One of Those Days

Hello FFFs!

It happened again. Last night I was feeling good about getting some things done. And then it hit me. Tomorrow was Friday and I hadn't a clue what to post! What was I going to do? I decided that I would find something and get it ready as soon as I had gotten ready for bed. Ha! By the time I sat down at my computer, I had forgotten. Again. :P So . . . This morning I've been trying to decide. And it's really hard! I needed something that was 5 parts long. But I had either just posted those stories, or they were published already in one of my books. Okay. Now what? I decided to give you a one-part story and then next week I just might start the next chapter of "Hymns in the Hills." Would you like that? I will TRY to get the first two chapters linked to the post so you can go read them if you haven't already.

You'd think I'd be able to get a lot done this week since I didn't have a party to wrap up, no books to publish right now now, and not a lot of extra things going on. Well, I did get some done.

My big astonishing thing though, was that I had listed TCR-1 as FREE (yes, it's free forever now, so go download it, tell your family and friends and your next door neighbor) and submitted it to Money Saving Mom to be listed. Well, I wasn't sure if it would be listed. It was. Thursday I had 240 downloads! Yesterday I had 172 downloads. But Wednesday topped it all! Submit your guess as to how many downloads I ended up with on Wednesday. ;)

And now, here's today's story. It was posted back in 2011, so maybe it'll be new to some of you. Enjoy! Oh, and this was a writing assignment I had given my students and decided to do it too. And yes, I drew the pictures. :P

One of Those Days

Striding away from his horse, the tall, brown-haired cowboy sighed. It was a cool morning in Santa Fe, lovely in all aspects as far as weather goes, but Big Tom didn’t notice. To him it should have been dark and stormy for then it would have suited his mood better. “I can’t wait until this morning is over,” he grumbled. “It started out bad, and has only gotten worse.” Bitterly, he recalled his problems. First his boss had accused him of stealing and dismissed him! The very thought still rankled deep in his heart. Then his horse, Dixie, who was usually a well mannered animal, had been balky and stubborn all morning and even now, as he glanced back at her, was tossing her head and pulling at ties holding her to the hitching post. Everything and everyone was against him! Depressed, his kicked at a clump of dirt in the road. Dolefully he looked up and a feeling of relief and excitement swept over him. There before him was Pixie, his fiancee! Then he remembered. He had no money, for he had purchased only the day before, a new saddle for Dixie, and now he was out of a job! How could he buy Pixie the engagement ring he had promised? Dashing forward, Big Tom hoped she would understand.

Pixie, tossing her head in annoyance, spied the dark horse tied to the hitching post and was struck with an idea. Her meeting with her fiancé, Big Tom had ended in an argument about the missing ring. Sadly, with tears in her eyes she thought, “What a selfish man he is.” She sniffed, completely upset. Stomping away, Pixie hadn’t noticed the unhappy droop of Big Tom’s shoulders; all she could think about was revenge. Now, seeing the horse standing there, she began to plot. Quickly untying the horse, she led him over to a wagon which had just driven in. “Will you buy this saddle?” she questioned the driver. It just so happened that the driver had come into Santa Fe for the purpose of purchasing a saddle. Soon the deal was made and Pixie hurried to catch the stagecoach to the city. There she planned to buy her own engagement ring, for her love for Big Tom was still there in spite of her annoyance. Having completed her plan, Pixie was driven off and the feeling of anger dwindled.

“Something must have happened!” Sheriff Chris exclaimed to Big Tom as the two of them conferred in the street. “I always tie Belle up to this hitching post, and now I can’t find her anywhere!”
Big Tom frowned. He was also upset, for not only was the sheriff’s Belle gone, but Dixie was missing too. Worriedly, both men looked at each other. If someone was stealing horses in the day time, this could get serious! At that moment, a dark horse came wandering down the street with no rider. “Dixie!” Big Tom exclaimed catching hold of her bridle. “I’m glad you weren’t stolen.” But what could have happened to Sheriff Chris’s horse? Big Tom began to think. “Pixie! I wonder if she sold your horse, Sheriff!”
“Why would she?” the Sheriff demanded.
“Because I didn’t have the money to buy her a ring. I must find her!” Big Tom was growing frantic. Where had Pixie gone?
“Hey, Sheriff! Here’s your horse!” someone hollered, leading forward a horse without its saddle. “Some girl brought it to the livery before catching the stage,” he explained.
Big Tom wasted not a moment, but springing onto Dixie’s back, galloped away at a breakneck pace. The chase was long and hard, but at last he caught the stage, sprang off his horse and flung open the door. “Pixie! You sold the sheriff’s saddle! I love you and will sell Dixie to buy you a ring if you want it now,” he exclaimed all in one breath. Instantly, Pixie burst into tears of remorse. She could wait for a ring, she told him.
Back in Santa Fe, Big Tom and Sheriff Chris agreed that this had just been one of those days.

Epilogue

Big Tom did manage to get Pixie a ring. It was only a bit of metal from Dixie’s bridle, but Pixie was happy. The sheriff bought himself a new saddle with the money Pixie had given him from the one she sold, declaring that the old one wasn’t ever one he had really liked. Becoming the Deputy for Sheriff Chris was the best move Big Tom had ever done. As for Pixie, she never again let her annoyance get the better of her. It was only a matter of a few months before Pixie became Mrs. Big Tom and all lived in relative peace (as much as is possible in a town like Santa Fe) and happiness for the remainder of their lives.

Have you ever had a really bad day like Big Tom?

What is your guess for Wednesday's downloads?

Do you want "Hymns in the Hills" next week?

Changed Plans

Good Morning FFFs,
I hope you all had a good week. I'm here in a hotel room in KC. The first of the homeschool conventions starts this morning. We set up last evening and it certainly was great to have two of my blog readers there to help! Thanks Joseph and Christian!
 My week was kind of crazy.
Monday I was trying to get all the last minute things done before I left town.
Tuesday I got up at 3:45 because I was working the polls as an election judge and someone was picking me up at 5:00. I didn't get home until 8:00 pm. It wasn't as slow as I thought it would be. We ended up having 360 people come in to vote. We were told later that that was about 6 polling places worth. :)
Wednesday morning I had to pack because Mom, S and I were heading up to KC at 10:00. Did some shopping before we reached Grandma & Grandpa's.

This story was written with the same instructions I gave my class of writing students. They are all boys so the pictures that I drew for them to write about had to be something they would enjoy. I hope you all enjoy it. I know it's short, but I've been really busy with Triple Creek Ranch and "Project 12" and haven't had much chance to write anything else.

Changed Plans

    Why would anyone plan a wedding for such a perfect day, the two boys wondered sadly. Jason Harris and Silas Coffman had made their plans for this Saturday several days before. Since it was such perfect weather for baseball, and the summer games would be starting soon, the two friends had agreed to spend Saturday at the park practicing. Jason had hurried through his chores in record time, grabbed his bat and ball, hollered a quick good-bye to his mom and raced to the park. He was afraid he was late. Actually, he was a little early and did a few warm up laps around the field. Then he waited. Tossing the ball up and then catching it again, Jason kept glancing around in hopes that Silas would appear. At last he spied him, but something was wrong!
    “Hey, Si, what’s with the suit and tie?” Jason called, snatching up his bat and hurrying over to meet his friend.
    “I can’t play,” grumbled Silas, shoving a hand into his pocket.
    “Why not?”
    “Got a wedding to go to.”
    “Ah, man!” exclaimed Jason in disgust, “who would want to get married today when it is the perfect weather to play baseball?”
    Silas was equally glum and answered, “Yeah, I know. It’s some relative. I didn’t even know about it until I was getting ready to come out. Then Mom made me put this thing on,” and he pulled at his tie as though it were choking him. “I tried calling your house, but your mom said you had already gone out.”
    “Couldn’t you just not go?” Jason queried.
    Silas shook his head. “I already tried, but both Mom and Dad said I have to go.” He gave a long sigh and both boys fell silent, each gazing sadly at the other. A car horn sounded and Silas glanced around. “I have to go. Dad let me walk out here to tell you why I couldn’t play, but I guess they’re all ready to go now. Sorry I can’t stay.”
    “Me too. Bye.” Jason watched his friend hurry to the car and climb in. His day was ruined.

    Feeling lonely and sad, Jason slowly pushed the tire swing back and forth. After he had watched the Coffman car disappear down the street, Jason had looked about the park in hopes that someone else he knew would be there to play ball with him. No one had been. Forlornly, he had trudged across the grass to a large tire swing. Many times he had enjoyed swinging on that swing or climbing the rope and disappearing into the tree, but today was different. Today he had been going to play baseball and the plan hadn’t worked. Dropping his bat, he had listlessly climbed onto the swing.
    “Bother,” he muttered, “weddings shouldn’t be planned for such perfect weather. Everyone planning a wedding should know that. I don’t know anyone who is getting married, do I?” He thought hard. “Nope.” He couldn’t think of anyone. If he had he would have been sure to tell them not to plan it on a great day for baseball.
    For several minutes he just sat still and let the breeze shake the tree branch which in turn bounced the tire swing up and down. This was not how he had planned on spending his day.
    “If I go home, Mom will find more chores for me to do,” he said to himself, walking the swing over to the tree and then pushing off with his legs. The swing swung out and turned, coming back to the tree trunk where Jason pushed off again, harder this time.
    “I didn’t ask Silas how long the wedding was going to be. Maybe he’ll be back after lunch and we can practice this afternoon!” Then he remembered the few weddings he had been to. They had lasted for hours and hours. Often they didn’t get home until supper time. “I guess it’s no use waiting for him. Maybe I should just go home.” His feet dragged slowly in the dust.

    With a broad smile on his face, Jason hit the ball and listened to a delighted bark. He had been about to take his bat and go home, when his baseball rolled right to his feet. Blinking in surprise, Jason had glanced around to see a medium size dog, with tail wagging, waiting eagerly.
    “Well, hello fellow,” Jason greeted the dog. “Where did you come from?”
    The dog, evidently excited to be noticed, bounded over and jumped up on Jason, licking his face and whining. Then, as Jason pushed him down and stood up, the dog picked up the baseball and wagged his tail.
    “You want to play?” Jason asked.
    Excitedly dropping the ball once more, the dog barked.
    “Okay, let’s go!” Snatching up his bat and ball, Jason headed over to the wide, empty field at the edge of the park. Although the dog couldn’t pitch to him, Jason figured he could toss the ball and then hit it. Maybe the dog, who had brought him the ball to begin with, would bring it back. It was worth a try. Whack! Across the field the ball flew with the dog following in a mad dash. Jason grinned. This was going to be fun! Back the dog came with the ball in his mouth.
    “I ought to name you Fetch,” Jason noted as he ruffled up the dog’s ears and picked up the ball. Giving a few excited barks, Fetch backed up, tail wagging and eyes on the ball. To him, this was a delightful game as well. Whack!
    When a dinner bell rang out faintly across the air, Jason started in surprise. Could it really be lunch time already? “I didn’t know we’d been playing for so long, Fetch. Come on home with me, Boy,” and Jason shouldered his bat and patted his leg. To his delight, the dog trotted along beside him, carrying the baseball.

Did you like it?

I got all 5 dress-ups and all 6 sentence openers in each section.

P.S. The pictures are actually taken with my computer so they aren't very clear and they are mirrored from how I drew them. Hope you like them anyway. :)

Riding "Bear Back"

Here it is Friday morning again. The Kansas City Convention starts this morning, so Jimmy and Sarah will be heading out before too long. The kids are still sleeping. They need it from what I can hear. I'm sure I'll have a busy day once they do get up. I have a feeling that Mom and Megan will be going to some garage sales today. That means I will probably have at least James. He's a handful right there.:) But that is that.

This story is rather funny, so I hope you enjoy it. I just wish you could read the stories my students wrote using the same Key Word Outline.:) They were great! But read this and enjoy. And yes, I put in all the dress-ups, all the sentence openers and three decorations.:) (That is what I made my students do.

Riding “Bear Back”
by
Rebekah Morris

My family and I love to go hiking. When we go we usually explore many trails hoping that there will be one which will lead to an exciting adventure. Unexpectedly I found it. After it was over I wished I hadn’t found it since it involved getting lost, encountering a bear and being out in a thunderstorm.

We were hiking along a path which had many curves and turns in it, so when I got distracted, it was easy to get lost. At least I think so. Spying something shiny on the ground, I stooped to examine it. Was it gold? After testing it with my teeth, I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t gold, but I dropped it in my pocket anyway. When I glanced up, I discovered that my family had vanished! I started on again; however, I unknowingly took the wrong path. Rapidly I sprinted, trying to catch up with my missing family. Hearing a sound just ahead around the next turn, I hurried on so as not to get lost.

Imagine my terrified surprise when suddenly, instead of my family, I encountered a bear! I screamed! I couldn’t help it, I was so scared. The grouchy, grumpy grizzly turned slowly with a growl. Before he could come close to me I was clambering up a slender tree very quickly. Gasping for breath, I paused on the highest branch just out of the bear’s reach. Then, with an unexpected crack, the branch broke beneath my weight which dumped me on the bear’s back. Instantly the bear began to lumber away in fright while I hung on for dear life. Never will I forget that ride. Before I could gather my senses enough to let go, a branch smacked me on the side of the head, causing me to tumble into a small stream. Although I was thankful to have survived my encounter with the bear, I was still rather bewildered.

When the thunderstorm broke just after I landed in the stream, it took several minutes to register the fact that I needed to get out of there. I lay in the water stunned. A blinding flash of lightning followed by ground shaking thunder roused me from my stupor. “I must get away!” I thought as I staggered to my feet. Stumbling along, I tripped over a tree root and fell. Beyond the trees I glimpsed a dark hole. Slowly, painfully, I worked my way towards the cave which I had seen. Once I fell. Twice I tripped. On I went. At last I made it only to fall exhausted and breathless on the floor of the cavern. It was then that I noticed other sounds besides the thunderstorm; my family was there waiting. Boy, was I surprised.

I will never hear a thunderstorm again without remembering the grumpy bear which I rode when I got lost. After that experience, I don’t love hiking as much as I did. Seeking an adventure is no longer as extremely important to me as sticking with my family. The most exciting part of my getting lost was riding “bear back.”

Did you like it?:)
Sorry the date is so funny on here. I put this story in drafts Wednesday evening because we would only have Sarah's laptop and not the family one, so now it decides today is Wednesday.:)

Expertly Trained Elephants

Here it is Friday again, and I don't have any short story ready for you. I have been doing a ton of writing, but none on my book this week. I had an assignment for my "Teaching Writing" course I am doing, so I thought I would post that. No one will probably be interested in reading it, but as hardly anyone comments anyway, I wouldn't know if my posts even get read.:) (hint, hint) Seeing that the assignment was to be about elephants, I didn't have much choice when I wrote. However, I did manage to get all six dress-ups in as well as all six sentence openers and even managed to get at least two triples.:) If the paragraph seems a little over done, it is because I used everything instead on only some.:) And now with no more delay, here it is.

Expertly Trained Elephants
by Rebekah

Domesticated elephants can learn anything they are taught. Before an elephant can learn however, he must first be caught and domesticated. Humans might dig pits to catch them, or use fire, guns or loud frightening noises to drive the wild elephants into an enclosure. Training them to fight in human wars can be traced back to olden times when Hannibal overwhelmed and terrified the Europeans with his superbly trained elephant cavalry. Although elephants were taught to help batter forts in war, they also helped build them in peace. Asiatic elephants were used for transportation because of their great strength. Their great Herculean strength equals fifty horses. They are used in logging as well. Skillful men cut. Mighty elephants haul. Faithfully all contribute. Over the years, domesticated elephants who were wisely, expertly and cleverly trained for many different tasks have clearly leaned them well.


Now, you have either read the above short paragraph and thought "Surely she could do better than that," or you just skipped it thinking, "I don't what to read about elephants." But then, probably no one is even reading this. I feel as though I am rambling on to myself. I do like talking to myself, but not as well as I like talking to others.:) But be that as it may, I do have a question for you, just in case you do decide to read this.
How many "new" books do you think I have read since April 1994? By "new" books I mean books that I had never read before, be they old or new. Believe it or not, I have kept a list of each "new" book I have read since April 1994. Of course this list does not include all the books I read and re-read once, twice, five or ten times, nor does it include all the books I have skimmed but not read all the way though. Take a guess. I'll tell you the answer some other time.:)