Puzzle 208

[AmberLee]

Welcome to this puzzle: Karen, Koxka, Casper & Kitty, JenLB, and Fuzzy317!


...The Snow Storm …

I was fortunate that the wind had -i-ed the snow at the side of my home, and with the he-- of the s-ade I cou-d c-ear a way out of -oth the front and -ac- doors, a-thou-ht I dou-ted if I shou-d e-er -e a--e to di- a -ath to my -ate.

An eerie -i-ht f-ooded the house, -art-y re--ected from the snow, and -art-y from those windows which were --astered with it and fi-tered the mornin- -i-ht.

I soon had my -ett-e on, and was than-fu- that the e-ectricity had not fai-ed. -ut I was -er--e-ed that Ti--y had not a--eared. Sure-y that comfort~-o-in- anima- had not -entured out durin- the ni-ht?

…

-y mid~mornin- there was sti-- no si-n of Ti--y and I was -e-innin- to -et a-armed. There were no te--~ta-e foot-rints around the house, -ut then they wou-d soon ha-e -een o--iterated in -ast ni-ht’s conditions.

I ran- the Annetts and a-so Mrs. -ohn in the ho-e that they had seen him, -ut there was no he-- there. I ca--ed unti- I was hoarse, ho-in- to hear an answerin- mew from some o-er~-oo-ed she-ter, -ut nothin- ha--ened. I -ad --oomy -isions of the -oor anima- entom-ed -eneath the --an-et of snow -i-e -ohn Ridd’s shee- in -orna Doone. How -on- cou-d a cat sur-i-e without food in such a situation? One thin-, Ti--y had --enty of sur--us fat to -i-e on, as -o- Wi--et was fond of -ointin- out, -ut cou-d the co-d -i-- him?

I -e-an to -et more and more a-itated as the hours -assed, and remem-ered a-- the ca-ti-atin- ways of my truant, and how much his com-anionshi- meant to me. -y the time ear-y e-enin- -e-an to cast its shadows, I was near des-air. At that moment, the -i-hts -e-an to f-ic-er continuous-y, and I decided that it wou-d -e as we-- to de--e into the recesses of the cu--oard under the stairs to find the ancient A-addin -am- stored there.


I undid the door, and -ent dou--e to -ocate the -am- in the --oom. A -a-y chirru-in- sound met me, and Ti--y emer-ed s-ee-i-y and -reeted me with much affection. Re-ief o-ercame my initia- irritation with the maddenin- anima-. Why had there -een no res-once to my an-uished cries? Why, -ast ni-ht of a-- ni-hts, had he decided to s-ee- in the cu--oard? I su--ose I must ha-e -eft the door a-ar on my first -isit there for cand-es, and then automatica--y shut it in -assin- -ater on. In any case, it was -ood to see my o-d friend, and a dou--e -ortion of -ussi~-u- -anished in a twin--in-.
. . .

Chan-es at Fairacre ~~ Miss Read


Letters remaining: B G J K L P Q V X Z

Nomilyn: 212 Es, 150 As, 55 Us = 834 points

Luckies4Me: 139 Is, 148 Os, 96 Ds = 670 points Barbara had previously guessed the C, so I'm crediting those points to her.

Delidog: 115 Hs, 140 Ns, 186 Ts = 441 points

Barbara: 85 Rs, 90 Ss, 36 Cs, 36 Fs = 247 points

Madam Mayor Karen: 50 Ms = 50 points

Koxka: 35 Ws = 35 points

Casper and Kitty: 30 Ys (most were vowels in this puzzle, so I'm counting them all as vowels...) = 60 points

JenLB: Ws had already been guessed by Koxka, I credited them to her 'account'. I'm willing to count this as a successful guess though as it was unclear that I was counting it...Sorry for the confusion

Fuzzy317: As for JenLB, your guess of Fs had been previously guessed. It does count as a successful guess.

[delidog]

"L" Please

[luckies4me]

I thought you said you were stopping at Barbaras S and wouldn't count any after that. That is why I guesses C again.

Anyway, V please.

"I'm going to invoke rule 9. Sorry, guys, I'll just have time to update the puzzle before I get to work this morning so the five guesses I'm updating end at Barbara's "S" guess. "

9. Only 5 guesses allowed in total until the host updates the puzzle. Any guess after 5, before the next update, won't be counted as a guess. And as always, someone else has to guess a letter before you can guess another letter.

Does that mean you stopped counting the guesses or that they didn't count? I thought they didn't count. Hmm. Just confused is all.

[Nomilynn]

p please

[luckies4me]

What do the ~'s stand for?

[Nomilynn]

Originally posted by luckies4me
What do the ~'s stand for?

Those usually stand in for dashes since all the letters are subbed with dashes.. so like if there is a hyphenated name, or if the quote says something like

-Author's name

the ~ is used instead. I hope that makes sense :P

[luckies4me]

Thanks, I forgot about that. hehe

[delidog]

"G" Please

[luckies4me]

B please

[delidog]

We hit 5 again....I think!!!

[AmberLee]

...The Snow Storm …

I was fortunate that the wind had piled the snow at the side of my home, and with the help of the spade I could clear a way out of both the front and bac- doors, although I doubted if I should ever be able to dig a path to my gate.

An eerie light flooded the house, partly reflected from the snow, and partly from those windows which were plastered with it and filtered the morning light.

I soon had my -ettle on, and was than-ful that the electricity had not failed. But I was perple-ed that Tibby had not appeared. Surely that comfort~loving animal had not ventured out during the night?

…

By mid~morning there was still no sign of Tibby and I was beginning to get alarmed. There were no tell~tale footprints around the house, but then they would soon have been obliterated in last night’s conditions.

I rang the Annetts and also Mrs. -ohn in the hope that they had seen him, but there was no help there. I called until I was hoarse, hoping to hear an answering mew from some over~loo-ed shelter, but nothing happened. I had gloomy visions of the poor animal entombed beneath the blan-et of snow li-e -ohn Ridd’s sheep in Lorna Doone. How long could a cat survive without food in such a situation? One thing, Tibby had plenty of surplus fat to live on, as Bob Willet was fond of pointing out, but could the cold -ill him?

I began to get more and more agitated as the hours passed, and remembered all the captivating ways of my truant, and how much his companionship meant to me. By the time early evening began to cast its shadows, I was near despair. At that moment, the lights began to flic-er continuously, and I decided that it would be as well to delve into the recesses of the cupboard under the stairs to find the ancient Aladdin lamp stored there.


I undid the door, and bent double to locate the lamp in the gloom. A la-y chirruping sound met me, and Tibby emerged sleepily and greeted me with much affection. Relief overcame my initial irritation with the maddening animal. Why had there been no response to my anguished cries? Why, last night of all nights, had he decided to sleep in the cupboard? I suppose I must have left the door a-ar on my first visit there for candles, and then automatically shut it in passing later on. In any case, it was good to see my old friend, and a double portion of Pussi~Luv vanished in a twin-ling.
. . .

Changes at Fairacre ~~ Miss Read



Letters remaining: J K Q X Z

Nomilyn: 212 Es, 150 As, 55 Us, 40 Ps = 874 points

Luckies4Me: 139 Is, 148 Os, 96 Ds, 17 Vs, 39 Bs = 726 points

Delidog: 115 Hs, 140 Ns, 186 Ts, 90 Ls, 43 Gs = 574 points

Barbara: 85 Rs, 90 Ss, 36 Cs, 36 Fs = 247 points

Karen: 50 Ms = 50 points

Koxka: 35 Ws = 35 points

Casper and Kitty: 30 Ys (most were vowels in this puzzle, so I'm counting them all as vowels...) = 60 points

JenLB: Ws had already been guessed by Koxka, I credited them to her 'account'. I'm willing to count this as a successful guess though as it was unclear that I was counting it...Sorry for the confusion

Fuzzy317: As for JenLB, your guess of Fs had been previously guessed. It does count as a successful guess.

[delidog]

"K" Please

[AmberLee]

...The Snow Storm …

I was fortunate that the wind had piled the snow at the side of my home, and with the help of the spade I could clear a way out of both the front and back doors, although I doubted if I should ever be able to dig a path to my gate.

An eerie light flooded the house, partly reflected from the snow, and partly from those windows which were plastered with it and filtered the morning light.

I soon had my kettle on, and was thankful that the electricity had not failed. But I was perple-ed that Tibby had not appeared. Surely that comfort~loving animal had not ventured out during the night?

…

By mid~morning there was still no sign of Tibby and I was beginning to get alarmed. There were no tell~tale footprints around the house, but then they would soon have been obliterated in last night’s conditions.

I rang the Annetts and also Mrs. -ohn in the hope that they had seen him, but there was no help there. I called until I was hoarse, hoping to hear an answering mew from some over~looked shelter, but nothing happened. I had gloomy visions of the poor animal entombed beneath the blanket of snow like -ohn Ridd’s sheep in Lorna Doone. How long could a cat survive without food in such a situation? One thing, Tibby had plenty of surplus fat to live on, as Bob Willet was fond of pointing out, but could the cold kill him?

I began to get more and more agitated as the hours passed, and remembered all the captivating ways of my truant, and how much his companionship meant to me. By the time early evening began to cast its shadows, I was near despair. At that moment, the lights began to flicker continuously, and I decided that it would be as well to delve into the recesses of the cupboard under the stairs to find the ancient Aladdin lamp stored there.


I undid the door, and bent double to locate the lamp in the gloom. A la-y chirruping sound met me, and Tibby emerged sleepily and greeted me with much affection. Relief overcame my initial irritation with the maddening animal. Why had there been no response to my anguished cries? Why, last night of all nights, had he decided to sleep in the cupboard? I suppose I must have left the door a-ar on my first visit there for candles, and then automatically shut it in passing later on. In any case, it was good to see my old friend, and a double portion of Pussi~Luv vanished in a twinkling.
. . .

Changes at Fairacre ~~ Miss Read



Letters remaining: J Q X Z

Nomilyn: 212 Es, 150 As, 55 Us, 40 Ps = 874 points

Luckies4Me: 139 Is, 148 Os, 96 Ds, 17 Vs, 39 Bs = 726 points

Delidog: 115 Hs, 140 Ns, 186 Ts, 90 Ls, 43 Gs, 9 Ks = 583 points

Barbara: 85 Rs, 90 Ss, 36 Cs, 36 Fs = 247 points

Karen: 50 Ms = 50 points

Koxka: 35 Ws = 35 points

Casper and Kitty: 30 Ys (most were vowels in this puzzle, so I'm counting them all as vowels...) = 60 points

JenLB: Ws had already been guessed by Koxka, I credited them to her 'account'. I'm willing to count this as a successful guess though as it was unclear that I was counting it...Sorry for the confusion

Fuzzy317: As for JenLB, your guess of Fs had been previously guessed. It does count as a successful guess.

[luckies4me]

Guess sent

[AmberLee]

The answer is:

...The Snow Storm …

I was fortunate that the wind had piled the snow at the side of my home, and with the help of the spade I could clear a way out of both the front and back doors, although I doubted if I should ever be able to dig a path to my gate.

An eerie light flooded the house, partly reflected from the snow, and partly from those windows which were plastered with it and filtered the morning light.

I soon had my kettle on, and was thankful that the electricity had not failed. But I was perplexed that Tibby had not appeared. Surely that comfort~loving animal had not ventured out during the night?

…

By mid~morning there was still no sign of Tibby and I was beginning to get alarmed. There were no tell~tale footprints around the house, but then they would soon have been obliterated in last night’s conditions.

I rang the Annetts and also Mrs. John in the hope that they had seen him, but there was no help there. I called until I was hoarse, hoping to hear an answering mew from some over~looked shelter, but nothing happened. I had gloomy visions of the poor animal entombed beneath the blanket of snow like John Ridd’s sheep in Lorna Doone. How long could a cat survive without food in such a situation? One thing, Tibby had plenty of surplus fat to live on, as Bob Willet was fond of pointing out, but could the cold kill him?

I began to get more and more agitated as the hours passed, and remembered all the captivating ways of my truant, and how much his companionship meant to me. By the time early evening began to cast its shadows, I was near despair. At that moment, the lights began to flicker continuously, and I decided that it would be as well to delve into the recesses of the cupboard under the stairs to find the ancient Aladdin lamp stored there.


I undid the door, and bent double to locate the lamp in the gloom. A lazy chirruping sound met me, and Tibby emerged sleepily and greeted me with much affection. Relief overcame my initial irritation with the maddening animal. Why had there been no response to my anguished cries? Why, last night of all nights, had he decided to sleep in the cupboard? I suppose I must have left the door ajar on my first visit there for candles, and then automatically shut it in passing later on. In any case, it was good to see my old friend, and a double portion of Pussi~Luv vanished in a twinkling.
. . .

Changes at Fairacre ~~ Miss Read



Nomilyn: 874 points

Luckies4Me: 726 points First correct response.

Delidog: 583 points

Barbara: 247 points

Casper and Kitty: 60 points

Karen: 50 points

Koxka: 35 points

JenLB: Confused puzzle hostess messed up her chance at points.

Fuzzy317: Confused puzzle hostess messed up his chance at points.

Luckies4Me turned in the first correct response. She didn't say whether she wishes to hostess the next game or not. If not, the list above is in point order.

Well played, guys. Thank you for participating.