Mrs. Jenny Matlock's Saturday Centus-Week 23-'If I had a hammer...'

Saturday, October 9, 2010
Saturday Centus - If I had a hammer...

Later on October 17th: I've written two extra 'hammer-texts'.
Please see them here.

Welcome to week twenty-three of Saturday Centus. I'M SO, SO, SO SORRY! One of you sent me three or four wonderful prompts that I did not save to my E-mail SC folder. I searched all my files preparing this post and can't find them. Would you mind re-sending them to me? I promise to be more responsible this time. AND Can I just say...I love SC! It is distracting and fun and funny and uplifting and thoughtful and wonderful. It remains my favorite 'read' of the week and I appreciate each and every one of you who takes time to link. STOP! If you didn't read the end SC's from last week, please take a moment to do so. Just work backwards until you find out where you left off. I feel really bad that the people at the end don't get read. Thanks! Now on to regular SC biz...In case you've forgotten... This is a themed writing meme and a different challenge this week. You can use UP to 100 words to tell your story. The prompt does not count for your 100 words AND it must be left intact in the body of your story. No illustrations are permitted. Your story can be fact or fiction, just keep it PG, please! I have to look at my Grandchildren with these eyes. You have the entire week to link your work to the meme and you can link more than one story if you like. Please display link button or just a hyper-link back to Saturday Centus. Be careful to link your SC URL to the Linky and not just link to your main blog. I would suggest that since these are so short, if you can't think of a title just use your blog name as the title in the Linky. Try to visit each one because there are some amazing writers participating in this meme. Since the links are so short they are also a fun and quick read. Please e-mail me directly with ???'s or ask your question in a comment and I will do my best to get back to you as soon as possible.

This weeks prompt is: "If I had a hammer..."

This is my SC#23-text:

------

His friend, the first mate, had pleaded with their irate captain to at least leave some provisions. "Or it will be as a certain death sentence!" he thought, eyeing the wooden crates scattered, amongst the rocks and seaweed. "But how to open them? I need the wood to make a shelter. If I had a hammer, I could open them and see what the lads have left me."
It was then that he spied a wedge-shaped rock that was both smooth and sharp and the right size for his hand. He smiled, picked it up, and started hammering at the lid of the first box.

------

Word count using WordCalc: 100


Best wishes,
Anna

P.S.

The Scottish seaman, Alexander Selkirk (1676-1721), sailed with William Dampier on an expedition and had a falling out with his captain that lead to him being left, by his own choice, on one of the islands of Juan Fernández near Chile in 1704 and was not rescued until 1709. His true story became the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's roman Robinson Crusoe. My little SC-text has an ounce of fact and tons of fiction.

First Commenter:
Viki of Viki's Place

Visit other Saturday Centus posts for week 23 here.



Later on October 17th: I've written two extra 'hammer-texts'.
Please see them here.

C is for Cactus - Mrs. Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday-Round 2 - C

Photo Copyright Christina Wigren

Today is Friday and high time to link to Mrs. Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday, Round 2, before the link is closed!!! This week we are looking at words that start with the letter C. My C-word is Cactus. As you can see in the very first picture, I am going to show you lots and lots of small and some larger cactus-plants, in an outside park. How is this possible?

Photo Copyright Christina Wigren

Where are we? Could it be true that my ship came in and we have taken a trip to some southern location? Spain? Arizona perhaps? No, dear friends, we have not even left our home town, Norrkoping. These cacti are planted temporarily in an outside park in Norrkoping, Sweden. (These shots were taken August 7th. When I post these photos, it is October 8th, and all of the cactus plants here have been moved inside to a special green house for the winter.)

Photo Copyright Christina Wigren

Here are Erik and Elisabet to prove it. We are not on a trip to some far off land. We have just taken a walk. (I walked. Erik rode his scooter and Elisabet sat in the stroller when she felt tired of walking.) We took a walk to the Carl Johan Park, not far from the railway station (in case you make a short trip to Norrkoping, sometime between July and September, and only have time to see this amazing tourist attraction.) Each year the Municipality of Norrkoping lets the town gardeners make a special picture made up of different cactus plants for different jubillees. (The designer is this case is Jana Douda.)

Photo Copyright Christina Wigren

This year an image of the town hall was made to commemorate the fact that it was built 100 years ago. See the image of the town hall rendered in cacti?
I was fortunate enough to able to meet Jana Douda, from the city of Norrkopimg's park service, who has designed the different commerative catus garden-images for many years and is going into retirement next week! Thanks to Jana Douda who gave me a copy of Stig Hellerstrom's book, Kaktusgruppen i Norrkoping (Norrkoping 1996), I was able to find out more about the history of this practice of decorating with cacti to make a garden-image to commemorate something worth celebrating by 'painting with plants.'

Photo Copyright Christina Wigren

Where do all the cactus plants come from and how did they get so far north? (Norrkoping is on approximately the same latitude as Canada or even Alaska.) Seeds and bulbs have been purchased in Great Britain and Germany, where there is also a great interest for cactus-gardens.

Photo Copyright Christina Wigren

We are standing in the same park, Carl Johan Park, that I featured for the French Obsession. We have our backs to the statue, when looking at the cactus-garden.)

The statue of the king, Karl XV Johan, was erected 1846 and is the first site of a planted garden of summer flowers that later became a cactus garden.

Photo Copyright Christina Wigren

In 1908 a builder, Mr Anders Carlsson, donated a large number of cactus plants that he had been given by a sea captain from his travells around the world.

Photo Copyright Christina Wigren

Mr Carlsson's wife did not like dusting around these sharp plants. Stig Hillerstrom does not say this in his book, but it seems that Mrs Carlsson gave her husband a choice, an ultimatum.

Photo Copyright Christina Wigren

And luckily for Norrkoping, he chose her and let the prickly plants go.

Photo Copyright Christina Wigren

Using cactus plants for these outdoor decorations, has an advantage over greener plants that must be weeded, watered and trimmed. The cactus-garden needs only some weeding.

Photo Copyright Christina Wigren

They don't change during the short time that they are on display in the park. It's only if the plants are physically damaged or removed that the garden has to be repaired. Sadly, it has happened that some plants have been stolen. This is why there is an iron fence around the cactus-garden.

Photo Copyright Christina Wigren

Elisabet and Erik have been good sports and let me take pictures.

Photo Copyright Christina Wigren

They are tired and want to go home. But we are happy to have shown you this yearly practice of making a cactus-garden to commemorate something here in Norrkoping. After all these years, it has become a tradition.
(The photo below was taking from a crane! It is not my photo. To see more from Norrkoping please visit the municipal site.)

Photo Copyright Norrkopings Kommun

Best wishes,

Anna

First Commenter:

Rachele of
Because Someone Cares
Wine at Five?
More Fun Than Allowed...With Children

To visit other posts about the letter C, please go to this site.

THE EVENT 1° SERIE (Megavideo)

1x01: Non Le Ho Detto Tutto
1x02: Per Tenerci Al Sicuro
1x03: Proteggili Dalla Verità  
1x04: Questione Di Vita O Di Morte 
1x05: Vittime Di Guerra
1x06: Lealtà  
1x07: So Chi E'
1x08: Per Il Bene Del Nostro Paese  
1x09: Il Vostro Mondo Sarà Nostro
1x10: Tutto Cambierà  
1x11: Un Esercito Per Thomas 
1x12: Inostranka
1x13: L'Imboscata
1x14: Il Messaggio Di Risposta  
1x15: Faccia A Faccia 
1x16: La Scelta Di Sophia
1x17: Decapitare L'Esecutivo
1x18: La Nave
1x19: Noi O Loro  
1x20: Uno Vivrà Uno Morirà
1x21: L'Inizio Della Fine
1x22: L'Arrivo

THE EVENT 1° SERIE (Link Megaupload)

1x01: Non Le Ho Detto Tutto
1x02: Per Tenerci Al Sicuro 
1x03: Proteggili Dalla Verità
1x04: Questione Di Vita O Di Morte  
1x05: Vittime Di Guerra 
1x06: Lealtà 
1x07: So Chi E' 
1x08: Per Il Bene Del Nostro Paese 
1x09: Il Vostro Mondo Sarà Nostro 
1x10: Tutto Cambierà 
1x11: Un Esercito Per Thomas
1x12: Inostranka 
1x13: L'Imboscata 
1x14: Il Messaggio Di Risposta 
1x15: Faccia A Faccia 
1x16: La Scelta Di Sophia
1x17: Decapitare L'Esecutivo 
1x18: La Nave 
1x19: Noi O Loro 
1x20: Uno Vivrà Uno Morirà 
1x21: L'Inizio Della Fine
1x22: L'Arrivo 

THE EVENT 1° SERIE

1x01: Non Le Ho Detto Tutto
1x02: Per Tenerci Al Sicuro
1x03: Proteggili Dalla Verità
1x04: Questione Di Vita O Di Morte  
1x05: Vittime Di Guerra
1x06: Lealtà  
1x07: So Chi E'
1x08: Per Il Bene Del Nostro Paese  
1x09: Il Vostro Mondo Sarà Nostro
1x10: Tutto Cambierà  
1x11: Un Esercito Per Thomas
1x12: Inostranka  
1x13: L'Imboscata
1x14: Il Messaggio Di Risposta  
1x15: Faccia A Faccia
1x16: La Scelta Di Sophia
1x17: Decapitare L'Esecutivo  
1x18: La Nave
1x19: Noi O Loro  
1x20: Uno Vivrà Uno Morirà
1x21: L'Inizio Della Fine 
1x22: L'Arrivo 

French Marshal Founded Dynasty in Sweden - French Obsession

Photo Copyright Wikipedia

This handsome Frenchman, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, (1763-1844) one of Napolean's marshals, was elected on the 21 August 1810 as heir presumptive of the Swedish throne.

Photo Copyright Wikipedia

He became Karl XIV Johan of Sweden and even Karl III Johan of Norway until Norway left the union with Sweden in 1905.

Photo Copyright Wikipedia

There is a statue of Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte in the park that is named after him,

Photo Copyright Christina Wigren

Carl Johan Park, in my hometown, Norrkoping.

Photo Copyright Christina Wigren

Carl XIV Johan (Charles XIV John) is the great, great, great, great-grandfather of the present king, Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. Who looks like this today:

Photo Copyright Wikipedia

And like this in 1950.

Photo Copyright Wikipedia


And here together with Queen Silvia.

Photo Copyright Wikipedia

Look at the family tree here.

Photo Copyright Christina Wigren


According to Wikipedia:

Bernadotte, born in the town of Pau, in the province of Béarn, France, had risen to the rank of general during the tumultuous years of the French Revolution. In 1798 he married Désirée Clary, who had a sister who was married to Joseph, Napoleon's elder brother. In 1804 Napoleon promoted him to a Marshal of France, a move that he would later regret when Bernadotte disobeyed orders and refused to attack during the Battle of Auerstaedt. He narrowly escaped a court martial because of his familial ties to the Emperor. Before defecting from France he was also granted the title 'Prince of Ponte Corvo', a town in central Italy. Souce: Wikipedia

Here is a portrait of the House of Bernadotte as Royal Family in 1837.
Photo Copyright Wikipedia

Photo Copyright Wikipedia

Imagine Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte's wife, Dèsirée Clary (1777-1860), moving to Sweden at that time. I read somewhere that she did not like the cold climate. Here are two portrait of Dèsirée or Desideria as her name became in Swedish. She came to Sweden for a short stay in 1811 but returned to France and did not move permanently to Sweden until 1823 and was crowned as Queen of Sweden 21 augusti 1829. She never learned to speak Swedish.

Photo Copyright Wikipedia

Annemarie Selinkos wrote a novel, Dèsirée, about her life. It is not completely historically accurate.

Photo Copyright Wikipedia

(I have not read it, so I am just quoting Wikipedia here.) A film was made after this novel with Jean Simmons as Dèsirée. (I have not seen this movie.)

Photo Copyright Wikipedia

Here is a photo of the Royal Family in 1857

Photo Copyright Wikipedia

This is the House of Bernadotte's coat of arms.

Photo Copyright Wikipedia

This is a professional photographer's photo of the same statue in Carl Johan Park.

Photo Copyright Wikipedia

This was a little history lesson (with help of Wikipedia) for this month's French Obsession Party #7. I am inspired by Frenchy, our hostess, who is a very good example of a French person who settled in another country, where she is living an interesting and productive life, and can even speak and write the language there!

Here's to you Frenchy!

Best wishes,
Anna

Visit other posts for the French Obsession #7 here.

Or click on the lovely image of our hostess below:

First Commenter:
Ann of Ann's Snap, Edit & Scrap

Mrs Jenny Matlock's Saturday Centus Special Challenge Week 22

Welcome to week twenty-two of Saturday Centus.

STOP! If you didn't read the end SC's from last week, please take a moment to do so. Just work backwards until you find out where you left off. I feel really bad that the people at the end don't get read.

Thanks!

Now on to regular SC biz...In case you've forgotten...

This is a themed writing meme and a different challenge this week.

You can use UP to 100 words to tell your story. You can re-post the prompt picture into your post but no other illustrations are permitted. Your story can be fact or fiction.

You have the entire week to link your work to the meme and you can link more than one story if you like.

Please display link button or just a hyper-link back to Saturday Centus. Be careful to link your SC URL to the Linky and not just link to your main blog.

I would suggest that since these are so short, if you can't think of a title just use your blog name as the title in the Linky.

Try to visit each one because there are some amazing writers participating in this meme. Since the links are so short they are also a fun and quick read.

Please e-mail me directly with ???'s or ask your question in a comment and I will do my best to get back to you as soon as possible.

This week you will draw your inspiration from a picture and not a prompt. And here's the picture!

Here is my SC Special Challenge text:

"It was just awful! They tore my dress and stole my beaded necklace!" The old horse nudged her affectionately. "I don't know what to do. They just rode off and left me here."

"There, there dear. Calm yourself," said the plumpish old woman dressed in a long, hooded, woolen robe. "Just remember to get back in time. Now let me see. Where did I put it?" she said half to herself as she searched through her garment. "Yes, here it is!" She pulled out a wand and smiled, "Even magic takes time. First we'll need a pumpkin!"

Best wishes,

Anna

First Commenter:
Terra