First Annual Cabin Fever Writing Competition First Place Winner 1

 Now that we  have an (appropriately) good, strong March blizzard roaring outside, I would like to thank everyone who participated and just say that I was very impressed with everyone's pieces.  I hope everyone will join us, once again next year at the same time.

I was glad that I didn't have to pick the winner as it would have been a difficult decision to make! I once again must thank our very generous judges for all their time and effort!

Now that you have had time to enjoy and peruse our second and third place winner's entries, it is time to announce our first place winner for the First Annual Cabin Fever Writing Competition. Anyone that has had a previous opportunity to read her work will agree that she continually amazes us with her writing.

Our inaugural first place winner for this year is none other than Cathy Webster Olliffe!! 

A witty and talented Canadian writer, Cathy Webster Olliffe hearkens from the "boonies" (as she puts it) of Bracebridge, Ontario.  She lives near the incredibly beautiful and scenic Muskoka River in a very old and authentic  log cabin!  Who better suited to a cabin fever competition than her?  Besides being a talented writer and blogger, she is also a graphic artist. You can read her blog called  "Life on the Muskoka River" at her site:  http://muskokariver.blogspot.com/

I was alternately, claustrophobic and despairing when I read her piece.   Now that I have been able to distance myself a little, I know that our judges have chosen well.  Her piece literally made me feel as though I was suffocating.

Our judges remarked that Cathy's piece was the "Perfect embodiment of the theme!  -so tight in the narrative - with regards to information - yet sylistic elements still present in spite of conciseness -  well thought out and paced - dramatic!"

Here is her winning piece:


One, two, three, four, five, six.
Six paces wide.
He turned in the corner and started counting out the depth.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.  Almost ten.
A black rectangular box.
A coffin with a bunk bed, a sleeping bag, a few provisions and an
unknown quantity of oxygen.
Buck flopped down on the bunk and tried to relax, mindful of the
limited air supply.  It was tough not to be agitated, though, when you
were on a mountainside in a trapper's cabin, buried under an
avalanche.
He was the trapper.  This was his cabin.  He'd built it out of logs thirty
years ago.
Thirty years.  Six paces wide.  Ten paces long.
The numbers piled up in his head.  He was obsessing on them, he
knew, but he couldn't help it.  He wasn't sure how long he'd been
trapped in the cabin, but it was at least a day.
Twenty-four hours.  Thirty years.  Six paces. Ten paces.
How long before the air ran out?  Another hour?  Another day?  How
long before they found his body?  Spring?  Summer?  This year? Next
year?
So much to count.
He leapt to his feet and paced.


Congratulations, Cathy!  I will be sending out your prize sometime this week.  Here is a sneak peak of a couple of your goodies:

 

 

Congratulations, Cathy!

Included in your prize is a pair of vibrant red (honestly they are - they just don't look that way in the picture..lol) earrings from Jeannine Elder from Neepawa and of course, a Timmy's card to help make it through those long winter days.  There are also a couple of other small surprises coming your way, as well.

Booze Bombs and the Joys of Winemaking

I was busy replying to the Barb and Laurita's comments the other night when I heard a persistent rustle of cardboard behind me. I thought it was one of the cats playing with the cardboard boxes that some of my wine is stored in. It wasn't the cat. She sat there, head tilting from side to side looking intently at the center box with a perplexed expression on her face. The odd scratching noise continued until suddenly, there was a loud POP, like someone opened up a bottle of champagne. A small but forceful stream of liquid whipped open the cardboard box and shot a cork across the family room. The poor cat jumped about three feet in the air and skedaddled up the stairs so fast you would have thought the cork was after her! Amazing how far it shot! It was hilarious except for the mess it made on my carpet and the fact that my rumpus room smells like a brewery. I guess one of my bottles of wine was not finished working and blew its cork across the room and proceeded to blast wine right behind it.

Ah, the joys of making wine.

(I noticed that the cat hasn't kept me company down here since....)

A good deed indeed!

Imagine, two posts in one day! An unheard of event in my life!

I was delighted when I checked my emails and postings from fellow bloggers after arriving home from the lake. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that I had won a prize from a very generous blogger, Linda at leftbrainwrite. Linda posted 30 gratitudes for 30 days. When someone posted a gratitude on her site as well, she would donate to two charities. She raised almost 150 dollars doing this! All the winners were Canadian - I don't know if this says anything about us or if it was coincidence but I would like to think that we are indeed heartfelt, quirkie and lucky. These were her winners (including moi):

The Most Heartfelt Gratitude: Written by a writer with a romantic and compassionate soul ==> LAURITA MILLER
The Quirkiest Gratitude: Should come to no surprise to those who know her ==> CATHY OLLIFFE
Lady Luck winner: Also no surprise, as this woman left more gratitudes than any other individual ==> UMBRELLALADY

I like to support a good cause and felt that not only did I benefit by pausing to think about what is wonderful in this world but also others would benefit from her generosity as well.
I didn't realize (or had forgotten) that she was also giving away prizes to us for participating - so it was indeed a nice surprise for doing a good deed!

Thank you Linda.

I must apologize if the links do not work - I am still figuring these things out but wanted to thank Linda and highlight her generosity despite my shortcomings. I will post them when I do. :)