I loved these, so of course, I had to share them with the world. (Because - of course - the whole world reads my fabulous blog!)
This first one is a classic...I read it in a book - "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart. It's a wonderful book. I read it once, read the sequel and then the sequel to that, and then went back and bought the first book so I could read it again!
"What is wrong with this statement?"
That's a puzzler, for some. Let me know if really can't figure it out.
And then there's this one, which I also read in a book. For those of you who actually use punctuation still, this book is for you - "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" by Lynne Truss. I loved it so much that somebody gave it to me for my birthday, and frankly, I can't think of a more appropriate gift!
"Is this a rhetorical question?"
Literally unanswerable, no?"
And that one made me think of this one, which is more along the lines of the first "statement"...
"This is a rhetorical question."
Somebody I know actually said that to me...
And this one doesn't really go along with anything else yet; I thought it was worthy to be posted despite that tiny little flaw. It goes thusly (and this little statement is never false!)
"You can read."
And it's less-brilliant little brother-of-a-sentence...
"If you can read this, you can read."
(!)
Wednesday
Mice
I was reminded this morning that I hate mice. With a passion. A fierce one. As I was walking through the dog shed, I heard a rustling in the hay. The hay was on my left. The dogs were on my right. It wasn't the dogs. Then I realized that of course(!) it must have been a kitty that came into the dog shed, got scared of the dogs, and crawled up into the hay! I turned towards the hay and meowed to draw the kitty out. Something came out, but it wasn't a kitty. It was a Mouse. I stared at It. It stared at me. We both stood there. Both to afraid to move. Both trembling. I looked at him. He looked at me. I hated him. Fiercly. He gulped. Then I shifted and he fled in terror.
Let it be clarified. I HATE mice. With a passion. Particularly that one.
Let it be clarified. I HATE mice. With a passion. Particularly that one.
Saturday
"That's a bitter Irony..."
All righty folks, this ought to be entertaining. I'm gathered up some ironic facts for you. Enjoy!
*Did it ever occur to you that nothing ever occurs to God? (That's not irreverant, I promise!)
*Did you know that the Egyptian queen, Cleopatra, wasn't Egyptian? After Alexander the Great conquered Egypt and then died, his general, Ptolemy, took over Egypt. Cleopatra was descended from Ptolemy, not a drop of Egyptian in her.
*"Have you ever noticed that when you say "No comment," you're actually commenting?" "No. I never noticed that when I'm trying not to coment, I comment by saying that I indeed do not have a comment to comment with, thereby commenting and contradicting my acclaimed absence of comment with a very comment itself."
*Why is it that whenever you pick up something you really want to read, the other person in the room becomes incureably talkative?
*Why do you drive in a Parkway and park in a driveway?
*Charlie Chaplin himself once "failed even to make the finals." in a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest! :-D
*This one strikes a little close to home...One young man was particularly confident that he would pass his road test on the first try, so he made arrangements with his buds to go out driving with them about an hour after he was scheduled to take the test...in his new truck. On the day of the test, he smiled boldly at his test officer, put the truck in reverse, and promptly backed into another vehicle. Of course, he failed immediately. He still went around town with his buds, but instead of driving, he had to watch his mother take the wheel.
*The other line moves faster.
*I play soccer and, I'll admit, I'm a little a little! short. I play defense. It's my favorite position. And my question is, Why do the forwards for the other team always have to be soooo tall?!
*Did it ever occur to you that nothing ever occurs to God? (That's not irreverant, I promise!)
*Did you know that the Egyptian queen, Cleopatra, wasn't Egyptian? After Alexander the Great conquered Egypt and then died, his general, Ptolemy, took over Egypt. Cleopatra was descended from Ptolemy, not a drop of Egyptian in her.
*"Have you ever noticed that when you say "No comment," you're actually commenting?" "No. I never noticed that when I'm trying not to coment, I comment by saying that I indeed do not have a comment to comment with, thereby commenting and contradicting my acclaimed absence of comment with a very comment itself."
*Why is it that whenever you pick up something you really want to read, the other person in the room becomes incureably talkative?
*Why do you drive in a Parkway and park in a driveway?
*Charlie Chaplin himself once "failed even to make the finals." in a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest! :-D
*This one strikes a little close to home...One young man was particularly confident that he would pass his road test on the first try, so he made arrangements with his buds to go out driving with them about an hour after he was scheduled to take the test...in his new truck. On the day of the test, he smiled boldly at his test officer, put the truck in reverse, and promptly backed into another vehicle. Of course, he failed immediately. He still went around town with his buds, but instead of driving, he had to watch his mother take the wheel.
*The other line moves faster.
*I play soccer and, I'll admit, I'm a little a little! short. I play defense. It's my favorite position. And my question is, Why do the forwards for the other team always have to be soooo tall?!
Sunday
Chucky
Hey all. I've been re-dubbed. Here's the story.
Last night, my sisters and I were picking numbers to decide who had to do the dishes. We wrote our numbers on sheets, signed our names and handed them to Mom. She read, "Shutterbug, 36. Art-maniac, 36. Chuck Norris, 37." For a moment, nobody caught on. Then Dad, and slowly the rest of the family began to laugh. I grinned. It stuck. In short order I had been officially dubbed "Chucky". My littlest bro voted for "Chunky" but that didn't last long, lemme tell you. Grrrr. But Chucky stuck. So meet Chucky. Hi!
Last night, my sisters and I were picking numbers to decide who had to do the dishes. We wrote our numbers on sheets, signed our names and handed them to Mom. She read, "Shutterbug, 36. Art-maniac, 36. Chuck Norris, 37." For a moment, nobody caught on. Then Dad, and slowly the rest of the family began to laugh. I grinned. It stuck. In short order I had been officially dubbed "Chucky". My littlest bro voted for "Chunky" but that didn't last long, lemme tell you. Grrrr. But Chucky stuck. So meet Chucky. Hi!
Saturday
State Fair :-D
This is to be a post of Smiley faces, with a few explanations for the clarification of things. Moving on.
:). I sat next to Ruth Peterson on the bus ride down to the state fair. We talked, and read. I was comfortable, both in my seat, and in the knowledge that I had plenty of reading material. (My main requirement, of course. Pajamas are entirely optional.)
: - S. I was a bit nervous. You see, I had to perform my Piano piece the first night, after an all-day bus ride, and no time to warm up. Uh huh, I was nervous. Uh huh, I screwed it up. Uh huh, I tried (rather unsuccessfully) to cover it up.
8-O/ :-D /:-) (With some shrieking and jumping up and down...) May I have a drum roll please? Dun Dun DUNNNNNN! I won Grand Champion! Whoooooooooooooo Hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooey! Was I ever thrilled! I'm pretty sure I flew to have my picture taken, and tell Mom & Co. (Being sisters, brother, and friend Ruth.) I was so excited!
:-O/:-) The fireworks were beautiful that first night, as we walked around the fair, finding our favorite food booths for future reference. I felt a bit like Sam Gamgee..."The finest rockets ever seen, they burst in stars of blue and green. Or after thunder, golden showers came falling like a rain of flowers. Only that doesn't do them justice..." (J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring.)
:-T. It took forever to fall asleep that first night, in the barrak...Ahem...dorms. There were roughly three hundred girls, the bunks were end to end, and about three and one half feet apart.
:-/. The loudspeaker came on at 6 a.m. to wake us up. Ugh. Ew. Bleh. Disgusting. Revolting. And we had to get up cuz breakfast was from 7 to 8. Do you have any idea how loud a loudspeaker can be when you're pleasantly drowsy, and it's perfectly dark outside? Uh huh, exactly. Only louder.
l - /. That's me eating with me eyes closed. I was tired. Oh, but breakfast was a sausage/egg muffin thingy, so it was pretty good, what little I actually saw.
:-, That is me walking around the state fair with a sort of bunched up half smile. Use your imagination. I walked until about 11, but then the girls had kitchen duty (Mwah ha ha! They helped wash dishes until from about 10:45 a.m. until 2 p.m.) and I had to perform my piano song once again (with the other Grand Champion winners) for a sort of concert. This time no butterflies. Just happy-go-lucky me. Yay! It was fun.
:-) The rest of the after noon, I just slept and read. (Hey, they woke us up at 6 and they didn't turn the lights off until 11, and then not all the way, so I had an excuse.) I worked my way through Urchin and the Heartstone (M. I. Mcallister)and started Blue like Jazz (Donald Miller), having already finished The Yearling (Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.) Supper also deserves the same contented smile. We had...Hmmm. Can't remember. Oh well.
:-D We were walking around the fair again, and I sampled some Cheese Curds. They were delicious, but I shared with Kiara. (Ok, I tried. We accidentally dropped the dish and I shared mostly with the street.) There was a dance for the 4-Her's that Mom had to chaperone, so we had to go back to the 4-H Hilton. (Where the dorms were.) I went to the dance too. I actually participated in the "Cha cha slide". Other than that, I had a snack and some water, and hung out on that floor just to say I'd been to the dance. Whoohoo. Yippee. Nope. Kiara had a blast though, she really cut the rug.
,:-< We were awakened at 6 a.m. again, (horrible) and greated with a lame joke. (Ok, the lame joke was at lights out, but so what?) "Why did the monkey cross the playground? To get to the other slide!" No. Not all 4-Her's are this lame. Just the top of the top, the State Ambies. (Don't ask...)
:-) We're going home! I could have cheered. I probably did. To delirious to remember. No, it wasn't a horrible experience, it was wonderful. But I didn't wear the same shirt twice, and sometimes not even a full day, because it was sooooo hot that any shirt was sweat soaked in no time flat. I even had to wash my dress (which I wore for a total of two performances...)
:-(. The most unthinkable, unimaginable, horrific, terrible, despicable, and night-mare-ish thing happened on the way home. Any guesses? I ran out of books!! Yes, I nearly wept. I nearly died. But somehow, miraculously, I survived to tell the story.
Well, there you have it. My tale of twin cities.
Toodles!
Chucky
:). I sat next to Ruth Peterson on the bus ride down to the state fair. We talked, and read. I was comfortable, both in my seat, and in the knowledge that I had plenty of reading material. (My main requirement, of course. Pajamas are entirely optional.)
: - S. I was a bit nervous. You see, I had to perform my Piano piece the first night, after an all-day bus ride, and no time to warm up. Uh huh, I was nervous. Uh huh, I screwed it up. Uh huh, I tried (rather unsuccessfully) to cover it up.
8-O/ :-D /:-) (With some shrieking and jumping up and down...) May I have a drum roll please? Dun Dun DUNNNNNN! I won Grand Champion! Whoooooooooooooo Hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooey! Was I ever thrilled! I'm pretty sure I flew to have my picture taken, and tell Mom & Co. (Being sisters, brother, and friend Ruth.) I was so excited!
:-O/:-) The fireworks were beautiful that first night, as we walked around the fair, finding our favorite food booths for future reference. I felt a bit like Sam Gamgee..."The finest rockets ever seen, they burst in stars of blue and green. Or after thunder, golden showers came falling like a rain of flowers. Only that doesn't do them justice..." (J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring.)
:-T. It took forever to fall asleep that first night, in the barrak...Ahem...dorms. There were roughly three hundred girls, the bunks were end to end, and about three and one half feet apart.
:-/. The loudspeaker came on at 6 a.m. to wake us up. Ugh. Ew. Bleh. Disgusting. Revolting. And we had to get up cuz breakfast was from 7 to 8. Do you have any idea how loud a loudspeaker can be when you're pleasantly drowsy, and it's perfectly dark outside? Uh huh, exactly. Only louder.
l - /. That's me eating with me eyes closed. I was tired. Oh, but breakfast was a sausage/egg muffin thingy, so it was pretty good, what little I actually saw.
:-, That is me walking around the state fair with a sort of bunched up half smile. Use your imagination. I walked until about 11, but then the girls had kitchen duty (Mwah ha ha! They helped wash dishes until from about 10:45 a.m. until 2 p.m.) and I had to perform my piano song once again (with the other Grand Champion winners) for a sort of concert. This time no butterflies. Just happy-go-lucky me. Yay! It was fun.
:-) The rest of the after noon, I just slept and read. (Hey, they woke us up at 6 and they didn't turn the lights off until 11, and then not all the way, so I had an excuse.) I worked my way through Urchin and the Heartstone (M. I. Mcallister)and started Blue like Jazz (Donald Miller), having already finished The Yearling (Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.) Supper also deserves the same contented smile. We had...Hmmm. Can't remember. Oh well.
:-D We were walking around the fair again, and I sampled some Cheese Curds. They were delicious, but I shared with Kiara. (Ok, I tried. We accidentally dropped the dish and I shared mostly with the street.) There was a dance for the 4-Her's that Mom had to chaperone, so we had to go back to the 4-H Hilton. (Where the dorms were.) I went to the dance too. I actually participated in the "Cha cha slide". Other than that, I had a snack and some water, and hung out on that floor just to say I'd been to the dance. Whoohoo. Yippee. Nope. Kiara had a blast though, she really cut the rug.
,:-< We were awakened at 6 a.m. again, (horrible) and greated with a lame joke. (Ok, the lame joke was at lights out, but so what?) "Why did the monkey cross the playground? To get to the other slide!" No. Not all 4-Her's are this lame. Just the top of the top, the State Ambies. (Don't ask...)
:-) We're going home! I could have cheered. I probably did. To delirious to remember. No, it wasn't a horrible experience, it was wonderful. But I didn't wear the same shirt twice, and sometimes not even a full day, because it was sooooo hot that any shirt was sweat soaked in no time flat. I even had to wash my dress (which I wore for a total of two performances...)
:-(. The most unthinkable, unimaginable, horrific, terrible, despicable, and night-mare-ish thing happened on the way home. Any guesses? I ran out of books!! Yes, I nearly wept. I nearly died. But somehow, miraculously, I survived to tell the story.
Well, there you have it. My tale of twin cities.
Toodles!
Chucky
Monday
Ramnosities, just for you.
Hello once again friends. It's high time I give ya'll an update on me. Besides the whole "I'm Crazy, I'm Storyfingers." thing, which I must say was brilliant, I'm pretty sure some of you want to know more about me. Weeeell, I'll start slow and just give you a few facts (and opinions) about my recent history. (Being the weird way of saying "the past few weeks.")
1. Just so you know, college life is harder than I thought. I mean, come on, I actually have to think!
2. I'm definitely not a geography expert. I discovered this when I had to take some diagnosive map quizzes, about the cities, countries, and regional geography of Europe. Ew! I think I got about one mountain range in the regional physical geography one. The other twenty-eight or so labels were hit and miss. The cities I was a little better at. Paris only took a few guesses, and Berlin. London I got on the first try! Oh, and Kiev, Ukraine. But I think that's it. Again, there was a list about thirty long. And the countries one...well, you'll laugh at this, but I couldn't for the life of me find Liechtenstein. Anybody know where that is? I guessed every country I could see, to no avail. Hmmm. Remind me to google that, somebody.
3. My thoughts about going to the State Fair. (In music!) *Gasp* Me? Really? Wow! I'm...I'm...speechless with delight! I get to perform my piano contest piece at the State Fair! *Groan* How much stuff do we have to pack anyway? I'm halfway down the list, and our car's trunk is full! *Worried sigh* Mom? I don't have any cute not-quite-so-formal dresses to wear! What should I do? (The answer happened to be "Go shopping" and I did.) *Delighted sigh* Oooooh, what a cute dress that is, and on clearance too! I just adore that pattern! *Weary sigh* (After loading the car) I need a bath. *Thoughtful smile* I'm sure I'll have more sighs to add when we come home, but you'll have to wait!
4. There are a lot of homeschooled juniors doing PSEO through Northwestern College. (Yes, that's a clue about me.) I'm meeting quite a few neat people through the forums online in my classes. What fun!
5. I spent a two dollar bill today. What fun! I handed it to the lady (I was at Hugo's, buying candy...I needed it.) Anywho, I handed the cashier my money, and she started to put it away. Then she said "Oh, it's a two! Haven't seen one of those in a while!" She held it over the cash registry and wondered for a moment where to put it. Then she (rather distractedly, I thought) gave me my change and turned to the next costumer. It's so fun to take people by surprise like that.
6. I'm knitting fingerless mittens! They're going to be so cute when I finish (if I ever do happen to get around to that!) Here's a link for a post about fingerless mittens (on Friend Blogger's Blog) so that you can see pictures. Mine a actually green, kind of a muted, light, mossy green. They're comin' along pretty good though, I don't' think they'll take quite six mos! (View link...)
7. It's past my bed time (which usually makes no difference whatsoever...) so I have to go. Toodles, all!
1. Just so you know, college life is harder than I thought. I mean, come on, I actually have to think!
2. I'm definitely not a geography expert. I discovered this when I had to take some diagnosive map quizzes, about the cities, countries, and regional geography of Europe. Ew! I think I got about one mountain range in the regional physical geography one. The other twenty-eight or so labels were hit and miss. The cities I was a little better at. Paris only took a few guesses, and Berlin. London I got on the first try! Oh, and Kiev, Ukraine. But I think that's it. Again, there was a list about thirty long. And the countries one...well, you'll laugh at this, but I couldn't for the life of me find Liechtenstein. Anybody know where that is? I guessed every country I could see, to no avail. Hmmm. Remind me to google that, somebody.
3. My thoughts about going to the State Fair. (In music!) *Gasp* Me? Really? Wow! I'm...I'm...speechless with delight! I get to perform my piano contest piece at the State Fair! *Groan* How much stuff do we have to pack anyway? I'm halfway down the list, and our car's trunk is full! *Worried sigh* Mom? I don't have any cute not-quite-so-formal dresses to wear! What should I do? (The answer happened to be "Go shopping" and I did.) *Delighted sigh* Oooooh, what a cute dress that is, and on clearance too! I just adore that pattern! *Weary sigh* (After loading the car) I need a bath. *Thoughtful smile* I'm sure I'll have more sighs to add when we come home, but you'll have to wait!
4. There are a lot of homeschooled juniors doing PSEO through Northwestern College. (Yes, that's a clue about me.) I'm meeting quite a few neat people through the forums online in my classes. What fun!
5. I spent a two dollar bill today. What fun! I handed it to the lady (I was at Hugo's, buying candy...I needed it.) Anywho, I handed the cashier my money, and she started to put it away. Then she said "Oh, it's a two! Haven't seen one of those in a while!" She held it over the cash registry and wondered for a moment where to put it. Then she (rather distractedly, I thought) gave me my change and turned to the next costumer. It's so fun to take people by surprise like that.
6. I'm knitting fingerless mittens! They're going to be so cute when I finish (if I ever do happen to get around to that!) Here's a link for a post about fingerless mittens (on Friend Blogger's Blog) so that you can see pictures. Mine a actually green, kind of a muted, light, mossy green. They're comin' along pretty good though, I don't' think they'll take quite six mos! (View link...)
7. It's past my bed time (which usually makes no difference whatsoever...) so I have to go. Toodles, all!
Wednesday
Storyfingers Booklist
I'll be the first to admit that my vocabulary is not exactly what one would expect of a typical teenager. Truth be told, I'm not, so of course, that rather explains the first statement. Well, to be precise, it explains why the first statement isn't so odd after all. Still, I'm guessing you're all seeking some sort of enlightenment as to why I'm even blogging this. The fact that I use weird lingo is partially due to my extraordinary friends, true, but it is also largely due to the books I read. (My family would translate read as devour.) For those of you who didn't know, books are some of the most wonderful things in the world. They can be the most powerful tools, they can be the most excellent educators, and they can take you places that no jet, camel, kayak, or foot could go. You can find books about anything and everything, logical, ridiculous, or a queer combination of both, with a good measure of realistic fancy. (Do you believe sentence #1 yet?) So I've decided to post a book list for you. I won't post every book on my aforementioned list, just a few of my favorites. (After all, you'd get sick of a list that takes a decade to finish...) Just a note in passing, if you see an "S" after a book, then that book is the first of a series. Sometimes I may not recommend the entire series, so watch for ensuing titles by the same author.
1. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery. This one is full of detail and beauty! S
2. Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery. Another creative work of art!
3. Rebecka of Sunnybrook Farm by L. M. Montgomery. This one I loved!
4. Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. This one is great for mid-teens and adults.
5. The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis. This one is a great first-of-a-series! S
6. Any book by Dr. Seuss! These are great for all ages. I love them, my little brother loves them, my mom loves them.
7. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. "The enchanting prelude to..."
8. The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien. Wow! Wonderful books! One of my favorite authors, for sure. S
9. The Yearling by Marjorie Kennen Rawlings. This one made me cry, sure sign of a well-written book. Great work, Rawlings!
10. Miracles of Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen. I love the rustic setting in this winter/spring tale.
11. Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher. Goes right with the above.
12. Rethinking Worldview by J. Mark Bertrand. This is great for those of you who like to think.
13. The Elizabeth George Young Woman's Collection by Elizabeth George. Girls-reading-my-blog, get this book and read it cover to cover. Don't scoff at the pink hard-cover, this is an amazing set of books! (Sorry guys, had to post that.)
14. The Puzzling World of Winston Breen by Eric Berlin. I love the puzzles in this book!
15. All things Bright and Beautiful by James Herriot. This country vet has stories just waiting to enrich your life. S
16. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. This is not just a kids book!
17. The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King. The next three books go with this one, but don't try to tackle them all in a row!
18. O Jerusalem by Laurie R. King.
19. The Moor by Laurie R. King.
20. The Game by Laurie R. King.
21. Redwall by Brian Jaque. Captivating tale! S
22. Urchin of the Riding Stars by M. I. McAllister. This is a wonderful read, good for ages 7-107. Seriously! S
23. Eats Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss. This is great for anyone who loves writing/grammar!
Thanks all, for hangin' in there through that list. I could add to it, but don't tempt me! These are only a few off the good books I've enjoyed, and I certainly hope you enjoy some of them also. By the way, it is very helpful to keep a list of books (including authors) and when you read them. My list is several pages long, despite the fact that I forgot most of the books I've read before I could write them down!
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