Weeds are Flowers, Too, Once You Get To Know Them (Wordless Wednesday) and Words for Wednesday

Linking up with Wordless Wednesday. 

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This month, Elephant's Child is hosting Words for Wednesday, in which two groups of 6 words are provided, and you are challenged to write a story for each set, or one story incorporating them all.  

This is part of a serial story, and if you click on the "Alice" page above, you can read the previous segments.

The list of this week's prompt words and my story follows:

1. agonizing
2. murder
3. sleet
4. stimulating
5. flowers
6. offer

And/or

1. dramatic
2. distinct
3. zany
4. typical
5. sip 
6. discovery

The beautiful FLOWERS inside contrasted sharply with the SLEET that was falling outside the window.  As she took a SIP of her hot tea, Alice was hit with a ZANY thought.

What, she thought, if I pretend to stage my own MURDER?  She almost laughed out loud at the thoughts that came.  It would be so DRAMATIC.  I could bring in a friend to make the DISCOVERY that I’d disappeared.  As is TYPICAL of my relatives, they would go nuts AGONIZING over whether I was really gone or not.  They would also, of course, OFFER to take over tending the house until I got back, and ransack it again looking for the science papers.

The thoughts of her relatives discomfiture had a STIMULATING effect on her, and she kept musing.  I could come up with a new name and identity, take out the patents in that name, and simply leave all of this drama behind me.

She giggled softly, a DISTINCT sound in the quiet house.  While she knew she would never really do that, the thought of it kept her laughing over the next few days.

Today is:

American Enterprise Day -- US (a project of Future Business Leaders of America, Phi Beta Lambda Chapter)

America Recycles Day -- US  

Beaujolais Nouveau Release -- France (at midnight, so really most of the celebration is tomorrow, a new wine celebration marked with fireworks and festivities)

Changeling Restitution Day -- Fairy Calendar (Goblins)

Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day -- this reminder comes from the folks at CooksInfo.com, where they think you need to get rid of USO's (unidentified shrivelled objects)    

Day of the German-speaking Community of Belgium -- German-speaking Community of Belgium

Don't Try To Do Everything At Once Day -- internet generated, and a blow to us multitaskers

Ennead Feast in the House of Ra, Horus, and Osiris -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Geographic Information Systems Day

George Spelvin Day/More Than One Role Day -- date of first use, in 1886, of this name for an actor playing two roles in one play; George and Georgette Spelvin have since acted in over 10,000 roles on Broadway

I Love to Write Day -- encouraging everyone to write something, begun by John Riddle; this is the perfect time for it, really, in the middle of NaNoWriMo

King's Feast / Dynasty Day -- Belgium

National Bundt Pan Day -- yes, really, celebrating the pan itself

National Educational Support Professionals Day -- US

National Peace Day -- Cote d'Ivoire

National Philanthropy Day® -- Association of Fundraising Professionals

National Raisin Bran Cereal Day

National Spicy Hermit Christmas Cookie Day

Nativity Fast begins a/k/a Winter Lent (through Dec 24) -- Orthodox Christian

Pack Your Mom's Lunch Day -- in honor of all the times she packed yours; combine it with I Love to Write Day and include a note telling her how special she is

Republic Day -- Turkish Republic of North Cyprus

Republic Proclamation Day -- Brazil

Rock Your Mocs Day -- Indigenous Americans (begun by Jessica Jaylyn Atsye, a Laguna Pueblo, to encourage all Native Americans to wear the one item they all have in common, hand-made moccasins, with pride) 

Safety Razor Day -- King Gillette was granted the patent for his style of safety razor on this day in 1904, changing how men shaved each day

Shichi-Go-San (Shrine Visiting Day)/Seven-Five-Three Festival -- Japan (picturesque festival in which 3-year-old children of either sex, five-year-old boys, and seven-year-old girls go to shrines dressed in their best; guardian spirits are thanked for the health of the children and prayers said for their future to be equally bright)

Sing in Your Car Day -- they need a day for this?

St. Albertus Magnus' Day (Patron of medical technicians, natural sciences, philosophers, schoolchildren, scientists, students, theology students; Cincinnati, Ohio)

St. Leopold's Day (King Leopold III, Patron of dying children, large families, step-parents; Austria)

    Leopoldstag/Goose Day -- Austria (the start of the heurigen, the new wine season)

World COPD Day -- International (helping people understand Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease; this year's theme is "The Many Faces of COPD")

Anniversary Today:

William Shatner marries Nerine Kidd, 1997

Birthdays Today:

Jonny Lee Miller,1972

Kevin Eubanks, 1957

Beverly D'Angelo, 1954

Daniel Barenboim, 1942

Sam Waterston, 1940

Yaphet Kotto, 1937

Joanna BArnes, 1934

Petula Clark, 1932

Ed Asner, 1929

Bill "C.W. McCall" Fries, 1928

Joseph Wapner, 1919

Erwin Rommel, 1891

Georgia O'Keeffe, 1887

Forrest Clare "Fogg" Allen, 1885

F. William Herschel, 1738

William Pitt the Elder, 1708

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"A Few Good Men"(Play), 1989

Love Me Tender(Film), 1956

"Li'l Abner"(Musical), 1956

"The Planets"(Holst Op. 32), 1920

"Masse Mensch/Mass Man"(Toller play), 1920

Today in History:

Christopher Columbus notes the first recorded reference to tobacco, 1492

The NY General Assembly permits Jews to omit the phrase "Upon the faith of a Christian" from adjuration oaths, 1727

Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon begin surveying the Mason-Dixon Line between Pennsylvania and Maryland, 1763

The Articles of Confederation are adopted by the Continental Congress, 1777

Georgetown University, the first Catholic college in the US, opens, 1791

Zebulon Pike gets his first sight of Pike's Peak, Colorado, 1806

Isaac Pitman introduces his steno/shorthand system of writing, 1832

Union Major General Sherman burns Atlanta, Georgia, 1864

King C. Gillette patents the Gillette razor blade, 1904

The first telecast of an unscheduled event, a fire, takes place on W2XBT, in NY, 1938

In Columbus, Ohio, Dave Thomas opens the first Wendy's restaurant, 1969

Intel releases world's first commercial single-chip microprocessor, 1971

René Lévesque and the Parti Québécois take power to become the first Quebec government of the 20th century clearly in favour of independence, 1976

The Anglo-Irish Agreement is signed at Hillsborough Castle by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Irish Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald, 1985

An independent State of Palestine is proclaimed by the Palestinian National Council, 1988

The first Fairtrade label, Max Havelaar, is launched in the Netherlands, 1988

Cyclone Sidr hit Bangladesh, killing an estimated 5000 people and destroyed the world's largest mangrove forest, Sundarbans, 2007

Sony introduces the Playstation 4, selling a million units the first day, 2013