Random life stuff + some possibly exciting news. (Wait for it.)

Well, friends, it appears my plan to post more often by giving myself a break from commenting did not exactly fly sky high.  Here I am over a month since my last post and I find myself entirely out of the blogging rhythm. 

 

Where do I even begin?

 

There's so much I need to catch up on that I find myself opting for the 'all or nothing' plan. Which sadly tends to fall heavily toward the 'nothing', if you know what I mean.  Making plans for getting caught up on everything simply has a tendency to paralyze a person and then there's nothing for it but to do...nothing at all.  (I'm quite good at that, I have to admit.)
 

But anyway, I'm here today to write something.

 

And something today I shall write.

 

So for what it's worth (if it's worth anything) here goes.

 

 ~Work~

 

Work.  Jobs.  Working at my jobs.  You get the picture.  I've been doing a lot of that recently.  Not that to some of you it would seem like all that much probably.  I mean I only work around twenty hours a week on average, which isn't all that much really, but to me...whew!  It wears me out!  

I will keep this brief because you're probably super tired of hearing about this never-ending job saga of mine.  And super confused too over all the different jobs I keep mentioning.  (By this point you probably haven't a clue whether I'm working at MacDonald's or starting a career in nursing!)  Well, it's true.  It has been crazy.  Quite a jumbled, confusing mess at times really.  But thankfully I think I'm finally beginning to settle into my jobs a bit more, so hopefully I will be staying put for the foreseeable future. 

 

Allow me to fill you in quick.  Last you heard I was working two jobs.  One at a Retreat Center and one at a local café.  Well, since then I've gotten another job.  I am now also working at a small motel which is actually right across the street from the café.  The people who own it attend our church so that's how we got connected.  (Also my older sister works there two days a week which is what gave me the idea to apply in the first place.)

 

I am not, however, working three jobs.  Though you may have thought that was the case, due to the fact that two jobs plus one job does usually add up to three jobs.  Isn't that right?  Well yes, but you see I quit my job at the Retreat Center so now we're back to two.  *grins at my superior math skills* 

It was kind of sad leaving the Retreat Center, but at the same time I think it was the right move.  They were cutting back hours anyway so it was a logical time to do it and working three jobs would have been ridiculous!! One of the main reasons for this change was because I wanted a more consistent schedule, and so far that's been working out pretty well.  I am now working Wednesdays and Thursdays at the café and Friday and Saturdays at the motel.  Plus occasional Sundays at both places. 

I still fret about having to go to work some days.  *Insert my family rolling their eyes at me*  But look!  That's just something we're going to have to learn to accept, okay?  Because honestly, what person in their right mind would actually prefer going to work over staying home?  Like really!  (Okay, I know there are some that would, but I just happen not to be one of them.  Call me lazy if you want.  I prefer to see it as the result of a higher and nobler calling.  People put a lot of effort into making homes comfortable and pleasant.  Somebody ought to be enjoying them!)

Alright.

 

Job update.  Done.

 

Let's move on.

 

 

 

~Reading~

 

I started a new book recently, and as usual I've been taking my sweet old time getting through it.  I'd like to share a snippet with you because when I come across something witty I like to share it.  And this was definitely witty.

 

This is from the book Sylvie and Bruno by Lewis Carol (first Lewis Carol book I've ever read).  And here's a quick background on the scene:  My Lady's obnoxious son has just been bodily removed from the room by the Lord Chancellor...without my Lady's knowledge.  The rest is as follows.

 

"But where is my precious child?" my Lady enquired, as the four took their seats at the small side-table devoted to ledgers and bundles and bills. 

     "He left the room a few minutes ago--with the Lord Chancellor," the Sub-Warden briefly explained.

     "Ah!" said my Lady, graciously smiling on that high official.  "Your Lordship has a very taking way with children!  I doubt if any one could gain the ear of my darling Uggug so quickly as you can!"  For an entirely stupid woman, my Lady's remarks were curiously full of meaning, of which she herself was wholly unconscious.

     The Chancellor bowed, but with a very uneasy air.  "I think the Warden was about to speak," he remarked, evidently anxious to change the subject.

     But my Lady would not be checked.  "He is a clever boy," she continued with enthusiasm, "but he needs a man like your Lordship to draw him out!"

     The Chancellor bit his lips, and was silent.  He evidently feared that, stupid as she looked, she understood what she said this time, and was having a joke at his expense.  He might have spared himself all anxiety: whatever accidental meaning her words might have, she herself never meant anything at all.

 

Now you know the kind of thing that strikes me funny.

 

 

~Family~

 

We had a grand old Thanksgiving celebration this past Thursday.  My one brother whose living out of state now wasn't able to make it home, which was sad, but we had everyone else together including my married siblings and their families.  All told, 21 people.  It felt like a real celebration especially as my other brother--whose been away at Marine boot camp for the past three months--arrived home just in time to celebrate with us.  :) 

 

We had a lot of food of course, and we estimated that the turkey was about 30 pounds.  Did NOT eat the whole thing though.  We're not such huge eaters as that.

 

Family is the best!! I am so, SO grateful for mine!!

 

 

~Watching~

 

~Get Smart.  This is the currently popular TV show in our house these days.  Funny though.  We were watching a lot of Get Smart last November, too.  (I remember because it was a huge distraction from NaNoWriMo.)  You may be interested to know that it's just as much of a distraction this time around.  And just as entertaining.  :)

 

~All Creatures Great and Small.  This one is sort of an ongoing thing.  We're currently working our way through the first season for something like the third or fourth time.  Great show!

 

~Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town.  Watched this last Saturday night.  Hilarious!  (And my brother has since been perfecting his "Pa Kettle" voice, which has proved to be quite amusing.)

 

~Boy Meets World.  Started watching this show at my brother's house several weeks ago.  It was a lot better than I was expecting!  I'm looking forward to seeing more.

 

~Beauty and the Beast.  You know what I mean.  That new live-action thing that came out recently.  Yeah, that one.  My opinion of it?  Well...it wasn't bad, but it was kind of lame, too.  What do you say to my writing a review of it?  (By which I mean, a post where I lay into it and criticize everything I can lay my hands on?  Good idea?  Let me know in the comments!  :) Heehee.)

 

 

~In other news~

 

Alright, so the title of this post.  You may have noticed that I said something about some possibly exciting news.  Well, are you ready for that?  (No skimming ahead now.  Read things in order.  That's the way it must be done!)

 

Okay.  So...

 

(Patience my friends.)

To begin with...

 

(Don't read so fast.  Good things take time, you know.  Good news will keep and all that.)

 

Okay.  I think I'm ready for this...

*clears throat*

....

*shifts about in chair*

...

*looks sheepishly and nervously about*

....

*blushes*

....

Alright fine!  I'm doing this!

....

My dear friends...

What if I told you that it hasn't been just my jobs that's been keeping me so busy lately?
 

What if I told you that I've been absent on far more pleasant business?

 

What if I told you that this has been one of the most whirl-wind, exciting months of my life?

That I have in fact met someone?

A very special someone.

A young man who I just might be a little bit in love with and who's the sweetest, kindest soul imaginable.  And whose become my very dearest friend.

What if I told you that...I'M IN AN OFFICIAL RELATIONSHIP AND THINGS ARE MOVING ALONG SUPER QUICKLY?!

There could be wedding bells before too long.  (Maybe.  Who knows?)

Wait for it...

What if I told you all that?

Would you believe me?

Or would you simply remember that I'm a chronic joker?

 

Who has no business being a part of civilized society.

 

 

Yup.  It was a joke, people. 

 

The whole thing.

 

I don't have a boyfriend.

Not even close.

 

But HAHAHAHA!  Wasn't that a marvelous gag?  I totally pulled that one over on you didn't I??  Come on now.  Tell me you didn't squeal a little and get all excited at my "news"?

 

 

Congratulate me on my cleverness!! Aren't I so very funny today??

 

La-la-leelalee.  Miss March is so very funny!

 

(Okay.  I kind of get the feeling that you're all glowering at me right now.) 

Don't look at me like that. 

Can't a lonely single girl have a little fun with her lonely single state? 

I thought it was fun. 

Alright. 

I'm ashamed of myself. 

Punish me, please!  Shoot me.  Kick me.  (Only you can't because you can't reach me, mwahaha!)  Banish me forever from the blogging world then!  I deserve it. 

Good-bye.

*waves a sorrowful and "last" farewell*

*but really just goes off chuckling*

 

Two Tags

 

Hello, my good people!  (At least I hope you've been good.  You haven't been naughty while I've been away have you?  Dear me, I turn my back for one minute...)

Anyhow.  I'm here today with two tags which are long overdue.  And when I say long, I mean long.  Indeed, I shudder to think how long it's been since I was tagged for these...

*checks to see when it was*

Oh goodness.

It was back in April and May!!! 

*gulp*

I'm such a failure.  Why am I even a blogger?

 

Ahem!

 

But this is no time for moping and wailing over past failures.  Let's forget all that!  Let's be optimistic!  Let's pretend for the time being that Miss March is actually good at something and let's move forward!! 

 

 I present to you...

 

 

The Book Tag
(or whatever it's called)

~*~

 

Rules:

 

1. You must be honest.  (Indeed you must.  Honesty is the best policy, people!)  

2. You must answer all the questions.  (Why of course!  Even if you don't have an answer.  Because it really doesn't matter what you say just so long as you say something.)  

3. You must tag at least 4 people.  (Oh.  Well, we'll see about that one.) 

 

I was tagged for this by both Hamlette and Elanor.  (Thanks, girls!)  You can check out their answers to the tag here and here.

 

Now onto the questions!

 



1. What book has been on your shelf the longest?

 

Probably my NIV illustrated children's Bible.  In it's blue and red case.  It has been a prominent fixture on the left end of my bookshelf for a good many years. 

Behold.

 

And yes, I know.  The professionalism of my photography skills is astounding.  *bows*

2. What is your current read, your last read, and the book you'll read next?

Current Read: Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell.  I read this one years ago but figured it was about time to reread it. 

Last Read: Dr. Thorne by Anthony Trollope.  It doesn't quite make it onto my favorite's list, but it was still good.

Book I'll read next: Hmm...now that's a bit more difficult to answer.  Maybe North and South?  Watching the movie recently made me want to read the book again.  But then...I don't know.  It all depends on the availability of the book at the time (I have to get it from the library) and just my overall mood once I'm finished with Wives and Daughters.

You get the idea.

3. What book did everyone like but you hated?

Well apparently a lot of people must have liked Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea because it became a classic.  (Don't ask me how that phenomenon occurred.)  Personally, I call it boring.


And Emma agrees with me!  ;)

 

4. What book do you keep telling yourself you'll read, but you probably won't?

Well, I don't usually tell myself that I'll read anything because I don't like to go back on my word--shows you how much I trust myself when it comes to my reading habits *coughcough*--but, well...maybe War and Peace could count. I've been thinking I'd like to read it ever since my dad and brother read it the other year and said that it was good, but I have a feeling that with regards to that book I may never move beyond the thinking stage.  It's just a hunch.
 

5. What book are you saving for retirement?

Dear me.  Who thinks that far ahead?  One more question like that and you're going to make me feel old!

6. Last page: read it first or wait 'til the end?

Oh!  I never make a point of reading it first!  No indeed.  I always wait until the end.  Always.  (Unless of course things get altogether too suspenseful and I just have to know what happens...or, on the other hand, if things get too boring and I just want to know how it ends without having to read all the dull stuff in between.  You know.)

 

7. Acknowledgements: waste of paper and ink or interesting aside?

Well the word "acknowledgements" certainly doesn't sound very interesting, but I wouldn't necessarily call it a waste of paper and ink because the acknowledgements are really for those people who are being acknowledged in them, right?  And I'm sure they all appreciate it. ;)

 

8. Which book character would you switch places with?

How about Meg March (Brooke)?  I should like to have my own little home and my own little family.  On second thought though, maybe I'll just stay here and wait for that to come naturally in it's own good time.  (Very wise, Miss March, very wise.)

 

9. Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life?

 

This one.  I received it as a Christmas present in 2003 (wow!  didn't realize it was that long ago!).  I just remember how happy I was to find that it fit snuggly in the large pocket of my new purse (also a Christmas present) and how thrilled I was to be able to conveniently carry both presents along with me to my grandparents house that evening.  Ah!  The good old days!  :) 

 

10. Name a book you acquired in an interesting way.

Umm.   I actually can't think of a specific one at the moment.   Sorry about that.

11. Have you ever given a book away for a special reason to a special person?

Uh...you won't believe this.  But I can't think of an answer for this one either.  (Strike out number 2.  We are now on our way to being a very boring post indeed.)

12. Which book has been with you most places?

I guess my Bible.  Not that I carry it with me wherever I go, but more so than any other book probably.

13. Any required reading you hated in high school that wasn't so bad later?

Oh dear.  Nothing's coming to mind for this one either.  (What's wrong with me today?  Lost my thinker?)  Anyhow, I'm guessing if there was a book I hated I probably never reread it.  Why would I want to give a hateful book a second chance anyway?

 14. Used or brand new?

Either or, but I probably have more used books than new books just because...they're cheaper, don't ya know?!  (And I'm not so abnormal as to turn up my nose at a good bargain.)

15. Have you ever read a Dan Brown book?

Nope.  Ain't never even heerd of him.  No doubt it's the result of my lack of edication.   I ne'er was ter college yeh know.

(Don't ask.  Just don't ask.)

(And no, I am not educated in how to speak uneducatedly so...oh never mind.  Just forget it.)

16. Have you ever seen a movie you liked more than the book?

Maybe Captain's Courageous.  The book has a bit too much sea lingo in it--tends to drag a bit sometimes (at least the last time I read it, it did)--but then...I don't know.  They're almost completely different stories really, so it's kind of hard to compare them.   But no.  I think I do like the movie better.   There.

17. Have you ever read a book that's made you hungry, cookbooks included?

Cookbooks included?  Well then, yes!  Not that I've actually read this one, mostly I've just looked at the pictures. But that was enough.  ;)

 

My siblings and I used to love to get this book out and go page by page choosing which dessert on each page we liked best.  Talk about teasing oneself with unattainable pleasures!

18. Who is the person whose book advice you'll always take?

My own.  Haha.  ;P 

Probably most any one of my siblings.  (Though even some of my siblings have odd taste in books sometimes.  *shakes head sadly*)

And look at that!  We've come to the end of the questions. 

I've decided after all not to tag anyone today--far too lazy--so instead we'll just move on immediately to the second tag.  I was tagged for this one by MovieCritic who was in fact the creator of this tag.  Cool, right?  You can check out MovieCritic's original post here.

And now.  The tag.

Rules:

 1. Be honest.  (When am I not?)
2. Put an asterisk next to the ones you have read all the way through. Put an addition sign next to the ones you have started.  (And I'm going to be put two asterisks next to the one's my dad read aloud to me, because even though I didn't read them myself I feel like they ought to count.)

3. Tag as many people as these books that you have read.  (*gulp*  Something tells me I'm going to be breaking rules again...)

 

Thanks for the tag, MovieCritic!  This should be fun!  :D

 



1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen*

2. Gormenghast Trilogy - Mervyn Peake
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte*
4. Temple of the Golden Pavilion - Yukio Mishima
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee*
6. The Story of the Eye - George Bataille
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. Adrift on the Nile - Naguib Mahfouz
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens*
11. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott*
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Rhinoceros - Eugene Ionesco
15. Baron in the Trees - Italo Calvino
16. The Master of Go - Yasunari Kawabata
17. Woman in the Dunes - Abe Kobo
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19. The Feast of the Goat - Mario Vargas Llosa
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gogol's Wife - Tomasso Landolfi
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Magic Mountain - Thomas Mann
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. Ferdydurke - Gombrowicz
26. Narcissus and Goldmund - Herman Hesse
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. The Jungle - Upton Sinclair
33. Tom Sawyer / Huck Finn - Mark Twain*
34. Emma -Jane Austen*
35. Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe
36. Delta Wedding - Eudora Welty
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Naomi - Junichiro Tanizaki
39. Cosmicomics - Italo Calvino
40. The Joke - Milan Kundera
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. Labyrinths - Gorge Luis Borges
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. Under My Skin - Doris Lessing
46. Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery*
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. Don Quixote - Miguel Cervantes
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Absalom Absalom - William Faulkner
51. Beloved - Toni Morrison
52. The Flounder - Gunther Grass
53. Dead Souls - Nikolai Gogol
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen*
55. My Name is Red - Orhan Pamuk
56. A Doll's House - Henrik Ibsen
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens*
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Idiot - Fodor Dostoevesky
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. Leaves of Grass - Walt Whitman
64. Death on the Installment Plan - Celine
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas**
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Pedro Paramo - Juan Rulfo
69. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens*
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Metamorphosis - Kafka
74. Epitaph of a Small Winner - Machado De Assis
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Inferno - Dante
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. The Light House - Virginia Woolf
80. Disgrace - John Maxwell Coetzee
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens**
82. Zorba the Greek Nikos Kazantzakis
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Box Man - Abe Kobo
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. The Stranger - Camus
88. Acquainted with the Night - Heinrich Boll
89. Don't Call It Night - Amos Oz
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. Gravity's Rainbow - Thomas Pychon
94. Memoirs of Hadrian, Marguerite Yourcenar
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Faust - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
100. Metamorphosis - Ovid

Okay so I've read/listened to thirteen of these books.  That's not hugely impressive (if they'd only included more Jane Austen and Charles Dickens I would have been set!), but it's a comfort at least to know that I've read double the amount BBC expected of me!  *pats self on back*

 

This was quite fun and it's making me want to read more.  I don't care for most of the titles on the list, but I really should read The Wind in the Willows, and Alice in Wonderland sometime.  Middlemarch probably wouldn't be a bad idea either.  Also, there's that War and Peace again...

 

Thank you so much for the tag, MovieCritic!!  I enjoyed it! 

 

And now I must be off.

 

Farewell my friends!  Go and read a good book!

 

 

Yours as ever,
Miss March

Inkling Explorations ~The Fisherman's Lady~

It's time for another Inkling Explorations Link-up over at Heidi's blog, Sharing the Journey.   The subject for this month is:  A description of a lady in literature. 

I've selected a portion from The Fisherman's Lady by George MacDonald.

The glow of a young summer morning pervaded earth and sky and sea, and swelled the heart of the youth as he stood in unconscious bewilderment before the self-possession of the girl.  She was younger than he and knew far less that was worth knowing.  Yet she had a world of advantage over him--not merely from the effect of her presence on one who had never seen anything so beautiful, but also from the readiness of surface thought and polish of her speech which gave her an assurance of superiority over the man she now favored with her passing conversation.  As to her personal appearance, the lad might well have taken her for twenty; for she looked more like a grown woman than he, strongly built and tall though he was, looked like a man.  She was rather tall, slender, finely formed, with small hands and feet.  Her hair was of a dark brown, her eyes of such a blue that no one could have suggested gray, and her complexion was fair--a little freckled which gave it the warmest tint it had.

Have you ever read any books by George MacDonald?

Heart-breaking Moments in Fiction

Hello, people.  I'm here today with another 'moments in fiction' post.  (My first post like this was written back in November.  You can read it here if you're interested.)  In my last post I highlighted four story snippets which I found to be particularly relatable and true to life.  In this post I want to highlight a few of those emotional scenes which have the ability to grip your heart with an almost literal pain.  (Speaking for myself, at least.)

I've been reading David Copperfield lately--if ever there was a book full of emotion it is that book--and I came across a passage the other day which literally made me groan.  It was that sad.  Afterward I started thinking.  Are there are other scenes in books that have broken my heart in this way?  And the answer was, yes.  So I decided to put together a deliciously sad post for you all to enjoy.  ;)

Seriously, if you're anything like me you enjoy these sorts of scenes.  Because tragedy and heartache make you feel deeply for the characters you're reading about.   And one likes to feel for their characters.  A story would be boring otherwise.

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
[Note:  I had to edit a bit of this because it was so long.  Where you see "..." is where I removed a bit of the original text.  Just so you know.]  

As the door closed, little Em'ly looked at us three in a hurried manner, and then hid her face in her hands, and fell to sobbing.

     'Doen't, Em'ly!' said Ham, tapping her gently on the shoulder.  'Doen't, my dear!  You doen't ought to cry so, pretty!'

     'Oh, Ham!' she exclaimed, still weeping pitifully, 'I am not so good a girl as I ought to be!  I know I have not the thankful heart, sometimes, I ought to have!'

     'Yes, yes, you have, I'm sure,' said Ham.

     "No! no! no!' cried little Em'ly, sobbing, and shaking her head.  'I am not as good as girl as I ought to be.  Not near! not near!'

     And still she cried, as if her heart would break.

     'I try your love too much.  I know I do!' she sobbed.  "I'm often cross to you, and changeable with you, when I ought to be far different.  You are never so to me.  Why am I ever so to you, when I should think of nothing but how to be grateful and to make you happy!'

     'You always make me so,' said Ham, 'my dear!  I am happy in the sight of you.  I am happy, all day long, in the thoughts of you.'

     'Ah! that's not enough!' she cried.  'That is because you are good; not because I am!  Oh, my dear, it might have been a better fortune for you, if you had been fond of some one else--of some one steadier and much worthier than me, who was all bound up in you, and never vain and changeable like me!'

...

'Oh, pray, aunt, try to help me!  Ham, dear, try to help me!  Mr. David, for the sake of old times, do please, try to help me!  I want to be a better girl than I am.  I want to feel a hundred times more thankful than I do.  I want to feel more, what a blessed thing it is to be the wife of a good man, and to lead a peaceful life.  Oh me, oh me!  Oh my heart, my heart!'

...

I saw her do, that night, what I had never seen her do before.  I saw her innocently kiss her chosen husband on the cheek and creep close to his bluff form as if it were her best support.  When they went away together, in the waning moonlight, and I looked after them, comparing their departure in my mind with Martha's, I saw that she held his arm with both her hands, and still kept close to him.

Oh, this part.  Knowing what comes afterward makes it so terribly sad.  The description of Emily holding on to Ham and keeping close to him as if, yes!  as if he were indeed her "best support".  Oh!  It's painful!  Because it's so true, he was her best support; he was a place of safety and protection and goodness.  And she knew it.  She knew the protection and love Ham had to offer her; and it's so sad to see how she instinctively clings to it, even while preparing to throw it from her.  Ahhh!  Why Emily?  Why?  You and Ham could have been happy together.  I know you could have, if you'd chosen to.  But human nature is a complicated thing, and too often we fail to comprehend what it is we're throwing away until it's too late to get it back.


Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

By eight in the morning Edmund was in the house.  The girls heard his entrance from above, and Fanny went down.  The idea of immediately seeing him with the knowledge of what he must be suffering, brought back all her own first feelings.  He so near her, and in misery.  She was ready to sink as she entered the parlour.  He was alone, and met her instantly, and she found herself pressed to his heart with only these words, just articulate, "My Fanny-my only sister-my only comfort now."

Ahhhh. Talk about clinging to another human being for strength and support.  I love how Edmund in his sorrow, and without a second thought, turns instinctively to Fanny for comfort.  His heart-break is so real, and it is evident from the few simple words he speaks that he has full confidence in Fanny's sympathy and understanding.  I love the feelings in this passage!  The desperation and the sorrow, and yet the joy of having one faithful human being to rely on and trust.  Also the fact that Edmund is seeking Fanny for comfort.  It's just...oh!...it's just too much!  *sob*


The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

Sam knelt by him.  Faint, almost inaudibly, he heard Frodo whispering, "Help me, Sam!  help me, Sam!  I can't stop it.'  Sam took his master's hands and laid them together, palm to palm, and kissed them; and then he held them gently between his own.

Okay.  Seriously.  This part gets me every time.  The utter hopelessness in Frodo's  voice; his simple, yet urgent cry for help; and Sam's calm and quick response.  Ahh!  Way to wrip my heart out.  Also, I just want to say, that though this is a very short snippet, it's a very powerful one.  Frodo's plea is utterly helpless, and yet looking at it closer there is extraordinary strength hidden beneath it.  The sort of strength which comes from being able to recognize one's own weakness and limitations and to plead for help before it's too late.  (Whoever said Frodo was a weak character?)

 

Are there any books that are particularly emotional for you?

Do you enjoy tragic, heart-rending scenes, or do you prefer cheerful and happy ones?

A Slight Tweaking of 'My Plan' // And 'My Book List'

So...after publishing my previous post on Wednesday, which contained a plan of action for how I was going to spend my time; and after many arduous hours of acting upon that plan...

Arduous.  She talks as if she'd been doing this for weeks.

I say, after many arduous hours of acting upon that plan, I have come to the conclusion that there is one particular point which needs a bit of tweaking.  That point is point no. 3: "Set aside mornings for computer work, and don't let it run into the afternoons."  Yes, well, that sounds very good, but I realized very soon yesterday that that is not going to work on a regular basis.  Because every day is different.  Some mornings I'm busy, but have the afternoons free, and denying myself the option of computer work in the afternoon would actually end up being a waste of time rather than a proper use of it.  Make sense?

Perfectly.  And I quite agree. 

Well, thank you.  So here's what I'd really like to say in regards to point no. 3.  It should come into play on those days when I have already spent a significant amount of time on the computer in the morning.  In those cases, afternoons should be my cut off point.  (That way I am not spending all day in front of the screen.  Which is really bad for the eyes...not to mention the brain.) 

Absolutely.  I couldn't agree more! 
But on the other hand, for those days when I have not spent a lot of time on the computer in the morning, the afternoon may still be open to me.  Agreed?
Agreed.  (You sure know how to maneuver your way out of this.) 
Well, but it only makes sense...
Yes, yes.  Of course it does.  Now!  Have you talked yourself into a good conscience?

Yes, I think I have.  And I feel much better about it.

Glad to hear it.  Good-day.

 

Moving on...  (Wow, it's weird writing in black all of sudden.  ;))

 

 

The following is my official book list.  Since I started blogging I have been greatly inspired by all you dear people to read more, and so I've finally "compiled a list of books to read"--as Emma Woodhouse so elegantly expressed it.  This list does not contain 101 titles like Emma's (I'm not that ambitious), but rather a total of 26--half of which are rereads and the other half new. 

 

This list, of course, is subject to change.  Judging from the amount of books I read last year, I'm on pace to finish this list in about three or four years, so by then some of the books will most likely have lost their appeal and I shan't get around to reading them at all.   (Just thought I'd put that out there.)

 

And now you may be wondering how I could possibly take 4 years to read 26 books.  Well, I hate to say it but my total count of books for last year was a piddling  and unimpressive, seven.    (And I call myself a reader!  Ha!) 

 

No doubt this is the expression on your face at the present moment.

I totally comprehend your feelings. It is very sad and very shocking...but it is true nonetheless.  Seven books is all I can boast of for the year 2015.  (Actually, I won't even bother boasting.  That would be silly.)  And yeah, I have a feeling Naomi's probably having a heart attack just about now.  I mean check this out, this was her book list from last year.  She read...wait a minute, let me get my calculator...she read TWENTY THREE times as many books as I did!!  Ach!  Okay, I don't like the way this conversation is going.  Let's just forget I mentioned it.  Haha!  ;)
 

Anyway, I plan to do better this year.   Here's the first list of thirteen books.  All of these I have read before at one time or another.

 

1. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (I'm currently in the middle of this one.)

2. Captain's Courageous by Rudyard Kipling

3. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

4. The Inheritance by Louisa May Alcott

5. The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain

6. The Railway Children by E. Nesbit

7. Robinetta by Kate Douglas Wiggin

8. The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald  (My dad just finished reading this to my younger siblings and it struck me that I'd like to read it again.)

9. The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald

10. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

11. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

12. Jane of Lantern Hill by L. M. Montgomery

13. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy

 

 

And here is the second list.  Many of these books were recommended to me, so I'm going to include the names of those who either introduced me to these books, or encouraged me to read them.

 

1. Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster  (This one I've been meaning to read for a while, but have never gotten around to it.)

2. Greenwillow by B. J. Chute (Natalie)

3. Before Midnight by Cameron Dokey (Heidi)

4. Behold the Dawn by K. M. Weiland (Natalie)

5. Storming by K. M. Weiland (Natalie)

6. Celia Garth by Gwen Bristow (Naomi)

7. Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell (Olivia)

8. Penrod by Booth Tarkington (my brother)

9. Bleak House by Charles Dickens (Olivia and Cordy)

10. The World of Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse (Rosie McCann)

11. Undine by Fouque (my sister)

12. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (my brother)

13. Peter Wimsey mystery novels by Dorothy Sayers (my brother and sister together)

 

 

Thank you all for inspiring me to read more.  I'm excited to discover some new stories.  And I'll be back in year or two with a report of my progress.  (Haha!)  So long! 

 

 

 

Which of these books have you read? 

Do you have any favorites in either of these two lists?