I Did It!

This evening, I accomplished my personal challenge and finished reading Jane Austen's Emma. Thus I have read each of her novels, some of them multiple times.

Now the question stands: What should I read next?

Just Too Tired

Maybe it's the fact that it's August, nearing the end of a long, exhausted summer. Or it could be all the cleaning, reorganizing, and putting-things-away going on around here. But no matter how much stuff gets put away, either in an old place or a new place made specially for it, there is always more stuff to be taken care of. The mountain of mess just keeps growing!
 
Whatever the reason, everyday I wake up tired and can't wait for night so I can go back to bed. I've taken to napping in the afternoons. Today I climbed back in bed, still in my nightgown, at 12:01 p.m. and did not emerge until almost 1:00.

Another reason I want to be a Jane Austen heroine: They have servants to clean up the mess. The external messes at least. Elizabeth Bennet and Emma Woodhouse had to take care of the emotional messes themselves. (Let's not even get started on Marianne Dashwood!)

I've had Jane Austen on the brain lately. I finally picked up Emma again, after I-don't-know-how-long, and am determined to finish her this time. Last time I read Emma I got a little more than half way through. When I finish I just might reward myself by reading Sense and Sensibility again, which may even surpass Pride and Prejudice and be my favorite of Jane Austen's works.  
  

Look What I Found!

I was reading a post on the Disney blog, Oh My Disney, when I came across this Easter egg in Tangled.  If you look very closely you can see the Little Mermaid on one of the books: 

Next time we watch the movie on our huge movie theater screen, we need to pause it on this scene and look around. I think I might see some more hidden treasures. 

A New Day

This has to have been the longest summer of my life. In fact I think this has been the longest year of my life (and it's not even August!) Everything has happened: life, death, weddings, funerals, work, play, happiness, sorrow; you name it, I'm sure it must have happened here.

But now it's all behind us. All the events laid out for this season have ended, all the major ones at least. Stretched out before me is a blank slate, a story not yet written.

College turned out to be less enjoyable (and useful) than I had anticipated. (Although I did get an A in the class.) So I'm taking this next semester off from school, at least class room school. I'll keep up with my homeschooling, reading, writing, and music. I may even try to get a job this fall.

And now that I'm out of school, the Harold B. Pricklepants society will begin meeting again. I have requested we read Gone With the Wind (one of my all-time favorite books) even if I have read all 700+ pages of it two or three times before!

Life will continue. Even if sometimes I wish it would slow down and give me a chance to catch my breath!  

What I Have Been Up to Lately

Enjoying many cups of tea in my new mug. 

Enjoying the beautiful weather while anxiously awaiting Mama Robin's second batch of eggs to hatch. 

Other than that, it's just been the usual routine: reading good books, eating good food, (my Mom has just learned to make Macarons!) and learning how to knit cables. 

We're All Mad Around Here!

What better way to once again attempt to re-immerse myself into my writing than with a little bit of nonsense?

To combat the dreary, grey rain today, we celebrated our Un-Birthdays with Alice, the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, and all sorts of other mad people in Disney's Alice in Wonderland. With all the tea, wit, tea, cards, (did I remember to mention tea!) I felt right at home.

And now that I have finally taken the plunge and joined Facebook, I can find other silly and entertaining nonsense like this:

 

As my Mom would say: "Yes, let's be silly!"

It's May!

Obviously I did not succeed in my Lenten challenge of blogging for forty+ days, but after a few weeks of respite I'm feeling inspired again.

First of all it's May, one of my favorite months. It's at last warm enough to dance about in sun dresses and leave the windows open all night long. And the gardens look glorious.

I took so many pictures of these purple beauties, trying to get the perfect shot. 

Everyday I step out the door and am greeted by a waft of sweet perfume from the collection of roses. 

With the turning of the calender comes my Mom's birthday, the first of May. We celebrated with a proper Jane Austin tea, complete with cupcakes slathered in a pale pink frosting and a good black tea served in floral teacups. 

The Birthday Girl! (And Daddy.) 

(Who's Un-Birthday we celebrated.)

And last but not least, I'M A COLLEGE STUDENT! 

I'm not going away to school yet, just taking English 1A at the junior college over the summer. I'll probably take several classes at the j.c. over the next year or two, and then it's on to the big leagues!