A Song of Redwall

So a while back, I did a post recommending the Redwall Series. My family loves them! Well... Today I'm back with more encouragement to read the series.

Seriously, y'all, these are some of the best. Clean, adventurous, and so funny. Take the hares, for example. They're as dangerous with a spoon as they are with a weapon. Don't believe me? The song below is sung by a hare in Rakkety Tam.  Read it... if only for the laughs.

I wake up in the mornin', so glad the night is past,

it's straight down to the table, to beak my flippin' fast.

O Breakfast! Breakfast! Us chaps must have some breakfast,

there's oatmeal honey toast an' tea, an' seconds just for me!

When I finish brekkers, I hang around the kitchen,

the smell of vittles cookin' is gettin' quite bewitchin'.

Luncheon! Luncheon! That's wot I'll soon be munchin',

on soup 'n' salad chomp an' chew, I think I should eat two!

The afternoon's a desert, I wait impatiently,

until I hear the cook call, he's serving noontime tea.

O Teatime! Teatime! An utterly sublime time,

each dainty cake an' homely scone, I'm first in line for one!

When chaps race to the table, it's always me the winner,

I'm fairly famished as a frog, when I run into dinner.

O Dinner! Dinner! My figure ain't much thinner,

I lick at both my plate an' paw, then I yell out fore more!

I'm starvin' flippin' hungry, oh isn't it a crime,

that interval from dinner, to good old suppertime.

Supper! Supper! How super, serve 'er up, sir,

then pack some scoff up good 'n' tight, to take to bed tonight!

Upside Down Braid Bun

   I've been planning this post since before the LotR/Hobbit Series. So please forgive me while I pause to enjoy this moment.

*moment of silent pleasure*

   I know this looks incredibly hard, but all it requires is patience and practice. (Those would be the twin P's of braiding.) It's really just a Dutch braid up the back of your head.
   Plus I gives me an excuse to show y'all how to do my favorite high bun. Y'all can just read steps 13-16 for that.
   This time I'm also including a step-by-step picture for all of y'all who learn better that way. Hope it helps.

Upside Down Braid Bun

1- Brush hair to remove knots.

2- Flip your head over and brush again.

3- Pick up a medium size section of hair from the base.

4- Divide the section into three equal pieces.

5- Cross the right piece under the middle one. You now have a new right piece and a new middle piece.

6- Cross the left piece under the new middle one. You have a new middle and a new left.

7- Pick up some loose hair from the hairline and add it to the right piece.

8- Repeat step 5.

9- Add some loose hair to the left piece in the same manner you did in step 7.

10- Repeat step 6. You are now Dutch braiding.

11- Repeat steps 7-10 until you reach the crown of your head.

12- Stop adding hair and just repeat steps 5&6 to the end of the hair.

13- Ponytail the loose hair and the braid. Undo the braid if you wish.

14- Twist the ponytail. A looser twist produces a bigger bun, and a tighter twist a smaller one.

15- Make a loop out of the twist and pull the end through.

16- Tuck the end into the bun and pin.

17 for 17

  My seventeenth birthday is almost here. In fact, it's Tuesday. Today. That fact is made even scarier by the fact that my youngest sister, Norah Beth, is six today as well.

Us at Christmas last year

   Over the course of my (short) life, I've picked up a few things. Allow me to share seventeen of them.

1.) Sin is big, but God is bigger.

2.) Family has an unique and special place in our lives.

3.) A good book is better than gold.

4.) Real friends aren't afraid to correct.

5.) No matter how good my plan is, God's is better.

6.) A good read and quality literature can be two different things.

7.)Reaching dreams requires sacrifice.

8.) Love is a way of life, not just a word.

9.) God blesses in ways we don't realize.

10.) Writing is a power to be used carefully.

11.) There's no better book than the Bible.

12.)Doing your best is perfect.

13.) Beauty is being yourself.

14.) Joy can'y be bought.

15.) God does everything for a purpose.

16.) A good song is a gift from God.

17.) You live each moment only once.

7 Rules for Writers

   So last week at the library (Ah! what a wonderful place!), I had the good fortune to find Writing Magic: CREATING STORIES THAT FLY by Gail Carson Levine. It. Is. Amazing! No, I'm serious. It really is.

   Mrs. Levine's book includes wonderful advice, thoughtful help, and genuine encouragement. Among other things, a set of rules for writers stood out to me. Here they are.

1. The best way to write better is to write more.

2. The best way to write better is to write more.

3. The best way to write better is to write more.

4. The best way to write more is to write whenever you have five minutes and whenever you find a chair and a pen and paper or your computer.

5. Read! Most likely you don't need this rule. If you enjoy writing, you probably enjoy reading. The payoff for this pleasure is that reading books shows you how to write them.

6. Reread! There's nothing wrong with reading a book over and over again. When you do, the words get inside you, become part of you, in a way that words in a book you've read only once can't.

7. Save everything you write, even if you don't like it, even if you hate it. Save it for a minimum of fifteen years. I'm serious. At that time, if you want to, you can throw it out, but even then don't discard your writing lightly.

   I strongly encourage all writers to read this book. There were many things in it that made so much sense, but I'd never heard about them! It may seem geared towards younger writers, but it's for anyone who wants to improve their writing.

~

P.S. Please grant me grace in the weeks to come about posting regularly. Our house is officially up for sell, and things may become hectic.

Thus Endeth the First Braid Series

  

   Yes, I know. I should have used this picture back in this post, but I didn't think to search for it. Anyway, today marks the recap and end of my LotR/Hobbit Hairstyle Series. I've enjoyed doing a series, especially since it relieved the headache of coming up with posts.

   But now it's OVER!! Cue my death! (Ha! Ha! Sorry to disappoint y'all. I'm not dying until I've published my books!) Now there is only the recap with variations to be done. (Sssh, but there's a reward at the end for those who stick around.)

Galadriel's Waves was the first post in this series and by far the easiest. Y'all could use her waves for  Eowyn's waves or use a different type of braid to change the waves' look.

Arwen's Helm's Deep Hairstyle is one of the most complicated but so beautiful! Y'all could change the number of braids used to form the big braid or change the number of strands in the big braid. Either one would make it easier. Y'all could also leave out the the lace braids.

Legolas' LotR Hairstyle is the most popular of all my posts ever! His hairstyle is pretty simple, but y'all could change the big braid's strand number or change the lace braids to french, dutch, or regular braids.

Arwen's Flight to the Ford Hairstyle was fun, but did anybody else notice that Arwen's posts have the longest titles? Change this one by using a different braid or by braiding the braids together.

Tauriel's Hairstyle is the other complicated braid. Changing is rather hard, but y'all could always use different braids (e.g. regular braids instead of rope braids).

Legolas' Hobbit Hairstyle was actually my favorite. As always, y'all could change the braids to different ones. Same thing with the lace braids as above in Legolas's other one.

   And now for y'all reward.... TWO funny pictures!