the voice

[This is an ongoing chapter a week story that began with the first Words for Wednesday for 2025 on 1 January. I'm hoping to continue it through 31 December, the last Wednesday of the year. To start from the beginning, click here to be taken back to 1 January 2025, and then look for chapters to appear weekly between Tu-W-Th]

  Elowin and Thal spent the rest of the day walking the perimeter of the elves' village, looking at all of the sigils that Thal had placed in his fugue.  At times they spoke of the past, but at other times Elowin was silent which was little comfort to Thal.  Occasionally, she would write an extra sigil near his, sometimes even rubbing out his and putting another in its place.  

  Thal trusted her wisdom more than he trusted his dreams, and as they walked memories flowed back out of the corners of his mind of when he first walked the same paths.  Occasionally, he would shudder with the memory, especially of ones when he was walking in the imposing darkness on nights of the new moon.

  When they finally returned to the village, Elowin looked exhausted, and oddly older than she had when they first set out.  Thal bid her good night and then went in search of Lyri and Eldrin.  He needed to be around friends who could make him laugh and forget all of the nightmares of the gnolls and sigils.

Image Source:
Bill Ward Photography

  Finding the two of them sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, whispering to each other by a bonfire, he almost kept walking, feeling oddly like a third wheel who had just discovered his best friend and girlfriend were cheating on him.  But Lyri had heard a twig snap as he approached, and looking to see who was trying to sneak up on the two of them, saw him.  She jumped to her feet and quickly ran to Thal, hugging him so hard he found it almost hard to breathe.

  "I guess this means you didn't dump me for El."

  Lyri smiled and kissed him.  "Not a chance! Sorry El, but my heart belongs to Thal."

  "Oh, no worries there, Lyri.  I've got my eyes on someone else, anyway.  No offense."

  "Ha, ha, ha, none taken!"

  Dragging Thal by the arm, Lyri and El moved to a log a little farther from the rest of the elves who had started to gather around the bonfire.  Thal watched Lyri closely as he realized that her weak femininity was more of an act than a reality, disguising a strength that was more than just muscles.  He wondered if there was a war brewing with the gnolls if they would be a match for her fierceness.  He doubted it.

  As he was about to tell the two of them about his day spent with Elowin, a quiet, yet firm voice interrupted his thought.

  "Begging your pardon for my rude manners, Master Thalion, but I wouldn't tell them just yet about what Mistress Elowin has shared with you."

  Thal spun in a circle to find the source of the voice and when he saw no one, he realized that it had not been a voice he heard with his ears, but one he heard with his mind.

Better late than never to Words for Wednesday...

Saturday ...

  Last Wednesday I went on my first in-person job interview since 2015.  It went really well, however, I'm not sure if what they wanted me for will be possible.  More research to be done on credentialing for the management certification course work that they want me to teach. 

  But I did get to dress up a bit, with new shoes to go with my thrifted sundress.  Since it was a bit chillier than I had anticipated, I wore my (also thrifted) denim jacket with my yippy hippy pins.  Almost-63 me never looked cooler.

  I was asked if I intend to publish my Words for Wednesday story at the end of the year, and I most likely will make it available on Smashwords [<link].  I had published my other three there at one time, but then Amazon got all possessive and said 'either or but not both' so they are only on Amazon now.  Smashwords offers digital books, with publishing done via Draft2Digital [<link] for both digital and print.  I'm still protesting the patriarchy, and the 1%, so won't be publishing on Amazon again, and will need to move my three books from them, to Draft2Digital, but that may be a project for next year.

   Wishing you a week ahead that is stress-free and amazing ... Hugs, Ci💚

Sigils ...

[This is an ongoing chapter a week story that began with the first Words for Wednesday for 2025 on 1 January. I'm hoping to continue it through 31 December, the last Wednesday of the year. To start from the beginning, click here to be taken back to 1 January 2025, and then look for chapters to appear weekly between Tu-W-Th]

  Elowin Sableleaf had been watching Thal from a distance for quite some time since he returned to their forest.  She knew something had happened to him, but since all she knew were rumors and overheard whispered conversations, she wasn't going to rely on anything but what she heard from Thal himself.

  That afternoon she followed him through the forest until he finally veered sharply to the edge of a creek and lit a small fire.  She watched as he took a burning brand from the fire and used it to draw a sigil into another log nearby.

  "What are ye drawing there, Thal?"

  Thal jumped as if she had stuck him with her hatpin and tried to hide the smoldering brand behind his back.

  "Nothing, Elder Elowin.  I was just drawing something I saw in a dream."

  "A dream, eh?  You just became an impromptu artist of the forest, have you?  You ought not be drawing things that come to you in dreams, lad.  Not all the things in our dreams are good."

  "Does this mean something?"

  "Aye, it does.  But are you certain you don't know the meaning of it?"  Elowin watched his face to see if his eyes averted or he blushed in a caught lie, but his eyes stayed clear and worry etched his face instead.

  "Come, sit here with me, lad, and I'll tell you of a time my great granny took me on holiday."

  Elowin spoke softly and slowly of the history of the wood elves, the forests before time was counted, and the ways of their ancestors.  She spoke of magic, invisible armies, and powerful sigils for both good and evil.  Thal sat transfixed, listening to her words until he became unaware of anything else but her eyes and the sound of her voice.  She told of how other forest creatures had been their constant companions and protectors.

  He vaguely remembered seeing paintings in some of the oldest tree caves of creatures that no longer walked the Earth, and he wondered to himself if that was what she meant.

  "Yes, lad.  Those paintings were created to honor our companions who sacrificed their lives to save us."

  "Wha ... but I didn't say anything.  How did you know that was what I was thinking?"

  "It's a gift from my great great great granny, and one that I think you might also have a touch of.  These dreams of yours, how do they make you feel when you wake from them?  Do they frighten you?"

  "No.  Well.  Not at first because they were just dreams.  But then I started to wake up and feel an urgency to walk the woods in all directions.  Then later, I would sometimes feel like I was waking up again, like I'd been sleepwalking or something, and I'd find smoldering fires and these signs I'd drawn on rocks or trees.  That's when I started to feel afraid because I didn't always remember starting the fire or drawing the signs.  What do they mean, Elder Elowin?"

  "I doubt this will be much solace to you, Thal, but I believe that this sigil is for protection.  I would have to look at the others to be sure."

  "Protection from whom?  Or what?  How would I even know how to make them?"

  "I believe it is our ancestors that are using you through your dreams, Thal.  And as for protection from what, I think it is an evil that your generation hasn't ever faced before."

It's not a dream ... it's Words for Wednesday again.

something wicked this way comes ...

[This is an ongoing chapter a week story that began with the first Words for Wednesday for 2025 on 1 January.  I'm hoping to continue it through 31 December, the last Wednesday of the year.  To start from the beginning, click here to be taken back to 1 January 2025, and then look for chapters to appear weekly between Tu-W-Th]

  For the most part, life in the forest for wood elves is quiet.  The gentle sounds of babbling brooks and creeks lull them to sleep at night, along with the sound of the winds talking high above in the trees.  Their naturally organic meals help them to live long and productive lives, compared to the standards of most humans.

  There is rarely any violence, anger, or stress amongst the multiple forest clans because they understand that in order for each to survive, there must be peace amongst all of them.  When natural disasters strike, such as a fierce storm with fallen trees and flooding or a wildfire, they work together to ensure the safety of each other, and the forest.

Image source: getwallpaper.com

  But at least once in every generation, there is a foul odor on the wind that foretells of an ominous enemy only the oldest elves remember.  Whereas the moisture from rain will wash the air and forest clean of dust or pollen, the foulness of this smell only becomes worse.  Clinging to the hair and clothes of the elves until it reaches the skin, and then even deeper to bring a darkness to their minds and hearts.

  It had been 20 times 20-years since the last time the darkness was smelled by all noses in the woods.  Long enough for all but the most ancient to have forgotten about it, and even for those who thought vaguely that there was a scent on the wind that was slightly familiar, they had been too young to fully remember the fear and death that followed that smell.

  All those elves and animals who were pregnant miscarried.  Gloves were worn by all elves to avoid touching the surface of the world, the infected, the dying and the dead.  Babies and young children cried for the comfort of a touch, but no parent dared to risk it.  Some elves hid themselves away underground to escape the blackness that descended upon them.  Others climbed high into the trees to wait it out, waiting for stronger winds and harder rains and flooding to cleanse the forest.

  This was an evil far worse than gnolls.  There was no warning of its approach, no surviving its touch, no defense, no armor strong enough.

  This is the grimma, and it is coming.

Words for Wednesday

discoveries...

The yards have lots of wild violets in them! 💜

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio Glaucus) 💛

This fairy 💚 ring ...
(my neighbor says it is a crop circle and the aliens 👽 will come to beam me up soon)
... is actually going to bloom into ⬇ ...

... wild daffodils!! 😍

This is something I recently saw in Instagram:
A willow wreath with dog hair tucked into it for birds building nests!
I had been saving some of Charlie's hair after a last trim I did for a similar idea.

It's another Monday ... but I've only got 2 more after today, and just another 11 work days!  Wishing you a week of new discoveries!  

Hugs, Ci💚

thursday eve and values ...

 I was working on some homework that my counselor gave me the other morning.  One of the sheets of paper contained 34 "values clarification" words that I was to rank.  I could select only ten of them, and rate them 1 to 10 with 1 being the most important item.

 It was actually quite difficult (as were the other six pages of homework) and while I was deciding which words were most important to me and just how important, I was doodle writing on some of them.

 (Sex ≠) Love (edited to correct the order of words I intended)

 Wealth (is not everything)

 Family (is what you make it)

 Success (means nothing without morals, honesty, and hard work)

 Knowledge

(is)

 Power

 Friends (= Family)

 Free Time (is never wasted if you are on an ... ↩)

 Adventure

 Variety (keeps the mind young)

 Calmness (in the storm helps you survive it)

 Freedom (is different for everyone, but something we are all entitled to)

 Fun (in the sun with SPF80)

 Popularity (is a curse)

 Responsibility (is a moral obligation for all of us)

 Loyalty (can be deadly if for the wrong ... ↩)

 Reason

 Achievement (can be a never-ending measuring stick that is warped)

 Beauty (is inner)

 Respect (life in all forms)

 Wisdom (comes with being unafraid to make mistakes and try new things)

 Relaxation (restores us)

The ten words I did select were (in no particular order ~ I should at least keep that part to myself):  Morals, Knowledge, Nature, Honesty, Humor, Independence, Peace, Stability, Creativity, and Safety.  Looking at the words, I think that the 1-10 ranking of them may be flexible depending on the day and time.  Or circumstances.  For example, how many f-bombs I dropped during my workday, or times I screamed and smashed my fist on the desk in frustration.

It has been one of those days today, and mentally I'm exhausted.  15 more work days to go.

What are your doodle words tonight?   Ci💚

the beauty of stories ...

 [This is an ongoing chapter a week story that began with the first Words for Wednesday for 2025 on 1 January.  I'm hoping to continue it for the entire year.  To start from the beginning, click here to be taken back to 1 January 2025, and then look for chapters to appear weekly between Tu-W-Th ~ depending on how crazy my week was. 😁]

  Kael and Alexander had spent the next six hours talking over first one sandwich and then later another full course meal that Alexander prepared for the two of them while Kael continued to talk about life in the forest as a Wood Elf.  There also might have also been a few pints of ale enjoyed along the way.  Every so often Alexander would stop him to ask a question, but for the most part he simply nodded, or grunted in agreement with something Kael had said.

  Kael had been unusually cautious in the information he shared with Alexander.  Perhaps it was his recent encounter with the gnolls, but when he first started to share the intimate details of life in the forest, something caused him to pause.  Alexander had noticed his silence mid-sentence and asked if he was alright, to which Kael replied that yes, he'd only lost his thought.  Alexander had laughed and commented that it happened to him all the time.

Train Wallpaper sold by Wayfair.

  "The beauty of stories, Kael, is that when that thought train gets derailed, or you find yourself missing chunks of time, you can totally get yourself back on track.  Albeit in a roundabout fashion sometimes.   But it's my belief, that it is when the story wanders offtrack suddenly, it's because there is a better story just around the bend.  Do you understand that?"

  Kael nodded, although he wasn't sure how they got from discussing the forest to discussing trains, and he wasn't even positive he knew what a train was.  But he learned quickly that there was a lot about Alexander that made him feel that it wasn't safe to trust him.

  For the first time in his life, he found himself missing the green peace and quiet of his home, and the forest.  His eyes watered a little, and when he went to wipe them, Alexander noticed.

  "Oh, do you suffer from allergies, too?  I've found that roses don't hit me nearly as hard as some of the other garden flowers.  What a calamity it was the day one of my secretaries sent me a birthday bouquet of wildflowers for my birthday!  I nearly sneezed my head off in the three hours it took me to solve what I was sneezing about.  She'd snuck them through the house and hidden them in my office for me.  Ah, well, it's the thought that counts, and she wouldn't have known that I only use my office when I'm meeting fancy, rich clients."

  Kael nodded and grunted in agreement, as Alexander had done, but his thought train had taken a detour through a tunnel, and he was thinking of how he could find his way back to the forest.

It's another week of Words for Wednesday ~ prompts were given here.

Finished projects...

 Thought I would share the finished projects from the weekend:

How I paint:  1.  Forget I'm wearing my favorite skinny jeans.  2.  Drip paint on my jeans.  3.  Cuss.  4.  Bump my t-shirt shoulder into wet paint.  5.  Cuss.  6.  See a bug in the wet paint.  7.  Try to blow on him to get him out of it.  8.  Cuss.  9.  Paint over the body to hide the evidence.  10.  See a drop of paint on my waterproof duck shoes.  11.  Express gratitude that I was at least smart enough to change out of the Filas.  12.  See another drip on my jeans.  13.  Cuss.  14.  Decide I deserve a pizza.

The light in the bathroom makes the chest of drawers look more orange than it really is.  The color (above) is more like a deep rose.  The blue console table may have to find another home in the house.  There is a chair I bought just for the room, and it's too crowded now where I moved it to across from the shower (it originally was in this corner under the window).  

I also had just enough paper to do the vanity front, which was a good thing because I really didn't want to order another roll.  If I hadn't had enough paper, I would probably have painted them instead.

And ... I have to have little things that make me smile unexpectedly.  Like these stickers I got from Temu that I put on the bathroom sink outlet.

Charlie claimed the railway car for his own as soon as I got my spray-painting box off it.  It gives him a better view of his kingdom.

When I dropped him off at his bestie's house yesterday, I got to see the bead suncatcher I made for Brenda hanging.  They painted the frame white, and it looks amazing!

And ... this is yesterday's abstract mixed-media pet portrait of the girls, Lucy (L) and Gracie (R).  I went to Goodwill and picked up some thrift bling and added some flower beads that I already had.

Wishing you a wonderful week of creativity and new things!  Hugs, Ci💚

sunday ...

  First, an interesting note after researching the dressers I posted last Sunday ... the manufacturer has been in business since 1919, and the 225 and 260 lines of furniture were discontinued in 2009 and 2008 respectively.  Their records don't go far enough back to see when they began making those lines but doing a search of furniture styles from 1919-1940, the dressers look similar to the curved top Art Deco "waterfall" style of the 1940s.  

  Handwriting on the small bit of tag off the chest of drawers has a very early-1900s style to it, likely written with a stylus and inkwell type of pen.  My next research will be into the company that sold it, Traylor Furniture Company, which doesn't appear to have survived the 1900s.  A trip to the library is in my future.

  Did I mention I'm a HUGE Nancy Drew fan (and please DO NOT ask "Nancy who?").

This is a full tag pulled off the back of the dresser/mirror, 
and a partial tag off the tall chest of drawers.

Now for last week's projects and finds ...

This was the only chest of drawers that I previously had.
It is now getting a make-over to go into the bathroom for additional storage.

I'm also adding the same paper to the existing vanity fronts. 

This treasure, an old railway cart, was a side-of-the-road find.
It will now find a home on my front porch for plants.

The shrubs did get planted last Sunday, and I found these two treasures.
This one is a Yellow Trout Lily.

Wild Bloodroot.

And the Quince shrub has me wanting to just spend my whole day outside on the front porch.
This picture was taken on Wednesday, the 2nd, a cold and cloudy day. 
I actually had to turn the heat back on in the house after waking up to 40°ish outside and 55°ish inside.

weekend eve ...

  Saturday is predicted to be hot and muggy with temps dropping on Sunday and rain coming it.  The rest of the week with be about 30-40 degrees colder than tomorrow.  I guess I will make the best of it and get a dresser out to the front porch to sand before painting.

  Sunday the art class and taking Charlie to see his besties.

I believe this is a Redbud tree in bloom outside the office window.
But I'm too short to actually see the blossoms and stepped in one of Charlie's land mines trying to get a close-up picture,
so, you'll just have to take my word for it.

This morning, I saw a potential new tenant checking out the rental bird house on the front porch. 
But couldn't tell what kind of tenant it was going to be through the sheers.
The temptation is great to become a peeping Cindi, but I'm afraid they would call PETA on me.

Wishing you a wonderful, relaxing weekend ... Ci💚

found..

   Kael had wandered around the exterior of the house for a week, trying to find a way inside.  He felt exposed and vulnerable outside of the house and frequently had night terrors of gnolls.  While he wasn't sure what he would find inside the house, he felt as though he would be safer within the walls of the enormous building.

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AI Image Creator

  Finally, the owner of the house returned followed by boxes and boxes carried off trucks by large unfriendly looking men.  Kael managed to slip in the open door while the men were getting more boxes and made his way to the second floor.  He could hear the owner directing the men to take the books into the library, and to be very careful with them.  He'd spent the past year traveling the world to various antique booksellers looking for rare first editions to add to his collection.

  Kael found a room at the far end of the hall that appeared to not have been lived in for quite a while.  A thick layer of dust was on everything, and he felt it would be safe for him to make himself comfortable under the bed to get some rest while the men downstairs discussed books.  The mystery of where he was would have to be solved in the morning because right now the softness of the rug and the muffled sounds of talking were lulling his mind and body to sleep.

📔📖📕📔📖📕

  It was afternoon when Kael finally awoke.  The rest had done him wonders and he felt less afraid than he'd been in several weeks.  Climbing up to a windowsill in the room, he was astonished to see a beach shore in the distance, with a large red and white lighthouse.  He really had traveled to the end of the world in his panicked run from the gnolls!

  So mesmerized by the sight of the waves crashing upon the shore, he hadn't heard the sound of the door opening behind him until the man spoke.  With nowhere to run to, Kael pulled an edge of the curtain in front of him.

  "Hello there little man.  I wondered whose footprints had been left in the dust on the rug, and now I see.  My name is Alexander, and you needn't be afraid of me."

  "Oh, but you should fear me," lied Kael, knowing that his small size posed little threat to the man.

  Laughing, the man backed out of the room, "Well, when you feel you can trust me, why don't you come downstairs and allow me to buy you a meal and perhaps a draft of ale."

  It didn't take Kael long to decide.  He was hungry.  Very hungry, and the idea of a good meal with some ale was more than he could ignore.  He made his way down the hall, and found the kitchen where Alexander was preparing sandwiches.  A chair and a stool had been pulled up to the table, and a small shot glass of ale was sitting by the stool.

  "Make yourself comfortable, little friend, and tell me how you wound up in this grand old folly of mine.  I love stories and tales if you hadn't guessed by the number of books in my home.  But I'm also curious to meet new friends.  It's not a practical way to spend one's life, traveling the world, but it suits me quite nicely.  Why don't you start off with your name and tell me where you're from?"

It's a new month of Words for Wednesday!