Countdown to Christmas- my 5th favorite song

I can't believe that I'm admitting this on the internet, but it's a guilty pleasure.....

Poetry Monday

A Rose Has Thorns As Well As Honey



A rose has thorns as well as honey,


I'll not have her for love or money;


An iris grows so straight and fine,


That she shall be no friend of mine;


Snowdrops like the snow would chill me;


Nightshade would caress and kill me;


Crocus like a spear would fright me;


Dragon's-mouth might bark or bite me;


Convolvulus but blooms to die;


A wind-flower suggests a sigh;


Love-lies-bleeding makes me sad;


And poppy-juice would drive me mad: -


But give me holly, bold and jolly,


Honest, prickly, shining holly;


Pluck me holly leaf and berry


For the day when I make merry.






Christina Georgina Rossetti

Ruby Red- Kerstin Geir

From Goodreads: Gwyneth Shepherd's sophisticated, beautiful cousin Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for traveling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwyneth, who in the middle of class takes a sudden spin to a different era!


Gwyneth must now unearth the mystery of why her mother would lie about her birth date to ward off suspicion about her ability, brush up on her history, and work with Gideon--the time traveler from a similarly gifted family that passes the gene through its male line, and whose presence becomes, in time, less insufferable and more essential.

Together, Gwyneth and Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century and in contemporary London, they can trust.
 
My opinion:
I loved this! Although I had figured out a few of the plot twists, I don't know what caused them yet. (I'm sure that they will be explained in the rest of the trilogy) Gwyneth and her best friend are a delight, her interactions with the school ghost (who doesn't know he's dead) are amusing, and her family is just plain baffling. She handles her unexpected ability to time-travel fairly well, considering some of the situations she gets thrust into. I'm dying to know what has created the schism in time-travel factions, and what Gwyneth's mystery power will turn out to be.

Two for Tuesday

This may or may not become a regular feature, but I wanted to share 2 of the Christmas Ornaments that I've finished stitching. Sadly, my camera is still refusing to upload pictures, so once again I have to thank the kind folks at Google Images for the assist.

First we have this one:

 Brittercup Designs, 2011 ornament from the Just Cross Stitch ornament issue. I've added beads to represent the ornaments on mine. 

and this:

 This is also from the JCS ornament issue, but I couldn't find a bigger picture.

Anyway, I had fun doing those two, and hopefully will be able to share more as I finish them. and maybe I'll finally learn how to get MY pictures to upload!

Oh- and for those who are interested, my friend Laura is hosting an ornament exchange on her blog. You can sign up here: http://thecrossstitchcorner.blogspot.com/2011/12/january-exchange.html and join the fun. We did a bookmark exchange last year, and if this one goes well, I'm hoping she'll do some more in 2012.

Poetry Monday

Homage to My Hips



these hips are big hips.


they need space to


move around in.


they don't fit into little


petty places. these hips


are free hips.


they don't like to be held back.


these hips have never been enslaved,


they go where they want to go


they do what they want to do.


these hips are mighty hips.


these hips are magic hips.


i have known them


to put a spell on a man and


spin him like a top






Lucille Clifton

Poncho- Year One

I first came across this series a few years ago. Poncho is a funny little dog, and his interactions with the humans, cats, fish, and other dogs in his life are a hoot. Creator Paul Gilligan decided to go back and explore Poncho's origins, and I'm SO glad he did. You get to see his life from just before birth until he goes to live with his pet human, Chaz. The puppy sibling relationships are a scream- loved the Goth girl pup. Great addition to my collection.

Poetry Monday

My Love Is Like To Ice



My love is like to ice, and I to fire:


How comes it then that this her cold so great


Is not dissolved through my so hot desire,


But harder grows the more I her entreat?


Or how comes it that my exceeding heat


Is not allayed by her heart-frozen cold,


But that I burn much more in boiling sweat,


And feel my flames augmented manifold?


What more miraculous thing may be told,


That fire, which all things melts, should harden ice,


And ice, which is congeal's with senseless cold,


Should kindle fire by wonderful device?


Such is the power of love in gentle mind,


That it can alter all the course of kind.






Edmund Spenser