What's Up With Miss Laurie?

Dear Readers,
It is time to have a chat. I've been partly putting this chat off because I didn't know what to say and partly because I've been too busy to think of even what to say to y'all. Forgive me for my long absence and not keeping up with some things I should have kept up with better.
Below are answers to some questions I am pretty sure y'all would ask me if we saw each other in person. So let's just chat, okay?

What's Up With Miss Laurie? Are You Alright?
The short answer is yes, I am alright. The longer answer involves a recap of the last three years.
So many of you may remember me mentioning that I was a live-in caregiver for my great-grandmother (Gram) starting back in September 2013. My dear Gram passed away in January 2016, shortly after Christmas, and after that my life was in great upheaval. Moving from NY state back to live with my parents in KY meant not only grieving for the loss of Gram but also breaking the ties with family and new friends that I have formed over that time. The rest of January and February my posting increased because I was out of work and had more time to enjoy blogging. In March I began working at Noah's Cafe inside the Creation Museum. It was lovely to be working with my dear friends again and I learned a lot but still had an unsettled feeling like God had something more for me to do. So I applied for a new job and God opened the door much wider and blessed even more than I could have ever expected.

Where Is Miss Laurie Working Now? 
When I applied for the new job I was initially told "no" but given an opportunity to work for the same place in a lower ranking position (still good just less money and responsibility). I accepted the position and decided to step out in faith and see what God had in store. Not even two weeks later I was contacted again and offered the supervisory position I had initially applied for. I accepted the position and life has been a whirlwind of craziness ever since! So you're now looking at a new Supervisor of Food & Beverage at the Ark Encounter, a full sized Noah's Ark themed attraction in Williamstown, KY opening July 7th, 2016! It's lovely and crazy at the same time because I get to help open the restaurant there at the Ark Encounter. My new position means a lot of changes in my life including a possible move to be living closer to my workplace. It also means a crazy busy summer with unfortunately very little time for posting here at Old-Fashioned Charm.

Are You Closing Old-Fashioned Charm? Will You Still Post?
No, absolutely not! OFC will remain right here as long as I can keep it open. Posting at OFC has been a lovely almost 8 year adventure! When I started I certainly wouldn't have believed all the amazing people I would "meet" and all the things God would do through this blog.
I will definitely be posting in future but I can not promise when. After this busy summer I may have more time to devote to my writing but I am unsure what the future looks like right now. Games are the easiest for me to post so hopefully you'll see some of those even during the summer and maybe film reviews.

What About The 2016 Period Drama Challenge?
The Period Drama Challenge is still going on and it is lovely to see your reviews pop up! I am hoping to post a recap post soon and at the very least I'll be posting an ending post when the Challenge ends in July. I am most disappointed with myself for not reviewing the amount of period dramas that I had set as my goal (really the amount of half written reviews in my Blogger account are many and sad). Y'all are doing amazing though, I am so proud of everyone! Please keep up the good work and keep sharing your love of period dramas!

Update On Me and Gram

Hey Y'all!

Miss Laurie here. Thank you all for praying for me and my great-grandmother (Gram). I arrived safely in NY state about two weeks ago and it's been very busy since then. Gram and I are getting along famously. Her shoulder has healed up nicely and she seems to enjoy having a companion now. I enjoy running the household for her and spending time with her each day. She has many witty sayings and a quirky sense of humor that make each day lots of fun!

I've been cooking and baking up a storm and Gram's appetite seems to increase with the good home cooking. Among the dishes I've enjoyed making are Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Hamburger Stew, Cheesy Potato and Ham Casserole, Banana Bread, Applesauce Bread and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. I've also enjoyed the challenge of making some gluten free meals for my aunt who visits us twice a week.

Gram's calico cat "Kittercat" is her faithful companion and she seemed to take to me right away. That was the first test I had to pass and thankfully she's become my friend too, she must have been able to tell I am a cat person! We have visitors almost every day which include lots of family. Gram's friend Rosie usually visits once a week and it's fun making and serving tea and treats for them.  I started a crochet project too, a lap sized aphgan in Autumn colors.

Life is going well so far. Autumn here in NY is so pretty and I'm really enjoying it!

So that's a little update. I have a list of posts I want to do since I have a bit more time for writing now. Hopefully I'll also be starting back to posting a game every week.

Very Truly Yours,

December Letters

A series of short letters to different people, experiences and things that are making up my world at the moment. I've seen this style of posting done on several blogs recently so am giving it a try.

Found on Pinterst

Dear M., K. and A., 
It was so much fun taking care of you boys for three days while your parent were at the hospital with your new baby sister!
A., what a wonderful thing it is to be six- years old! You are so sweet and full of funny remarks. Your love or music and musical instruments is infectious!
K., your funny faces and voices crack me up every time! You're so comical and independent most of the time that it surprises me that you would be the one who feels more deeply than your brothers, is the most excited to visit us and never wants to leave!
M., being eleven-years-old and the oldest brother is rough stuff but you're doing it right. Your concern for your siblings and parents is so sweet, but I'm so glad you still enjoy playing, being a kid and letting us take care of you. You three boys are going to be the best older brothers to your adorable new sister! Your are so right M., she is "an angel" and a Christmas miracle!  Dear Arabella Faith, you are such a cute little bugga-boo and we're so glad you are here!

 *sings* "Dear Jane Austen, what's my problem? I wish I lived in those simple olden days!" (never mind my horrible singing, go watch the music video)
I've had so much fun celebrating your 237th birthday! But it's also been a tad hectic these last few days and I'm kinda glad it's over now so I can focus on enjoying Christmas with my family. Dear Melody and Lizzy, thank you both so much for your awesome help with JABA! You ladies are such good friends and I love ya!

{Via Pinterest}

Dear Taco Dip, 
I'd never made you before but I've loved eating you at parties for years. Thank you so much for being such a simple recipe and coming out as scrumptious as I could wish! Everyone at the Christmas party thought you were terrific! (Skinny Taco Dip Recipe on Pinterest)

Our White Elephant Gifts

Dear Bible Study Christmas Party, 
My siblings and I were so excited for you to come and we had a blast!!! The food was delicious (homemade cheesecake and handmade truffles!), the scripture reading made me teary-eyed, the carol singing was amazing, the board games were silly and the conversations were terrific! But best of all was the White Elephant gift exchange! We all laughed so hard and had so much fun stealing gifts from each other! My face hurt for a long time after laughing and smiling so much! :-D

My Christmas on Amazon

Dear My Christmas - Andrea Bocelli CD, 
I'm so glad my turn to open a gift came toward the end of the gift exchange so that I got to keep you for my very own! Oh how the other girls "ooh-ed" and "aww-ed" and begged to trade, but I wouldn't have given you up for the world! I look forward to listening to you over and over again!

Dear UMass Doo Whop Shop, 

You guys have amazing voices and I've been watching videos from your school concerts non-stop! I'm particularly obsessed with your Disney Medley video (watch above or on YouTube so you can see all their funny faces)!

 Dear Star Trek, 
You are truly a blast from the past but it's been fun watching some episodes of four different of your shows on Netflix. My favorite series is still Star Trek: Voyager with its story of the amazing crew trying to get home.

Dear Muppets, 
Somehow Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without ya'll! Muppet Christmas Carol, A Muppet Family Christmas and Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas are such classic in my house and not matter how many times we watch you we always sing along!

Dear Christmas Tree Sellers, 
From the first moment of stepping out of our car your trees smelled wonderful! I forgot how much I missed the comforting smell of pine woods that were all around in Maine. You guys were so helpful in picking out our tree and the whole experience was just like being given a piece of "home"!  If there had been snow on the ground it would have been just perfect.

Buy It Here

Dear Focus on The Family Radio Theater, 
I so love your radio play version of A Christmas Carol! It's wonderful how you take scenes right from the book and I don't mind in the least the extra scenes with wonderful Christian messages. One winter I listened to you nonstop and now as I listen again so many years later I can hear all the voices in my head. *happy sigh*

Dear Tiny Tim, 
No matter how many times I read or listen to your part of the story I always cry. Even though I know you don't die, or maybe because I know you get to live, I cry for you and your sweet family!

This moment is going to be amazing!

Dear Les Miz 2012, 
So many tantalizing clips, trailers and behind the scenes videos are out and I've watched them all at least ten times! I really would love to see you in cinemas but I still don't know if I'll be able to. All these clips have even gotten my sister interested. I think she's already a Hugh Jackman as Valjean fan and likely to stay that way.

Dear BBC Merlin, 
My sister and I have finished watching the first four seasons and we can't wait for the fifth season to come to USA! We waited a while to watch the last two episodes so that it would last longer. So glad season four ends on a really happy not but looking forward to the inevitable Mordred and Morgana team up.

Dear Kentucky Weather,
How I wish that you would snow for Christmas! I know the hail storm the other day was incredible and looked an awful lot like snow but...it just wasn't! A real snow that sticks around a bit would be so nice!
And if you don't snow, I'll!...I'll...hmm...Oh! I know!  I'll keep singing "I'm dreaming of a White Christmas,  just like the ones I used to knoooooooow!" until it does snow!

Dear Friends & Readers, 
I hope that you ate having a wonderful December and are enjoying the delights of the season! Christmas is fast approaching! Have you got your shopping done yet?

Today I Am...{8}

This sort of encompasses today, this past weekend and last week.

Pinterest

{writing} 

I've been doing research for my Margaret story recently. What is that you ask? Well, Margaret is a story set in early 1800's England that I've been writing off and on for several years now. I had about half of the story written in first person but the plot had several holes so I set it aside for quite a while. After reading Jane Austen's Lesley Castle recently (my review here)  I took up the story again with new inspiration and started doing Beautiful People (answering personality and story questions) with my characters. It has helped me a lot to get to know my characters better but I'm currently running into difficulties with a couple of the male character's education and occupations so I'm reading up on Regency and early Victorian history for those.

 {reading}

My sister and I just finished reading (re-reading for me) Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke aloud to each other. It is such a good read and I now have a craving to read the rest of the series but don't own them or have a church library at my disposal right now.
On my own (yes, I did just sing those words) I've also been reading Christmas At Pemberley by Regina Jeffers which is a Pride and Prejudice continuation. It's an interesting read for the stories of Georgiana Darcy, Kitty and Mary Bennet, Colonel Fitzwilliam, Anne de Bourgh and the Bingleys but I'm not really enjoying Lizzy and Darcy's part of the story as much as I'd hoped to. They've been married two years but let's just say "their passions have not cooled" so there's some bits I've been skipping over. :-/

{listening}

I've been really into soundtracks and classical music recently, so peaceful and great for reading and writing.
For soundtracks I've been enjoying the BBC Merlin theme song and just found a piano cover that is really gorgeous. Also the BBC Sherlock theme song and other tracks like The Game Is On and Irene's Theme. I also found this YouTube channel that has lovely soundtracks such as Mirror, Mirror, all three LOTR soundtracks and a couple of fun animated ones as well.
For classical music I've been enjoying Chopin and Bach as played by the guy at Achtelnote on YouTube. I especially liked C.P.E. Bach Solfeggietto c minor and then found Drew Henderson's C.P.E. Bach - Solfeggietto on 8 string guitar. Now I've been watching classical guitar videos on YouTube too - when played right the sound is just beautiful!

 {watching} 

Watched Sarah, Plain and Tall with my sister the other night. I forgot how much I love that movie! My family and I used to watch that and Skylark all the time - so many times that the sound of the actor's voices and the soundtrack music is embedded in my memory! heehee
I've also finished re-watching seasons 5 & 6 of Doctor Who (seriously Rory always makes me cry! liked Amy Pond better this time. I desperately need to see season 7 now!), Rosemary & Thyme (British detective show about two gardeners that have a knack for finding corpses and solving crimes, very mild, great guest stars and quite good), watching season 6 of Psych with my sister (tons of fun but the last episode is such a cliffhanger! can't wait to watch season 7!), and have watched the first two seasons of BBC Merlin (not bad, the actors and costumes are amazing, don't like it as much as BBC Robin Hood though). Throw in a few cooking / food shows for fun and you pretty much have what I've been watching for the past couple months. 

 {looking} 

Rain, sunshine, rain, sunshine. That's what it's been doing today.
Inside as I type this I'm looking at two sleeping cats on my bed. They've both taken to sleeping in my room in the afternoons and early evenings. My sister and I enjoy reading to each other or watching things in the evenings (when we're not busy) and Shawn and Gunther always seem to find their way to the bed and steal our afghans on cold nights!

Source

 {learning} 

Well, I'm learning as I'm researching Regency England, so there's that. But in the past few weeks I've been learning a lot about various "Christian" religious groups and what they believe compared to what I personally believe. I've been reminded again how important it is to be like the Bereans (in Acts 17:11) who "received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." And how important it is to not just take people's say so about a portion of scripture but to read it for myself to find out what God is really saying in His Word.

{feeling} 

Special. At church yesterday I met a sweet older lady and when I went to shake her hand she told me "Oh, I'm giving everyone hugs today" so I went to hug her and she continued "and you're so pretty!" I know older ladies tend to say things like that often but it just made my morning to hear her call me "pretty". :)
I also had a disappointment yesterday and it's sort of carried over to today. Nothing life threatening but a bit hard to swallow nonetheless. :( 

 {anticipating} 

Bible study on Tuesday night. For the past few weeks I've been able to meet with a group of young people (most of whom work at AiG or the Creation Museum) and get to know some people my age (no close friends yet just a few possibilities). We have such a great time singing hymns, studying God's Word (we're in 2 Corinthians right now), praying together and chatting.
I'm also really looking forward to Thanksgiving this year, there's just so much to be thankful for! :)
Also Christmas! My sister and I enjoyed browsing through the Christmas section at our local Walmart on Friday - it's so fun to see all the different decorations and wrappings!

 {wishing} 

For some energy. Supper is coming and I could use a little bit more steam to get me through the rest of the evening. 

 {loving}
This Fail-Proof Pizza Dough recipe I found on Pinterest and used for the first time last week! It's pretty much the same recipe I've been using except with honey instead of white sugar and different treatment of the dough that makes all the difference!  I made the Cheesy Garlic Bread Sticks to go with our dinner last Tuesday night and it was pretty much love at first bite! Definitely a keeper recipe and I highly recommend giving it a try! It is a bit time consuming but the finished product is so worth it, I promise! :)


and I'm adding one more category this time...

{excited about}
400 wonderful followers here at OFC! Thanks bunches!

So what has been special about your day (or weekend)?

Are you looking forward to Thanksgiving?

What have you been learning from God's Word lately?

Today I Am...{7}

Wow! I just realized that the last Today I Am... post I did was back on July 19th before I went to the Jane Austen Festival! So I thought it was time to tell ya'll what I've been up to lately. 

{writing}
Blog posts and e-mails and really that's all. I haven't done any creative writing in a while or even much journal writing (no Mr. Tilney, not all young ladies "keep a journal"). My sister and I have been throwing around several ideas about writing a story together but so far no actual writing has taken place.   

{reading}
Well...I started re-reading Pride and Prejudice. It's been a while since I read it and as I found myself being so down on Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth I felt it was high time to remind myself of what they are really like. It's going to be a book that I read off and on instead of reading all the way through right away.
I've picked up a few different books in the past couple weeks but I haven't stuck with anything yet. But I have been re-listening to some of my Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot audiobooks, my favorite Miss Marple book is The Tuesday Club Murders - after a dinner party the guests tell mystery stories and that unassuming elderly lady Miss Marple solves each mystery.

Also, I've been thinking about filming a vlog video that takes a tour of the two bookcases in my room. Would you be interested in watching something like that?

{watching}
I just got Netflix again and I've been really into old movies lately so I've enjoyed things like Audrey Hepburn movies. Can you believe I hadn't seen Breakfast At Tiffany's all the way through before? I liked it alright, there were of course a few things that were a bit strange but it was okay. I like the song Moon River and the other music in the film by Henry Mancini. I also really really enjoyed watching How To Steal A Million starring Audrey Hepburn and a very young Peter O'Toole, they were so clever and hilariously sweet and cute!
I've also been watching lots of clips from Horrible Histories and some full episodes. They are so much fun and usually very accurate and instructive. Here are a few of my favorites:


King Charles I's Wedding


George I Doesn't Speak English


Stupid Deaths: Richard the Lionheart


Stuart Wedding

{listening}
To Horrible Histories songs with my sister, so much fun. We really like these two songs, they are funny but also at a nice tempo and style.


I'm a Knight Song - Horrible Histories


William Shakespeare Song - Horrible Histories

I was also cooking the other night and a song popped into my head, I don't know what it means because it's in Italian and I couldn't even remember the name of it, I just knew I had to listen to it right away. The song is Mattinata and I listened to Russell Watson's version which is in the video below.

Russell Watson - Mattinata

{learning}

Well, re-watching Lorna Doone got me thinking on how little I knew of the Kings and Queens in between Elizabeth I and George III (that's a lot of years and included the English Civil War that I also didn't know too much about!) so I've been reading up on the monarchs and history in between.
Also Horrible Histories has a sketch and a song about Mary Seacole who was a contemporary of Florence Nightengale nursing wounded men on the front lines during the Crimean War (which I've been reading up on too). I was thinking about telling what I learned about her here but it got quite long so I'm going to write a separate post that will be out in a few days.

 

{looking}

At Pinterest! Yep, I'm a bit obsessed now and have to check my Pinterest at least ten times a day (well, give or take probably a lot)! It's been really fun and it's extra interesting that you can comment on other people's pins.

{feeling}

Tired. Late nights and lots of cleaning going on today and it will continue until next week. I'm also feeling very excited for the what I'm anticipating below!

{anticipating}

This week my family and I are cleaning and de-cluttering furiously in preperation for some missionary friends of our's from Maine to come stay with us next week! We are so excited to have them come and visit and to take them to the Creation Museum! They'll be here most of next week so I'll try posting a bit but there might not be too much time for that.

{wishing}

I could figure out what I'm allergic to here in Kentucky. Since coming here I've actually had more trouble with my allergies than I did in Maine which is odd because this climate is supposed to be better for allergies. So it must be a certain plant that's growing nearby that keeps making me sneeze so terribly. Medicine helps and using the AC on hot days helps a lot but we like to open windows on nice cool days and then I get sneezing. *sigh*

{loving}
The new way my room is arranged! I rearranged my room so our guests will be comfortable in it when they come to stay and I'm really liking how it's all set up now. I'm also really enjoying the new nightstand table in my room, it's so handy to put my alarm clock and glasses on at night. Now I've just got to buy a pretty lamp for it.

What have you been up to today?

Are you a fan of Audrey Hepburn movies or Horrible Histories?

Would you be interested in watching a tour of my bookcases vlog? 

Today I Am...{6} - Are You Attending The Jane Austen Festival?

Nellie Hepburn-Edmunds - Portrait miniature of Eileen Marshall (1912)

{writing}

When the mood hits I've been writing a bit about some characters in a story I've been inspired to pick up again. Mostly I'm working on content for two guest posts and then posts for OFC.

My newly unpacked books & DVDs

{reading}

My delightful jaunt through the world of Miss Amy Dashwood came to an end when I finished reading her Only A Novel on Tuesday evening! I might have finished it sooner only my sister Bea was reading it at the same time and she kept stealing it away, stayed up quite late finishing it on Monday night and then danced around telling me how wonderful it was! heehee :) I didn't mind though, it was good encouragement for me to read faster then I usually do because I wanted to keep up with her. Thinking on doing a review soon-ish. Bea and I both agree that Rodney is our favorite character! ;)

Thanks to the purchase of two new bookcases for my room I was able to unpack all of my books this week! Yay! (A room just isn't the same without books, you know!)

Now, I've begun The Scarlet Pimpernel! I read the first chapter and can't wait to read more but I've taken up Mansfield Park again (because I wanted to read some by Jane Austen in "preparation" for this coming weekend) and am finishing up the last few chapters in that. I'm enjoying it immensely and finding Henry and Mary Crawford as vexing as ever!

My new cozy place to read (it's a darker brown then is shown here)

Eine Kleine Welt Musik - MozArt Group

{listening}

To the Miss Austen Regrets soundtrack, the music is quite pretty. Also lots of classical music by way of watching YouTube clips of the hilarious MozArt Group! Four talented gentleman from Poland formed a stringed quartet and not only play beautifully but have fun with their music. There's a video sample above and here are links to a few others you might enjoy: Classical Wild West, The Dentist Ave Maria, How To Impress A Woman When You're A Musician, The Missing Musician & Classical Dances, The Gramaphone with mime Irek Krosny and The Cell Phones.

I also had the very great pleasure of listening to the BBC's recent radio broadcast of a stage version of My Fair Lady featuring the extremely wonderful Anthony Andrews! I've been listening to YouTube clips of the various songs (like these) and giggling profusely! :)

Thomas Edwin Mostyn (1864-1930) - Flora

{watching}

My sister and I have been watching things together on my laptop almost every evening when we haven't been fighting over the book. We've found several Hallmark movies on YouTube and have particularly enjoyed The Lost Valentine, The Love Letter (1998), Smooch, A Mother's Gift, Dear Prudence (a bit of a mystery story that I unfortunately figured out the answer to right away but it was still very fun)  and Touching Wild Horses. They're all pretty good, if you're interested in a review of these let me know. We also watched The Nativity Story (2006) and a review should be forthcoming but maybe not this week.

{looking}

At rain showers this afternoon! We haven't had a good rain in a while so our grass has been quite brown lately. It's supposed to rain tomorrow too so hopefully the plants will perk up a bit.

The Recital -  Alois Heinrich Priechenfried

{learning}

I'm refreshing my memory by reading a bit from the delightful Jane Austen's Guide to Good Manners by Josephine Ross (highly recommend!) in case I have occasion to use my curtsy or be introduced to anyone on Saturday so I'll have my best Regency etiquette in mind! :)

{feeling}

A bit tired, I haven't been sleeping well lately - it's probably the hot weather. 

Blessed to have found a church to go to. It's a bit difficult making friends because all the younger people attend the more contemporary early morning service, and we prefer the later more traditional service, but we're getting to know a few people and I've had some suggestions of where the best Assisted Living Facilities are when I'm ready to start working again. 

{anticipating}

The Jane Austen Festival in Louisville on Saturday!!!! Squeeeee! (oh, sorry...ladylike decorum...)

As my birthday is on Monday my parents are making a present of taking me to the JA Festival this weekend. As my dad is also a JA fan he'll be driving me down Saturday morning and we'll spend most of the day exploring Historic Locust Grove in Louisville and the many displays and booths that will set up. There will be a ball in the evening but we won't be going to that this year (it costs extra and I don't have Regency dress either). This will be my first time attending a Janeite event of any kind so I'm very very excited!!!! Hopefully I'll remember to take my camera so I can share with ya'll! :) Watch the festival commercial above.

We don't know of anyone else who is going but perhaps there might be a fellow blogger to bump into. T'would be most delighted if anyone reading this who is planning to attend the Jane Austen Festival would drop me a comment, I'd love to make your acquaintance!

{wishing}

For a nice cold chocolate milk shake...don't know why, I'm just in the mood for one. Or maybe a fudgecicle...something cold and chocolaty!

{loving}
The artwork I've included in this post. These three are some of my favorites that I've been posting on Tumblr.
My sister who helps me with vacuuming. My mom who makes lovely smelling enchiladas for dinner.
Making period drama funnies using Bleak House screencaps, it's highly amusing!


What have you been up to today?

Are you attending the Jane Austen Festival this weekend?

Have you ever been to a Jane Austen event?

What have you been watching lately?

What book are you reading right now?

Today I Am...{5}

Loving this photo! Red is one of my favorite colors because it's so cheery! 

{writing}

Reviews and other posts for OFC, e-mails, also guest posts galore!

I've been delighted to guest post for a couple friends recently and am working on thoughts for another friend's posts.

Miss Elizabeth Bennet's Period Drama Fashion Week has begun! Head on over to Eleagance of Fashion to check out her many posts about the costumes and historic fashions in period dramas. You can read my guest post about Period Drama Costume Designers here. Also another guest post written with an indubitably delightful friend will be featured later this week.

Charity U is still away for the rest of the summer but her posts at Austenitis still continue strong and among them are two guest post reviews with two more to follow later this month. Check out my review of the Pride & Prejudice 2005 Soundtrack and the Emma 1996 Soundtrack.

{reading}

Only A Novel by Miss Amy Dashwood! I simply couldn't resist ordering my own copy and have been enjoy it immensely this weekend! Her characters are very well drawn up and I've already made good friends with the heroine Elizabeth Markette and her entertaining friend Miss Lavinia Bancroft (a highly entertaining you lady!). The only trouble is that my sister Bea has started reading it now so it seems I'll have to sneak it away if I want to find out what will befall Elizabeth when she gets to England! :)

{listening}

To Scottish Gaelic music from singer Julie Fowlis. I especially enjoy her vocal folk dance songs such as Bodaich Odhar Hoghaigearraidh and Hùg Air A' Bhonaid Mhòir.

I've also been listening to a lot of opera over the past week in particular the Maria Callas version of One Fine Day from Madame Butterfly (don't recommend the opera but this aria is gorgeous and sad) and enjoying her O Mio Babbino Caro too!.

{watching}

The Scarlet Pimpernel 1934 (review coming soon!) and watched Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows with my family Sunday evening. Also been watching several things with my sister Bea including North & South 2004 (she's a huge Mr. Thornton fan! heehee), the current season of The Next Food Network Star (we love watching them cook, it's hard to decide who will win!) and various Hallmark movies on YouTube.

{looking}

At dry grass, everywhere I look. It's been terribly dry here and reached into the 100s for temperatures this past week. But it did decide to rain on my siblings as they were coming back from a bike ride in our neighborhood. I've enjoyed walking when it's nice weather out because our neighborhood is quiet in the afternoon and everyone is very friendly. 

{learning}

“Men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance, until they have contrasted themselves with the majesty of God.” ― R.C. Sproul

On the 4th of July my family and I enjoyed going to the Creation Museum together for the first time and dad also showed us around the offices where he works. The displays are truly amazing, so many details and so much information! There's so much to see inside that my family and I didn't even venture outside to the gardens and petting zoo (plus it was very hot that day). The workers were caring, shows were spectacular, the exhibits incredible, the book store delightful and Noah's Cafe was scrumptious! I especially enjoyed the exhibits that walk you through the six days of creation, what the Garden of Eden might have been like, the fall of man, seeing a glimpse inside Noah's ark (can't wait till they finish the Ark Encounter, it's going to be amazing!) and the Dinosaur Den.  But the best thing was the Stargazer's Planetarium Show that showed space in it's vastness and remembering that as big as space is our God is even bigger than that - infinite in fact. Then thinking about how Earth is a mere speck in contrast to our galaxy and we are even smaller than that, and remembering that God loves us, sent His Son the Lord Jesus to take the punishment for our sinful wrong-doings and takes time to listen and answer our prayers. It's a very humbling thought process but put everything into it's proper perspective!

My family and I highly recommend the Creation Museum! And if you ever get a chance to visit don't hesitate to e-mail me, I'd love to meet up with any of my readers!

Here's us in our patriot gear (we got several compliments):

{feeling}

A bit under the weather this weekend. It's probably the late hours I've been keeping but I've had a bit of a sore throat, sinus congestion and stomach bug symptoms on Friday. I'm taking lots of vitamin C and naps when I need them and am feeling a bit better now.

{anticipating}

The week ahead and unpacking more. The unpacking has been going a bit slow lately, but we got our kitchen set up finally this past week and that's a big help in preparing meals. My birthday is also coming up in exactly 15 days!

{wishing}

And praying, for a friend here in KY. It's been almost a month and I think we might have found a good church to go to. Now I'm praying for friends, special friends here we can get to know and spend some time with. 

{loving}

Fresh peaches - so juicy and sweet! It's a lovely treat on a hot day. Also water, lots and lots of cold water and ice is just the ticket. And I'm so thankful for air conditioning! This Northern girl would quite melt in this heat if not for the AC we find everywhere! haha :)

How is your summer going?

Have you ever been to the Creation Museum? 

Do you like peaches? 

What have you been learning lately?