Mrs. Jenny Matlock's Saturday Centus Week 30

Saturday Centus Week 30

Welcome to week thirty of Saturday Centus.
STOP! If you didn't read the end SC's from last week, please take a moment to do so. Just work backwards until you find out where you left off. I feel really bad that the people at the end don't get read.
Thanks!
Now on to regular SC biz...In case you've forgotten...
This is a themed writing meme. You can use UP to 100 words to tell your story. The prompt does not count for your 100 words AND it must be left intact in the body of your story. No illustrations are permitted. Your story can be fact or fiction, just keep it PG, please!
You have the entire week to link your work to the meme and you can link more than one story if you like.
Please display link button or just a hyper-link back to Saturday Centus. Be careful to link your SC URL to the Linky and not just link to your main blog.
I would suggest that since these are so short, if you can't think of a title just use your blog name as the title in the Linky.
Try to visit each one because there are some amazing writers participating in this meme. Since the links are so short they are also a fun and quick read.
Please e-mail me directly with ???'s or ask your question in a comment and I will do my best to get back to you as soon as possible.
This weeks we have a unique prompt supplied by Clearspace...a regular contributor to SC. Here are the instructions for this week:
This week's prompt writing will be one with a twist. You know those horoscopes in newspapers? One of those will be your new prompt. Pick one randomly from a paper or a website and write a story <100>
Thanks Clearspace for making us think this week!
Link anytime between now and next Saturday morning.
------

I wrote a story and posted it, but realized that I needed to use a newspaper horoscope as a prompt. I'm afraid I'm not doing this very well. I have have trouble finding a newspaper that has a horoscope column in it. So this is why I am so late. I am sorry that some of you have clicked on my link only to see that it does not lead to a post. But now it does.

Here's my Saturday Centus prompt from a newspaper, in this case, Aftonbladet for Capricorn today, Wednesday, December first 2010:

22/12-20/1

Onsdagen bjuder generöst på trevliga händelser men själv är du kritisk, missnöjd och lite stressad.

This is my English translation of the Swedish text: There are a lot of pleasant things happening on Wednesday, but you are critical, dissatisfied and somewhat stressed.
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This is my Saturday Centus story from this prompt:

It squeeks under your feet when you walk on the hard snow-covered walk already at minus 10 degrees Celsius. It is minus 16 today. The children got a ride in the car with their father to school, being too cold for them to walk, even though they are warmly dressed in thermo-jackets, thermo-pants, extra socks, mittens, scarves, knitted hats and winter boots. It is even cold inside the house. Seventeen degrees in the kitchen at breakfast. Today is December first. The children opened the first door on their Advent Calenders before being rushed off to school in the dark.

Word count according to WordCalc: 99

P.S.
Minus 10 degrees Celsius is approximately 14 degrees Fahrenheit.
Minus 16 degrees Celsius is approximately 3.2 degrees Fahrenheit.
And (plus) 17 degrees Celsius is approximately 62.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

First Commenter:
Kat of Emptynester



Second Commenter:
Ames of Girl Raised in the South



Third Commenter:
Tina of Life Is Good



To visit other SC-texts please go to this site or click on image below:

Being Thankful, Mrs.Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday, Round 2 - Thanksgiving Special

Picture Source:Wikipedia

Thanksgiving Special

Thanksgiving, I mean the holiday with a big turkey dinner, does not exist in Sweden. There is a Sunday in the church year called 'Tacksägelse', which would translate as 'Thanksgiving', but it is nothing like the big family holiday that is celebrated in the English-speaking world.

We will not be eating turkey tomorrow. But I am linking up with Mrs. Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday Thanksgiving Special in order to wish the other participants a happy and blessed holiday tomorrow.

One of the last times I celebrated Thanksgiving with my parents and brother and his family was in 2004, when Elisabet was just six months old. She was born with a small heart defect and had to have open-heart surgery just one week old. So the first summer with her for me circled around keeping her alive - or that was how I felt about it at that time. Giving her medicines, feeding her, taking her to check ups etc. By the time we took the trip to see my parents in West Virginia and got to show Elisabet off, I was very tired. So tired, that when the big holiday finally arrived and we all sat around the fancy dining-room table enjoying this wonderful turkey feast, I did not know what to say. It was my turn to say what I was thankful for and I could not think of anything to be thankful for. Then it was my father's turn, and he said that he was thankful to have such a wonderful wife, our mother, who took such good care of him. (And she really did.) It was then I remembered what I had just been through that past year and exactly what I was thankful for: I was thankful for being there and for the fact that Elisabet was alive and well.

Six years later, I can look back at that particular Thanksgiving as a cherished memory. Daddy was still alive then and was happy to get aquianted with his new granddaughter. He passed away two years later.

And now I am in the middle of restructuring my life in a very big way. But I'm not complaining. This is a post about counting our blessings. So I can say that I am thankful for having had two loving parents and a wonderful brother, sister-in-law, nieces and an incredible nephew, whose birthday it is tomorrow, November 25th. I am thankful for my children. And am hopeful for the future.

Best wishes & blessings,
Anna

First Commenter:
Jackie of
My Mother Wears Combat Boots

Second Commenter:
Judie of
Rogue Artists




Third Commenter:
Mary of
Home is Where the Boat is

To visit other posts about Alphabe-Thursday's Thanksgiving Special, please go to this site.

Mrs. Jenny Matlock's Saturday Centus Week 29

Welcome to week twenty-nine of Saturday Centus. STOP! If you didn't read the end SC's from last week, please take a moment to do so. Just work backwards until you find out where you left off. I feel really bad that the people at the end don't get read. Thanks! Now on to regular SC biz...In case you've forgotten... This is a themed writing meme. You can use UP to 100 words to tell your story. The prompt does not count for your 100 words AND it must be left intact in the body of your story. No illustrations are permitted. Your story can be fact or fiction, just keep it PG, please! You have the entire week to link your work to the meme and you can link more than one story if you like. Please display link button or just a hyper-link back to Saturday Centus. Be careful to link your SC URL to the Linky and not just link to your main blog. I would suggest that since these are so short, if you can't think of a title just use your blog name as the title in the Linky. Try to visit each one because there are some amazing writers participating in this meme. Since the links are so short they are also a fun and quick read. Please e-mail me directly with ???'s or ask your question in a comment and I will do my best to get back to you as soon as possible. This weeks prompt, is: "Pardon me," said Tom T. Urkee..." Link anytime between now and next Saturday morning.

This is my Saturday Centus text:

"Well, we changed it. Being first generation in this country, my parents chose a name for me that they thought would be easier for others to understand and still say something about our roots," said the young dark-haired job applicant in perfect English.
"I see..." said the older man behind the desk reading the application form. ''I bet you get a lot of comments around Thanksgiving and Christmas."
"Pardon me," said Tom T. Urkee, "could you repeat the question?" Tom was born in Istambul and came with his parents to the US as an infant.

Word count according to WordCalc: 89

Best wishes,
Anna
P.S.
My sincere apologises to the people of Turkey.

First Commenter:
Kat of
Emptynester




Second Commenter:
Claudia of Claudia's Page




Third Commenter:
Judie of Rogue Artists



To visit other SC-texts for week 29 please go to this site:

I is for Inventor - Mrs. Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday - I

Photo Copyright Christina Wigren

Here with the children, Erik and Elisabet, is a picture of Forse Gnista (born June 18th, 1932), artist, allround designer, interior architect/designer, industrial designer, inventor and one of the best friends we have. This photo was taken around the time of Elisabet's sixth birthday in May of this year (2010).

Photos Copyright Christina Wigren / Design Copyright Forsse Gnista

Why am I showing a photo of Forse Gnista? This is because I am linking to Mrs. Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday, Round 2, and this week's letter is 'I'. My I-words are inventor, inventive, invention and invent. Forse Gnista is an amazing inventor.

Photos Copyright Christina Wigren / Design Copyright Forsse Gnista

One of Forse's many designs/inventions is a plastic stackable cup with a unique hook-like handle, which he designed by first carving it out of wood with a lathe!

Photos Copyright Christina Wigren / Design Copyright Forsse Gnista

This cup has been around since it first came on the market in the 1950s and is still sold and used today everywhere in Sweden.

Photos Copyright Christina Wigren / Design Copyright Forsse Gnista

It is an everyday item that most people use without giving it much thought. But it is truly a wonderful and elegant invention. (Other related I-words are innovation, innovative, ingenious and intuitive.)

Best wishes,
Anna

Just for a change, I am giving free extra links to the first three commenters:
Commenter # one:
JJ Botta of
The Disconnected Writer



Commenter # two:
Mary of
Home is Where the Boat is



Commenter # three:
JDaniel4's Mom


To visit other posts about words that begin with the letter 'I' please click here.

R is for Red, as in red bracelets - Mrs Denise Nesbitt's ABC-Wednesday, Round 7 - R

Photo & Design Copyright Christina Wigren

R is for RED, as in RED bracelets!
I'm linking up with Mrs. Denise Nedbitt's ABC-Wednesday, Round 7 - R
My R-word is of course RED, as in RED stretch-bracelets.

(Like it? Here's a link to the shop. Or click on image below:)

Photos & Design Copyright Christina Wigren

Photos & Design Copyright Christina Wigren

Here you can see a range of warm colours from yellow to red:

Photo & Design Copyright Christina Wigren

Best wishes,
Anna

First Commenter:

Nanka of
Quills

To visit other posts with R-words, please visit this site.

Mrs. Jenny Matlock's Saturday Centus Week 28

Mrs. Jenny Matlock's instructions:

Welcome to week twenty-eight of Saturday Centus.
STOP! If you didn't read the end SC's from last week, please take a moment to do so. Just work backwards until you find out where you left off. I feel really bad that the people at the end don't get read.
Thanks!
Now on to regular SC biz...In case you've forgotten...
This is a themed writing meme. You can use UP to 100 words to tell your story. The prompt does not count for your 100 words AND it must be left intact in the body of your story. No illustrations are permitted. Your story can be fact or fiction, just keep it PG, please!
You have the entire week to link your work to the meme and you can link more than one story if you like.
Please display link button or just a hyper-link back to Saturday Centus. Be careful to link your SC URL to the Linky and not just link to your main blog.
I would suggest that since these are so short, if you can't think of a title just use your blog name as the title in the Linky.
Try to visit each one because there are some amazing writers participating in this meme. Since the links are so short they are also a fun and quick read.
Please e-mail me directly with ???'s or ask your question in a comment and I will do my best to get back to you as soon as possible.
This weeks prompt, is:

"The early November sunshine cast golden rays..."

Link anytime between now and next Saturday morning.

My Saturday Centus text is actually two entirely unrelated texts, one based on fact and the other one purely fictional:

SC text # 1:

The head of the children's snowman, made two days ago, has fallen off and lay on the now snowless lawn. The skies are overcast and grey, and it just rains and rains! It's chilly and damp. The grass is muddy and wet. So are the sidewalks and streets. We have cold, wet feet. I use plastic sandwich-bags over the children's feet to prevent their socks from being soaked from leaking shoes, on feet that cannot resist the temptation to jump into or wade through water puddles.
The prompt, "The early November sunshine cast golden rays..." is clearly written in Arizonia, and not in Sweden in November.

Word count according to WordCalc:99
------

SC text # 2:

It was already noon and Sara was outside on the patio chatting with Becky, who just happened to walk by. 'I wanted to get out earlier, but you know how she is.'
'Yes, I know', replied Becky,' Mine's like that too. She forgets to let me out, even when I'm standing in front of the door'.
'Glad we could get out while it's light. Vitamin D is so important. With all the rain this past week...', said Sara licking a paw.
'Yes, indeed,' purred Becky looking up at the sky. The early November sunshine cast golden rays on the two cats' fluffy coats.

Word count according to WordCalc:100

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Best wishes,
Anna
(Sara Cat sends purrs.)

First Commenter:
Viki of
Viki's Place

The Winner of the Title-Guessing-Contest is...

Photo Copyright Christina Wigren

Please forgive me for being so late with the results of this contest. No one guessed the exact title that I had written done on a piece of paper. But there were many that wrote much better than the one that I wrote down. So what is there to do? I would like to share these wonderful suggested titles. Many are real gems. But who should win a bracelet? Should I use randomorg and just let chance decide who gets the bracelet? Or should I pick the one that feels best?

The title for my story as I wrote it on paper is: "Where has All the Gold Gone?" It's pretty lame, I know. But that is what I wrote. (Look at a copy the story at the bottom of this post.)

I have decided to choose Francisca as winner because her title is closet to what I wrote and she left her comment very, very early. Congratulations Francisca! Later on Tuesday Nov. 16th: Francisca does not seem to want the giveaway prize. She says that even cards get lost in the mail. So I am going to give the bracelet to someone else.

Here are all of the entries in the order that they came in:

1 Amiko wrote: "Nice bracelet..^^" (I think this was more of a comment than a title-suggestion.)

2 Franceisca wrote: "The Gold is Gone". (This is the closet to what I wrote and she left her comment very early.)

3 JDaniel4's Mom wrote: "Gold Fairy Gathers Gold" would be a good title. (And I agree with her. This is a lovely title. Silly of me to not think of it. It is funnier than my title.)

4 paige wrote: "Gloria and the Golden Rings" (Also, a very nice and fitting title.)

5 Sue wrote:I'll have to think about this one and get back to you=)

6 lissa wrote: I like the guessing idea - I suppose the title should have a g in in right? I'll guess 'the missing golden rings'? I doubt that's the title though I really don't want the giveaway anyhow, I just like the idea of guessing terrific G post.

7 Mumsy wrote: I like the story and my title would be "Gold Case"! (Wonderful title! Really short and snappy!)

8 Jen wrote: "Lost in Time!" or "The Price of Time!" Cute story. Pretty bracelet. (These two titles are amazing. Almost philosophical or worthy of a good Science Fiction story. I am thinking of Ray Bradbury here.)

9 Ann wrote: Hmm this is a tough one. Good story but I'm so bad at naming things. How about "Gone with the Gold". (Another very good title and not too far away from what I actually wrote.)

10 Duni wrote: Hmm...I'm not that good at guessing, I'm afraid! How about "all that glitters is not gold" wishing you wonderful weekend (with less rain that over here, I hope)! (Oh sweet Duni, we are in the same weather-pattern. Rain-rain-rain even up here in the north. Lucky it's still warm. This would have been a lot of snow! Your title is also very good.)

11 Su-sieee! Mac wrote: Cute Bracelet. What did happen to the gold? No that's not my title guess. I'll go with G is for Gold Gone Missing. (This is a really good title and not so far away from the idea that I had. In fact, I think it is a much better title that mine. Many of these suggestions are, I'm almost ashamed to say.)

12 Pondside wrote:Hmmmm - I haven't titled a story for a very long time! How about "The Lost Hour" or "The Gold Grab" or "Time Stod Still". I guess it depends upon where you're going with it.

13 Jenny wrote: What a cute stop on our little journey through Alphabe-Thursday Miss Anna. And what a neat story. Gosh...titles are not my strong point... Ummm "The Gold is Gone!" Yea, that is lame! I'm sorry I'm not really that good at this but I am good at visiting my favorite AT links and yours is always one I enjoy! Thank you! A+ (Once again, here is a very good title. My title is much lamer than Jenny's.)

I am only posting the comments that do not have an email address. As I promised, I will not expose your email-address. This is why I have copied all the comments letter for letter. (I could not cut and paste.)

Best wishes,
Anna

P.S. here's the original story again:

Gloria Goodman was fast asleep in bed when the golden sun peeped through the Venetian blinds and woke her.
'Goodness gracious', she exclaimed, opening her eyes and looking at the battery operated wall-clock. 'I'm late!' She got up out of bed quickly, donned a robe and calmed herself when she remembered that she had forgotten to set the clocks back an hour for the end of Daylight-Savings-Time. She looked at her hands and gasped: 'Oh my Gosh! Where are my golden rings?'
Putting the matter aside, Gloria glided down the long staircase and went to the kitchen, where Aunt Georgina was making grits for breakfast. Uncle Gerald sat at the table reading the Geekland Inquirer and muttered gruffly: 'The price of gold has risen again!' as he rubbed his not yet shaven cheek. 'I seemed to have lost my gold-tooth! It fell out while I was sleeping and I must have swallowed it.'
'Oh Gracious me, no. That means that we have to call the dentist, doctor Gregory!' sighed Aunt Georgina while dishing out grits to her husband, Uncle Gerald.
Three children bounded down the stairs and sat also at the breakfast table. Gloria laid the table with bowls and spoons noticing that the golden edges of the dishes were gone. 'Hm... she thought, has the dishwasher burned the gold away?'
'My rings are missing', Georgina revealed.
'Mine too', said Uncle Gerald.
'And mine as well', lamented Aunt Georgina.
'Are there gold-thieves about?' inquired Uncle Gerald, knitting his brows.
'The disappearance of some Golden rings, I can understand. But a gold tooth? And where is the gold-edging on the bowls?' said Gloria and sat down at the table with the others. She looked intently at the three children aged four, six and eight. But Glenda, Geoffrey and Glenn shook their heads in unison.

Q is for Quartz, Mrs. Denise Nesbitt's ABC-Wednesday , Round 7 - Q

Photo Copyright Christina Wigren

Q is for Quartz. Here are a couple of pairs of newly-made sterling silver earrings with QUARTZ nugget dangles. They remind me of melting ice.

Photo Copyright Christina Wigren

Yesterday (Wednesday 10th of November 2010) we had our first 'sticky' snowfall. The children took advantage of the weather conditions and made a snowman. Winter is here, at least here in the north, in the northern hemisphere. This is what the snow man looks like today, Thursday:

Photo Copyright Christina Wigren

I am linking up with Mrs Denise Nesbitt's ABC-Wednesday, Round 7. This week the focus in on the letter Q.

Best wishes,
Anna

First Commenter:
Roger Owen Green
of
Ramblin' with Roger

To visit other posts with Q-words, please visit this site.

P.S. If you find this Q-post a bit meagre take a peek at my Q-post from Round 6 here, when I had a whole list of Q-words. I have made this a little simpler. And yes, I am inspired by Karen Stahlecker's quartz drops earrings that I featured on that post, when making these quartz earrings that I have here. Materials inspire similar solutions. I have a link to her store on that older post, if you would like to check hers out. I will be listing these earrings very soon. (Anna)

Mrs. Jenny Matlock's Saturday Centus Week 27

Saturday, November 6, 2010 /Actually posted on Monday November 8th, 2010

Saturday Centus - Week 27

Welcome to week twenty-seven of Saturday Centus.
STOP! If you didn't read the end SC's from last week, please take a moment to do so. Just work backwards until you find out where you left off. I feel really bad that the people at the end don't get read.
Thanks!
Now on to regular SC biz...In case you've forgotten...
This is a themed writing meme. You can use UP to 100 words to tell your story. The prompt does not count for your 100 words AND it must be left intact in the body of your story. No illustrations are permitted. Your story can be fact or fiction, just keep it PG, please!
You have the entire week to link your work to the meme and you can link more than one story if you like.
Please display link button or just a hyper-link back to Saturday Centus. Be careful to link your SC URL to the Linky and not just link to your main blog.
I would suggest that since these are so short, if you can't think of a title just use your blog name as the title in the Linky.
Try to visit each one because there are some amazing writers participating in this meme. Since the links are so short they are also a fun and quick read.
Please e-mail me directly with ???'s or ask your question in a comment and I will do my best to get back to you as soon as possible.
This weeks prompt, is:
"It was the 11th Anniversary of..."
Link anytime between now and next Saturday morning.
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My Saturday Centus text is:

'I'm so tired of living with you! Just move out,' he declared after waking her before dawn. They slept in different rooms in their large luxury home. They seemed to have everything now that they had dreamed about when they first started out: a nice house and children.

She did not reply. This was not the first unkind thing he had ever said to her, but the first time that he asked her to leave him. 'So ironic', she thought looking at the calender. It was the 11th Anniversary of their wedding. 'Lucky it's not a silver or a golden anniversary! Eleven is just steel.
------
Word count according to WordCalc: 100

Best wishes,
Anna

P.S.
This is a work of fiction.

First Commenter:
XXX

Please visit other SC-text for week 27 here.