:right now:

right now, i am...
:picking: black rasberries. and blueberries. and gooseberries. and currents. our kitchen is beginning to look like a berry explosion at the moment.

:realizing: that life is hard. that it's not easy, and it hurts, and - well, it hurts.
but...

:also realizing: that real life is - real. and that it's a million times better then the imaginations of a six year old. that while some is hurting and painful, some is brighter and more beautiful then i ever dreamed!

:understanding: what l. m. montgomery meant, when she said... "those who can soar to the highest heights can also plunge to the deepest depths and the natures which enjoy most keenly are those which also suffer most sharply."

:adoring: this amazing two-tone hydrangea, from our front yard. {more photos from this shoot should make it on the blog soon...}

:playing: 'georgiana' from the pride and prejudice soundtrack. it's definitly the hardest piece i've ever attempted [thrilled], because i am now...

:finished with: 'secret life of daydreams'. finally. such a breath-taking piece.

:aggravated: that i still don't have a header in! if anyone is just dying to give it a try - go right ahead and contact me. ;)

:loving: iced coffee. night breezes and dark nights with the windows open. sing arias to the scarlett tanagers and the goldfinches.

:giggling: because I recently called a chickadee a chipmunk. on a test. thankfully, i erased it time. {rolls eyes}

:awed: by this russian dervish dance, from riverdance {click}

:transforming: a wool skirt into a kilt. epicness. {pictures coming soon!}

:looking for: a really good, 'real' camera. someday, Lord willing, someday soon!

:singing: a lot.

:thankful: for a wonderful life, and a Father to Lean upon! All glory to Him!

Until next time...
Kate~*

the girl behind the blog...

ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff{self-portrait}


Hm... I think I need to re-write my 'about me' - what do you think? It's rather ridiculously out-dated. Yes?

.On My Mind.

*~*
Actually, just some of what is 'on my mind.' I have a habit of thinking in somewhat random and completely non-related sentence-fragments, which seems to have a bad effect on people. *headdesk* reaction, as a matter of fact.
*Ahem*
Anyway... :smiles:

* ~* Mothers*~*


I have the best mother in the world.
[1983, Mother's senior photo. Isn't she gorgeous?]


I know, I know, you thought it was *your* mother, but it's not, it's mine. So there. :nods:

G.K. Chesterton described what a mother is perfectly -

I have always loved G.K. Chesterton’s words, “To be Queen Elizabeth within a
definite area, deciding sales, banquets, labours, and holidays; to be Whitely
within a certain area, providing toys, boots, cakes and books; to be Aristotle
within a certain area, teaching morals, manners, theology, and hygiene; I can
imagine how this can exhaust the mind, but I cannot imagine how it could narrow
it. How can it be a large career to tell other people about the Rule of Three,
and a small career to tell one’s own children about the universe? How can it be
broad to be the same thing to everyone and narrow to be everything to someone?
No, a woman’s function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it
is minute.”

Happy Mother's Day, Mama. I Love you.

*~*Multi-tasking?*~*
About a year ago, I ran across this article by Alex and Brett Harris:

"Christians Can't Multitask".

At the time, I was very un-impressed with the idea, but, upon re-visited the article today, I realized that it was not only true, but a needed wake-up call.

"Not afraid of the potential of technology, we need to recognize its dangers and
set up structural helps and limits to keep it in its place. We should love to
use media and technology as tools for God's glory, but even more than that, we
should desire to live wisely. "

Multi-tasking is everywhere, and it's becoming very prevalent in technology. Not only is it a bad idea, but sometimes it's point-blank rude. Ever seen two people at a restaurant, eating together, but both talking on their cellphones? Or how about the person who texts while they're on the phone with you, breaking both your train of thought *and* your eardrum? ;)

This is the result of Multi-tasking. Our parents didn't warn us because it never occured to them it could be an issue. But it's an issue, and I fore-see it becoming mean, bad and ugly as time goes on. Be warned.


*~*Tangled*~*
I watched 'Tangled' last week, for the first time. Even though I'm NOT a Disney fan, I have to say... it was adorable.

Flynn: 'No, no, no, no, no. This is bad, this is very bad. They just can't get my nose right!'

"Her hair glows! I didn't see that coming!"
"Eugene!"
"Her hair glows!!"
"Eugene!!"
..."What?!"
"It doesn't just glow."
*Flynn looks at Pascal*
"Why is he smiling at me?!"

Speaking this movie, some of the young people have choreographed a dance to one of the pieces from 'Tangled"...

...the Kingdom Dance





So. Exciting.

In other news, I've been a terrible blogger, I've been living outside, I have a horrible sunburn from mowing our 3 acre lawn, I'm sick [which is why I'm not attending Church services this morning :( ] and Mummy and I are attending an International Folk Costume Dance this weekend.

*runs out of breath from run-on sentence*

Life is wonderful!

.randomness.

i highly respect anyone who can sleep in a couch. because, I'm suppose to be sleeping on this one, but i'm not
as a matter of fact, i'm sitting here being awake. botheration.
~
it's rather distinctly uncomfortable.
~
so, since i am awake...
i'll write.

.

spring is here: easter always brings family to our home, and this year is no exception to the rule. *smiles* we have a large contingent of the Porter relations here for a visit. much hiking, swing (dancing), waltz, easter eggs, 'risk', and fresh air. i love these people.




(our collection of easter eggs this year...)

happiness: i am 95% happy. but not 100%. "why not?" you ask, "of all the people in the world, you should be."
...and i know that.

but still - because i have a list of dreams and hopes that I want to accomplish so badly, and so many aren't accomplished, yet. so many things, and yet more being added. :)
sometimes i wish that we were somewhere less - isolated. a place with music, culture, and music. lots of music. somewhere where there are people - people with interests. and frankly, I'd really rather *not* marry a tobacco-chewing, 4-wheeling, 'good ol' boy', who steals my heart by the way he revs his diesel. i mean, seriously...

*laughing at self*

music: Lord willing, i'll be getting certified to be a Suzuki violin teacher this summer. i'm nervous about teaching, but excited for the chance to show [very young] students the glorious language of music. pray for me.
piano practice is taking up quite a bit of my spare time now, and I'm not complaining about that a bit! I'm moving through about a level every couple of weeks - not fast enough.
this man is my piano-hero - such an amazing musician.

i am: preparing for my Senior year of highschool. working up our hard clay soil with the hope of fresh vegetables this summer. hauling haybales to our collection of goats, sheep and {a} pony. dreaming up a wonderful plot for National novel writing month [truly epic...]. reading "Count of Monte Cristo". (which i *adore*...)

look for: more information on this event, that i'm hosting shortly...



*~ au reviour!


(and for some reason i refuse to capitalize things today. don't take it personally.)

Rain... ♥

Rain beating against the windows is such a lovely sound, isn't it? Rain makes me want to sip a cup of tea. Curl up with a good book. Play the piano. Go jump in the mud puddles. Waltz with my sister. Laugh with a good friend. Read over old letters...

For some reason, I get very emotional when it rains. A bit clingy and generally acting like some love-lorn heroine from other days. Which is odd, because I'm generally rather mattter-of-fact and intrepid, emotionally.

But today it's raining. Today I'm not going to try to be intrepid, but I'm going to try to at least be pleasant. (Which I've not been... eek!) This evening I'm going to pretend I'm a long-lost heroine who's writing her adventures, and skip through the day. Laugh when there's no reason to do so, just because.

When one is feeling depressed, a very hard run in the rain, complete with jumping of mud puddles, does wonders for a person. The mud-puddle-jumping part is the most important. ;) Go have a lovely day... and enjoy the...

Rain ♥

Busy-ness/Dance At The Crossroads

In my last post, I said I've been busy. That would be true. Here is a sample of my hectic, amazing, last-two-weeks...

Well, we've been doing lots of last minute arrangements for our upcoming Literary Ball (We're hosting about 16 people at our home that weekend), getting ready for an upcoming poultry show, where I'll be clerking for the judges and/or working the food table... plus setting everything up. And taking it all down. *trys not to think about it* ;)

And still doing schoolwork. Wherever it fits in ;)

I've finished my ball gown now... really, really excited about it. It's one of my favorite characters, and the dress turned out lovely! My mother is a good teacher ;)

Blogging, of course (ha!) writing letters, editing my NaNo novel, working in the barn - all those wonderful things. Hauling water and hay when Daddy can't do it, staying up all night with bottle lambs, and still trying to improve my piano skills. (It's just not fair that we've only had it for 3 weeks! *Grins*)

And the gardens are about ready. And I'm planning out a 45 minute *solo* performance, at my "Angel of Music's" insistance. And freezer cooking. And hiking.

That's a long list... I didn't realize it! ^_^

So yesh, I've been busy. What about you? What have you been up too?

Oh, and for your entertainment - here is the best rendition of "Dance At The Crossroads" I've *ever* seen! Enjoy it! *And it's the High Kings, so of COURSE it's good... teehee*

That's all for now! And what about you?

Blessings on you all...

Kate~*

~*~ Jots and Tittles ~*~

"To Love Another Person is to See the Face of God"

~Victor Hugo




Have you noticed what a lovely job my friend Anna has done with my blog? Isn't it lovely? A big thanks to her!



And, while you're still noticing things... you've probally noticed I've been very lax about blogging, lately. It's not because I hate blogging, nor is it because I've run out of ideas.



Oh no.



It's because I've been horribly, despicably busy. And, because everything I *have* written proceeds to annoy me. And because I'd rather be outside. And because, when I *do* come in, I'm exausted and nothing makes sense.

But I promise to do better. I've got several things in 'drafts' that are looking very exciting. Interviews, and the like. So - stay tuned!

Kate~*

If I could be...

...any character I wanted to be, act any heroine - who would it be?
I was thinking about this the other evening - not because I generally have the *need* to know, but because - well... I could. [my general excuse] Who would you be?

~Eponine~

Ever since I read Les Miserables, I've loved Eponine. The Broadway only improved her upon acquaintance. She isn't the heroine, (Cosette is), but while Cosette is pretty, she's a bit annoying, bless her heart.


But Eponine is strong. She's struggling between a hideous and crooked upbringing and the good that she sees, but isn't allowed to enter. She makes an idol of Marius, the only man she's ever seen stick to good. She tries to stand up for the good and rebels against the evil. Is she perfect? Of course not. But she's human, and she's all raw edges - she's real.










~Michela~
Now we come to Michela - the 'good girl' from "Carmen", and to me, the more interesting character. Besides, she sings "Je dis que rien ne m'epouvant", which is my current aria, and one of my favorites. I don't have as much information on her as I want too, so keep an eye out for more about her, later.






~Miranda~

Miranda is about the only Shakespeare character that would be really fun to act - most of them end up being not so nice as they appear, but as far as I can recall, Miranda is all good. Shakespeare is very hard to learn, but it would be entirely worth it to act someone like her. She's so much fun, and of course, ends up marrying the handsome prince. :)

~Maria ~

I adore Maria. She may "Climb a tree and scrape her knee", and her dress "may have a tear", but so do I. She's real, and from her biography, Broadway didn't over emphasise her virtues - her story is amazing! If there's ever a chance to try out for her at one of our local theaters, I'm absolutely going to do it. Even Tiffany CasaSante, my voice/and more teacher said I should. I wonder what that means... :)

Of course this isn't an exaustive list by any means - Just think of the possibilities! Juliet, Christine, (Phantom of the Opera) Lady MacBeth, Ophelia, Nancy (Oliver) - it's endless! And it's wonderful to dream... someday...