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Leona and the Monster

While organizing files on my laptop, I stumbled across this story. Originally, it was written for Vision Forum’s 2010 Catalog Essay Contest, but I lost interest in finishing it and, therefore, couldn’t submit it. It’s probably just as well since it was written in one setting and is hardly original, but I’m posting it now just for the fun of it. Here is “Leona and the Monster” in its original incomplete and unedited form:

“AGGGGHHHHHHH!!!” screamed a little peasant girl, running for the underground compound that would be her only protection from the Monster. Her name was Leona, and as she ran, the dropped the colorful wildflowers she had been picking to make a chain necklace. She did not stop to pick them up because she was running for her very life.

 The terrible creature was a large as three village huts and raided the countryside for its dinner, generally sheep, deer, and little children. It only went after the clean children as the dirty ones were not nearly as appetizing, and Leona’s grandmother had just given her a bath before supper. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, since she was all dirty from a hard day’s play. The Monster usually did not hunt in the evening, but today was an exception.

The Monster continued to gain on the peasants as they scrambled for safety. The shepherds did their best to hide their flocks, but it was too late. The sheep cried, “Baaaaa!!!” as the Monster chomped down on them. It devoured half of the sheep and let out a loud burp before toddling back to the Cave.

Leona’s older cousin, Derek, was a village scout. “The Monster is gone!” he yelled out from his secret scouting post in the tall trees. Everyone sighed with relief. Their village had survived better than others in the countryside.

Leona overheard some of the adults discussing how the Monster had been so hungry that it ate an entire village that was twenty miles away. The only person who escaped was a town elder, who had traveled to the palace to visit King Herbert. He asked King Herbert to send a knight to kill the Monster, but the king was too busy with other royal duties.

King Herbert was angry. All of the other kings in the world had pet llamas in their royal zoos, and he wanted pet llamas too. King Herbert asked another king for some llamas, but that king would not share. So King Herbert sent his knights to battle the other king’s knights. He did not have a knight to spare for something as unimportant as the Monster, who ate all the children and sheep. The elder was sad because the king only cared about his royal zoo.

This elder came to Leona’s village since everyone in his village was eaten by the Monster. He told the people how selfish the king was. “What are we going to do?” someone asked him. “The Monster has eaten all of our sheep. We will starve!”

The elder thought and thought all night. In the morning, he had an idea. “We should kill the Monster ourselves, and then eat it. The Monster is a big as three huts. If we store it properly, it will provide enough meat all winter.”

The people looked at each other as if the elder was crazy. They had eaten sheep, oxen, chicken, deer, rabbits, bugs, snakes, and sometimes even bear, but they had never ever before eaten a Monster. “Will it make us sick?” someone asked. “I heard it tastes like chicken,” someone else whispered.

Finally, everyone agreed. “How will we kill it?” asked Leona’s cousin Kira. Kira was Derek’s older sister.  Leona wished she was Kira’s age. The Monster only ate older girls when it was really, really hungry. It even preferred sickly, old men. Some people joked it was because older girls talked too much and gave the Monster indigestion. “How will we kill it?” she asked again, after no one answered her the first time.

Finally, someone got an idea. The little children were made to leave while everyone else discussed the plan. Leona ran outside with her mother calling after her, “Be careful, Leona! The Monster! It might return!”

Leona played with the other children, getting really dirty in case the Monster wanted an evening snack. When the adults’ meeting was finished, everyone went home and slept with one eye open. The next morning, Leona woke early. She wanted to find out how the village was going to kill the Monster. She went outside where the adults were talking and climbed into her father’s lap.

“It’s a good plan,” said Leona’s father. “I don’t like it,” said her aunt and uncle at the same time. They were worried because the village elders had told Derek to find and explore the Monster’s Cave while it was out searching for breakfast. He was the best scout in the whole village, so Leona was certain that he would be successful. The Cave sounded exciting. She wished she could see it, but then she remembered that she did not want to be eaten.

That afternoon, Derek returned. He drew a map that showed the location of the Cave. It was in one of the large hills surrounded by forest. He and the other scouts had climbed deep into the Cave to hide in it dry wood, leaves, and pinecones that would burn quickly and easily. Now they were organizing a hunting party. Everyone was talking, crying, hugging, and running around in circles looking for weapons.

“Stay out of the way. Play with your cousins,” Leona’s mother told her. Leona looked around. When she saw a cousin, someone would walk in front of her so she could not see where she was going. Finally, she saw Kira talking to some of the older girls and decided to join her. Leona did not want to lose Kira in the crowd, so she grabbed her cousin’s long skirt and clenched it tightly in her hands. Wherever Kira went, Leona toddled behind her.

After what seemed to be a long time, Leona noticed everything seemed quiet. There were not as many people around. Kira was walking slowly through the forest, and Leona silently kept up with her. She almost tripped over a few rocks that her little feet could not grip properly, but she managed to keep up, never letting go of Kira’s skirt. Once when Kira did stop walking, Leona peeked around her to catch a glimpse of some of the village hunters, large men who towered over her in size, carrying spears, swards, and all sorts of weapons she had never before seen. Suddenly nervous, but not scared, she would have insisted, Leona hid back behind her cousin’s skirt.

“Here’s the entrance, and this is where we put the leaves. If you light them, a good fire should get started immediately,” Derek was whispering. Leona stifled a yawn. She was tired and wanted to go home to her soft bed, but she was told to be quiet and to stay with Kira. Leona looked around. Tall dark trees covered the sky. There was hardly any light since the hunters had put out their lights soon after stopping. Her cousins continued to talk, but she hoped they would decide to return to the village soon.

Then suddenly Kira started walking away from Derek and the hunters. She began to climb some large rocks. Leona almost let out a cry as she let go of her cousin’s skirt. She did not want the Monster to hear her, since it could identify a little girl’s scream a mile away, but she feared losing her cousin in the black night. Frantically, Leona scrambled up the rocks and caught up with Kira.

Leona rushed to her cousin and threw her tiny arms around Kira’s legs. “AGGHHHHH!!!” screamed Kira, spinning around. “Leona!  What are you doing here?” she asked, her voice half yelling and half whispering.

Leona hid her face in Kira’s skirt. “Mama said to stay with you,” she whimpered, realizing that she must have done something wrong, but had no idea what it was.

Green, Orange and Pink Inspiration

Our new intern Stephanie made this board for her sister's wedding coming up next year. Really fun, right?



Sources: Cupcakes, Shoes, Orange Table Setting, Tux, Green Table Setting, Bouquet, Venue, Cake, Sweet Table, Hor doeuvers

Mexicanized Ice Cream Punch

Not long after I first tried Sangria Señorial, the Mexican non-alchoholic soft drink, I thought it might do well as a stand-in for both the soda and the fruit juice used in homemade ice cream punch. Not too discouraged after I couldn’t find a recipe online, I waited for an opportunity to test it out on my own. Well, today, I finally had a half-empty bottle and some French vanilla ice cream on hand with which to experiment. And, TA DA!!! It tastes fabulous. Also, with only two ingredients, it’s easier to adjust the taste. I’ll definitely be serving it at my next house party.

Speak Ill of the Dead

Last Thursday, iPalpiti Artist International kicked off their 13th Annual Festival of International Laureates not with a chamber music concert, but with a screening of Spring Symphony (1986) (imdb.com), a bittersweet drama about the careers and romance of Robert Schumann and Clara Wieck. On the whole, I enjoyed the film’s portrayal of 19th century European society, the hard life faced by even the most accomplished musicians, and Schumann’s determination to succeed against all odds. His future wife, of course, is the young and innocent martyr, suffering at the hands of a greedy (if not outright abusive) father and being cheated on by her patriarchal husband-to-be. Unfortunately, “abusive” takes on not only the connotations hinted at in rumors of the time, but also a more sinister meaning.

Although there’s plenty of historical evidence to support creating a dramatized conflict between Clara Wieck and her father, the movie strongly hints at an incestuous relationship. This inadvertently brings to the surface questions about “artistic license.” Where is it appropriate to draw the line? Amadeus (1984) (imdb.com) has convinced two generations of the musical illiterati that Antonio Salieri was an envious murderer and Joseph II was a simpleton. If it were possible for Spring Symphony to gain a similar level of popularity here in the United States, then perhaps we’d see the same effect on Friedrich Wieck’s already tarnished reputation.

So, why is it acceptable to invent horrible stories about someone long deceased purely for our own entertainment? Doing the same for someone alive today might bring about a slander or libel suit, but those from the past don’t have that freedom. Although it might be difficult to build an economic case around this, there’s surely room for an ethical one. The facts alone are certainly enough to create a moving story, and disputes among historians offer plenty of opportunities for creative interpretation, while still remaining within range of what’s probable. Spring Symphony probably won’t discourage anyone from purchasing Wieck’s exercises, but our society’s continued acceptance of adulterated truth should be mourned.

Entertaining Tips: Cheap and Fun

I love the idea of inviting people over and ensuring they aren't spending alot of money to come over. So how about setting a limit, or calling it "Back to College Night"



The Freshman 15 doesn't happen because you're enjoying "Steak au Poive" every night, it happens because Rice-a-Roni and Ramen Noodles and Kraft Mac-n-Cheese.



So how about invitng friends over with the idea to create something you enjoyed back then, set a $5 limit and see what they can come up with.

summer time!

even though it's totally raining here in the pacific northwest... i still feel like it's summer time!! i just rented the SUV for our camping trip to the southern coast ( since my cars out of commission ) and am starting to pack up!

it's funny though... with all my huney do's i need to get done... i still found the time to pick up a few of these little sunny treats from Hawthorne Threads!! they just received the new Meadowsweet 2 line and the aqua & yellow colorway is calling my sweet name!! ;) are these the yummiest or what!

also needed wanted to bring a new pincushion for all my hexie making time that i plan on spending this vacation!! and knowing what we'd be listening too... brought me a little 90's inspiration! you can get this pattern from Sublime Stitching's!!


and of course i'm juic'in the new girl all up and downloading lot's of free classics!!! i can just picture it now... me reading and playing hexieland... and the boys off getting dirty and exercising... yep, it's gonna be pure magic! haha...


see ya next week!!
xo, Heather