The exercise:
Write two haiku about: the deserter(s).
Max was up and at 'em bright and early this morning. Kat asked me what time it was and when I said six she figured she might as well get up since she'd set her alarm for 6:15 to get an early start on the picking. About five minutes later I heard:
"It's not six - it's five!"
What can I say? My vision isn't fantastic when I wake up 3.5 hours after I fall asleep. Plus, you know, 5 and 6 are practically the same number anyway. Just look at them!
Regardless, there was no going back to bed at that point. So our harvest for local orders began shortly after 6 and was done by 11. Not what we'd planned, but it worked out.
Mine:
They all say I ran
away, but I say I will
fight another day
* * *
Little Bo Peep has
lost her sheep... or have they all
just deserted her?
Monday July 6th, 2015
The exercise:
It's time for our monthly visit to The Colony. Sorry for the lack of heads up, I'd really meant to mention it yesterday.
I spent the morning weeding around our blackberry bushes. It's tiring work when the weeds get that big, but it's almost finished - of our three sections I only have the middle of one section remaining at this point.
Which is good, because we're going to be picking them (along with a few vegetables and raspberries) tomorrow morning for our local orders.
Mine:
I guess that self-defense class I took back in university wasn't a complete waste of time after all. I mean, sure, it helped that Robbie was on my side. And that Melina was caught completely off-guard by my arrival. And the fire was a pretty good distraction as well.
But still, I was the one that took her down and kept her that way until Robbie could hogtie her. So that counts for something. I think my brothers would be proud of me.
Of course Commander Vassily was more concerned with the equipment that had been uncovered than with congratulating me on my work. And that's okay. I mean, it's understandable. We unhooked all the extra cables but I noticed he was so rattled that he didn't fully disconnect a couple boxes and I had to help him out with those.
He's mad, I can tell that much. Melina wouldn't say a word when we questioned her and Vassily said he'd take her back to his quarters to interrogate her further. I didn't like the way he said that, but what could I do? This is serious and maybe... whatever methods he's using are necessary for our survival.
That doesn't mean I have to be okay with it though.
At least I can't hear any screaming coming from down the hall. Then again, I've never heard anything coming from in there, even when I've walked past during one of his conference calls with Earth. So maybe his room is soundproofed.
I'm not sure I want to think about that right now.
It's not like I can do anything anyway. I've got to keep Robbie under control. He's so excited about his little adventure that he wants to broadcast it back to his waiting audience and we can't have that. I think our team needs to know something is amiss out here but Vassily didn't want even that much leaking out until he'd had a chance to... question Melina. Hell, he didn't want us to so much as mention it to anybody else on the crew - that's why me and Robbie are holed up in my quarters, twiddling our thumbs and driving each other crazy.
They've been in there a while now. How long should I let this go on before I at least knock?
God, this is not what I signed up for.
It's time for our monthly visit to The Colony. Sorry for the lack of heads up, I'd really meant to mention it yesterday.
I spent the morning weeding around our blackberry bushes. It's tiring work when the weeds get that big, but it's almost finished - of our three sections I only have the middle of one section remaining at this point.
Which is good, because we're going to be picking them (along with a few vegetables and raspberries) tomorrow morning for our local orders.
Mine:
I guess that self-defense class I took back in university wasn't a complete waste of time after all. I mean, sure, it helped that Robbie was on my side. And that Melina was caught completely off-guard by my arrival. And the fire was a pretty good distraction as well.
But still, I was the one that took her down and kept her that way until Robbie could hogtie her. So that counts for something. I think my brothers would be proud of me.
Of course Commander Vassily was more concerned with the equipment that had been uncovered than with congratulating me on my work. And that's okay. I mean, it's understandable. We unhooked all the extra cables but I noticed he was so rattled that he didn't fully disconnect a couple boxes and I had to help him out with those.
He's mad, I can tell that much. Melina wouldn't say a word when we questioned her and Vassily said he'd take her back to his quarters to interrogate her further. I didn't like the way he said that, but what could I do? This is serious and maybe... whatever methods he's using are necessary for our survival.
That doesn't mean I have to be okay with it though.
At least I can't hear any screaming coming from down the hall. Then again, I've never heard anything coming from in there, even when I've walked past during one of his conference calls with Earth. So maybe his room is soundproofed.
I'm not sure I want to think about that right now.
It's not like I can do anything anyway. I've got to keep Robbie under control. He's so excited about his little adventure that he wants to broadcast it back to his waiting audience and we can't have that. I think our team needs to know something is amiss out here but Vassily didn't want even that much leaking out until he'd had a chance to... question Melina. Hell, he didn't want us to so much as mention it to anybody else on the crew - that's why me and Robbie are holed up in my quarters, twiddling our thumbs and driving each other crazy.
They've been in there a while now. How long should I let this go on before I at least knock?
God, this is not what I signed up for.
Sunday July 5th, 2015
The exercise:
Write about: the protector.
Started our day off with pancakes and bacon this morning before going to the beach to meet up with our bakery friend and his son. Had some good fun there before heading back here for lunch.
Which, if I recall correctly, was around the time that Max realized he has not been getting nearly enough sleep lately. Cue the meltdown.
Eventually we gave up and let him have a nap, which was good for all of us. Because we all slept. Of course he was still cranky when he woke up, but at least that finally passed. And he still managed to get to bed tonight at a reasonable time, so that's a win-win in my book.
Mine:
The pub was quiet, but not unusually so. Not for mid-afternoon on a weekday at least. Three tables were occupied by men and women who were not looking for trouble. The stools lining the bar were empty, save for the one in the exact middle.
That particular seat was struggling to support the muscle-bound bulk of a man working his way through his fifth drink of the hour. He, too, was not looking for trouble... but he was not hiding from it either.
Was he inviting it? Perhaps.
Luke, the bartender, had already considered cutting the man off and sending him home. He could sense that no good would come from the man continuing to drown his pain at his current rate. By the time his problem drinkers (in every sense of the term) arrived the man would be a bomb ready to go off at a moment's notice.
He placed another drink in front of the man (Luke was still trying to work up the nerve to inform the man that he'd had enough for today) and lingered for a moment, polishing an imaginary spot of dirt off the bar. The man didn't even look at him before picking up drink number six.
"Rough day?" Luke ventured as compassionately as he could manage.
"You could say that."
"Want to talk about it?"
The man eyed Luke for a second, sipped his drink, returned it to the bar, opened his mouth, and then shut it again. Sighing through his nostrils, he ran a hand through his short hair and shifted his weight from one side to the other.
"No worries," Luke said, raising a hand in retreat. "I've been there bef-"
"She was my responsibility." The man kept his gaze down. His words were so quiet Luke had to hold his breath to hear him properly. "She was my responsibility and now she's gone."
Write about: the protector.
Started our day off with pancakes and bacon this morning before going to the beach to meet up with our bakery friend and his son. Had some good fun there before heading back here for lunch.
Which, if I recall correctly, was around the time that Max realized he has not been getting nearly enough sleep lately. Cue the meltdown.
Eventually we gave up and let him have a nap, which was good for all of us. Because we all slept. Of course he was still cranky when he woke up, but at least that finally passed. And he still managed to get to bed tonight at a reasonable time, so that's a win-win in my book.
Mine:
The pub was quiet, but not unusually so. Not for mid-afternoon on a weekday at least. Three tables were occupied by men and women who were not looking for trouble. The stools lining the bar were empty, save for the one in the exact middle.
That particular seat was struggling to support the muscle-bound bulk of a man working his way through his fifth drink of the hour. He, too, was not looking for trouble... but he was not hiding from it either.
Was he inviting it? Perhaps.
Luke, the bartender, had already considered cutting the man off and sending him home. He could sense that no good would come from the man continuing to drown his pain at his current rate. By the time his problem drinkers (in every sense of the term) arrived the man would be a bomb ready to go off at a moment's notice.
He placed another drink in front of the man (Luke was still trying to work up the nerve to inform the man that he'd had enough for today) and lingered for a moment, polishing an imaginary spot of dirt off the bar. The man didn't even look at him before picking up drink number six.
"Rough day?" Luke ventured as compassionately as he could manage.
"You could say that."
"Want to talk about it?"
The man eyed Luke for a second, sipped his drink, returned it to the bar, opened his mouth, and then shut it again. Sighing through his nostrils, he ran a hand through his short hair and shifted his weight from one side to the other.
"No worries," Luke said, raising a hand in retreat. "I've been there bef-"
"She was my responsibility." The man kept his gaze down. His words were so quiet Luke had to hold his breath to hear him properly. "She was my responsibility and now she's gone."
Saturday July 4th, 2015
The exercise:
Write a four line poem about: buddies.
I've been up since Way Too Early so I'm going to keep this short.
Market went well for what we had. Sold 11 of the 14 crates of apricots we brought, all 10 pints of berries, all 10 heads of cabbage, most of the broccoli, and several (5 or 6 I think) of my cards.
Max spent a whole lot of time playing with the seven year old boy who was with his mom and grandma at the bakery stall next door to us. Thus... today's inspiration.
Mine:
Running, laughing, playing,
It's truly a joy to see...
Because, to be honest,
It's not all left up to me
Write a four line poem about: buddies.
I've been up since Way Too Early so I'm going to keep this short.
Market went well for what we had. Sold 11 of the 14 crates of apricots we brought, all 10 pints of berries, all 10 heads of cabbage, most of the broccoli, and several (5 or 6 I think) of my cards.
Max spent a whole lot of time playing with the seven year old boy who was with his mom and grandma at the bakery stall next door to us. Thus... today's inspiration.
Mine:
Running, laughing, playing,
It's truly a joy to see...
Because, to be honest,
It's not all left up to me
Friday July 3rd, 2015
The exercise:
Write four lines of prose about: the breach.
So. Hot.
Anyway. Our raspberries are coming to an end (for now) and our blackberries are just starting, so it wasn't much of a harvest this morning. That meant I had time to get all of our garlic out of the garden and onto Kat's parents porch to begin their curing process.
Also, because our cooler conked out this week, we don't have a lot of storage space. We're using the extra fridge in Kat's parents house, along with our own extra fridge in our basement, for now. But that's not much to work with and the garden is overflowing with broccoli and cabbage at the moment.
And that means I get to wake up extra early tomorrow morning in order to harvest broccoli and cabbage before we head off to the market.
And that means... I should get some sleep.
Mine:
They circled the building with the patience of those who knew they would find a way in, eventually. Each window and door was inspected carefully and tested for any sign of weakness. I watched them from within and I made ready, for I knew they would find entry one way or another.
I could see the dynamite sticking out of their backpacks, after all.
Write four lines of prose about: the breach.
So. Hot.
Anyway. Our raspberries are coming to an end (for now) and our blackberries are just starting, so it wasn't much of a harvest this morning. That meant I had time to get all of our garlic out of the garden and onto Kat's parents porch to begin their curing process.
Also, because our cooler conked out this week, we don't have a lot of storage space. We're using the extra fridge in Kat's parents house, along with our own extra fridge in our basement, for now. But that's not much to work with and the garden is overflowing with broccoli and cabbage at the moment.
And that means I get to wake up extra early tomorrow morning in order to harvest broccoli and cabbage before we head off to the market.
And that means... I should get some sleep.
Mine:
They circled the building with the patience of those who knew they would find a way in, eventually. Each window and door was inspected carefully and tested for any sign of weakness. I watched them from within and I made ready, for I knew they would find entry one way or another.
I could see the dynamite sticking out of their backpacks, after all.
Thursday July 2nd, 2015
The exercise:
Write something that has to do with: the emperor.
Spent the morning rototilling the paths in our garden, as the weeds were really starting to get out of control out there. It looks a whole lot better now but there's still quite a bit of hand weeding that needs to be done - mostly around the leeks and onions, which seem to nearly always need to be weeded.
After a brief rest I spent most of the afternoon with Max and now I'm getting caught up on various things while he sleeps and Kat and Rebecca are out in the garden.
One of those things being the comments here on the blog. Unsurprisingly.
Mine:
Alexander relaxed as he eased himself onto the throne and a contented smile inched its way across his lips. He considered resting his left ankle on top of his right knee but decided against it, considering it too unstately. Instead he gazed around the empty room and thought about the coming days.
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Alex?"
Well, almost empty room.
"What are you talking about?" Alexander countered without bothering to look at his companion. "Of course it's a good idea. Why wouldn't it be?"
"Well, for starters-"
"And don't call me Alex - even when no one else is around."
"Because it sounds too unstately?"
"Exactly. You should know better, Leo."
"Well, I think it sounds just fine." Alexander didn't need to turn his head to know that the soft rustle of clothing meant that Leo had crossed his arms across his chest. "And I still think this is a bad idea."
"You're just afraid, Leo. That's why you're standing beside the throne, not sitting on it."
"Yeah, well... if Emperor Cornelius walked through those doors right now and saw his stable boy sitting on his throne, I'm pretty sure your heart would stop and you would soil yourself and your eyeballs would-"
"That's quite enough, Leo." The emperor's voice froze both of the boys in place, like inglorious statues. "I think young Alexander gets the point."
Write something that has to do with: the emperor.
Spent the morning rototilling the paths in our garden, as the weeds were really starting to get out of control out there. It looks a whole lot better now but there's still quite a bit of hand weeding that needs to be done - mostly around the leeks and onions, which seem to nearly always need to be weeded.
After a brief rest I spent most of the afternoon with Max and now I'm getting caught up on various things while he sleeps and Kat and Rebecca are out in the garden.
One of those things being the comments here on the blog. Unsurprisingly.
Mine:
Alexander relaxed as he eased himself onto the throne and a contented smile inched its way across his lips. He considered resting his left ankle on top of his right knee but decided against it, considering it too unstately. Instead he gazed around the empty room and thought about the coming days.
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Alex?"
Well, almost empty room.
"What are you talking about?" Alexander countered without bothering to look at his companion. "Of course it's a good idea. Why wouldn't it be?"
"Well, for starters-"
"And don't call me Alex - even when no one else is around."
"Because it sounds too unstately?"
"Exactly. You should know better, Leo."
"Well, I think it sounds just fine." Alexander didn't need to turn his head to know that the soft rustle of clothing meant that Leo had crossed his arms across his chest. "And I still think this is a bad idea."
"You're just afraid, Leo. That's why you're standing beside the throne, not sitting on it."
"Yeah, well... if Emperor Cornelius walked through those doors right now and saw his stable boy sitting on his throne, I'm pretty sure your heart would stop and you would soil yourself and your eyeballs would-"
"That's quite enough, Leo." The emperor's voice froze both of the boys in place, like inglorious statues. "I think young Alexander gets the point."
Wednesday July 1st, 2015
The exercise:
Write about: space powers.
I have no idea what you guys are going to do with that. If you're in the same boat, feel free to find some inspiration in my tale below.
July 1st is Canada Day in these parts and we actually, factually, honestly took the whole day off. This morning we took Max and Rebecca to the Canada Day Parade that runs down Main Street here in Osoyoos and they both enjoyed it. Max's highlights included bubbles, horses, firetrucks, and getting to wave one of the little Canadian flags that people were giving out.
Afterward we had a picnic at the beach before returning home. Rebecca headed off to Kelowna shortly after that, where she is surprising a friend and spending the night. Kat and I watched a little bit of the fireworks tonight from our front window.
I'm sure one day Max will stay up late enough for all of us to enjoy the full experience.
Mine:
Right. The water bombers.
The action began picking up around the time Max was getting ready for bed. Kat ended up not having much luck convincing him to sleep, for various reasons, so he kept coming out on the deck where Rebecca and I were chatting and watching the planes come in and do their work.
I can't remember if it was Rebecca or I who pointed out the planes to Max. I do remember his response.
"Oh!" He jumped up, reaching skyward. "I can't reach them!"
No, young sir, you most certainly cannot.
A few more attempts at sleep later he was back out again. This time he was insisting on wearing his hat, gardening gloves, backpack, and boots. Otherwise he only had on his diaper. Why?
"I'm going to go up in the sky and get the plane and bring it down here and then put it back up again!"
I really should have taken a picture, but it was late and I didn't want to encourage him. Though, of course, he wasn't done yet.
"I need my space powers to go up in the sky and get the plane and bring it down here and then put it back up again. Can you get me my space powers?"
"I have no idea what your space powers are or what they look like," I replied, as straight-faced as I could manage. "Where are they?"
"In the living room."
I went and had a look and found nothing especially promising in the space powers category. I grabbed some Lego and hoped for the best.
"Are these your space powers?"
"Yeah!" Two second pause. "Oh, no! These aren't right."
"You're going to have to get them yourself then."
"Okay."
He took his boots off, went into the kitchen for a few moments, then returned carrying the magnets he had made with Rebecca a couple days previous. Apparently the magnets give him space powers(?).
We, somehow, managed to get him asleep not long after that. The planes were still safely in the sky, doing their fire fighting work without interruption.
Write about: space powers.
I have no idea what you guys are going to do with that. If you're in the same boat, feel free to find some inspiration in my tale below.
July 1st is Canada Day in these parts and we actually, factually, honestly took the whole day off. This morning we took Max and Rebecca to the Canada Day Parade that runs down Main Street here in Osoyoos and they both enjoyed it. Max's highlights included bubbles, horses, firetrucks, and getting to wave one of the little Canadian flags that people were giving out.
Afterward we had a picnic at the beach before returning home. Rebecca headed off to Kelowna shortly after that, where she is surprising a friend and spending the night. Kat and I watched a little bit of the fireworks tonight from our front window.
I'm sure one day Max will stay up late enough for all of us to enjoy the full experience.
Mine:
Right. The water bombers.
The action began picking up around the time Max was getting ready for bed. Kat ended up not having much luck convincing him to sleep, for various reasons, so he kept coming out on the deck where Rebecca and I were chatting and watching the planes come in and do their work.
I can't remember if it was Rebecca or I who pointed out the planes to Max. I do remember his response.
"Oh!" He jumped up, reaching skyward. "I can't reach them!"
No, young sir, you most certainly cannot.
A few more attempts at sleep later he was back out again. This time he was insisting on wearing his hat, gardening gloves, backpack, and boots. Otherwise he only had on his diaper. Why?
"I'm going to go up in the sky and get the plane and bring it down here and then put it back up again!"
I really should have taken a picture, but it was late and I didn't want to encourage him. Though, of course, he wasn't done yet.
"I need my space powers to go up in the sky and get the plane and bring it down here and then put it back up again. Can you get me my space powers?"
"I have no idea what your space powers are or what they look like," I replied, as straight-faced as I could manage. "Where are they?"
"In the living room."
I went and had a look and found nothing especially promising in the space powers category. I grabbed some Lego and hoped for the best.
"Are these your space powers?"
"Yeah!" Two second pause. "Oh, no! These aren't right."
"You're going to have to get them yourself then."
"Okay."
He took his boots off, went into the kitchen for a few moments, then returned carrying the magnets he had made with Rebecca a couple days previous. Apparently the magnets give him space powers(?).
We, somehow, managed to get him asleep not long after that. The planes were still safely in the sky, doing their fire fighting work without interruption.
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