Author Archives: Alice
Ah Maria, A Girl Takes The Throne
The struggles of Marie Antoinette’s mother, Queen Maria Theresa, included a shaky start. “I do not think anyone would deny that history hardly knows of a crowned head who started his rule under circumstances more grievous than those that attended my accession.” Maria Theresa wrote this many years after the fact, but she was hardly exaggerating. The ministers surrounding her were the men who served her father and even her grandfather. They were old, old men who had grown adept […]
184/365 Vacation
I am ready for a vacation. How about you? The weather did improve. The river has mostly melted again. I’ll try to get a shot or two of it later so I can post it tomorrow. The sun came out, but we’ve still had a lot of fog, particularly for around here. How’s your weather?
Happy 101 Award
Given by Emily Emily of Marvelous Recipes gave me this award. The rules are to list ten things that make me happy and to pass it on to ten people who make me happy. Things: 1. Getting to the end of a really good book, to a point where the hero and heroine (Yes, I’m talking Romances) are on the brink of despair when everything clicks into place and they triumph big time. 2. When someone leaves comments on my […]
Thoughtful
Jill: (through the door) Are you sitting around again? Jack, you’ll never stop jiggling if you don’t get up and move around more. Come on. Don’t you want to exercise with me? Jack: Trust me, Darling. This time you want me to jiggle. Today’s theme is jiggle Previously in Jack and Jill Without Doing a Lick of Work Saturday photo scavenger hunt The rules for Photohunt can be found here. Be sure to visit the home page.
Suzie’s House 147: Nervous
“Gene, cut it out.” Ben took the ice cube from Gene’s hand. “She doesn’t like it.” “So what? I do like it.” Gene tried to take the ice cube back, but Ben kept just out of reach. Not that Gene was really trying anyway. It wasn’t like he cared all that much. He grabbed for it again anyway. “I said cut it out!” Ben actually looked serious. “What are you two talking about?” Diane glanced nervously at them right before […]
180/365 Down Stream
It was a foggy day. Kind of gave the view a stark beauty, even if The Boy says it’s just boring.
Western Roads
“Oh. You’re really going somewhere with this.” She looked from the map to the highway stretching endlessly before them. “Of course I am. I may take a few detours, but I’ve always had a place in mind. Only, it’s very far away.” “How far?” “The other side of the Grand Canyon. Speaking of which…” The challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to write a story in exactly 55 words. This is actually an allegory for the way I […]
179/365 Frozen River
It’s fairly rare that the river freezes over, but this year we’ve come close twice.
13 Icy Days
I’m used to snow. Ice? Not so much. So the weather we’ve been having lately is starting to get to me. I don’t know if it’s really been 13 days, but here are at least 13 interactions with icy days: 1. The river has almost frozen over. (See Thursday’s and Friday’s 365 posts) It’s beautiful, but you know if that much running water can freeze it’s been too cold for too long. 2. Tuesday the school called for a 2 […]
Ah Maria, What Did Daddy Do?
The story of Marie Antoinette’s mother: If Maria Theresa was unschooled in the finer points of empire management she was not unprepared. Although her father, Charles VI, had excluded her from public affairs he could not prevent her from observing them. She was also very conscious of something her father chose to willfully and unrealistically ignore for years; the fact that mom would never bear a male child. Maria Theresa knew she would one day be queen. If not as […]
