Darth Pedant

Tasks 1, 2, and 3 completed. Points = 3

 

Task 1:  Tell us: What is the mother of all writerly sins in your book (tropes, grammar mistakes, telling instead of showing, etc.)?

 

The mother of all writerly sins in my book is not caring about the craft. This encompasses a multitude of slightly lesser sins and is quite possibly the root of all writerly evil. Nothing (bookishly speaking) irritates me more than bad writers who think they have nothing to learn.

 

Task 2: Do you have a favorite Mothers’ Day memory that you are happy to share? Photos welcome but optional.

 

This may be only tangentially Mother's Day related, but I used to work retail, and one of my favorite days to work was the day before Mother's Day when the store was flooded with clueless dads and their excited kids looking for the perfect last-minute gift for Mom.

 

Task 3: Perhaps the best-known scene in the James Bond novel and film From Russia With Love is 007 being poisoned by Russian agent Rosa Klebb with a venom-laced blade hidden in her shoe. Tell us: Have you ever owned any particular / outrageous / funny / best-beloved or otherwise special pair of shoes? Post a photo if you should still own them.

 

When I was about 10 I got my first pair of novelty slippers. They were officially bear feet slippers, but I thought of them as Wookiee feet slippers (though I was terribly short for a Wookiee). I loved them to pieces and wore them to death and only gave them up when the soles completely wore out. They looked a lot like this:

 

 

Task 4: Make a traditional Russian dish like borscht, blintzes, pirogi or solyanka soup, and share a picture with us. Find recipe suggestions here: https://www.expatica.com/ru/about/Top-10-Russian-foods-and-recipes_108678.html

 

Though I'd like to try borscht and beets are plentiful in Australia, I'll probably skip this one.

 

Book: Read a book set in Russia, or involving a story within a story / play within a play (like the Russian matryoshka dolls stuck inside each other), or where a key character (not necessarily the protagonist) is a mother.