I've been busy, though, quite busy. Which explains the lack of new postings from me. What have I been doing, you ask? Well...
First of all, I've been working. Working, as I'm sure you're aware, makes time pass quite quickly. And best of all, you get money for doing it! At work, I pretty much answer phones and deal with mail. I also water plants, take care of emptying people's shred baskets and trash, et cetera, et cetera. I usually do those things when they're out for their lunch break, and it makes me feel like room service at a hotel. I always want to leave them a mint, or a chocolate or something, haha.
So that would be the number one thing that is keeping me consistently busy. The second thing I've been doing is crocheting a scarf based on this pattern:
It looks more or less like that, but mine is more of a dusty blue. And I'm almost done with it! So, yay.
Thirdly, I've been working on a garland of Christmas owls that spell out "Joyeux Noël", which means "Merry Christmas" in French. I'll try to get a photo of them up soon; they're also almost done. I sort of lost steam for the project when I was on the last three owls, though. I figure, really, I don't have to get this one done until next Christmas. No rush.
Fourthly, I've been doing a lot of reading. I love reading, truly. It is my absolute favorite thing to spend time doing. This year, notably, I read the Little House series - I got the whole thing for Christmas, and I loved them. I loved them even more than I remember loving them as a child. I loved them so much that I wanted to go out, quit my job, buy a covered wagon, and head into the unknown. I also read Little Women by Louisa May Alcott; I'm sure you know of it since it's a classic and all.
People have been telling me to read this book for years, but for some reason, I didn't listen to them. Now I find myself asking why I didn't! I loved it. Seriously. I thought it was a grand book. The day after I finished it, I started the sequel. I hear there's a sequel to the sequel, but I don't have that. I'll probably read it someday, though, just because I enjoyed the first two books so much.
There are other notable reads, but perhaps we will have to discuss them later. I could chat about books all day, given the chance. Don't even get me started.
Back to what I've been doing - I'm still working on those Christmas fairy-tales that I told people I would write for them. I probably should have started these last January. They're seriously taking me that long to write. But I'm enjoying them; I've always liked telling stories. Right now, I'm writing one that I'm either going to entitle "Pauper Princess" or "Porridge Princess." It's based on one of the Grimm fairy-tales I used to read when I was little called "Sweet Porridge." You can click here to read the original; it's very short. Too short. I wanted to hear more about this girl who was kind and had a magical pot that made sweet porridge. So I was telling this little girl I watch some bedtime tales, which I usually just make up as I go along, and I was re-telling the Sweet Porridge story. I liked it, so I decided that my re-telling would be one of the stories I would give away for Christmas.
That's one of the things I like so much about old fairy-tales and fables. Every single person who tells them is going to tell them differently. We're going to meet different characters and travel to different lands every time. I could give three people a copy of the Grimm version of Sweet Porridge and ask them to tell it to me, and it would be like listening to three different stories.
I suppose this is a bit of a tangent, but bear with me: There are two different reasons why I read. Reason number one is to learn. I maintain that reading books about something is still one of the best ways to learn about it. That is why I read history, philosophy, theology, and so forth. Reason number two is that I read to escape. It's the best form of entertainment, because I can so fully immerse myself in it. I love getting to know a character in a book, or feeling transported into a new setting. Fairy-tales are fulfillments of the second reason. Retelling them is one of my favorite things, because in doing so, I'm meeting new characters, and going to new places, even if the overall story might be familiar.
So, aside from drinking copious amounts of tea (I got some excellent teas for Christmas, as well), these are the things that I have been doing. What have you been up to lately?
There are other notable reads, but perhaps we will have to discuss them later. I could chat about books all day, given the chance. Don't even get me started.
Back to what I've been doing - I'm still working on those Christmas fairy-tales that I told people I would write for them. I probably should have started these last January. They're seriously taking me that long to write. But I'm enjoying them; I've always liked telling stories. Right now, I'm writing one that I'm either going to entitle "Pauper Princess" or "Porridge Princess." It's based on one of the Grimm fairy-tales I used to read when I was little called "Sweet Porridge." You can click here to read the original; it's very short. Too short. I wanted to hear more about this girl who was kind and had a magical pot that made sweet porridge. So I was telling this little girl I watch some bedtime tales, which I usually just make up as I go along, and I was re-telling the Sweet Porridge story. I liked it, so I decided that my re-telling would be one of the stories I would give away for Christmas.
That's one of the things I like so much about old fairy-tales and fables. Every single person who tells them is going to tell them differently. We're going to meet different characters and travel to different lands every time. I could give three people a copy of the Grimm version of Sweet Porridge and ask them to tell it to me, and it would be like listening to three different stories.
I suppose this is a bit of a tangent, but bear with me: There are two different reasons why I read. Reason number one is to learn. I maintain that reading books about something is still one of the best ways to learn about it. That is why I read history, philosophy, theology, and so forth. Reason number two is that I read to escape. It's the best form of entertainment, because I can so fully immerse myself in it. I love getting to know a character in a book, or feeling transported into a new setting. Fairy-tales are fulfillments of the second reason. Retelling them is one of my favorite things, because in doing so, I'm meeting new characters, and going to new places, even if the overall story might be familiar.
So, aside from drinking copious amounts of tea (I got some excellent teas for Christmas, as well), these are the things that I have been doing. What have you been up to lately?
