Today I am..{2}

  I did one of these "Today I am..." posts a while ago, and I thought it might be fun to do another one today to let you all know what I've been doing lately. So here is what I have been up to:

  Reading

   Well, several things, actually. No, make that a LOT of things. I don't currently have a book that I am reading whenever I have a spare moment or late into the night or early in the morning or anything like that- I recently finished the Sadie's Montana series by a favourite author of mine, Linda Byler, and those are definitely spare-moment-late-at-night-early-in-the-morning type books- but several days ago I began reading a biography about Nellie Bly, one of my heroes, which has proved simply fascinating. And it's HUGE- 631 pages, people. Yes, I got up and checked. I've never read such an interesting biography before, not even about Jesse James. (Have I ever mentioned my Jesse James fascination? No? Well, that is a subject for another post. If this ridiculous problem ever gets fixed...) Anyway. Nellie Bly is one of my greatest inspirations, and I have very much enjoyed reading about her early life and early career. I'm not even halfway through the book yet, but I hope to finish it before the summer is out.

   Another book I have yet to finish is Christy. I began reading it in May, I believe, and I just cannot bring myself to finish it! It's pathetic. I read through most of it at a reasonable speed, but once I got to the third chapter from the end I kind of lost interest completely. It's an amazing book, and it's caused me to think deeply on several matters I'd never thought about in detail before, but for some reason I just can't finish it. But I will, and very soon, I hope, I just have to DO it.
 Unfortunately, I haven't found any of the books on my Fifteen Titles to Read list yet, but usually one of our local libraries is pretty good about getting the latest in Christian historical fiction, which is my specialty, so consequently they are my favourite library around. : ) Other books I hope to read soon are Mrs. Robert E. Lee, The Band That Played On, and a biography about Civil War nurse Dorothea Dix called Heart's Work.


Watching




   The past couple weeks we've been watching a lot of Agatha Christie's Poirot, which I just adore and have recently dubbed my third favourite show. I had seen the name Poirot many times before (and prior to watching the show had absolutely no idea how to pronounce it), and since everything I heard about it seemed to be good, my sister and I borrowed the first season from the library and absolutely loved it at once. David Suchet is just an incredible actor, the stories are so well-written and it's just a marvellous series. Poirot is just so brilliant, and Hastings.....!!!!! Oh my goodness, Hastings is just the most adorable character!!! I just adore him. We finished the first season a few weeks ago, and this week we watched two of the movies, Death on the Nile and Murder on the Links. I loved them both, but I think Death on the Nile is my favourite, even though it doesn't have Hastings and it has a bunch of annoying Americans. (Oops, was that a bit rude, perhaps?) I mean, seriously, people. Emily Blunt was an American. With platinum blonde hair.

 Well anyway, the characters were the most hilarious and diverse bunch yet, the Egyptian scenery was gorgeous, and the story completely surprised me, it was just so good. But then, I hardly ever guess the endings or the culprits in Poirot mysteries, which is sad, because I used to fancy myself a detective. Back in my Nancy Drew days, that was. Nancy Drew, meet Poirot. Poirot, meet Nancy Drew.
  I actually might write a review of Death on the Nile, because I have quite a bit to say about it that I don't have the time nor temperament to write now. I will soon, if this horrid problem gets solved.

"Ooh, ahh."

   I just had to add this picture, it's hilarious. :P

    This afternoon, since I was feeling rather poorly, Sadie and I, later joined by our older sister Molly, watched Felicity: An American Girl Adventure (known to most people as "the Felicity movie") for about the 20th time. It was delightful, of course, but I'm afraid we got a little silly, Sadie and I especially, in our comments. Simply put, we were talking throughout pretty much the entire movie. We've made fun of it before, but this time could possibly have been the most....severe, shall we say, because we just kept saying one thing after another that made us all laugh hysterically. We get like that sometimes. It's not that we don't like the movie, even though that's how it may sound- we love it, at least I do- it's just so terribly easy to make fun of, as I'm sure you know if you've seen it, or any American Girl movie, for that matter. And you can make fun of things you like. Sadie and I do it all the time. :P
 

    Another reason why I wanted to watch Felicity was because of...Schneider. Ever since seeing him as Sully's friend Daniel Simon in the 6th season of Dr. Quinn, Schneider has earned the high honor of being my 2nd favourite actor. Just look at him. : )





  

 Listening

  Oh, a little of this and a little of that. I've been listening to Mark Knopfler's album The Ragpicker's Dream quite a bit lately, which has several beautiful songs on it. Another favourite Mark Knopfler song is In the Sky, which is on his album Kill to Get Crimson. I love the instrumental and there is no doubt that Mark Knopfler has quite a way with words, but I must admit that for the life of me I have no idea what most of his lyrics mean.

 The Gods and Generals soundtrack is currently my favourite and for a while I was listening to it every day, until my sisters grew tired of it and told me to stop. We found some music from a Dr. Quinn promo on Youtube and have listened to it a few times in the past week. Unfortunately there is no official Dr. Quinn soundtrack, but this video has some of the themes used in My Favourite Episode Ever, Where the Heart Is, in the 2nd season. (Skip to 6:00 to hear the really gorgeous part.) : )

   Also I've been listening to Sadie play out of the book of 1,000 reels for fiddle that she borrowed from the library. It's getting a bit much.

Writing

   Mostly just random bits and pieces of an unnamed story I've been working on. Nothing is really settled yet, though: I keep changing the character's names and the setting of the book and the year and blah-de-blah-de-blah. I'm not good at finalizing things: I just keep changing them. That's one of the things that makes it hard for me to just start writing and write pages and pages at a time, because I always think of ways I can make it better and then I just keep changing things and then I never get anywhere. It's frustrating sometimes, but I'm getting used to the fact that I'll always think it could be better and sometimes it's best the way it is. I actually haven't been writing very much lately. I've had lots of inspiration, from my Nellie Bly book and other resources- don't worry, I'm not copying anyone :P- but I'm having difficulty sorting it all out. The thing is, I want to make it perfect. I think what I'm trying to do is to incorporate every element of several stories I've thought of in the past into just one book, which probably won't work out. The other thing is I'm not used to making myself write, which I'm starting to think is necessary. Sometimes I just don't feel like it, but I need to write more and steadier if I really want to be an authoress. And I really, really do.

Anticipating

   Next Tuesday Sadie and I are going to a concert by a violinist that I'm excited about. I always love concerts! We saw this violinist several years ago, but I don't really remember him. Back then  I wasn't very interested in classical music anyway, and I've since changed my opinions dramatically so I expect to enjoy it much more this time. The concert is at an institution, kind of like a gated community, that is near where we live and it's absolutely beautiful, and I'm hoping that by next Tuesday I will have my new camera so I can take pictures!

Loving

   Flowers, music, books, Dr. Quinn, Poirot, the Victorian era, Les Miserables, history, raspberries, graham-cracker piecrusts (with nothing in them), my cat Oliver, my dollhouse, painting, blue skies, green meadows, and John Schneider. :P

  Thus ends my very long and rambly account of some of my latest interests and diversions. I hope I haven't bored you! Oh, and also, the dollhouse name poll is now officially closed. I didn't get any votes besides me and my sister, but I have decided to call my dollhouse Paradise House, after the house in the movie Angel. (Horrible movie, that- never watch it.) : P

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Our Independence Day Pie

 Aaahhh! Can this be?!? I'm posting twice in one day!! I know, it's shocking, but this afternoon my sisters made this lovely patriotic dessert and I wanted to post these pictures of it.
  Here is the dessert they made. The crust is made out of graham crackers and the filling is raspberries and blueberries, with whipped cream and berries on top. I don't think they really followed any recipe, they just improvised. : )

                                                        My sisters Molly and Sadie. : )


  Happy Independence Day!!!

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Happy Independence Day!!!

    We the people of the United States, in order in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America.

                                              ~Preamble to The Constitution, 1787

The Unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united states of America.

  When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with one another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the seperate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the cause which impel them to Separation.
  We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness- That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive to these Ends, it is the Right of the People to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness...
  We, therefore, the Representatives of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World of the Rectitude of our Intentions, do, in the Name, and by the authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly Publish and Declare, that these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES; that they are absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political Connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all those Acts and Things which INDEPENDENT STATES may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

                                       ~The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776





"Look out for the lobsters!" : )

 
   Happy Independence Day everyone!!!!

 

 
                                 Going Home by Mary Fahl, from the movie Gods and Generals

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Dollhouse Pictures!

 Have I ever mentioned how much I love dollhouses? :P Well, I do.

   I've made dollhouses from scratch since I was maybe ten or eleven, and so it's become sort of a hobby for me. Last year I made the most elaborate I have yet, with an actual staircase, two stories, and eight rooms. I spent hours and hours at work on it- "living in the basement like a woodchuck", to quote my family- and there it sat all last winter, due to the fact that it's so stinkin' huge there's simply no place for it upstairs.
  But even though I LOVE making dollhouses, ever since I was very young I've wanted a real one. That's right, a mass-produced dollhouse. A dollhouse made out of wood, with elaborately painted walls, doors that open and close, and- oh, glory!- electric lights.
  Well, several weeks ago, I bought one. A real one. : ) It looks like this:
 (By the way, I'm sorry these pictures are so dark and fuzzy. I am planing on getting a nicer camera very soon, but for now I must make do with the ol' iPod camera.)


  The way in which I came about it is sort of a long story and consequently it is not what I might have chosen, but even though it is not exactly the dollhouse of my dreams, I am quite pleased with it. No, it doesn't have electric lights. : ( Yes, the exterior is entirely pink and the roof is blue and white, which makes it look like a Barbie castle (and just what is wrong with looking like a Barbie castle? :P), but other than those minor details it is a very charming little dollhouse and I have grown quite fond of it.
  The entire interior was already painted and I am actually pleased with most of the graphics, so I didn't see fit to do any wallpapering, but I did put down some carpet and hung some curtains, as you can kind of see in the fuzzy picture. I also took all the furniture and accessories that we've acquired over the years from yard sales and whatnot out of my old dollhouse and put them inside the new one. Now the old one is empy and I have affectionately named it the Racketty-Packetty House. (And if you've read that book and loved it as much as I did, we really should talk. ) : ) 
   Here are some pictures of the interior. And again, I'm sorry the pictures are so dark, but the lighting isn't the greatest in the basement and I didn't want to throw my back out carrying it to a different location. I'm hoping to bring it upstairs very soon, but I have yet to establish a place for it.

    This is what was originally supposed to be the nursery, but I kind of made it into a sort of spare bedroom. I redid the furniture in a Swedish style, which you can kind of see on the end of the bed.

  This is the library/music room. Last summer I bought a piano to put in the Racketty-Packetty house at a dollhouse store (which is one of my very favourite stores), and it fits very nicely into the corner of this room. I also put in a bookshelf and a writing desk.

   This is the bedroom, my favourite room in the house. I made the bed last year and the rest of the furniture I've accumulated from different places over the years. (The cat is my sister's.)

                                                                  The Kitchen

                                                The Parlour/Dining Room

  And here's a view of the staircase.

    Oh yes, and the current state of our basement is an absolute MESS. A MESS I tell you.

     The only thing is, I'm not quite sure what to name my little dollhouse. I have several ideas, but I haven't settled on one yet. It's far too small to call it Downton Abbey, more like a cottage or a small townhouse than a country manor, otherwise I'd probably name it that. I could call it Downton Place, which, if you remember, is what the Crawleys were going to call the house they thought they would have to move into after they lost Downton (which they didn't, thankfully!) Here are my ideas, from various books and period dramas:

    -Crawley House
    -Hartfield
    -Paradise House
    -Arlington (after Robert E. Lee's home)
    -Longbourne
    -Downton

   I've set up a poll on the sidebar, so you can tell me which name you like best! Or, if you have another suggestion, please comment and I will add it to the poll! The poll will be open until next Tuesday.

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101 Titles

"I declare, after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything but a book!"   ~Jane Austen

 As you probably have guessed by now, I am an avid reader. There are few things I delight in more than a good book! I just love reading about different eras and different places, getting to know and love the characters, rejoicing at their triumphs, laughing at their mishaps, grieving at their sorrows. (Yes, I have been known to cry while reading especially tear-jerking books. But that's alright.) :P
  I have compiled a list of books to read, following the example of Emma Woodhouse, although I couldn't come up with 101 books that I even wanted to read, so I have narrowed it down to 15. : ) Here they are:
 (And by the way, don't you just LOVE the covers of Christian historical fiction?!) ;D

   Emma's Fifteen Titles to Read

   The Heroines Behind the Lines series by Jocelyn Green

 The American Tapestries series by various authors

                                                Queen of the Waves by Janice Thompson

                                                 Where the Trail Ends by Melanie Dobson

                                                   Always Remembered by Janelle Mowrey

                                                       A Lady's Choice by Sandra Robbins

                                            The Courier of Caswell Hall by Melaine Dobson
         

                                            The Journey of Josehpine Cain by Nancy Moser

  The Lancaster Burning series by Linda Byler

 Book 1 in the Hearts Seeking Home series by Mona Hogdson

Book 1 in the Homeward Journey series by Martha Rogers

                                            Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini
    

One Glorious Ambition: The Compassionate Crusade of Dorothea Dix by Jane Kirkpatrick
                     

              Bid Time Return (also known as Somewhere in Time : ) by Richard Matheson

                                                  Stealing the Preacher by Karen Witemeyer

  Oh, and also: I'm sure y'all have heard about Google getting rid of Google Friend Connect? Yes, I know, it's just terrible. Anyway, it seems the only other way to keep following blogs is with this thing called Bloglovin, which I have tried to sign up for, but for some reason it doesn't work. For some reason unbeknownst to me it won't accept my user name (Emma Jane), and if I click "sign in" at the top of the site, nothing happens. So, if anyone with any expertise on the subject could help me at all with it, I should be exceedingly obliged!

Have you ever read any of these books?
What sort of books do you like to read?

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"It's June 27th, 1912..."

                                                        Elise McKenna:"Is it you? Is it?"
                                                               Richard Collier: "Yes."

  Today is June 27th, the day Richard Collier and Elise McKenna, two ill-fated lovers from different eras, meet on the beach by the Grand Hotel!

  I just love this movie! It's one of most beautiful movies I have ever seen. I love it for its beauty, simplicity, gorgeous music and just all-around classic-ness. And the ever-lovely Jane Seymour, of course. : ) Normally I can't stand movies with time travel, but Somewhere in Time is the an exception. The first time I watched it I was a little leery of the whole time travel theme, but somehow they managed to make the transition between eras romantic, whimsical, amusing, and even somewhat believable. (No, I have not lost my mind. Of course I don't believe in time travel, but it is fun to pretend, no?) :P

    The first encounter I had with the movie Somewhere in Time was when I first watched (I say "first" because since them I've probably watched it about seven times) Jane Seymour's A&E biography on the special features of the first season of Dr. Quinn. It showed part of the reunion scene when Richard sees Elise come back and they run to meet each other on the stairs of the hotel, a scene which Sadie and I have since dubbed "one of the most romantic scenes in cinematic history." Someday I'll do a post about those, we have quite a list. Anyway. Of course we were all very intrigued by it, being that is was a period drama set in the early 20th century, Jane Seymour was in it,  and the music was by John Barry, whom my daddy has always admired for his James Bond soundtracks, but it wasn't until last summer that we finally borrowed it from the library and watched it.
  Surprisingly, it wasn't love at first sight. Actually, quite frankly, I thought it was considerably boring (gasp!) and so did both my sisters. It wasn't exactly what we were expecting and I thought it was rather slow (which it is, kind of- the first half-hour or so of the movie takes place in the 1980s and basically just follows Richard Collier on his quest to travel back to 1912, which gets a tiny bit...um, dull, and Jane Seymour doesn't appear until 45 minutes into the movie. So in short, I liked it alright, but I wasn't too impressed.
  However, after we watched it I did begin to like it more and more. So when I saw the DVD on sale for only $4, on a whim I bought it for Sadie for Christmas- one of the great things about having sisters with whom you share common interests is that you can buy them exactly what you would want, and then you can use it too- and we watched it again and completely fell in love with it. At least, I did. I think it's one of those movies that you have to already be familiar with to fully appreciate it, because the second time around it was like visiting a place I'd once been, seeing old friends again and uncovering old memories I had almost forgotten. It wasn't hardly boring at all, and soon after it became one of my favourite movies.
 

    Christopher Reeve is not one of my favourite actors, but I liked him well enough as the playwrite Richard Collier. Richard isn't usually very serious and is somewhat boyish, but also very sincere and I have grown quite fond of him. Jane Seymour is possibly my favourite actress ever and while at first it was very different to see her as such a quiet and somewhat mysterious character, since I've known and loved her as Dr Quinn for so long, I soon grew to like Elise very much. Her dresses are absolutely gorgeous- this is probably my favourite era for fashions, and I just love her dresses! She and Christopher Reeve are not the best screen couple I have ever seen- not like Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant or anything like that- but I think they worked very well together and made quite a charming couple. Jane Seymour was just perfect as the beautiful and refined Elise McKenna, and Christopher Reeve was charming as the playful and boyish Richard Collier.

"I thought I'd lost you!"
"Oh, never! Never, never, never!"

  Another thing I love about Somewhere in Time is the simplicity. The story is, I admit, a little out there with the time travel and all, and if you spend too much time thinking about what happens it gets a really confusing. But still it has such a refreshing simplicity to it- perhaps it's the lovely 1910's era and the beautiful setting- that makes it somehow believable and a joy to watch, and so if you don't spend too much time thinking about what happens you are completely swept away in the utter gorgeousness of the film.
 

 

 As with most good movies, the music of Somewhere in Time adds greatly to the beauty of it. The score is composed by John Barry, one of the greatest film composers of all time (in my opinion), and is one of the most lovely I have ever heard. Sadie and I bought the soundtrack last year and have listened to it over an over (and over) and it is truly gorgeous. One of my favourite tracks, Is He the One, is played when Richard Collier first sees Elise's reflection in the window, walking alone on the beach....*sigh*.

   The ending of the movie is not a happy one, however. The first time I watched it I actually got kind of annoyed, because it was just so...strange. It doesn't end happily, but it's not neccessarlily a bad ending either- it's not one of those endings that makes you think, "oh, WHY did I watch that?", but rather, it makes you believe in miracles and the power of true love. (And now I'm getting all sentimental.) :P

   Somewhere in Time fans, do visit the official Somewhere in Time fansite for a fun trivia game, as well as any and all information you could possibly wish to know about the movie and the actors. If you haven't seen Somewhere in Time, I highly recommend that you do. Sink me if you don't love it! : )

  

                                       He gave up life in the present....to find love in the past.

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