult to follow and to maintain interest.
 
I have migraines and my eyes suffer as a result. On my own blog, the background is almost black, the print is white, and the font is “Bookman Old”.   This helps my eyes.  

As a teacher, I found that using a pale blue or green was easier for students to read; the glare was reduced and the words were ‘anchored’ on the paper.  Fonts and colors should be considered for readability, not for artistic value.
   
What made some blogs better than others?

Most people enjoy visuals, photos, cartoons, YouTube, etc.  A picture truly is worth a thousand words. 

The A to Z Team was awesome.  

An over-used word, “Awesome”, but it applies here.  I loved the daily suggestions and helpful hints found at different Team Members’ sites.  I appreciated how the two-thousand participants attached their genres next to their URL. 

Will I participate in the next A to Z?  You betcha.