.~. MERRY CHRISTMAS .~.

.~. HAPPY NEW YEAR .~.

 Sorry for my delay in posting the next episode of  The Slumber Party Mystery. Since there is going to be a break in the Wordzzles until after New Year however, I hope to be able to catch up.

.~. GOD JUL .~.

.~. GOTT NYTT ÅR .~.

Raven's Wordzzle Challenge #92

Raven's Wordzzle Challenge #92

sugar, mortgage, logical, roller skates, outlandish, "Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus", cumberbund, unexpected, photo album, scarecrow

tomatoes, turtles, basement apartment, circumference, make my day

The Slumber Party Mystery
Chapter 39 - Gossip

Skittles had talked his friend Matthew Turtles into having Sunday breakfast with him in his basement apartment, and then going with him to the village church.

"Please," Skittles had said on the phone. "You know I don't usually go to church, and if I go alone I'll feel as though they'll all be staring at me, and I'll be red as tomatoes in the face. But Diana said she might be going, and it would really make my day if you'd accompany me and see her. It's enough if you just say hello and then you could give me your opinion of her afterwards."

"I really can't see why it would cause any less staring if I go with you," had been Matt's answer, but since he was feeling curious, he had agreed anyway.

Up at the Brigadier General's house, Bumblebee was tying a cumberbund around the impressive circumference of his belly. Miss Diana had warned him that she would probably be bringing some guests back with her after church.

At the village church, Diana could not really have made a more spectacular entrance if she had arrived on roller skates instead of in her outlandish little red sports car, wearing her grandmother's diamond necklace.

The quartet of old ladies standing outside the church were so preoccupied looking at her that they paid no attention at all to the two police officers, nor to Dr Challenge; and certainly not to young William.

"Yes Virigina, there is a Santa Claus!" said Mrs Smith to Mrs Jones. "Just look at her! I have a picture in my photo album..."

"Now isn't that unexpected?" said Mrs Jones to Mrs Anderson. "That poor little scarecrow, growing up into such a fashionable young lady!"

"Well, Virginia," said Mrs Anderson, "I'd say it's only logical that she should, really, all things considered. I shouldn't wonder if that diamond necklace is a fake, though! I heard the General had to take a mortgage on the house you know," she added in a whisper.

Skittles, looking at Diana, found himself thinking that he should have taken at least three lumps of sugar with his morning coffee instead of just one. He was suddenly feeling a bit weak at the knees.

His friend Matt noticed, and gave him an amused smile.

"Hey John, you're not the groom waiting for the bride, you know, even though I must agree she'd make a stunning one! If you still want me to meet her, you'll have to introduce me!"

Raven's Wordzzle Challenge #91

Raven's Wordzzle Challenge #91

edge, haven, sunglasses, sprightly, telling, frazzled, juicy, quartet, tied, necklace
bees, crackling, wooden, staple, earful

(Words this week provided by Argent)

The Slumber Party Mystery
Chapter 38 - Going to Church

Adam Challenge awoke on Sunday Morning still feeling kind of frazzled and on edge. In spite of this he decided to go to church. There was no telling yet how much the rumours of Friday's events - or Saturday's for that matter - had spread around the village, but church would be the right place to find out about all the juicy gossip. He might just as well take the bull by the horns! As he went outside, he tried his best to put on a sprightly manner. The bees were already busy buzzing around in the gardens and it looked as if it was going to be another warm and sunny day.

Since William had been working at the back of the store all Saturday, handling staple goods, with no one to talk to but his boss who wouldn't listen, he too decided on Sunday morning to go to church. If the news was not already spreading on its own, he intended to help! After all, he had not only been a principal witness, but even taken active part in the events, saving the Brigadier General's house from burning down!


As Adam approached the little wooden church with its crackling white paint, he saw a quartet of women outside who were all patients of his. He would get his earful of gossip alright. He noticed however that their attention was not at the moment directed towards himself. A little red sports car had just driven up in front of the church, and out stepped a young woman in sunglasses, wearing a white skirt and black top. Her hair was neatly tied back; but around her neck she wore a sparkling diamond necklace. This was something he had not counted on. Miss Diana Haven had obviously come to the same decision as himself, about facing the crowd rather than just stay at home wondering.

Raven's Wordzzle Challenge #90

Raven's Wordzzle Challenge #90

love is a many splendored thing, trucks, inspector, symbols, rising, organic, liberation, costly, smug, naughty,

the nature of the beast, identical, charcoal, braggart, vacation

If you're new to my story, there is a Summary here.

The Slumber Party Mystery
Chapter 37 - Love is a many splendored thing


William, late on Saturday afternoon, was still stuck at the grocery store, unloading trucks and handling costly goods marked "organic" and with some strange symbols he took to be Chinese signs. His boss was just watching from behind his glass windows and acting inspector, looking very smug and not even rising from his chair. William in the meantime was getting naughty thoughts of practical jokes but realized that any such attempts would only get him into more trouble. Finally his hour of liberation came, and he was allowed to go home and watch the DVD he had rented: Love is a many splendored thing.

Diana was sitting in her room making a charcoal picture, but she had problems quite catching the nature of the beast she was drawing. In her head she could hear the voice of her friend Sandy saying: "All men are such braggarts!" Diana threw the picture aside and started on another identical one. It struck her that her vacation would soon be coming to an end and there were decisions to be made. 

Raven's Wordzzle Challenge # 89

Raven's Wordzzle Challenge # 89

officer, candid, drowning, turtles, sugar-coated, prospecting, shame on you, reclinder, luggage, brains, paragon of virtue, cats-in-the-cradle, swamp, sprinkles, garbage

The Slumber Party Mystery
Chapter 36 – Cat's Cradle

Getting home on Saturday evening, John Skittles called up his friend Turtles, who was also a police officer.

"To be quite candid with you, I don't understand what's happening," he complained. "I thought I was solving a mystery, and then suddenly I seem to be drowning in a sugar-coated romance instead."

"Sounds like interesting prospecting to me," said his friend. "Shame on you for moaning about it! You know you always fall in love with a good mystery. Perhaps this time the mystery has also fallen in love with you! I suggest you lean back in your recliner and put those Sherlock brains of yours to some good use for once. Try and figure out what it is about this girl that attracts you."

"I have no idea," said Skittles, still in a grumpy tone of voice. "She comes with such a lot of strange luggage. Her grandfather's house is only part of it. The place is a veritable swamp full of garbage, in some ways. She's hardly a paragon of virtue herself either. And she's not in love with me, she's in love with that doctor. She said so yesterday."

"Ah," said Turtles. "The cat's in the cradle, and sprinkles of jealousy on top."

"What?" said Skittles, irritably. "You know I'm no good at metaphors, you always end up having to explain them to me."

"This one is kind of hard to explain over the phone, John," said his friend. "Cat's cradle is an intricate game, and it takes the combined efforts of two people to sort it out."

Later in the evening, Turtles emailed this web page to his friend John Skittles:

http://www.ifyoulovetoread.com/book/chten_cats1105.htm

Raven's Wordzzle Challenge # 88

Raven's Wordzzle Challenge # 88

Cute, come with me to the Casbah, bloodhound, respiration, Facebook, Canada Geese, modern, gravity, spider webs, sea shells, curiosity killed the cat, charming Victorian, railroad tracks, tower, salt and pepper

The Slumber Party Mystery
Chapter 35 – A Curious Phone Call

What Skittles actually said to Diana when he asked her to have lunch with him was "Come with me to The Casbah", referring to the Algerian restaurant by that name a few blocks away from the Modern Arts Museum.

Diana, for some reason, said she thought it was very "cute" of him to say so. When he asked her why she said that, she just smiled and said "Curiosity killed the cat". He did not dare ask again. Then Diana asked if he was on Facebook. John said no, and she said no matter, she could show him how to set up an account – he would soon learn.

On their way out, they passed another work of art in the entrance hall.. Skittles found himself rather liking this one, which was called "Sea Shells and Spider Webs". At least he could see what was what in it.

The Casbah restaurant, as Skittles knew from before, was in a charming Victorian style building. On each of the tables, they had little tower-shaped containers for salt and pepper. Skittles had always liked those.

Just as they sat down, Diana's cell phone rang. Skittles listened anxiously to the part of the conversation that he could hear.

"What do you mean, respiration problems?!" she gasped to the person at the other end. Skittles immediately thought of her grandfather, and found his bloodhound police instincts aroused. This sounded like a situation of gravity that might be requiring their immediate presence back at the hospital.

However, what followed did not quite seem to fit.

"But what on earth was she doing on the railroad tracks?" said Diana.

After listening a while longer, she said "Okay, we'll talk more later," put the cell phone back into her handbag, and turned to Skittles with a deep sigh and tears in her eyes.

"That was about Puddles," she said. "It seems curiosity killed the cat for real this time. Apparently she was hit by a train while chasing Canada Geese along the tracks."

Skittles did not know what to say, but reached out over the table and patted her hand, rather clumsily.

Raven's Wordzzle Challenge # 87

Raven's Wordzzle Challenge # 87

plumber, autograph, Florence Nightengale, a chill wind’s a blowing, watering hole, sleek, triplets, backwards, surface*, tension*, parrot, free estimates, French fries, carpet, Braille, silver-tongued bandit

The Slumber Party Mystery
Chapter 34 – Adam's Saturday Adventures

Dr Adam Challenge's Saturday had not started well, and did not seem to be getting better. During Lieutenant Skittles' unexpected visit in the morning he had tried to remain calm on the surface, but their talk had left him with a lot of tension. After Skittles left - advising Adam not to leave town - on top of everything, Adam discovered that his toilet was out of order. He called several plumbers, repeating the same questions feeling like a parrot, but none of them would give free estimates on a Saturday. Finally he got in touch with one sleek silver-tongued bandit of a plumber who promised to come and have a look at it the same evening, but at four times the normal cost. In spite of the sunny day, Adam felt a chill wind blowing.

Right after that, just as Adam was contemplating going to his favourite watering hole and get himself a drink and some French fries for lunch, he got an emergency phone call from a patient having triplets. Adam found her lying on the living room carpet and there was no time to get her to the hospital. He had to deliver the babies himself. Luckily everything went well, in spite of one of them coming out backwards. The husband, before following the ambulance in his own car, compared Adam to Florence Nightingale and asked for his autograph in triplicate, to give to each of the children later on. He also wanted it in Braille for the children's grandmother but Adam said he would have to get back to him about that.

Watching the happy father drive away, Adam suddenly felt a lot better about himself. After all, the Brigadier General had not died; and today he had helped bring three new lives into the world.

*Note on the words: Picking up the link to #87 today, I find that I made a mistake when picking up the words from last week. I took surface and tension to be meant as separate words. I don't have time to rethink and rewrite today so I'll just make apologies and leave them as they are in my story.