Instrumental music is my inspiration, for the little things that others find unimportant, for the big things that others find formidable. Naturally, since I love it so much, I have explored the wonders of many different composers, but my favorite one is BrunuhVille.
BrunuhVille is a young man from Portugal who loves composing some of the most beautiful instrumental music. I love listening to his music while writing. It does wonders for my imagination. An added bonus is that he looks a lot like Frodo.
Today I will be sharing one of his compositions "The Essence of Life".
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
D ~ Dishes
Seeing dirty dishes turn from grimy to sparkling clean used to be one of my very favorite chores back when I was 8 or so. Fast forward a number of years and doing dishes became the most horrid, detestably nasty, and terribly boring chore that I have ever done.
Sometimes I wanted to do nothing more than get rid of all of our dishes, I spent lot of time dreaming up positively splendid ways to destroy them one way or another.
Here's a sample of some of the things I used to think would be fun doing with them.
Operation Dish Destroyer
1. Use our plates as Frisbees. Precision in aiming is not necessary.
2. Use them as Archery targets.
3. Break them over horrid people's heads.
4. Float them down our creek.
5. Throw them over our waterfall.
6. Simply smash them against the floor.
7. Tie them to helium balloons and watch them soar over clouds.
8. Hand them out to random people.
9. Use the plates as hopscotch squares.
10. Throw them onto the road and drive over them.
11. Get up at Midnight (because it is more daring that way) and bury them.
12. Use them to teach myself how to juggle.
13. Have a giveaway for used dishes.
14. Take them on picnics and forget about them.
15. Play pitch and catch with them.
16. Dump them into somebody's backyard.
17. Dump them into somebody's front yard.
18. Throw them down our stairs.
19. Throw them up our stairs.
And last but not the least. 20.. Throw them out of a plane, and then jump out after them. I have always wanted to skydive.
Sometimes I wanted to do nothing more than get rid of all of our dishes, I spent lot of time dreaming up positively splendid ways to destroy them one way or another.
Here's a sample of some of the things I used to think would be fun doing with them.
Operation Dish Destroyer
1. Use our plates as Frisbees. Precision in aiming is not necessary.
2. Use them as Archery targets.
3. Break them over horrid people's heads.
4. Float them down our creek.
5. Throw them over our waterfall.
6. Simply smash them against the floor.
7. Tie them to helium balloons and watch them soar over clouds.
8. Hand them out to random people.
9. Use the plates as hopscotch squares.
10. Throw them onto the road and drive over them.
11. Get up at Midnight (because it is more daring that way) and bury them.
12. Use them to teach myself how to juggle.
13. Have a giveaway for used dishes.
14. Take them on picnics and forget about them.
15. Play pitch and catch with them.
16. Dump them into somebody's backyard.
17. Dump them into somebody's front yard.
18. Throw them down our stairs.
19. Throw them up our stairs.
And last but not the least. 20.. Throw them out of a plane, and then jump out after them. I have always wanted to skydive.
Monday, April 4, 2016
C ~ Chocolate Chip Cookies
If there is one recipe that my family is constantly remaking and loving just as much every time, it has to be the dear little recipe for chocolate chip cookies that I found in one of my Mom's Amish cookbooks.
Absolutely nothing beats the smell of warm, baking cookies wafting throughout the house, I really don't think anything excites my brothers more being told there are cookies in the kitchen waiting to be devoured. Not that I make it a habit of telling my brothers that there is devour-able food around. (That just sounds weird.)
Since I have sadly been lacking in the recipe department as of lately I shall share our recipe with you today. Besides, I really couldn't help but fall in love with these cookies when I discovered that they always turn out perfect every time.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 3/4 cups softened butter (you can use shortening too)
4 eggs
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
4 cups flour
1 tbsp. vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips (an average pack)
In a large bowl cream the sugar and and butter until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla making sure to mix well. Add the flour, soda, and salt and mix until well combined. Add the chocolate chips and mix until evenly distributed. Using a spoon (or your hands) drop the cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet, I use parchment paper since the cleanup is easier that way, and no one like scrubbing more dishes than necessary, right? Right! Bake at 350 for ten minutes. They tend to look under-baked but trust me when I say that they turn out to be super chewy and delicious if you bake them for only 10 minutes. This makes a sizeable batch cookies but if you have starving brothers the cookies should be gone in no time. I find that it is wise to hide several if you want to eat any.
Absolutely nothing beats the smell of warm, baking cookies wafting throughout the house, I really don't think anything excites my brothers more being told there are cookies in the kitchen waiting to be devoured. Not that I make it a habit of telling my brothers that there is devour-able food around. (That just sounds weird.)
Since I have sadly been lacking in the recipe department as of lately I shall share our recipe with you today. Besides, I really couldn't help but fall in love with these cookies when I discovered that they always turn out perfect every time.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 3/4 cups softened butter (you can use shortening too)
4 eggs
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
4 cups flour
1 tbsp. vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips (an average pack)
In a large bowl cream the sugar and and butter until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla making sure to mix well. Add the flour, soda, and salt and mix until well combined. Add the chocolate chips and mix until evenly distributed. Using a spoon (or your hands) drop the cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet, I use parchment paper since the cleanup is easier that way, and no one like scrubbing more dishes than necessary, right? Right! Bake at 350 for ten minutes. They tend to look under-baked but trust me when I say that they turn out to be super chewy and delicious if you bake them for only 10 minutes. This makes a sizeable batch cookies but if you have starving brothers the cookies should be gone in no time. I find that it is wise to hide several if you want to eat any.
Saturday, April 2, 2016
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Friday, April 1, 2016
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
Woodland Tales, by Adrian von Ziegler
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
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.
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, March 2, 2016
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