To stay inside

1.  So you can avoid the heat of summer.
2. Because writing in the rain is easier with a roof over your head.
3. There are less bugs to annoy you.
4. Most chairs are more comfortable.
5. The kitchen is closer.
6. Entertainment is quickly available from many sources. Books, family members, and television are only a few possibilities.
7. Tatting and other crafts remain cleaner.
8. When the children are outside playing, you enjoy the peace and quiet.
9. Taking a nap on the couch can at times be relaxing.
10. You can try something new in a controlled environment.

Susan and the camping trip: part one

"Why do we have to go camping?" A girl by the name of Susan asked, nose wrinkling as she tried to shove a shoe into her already stuffed bag. The girl's mother hummed as she zipped her own bag closed, then turned to look at Susan.
"Uncle Gregory invited us. Your cousin Tiffany is coming. It will be a fun opportunity for the two of you to spend time together." Susan's mother said. Susan had to stifle a groan. Not Tiffany! From what Susan could remember about her cousin, Tiffany was a total bore. The last time she had seen Tiffany, her cousin had found a quiet spot to read and stayed there the entire night!
Susan gave a cough and rubbed her throat. "Mom," Susan gave another cough, "I think I'm coming down with something." She scrunched up her face, then gave two coughs. "I think I'd better stay home."
Susan's mother walked over to her. Placing a hand on her daughter's forehead, Susan's mother offered a faint smile. "Nice try dear, but you are going camping."
Leaning her head back, Susan let out a groan. "But it'll be so boring! There is nothing fun to do out in the woods." She waved a hand in the air. "And besides, my friends and I were going to do stuff together!"
Susan's mother gave her a look. "We are going camping." Susan's mother placed a hand on Susan's bag. "You need to repack and leave some of this stuff behind. We leave in the morning."
With that, Susan's mother walked back to her own bag. Susan looked at her bag with a frown. No matter what her mom said, Susan was certain that camping was going to be a boredom-filled disaster.

How to build a deathtrap

1. Select the location. Your deathtrap must blend in with the environment until the time to use it arrives.
2. Decide upon the animals. Will it have a pit of snakes or a tank of sharks?
3. Fine tune the sequence of events. This trap will begin with an iron ball rolling down a pipe and knocking a stapler off the table. The stapler will land in a bucket set on a balance scale, which will add enough weigh so that a burning candle is lifted toward a rope. The flame burns the rope, which causes a boulder to fall exactly where our hero will be immobilized.
4. Choose the style of trap. Spiked walls that move steadily closer or a room that fills with sand? Whichever you choose has its own set of tools required to make it work properly.
5. Know how many heroes the trap will need to accommodate. If the trap is too small, then it may miss some heroes. While if it is too large, a single hero may be able to slip past without setting it off.
6. Bait the trap. Is you hero insatiably curious? Then disguise the trap's trigger as something the hero will be drawn to. A big red button works quite well.
7. Have the trap contain the hero's weakness. If there something that can cripple the hero? Whether it is ornithophobia, the color yellow, or a green meteorite, make sure it has a place in your trap!
8. Build a fail-safe trap. If the hero somehow defeats the first trap, then a secondary trap may prove successful. Who would would expect there to be a trap within another?
9. Prepare a speech. Taunting the hero is one of the great joys of a deathtrap. Go ahead and give a speech worthy of the hero's demise.
10. Leave a flaw that the hero can exploit to escape. You don't want to have to find a new hero after all.

Birthday rhyme

When swamped by birthdays, you may not know what to do.
While anxious to give a good gift, your face might turn blue.

Remember to breathe as you learn these facts:
 1. While gifts are nice, your family may just want to interact.
 2. A birthday remembered is one well spent.
 3. Never reveal the birthday persons age without their consent.

Go on, plan a surprise party or two.
Even if the birthdays you celebrate are few.

What ever the day, whether in winter, spring, summer or fall,
Happy birthday! To one and to all!

Stuff you might do this summer

1. Schedule vacation time. After all, everyone deserves to have a break every once in a while.
2. If you have a blog and plan to be away from computers, create a buffer.
3. If going on vacation, pack items suitable for where you are going. After all, parkas are not normally considered swim attire in Hawaii.
4. Go outside! Get some fresh air and enjoy some outdoor activities.
5. Check to see what cool things are scheduled for release. You do want to be one of the first to read the next book in a series or see a film, right?
6. Gather a stack of books to read. Whether they are new discoveries or old favorites, reading is an excellent way to spend the summer.
7. Spend time with your family. Do things together. The summer is a great time to catch up on what your family has been up to.
8. Spend time with friends. Perhaps you will have the opportunity to go on vacation with your friends, or maybe you'll just go out for ice cream. Whatever the case, summer is much more fun when spent with friends.
9. Practice a skill. Having trouble crocheting? Then set aside time to get better at it during the summer.
10. Go camping. What better time is there to go out in the wilderness?

F.E.- Telepathic children

 I leaned away from the computer, content with the ending. My brother frowned at the screen, then looked at me.

“What do you mean, “End of Part One”? You've barely begun!” His azurite eyes shone brightly, while his mind continued to assault me with questions.

I sighed, and looked down at the old worn out book I held in my lap. Carefully picking it up, I slid a finger down the black leather of the cover.

“There's nothing left. Anything else in here was lost during the fire six months ago.”

His eyes grew dark as my brother remembered that terrible evening.

You could tell a lot from my brother's eyes, sometimes they even spoke louder then his mind. Mother once told me that James reminded her of uncle Seth, though I failed to see the resemblance. Uncle Seth had black hair, while James had mother's copper hair.

James had gotten excited when I had typed out mother's first meeting with our ancestress, Jessie. He loved that he had her eyes, and had told me once that he wished that he had been chosen by uncle Book instead of our older brother Milos.

I had told him that Milos was the one with the strong Mind Sense, not him.

James had then said that I should have been picked, since I had both our parents gifts.

I disagreed.

My younger brother turned the last page with legible writing on it, and found that the rest of the journal had either been ripped out or damaged beyond the possibility of repair.

Still frowning, James looked at me. “Can't Mama fix it? She did create the Memory Journals, after all.” I shook my head before he finished speaking.

“Nope. Mother said that she could fix them, but won't until the twins are older. She doesn't want us reading to them about all the dangerous stuff she and father did.” I shrugged and took the journal back from my younger brother. Carefully setting it on top of the other Memory Journals I had already gone through, I pushed my chair back and stood.

Picking up the journals, I yawned. “I've got to take these back to the library, before Mother realizes their gone.” James stood, the top of his head reaching my shoulder.

“You know she keeps all the cool memories locked away in her ring, right?” He asked. I nodded, using a free hand to mess up his already ruined hairstyle.

“I know, little brother. I have had three more years then you to learn every secret this family has.” I led the way through our house to the library, my ears carefully listening for the sound of  Mother and my youngest siblings.

Chloe and Malcolm were only four, and had been born here in the Earth Realm. Mother had told us that after their fifth birthday, we would go live in Shadowcrest manor with our uncle Seth and his family for a while. I couldn't wait to to see my cousin Sophia again.

But before that, I had to finish writing out the inserts for the family history.

“You know, if we borrowed the ring from Mama, then you'd be able to finish Fragile Existence sooner.” I looked at James, wondering where his twelve year old mind had gotten such an idea.

“Mother would never let us borrow her ring. You know that.” I opened the door to the library and quietly entered.

James smiled impishly as he closed the door.

“I know... That's why I didn't ask first.”

I froze, and turned to look at my little brother.

“You did what?”

He held out a hand, and opened it to reveal a small silver ring; the butterfly wing pattern was as unmistakable as the soft glow.

“I borrowed it when she took it off last night. But don't worry, I left a copy of it with enough memories from the real thing so she wouldn't know.”

I grabbed the ring, controlling my thoughts carefully.

James smiled innocently, then spoke with hopeful eyes.

“Since I got it for you, can I be mentioned in the acknowledgments of Fragile Existence when you get it published here? You owe me that much, Cal.”

For icecubes

1. To reduce swelling after an injury.
2. As a treat for a dog.
3. To keep food cold while traveling.
4. For crushed to make a snowcone.
5. So you can build a miniature igloo.
6. As part of making homemade ice cream.
7. To cool a hot beverage.
8. For entertaining a cat.
9. To keep chocolate from melting.
10. When flavored, as a treat for children.