Mixed Bag of Nonsense

To start off with, I was invited by a friend to participate in Draw With Jazza's August 2017 Challenge of the Month. Feeling confident that in a jury of our peers, anything that I drew would be rated above anything that she drew, unless we were both drawing horses (her specialty), I agreed to this challenge before I had the chance to brush up on what this might entail. Little did I know that I was agreeing to create a piece of art made with non-art materials on a piece of paper. Having said that, allow me to give you a run down of how to create a watercolor-like painting with an Aloe Vera plant and some food coloring. Step 1:  Chop off a few sprigs from your least favorite, and least likely to die, bit of Aloe Vera. Step 2:  Squeeze and roll the Aloe Vera sprigs between your fingers to break it up and release the gooey liquid inside. Do this until you have an acceptable amount of liquid to work with. Step 3:  Use a toothpick to add very small amounts of food coloring

Rain splattered the windshield, thudding on the top of the car. Heat blasted from the vents, overpowering the sound of the radio and fogging up the windows. I squinted, trying to see past the reach of the headlights and into the darkness beyond. It was slow going and I expected a long trip ahead of me before I reached my destination. The glimmering lights of a passing car momentarily blinded me and when I looked back a gray shape had emerged from the rain, waiving frantically. I slammed on the brakes and felt the car slide on the slick roads. The shape dove out of the way as I slip past and bumped along on the grass till I stopped. My panic held me in place for several seconds as the adrenaline faded from my system. But I still jumped when a knock sounded on the passenger window. My panic rose again, expecting some creep or a murderer or a monster to be standing on the other side. Who knows, out in the middle of nowhere like this, I could have run into anyone. So I was not expecting