Tuesday June 7th, 2011

The exercise:

Two haiku about: the night.

Had a productive morning in the garden before the rain came along and washed away the rest of the day. Thankfully it also brought a good nap with it.

Oh, almost forgot. The marmot in our front yard yesterday:

Mine:

Moon and stars above,

Sleeping bodies all around;

The sun lies in wait.

*     *     *

Alone in the dark,

Thoughts expand until they make

Me feel very small.

Monday June 6th, 2011

The exercise:

The word of the moment is: crushed.

Because the Canucks got absolutely shellacked tonight in Boston. It's extremely important for them to come back strong in game 4 on Wednesday night after a result like this one.

Quite the day around these parts: two birds flew into the house (we really need to get/make a screen door), there was a marmot hanging out in the front yard (picture tomorrow if I remember), I saw my first hummingbird of the year (in Canada, anyway), and there were two snake sightings. I saw one behind our house, and Kat saw one in front of her parents' place.

Ah, Osoyoos.

Mine:

Andy walked with a limp ever since the day his toes were crushed by the weight of his neighbour's car. Old Harry professed to have not seen him standing there, but Andy was never quite sure. It was, after all, less than a week after he'd broken Harry's lawnmower.

He tried to not let it keep him from his favorite hobbies, and it certainly didn't stop him from working his desk job, but things were never really the same afterward. Something had changed, and not just on the outside. Andy knew it, but he couldn't find a way to bring himself back to the way he was before.

That's what he told me, at least. But in here I got my own worries. Andy wasn't fit to watch my back, so I didn't bother to watch his.

Looking back, I can see now that was my biggest mistake.

Sunday June 5th, 2011

The exercise:

Let's go with: the trigger.

Very enjoyable day off, spent mostly lazing around the house before going out for a drink with Kat after dinner.

Twas an absolutely gorgeous day, and they're calling for 30 degrees tomorrow. Yes, please.

Although I would also take 3-0. Go Canucks!

Mine:

It was my job to determine what had triggered the explosion, to provide answers for the questioning victims and their families. I took the responsibility seriously, moving through the debris deliberately, studying every shattered item.

Nearly an hour had passed before I finally found what I was looking for. The white liquid had gathered in the far corner of the room, its container only a few feet away. It appeared to have cracked when it was dropped, but seemed otherwise intact. I placed it in a plastic bag and went to confront the perpetrator.

"All right, Danny," I said to the toddler handcuffed to the toy box. "Who spilled your milk?"

Saturday June 4th, 2011

The exercise:

A four line poem about: the decoy.

Another good morning at the market - the sun was shining, people were out in droves, and our stuff was moving off the tables at a pretty steady rate.

And then tonight? Vancouver with a goal 11 seconds into overtime for the win and the 2-0 series lead. Man oh man.

Mine:

I bust down the door,

Guns blazing, oh boy!

That's when I realize:

I'm just the decoy.

Friday June 3rd, 2011

The exercise:

Four lines of prose that have something to do with: ripe.

We were weeding and spreading more wood shavings around the strawberries this morning. It was crazy hot out, but I kept forgetting because I kept noticing strawberries that were getting very close to ripe. Give it a few days and I'll be stuffing them in my mo... er, we'll be selling them.

Ahem.

Market tomorrow!

Mine:

"They're ripe for the picking," the speaker at the other end of the line told me and then hung up.

I flipped my cell phone shut and stuck it in my jacket pocket before finishing my drink. After a final look around the room, I made my way to the door and out into the cool night air. I hailed a cab and directed the driver to my ex-wife's house; she was out on the town and my kids were there alone.

Thursday June 2nd, 2011

The exercise:

Let's see what you can do with: dust.

Because Kat and I were in the garden this afternoon when a random wind storm came raging out of nowhere. It cut diagonally across the garden, carrying a big cloud of dust with it, and headed straight for me. All I could do was duck my head, close my eyes and mouth, and hold my hat.

Fun times.

Also because I've been looking over my 2009 NaNoWriMo novel, Lessons in the Dust, recently.

Mine:

Inspector Evans opened the door and stepped into the library. The deceased had an impressive collection of books which filled several bookcases, each of them brushing the ceiling. A brief examination showed that they were arranged alphabetically by author.

He moved to the window and pulled the curtain back just enough to peer down at the front yard. He eyed the officers and TV reporters before his gaze shifted to the onlookers gathered on the far side of the police tape. Studying each face closely, he wondered if one of them was responsible for ruining his morning.

Turning away, he walked slowly around the room, deep in thought. The room had obviously not seen much use, he noted, as all of the book spines were covered with a fine layer of dust.

Evans stopped, then turned and retraced his steps. He leaned toward a book that had caught his attention, holding his breath, his nose mere inches away from its surface.

"All of them," he amended his earlier thought, "except one."

Wednesday June 1st, 2011

The exercise:

Today we write about: the applicant.

Vancouver scored with 18 seconds left in the game to take the victory 1-0 tonight. They just keep on rolling!

Mine:

Sophie tried to keep her expression neutral as she regarded the man on the other side of her desk. It was days like this that she wished she'd never graduated from university.

"I see that under strengths," she said, double checking the resume in her hand, "you put: Can bench press 300 pounds."

"Totally." His reply was accompanied by an enthusiastic nodding of his head.

"While that's very impressive... I'm not entirely sure how it applies to this job."

"Well if, like, something super heavy falls on one of the kids, I could totally lift it off."

"Right." Sophie paused to collect her thoughts. And to stop herself from laughing. "Thanks so much for taking the time to come in and see us, but I just don't think you're quite what we're looking for. Good luck in your job search."

"Aw, come on! What makes you think I'd suck at being a day care worker?"