B ~ Books

     Ever since I can remember, reading has been a big part of my life. From listening to my Mom and Dad reading The Roly Poly Puppy to me as a little girl, to being delighted when I could finally read when Dick and Jane became my life. I am still enjoying the delights of reading books. I mean, nothing compares to the excitement that courses through me when I get a new book to read.

     Naturally, after all my years that I have spent reading I have accumulated a rather large list of favorite books, and since I love lists so much, I will share with you my rather large list of favorite books.

My Favorite Books, and why.

The Lord of the Rings series.   I simply love the tales of love, bravery, loyalty, courage, and good triumphing over evil. Not to forget an amazing adventure woven into it all. Combining it all makes for an epic tale that will never be forgotten.

A most Peculiar Circumstance.  I love comedies and this book had such a delightful mixture of hilarious moments and awkwardness that I found myself laughing all the time. Plus, the main character, Arabella Beckett, was someone I could relate to.

The Tutor's Daughter.   I loved this book, it's a Christian romance book that had a large element of mystery and amazing plot twists and betrayals to it that kept me eager to find out what happened next the entire time that I was reading it. And since I am a sucker for wanting the underdogs to get the spotlight (spoiler-alert) I was delighted when the underdog got the glory. To have this book take place in England in the Regency era made it even better.

Anne of Green Gables series.  Now these were just delightful! Anne is such a spunky fun-loving girl that I couldn't help but to fall in love with these books. By the way, the scrapes she was always getting into, made the books a lot more lighthearted and joyful than your average orphan story.

The Hawk and the Jewel.  I love old fashioned books and since this one was in the 1800's  I loved it even more. It also had several plot twists that you would never have expected. Some parts of the book were awkward. ( like 47%)  but it was still an overall very interesting and good read based around the royals of the time.

A Rebellious Heart.  Now this book was the kind that had me cowering behind blankets for some parts, it was part nerve wracking and part delightfully horrifying. This book also had a horrific villain that satisfyingly got what he deserved in the end. It has a touch of romance, but because of all the drama in the book I always remembered it as a thrilling tale.

Into the Whirlwind.  This book was based around the great Chicago fire, so naturally destruction was involved, but the book still had funny moments that literally made me burst out laughing and awkward moments when I wanted to crawl into a hole and never climb out again. Spoiler alert..... Canned peaches are not always a good idea.

Miranda series.  This series was beyond delightful, Miranda was such a smart witty girl that kept my reading experience very enjoyable. After years of her helping others she finally gets a spotlight on herself.

Glory.  This book was based around a wagon ride to Oregon with a country girl as the main character, naturally there was a bit of drama but mostly a lot of funny relatable moments that I loved. She was a very likable person that kind-of  "stunk" for the first few chapters. 

A Gown of Spanish Lace. This book was pretty much a story of devoted love and a kidnapping, escape, and a shooting. In other words it was kind-of a Western written by a woman. Not to forget a woman was the main character. But this book was one worth reading over again, which I did.

Moonlight Masquerade. I loved this book. It was based around a spy for Napoleon, and an undercover opposing spy who portrayed an unassuming butler. Lady Celine Wexam was one of the main characters and I fell in love with her the moment I saw her name. The book of course had a lot of adventure and one moment when a very satisfying punch was made.

Trouble In Store.  This book was a murder mystery that wasn't actually as morbid as it sounds. This book had so many plot twists that I never managed to guess who the culprit really was. They say it is always the butler but since this book had no butler I was floundering around helplessly guessing who the murderer was one chapter, and changing my mind the next. But it was a very good story of a young lady who inherited a store that just happened to have been given to some man too.

The Miner's Lady. This was a story based around two feuding Italian families and naturally a mine. It had an element of surprise in it and a tragic accident that changed many hearts forever. I had personally loved this book and all of the adventure and secrets kept me well entertained.

Gone Camping.  This whole entire book was based around just one camping trip that had an unbelievable amount of ridiculously embarrassing and awkward moments. The reason I liked this book so well was because of the comedic qualities in every awkward situation. And plus, the main character was totally someone I could relate to.

The Blue Castle.  This entire book was such a very satisfying story of a woman finally breaking away from the very boring drab life she was required to live. Rebelling never was more right. Though the first chapter was beyond snore-worthy I loved every other chapter and loved how she proved that fitting in is just a rule for helpless people.

The Divergent Trilogy.  This series seems to be a misfit considering my previously listed books but I loved these books because of the thrilling tale woven throughout them. Spoiler alert.... sadly the series had a horrific ending that left me an emotional wreck.

 That seems to be only a smidgen of all the books that I love as a teen, so now here is a glimpse of a few of my favorite childhood books.

And though there were a lot more I just summarized my favorites.  And since that concludes the ends of both of my lists, I bid you Adieu.

A ~ Adrian von Ziegler

     Celtic music is one of the things that I love deeply. The reason why is simply because I love the stories that dance and twirl through my head when I listen to it. Celtic music always tells some kind of story. It can be of brave warriors past, of woodland tales, of love, laughter, joy, sadness, or of some long forgotten truth. In other words I love the beauty that is found in Celtic music and today I will be sharing one of my favorite Celtic pieces by Adrian von Ziegler.

Woodland Tales, by Adrian von Ziegler

Why a Human Hamster Wheel is Never a Good Idea

     Everyone in my family knows that when someone gets into a scrape it was usually caused by me, and they are right of course. But I simply can't help it, my imagination and ideas always get the better of me. They always sound like solid, good, ingenious ideas at the time but more often than not I find myself in a predicament. Which brings us to my latest and greatest idea that landed my sister Diane and I into "a heap of trouble."

     On March 16th, Wednesday, in the year 2016 another great idea came to mind on a beautifully sunny afternoon in our back yard. While Diane and I were wandering around outside I noticed an old, rusted, hay feeder propped up on a small pile of old logs in our back yard. Well,  since I love to put old things to good use, I came up with a  brilliant idea for the hay feeder. Why let it rust away all lonely on that pile of logs when Diane and I could just simply hoist it off the logs and roll across the yard on it like a human hamster wheel, have an adventure, and then put it back where we got it.

     Well, we did have an adventure all right, a hilariously horrible one. First, moving the feeder off of the logs was a lot harder than I had expected because it was really heavy. Our creek was right behind the feeder so if we weren't careful we were all going to crash right into the creek with the hay feeder on top of us. The whole time while we were heaving and pushing Diane was very busy muttering  "all of your crazy ideas" and, "why do I always get dragged into your crazy ideas."

     When we finally got the feeder lifted off of the logs we almost met our doom when the feeder decided it would be nice to hurtle towards the creek, Diane and I shrieked and tugged and finally managed to drag it over to a flat spot in our back yard. I climbed into the hay feeder thinking that all of our hard work was just about to be paid off, I grabbed onto the feeder's rungs and started rolling, but instead of the effortless carefree fun I had imagined the feeder insisted on rolling backwards when I wasn't rolling it forward. Diane was quickly behind me propping up the feeder as I rolled and stumbled onto my face in a forward progression.

     Even after seeing how my turn had been Diane took a turn too, but this time it was down the hill towards the pile of logs where we were going to hoist the feeder up again after Diane had finished her turn. But goodness! Her turn was horrifying, we went flying down that hill with my heels digging into the grass, leaving ugly marks behind us while Diane screeched at the top of her lungs, all of that time of course, that feeder was intent on rattling along making an exuberant amount of noise as the rusty bolts hit the ground. When I finally stopped the runaway "Hamster wheel" Diane and I slowly turned to face each other, with both of us fearing that Mom would stick her head out of the living room window any minute now to find us trying to casually hide the massive hay feeder behind us.

     It was time to put the hay feeder back where we got. Naturally, it was not anywhere near as easy as I had expected, I had forgotten to calculate the tree that was hovering over the log pile in the first place so instead of rolling the hay feeder onto the logs we smacked it into tree branches almost decapitating ourselves. I burst out laughing at the hilarity of the situation while Diane questioned my sanity. Eventually we got it dragged over  beside the logs where we decided we should just hoist it side-ways onto the logs and push it on the rest of the way.  That impossible hunk of metal was even heavier than we had ever imagined it would be.

     After extreme exertion we managed to lift it onto the pile of logs and we hurriedly propped it up and almost collapsed with exhaustion. One thing we had completely forgotten though is that the hay feeder was extremely rusty so when we looked at our hands they were completely covered in thick, crusty, layers of orange filth.

     Two things I learned though from this adventure. Number one, rust washes off of hands moderately easy. And number two, A human hamster wheel is never, under no circumstances, a good idea.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

 

1. February ended with an extra 24 hours in 2016. What did you do with your bonus day?

  I spent my bonus day just like I would have spent any other normal day; working, drawing, eating, talking, and laughing.

2. What's something in your life that's grown by leaps and bounds in recent days, weeks, months, or years? I'm giving you lots of room to come up with an answer here, so no fair passing on this one.

  My art skills. This year I started an art course and I am delighted with the results. They were so gradual I didn't notice them until I looked back at one of my art books and noticed that instead of my pictures looking like strangled blobs of ink they are actually starting to look like real drawings.

3. Do you read reviews about a film before deciding if you'll see it? Did you watch The Oscars this year, and if so your thoughts on the program? How many of the Best Picture nominees had you seen prior to the broadcast? (Spotlight, The Martian, The Big Short, The Revenant, Mad Max: Fury Road, Room, and Brooklyn) If you watched The Oscars who gets your award for 'best dressed'?

  I did not watch the Oscars this year, I did last year and was unbelievably bored. And no I do not read the reviews on films, I like to be surprised, but in some occasions the general public talks about popular films so much that it is just about impossible not to gather at least someone's opinion on a film.

4. When did you last have overnight houseguests? Give us your top three tips on being a good houseguest.

  About two weeks ago we had overnight house guests and they seem to have mastered the polite etiquette for being a house guest.

  My top three tips on being a good house guest are: always clean up after yourself, be as much help as you can be without being insufferable, and simply remember to use the time honored Please and thank-you.

5. March 2nd is Peanut Butter Lover's Day. Will you be celebrating? If so, would you prefer a home made peanut butter cookie, a Reese's peanut butter cup, an old fashioned peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or shall I just hand you a jar and a tablespoon?

  I most definitely won't be celebrating! I positively abhor peanut butter and the thought of having to eat any makes me want to gag.

6. Why is failure important? Or isn't it?

  Failure is not important in my opinion, but in many situations failure teaches lessons and hopefully helps us grow.

7. Share with us one fun thing on your March calendar.

  This is simple, one fun thing on my March calendar is prepping for my A-Z challenge. It turned out to be a lot more fun than I anticipated it to be.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

  If season's were people, I think that Winter would be a bully, It steals most of Fall's and Spring's fair share of glory and by far overstays it's welcome where I live. Yesterday was gorgeous with sunshine, warmth, and singing birds. I woke up this morning to a rather persistent snow. I will keep hoping for Spring to show its face soon.

In Memory of Gypsy

       They say that the dog is man's best friend and I have to agree with that. Almost four years ago we were very happy to open our hearts and home to a dog someone dropped off and sped away. We adopted the dog and called him Gypsy. That little ball of fluffy black, curly hair worked his way into all of our hearts. He was already old when we got him, but age is only a number, or so they say.

     There were long summer evenings spent lying on the grass with Gypsy, talking, and playing with him. There were picnics spent with him trotting jauntily along beside of us. There were woodland walks, mischievous chases, rescuing visitors from his loyal protection (his bark is worse than his bite, and he never bit anyone), nights spent getting up at midnight to sneak out and talk to him when he was lonely (yes, I'm guilty) there were many happy greetings whenever Gypsy saw us, we spent many hours every day simply enjoying the blessing of his loyal and devoted friendship.

      Yesterday our beloved dog passed away of old age, we all loved him dearly and his death brought many tears to our eyes. Though we are very sad we find comfort in knowing that we filled his last years with lots of adventures and happiness for him, he had found a loving family and he spent the rest of his life with us. We will cherish his memory always.

     In memory of Gypsy. Our beloved dog.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

 

1. February 17th is National Random Acts of Kindness Day. It lands on the calendar one day after National Do Something for a Grouch Day (February 16) which somehow feels related. Perhaps the 16th inspired the 17th?

Tell about a time you performed a random act of kindness or were the recipient of one. Will you make an effort to perform a random act of kindness on the 17th? Share details if you're so inclined, and if you have something specific in mind.

     Hmm, I honestly don't know if this counts but yesterday the UPS stopped by to deliver some new packages that my Mom had ordered a few days ago. The UPS driver was such a jolly fellow and cheerfully offered to help me carry my packages down my long sidewalk to my basement. So I was the recipient of an act of kindness.

2.What's the most uplifting or encouraging thing you see happening in the world right now? You may have to dig deep for this one.

     The most encouraging thing I see happening in the world right now are all of those Christians out there standing up for their faith no matter what. Take Pastor Saeed for example.

3. Black olives, black currants, black grapes, black beans, blackberries, Oreos...your favorite food the color of night? Your least favorite on the list?

     I absolutely love black beans, they are so delicious.
     My least favorite food of all are olives of any kind, not only is their texture disturbing but I can't stand the flavor either.

4. A while back I read (here) a list of twelve things you should do before you turn 50. They were-

travel when you have the chance, take care of your skin, learn a foreign language, make exercise a habit, leave a toxic situation, stop caring what others think about you, stop worrying, volunteer, spend time with your grandparents, pledge to work less, learn to cook an amazing dish, and seize an opportunity as it arises

What do you think of the list? What would you add or remove and why? If you're over 50, have you done all 12? If you're not yet 50, have you done any at all? What's on the list that you haven't done, but would like to do?

     I am not yet close to being 50. I have already learned how to make an amazing dish if Chocolate Lava cakes count. And am currently studying French, so hopefully by the time I am 50 I will know how to fluently speak and write French.
     
5. Besides the classic Christmas flicks, what's your favorite film where winter plays a part in the setting? 

     Though winter wasn't always in the setting  The Lord of The Rings was my favorite film that winter played a part in.

6.When did you last feel helpless, and what did you do about it?

     The last time I ever felt helpless was when I was sitting on my bed with my massive Fudge Ripple afghan spread out around me, I realized I had misjudged my necessary length for making a bed sized afghan and had made it way too big, so now I have to undo it and start over.

7. Share a favorite proverb.

     This is actually an Amish proverb but I loved it: "Happiness is not the absence of problems but the ability to deal with them."

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

     I have signed up for the April A-Z blogging challenge and I am having a lot of fun planning out my posts and even writing up a few. I am very excited for when it actually arrives!

Brain Dump

  This is just a collection of thoughts that have been floating through my brain right now.

  I am very happy that winter has finally arrived and now there is fresh glistening snow on the ground. I smell the joy of sledding ahead of me yet.

***

  I have been listening to a lot of Celtic music lately, and right now I am listening to "Fallen Tears" It accurately sums up my yesterday when I heard that one of my favorite actors, Alan Rickman, died.

***

  Yesterday I made Chocolate Lava Cakes and they were the most delicious disaster I have ever tasted. Every bit of the baking turned out to look just like the pictures, until, I turned the cakes over to pat them onto a plate and and all of the "Lava" oozed out onto the plate, with the cake part still firmly stuck to the pan. They were still delicious with whipped cream and strawberries!

***

     I am extremely excited that I have finally found the perfect crochet poncho pattern, I have been looking for a pretty one for ages.

***

  I am absolutely up for the challenge of making English muffins tomorrow. I have wanted to make them for the longest time and now that I've found an easy recipe I'm ready to start creating.  I calculated that making English Muffins the traditional way (which is what I'll be doing) should take four and a half hours, since I'll be frying them on a griddle like the people from the olden days used to.

 ***

 I'm feeling perfectly old fashioned today, like I should be wearing bustles and bows. Recently one of my friends taught me how to dance the Virginia Reel, and the classic Waltz, and the Soldier's Joy. All of which my sister and I have been dancing to.

 ***

  For my literature in school I am reading Pride and Prejudice. I love the quaint dialogue even though it's hard to understand what I'm reading at times. I have realized that though it's taking me a while to read the book I think Jane Austen was a wonderful author. It's sad that writing books wasn't considered proper for women back then.

***

  My brain feels considerably emptier now so I'll end this post with a favorite new quote.

  Every day might not be good, but there's something good in everyday. Anonymous