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

Spring Fever Remedy ;)

My heart is longing, longing, longing for the Spring. I know in September I vowed that I'd be happy if it was ever and anon October. I know in November I thrilled with the first flakes of snow. But now? Now I have broken my unspoken creed and follow the greening of the field across the way with an impatient eye. I notice the buds swelling on the trees and will them to pop open. I feel unreasonably vexed when snow is in the forecast. I baby the little wild violets I dug up and planted in pots on my windowsill. My heart leaps with hope at this day so bright and sunny and anticipated to be 54 degrees! And so, to anyone else up, I have decided to do a post of spring sayings and pictures. Hope it brightens your February day! :)

"It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!"
~Mark Twain

"Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush."
~Doug Larson



"Every spring is the only spring - a perpetual astonishment."
~Ellis Peters


"If you've never been thrilled to the very edges of your soul by a flower in spring bloom, maybe your soul has never been in bloom."
~Terri Guillemets


"Out with the cold, in with the woo." :D
~E. Marshall, "Spring Thought"


"If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall."
~Nadine Stair


"Poor, dear, silly Spring, preparing her annual surprise!"
~Wallace Stevens

Winners announced!

Okay! Thanks to everyone who participated in the Marvelously Mixed-up Movie Quotes contest! :)

The Winner is....................

The King's Daughter with 8 out of 10 points!!!!

(we can hand deliver your prize on Tuesday! :)

Tied for 2nd place are: Abigail, Shaina and Leanna with 4 out of 10

3rd place: Stephanie with 3 out of 10

4th place goes to: Jo March with 2 out of 10

We did judge by how many fully correct quotes you got. (Making sure you named *every* movie in the quote)

So did you think this was fun? Should we do one again? Please let us know in a comment! :)

The real answers were:

1. Pride and Prejudice and the Fellowship of the Ring

2. Cinderella and the Sound of Music

3. the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Robin Hood

4. My Fair Lady and Bleak House

5. the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Sense and Sensibility, and the Sound of Music

6. Emma, Pride and Prejudice and the Sound of Music

7. Little Women and Amazing Grace

8. Our Mutual Friend, Eloise, and Amazing Grace

9. Anne of Green Gables, Bleak House, and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader

10. Sense and Sensibility, the Dawn Treader, and Ratatouille

Some of these were pretty tricky, and you all did a great job! :)

-Sarah

Thanky Kindly One And All

I want to thank each and every person who has entered our Marvelously Mixed-Up Movie Quotes contest!!!! You all are doing amazingly well for how tricky this contest is! If anyone else wants to enter, you have until Friday to do so! We will choose the winner and post results over the weekend. Thanks again for your participation! I am so excited! :) ~Rachel

Marvelously Mixed-Up Movie Quotes

For some time I have been wanting to do a quiz. Not a normal quiz, but a quiz like I've never seen on any other blog. Not to say it has never been done, but I've never seen it. So here's the deal. Each quote below is a mix-up of two or three quotes from different well-known movies. You job is to identify the movies. Each quote also will have a picture beneath it from one of the two or three movies to help you with the identification. Just leave a comment with your answers, and the winner will win a set of note-cards handmade by Sarah and I! :) So please enter! And tell others about this quiz so we can see how many entries we get! :) All set? I'll start off easy! Here we go!

1. "It is a truth universally acknowledged that this is the farthest I've ever been from home."

Hint:

2. "And these beads give it just the right touch, don't you think, ___?" "No I don't! I think your dress is the ugliest one I ever saw!"

Hint:

3. "Wake up Dolly Daydream! As your lady-in-waiting, I'm waiting!"

Hint:

4. "It's rather damp in town, I think I'll take me to Paris. I'm bored to death with this rain."

Hint:

5. "You look so cold. Come and sit with me." "What care I for a cold when there is such a man?" "You're face is all red!" "You're right. Help me get dressed?"

Hint:

6. "A ball. What say you to a ball?" "Every savage can dance, and it's the Lendler- it's an Austrian folk-dance."

Hint:

7. "What is that strange smell? It's like...burnt feathers. Take those handkerchiefs away from your noses!"

Hint:

8. "I've been constantly avariciously scheming!" "What is that supposed to mean?" "Loosely translated it means...we cheat."

Hint:

9. "Well he certainly didn't become Prime Minister on account of his looks." "Neither would you if you'd been shot thru' the `art. Hope he wasn't British Consul."

Hint:

10. "Look! There's a piece of blue sky! Let us catch it!" "Why didn't you just say so before?" "Because I love you--'re advice!"

Hint:

Okay! There you go! Good luck! ~Rachel and Sarah

So Much More Than Turkey Day

"Some hae meat and cannae eat,
And some cae eat but want it.
But I hae meat, and I cae eat,
And tae the Lord be thankit"
~Scottish blessing

"Happy Turkey Day"- in my mind, that term conjures up some idea of a fat turkey, with those horrid white stockings, grinning while he sits safely on the grocery-store sign as his brethren are snapped up and carried home to be stuffed and roasted. It's a term that sounds completely animal and vulgar. "Happy Turkey Day!" I mean really! "Turkey Day" belongs in Golden Corral and other greasy, gluttonous restaurants like that! :)
This beautiful day is "Thanksgiving Day"- a day set aside by our forefathers to worship and thank God for all his bounteous blessings. Read this quote by George Washington:

"Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be."
- George Washington, From the Proclamation of National Thanksgiving

Notice there is no mention of eating turkey in that passage! :) To have a "Turkey Day" in November is absolutely no different than having a Hamburger Day in March. Can you imagine that? "Um...boss...I'm taking Hamburger Day off next week. You should too...the post office is stopping for the day!"
Yet for "Thanksgiving" the whole country practically stops. Why? I can assure you that if it was merely for a chance to stuff yourself with a feast, companies would be less lenient about giving their employees the day off. No. It is because our country in the past, and, I hope, many Americans now, realize the value in setting aside a day of rest to thank the Lord with. Sadly, with too many it has become merely a day of laziness and gluttony. Sorry, but I have to say it like it is! In our home, we always enjoy the huge Thanksgiving meal, and the change of pace, but the underlying reason for it all is remembered, recognized, and renewed. We take this job of giving thanks seriously! :) I know some of our friends don't much like Abraham Lincoln, but you all must realize that the quote below is so true and fitting.

"We have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us."
-Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation

I must agree with Mr. Lincoln. As a country we have been intoxicated with unbroken success, and we no longer feel the necessity of thanking the Lord for all his mercies. Thus the gradual decline to turning this holiday in "Turkey Day". So let's change it! There are 43 followers of this blog. And a few more who read it! If you read this post, I challenge you to spend some real time thanking God for all his blessings, and of them all, most importantly, for Jesus Christ. ~Rachel

~Psalm 100~
Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Answers Are Finally In! :)

Hey Guys! Here are the answers to the Period Drama Movie Quote Quiz Rachie did.

#1"She won't even allow me to reapply the blacking to her hair! There is a great grey streak going right down her centre part!" Miss Pole from Cranford
People who got it right: Abigail

#2 "She seems to expwess herself vewy fwankly, Clare!" -Lady Cumner from Wives and Daughters
People who got it right: Abigial

#3 "I made money overnight? How very clever of me!" - Ms. Margaret Hale from North and South
People who got this right: Abigail

#4 "Roger Riderhood. Sometimes known as "Rogue" Riderhood. But that's a friendly name used by thems that don't know me well."- Riderhood in Our Mutual Friend
Nobody got that right!

#5 "...I encourage him in that, too."- Charlotte in Pride and Prejudice
People who got it right: Jo March and Abigail

#6 "What care I for a cold, when there is such a man?!" -Marianne Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility
People who got it right: Abigail, Jo March, Always Narnian, and Leanna!:)

#7 "I abhor the notion of being over-trimmed!" -Mrs. Elton from Emma 2009 version
People who got it right: Abigail

#8 "She says that Colonel Wallace says, that Mr. Elliott says"--"That's enough!!" -Ann and the widow lady in Persuasion
People who got it right: NOBODY!

#9 "Do you think he could be a captive like Smee in Nicholas Nickleby?" - Jo in Little Women
People who got it right: Abigial, Always Narnian, Shi of Narnia, and Leanna

#10 "People's ideals change sometimes." -Diana from Anne of Avonlea
People who got this right: Abigail, Jo March, Always Narnian, Shi of Narnia, and Leanna.:)

Okay! So the winner of this contest is:::::::::: ABIGAIL!!
Congratulations, and good job to everybody else, as well! :) Ya'll give yourselves a pat on the back! Thanks for entering.
-Sarah

Period-Drama Movie Quote Quiz

We have been having a drastically busy few weeks, so do pardon our lack-of-posting here! Hopefully things will even out next week or so! :) We were rudely awakened this morning by all our terribly ear-piercing fire alarms going off, for no good reason. Hmph. Didn't much like that! :) And Dad had to scurry around for 1/2 an hour trying to shut them all off. He turned off the power, but they defaulted to battery, so he had to find the troublemaker, take its batteries out, and then it finally stopped! :) But any-who! I thought we'd do another movie-quote quiz, because this is something I can leave up for a bit, and let people comment on. In previous times, we have only had 3 or 4 people enter. So pretty please comment and guess! Even if you only know one, it will make us feel better! :D Hint: all these quotes are from period-dramas. And in that category, I'd include Little Women...even Anne of Green Gables. (Though I'm not promising I'll use quotes from there. Just that sort as well as others!)

Here we go!

1.) "She won't even let me reapply the blacking to her hair! There is a great gray streak going right down her centre part!!!" :D

2.) "She seems to expwess herself vewy fwankly, Clare!"

3. ) "I made money overnight? How very clever of me!"

4.) "Roger Riderhood. Sometimes known as "Rogue" Riderhood. But that's a friendly name used only by thems that don't know me well."

5.) "....I encourage him in that too." ;)

6.) "What care I for a cold when there is such a man?"

7.) "I abhor the notion of being over-trimmed!" :D

8.) "She says that Col. Willis says that Mr. Elliott says--" "That's enough!"

9.) "Do you think he could be a captive like Smee in Nicholas Nickleby?" (By the way, I've read the mentioned book, and it is "smike" not "smee"! :[ )

10.) "People's ideals change sometimes...."

There you have it! Please enter if you have a single inkling of a single quote! :) If this works better than some I've done, then maybe we can have another one soon! :) -Rachel

Answers To Book Quotes Quiz, And A Reason To Celebrate! :)

Hey Everybody! Time to see who won our Book Quote Quiz! :)

Jo March won with 9 1/2 points!
Abigail Taylor was second with 6 points
And Stephanie was third with 3 points!

Here are the answers:

1. "An Old-Fashioned Girl" by Louisa May Alcott (Tom Speaking to Polly)
2. "Mary Poppins" by P.L. Travers (Uncle Albert speaking to Mary Poppins)
3. "Heidi" by Johanna Spyrie
4. "The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgeson Burnett (Dickon speaking to Mary)
5. "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain (Abigail! You were off by one book! :)
6. "The Silver Chair" by C.S. Lewis (Puddleglum speaking to Jill and Eustace)
7. "Betsy-Tacy" by Maud Hart Lovelace
8. "Pollyanna" by whats-her-name? (Pollyanna speaking to Aunt Polly)
9. "The Long Winter" by Laura Ingalls Wilder
10. "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott (Meg and Marmee)

Yay! Do you guys want to do one again sometime? Jo, your prize will be choosing something for Sarah to post about! :) Do whatever, as long as it does not require pictures of us to be put up here! :P And another piece of news: I will officially and forever and ever-until-I-am-homeschooling-my-own-children be done with algebra tomorrow!!!! YAY! If you remember from a post away back last year, I promise to dance a jig on top of my algebra! I will! I promise! It required me getting up early when Leah milked all but one morning for the past several weeks, and doing 4 pages of the evil subject, but I have nearly conquered it! Huzzah! Someone get out the confetti! :) -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

Post-4th of July-Thoughts

"A toast- to high treason...that's what these men were committing when they signed the Declaration of Independence.....So here's to the men who did what was considered wrong, in order to do what they knew was right. What they knew was right!"

-National Treasure

I love that quote! The movie, "National Treasure" gets some things wrong, but it has some slamming quotes! :) Independence Day for me, gets me thinking all about the Colonial era, and the great, looming choice the Founding Fathers were facing. Should they go to War against their mother country? Was that really what the Lord was leading them to do? I am sure it was a very confusing time. Nowadays, we do not stop to think whether it was a good thing that America rebelled. We take it for granted, that it was always such an easy choice. I don't want to be a "red, white, and blue" American- I mean, the kind of patriot who is one only on the surface- I want to remember the real historical facts, and learn lessons from the men who made this huge decision. It must have been an intense time. I mean, I can only imagine in our church fellowship the unrest caused by someone saying we should emancipate ourselves from our governing country. I am sure not everyone would agree on the wisest course to take! But I believe the Lord blessed the men who guided our country on a quest to become their own. I am SO grateful for the wisdom the Lord gave these men in making our founding documents! I am proud to be an American, but not because "at least I know I'm free". I am proud to be an American because of our freedom, yes, but more importantly, because I know my heritage as an American. Really, the American Revolution was entirely uncoventional. And as Christians, we are called to lead unconventional lives! Our whole country was founded on Christian principles, and they have served us well! Now that we as a country are slipping away from our base though, I encourage us to learn the facts for ourselves! Not just trust whatever sort of "shot heard `round the world" history we happened to remember from our history book! :) People are forgetting the facts in lieu of legends, or missinformation- for instance, Sarah and I were laughing during the fireworks last night as we listened to a grown man musing: "Just think about in Colonial times, that all this noise would have been shots of guns! Man, I wouldn't be fightin' out in front! I'd run the other way and climb a tree and start sniping people!" What that man doesn't realize is that really, his "great idea" of hiding and guerilla-ish warfare was exactly what the Americans did! The British, very accomplished in open-war-field strategies, were at a loss when they couldn't even see the Americans hiding in the forest. Anyway, that man's remarks were just a reminder of how the facts are slowly being forgotten. Everyone sort of imagines pitched battle in a sunny field, with calvary, and formations. Indeed, there was some of that, but we Americans had learned our new land, and the benefits of fighting as the natives do.

This is sort of a rambling post, but it is "Post-Fourth of July-Musings" that were tumbling around my brain this week! Hope I didn't bore you! :) -Rachel

Answers To The Movie Quiz

Okay! Here are the movie-quote quiz results!

First Place Goes To: The Most Honorable "Gentleman From Virginia" with 20 points!!! *Yay*
Second Place Goes To: Mistress Mary Quite Contrary (A.K.A Abigail! ;) With 14 points!
Third Place Goes To: Stephanie with 8 points! (And by the way, thanks for following! :)
Fourth Place Goes To: Nana with 7 points!
Fifth Place Goes To: Leia with 2 points!

Thanks everyone for entering! Below are the quotes and their answers!

1. "We could use a distress flag!" "Anyone who sees a ship wrecked on the rocks will assume it is in trouble!" (Answer: The Swiss Family Robinson- Ernst and his Father)

2. "Are you going to stay here and let a little boy show you up?" (Answer: Betty Muxworthy in Lorna Doone)

3. "I've come to get an Alfred David!" *whispers* "I think he means an affidavit- no, my friend doesn't do affidavits either." (Answer: Our Mutual Friend, Eugene Wrayburn and Roger Riderhood)

4. "Harry's great-grandfather went to Sandhurst, Harry's grandfather went to Sandhurst, Harry's father went to Sandhurst.." "And so I, *snort-snort* went to Sandhurst!" (Answer: Miss Potter, Harry and his mother)

5. "Let's name the species, the species, the species, let's name the species that live in the sea!" (Answer: Mr. Ray in Finding Nemo)

6. "DEATH COMES UNEXPECTEDLY!!!!" (Answer: Pollyanna, Reverend Ford)

7. "Is that all your hair?" (Anne of Avonlea, Mrs. Harris)

8. "Do you know the expression: `His name is Mud'?" "Of course" "But do you know where it came from?" "Does...anyone but you?" (Answer: National Treasure 2, Ben and Riley)

9. "Right then!...Where are we going?" (Answer: Pippin in The Fellowship O.T.R)

10. "Fried Chicken! Good. Cuz' I was gettin' awful sick of pan--" (Missy in Love Comes Softly)

11. "Oh...you two have all the luck- was he terribly romantic?" "Not in the slightest!" (Answer: Little Women, Amy and Jo)

12. "Really ___, it would be better to be without wits than to apply them as you do!" (Answer: Mr. Knightley in the 2009 Emma)


Great job people! Would you like us to do any more of these sometime? This was a pretty difficult one! :) -Rachel and Sarah

Spur-Of-The-Moment Movie Quotes Quiz

Hello! How are you all doing? I am doing well. We haven't been doing anything decidedly remarkable recently....except we went fishing for Father's Day, and went to a graduation on weekend! Mostly we've been out in our garden. I am sure you all are tired of hearing about that, so let's play a game... I'll do a movie quote quiz. I love these things, so I hope you do to! Please try to answer some of the quotes, even if you don't know them all! So all you have to do is recognize the quote, give me the movie it came from, and for extra points, tell me who said it! Okay! Have fun!

1. " `We could use a distress flag!' `Anyone who sees a ship wrecked upon the rocks would assume it was in trouble.' "

2. "Are you going to stay here and let a little boy show you up?"

3. " `I've come to get an Alfred David.' *whispers* `I believe he means an affidavit. No, my friend does not do affidavits either."

4. " `Harry's great-grandfather went to Sandhurst, Harry's grandfather went to Sandhurst, Harry's father went to Sandhurst...' `And so I, *snort-snort* went to Sandhurst!' "

5. "Let's name the species, the species, the species, let's name the species that live in the sea!"

6. "DEATH COMES UNEXPECTEDLY!!!!!!"

7. "Is that all your hair?"

8. " `Do you know the expression: His name is Mud?' `Of course.' `But do you know where it came from?' `...Does...anyone but you?' "

9. "Right then!....Where are we going?"

10. "Fried chicken! Good. Cuz' I was getting awful sick of pan--"

11. " `Oh...you two have all the luck. Was he terribly romantic?' `Not in the slightest!' "

12. "Really (name), it would be better to be without wits, than to apply them as you do!"


Okay! There you go! Have fun! -Rachel

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

My Current Favorite Quotes

Here are some of my current favorite quotes:

"Our England is a garden,
and such gardens are not made
By singing "O how beautiful"
and sitting in the shade."
-Rudyard Kipling

"Religion is what a sinful people try to do for a Holy God, and the Gospel is the Good News of what a Holy God has already done for a sinful people" -Roy Gustafson

"Who knows better than He how to guide our mind and pen for His design?" -John Bunyan

"Famous remarks are very seldom quoted correctly." -Simon Strunsky

"No matter what teachers of dancing may assert, the most expedient and certainly best way to learn to dance is to stand up and try it; no one can ever learn by sitting quietly by and looking on." -George Wilson 1884

"To be a King and to wear a crown is a thing more glorious to them that see it than it is pleasant to them that wear it." -Queen Elizabeth I

"The ae half of the warld thinks the tither daft." -Sir Walter Scott

"My love she's but a lassie yet,
My love she's but a lassie yet,
We'll let her stand a year or twa
She'll no be half sae saucy yet."
-Robert Burnes

Now guess who said the last one- "We could all enjoy being in an ill-humor over weeding the garden, were there not so many reproving metaphors to be found in the business, staring us blankly in the face."

Hope you enjoyed them! I am afraid I could be the lassie discussed in the second-to-last quote! :) -Rachel

Interrupted Movie Quotes

Okay. This is going to be a post that you all have to help with. I'll start 6 quotes from various movies, and you all must tell me which movies they are from, and try to finish them if possible:

1. "Knights, and ladies, monks and pages......"

2. "I'm your brother from....."

3. "What's that?" "This, my friend is a pint!".....

4. "I can out talk, out chaw, out drink, out fight, out dance,.. yeah, out fight! Out yell....."

5. "I think I'd like to be a nun-- wouldn't it be wonderful to...."

6. "I'll settle your hash as soon as I get this premises..."

Okay! There you go! Whoever can correctly guess and finish the most of these quotes, can tell us what to post about, as long as it isn't a movie, or pictures of ourselves ;) -Rachel and Sarah