FF – Counting More Sheep
As it’s another re-run week on Friday Fictioneers, I have decided in my current lazy mood to re-post the same story I wrote 2 years ago :-).
Friday Fictioneers is hosted by Rochelle, the photo was contributed by Sandra Crook and the re-do was requested by Jennifer Pendergast.
Click on the blue froggy for this week’s other stories!
“Look out! Run for your lives and don’t look back!”
“What? Are you not asleep yet? I thought you were counting sheep?”
“Yeah, awesome zombie sheep! They’ve surrounded a car and they’re eating the occupants. There’s blood and body parts everywhere. They’re bleating ‘baa baa baaaarains!’”
“Okay, this isn’t working. Try counting something else.”
“Like what?”
“Something a little more soothing. A little more sedate. Like cows. Try counting cows. I need to sleep myself, I’ve got a meeting tomorrow.”
“Cows it is then.”
Ten minutes later…
“Woah! Run!”
“Ugh. What is it now?!”
“Awesome vampire cows!”
FF – Exile
Here is my post for Friday Fictioneers, hosted by Rochelle. This week’s photo is from 2012 and was contributed by Jan Marler Morrill. It was suggested as a redo by Sandra Crook.
To read the other stories, click on the blue froggy.
Derek squinted, grunting in pain as the merciless sun reflected from the whitewashed buildings. On reflex he raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his brow but encountered only dried salt. What kind of hell was this?
How he missed the ice and snow of his homeland, how he dreamed of nights on watch, huddled in his furs as he guarded the Keep. How he longed to return! Surely the Order would take him back once he repaid his debt, once he brought proof of the Betrayer’s death? Drawing the dagger from its sheath, he slipped into the alley.
Sharing My World 2016 Week 26
Here is my post for Cee’s Share Your World.
What’s your most memorable (good or bad) aeroplane flight?
I was en route to Cork (Ireland) for a job interview, but Cork was too foggy to land at. We circled around for hours while my presentation kept getting pushed back. Finally we landed at Shannon where I had a pint of Guinness before taking off again and arrived in Cork around six hours late. Obviously I missed my presentation and formal interview so we went for the interview over a meal at a five star hotel instead.
Result! And I got the job 🙂
How many bones, if any, have you broken?
I’ve never “officially” broken any bones, but I’m sure I’ve broken my little toes a few times. I read somewhere once that most people break their little toes many times over their lives. That could be an old wives’ tale, mind, but that “crack!” as you drive your toe into the coffee table lends weight to the myth!
If you had your own talk show, who would your first three guests be? (guest can be dead, alive, famous or someone you just know)
That’s a tricky one, I don’t really know. I would go for three funny people though, so that there would be lots of laughs and no arguments 🙂
Make a Currently List: What are you reading, watching, listening to, eating, needing, wanting, and missing right now?
Reading: “Hotel Alpha” (Mark Watson) for the village book group and “Magic Shifts” by Ilona Andrews
Watching: Scream (the series), Jericho, How I Met Your Mother, Continuum and Archer on Netflix, Preacher on Amazon, Star Trek DS9 (again) and ER (again) on DVD
For lunch time/tea time/before bed watching I cycle through my favourites start to finish – Dr Who, Buffy, Angel, Bones, Stargate SG1, Stargate Atlantis, ER, all the Star Treks.
Listening to: All sorts! I’ve been listening to “The Pretty Reckless” a lot recently.
Eating: my cake!
I’m chickening out of “needing”, “wanting” and “missing” 🙂
Draliman’s First Bake Extravaganza!
Yes, you heard it correctly. I’ve done some baking! If you discount helping my mum as a toddler or cooking stuff in Home Economics at school, my first baking ever!
I am also tentatively linking this post to Maria and Rosema’s Word-High July for yesterday. The Filipino word was “kilig” meaning “butterflies in one’s stomach”, as I had butterflies in my stomach over the outcome of my baking!
I decided to make a Victoria Sponge, so I found a recipe on the BBC website from none other than Mary Berry.
I toddled off down the shops and got the ingredients, cake tins, mixing bowl, a cooling rack and so on. What I didn’t get was an electric mixer so I used a wooden spoon (old school!) and also I didn’t have any way to actually measure ingredients 😦
So “225g of self-raising flour” turned into “that’s about 1/6 of the bag, so that’s about down to the top of the logo on the packet – bung it in!”
Here is the finished creation. After I ate a huge slice.
It’s very tasty! I gave some to my friends and they were very impressed by how light the sponge was.
So, I am classifying my first ever baking attempt as a success! I will be buying kitchen scales and an electric mixer, though 🙂
FF – Rebirth
Here is my story for Friday Fictioneers, hosted by Rochelle. She also supplied this week’s photo which is a redo from many years ago and was suggested by Kent Bonham.
After I wrote this story it occurred to me that, all unplanned, it could be a continuation of my last one, but set two years later.
To read this week’s other stories, click on the blue froggy.
Ice glistened, a delicate filigree tracing intricate patterns across the window. Edward traced his finger over the loops and swirls, a morning ritual. At last he turned away to begin another gruelling day of nuclear winter.
Reaching for the door handle, he noticed a glint of orange flicker across the wall. Turning back, he saw the window glow with light, blazing yellow as the sun, hidden these past two years, illuminated the swirls of frost with the promise of life.
The dust had settled, the long winter ended, the remnants of the human race reborn to a new dawn.
Sharing My World 2016 Week 25
Here is my post for Cee’s Share Your World.
How many languages do you you speak?
English. Some American English (courtesy of American TV). I can understand a little French from my school days and speak a tiny bit. I’m better at German but very out of practice.
What are some words that just make you smile?
Bunny. Kitten. Patches (I type it a lot as a substitute for “updates” on the computer and it always makes me think of a cute little doggy).
If you were the original architect of one existing building, which building would you select?
This one.
It’s the Longaberger building in Ohio. Apparently they make baskets. Isn’t it awful? If I designed this I’d be famous and notorious for ever!
Would you rather have telepathy or telekinesis?
Let’s look at the pros and cons.
Telepathy pros:
- I could hear what other people are thinking 🙂
Telepathy cons:
- I could hear what other people are thinking about me 😦
Telekinesis pros
- I would never have to reach for the remote control again 🙂
- I could fling people across the room with but a thought 🙂
Telekinesis cons
- None 🙂
Telekinesis it is.
FF – Sunshine
Here is my post for Friday Fictioneers, hosted by Rochelle. This photo was originally posted a few months before I started, and was supplied by Rich Voza.
To read the other stories, click on the blue froggy.
Copyright Rich Voza
“Are we not getting on the plane, Mummy?”
“No, sweetheart, not today.”
“But… the sun is nearly down and you said it would be daytime when we took off.”
Sophie looked to her husband for support, eyes moist.
“That’s not the sun, pumpkin,” he told his little girl. “Let’s go back inside.”
“Are we far enough away, do you think?” asked Sophie quietly as their daughter scampered back to the terminal.
“From the initial blast, yes,” said her husband, “but the wind’s blowing from that direction. Fallout.”
Sophie shuddered, her tears drying in an instant as a second sun burst over the terminal building.
Sharing My World 2016 Week 24
Here is my post for Cee’s Share Your World.
What is the most fun thing you did in school?
I most enjoyed school trips. There was a memorable trip to London where we visited the zoo and watched the play “Mousetrap” at the theatre, and I made new friends too. But imagine the bravery of the teachers taking a whole class of 12 year olds so far away for a whole weekend!
We also went on several trips around Cornwall and West Devon, including the highest spot in Cornwall, the amusingly named “Brown Willy” (which was recently voted among the top five rude place names in Britain!).
What is your favourite type of dog? (can be anything from a specific breed, a stuffed animal or character in a movie)
Stuffed doggies!
The Lads.
You are invited to a party that will be attended by many fascinating people you never met. Would you attend this party if you were to go by yourself?
Nooo, A thousand times no! And not if I wasn’t by myself either.
Complete this sentence: Never In My Life Have I…
… chainsawed my own arm off for a drunken dare while singing the Zambian national anthem in a small mud hut in the Amazon rain forest.
FF – Maestro
Here is my story for Friday Fictioneers, hosted by Rochelle. The photo this week was contributed by John Nixon and is another repeat. Before my time, however, so it’s new to me.
It’s a mad-looking picture so I’ve written a mad story. Perhaps next week this crazy writing will end and I’ll manage a more sensible story :-).
For this week’s other entries, click on the blue froggy.
Copyright John Nixon
His fingers flew across the keys, sweat glistening, heart pumping faster and faster, breathing becoming laboured… he lost himself, becoming one with the piano itself, impossible to tell where one ended and the other began.
With a flourish, he hit the final triumphant chord, turned, gave a quick bow and collapsed, exhausted, into his seat.
His audience looked on, faces blank. Finally, one of them spoke.
“That’s all very well, Mr Davis, but where were you on the night of the fourteenth between nine and eleven pm?”
Note to self: Interview Room 1 is no place for a piano. Move to canteen.
Limerick Challenge Week 22
Here is my limerick for Mind and Life Matters’ Limerick Poetry Challenge. This week, we have to start our limerick with the words “Once upon a time”.
This posed a challenge for two reasons – firstly, “upon” has too many syllables to make it read correctly, and secondly, I had no ideas! You have no idea how long I spent trying to rhyme “zombie”, “Abercrombie” and… something else. But I was determined to get a zombie in there somehow :-). Feel free to read “upon” as ‘pon if you’d like it to read better.
For this week’s other limericks, click on the blue froggy.
Once upon a time, I’ll explain
Lived a scientist, Igor by name
Sought his life to prolong
It went horribly wrong
Now he spends all his time eating BRAINS!
Mmm, yummy brains 🙂
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