Excuse Note 5/7/2013

Please excuse Sheila from working on her novel today as she went straight from work to see Collin Kelley and Theresa Davis read from their new poetry collections, had dinner in Decatur afterward and thus did not get home until quite late.

100 Odd Words #30 - Hope

“Hope?” she said.  Her lips stretched into a mirthless approximation of a smile.  “Hope requires faith, faith requires trust, trust requires courage, courage requires strength and strength inevitably requires replenishment.  I have lived in deprivation for so long that there is no strength left in me and no source of replenishment.  Therefore I have no strength to have courage, no courage to have trust, no trust to have faith and no faith to have hope.  Keep your pretty words and empty promises.  Give me something to eat and a safe place to sleep and then you can speak of hope.”

100 Odd Words #29 - Aftertaste

She took in a mouthful of the wine and held it on her tongue.  The dark and wooden flavors bit in along with a faint undercurrent of sweetness.  She faked a swallow and kept her eyes on his mouth.  A twitch of a smile flickered before it was suppressed.

She let the glass slip from her hand and spat the wine out as she crouched down to retrieve it.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, “So very sorry.”

She put her hands around the largest shard she could find and when he bent down over her, she went for the throat.

Excuse Note 12/22/2012

Please excuse Sheila from all writing projects for the remainder of the year 2012.  Thank you.

Excuse note 11/3/2012

Please excuse Sheila from her 100 Odd Words for the month of November, as she is once again participating in National Novel Writing Month and needs all the words she can spare for that project.  Thank you.

Excuse Note 10/20/2012

Please excuse Sheila from working on her novel today as her parents are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary on this very date and she will be spending the bulk of the day attending events to commemorate this most happy occasion.  This excuse note also extends to her 100 Odd Words entry for today.  Thank you.

100 Odd Words #28 - Shopping List

Fifteen yards of velvet fabric, crimson.

Five silk scarves of approximately three feet in length and a minimum of six inches in width, black.

Three ostrich feathers.

One spool of thread.

One spool of braided picture wire.  A twenty-five foot roll will be more than sufficient.

Cutting shears.

Scissors.

One bottle of extra-virgin olive oil.

One bottle of rubbing alcohol.

Tape and gauze.

Two bath towels with washcloths.

One jar of Nutella hazelnut spread, or reasonable equivalent.

One bag of ice.

One ice chest.

One ice bucket (optional.)

One pint of fresh strawberries.

Two tubes of red lipstick.