Mar. 14, 2008 - Lesson 6

   Down below is the drawing of my ship.

Dead words?  What about these: little, clean, tiny, small, wide, even boring is a dead word. :)

Here is the tour of my room. I don't really think I did it that much justice, but I includded some pictures as well.

You walk in and the first thing you see is the colors yellow, green, tan, and brown. My green chair is in the corner snuggled against my bookshelf which is piled with my books and various movies. My billboard behind chair is filled with interesting paper clips and places I long to see. My Gossamer green curtains fluttering in the wind. Don’t forget my drawings and poems plastered on my yellow walls. My bed most of the time neat, is at the moment wrinkled and topsy-turvy. Next to my bed is my nightstand which has my clock, coaster, and Les Miserables book on it. There is also my shaded lamb that hangs down by (fake) ivy. On one wall dangles my spectacular shield and crossed swords from Spain (mind you the swords are real). Books and mementoes are everywhere, such Hamlet and my writing papers. White carpet and naughty pine furniture collide.  My closet thrown open. The hangers pushed here and there as if someone has rifled through them. Once you close the door to my realm you would see a picture and a poem.

I am small and inefficient,

I know not what to do.

You may expect something of me

That I choose not to do.

I may be soft and tender,

And sometimes gentle too.

But, if you be rough towards me,

I may be rough towards you.

I am different and unusual,

I see things some do not.

But, if you point out something to me,

I’ll find it on the spot.

I may be quiet and sulky,

And sometimes unfocused too.

But, the only reason I am that way

Is because it seems no one can see the dreams of a recluse.

This is my ship

Sorry if the words look smashed together.

~ Rosethorn

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Mar. 13, 2008 - Lesson 5

    Bright light, blinding in the eyes. She misses a step and stumbles over a root. Pain shoots up her leg, but she doesn't care. At home all week it has been, back and forth, this and that. Sia was just glad the travelors had moved on. Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair as she sat down beneath her mint tree. A low whistle turned her head, and she could see her little friend. Already, Sia's eyes have begun to sparkle.

  Rosethorn

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Mar. 13, 2008 - Lesson 4

   Iglesia is a 15 year old girl who is very different than most.  Not her appearance. No that’s fine. She has brown messy hair that can only be contained in a braid. She has sugary violet eyes, a small pert nose, high cheekbones and a wide mouth. Her build is petit but slender. It’s what she sees and hears that is different. In time I will explain. Sia has a determined, independent, and adventurous spirit. Around people she is quiet and observant. But she also has a quick-temper.  When she feels something should be said, you can bet she’ll be the one to say it.  Sia lives with her mother and Aunt Tia. They live in a small cottage in the Durell forest. There are two other surrounding cottages next to theirs. Those are for travelers, but one is already taken. You could say they run something like an inn. Sia does what needs to be done around the home, but then quickly will disappear for the rest of the day.  She has a little bird she trained and called Tanu.  They sit under her favorite tree she calls her Mint tree, because a patch of mint grows beneath it. Sia can hear the voices of the wood. Even her spiritual mother cannot hear them. She hears the wind whisper secrets in her ears. So she whispers back.

  Maryann is Sia’s mother.  She is the peace-maker you could say. The calm and reserved one. Maryann did not give her looks to her daughter, unfortunately. She has red curly hair, wide blue eyes, high rosy cheekbones and a small mouth. Her build is strong, slender and about medium height.  She is content to be in her little cottage and keep things orderly. She is self-controlled but gets a little frustrated when her daughter does not return her calls from the window. She enjoys taking walks to the river to gaze out over the water. Maryann can not stand fighting or cats.   Cats are a nuisance to her and always in the way. Fighting is not permitted in her presence. All in all she is the perfect parent.

    Letitea is the opposite of her sister.  Aunt Tea and Maryann could be twins except Tea has brown hair and gray eyes. In personality Tea and Maryann are different as can be. As I said before Maryann is the calm and peaceful one. Tea is the creative, fun, out-going one of the sisters. She’s high spirited and cheerful. Most of the time Tea is in her garden whistling a tune as she works. She loves all of her five cats. Which she has precisely named: Berries, Cookie, Lintel, Socks, and her favorite Stubborn. Sia says the reason why they get along so well is because they’re both stubborn.

   Ackerley is a 17 year old stranger who turns up on their doorstep one day. He doesn’t have a family so he travels. His family was killed by the war. That is why he is bitter and dark at times. He likes to sit out at night and be secretive. Indeed with his black hair all over the place and mysterious chestnut eyes he is a sight. He is mostly quiet and thoughtful but he has a lashing temper. Ley finds Sia different than most of the girls he has met. That is what makes him drawn to follow her in the woods when she isn’t looking. There are also times when Ley and Sia do not agree. After any type of fight Ley will broad for days. One thing that cheers him up is singing, though he doesn’t sing himself. That’s one reason why he follows Sia. So he can listen to her sing. He loves nature and whittling. He can carve beautiful objects that are almost life-like. He loves mint but hates honey. Hmmmmm, different?

    Tanu is a little sparrow that Sia trained to come to her. He is always perched on Sia’s mint tree when she goes to search for him. He loves mint, flowers, and singing. So there are times when Sia will sit down and sing to him why she makes him a crown of flowers and mint.

    Cronely is their gardener. Or at least he used to be. All of his family has died off and he has nowhere to go so they let him stay in one of the cottages. He can plant flowers but needs help. He loves to listen to Aunt Tea whistle while he works. He hates Tea’s cats and all other animals that get into his garden. His build is willowy and stooped. He has a wrinkled face and a tuft of white hair on his head. Most of the time he wears his hat in the garden, but it usually gets blown of by the wind. That is why he hates wind.

    This is basically all of my characters, but I might add a few unimportant travelers or such.  Possibly a monk(?). I don’t really think that I have to write a paragraph about all of my characters, but really wanted to. : )  I’m pretty satisfied with the outcome I have so far. I even have a beginning. And yes, I did know that Iglesia meant church. We were driving down the road, and my mother saw it on a church sign. My grandmother is spanish so she passed some words down to my mom. My mother told me what it meant, and immediately I knew that was my characters name. Also I do think the mother needs some fears. I’ll try to work that into my writing.

    Rosethorn

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Mar. 12, 2008 - Lesson 3

       Character 1

Iglesia(Sia) of the Durell Forest

  Physical Characteristics

 Almond shaped sugary violet eyes, brown messy hair only contained in a braid, small pert nose, high - cheek bones, small ears wide mouth, petit but slender build. Age 15

     Personality

 Determined, independent, mischieveous and adventurous spirit. Has compassion for the hurt or broken. Can be quiet and observant at times, but can also be impulsive and quick - tempered.

    Likes/Dislikes

L   her friend Tanu, animals, clouds, nature, wind, her mint tree, honey, singing, and mint in general.

D   people, wastefullness, and wash day.

       Character 2

Maryann(mother) of the Durell Forest

   Physical Characteristics

Red curly hair, wide blue eyes, high rosy cheekbones, small mouth, medium height, slender but strong build.  Age 37

    Personality

Peace - maker, humble, loyal, kind, content, patient, self - controlled, always truthful, likes things neat and orderly. Everything a mother should be.

   Likes/Dislikes

L   humming, cooking, water

D   slopplyness, cats, disorder, fighting

        Character 3

Letitea(Aunt Tea) of the Durell Forest

  Physical Characteristics

Brown curly hair, wide gray eyes, high rosy cheekbones, small mouth, medium height, slender but strong build.  Age 36

    Personality

Creative, loyal, high - spirited, cheerful, out going, open - minded, and stubbern.

  Likes/Dislikes

L    whistling, gardening, berries, cats, fun

D    quietness, fighting, disorder, wash day

        Character 4

Ackerley(Ley) a wandering stranger

 Physical Characteristics

Black hair that falls in a mess over his eyes, wide chestnut eyes, generous mouth, strong jaw, medium nose and ears. Tall and wiry, but strong.  Age 17

     Personality

Quiet, peaceful, generous, forgiving, very warm, helpful, sincere, but can be dark and secretive. He has a temper that can lash out at times.

   Likes/Dislikes

L   singing(but he never sings), trees, mint, night, stars, whittling

D   abuse to nature, wars, nobles, honey

       Character 5

Tanu, Sia's friend

  Physical Characteristics

He is a little sparrow with a dark and sleek body. Wide and glossy eyes.

     Personality

Happy and likes to flit around, can be stubbern at times  ^_^

   Likes/Dislikes

L    his friend Sia, mint, flowers, singing

D    honey

        Character 6

Cronely, old helping hand

  Physical Characteristics

Willowy and stooped, tuft of white hair, shaded eyes from looking to much in the sun, wrinkled face, and wide nose.  Age 72

     Personality

He is to himself, very kind, helpful, can be grumpy at times

  Likes/Dislikes

L    gardening, rain, Aunt Tea's tea, nature

D    cats, wind, all animals

 Rosethorn

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Mar. 11, 2008 - Lesson 2

 On Galadriel - LOTR

   I thought Galadriel was really cool because she seemed so calm and reserved. I think first she had a mask on then she dropped the whole facade and became her true self. Her style is very nice. She has a low and mesmerizing voice that really seems to captivate people.

 On Gabriel Drake - The Faerie Path

  I didn't like Gabriel because he deceives and twists peoples minds. He takes advantage of people in moments of weakness. Gabriel takes pleasure in peoples pain. I didn't really like the whole picture of perfection he had going on. The smooth as honey voice, being there when times seem right, and his golden reflection. To me his eyes were pools of silver doom and not pools of silver wonder.

Rosethorn

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Mar. 10, 2008 - Lesson 1

Pride and Prejudice

 Characters 

Elizabeth, Mr. Darcy, and the Bennet family

 Setting

18th century England

 Problem

All sisters of age to marry properly

 Plot

Elizabeth and her sisters go through trials of love and despair.

 Solution

Elizabeth, Mr. Darcy and her sisters find what they desire.

 rosethorn

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Feb. 28, 2008 - Boring

     Am I boring?

          I think so.

              My page is bleak.  I think I'll change it.  I'm going to become more interesting.  Well . . . . at least I'm going to try.  Just started out this blog thing, and . . . to lay it out, I don't know anything about blogs or sites so let's just say I'm dumb.  Ha ha ha! 

                                          I saw the commercial for the movie Penelope.

                                                                             Don't know what to think

       I'm having a brain shut out(as I put it).   Can't think of anything to write. 

                                                                       Oh! 

                Just remembered,

                       Is anyone out there a writer?    If you are give me tips.  I am a very sprightly(lively) story teller.  I'm awful at Grammer.  I can speak the stories and tell them, but I can't write them down.   It doesn't please me.   Not at all.   I want to become a writer.   Don't know if that will happen. Wish me luck.            Or don't

rosethorn

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Feb. 23, 2008 - Becoming a Southern Belle

1861 Girls' School in Columbia Teaches 19-Century Social Skils

Walk onto the grounds of the historic Athenaeum Rectory on Columbia during the annual 1861Girls' School, and you might forget you're living in the 21st century.  For one week in July, the Athenaeum returns to the year 1861, as it provides the backdrop for teenage girls to learn the skills a young lady would have needed in the 19th century.  Girls ages 14 through 18 travel from all over the country and beyond to attend the school.  In 2006, girls attended from Germany and Canada.

   " They learn things like ballroom dancing, etiquette, penmanship, needlework, Latin, hairstyling and mourning customs," says Becky Logue, a volunteer at the Athenaeum Rectory.  " Most the faculty are re-enacters and educators who take a week out of their summer to participate.  This is the 18th year of the Girls' School, and they've really developed it and honed their skills.  Much of the staff has stayed the same since the beginning."

     Throughout the week, the girls stay with area host families and behave as if they were living in 1861, curtseying to elders and practicing other social graces. They dress in traditional 19th century costumes that they bring with them from home.  " There are some very beautiful gowns," Logue says. " A lot of the girls make their own costumes with their mothers or grandmothers.  They also order them off the internet and arrange to rent them."

    Visitors to the Athenaeum during the 1861 Girls' School might find girls in lavish hoopskirts practicing penmanship on the wraparound porch or playing parlor games inside the rectory, depending on the day's schedule.  Highlights of the week include a garden tea on the Athenaeum's front lawn on thursday afternoon and commencement ceremonies and a grand ball on Friday evening.  The girls are escorted at the ball by members of the Jackson Cadets, a fraternal service organization for high school boys.

     " The Jackson Cadets take dance lessons with the girls all week, and they preform a grand march together at the ball," Logue says. " It's really something to see.  There's a huge line of ball gowns."

   In 2007, 21 girls attended the 1861 Girls' School, traveling from as far as New Hampshire and New Jersey.  " I chose to attend because I love history and costuming, and I thought it would be interesting to step back in time for a week," says Sarah Lally of Fond du Lac, Wis. " I wanted to get a sense of what ladies had to go through back then and walk in their shoes."

   Katherine Marie Housley of Winchester, Tenn., heard about the girls' school when she was little and looked forward to attending for several years.  " Nowadays we don't slow down to do things with effort, and I wanted to know how to really act like a lady, " Housley says.  " When someone comes to my house, I want to know how to present things to them properly.  We learned things you'd need to know to host a dinner party or evening  gathering."

      Now a longstanding Columbia tradition, the 1861 Girls' School was founded by Mark Orman, who serves as its dance master.  " I was a summer tour guide at the Athenaeum 19 years ago, and I thought it would be neat to go back in time and see what life was like," Orman says. " We get a lot girls who come with little or no self confidence. A week of being toldwhat to do and how to do it and mingling with other girls does them a lot of good."

    Some may say argue that skills such as ballroom dancing and needlework aren't necessary for women in the 21st century.  But Angie McClanahan, a longtime faculty member at the 1861 Girls' School, would beg to disagree.  " I don't being graceful and ladylike is ever out of style.  It's something that's sorely missing in today's society,"  McClanahan says.  " It's a privlege to act as our ancestors did and learn how they lived their lives.  This is such a unique opportunity for the girls - it's once in a lifetime."

Contact

  The next 1861 Girls' School is slated for  July 12 -18, 2008.  Tuition is $700.   A condensed version of the school will be hel May 2 - 3, 2008 for ladies ages 19 and older.   For information, call (931) 381-4822 or visit www.athenaeumrectory.com

I found this in a Tennessee Home & Farm magazine.  Once I heard I knew I had to go.  My parents(Mom)said the only way I could go was if I bought the items I would need.  So most likely I won't be going this year.  My parents said maybe next year.  I'm thrilled either way.  Just the prospect I might be able to go is good enough for me.  Any girl who loves trying new things(like me)would want to do this.  There are pictures that go with this, but I can't put them on yet.  I'll post them later.

~ rosethorn

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Feb. 23, 2008 - Pride & Prejudice

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