Sometimes the thing you don't want is the thing you need

 Once upon a long time ago, when I was a child, my mom took me and LB1 to buy brand new backpacks. The first one I saw was a red bag with a ton of pockets. So I chose that one. LB1 however set his heart on that bag because it was red. That was all that mattered to him. Mom "convinced" me to "settle" for a purple duffle style backpack. I hated it.

I honestly tried to focus on everything else but the bag that had seemingly nothing to offer. Five years passed, LB1's red backpack had a hole and my purple bag was still in pretty good condition. A couple more years pass and I am gifted the backpack of my dreams. It last two years and my purple bag is still in great condition. I graduated, bag still fine. In the years I've had this bag, it has held everything from school work to clothes to groceries to tools to car parts. Only in the past year has it started to look like retirement is in its imminent future.

The point I am trying to make is don't hate everything that comes unwanted in your life as the very thing you hate might be the very thing that you end up reaching for. I never imagined back then that I would still have, much less appreciate, my purple bag. I am now happy I was forced to settle for my bag. 

As always, feel free to leave me a message below.

Anne Brontë: English Writer

 If you don't know who she is, I'll tell you. She was Charlotte and Emily Brontë's baby sister and a writer. She wrote two novels, Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and poetry. I personally like her work as much as Charlotte's and way more than I like Emily's one novel. 

Don't get me wrong, I love Jane Eyre but there is only so much gothic romance I can take. Anne's novels are beautiful examples of Victorian Contemporary Fiction. I enjoy reading such novels as I feel they are a great way to get an idea of some of the mindsets of the time. It honestly irks me that she gets so little attention compared to her older sisters. She definitely deserves it.

TTWH is considered a feminist novel as it advocates a woman's right to independence and the right to make decisions for the good of her child. It was a controversial topic for 1848 since women had no say in such things. According to Wikipedia, until the Married Women's Property Act 1870 was passed, a married woman had no legal existence independent from her husband and could not own property nor sue for divorce nor control the custody of her children. With that context, TTWH is told in the form of letters from Gilbert Markham to his friend about how he met a mysterious widow, Helen Graham, who had moved into his neighborhood with her young son. I recommend checking out the 1996 BBC television miniseries. It has Tara Fitzgerald and Toby Stephens. It will not disappoint.

Agnes Grey is largely based on the own experience as a governess, enough for me to it is semi-autobiograghical. Both she and Charlotte "went into service". The novel's main character, Agnes, is the daughter of a minister who becomes a governess after her family suffers a reversal of fortune. She soon discovers that life in service is very different from expectations. She realistically portrayed some of the realities faced by women and governesses. 

I hope you can check out her work. Anne Brontë gets little acknowledgement by many. She reminds me of Elizabeth Gaskell in that way (side note:Charlotte Brontë and Elizabeth Gaskell were friends). As always, feel free to leave me a message below.

When your face changes on you.......

 After the New Year I noticed something different.  My face now has freckles that weren't there before. Everytime I look in the mirror now, I feel like I am relearning what my face looks like.

I don't mind the freckles. I think they are nice. I'm just unused to the subtle changes that have occurred. I guess I'm upset I didn't notice it happening. I know I can be oblivious sometimes but....to not notice your face gaining freckles?

As always, feel free to leave me a message below.

Epic: The Musical

 I like musicals. There, I said it. Whether it's The Greatest Showman or Oklahoma!, if a musical is playing I will pay attention. Sometime last year, while I was brainlessly scrolling on YouTube, I came across a singer doing a cover of this song called "Hold Them Down". It was a incredible villain’s song and I was building my " Villain" playlist at the time. Of course, I looked into it and found the world's sweetest fandom. Note: Epic fans are the sweetest, most encouraging bunch out there to each as we all therapy thanks to Jay. The Epic Fandom is so wholesome.

Jorge "Jay" Rivera-Herrans is the composer and sings the lead role of Odysseus. Epic is based of the ancient Greek epic poem, Odyssey written by Homer. The music is an addictive blend of genres and incredible storytelling. Each song is ,quite honestly, epic. The Vocals are very much #vocalgoals. I want my voice to do the things they do. 

Jay and the other vocalists are so endearing. The content they produce is just *chef's kiss". I never saw a group of people have this much fun doing the things they do. And I honestly hope they find a way to include some of the inprov that both the vocalists and the fandom made. I will put some videos below so can see what I mean.

This here is a fan made trailer. Look at the Quality!

This is an example of the improv Jay and Vocalist Troy did.

And the Animatics! They made the music come to life even more. Note: the Female vocalist here is Jay's Girlfriend. They met while making this musical and they are the absolute cutest couple ever!

So, there you have it. Epic: The Musical is an incredible adventure I hope you enjoy. I have actually been really tame with this musical. I remember how gungho I was over Hamilton, so much so that my siblings have an almost PTSD reaction whenever they here the music. I didn't want to traumatized them again so I kept it to myself. Thankfully, a cousin of mine is a fan as well. We were able to do our little fan squee together.

As always, feel free to leave me a message below.

And so another year ends........

 I think we can all agree that 2024 has been a wild ride. To be honest, some days I'd still feel like the year was still in the beginning. Then I looked at the calendar and would see that it's June, or August, even October. 

I don't make New Year Resolutions. I never keep them for long. Well, except for that one year I jokingly said my goal was to stay alive. I'm still doing that so I guess I kinda counts🤔. But things like exercise more or stuff like that, can't do. I will be devoted to working out for 3 to 4 months before I quit because I either lost my stride or broke a toe in a non-exercise related incident (both of these happened irl). I will then stop and only work out sporadically.

If any of you are wondering how I plan to ring in the New Year, I plan to do it alone, in my bed with a 1000+ page book or talking with my siblings about whatever topic surfaces. That is how this single girl will be rolling. I lead a really boring life if left to my own devices.

Quick side note question: If you are reading a story that is in volumes, do you count each volume as it's own book or do only count the one story? I am curious. One would dramatically increase my read in 2024 list another would make it look neater and less chaotic.

You all can feel free to tell me what you think below. And Happy New Year!

P.S. I actually rang in the New Year playing solitaire. Endless games of solitaire.........Yeah, I'm going to go read now.

The downsides of rush jobs.......

As you all may know, I knit. For years now, LB2 has been trying to get me to make him a thick black hat, preferably a beret. I told him that if he got me the yarn, I'd make it for him (I also asked him to help fix a sweater of mine). I started working on it on Saturday evening, got busy with life on Sunday, and had a migraine all through the day on Monday. As soon as my headache fade to a mild hum in the evening, I pulled out his unfinished hat determined to finish it. And I did it in record time.

LB2 and I had plans to got out somewhere later in the week and I knew he would complain about not having his hat. He's persistent like that. I didn't want to deal with his depressed face so I pushed myself. My knitting speed has gotten faster since I last made a beret. What took me six to seven hours took me three and a half to four hours. If it would keep him happy and silent, I'm doing it.

Anyway, I then blissfully went to sleep, super satisfied that I got it done only to wake up the next morning in pain. My right hand felt stiff, on fire and aching. The pain only went away if I laid on it with my whole body. Not exactly what I had planned for yesterday. My hand hurt so much, I reluctantly wrote things down with my left hand rather than push through the pain and use my right one. The upside, if there is one, is that LB2 wore his beret around the house all week. I post a picture next week

The pain is mostly gone now so I will be trying my best to keep my hand from over use. So on that note I leave you. As always, feel free to leave me a message below.

The Eurovision stage and Out of print books.....

 On Monday, Eurovision released a video showing the venue for next year's contest. The stage is absolutely amazing. The Lighting Technicians deserve a raise or bonus. You just need to see it for yourself.

Basel is the third largest city in Switzerland after Zurich and Geneva. It is considered the cultural capital of Switzerland and is home to the oldest public art museum (established 1661). The University of Basel is also amongst the world's oldest universities. In short, it is a beautiful historical place and probably the the most fitting spot to hold the contest.

In other less important news, I just found out that two books I've been looking for for years are out of print and not likely to enter print again any time soon. There are no words to describe my feelings about that.

In 2017, I got a free copy of the first book in Desiree Williams' Heart Song trilogy. I loved it but sadly couldn't afford the other books at the time. Later when I looked for them, they were no where to be found. I just found out on Sunday that the author pulled them.  If there is any one else out there looking for them, it's time to give up.

As always, feel free to leave me a message below.