Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Family Costuming



Here's a neat family activity: group costuming! I've long wished my family would do the same thing, but it never worked out.

The picture is from Millenicon 2003, six years ago. I came across it while going through some old photos last week. It's now of personal interest to me, especially the young man on the end in the everyday school uniform. The young man who is not too many years older than my daughter...

Monday, October 19, 2009

The Wedding

On October 10th, 2009, Katie Van Atta and Daryl Mercier were formally married in an outdoor ceremony. After expressing their vows to each other and exchanging rings, the couple took turns pouring sand into a large vase that would demonstrate how their lives were now combined. Afterwards, the couple announced their new last name, which is a combination of their pre-marriage names, and will henceforth be known as Mr. and Mrs. Van Mercetta.








To the right is the Mercier Clan, the groom's side of the family. Sister Sarah did not make it, nor our mother, but we had a fairly hefty representation.


When they return from their honeymoon in Ireland, they will find that the rest of the family has decided that this did not go far enough, and are now to be known as Datie and Karyl Van Mercetta.
















Friday, October 2, 2009

Daily Prompt #2

From:
http://campaign.constantcontact.com/render?v=001zDZ-9a8-K6y9C78WbH5TikvhKqEeR8ODu6dtHAZs-g7u1bLLZtMmRMgoLF0CL5hs6w5looCGSYSUtWL3u7zBtCqoUwOUrfWM0dgeAR5_Phs%3D

Fiction Prompt:
the Intersection of Main and Elm

Here's a simple sentence with a lot of opportunity. See where you can take it!Cyrus Markham stopped abruptly at the intersection of Main and Elm streets, forgetting which way he was supposed to turn.

***

Cyrus Markham stopped abruptly at the intersection of Main and Elm streets, forgetting which way he was supposed to turn. Did he go in the direction of the dancing pink elephants, with their little bottles of soda pop carried in their trunks, or toward the purple dolphins which arced up from the asphalt, balanced on their tails above a sign for a popular travel agency, then dove down into the sidewalk. Glancing from one to the other, he felt a wave of dizziness followed by nausea and stomach cramps.Stupid, horrible, nasty decongestant, he thought. The drug turned a normally pleasurable stroll through the virtual ads into a painful nightmare.

A woman waltzed up to him, wearing a costume of garish red and orange feathers and carrying a tray of beers. Her painted lips formed a broad smile, then she opened her mouth to began her speil about the wonders of her product. Cyrus swept his hand through her image to shut her off.

Only she wasn't a hologram.

She crashed to the ground, her beers shattering on the pavement, her feathers ripping. She screamed. A police whistle screeched in Cyrus's ear, and a beefy, non-holographic hands grabbed his shoulders.

The woman pointed at him and jabbered in a foreign accent, the few recognizable words accusing him of various abuses and sex crimes.

"Spread 'em, buddy," growled the gorrila-sized cop into his ear.Cyrus sighed. Mondays had never been his favorite day.

****

I think we can assume I have a migrane today.

Helen

Thirty-One Days, Thirty-One prompts

There's a writing school here in town which I'm checking out. One thing they offer for free is a program of prompt's for October.

http://campaign.constantcontact.com:80/render?v=001zDZ-9a8-K6y9C78WbH5TikvhKqEeR8ODu6dtHAZs-g7u1bLLZtMmRMgoLF0CL5hs6w5looCGSYRDJF1qRFlPREP3G8vjhjAscmxdabOKeXc%3D

This is yesterday's prompt, and my response:

Fiction Prompt

Something OldWrite about a character who finds something old that they had forgotten about and have come across in the back of a closet, bottom of a drawer, or under a car seat. Use this item to write a flashback in which the character relives the excitement once associated with the object.


And:

"I believe this is yours." Zaytalle held up a gold Bardlands coin, a pretty smirk on his delicate face.

Treble snatched it out of his hands. "Where did you get this?"

"You dropped it when you were called out of Bartiese by the Wizardling."

"It was in my pants pocket! Where are the rest of my clothes?" Treble hated the robes that the men of the Wizardlands wore, thin little dresses, and the loincloths that they wore beneath were a poor substitute for a proper pair of pants.

"Actually, it was in the hands of one of the guards. He gave it to me, and I'm giving it back to you."He actually looked as if he deserved thanks for doing Treble a favor.

Treble turned away from him.He looked at the coin, marked with the head of the King of the Bardlands, and words written in Bardtongue. master Irvinghad given him this coin, just before he started his journey. It was for spending in Bartiese, for a little enjoyment of his own, the old master had said. Now it was the only thing he had left of his home, a place where the nights were cool and the people were sane. His only link.As Master Irving had given it to him, he had also made Treble swear that he would return.

And I will, Treble vowed, curling his fingers around the cool metal. I will.