1 Week Old

The puppies were a week old on Friday.

Gil-galad

Elrohir

Elladan

Finduilas

Strider

Arwen

The Christmas Card ~ 2006

Another lovely Christmas movie!!  I watched it with Frank on Saturday night.  And I ate some yummy pizza and a few cookies.

Sergeant Cody Cullen receives a Christmas card from a young woman, Faith Spellman, while serving a tour of duty.  He is touched and gratified by it and it keeps him going through the horrors of war.  When his best friend, Jonesy, is killed while they unload supplies, Cody is sent back to the states.  One of his jobs back there is to deliver Jonesy effects to his fiancee.....who lives in the same town as Faith.  While there he attends church the next morning and winds up saving Faith's father's life.  Taken in by the Spellman family, he helps out at the family lumber mill and spends quite a bit of time with Faith.....and then her 'traveling boyfriend' shows up!

Sorry that this post isn't as detailed as my other ones.  My brain is kind of fried!

Favorite Five

Since we just got 8 inches of snow, I decided to do some of my favorite scenes that take place in a winter setting.

  The little girls took a look at her, seemed satisfied, and accepted her offer. Polly looked carefully round to see that no fashionable eye beheld the awful deed, and finding all safe, settled her freight, and spun away down hill, feeling all over the delightsome excitement of swift motion which makes coasting such a favorite pastime with the more sensible portion of the child-world. One after another, she took the little girls down the hill and dragged them up again, while they regarded her in the light of a gray-coated angel, descended for their express benefit. Polly was just finishing off with one delicious "go" all by herself, when she heard a familiar whistle behind her, and before she could get off, up came Tom, looking as much astonished as if he had found her mounted, on an elephant.

  "Hullo, Polly! What'll Fan say to you?" was his polished salutation.

  "Don't know, and don't care. Coasting is no harm; I like it, and I'm going to do it, now I've got a chance; so clear the lul-la!" And away went independent Polly, with her hair blowing in the wind, and an expression of genuine enjoyment, which a very red nose didn't damage in the least.
                                                                                   An Old Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott



   The idea amused Jo, who liked to do daring things and was always scandalizing Meg by her queer performances. The plan of 'going over' was not forgotten. And when the snowy afternoon came, Jo resolved to try what could be done. She saw Mr. Lawrence drive off, and then sallied out to dig her way down to the hedge, where she paused and took a survey. All quiet, curtains down at the lower windows, servants out of sight, and nothing human visible but a curly black head leaning on a thin hand at the upper window.

  "There he is," thought Jo, "Poor boy! All alone and sick this dismal day. It's a shame! I'll toss up a snowball and make him look out, and then say a kind word to him."

  Up went a handful of soft snow, and the head turned at once, showing a face which lost its listless look in a minute, as the big eyes brightened and the mouth began to smile. Jo nodded and laughed, and flourished her broom as she called out...
                                                                                   Little Women by Louisa May Alcott




   "He liked it, and we got on capitally till Joe roughed him about Jill. Ah, Joe's getting it now! I thought Gus and Ed would do that little job for me," added Frank, running to the window as the sound of stifled cries and laughter reached him.

   The red ear heard also, and Jack popped up his head to ask, with interest,—
  
  "What are they doing to him?"

  "Rolling him in the snow, and he's howling like fun."

  "Serves him right," muttered Jack, with a frown. Then, as a wail arose suggestive of an unpleasant mixture of snow in the mouth and thumps on the back, he burst out laughing, and said, good-naturedly, "Go and stop them, Frank; I won't mind, only tell him it was a mean trick. Hurry! Gus is so strong he doesn't know how his pounding hurts."
                                                                                  Jack and Jill by Louisa May Alcott



   "Birnam Wood has come to Dunsinane, Rosy," said Dr. Alec, as he left the breakfast table to open the door for a procession of holly, hemlock, and cedar boughs that came marching up the steps.
Snowballs and "Merry Christmases!" flew about pretty briskly for several minutes; then all fell to work trimming the old house, for the family always dined together there on that day.
 
  "I rode miles and mileses, as Ben says, to get this fine bit, and I'm going to hang it there as the last touch to the rig-a-madooning," said Charlie, as he fastened a dull green branch to the chandelier in the front parlor.
  
  "It isn't very pretty," said Rose, who was trimming the chimney-piece with glossy holly sprays.
  
  "Never mind that, it's mistletoe, and anyone who stands under it will get kissed whether they like it or not. Now's your time, ladies," answered the saucy Prince, keeping his place and looking sentimentally at the girls, who retired precipitately from the dangerous spot.

  "You won't catch me," said Rose, with great dignity.

  "See if I don't!"

  "I've got my eye on Phebe," observed Will, in a patronising tone that made them all laugh.

  "Bless the dear; I shan't mind it a bit," answered Phebe, with such a maternal air that Will's budding gallantry was chilled to death.
  
  "Oh, the mistletoe bough," sang Rose.

  "Oh, the mistletoe bough!" echoed all the boys, and the teasing ended in the plaintive ballad they all liked so well.

  There was plenty of time to try the new skates before dinner, and then Rose took her first lesson on the little bay, which seemed to have frozen over for that express purpose. She found tumbling down and getting up again warm work for a time, but with six boys to teach her, she managed at last to stand alone; and, satisfied with that success, she refreshed herself with a dozen grand coasts on the Amazon, as her sled was called.
                                                                                 Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott



   That afternoon Miss Moore sang remarkably well, and that evening quite electrified even her best friends by the skill and power with which she rendered "Inflammatus" in the oratorio.

  "If that is not genius, I should like to know what it is?" said one young man to another as they went out just before the general crush at the end.

   "Some genius and a great deal of love. They are a grand team, and, when well driven, astonish the world by the time they make in the great race," answered the second young man with the look of one inclined to try his hand at driving that immortal span.

  "Daresay you are right. Can't stop now she's waiting for me. Don't sit up, Mac."

  "The gods go with you, Archie."

And the cousins separated one to write till midnight, the other to bid his Phebe good-bye, little dreaming how unexpectedly and successfully she was to earn her welcome home.
                                                                                  Rose In Bloom by Louisa May Alcott

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!  I hope that you all have a wonderful day!!

And our Thanksgiving Dinner menu.

Turkey

Stuffing

Mashed Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes

Rolls

Green Bean Casserole

Ok.  I like the French Fried Onions that are on top of Green Bean Casserole, but I don't like the casserole itself.

Cranberry Sauce

Homemade  Cranberry Sauce. I don't like the homemade stuff very much because I don't like bitter things.

AND...

Pumpkin Pie

With lots of yummy Whipped Cream!!  And CREAM not 'Whipped Topping'!!

Apple Pie

Cherry Pie

 

All pictures are from PInterest.  I don't have random pictures of our Thanksgiving meals lying around!! 

Blogoversary Tag

I am doing the tag from Heather's Blogoversary.

1. What was your first post? When did you write it?  My first post, was my Welcome post and I wrote it a couple of days or like a week before I actually published it.  And I published it, back on July 31st, 2015.
2. What is your most popular post?  My post from Hamlette's Tolkien Week.  Thank You, Mr. Tolkien!
3. What is your favorite post?  My favorite post?  Not Every Girls Prince.......
4. What are some particularly emotional posts you’ve written? (And it doesn’t necessarily have to be weepy—you could be ecstatic or enraged or disgusted, if that applies.)  Ooohhhh, In Loving Memory, I was sad; I Am Now A Fan Of..., I was super excited and The Fellowship of the Ring: Extended Edition, I was super excited.  But I was even more excited when I was writing my post on The Two Towers: Extended Edition, but I haven't posted that yet.  Though I should have finished it and posted it in August.
5. Have you ever written particularly a particularly controversial post?  I don't think so.
6. What is your most humorous post?  I don't know!  You would have to ask my readers.
7. Have you ever given/received/exchanged guest posts?  Nope.
8. What are some things you want to blog about but haven’t gotten to yet?  Ummmm.....the list is far to long to even start on!!
9. What is the best thing about your blog?  Getting to meet and connect with people.
10. And, for the heck of it—what are a few of your favorite blogs (that, if it wasn’t implied, are not yours)?  Meanwhile, in Rivendell, The Splendor Falls, Keturah's Korner, Writing in the Light, Giant Spiders Stole My Sanity, and those are just a few!!

Introducing...

As promised to a few people, here are pictures of the new editions to our family....and also their names!

We have 4 boys, and 2 girls.

Gil-galad

He has the most adorable little white paws.

Strider

He is SO loud (which is pretty funny when you consider his name) and he GROWLS!!

Elladan

He looks almost identical to Elrohir.  At first I could only tell them apart by the slightly different shaped white spots on their bellies, then......

Elrohir

.....You can't see it very well, but Elrohir has brown on his legs.

Finduilas

Her coloring is very unique!

Arwen

She is the runt, but is very feisty!!

I have NO idea why they have Lord of the Rings names.  Especially when their mother has a flower name.  ;)  I also apologize for the not so good pictures, they are VERY wiggly.

Favorite Five

A random bit of news, I have 2146 views, and 15 followers on this blog!



This weeks quotes, are from Jean Webster's, The Wheat Princess, one of my favorite stories.

  ‘Oh, mamma! Sybert came to tea, an’ I made it; an’ he said it was lots better van Marcia’s tea, an’ he dwank seven cups, an’ I dwank four.’

  A chorus of laughter greeted this revelation, and a lazy voice called from the depths of an easy chair, ‘Oh, I say, Gerald, you mustn’t tell such shocking tales, or your mother will never leave me alone with the tea-things again.’ And the owner of the voice pulled himself together and walked across the room ta shake hands with the new-comers.

‘It is a pretty decent sort of a place,’ Copley agreed, ‘though I have a sneaking suspicion that we may find it rather far. But the rest of the family liked it, and my aim in life——’

‘Nonsense, Uncle Howard! you know you were crazy over it yourself. You signed the lease without a protest. Didn’t he, Aunt Katherine?’

21 ‘I signed the lease, my dear Marcia, at the point of the pistol.’

‘The point of the pistol?’

‘You threatened, if we got a mile—an inch, I believe you said—nearer Rome, you would give a party every day; and if that isn’t the point of a pistol to a poor, worn-out man like me, I don’t know what is.’

‘They’ve spent winters in Cairo and Vienna and Paris and a lot of different places,’ pursued Marcia. ‘Eleanor,’ she added ruminatingly, ‘has been out nine seasons, and she has had a good deal of—experience.’

‘Dear, dear!’ said her uncle; ‘and you are proposing to expose all Rome——’

‘She’s very attractive,’ said Marcia, and then she glanced at Sybert and laughed. ‘If she should happen to take a fancy to you, Mr. Sybert——’

The young man rose to his feet and looked about for his hat. ‘Goodness!’ he murmured, ‘what would she do?’

‘There’s no telling.’ Marcia regarded him with a speculative light in her eyes.

‘A young woman who has been practising for nine seasons certainly ought to have her hand in,’ Copley agreed. ‘Perhaps, after all, Sybert, it is best we should not meet her.’

Sybert found his hat and paused for a moment.

‘You can’t frighten me that way, Miss Marcia,’ he said, with a shake of his head. ‘I have been out thirteen seasons myself.’

‘May I come in for tea, Cousin Marcia?’ Gerald inquired, with a note of anxiety in his voice, as they climbed the stone staircase of the Palazzo Rosicorelli. They had been spending the afternoon in the Borghese gardens, and the boy’s very damp sailor-suit bore witness to the fact that he had been indulging in the forbidden pleasure of catching goldfish in the fountain.

‘Indeed you may not,’ she returned emphatically. ‘You 28 may go with Marietta and have some dry clothes put on before your mother sees you.’

Gerald, realizing the wisdom of this course, allowed himself to be quietly spirited off the back way, in spite of the fact that he heard the alluring sound of Sybert’s voice in the direction of the salon. Marcia went on in without waiting to take off her hat, and she met the Melvilles in the ante-room, on the point of leaving.

Mr. Copley, who was strolling on the terrace, glanced up, and catching sight of his niece, paused beneath her balcony while he quoted:—

‘“But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?

It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.”’

Marcia brought her eyes from the distant landscape to a contemplation of her uncle; and then she stepped through the glass doors, and leaned over the balcony railing with a little laugh.

‘You make a pretty poor Romeo, Uncle Howard,’ she called down. ‘I’m afraid the real one never wore a dinner-jacket nor smoked a cigarette.’

Mr. Copley spread out his hands in protest.

‘For the matter of that, I doubt if Juliet ever wore a gown from—where was it—42, Avenue de l’Opéra? How does the new house go?’ he asked.

Puppies and Hearts

Hey folks!!  So a few weeks ago, we found out that my little sister's dog, Daisy was pregnant.  Well I woke up this morning (I wasn't feeling well) to the news that she had had the puppies in the night!  It is miserable and cold here, so we brought her into the house and everyone is doing fine now!  I also promised a few people that I would post pictures when they were born, so here they are.

Held by Jill.

And the Bean Heart.  Some one had mixed two different kinds of beans, so they were being sorted out.  I was walking through the house when Shorty showed me what he had done with a handful of beans and i thought that I would share it with you all.

Galadriel Hairstyle and Cowboy Hats

These pictures of Sandy in his hat and boots, are from a few months ago.  I just hadn't gotten around to posting them.  But the pictures of Jenny, are more recent.  Jenny just recently watched, for the first time, The Hobbit movies.  Well the first two.  She has fallen in love with Elves.  Her favorite Elves, are Galadriel and Legolas.  So I did a quick Galadriel hairstyle on her last Saturday, and this is how it turned out.

First, Sandy.

And then Jenny.

And of course I couldn't resist having her hide her face with the book that had Galadriel on the back!!

White Christmas ~ 1954

Another Christmas movie guys!!!  I first saw this movie 2 years ago and immediately fell in love with it.  Last Saturday, the whole family watched a Nature documentary, then the kids went to bed, Mel went off to Writer's Land, Mom went off to do something (I don't know what) and I cuddled up with Frank to watch this movie.  I had forgotten how funny it was!

 

Dynamite entertainers Bob Wallace and Phil Davis as a favor to an old army pal, go to watch a performance of  sister entertainers, the Haynes Sisters.  When Phil sees how smitten Bob is with the older Haynes sister, Betty, he decides to hook them up....and gets the younger sister, Judy to help him.  But sometimes, scheming like that can make more trouble then good.

For some reasons this movie effects me differently then most Christmas movies.  It has this whole different feel to it, at least for me.  This movie puts me into the Christmas spirit in a way that no other Christmas movie does.  When ever I watch it, I almost expect the house to be decked with greens and I can almost smell Christmas cookies in the air.  I have know idea why it is that way!!!  Another reason I love this movie a lot, is because most of it takes place in Vermont.  And I LOVE Vermont!!  I have this overwhelming desire to live in a rambling old (like built in the late 1800's or early 1900's) farmhouse in the Vermont hills.  So now I shall share with all of you, the movie!!

Main Characters

Bob Wallace ~ Hero

 

Phil Davis ~ Hero

 

Betty Haynes ~ Heroine

 

Judy Haynes ~ Heroine

Wallace and Davis

 

The Haynes Sisters

 

Bob & Betty

 

Phil & Judy

 

And then lets talk about the AMAZING costumes in this movie!!  Designed by Edith Head.

Love this dress!

This is my second favorite outfit of Judy's.

I like Betty's dress (right) better then Judy's.

This dress is cool too.  Especially how the skirts flares out.

 

 

I want a dress like this some day.

 

 

This is my favorite of Judy's outfits.

And some random pictures from it.

"Sisters, Sisters, there never were such devoted sisters!"

 

Judy ~ Don't you find me amusing, gay, charming?"   Phil ~ "Sure, but I feel the same way about my cocker spaniel!"

 

Phil and Judy look FAR too smug!!

Vera Ellen's (Judy) dancing is astounding!!!

Other then the fact that some of the costumes are a wee bit revealing, it is a very good movie.  Hoped you all enjoyed this!!