Wednesday, April 15, 2020

My Sentiments Exactly for the A to Z Challenge, a Wordless and Words for Wednesday Post

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To enjoy more blogs participating in the A to Z Challenge, click here.     

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Linking up with Wordless Wednesday and Sandee at Comedy Plus.     




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Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and has become a moveable feast of word or picture or music prompts to encourage us to write stories, poems, or whatever strikes our fancy.    

This month, the prompts are being provided by Elephant's Child.    

This week's prompts are:

  1. Sunless,
  2. Drawn,
  3. Forgotten,
  4. Brisk,
  5. Thousand,
  6. Gold, 

And/or

  1. Delicate,
  2. Walk,
  3. Aggressive,
  4. Word,
  5. Witch,
  6. Stop.


Something was wrong with the WITCH of Fairyland.  You could tell because the day was SUNLESS for the third day in a row, meaning she'd FORGOTTEN to make the rain STOP potion.  Rain only on a strict schedule, enough to keep the land green and beautiful but not enough to make everyone depressed with too much of it had become second nature to the residents.

Someone was going to have to get WORD to the Witch that she'd forgotten, and that very fact could backfire.  She hated making mistakes, so the topic had to be broached by someone who was DELICATE in manner.  No need to set her off, she'd possibly get grumpy and AGGRESSIVE, and that wouldn't do.  The last time someone had gotten her that upset, they'd had a whole month of cloudy nights where no one got to see the stars or moon at all and they'd missed a whole month of moon celebrations, and the nightflowers had almost stopped growing completely!

Discussion among the fairy folk finally determined that they would have the gnomes go for Twilla.  Twilla?  Well, she was special.  Twilla was magic, but no one in Fairyland knew exactly what to make of her.  They just knew that when she talked to the Witch, the Witch always laughed and was in a great mood for a long time after.  Twilla, however, never stayed long among the others, and they didn't know what kind of fairy or elf or exactly what Twilla was.  They just knew she had to come.

The gnomes were dispatched, and soon came back.  Twilla was dressed very oddly, totally in GOLD from head to toe.  "I'm making my own sunshine today!" she had called out with a cheery voice when she saw the glum faces that greeted her.  Then she asked, "What's going on today that you need me?"
Everyone began speaking at once, and the din became quite chaotic.  "Wait, wait!" Twilla called out.  "It sounds like the roar of a THOUSAND waters when you all try to tell me at once.  Pick one spokes-fairy."

Muttering and mumbling started, and finally the head wood-elf stepped forward, along with the biggest snowdrop-fairy.  They took turns explaining, and then explained more, and finally Twilla said with a laugh, "Okay, it's enough, I've got the idea.  Yes, I thought my old friend the Witch had run into some trouble when my weather-schedule calendar said 'Sunny' today and it wasn't.  I'll look into it, don't any of you worry.  And all of you go put on some cheerful faces, please, or you will scare the sunshine from coming back!"

Leaving the rest of the fairyland inhabitants to wonder if she meant that, Twilla stepped away.  A quick, BRISK WALK brought her to the Witch's house, and she rapped smartly on the door.  The door magically creaked open slowly, and Twilla stepped in.

The Witch was sitting with her back to the door, looking at plans she had DRAWN spread out on the table before her.  She turned and saw her friend Twilla, and said, "What brings you today" and then yawned.  "Sorry," she explained, "I've been up all night trying to plan this new potion spell combo, and it's missing something, and I am fearfully sleepy."

"You're also fearfully late on the weather for the day," Twilla smiled, and the Witch gasped.  "Oh, crackers!  I've gone and forgotten to warm up the ...  doggone it!  Give me a hand and fetch some firewood.  The little folks will be all het up about it if I don't get this cleared up soon."

"They already are, why do you think I'm here?" Twilla said with a laugh, and fetched the wood and did whatever other assisting the Witch asked of her.  Once the clouds started to break up, Twilla helped herself in the kitchen, brewing and baking and making a nice meal for the two of them.

"How come you don't come visit more often?" the Witch asked as they wound up the conversation that had accompanied their repast.

"Because both of us are solitary homebodies," Twilla smiled at her.  "We are best friends, and we stay that way because we only see each other infrequently enough to stay that way."

"You are most wise," the Witch said, walking Twilla to the door.

"Get some sleep, and I will see you but not too soon," Twilla said.  She danced her way home, past the fairy folk who were so jubilant in the returned sunshine that they simply waved as she went by.


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Today is:

Celtic Tree Month Saille (willow) begins

Day of the Sun -- North Korea (Kim Il Sung's Birthday Holiday)

Fast Food Day -- the first franchised McDonald's opened this day in 1955 in Des Plaines, IL, US

Father Damien Day -- Hawaii, US (Patron of lepers)

Festival of Heru; Festival of Bast -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Festival of Matsu/Mazu -- Southern China and Taiwan (Taoist goddess of the sea who protects fishermen and sailors; often worshiped in sea-faring areas surrounding China as well, although some local dates will vary)
    Ma Zu, Goddess of the Sea’s Birthday -- Buddhism; Taoism

Fluff Appreciation Day -- internet generated; i guess as a distraction for Tax Day

Fordicalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (cow sacrifice to the earth mother, Tellus Mater)

Guangzhou (Canton) Spring Trade Fair -- Guangzhou (Canton), China (a month-long spring trade fair held the same dates each year)

Hillsborough Disaster Memorial -- Anfield at Liverpool, England

Income Tax Pay Day -- Philippines; US
    related observances:
    Freak Out Day 
    National Griper's Day (after all, you have to pay your taxes, and the Titanic sank today*)
    Tax Resistors' Day -- good luck!
    That Sucks Day (appropriate, isn't it)
Please note:  This year, in the US and due to Covid-19, all tax related deadlines have been extended by the IRS to July 15 for all taxpayers!

Jackie Robinson Day -- Major League Baseball

National Glazed Ham Day

Rubber Eraser Day -- today in 1770, Joseph Priestly described a vegetable gum which had the ability to rub out pencil marks

St. Hunna's Day (Patron of laundresses, laundry workers, washerwomen)

Swallow Day -- England (traditional date of the return of chimney swallows)

Take a Wild Guess Day -- sponsored by Jim Barber as a day to honor guesses, hunches, inspirations, speculations and other forms of “intuitive intelligence;” just not on your taxes, please

Tipsa Diena -- Ancient Latvian Calendar (celebration of the start of plowing)

Titanic Remembrance Day

World Creativity and Innovation Week -- always begins on DaVinci's birth anniversary
   World Art Day -- because he was an artist as well as inventor

*If you want to add others reasons why today should be considered "That Sucks Day", please go share your horror story of the day at www.thatsucks.net


Anniversary Today:

Gallaudet University is founded, 1817 (first US public school for the deaf)



Birthdays Today:

Emma Watson, 1990
Ilya Kovalchuck, 1983
Seth Rogen, 1982
Patrick Carney, 1980
Anna Torv, 1978
Emma Thompson, 1959
Evelyn Ashford, 1957
Heloise Cruse Evans, 1951
Amy Wright, 1950
Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, 1947
Claudia Cardinale, 1939
Roy Clark, 1933
Elizabeth Montgomery, 1933
Leon Schotter, 1922
Harold Washington, 1922
Hilda Simms, 1920
Hans Conried, 1917
Bessie Smith, 1894
Thomas Hart Benton, 1889
Sam Rodia, 1875
John Munroe Longyear, 1850
Henry James, 1843
Joseph E. Seagram, 1841
Charles Willson Peale, 1741(O.S. date)
Leonardo da Vinci, 1452


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"In Living Color"(TV), 1990
"Driving Miss Daisy"(Play), 1987


Today in History:

Pope Innocent III refuses to grant permission to the Jews of Cordova, Spain, to build a synagogue, 1250
Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language is published in London, 1755
The first school for the deaf in the US opens in Hartford, Connecticut, 1817
The last day US silver coins are allowed to circulate in Canada, 1870
Harley Proctor begins producing Ivory Soap, 1878
General Electric Company is incorporated, 1892
The Titanic sinks, 1912
Insulin becomes available to diabetics, 1923
Rand McNally publishes its first road atlas, 1924
Jackie Robinson debuts with the Brooklyn Dodgers, 1947
White Rock, British Columbia officially separates from Surrey, British Columbia and is incorporated as a new city, 1957
Tokyo Disney Resort (and the Tokyo Disneyland park) opens in Tokyo Bay (Japan), 1983
Upon Hu Yaobang's death, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 begin in the People's Republic of China, 1989
Representatives of 124 countries and the European Communities sign the Marrakesh Agreements revising the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and initiating the World Trade Organization, 1994
Astronomers at San Francisco State University announce the discovery of the first multiplanet solar system besides our own, three planets around Upsilon Andromedaie, 1999
Volcanic ash from the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland leads to the closure of airspace over most of Europe, 2010
In a Schrodinger's cat experiment, researchers in Japan and Australia successfully teleport wave packets of light; this is the first transfer of quantum information from one point to another, 2011
Ceremonies and special events marking the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic are held around the world, 2012
Google publicly offers Google Glass for the first time in a one-day online sale at $1,500 apiece, 2014
Nokia announces that it will purchase Alcatel-Lucent for $16.6 billion, creating the second-largest manufacturer of mobile communication products behind Ericsson, 2015
Paris cathedral Notre Dame catches fire, toppling its spire and destroying its roof, 2019

21 comments:

  1. Twilla is wise, wonderful and I LOVE your story.

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  2. It doesn't matter how old you are, a fairy story always makes me happy.

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  3. Hiya! Hoping in from:

    https://natashamusing.com/2020/04/palacio-do-deao-a-charming-mansion-in-goa-wordlesswednesday-wednesdaywisdom/

    Have a great rest of the A-Z:)

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  4. Good quote mimi especially in these times :-)

    I liked your story too as always :-)

    Have a safetastic week 😷😷😷😷

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  5. Mimi,

    I'm trying to live by the quote you shared each day during this challenge. I'm certainly not doing a great job on my response time or visits like years' past for sure. Putting my sloppy behavior aside, I enjoyed your cute story. I'm so thankful for the sun's return but the wind has been rather stout. We need to do some trimming and we really don't want to be out in the wind. It causes our allergies to go bonkers! Perhaps today will work out. We'll see. Stay well, dear friend!

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  6. We try to enjoy and be thankful for each day, but the news media makes life such a mess and you can't get away from all there scare tactics.

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  7. Your mind is very creative. Hope you are staying healthy and safe.

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  8. A good reminder to enjoy and be thankful for each day. Nice story. Stay strong and healthy.

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  9. I'm afraid that every day is "Take a Wild Guess Day" for me. Have a Wonderful Wednesday.

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  10. That was a great story. You are so creative.

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  11. I enjoy each day, but I always worry a bit about tomorrow.

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  12. Don't worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow has already happened in Australia.

    God bless.

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  13. Love that sign. I agree with it too. That's the way we both roll.

    Love your use of the prompts. You do these so very well.

    Thank you for joining the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop.

    Have a fabulous Wordless Wednesday, my friend. ♥

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  14. That sure is a sign of the times! That was a terrific story!

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  15. You are so correct with your meme Mimi. There is a reason that God has allowed us to have to deal with this virus. Only he know. Keep safe my friend.

    Cruisin Paul

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  16. Yes! Your sign really says it all. And, I always love your stories using the prompts. You are so very creative with words. xoxo

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  17. oooooooooo A story! How nice, but anyway I got some good news today.. my hubby is Cancer free! WOO HOO! He had a colonoscopy & the dr. found a pollup & cut it out it was full of Cancer, but there were tiny lil' bubbles below it and the doctor scooped some up & sent it in to be tested to see if he still had cancer & they called today and POOF! ALL GONE! SO HAPPY! WOO HOO!

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  18. What a great story. I think maybe the witch forgot OUR sunshine too.

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  19. and blogger friends like you are truly a gift! Have a lovely evening and see ya tomorrow!

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  20. I love fairytales and this is one of the best :)

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