Happy Valentine's Day!

      Happy Valentine's Day, my dear blogging friends! :-)

      I hope you're all having a wonderful day and taking the opportunity this holiday gives to remind your family and friends how much you love them! I'd like to celebrate this special day of love with some romantic quotes and scenes from some of my favorite couples in period dramas.

   "I have thought about you, every day, every hour, every minute that I have been in here."

                                                               ~Little Dorrit

     "I felt myself bound to you, by honor, by affection, and by a love so strong that nothing could deter me."
                                                               ~Northanger Abbey

  "I'm so sorry! I thought I was going to lose you!"

  "I don't think he was a very good shot."

  "Why did you do it? You're so stupid, why did you do it?"

  " I had two very good reasons. First, I am replaceable and you are not."

  "You are not replaceable, not to me!"

  "Second, you're the only wife I've got or ever will have. You are my whole existence, and I will love you till my last breath."

                                                      ~The Young Victoria

             "My dearest, most beloved...If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more."
                                                                         ~Emma

  "I went searching for my ideals outside of myself. I found it's not what the world holds for you, it's what you bring to it. The dreams dearest to my heart are right here."

 "Well, I hope you keep on dreaming. It'll be three years before I finish medical school. Even then there won't be any diamond sunbursts or marble halls."

  "I don't want diamond sunbursts or marble halls. I just want you."

                                                    ~Anne of Avonlea

                          "I do love nothing in the world so well as you. Is that not strange?"

                                                         ~Much Ado About Nothing

                                                 "My heart is, and always will be, yours."
                                                              ~Sense and Sensibility

          "There's so much to say, I cannot find the words. Except for these: I love you."

                                                            ~Somewhere in Time

    One of my favorite proposal scenes is the Northbound Train scene from North and South. It's sooooo beautiful and romantic and I get chills every time! (That is, I've only seen it once, but I'm sure that if I were to see it again, it would be even more beautiful than the first time because that's just the way things are with me. :-P)

 

    A proposal as only John Thornton can give it!

   And of course the epic prison scene from The Scarlet Pimpernel! This is my absolute favorite scene in the movie, because it's so touching and romantic and I just looooovve it.......

       Edward's proposal in Sense and Sensibility (1995) is one of my very favorites as well. By the end I'm just as teary as Elinor! : )

      I hope you all have a very special day with lots of yummy chocolate and lots of love! If I could, I would send you all chocolates and flowers, but I daresay they would get quite squashed in the mail so that probably wouldn't be a good idea. So, my dear readers, I wish you a happy Valentine's Day, and God bless!

     "Let me not to the marriage of true minds
      Admit impediments. Love is not love, which alters when it alteration finds,
     Or bends with the remover to remove:
     O, no! It is an ever-fixed mark, that looks on tempests and is never shaken.
     It is the star to every wand'ring bark,
     Whose worth's unknown, although his his height be taken.
     Love is not time's fool, although rosy lips and cheeks
     Within his bending sickle's compass come;
    Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
    But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
    If this be error and upon me proved,
    I never writ, nor no man ever loved."

                ~Shakespeare's Sonnet no 116

      "For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angles, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  

                                                             ~Romans 8:38-39

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The Joys of Autumn

  When the pumpkin yellows

  And the standing corn

  Is pale with frost, and cobwebs

  Hang silver in the morn,

  When Orion rises

  Over fields cut bare,

  And the fallen apples

  Smell cidery on the air,

  Then comes the witches' Sabbath

  Of the flocking crows;

  Standing by the barn door,

  Every farmer knows

  When he hears that clangor,

  Hears that windy flight,

  Winter soon is coming,

  Cold, and early night.

           ~Elizabeth Coatsworth

    Hello, dear readers! It's been several days since last I posted, owing to the fact that it's been a very busy season and besides that I've been sick for the past few days (yesterday I watched Lonesome Dove in its entirety-- it was completely epic!) Thankfully I'm feeling some better now and hope to be back to feeling like myself very soon.

  The weather in my neck of the woods has been just beautiful these past few weeks! The leaves have turned every imaginable shade of red and orange and russet and yellow, the pumpkin patch is ablaze with color, and the cornfields have turned brown and glow almost gold in the sunshine. Everywhere I look there is a reminder of God's glory and power and creativity in creating this beautiful earth. I've been toying around with ideas for a post about why I love autumn so much for about a week. There's really not one single reason why I love it, but many reasons, and so this post is dedicated to all the things I love about my favorite season: Autumn.

 Hard from the southeast blows the wind

Promising rain.

The clouds are gathering, and dry leaves

Tap at the pane.

Early the cows come wandering home

To shadowy bars,

Early the candles are alight

And a few stars.

Now is the hour that lies between

Bright day and night,

When in the dusk the fire blooms

In tongues of light,

And the cat comes to bask herself

In the soft hear,

And Madame Peace draws up her chair

To warm her feet.

    ~Elizabeth Coatsworth

 Things I love about Autumn are.......

~The chilly weather. Something about the change in weather from summer to winter makes me feel so exhilarated and excited! This is the season to begin wearing sweaters, boots, scarves, hats, and mittens.

~All the beautiful colors in the landscape. I think this is the most beautiful time of the year, with all the leaves turning colors and falling through the air and the fields changing from green to brown and gold.

~Reading novels in the woods and in the haymow. There are few things I enjoy more! : )

~ Chrysanthemums and other fall flowers.

~Pumpkins! I love pumpkins! From carving them into "pumpkin moonshines" to decorating them or even just looking at them, I just love them! : )

~Apples of all different varieties and apple cider. These days I eat sometimes two or more apples a day, and I can drink almost a half-gallon of cider in a day. By myself. : P

~Nutcracker rehearsals! Most people think of The Nutcracker season as being in December, but if you're a dancer performing in it, it really begins in October! This year I am really excited because I have better parts than the two previous years I've been a part of it. (It's rather a long story....) : P

~Writing and receiving letters from friends. This is something I do year-round, but since I took up writing to my cousin again last fall after a few years of not writing letters, and around the same time I started exchanging letters with another friend who is away at college, it seems extra special to me around this time of the year.

~Hayrides. I'm not sure if we'll have one this year, but I really hope so! : )



Sylvie Ann with her pumpkin moonshine from the Tasha Tudor book Pumpkin Moonshine.

 ~Pumpkin and apple pies made by my Grandma and great-aunt. Unfortunately since I went gluten-free I can no longer eat the crust (unless Sadie makes it with rice flour), but I can still enjoy the filling!

~Thanksgiving! I know that isn't until November, but I still count it as part of fall. Every year we go to my aunt and uncle's house with my grandparents and several of my other aunts and uncles and cousins for a great big meal and celebration! This year Sadie has it in her head to make pies (one gluten-free for me- isn't she sweet?) and other contributions to the Thanksgiving meal. I love getting together with my family, and besides Christmas, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.

~ True Grit and The Blue and the Gray. It's kind of become tradition (cue Fiddler on the Roof music) to watch True Grit in October, and I'm looking forward to watching it again because it is the best western I have seen to date. And believe me, I've seen a good many westerns! We watched The Blue and the Gray for the 2nd time last October too, and right now I've a hankering to watch it again, since it is my favorite Civil War movie (or miniseries, if you prefer) and war movie in general and basically one of my favorite movies ever. Am I the only one who associates movies with certain seasons? : )

~Scented candles. Several weeks ago I finally worked up enough courage to light a match, something I've long wished I could do, and now I can't believe I was ever afraid to do it because it's the easiest thing ever. I love candles even more now that I can light them myself! Someday I hope to make my own candles.

~Cleaning the house. Don't laugh. : P Actually, sure, go ahead. This is perhaps the strangest thing I love about Autumn! The reason being that a few years ago (in the fall), after much frustration and bemoaning about the fact that dust does collect on the floor and things like grass and leaves do find their way into the house unbidden, and nobody in my family seemed to care as much as I did, I taught myself to use the vacuum and have since become an expert with the blessed machine.

~Walks through the cornfields and the woods and romps through the creek, getting wonderfully dirty and not caring in the least.

~Indian corn! I am the head  of Indian Corn Bundling at my family's produce stand, a task to which I find I am very well suited, and one I thoroughly enjoy as well. I love un-husking the hears and the surprise at seeing what colors each one is, because you can never tell until you unwrap it!

~Dressing up in costumes with our cousins and going to my grandparents' house on Hallowe'en!

  This was two years ago, taken in front of our sign with one of our wonderful employees. Molly dressed as a cowgirl, I was the Phantom of the Opera, and Sadie was Constance Mozart. The picture below is from last year, taken at my grandparents' house. Back row, from left to right: Peter was Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings, I was Mattie Ross from True Grit, Mary was Edward Scissorhands (her costume was spot-on, was it not?), and Sadie was Mary Boleyn. In the front row are Henry and Molly, who didn't really dress up. As for Henry, I'm not really sure what he's supposed to be. : ) 



    And those are just a few! 'Twould take far too long for me to list them all, but these are a few of the many things I love about Autumn.

  Here is one of my favorite Bible verses, from the book of Ecclesiastes:

  To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven

  A time to be born, and a time to die;

A time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal;

A time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

A time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones;

A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to gain, and a time to lose;

A time to keep, and a time to throw away;

A time to tear, and a time to sew;

A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate;

A time of war, and a time of peace.

  ~Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 

 

  "I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air."     ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

  "Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the succesive autumns."     ~George Eliot

"Every leaf speaks blisss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree."   ~Emily Bronte

"There is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky, which through the summer is not heard or seen, as if it could not be, as if it had not been!"   ~Percy Bysshe Shelley

 Have a wonderful day and a wonderful Autumn! : ) God bless!

What are some of your favorite things about Autumn?

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John Keats ~ When I Have Fears

Hello everyone! As you may have noticed, there has been somewhat of a lack of posting this week- I've been awfully busy these past few days with all that summer brings and have not had much time to spare for posting. However, I do have a special post planned for the 27th- can anyone guess what it might be? : ) I'll give you a very broad hint: 

(I realize that it is only if you've seen Somewhere in Time that you will recognize the significance of June 27th.) :P

 Anyway, today I have decided to share with you one of my favourite poems by one of my very favourite poets, John Keats.

~When I Have Fears~

  When I have fears that I may cease to be
  Before my pen has gleaned my teeming brain,
  Before high-piled books, in charactery,
 Hold like rich garners the full ripened grain;
 When I behold, on the night's starred face,
 Huge cloudy symbols of high romance,
 And think that I may never live to trace
 Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;
 And when I feel, fair creature of an hour,
 That I shall never look upon thee more,
 Never have relish in that faery power
 Of unreflecting love, then on the shore
 Of the wide world I stand alone, and think
 Till love and fame to nothingness do sink. ~

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Irish Poems

In view of the fact that St. Patrick's Day is nigh upon us, I thought that perhaps it would be in order to post these two lovely Irish poems I found in my great big poem book (which has proved very useful in finding poems for every occasion.) Also, this is a good excuse to post these gorgeous pictures of the Irish countryside! I declare, the British Isles may have the most  beautiful scenery on earth!
 The first poem is called.......

The Lake Isle of Innisfree
   By W.B. Yeats

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake waters lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.


I'm not entirely certain what all of it means, but I think it is very beautiful. To me it sounds like perhaps it is about someone who is tired of the hustle and bustle of his life and is longing to return to a place where he may have some peace-- the lake isle of Innisfree. Maybe?  I don't know. What do you think?

It's such a romantic setting, do not you think?  

                    
The second Irish poem I found, which is now one of my favourite poems, is called......

A Piper
  By Seumas O'Sullivan

A piper in the streets today
Set up, and tuned, and started to play,
and away, away, away on the tide
Of his music we started; on every side
Doors and windows were opened wide,
And men left down their work and came,
And women with petticoats coloured like flame,
And little bare feet that were blue with cold,
Went dancing back to the age of gold,
And all the world went gay, went gay,
For half an hour in the street today.


This one I can comprehend much better; I think it sounds a bit like a Mark Knopfler song, actually! Anyways, those are my two favourite Irish poems of late! I hope you enjoyed them!


  Very Truly Yours,

                   Emma Jane

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