%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |  Well, here it goes! 'The Bard's Hall Contest' got me blogging again, so wish me luck! |
|
You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. -- Maya Angelou Here I go again, blogging! I'm doing this for:
My blog picture above is located in the beautiful, scenic Sedona, Arizona. We vacationed there at the end of December, 2019 thru January 2020 - right around when the pandemic began. What a chaotic year it was, too! A scary time for all of us! I am hoping that this blog will show my creativity, heart, and soul, and reveal a little more of myself. I'm a shy person at heart and don't post too much in Newsfeed, but I love reading what others are saying.  I'm off to post my first blog... |
| Prompt 7 - Take a drive down memory lane and arrive at the Drive-In Theater. (circa ????) Tell us about your first experience attending a Drive-in movie. Be as descriptive as your memory allows. Only write about your very first experience. We'll have 3 more Saturday night Drive-in prompts this month. ************************************************************************************** I remember when our family went to see "The Parent Trap" at the drive-in. It was the most memorable movie that I can recall the whole thing. I loved the actress Haley Mills! Other times my brother and I would just fool around with our cousins, not really watching the movie. I really hated it when it rained, then we were stuck in the car and watching a boring western. We didn't cause any trouble with the other people trying to watch the movie, but had fun going to the refreshment stand, or sitting on the bench that was placed closer to the movie screen. Then we tried to lip read and giggle at what we brought up. Those were the good ole days! I remember once when the movie was so bad that my parents left without seeing the whole movie. That's when we would go out to eat, then go to the park until dark. We loved feeding the ducks our left-overs. |
| Prompt 6: Describe the plot of one of your favorite comedy movies WITHOUT saying the movie's title. Challenge your readers to guess the title of the movie you described. ******************************************************************* One of my favorite comedies - is when two men from Washington D.C., divorce mediators decide to crash weddings. They become very good at it until one of these women became very scary. She said, "Don't ever leave me cause I'll find you!" I mean this could send chills down any playboy back. The bed scene is when one of the playboys gets tied up by his girlfriend and leaves. When this freaky brother brings him a painting, saying, "I made you a painting. I call it 'Celebration.' It's sexual and violent. I thought you might like it." The playboy facial expressions make me laugh. In the shooting scene when they go out hunting, one playboy shoots the other in the ass. I love their give and take on that one. Another funny scene. When one of these playboys finds someone he wants to marry, the other is lonely and goes to see another famous wedding crasher who has switched to finding women at funerals saying, "Grief is nature's most powerful aphrodisiac." This one wasn't funny, it was an embarrassing situation all around. There were others, but this movie I could watch again. Yes, it's sexual, but the funny parts won me over. Its rating is seven stars out of ten. |
| Prompt 5:You decide join a book club and the first book you need to read for discussion is Les Misérables. What is this was about? WRONG ANSWERS ONLY. *************************************************************************************** There's a book written about this old mall, built-in 1975, and expanded several times. It was called Les Misérables. It stretched to 1,300,000 feet, with 140 stores, a movie theater, and a food court rented out spaces. This once-bustling place stayed open for fourteen years but closed its doors in 2008. Why did it close its doors so soon? Why did only two large retailers continue to operate but then, they too finally called it quits in 2013? This mall closed its doors because it was built on Indian burial grounds, and it became eerily haunted, especially when you come in the evening to shop. That's when it got interesting! People would see dark shadows move in front of them, or they felt as if they are being followed throughout the mall. They would witness items falling off the shelves. There were some shoppers who commented they felt someone touch them; and looked around but nobody was there. Some people developed headaches or even worse, were scratched while shopping. Fortunately, not all stores were plagued with this. The movie theater didn't have any of these going on, at least nobody said anything. The two large retailers were also free of these hauntings, that is why they stayed open when all others closed their doors. Kids in the neighborhoods would play chicken, and see who could walk throughout the mall without screaming when they saw weird things. This became a regular past-time for kids until two children disappeared, and was never found. Talks of demolishing the mall began. Also, the Minnesota winters didn't help the mall's glass ceilings, they would crack, letting in the snow during winter storms. Then it really began to look like the structure stood alone in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. It was a dangerous place to be and demolition was put on the books. There were two things that blocked the success of this mall. It was built on Indian Burial Ground and that glass ceiling didn't go with Minnesota's winters. What were they thinking? Thus, it was named Les Misérables, because it was in such a pitiable state of distress or unhappiness. |
 Prompt 4: What places, sites, locations should Andre visit in your hometown? If Andre goes on a tour, it will take him past State Academy for the deaf, another stately building established in 1863. It now also houses children who are blind. There are day students who come and go home. Then there are students who live too far away and are housed in dormitories. Past Shattuck St. Mary's School is a coeducational Episcopal-affiliated boarding school – Approximately 70% of its students are boarders. It has been in existence since 1858. It is known for teaching engineering, bioscience, pre-conservatory music, and vocal performance. It also has hockey, soccer, figure skating, and golf in its curriculum. Past where Faribault has a BMX track which stands for Bicycle Motor Cross. Nearby there's a state-of-the-art skate park, an aquatic center with zero depths and slides, a golf course, and a paintball course. I'm sure he would come away with this being his favorite place. There is a new Trail Head facility that starts your bike journey down the Sakatah State trail that’s 39 miles to Mankato (a nearby city), past beautiful prairies and picturesque lakes. The Cheese Cave – A gourmet destination that offers samples from Faribault Dairy. Very tasty! Paradise Center for the Arts – This place is beautifully restored, it’s a local theater with Hollywood genre architecture. Cathedral of Our Merciful Savior – First Cathedral of the American Episcopal built in 1862 Donahue's Greenhouse - Over 130 varieties of climbing Clematis vines and holiday poinsettia. What a beautiful aroma when touring through here, Andre! Historic Downtown – More buildings on the National Historic Register than any other outstate city in Minnesota. Ableman Apple Creek Orchard – Beautiful Orchard with apples ready for the picking. Does Andre love apples? Rice County Historical Museum – They display local history topics from pre-contact Native Americans to the 20th century. |
| Prompt 3: Write about something you lost that you’ll never get back. *********************************************************************** I lost my wedding ring and engagement ring. I put them away in my jewelry box because I wanted them soldered together. They were rubbing up against each other and wearing down each ring; plus, my engagement ring was larger than my wedding band. It just didn’t look right. Two of my children decided to go gold hunting in our empty calf house. It was all freshly done up with hay and this seemed the best place for them to hide my jewelry box. I’m not sure if they took each of my necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and wedding rings and individually hid them, but this is what they decided would be the gold they would find. Brian was seven and Gail was four years old. Brian took something else along on this gold hunt. Why he brought this I never found out? What it had to do with gold hunting is beyond me. He brought along some matches. Did he want to burn the hay to find the gold faster? What went through his young mind I’m at a loss? I was in the house cleaning out the closets when my older son came running in “Yelling fire!” I looked out the window and saw our calf shed in flames. There are three other buildings close by, our chicken coop and hog shed. I had to act fast and called the fire department, called my husband, then ran out to find out what happened. Kevin already pulled down the lever to shut off all electricity. Thank God his father told him about this the other day. I asked Kevin how did this happen? He told me that Brian and Gail were playing in the shed. My legs gave out on me thinking they were still in there. He told me they were sitting on the screened-in porch, both rocked together in the rocking chair. I guess they had a shock of their lives! The fire department arrived in time to save the chicken coop filled with chickens. My husband arrived a little later. I decided it was time to question Brian on what happened. He told me they were looking for gold and took my jewelry box out to the calf shed. I asked why he took matches along? “There was so much hay, I couldn’t find anything, so I lit a match to see better. That scared me, mama!” I thanked God that my children were safe. I was sad about my wedding rings, and my husband made me feel better that he will find them with his gold metal detector. The next weekend he decided to look for my rings but to no avail. The fire was hot and could have melted them. Who knows? They were gone and that was that. We didn’t stop trying though but gave up when nothing was found. The best thing that came out of this whole mess was that none of our children played with matches again. |
| PROMPT 2: Share a sad story in your blog entry, but not just any sad story, your sad story should have an interesting twist or an unexpected happy ending. Your story can be taken from personal experience, something you witnessed, or completely fictitious. ************************************************************* I lost my mother when I was only sixteen, a junior in high school. I knew she was going to die, but I still prayed for a miracle but to no avail. I missed her; she was the one I always went to with my problems. I coped as best I could as I finished my junior year. My best friend helped me by talking me through my anger at losing my mom. I eventually graduated and got a job as a legal secretary. My first child died during delivery, an emotionally devastating experience for me! I looked forward to becoming a mother and had to pack up all the baby clothes that I had bought and got at my baby shower. Friends and relatives tried to comfort me as best they could, but I blamed myself. I shouldn’t have hung those curtains in the baby’s room. I kept on like this until my husband said we were going on a vacation, away from all these reminders of what we lost. This helped! We took a two-week Hawaiian vacation. My husband and I talked things through, but we also enjoyed our stay. I was later blessed with five children. My father moved in with my husband and me when he was diagnosed with liver cancer. He was a big help in taking care of the children when I went back to work. He loved them and they loved him. Three years later, I came home from work early to find my father dead in his beloved recliner. Thankfully the children were still at school! I was shocked and didn’t know what to do. I ran around in circles, unable to concentrate on any certain thing. With shaking fingers, I grabbed my phone and dialed 911. Things didn’t get back to normal for quite a while. I would sit in his chair and become lost in memories of my dad always being there for me. The outings we had together, our family picnics, dinner out together, church doings, visiting relatives, vacations together, or going to water parks, watching the children having fun. This became an everyday thing I did, and one day when I was sitting there, daydreaming, I looked up at the ceiling to find a brownish-yellow spot on the ceiling. Where did that come from? I began to pace, trying to figure out which child did that without me noticing. I questioned each one, but they denied having anything to do with it. I thought back to when it seemed to just appear, and began to wonder if my dad was showing me, he was here with us. Each day that went by it got darker and darker. “Dad, I know you are here with us, but that spot is driving me crazy!” I decided to paint the ceiling that weekend. I asked dad to forgive me, but that spot gave me the creeps; plus, that spot didn’t look pretty. It sure became a conversation piece though! Well, I painted the ceiling and it looked great once again. The next day the spot came back. “Dad, I know you want to protect us, and I love you for it, but you also know how I loved to keep my house looking beautiful.” Every one of our friends and relatives had to come and look at the ceiling. I shook my head and laughed it off. “Dad, you can stay! I love you!” |
| Prompt # 1 May, 1st. '22 — A bit about the history of your town/area. Every place has a history. Some towns were founded to support gold rushes, others were close to oceans. What's the History of where you live? What was the early industry that made your town the place to be? Who founded your town and when? **************************************************************** My city, Faribault. is a small town built along the banks of the Straight and Cannon Rivers. These two tributaries played a vital role in my city’s early development, an opportunity for fur trade with the Dakota Sioux Indians, who lived along these rivers until 1745, then they were driven south after clashing with Ojibwe over this territory. So, there are a lot of native Dakota Indian names that have never changed to this day. Minnesota ( Mní Sota) means clear water - referring to 'where the waters reflect the skies because the water is clear and still.' Alexander Faribault, an early fur trader, founded this town in 1852. He loved its scenic qualities, abundant resources, and desirable location. The citizens who live here are proud of its history, and its well-kept businesses in the downtown area. Faribault has more buildings registered on the National Historic Society than any other city its size in the state of Minnesota. He built his house in 1853, is considered the oldest frame structure in the area, and it still stands in its original location. Growth, development, and economic prosperity followed a couple of years later. After the completion of the first steam-powered sawmill in 1854, the sleepy settlement of Faribault of twenty buildings turned into a bustling town with more than 250 buildings. Historians considered this growth an important milestone in 1855 and 1856 when the creation of roads that connected to other settlements and trading posts, the availability of mail service, and the construction of schools and churches. Afterward, it was then platted in 1855 and granted a home-rule charter in 1872. There are 18,218 adults who live in Faribault, 3,769 of whom are seniors in Faribault. (Female 11,051 46.43% Male 12,749) There are plenty of parks in and around the area with hiking trails, water parks, golf courses, great restaurants, plenty of events such as racing, visiting caves, great shopping centers, and much more. We have all four seasons to enjoy. I love it here! |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
