Sunshine Blogger Tag

Many thanks to Keturah for tagging us! Per the usual, Becca's answers are in blue, and Beth's are purple.

1. Name two unconventional things that aren't people or God that make you beyond happy.

Bookish Book Lover Tag

by Bethany

I've actually had more time to read this summer then I thought, and while that hasn't been a large amount, I still have some fun books to share with you.

Thank you, Abbey, for the tag!

Rules: 

Use the Banner

Answer the Questions

Use Lots of Book Covers 

Tag Your Bookish Friends

1) What Book Are You Currently Reading?
    I just, like, still on the first page just, started reading The Rakshasa's Bride by Suzannah Rowntree. I loved her other fairytale retellings, so I'm expecting no less from this. :)

2) What’s The Last Book You Finished?

That would be-

This was interesting. You could tell it was originally a play, because most everything happened in one room, but it was a good little mystery.

3) Favorite Book You Read This Year?

   That goes to Pendragon's Heir.

 I have to admit, after reading the synopsis, I thought it might be a bit silly and cliched, but it blew all my expectations out of the water. I loved the writing, the characters, the plot. All favorites. :)  The only other books I've read about the legend of King Arthur were  The Merlin Spiral, which I liked, but not as much as Pendragon's Heir.

4) What Genre Have You Read Most This Year?

   Non-fiction, actually. Some of my favorites being-

5) What Genre Have You Read Least This Year?
  Contemporary, which would be a zero.

6) What Genre Do You Want To Read More Of?
    I'd like to read more classics. There's a few I'd like to re-read, but there's some others I've picked up still sitting on my shelves unread. From the picture below, I still need to read Romola by George Eliot, A Child's History of England by Charles Dickens, Just David by Eleanor Porter (author of Pollyanna), and Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell.

7) How Many Books Have You Read This Year, And What’s Your Goal?
   I've read 15, and my goal is 40 (it was 50, but there's no way I'll make it to that). Goodreads tells me I'm 6 books behind, so I better start reading faster. :)

8) What’s The Last Book You Bought?

E-book: The Rakasha's Bride. Hard copy:

Doesn't it have a darling cover?

And as a gift for Becca-

That's a hollyhock next to the book, and for those of you who are curious, hollyhocks mean ambition.

9) What Book Are You Saving Up To Buy Next?
 I'd like to buy some of K.M. Weiland's books, like- 

10) How Many Books Did You Check Out Last Library Visit?
 Last time I checked out books at the library I was reading the Ranger's Apprentice series, so it might have been three or four.

Book 5 and this one were my favorites.

11) What’s A Book You Can’t Wait To Read?
Hmmm, I'm not sure.

 12) What’s A Series You’d Recommend to Everyone?

If you haven't ever read the Chronicles of Narnia, go do it right now. My favorite: The Silver Chair.

13) Who’s An Author You’re Hoping Writes More?
  Suzannah Rowntree, definitely. I've really been loving her writing lately.

14) A Few Books Your Heart Adores?

Just a few??? Ok... (sorry for the weird configuration, some of the books didn't like being next to each other.

15) What Series’s Coming Conclusion Makes You Sad?
I don't think I've read any series that have a conclusion coming.

16) What Books Are On Your Wish-List?

   The books that fill in the places between The Ides of April and Beyond the Desert Gate by Mary Ray. There are five books in total in that Roman Empire Sequence, and they've never been reprinted so they are super expensive. I really, really want to read them though, so if I ever find some buried treasure, I know what I'm going to spend it on.

If you wold like to join the fun of this tag, go ahead! I always have trouble figuring out who to pass tags on to. 

Or, feel free to answer some of the questions in the comments!

What book are you currently reading?

What's your favorite book you've read this year?

Have you read anything by Suzannah Rowntree? (you really ought to.)

Tag, You're it!

We have Victoria to thank for this tag. She has a lovely blog, with lots of good writing advice,  and if you've never stopped by, go check it out! 

Rules:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you and link their website 

2. Use the award logo on your post 

3. Answer the 10 questions provided by the blogger who tagged you 

4. Nominate 10 bloggers

5. Ask them 10 questions

One Lovely Blog Tag

Well, we've been tagged, twice in fact, and it's about time we did another post. Sorry we're so sporadic about this. But to make it up to you, we're going to do facts about these past couple weeks we've been AWOL. 

So, thank you, Keturah and Clara, and away we go!

Liebster Award

We have been double tagged!

Thank you very much Keturah and Clara Ruth!

Rules: Thank the person who nominated you and link to their blog. 
Give your readers 11 random facts about yourself. 
Answer the 11 questions from the blog who nominated you. 
Nominate 11 bloggers to receive this award. Come up with 11 questions for your nominees! 

Sisterhood Blogger Award

Thank you, Keturah, for passing on this fun tag!

Random Question Tag

Thank you, Ashley, for tagging us!

Let the randomness begin!

~ Paste the button onto your blog post.

~ Leave a new list of questions (or just pass on the question list you answered) and tag a few people of your random choice (and say why you tagged them, if you have time!) (Be original and nonsensical in your question-creativity - make the blogging world a cheerful place :-) And be disastrously random.)

"Look at that! He's too fat to sit on the thermostat!"

Well, this week I forgot to keep up with my photo-a-day challenge, so for this week's update, we're going to answer Abbey's questions, and give eleven random facts about our week. 

Rules: 
A. Thank the blogger who nominated you.

Thank you, Abbey! We accept your challenge!

B. Answer 11 questions which they give to you:

Becca's answers will be blue, and mine will be purple.

1. What kind of cereal do you like to eat?

Cinnamon toast crunch.

Does granola count? Otherwise, rice crispies. We really don't eat cereal very often.

2. If you could write a song, what would it be about?

I have no clue. Technically I could write a song about anything!

Well, I have written a song, and you can hear it when you read "What Thou Need'st". :)

3. Do you know any Klingon words?

Nope.

Diddo.

4. Have you ever read the Haphazardly Implausible books by Jack Lewis Baillot? You should, they are great!

No, I haven't.

I've read the first one, but need to read the rest of them still.

5. Do you prefer going to the city, to the beach, to the woods ("Into the woods without delay, but careful not to lose the way..."), or staying at home?

Woods are nice.

Woods are very nice. We probably like them best since we don't have much for woods where we live.

6. What do you wish?

I wish I had a pet dragon that I could fly all over the world with. But what would I feed him?

Hmmm, I wish I had a time machine. That would be much fun.

7. Night or day? Moon or sun?

Night and moon.

I like day better, but the moon is prettier. :)

8. Have you ever interviewed a pilot (be it once or more than once)? Do you "get that reference" (or how about that one?)?

One of our friends at school has a brother here who's a pilot. We've never interviewed him though. We did understand the second reference. :)

9. Have you ever heard Bernadette Peters sing a Broadway song (or any other type of song)? You should, she is great!

Nope, for both of us.

10. What's your favorite Aesop's Fable?

The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse.

That's a good one, lets see... The Lion and the Mouse.

11. What's your favorite mystical/fantastical creature/race/being?

Dragons!

Griffins!

C. Give 11 random facts about yourself. Or in this case, about our week.

1) Last Saturday we borrowed "An American Tail" from a friend and watched it for the first time in like, ten years. We grew up with that movie, and it was really fun to watch again.  Although, we did cry at a few parts. 

"Somewhere out there, beneath the pale moonlight, 

someone's thinking of me, and loving me tonight..."

2) We told one word stories with friends, and insanity ensued. :) The Canadian Magistrates would not let Becca have a space ship, but instead, gave her a paper monkey. 

3) We have very much enjoyed Say Goodnight Kevin's Nostalgia Christian videos. Especially this one, and this one, and this one.

4) Snowball fights. They happened.  :) Indoors and out.

5) During a game of Settlers of Catan, we had a discussion about building a city solely out of kittens. Yup, "we're all mad here." 

6) When someone asked what was in Becca's train case, they misheard art supplies and wondered why she had octopi in the blue box.

7) Becca misunderstood what time the Wednesday morning AMOOK (Advancing Missions On Our Knees) meeting was, and thought it was at 5:00 a.m.. Then she discovered that she had the wrong time only after going outside into the cold drizzle and getting locked out of the dorm. 
So after a half hour of walking around to keep warm, she saw a light on in the host's house and knocked on their door. The AMOOK meeting was actually at 6:00, but she was just in time to help make breakfast. 

8) We've been practicing for the school's talent show with another pair of sisters, and having lots of fun.

9) Friday morning started rather poorly, with the majority of the girls in our dorm (including Becca ) waking to the blaring sound of the fire alarm. 

"And that can only mean one thing... the building's on FIRE! Haha!"

-Richard Maxwell, Adventures in Odyssey 

It wasn't, thankfully, but we still had to evacuate the dorm and go to the chapel. It was a malfunction, and it continued to malfunction throughout the morning. After the second evacuation, they told us to ignore it... but it was still really really loud.

10) We played a game of Dutch blitz with another Bethany and Becca. 

11) I picked up a shorthand book at a thrift store yesterday. Looks like a fun skill to know- I can use it to write secret notes to people. :)

Here's our questions to whoever would like to answer them. Feel free to do so in the comments, if you like.

1. Do you have a favorite movie you watched growing up? If you can't choose one, you can say your top three.

2. What is your favorite board game?

3. What book are you currently reading?

4. Have you been learning any new skills lately? 

5. Have you ever listened to Adventures in Odyssey? 

6. What is your favorite flower that blooms in the Spring?

7. You're in the mood to read a classic, so you pick up a book by - Charles Dickens or Jane Austen?

8. What was the last song you listened to?

9. Would you rather go for a hike or a bike ride?

10. Have you had a snowball fight this winter? 

11. Are you excited to read the next chapter of "Into Thorwood"?  :)

That's all for now!

Note: Our title quote is referencing a stuffed beaver we were playing with during the above mentioned game of Settlers of Catan. He actually did end up fitting on the thermostat, but didn't stay there for long, because everyone wanted to hold him. :)

Paper Fury Blog Party

Even though Becca and I don't read much in the way of current YA fiction, we still have so much fun reading Cait's posts over at her old blog, The Notebook Sisters, and participating in her Beautiful People link-up.

Well, The Notebook Sisters has now changed to Paper Fury, and we're helping spread the word!

Janeite Tag

Many thanks to Paige for passing along this lovely tag!

Paige blogs at Sunday Best and All the Rest, and if you've never been there before, go say hello!  Her posts are always so fun and encouraging.

Beautiful Blog Award!

We've been awarded the Beautiful blog Award, twice in fact!

By Paige from Sunday Best and All the Rest and Jill from Wizard of Odds and Ends.

Rules:

1. Thank the blogger who awarded you.

2. Answer the ten questions he/she asked.

3. Nominate ten bloggers to receive the award. (we might have to flub a bit on this one)

4. Ask them ten questions.

5. Let them know they've been awarded.

Like our last tag, we'll do our color coded answers, Becca = blue and Bethany = purple.

Paige's questions:

1. How would you describe your personal style?

Oh dear...this is a hard one.  I love vintage style, especially from the 50's, but from a day to day basis I would say, vintage/practical/...there was going to be a third adjective here, 

but I can't think of one. :)

Hmm.... Well, I'm with Beth with loving vintage styles,

 but on a normal day it's mostly practical/whatever-is-in-my-dresser.

2. What was your first pet? 

Well, our first family pet was an orange cat named Jack.

 My personal first pet was a siberian dwarf hamster named Honey-bunch that I bought with money from my 9th birthday.

My first pet was one of Honey-bunch's babies, 

(and no, we didn't breed hamsters; she came pregnant)

Her name was Chum-Chum.

3. What is your ancestry (e.g. German, Italian)?

This answer is for both of us.

Dutch, Irish, Scottish, English, French, and Iroquois Indian.

Pretty impressive, right?

4. Dill pickles or sweet pickles ;) ?

Dill, usually, unless it's our neighbor's refrigerator pickles!

Both favorites! :)

(kudos if you get the quote... what are kudos?)

5. What Bible character do you relate to the most (it can be character, life experiences, or anything like that)?

I have no idea...

We thought a long time on this one,

 (we even went to wikipedia to see a list of all the women in the bible)

But I have no idea either... I'd like to be like Jemimah, but I doubt I'm the most beautiful in all the land :)

6. What is the first favorite scripture verse that comes to your mind?

1 Timothy 4:12

Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

Philippians 1:6

And I am sure of this, the He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

7. Do you have any food allergies?

Thankfully, no.

Ditto.

8. You would be really excited if you woke up tomorrow morning to the smell of ____ cooking.

Cinnamon rolls!

Bacon! 

or sausage, sausage is good too...

9. What are you looking forward to this summer?

Our family vacation.

Yes! yes! yes! I agree wholeheartedly :)

That and working on our camper.

10. What is one thing you've learned from blogging?

Bethany and Becca's answer:

That there's a lot more stay-at-home daughters/Whovians out there then we thought!

Really, it's been so fun to find so many like minded young women, when sometimes it can feel like we're the only ones.

Jill's guestions

1. What is your favorite article of clothing you own?

A white button-up shirt with black pin stripes that I found recently at Good Will. The brand is Ruff Hewn, which I seem to be attracted to. The sleeves have just a bit of a gather at the cuff, and I love the cut of it.

I think my favorite article of clothing is.....

My beautiful rose colored Gunne Sax dress!

 I have no idea where I could wear it, it has a very long skirt and long sleeves that button at the cuffs

2. Do you have any hidden talents?

I can do accents, but never on the spot. It has to be completely impromptu. :)

I can do a "Big Head Kid" impression :)

(He's funny in small doses, too much exposer and he becomes grating.

 If you don't know who he is, look up "Blimey Cow")

3. Do you give yourself any clothes shopping "rules" that you must stick to?

We have modesty guidelines: skirts and dresses should reach the knee, necklines should be high enough so that you feel comfortable bending over without being able to look down your shirt. Clothes shouldn't be too clingy. And we try to buy things that would be practical, unless we decide it could go for a costume for something.

Bethany: "I still think we should have bought that long, shiny blue dress with bat wing sleeves and silver sequined cuffs. We could have made our own Star Trek or Doctor Who Alien costume with it." 

Becca: "But we did buy that shiny silver shirt at the rummage sale,

we could use it for a Cyber-man costume."

:D

4. What colors do you see the most of when you open your closet?

Grey, blue, green, and purple.

 Varying shades of blue, green, cream and pink. 

5. Have you ever refashioned a piece of clothing? If so, what did you make?

I once made a bed sheet into a dress, and then into a skirt. I've done some other refashioning projects too, and they are really fun.

Just this morning Beth helped me refashion a dress into a skirt, it's my first one ever!  :)

6. If you had the chance to share just one Bible verse with someone, which would you choose?

Romans 5:8

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we are still sinners, Christ died for us.

That's a good one, can I do that one too?

7. Do you have any pets?

Currently, we have three Mini Rex rabbits, Steve, Simon, and Sarah Jane, and a Shih-Tzu, Mocha.

Oh yes, and Horatio, Archie, and Mr. Bush, our goldfish. They live in a little pond outside.

8. What is your favorite vintage/antique item you own?

My Jadeite glassware collection.

My lace crinoline.

9. Do you know more than one language (ASL, Braille, etc. count too.)

Well, we tried learning Spanish and Dutch once, and we know a little sign language.

10. Flats or heels?

I like wearing heels, but my dad gave me a rule that I can never wear a pair that makes me taller then him. :)

I like the look of heels :)

Okay, now it's our turn to ask the questions!

#1 If you could enter any book and be one of the characters,

what book would you chose and who would you be?

#2 What is your favorite recipe to make?

#3 "Would you like a jelly baby?"

#4 What would you do if you saw a "big red threatening button"?

#5 What's your favorite BBC period drama?

#6 How many states have you visited?

#7 What's your favorite handcraft? (Embroidery, crochet, drawing...)

#8 What's your favorite children's book?

#9 What's your favorite hairstyle?

#10 If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

We are not going to tag people (we don't know ten bloggers), 

anyone is welcome to participate.

You could do your own post or just answer in the comments.

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