Delving Into Dickens Blog Party: Samples of his wit

Hi Everyone! I wanted, first off, to remind you to enter the Delving Into Dickens blog party! :) I only have one entry so far (Thanks a million times over, Abigail) and I'd really appreciate more entries! You don't have to do everything on the list down there, those are just ideas! :) So go on and dig in! You'd have my eternal gratitude! ;)
But anyhow, I thought I'd share with you some of my absolute favorite quotes from the Dickens books I've read. I've always greatly admired the talent some people have for describing a thing perfectly in a few words, where I would take a paragraph and still not have quite captured the idea.

From Bleak House:
“Think! I’ve got enough to do, and little enough to get for it, without thinking."

"Everything that Mr Smallweed’s grandfather ever put away in his mind was a grub at first, and is a grub at last. In all his life he has never bred a single butterfly."

"We thought that, perhaps," said I, hesitating, "it is right to begin with the obligations of home, sir; and that, perhaps, while those are overlooked and neglected, no other duties can possibly be substituted for them."

From Little Dorrit:
"It is not easy to walk alone in the country without musing on something."

"She had gained a reputation for beauty, and (which is often another thing) was beautiful."
"He had a certain air of being a handsome man--which he was not; and a certain air of being a well-bred man--which he was not. It was mere swagger and challenge; but in this particular, as in many others, blustering assertion goes for proof, half over the world."

"In truth, no men on earth can cheer like Englishmen, who do so rally one another's blood and spirit when they cheer in earnest, that the stir is like the rush of their whole history, with all its standards waving at once, from Saxon Alfred's downwards."

"Affery, like greater people, had always been right in her facts, and always wrong in the theories she deduced from them."

From The Pickwick Papers:
"She dotes on poetry, sir. She adores it; I may say that her whole soul and mind are wound up, and entwined with it. She has produced some delightful pieces, herself, sir. You may have met with her `Ode to an Expiring Frog,' sir." :D (Okay, so here I have to laugh at what could be a caricature of myself, though I've never written anything that odious! :)
"We know, Mr. Weller - we, who are men of the world - that a good uniform must work its way with the women, sooner or later."

"It is an old prerogative of kings to govern everything but their passions."
"He was bolder in the daylight--most men are."

There you go! :) I hope you enjoyed the quotes! Charles Dickens has a sense of humor that never fails to crack me up! It's rather dead-pan, but absolutely hilarious! :) ~Rachel

A Year of Books

All year long, just for an experiment, I wrote down each book I read and finished. I wanted to see, by the end of the year, what I had read, how well I remembered it, and things like that! :) So here is my list, and I'll rate the books in it on the five-star scale! :) Ready? (Oh, and the ones with smileys beside them mean that I recommended that book to at least Daniel, Matthew, and Mama! :)

"The Little Boy Down The Road" - Douglas W. Phillips **** (four stars- I consider five stars a gripping book you simply cannot put down- this was a great, relaxing read though!)
"Let's Roll" - Lisa Beamer ***** ( 5 stars-This book was about the wife of Todd Beamer who was a major part of spoiling the hijackers' plans in the Penn. flight)
"Glory, Duty, and The Gold Dome" - T. Nathanial Darnell **** ( 4 stars; very satisfying read, especially as it included lots of politics :)
"To Have And To Hold" :) -Mary Johnston ***** This was an amazing book, and one that I couldn't put down, so it gets at least five stars! :)
"Rob Roy"- Sir Walter Scott **** (Four stars- the Scottish brogue, however much I love it, was a bit hard to get through at times, also, the plot dragged a bit, but still a great book!)
"I Will Repay" :) -Baroness Emmuska Orczy ***** (5 stars!!! A book in the Scarlet Pimpernel series cannot get less! ;)
"Eldorado" :) - Baroness Emmuska Oczy ***** (5 stars, but truly this ought to get at least 10 for the amount of excitement and can't-put-it-downedness it contained! I almost literally worked myself into a fever over parts of it! :)
"Sir Percy Hits Back" :) -Baroness Emmuska Orczy ***** (5 stars- those three were my fluff books for the year! ;)
"Laddie" - Evelyn Whittaker *** (3 stars- very simple, short, story)
"Mildred At Roselands" - Martha Finley **** (Better than the Elsie books, still has plot dragging problems)
"Ivanhoe" :) - Sir Walter Scott ***** (Flowery language, but WAY worth it to read this classic! :)
"The Name" :) -Franklin Graham *********** (Can we give enough stars to a person who writes a whole book about the power of Jesus's holy name? I don't think so!)
"Rose In Bloom" :) - Louisa May Alcott ***** (Very satisfying end to this Eight Cousins sequel :)
"Great Expectations" - Charles Dickens *** (3 stars...one of the stranger, darker Dickens books)
"1776" :) - David McCullough **** (4 stars- amazing history, but feels lacking at times since McCullough doesn't come from a Biblical world-view)
"The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" - Anne Bronte **** (4 stars...uncomfortably accurate peeks into the life of an alcoholic's wife...she didn't know he was one when she married him. Very sad, but very poignant, and worth the read for an older young man or woman who can divulge the great lessons in it :)
"Wives and Daughters" -Elizabeth Gaskell ***** (five stars- Great literature, but it has a horridly tantalizing ending- poor Ms. Gaskell died in the midst of writing the last chapter, so we never do find out what happens! :[ )
"North and South" - Elizabeth Gaskell ***** (five stars, great book)
"Preparing to be a Helpmeet" - Debi Pearl ***** (Five stars- she packs the punches and hits young women in the exact places so many of us struggle- great book, but take her "relating to young men" advice (at times) with a grain of salt. She doesn't always literally mean what she suggests! :)
"Lorna Doone":) - R. D. Blackmore ***** (five stars, GREAT book! :)
"Daddy-Long-Legs" - Jean Webster *** (Okay book...fluffy...not much in it...cute storyline though)
"Nicholas Nickleby" :) -Charles Dickens ***** (5 stars, as usual, his books are long, but so worth it! :)
"The Princess and Curdie" -George MacDonald *** (3 stars- good book, but this is a sequel, and I'd never read the first book, so it was lacking, for me)
"The Maiden's Bequest" - George MacDonald **** (4 stars, a very good book)
"Ogdan Nash- The Life-work of America's Laureate of Light Verse" -Douglas M. Parker *** (a very interesting book, but since Mr. Nash was not a Christian, his life was rather...plebeian at times)
"Bleak House" :)- Charles Dickens ***** (5 stars- amazing book, loved every moment of it, found Esther Summerson to be an amazing roll-model, but you've heard that all! :)
"Passion and Purity" -Elisabeth Elliot ***** (5 stars, timely advice for older young women)
"The Witch of Blackbird Pond" -Elizabeth George Speare **** (4 stars, but first let me assure you that this is not about a witch at all. These suspicious Puritans assume this girl is a witch because she grew up on a plantation in Barbados, and can swim, and does things differently than they. :)
"Let me be a Woman" - Elisabeth Elliot **** (Four stars, the format felt kind of exclusive, since she wrote it as a letter to her daughter, but it's still super good! :)
"The Adventures of Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes" -Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ***** (5 stars, and a perfect read it you don't mind feeling rather dumb yourself in the light of Mr. Holmes' cleverness!)
"The Maker's Diet" - Jordan Rubin ***** (Very good book)
"Miserly Moms" - Jonni McCoy **** (Good book)
"Revision and Self-Editing" -James Scott Bell **** (four stars, very good, practical advice)
"The Cricket on The Hearth" -Charles Dickens **** (four stars, cute story, but short)
"Barnaby Rudge" -Charles Dickens *** (When he wrote this book, Dickens hadn't found his beloved style yet, so it's rather a boring book till the half-way point, and after that, a bit confusing still)

There you go! My year in reading! 35 (or 36?) books! That's approximately 14, 239 pages of text for you! :) And I really felt like I didn't read much this year! :) ~Rachel

Fiesta de Octobre Blog Party Book and Movie Answers

When I saw this last Fiesta de Octobre contest on Jo's blog, I begged Sarah to let me enter it...literature is right down my alley, and,as anyone who knows me will tell you, I could talk the hind leg off a mule about what books I love, what movie adaptations I thought were good, what characters are my favorites....(smiles at me cousin Matthew :) So, anyhow, she was a model sister and quickly agreed to giving me posting rights for this! So without further ado....

{1} It's nearly impossible to pick a favorite book, so what are your top THREE favorite books ? (other than the Bible :D) Oh dear. Only 3?!?!?...To Have And To Hold, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and...and...well, it is an old favorite, but it has shaped my creativity so, Little Women! :)

{2} Who is your favorite heroine from literature? (if you need to list more than one, that's fine) Yay! No number restriction on this one!!! :D Anne Shirley, Polly Milton (An Old-Fashioned Girl), Esther Summerson (Bleak House), Molly Gibson (Wives and Daughters), Emma Woodhouse, Eleanor Dashwood, Meg and Jo March, and So So So many more! :D

{3} Who is your favorite hero from literature? (see above note) Oh boy. Matthew could recite the list for me, he's heard it so many times! :D Sir Percy Blakeney (Scarlet Pimpernel), Capt. Percy (To Have and To Hold), James Percy (The Inheritance), (Lotsa Percys! :P) Gilbert Blythe, Roger Hamley (Wives and Daughters), Mr. Thornton (North and South), Aslan (Narnia), and TONS more! (Each book I read, I like the hero better than them all! ;)

{4} Who is your favorite author? (see note above) Louisa May Alcott, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Eleanor Estes, Jan Karon, etc.

{5} What is your favorite type of book to read? Classic story...some adventure, some old-fashioned, pure romance, lots of humor, unforgettable characters, etc.

{6} If you could be a character from literature for one day, who would you be? Why? Oh mercy. You had to make me choose?....Emma Woodhouse...what else can I say? Huge old-fashioned house, a British accent, lovely clothes, being beautiful yourself, loving family, Mr. Knightley to scold you... :D

{7} What type of reader would you call yourself? Are you an avid reader, passive reader, or even a non-reader?? AVID READER!!!!

{8} Do you like reading aloud? Yes! To listening group of people. Ignoring listeners get on my nerves!

{9} Do you like mystery stories? Yes! Well, Sherlock Holmes! He never ceases to amaze me! =)

{10}All of us have read a book at some point or another and disliked the way it ended or who married who, etc. What book(s) bother you like that, and what would you change about them? Well....As Jo said, I would rather Jo have married Laurie in Little Women...oh! and in Wives and Daughters, the author, Elizabeth Gaskell, died before she finished the book and it is right at the sweetest part so it is SO frustrating! :( But the movie finished it off in a cute, albeit...interesting way! :D

{11} Just like books, it's *very* hard to pick a favorite movie. What are you top THREE favorite movies? The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Amazing Grace, and....Little Women...but those are equal to many many more!

{12} When it comes to movie adaptions of books, are you a purist or do you not mind changes to the storyline? If the storyline of the movie compromises the book's message, or drastically changes the story, it definitely bothers me!

{13} What is your favorite book-to-movie adaption?...BBC Does a really good job with any book I've seen them adapt...Emma is definitely a good one...Sense and Sensibility...Little Women, Lord of the Rings trilogy (okay, so they changed it a bit! :) Pride and Prejudice...

{14} What is your favorite type of movie to watch? Any well done, adventurous, exciting, and loveable movie with a solid storyline. (I despise twoddle-ly ones! :P)

{15} Do you like to watch movies with the lights off or on? Off!

{16} DVD or VHS? DVD!

{17} When you watch a movie, would you rather watch it straight through or skip around to your favorite scenes? If I have seen it more than 10 times....skipping the more boring scenes

{18} Subtitles? Depends...in North and South, at first I couldn't understand the Northern England accent, so Subtitles definitely helped!

{19} Do you make comments and ask questions during a movie, or sit in complete silence? If I haven't seen the movie, I'm quiet, but if I'm showing it someone else, I talk! :D

{20} If you could be in any movie (whether it's already been made or not) which movie would it be? Who would you want to be and why? O cool! :) Well, if I could look the part....Marguerite Blakeney in The Scarlet Pimpernel! She is beautiful and clever, it is an exciting movie, the setting is so classic, and it would be so much fun! Or any BBC movie if I could look right for the character!

Yay! That was a really fun quiz! Thanks Jo! :)

Love of Literature Review Series: Passion and Purity

This week's "Love of Literature Review" is the first one in the series! :) I'm excited about doing this, because I love to read, and love to tell people about the things I've read! Mama suggested I do this too, as a way to cement the book in my mind! :) So here is the first review! :)
"Passion and Purity" by Elisabeth Elliot. This book was recommended to me by Meredith over at Striving to Serve at Home.
I had asked her for a list of the "top ten" books she'd recommend I read, and this was one of them!

As I knew Morgan owned the book, I borrowed it from her, and dug my nose into the depths of it! :) I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the book, seeing as I have read several books on purity before...how much more could there be to learn about? But this book intrigued me from the start, for it is a book on purity, as well as telling Elisabeth and Jim Elliot's love story. That is what interested me. It was the principles of purity put into action, and retold from a vantage point of 40 years or so that caught my attention. In this beautifully written book, Elisabeth Elliot covers topics such as honor above passion, loneliness, finding contentment in Christ, waiting patiently, bringing your heart and mind under Christ's guidance, and so many more topics! Sometimes I think we can be confused into thinking that passion and purity are opposites. Under Christ's control, they are a beautiful harmony. But without Christ, things quickly go wrong. In Mrs. Elliot's book, she shows an example of how a young man and a young woman, both deeply in love, had an even stronger underlying love for Jesus, and were greatly blessed by Him in their relationship.
Here are some of my favorite quotes:
"Through affairs of the heart, God uncovers our intentions."

"If your goal is purity of heart, be prepared to be thought very odd."

"A man's love for a woman ought to hold her to the highest. Her love for him ought to do the same. I did not want to turn Jim aside from the call of God, to distract his energies, or in any way to stand between him and a thoroughgoing surrender. This is what I understood real love to mean. "And love means following the commands of God. This is the command that was given you from the beginning, to be your rule of life.".....God leads his dear children along different pathways. But he asks the same brand of commitment to all of them. Everybody who wants to follow Him has to: Give up self, take up the cross, follow."

"Let's be candid with ourselves before God. Call a spade a spade or even a muddy shovel. If your passions are aroused, say so-- to yourself and to God, not to the object of your passion. Then turn the reigns over to God. Bring your will to Him. Will to obey Him, ask for His help. He will not do the obeying for you, but He will help you. Don't ask me how. He knows how. You'll see."

There are so many other quotes that I could go on for quite a while! :) But I was blessed and encouraged by the book, and would certainly recommend it for all older girls! :)

Final Score: *****
Age I Recommend "Passion and Purity" For: 18+
Cautions: I would recommend skipping the chapter entitled: "Love Letters"...it's a little...loverish. ahem.

There you have it! Have a great day! :) -Rachel

Anne of Green Gables - "The Highwayman"

Who can forget Anne Shirley's passionate recital of "The Highway Man" or "The Lady of Shallott"? Oftentimes, I step back, and think of what people did for fun before they had all this technology...the thought intrigues me, and I enjoy thinking of, and doing things that require no further technology than a book, and the brain God has given me. For a long time, my sisters and I would memorize a poem each week, and recite it at every tea-party with our Girl's Gazette. The exercise that it gave our brains was absolutely wonderful! Have we become so content with watching other people act things out for us on the screen that we cannot enjoy good literature, and use our imaginations to convey the wonder and excitement of it to others? In the book of "Anne of Green Gables" by Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne says at one point, "Don't you just love poetry that gives you a crinkly feeling up and down your back?" It is so true...some poetry just captures your attention...I memorized"Barbara Frietchie" once, and still can quote many of those soaring lines...

"Up from the meadows rich with corn,

Clear in the cool September morn,

The clustered spires of Frederick stand,

Green-walled by the hills of Maryland...

.....And the nobler nature within him stirred

To life at that woman's deed and word.

"Who touches a hair of yon gray head

Dies like a dog! March on!" he said."

Ahh...reading poetry and prose aloud is a great art. I clearly remember a scene in the 1995 Sense and Sensibility when Edward Ferrars is reading aloud to the Dashwoods with very little emotion. Marianne, exasperated, finally stands up, take the book and reads passionately: "Not LIGHT propitious SHONE!" with great dramatic flair. We all cannot have perfect reading aloud..and not everyone we'd wish to read aloud to would care to sit and listen! :) But I do challenge all you fellow writers to take a favorite book, find a sister who would listen, and try to read the book or poem aloud in a way that would do Anne Shirley credit. One of my favorite quotes from poetry is in Sir Walter Scott's "The Lady of The Lake" and depicts a Highland Chieftan's defiant quote at Fitz-James at a crucial moment in the story..

"These are Clan Alpine's warriors true

And Saxon- I am Rhoderick Dhu!"

Those words still give me Anne's crinkly feeling up my back! :) Maybe I just have an uncommon love of literature...it's possible! ;) But I do think that we all can determine to improve our reading-aloud. It is a skill not possessed by most people today, and one that is appreciated for it's very rarity when a solid reader is found. Do it for fun! Take a book out to the woods, stand there, and either read or quote the words with as much drama as you would like to use. You can always tone it down in public, but in the woods, who cares as long as you are having fun! :)

-Rachel

Another Title Tale

Awhile back, we did a post made up entirely of titles from books. So now, we are going to make a post made entirely of song titles. Here we go!
"Dear Bonnie Annie Laurie,
Set The World On Fire, by Christmas In Killarney. I Don't Need Anything But You! Our State Fair Is A Great State Fair. At Scarborough Fair they sell Cockles and Mussels.....It's a Hard Knock Life, but I'll Fly Away Somewhere Over The Rainbow. :) Whenever I am Afraid, I Sing A Little Song About Anything and Whistle While You Work.
Think of Me, If I Was A Rich Man, and Remember Me at Sunrise, Sunset. Oh Susanna! I was Sawin' On The Strings, with Danny Boy, when Grandfather's Clock said: "Believe Me of All Those Endearing Young Charms" and called me a Yankee Doodle with no Heart and Soul. I went Down To The River to Pray when Animal Crackers in My Soup began Getting To Know You. The Wild Mountain Thyme was Yeller Gold in Anatevka in The Big Rock Candy Mountains. Someday, May It Be, When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder, Fireflies in The Jug of Punch will Skip To The Lou, My Darling. Gonna Build A Big Fence Around Texas, Across The Briney, and since A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes, I'll let you Sing, Sweet Nightingale, Sing a Song of Sixpence in the Summertime. Where Oh Where Has my Little Dog Gone? Oh Dear What Can the Matter Be? Good Morning! The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Music! Ye Banks and Braes O' Bonnie Doon, Froggie Went A' Courtin' Over In The Meadow! Oh Wouldn't It Be Love-a-ly if The Campbells Are Coming over the Birks of Aberfeldie in the Skye Boat Song? Let the Circle Be Unbroken, and Dance Till Your Stockin's Are Hot and Red, Sweet Sue! ;) 76 Trombones Come By The Hills with The Raggle-Taggle Gypsies, near My Old Kentucky Home!
Goodnight My Someone!
Captain Jinks Of The Horse Marines

:) That was fun! Perhaps a little harder than the book title one, since we had had a list of classics in front of us for that one! :) -Rachel and Sarah

Beatrix Potter: A Review and Some Memories! :)

Beatrix Potter as an older woman, with her favorite dog: Kep

I don't think there is a single child in America and Great Britain who has not, at one point or another, experienced the fascinating world of Beatrix Potter. Her illustrations are, in my opinion, flawless, and the strike true as much today, when I am 18, as they did when I was 3. I have always loved Miss Potter's pictures since I was a small child. Back then, they entranced me because of the animals themselves, wearing such tiny clothes, yet looking so real....

No one can forget Jemima Puddleduck and the "Sandy-whiskered Gentleman"

Nor can one forget Jeremy Fisher and his sloshy hallways and friends that come to tea wearing black and gold waistcoats, and other such things! :)

And of course we mustn't forget dear, naughty little Peter Rabbit! :)

Now I love her art because of how faithful she was to keeping the animals themselves looking like real mice, or hedgehogs, or foxes, or geese, and yet romanticising their world to form a storybook land that seems as if you could step into it if you just went over one more hill. :) Recently, I bought the whole collection of her stories for children in one volume to put in my hopechest. These books have been a part of my childhood all the way up, and someday I want to read them to my own young ones. I can remember Dad and Mama reading them to me. I had a strange fascination with "The Tale of The Fierce, Bad Rabbit". I was terrified, and interested all at once. I always jumped when the hunter shot the bad rabbit's tail off- Dad would make a loud "Pop!" noise and jog the book! :) There are so many wonderful little tales! And they are all so clever! Particularly "Squirrel Nutkin" where she incorporates near a dozen little riddles, and hides their answers in the main body of the story! :) Gracie's personal favorite, and the one that I read to her every time I put her to bed is:

This is perhaps, the most frightening of Beatrix Potter's books! Benjamin and Abigail hated it, because Tom Kitten almost gets eaten by the rats: Old Samuel Whiskers and his wife "Anna-Maria"! :) But Gracie, like me with the Fierce Bad Rabbit, gets a certain thrill out of hearing the tale over and over and over and over again! :) She knows Tom Kitten will be okay, she has heard the story a hundred times if she has once, but still, she hides her eyes, and squeals, and shrinks when I say, in a particular voice: "Anna-Maria? Are you sure the string will be digestible? I'm not sure it's a good pudding- it is all over with smuts!" and when I read the "butter and dough" quarrel. I get as much enjoyment out of the story as she! :) Anyway, this is a sort of book-review/ nostalgic post! :) I highly recommend any of the Beatrix Potter books. Some are more interesting to little ones than others- Gracie does not like "The Pie and The Patty-Pan", or "The Tailor of Gloucester" for instance. But she adores "Mrs. Tittlemouse", "The Flopsy Bunnies" and "The Tale of Two Bad Mice". I think it hardly possible that anyone could go throughout childhood without enjoying her stories, but if you have not read them yourself, and wish for a good old-fashioned tale to read to your siblings, by all means find a copy somewhere! You will not be disappointed! :) -Rachel

Book Review On Charles Dicken's "Bleak House" Title is a misnomer! :)

Recently, I finished reading Charles Dickens's book: Bleak House. The name had turned me away from wanting to read it for a long time. But then some friends who had seen the movie told mee that it was opposite of it's name, and I found that to be true! :) In the words of the characters themselves: "Jarndyce of Bleak House, my lord," said Mr. Kenge. "A dreary name," said the Lord Chancellor. "But not a dreary place, at present, my lord." said Mr. Kenge." (By the way, the picture is from the BBC adaptation)

In every way, the book differed from what I would have expected from the title! Which is a good thing! :)

Plot: The story is told from two angles: One, from a young lady, Esther Summerson who is of unknown parentage, and has been brought up from her infancy by a woman who is cold and unfeeling toward her. The second point of view is objective, and the author switched views periodically. Within the first few chapters of Bleak House, Esther Summerson has joined two "wards of the Courts" (Ada Clare and Richard Carstone) at Bleak House, the home of their new Guardian, Mr. John Jarndyce. They live a happy, quiet, life together, until Richard Carstone begins to look into the decades-long Chancery Court case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce. The Guardian has avoided the case his whole life, perceiving how it has ruined so many people already, including mad little Ms. Flite, and Mr. Gridley. Things become more complicated as Richard Carstone moves out of Bleak House, in mounting suspicion against Mr. Jarndyce. This is all from Esther's point of view. The objective point of view focuses more on Sir Leicester, and Lady Dedlock, of Chesney Wold. They are leaders in society, and a party of the same case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce. But the drama sets in when it is discovered that Esther Summerson, is really the daughter of Lady Dedlock, who has assumed her dead as an infant. This is kept entirely secret except to Mr. Jarndyce, but when the evil old lawyer Mr. Tulkinghorn gets hold of some papers, telling the whole story, he holds it over Lady Dedlock's head, threatening at any moment to tell the whole of society, and ruin her. I will not spoil the rest of the story for you all, but I will tell you that all turns out in the end, though there is gripping mystery/drama to get there! :)

My Favorite Aspects Of The Book: By far, my favorite thing about Bleak House, is Esther Summerson. She is sweet, loveable, and has impeccable character in the face of many trials, including learning of her illegitamate birth. At one point, she catches the Smallpox, and her face is scarred for life, but she continues on, after struggling to conquer feelings of hurt pride and is as humble and beautiful as ever she was because of her inner beauty. At the start of the book, her former cold, unfeeling guardian says to her as a little girl of 10 or so, "Your mother, Esther, is your disgrace, and you were hers. The time will come-- and soon enough--when you will understand this better, and will feel it too, as no one save a woman can....For yourself, unfortunate girl, orphaned and degraded from the first of these evil anniversaries, (it was her birthday) pray daily that the sins of others be not visited upon your head...." After hearing these harsh words, Esther goes into her room, and prays that she may learn to be happy, content, and helpful, so that she may be loveable in some way, and be a blessing to others, despite her low birth.

I was struck with what a commendable character Charles Dickens has created, as I do not know if he was a Christian. There are many Biblical references in the book though, and Esther is a Christian. At the very end, 7 years after Esther is married to someone (I won't tell you who :) there is a terribly sweet scene between she and her husband...

"What have you been thinking about, my dear?" said ___ then.

"How curious you are!" said I. "I am almost ashamed to tell you, but I will. I have been thinking about my old looks-- such as they were."

"And what have you been thinking about them, my busy bee?" said ___.

"I have been thinking, that I thought it was impossible that you could have loved me any better, even if I had retained them."

"--Such as they were?" said ____, laughing.

"Such as they were, of course."

"My dear Dame Durden," (a pet name) said ___, drawing my arm through his, "do you ever look in the glass?"

"You know I do; you see me do it."

"And don't you know that you are prettier than you ever were?"

I did not know that; I am not certian that I know it now. But I know that my dearest little pets are very pretty, and that my darling husband is very handsome, and that my guardian has the brightest and the most benevolent face that ever was seen; and that they can very well do without much beauty in me--even supposing--- THE END"

Charles Dickens has got the character of his characters perfect! I enjoyed this book immensely, because the bad men are truly bad, and easily identified as so, the good characters that you are supposed to love are actually commendable to love and immitate, and the values in it are what I wish people would write more of today! :) Besides the people in the story, the story itself is exciting, interesting, humorous at times, and true to life. The rash and foolish acts of people are rewarded thus. Lady Dedlock has some (actually pretty dire) consequences for her having a child out of wedlock, and Dickens does not portray that as a desireable or acceptable thing.

Another of my favorite aspects are the hilarious, loveable, and interesting characters. You need to have a good memory, and the ability to multi-task to fully enjoy Dickens, but I'm sure you'll be delighted by characters such as Mr. Guppy, Mr. Snagsby, Caddy Jellyby, Mr. Jarndyce, Mr. Boythorn, Ada Clare, Miss Flite, and many, many, others! :)

Morals: The book is full of great morals, though I'm not sure Dickens was a Christian. The overtone of the whole book is shown in the Biblical light of true happiness coming in contentment, stellar generosity and selflessness, serving others, and Christian love, and it shows the opposite side that comes with the love of money and worldly things, ending in potential destruction. Every girl would do well to learn lessons from Esther Summerson! :) And every young man should take a peek at Mr. George, Allan Woodcourt, Mr. Jarndyce, and several others for good examples of honest, upright men.

Summary:

Strength of Characters: *****

Strength of Plot: **** (I found it a tad confusing at points if I wasn't paying close attention :)

Over All Rating: *****

In the end, Bleak House is a book I hope to read again someday, and one worth reading to anyone else who will brave 760 pages of closely written text! :D -Rachel

A Movie Review on The Inheritance

We have discovered a new favorite family movie: "The Inheritance"! It is sweet story of a young lady, an orphan, named Edith Adelon (Cari Shane). She lives as a companion for the daughter of the very wealthy Hamiltons. A distant cousin of the Hamiltons, the false and nasty Ida Glenshaw, comes to stay with them, as does a young man, Mr. James Percy (Thomas Gibson). As Edith finds herself learning to love Mr. Percy, Ida Glenshaw sourly reminds her that she will "never be one of us" (meaning born to wealth) and so Edith puts away her love, believing that did she marry Mr. Percy, she would forever make him miserable and bring shame to him. Then Mr. Hamilton finds a trunk full of his deceased brother's things, and unearths some very surprising news..... I won't tell you what!

This movie was based off of a book written by Louisa May Alcott as a 17 year old young woman, and is absolutely wonderful! The movie is quite different than the book, but kept the same message, which I greatly appreciated. Louisa May Alcott certainly had some strange beliefs, but the core messages in her books are something to be admired and imitated by anyone who reads them!

The Inheritance has perhaps a rather predictable story-line, and a classic heroine: an orphaned young woman named Edith Adelon. But Edith is a girl worth admiring. She is sweet, and good, but not in a way that seems syrupy. And her heart is just a lovely as her sweet face.

Mr. Percy is also admirable for his courtesy, gentlemanly and respectful treatment of all the movie's women, and his character.

I believe one of my favorite things about the book, and the movie, is the great character displayed by the hero and heroine. At one point in the movie when Mrs. Hamilton is entreating Edith to keep Ida Glenshaw away from "plain Mr. Percy", Edith speaks up:

"A person's face will change over time, but a person's heart will not. Mr. Percy's seems to be a good and pure heart, and one that I think would be worth winning." Such a remark is quite rare coming from a pretty heroine!

And in the book, when a young man is describing Mr. Percy and says, "Few could lead as pure a life as he. His brother was his dearest friend who he watched over with all a father's tenderness and care; but at last a fair young cousin came to live with them, and both the brothers loved her. Neither knew the other's secret till Walter, our Lord Percy, heard his brother whisper the dear name in sleep, and then he nobly put away his own joy, and strove to win for his younger brother, the heart he loved so tenderly himself, and he succeeeded. "

Beat that for selflessness!

The story is unbeatable, and has a great message-namely that the only lasting beauty is the beauty of the heart.

I've told you the pros, and now I must tell you just a couple of cons:

Ida Glenshaw, the falsely charming cousin, is the villain of this story. And as such, some of her dresses are..ahem...rather low in the neck. So we were ready with our ever-trusty piece of paper to cover her up the several times she came onscreen in those particular costumes.

Then, there is another villain, Mr. Frederick Arlington, who falls in love with Edith, and tries to kiss her very much against her will, until Mr. Percy comes and rescues her. Those are the only undesirable things in the movie, and, I am told that Feature Family Films has somehow cut out that part, and raised all of Ida's dresses, and replaced one not-so-great word, so that the movie is perfectly clean for even the strictest viewer. All in all though, this is a movie everyone in the family will enjoy! (Daniel watched it, liked it, and the only criticism he passed was, "it was a bit predictable"! :) And if you don't end up watching the movie, please, please, please, read the book! I read it last year in one afternoon, then loved it so much I started over and read it aloud to Leah! One of my top favorite books for sweetness! I can't remember the exact quote, but in the end of the book Lord Percy says something like: "I do not care for your money Edith, for the purity of your heart is the richest inheritance I shall ever be given." Love it!!! :) -Rachel

Book Quote Quiz

Alright Everyone! We decided that we might as well have a book quote quiz! Everyone does movie quotes, but very few challenge themselves to a quiz built upon real literature! :) So here we go! These are all from fairly widely read books, all published during the late 1800's through the early half of last century. If that doesn't help you I don't know what will! :P Let's get going!

1. "That's the rose you put in the birthday cake, and next week we'll have a fresh one in another jolly little cake which you'll make me. You left it on the floor of my den the night we talked there, and I've kept it ever since. There's love and romance for you!" - Polly touched the little relic, treasured for a year, and smiled to read the words, "My Polly's Rose" scribbled under the crumbling leaves."

2. "Oh, beg pardon, my dear. Where was I? Oh, yes. Well, the funny thing about me is--all right, Mary, I won't laugh if I can help it!--That whenever my birthday falls on a Friday, well, it's all up with me. Absolutely U.P."

3. "She sat down on her old high chair and drained her mug as though she had never tasted anything so delicious in her life. Then she drew a deep breath and said, "There's nothing as good as our milk anywhere in the world."

4. "Not me." he said, grinning. "I never ketched cold since I was born. I wasn't brought up nesh enough. I've chased about th' moor in all weathers same as th' rabbits does. Mother says I've sniffed up too much fresh air for twelve year' to ever get to sniffin' with cold. I'm tough as a white-thorn knobstick."

5. "I paddled over to the Illinois shore, and drifted down most half a mile doing it. I crept up the dead water under the bank, and hadn't no accidents, and didn't see nobody. We got home all safe."

6. "Why, it's not in reason that you should like our sort of victuals, though I've no doubt you'll put a bold face on it. All the same, while I'm cathing of them, if you two could try to light the fire-- no harm in trying! The wood's behind the wigwam. It may be wet. You could light it inside the wigwam, and then we'd get all the smoke in our eyes. Or you could light in outside, and then the rain would come and put it out. Her's my tinderbox. You won't know how to use it, I expect."

7. "Betsy and Tacy had played store lots of times. The piano box had been first one kind of store and then another, the summer before. It had been a millinery store, full of hats made from maple leaves, and it had been a lemonade store, where they sold lemonade. Now it became a sand store, on account of the fresh new sand."

8. "Oh, Aunt Polly, I never saw anything so perfectly lovely and interesting in my life. I'm so glad you gave me that book to read! Why, I didn't suppose flies could carry such a lot of things on their feet, and-"

9. "He was a very old Indian. His brown face was carved in deep wrinkles and shriveled on the bones, but he stood tall and straight. His arms were folded under a gray blanket, holding it wrapped around him. His head was shaved to a scalp-lock and an eagle's feather stood up from it. His eyes were bright and sharp. Behind him the sun was shining on the dusty street and an Indian pony stood there waiting. "Heap big snow come," this Indian said."

10. "But it is nice to be praised and admired, and I can't help saying I like it"... "That is perfectly natural, and quite harmless, if the liking does not become a passion, and lead one to do foolish or unmaidenly things. Learn to know and value the praise which is worth having, and to excite the admiration of excellent people by being modest as well as pretty..."

I FORGOT TO PUT COMMENT MODERATION ON, SO PLEASE BE HONORABLE AND SCROLL DOWN REALLY FAST TO THE BOTTOM TO POST YOUR ANSWERS!!!! :P
There you go! Have fun! No google-searching by the way! :) -Rachel and Sarah

In Which I Discourse Upon One Of Women's Foolish Little Pastimes, In Hopes Of Becoming a More Genteel Lady. ;)

Can anybody tell me where this classic match-making line came from?

"Let us cheer ourselves up: Let us think of superior men!"

Or this one? "But the last match she brought was bald! He had no hair!" "What does that matter? Men are not to look at! Men are to get!"

Or this one? "Providence matched them two up since they were children, that's what!"

Why is it that for as long as there have been women, we have liked to make matches? It is a silly pastime, and yet....it is entertaining. I mean really, have you ever thought in your mind, "those two people would be perfect for eachother!"? I know I have. I am not positive, but I have a sneaking presentiment that Mothers matchmake their three-year olds, and do not stop at three-year-olds. ;) But I have made a resolution that I shall try not to matchmake....much. I have promised Daniel I won't match him up with anyone. Once I found myself thinking of someone, "Wait! She can't marry that person! I had her matched up with so-and-so!" It is a ridiculous business really. Although, I only make matches in my head. I do not matchmake for myself, nor do I do anything to bring the matches about. I laugh when I think of how many times I have tried to figure out God's plan, and how wonderfully different His plan ended up being. I'm not saying that making a match is a sin at all. I mean, all throughout the Bible there were arranged marriages! But I am only saying that it is not a very profitable business, and God is the ultimate Matchmaker! :) God has all his plans for me set up from before time! And He knows who each of us will marry! (If it is His will for us to be wed!) So I am just presenting the idea that perhaps, although it is amusing, (and a very silly, womanly, innocent sort of amusement) we are messing in an area that is a tad risky....(Although, it's so interesting!)One of my all-time favorite books dealing in this subject is Jane Austen's "Emma". The story is so delicately crafted, and shows the dangers and humorous side of matchmaking, and how in the end, it doesn't turn out quite so great! "Emma" had me laughing all through the tale as I totally related to Emma Woodhouse's desire to make matches, and how it backfired on her! :) I bet the Lord would like to say to me, in the same spirit Emma said it to Mrs. Weston, "My dear Rachel, do not take to matchmaking. You do it very ill." :D
I have now probably disgusted any young men reading this, so just ignore it if you will. But I plan to cure myself of match-making (often) once and for all. It is silly and foolish, and....common, you know. So I shall now leave you with a quote from Mr. Knightley, and if we all wish to marry a man like him, we should heed this warning! ;)

"Men of sense, whatever you may choose to say, do not want silly wives!"

-Rachel

A Tale Of Lorna and Nicholas ;) (Otherwise known as, who'll finish first?)

Do any of you belong to families where EVERYBODY likes to read? I coaxed everyone else along in this area, and have pretty much made them as crazy about reading as I am! :) Daniel comes to Sarah and I at night, flops on our bed, or walks slowly over to our shelf and asks what book he should read. I feel like some sort of seller of furs as I exhibit the pros and cons of each book. I have read them all. The hunt for a good book always ends up rather flat, because so has Daniel. Actually, we've read all those books several times. The younger girls ravage my bookshelf continuously. Friends from church have me draw up lists of books for them to read. I think they should start calling me "Marian"! (you know, that librarian from "The Music Man"? ;) Even if you don't like to read, I may just press you with promises of good books. In all fairness though, I should be able to list a whole catalog of good titles- even the Walkers are hard-pressed to find a book in their house that I have not read. Poor Matthew has been subject to taking my recommendations on faith and reading many things such as "To Have and To Hold", and "Pride and Prejudice", that he mayn't have read without a big, encouraging shove into it. Okay, so having a girl for a cousin can injure your reading list. (But I think he enjoyed them!) I also, though, have roped him into reading "The Scarlet Pimpernel" and "Ivanhoe", and Sarah has gotten him to read "the Pickwick Papers" by Dickens, so we aren't all girly about it! Anyway, the point of this post, was to describe a rather amusing scene that happened last night. Sarah and I were both in the last throes of very thick books. Sarah is reading "Nicholas Nickleby" by Charles Dickens, (731 pages) and I was reading "Lorna Doone" by R.D. Blackmore. (400 some odd pages) She is reading her book on credit, because it is really one I took out of the library to read, but let her read it while I was reading the other. We sat together in the living room. She cast a wary eye upon my reading- only about a 1/4 of an inch to go! Her book is longer than mine...will she finish before I swoop down and grab it from her? We are both feverishly reading. Then Mama wanted to watch "I Love Lucy" with us, so we pause. Mama falls asleep, and we both decide to take our reading up again in our beds. I am savouring the last few pages of "Lorna Doone". Suddenly, she is shot at the altar at her wedding by a wicked, wicked cousin of hers! :0 Horrors! I breathlessly read the part aloud to Sarah, in absolute agony! How on earth could an author kill off his title character? Sarah listens patiently, then waves me off. "I've got to keep reading!" she says. I finish my book in peace, once I learn that Lorna is not really dead, and they have a happy life ever-after! I am satisfied. Sarah is still reading. The time draws nigh midnight. Reluctantly, she lays aside her book, and we go to sleep. I am a good sister and I don't claw the novel out of her hands this morning and read it myself! ;) In fact, Miss Sarah is sitting here beside me with only 1/4 inch (or 3 chapters) to go! Hurrah for literature from the old days when thin books were for babies! Our literary tastes go for Sir Walter Scott, Dickens, Austen, Alcott, Twain, and all those solid 4 inch writers! :) I don't find it too bad to boast of one's family, so think that our only crime perhaps in this post comes from the fact that we simply love to read! -Rachel

As My Wrists Slide Off The Desk and My Hair Sticks To My Neck...

It is hot. I thought May Day (at least according to all the poets) was supposed to usher in the coming of Spring? Around here, it ushered it out. Today is a full-fledged summer day. I am typing slowly because my wrists are sliding off the desk, and my fingers are sticking to the keyboard from the heat. Our A/C downstairs is broken, so it was an adventure hosting 85 people with only fans on. My face is beet red. And according to my built-in barometer, the the temperature is awful (mid 90's) and humid to beat the band. In case you are wondering about my barometer, it is more correctly termed "my hair". :)Right now my little curls around my face are standing in "spurks" out the sides of my head, and super crazy. You can always tell the weather by my hair, which is irritating because it has all the inconvinience of curls but is only wavy-ish. I felt this morning like there was fire through my veins it was so hot!!! I know I'm complaining. Sorry! But crumbs! The younger ones are playing in the sprinkler. I am half-tempted to join them! :) But seriously- not even the boys at church wanted to play volleyball because it was hot as blazes!
So, moving on to subjects that are less sticky and pink and sunny..... I am reading "Wives and Daughters" by Elizabeth Gaskell and am loving it. A very sweet and simple story with a heroine that bears imitating! Molly Gibson is so humble and sweet and feminine! I love her! On another subject, we are all excited about the ball, and praying that it doesn't rain! Well, I am on duty to watch the kids so I'd better say adieu, and Abigail, has our mutual friend interrupted your cool slumber yet? ;) -Rachel

A Title Tale

Greetings to all our fair followers! (Or if you'd rather, "dashing followers" pick and choose! ;) How are you all doing today? We are well. I just got finished cleaning carpets on my hands and knees with a scrubby brush. Can you imagine the songs I hummed while doing it???
("It's a Hard-Knock Life" [Annie] and "Sing Sweet Nightingale" [Cinderella]) Interesting proceedings hmmm? Anyway, that was extremely dull to read, I have no doubt. The Walker's mobile home is safely stowed away upon the footings poured for it. I hear that in 2-3 weeks they'll be able to move in! (At least, that is what is expected)
I realized that Sarah and I never did do a post about our bedroom furniture! :) Oops! If you care about it, tell us. If you don't, just know that it looks pretty, and we are enjoying sleeping on a real beds now! (Leah just said we did do a post about it. Did we? Gracious! I hope we didn't! If we did, just lock me away in a lunatic farm till I get over it! :) Okay. So. Last night, Daniel and I had a funny conversation that got me thinking: What if someone made a story entirely of the titles of famous books, partnered with a few other words, and some little ones like "A, and, the, etc."
Let me try for a moment and let's see if it works!
"The Scarlet Pimpernel, at The Sign of The Beaver, Kidnapped David Copperfield, and had Great Expectations to take him to Treasure Island. So Tom Sawyer and Pollyanna dived 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea To Kill A Mockingbird, but instead killed Moby Dick.
White Fang, The Last Of The Mohicans, sent a letter saying "As You Like It! Much Ado About Nothing!" to Emma who posessed great Sense and Sensibility, though she was sometimes blinded by Pride and Prejudice. Emma lived in Cranford during times of War And Peace, with her husband Ivanhoe. The Wives and Daughters named Elsie Dinsmore and Lorna Doone, along with The Lady Of The Lake, went Around The World In Eighty Days.
Dr. Doolittle, (a Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court) after much Persuasion wrote The Federalist Papers for Peter Pan. By the time it came to Middlemarch in The Secret Garden, The Count of Monte Cristo had sent out The Three Musketeers from his Bleak House.
Crime and Punishment followed. The Brothers Karamazov burned The Pickwick Papers, and wrote The Anti-Federalist Papers. It's only Common Sense that The Wind in The Willows whispered, "The Red Badge of Courage" to Oliver Twist. And that, Silas Marner, is The Tale of Two Cities of the Wuthering Heights."

So. Whadya think? That was so much fun! I just sat there thinking up names of books, and then when that was used up, I peeked into the back of a Bantam Classic book and chose out of the list of classics! Yay! That tickled me pink! :) -Rachel

Our Secret Weapons! Shhhhh....THE FAMILY!!!!

Hello! In devotion the other morning, Dad read us something that was really interesting to me: it was a devotion about how the choices you make now, will affect your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. I had never exactly thought very much about that subject, but it really is fascinating. Consider one couple highlighted in the book "Generational Legacy" by Dan LeLaCheur: "Max Jukes, a known atheist, lived a godless life. He married an ungodly girl, and from this union there were 310 who died as paupers- 150 were criminals, 7 were murderers, 100 were drunkards, and more than half of the women were prostitutes. His 540 descendents cost the state one and a quarter million dollars."
I was shocked, a saddened by the awful consequences of just one couple who lived their lives without God. Only He can save us, and the opposite, for those of us who honor and obey the Lord's commands is true! That's the great news! Here is a well-known couple who are highlighted in "A Full Quiver" by Rick and Jan Hess: "As just one example of the clout God can give to a fruitful couple, we offer the legacy left by Jonathan and Sarah Edwards...
The Edwards family produced:
13 college presidents
65 proffesors,
100 lawyers and a dean of law school,
30 judges,
66 physicians and a dean of a medical school,
80 holders of public office
three United States senators,
mayors of three large cities,
governors of three large states,
a vice president of The United States, and
A controllor of the United States Treasury."

Isn't that great? I loved hearing about the victorious family! Then, Aunt Christy read us this passage in Deuteronomy 30- "See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgements, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. But if you turn your hearts away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendents may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."

I find it a thrilling prospect to look forward to someday when I have children, and to know that if we surrender our family to the Lord, and love Him wholeheartedly, He can do marvelous things through us! Who knows but I may have a grandson who is a vice-president? ;) But really! I am so blessed by reading both lists, and being able to see what my choices today can either support, or help prevent! Here is another interesting thing, on the subject of limiting family size:
(From "A Full Quiver")
"Let's say you're planning a dinner party for the most significant people of all time. Your invitation list can span history, but you can only send invitations to persons who were first, second, or third born in their families. Here's a partial list of some historical `biggies' who wouldn't be coming to dinner:
George Washington
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Dietrich Bonhoffer
Oswald Chambers
Jonathon Edwards
Augustine
Corrie ten Boom
Ulrich Zwingli (who's he?)
Charles Finney
Johann Sebastian Bach
Ludwig van Beethoven
John and Charles Wesley"

Crazy, huh? I think of the verse: "Where there is no vision, the people perish". For pity's sake! Who would pass up the chance to bring up mighty men and women for the Lord, just because they were afraid that the expense and trouble would be too much? Gracious! That is a very near-sighted person, and I'm afraid they aren't able to see much past the end of their own nose! I consider all the above examples extremely exciting proof of how God blesses those who honor His commandments! -Rachel

Riverly Manor and a half-dozen other titles

Hey guys! I thought that I'd show you guys two things today: first, how many books I've started writing, and the ones that I've finished. Then, I'll show you my story line for the mystery that plagues my life out! The problem I have found is this: it is a good story, and a good mystery- not even I can figure it out. And that is the problem! :)

Books I have begun writing:

"Buttercup Promise"
"Tidbits"
"The McBride Story"
"Miss Pemberthy"
"The Treasure of Riverly Manor"
"Forgetmenots"
"Ruby's Journey West"
and several more

Books I have finished:
A Mother For The Seasonings
"The Ella and Cornelia Story"
"The Harrison Happenings"
Bramblewood Hedge series (The Twinkletoes' Harvest, Mr. Mocker's Picnic, etc.)

Now, here is the storyline for "The Treasure of Riverly Manor"
Lindsey Riverly is 15 years old during the Great Depression. She has lived with her widower-father, and her younger brother Thomas in a small yellow house ever since she can remember. But when her grandfather dies and leaves the independent family estate of Riverly Manor to Lindsey's father, the family has to move. Lindsey finds it difficult to adjust to her new position of Mistress at Riverly Manor, and all the lesson her Great Aunt Henrietta insists on giving her. But despite the fact that there is a Riverly Family fortune, the family is struggling financially. The reason? The fortune is hidden, including the map of a hidden oil field. It begins looking as if Mr. Riverly will have to sell the manor. Lindsey and Tom find a secret passage in the house, and go down it. When they emerge, they are quite lost, and do not even know if they are still on the Manor's 2,000 acre grounds. They find a cabin and an old black man who was the best friend of their grandfather, without any legs. He tells them clues to the treasure and they make their way home. But a strange man, Drew Baxter is pressing their father to let him buy Riverly manor. Lindsey distrusts the man deeply, and begs her father to wait a month, and help them find the treasure. He agrees, and the threesome begin working together to follow to clues. The guest, Mr. Drew Baxter is residing in a cottage on the grounds, and when Lindsey goes there to clean it up a bit, she finds a letter with a mysterious message in it. Then Tom disappears, and Lindsey finds him chloroformed in the attic, and the paper with the clues missing. Tom recovers, but can't remember what had happened to him. Lindsey suspects Drew Baxter, (who is an agent for a German war mastermind posing as a oil-hungry man posing as a buyer for Riverly Manor) and finds a file of correspondence that proves he is acting falsely. But Mr. Baxter has disappeared. The Riverly family goes on a chase that crosses three states, and ends back at the Manor, where it is a race to see who finds the treasure first......and I haven't decided who finds it! :)

Sound interesting? Do you think I should finish it? Well, I gotta go! -Rachel

Various and Sundries

Hey everybody! The picture right here has nothing to do with anything, only the fact that the lassie is doing something I wish I was doing, and looks prettier than I ever hope to be while doing it! :) This morning we are going to be planting our potatoes, and maybe onions. I love cutting the potatoes into chunks with eyes. I'm not sure why....Tomorrow we'll be planting peas. This afternoon we have choir, (and I hope volleyball after! :) and then this evening, we have a slight dilemma. It's Generation Joshua night, and the laundry fairies are down from NY. They are coming to dinner, and we may have to miss them! I would willingly stay home, but Dad is not sure if he wants us to stay at home since it is part of our school....it seems a shame to skip seeing people from NY!!! Last night I had to drive in the dark with Dad. We went to Dairy Queen, and Dad got icecream. I would have, but I had already had chocolate chip cookies here. Blast! I didn't do the drive-thru so well. It seemed really strange to talk to some little plastic box...oh well. At least I managed to stay on the road and avoid all the other cars.
(This is a very disconnected post by the way. That being said....) Sarah is now reading "Great Expectations" and I am reading "The Last of The Mohicans". I had stopped reading it, because of all the terribly bloody indian massacres and because half of it was written in French! ;) But it is a classic, and I do want to know whatever happens to those girls! Also, it is really interesting to me particularly, because the story takes place right where Uncle Lon and Aunt Heather live. All the places sound pretty familiar to me, and it is almost as fun as when I read "To Have And To Hold" that takes place right in our area and the area surrounding it. There is something so inspiring about imagining what our land looked like and felt like 250 years ago!
Anna found a nest of baby mice when moving around hay in her goatpen. She killed the mama and then cried about it after. The dad mouse went away, so she has kept the babies alive for two days now, feeding Daisy's milk out of a dropper. I'm telling you what, it is crazy what sorts of fragile animals are actually living in our home! We have two tanks of tadpoles that are in their second week of captivity! (They debuted in Daniel's music video) Well, I have to go make breakfast! See you guys later! -Rachel

Ennui- otherwise known as months of rain

Hello! How is everyone? I am doing well, but excessively tired of all this rain. Some mornings I wake up wondering if our home is just an island in a mucky sea of puddles! Very dull indeed. Okay! So, I have been reading "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens. Something I have noticed about his writing, and the writing of other great British authors like C.S. Lewis, is how well they can describe characters in very few words. I have been continually amused throughout the book by the way Dickens described various peculiarities in people- like Mr. Wemmick, who is said to have "a mouth that looked like a post-box" and from then on when speaking of it, he would say, "by now I could have posted an entire package in Mr. Wemmick's box" or something like that. It just amuses me. I consider it a mark of a fine author when they can make you form an exact picture in your mind of someone's build, or mouth, or clothes, or anything else without ever using words commonly associated with the object. That is something that I am not particularly wonderful at in my own writing. Another thing I have observed, is how you can turn your reader's mind to either like or dislike a person, merely by the way you describe them. Take anyone from a picture for example. I am sure that you could write two descriptions of them that equally represented the person: one favorable, and the other not. Well, this is not a very interesting post, and I have to do school! -Rachel

Revealing a Springtime Masterpiece! ;)

Hey guys! How are you this morning? I am well. I finally shook off this horrid cold I had had for a long time. I think it might have been allergies. Which leads me to the next part of this post. Ahem-ahem-ahem, it is my pleasure and amusement to present a slapped-together work entitled: "It Is In The Air" So without further ado....

"It is in The Air"

By Me

This is that special time of year

When people far and people near

Will feel quite calm and free of care

And say that "Love is in the air".

"Love", I think, there may well be,

But it has passed quite over me!

Love never makes her stricken wheeze,

And mine keeps comp'ny with a sneeze!

My nose is stuffed, my eyes are red,

If I cough more I'll lose my head!

If "Love" is there, it's surely stallin'

But in its place is nasty pollen!

Okay. So maybe slightly cheesy, but it amused me! :) I wrote it for our Girls' Gazette.

So, for a quick update on my authoring...the test families have almost all read my book and answered my questions. As soon as that is done, I shall make corrections, and then look for a publisher! I'm really excited about how the Lord is bringing this together, but I would appreciate your prayer concerning where to get my book published. I know self-publishing is an option but you have to front the money for that, whereas in traditional publishing, they pay you. You know? I also have a vision to publish it in a Christian company, and one that publishes books of good report. No sappy romance novels for me thankyou! :)

Most of you know that my vision for writing is not to become famous. (Not like I think I would or anything!) I am not doing this for a "career" or for my own glory. I have a vision to write books for families and girls that are wholesome, pure-hearted, written from a Biblical world-view, but are also amusing. The Elsie Dinsmore books didn't quite cut it for me as a youngun' because I was constantly feeling irritated by her refusal to say she didn't scribble in the book, because it would be tattling or something equally...excessive. (The stories were okay though)

Okay. So just a rambling writing post! Gotta go do the dishes! -Rach

Yet Another Tag. Ho-hum-bon-hommy

Hi Everybody! This is Rachel. I must be well-loved or something....this is like my 5th time being tagged with the same tag, so...even though everyone is probably tired of reading about books we'd love to live in, I must do my duty to Shaina, Hannah, Sarah, Graham, and Matthew, and do it! Here goes nothing!

Eight Books I'd Love To Live In:

1.Little Women

2.Anne of Green Gables

3.The Scarlet Pimpernel (Well. If I knew I wasn't in any danger. I'd stay home with Lady Blakeney and enjoy fancy parties! :)

4. Farmer Boy

5. To Have and To Hold (Scoot over Lady Jocelyn! Capt. Percy is MINE! ;) (He is an impeccably godly gentleman. A rarity these days! Excusing Daniel and Matthew and a select few others)

6. Hind's Feet On The High Places (Wouldn't we all love to go on a journey with the King Of Love?)

7. Pride and Prejudice (Though I'd be scared I'd be snubbed by Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley's sisters!)

8. Winnie-the-pooh (A.A. Milne was brilliant! Those books are so funny!!)

On anothher note, I am beginning to think I am rather a heartless wretch- I am reading "The Wide, Wide, World" which I have heard from everyone is heartbreakingly sad, and so far, half-way through the book, I am rather amused than sorrowful! Oh well. -Rachel