Of Sunshine, Potatoes, and Emma

Happy Saturday, everybody! I hope you all enjoyed the beautiful day! 


Oh, the odd title? I'll explain that... :)


Well, where I am, under the maple tree, it has been a beautiful day. The Lord gave us a perfectly gorgeous, warm, sunny, slightly breezy day that feels more like it should be a part of summer rather than spring! 


And because the day was so nice, we had to spend it outside: planting potatoes. A whole four rows of taters. When you have a family as large as mine, you need a whole four rows. And then when we ran out of spuds to plant, there was lettuce to fill the rest of the afternoon. While planting can easily become a despised chore, I've found that when you're working alongside your loved ones and have a pleasant tune running constantly through your head, it's not so bad. 

No, these weren't the potatoes I planted
today, but I couldn't help imagining
mounds of real mashed potatoes dripping
with gravy as I worked... odd, considering
it was over 80 degrees outside! :)

That brings me to Emma. It's random, I know, but the main titles to Emma 2009 have been replaying over and over in my mind. I half expected to turn around and see Mr. Knightley standing behind me, saying, "Badly done, Kiri! That row was not straight!" By the way, if you want the song stuck in your head, too, it's one of the many selections on my player on the sidebar. :)

So, fellow bloggers, how did you spend your Saturday? Did you do anything worth the writing, or write something worth the reading? Do comment and let me know! :)

Facts About My Family

Rachel and Sarah of Our Family View From Us Two are hosting a Family Facts Blog Event this month! Enjoy! :)

What are some of your family's favorite phrases, exclamations, or sayings? Favorite phrases? We have way too many!! Mostly, we quote movies, so I'll give you a few of the best ones: "Toss me. Don't tell the elf." (The Lord of the Rings); "Sink me!" (The Scarlet Pimpernel); "I don't have that on my computer." (National Treasure); "You told me last year..." (Pride and Prejudice 1995); "Oh, beetle, how I weep to see..." (The Treasure Seekers); "Where'd you get the locomotive headlight?" (Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase). And then if you had to add just one more not from the movies, my family's absolute favorite word is SWELL. 

What's the number of boys to girls in your family? One boy to five girls. Yes, I am one of five sisters. Pity my one, lonely brother. :)

What is your favorite tradition your family has? Christmas is always the time that's filled with traditions. Every December we countdown to Christmas with our "Christmas Box." Each night, there's a special message written, hidden in the box corresponding to the day, pulled out by eager little fingers, and read. The message, usually written in poem form, will tell us what we are to do that night: eat a Christmas treat, bake cookies for friends, watch a Christmas movie, drive around and look at Christmas lights, share something special we enjoy about the season, read and/or quote Luke 2, sing carols, etc. Even though I'm 18, I still look forward to this every year, and Dad has entrusted me and my sisters (the older ones) to write the notes for some of the nights. Though we don't rhyme as beautifully or as hilariously as our dad, it's still a lot of fun! 

What do you call the midday meal at your house? We don't usually call meals at our house. We eat meals and call our friends. ;)

Is the majority of your family morning people or night owls? Night owls, definitely. We'd like to be morning people, but somehow it's harder to get up earlier than it is to stay up later. 

What is your favorite vacation location? :P My grandparent's small beach house next to the Atlantic Ocean. We've gone there every summer for about as long as I can remember and to me it's always been a place of relaxation and family time. We're not really big beach people, but we enjoy taking walks together in the sunset and going biking.

Are your family's weekends usually full of activities such as sports, parties, and outings, or are they more of around the house, fix-it-uppers? Our house is just one of those houses that is in constant need of fixing up, so it's easy to guess which of the two our weekends will be. ;) If we have parties, they're usually always on Friday night or Sunday after church with family or close friends. 

What is the nationality/ies your family comes from? (i.e. Scotch, Russian, etc) My mother's side is mostly English, while my father's is partly German. That together makes us Germish, if you don't take into consideration the fact that we've also got bits of American Indian, Irish, Scottish, and a lot of other stuff thrown in.

Do you go away for holidays, or celebrate at home? Depends on the holiday. Usually for Christmas, we like staying home and doing a family celebration. For Thanksgiving, our new tradition for the last three years is to have a sleepover at our cousins' house the night before the big day so we can bake together. But Fourth of July, Easter, Mother's and Father's Days... they happen wherever we feel they should happen, whether it be at our home or someone else's home.

How did your parents meet? Oh, this will be a long answer. But it's pretty awesome, considering I and my siblings were the result. ;) Moving on... They met at college, specifically in choir. Dad first saw Mom on campus and thought her pretty, but it took him awhile to actually gather enough courage to speak to her. For her part, Mom thought my dad odd and labeled him a geek. They went on a few dates, but she never really thought much about him. It wasn't until a horrific car accident leaving her in the hospital with 70 stitches in her face and Dad started visiting her frequently, that Mom changed her mind. At this point, Dad knew that she was the woman whom he wanted to marry, and prayer was his constant companion. He asked the Lord to give him a peace about it, about whether he should pursue Mom, about whether God wanted him to marry my mom, and God pointed him to a verse in Psalms: "I will praise Thee forever, for Thou hast done it." And Dad knew. The rest of the story (after they went on more dates, which included one totally set up by my dad's sister, involving a nice restaurant and a plant that continually dripped upon whomever it felt like) is your usual glorious story ending: "And they lived happily ever after, to the end of their days."

Another Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Katie Bugs! I love you!! :)


My adorable little sister is turning 3! It seems like just yesterday we were on our way to the hospital to see her tiny, newborn face. And now today, she's all of 3 years old. How the time flies! 

Don't I have the cutest little sister in the whole world? ;)

Pictures courtesy of JB Photography from Life Of A Michigan Homeschooler.

Keep Calm and Quote Marianne

Marissa of The countryside Lady is having a Keep Calm and Quote Marianne Dashwood Contest! 


This is actually the first time I've participated in a Keep Calm Contest, but I've long adored the random posters I've seen floating around the wonderful blog world. :)


CONTEST Rules
1. No curse words.
2. Must be off Sense & Sensibility, and Marianne must be saying it. :)
3. And would be more pleasureful if a picture of Marianne is included.
4. Please have KEEP CALM as the first phrase.
5. And have fun while doing SO!! :)


Here are my entries:

 Let me know what you think! :)

The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982)

Sink me, I've finally seen it! And now I can understand why everyone loves Sir Percy Blakeney so much. 


Please note: major spoilers ahead. If you have not seen The Scarlet Pimpernel and do not wish to know what happens in the film, you may want to stop reading here.


For years, I have avidly avoided anything that had anything to do with the French Revolution. The bloody beheadings and the killing terror never held any appeal for me. Who could ever find something to enjoy during that time? It was always my least favorite part of history. I've never relished seeing innocent death and gory scenes in movies. So, naturally, when I discovered that The Scarlet Pimpernel was set during the French Revolution, I wrote it off as a movie that I wouldn't want to watch. 


You may be screaming, "Why?!? Why didn't you want to watch it?!?" And now after viewing the film, I would have to agree with your screams. 

What possessed me to give The Scarlet Pimpernel a second chance and watch it? Well, wonderful world of bloggers and blogs, it was you. In the many blogs that I follow, more than once Sir Percy's name came up as the name of a well loved hero. When I first saw it, I scratched my head. Sir Percy Blakeney? I hadn't heard his name before. Who was he? I was familiar with all the other heroes, such as Mr. Knightley, Gilbert Blythe, Arthur Clennam, and Mr. Darcy. But Sir Percy Blakeney? Interested, I read more. Sufferin' cats! He's the Scarlet Pimpernel!

Contrary to my previous views of the French Revolution, I was not turned off when I learned of Sir Percy's identity. Oh, no. Rather quite the opposite. I had to see if this Scarlet Pimpernel was worthy or not of everyone's praise. So, I looked the movie up on youtube. I watched probably an hour's worth of the Scarlet Pimpernel and decided. Yes, he was worthy. And now I just had to see the whole movie.


And, of course, I couldn't watch it without my family. My mother and father had seen it many years ago, and they were both eager to see it again. In fact, they quote it quite often ("Oh, the English and their stupid sense of fair play!"). My sisters (Beth Grace and Jessa Bri) were excited to see it, too, so after hearing my praise of the movie, they ordered it from our state electronic library system. My brother was easy to convince into watching it. I showed him the scene in which Sir Percy and Paul Chauvelin meet ("Why look you here, sir, at this limp cravat!"), and he spent the next forty consecutive hours quoting the Scarlet Pimpernel even though he had not yet seen the film.


The movie took a full two weeks to arrive at our home library. It was agony waiting that long. But  somehow, we managed. 

When the opening scene of the movie came on, we were all ready for it. As the plot unfolded and the characters became more real, every moment added to my opinion of The Scarlet Pimpernel. Yes, I confess, I did glance away at some of the guillotine scenes, and I obviously and mentally cringed when profanity crossed the screen. But the daring antics of Sir Percy kept  me on the edge of my seat! His costumes were, at the same time, unbelievably and outlandishly unique! The way he risked his own life to save the condemned lives of others, some of them people that he didn't even know, was greatly commendable. 


Then the conflict thickened. The evil Chauvelin obtained the letter Percy sent Armand St. Just and discovered that his own assistant was working for the Scarlet Pimpernel! And there were only 40 or so minutes left to watch! What was going to happen? I'll tell you what happened. The disc we were watching cracked up. 


Yes, it cracked up. I suppose the movie had been lovingly watched and handled a few too many times and was becoming too scratched for proper viewing. Oddly enough, the sound still worked and we were able to hear everything that was going on, but the picture was no longer clear. We could only see stuttering images and pixels and static. Disappointed, we listened and imagined the last 40 minutes. 

We were thankful that my dad had seen the movie before, and he obligingly filled us in on what there was to see, if we could see it. The ball at which Marguerite plays a double agent and alternately helps Chauvelin and the Scarlet Pimpernel; the foolish decision of Armand; the moment at which Marguerite discovers who the real Scarlet Pimpernel is; the escape of the young French heir; the epic duel between Percy and Chauvelin. It all sounded so wonderful! And I'm certain it looked wonderful, too.




Needless to say, my sisters ordered another copy of The Scarlet Pimpernel and we must now wait another two weeks to actually see the end of the film. 


However, you will understand me when I say that I am not Sir Percy's biggest fan. You may credit it to missing 40 minutes of seeing him onscreen, if you wish. I thoroughly enjoyed watching The Scarlet Pimpernel, but I cannot say that, due to profanity and my usual dislike for the French Revolution, it has become my absolute favorite movie. Sink me, I do apologize to Percy's avid fans. But can you count me in the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel? Odd's fish, m'dear, I ask you: how could I be counted otherwise? :)

For All Mothers...

Happy Mother's Day! 

I wish all mothers a wonderful day, and especially want to express my love and admiration to the best mother in the whole, wide world! I love you, Mom! 


And for your enjoyment, here are a few pictures of mothers from films, in no particular order whatsoever. :)

Mrs. York from Sergeant York

Marilla Cuthbert from Anne of Green Gables

Mother from The Railway Children

Mrs. Kittredge from Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

Brooke Taylor from Facing the Giants

Mrs. Hamilton from The Inheritance

Marty Davis from Love Comes Softly

Mrs. Banks from Mary Poppins

Mrs. Potter from Miss Potter

Fa Li from Mulan

Mrs. Green from Nanny McPhee Returns

Mrs. Pevensie from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Mrs. Hale from North and South

Mrs. Thornton from North and South

Mrs. Coates from Old Yeller

Mrs. Gibson from Wives and Daughters

Helen Parr from The Incredibles

Lady Dedlock from Bleak House

Mrs. Bower from The One and Only, Genuine,
Original Family Band

Mrs. Weston from Emma

Mrs. Morland from Northanger Abbey

Mother Gothel from Tangled

Maria von Trapp from The Sound of Music

Mrs. Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility

Janet King from Road to Avonlea

Mrs. Bennet from Pride and Prejudice

Marmee from Little Women

Happy Birthday, Jessa!

A HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY VERY SWELL SISTER!

Jessa

My sister, Jessa Bri, turns 17 today! I wish her the happiest of days and ask the Lord to continue to bless her as she grows in Him.