Joe always tried to manufacture a semblance of mature grace, but a sleekit entrance to the family gathering was never meant to be. Unfortunately he was asked to carry a tray full of cookies made by ladies in the room. Their silence was broken by a huge crunch as he fumbled and dropped their carefully decorated works of art. Needless to say he was the subject of several indignant conversations the rest of the day.
The staff was in a flutter with stories of the crystal that suddenly appeared in the drawing room. Words were on the wing about the eldest staff member, Jeeves, and how he knew the item was able to haunt its owner.
The sudden reappearance of the crystal sparked a shift in the previously calm housemaids. Always prone to lift each other’s spirits during the usual boring chores, they felt gratitude for the exciting news of a mysterious object.
While serving water to her mistress, one brave maid decided to ask about the rumors floating about in the kitchen. The mistress said of course it was a myth, but made sure the crystal was locked in a safe that only Jeeves knew the combination.
After a while the chatter died down and most forgot about the crystal altogether. No one had actually seen it except Jeeves and he was not about to bring it up.
Jeeves and the mistress kept the mystery of the crystal to themselves, but the real story went like this. The crystal was enchanted and destroyed the mistress’s family—the result of a village feud, with an evil incantation. The last remaining member of the evil family sent the crystal hoping to put a spell on Jeeves’ mistress, but he was there to save the day.
If you don’t hear from me again, I blew away🌬. Wind gusts to 70mph make it sound like something will be flying in my window😳. And it’s too loud to sleep, so music it is.
Welcome to the Saturday Mix, 11 December 2021! The ‘Double Take’ challenge focuses on the use of homophones* to build your writing piece. You have two sets of homophones and you are challenged to use all of them in your response – which can be poetry or prose. Our homophone sets this week are: carol – Christmas song carrel – study enclosure and Claus – as in Santa clause – contractual unit claws – sharp fingernails You may be thinking to yourself, How can I use homophones in my writing? Luckily, Kat at Literary Devices, has some examples for you.
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Mrs. Claus was getting quite upset. Apparently there was a hidden clause in her original contract saying her appearance out of her carrel and into the public had to be pristine. This included her wearing a certain red velvet dress complete with white fur trim and her hair bleached white and styled with curls. Even her fingernails had to be unpolished and not the popular fashion of long red claws. The contract also stated in fine print that she had to know the complete verses of every Christmas carol. Luckily, Santa had already left on his Christmas eve deliveries.
Starting as a joke, the twelve year old culprits had no idea of the Christmas fruitcake’s importance. Each year, Grandma’s traditional cake was dessert. The boys hated the taste, and this year it had been smuggled to the back porch where it froze solid. If it hadn’t been for giggling, no one would have known who to blame. Seeing Grandma very upset quickly cured the boys.
🎄🎄🎄
*****The photo is a Collin Street Bakery cake from Texas, making cakes since 1896 and they are delicious😄
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “tree.” Use the word “tree” or write about a tree. Any kind of tree. Enjoy! After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here to this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!
Tiny Tim asks his father, “Can a man be brave if he’s afraid?’
“That’s the only time he can be brave. Some wounds never truly heal, and bleed again at the slightest word— fear cuts deeper than swords. Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armour, and it can never be used to hurt you.”
Christmas is coming. It is known. Ebenezer Scrooge sits counting his money while surrounding villagers starve. His attitude is simple, “A lion doesn’t concern himself with the opinions of a sheep.
Tiny Tim asks his Uncle Scrooge to share Christmas Eve with him and his family. Scrooge refuses the invitation and retires to his bed. Suddenly ominous noises are heard and Scrooge sees the specter of an old employee, Jacob Marley—“The night is dark and full of terrors”.
Jacob Marley is one of three ghosts to visit Scrooge this night. The first is Jacob, the Ghost of Christmas Past, who cautions Scrooge to change his miserly ways. “Any man who must say ‘I am the king’ is no true king.” Scrooge is afraid, but not yet convinced, and thinks, “the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword.”
This might have been true in previous situations, but Scrooge had taken the meaning as a selfish quest. As the second ghost appears, the Ghost of Christmas Present, Ebenezer is shown the Cratchit family and how happy they are, even though poverty stricken. This ghost cautions Scrooge further: “Power resides where men believe it resides. It’s a trick, a shadow on the wall. And a very small man can cast a very large shadow.”
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is the third and final ghost to appear to Scrooge. “You know nothing, Ebenezer Scrooge” and shows Scrooge what it will be like if he doesn’t change. “The world is overflowing with horrible things, but they’re all a tray of cakes next to death.” Scrooge sees death for him and through his bad treatment of Bob Cratchit, the death of Tiny Tim. Finally his mind begins to soften.
On Christmas Day Scrooge awakes from the ghostly nightmares and decides to share his wealth. He joins the Cratchit family and Tiny Tim ends this tale by saying “God bless us, everyone”.
With no hesitation, the female representative launched a rough speech onstage, with condemnation of a fellow colleague. Apparently she is trying to intimidate her adversary, flexing her use of social media with misspelled tweets and yelling outright at her in person. This causes a rift in government proceedings and accomplishes nothing except showing how ridiculous she is. Be ashamed, be very ashamed.
And then there’s this:
“The power of these images lies not just in the guns but in who can wield them with cultural impunity, and toward what end.” Dec. 9, 2021, 5:33 AM ESTBy Zeeshan Aleem, MSNBC Opinion Columnist
Go where the prompt leads you and publish a post on your own blog that responds to the prompt. To participate, link your blog to mine with a pingback. To do a Pingback: Copy the URL (the HTTPS:// address of my post) and paste it into your post. You may also place a copy of the URL of your post in the comments of the current week’s prompt.
If you are a fan of Maggie Smith you will not want to miss “A Boy Called Christmas” on Netflix. I must mention the mouse that accompanies the boy—adorable. I must never get too old to enjoy stories like this. Family fare.
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