Taking a break

Due to my recent lack of work ethic concerning my AP summer work, I will be taking a break from the computer.

Unfortunately, this blog has to suffer. I will not be posting anything until I have completed all of my summer reading and activity assignments. It is likely that I will not be able to post again until September.

I am very sorry to announce this, but seeing as I have almost nothing done and summer is already more than half over, I decided I needed a self-applied intervention.

As the days get warmer...

k... well, hotter. The sun beats down incessantly and I've been forbidden to touch the thermostat. So my way of coping is to become extremely lazy and lacking in my duties. Unfortunately, this blog has suffered as a result.

But last night started the first daily practice of marching band, and while that does mean I'll be leaving in about a week for band camp, it also means that my energy is up and I'm not feeling quite so tired and boorish.

So what have I been up to since returning from Blue Lake on the 12th? Well, in honour of the release of HBP, I've been on a Harry Potter binge. I've looked up numerous HP-related knitting patterns, began making some Luna Lovegood inspired jewelry, discovered that I belong in Slytherin house (yay me!), and found numerous recipes from the wizarding world.

I've no idea how long this will last, but I can guarantee it will, probably by the time school starts back up.

The whole thing really started before I left, but at the time my obsession was purely with Tom Felton, and his HP character Draco. Now you know why I was so excited to be in Slytherin!

Blast, it's time for me to leave for practice already! I suppose I'll have to finish up later then...

Okay, I'm back now. Let's see, where was I?

Oh yes! Well, I found a wonderful pattern for Pygmy Puffs, which I am in the process of making, as well as a delicious recipe for (non-alcoholic) mulled mead, which I modified a bit to be more of what I thought Butterbeer would taste like. The recipe I found for butterbeer seemed a bit to fizzy, and I didn't have all the ingredients.

Other than that, I've picked and dried the last of the lavender, weeded my garden, and well, that's pretty much it.

Signing off.

Away I go...

Tomorrow starts one of many camping trips this summer, though camp fires and tents is the last thing this particular session will hold. Instead, I am going to the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Twin Lake, Michigan.

All today I have been preparing for the 12 day trip, as well as seeing to some things that need to be done, and things I will miss dearly while I am away.

After washing those last few loads of laundry, straightening my room, and packing the last essentials, I headed outside to my beautiful garden on the edge of the tree line. I pulled weeds and then sat for some time enjoying the cool breeze in the deep green of the woods, listening to the birds and the stream making wonderful music, and watching the beautifully somber gray clouds swirl above me.

On my way up I stopped by our koi pond and noticed some honey bees and wasps sitting on the slate waterfall, presumably taking a sip of the water as it cascaded down moss covered stones to the lily pads below.

Image by L Lemos via Flickr

After that I headed up front, where the lavender was growing tall and bushy near the curb. I cut quite a few stems off and enjoyed the hum of the fat, fuzzy bumble bees as they collected nectar, and waved hello to the neighbors on their afternoon walk.

And then I noticed that our blackberry bush was just bursting with dark, ripe berries. These I eagerly collected, before I headed inside to share the fruits of my labor with my adorable nephew (quite literally, too)!

I hung up the bunches of lavender from my bedroom ceiling to dry, and I can't wait to enjoy the marvelous smell when I return home.

All and all it's been a good day, and it's not even over yet! I can't wait to get back outside, so I will leave you all to go outside and enjoy your days as well!

There will be no books of the week this week, but I there will be some next week.

Books of the Week: Top 15 Banned Literary Classics

I remember the day I first picked up a copy of Huckleberry Finn. I was in the eighth grade, and I remember how fascinated I was that such a famous literary classic was banned. If I am correct, it is still banned today, though for much different reasons than when it was first published. I've read a handful of the books on the banned list, and I've concluded that the term 'banned' when applied to books really means 'generally not approved', but these are wonderful books nonetheless. And really, who ever has been able to resist something that's off-limits?

1. Ulysses by James Royce

2. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

3. Candide by Voltaire

4. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

5. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

6. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

7. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - I realize that I have done this book before, but I did not write the list of top 15 banned books. Besides, it's worth a second read.

8. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

9. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

10. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding

11. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

12. Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - a note, this story was drafted at the same time as Of Mice and Men

13. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

14. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

15. The Crucible by Arthur Miller

And just in case your wondering which of these I've read: 2, 7, 10, 13, 15

Books of the Week: Steampunk!

Cover of The Court of the Air

Okay, I got a little bored and began browsing through some of my favorite steampunk websites and forums until I was able to assemble a modest list of highly recommended novels. I have peeked at a few myself (though unfortunately I do not have the time to commit to reading them right now), and I must say I can't wait to read more!

The Difference Engine – by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling

Airborne – by Kenneth Oppel

The Court of the Air – by Stephen Hunt

Annubis Gate – by Tim Powers

Dr. Eckner’s Dream Machine – by Douglas Botting

Nomads of the Time Stream – by Michael Moorcock

Perdido Street Station – by China Miéville

For some more ideas on Steampunk fiction and authors Extraordinary Engines is a book filled with those.

Unfortunately, none of my usual sources seem to have these books as a free download, so you're on your own if you wish to find a copy to read. For a preview of the first few pages though, you can try Amazon.

Kittens!

For some time now we have known there was a cat living in our shed--today we discovered her kittens! My dad called me out to help him catch the three kittens he had seen when he went out there to do some (very late) spring cleaning, and we ended up finding four, as you can kind of see by the picture to the left. There are two orange, one of them lighter than the other--they're hiding out in the back, as well as a gray and a brown one. All four are girls, and the brown one is very protective, she always is watching me and hissing if I get too close.

When I was picking them up and putting them in our cat carrier (from our previous cat, Pippin) they were scared and feisty, but the orange ones were noticeably cuddlier, though they are all cuddly when they calm down.

Right now they are curled up together protectively, the cat carrier is on the deck table, and my nephew is running around squealing and meowing, too excited about the cats to sit still, but always running back to peek in and giggle whenever little miss brown hisses at him.

Right now the current plan is to get some kitten formula (which my parents are on their way to do now) and then take them to the Animal Shelter within the next few days. Would be the Humane Society, but we've had bad experiences with them in the past (I still miss my Pip!)

Of course I would love to keep one, well, all of them, but half the family is allergic, and I must admit--deep breath, here it comes--I have some responsibility issues. Very forgetful I am, especially when all I want to do is curl up with a book and cuddle with my little fuzzball.

------------------------

I have just paused to venture to take each of the kittens out to photograph them separately. In reality, the light orange one is much closer to an off-white, and is much fiercer than the brown, she snapped at me when I tried to take her out, but she was so curled up and shivering I decided she was terrified and let her be. The brown one I've noticed only hisses when the white one does. And now they're meowing! Oh how adorable!

So here are each of the kittens separately. The orange:

The gray:
The brown one:and the white one (only 1 pic):
My favorites are, well, they're all my favorite but if I had to pick I'd choose the brown and the orange. They're all cute and cuddly and love-able, but the orange one is the most adorable and had a beautiful color, and the brown one has such big eyes, and seems very loyal to her sisters.

Well, before I go I'll leave you with one last photo of the four of them together. Aren't they cute?

I do intend on taking more photos, so keep an eye on my flickr account for those.

Feedback Friday!

Image by websuccessdiva via Flickr

Okay, I've seen a few blogs do this before (most notably Hope Studios), and I'm ready to give it a try.

What do you want to see here? In this little area where you read a post. What would make my blog something worth coming back to?

I'm taking requests, leave your order in a comment below, and I'll do my best to serve up. What would you, as a reader, like to read?

While you're thinking, I'll give you a quick and easy recipe I half made-up yesterday.

5-minute Tuna Melt (aka Super Easy)
Ingredients:
2 cans tuna (chunk, solid, doesn't matter)
1 egg
salt and pepper
olive oil
4 slices of cheese

Directions:
Open and drain both cans of tuna, and empty into a bowl. Add the egg (minus the shell!) and mix with a fork. Add salt and pepper to taste. Form into patties about the size of your palm, and drop into a pan over medium heat, being sure to add olive oil to keep them from sticking. Cook until golden brown, then flip and repeat. Place one slice of cheese on each patty, allow to melt, and remove from heat. Tastes great on toast or pita bread, and by itself. Makes about 4 patties.

Now taking orders

Camping; Books of the Week

I've just gotten back from the craziest school function ever. 3 days, 2 nights of camping, hiking, and biking. 16 kids, 2 chaperones. Fun time, and a disaster.

Our first day started at 10 AM at the campground parking lot. We all unpacked and set up, and three hours later, after some bike repairs, we went on our first ride. The trip to the trail was five miles alone. Once we were on the trail one boy flipped over his handle bars, and the group was separated. One boy was left behind from his group and lost in the woods for a few hours, through two large thunderstorms. During said storms I was with the three other girls and one of the chaperones, dogding hail stones after clambering out of trees.

Yeah, it was pretty insane. And that's only the short version of the story. By the morning 3 campers had already gone home, surprisingly the one that was lost in the woods decided to stay. Good thing he did, we ended up having an awesome time the next day. We slept in, went for a hike. It was nice.

And at night we built a huge fire. Teen guys screwing around. We found some racoons raiding our camp, so the guys took a huge branch that had been the fire poker, set the end on fire and tried lure the racoons into the camp with hot dogs, and chase after them with the branch. It was crazy, and hilarious.

Oh well, enough of that. Because it started early Monday morning I was unable to post the books of the week, so here they are:

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (it had to happen eventually, and you knew it)

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (link)

Loss of Breath by Edgar Allen Poe (short story)

Gulliver's Travels by Jonathon Swift (link)

The Inferno by Dante Alighieri (this is the first part of Divine Comedy)

Well, that's it for now. Read and enjoy!

Books of the Week: 6/1/2009

I have assembled here a short list of books that I recommend or have been recommended to me. I have added links to where you may read them for free, if I have found such places. Hope you enjoy them! (These are all young adult through college reading level)

-Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (link)

-Atherton: House of Power by Patrick Carmen

-Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne (link)

-Of Mice and Men by Jonathon Steinbeck

-The Angel of the Odd--An Extravaganza by Edgar Allen Poe (link)

-The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (link)

-Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (link)

The Climb

I have decided to do a bit of dabbling in the writing field, and thought I might post on of my short stories. Thank you for taking the time to read this, I really hope you enjoyed it!

I present to you:

The Climb

Once there was a girl, who lived with her parents in a small village at the foot of a mountain. This girl was not exceptionally beautiful or smart, but she knew that she wanted to be happy and successful in life.

One day, her father took her aside and, pointing to the top of the mountain far above them, told her that if she could reach the top of that mountain, she would go far in life, and be happy and successful. “You see,” he told her, “when you reach the top, you will be able to see just how beautiful the world and your life is, and how great and wonderful your future will be.”

Now, in the village where they lived, it was customary that each boy and girl, upon reaching that point in life where they are no longer a child but not quite an adult, should climb the mountain, and this girl was at the time where she was ready to start climbing.

So she announced to her father and mother that same day that she was going to start the climb. As they watched her begin to hike into the woods at the foot of the mountain, they felt a sense of pride, for they knew that she was determined enough to reach the top.

Not all of the boys and girls who climbed the mountain made it. Some got bored and stopped; others just gave up because it was too hard for them. But not this girl, she was determined to reach the top of the mountain, to see the beauty in life.

So she began to climb, and was so focused on what she was doing, that she never really looked around her. She just kept looking at the peak of the mountain, imagining how beautiful and spectacular the view would be, and then back at her hands to make sure that she had a good grip on the rocks.

For days she went on like this. She never bothered paying attention to the forest that grew up the side of the mountain and its inhabitants, she just kept climbing. Day after day she climbed, until she was almost halfway up the mountain.

But then one day, as she was looking up to the top of the mountain, a bit of rock that she had grabbed on to broke off, and she slid back. Fortunately, the ground wasn’t too steep and she soon stopped tumbling, but she had scraped up her knee and her palms rather badly, so she had to stop.

As she wiped the dirt from her wounds, she looked up in frustration, expecting to see the peak and be encouraged by the sight of it. But instead, she found her view was blocked by the boughs of a great beech tree, and sitting in the branch directly above her was a male robin, preening his feathers as he prepared to woo a female.

The girl tilted her head, looking in wonder and amazement at the beautiful bird. Her eyes traveled down, and her breath caught in her chest. What she saw was beautiful, like she’d never seen before. The forest was filled with pine, beech, birch, maple, so many old and majestic trees. In the deep shade, spots of green and gold light filtered through the leaves; moss and ferns grew everywhere. She could hear the voices of many birds. A squirrel scurried up a tree not far away. She had no idea how she’d been able to climb so far, through all of this without seeing it. She couldn’t imagine how anything could possibly be more beautiful.

The robin above her chirped, and fluttered down to the ground in front of her. She sat still, watching it, hoping it wouldn’t leave. It was just too beautiful. Another robin, a female, swooped down from somewhere, and the first one began hopping after it, until it was almost out of sight. The girl felt kind of sad that it was leaving, watching it as it hopped in circles with its potential mate. The female flew into a tree, and the male followed it. Gradually, they made their way back over to where the girl was. The female robin seemed to grow bored, and left the male. He did not try to follow.

Then the robin began hopping in front of the girl, watching her, before sticking his head into a hole, and pulling out a worm. He ate it up, and began hopping up the mountain. The girl followed, wishing that she too could hop and fly like this wonderful bird.

As she walked up, she looked around her. She saw streams, flowers, birds, squirrels, all as the robin led her up the mountain. And she saw the beauty in the world, in the journey. But all the time she never lost sight of the robin. It fascinated her, and she felt that if it left, she would no longer be able to see her surroundings. She was afraid that if he was gone, she would become too worried with reaching the top to see the wonders around her.

And so she went on for weeks like this, never going fast, always following the robin and enjoying the mountain forest around her. They spiraled around the mountain, the robin not seeming to take notice of her. Sometimes he flew, sometimes he hopped along the ground, and sometimes he stopped to flirt with a lady bird, but always he went up, as if he, too, had to reach the top to fulfill his duty.

Meanwhile, down in the village, her parents became worried. What was taking their precious daughter so long? Had she been hurt? Had she given up? Gotten lost? Their oldest daughter had failed to climb the mountain because she met a boy who was too lazy to continue his climb, and had moved away with him, not caring to try to succeed, shaming the family. And now the girl’s parents were worried that the same thing had happened to their youngest.

After a month, the girl finally reached the top. The robin had reached the peak before her, and as she clambered out of the trees, she saw that the robin had disappeared. She sighed, wishing it was there, and turned to look at the world around her, the sight that her father had promised to be wonderful and fulfilling.

What she saw, I do not know, for I have not reached the top of the mountain yet. I am still following the robin, enjoying that which, up until now, I have missed.

No, I'm not dead...

...I've just been extremely busy! As the end of the school year draws nearer, I'm am laden down with last minute projects, exam prep, graduation ceremonies and open houses: the list goes on and on!

My life as of late--when not overrun with school--has been revolving around my backyard garden, and adding more steampunk elements to my life.

I took some lovely photos in my backyard last weekend, and wish to share them with you!

experimented with my new photo editing program on this one

Aren't these photos lovely?

I've reading quite a bit for school lately, and so have expanded my library quite a bit. I've decided that in order to help keep my posting frequent and on a schedule, I'm going to start posting books (and perchance movies) of the week, as well as reviews of books I've recently finished and movies I've recently seen. Hopefully this will help relieve my erratic posting.

For those of you who read/have read (past or present, you chose) my RP blog, I'm finding it rather difficult to accurately describe the battle of Helm's Deep. I've watched the movie countless times, read the script, and still I struggle. I will get that blog up and running ASAP.

Summer is looking busy as well, what with band camp, arts camp, biking camp, perhaps other camps as well, and then I still have to fit in vacation with my parents and perhaps drivers training as well. Sigh.

Before I finish up this post I'd like to say happy Memorial Day weekend! Day of I will be at a parade and then a Picnic, though if I get a chance I will most certainly drop in to say hello to all of you!

Three little birds sat on my window...

Okay, more like one little bird beating frantically on my laundry room window trying to get out.

I woke up this morning and heard a dripping, flapping noise, and to be honest, I was a little scared. Well, as you can guess, I found the source of the noise to be a frightened little bird. Somehow, the little fellow managed to get into my laundry room, and was desperately trying to get out through the closed window. I'm assuming he came in through the dryer vent to escape the rain outside, but then couldn't find a way out.

After making sure that my dog couldn't get downstairs and at the bird, I tried my best to calm the poor thing down, the way you would a colicky baby. Needless to say, it didn't work very well. But when the little guy did stop, he had his beak open and his chest rose and fell so fast, he was panting!

His feathers were still wet, and a bit ruffled from flying into the window so many times, and he had dirtied up the window sill and the floor around it. The poor guy got so scared he went in hid in a corner. I was able to open the window and take out the screen, and take a picture of the guy from a distance great enough not to alarm him. (I did zoom)

So here the bird is, hiding in a remote corner of the empty laundry room (we're in the middle of replacing our washer and dryer, and almost everything else in there) and the window open. Half an hour later he moved, and my dog heard and ran to the laundry room. After dragging him out and closing the door, I left again. Ten minutes later I went to remove him myself according to the suggestions of my dad, via phone, but he was gone already.

Be safe little birdie! (and all you people, too!)

Steampunk

Ah! The gloriously vintage futuristic steampunk style! It's been popular for a while now, and I have fallen in love! I've spent a lot of time researching this style lately, hoping to convert a few of my accessories to steampunk, but completely unsure how. But now, thanks to this Instructables how-to, I can make my steampucnk MP3 player, or as the how-to calls it, an Ambience Enhancer.{Photo from Instructables}

I have the exact same MP3 player seen in the picture, but I also have a newer one, and since the instuctions say you can make it for anything including cell phone or PDA, I might try it out. But there are other projects I'd like to try. For instance, I might try to convince my dad to let me make my laptop steampunk using metalic paint, leather (?), and old typwriter keys.

I now have a whole list of things I want to make, and helping and giving me tips along the way is this article on HowStuffWorks, where I've found a lot of info on the general style and how to go about making it.

Maybe I could refurbish one of my guitars, probably the one that has a weird fret bar, and plays funny....
Yeah, give it an antiqued wood finish, a brass or copper pick guard and cradle, use metal leaf or something similar to create a vintage clock face and cogs on the body. That would look so cool!

And for some inspiration I've found this site, which has a lot of really cool ideas.

Well, that's about it for now. I've been really busy lately thanks to school, but it's spring break now, so I'll probably be posting a bit more now.

Red Envelope Day

So, it's been some time since I've posted, but to be honest, since the beginning of my new trimester at school, I've been very busy, and there's not much to talk about.

But now there is.


For those of you out there who are Republican/Conservative party, or just Pro-Life, I'd like to ask you to take part in Red Envelope Day.

Red Envelope Day, on March 31 this year, is a grassroots protest against abortion. to participate, send an empty red envelope with proper postage to the White House like such:

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, D.C. 20500

Before sending it out on March 31, follow the rest of the instructions found at RedEnvelopeDay.com, but pretty much just write on the back what is on the picture above. You can also find more information and details on the website.

Well, that's about it for now, and thank you so much if you decide to participate!
And please feel free to spread the word!

Almond Rice Pudding (tart)

I'm not sure why this is called a tart, but it is good. A twist on your traditional rice pudding, my mom found this recipe after starting a diet program. We made it the other night, and I'm making it again right now, and oh my goodness is it delicious!
We actually ended up changing the recipe around a bit to fit what ingredients we had, so here it is:

Ingredients

	3 tbsp slivered or shopped almonds, toasted
	4 cups) low-fat milk
	1 cups uncooked white, long-grain rice
	1/8 tsp ground cinnamon, or 1 cinnamon stick
	1/2 cups sugar
	1/2 tsp almond extract
	1/2 cup raisins
	cherries for garnish (optional)

Instructions

• Coat bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Spread almonds in a single layer in bottom of pan. Set aside.
  
  
• In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat milk to boiling. Stir in rice and cinnamon. Reduce to simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Add sugar, raisins, and almond extract and cook, stirring often, 12 to 15 minutes longer or until rice is cooked through and mixture is thick.
  
  
• Gently spoon rice mixture into pan and spread evenly, keeping almonds intact on bottom. Cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate just until firm, about 40 minutes.
  
  
• To serve, remove sides of pan and invert tart onto serving plate. Lift off bottom of pan (almonds will now be embedded on top of tart). Garnish with fresh cherries if desired, and serve.

Hotel California

I got really bored, so I decided to write up some tabs from my most favorite song ever! Hotel California, which is also on the playlist on the side of the page.
I've only got part of the intro done, but I think I'm gonna post it anyway.


The Eagles – Hotel California Intro Tabs

-------2-------------------2--------------------0-------------------------0-----------------------------
-------3-----5-----7-------5------3-----2-------2-------3------5----------0-----------------------------
-------4-------------------3--------------------2-------------------------1-----------------------------
-------0-------------------4--------------------2-------------------------2-----------------------------
------------------------------------------------0-------------------------2-----------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------0-----------------------------




------3-----------------------2-------2-----------------0--------2------3-------2-----------------------
------0------2------3---------3---------------3---------0-----------------------2-----------------------
------0-----------------------2-------------------------0-----------------------3-----------------------
------0-----------------------0-------------------------2-----------------------4-----------------------
------2-------------------------------------------------2-----------------------------------------------
------3-------------------------------------------------0-----------------------------------------------

for some odd reason it comes out all messed up and un-aligned when I publish it, and I can't figure out why....
I guess that's something I'll have to fix later on....

changing of the seasons....

At last! The snow and ice has finally begun to melt, and the wonder that we call spring is beginning to unfold! Crocuses are popping up in our front garden, and the evergreen hedges are shaking off that white coverlet they've been wearing since November.

Spring is my favorite season, and for good reason. In spring, the breeze is warm and cool at the same time, and it feels so refreshing! Under our deck we get at least one nest filled with little blue eggs, that will soon open to chirping baby robins! And the flowers! Daffodils, lavender, daisies, lilies, crocuses, tulips, the list goes on and on! A few weeks into the season I usually like to head out to Holland, check out the beach and Windmill Island.

Now, my excitement may be premature, but my local weather forecast predicts nothing but temperatures in the 40's, a few scattered showers, and sun! I can already see the snow melting away! I can only hope that the weatherman is right, for once. After all, I'm quite sure that we're all familiar the the infamous accuracy of the weatherman....

All I can say is, I'm through with winter, with staying inside. I want to get out, get my hands in the earth, listen to the birds sing and the breeze whisper through the newly-formed leaves! I now begin to cross my fingers for the end to this year's winter.

ithil tengwer - moon letters

I have finally decided to do something I have been fantasizing about for ages. I am writing a RP journal, on my new blog. It's all about my made up adventures in Middle Earth, towards the end of the third age, around the time of the war of the ring. Pretty much when all the action with Frodo is taking place. Pretty cool, huh? Okay, I guess 'geeky' would be a better word choice, but hey, whatever.
I got the inspiration after stumbling across this site, which is now posted in the side bar under the "sites of interest" section.
My new (well, first) RP journal is at this site. The name of the URL (ithil tengwer) translates into 'moon letters', which is something that pops up in the book a few times. And the title of the blog/RP journal itself is 'tengwa' or 'writing(s)'. Something I feel is appropriate. I have littered the site with LotR soundtrack music and faery artwork, but for the most part kept it simple. I guess littered is the wrong term, too. Ah well....
So, if you would like, feel free to check it out, follow, or even subscribe to it. It's nothing special, yet, but hopefully it soon will be. Just use the link above or the one on my sidebar.
:) G'night! (it's well past 10 pm over here)

sleeping in mid-air...

I don't know exactly what I was doing at the time... probably just searching random things on google, my favorite pass-time. But then I stumbled upon this picture of a heavenly looking bed, and I decided I wanted one.

Doesn't it look lovely? But when I started scoping this bed out, and found the sight where it's sold, I changed my mind. A 'youth' bed cost $2795.00, just a little bit too pricey.
So I used some different wording in my search, and wa-la! I found something that looked a bit more wallet friendly, here.
Much better, but perhaps not quite what I'm looking for. What I liked about the round, $3000 bed is that it seemed that it would have a nice, soothing motion to it. Somehow I ended up finding another post on the same site, here, and I decided that this looked easy (and cheap) enough to DIY, as well as looking very zen and simple, kind of what my room is right now. Besides the bookshelves cluttered with books and knick-knacks.
Peaceful.... It looks so comfy.... I want one so badly.... I think I'm starting to fall asleep....
But then again, I never considered how much room there is (or isn't) in my room. The problem is, my book filled bedroom doubles as my workroom. On the longest wall I have set up a very long, low dresser where I store my supplies and make jewelry. Ah well, I guess my dream floating bed will have to wait for my dream elven house in the woods.... *sigh*

If

So yesterday after my friend Tori and I finished our exams (yes, it's that time of year, again!), we began an interesting discussion on 'if'. Mostly it was a debate on whether or not "if" is real. Despite the fact that we both had good arguments, neither of us could be swayed.
Tori resolutely insists that "if" is non-existent. Apparently when we say 'if', we are either contradicting ourselves (or so I interpreted from her speech), or we are trying to state something (an event, in most cases) that does not exist or will never occur. To try and make me understand, Tori asked me "What if we had had this conversation yesterday". I replied that we very well could have, but why did it matter? 'If' isn't real, right? I said this intending to show her how ridiculous she sounded, asking 'if' when she didn't believe in it. But she only said "Exactly". We didn't have our discussion the day before, so 'if' wasn't real.
"But," I told her, "that's the whole point of 'if'. 'If' is us humans trying to predict the future, being unsure of what will come, and making plans for whatever does come."
"So 'if'' is not knowing." Not a question, but not agreeing either.
"Right. We cannot possibly know the outcome of our choices, so we try to cover all the bases in our planning" I told her. Well, something along the lines of that. My memory for dialogue isn't all that great. So she asked me to say a sentence with 'if' in it, so she could show me how unreal it is. So I used a hypothesis form, "if this, then this" kinda thing, that I just randomly made up.
"If the ball rolls down the ramp, it will move at five miles an hour". So she told me that there can only be one outcome, we can't have both (either the ball rolls, or it doesn't), which is when I told her that by saying 'if' we are just trying to figure out what could happen, not what will. For we know, the ball could just sit at the top of the ramp, motionless. Or someone could come along and push it down. But we are still saying what could happen, that if (or when) the ball rolled down the ramp of its own accord, it would roll at a certain speed, proportional to the angle and length of the ramp, and the force of gravity on the ball. I actually think that it was after this that Tori said "So 'if' is not knowing". Like I said, my memory for dialogue is horrid.
Well, that's about it. At the point class got out and we went off to our next exams. Tori to Spanish, and myself to guitar.
Personally, I still resolutely believe that 'if' is real, but perhaps I am afraid of a world without 'if'. Without it, our world would be much more empty, and the void would grow larger. Funny how I can seem to tie everything to the void....
But, may I inquire as to what your opinion may be

?

Mint Tea

Sometimes, after nights like last night (Winterfest, I'll explain later), I just like to sit back and relax with a nice hot cup of tea. Currently my favorite tea is black currant, but sometimes a more traditional tea is what I need. I found this altered recipe a few months ago and I was very excited to get a chance to try it out.

Marvelously Different Mint Tea
Juice of 2 lemons
3-4 1/2 inch coins of fresh Ginger
1 clove of garlic (trust me on this)
3 sprigs of Mint (approx. 7-10 leaves)
2L. Filtered water, boiling
Honey

Place Ginger, Mint and Garlic (peeled, but not crushed!) in a cheesecloth and tie off. Add to boiling water and cook for 5-7 min. Turn off heat and add lemon juice. Remove spices and transfer to an insulated tea pot. Into each cup, add a tsp. of honey (or to taste).

I got this recipe from Middle Earth Recipes, where it is originally called Aragorn's Athelas Tea, but for the sake of all the non-obsessed out there I changed the name.

There's No Place Like Home

I realize that it's been a good long time since I've posted, but the past few weeks I've hardly been at home, due to the fact that the past three nights I've been performing in "The Wizard of Oz". Oh, it was fun! So gloriously, unbelievably fun! Even though my role was small--talking tree, flying monkey, Munchkin and Ozian--it was amazing to part of such a big production with my school!

Of course I will miss staying after school for hectic rehearsals, I will miss the entire cast and crew, they are all so wonderful! Of course we will see each other at school still, but it won't be the same. Yesterday between performances everyone was crying, our last show was soon to begin, and after that it would all be over.

The play was amazing, and very fun. We had a lively cast, and when it was all over we headed over to the cast party. That lasted until about one o'clock this morning, we all had fun dancing and playing improv games.

Later today I'm headed back to the school to help strike--cleanup--what's left of the sets and props. I'm hoping that most of the cast will be there, as I did not get everyone's signatures yet.

The first picture is of Kevin, our Scarecrow, the second is me wearing my Munchkin dress and Tree hat. Next is Ryan, who played Zeke, I think, and Chris, who was in the Lollipop Guild and was also Niko or Miko (something like that!), the captain of the Flying Monkeys (thus the brown face). Doesn't Ryan look pretty in make up?

So now all is done, and I am sad. I have more pictures coming soon, and I will post them separately when I get them up!

reality, the Void

At lunch, my friends and I have the most interesting discussions. From the end of the world to World of Warcraft, we cover it all. We once even talked about how we would split up the world once our little group took over (I got Germany and New Zealand). But the thing is, there are usually quite a few discussions going on at once, and topics change constantly.
But today was different. It seemed normal, but our topic never strayed, though it sometimes seemed to cover different things, that one might normally expect to find under the same topic. Science, politics, religion. Souls, destiny, eternity, existence, being, beleifs. While most were having fun and making jokes (I do not believe in beliefs, only believing!), I couldn't help but take it a bit more seriously. I knew what we were really talking about, not just space and gods and evolution, but reality. Tori says we do not exist, only the creator(s) (whoever that may be) exist. Animals do not have souls, atheists aren't real because God doesn't believe in atheists. Time is never ending, yet insubstantial, and space the same. Though my companions were light-hearted and sometimes argumentative, I couldn't help but feel troubled. I still do. All this talk of endless space and time and souls, inconceivable to the human mind, was, and is, disturbing to me. I don't like the idea of endless space, or non-existant time and souls. I was so bombarded with the ideas and opinions of others, which Lisa pointed out they are very well entilted to have, I felt I no longer had an opinion of my own, that it was lost and intermingled among others. I feel confused, just thinking about it, and I think I know why.
When we look for something more, whether it be through religion, science, or lack of either two, I feel we are pushing beyond the boundaries of human capabilities. That we are perhaps searching for something that isn't even there, looking for something either too much or too little to understand. Our theories-they are just that. They have no substance, and we are looking for something that most likely isn't there. Probing a void for light and knowledge, seeking for answers in nothingness.
I don't believe that there is nothing but a void outside our known world, as I use the term loosely. I simply believe that we are not meant to understand what is or is not out there, that something bad or unexpected or dissapointing will happen when we do. But when I try to think of Heaven or Hell, or or what lies beyond the ever expanding galaxies, I can only think of a Void, of never-ending empty space, and that is what scares me most of all. I do not want to know the answers, or at least I tell myself that. Deep down inside, I really want to know, but the very idea of knowing, it is so disturbing, so frightening, that I shy away. I sometimes find myself wondering, but I shrink back, and I find I must lose myself so completely in something, something that doesn't need or have answers, that I forget about the Void, in the universe, in my knowledge. For that is what I believe it is. A void, that is everywhere we look, and I find lately that the older I get, the more I find myself cowering at the edge of my thoughts about it, and I throw myself with renewed energy into worlds that don't exist, worlds where I don't have to think about anything, not even the Void. Especially not the Void.
The Void. That's all I believe in now, I have decided. The Void is the only thing that is present in every religion, every scientific theory and philosiphy. I was raised as both a Catholic and a Baptist, and as I approached the year of my Confirmation, I became afraid and tried to be atheist for a few months, and failed. But I now realize that the year leading up to my Confirmation, the year I felt afraid of something I couldn't name, was the year I first started thinking about the Void, how it seemed science and religion conflicted so much, and the Void separated them, but I think that it's the other way around. The Void is what they have in common, and it is the Void that I am afraid of.
There is one time where, in trying to escape from it, I accidentally ran accross the Void. In the fourth paragraph of The Silmarillion, the Void is mentioned, but it does not seem quite so mysteriously malevolent.

"Then the voices of the Ainur, like unto harps and lutes, and pipes and trumpets, and viols and organs, and like unto countless choirs singing with words, began to fashion the theme of Ilúvatar to a great music; and a sound arose of endless interchanging melodies woven in harmony that passed beyond hearing into the depths and into the heights, and the places of the dwelling of Ilúvatar were filled to overflowing, and the music and the echo of the music went out into the Void, and it was not void. Never since have the Ainur made any music like to this music, though it has been said that a greater still shall be made before Ilúvatar by the choirs of the Ainur and the Children of Ilúvatar after the end of days. Then the themes of Ilúvatar shall be played aright, and take Being in the moment of their utterance, for all shall then understand fully his intent in their part, and each shall know the comprehension of each, and Ilúvatar shall give to their thoughts the secret fire, being well pleased." -- The Silmarillion

The Void is mentioned again later, how Ilúvatar sent those of the Ainur who would go out into the Void, where they would shape the world that their music had make. When they did this they created Beleriand, the soon-to-be Middle Earth, and when the Elves, the first-born arrived, they were called the Valar, the Angelic powers. This is the basic story of creation, retold with a fantasy theme, but it is the first one that mentions the Void.
And no matter what you believe in, whether it be God, or science, or Allah, or anything else, I think deep down inside we are all linked by the Void. Our souls, our very being, our existence, or lack-thereof.
I am afraid of the Void, but it is the only thing that I am certain of. The Void is what is empty in our knowledge, and we are not ment to try fill the Void, or seek out what lies in it. There is nothing in a void. Nothing, only reality.

Ring Con, here I come!

Well, last night my mom got home from a "business" trip in Denver (where she got quite a few beautiful pictures). I put business in quotations simply because I don't know if a really really big Pampered Chef meeting counts as a business trip, but, that's waay beside the point. The point is, when she got back she had a few presents for the family. Sweets! My dad got a shot glass and some hot sauce, and my train-loving nephew a train whistle and beaded belt (his pants are always too big, no matter what size). Me, on the other hand, was at first handed a geode. Which is really cool, 'cause I love rocks and crystals, and a geode is both in one, and I don't have any geodes in my collection. But, just as I was about to rush off to find a hammer to break open my geode with, out from her suitcase my mom pulls out this gorgeous(!!!!!!) dress! And I mean beautiful! I don't think I can describe it adequately. At first, I thought it was for her, but then I realized that it was at least a size too small for her, so I tried it on (very happily!) and had a few pics taken.

Isn't it amazing! I'm perfectly ready for the next Ring Con! Well... almost. I noticed that there's a few adjustments to be made first, tough I'm not sure My mom will take to it kindly.
First off, as seen to the right side the sleeves are a little too loose, especially around the shoulder, for my liking, but that can be easily fixed (without waiting for the sewing machine!). I think that I will very carefully detach them from the dress, make them a bit smaller up top, where they're really too wide for my arm, then attatch them to an under shirt or dress. I would prefer a dress, but I may well just attatch them to a sleeveless shirt I already have that matches the dress perfectly. This way, I'll also be able to switch out the under shirt/dress with another one that has white sleeves, my own variation of Eowyn's sheildmaiden gown, one dress off my wish list!
I also want to adjust the ropes on the sleeves. Currently, they allow you to sinch up the petals on the sleeves, not a good look! What I want to do is make them run around my arm just below the elbow, which I think would look much nicer!

But, other than those two adjustments, the dress is perfect! I'm so ready for the next Ring Con!

A Withered Rose

I am but a withered rose;
I cannot love again.
The colour faded, washed away
by tears and falling rain

My heart has beat, incessantly
counting out the years.
The blood still flows so needlessly,
and drips like flowing tears.

I've tried to love you from afar;
but you don't seem to see
how much it hurts to watch you pass
and pay my love no heed.

The edges brown, and curl away;
the blossom hangs her head.
The sun is gone, and so my love.
The rose, once fair, is dead.

I think this poem is a dead giveaway that I'm a hormone-strewn teenager... ah well!

Snow Day and Cram!

So... I woke up this morning. Got ready for school. My ride didn't pick me up, so I asked my dad for a lift. When we got there: empty. Simple as that. So now I'm stuck here at home all day long with nothing to look forward to for today, not even play practice! But I do have to admit, it is pretty nice! I can just relax here at home without having to worry about my score on my math test I took yesterday.... So nice!

Well, since I have almost nothing better to do today, I think I might as well make some cram. So what is cram? Well, for all of you non-geeky over obsessive Hobbit/Lord of the Rings fans: a traveling food. Made by the men of Dale, and given to Bilbo and the 12 dwarves he traveled with while they were in Lake-Town. Here's what we (I) know about cram from the book itself:

'...it is biscuitish, keeps good indefinitely, is supposed to be sustaining, and is certainly not entertaining, being in fact very uninteresting except as a chewing exercise. It was made by the Lake-men for long journeys.'

And, in HOME (History of Middle-Earth) V, cram is defined as a 'cake of compressed flour or meal (often containing honey and milk) used on long journeys'.
So there we have it. It sounds like what they made was a very hard, biscuit like thing, that would keep almost indefinitely, and was flavored with milk and honey. It almost sounds like hard-tack, except that almost all hard-tack recipes call for a mixture of flour, salt, and water. No honey, no milk. But, after some long hard searching, I found something that just might work. It's called Swedish Hard-tack, and after looking at the ingredients, I decided that this is the closest we'll ever get to the real thing.

Swedish Hardtack/Cram

* 1 cup water
* 3 tbsp. vegetable oil
* 3 tbsp honey
* 3 cups rye flour (or 1 1/2 cups rye & 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour)
* 1/4 tsp. salt

Mix liquids together. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients. Combine the mixtures, stirring to moisten throughout. Form a ball. On a floured surface, flatten the dough, and roll out thinly. Cut into squares and prick each cracker with the tines of a fork a couple of times. Transfer to lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 425° F for around 8 minutes, checking to be sure not to over-brown.

Lovely Lavender

I love lavender! It smells so beautiful, and not only the flowers, either! The leaves on the lavender have their own unique scent, similar to and just as lovely as the buds. At home I grow my own lavender, and often cut some which I use fresh, or hang up to dry for future use. In these cold winter months, I often find myself making excuses to pull some out and make something, so I decided to post some of my favorite crafts and recipes that use lavender, that I have found all over the web.

~Lavender Mint Tea~
This calming tea is complemented nicely with mint, and is sure to relax.
2 teaspoons dried lavender buds
8 teaspoons dried mint
900 mL water
Boil the water. Combine the lavender and mint into a tea pot and pour boiling water onto organic herbs. Leave to brew for 3 - 5 minutes. Strain and serve.
~*~
~Lavender Ink~
This ink will give a delicate, intangible fragrance, which will waft out mysteriously when the letter is opened.
1/2 oz. dried lavender buds
6 tablespoons water
small bottle of ink
Crush the lavender and put in a saucepan with the water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes, or until there is only 2 tablespoons of brown, opaque liquid left. Stir into ink.
~*~
~Lavender Honey~
Yum!
8oz Light Honey (such as clover honey)
4 tablespoons of Dried Lavender buds
Heat honey in double boiler till fully heated, add lavender and stir. Continue over heat for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to partially cool. Place in sun for 3 hours (optional). Strain out lavender. Put honey in jar.
~*~
~Lavender Perfume~
A delicately fragrant perfume, that I love so much!
1 cup distilled water
1 cup fresh chopped flowers
Line a bowl with cheesecloth and fill it with one cup of any flower blossoms you like such as lavender, lilac, orange blossoms or honeysuckle. Now, pour water over the blossoms until they are completely under water. Cover it and let it remain overnight and the following day, pull it out of the bowl, using the edges of the cheesecloth. Squeeze out the scented water into a small pot while allowing the water to simmer until one teaspoon remains. Cool and pour into a small bottle and you will see that it lasts a month.
~*~
~Lavender Dream Pillows~
1 oz (25g) lavender flowers
4 bay leaves, crumbles
1/2 oz (15g) lemon thyme
1/2 oz (15g) sweet marjoram
2 tbsp rosemary
1 tbsp crushed cinnamon
1 tbsp orris root powder
Combine ingredients, and put in sachet bags.
~*~

Well, those are my favorites, but I have many more to come!