Oct. 15, 2008 - I'm Moving

    Well, the time has come for me to move from Homeschoolblogger. I have enjoyed all of the friendships I have made, and I will continue to uphold them, just from another site. lol

    You can find me here....www.PainterofWords.com

    Stop by and leave me a comment!

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Oct. 13, 2008 - Post Birthday!

   I want to thank all of my fellow bloggers who left a comment wishing me all the happiness in my 15th year of life. And my dear cousin who left me an entire post expressing her celebration! Thank you dear one!

   I will try to tell what happened for my birthday...it was very small with only my parents, and my close family.
   We had a small campfire where we roasted hot dogs, and all sorts of campfire goodies. Then for dessert we had delicious pumpkin pie...which I have had on all of my birthdays instead of cake...I like pumpkin pie a lot better!

   Then we opened presents before it got too dark...and I received (which I already knew about and watched her order it) a drawing book with loads of good tips, Drawing the Head and Figure by Jack Hamm. However, I did have to mark off all of the obscene drawings...hint 'drawing the head and figure'

   And sometime this week, another thing my parents ordered for me was the movie North and South by BBC drama! I absolutely adore this movie...very heartbreaking and tragic. I think I almost enjoy the music to the movie more than the movie itself.

   And the most surprising item occured on my birthday list! I had the honour to meet the four oldest sisters of the Farmgirls. We had been chatting, and decided to meet at a small reenactment going on at an easy distance for the both of us, so we planned and became acquainted. I had truly an exciting time...and my cousins even decided to meet them with me.

 
From left to right...Emily Rose, myself, Breezy, Cassia, Susannah, Leah, and Jessica

They were all so sweet, that we ended up walking and touring with them for almost six hours...but it was worth every minute. I count meeting them as a belated birthday gift! :)

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Oct. 10, 2008 - A Post From Maggie's Mom

Hi Everyone.  I wanted to invite you over to my blog to view more photos of Maggie in honor of her birthday.

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Oct. 9, 2008 - Happy Birthday Maggie!

Happy Birthday Maggie!

I am so blessed to have such a sweet friend, cousin, and sister as you. Since today is such a special day, I thought I’d surprise you with this post, and share a few thoughts.

Your talent for writing is always inspirational to me. You have the imagination to come up with what to say, what the characters will do, etc. I can’t wait until you finish one and get it published for they are so intriguing!

Here is a little ditty I wrote about our history (sing to the tune of the Farmer and the Dell).

For those of you who did not know us long ago, we never got a long. But since then God has changed our hearts and are now all three best friends. God has changed our lives so much in the past few years, and I am forever thankful for His mercy and grace. It is a beautiful to think that we will get to spend eternity in the presence of our Savior together.

May God bless you in the coming year and continue to grow you in godly womanhood.

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Oct. 9, 2008 - Tagged Again!

I was tagged by Cousin Breezy

Rules:

• Link to the person who tagged you.
• Post the rules on your blog.
• Write six random things about yourself.

4. I don't like going out to eat...I do like restaurant food....but actually going into a retaurant and eating in it just bothers me....neither myself nor my family has no idea why

5. For breakfast nothing can beat homemade bread for toast....I could live on toast

6. I just entered a giveaway by Joy
The prize is the book Pure by Rebecca St. James and here are the rules:

1. You need to have permission by your parents to enter

2.You must be a residence of the United States or Canada and have an address...no PO boxes

3. You need to post the rules on your blog and if you do not have a blog you need to tell someone outside of your family about the giveaway

4. Leave a comment on her blog telling her you would like to enter.

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Oct. 5, 2008 - Tagged by Farmgirls

  Have you ever seen a tornado before? No, but I have seen a funnel cloud

  Have you ever been in a landrover?  No, to tell the truth I really didn't know what one was, but I do now:)

  Has a tornado ever hit your house? Nope

  Have you ever ridden a horse?   Yes

  Have you ever been in a castle before? not really, but I hope to before I die...it's on my list

  Have you ever lived on a farm?  Yes

  Have you ever explored a secret passage? No, but that would be so much fun! 

   Have you ever explored a ruined castle?  Once again I must sadly hang my head and say no

  And tripped over a gravestone in a graveyard? Oh yes! Of course not the newer ones because they are about the size of the church they are next to, but the older ones are great for tripping

  What is your favorite type of tree? I really like Willow trees and Birch trees

1. Favourite Animal: Any farm animals...except sheep...they are not my favourite

2. Favourite Color: Lavendar or calm green

3. Favourite Food:  I enjoy many things that are Mexican

4. Favourite Dessert:  Fruit Smoothies...strawberry and banana

5. Favourite Book: (Other than the Bible) I really liked Frankenstein, but there are others...Little Women, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Scottish Chiefs, etc.
 

6. Favourite Movie: I enjoy North and South (BBC) and Pride and Prejudice
 

7. Favourite Instrument: I play the piano and can tinker on the mandolin, but I REALLY want to learn the cello, and as far as listening to...the Celtic flute
 

8. Favourite T.V. Show: I really don't watch TV shows...except the OLYMPICS

9. Favourite Song: Anything...practically that Hans Zimmer composes
 

10. Who will you tag?  No one

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Oct. 2, 2008 - Look Honey...It's Honey Extraction

Today was our honey extraction day! We took our super to a place where they extract the honey for you, because the machines are really expensive. However, we are discussing on making a small investment in a hobby machine. One that you must manually spin, with only two or three frames in at a time.:)

So today, we took only one super which has maybe ten frames and this {see picture} is what we got out of it. 40 pounds of honey, in a 5 gallon bucket which is not quite full! You only have to pay 15 cents a pound...so we got a really good deal...and it is home made...sort of. :)
This was really exciting for us...and we are hoping to have a small business-family and friends. And I am going to enter it in 4-H next year! And may I add...I do not like honey, and yet when I tasted this...I was surprised how sweet and natural this honey is compared to store bought!

*And I must thank you neighbor, Charlie, for getting us started and taking us to the extraction place*

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Oct. 1, 2008 - A Day with the Munchkins

 
Munchkin # 1


Munchkin # 2


Munchkin # 3


Myself and Munchkin # 3.

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Sep. 29, 2008 - The Scarlet Pimpernel

     I finished The Scarlet Pimpernel yesterday, for it was historical literature that went along with history, in which we are studying in depth the French Revolution. A lot of things lead up to this time in history, and many things are affected in history due to it.

    The Scarlet Pimpernel was written by a woman, born in Hungary, unto which the English language was a second language to her, and yet she wrote her adventurous, inspiring, and time-standing novels in that language. She is a tremendous authoress, who combines proper writing skills with readable material that anyone can easily follow along. Her name was Baroness Emmuska Magdalena Rosalia Marie Josepha Barbara Orczy, also known as Emma within close relationships.

    The Scarlet Pimpernel is a novel, set in the midst of the French Revolution, in the year 1792. The ways of life are changed by the two words Republicans and Royalists. The guillotine is working, and the heads of hundreds people-royals, aristos, peasants, men, women, and children- are lost by the hands and sharp blade of ruthlessness. One hundred people are being beheaded a day just in Paris.

    Yet, innocent men and women along with their children, are fleeing the blood stained streets with the help of a silent league- who follow a single heroic man...the Scarlet Pimpernel. He is a man who braves French legions, mobs, malicious Republicans, and the fate of Madame la Guillotine. This man is the adventurous protagonist.

    The antagonist is Chauvelin, a vicious Republican who is overly anxious to murder every royal family he comes across...and is known for succeeding. He is cunning, and "fox-like" and is willing to risk his authority to find and kill the Scarlet Pimpernel. Chauvelin does not want those he believes he can have upon the blade, stolen and escorted secretly out of France right under his nose.

    One person under Chauvelin's vicious authority is Lady Marguerite Blakeney. A former French actress who married the wealthiest man in England...the honorable and lethargic  Sir Percy Blakeney, a close friend to the Prince of Wales.  Margeurite had known Chauvelin before the Revolution twisted his thoughts. Chauvelin, ready to do anything to capture the Pimpernel, tortures Lady Blakeney with a choice. She, being a woman able to hear many things and have the clout to have confidential secrets and would be able to find the identity and whereabouts of the Scarlet Pimpernel, is told by Chauvelin that she must chose between the Pimpernel's life, or her brother's, for Chauvelin had recently acquired a piece of paper that could send her brother, Armand, to the guillotine for treason.

    That is all I can to those who haven't read this incredibly intense book. I enjoyed reading the descriptions of Baroness Orczy, and her style is very understandable and enjoyable. I encourage all to read this book, if only for the good background on how the French Revolution affected the hearts of her native countrymen.

 For more information about The Scarlet Pimpernel go here.

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Sep. 27, 2008 - A Literary Tag...Finally

Posted in Tactful Tags

The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they have printed.

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you love.
4. And I crossed out the ones that I have no real idea of what they are...but I do know a few

 1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkein
3. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
 4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
  5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible
  7 Withering Heights – Emily Bronte
  8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
  9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
  10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women by Lousia May Alcott
  12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
  13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
  14 Works of Shakespeare- A few plays here and there
  15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol
30. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh by AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (when I'm older)
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick by Herman Melville
71. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte's Webb by E. B. White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

I have read 13. How many have you read?

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Sep. 21, 2008 - The Waves of Desperation~ Part 2

Posted in Whimsical Writings

*somewhat gory contents following*

    As Ambrose helped the doctor to his feet, they both looked around, spectating at their fortune and their misery. The vast ocean of water was intimidating and warned of the past attempts at rescue. Planks from previous ships' end, scattered the shore, and Ambrose thought he saw a compass buried in the sand, but was distracted when Dr. Warren cried out,

    "Ambrose, what is that object in the east?" Ambrose turned to see where the surgeon was looking. He had to squint his eyes to even make out the shape, for his eye was still bad, and the object had an odd appearance. He caught up with Dr. Warren's long stride and stood next to him as they both tried to make out what it was they were seeing.

    "Warren, could it be...the Emerald?" Ambrose turned to the doctor, and saw his face morph into disappointment as he realized that the figure was indeed their beloved ship, only now, she was torn and sinking slowly into the ocean depths, along with their hopes. She was now only the size of a fishing boat, with her bow tipping up in the morning sun as she dipped below the waves.
 
     "We should search and see if any of the crew have survived this disaster," he said, but Warren did not move, he only stood, watching the Emerald as if he too were sinking below the waters, unable to escape from a place of sadness and despair. Ambrose started walking away, hoping Warren would regain his emotions, but instead the surgeon called out after him.
 
      "I must rest, please go on and see what you can find...I will tarry here for a while longer." Warren motioned him to continue and then found his way to a piece of driftwood where he slowly threw himself upon it.

       Ambrose went on ahead, and discovered many things he had touched aboard the Emerald stretched upon the sand. Bits of cloth and material from the sailors' ragged clothes and strips from the once mighty sails, hunks of timber from her ever steady masts, and the fist thick ropes he had tied and unloosened thousands of times before, were strewn across the beach, as if they had never been. However, one thing he found, so lonely and forgotten upon the sand was the camel pouch of Ol' Jenkins.
 
       Ol' Jenkins was the oldest sailor upon the ship, and was a tale teller for when the days upon the waters grew slow, but one story everyone knew was the tale of how he had gotten the camel skin canteen. Apparently, when he was a young lad, he sailed with Captain Faraday to Africa, where he met with an Arab sheik. 'The man was as tall as a horse, and wores so many folds of clothes, he seemed so large even Captain Faraday was intimidated by him, howevers I weren't afraid of  he. ' And then, as he continued, he would tell of how he, Ol' Jenkins, helped the sheik stop a raid of camel drivers from stealing his ancient breed in the middle of the night. Ol' Jenkins wanted to marry the sheik's beautiful daughter, but was granted  the camel skin pouch that was made by the sheik's great -great- grandfather when the tribes still ruled the land.

       Of course, the story changed every time Ol' Jenkins told it, but he was aging, and had the years of ninety and seven to his advantage. But as Ambrose picked up the now tattered canteen, he knew that the old man had been claimed by the seas he had sailed for almost a century; never to be parted from it again.

       Ambrose walked for another five minutes until he came to a bend on the shoreline, where he would lose sight of Warren. He wanted to carry on, and search for his crew, but he also did not want to find only sand, confirming everyone had been taken by the seas. After deciding with a grief stricken heart, he picked up his sore feet and kept going.

       As soon as he passed the bend, he noticed that this side of the island was more peaceful and inviting than the side he had been cast before.  Exotic perfumed flowers bloomed from the tangled brush, and the limbs of the unknown trees twisted until it created a natural ladder above the tops. It seemed that this island was so peaceful without anyone knowing, and even the presence of one not native would cause the serenity to fade and the silent inhabitants to distress themselves.

         To his left he beheld the beauty of the jungle once more, for he could not stop admiring the splendor etched in such an unknown location. Mysterious and uninhabited, those two words were the reason Ambrose was in complete awe of this island.

        However, Ambrose then saw another figure, much like how Warren's looked upon the sand. This man was nearing the shore upon the slow oscillating tide, his face down in the water, with no life seen about him. Ambrose waded out slowly, telling himself this man was dead, and then towed him in his arms back to the beach.

        But to his amazement, the man was not only alive, but the companion of Ambrose's life. Harry had been stuck between two fallen masts when the ship went down, and Ambrose withstood the scorch of the flames to help his friend escape. But when the last explosion of the gunpowder ripped through the ship, Harry and he were separated, both sure of their death as they were flung into the dark waters.

        "Harry! Come to! You are safe!" ordered Ambrose anxiously. Harry's face did not change, but grew paler as if his life was fading in Ambrose's arms. Alarmed, he began to search Harry's limp and splintered figure for the wound that was tearing silently at his life.

        He opened Harry's shirt, and exposed the bloody gash in his side, where a long piece of wood had severed his flesh, and almost completely passed through his body. Ambrose's stomach churned, despite the fact that he had seen many crude surgeries upon the seas, and men die of horrendous pain and loss of blood. But seeing Harry in such a state made him fear he would indeed die, and that scared him most of all.

         Hastily he gently picked him up and trudged back around the bend to Warren, who was now standing up and surveying the other side of the shore. He seemed to have recovered from his temporary shock, and was now his old sensible self.

         "Warren!" called Ambrose, "I found a man, he needs immediate attention or I fear he will be gone before nightfall!" The sound of urgency in his voice, recalled the surgeon's expertise in completing surgeries quickly and accurately, and he immediately made a place suitable for Harry to lie down, which consisted of a few wide palm leaves to make a crude cushion,  laid it off of the sweltering sand and in the cool shade upon the edge of the forest.

         "Where is the wound?" he cried out to Ambrose who moments later was at his side, setting Harry upon the palm leaves.
 
          "He has a deep puncture to his side, it is where a mast had cut through his flesh when I rescued him aboard the ship. Take a look, and tell me what needs to be done." Ambrose knew how to react and awaited the commands of Dr. Warren.

          "Ambrose," said the doctor as he pulled back Harry's shirt and gazed upon the fatal blow to his side, "I am afraid I can not do much without my surgical tools, but they are aboard the Emerald. I can do nothing that would heal the wound without proper equipment."
 
           "But if your tools could be retrieved?" Ambrose knew the folly in his question, but considered Harry's amount of time left to live in his present condition.

            "Ambrose, you would die too if you swam aboard the Emerald. It is sinking too rapidly!"

             "But if you indeed had the tools, there is a chance Harry's wound could be in fact tended to properly?" Dr. Warren knew his answer, but he did not want to send a man to a ship that was presently sinking to retrieve tools for another man's life, who may not have a chance at living with so deep a pierce into his flesh. But the determination in Ambrose's eyes was too great, and the truth in Warren's eye so easily seen, that Ambrose took to his feet and started towards the Emerald.

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Sep. 19, 2008 - Canned Pears...

Posted in Generous Gardening

     For six years we have had a pear tree, and just this year we were accurate in our timing, and were able to save a whole bushel of pears before they hit the ground, and then we found a recipe, and started the canning process. Altogether we have 14 jars of sugar pears.


Batch 1


What your poor fingers have to go through to can pears


And then we decided to have a pear...uh photo shoot. I have never asked a pear, "Can you give that hint of expression?" "Purse your lips a litte..."


Anyway, this is my favourite picture of the bunch. The sunlight gives them...something.


And this is all we have for this year....but there are still a few pears left at the top of our tree, and we probably will can a few more. And they make delicious pies...Breezy made a wonderfully scrumptious pie on Tuesday...somewhat due to our pears. :)
For those following Ambrose Daley...I will post his sequel in a few days...I just needed to get this post in before it was too late. :)

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Sep. 17, 2008 - The Waves of Desperation~

Posted in Whimsical Writings

  ~ 'Ambrose was unconscious, lying on a sandy shore with only a spectacular view for its redemption. The wind was sharp and bits of pink and white grains of sand blew often against the skin. Everywhere, water was on each side of the island, and it seemed as if it's end was nonexistence, and that it stretched until time itself had stopped.

   Suddenly, the shock of the wreck, and the cold splash of the tide against his face, brought Ambrose to his awareness, and he stumbled hastily to his swollen feet. He could not make out anything, for his head was bruised, his eyes too aggravated by the salt water, and his emotions, too jarred to trust.

    Within moments, he fell to his knees, and lost his senses to the horrendous pain that he suffered from, and the scene was now black, for he did not see or feel anything but the felicity of his imagination. He envisioned she was near, her presence was soothing to his mind, and he wished to stay in her wake.

    But once again he felt the sting of onrushing torture, and he opened his eyes, this time more effective for he could see his surroundings, yet his left eye would not focus. The sky was a blue he had never known, and yet he had been at sea all of his life. He then looked down at his feet, and contracted his toes to feel the warm sand. A gull cried out behind him, and he turned to now see his new residence.

     He noticed the overwhelming forest of trees that created a canopy over the deep secretive arena of hidden creatures. A confused mingle of squawks and howls echoed onto the shore, where Ambrose stood; intimidated by what lay before him.

      But a completely different tone filtered through the breaking shore; that of a man's. Ambrose turned toward the origin of the sound, to see a dark figure laying a hundred feet from him...stretched upon the sand as he previously was.

       As he made his way towards it, temporarily forgetting the sensation of pain running through his body,the figure transformed into that of Dr. Warren, the ship's surgeon. Ambrose knelt down, and checked to distinguish him from a corpse, and was relieved to see that the doctor was alive but suffered from a blow to the head and a few gashes to his upper body.

       "Dr. Warren! Revive yourself" he commanded. The surgeon moved slightly, but when Ambrose slapped his bloody cheek a few times, the doctor was more aware of his senses, and able to slowly open his eyes.

       "Sailor, identify who you are...I am still unnerved at sight." The surgeon waved his hand aimlessly until he gripped a hold of Ambrose's arm.

       "It is I, Ambrose Daley, first mate. You bandaged a gash on my hand a while ago, although it seems the wound is now a trifle compared to our situation." He looked around once more, trying in some way to be consoled by the view of the majestic paradise and yet mysterious island that seemed destined to bring death once more to his side.
    
       "Ambrose, will you help me sit upright, I must bring myself to" he asked, and as Ambrose pulled his torso vertical, the surgeon's eyes opened and he beheld Ambrose's face. A look of complete helplessness and melancholy flashed through the pale man's eyes, and Ambrose noticed the sudden change in countenance.

       "What is it? Are you unwell?" he questioned the surgeon, but Dr. Warren only nodded, not daring to inform Ambrose of yet another misfortune that had fallen upon him. ~

        This is an excerpt of a story that I composed a few weeks ago. If you liked it, comment and let me know, then I might post the next excerpt:)

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Sep. 15, 2008 - Simple Woman's Daybook~ Week 3

Posted in Dedicated Daybook

 This is my third week for doing the Simple Woman's Daybook, and last week I missed, for those that do read these...please forgive me:)

 

FOR TODAY ... September 15, 2008

Outside My Window... Nothing is happening...people don't know when to go outside because the weather has been really crazy

I am thinking... about the chickens... I am trying to remember if I fed them yesterday:)

I am thankful for... a warm friendly home

From the kitchen...the dishwasher is doing it's job...very loudly

I am wearing... comfy clothes

I am creating... still working on my novels

I am going...to go outside and take care of ALL the animals

I am reading...Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes for Historical literature

I am hoping...that it will rain today...I really love rain...no sunny happy days for me:)

I am hearing... absolutely nothing...except for the NOISY dishwasher...we really need to get that fixed

Around the house...Mom is hiding away in her room because she thinks I am a horrible child...just kidding she recently had an out-patient surgery and then the mixture of the medicine made her extremely sick yesterday, and today she is just exhausted from getting sick a lot yesterday...poor dear

One of my favorite things...is to get comments...I didn't think that when I started blogging that I would get excited over comments...yet somehow they are a part of me...I just want MORE...:)

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: piano, school, church, school, school, and church

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...



I took this picture of my niece, Emma, who was swinging with her brother...but when you just look at her she seems so solitary and contemplative


For more information about Simple Woman's Daybook click here.

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Sep. 13, 2008 - Sense and Sensibility ~ Old or New?

Posted in Respectful Reviews

   As most of us Jane Austen observers know, Masterpiece recently came out with new versions to the novels of Jane Austen. Persuasion, Northanger Abbey ( I was not allowed to watch this one...and I am sure I would detest watching it after the remarks of close Christian family members), Emma, Mansfield Park, and...Sense and Sensibility.

Now we all know that Sense and Sensibility starring the calm Emma Thompson and beautiful Kate Winslet was rather close to the book...leaving out small but major details. I loved this movie...enjoying the music, and acting, however since the new version has come out...I have switched sides.

The new Sense and Sensibility has many things that I enjoy more about the movie...and the fact that I can read through the book while watching the movie and not skip over details that weren't placed in there correctly.


Some reasons that the newer version is closer to the book:

~Both Marianne and Elinor are under the age of twenty...and somehow Emma and Kate seem to make the girls seem like they should be knowledgable...since they are older...they look as if they have already a family...and do not seem like they are still young women.


~In the new version, Miss Lucy Steele is shown with her sister, Anne, who is indeed in the book..the old version has no hint of Anne

~Towards the end of the book, Willoughby has a conversation with Elinor in regards to Marianne and his behaviour...which the old version does not show...and I believe that part to be a small hint of justification towards the villianous Willoughby


~Also in the new, Mr. and Mrs. John Dashwood are shown with their son...even though he is a queer little thing...he is mentioned in the book


~Even though Colonel Brandon's ward...the seduced daughter of his one love really has no conversations in the book...the new movie adds her character in...and I think that that hint of who she was...somehow allowed the watcher to care for Colonel Brandon more


~And as for Edward...the book does say that he was not handsome, somewhat shy, and odd...I think that Hugh Grant almost made him seem goofy and not a very serious character


~In the old version...Elinor,I believe, is not really given the hint that she is an artist



In the end...I just enjoy the new movie better...although I could still sit and watch the old one anytime. For me, all of the characters seem to be more in tune with the book, and are more of what Jane Austen imagined them to be like ~
 

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Sep. 10, 2008 - Da Vinci, Butterflies Galore

Posted in Priceless Photographs

  While Mom reads to me in school, I usually draw, or if the subject is something I need to read to fully understand, I will. However, this week I have been working on a copy of Leonardo Da Vinci's Bust of a Warrior.

This is a close up of his face...it is still giving me a little trouble, but I haven't been letting it get to me...completely.


I have drawn this a couple times, and decided to try it again. I wonder how it will turn out...and my cousin, the artist, says it looks fairly well, so you know it can't be THAT bad.:)


  Also, as I went out to pick pears from our sugar pear tree out back, I stopped by a little bush that we have, to find maybe twenty butterflies hovering over the almost perfectly colored pink little flowered bush.  I just stood there, and they swarmed around me...almost like in Batman, when he descends into the cave and the bats completely surround him...it had a surreal sensation.

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Sep. 8, 2008 - Schooling...

Posted in Hopeful Homeschooling

   The reason why I have not posted in half a fortnight is mainly because of schooling. We all have those days when we are crammed with books and information, and just really want to stay on track and not loose sight of our goal for the day. We have been doing that...staying up late with different agendas, getting up a little later than usual, and trying to push everything into a normal schedule, while juggling all of our other activities. And for some mysterious reason, we have been getting phone calls off the ringer! I mean my goodness, can't we have time for school:)

    So, reading others' posts about their curriculum and school schedule, I thought I would post ours. Since we have more subjects than we could easily in one day, we split them up onto different days.

   Monday- Theology, History, Languages, General Science, Algebra, Cultural Geography, and Grammar & Writing

   Tuesday- Theology, Languages, Algebra, Cultural Geography, Literature, Music Lesson
 
   Wednesday- Theology, History, General Science, Algebra, Cultural Geography, Grammar& Writing

   Thursday- Theology, History, General Science, Algebra, Cultural Geography, Literature, Grammar& Writing

   Friday- Theology, History, General Science, Algebra, Cultural Geography, Grammar & Writing

   I personally enjoy History, Science- I can't wait to start Biology, Grammar & Writing, and...oh alright, I enjoy ALL of the subjects. And we do switch up the days if our schedules are needing of it. Tuesday is very short because we have Piano lessons, we go to the Library whilst we are in town, and then we head to my Granny's to meet with my cousins, aunt, and my other aunt.
 

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Sep. 1, 2008 - Simple Woman's Daybook~Week 2~

Posted in Dedicated Daybook

FOR TODAY ... September 1, 2008 we are going to go shopping because of all the summer sales, see if a restaurant where a friend works is open, swing by another friend's house, and then visit some family who have come into town

Outside My Window...everything is calm, the sun is now bright and shining on everything underneath it's realm

I am thinking...about what  I while be doing one year from now...I don't know why:)

I am thankful for...homeschooling, which allows us to have days like this when we need them

From the kitchen...it is silent, everyone is outside enjoying the weather

I am wearing...my pajamas still...we got to sleep in...sorry

I am creating...some portraits of people in history books...

I am going...into town with my parents, and seeing some other human beings for a change:)

I am reading...still Little Women by Louisa May Alcott...who I have been reading about and have found out some things that was depressing about her family

I am hoping...that everything will go well today...for everybody

I am hearing...the dog just came into the house, and I can hear her clicky feet on the kitchen floor...she sounds like a tap dancer

Around the house...we are getting ready for a fun day in town

One of my favorite things...is to feel September change into October, and the olive leaves fade into crimson, and the warm breeze filter into cool whistling wind

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: school, church, school, school, and school:)

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...


For more information about Simple Woman's Daybook click here.

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Aug. 28, 2008 - ~Oliver...the Fuzziest Kitten I Ever Had!~

Posted in Livin Lovin Life

                 This is Oliver, a kitten who has no idea of his past life. He was abandoned by his mother and left to the mercy of my cousins, who took him in, and decided that he should be given to us. So we took him in, fed him, rocked him, and listened to his pitiful screaming for a few days. And then he decided to like us, and walk with us, and even purr when we held him in our arms. Now, he is happy, warm, and fuzzy. Except for the fact that he is still a young little thing, he needs a little help with his litter box, and getting himself clean. A very long stinky episode this morning!

When we had Sunday meetin', just our family, on Sunday mornin' he laid comfortably by  my side and even fell asleep to the tune of the Scriptures. He looks a little silly when he sleeps like this, but we still love him.


He also has bright blue eyes for now, we are still guessing what he will look like when mature. And his black long hair is smooth and often gets crusty after he has eaten.
His schedule of meals is:

~Breakfast of soft meat
~After breakfast snack of milk
~Nap
~Lunch consisting of soft meat
~Nap
~An afternoon snack of milk
~Supper of soft meat
~Milk just before bed for a little treat
~Bedtime



And this picture, Mom snapped of me while we were fishing. I rather like it; it has my straw hat, bibs, my drawing book, and sunshine. I look rather poetic...

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Aug. 24, 2008 - Simple Woman's Daybook

Posted in Dedicated Daybook

FOR TODAY : August 25th, 2008

Outside My Window...a gentle cool breeze is dancing across the bean fields, causing them to squirm ticklishly, while the sky is gray and warning for others to make their way into the warm cozy house

I am thinking...about my new kitten who was abandoned at my dear cousin's home and needed a new one...so they gave him to us to keep him here...I have named him Oliver...and we say it like Mrs. Douglas in Green Acres...'All-e-va'

I am thankful for... a family that is godly, very loving, and pray for my future daily

From the kitchen...all of the lights are on, Mom is sweeping our very messy floor thanks to our dog

I am wearing... pair of jean capris, with little flowery material on the legs, and a tan almost dusty rustic 3/4 length shirt that buttons up, and I am barefooted

I am creating... a story about a man horribly scarred from a shipwreck, a young girl forever grieving for the man she lost to the unquenchable flames of the sea, and a promise of redemption towards those he loves....

I am going...to do school today, after a week of very light schooling due to illness, we are ready to get back on the fast track 

I am reading... Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, and studying the Early Church in Acts

I am hoping...to do well in school today

I am hearing...Oliver purring, Mom clattering dishes as she unloads the dishwasher

Around the house...the windows are open, the lamps turned on, the beds made, and the blankets laying around for us to cuddle warmly in

One of my favorite things...is to breath fresh air, hear our chickens having a ball, and the leaves whistle sweetly as the fingers of wind tickle their sides.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: my last art lesson, mid week Bible study, and school

Here is picture that I thought I would share with you...    

For more information about Simple Woman's Daybook click here.

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