suggestions, anyone?

It appears I have to supply my own comments now. =P thanks, Kristen, for the one lovely comment on my last post, tho! (And yes, it is scary!)
could someone please comment? Or shall I simply ditch the whole blog-thing and carry on in my lonely existence, thinking no one cares about me. *sigh* No, wait! Kristen cares! =D Okay, I'll go around happy now. (but seriously, some more feedback would be awesome, too....)
~Drama Queen~

Earth's Enigmas

My friend loaned me an...interesting...book the other day, and I thought I'd share a few parts of it with you-all. The book's title is Earth's Enigmas, by Charles G. D. Roberts, and was published by L. C. Page & Company in May, 1903. Here's the "prefatory note." (everything in red is my input)

"Most of the stories in this collection attempt to present on or another of those problems of life or nature to which, as it appears to many of us, there is no adequate solution within sight. Others are the almost literal transcript of dreams which seemed to me to have a coherency, completeness, and symbolic significance sufficiently marked to justify me in setting them down. The rest are scenes from that simple life of Canadian backwoods and tide-country with which my earlier years made me familiar.
This edition (the book was published twice, the first time was in 1895 by Lamson, Wolffe and Company) is enlarged by the inclusion of three new stories, entitled "The House at Stony Lonesome," "The Hill of Chastisement," and "On the Tantramar Dyke;" and what is more important, it is enriched by the drawings of Mr. Charles Livingston Bull, for whose sympathetic interpretations I take this opportunity of expressing my gratitude.
C. G. D. R.
New York, April, 1903"

Now, I will not type out the whole book for you, or at least I won't do that today, but I will share a story or two. Let me warn you, though, that they are mildly morbid! Just a little on the weird side. I'll start with one of the ones I am pretty sure was a "transcript of [a] dream."

In the Accident Ward

The grass was gray, of a strange and dreadful pallor, but long and soft. Unbroken, and bending all one way, as if to look at something, it covered the wide, low, rounded hill that rose before me. Over the hill the sky hung close, gray and thick, with the color of a parched interminable twilight. Dew or a drop of rain could not be thought of as coming from such a sky.

Along the base of the low hill ran a red road of baked clay, blood red, and beaten with nameless and innumerable feet. I stood in the middle of this road and prepared to ascend the hill obliquely by a narrow footpath, red as blood, which divided the soft gray bending of the grasses. Behind me the road made a sharp turn, descending out of thick clouds into a little blood-red hollow, where it was crossed by an open gate. In this gate, through which I had somehow come, stood two gray leopards and a small ape. The beasts stood on tip-toe and eyed me with a dreadful curiosity; and from somewhere in the little hollow I heard a word whispered which I could not understand. But the beasts heard it, and drew away through the open gate, and disappeared.

Between the footpath (which all the time gleamed redly through the over-gathering grasses) and the rounded brink of the gulf there seemed to be a fence of some sort, so fine that I could not quite distinguish it, but which I knew to be there.

I turned my eyes to the low summit of the hill. There I saw a figure, all gray, cleaving the grasses in flight as swift as an arrow. Behind, in pursuit, came another figure, of the color of the grasses, tall and terrible beyond thought. This being, as it seemed to me, was the Second Death, and my knees trembled with horror and a sort of loathing. Then I saw that he who fled made directly for me; and as they sped I could hear a strange hissing and rustling of their garments cleaving the grasses. When the fleeing ghost reached me, and fell at my feet, and clasped my knees in awful fear, I felt myself grow strong, and all the dread left my soul. I reached forth my right hand and grasped the pursuing horror by the throat.

I heard the being laugh, and the iron grip of my own strong and implacable fingers seemed to close with a keen agony upon my own throat, and a curtain seemed to fall over my eyes. Then I gasped for breath, and a warm pungent smell clung in my nostrils, and a white light swam into my eyes, and I hear a voice murmuring far off, but in an accent strangely familiar and commonplace, "He's coming round alright now."

I opened my eyes with a dim wonder, and found myself surrounded by the interested faces of the doctors and the clean white walls of the hospital ward. I heard a sound of someone breathing hoarsely near by, and a white-capped nurse with kind eyes stepped up to my pillow, and I perceived that the heavy breather was myself. I was lying with my head and neck swathed in bandages, and a sharp pain at my throat. Then flashed across my memory the crash and sickening upheaval of the collision. I wondered feebly how it had fared with my fellow-passengers, and again I saw that instant's vision of wild and startled faces as the crowded car rose and pitched downward, I knew not whither. With a sense of inexpressible weariness, my brain at once allowed the terrible scene to slip from its grasp, and I heard a doctor, who was standing at the bedside watch in hand, say, quietly, "He'll sleep now for a couple of hours."

The End.

Different, isn't it? That sounds just like a dream; confusing. I think that maybe he could have let up a bit on the details of his surroundings at the beginning. I would go ahead and type up another story, but I think two dream sequences in one post would be a little confusing, don't you? And my fingers are getting tired. So I don't think I shall type up much more tonight.
so how are you-all doing? I haven't been getting many comments lately...*cough*...so I don't know what y'all are up to, or what you think of my blog, or anything! Speak up! :D
And I'll leave it at that. There ought to be a picture post on my photo blog within the hour; go check it out!
~Kiwi~

Three more things to check off my To-Do List!

The barn dance was fun!!! My feet were killing me by the end, but it was worth it! I danced the first dance with Kristen dancing the man's part (Did I mention in my last post the severe lack of young men??), and that was great. We added our own little doodad to it; a twirl after promenading home. For the second dance, I thought Kris and I were dancing again, but she thought I was dancing with someone else, so I saw her go off with Mike. Thankfully, Scott saw me looking lonely and partnerless and asked me to dance. Er...more like dragged me off to dance. :D T'was fun. He's a pretty good dancer (he only stepped on my feet once! ;), once we got going well. The third dance was with Jumbo Shrimp a bit, then Sis, and for the 4th, Kris and I were back together again.
It was so much fun!! And I can't wait until next year, so I can do it again!
So that took two things off my List: Learn to square dance better and Find someone to square dance with me.

Saturday, Sis and I drove to a Gem and Fossil show. That was really interesting, with all the different gem stones all over, and tons and tons of fossils. What I liked best was the fact that you could touch most things. I love to touch and feel things, not just look at them. (that's why museums are rather dangerous for me!) And they had trilobite fossils that you could look at, or pick up and turn over, or whatever. I could have bought some, but they were on the expensive side. (Check out my Photo Blog in the next few days for pictures of the rocks!)

Sunday, part of the volleyball group got together at Kiwi's Konfusing and Krazy Korn Maze. Hence the third thing checked off: Get lost in a corn maze, and I mean Really Lost!
Oooo, wait, I should write this into a story! And I'll use the flash-back method, to add Drama. *Ahem*

There the five of us were, surrounded by tall green stalks of corn and barely able to see the tops of the stalks, much less the grey clouds threatening rain. Evan looked at the map. Then turned it upside down. And tried sideways. Maybe the other way would work better?
"We're lost." He finally admitted.
Actually, we had been pretty much lost for quite a while, but now it was official. We were now in an area (hopefully on Earth) never mentioned by any cartographer. Ever.
You see, we had had the grand idea of going through a pair of local corn mazes. It started out well. The day was a Sunday, rather grey and chilly. The time: 2:30 pm. The location: Kiwi's Konfusing and Krazy Korn Maze. The participants: five young adults who went to the same church. No, wait. We had started off with a few more, four more to be exact. Who knows where they were by now....

~~~~~~~~~~Two Hours Earlier~~~~~~~~~

Sis, Bekah, and I arrived on bikes at 2:20, ten minutes early, but most of our party was already at the Farm. Evan, Andy, and Lisa were standing out in the parking lot, shivering already. As we bought our tickets, the other half of the group arrived: Steve & Julie and Erick.
Excited, we headed into the Impossible Maze.
"Impossible? Nah, we can do it." Evan scoffed at the sign.
"No maps!" ordered Julie, but we took them anyway. The goal of the maze was to find your way to each of the twelve checkpoints and get your card punched at each one, to prove you'd been there. We decided to race our way all through the maze. Steve, Julie, Lisa, and Erick took off in one direction (mapless), and the remaining five of us strolled peacefully to checkpoint No. 1.

We didn't use the map. We could find our way to most of the checkpoints easily, we thought. Andy led us straight to 3, skipping 2 on the way. Then out came the maps.
"According to the map," said Evan, looking left and right, "This way ought to be a dead end." Bekah jogged down to check.
"No, it's not a dead end. It takes you in a circle. The map must be wrong."
We scratched our heads and bent over the map again.
"It's is wrong! They gave us phony maps, just to make it even more impossible! How cruel!"
All five heads shook slowly.
"Well," Andy took out his map. "It was correct about the basic placement of the first three. It's just wrong with the exact paths. So, number 4 is up that way," he pointed north, "and a bit that way." His finger moved a bit eastward.
Off we trooped, up one way and over another way. Sis and Andy disappeared behind us, and, with a cackle, Evan lept ahead and vanished around the corner. Bekah and I gave a shout of dismay and raced after him. But he wasn't there.
"Perhaps (puff puff) he's around the next (wheeze) corner!" I said, trying to run and talk at the same time. We dashed around it, and came face-to-face with.....a dead end. "Back track! Turn right!" I cried, thoroughly lost. Flying around the corner, I nearly ran into a calm, composed, smirking Evan.
"Hello. I was wondering where you guys were."
It took self-control to keep from slinging mud at him.
We meandered through the maze until we reached the next checkpoint entirely by chance. And so we continued until we met No. 8. Number 8, over half-way there. Number 8, only four more to go. Number 8, not connected by any pathways to Number 9.
We passed the same puddle 6 times. I know because I counted. I can describe it to you, too, if you wish. This mud puddle was straight down the middle of the path, right after a T intersection. If you turned left, it would take you to a dead end. Turn right, and you splash through the long, skinny corn leaf-filled puddle, if you aren't careful.
We went to Number 8, and then tried to follow the map to Number 9. We couldn't get there. So we turned around, returned to 8, and went a different way. Closer, but still no cigar.
Finally, through some....ingenuity...., Evan, Bekah, and I made it to the 9, leaving Sis and Andy to find their own way. Sadly, er.... Thankfully, they caught up quickly.
After Number 9, we had no more troubles, and got out quickly.
Total elapsed time in the Impossible Maze? 2 1/2 hours.
Did we win the race against the other team? It depends on what you mean by 'win.' If you mean time-wise, Steve & Julie's team won. If you mean 'winning-by-getting-through-the-maze-with-all-the-card-punches,' uh, no. They just tore through randomly and gave up halfway through. Then went all the way through the other maze while we were still in the Impossible one.
So to rejoice in our victory, the five of us plus Lisa went in for some doughnuts and apple crunch.

:D

Sorry, it's not the best story ever written. Not even the best one by me! The problem was that I had the idea, but kept getting interrupted before I could put it all down on paper, and because of that, lost the vision for the story. I'll try re-writing it for my next blog post, maybe.
Or perhaps I shall let you readers do that!
Yes: 25 blogger points to whoever can come up with the best version of the story and post it on their blog.
Rules:

• You must include the following characters: Steve, Julie, Erick, Lisa, Andy, Kiwi, Evan, Bekah, and Sis.
• The story must take place at Kiwi's Krazy and Konfusing Korn Maze and Farm Market.
• You must have my team in the maze for 2 1/2 hours.
• You may not leave out any of the following details: place, names, time taken in the maze, the fact that we got lost, the fact that my team won.

Other than that, you may use your imaginations! Entries are due by Saturday at 12:00 pm CST.
Have fun!

(Pay attention to my photo blog, pictures from the maze ought to be on there by Sunday.)

And so long folks! I'll talk with y'all later. 'bye.
~Kiwi~

another boring title for an interesting post...

So far this week has been better than the last one. I called Miranda and talked to her on Sunday. In VBS, they averaged 18 kids per class (And considering that our record of 13 last year was a handful...), the songs were really good (no "Wiki-wiki" or pointless ones), and the theme was Australia. Of all the years I had to miss, the had to do an Aussie theme! How frustrating. I like Aussie stuff. It would give me a chance to talk in my (probably awful) Australian accent for an entire week!!! Rats! Apparently the skits were hilarious. Considering the actors Miranda told me were in it, I'm not surprised!
But there was a musical that came with the VBS stuff that the kids will be doing in August, and I think we might be invited down for that. :)

Sis and I signed up for the church's talent show this Saturday. We changed our minds on Monday, so our....project....is being put together in less than a week. But it's looking good! We'll film it on Saturday and I'll put it on here for those unfortunate folk who can't be there.
Short Stuff, KK, JS, Sis and I signed up for something without knowing what to do. And now we're stuck half-way through the week with a half-formed idea but only half the time needed to practice in! I can't tell you about that, either, just that if we can make it work, it'll be good. Real good. :D
The main problem is that Sis has a new job that requires her to work 2:00-8:00 pm, so she can mostly practice only in the mornings. SS, KK, and JS's brother, Pen Name, works from morning to late afternoon, so he can only practice in the evenings. See our problem? But we'll figure something out. We always do. And if we can't, we could just stand up there on stage. I'm sure that last-minute-panic would give us ideas. ;)

Monday night I went to the church softball games with JS and her family. They were okay. Our C league team didn't do too well, but they tried hard. Between games, three of Kristen's younger siblings hauled me off to play catch with them. (I think they probably had to have an 'adult' with them and I was the closest thing. :) Allow me to relate some of our conversation. (A. is an 8-yr. old girl, D. & E. are 6 & 7 [?] year old boys.)

Me: "throw me a higher one, please."
E: "Okay." (grunts as he throws the ball.)
(I hop a bit and catch it.)
A (slightly awed): "Whow!! You caught that!"
D: "Next year, you should be on the church softball team!"
Me: "But I'd be the only girl."
A: "That would make it even better!"

They're fun. :) It's nice to know that someone thinks I could make the softball team! They're all wrong, but that's still cool.

Tomorrow morning (I hope!) we're getting together with JS, KK, and SS to practice our stuff. I can't wait! And tomorrow evening maybe we can get together before Bible Study and practice with Pen Name. *crosses fingers*

Now a few quick pics before I go.

This is on my door. I think that it describes me to a 'T'. :)

What's this? The first person to guess it correctly gets 15 blogger points. Good luck!

'bye!
~Kiwi~

How do other people come up with interesting post titles???

Hello sadly neglected blog and blog readers. I'm sorry about neglecting you. :( I feel bad about that.
I finished the Feelin' Feminine Challenge last Sunday. I don't have pictures loaded on here yet, but I can tell you about it.
Thursday (Day 4) I wore a pale purple skirt with a peachy-orange shirt. Most of the day I wore my hair in ponytails, but, while preparing for Bible study, I discovered it is now long enough to braid again! Since then, I've worn my hair in braids 4 or 5 times! For accessories I wore a pair of home-made earrings.
Friday (Day 5) I wore a denim skirt and a pink shirt with a brown tank-top layered over it. I did my hair in braids (No, that's not repeating, because I only wore braids for two hours on Thursday) and wore a tan-and-pink Newsboy-style cap. :) I forgot earrings. I hate forgetting earrings. I need to start carrying some in my purse.
Saturday I wore that black skirt I had worn on Monday, a blue shirt, silver earrings, and my lovely black Eeyore hoodie. I had put my hair in braids on Friday, while it was wet, then left them overnight. In the morning my hair was all wavy, so I pulled some back in a clip, and left the rest curley.
Sunday morning I wore a skirt and a shirt. I don't remember which ones. Then, for volleyball, I wore that black skirt again with a green shirt, my hair in braids and a red bandanna.
I should have gotten more pictures, because just reading this wardrobe list is reeeelly boring.

This past week has been boring....nothing much happening. Rachel, you were absolutely correct. I was bored and gumpy and all that because last week was VBS at our old church. (check out last year's posts on it: pre-VBS, mid-week, post-VBS) Sis and I were invited again, but she has a new job and couldn't go. Supposedly, I was going to be busy, too, and I didn't know until Sunday that I would be bored-outta-my-gourd all week, and by then it was too late. >:( Miranda, Rachel, and Abbie, y'all need to convince your church event co-ordinators that it is imparative they do another session of VBS in August. Imperative! I had almost resigned myself to my VBS-less week because there was a Paul Colman concert that Sis and I were hoping to go to today. I mean, it's not VBS, but a concert would sorta make up for a boring week, right? It would, but on Sunday I found out that I'm not going. >:-( So that's why that post was so unhappy. *sigh* Kristen, Owan, Heather, and some others are going to the concert today. "You'd better enjoy it!!"

But the rest of the week wasn't too bad. I didn't do anything of importance. Monday I made something for Jordan. I'll tell y'all about that when I have pictures on here. *evil little snicker* >:D
Tuesday was rainy and slow and boring, which didn't help my mood.
Wednesday we had our first sweet corn of the season! We're within biking distance of a farm market, so I rode down there and bought a dozen of what must be the sweetest sweet corn ever, anywhere, at any time in the past, present, or future. I love good sweet corn. Oh, and to make it better, we watched a Cubs vs. Phillies game in which the Cubs won. :) That was fun.
Thusday was Bible study.
Friday we went to the Madison Re-store, and then to Paoli. Paoli is a small-ish town with quite a few interesting shops. There was an antiques store, card store, beaded-stuff store, an Upper Class Art Gallery (one chair there = $2,200, one little wooden shelf = $300, little-bitty wooden box = $78!!!! We are deffinately "Lower Class" people. Imagine paying twenty-two hundred for a chair! Wow. After that, I'd be scared to sit on it.), and a more interesting art gallery. I liked the second gallery better. It had more art work that, if I could afford it and had a place to put it, I would buy.
And then Short Stuff called, and it turns out that The Play that we were going to perform for the church talent night is most likely canceled. The other lead can't rehearse with the rest of us until Tuesday night, and Sis works until 8:00 or so, meaning she can't rehearse before next Saturday.....the day of the talent show. Rats. But we'll find something to do.

I have to go eat lunch now. I'm not per'tically hungry, but we're going out later, so I'd better eat. My appologies for any misspellings. The spell-check refuses to comply to my demands, and I don't want to read through the post again.
G'bai!
~Kiwi~

Shhhhh! Don't let her hear you! Okay, on the count of 3: one....twoooo.....three "SUPRISE, KRISTOWAN!"

Hola, Kristen!! Happy Birthday!!! You (finally) get your wish of being basically as old as I am. ;D (I know you've been unhappy about our 2 1/2 month age difference.:)
What is a Birthday without cake??



How's this one?
And how about a Secret Present?

Rats! I can't find you a good secret present picture. You'll have to imagine. Close your eyes. Think of a gift bag that says "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" on it. Stuffed full of Secret Present and pretty tissue paper. And ribbons trailing down one side, and a tag saying "To Kristen." There is your Secret Present. :D :D W
Official Birthday Acrostic:

Kristen.....
Right there when you need her.....
I'm glad for her friendship....
She's seventeen now.....
This author is uninspired,
Even though she is usually good at this.
Newsboys are one of Kristen's top bands.

Totally lame. Would anyone care to help me with the "T" and "E" lines? (and every other line?) I couldn't come up with any words that would fit there, except what I have in! I owe you a new poem, once my brain is up and running...
Oh, bother.
This birthday post isn't as interesting as any of the others I've done. I'm sorry, Owan!! I'll owe you a better one.
Official Excuse: I was awake until nearly 11:30 last night, and then the stupid tornado siren went off (at the horrid hour of 1:00 a.m.) and we had to troop down to the stupid basement and sit there for a few minutes while we waited for Dad to say it was okay. And THEN it was still windy and rainy and stuffy in my room, and there was lightning and thunder and I didn't sleep again until past 2:30. And I had to get up at 6:00. So I apologize incredibly profusely, and beg your forgiveness. *is down on her knees*
I SHALL give you a better birthday post again soon, but I wanted to do at least this much for you now, so you don't think I've forgotten your birthday!

Love ya and can't wait to see you again! Get better quickly!
See y'all later,

~Kiwi~

p.s. there's another new post under this one....haven't posted twice in one day in a long time!