A {Small} Antique Collection

Well now.
I can imagine your excitement at finally seeing another post from the Storybook Journal. I have taken a break from the internet, and I know it has been TOO LONG this time. The only thing I've had time for was a random Pin here or there. :)
Anyways, I'm back. About a week ago, while still Not Online, I went on a road trip. The place I went had a lot of antique stores in and around the area, so being a collector of people's old junk (a.k.a. "antiques") I was able to pick up a few articles for my collection.
For those of you who enjoy looking at old things as much as I do, read on. :)

~*~*~
First of all, I gotta say. The places I visited were really nicely decorated. I mean, there were whole corners and sections with frilly bed jackets and pretty lamps and hats and all SORTS of neat things.

Like, wow people.

Anyways, this FANCY place is only one of the places that we went to.
The articles I'm going to show you are in no particular order.

Typewriter Pencil Sharpener
The first one is the coolest and the best, in my opinion.
My heart skipped a beat when I saw this (you know how I love typewriters), and I loved it even MORE when I turned it over and saw that THIS THING WAS A PENCIL SHARPENER. Of all the RANDOM purposes for this tiny typewriter! At least, it was random to me. 
It was 10 dollars, but worth every penny.

As you can see, the letter keys are in no order at all, which is quite amusing, but would be very confusing if I had to type on it. :)

I really like how it just looks so OLD and it is surprisingly detailed in the smallest places. 
The best thing about it is not that it's a sharpener. It's that the little paper roll-y thing actually ROLLS and it HOLDS A TINY PIECE OF PAPER. 

Looks like a full sized typewriter, no?
But it isn't. It's teeny tiny.  Less than 3 inches across. 

Ring Holder
This is holder is really too tiny to hold all of MY rings, but I thought it was cute just the same.

   
This one is about an inch and a half. You can see, I usually like to collect smaller antiques as opposed to big ones. This way I can keep my collection up and going without spending a ton of money. :) This ring holder, for instance, was like two dollars.

Postcards 
I really like all the designs that people used to put on postcards, and I like to pick up a pretty one when I can. Especially since they are so cheap. Each of these cost me a dollar.

The one with the palm trees is actually not a postcard, but it's just an old picture that I really like. I might even use it in a scrapbook sometime. :) 

Oh, and here's the back of the Tremonton, UTAH one. I don't know who this guy is, but his spelling and his cursive is really, really bad. XD  Also, notice the date is from 1946. That's the cool thing about postcards. You get to see exactly what year they're from without having to see an antique specialist. :)

 
 Cameo Heart Box
 

 This one I thought was really elegant and pretty looking. I do like cameos, but usually I don't collect them too much because why would I care about some random women on various decorative objects? I don't know, they're vintage and all, but they're just not my favorite thing. I do love this little box though. I keep all of my hanging earrings in it.

Egg Locket Necklace

This little egg necklace really caught my eye out of nowhere. I asked them to take it out of the locked shelf especially for me, so I could take a closer look at it. It's actually pretty heavy, and I feel like it wasn't made cheaply at all. Best of all, none of the rhinestones are missing!
:)

  
And yes, the egg opens for whatever reason. I know, I know. It's perfect for Easter Sunday. I already thought of that! :D

Teacup Saucer
I like to collect teacup saucers because 1). They're easy to find in most antique stores, and 2). they make really pretty jewelry dishes. :) 

I think it was the gold filigree that made me want this one. Doesn't it look like something straight outta Pemberley?!

Envelopes With Stamps
Let me tell you something. I've been collecting stamps for nine years (wow... am I that old...?) and I have always had a fascination with old envelopes and old postcards and things. I have wanted some of those blue-and-red-stripey envelopes for a long time, but I wasn't able to find them! Fortunately, I found these four tied together at a store on my road trip. :) They are only a little bit dog-eared on the edges, and they smell deliciously old. Like an old chapter book. 

 I really like how they're not even used. Like, who puts stamps on their envelopes ahead of time? *shrug* I certainly don't do that.

 Small Jewelry Pouch (or coin pouch or whatever)
This one I actually didn't buy anywhere, but some friends gave it to me. I'm throwing it in here with this post since I'm talking about antiques and all. 
 

 I really like the little ribbon flower. And the embroidery is simple, yet very pretty! I never use it for actual coins though. I just let it sit for decoration. 

Flower Trinket Box

Ok, this is the last one. I really like how this one is smooth and pretty with the flowers, even though the purple one is missing a petal or two. I hardly even notice it unless I'm looking for it. I like to keep my stud earrings in this one because it's so small.

Well, that is all! I apologize for my absence, but do not fear. I am always around, even if I'm not on the internet!
Have a good day, peeps! :)

My Observations of a Very Interesting Word

For a long time, I was confused about 'irony'.
No one seemed to be able to explain to me what it meant, and when I finally consulted a dictionary, hoping to understand 'irony' once and for all, the definition was absolutely ZERO help. I mean, look at this:

Irony: n. a situation that is strange or funny because

things happen in a way that seems to be

opposite of what you expect.

Uhm... Come again?

If you understand that, congratulations. You are a lot smarter than I was when I first read that definition. It was such a frustration for me when I realized that some words cannot best be explained in a dictionary. They just have to HAPPEN and then you sort of see what it means (eventually!).

I did eventually figure out what the word meant, just by living and seeing ironic things. Since irony can be a pretty neat tool in writing, I'm just going to do a little explaining about what it is, so hopefully you can grasp the meaning way sooner than I did. XD

I find Irony to be kind of like sarcasm, which is basically when you pretend to say something you don't mean in a cocky way. 

You get the idea. 

Irony is a lot like sarcasm, except it's usually more about things that HAPPEN, rather than what is said by people. Irony is like when LIFE says something it doesn't really mean, and people notice. 

In the movie "Escape From Alcatraz," when a prisoner is first brought to the Island, they are brought across the cold waters of the San Francisco Bay in chains, then they are forced to remove all their clothes, being humiliated in front of the other prisoners, and then they are locked behind a clanging cell door and cordially told, "Welcome to Alcatraz". 

THAT is irony. It is a way of being almost funny, when there really isn't anything funny at all. 

It's when Mrs. Lovejoy is the grumpiest person you've ever met. It's when you go to the drugstore to buy yourself heaps and heaps of candy, along with one solitary toothbrush. 

In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Liesel is taken to Himmel Street. If you've read the book, you know that "Himmel", means "Heaven". But if you know anything about Nazi Germany, you know that Himmel Street was no "Heaven Street". It's definitely 'ironic'.

Basically, the dictionary is very right in its description of irony. But I feel it takes more than just that to understand this complex term. 

You can use irony in your writing, just like Zusak did. Irony adds a certain depth and interest to stories and characters. 

In your story, maybe 'Honeysuckle Village' is actually one of the dumpiest towns around. Maybe Pamella Q. Hammerbotham is actually a very intellectual and dangerous spy. 

You choose.

You don't have to be THAT extreme, but you get what I'm sayin'.

So, that is my observation, and I'm hoping this post doesn't sound like a collage paper. XD

Hopefully I have interested you, if only in the remotest way. :)

-Phoebe

We R Memory Keepers Typewriter // Review

So, I had like five posts lined up, but then I realized that they aren't FUN posts, they are just my opinions on things. I really don't want to sound like some 'collage person' who throws heaps and heaps of majestic opinions on you guys, so I thought this typewriter review would shake things up a bit. :)

* * * * *

I've been looking for a good typewriter for about five years now. My friend gave me an electric one a couple years ago, but it ran out of ribbon really quickly, and {alas} I couldn't find the right kind of ribbon on Amazon. :( So I wrapped it up and put it in my basement.

It was just about two months ago (I believe) that I heard that Michael's stores was carrying a new product: Typewriters from We R Memory Keepers, in pink and black!

Lately I've been especially frugal with my little bit of money so that I can buy a few CERTAIN NECESSARY ITEMS (*cough* a car), but I told my mom: "There is one last 'big' purchase I wish to make."
This typewriter was 200 bucks. And they wouldn't let you use a coupon.

Anyways. When I first brought it home and unboxed it, I was scared to death that I was going to break it on the same day. XD I mean, I expected it to be super fragile, and all it would take to break it to pieces and waste my two hundred dollars would be for me to put my little mitts on it.

Thankfully, this thing is really good quality. Heavy duty, and NOT cheap. Not cheap in price, nor in quality. In fact it's quite strong. I DID buy this thing brand new after all, not used at a thrift store.

I started typing right away.
It has all the standard symbols, letters and numbers, and the letter keys are in all the same places as a regular computer keyboard. The only exception would be a few of the symbols being in different spots. But it's not really hard to get used to.

There are no markers (or 'feelers') of any sort on the 'J' key or the 'F' key, as you would find on a standard keyboard, but I don't really have a problem without those. I suppose if a person REALLY needed the little markers to tell where the 'F' and 'J' are, then they could probably stick a tiny little sticker or something there to help them.
I kept mine the way it is.

Another noted difference that some might have to get used to is the pressure needed to type on these keys. If you can see those metal bars towards the top part of the typewriter, those are the letters that come up and hit the paper whenever you press a key. If you don't use a good amount of pressure (not TOO much, mind you), then you're letters will end up looking really light on the paper, or otherwise they just won't show up at all.

So that does take some getting used to, but honestly it's not super annoying. Your fingers just kind of get stronger as you type, and before you know it, you don't even notice the that you're doing it.
This is what it looks like with the right amount of pressure. 

When you first buy the typewriter, it comes with a few little plastic thingies that you need to remove before you start typing. Included in the box will be a piece of paper that tells you what you need to remove. The plastic things have been placed so that certain parts of the typewriter will stay in place while the box is being shipped to the store, to your house, or wherever.
Also, you get a typewriter manual that explains all of the keys and functions of the typewriter, as well as how to change the ribbon.

The typewriter also comes with a black and red ribbon already installed, so that you can start typing pretty soon after you unbox it.
Michael's and Michaels.com sells replacement ribbon in black as well as other colors. The typewriter has a switch that allows you to type with black or colored ribbon, as each ribbon comes with black as well as another color.
The replacement ribbons are $9.99, but you can use a coupon on them, thankfully!

The ribbon itself lasts {almost} forever. I've had this typewriter for about three weeks (and believe me, I've typed a LOT in that time), and I'm still using the ribbon it came with, even though I have already bought two replacement ribbons for whenever it runs out.
This is the kind of ribbon they used to use in all the retro typewriters. It's reusable fabric ribbon, so all you have to do when you get to the end of your ribbon is just put it on again, and it's good as new. You can see the words I have typed here. It's the same ribbon used 3 or 4 times, and it still types fine.
It's really quite economical. You get to save money on ribbon by reusing the same one over and over again.
I have yet to change the original ribbon even once.

The typewriter is a retro design, and I'm quite happy with mine. It types comfortably, it's SUPER CUTE, the ribbon lasts a really long time, it is NOT fragile. It's very well made, it's heavy, and it fits up to 12X12 inch paper (which is great news for scrapbookers).
Also, before I forget, I must tell you that when you come to the end of the line on your paper and it's time to return, there is an adorable little 'ding' that will go off wherever you have set the paper margin. :)
It was a punch right in the wallet to get it, but it is completely 100% worth the two weeks pay. :) I love it, I can't stay away from it, I can hardly pull my little fingers off the keys long enough to get anything productive done. My mom has had to come into my room at night before bed and tell me to 'stop typing because other family members are sleeping'. XD Sorry bout that, Mom.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments. :)
See you in the next post!

The Circle // Ted Dekker // Review

 So, I'm pretty new on Goodreads, and one of my recent reviews was on The Circle Series by Ted Dekker. I shared it with my best friend, and she suggested that I share it on my blog, so that my other blog-reading-friends could hear my opinions. :) So, being the kind of person who takes people up on their good advice, I have henceforth posted the review here. Also, if you would like to follow me on Goodreads, I am now ON IT. 
Which reminds me: I have a couple of different names throughout the internet. Sometimes it's Amaris, sometimes it's Phoebe, sometimes it will be Amy. I'm just letting you know, it's all ME. 
Now that THAT'S cleared up, onto the review!

It's actually WAY thicker than it looks here. :P

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*takes deep breath* FINALLY. I AM FINALLY FINISHED WITH THIS SERIES. It took me forever. I got this huge book with all four books in it for Christmas, and I just now finished it.
It would be absolutely impossible to share all of my opinions on the series as a whole. I'm just going to give the highlights. It's the kind of book that should be read by people. I feel like the book has a lot to say for itself in spite of a few things that I didn't like about it.

First, I feel like this series would be better/more enjoyable if it WASN'T a series. I mean, who wants to read a book for 5 months straight? I got other books I want to read, too! It's not like I can STOP reading this book for awhile and go on to read something else, and then come back to it, because if I do that, I will completely forget what's going on, and who is where doing WHAT. It's that kind of book. You really need to stay with it, or else it won't make sense every time you randomly pick it up. I wish maybe it could be shaved down into ONE, really good, fantastic book. I would buy that.

Secondly, It's kind of hard for me to talk about characters and events, because it would be very easy to spoil it if I did. I do have my list of favorites, however. I loved Thomas. He's the main character (no spoiler there!), and he is SPECIAL. I mean, really. He's a hero, he's a naive kid from Denver, he's a man, he's a world-changer, he's a dreamer. No bullet can stop him (literally). No sword. I love the way he handles just about every situation. He knows where the love is. He's loyal. If I met someone like that in real life, he would be my hero, the one I admire, and I just might marry him! I loved watching him grow up, from his first adventure in Denver as a trouble-making teenager, to the End of the World in the last chapter, as a mighty warrior who fights for good. Yes, good job with the main character.

Third, I can't help but mention that there were TIMES. Times in this book, where there was weirdness. The good thing about this is, the whole book was NOT like that. There were just parts. Parts in the evil queen's lair, parts when Thomas was transitioning into his dreams, parts where a character sells himself to evil, parts where I wondered what in the world I was reading this for. But the thing is, those parts always ended. And they weren't TERRIBLE. They added to the story. And if you think about it in terms of real-life, those parts were absolutely, terribly real.

Fourthly, I must mention the extraordinarily written endings. The ending of Black (Number One) was AMAZING. I can't imagine what it must have been like for people to read the ending of that book and have to WAIT for the next book to come out. It must have been absolute MURDER for them! Black literally ended with a riveting scene cut off right in the middle. I seriously jumped straight into Red (Number Two) because I KNOW that I would not have been able to wait to see how it turned out. It was THAT good.
However.
I really must mention the end of the entire SERIES.
It.
Was.
Amazing.
Also sad. But using a word as common and trivial as "sad" seems a tremendous understatement to say the least. The end of this book was literally the end of the world. Where the faithful member's of Elyon's Circle are finally taken up into eternal Paradise, and those left behind are literally devoured by the remnants of Evil. There is a battle. It seems Evil will WIN. But does evil win in the end? No, dear friend, it does NOT. This book, the entire thing, from the beginning of time when man turns away in disobedience, to the middle where Elyon's faithful few are beginning to doubt His very existence, to the very, VERY end, when Evil is conquered in a great and terrible battle Once and For All. It's a picture of our own earth. We, as Christians, are His Circle. His faithful few.
There will be deception, there will be tragedy, there will be doubt, there will be deception. But we must never doubt! Never doubt His promise, dear friend!
Ahem.
Are you seeing what this series did to me?!
Anyways, let me get back to the ending! Not only was it a terrible and beautiful picture of the ending of the world, it was A WONDERFUL ENDING FOR A BOOK, just in general terms! It was written well. There are shocking deaths, devastating betrayals, and hope given for the very last chance to dive deep.

At the back of my version, there is a couple of pages of an interview written with Ted Dekker, in which he explains his reason behind the idea of the characters Diving into Elyon's Lake to let themselves be washed and renewed by His goodness.
I quote:

"I was once in a time of meditation and I imagined God as a lake. And I knew immediately that I had to write a novel in which one could dive into God as if He were a physical reality. To do so I had to write a story in which all that we see as spiritual was recast as physical. The colored forest was born. As was the forbidden circle and the lake. I then took the idea further and imagined retelling all of redemptive history within the context of this world."

The best thing about his representation of God's "redemptive history" in the story is that, it's not done in a boring or cliched manner. It is done so that you are so engrossed into the lives of the characters, so taken in by his storytelling of the events and situations in the book, that you can hardly tell that you are reading that 'retelling of history', as he describes, yet in the end, you are touched in an emotional way because of what you read about love, and the Blood.
It is not boring. I have read books where they add scriptural parallels within their story to exemplify points in there story, to give it a redeeming quality. Those books are well intentioned, but I find they are often cliched, boring, and even disappointing. Write your own story! If I want to read about the Bible, I'll read my ACTUAL Bible. I'm not saying I don't I like it when a person gets saved in a book, I'm saying that it's easy to just copy God's redemptive story, write it into your book, giving it a couple of twists and turns to 'refashion' it and 'move' non Christians.
I'm saying that you COULD do that, but it must be done WELL. I must NOT feel, as a reader, that I am being preached to. I open your book to read a story.
Give me a story, not a sermon!
Ted Dekker does his story VERY. WELL. When I read his book, I embraced the pure and simple truth displayed as Elyon loves his people, and I did NOT feel preached to. I felt connected to God's love in a real and personal way. I did not feel like Dekker thrust the gospel onto me.
I felt... well, I felt like I was reading one of the greatest books ever written.

Overall, I still have a huge wealth of mixed feelings on how I feel about this series. I guess I would have to divide it into parts. There were some parts that were my FAVORITE of all books that I've ever read. Then there were OTHER PARTS when I questioned why I even picked up the book to read it in the first place. It was like that the entire way through the book. In my head, constantly: "I hate this book... wow, I LOVE this book... Why am I even reading this?... Wow this is SO GOOD... I don't have time for this book, I have better things I could be doing... Wow I'm really glad I got this book for Christmas... and etc.! On and on and on.

But you know, I think it's the kind of book that SHOULD be read by people. It's a beautiful picture of Christ's love for His bride, and the Fall of Man, and the importance of the Blood, but without the preaching, and as much adventure and thrill as you can wrap your head around. The book is really a big mouthful to chew on, but I think that people ought to give it a try, because it is a tremendously good book. Maybe even a GREAT one. 



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-Phoebe

Quote {#3}

Here is the last day of the quote tag! Sorry I forgot to post this yesterday. XD

I really appreciate this quote. Sometimes I feel like people don't build each other up enough. Who knows, a person at your church, or your drama class, or your book club might look fine and dandy on the outside. After all, it's EASY to put on a face and pretend to be fine. 

But maybe on the inside, they really wish someone would care. Or take a moment to say, "How are you doing?!" 

Maybe it's a stranger at a store who just needs a smile.

We have this tremendous love on the inside of us, guys. We ought to share it. Even if we don't sit down with them and tell them all about God, we can at least show them we care, because God cares. So, as I wrap up my quotes, I'll challenge you (for some, it won't be a challenge) to say something nice for someone today. It doesn't matter who. You don't even have to SAY anything. Just smile at them. You never know how it might help them through their day. 

That is all for my quotes! Thanks for tagging me, Abbie! I'm not a huge quote person, but *holds head up high* I think I did JUST FINE. :) 

And today (the last day of the quotes!) I tag: Morgan LuAnn from The Day the Lord Has Made!!!
Thanks Abbie C. for tagging me! I had splendid fun sharing my favorite quotes. :)

Quote {#2}

Ok, here is the second quote of my three quotes:

I feel like it says almost the same thing as yesterday's quote. But, it still speaks to me on a personal level, because a lot of times I feel like people don't trust in God because "If God loves us/if I can Trust God, why is there so much pain/chaos/evil in the world? 

Seriously, do you think God sits back and lets the world go crazy just for His enjoyment? If so, what are you thinking?! 

In all my 47 years of being a theologian (eheh, just kidding), I have given a lot of thought to the answer of that question. And I have concluded this: If the world was happy and perfect and wonderful, why trust God? How are we supposed to grow in the Lord if we don't NEED Him? 

If the world was a perfect place, we would NOT need God. We wouldn't EVER come to know and trust Him as the perfect Creator of the universe. 

Pain is hard. 

Chaos is hard. 

The world is a hard place.

But I would rather go through a hard and cruel world while trusting in God, than a perfect world with no God at all. That's what this quote means to me.

-Phoebe

Today I tag: Maribeth from Formidable Courage!!!

Quote {#1}

Abbie C. over at Chronicles in Bloom has tagged me with the delightful 'Quote Tag'.
These are the rules:

1. Thank the person who tagged you: THANKS ABBIEEEE! *hugs Abbie*.
2. Nominate 3 new bloggers everyday: How 'bout if I just tag one blogger a day? I haven't been keeping up with all my favorite blogs lately (because I'm SICK), so I don't know who's done it and who hasn't.
3. Post a new quote every day for three consecutive days.

Ok! Here's my first quote!
Actually it kind of breaks the rules, because there's other stuff 'mixed in' with the quote that isn't exactly part of the quote... but yeah. Here you go.

My eyes teared up a little bit when I read this. Because... it's so true. 

Just because we are followers of Christ doesn't mean that we have it all together, that we never wonder what God is doing, that we never worry about how things may turn out. 

But what looks like a threaded mess to us, is actually a gorgeous and beautiful tapestry in the eyes of God, even though it might be awhile before we can see what it is He's doing. 

 God has your entire life all planned out, from your first breath to your last. Nothing that happens is going to be unexpected to Him. 

John 16:33 says (and this is Jesus talking to His disciples): " These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation (see messy side of the embroidery), but take courage (flips to good side), I have overcome the world."

In short, we don't need to be worrying about anything. 

And that's what this quote spoke to me.

Alright! The person I tag for today is: Eva at Coffee, Classics, and Craziness!

See you tomorrow!

The Liebster Tag

Abbie C. at Chronicles in Bloom tagged me for this cute tag! How very nice! I do love tags.

So here we go.
Rules:

1. Link back to the person who tagged you (which I did... up there).
2. Answer the eleven questions.
3. Tag eleven bloggers, let them know you've done so.
4. Ask your tagged bloggers eleven questions.

Here are Abbie's questions.

1. Is there any story as to why you were given your name?
Why yes! You see, before I was born, my mom lost a baby. It was very hard. However, soon afterwards, she was reading in her Bible and she knew that God was telling her that she was going to have another baby, to replace the lost one.
Not long after that she got pregnant. She was reading in a baby name book, and the very first name she read meant "Promised of God". So she thought, "Well. If it's a girl, that's what I'll name her".
And it turned out to be me.

2. Are you a night owl or an early bird?
Actually, I'm mostly a night-owl. I could stay up all night to finish a project if I didn't have better sense. That isn't to say that I don't like mornings, because I do. I just don't get up early as often as I stay up late.

3. What is your favorite breakfast?
SECOND BREAKFAST.
No, just kidding.
I'm glad you asked this question. I am the type of person who does NOT like donuts, pancakes, waffles, or cereal for breakfast. It doesn't make any sense to start off my day with that much sugar. I would much rather prefer protein. Bacon, eggs, sausage, ham, and a biscuit, thank you!

4. How would you describe your style?
As in clothing style? Romantic, vintage, neutral colors, creams and pinks. Also, smoky-blue. No dark colors whatsoever. Type 2, if you're into the Dressing Your Truth stuff. If your talking personality-wise, I would be INFJ-A. Mysterious, tenderhearted, caring about people. Also introverted. "What's your style" is a very broad question, but it's fun to answer.

5. What is your dream occupation?
A labor and delivery nurse. Or just a nurse. Wherever God leads me. I would also like to write.

6. 3 Favorite boy names?
(of course these have changed and will continue to change through the years)
Thomas
Jerome
Philip

7. 3 Favorite girl names?

Celeste
Ellie
Monica

8. Where would you like to travel?
Hawaii. Switzerland. Perhaps Paris. Definitely the different States in America.

9. Favorite part of your daily routine?
Uhm... breakfast?

10. What song gives you the most feels and why?
Hmm. *ponders as I suddenly forget every song I've ever heard* Probably one of Owl City's songs. One of his that has touched me most recently has been Come Thou Fount. It's one of my favorite hymns, it just lifts me up every time. Though if I could give this one more thought, I would probably name several songs.

11. If you could learn to do one (creative) thing perfectly, what would it be?
I would love to learn to paint watercolors. I just think watercolor is completely beautiful, and someday I'm going to teach myself how to do it.

There you go! Those are my answers!

Here are the bloggers I am tagging. If any of you have already done this tag, you don't have to do it again unless you want to. :) I have not been reading up on blogs lately, so I don't really know which bloggers have done this tag, and which one's haven't. :P Also, I'm only posting  six bloggers, instead of eleven.

Morgan:
The Day the Lord has Made

Hayden:
A Singular and Whimsical Problem

Emily:
Forget-Me-Nots

Maribeth:
Formidable Courage

Ashley:
Inklings Press

Naomi:
Wonderland Creek

 Here are my questions! Anyone is welcome to answer in the comments or on your own blog. :) I'd love to know your answers.

1. Do you usually cry over the deaths or misfortunes of fictional characters in books and movies? Or are you "not a crier"?
2. Is there a popular TV show or a movie that you just CAN'T bring yourself to like, in spite of everyone's good opinions of it?
3. Do you have a garden? If so, what sort of things do you grow in it? Is it a vegetable or flower garden?
4. With the approach of oncoming Winter, do you find yourself excited for the change of season, or is your mindset closer to: " *sigh* Oh boy. Here it comes. Winter. AGAIN."?
5. What is the last book you read? How would you rate it out of five stars?
6. Do you collect anything? How many/much do you own?
7. If you could invite one (and ONLY ONE) fictional character to dinner, who would it be?
8. What book is nearest to you at this very moment?
9. Since Halloween is coming up soon, do you usually participate in the celebrations? If so, what did you dress up as last year?
10. How would you describe your fashion style?
11. Have you ever met a famous person? Who was it?

Thanks for stopping by!
-{Phoebe}

A Few Favorite Things in a Day

You know something? When was going through recovery after my tonsillectomy, I thought that having two whole weeks to have nothing to do would be a great time to catch up on some of the books that I have been neglecting to finish. Surprisingly, however, I didn't feel like reading. I felt like doing... nothing. So that's what I did.

So, I'm quite behind on my books. :P I am only now beginning to read books for the first time in maybe 4 weeks.
Trust me, friends. IT HURTS NOT HAVING TIME TO READ.
But anyways, I have been enjoying quite a few random things lately, being happy, staying positive, and all that. So here it is, just a small list of things that have been making me happy lately.

~A Few of My Favorite Things~

(as of late)

Call the Midwife

~*~ 

Novelty make-up items

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Happy Planners

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Returning to my job after being sick

~*~

Typewriters

~*~

Seven unread (soon to be read) books on my shelf

~*~

My (adult) coloring books

~*~

Vintage jewelry

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Hebrews 11:6

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Clear, golden, late afternoon skies

~*~

Benedict Cumberbatch

~*~

Monthly Adam Young Scores

~*~

French pastries (don't ask... :D)

~*~

Reading all of your lovely blogs!

~*~

 

There you go! What sort of things would you put on YOUR happy list? I hope you have a good day, and I got a couple tags to catch up within this next week, so until then, BYEE!!

-Phoebe

 

I Have Returned

Well, hello, friends! This post is probably a shock to you. You probably assumed I was wiped off the face of the earth, or worse... DEAD.
Well, (surprise) I'm NOT. If you follow me on Pinterest, you would've seen a couple of recent pins that would indicate recent internet activity. Therefore, not dead.

My last post on this blog, (ON JUNE 10TH!!!) stated I would be gone for a few weeks, and it's true, I was. For two weeks I went to a special training, where they taught us to teach Bible Clubs. It was a very enlightening experience. I could probably share the gospel with anyone now. Anyways, after I got home, I drove all around my hometown doing Bible Clubs for another two weeks.

To say "I was too busy to post" would be a horrendous understatement.
Of coarse, after all of that busy-ness was over, I should have had time to post on The Blog and catch up with friends, but actually, I didn't. Why?
Well, a week ago, (surprise again), I had A TONSILLECTOMY! As in, I HAD SURGERY.
Now I need to focus on rest and recovery until I get better (seriously, my throat is killing me. And my ears are especially sore).
I literally have nothing to do except sit on the couch and take naps for two whole weeks.
Oh, and I can eat Jell-O. And pudding. And water. And watch Call the Midwife while coloring.

Yay.

That's about it.
You get the idea.

Actually, we've also been trying out the BBC show Sherlock. I've been hearing about this blasted show for the longest time now. So, now that I haven't anything else to do, we've been watching it.
It's really good. I didn't really care for the first few episodes. I mean, they just didn't interest me too much. But then it started to get much better. The Sign of Three in season 3 I REALLY enjoyed.
Still, if you have a movie filter, like Vid Angel or Clear Play, do please use it. There is quite a bit of stuff in the show that, shall we say, could be done without. :P A filter would be best, I say.
The best part is, I finally understand all those Sherlock jokes on Pinterest.

 So. That was my little miniature review. Bottom Line: Good show, but Watch Out.

Look, look, guys! It's BILBO. :D

My recovery will be ending in another couple of days, and I hope to be back to posting regularly once again before too long.
For now, have a good day.
I hope your throat is feeling much better than mine at the moment.
-Phoebe

Just To Let You Guys Know...

I will not be posting for a couple of weeks because I will be gone. 

I know, go ahead and cry. 

But I have more posts when I return! I was trying to get one more post onto the Craft Blog before I go, because I know I haven't posted on that one in awhile. But unfortunately, I didn't have time. :( MY APOLOGIES.

I know I'll have a swell time where I'm going, however. Even though I won't have any electronics to keep in touch with the 'outside world'. It's been awhile since I've been 'away from home'. 

Well, that's all. :) Have fun surviving two whole weeks without me! (Really though, I don't know how you do it).

-Phoebe

North & South: {By Elizabeth Gaskell}

Let me just start off by saying that North & South was one of the only books I have ever read that I started over again from the beginning as soon as I finished it. You know why? Because I didn't want to see the story end. I wanted it to go on forever and ever. It was devastating when I finally read the last page and it hurt me. Like, it physically hurt my brain to stop reading it. 

*slams fist on table* THAT IS NOT SNOW

North & South has been one of the only Period Dramas I have read that didn't feel like a Period Drama when I read it.Whenever I have read Dickens, Austen, or any other author similar to those, I can always tell I'm reading a 'classic' because of the descriptions, the descriptions, and oh yes, the descriptions. I was pleased to find that in North & South, there weren't a lot of those.

 The only parts that bored me just a little bit was when Mr. Thornton got to talking about strikes, or the trade, or something like that. I don't know, he just talked too much over my head sometimes. :) However, he is definitely NOT a boring sort of character. In fact, he's very deep. Him and Margaret both. Gaskell does such a tremendous job weaving the character's deep thoughts and passionate feelings throughout the story as they guide the character's actions and words.
The best part about those sections was that it didn't feel like you were reading "descriptions". They were just there, and they were so good. I drank those parts up. I really did.

The book was so much better than the film series. But, I don't really like to say 'better', as if I were degrading the series, because the film series isn't bad like that at all. In fact, it's amazing. I only mean that both the series and the book are so utterly enjoyable and deep and wonderful to experience. But if I absolutely HAD to choose which one is just a little better than the other, I would have to say that the book holds a higher place in my affections.

By reading the book, I was grateful to be able to take the time to enjoy the story a little longer than the series would have allowed. That's the thing about movies that have been made out of books; it takes you maybe a week or a month or even longer (if you're not a huge reader) to get the story out of a book, and thus you get to enjoy it longer than a movie or series, which takes maybe 2-6 hours.

That hat though... XD

 I didn't care anything about Mrs. Thornton's thoughts or feelings. That woman drove me bananas. I've never met someone so set on looking down on people the way she does. And then there's the man Nicholas Higgins, whom I DO like. I liked him better in the book I think, because he had more of a chance to show his good heart, except that I could hardly understand what he was saying most of the time. XD

*SPOILER Actually, I wouldn't call this a spoiler, but whatever. I absolutely loved it, in the movie and in the book even more, when Higgins and Thornton finally got as close as they ever would get at seeing eye to eye (after the strikes, and all that). I love how Margaret was sure that if Higgins went and spoke to Thornton, he would give him work. And she was right, in the end. I loved that whole little section. END OF SPOILER*

Aww... would you look at that. :)

 And then there are Margaret's parents. Mrs. Hale annoys me just a little bit. She's always complaining, and worrying, and being out-of-sorts, and getting everyone around her upset and nervous. I just don't like those kinds of people. I mean, I know she's got poor health and all that, but gosh.
Mr. Hale isn't too bad. I loved the relationship between him and Margaret in the book. They share a sweet likeness in helping people, and doing the right thing. I almost kind of loved him in the book.

And about Frederick... I'm not going to call this a spoiler warning, because it isn't really. He's Margaret's brother (that's all I'll say) and I LOVE HIM. HE'S SO NICE. I love him in the series (they picked a great actor for him), and he's a complete doll in the book as well. I wish with all my heart that he would have had more time in the entire story because he's an angel, poor thing.
  

One other thing I loved about this book, is that the main character is so much like my own self. Margaret, in the way she feels about people, about serving and helping others, about handling different situations, is so much like my own habits of living that she could actually BE ME. I mean REALLY. She definitely has that INFJ sort of personality, which is what I have. In other words, rarely do I find a character in a book more close to my heart than Margaret Hale.

At the end of it all, I am proud to have the 2004 film series on my DVD shelf, and I am even more proud to possess on my bookshelf Elizabeth Gaskell's "passionate tale of love across the social divide."

So if you see an unusual amount of N&S pics on the blog, or Pins on Pinterest, don't be alarmed, I'm not going crazy, I  just happen to be quite consumed with this whole series/book lately, and I think I've decided that It's my favorite Period Drama, up until this point, with Pride & Prejudice being a close second.