Ramblling Observations #4

1) Happy endings do not inspire me. I love happy endings, don't get me wrong. I also strongly dislike sad endings. Or any ending that doesn't end perfectly. (I know I've said this before, I read to escape the bad stuff in real life. I don't want to read "real life stories" I know they exsist without it being pointed out!) But, for all that, when I watch a happy ending, it doesn't make me want to go write anything. Maybe I feel like I can't do anything better. I don't really truly know why this is, so I'll stop guessing and keep this shortish (Too late!). However, when I watch something with an unsatisfying ending, this doesn't just mean a dying hero, it could mean that the heroine is in love with the wrong guy, the one who totally doesn't deserve her (but in that case does she really deserve the REAL hero? Another time maybe...)

2) I want to dye my hair BLUE... A good arguement against it is that it isn't a very modest choice. (The definiton of modest I am refferring to is that modest attire is attire that doesn't draw attention to oneself just to be in the center of things) And so I probably never will dye my hair blue, or pink, or orange (another color  really want to do but this wouldn't be such a drastic change from what I've got now). However, to me, hair color has become like another accessory, probably because it has become so easy to change. So for me, the desire to have weird blue hair isn't to have everyone look at me (this would happen but as I hardly go anywhere other then church people would get used to it), but rather the desire to express my oddness, my 'eccentricitee'. Don't worry, I've already pointed out to myself that there are other ways of doing so.

Tiptoe through the tulips

 

There is a lot going on in this first photo (which is great a snapshotnot so much as a piece of art...)

I love the lamp posts in Port Townsend (for that is where we were) and all the buildings,which you can't really see here. My neice kept calling the old-fashioned buildings on the cliff "castles" :)

See? Aren't the buildings gorgeous? They are almost all like this along the waterfront, so day-dreamy...sigh

Did you catch the name of this beautiful flower?

Here, lets get closer...

This just made me smile, and I hope it does the same for all you TSP fans out there reading this, because there are soooo many!! (Ahem, sarcasm, I know that only the truly discerning blog reader reads my posts. SARCASM again!! Don't worry I'm not quite that vain)

I don't really like any of the pictures of me....sorry, I'm just not that photogenic, so photos of me being posted are rare indeed.

P.S. Does usuing italics make you feel like Emily (of new moon?). I can't help it sometimes, the italics just come, for it is the only way to express myself!

Ta! Thanks for reading!

Monday Happenings

What I'm reading : Eight Cousins by Louisa May Allcott

What I'm listening to : Kari Jobe, Starfield, and Jeremy Camp

What I last watched : Clue

What I'm quoting : Absolutely nothing, at present. 

What I'm memorizing :
John 22:24 Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundations of the earth.

What I'm working on : Downsizing a skirt my niece wanted. Yes, still...

What I'm anticipating : Finally being done with the nerves and anticipation of getting my license...hopefully this Wednesday...

Coming soon : Pictures from my trip to the tulip fields with my sisters. (+ my niece and nephew and the youngest-older sister's hubby)

Rambling Observations #3

1) Hard things do get easier, if you let them. Or keep trying to succeed at them.

2)  Candlelight and sunset light make nearly everything beautiful. It still amazes me when I see an ugly, dead, twisted, tree (and they can be ugly and unsightly, despite what Marianne says) in the fading light of the setting sun it transforms into a thing of beauty!

3) I really haven't been as contemplative as usual this week.... Hopefully there will be more next week :)

4) You should read this... written by a literary friend of mine, and as far as I know, unfortunately she does not write her own blog...

Here I sit. The sun is preparing to slumber. The wind is rustling slightly among the surrounding trees, who seem to dance around the golden campfire that lights up the world. It's quiet, but everything is making music. All of nature is participating in the dance of dusk. Birds are sleepily singing their part of the choir. The body of water by which I sit is bursting with life. Insects glide across the surface of glass, while jumping fish break the solid portal to a different world. It's a symphony, all around me are the musicians, I the spectator, and God is the conductor.
While I am by myself, I am by no means alone. The small creatures of which we share this world, seem to be sharing their little heaven with me, warily keeping their distance. A masked thief with glowing eyes comes seeking food. I hear the distant cry of a coyote, and the the distinguished hoot of an owl. The cleansing smell of earth and pine fill my nostrils, spreading to my very core. A rush of tingling races across my spine as a burst of chilly wind brushes past me.
I feel the grass beneath my bare feet, the original carpet. It's cold, but relaxing as I push my toes back and forth till I feel the moist dirt. Among this beauty there are no cars, no cellphones, no worries, no time. Just this ongoing song of nature, this is where I am, this is were I sit.

- Rachel Owensby (Friend of the blog author)

But it was too lovely not to share with you, so I got her permission.

A Book Review: Edmund Bertram's Diary

Snatched from a Google search

Alright, to start, I'll just save ou the time and trouble of reading my post and say, yes, I liked it, I will read it again I'm sure, and I do recommend it.

Now, the rest of this may contain spoilers, but if you haven't read Mansfield Park,what in the world are you doing reading a post about a sort of sequel to it? Well, with that said, this is the first and last warning about spoilers.

Some of  the things I disliked about this book were the "subtle" referrences to other Jane Austen stories. An example of this, Mrs. Norris speaking of Henry Crawford after the second or third meeting.

"After the second meeting I thought him not so very plain, and after dining at the Parsonage yesterday, I find I consider him to be one of the handsomest men of my acquaintance. He has so much contenance, and his teeth are so good, and he is so well made, that he is a great addtion to our circle.  

See? Even Edmund agrees!

I mean, really? I half expected to read, "His teeth are tolerable I suppose." Maybe I'm loopy and just don't remember that this was indeed in the original, is this so? (I did go look a little, but I couldn't find the passage)
 Basically, little technical issues like that were all I disliked in the book, but if they are all over the place they can ruin a book. So, just be prepared for little ''groaners'' in the book if you read it and you will be fine.

Now, the things I liked about this book are much more numorous then the dislikes. For one, Ms. Grange did not try to make Fanny out as a anything less (or more, if you will) then a weak, easily fatigued, shy, even sickly at times, little creature who wanted nothing more then to spend a day with a certain gentleman she loved and not be bothered by a certain gentleman she didn't.
  Example, the scene in which Edmund spends too much time teaching Miss Crawford to ride, in both movies she paces while waiting for them to return. She doesn't do that in the book. She is too tired to do such a thing because she is prone to headaches if she is out too long. (Cutting roses for her Aunt Norris...)

The second thing that I really liked about this book was that it showed me a side of Edmund that made me like him more. This book brought to my attention what I had managed to overlook every time I had read Mansfield Park before. That is, at every opportunity he did what was best for Fanny (You know, except when he tells her of his ''undying'' love for Mary Crawford). If it came down to a choice between Fanny or Mary, Edmund chose Fanny. I like him much better after reading this, for every circumstance in EB'sD  that applies to this was taken directly out of MP.

"I came to walk with you Fanny." I said. I drew her arm into mine companionably, but I was disturbed to find that she did not lean against me, as was her custom.

Several other things that I am glad of include Sir Thomas Bertram's portrayal. Since we see him from his son's eyes we see a man that tries to be gentle, and though he fails at times he is an affectionate man, in his own way. He is only plagued by his eldest son's debts, and his business problems in Antigua. Also, Ms. Grange did a wonderful job of keeping the language from being too flowery, as this is supposed to be a man's diary. And it didn't sound like she tried to hard to word things Just as Jane would have, however, it still flowed nicely with the dialogue directly from MP.

I have decided that this is not  re-lister on paperbackswap.com, it has indeed found it's permanent home upon my shelves. So much for that idea...

Ta! I hope you enjoyed this post!