Raven Challenge

Today I face another Raven's Challenge.

This Week's Ten Word Challenge is: plumber, autograph,
Florence Nightengale, a chill wind’s a blowing,
watering hole, sleek, triplets, backwards, surface
tension, parrot

And for the mini: Free estimates,French fries, carpet,
Braille, silver-tongued bandit

The Watering Hole

It was chaos, in Anna's watering hole as she tried to get her three children fed and off to school. Every morning had a bit of chaos, true but this a little more than normal. The pipes broke and that would mean a call to a plumber. The turning off of the water to the kitchen made breakfast a challenge. A thanksgiving to Pop-Tarts was given. They would give more sugar than needed, but there were no bowls to clean. Juice in boxes meant there were no glasses. Anna gave an autograph to her daughters homework report on Florence Nightengale, when the surface tension came. Alex brought in the sleek family parrot Silly without the cage. Anna felt a chill wind's a blowing as the kitten triplets attacked Silly on outstretched Alex's arm, pushing him backward. Alex slipped on some water on the surface of the floor not caught with the mop. Anna's waterless watering hole was filled with feathers, fir, and swinging arms of children trying to catch the kittens and bird to bring order. The plumber arrived as the children exited for school.

Free estimates the Brody company advertised, and Anna called them to come to the house to advise her on what needed to be done to fix the pipes. Jim weaved among the children to come in as they left. He complemented Anna on her children and her home. He gave her an estimate that she could afford, and she signed a contract for the work. The contract was not in braille, she was not blind so that was not needed. Jim left and promptly came back with a work crew. Anna went to the living room and vacuumed the living room carpet. At lunch she went to a close by fast food restaurant and got a hamburger and french fries, and a soda. She placed them on the counter along with her paper game board with the game pieces in it, old and new. She was sure she had won. The crew broke for lunch, while Anna ate hers. When the crew came back, Anna went back to her house cleaning in the living room. The job was done before the children would be home for school. Anna paid the bill, and the crew left. She then looked for the game board, it was missing, taken she believed by the silver-tongued bandit who had just fixed her pipes.

Anna left no time for calm thinking, she rushed to the plumber company that advertise free estimates, Brody. She ranted on and on how they stole her game board. Jim stated he did not know what she was talking about. She received no satisfaction. She returned home and there was someone in her living room. Lance, her husband was sitting in the comfortable recliner and reading the book her son had on Florence Nightengale. He was eating in the living room, against her rules, french fries. Eating in the living room leaves the possibility of something spilling on the carpet. Anna was upset still from the game board loss, the eating of the french fries only added to her anger so Lance felt the chill wind's a blowing toward him. This is not the homecoming reception he envisioned. He could not tell Anna about his conference and what he had learned when she was in this mood. He had an autograph copy of a rare braille book, and photo's of a watering hole in Africa, with sleek cheetahs. His own triplet kittens jumped in his lap, causing the parrot Silly, now in her cage to begin her repertoire of conversation,and the recliner to slip backward. There was a lot of tension in the room, but it broke when Anna saw on the surface of the end table, next to Lance, the game board . She grabbed it seeking to see if they won $10,000. They had not but only a free drink. The plumber was not a silver-tongue bandit after all.