The Falcon Sees it so: The Observations of Lady Silverwings

Home again... for now.

2008-06-25T23:52:11Z

Well, I just got back from what has to have been the best two weeks of my entire life. Where was I, you ask, that I would say that? Well, I'll tell you:

I was on Spirit Wind!

No, actually it's the United Methodist Conference Youth Chior---Spirit Wind is the name of it----and I got to tour with them as a singer this year! It was just so much fun... and I have a whole "spirit wind family" now, some of whom might even decide to read this.... (If you are, please let me know, and I'll try to update more often.)

by "family" I mean exactly that. I love the other Spirit Winders like they were my brothers and sisters (most of them... there's one or two of the boys that I have slightly different feelings for... not that I'm about to talk about that here!) and I am so going again next year!

It's just simply amazing to have finally found a group of people who are just like me, who are really more or less the same kind of crazy as I am. (One of the seniors aptly described us as a group of misfits who somehow fit in together--and he was right!)

The only sad thing about this is that all of my friends who were seniors are going off to college now.... and the ones my age will be doing the same thing next year.... while I'll probably still be around since my grades are so different. :(

But hopefully I won't loose contact with them... I don't think I could stand it if I did!

ladysilverwings @ 2008-05-25T18:24:00

2008-05-25T23:25:36Z

At the moment, I'm sitting here wasting time while I try to overcome my writer's block. It's not true writer's block, though... more of the "Why can't I get this one thing to work" on one project kind. I am almost finished with my first novel, and I just had to go and get myself stuck on the last three chapters. <---- this is my overall opinion of the situation right now.

I have another project going... two or three of them, actually... but I was so sure I'd finish this before my birthday... which is tomorow, in case anyone is interested. My other writing projects are going quite well: One is a collaberative book series that I'm working on with my best friend in the whole world, and then I have 5 chapters on the sequel to my first novel and a pretty good idea of how the next one is going to go.

Well, I'm going to have to cut this short... I just got a great idea that I need to ask my mom about. If you managed to stay awake reading this, please leave a comment with your opinions! I'd love some help learning to blog...

Writer's Block: Scaredy cat

2008-05-14T20:29:46Z

What animal frightens you most, and why?

View other answers

I normally don't do these, but this one sounded good...

I'd say it's a wasp. I know, I know, they're harmless unless provoked... but they more than frighten me. I've only been stung once, because I stepped on the thing's nest while helping wrangle cows. And no, I'm not really allergic to them. (My epi-pen is for perfume, not insects!) But wasps... and to a lesser extent bees... just scare me so much that I end up either freezing until it's gone or running in the house as fast as I possibly can.

So what? Everyone has at least one irrational fear that they can lay claim to as their own... mine happens to be wasps, yours might be heights or spiders or something else that seems more normal.

My fear of wasps is worst during the late summer... that's when they migrate south and the wind blows tons of them to our farm. The demonic creatures love to land on my window and stare at me while I'm working, and that doesn't really bother me as much as when I'm outside with them. I have a great drawing of one that I made when I was maybe ten or so of a wasp. (My model was on the other side of the screen door at the time, which is why we both survived the encounter)

And then there was the time one landed in my hair and got tangled... had to have some help that time. There's nothing quite so terrifying as having a large orange and yellow wasp get caught in your hair, especially when the people around you don't understand why they scare you!

Well, that's my most feared animal. (Although dogs bother me somewhat as well....)

Traveling Journals...

2008-04-17T00:22:45Z

A new addition to my long list of hobbies: the traveling notebook/journal. I have two of my own started on the postcrossing forum ( http://forum.postcrossing.com ) and one on the 1001Journals project (http://www.1001journals.com).

My current notebooks:

A small spiral-bound purple notebook from the Dollar Tree, being sent around via the postcrossing forum. This notebook is for my mom, in celebration of her finally finishing her master's degree. (I had to proofread all of her papers multiple times, so you can imagine my joy when we finally mailed her thesis in. :) ) The theme on my mom's surprise notebook is a bunch of things that she likes, like tigers and Ancient Rome.
Another spiral, this one I made out of an old wide-ruled notebook cut in half. It's going to be for my brother if I can ever get it started on its journey. He's going to Europe this summer, so I wanted to make him a notebook with entries from and about the countries he's visiting. Also on the postcrossing forum.
This is another notebook from the Dollar Tree, although it's a softcover book-bound thing. I'm doing this one on 1001Journals, and the theme is "The Great Forest".

I think I'm going to be posting my scans of my journals here as something is actually put in them. If anyone reading this would like to help with my traveling notebooks, #3 is journal 2845, and you can find the other two from my profile on the postcrossing forum (look for Silverwings_NCC1701)

Yay!

2008-04-02T14:14:26Z

Just a short note: I'm finished with the 24th chapter of my first novel!!! I'm planning to work some more on my writing today, so perhaps I will complete the book soon?

Today...

2008-03-12T01:45:28Z

What is a morning, but full of promise? What is an evening if not both hope and closure at the same time?

And what am I but a writer who desperatly needs to be working on one of her other projects?

Anyway, Today was a Tuesday, so after my harp lessson (which went quite well, thanks for asking.) and a short trip to the dentist's (I think I must have "thrown off their groove"... not many people are allergic to flouride) we got to go to the hardware store (Lowes)! What fun!

No, I'm serious. Fun! Or at least it is to me... because Dad is letting me help with the monsterous project of re-doing the entire yard, in addition to my roses. And he let me get the copper pipes and such that I need for a fountain-sculpture that I've been wanting to make for a long time. So it was a good trip.

I'm really having trouble figuring out this whole "blog" thing. What exactly is it that I am supposed to write about? I'm not an expert in anything, and I don't feel comfortable sharing my personal life with the world. "Observations" of the world and the people in it are just about all I can think of to write, but there isn't very much regularity or specific criteria in those, so when I write them they come out sounding a bit strange if read all at once. Oh well...

What I need... is a reader... just one would be enough... someone who actually enjoied reading my take on life in general and my odd sense of humor... and if I could find one it would be so much easier to write things down for that person to read.

On the subject of wind and sunshine...

2008-03-03T23:24:51Z

One of the most wonderful things about living in this particular part of Texas (my exact location cannot be disclosed for security reasons... but it's somewhere in the north-western portion of the state) is that on most days we have nothing but sunshine as far as the eye can see.

Most days, that is. Today it's trying to either snow or rain, so there are clouds stretching across the horizon. And then, of course, there's the wind... which is making it impossible for me to work on the roses today. Oh well, I have other things to do. My list of roses I want to plant someday is almost complete, although I would greatly welcome suggestions as to good varieties to grow.

I don't really mind days like this, but it is a trifle unnerving to look out my window and see the trees swaying back and forth as if they were dancing to the tune of the wind's mournful song and becoming one with it in the music. (I need to work on my book today... it's nice when words flow freely like this.)

To the reader, if there is a reader, I offer a simple quote today:

"There is something about words. In expert hands, manipulated deftly, they take you prisoner. Wind themselves around your limbs like spider silk, and when you are so enthralled you cannot move, they pierce your skin, enter your blood, numb your thoughts. Inside you they work their magic."
--Diane Setterfield (The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel)

Texas Independance Day!

2008-03-02T17:11:32Z

Yes, on this day in 1836 the then-republic of Texas declared independence from Mexico. Texas being my home state, I see this as a holiday. So to start the festivities I give you a list of "State Things", starting with the full text of our state song, which sums it all up nicely.

Texas, Our Texas
(text from http://www.50states.com/songs/texas.htm, which also has sheet music for the song)
Written by William J. Marsh and Gladys Yoakum Wright
Composed by William J. Marsh

Texas, Our Texas! all hail the mighty State!
Texas, Our Texas! so wonderful so great!
Boldest and grandest, withstanding ev'ry test
O Empire wide and glorious, you stand supremely blest.

Texas, O Texas! your freeborn single star,
Sends out its radiance to nations near and far,
Emblem of Freedom! it set our hearts aglow,
With thoughts of San Jacinto and glorious Alamo.

Texas, dear Texas! from tyrant grip now free,
Shines forth in splendor, your star of destiny!
Mother of heroes, we come your children true,
Proclaiming our allegiance, our faith, our love for you.

God bless you Texas! And keep you brave and strong,
That you may grow in power and worth, throughout the ages long.
God bless you Texas! And keep you brave and strong,
That you may grow in power and worth, throughout the ages long.

This song was adopted by the Texas State Legislature in 1929. It has a nice ring to it, don't you think? "Beautiful Texas" is another great one, but I'll save that for another time. :)

State Bird: Mockingbird

State Tree: Pecan (and most of us pronounce it PUH-cahn, not Pea-can, by the way. :)

State Flower: Bluebonnet

Capital: Austin

And what am I doing to celebrate, besides posting this? Quite simple, really. Today I'm going through some of the random-mail websites I'm on and picking out addresses to send Texas postcards to, with a note added about the occasion. (I'll mail them tomorrow, as today is a Sunday...) It's not much, but it's a start. :)

So, happy Texas Independence Day to everyone!

Rekindling the journal, and a note on my new hobby!

2008-03-01T22:23:18Z

Ok, ok, so I'm not much of a blogger. Doesn't really bother me, as hardly anyone has even glanced at this.

But in this world, it seems to be somewhat important, so I'm going to try. Don't expect me to be writing all the time on this, it's just a note or two here and there. Comment if you have something to ask me, or if there's something I need to explain in greater detail.

My writing in here is just going to be about my different hobbies and "activities/jobs" and how they relate to my life. If you are looking for a blog full of romantic intrigue and teenage drama, please look elsewhere. I can't stand to read that stuff, much less write it.

The latest hobby to join my large collection of hobbies is that of growing roses. Yes, you read correctly, roses. There's a bunch of old rose bushes growing along our front fence at the moment, and I have taken over charge of them. I'm also planning to plant a few more roses in different places around the yard, but the ones by the fence are my project at the moment.

The "bushes" in question are old. Very old. Maybe if there's some interest I'll write about their story later. :) *smiles and hopes that hint does not go unnoticed* And they haven't been touched at all in... oh, about ten years or so... so they're full of weeds and dead canes and garbage that's blown into them. Do I know how to pick a project or what?

Opinions?

2007-10-30T21:47:58Z

I'm new to making ATCs, so I don't know how good my work is...
This is the best of my celtic knotwork ATCs. Any opinions?