We tripped over time they placed as our stumbling block

Forced to acknowledge the tick of the clock

Too swift and too slow, they somehow expected both from us.

So tread softy through this world, and don't let them catch you.

x

Life.

Hello, all. I haven't posted in some time, so here is what I have been doing instead:

We hosted a Christmas Ball! It was essentially a Christmas event, in honor of me and Cori's birthdays, which are three days apart.

(Most of these pictures were taken on a phone, so they're rather blurry.)

Daniel and Sarah, doing Virginia Reel

Korobushka

This, folks, is a photographic example of exactly how much harder I laugh at things than anyone else.

I even got this guy who went to community college with me to come! And since he and Cameron are both huge geeks, he even had someone to hang out with, besides me. 

Virginia Reel

Hannah Joy came to visit us and helped with putting up our Christmas tree, among other things.

Having the tall person put our Captain America star up. 

I also had a birthday.

At the restaurant we went out to.

Yes, Autumn is wearing a top hat. 

Yup. 17 years old now.



Insect update!


Mom got me three Glorious Scarab beetle larvae for my birthday.

And my Hercules beetles have grown quite a bit and should be pupating within the next few months.

Hercules

Mom also gave me cocoons for both Polyphemus moths and Promethea moths, which should emerge sometime between May and June. All very exciting. 

Other than that, I survived my first term at community college and even got all A's. *pats self on back*  We have been swamped with orders for blacksmithing forges from our home business, what with people buying them as Christmas gifts. And the first calf was born this morning! A healthy, 80 lb heifer. 

Also, Christmas shopping, music-ing and CrossFit. 

SO. That's my life.

p.s

Christmas music+Owl City= this

Thankfulness Tag

Stolen from me Mum

I have been tagged by Hannah Joy for this Thankfulness Tag. Ignore the silly coloring, Blogger is being mean today. 

Here we go:

1.  What is your favorite quote or verse that reminds you to be thankful?

Mmmm.... Difficult one. I love all of the letters Paul writes in the New Testament. But I'll go with this one from Hebrews. 

“What is mankind that you are mindful of them,

a son of man that you care for him?

You made them a little lower than the angels;

you crowned them with glory and honor

and put everything under their feet.”

In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them. But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

Hebrews 2:6-9

2. Who are you thankful for?

           Well. My family, obviously. And most everyone, for one reason or another. But in particular my friend, Cameron. I've known her since I was... Oh, about 10, and she's been ever constant. She moved to Alaska for a couple of years and still actively sought my friendship, despite the distance. She's listened to me complain, she's comforted me, she's told me I'm an idiot when I need it (which is almost always) and she has basically always been there for me. And also my cousin Brenna, she is the only other person always there when you need her. Love ya darlings. :P 

3. What live events are you thankful for?

My entire upbringing has been something to be thankful for. Between homeschooling, exceptionally good parents and generous grandparents enabling us to live on farm, I've pretty much had it as good as you possibly could.

4. What is something you are grateful for but don't oftentimes don't think about?

Gravity. ;)

5. What are you going to do to show people your gratitude for them?

I shall bake them lots of pumpkin pie and feed it to them. 

But really, I think what Hannah said on this pretty much covers it. You don't necessarily have to DO something to be grateful, but you can always act selflessly. 

Happy Thanksgiving you lot! Go hug someone you're thankful for or somefin. 

Unbelievable

In Which I Turn Robber

reading: Psalms.
- I'm in chapter twelve right now
- Help, Lord, for the godly are no more; and the faithful have vanished among men (12:1)
- which is the distinct feeling I get after interacting with the humans at community college
- But I will trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. (13:6)
- good thing I have that too

enjoying: big storms and power outages
-I love it when the house is dark
-so you cook on the wood stove
-milk your very favorite cow by the light of a dying flashlight
-and write terrible poetry in front of the fire
-also, bugs.

listening to: I of the Storm By Of Monsters And Men
-mostly because of that one line
-Bastille, always
-Phantom of the Opera. always
-Josh Garrels always
-pretty much everything always muhahaha

writing: haaaaaa
-you don't wanna know
-but really, mostly essays and stuff
-some bad poetry but mostly essays

excited for: Christmassssssss duh
-we're having a Christmas Ball
-for me and mah sista's birthdays
-but we're only telling people it's for Christmas
-which is funny to me
-snow
-guys, someone died for you
-

watching: uh, youtube?
-yeah, youtube
-when I have time

learning: how not to die
-no, i'm failing at that
-how not to forget what I'm here for
-how very broken this world is
-but also that there is comfort for the broken
-what kind of courtship ritual crane flies undergo
-the males grab at any other legs they feel to see if it's a female
-if it feels like a male or is the wrong diameter, like a wire (which researchers offered them) they let go
-c'mon guys, don't try and tell me that's not amazing
-...

stealing: the idea for this post from Cally Declan
-kudos and many thanks to her
-just typed cooties instead of kudos and it made me giggle
-k bye

p.s.

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love

Which alters when it alterations finds;

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O no: It is an ever-fixed mark,

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark,

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks 

Within his bending sickle's compass come;

Love alters not even with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

     If this be error and upon me proved,

     I never writ, nor no man ever loved. 

                                       -Shakespeare, sonnet 116

Sometimes, you grow weary of your own tiresome words. 

So you borrow someone else's. 

Taaagggeeedddddddd

I have been tagged. *waggles eyebrows*

Here are the rules:
• Link back to the blogger who tagged you
• Take some pictures of your favorite thing in your room
• Explain why that certain thing is so special to you
• Tag five other bloggers

SO the person who both made the tag and tagged me, is Embers, of A Dragon's Whisper. Go follow her, etc. 

This was a much harder choice than I anticipated. Turns out, I don't have things in my room, unless I really like them. I went with Bog, who is not technically a "thing", but he's my favorite. So ha. XD

 Here he is, in all his glory. Bog wasn't feeling very photogenic, but I did manage to get a few nice-ish pictures of him.

 Isn't he darling?

NOW, the reason he is so special to me is because he's not only a cockroach, but my nicest cockroach. See, I have several others, but he's the nicest and doesn't try to skitter off when you hold him. Plus, he's adorable and fascinating, both excellent reasons for being a favorite of anyone. XD


I taagggggg...............,

Hannah Joy

  Cally

Jordy

Cassie 

Annddddd The Piano Girl!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some dancing in the rain to do.

When she saw their stories as colorful strands, she couldn't help but tug on them.

She gently coaxed the silver out, to discover it knotted tightly to the black.

And the pink was tainted with a sickly green, from being wound so tight about it.

But one color was always intact, and that was the desperate strand of gold,

hidden at the center of things.

Not always long, or bright, but always to be found.

She worked some strange magic she didn't understand and unraveled them down to their souls, 
till all that remained was a raw, tangled pile of colorful string.

But what to do with them then, she hasn't yet figured out. 

*dances*

Character Cast: One-Hundred Acre Wood

I'd like to introduce you to a few of the characters of my mind, or rather, the One-Hundred Acre Wood. Because that's what my mind is really like. A magical forest I wander about in. These characters are always competing for a say with me. But there they are, so I shall introduce you.

Firstly, there is Winnie the Pooh.

Obviously, one of the main characters in the One-Hundred Acre Woods. Incurably innocent and being a bear of very little brain, he says things like,

And does things like, being a bear of very little brain, decides to invite the new sound in. And then hopes nobody answers. Which leads to the next person.

Who can be summed up in this link: Watch me scare the stripes off of this impostor, ho ho.

And the most wonderful thing about Tiggers is that I'm the only one. 

Then there's Eeyore. 

He is not nearly as vocal as the others, more like a gloomy entity shlumping about in corners, but he is still a key character in the workings of the One-Hundred Acre Wood. I suppose if these are the people running loose in my cognition, it ought to make me Christopher Robin, but he's a pansy, so he doesn't count.

There are many others, but they are the important ones right now. And odd as all of this may sound, the accuracy of it is astounding. Ta.

You have no idea.

Are you really gonna love me when I'm gone?

Source

I don't have time for all this

That's what I think.

There are things to see, places to go, bugs to find and people to love. And I don't have time for all this extra stuff.

And then Someone tells me I have time. All the time in world.

So I believe Him and breath again.

p.s

This is the result of starting community college and stressing and dying and praying like crazy about it and finding it to be nowhere near as bad as you expected it to be. And having fresh memories of wonderful times doesn't hurt either.

p.p.s

It's a Bastille kind of evening

i died today

It didn't hurt

With a salute to no one, I shoved off the bank and plunged into the river

The cold embraced me lovingly, and wrapped long fingers all around me

Now I am dead

It's not that bad, you know

The empty nothingness is bliss compared to everything before

It's like sleeping 

So much like sleeping
                               
                               But now
                                                 I realize 
                                                                   It's time to wake up
                                                                                                      And come back to things
                                                                                                         
                                                                                                     Back to life 
                                   
                                                                                                     Back to everything
   
                                                                                                    And back to nothing

                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                   But better me than you

P.S

  ow.
P.S.S
depressing poems, wooo

Hi guys, hi.

I am back from Alaska, as of the 28th and I had a marvelous time fishing and doing all the stuff we did. I was going to write a great long blog post about the trip, journal style. You know, like "Day One, blah blah. Day Two, blah blah", but that proved to take longer than I could devote myself to. Besides, I was have trouble putting all the events on the right days.  So instead, I am posting pictures, not even roughly in order of the day they were taken on. So ha.

But first, back story time. My grandparents on my mom's side go up to Alaska every August to fish. And last year, my two older sister went the last week and came back with them. This year, it was to be my Mom and my two younger siblings. I tagged along to make sure they had fun and did everything right.

Theme Song 1

At the airport 

A local boy, fishing in Ketchikan

Splatting right brain mush on a page

Autumn, with a starfish she found underneath the marina

Us three kids, out on Grandpa's boat.

The 152 pound halibut Grandpa and I caught. It was, as he says, like pulling up a barn door from 290 feet.

Theme Song 2

Salmon

Mom's halibut

Cod

Theme Song 3

Autumn, being excited about all the marine life on the rocky beach by our house.

Pulling crab traps. That was the same day we managed to run over of the lines and completely cut it with the prop.  had to lay on the back of the boat to reach the prop to untangle things and even so, we lost the trap.

On the boat.

Theme Song 4

Halibut face.

A few sea lions.

Looking.

What most of our days up there looked like. When you needed both sunscreen and a raincoat.

One of many humpback whales we saw. A few days, they were singing right next to us, the entire time we fished.

Autumn's halibut, which she couldn't quite hold up, so I helped.

A nice big silver salmon I caught. 

Theme Song 5

So, the day we were leaving, we discovered that the place just up the road from us had a climbing wall, as well as a zip line course. And the people just gave us harnesses and turned us loose on the wall. It was awesome.

Enjoying the auto belay after going up all the difficulty levels.

Tired and greasy and going home.