screenshots are dangerous things...

 ...In the wrong hands.

a ridiculously colorful post

Sugar bowl and lemons by Renoir

Still life with Lemons on a plate by Vincent van Gogh

Still life with Fruit Dish and Cup by Georges Daniel de Monfried

Still life with Lemon by Ashton Hinrichs

(picture from here)

On this dreary day, bright yellow can be very cheery, as opposed to on a sunny day, when it seems loud and cheery as opposed to the blue of the sky.

lemons by psammead featuring a button front dress

Tulle Clothing button front dress
$75 - modcloth.com

Mary jane heels
$39 - shopruche.com

^Colors of a day like this:


The sky was dark and gloomy, the air was damp and raw, the streets were wet and sloppy...and the rain came slowly and doggedly down, as if it had not even the spirit to pour.  ~ Charles Dickens

But I'm not sure I'd wear that outfit. Or those heels--think orthopedic torture....
As this is probably the most colorful post I will ever let pass the gates of "Publish"--enjoy. 


By the way, returning to the more psychological realms, I am reading a very enjoyable book: Five Children and It, by E. Nesbit. (1902) It is a children's book, but most ages should like it, unless you are the sort who prefers reading textbooks.
I personally think this is some of her funniest and best writing, and some of the inside jokes in it are amusing--"Lending ears was common in Roman times, as we learn in Shakespeare; but I fear I am getting too instructive." 

The plot is simple: five children discover an extremely grouchy fairy (the psammead, pronounced sammyead) who will grant them one wish a day. But you have to be careful what you wish for--you might get it. My favorite chapter so far is when their two-year-old brother is turned into an adult!



Anyway, reader, I am getting distracted, and the hoary voice of schoolwork beckons--and must be answered, lest the honored female parental authority withhold privileges from yours truly, who is still a minor unfortunately!


And may I note that I dislike Blogger's new interface? Very confusing to moi.

degas

Tänzerinnen an der Stange (ca. 1888) 

sunday musings

"...Wise and good men, are, in my opinion, the strength of the state; much more so than riches or arms..."
~ Benjamin Franklin, 1750


Good point there, Ben!


...I pulled the above bit from an article my mom was reading. I, being unfortunately of a very nosy disposition, took a look at it. BTW, I'm (so is she) and Aristotelian. I haven't read too much of him yet; maybe I'll start with this because I do love animals! 


HEY!!! IT'S SUNDAY!!!! WHY AM I TALKING ABOUT ARISTOTLE???
.....After all, you can be the most learned and Classically educated person in the world, and still be lost eternally.


On to a classic work of non-fiction, a historical document to some, the Word to others: the Bible!


"How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? 


As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ."
~ Romans 10:14-17 E.S.V.


The above verse was featured in the sermon today at our Church. Interesting, and humbling thought to us proud mortals.


...Oh, and I was absolutely APPALLED to read that the average 8-18 year old American spends an average of 6.5 hours every day on some sort of electronic device. "Oh. My. Freaking. Gosh." ~ Evelyn (from her blog, Defeating Dragons.)


WHAT??????????? How are those kids EVER going to ACCOMPLISH anything if they're always on some device?!?!  The teenagers who "make a difference" and accomplish big things, (be it simply serving your family quietly, writing a book, getting a real job and performing it faithfully, or anything else REAL that requires dedication, finesse and skill) will always be the ones who spend less time distracting themselves and "goofing off" (as rudely put by my D.M.). 


Facebook, texting, and computer games aren't really the problem, after all. The problem is the kids themselves, their parents, and the society that produced them.   Double GAH!!!! Which even then hardly begins to express my "amazement and surprise, which you may judge from the expression of my eyes." Oops, sorry. Die hard Gilbert and Sullivan fan here. 

....And with that final depressing and sobering thought, I must leave you, dear readers.
Have a nice and at least reasonably happy Sabbath day. BTW, I find the word Sabbath to be infinitely more beautiful and musical a word than than Sunday, so I shall use it.


~ Diana 


Less depressing paintings:


Children in the Sea 1909 by Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida

I really like summer-y, beachy paintings. They instantly transport me to the ocean shore.......

Or to the rocks of "Rocky Point at Port-Goulphor".....by Claude Monet.

God's creation is indeed varied! 

toodle-oo for now...

I will be away for the weekend, returning on Sunday, so please don't expect me to post before then. 
Going to attend a baby shower for my as-yet-unborn niece, due in September. Very excited--who wouldn't be?I have never been an aunt before! My sister-in-law doesn't want any pink, so it took some ingenuity to make some baby items for her. I used an absolutely gorgeous brown, lavender, red and white. 


We like babies here. And children. They can be *extremely* annoying but also keep life from becoming stagnant..........as do teenagers. I know that from first-person experience. LOL.


Just ramblings....so, as is my wont when inspiration fails me, I will post a lovely painting and a not-so-lovely painting.

"Shepherdess with her Flock" by Jean-Francois Millet. 1863.
(I'm assuming "millay" rather than "millett" as it is French, but feel free to pronounce as you see fit!)


A lovely realistic painting of a French peasant girl. The girl is quite young, and the heathered tones of the painting are beautiful. And as a shepherdess myself, I can appreciate its realism. 
*Click on photo/s to make them larger*
Side note: When my mom was this painting she said "Oh look! She's knitting!" If you look closely you can see that the young shepherdess is indeed knitting: a sock in the round, on four needles. This made my mother, an inveterate sock knitter, overjoyed. 


~~~~~
Now contrast it to this truly horrifying painting by Jean-Honore Fragonard. Notice the dreamy looking sheep, whose face resembles a child, and who possesses a fleece of impossible whiteness. A real sheep would never consent to be away from the rest of the flock (in the right-hand bottom corner). It would be baa-ing it's silly head off, rather than dreamily admiring the basket of flowers. (Unless it was sedated?)
 And the shepherdess, with her plump white hands, goofy silk dress, and snowy bosom, looks like she never did a lick of work in her whole life. Seriously. I hate that shepherding was so romanticized  by those out-of-it romantics  This type of painting was extremely popular at one time (early 1800s) , and was enjoyed probably by the same ilk as Marie Antoinette, who was playing on a be-ribboned hobby farm while the real peasants were starving. 

Real shepherds are like the top painting. Shepherding, or indeed any type of farming, isn't for the faint of heart. It is a dirty, complicated job which requires are patient constitution and a love for the animals, in this case sheep. It is not the kind of job where you can sit whispering words of love to your male companion while wearing an extremely tight dress and while petting a (sedated?) sheep.....
Rant finis.


What paintings do you like? LMK in a comment! Also LMK how you liked the new format. I like it. 


Anyway.....that is it for now!


Auf weidersehn, das Leser.


~ Diana, another sock-knitting shepherdess

punctuation lesson: apostrophe + sermon!!!

*Sometimes I wonder.....why do I even bother with this?  It seems like everyone (well, almost everyone!) doesn't care about spelling, and is vapid, silly, worried over things which don't matter,and foolish. Why bother?

Two points to make. (It helps me organize my thoughts to put them in points)

[Yeah, yeah. I know. Super-corny....a spear, point no. 1. Hey, we're into corny here!]

Point number 1. Not everyone is foolish/vapid/swept along by the demoralizing influences of our time. Notice I'm not saying every modern influence is demoralizing....we have so much wonderful technology, live healthier lives, still have freedom in this country at least, and maybe not *gasp, gurgle* of the *gasp* popular *gurgle* music is awful. Wow, that was hard for me to say. I can't stand most popular music.

Yet, in spite of all the bad influences, and evil that goes on, there are still good people. Kind, helpful people. Smart people who aren't borne away in the herd. People who stand up for what is right, good, and pure. People who through moral struggles still do the right thing no matter what the cost. Are you one of those people? I'm trying to be.

Point number 2. Even if people do do wrong, evil, and are vapid and silly, as a culture, have we really any right to abandon them because we are so much *better* than they? [Pride rears it's ugly head...dun dun dun....]

How much *better* are we, really? Even if we don't do evil on the outside, we think it inside. We're all sinners. Even if you aren't a Christian, you have to admit it's the truth. 

God didn't abandon us, even though our hearts were black with sin. Hey, this is starting to sounds like like a sermon......Anyway, I hope you can take something from my lecture. And I didn't start this blog to chat vapidly about myself....I want to discuss serious topics as well, providing they're PG rated. 

AND NOW, ONWARD GRAMMAR SOLDIERS!!!!!

Have a seat, please, ladies, and any stray gentlemen who may be lurking around. Side note: I don't want this to be a purely feminine-targeted blog, but one that any intelligent person, M or F, can read, enjoy, and will make them think. Hopefully. 

Today's lesson will be on the most fascinating subject of...Apostrophes. 

This is a apostrophe: ' . Strange how such a little mark can be the cause of so much heartbreak. Okay, maybe it is only heartbreak to me, since I hate to see the innocent little apostrophe abused. How sad.

Correct uses of apostrophes:

Example A.  "Kerry's bananas were the bane of Maud's existence."

                 "No, those aren't Artemis's arrows; they are Apollo's spears."

                 "Bill's cats are fat."

                 "The 1990s' were a great decade."

Incorrect use of apostrophes:

                "Kerry's banana's were the bane of Mauds' existence."

                "How many chocolate's do you want?"

                "Bills' cat's are fat."

                "I love the 1960's!"

Why are they incorrect? Because apostrophes are meant to show possession. Thus, Kerry's bananas. (We're assuming she owns the bananas and didn't shoplift them) Not banana's Kerry. And Maud's existence. 

So, I am assuming you are have absorbed that information.....on to a particular peeve of mine. YOUR. 

If the it is YOURS, it should be YOUR. If it is referring to someone else, i.e. "You're invited to a vandalism party!" it should be YOU'RE. Why? I don't pretend to know; refer to here for a more in-depth explanation of the finicky rules of grammar.

Lesson dismissed.  BTW, if you find a mistake, spelling error, or something similar on this 'ere blog, please let me know in a comment. 

Here is a Monet painting: click on it to make it larger, please.

I do like sailboats, and I'm also a fan of Impressionist paintings.

Auf Weidersehn, das Leser.

~ Diana

lambs & poems!

The lambs say hi!  The goat, of course, being Nubian, prefers to stick his nose in the other direction. 

After, much deliberation, fumbling, and devoted thinking on the subject, I've decided to post a poem, then my thoughts on some books. 

"DEATH, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so: For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow Die not, poor Death; nor yet canst thou kill me. From Rest and Sleep, which but thy picture be, Much pleasure, then from thee much more must flow; And soonest our best men with thee do go-- Rest of their bones and souls' delivery! Thou'rt slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell; And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well And better than thy stroke. Why swell'st thou then?    One short sleep past, we wake eternally,    And Death shall be no more: Death, thou shalt die!"                                                   ~ Death by John Donne I found this in my poetry book and found it rather beautiful, obviously written by man who had done some serious thinking upon the subject. This author, John Done, (15th century) was known for his love poems but also wrote some inspirational and moving religious poetry later in life. I know you are probably asking "Why so serious, Diana?" as you despairingly read comedic literature, but hey, life IS serious! "Life is real, life is earnest.." (Longfellow) Okay, I will stop now.... Finally, my $0.02 on some books I got from the library today. I read Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident  by Eoin Colfer (awesome sounding first name by the way!) first, and frankly, I was disappointed. From reading the previews on my Kindle I'd expected it to be a lot more interesting, or as we say here, interestinger. The book was all action, nothing else, and I couldn't keep track of what was going on three-quarters of the time! It was life one of the those movies where they keep going back and forth between characters in different places. Confusing! I did think Artemis Fowl was an interesting character but you never even got to know him in this book. I guess I will try the other books in the series, but hopefully they will make more sense. See this for a synopsis of the series (thank you, Wikipedia!). Artemis Fowl: I wish I'd thunk up that name first!  I'm waaaaayyyy cooler than am Irish twelve-year-old criminal mastermind. Yes, I am! I'm also not quite as conceited and stuck up as those last three sentences may have led you to believe. Book 2: I interlibrary loaned The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse after reading several other Jeeves stories. What can I say......all of the Jeeves stories are hilarious. English humor at its best. I suggest you give it a try! Oh, and I'm starting Life of Fred math next week. I read part of the textbook, and it looked pretty funny. Is it even humanly possible to make algebra fun? We shall see! Fred, the brilliant 5-year-old professor at KITTENS university.

Goodnight for now!

~ 

Starry Night by Van Gogh