Dear Diary Contest

AND THE WINNERS ARE...
Evangeline read so many wonderful entries, she lost a whole day of sewing just so she could get through them all!  Her eyes are now a lovely shade of red - and her diary entry is complete.  Congrats to all of the winners, and thank you to all that sent in an entry - they were all quite interesting, unique, and very Evangeline...

As a reminder - here is the beginning of the entry:
Another Year...
April 21, 1946

Well, my birthday is just around the corner and I'm still no closer to knowing anything more about my family.  I decided this year not to focus on that and just enjoy my birthday.  Being it's just a few days away, I thought this would be a great time to do some spring cleaning in the attic and go through each armoire carefully separating the things I want to keep from the items I plan to give away.  I don't know why I do this?  I only make more clothes and fill the armoires up again.  It was about noon when I decided to take a break from this exhausting work and have some lunch.  Just as I was finishing clearing out one particular armoire, I realized that there was a loose panel in the back of it.  Being quite curious, I pulled the panel off and reached inside only to find...

1st Place - Two Winners!

...a pocket watch wrapped in old parchment. The fob swayed. In opening the case, I peered into the imae of a woman cradling two infants.  She looked like me. Staring, I spotted the writing. I reached and gently touched the parchment only to have the words crumble to dust. ~AnnMarie, West Kingston, RI

...the portrait of a man and woman elegantly attired in Baroque style clothes and wigs. Behind them was the palace of Versailles. Looking down, I read the inscription: "Duke and Duchess Ghastly one year before their death by guillotine." I gasped. Their faces...it was Mortimer and myself. ~Gerald, Belleview, FL

2nd Place - Two Winners!

...a rolled parchment! I couldn't make out the words written there so I held the paper to the candlelight to read the missive. The spidery letters sent shivers up my spine: "If you have found this, we are gone..."  Then the paper caught fire! I may never discover my family. ~Naomi, Janesville, WI

...what looked to be a very old piece of chocolate. I held it to my nose and inhaled a faint aroma of cocoa. I pushed into the bottom, though it would not give. Hard as a nut. It's filling would remain a mystery to me. So I bit it. ~Michael, Metuchen, NJ

3rd Place - Three Winners!

...myself trembling! Mouette bounced past me and peered into the darkness, her tail twitching. She does have a sixth scent for adventure. This was sooo C.S. Lewis Carroll! The unknown beckoned, but before we went anywhere, I had an appropriate outfit to make. And, perhaps, a snack to pack. ~Ron, Johnston, RI

...a key hanging from a blood red ribbon. While reaching to grasp the key, I stumbled into the armoire and the door slammed shut behind me. What was that tapping? Eerie organ music wafted from below, its crescendo abruptly interrupted by maniacal laughter and footsteps on the stairs. A visitor? ~Debbie, Carlsbad, CA

...a well-embalmed cake, a birthday candle and a note - from Mortimer, perhaps? I lit the candle and read, "Evangeline, dearest daughter, today you are of an age to know..." but the flame caught the paper and burned it to bits. How shall I ever discover who wrote it? ~Lorraine, Oak Forest, IL


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