Owner: Lavender Rambles URL:http://ashleedear.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2007 08:12:25 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: While in the process of creating my little home on the web, I was torn between making a book blog, a photo blog, a craft blog, etc. The solution was to make this a rambling blog, something that didn't have to stay within any boundaries, thus enabling me t Site statistics:Click here
Anne of Green Gables 2007-04-13 07:13:00 I'm currently reading the Anne of Green
Gables series for the third time. I first completed the 6 Anne books and the 2 "other" books that are about her children (but still have her in them) two summers ago and was completely enraptured. I decided to reread the series every spring/summer. Last year, I got sidetracked in June after getting about half-way through the 5th book (I think). Hopefully I'll do better this time around, but with all my other books ...But anyway, yes, here I am at 19 reading Anne of Green Gables. You just can't put age limits on good literature. The Anne books have a special place in my heart, right along with Little Women (oh yeah, I need to reread that one again). I absolutely adore them. I love being taken on the journey of Anne's life, going through her ups and downs, watching her grow up and get married. I cried at many points during the story, so deeply touched by all the facets of life, love, and even death that L. M. Montgomery so eloquently captured.
The Legend Lives On 2007-04-11 08:05:00 I recently decided I wanted to learn a little bit more about the legendary Marilyn Monroe. I watched some videos on YouTube and was astounded to learn who she really was inside. In fact, I've been in a rather melancholy mood for a couple of days thinking about it. She wasn't a dumb blonde, she wasn't sex, she was a lost little girl who wanted so badly to be loved, needed, and accepted. I'm amazed at how timeless she was and how real she was. In the photos from her last few months of life she was completely honest, she put her whole self out there and you can still feel her, just by looking at those pictures, today. That blows my mind. She somehow gets you under her skin and makes you feel what she's feeling. How many people do you know of who can do that? Of course, we all know how her story ended, but I don't think we should judge her so harshly. Too many people misunderstand fame, hoping that it will solve all their problems, erase all their hurt. Having hundreds of thousands Read more:Legend
, Lives
Hello, anyone there? 2007-04-06 18:15:00 I think I am going to make Saturday a telephone day. I can think of three people right now ... wait, four ... that I told I would probably call and never got around to it. Each call could take an hour. Make that five. Read more:Hello
30 Days 2007-04-03 23:03:00 Today started out nice and then the weather turned cold and wet. Dreary. Rain is splattering my window. My economics book lies open on the desk in front of me and I put off studying the disadvantages of sole proprietorship a little longer. I want to try one of those 30 days of creativity things. You know, you pick an art medium and do something with it every day for a month. A daily photo, poem, free write, painting - whatever you want. I was also thinking it would be interesting to do this for several months in a row with different mediums. I believe that everyone's life is rich and textured if only they can find the motivation to open their eyes and look closely; doing a 30 day exploration into the little things that make life so substantial could change a person in beautiful ways.
Short, Short, Short 2007-04-01 00:52:00 I. Am. Short
. But so what? Wish it was that easy. I want the long arms, legs, hands. I want the long, elegant line when I dance. Try to tell myself that's it's ok. Can't find the confidence. They'll see, they'll know that it's not there. It will show. That has to come from the inside or I won't ever be any good. I. Am. Short. There just aren't Any Shortcuts. That's all. "That's all"! Hardest lesson I may ever learn.
Some of My Loves 2007-03-31 00:12:00 I love - ballet. It's fluidity, it's illusion, it's technicalities, it's discipline and it's tradition. Putting on leotard and tights can change a body into someone who is dedicated, focused, and knows something. Ballet is hard work, but work with a goal. All art, to be fully realized, must come with some price, but it is worth it. Ballet is music visualized. When I dance, I can become the whistles of the flute, the tinklings of the piano and the cry of the violin.I love - books. How they feel in my hands, the way the black text looks against white, the small of the ink, the feel of a page between my fingers. When I get a new stack of books from the library, I come home, go up to the privacy of my room and sit on my bed to dissect them, one by one. It is a very personal experience. I must find out the weight and color of the page, the size and style of the font, determine the thickness of the book, and caress it in my hands. Like a miser who delights in and guards his gold am I; p
Something I Started and Never Finished 2007-03-30 21:10:00 Light fell across my bed in uneven patterns of flippancy. I was sunk deep into the old mattress and down pillows. My nose was cold but my feet were a bit too warm. Somewhere a dog was barking, cutting into the frosty morning, and a cart was rattling carelessly down the road. I sighed. The birds were anxiously conversing in the trees; someone was missing and Madge the cat was the most likely suspect. I knew this because last night she had come into the kitchen with a telltale feather hanging on her whisker. I rolled onto my back, but my hair was itchy. I had been too tired to braid it last night. That's life on an insecure farm for you. My hair would be one massive tangle this morning, but it didn't matter, there was no one to see it except Mistress Ellen and Katherine. An annoyed "moooo" suddenly exploded from the barn. I could have screamed something indelicate back, but I'm a lady, even still. I threw off my five quilts and stepped onto the icy wooden floor, which I felt particula
Day 1 2007-04-15 02:15:00 I remembered today that I wanted to do one of those 30 day art projects. I considered doing a snapshot a day, but I get a little shutter-happy when I get my Canon PowerShot SD 600 (lol) out and can't really just take one. So, I decided I would make it a little photo essay (is that what you would call it?) a day, which would work out a lot better for me. The challenge isn't going to be taking the pictures, but rather finding enough subjects in that time span to keep the photos fresh and interesting.Here are my photos for today.It's so Cute! My Pointe Shoes Lace Curtain My Little Baby
Ballet 2007-04-14 20:04:00 I was able to go to class last night for the first time in 5 weeks. I had an unfortunate complication that kept me away. We spent our time going over our piece that we will be performing in a recital in May. It's a challenging piece - at best. Lots of difficult poses that makes gravity feel twice as strong. I was very glad that I practiced during my time away from class and didn't totally slack off; I ended up being the only one who had the correct timing and had to go to the front of the class so everyone could follow me. Not trying to brag or anything ... but there are so few times when I feel I'm really good at anything. ^_^Unfortunately, five weeks off is a life time when it comes to pointe. Everyone else was in tip-top shape and given a tip-top lesson, and there I was, completely bewildered, trying not to break down and cry, in pointe shoes that felt as though I hadn't even broken them in. It's not often anymore that I get so upset during class, I've overcome a lot of my sel Read more:Ballet
Thick 2007-04-16 05:43:00 I was sitting in the other room, happily visiting book blogs. I had a stack of my current reads sitting on the piano in the living room. "Look how thick that one is," I hear my aunt say. "Jeez," says my grandma. "I can barely get through the little thin ones.""Look at that sucker," my aunt marveled.I smile to myself. They are referring to my biography on Margot Fonteyn and yes, it is quite thick. 580 pages, an inch and a half.--It's funny, lately I've been feeling so torn between reading books and book blogs. When I'm blog-hopping I want to be reading, and then when I'm reading I want to be blogging about it. I love this new discovery of book blogs, I don't know why I never thought to look them up before. Reading is a huge part of my life. Sometimes I get busy and inadvertently "forget" to read for weeks on end. All of a sudden I'll think, "I haven't been reading at all," and I have this urge to find a book and start reading again. Once I start, I realize how imbalanced I've fe Read more:Thick
Hmm ... Well, At Least I Tried 2007-04-19 22:26:00 This 30 days of pictures thing is not going so well. What can I say? It's not very high on my list of priorities at the moment between finishing senior year, planning a graduation, and getting ready for a dance recital. Maybe I should postpone it to a summer project. I'm a little disappointed, but one does have to prioritize. I did take some nice pictures two days ago, though, that I will try to upload when I can.Well, I must be off, I've got to make a run to the store and *ahem* stop in "quickly" at the library - which is ok, though, because it's just a branch, not the main one. Hehee.///EDIT///I'm home again. I had a fun/annoying at times outing. I was saved from doing any serious damage at the library by arriving there 15-20 minutes before they closed. As we were pulling into the library parking lot my friend said, "are you returning books or getting some?" "Well, I'm just looking," I replied. "...But whatever happens, happens." *grin* I only found two books:The Coffee Trader
My First Challenge! 2007-04-23 15:37:00 Yay! I joined a challenge. ^_^ I'm excited. 2+ medical mysteries/thrillers between June 1st and November 1st. I'm trying not to look forward to it *too* much, however, because I do not need the next few weeks to hurry by, I've got SO much to do, hehee.I've only picked one book so far, that being ... oh dear, now that I look closer at it, I'm not sure it's actually a mystery. Bother. Ok, well, selections coming soon. Read more:First
, Challenge
I'm Getting Somewhere! 2007-04-25 03:32:00 Today I gathered all (or nearly all) my library books onto my bed and checked to see which ones I was reading, had read, and wanted to read. I'm done with 6 of them; 5 I read and 1 was book 5 in a mystery series that I just checked out so I could look up the rest of the series later. I finished Maisie Dobbs: Birds of a Feather today. After I got about half way into the book the pace picked up and I could hardly put it down. Thus I spent a leeetle too much time reading today, but you know ... I found Winter Season, A Dancer's Journal by Toni Bentley that I had got about 3/4 of the way through and forgotten about. I finished off the rest of it and put it in the pile of books to go back to the library. I began and finished my Dear America book over the weekend. One more to go back. Also in the pile are La Vagabonde and On Pointe. I am getting through them! ^_^ Now I only have about 9 or 10 library books waiting to be read. All this came about because I got on Amazon.com and discovered Read more:Somewhere
Oh, the guilt. Welllll ... not really. ^_^ 2007-05-03 04:39:00 Ok, I cracked. I know I said I wasn't going to go to the library until I got through some of the books I've had for weeks, but ...I've been wanting to go check out some classic DVDs and some french textbooks from the library, so Wednesday I went with my aunt. We couldn't stay long, but there was still enough time for me to pick up a couple of books. Saturday I went back and got ... about 15 more books. What can I say, I'm only human. ^_^One of the books is Poor Miss Finch by Wilkie Collins. I've been hungering to read some more of his work after reading The Moonstone, which I adored, and so far Poor Miss Finch has not let me down. I'm about 80 pages into the story and I can tell already it's going to be one of my favorites. I love the way Collins writes, with a sort of undertone of witty sarcasm.Anyway, I've been having a terrible time choosing what to read. Everything looks so good, but I'm trying to not do more than 3 or 4 at a time. Read more:guilt
It Has Been Too Long 2007-05-30 07:40:00 Well, I'm finally returning here. My life has been a little nutty of late. I graduate at the end of the week and I was just diagnosed with a sciatic nerve in my leg. Fun, fun. Hopefully I'll get lots of reading done while I lay in bed, right? I drug myself across the library last night to check out some old movies to keep me company as well. Otherwise, life is good. The sun is out, it feels like summer, and I can't help being happy in spite of it all.
And summer continues luxuriously on 2007-07-11 23:37:00 I am now back in blogland. I didn't really mean to leave, but you know how life is. Things come up and distract you, then you get lazy and yeah. I haven't forgotten my blog, no, not at all. Many a time I thought of Lavender Rambles with a pang in my heart: "After all the work I put into it and all the nice responses I got ... " The fact is, I began blogging a long time before Lavender Rambles was born, a good two or three years. Xanga was my first experiement, and it went well. I still sort of have that blog; "sort of" meaning it's on hiatus. I put a lot of work into that blog, made tons of posts, but over the past few months I was loosing steam and finally it came to a standstill right around the time Lavender Rambled was being born. Various other blogs cropped up now and then during my time in blog land. None of them stuck for long, but still, it was even more writing. I just needed a break for a little while. Not that I could ever stop or get tired of writing but I needed a littl
And suddenly, from down the hall came the sound of ... 2007-08-02 15:20:00 I love a good mystery. Not a ghost mystery, not a horror mystery, not a "now where is that old, expensive doll" mystery, but a good, page turning, who (THE HECK) dunnit mystery that will keep you awake and looking over your shoulder.It's been a long time since I read anything that left me feeling delightfully spooked, but thankfully I found Miss Pinkerton. It is a collection of four stories about a nurse, Miss Adams, who works undercover for the police. The book consists of: The Buckled Bag (short story, 1914), Locked Doors (short story, 1914), Miss Pinkerton (novel, 1932) and Haunted Lady (novel, 1942). It was interesting to read Mary Roberts Rinehart's detective stories one after another, to see her imagination grow and her stories become more comprehensive.I finished Haunted Lady last night around 2AM and was, as I had been the previous night, very much awake. I was also hungry, but too afraid to go downstairs alone for fear I might see a dark figure lurking outside a window. I re
Ten Little Indians 2007-08-03 13:06:00 Not only did I start And Then There Were None yesterday, I finished it. I just couldn't stop. Remember how I wasn't going to read mysteries after dark? Well, at 10PM I was still going strong; there was no way I could actually sleep without finding the answer. About that time, however, I had to go downstairs and finish reading in the living room, close to my mom and sister. Yes, I know, only a huge wimp can't stand to be alone while reading Agatha Christie, but whatever. :)My anxiety aside, the book was very enjoyable. The story flowed beautifully and the set up was clever. I did have numerous moments of slight confusion in the beginning due the fact that I'm terrible with names. I had to flip back and reread the little introduction to the characters at the beginning of the book a few times before I got them all straight.The book opens with 8 different characters from all walks of life on their way to a place called Indian Island, which has recently been purchased from a millionair Read more:Indians
WHAT??? 2007-08-02 16:37:00 I am in agony. I just discovered what BookMooch is but the stupid page refuses to load. I just needed to get that off my chest. ^_^
Marrying Mozart 2007-08-10 14:59:00 I recently read Marying Mozart
and didn't find it to be as good as I hoped. I suppose I was amused by the story, but the characters seemed familiar - far too familiar. The whole time I felt like I was reading some sort of combination of Pride and Prejudice and Little Women. For instance, I absolutely could not imagine the mother as anyone else but Mrs. Bennet due to the fact that her constant thought and ambition was marrying her daughters off and marrying them well. Even the way she spoke reminded me of Mrs. Bennet. I naturally couldn't help but wonder just where - and in what amount! - this author was getting her influences from ...I feel like a hard reader to please, especially after seeing all the 5 star reviews this book got on Amazon. I would have given it 3.
More Mystery ... 2007-08-08 07:23:00 Me being my wimpy self, after finishing And Then There Were None I decided that I didn't want to read another mystery again for a long time. A day or two later, however, I began to feel less sure about it. Then I watched Marple: The Body in the Library on PBS and completely changed my mind. I now want to read everything Agatha Christie. From the great to the just ok - I want to read them all. Not sure exactly where I should start, though. Any suggestions? Read more:Mystery
*Ahem* 2007-08-13 21:51:00 Question: what is the strangest thing you have ever used for a bookmark? You know, those times when you really needed to mark your place but only something weird was handy.My answer: This is sort of embarrassing, but what the heck. I'm currently using the little paper off the wing of a pad to mark my place in An Interrupted Life.So, how about you? ^_^
Book Mooching 2007-08-26 12:23:00 I ended up at BookMooch after all. :) I've got a 2 for 1 deal on this week in case you're interested.http://bookmooch.com/m/inventory/ashleedee
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