Favorite Five

  Mehitabel sighed as she rose.
  "I suppose it must be so," she said, "but it is a great and weary mystery. Moreover, I have yet to see the man I would choose before a plate of early strawberries. And, anyway, pignuts, dug out of the ground and eaten on the tree-tops, are right excellent good!"
                                                                                   Lochinvar by S.R. Crockett


  “It’s just an old Navajo custom.” Ralph grinned uncomfortably. “And that reminds me: If Kitty gets uppity about Carson again, you tell her I said to be nice or I’ll ask my great-uncle to step on her great-uncle’s shadow. That will make her behave!”
                                                                                   Black Treasure by Roger Barlow


"Well!" said Rupert after a pause of deep silence—"now I know what folks mean when they say something 'beats the Dutch.' That beats all I ever saw!—hollow."
                                                                                   The End of a Coil by Susan Warner


This plan met approval. Rupert volunteered to go back and bring Mrs. Copley's belongings safely to Gonda.

  "And while you are about it, bring mine too, my good fellow, will you?" said St. Leger as Rupert was about to go. He spoke somewhat superciliously. But the other answered with cool good humour,

  "All right. I'll do that, on the understanding that you'll do as much for me next time." And he went.
                                                                                   The End of a Coil by Susan Warner



   “At the time the brave gave little sign that he was grateful,” continued Dick, as he figured things out; “but you know that all Indians practice hiding their real feelings. They think it weak to show signs of fear or anything like that. But, at the same time, an Indian can be grateful, and I believe that brave proved it.”

  “He did, oh! he did!” exclaimed Roger, no longer groping in darkness since Dick had thrown light on the mystery. “He knew we were escaping, but he could not find it in his heart to betray the one who had been so kind to him! I shall never believe so badly of Indians after this. My father was right when he told me they could be reached by kindness; and surely he and Uncle Bob ought to know.”
 
  Somehow all of them fell silent for some time. No doubt they were thinking how strangely they had been favored by Providence.
                                             Pioneer Boys of the Yellowstone by St. George Rathbone



Note: The Pioneer Boys series, by St. George Rathbone were very good books, but I had one problem with them.  WHO IN THE WORLD HAS THREE BOOKS THAT TAKE PLACE ON THE Lewis & Clark Expedition, AND NEVER HAVE A SINGLE MENTION OF Sacajawea?????!!!!!!!!  (rantover)

So that was the only problem I had with the last three books of the series.  I have always loved Sacajawea and it annoyed me very much that they never mentioned her!!! 

Sept/Oct Ravelry Challenge

I am a member of a Forum called, Ravelry.  A group on there that I am a prat of, has bi-monthly writing challenges.  They have three predetermined elements that you must incorporate into a story that is between 1,000 and 10,000 words long.  This months elements were:

  Person: Prisoner
  Place: Planet (other then Earth)
  Thing: Pizza

Those three elements fit perfectly into a story that my siblings and I were doing.

Bertie's Diary



Macatoutou, November 12, 2118 

Dear Diary,
  I swear, some days I could scream!  I just want to bust loose, go somewhere, DO something!  I know that I was looking forward to the adventure of starting a new life on Tasural, but I never expected THIS!!  When we had to crash land on this unknown planet (which we have since named Macatootu) I was kind of excited, but now?  The loneliness and solitude is enough to drive a person insane!  It's not that there aren't people here (there are 25, Captain Dan, Alessandro, Chiara, the 13 Robertsons and we 9 MacKays), but the monotony and sameness (if that is even a word) of everything gets to me.   We see the same people, the same sights, eat the same food.  I feel like a prisoner here.  We have been here for 9 months now.  I just want out!  I want to rise, fly, touch the sky!  I want nice, cheesy, bubbly hot pizza from 'Giovanni's'.  I want to go bowling with my friends at 'Bill's Place'.  I want to hang out with Lizzie and hold her adorable little girls.  I want to travel with Beth and go see our favorite places again.  Go hiking with Kitty on our favorite Mountain.  Run races with Marie in the rain.  Go horseback riding with Emmie and Lynn.  Lie in the backyard and watch shooting stars and laughing over the dumbest things, with Beth, Nate, Chloe and Trevor.  Don't get me wrong, Franz and Gertie are two of the best friends a girl could ever have.  And there are lots of things that we do together and have great enjoyment doing.  Like practicing archery, and having a contest to see whose arrows get farther.  Franz and I swordfighting.  Playing songs together, me on the violin, Gertie on the cello and Franz on the guitar.  But sometimes, you get tired  of seeing the same people, even if they are your best friends.  And I know that Franz and Gertie share these feelings.  They may not say anything, but I can see it in their eyes and sense it in their behavior.  And I don't always feel like this.  Sometimes I feel perfectly fine.  Franz, Gertie and I, have gone exploring together and guess what we found? AN ISLAND WITH REAL LIVE DRAGONS!!!!!!  And you know how much I love Dragons!!  On one of our visits there, we found a baby Dragon with a broken wing and I brought it home with me.  It took a while to convince some people (Eleanor in particular) to let me keep it, but I finally got them to agree.  We have determined that it is a male, so I have named him Fionn mac Uail, after the Irish hero.  And he is so adorable!  He isn't much bigger then my hand, and he will sit on my fingertips and make little rumbling noises (it sounds like a kitten purring).  He is a dark red and Franz likes teasing that he (Fionn), is the same color as my hair.  Franz has become an awful tease lately.  I know that one of his greatest pleasures these days is arousing my temper and he knows how to do it only too well.  He is such a plague!  The children are enjoying it for the most part.

  The 6 older ones (Christopher, Otto, Jordan, Anton, Jennifer and Louisa) are enjoying sneaking off to explore.  Captain Dan loves going after them and bringing them back.  Especially, Jen and Lou.  There is this animosity between them that is real, but then again it isn't.  They don't hate each other, but the girls will make nasty faces at him and sit there making their plans for sneaking off in a most audible whisper and Captain Dan sits there telling them how he will catch them.  He gets a lot of fun out of it.  The other day, he came home hauling a soaking wet girl under each arm.  They were making the nastiest faces I have ever seen at him and he had a very triumphant grin on his face.  Turns out he had caught them jumping off a cliff (he says it wasn't very high) into the water, and then swimming back to the shore for another jump.  You should have heard the lecture that Eleanor and Chiara (as the oldest females they are the pseudo 'mothers') gave them!  Gertie and I had to leave the room because Jen and Lou looked so repentant (not!) and Captain Dan was so triumphant!  Plus I have to admit, jumping off a cliff into the water does sound like fun!  That night, after the children were in bed, Franz, Gertie and I were teasing Captain Dan about sneaking off and doing it ourselves and telling him that he would never be able to catch us!  He just laughed and shook his finger at us and said that the 3 of us were worse then the 12 younger children put together!

  Zia and Erich have been attempting to catch parrots.  A very noisy green kind abound on this island.  Since we have been surrounded by them, I have been assured that Zia and Erich come by their mutual nickname of 'Parrots' honestly!  Neither, the parrots or Zia and Erich ever stop making noise!

  And since we are talking about the children's escapades, I'll tell you what the others have done lately.   A couple of weeks ago, when we got up, it was fairly cold outside.  Jen and Lou (it was their turn, along with Jordan and Anton, to bring water from the spring) hadn't thought that they needed their shoes.  When they discovered that they did, Jordan and Anton very obligingly offered to bring their sisters their shoes.  We should have been warned by their extreme politeness.  A few minutes later, we heard Jen and Lou yelling in unison, "JORDAN! ANTON! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!"  When we reached them, Jen and Lou were beating up the boys who were laughing so hard they couldn't even defend themselves.  They had put frogs in the girls' shoes.  Oh boy!!!  Well let's just say that I am glad I am not in the boys' shoes!  Not only did they get themselves into major trouble, but Jen and Lou are awful when they retaliate!!  I don't know what they did to the boys (if they even have), but they appear to be pretty satisfied with themselves.

As for Christopher and Otto (or Chrissy Lumby and Gussie, as Gertie and I call them), they attempted to sneak off into the woods in the morning and stay all day and all night.  I don't know how they thought they could get away with that!  They were only gone for about half an hour before Jack and Karl went after them.  They were promptly grounded for a week.
As for the younger four, Glory, Gretl, Luke and Curt, they have been pretty good.  Glory and Gretl keep catching spiders and bringing them into the house to show us their latest find.  We all would prefer that they kept them outside and are working on that with them.  And when we went to do the laundry the other day, we found rocks in Luke and Curt's pants pockets.  That's boys for you!  I am glad that we don't have Legos for them to string all over the house though!

I know that this entry has ended on a more cheerful note then it began.  But that is how I am.  Franz calls it, 'the rubber ball personality'.  Somedays I hate that I am that way and other days I love it.  But I know that the most important thing is to keep trusting in God and believing that He will give me the strength to make it through the rough times.  Well, Dear Diary, that is all for now.  Talk to you later.

Roberta Maisie MacKay

Favorite Five

Hey guys.  I decided to do movie quotes this week instead of books.  Hope you enjoy!


 

Arthur: "I warn you, I've been trained to kill since birth."
Merlin: "Wow, and how long have you been training to be a prat?"
Arthur: "You can't address me like that."
Merlin: "Sorry. How long have you been training to be a prat, my lord?"
                                                                                    Merlin ~ S1, E1




Uther Pengragon: "You shall be awarded a position in the Royal household. You shall be Prince Arthur's man servant."  (And the looks on Merlin and Arthur's faces are priceless!)
                                                                                    Merlin ~ S1, E1

Mushu: "My powers are beyond your mortal imagination. For instance, my eyes can see straight through your armor."
(Mushu's eyes move towards Mulan's chest; she smacks him)
Mushu: "Oooh! All right, that's it! Dishonor! Dishonor on your whole family!"
(to Cri-Kee)
Mushu: "Make a note of this: dishonor on you, dishonor on your cow, dis..."
(Mulan covers his mouth with her hand) 
Mulan: "Stop. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm just nervous. I've never done this before."
Mushu: "Then you're gonna have to trust me. And don't you slap me no more. We clear on that? All right. Okey-dokey, let's get this show on the road! Cri-Kee, get the bags."  (to the horse, Khan) "Let's move it,
 heifer."
                                                                                   Mulan ~ 1998

Mulan: (Mulan and Mushu escape back to shore from Yao, Ling, and Chin-Po) "Boy, that was close."
Mushu: "No... (brushes his teeth) That was vile! You owe me big."
(Mushu squirts more toothpaste in his mouth and brushes again)
Mulan: "I never want to see a naked man again."
(a big group of naked men run past them, laughing)
Mushu: "Hey, don't look at me, I ain't biting no more butts."
                                                                                  Mulan ~ 1998

Mushu: "Let's go kick some Hunny buns! Yee-ha!" 
                                                                                  Mulan ~ 1998


In case you all can't tell, I have been watching Merlin and Mulan, lately.  I watched Mulan for the first time last Saturday, and I am far to fond of the things that Mushu says.  I don't know when the last time was that I laughed as hard as I did at Mushu!!  He is a pill, but I love him!  

 

   

Things I Have Discovered Lately

I have realized anew, what a brilliant man Peter Jackson is.  Watch the videos below and then tell me if you agree with me.  Of course he couldn't have done it with out the help of all the brilliant actors and actresses and all the people behind the screen.

Around a year ago, when I first started listening to Celtic Woman a lot, I fell in love with their song, 'When You Believe'.  It wasn't until yesterday, that I found out, 'When You Believe', is from Disney's 'Prince of Egypt' soundtrack. 

I has also discovered that I............am addicted to Disney songs. (This by the way, is all Mel's fault.  Just ask her!)

And that, is just a few!!  Well folks, thanks for reading!!

Food Tag

Well no one really nominated me!  I stole the questions from Olivia's blog.  But she said that she nominated anyone who wanted to do it so I suppose, Olivia nominated me.  So....thanks Olivia!!!

The rules:
1). Thank the person who nominated you, as well as link to their blog.
2). Answer the 10 questions provided.
3). Come up with 10 more questions that relate to food.
4). Nominate at least 5 people.
5). Let those people know they've been nominated.

Heidi's questions:

1. Your thoughts on cheese?  I'm from Wisconsin.  I'm a Cheesehead.

2. Favorite pizza?  Ummmm......Homemade.

3. Have you always had a “traditional” dinner (i.e. turkey and all the fixings) on Thanksgiving?  Pretty much.  One year we had Mexican food.  Mom was pregnant and craved Mexican, so we had Mexican food for Thanksgiving.  It was different, to say the least!!

4. Favorite Thanksgiving dish to prepare?  PIES!!  I am considered a whiz at pie crust so they fall to me. 

5. Your favorite breakfast?  Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal.

(No, Olivia, I have never had Mr. J's.) 

6. Favorite kind of bread (i.e. whole wheat, French, sourdough, cinnamon-raisin, etc.)  French bread probably.

7. Favorite vegetable?  Carrots!!  And Corn.  And Olives (if those qualify).

8. Do you like sweet or sour?  Usually sweet.

9. Most unusual/unexpected ethnic dish you’ve ever had?  Ummm, I don't really know.  I know there has been something and the day after I post this I will remember it. 

10. Hamburgers or hotdogs?  Hambugers.  Have you ever watched a video on how Hotdogs are made? If you love Hotdogs, I suggest that you don't.  It makes me want to never eat Hotdogs again.

I'm only going to nominate Keturah.  

The Legend of the Hawk

This is a random story that I wrote.   Below the story is the 'story behind the story'.
 

  In the land of Omira, there stands a tall pine tree beside a road.  It stands on the bank above, where the road runs through a cut in the hill.  Now in that tree, sits a hawk.  It is always alone and it screams intermittently day and night.  No one knows why.  But there are many theories and legends about it. 

Some say that it is a wild hawk who lost it's mate near the spot and is sad.

Others that it is a human in enchanted shape. 

That he was a rich man who was robbed there and has been cursed to stay there (it never flies far from the tree) until his stolen money is found.

Or that he was a robber, leader of a gang who robbed at this spot and he is cursed to wait there until 7,000 years have passed since his last robbery, thinking over his evil ways and having to stay in the place where he committed them, to remind him.

But my favorite, is the one about the Highwayman! 
 

One story says that he was a Highwayman who loved the Earl of Lanord's beautiful daughter Fiona (who was betrothed the that villain the Count Kulmere) and she loved him.  Every month, when the moon was two nights past the full, they would meet beneath the pine tree on the hill.  Every month for two years, they kept the tryst, but the Count Kulmere returned from the wars to claim his bride and Fiona and her Highwayman arranged to fly together to the neighbouring country.  But the Highwayman never came to the Tryst-tree, though Fiona waited until daybreak.  She thought him faithless and resigned herself to marrying Kulmere.  But the day before the wedding, she learned that a groom (the only one who knew about the Highwayman and who had aided her in meeting with him), had betrayed them to Kulmere and the Highwayman had never come because Kulmere waylaid him and killed him.  In her grief and her hatred for Kulmere, she killed herself rather then marry him. 

But........the Highwayman had not died.  Kulmere had left him for dead, but he was found by the Faeries and they healed him.  But when he learned of Fiona's death, he had no desire to live and wasted away.  Now his ghost, in the shape of a hawk, haunts the pine tree......and woe to any of Kulmere's descendants who pass that way!  The Highwayman will have his revenge!

The true story is this. About a 1/4 of a mile up the road from us, is a hill. On the telephone pole at the top of the hill, a hawk sits and screams. But only in summer. There used to be a pair, so I think that the hawk lost it’s mate. As I was taking a walk with my brothers, my 11 year old brother came up with the ‘rich man’ part. I said the ‘robber’ part was more likely. Then later that day, the ‘Highwayman’ part came to me inspired by Loreena McKennitt singing the poem The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes, which I had listened to the night before.

Windblown Farm

This is another random drawing that I made.  Windblown Farm, came from a notebook sitting next to me (I think that it was a story I had started writing with my siblings or something).

October QQ

Linking up with Melody's QQ.

I planned to do this when Melody first posted the prompt, but I couldn't think of anything to do.  Then when I was browsing Pinterest, I came across the picture below and the scene immediately came to me.

This isn't what Owen and Meg look like, or how they are sitting in the Hall, but this is what inspired the scene.

   I sat quietly beside Owen in the dark of the Hall.  He was supposed to leave for the borders tonight.  Only God knew when I would see him again and I wanted to spend the last few minutes with him, even if it was only to sit beside him in the dark.  I could tell that he had something on his mind, and I wondered if he would share it with me.  Finally he roused himself.

  "I have been wondering lately, Meg, why I am fighting in this war?  You know how much I dislike war.  And I realized.....it is because of Father."

  "Your father?" I asked, puzzled.  Owen was the third of five boys in his family and I knew that his father had never paid much attention to him.  He didn't seem to care what Owen did, so what his father could have to do with it puzzled me.

   "Yes.  You know how much he admires good fighters.  He loves battle and brave warriors.  I joined the border fighters because I thought that if I distinguished myself in that manner, he might notice me.  I thought that maybe I could earn his love that way.  I have always wanted his love, but he has never given it to me.  I have tried other ways and it never worked.  So I thought that maybe, just maybe, this time and this way, would work.  I didn't realize it at the time, but now I know that that is why I joined them.  But then I think of all the people who do love me, and who depend upon me, my mother and sisters, you and your mother, and I wonder if my father's love is worth risking my life for?  Especially if I can't gain his love this way.  I have my Heavenly Father's love, do I really need my Earthly father's love?  When I think like that my part in the war seems needless."

  He stopped and we sat there for a long time.  Then he spoke again taking my hand in his and I could feel the love and caring in his touch though his voice was hard.

  "Then I look at you and I think of what the Sentinians have done to you and I think of what the Sentinians and the Regent have done to our Prince and Princess and I am ready for war!  I am ready to kill every Sentinian who comes within the reach of my sword, even to kill the Regent!  Oh, how I hate him!"

  Just then a horn call rang out in the courtyard and we rose together.

  "I must go now," he whispered.  After a close embrace and a kiss we left the Hall.

How Great Thou Art

What happens when you discover that your favorite male Irish singer sings your favorite hymn?  Well in my case, it means that you have a gigantic smile on your face and you call your mom and older sister over to listen it and then you listen to it, and listen to it, and listen to it again, and again, and again, and again! 

Here is my favorite male Irish singer, Emmet Cahill, singing my favorite hymn, How Great Thou Art.

Favorite Five

The quotes from this scene are so funny that I couldn't resist doing all of this weeks quotes from here.  It is a very good book and you should read it.  Here is a link to it on Project Gutenberg. 

  Donald and Dorothy

 by

Mary Mapes Dodge

  "So," began the questioner grandly, as if to awe his man into a becoming deference, "you are the person who, according to Mr. Reed, rescued the twins? How—I mean in what way, by what means—did you save them?"
 
 "Mostly by tryin', your honor," replied Jack, sullenly.

                                                                                 ~

  "Clever tar!" exclaimed Mr. Slade, in mock admiration, inwardly resolved to conciliate the man, if possible, by letting him have his own way for a while. "Well, I was on the wrong tack, as you sailors would say. Now, to start fair, can you tell me what happened after the first shock of the shipwreck was over? Which of the children did you pick up first?"

 ~

 
  "Ah! They were always together, then; now we're getting it. Could you tell which was the mother of the twins?"

  "Could I tell which was the mother of the twins? I didn't know half the passengers from t'other half, let alone knowin' which babby belonged to which mother. Why, man, boxin' the compass back'ard would be nothin' compared to that. All I can tell you is we was 'most all hove out into the sea, high and low together."

  "I'd have you hove out again if you were my man, or make you keep a civiller tongue in your head," was Eben's savage retort. "Now, sir, will you or will you not tell me how you saved the two babies, and what became of the other one?"

 "I will not," answered Jack, doggedly; then seeing that Mr. George was about to reprove him, he added, in an altered tone: "As for the savin', that's my business; but the other poor little critter must'a been put into the boat with its poor mother. I feel sartain it was."

 "Sorry I can't oblige you," said Jack; "but you see it was night, and, besides, I'd forgot my specs."

 ~

  "Did you see Mr. Robertson?" asked Slade, loftily. "Was he with the lady in the boat?"

  "Well, if ever I met the like of land lubbers! Was he with the lady in the boat? Did I see him? Why, man, it warn't a pleasure-party. Out of all that shipload, barely twenty men and wimmen ever saw the sun rise again; and Mr. Robertson,—no, nor his wife, nor the babby, nor t'other poor lady,—warn't amongst them, as the master here can tell you; and none on 'em couldn't make us any the wiser about who the babbies belonged to. An' their mothers wasn't hardly ever on deck; 'most like they was sick in their state-rooms, for they was born ladies, both of 'em; and that's all you'll learn about it, if I stand here till daylight. Now, Capt'n, shall I pilot the gentl'man out?"

  "Yes, you may," cried Eben, rising so suddenly that Jack's eyes blinked, though, apart from that, not a muscle stirred. "I'll have a talk with you outside."

  "Jest my idee!" said Jack, with alacrity, holding wide the door. "No place like the open sea for a collision." Again his glance questioned Mr. Reed. He was in the habit of studying that face, very much as in times past he had studied the sky to learn the weather. But the stern answer he found there, this time, disappointed him, and "saved Eben Slade from bein' stove in an' set beam-end in less than no time," as Jack elegantly remarked to himself, while Mr. George rose and bade his visitor a stiff "good-evening."

I Am Now A Fan Of........

I watched the first episode last night and I am HOOKED!!!!!!  I love them all!!!  Merlin, Arthur (even though he is a 'Royal Ass'), Gwen, Gaius (I ADORE him!).  They are all so much fun and I can hardly wait to see more.  Merlin is definitely my favorite and I know that Gwaine is going to be my second favorite.

Cattle Drive 9/24/15

I live in ranching country.  Every spring the local ranchers drive their cattle up to the summer pastures (usually in late May) and in the end of September the bring them back down.  Well every spring and summer they drive them right past our house.  We love sitting out in the front yard and watching them.  Well I snapped some photos and I thought that I would do a blog post about it.  So here you all are.

My little siblings.  Left to right: Spiffy, Sandy, Jill, Joni, Shorty and Jenny.

Cows,

Cows,

Cows,

And more Cows.

And would you believe it?!  More COWS!!!!!

Daisy watching a few dogs that were helping.

And now some of the gorgeous horses that were being ridden.  And a mule.

Mule.

Red Roan.  I love this horse.

I think that that is a Halflinger over there, but I'm not sure.

And this stunning Grulla.

Love the Buckskin and the Grulla's face.

The best picture of the Grulla.

This one looked like a Blue Roan in person, but has a bit of a reddish tint on the computer.

And a Dapple Grey.  I love Dapple Greys.

Thanks for reading!

Favorite Five

A few months ago I read my first Georgette Heyer, The Black Moth, and loved it.  A few weeks ago I read my second one, These Old Shades.  This book was amazing!  Georgette Heyer was a very talented author!  I laughed and cried my way through this book (they crying came from laughing really hard).  So I decided to do all of the quotes this week from These Old Shades and yes, I know that there are more then five quotes here, but I couldn't pick only five!

  "And I thought that you would be pleased to see me, ma fille," said a soft drawling voice.  "I beg you will not shoot me dead."  Great-coated, booted and spurred, not a hair of his elegant wig out of place, his Grace of Avon stood upon the threshold, quizzing raised, a faint smile curling his thin lips.

 

  "Oh, I was just teasing Rupert!" Léonie replied buoyantly.  "That is why I am in these clothes.  I put them on to make him angry.  And I ran away from him into the wood, and then that pig-person was there-"
   "One moment, my infant.  You will pardon my ignorance, but I do not know who the--er--pig-person is meant to be."
  "Why, the wicked Comte!" said Léonie. "He is a pig-person, Monseigneur."
  "I see.  I do not think I admire your choice of adjective, though."

 

  "Oh, you know the rest. Monseigneur!  Ha gave me an evil drink--pig-wash!  He called it coffee."
  "Then let us also call it coffee, child, I beg of you.  I can support 'Pig-person', but 'Pig-wash' I will not endure."
  "But it was, Monseigneur!  I threw it at him, and he swore."
His Grace regarded her inscrutably.
  "You seem to have been a pleasant traveling companion," he remarked.  "What then?"
  "Then he brought more pig--coffee, and he made me drink it.  It was drugged, Monseigneur, and it made me go to sleep."



  "Eloped?" Léonie echoed.  "With Rupert?  Ah, bah, I would as soon elope with the old goat in the field!"
  "If it comes to that, I'd as soon elope with a tigeress!" retorted Rupert.  "Sooner, by Gad!"
  "When this interchange of civilities is over," said his Grace languidly, "I will continue.  But do not let me interrupt you."



  Léonie waved agitated hands.
  "No, no, imbécile!  Tais toi!"  She pursed her mouth primly.  "M. Marling would be shocked, and madame would say that it not at all respectable.  Monseigneur, he is not to tell!"
  "One would infer that it was some disgraceful secret," said his Grace.  "I believe that I have several times requested you not to call Rupert 'imbécile', infant."
  "But Monseigneur, he is an imbécile!" she protested.  "You know he is!"

  "Undoubtedly, ma fille, but I do not tell the whole world so."
  "Then I do not know what I am to call him," said Léonie.  "He calls me spitfire, Monseigneir, and wildcat."
  "And so she is, by Gad!" exclaimed his lordship.
  "I am not, Rupert, I am a lady.  Monseigneur says so."
  "A manifestly false assertion," said his Grace.  "But I cannot remember ever having said anything of the kind, infant."
 



  "Abduted?" Davenant looked round, half-incredulous.  "What's this?"
  "On that pig-person!" said Léonie scornfully.
  "My love!" Lady Fanny jumped.  "What did I hear you say?"
  "Well, but, Madame, Monseigneur allows me to say pig-person.  You do not mind, do you, Monseigneur?"
  "My infant, it is not a beautiful expression, nor am I in any way enamoured of it, but I believe that I did say I could support it as long as you refrained from talking of pig--er--wash."



 

The Bluebird's Memory Nest

Ok.  (Warning: this may not explained in the most coherent manner!  I sometimes have a hard time with words!  If you have any questions please contact me and I will try to explain it.)  

  

  A few weeks ago I came up with a new game/tag thingy.

  Instead of having to answer questions or tell random facts about yourself, you make up random nonsense that starts with:
  'When I grow up and have my own house'  And then list a random fact.  It can be true example: 'When I grow up and have my own house, I am going to learn to play the Violin', or serious, 'When I grow up and have my own house, I want and Old English Garden with a sun dial' or complete nonsense like, 'When I grow up and have my own house, I am going to make a different chocolate dessert everyday.'

  Instead of an 'awards tag' its a Memory Nest.  We are helping each other build a nest made out of Memories.  And instead of 'tagging' a certain number of people that have to answer questions, you 'peck' ONE other person.  One thing, is that this can last as long as our imaginations hold out because we can come up with the most ridiculous things and never say the same thing (I know that you eventually run out of random facts about yourself when answering tags) but as long as we have imaginations this can go on and on!!




So the Rules: 

Thank the person that 'pecked' you.

List five things that start with, 'When I grow up and have my own house...' (they can be true, 'When I grow up and have my own house, I will learn to play the Violin'.....or utterly ridiculous, 'When I  grow up and have my own house, I will not let anyone visit me who leaves the plug for the shower head pulled so that the water hits you in the back of the head when you turn it on.')

'Peck' one other person and let them know that you have done so.

1. 'When I grow up and have my own house, I will go swimming under a waterfall.'
2. 'When I grow up and have my own house, I am going to slide down the banisters every morning!'
3. 'When I grow up and have my own house, I will travel the world.
4. 'When I grow up and have my own house, I will make all of my male acquaintances read Jane Austen.'
5. 'When I grow up and have my own house, I won't drink wine.'

I 'peck' Keturah