I know that it's not within your nature.

Sarge ran away last night. I know, nothing surprising. Nothing unusual, and he even had good excuses to be frustrated with me. It was late-- I haven't been spending as long a time with him as I usually do on our runs because I've been writing so much in preparation for a story contest.

He burst out of his cabin and just...ran. Gone to the neighbors' or the woods or wherever.

At eleven, I went out again and found him snuffling in the yard near the chickens' scraps and I gave him his dinner and took him to his dog-cabin-thing.

Tonight, during our run, we looked at the stars, me resting my hand on his head.

Sarge, don't ever stop coming back. I know and understand that it is not within your nature to stop leaving, but never stop coming back.

That's what I told him.

---Grace

Katherine Sophia: Flying

Annnd I'm still aggregating, bringing to you yet another post from Katherine Sophia, this one from November of 2010, actually. Read the original post and watch the videos she posted with it on her blog.

"It was the week before my flight test...
I had studied harder for that than for any other test in my life.


Now I was flying, doing a practice flight with another instructor to prepare for the actual test.
I'd done landings, stalls, radio towers, steep turns... It had taken hours.


Suddenly the instructor turned to me (hot-dog dare-devil that he was, the kind of guy who when you ask "What happens if the door broke and opened while you were flying?" looks and you and opens the door when you're 2,000 feet off the ground).
"Sometimes you get to this point and you forget why you're doing all this. You want to do something fun?"


I did.


And before I knew it, I was upside down and the world was overhead. We spun around and around until I was dizzy, and then he pulled us out of the spin. Then we were flying through the frozen river valley, only inches above the ice... Ice and snow were everywhere... it was like a different world.

It was the most amazing flight of my life.

But do know what annoyed me?
The entire time I felt like I was watching a movie.
Like I was at the Omni-Theatre, watching Magic of Flight or something.
I had to keep telling myself that no, this was really happening.
I was actually hurtling through the air just above the ice, spinning through the air, actually living what I was seeing and feeling.

Just thinking about this lately... and about one of my favorite quotes -

"Have you ever felt that there was something going on in life that not everyone was aware of?...As though there’s a story going on that everyone is a part of, but not everybody knows about—a sort of drama, a battle between what’s peripheral and what’s really important. As though the people you meet aren’t just their plain, prosaic selves, but are actually princes and princesses, gods and goddesses, fairies, gypsies, shepherds, all sorts of fantastic creatures who’ve chosen to hide their real shape...Or have forgotten who they really are.
Have you ever thought that?"
~The Shadow of the Bear




And I wonder... how many times do we forget about what is real? How often are we aware of the battle going on all around us, of the true story that is being written, of the reality underlying the happenings of our life?
Are we so caught up in the "movies" being played in our life, in the drama, in the fun, in the excitement of what we like and spend time doing, that when reality happens, when God brings us directly into the thick of the fight and gives us a glimpse of the glory beyond, we don't even recognize it?


Instead of seeing the day-to-day things as an inkling of far greater and more wonderful things, we compare those greater things to what is only a faded picture of them. Instead of experiencing the actual moment God places us in, we miss out because we have experienced too many moments faking what it is He wants for us.


We can't live our lives through others' battles and triumphs. We can't get what He wants for us to have by listening to others tell about their quiet times or their witnessing experiences. We have to go live the life He has for us, knowing and experiencing Him, knowing that the "unseen" is true reality.
I want to live in that reality."

Stay dangerous,

Gray

Sixteen Going on Seventeen: My Apprehensions

I'm the first one to admit: Liesl Von Trapp (from the Rodgers and Hammerstein movie) is not my role model. Something about the way she sings, "timid and shy and scared am I of things beyond my ken," I think.

Nonetheless, I consider it my right, as a sixteen year old girl, to sing "I am sixteen going on seventeen to my heart's content... and maybe even a little more.

Despite the fact that I've sung it constantly all year, now that I only have four more days to do so in its most truthful sense, I feel cheated. It can't really have been a year, can it?

I turned sixteen at WA state TeenPact (shameless plug!) last year. All my cabin friends sang to me and surprised me with streamers. In the morning Ophie came into my cabin (we had to sleep in different cabins... it was tragic) and gave me a copious bag of Reese's and handed over a present bag that mom had instructed her to give me on my birthday morn. Starting a day off with presents is always good.

I was astonished to find a beautiful birthday cake waiting for me in the dining hall. Three of my fellow students (all male) came up to me very sweetly with a piece of said cake. It had large quantities of white frosting.

The boys offered me the cake so cordially that I was taken aback by their consideration. I took a bite and made a big deal over how scrumptious it tasted.

Later I found that I had disappointed the boys: they had dumped salt in the middle of the piece(which I hadn't eaten all the way... you can only have so much cake for breakfast) and I didn't "get" to taste it. Thank you, gentlemen. You know who you are.

Someone got up a group card and all the students signed, each leaving me a personal message. At the capitol, the entire group sang me happy birthday.

Mom came to pick Ophie (who was also attending TeenPact) and me up. I hooped in the car to find brightly frosted chocolate cupcakes, one for each of us. After lots of hugs (I hadn't seen my family in four whole days, mind you =D) we munched them down. Each one had a paper parasol and a decorative glass button. I think mine was a ladybug.

We returned from Olympia (and TeenPact) at around twilight. Rain was hitting the ground with the force unique to Washington drops.

I remembered feeling very... whimsical (Oh, Gray never feels whimsical), feeling that every moment is so precious. I felt old, which is, as LM Montgomery says, the first indication that you are actually very young. I didn't really wanted to leave fifteen behind, because fifteen seemed like a number with lots of extra growing room. Nonetheless, I was sure, to quote LM Montgomery again, that I was coming to "an epoch of my life" (needless to say, later in the evening I read my favorite passages of Little Women and even Anne of Green Gables. I'm afraid I'm in a sort of an "Anne" mood right now. My "Jo" spirit will come to me presently.)

So I went for a walk in the pouring rain and was otherwise sentimental. I wore my green trench coat and probably my cream beret. =D I won't bother telling the thought processes of a sentimental fifteen/sixteen girl taking a birthday walk in the pouring rain.

I still feel old. Seventeen feels big and ridiculous.

Twelve months ago I didn't think I could possibly grow into a number as big as sixteen. Now sixteen seems normal. I'm still not sure I want to grow into seventeen... but I don't really have much choice, do I? Now I know that I will grow into it, and then eighteen, and then nineteen.

Sixteen has been an adventure, which is about as good a thing as can be said about any year. I'll come up with a list of marvelous things (and hopeless misadventures) I've done at age sixteen when I'm in a list-y mood, but we've already established that I'm in an "Anne" mood.

Back off and let me revel in it. It hasn't happened in a while. =D

To finish the "Birthday day," I came back inside delightfully wet to find yet another cake. Gabby and Audrey and Ophie were all there. Dear, dear friends. We stayed up too late and watched Brigadoon. Good, good movie.

And I was sixteen. It was old.

Seventeen is old.

I just remember that LM Montgomery quote. When you feel that you are very old, it's a sure sign that you are actually very young.

I felt old last year and I feel old this year. It's okay.

CUSTOMERS ONLY

As a wee munchkin, I was once at a restaurant with my mom when I saw a sign on the place's bathroom door.

"NO PUBLIC RESTROOM," it said. "CUSTOMERS ONLY!"

"But Mom," I queried, looking up at my mother, "where do the waitresses go to the bathroom, then?"

Come to think of it, that wasn't that long ago. Dearie me.

Life of a black butterfly.

Want to get inside a Faerie's head?

My friend, Jared, over at One Year Adventure Novel (my English program for this year), has started a blog. Well, sorta.

He's playing scribe for this impish Faerie of his. Her name happens to be Mira.

This is what he tells us on the program's forum. You'll have to see the evidence in that clever blog of theirs.

Mira asked Jared to begin a blog for her, and Jared, being ever so obliging, went ahead and did it.

You can read Mira's words at:

Life of a Black Butterfly.

Mira is perky and loads of fun... and I have a sneaking suspicion that Jared is, too.

~Gray

Wet horses smell good.

Riding in the rain-- there's nothing like it.

Today I loved the faces of my neighbors --whose house is adjacent to the heavily wooded trails on which I ride-- as they watched Chester and I gallop past their pasture: a soaked girl clinging onto the saddle-less back of a drenched, wild-eyed horse.

Back story: Max was very wet-- he isn't locked in his stall and can walk in and out, taking advantage of his shelter as he chooses. Being about as contrary as I am, he chooses to stay outside and get wet.

Chester, however, had been in his stall all morning and was eager to play in the rain with his buddy. I grabbed a bridle and squelched through the mud to reach him, then, after slipping the bit into his mouth, I unfastened the stall door and hopped on.

We were up to our ears in rain and bliss, hanging out bareback. We headed down to the woods for a bit of riding.

He surprised me when he started galloping-- I'd only asked him for a canter. It was so ...plummy, to borrow a word from Laurie... that we couldn't stop.

Plummy. Just plummy.

Thank you, Chester, for the ride today.

Defenestration. Dun. Dun. Dunnn.

SBM? Lib? I think you will agree that it was a small window. Large enough for quite a bit of honor to be attributed to our feats.

Last night I was defenestrated by Peach and SBM (Problematic).

Then I sat down to post about it... to find that Libby and Problematic had already related the incident to you, only in regards to their personal experiences at defenestration. You have to check the Internet fairly often around here to keep up with things. Now I'm regretting not writing this post last night, as I originally intended, just wishing I could be a part of the it's-Sunday-night-and-we're-blogging-about-being-defenestrated club.

Oh. But I was also refenestrated. I was pulled back. And we invented a word.

Shhh! Girls! Huddle in close: Next week, after church, we're all going to surround Ophie, grab her, and defenestrate her instantaneously. She'll love it, because she missed the defenestrations last week and was sorely disappointed. She was dutifully sweeping the church's upstairs with Equus Delirus.

Got it? Are we agreed? Poor Ophie. It's turning out quite nicely that she isn't checking up on blogs right now.

She'll be delighted.

I have an odd sort of confidence in my sister's aptitude for such activities.

Peach? Bring jeans. I have confidence in you, as well.

Gloat.

This is for all of you who said I couldn't make it...

I was vegetarian for a year...

I did it.

And I liked it.

I shall now return to eating a balanced amount of protein to protect my growing metabolism. =D But maybe once I've reached the recommended age of 18, I'll do it again.

[and Ophie wants to tell you she did it too, but she's off blogger, so I'm telling you for her.]

Well. Forgive me my rambling.

By the way, Zac P (even though you prob'ly don't usually come to this awesome little web place), you owe me a pig.

Yes, if you will remember correctly, you said that you would buy me a piglet if I remained vegetarian for the entire year. That's how little faith you had in me. I want my pig.

Dah! Where am I going to keep a pig?

*me: "No. Nonononono. Not the bedroom..."*

*pig snorts incessantly*

*me: "Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo..." *

Just finished serenading the pizza boy...

Go to OPHIE'S BLOG for more details. Excuse me, Ophelia's blog. Only I'm allowed to call her Ophie.

Love. Adventures.

Booby Traps wanted!! My Novel strikes again! A dilemma for the Devoted Scribblers... AND anyone else who can help!

Meet Marion. Well... this isn't really my Marion. This is a character from WoW or some other video/computer game like that. I wouldn't know, exactly. I'm not a gamer.

But this picture is about as close to Marion as we get... besides the sketches that I've spun up of her, which are not uploaded on this computer. Her leather arm guards/armour are amazing.The red hair is perfect, though her expression is a little dark. She just needs a ski-jump nose, like she has in my book. =D

But I could do a character bio later. What were we discussing again? Ah yes. My novel dilemma.

I'm stuck.

If you'll remember, several months ago I mentioned a novel that I'd been writing since spring about Maid Marion Fitzwalter... and how she meets up with Robin Hood after he returns from campaigning for Richard's throne.

Are you willing to help me out? *Grins sheepishly*

Here's where I'm at:

Right now Guy of Gisbon (NOT Gisborne, and 'Guy' is pronounced the old English way--- "G-ee," rhyming with 'tree' and spoken with a hard 'G' sound) is setting a trap for Robin Hood, as so many legends tell. And yes, according to tradition, Marion is the bait. She's stuck in his castle... etc. The Gisbon/castle/trap scene is a minor excursion in relation to the plot of my entire book, but nonetheless, I'm stuck.

Guy is trying to trap Robin. But how?

Frankly, I need ALL your ideas concerning medieval booby traps. I need a really ingenious trap that will surprise both Rob and my readers. But what?

Whatever it is, Robin DOES get stuck in the trap... and then, of course, has to get out, making everything more exciting as danger piles upon danger.

Will you put on your thinking caps for me?

I'm not just looking for a trap door that collapses when he walks over it. It can be a 'trap' in any sense of the world. My mom suggested a moat with imported alligators. =D

Cleverness and creativity are what I need. I just don't know why I can't find mine. I've thought about this 'trap' so much that my brain refuses to give me any more ideas!!

Pull out your made-up or Medieval booby traps and head over to the comment box... if you dare. There are Gisbon's poisonous porcupines down there (how was that, Mom?)!

The world was formerly covered in powdered sugar...

Love. The. Snow.

...as you can see from some great photos by Kei over at Looking Through the Lens. Isn't she amazing?

Blogger friends overt there can be identified as Ophie, Libby, Problematic, Kei, myself (Bracie =D), Hope, and Toni.

Life's few perks...

I just finished that essay.



Sigh.



The one on Hitler's art obsession and ridiculous standard for perfection and their effects on his WWII campaign.



I was just looking up those last few illustrations/graphics to accompany my essay on Google images, searching for a particular painting of a very buff male discus thrower. The Nazis loved it, it was the epitome of their art standard, and the image really would have added to my paper.



But I couldn't find it.



And I forgot about that famous statue from the Classical art era. You know... the Discus Thrower? THE discus thrower?



If you don't, go look it up. I promise you you'll find it. I did, and I wasn't even looking.



Yeesh. At least the Nazis' painting had clothes on.



Actually, while I appreciate the sculpture as a beautiful piece of art (doesn't it just look like that discus is about to fly from his fingers? DUCK!), I didn't exactly have the best of times wading through 342 Google Images of it while still in search of my Nazi painting.



Still, even when wading through hundreds of classical nude sculptures on the web at 30 minutes shy of midnight, life has its perks, as my title said.



I found this splendid T-shirt:




Oh! How I wish I knew some discuss throwers!

A Rawther Personal Tag...

Hmmm... because this tag asks some interesting questions, I'll name my imaginary interrogator. Giovanni! Let's name him Giovanni.

1- Have you been asked out?
I'm not sure you're setting the proper tone with me, Giovanni. Shall I answer you? Any attempts have been strongly discouraged. How's that?
3 - What's your middle name?
Wouldn't you like to know...
4 - Your current relationship status?
Madly in love... with Alister Macruadh from a George MacDonald novel.
5 - What's the first thing you do when you wake up from a nap? Nap? stretch my legs till they reach my foot-board.
6 - What is your current mood?
Guilty. I'm being unproductive.
7 - What color shirt are you wearing? Green and black...
8 - Missing something? Probably..
9 - Current Favorite Quote?

First thing in my Head-

"Coward. A man in whom the instinct of self-preservation acts normally." Sultana Zaraya.

10 - If you could go back in time and change something what would be?
Yesterday. I was not my best self. I grouched at lots of people.
11 - If you must be an animal for one day, what would you be?
A swallow. Rarely do I see such freedom than when a swallow flies.
12 - Ever had a near death experience?
Probably. I'm always as near death as God wants me to be. If you know what I mean, Giovanni.
13 - Something you do a lot? Feed my pets...
14 - The song stuck in your head? "Kissing in the Rain," listening to it right now...
15 - Least favorite household chore? Delivering laundry
16 - Name someone with the same birthday as you.
Thomas Jefferson
17 - When was the last time you cried?
Do misty eyes count? Sometime today when I was feeling something sad... But really cried? I'm not sure.
18- Have you ever sung in front of a large audience? Yes-- Lib, I'm with you!
19 - If you could have one super power what would it be? Flight! Oh to fly! I think every human wishes as much.
20 - What's the first thing you notice about the opposite gender? A sincere listener always sticks out to me... conversely, so does someone who seems like he doesn't care two bits about what I say.
21 - What do you usually order from Starbucks? Vegetarian mushroom thing... very good.
22 - What's your biggest secret? Secret? Big secrets are only big because they stay secret...
23- What's your favorite color? Green... though I love variety....
24 - Do you still watch kiddie shows or TV shows? No. Movies, yes.
25 - What's on your walls?
Hung: safari hat, jockey cap, "get well soon" poster from my church family, large canvas of Jesus talking with two apostles, Monet print, saddle ornament, picture frame depicted Ophe and me with our friends, mirror, etc.

The wall paint is khaki.

26 - What are you?
What is real?
27 - Do you speak any other language?
Scottich brogue and a wee bit of Spanish

28 - What's your favorite smell? I second Lib's "night," as well as rain and horses.
29 - Describe your life in one word!
Adventure!
30 - Have you ever kissed in the rain?
I let the rain kiss my face... listen, Giovanni, once again, things are getting kind of personal. And I have a question: Why are we all so in love with the idea of kissing in the rain?
31 - What are you thinking about right now? Christmas!
32 - What should you be doing? I should skip off to play with my animals... which I'll do in a few seconds. MAN! This thing is LONG!
33 - Who was the last person that made you upset/angry?
What kind of question is that? YOU, Giovanni! With all your personal questions!
34 - How often do you talk to God? Mmmm... that's something I need to do more. We're in a sad state when we're too busy share our musings with Him. I try to keep up a constant "cord of communion" with him... to borrow a phrase form Mr. Rochester (Jane Eyre).
35 - Do you like working in the yard?
Yes-- But even more, I love working in the WILD!
36 - If you could have any last name in the world, what would you want? Ernest Worthing... hmmm (thinks of heroines from favorite play).
37 - What is your natural hair color?
My only hair color. Browney brown.
38 - Do you have many friends?
I'm rich in them! Gio--- can I call you Gio, Giovanni? Do you want to be one of them? Stop the puppydog eyes!
39 - Who is your role-model?
Queen Esther.
40 - Do you like your life? I love it.
50. (Giovanni, can you count?)I am going to tag...
Equus Delirus
Gabby (DO IT!!)
Hannah D
Quipster

Tournies!

A Round Robin.

Done! Very exciting! Ophie and I had oodles of fun...

Although once I gave my apologetics speech in the wrong room! All I had to do was switch places with another competitor, so it all worked out all right. Still... (sigh).

One (awesome) novice made my day. He said:

"At first, when everyone was talking about Qualifying tournaments, they were calling them "Qualifiers" and I had no idea what they were talking about. I was thinking, 'Koala fires? Why would you want to go to a Koala fire?'"

Is that an epic quote or what? The rest of the day I kept saying (in my Aussie accent), "Crikey! It's a Qualifier!"

Time for bed...

Grace, earnestly looking forward to the rest of the year's Qualifiers/Koala Fires!

The meaning of life in everything:

Over at Problematic's blog, or perhaps Ophelia's, you may have read interesting snippets concerning a church bus trip.

Ah, yes. Oh, what a trip.

As the drive to Oregon was long, we found ...creative... ways to keep ourselves occupied.

One of which was 'finding the meaning of life in everything.'

It all began, you see, when, some time ago, Problematic and Peach endeavored to find the meaning of life through gummy bears. They'll have to explain that one for themselves. In fact, Problematic has a post on that coming up shortly... or so she tells us.

While on the bus, amidst Peach and Problematic's 'gummy bear gloating,' a fellow passenger, Hannah, decided to find out if the two girls could demonstrate what they averred.

Then the questions came. "Find the meaning of life in pocket lint." "Or asphalt!" "Marshmallows!"
My favorite: "How about toenails?"

Peach handled 'Asphalt' admirably, saying that it shows the glory of God, and then referencing the scripture that mentions the streets of heaven being paved with gold.

Problematic was extremely clever when addressing pocket lint...

I was rather proud of my 'toenails' analysis.

"Toenails demonstrate our need for heroes in this world. The proteins, keratin, that become toenails are sacrificial beings, taking on the hard knocks and dangerous beatings of life so that the rest of the toe can stay squishy and soft. Being a hero --a toenail, so to speak--- will harden you, perhaps destroy your innocence, but the role of a protector is there so the rest of us can live happy, bubbly lives."

Frodo would've been proud. He's a toenail if I ever saw one.

So now it's your turn:

Find the meaning of life in coffee pots!

Marian! Thy fame will never die!

It's been a perfectly lovely Greenwood week, hasn't it?

I've posted some artwork HERE, along with many other posts,

We've read several poems:

Reynolds,' my personal favorite, HERE, (by the way- the lines on my header are from Reynolds);

Keats' HERE;

And, finally, Tennyson has a great one that Ophie posted HERE, as a side note. The whole post is great; read it all.

I posted a few poems of mine:

'The Cloak' (so Maid Marian-ish- I had to put it up),

And 'The Place I Love to Be'

I had so much fun dressing up as Marian-

A leaf skirt, my lovely green cape, and, of course, a special photo shoot with Kei.

I've written on "Robin Hood and Politics" as well as a quick post on what we find so fascinating about the legendary figure of his love, Maid Marian.

I posted my favorite picture of Lucy Griffiths as Marian, and one of my favorite clips from Disney's Robin Hood.

But Marian shall not disappear from this blog forever! Soon I shall post a character sketch of Marian as the heroine of my current story project.. after all, as Reynolds says, Marian's sweet fame shall never die.

"And dressed in pretty forest plight--" #2

Photos by Keilah- see her blog HERE. More Marian pictures- scroll down...

Through the Greenwood:

A painting for you all. Check out Maid Marion week! Here, at Amanda Beth Online...

The place I love to be:

Painting- Woodland Dawn, Paul Higgins


I was flipping through a book of poems that Ophie and I wrote and put together for my mom one Mother's Day several years back. I found this little poem and thought it appropriate for Greenwood week. Once I managed to ignore the holes in my inconsistent meter, I once again entered the world I'd depicted when I first wrote this little poem. Here you are, mistakes and all-

In the place I love to be,

There are no walls to hold me in;

Instead, a solemn, silent tree,

And all his friends surrounding me,

In my little woodland glen,

The place I love to be.

In the place I love to be,

There are no dainty, sugared sweets;

Instead, Salmonberries are a feast,

Blackberries my tasty treat,

And thin grass blades, I love to eat!

In the place I love to be.

In the place I love to be,

There are no pooches, primped and pampered;

Instead, two dogs

Who run about with coats unhampered,

Followed by two mangy girls

Who'd never bother with made-up curls,

In our little secret world,

The place I love to be.

Good ole Sargie and Kipper are the dogs and Ophe and I are the 'mangy girls' (=D) of course. Not much has changed---despite very taxing high school days, autumn afternoons you'll still find me in 'the place I love to be.'

Maid Marian! Thy Sweet Fame can never die...

Ready? Ready for Robin Hood EVERYTHING? Here it comes-

This week on Amanda Beth Online, a Maid Marian Fashion event (not exactly sure how to define that) is occurring this weekend. The button is on my sidebar.

Go! Write posts about Maid Marian! Dress up like Maid Marian! Live in the world of Sherwood Forest!

At least, that's what I'm doing. Ohhhhh yes.

You see, I'm kind of a Robin Hood freak. Fan isn't a strong enough word.

Once when I was shopping with my mom, she noted that I held Robin's fashion sense in high esteem, seeing that the only clothes I would so much as look at had to be green or brown.

Technically, the "Maid Marian" blogger event is only this weekend. But I'm such a fan of dear old Nottingham that I decided to make a week of it. Prepare yourself for my favorite Robin Hood related clothes, art, music, stories, poems, quotes....

I even changed my header, taking it from one of my Marian pictures. That's Chester and me... you'll see more of my Maid Marian pictures later this week... =D

By the way, both the Walnut~Heart photo and the header photo are by Kei over at Looking through the Lense. Doesn't she do an amazing job?

The Walnut~Heart is half a walnut shell I found on our property. The heart is there on every walnut shell. I thought it was apt for Maid Marian!

Come join me under Robin's merry Greenwood!