Photo-a-day || March 22-28

Yep, we crawled in there. :)

Sunday: After going to church, our uncle, aunt, and cousins took us hiking. While on our expedition, we explored a small abandoned gold mine, and Becca spotted these gorgeous pasque flowers. They are one of the first flowers to bloom in the Spring, and are usually pretty hard to find.

Spring Break 2015

Don't worry, we haven't fallen off the planet, we've only been on Spring Break!

Classes have been going swimmingly, but after midterms and special lectures, Becca and I were very thankful for a week to go home.

Besides seeing Mum and Dad, we also got to see lots of church family and friends, and do some other fun things.

Monday, amongst visiting people, we also visited...

 

Into Thornwood || Chapter Twelve

By Becca

This is the last chapter!

Thank you everyone for your kind and encouraging reception. 

I might do a post with little tidbits and behind the scene things about the story, what do you guys think?

I'm so glad you've enjoyed Into Thornwood and I'd love to share more stories on the blog sometime.

But, enough of that now :)  On to the final chapter!

(Sorry, the indentation is not behaving for me...so, please ignore the strangeness)

Chapter 12

                  Now she will never come back.

                  Lucian opened the gate, intent on chasing them down. In his haste, the automaton missed a step and came crashing onto the stones, breaking apart and clanging all the way down.  Furious, Lucian took his mother’s bible and hurled it through the window. He ran to the opening and saw the wagon drive away, a glint of copper hair. The broken glass cut into the palm of his hand. He couldn’t feel it. 

                  She was your only hope, and you probably killed her. 

                  His lungs filled and a wild scream echoed through all of Thornwood. Far below the automaton lay scattered over the stairs. The fall would break his neck…. and death would be instant. That would be nice. Blood smeared as he ran a hand over his face and then the tears came.

                  He fell to his knees, staring over the forest, weeping. 

                  You loved her, didn’t you?

Into Thornwood || Chapter Eleven

By Becca

Chapter 11

                  “Through the third archway and the second door on the right.” Lucian’s voice came through distorted by the automaton. 

  Cecile reached out and turned the knob. At a squeaky meow she spun around, the cat trotted down the main stairs. 

                  “Well, hello you.” She smiled as it came and rubbed its head against her skirt. Reaching a hand under its chubby body, Cecile gathered the softness into her arms and at once it began to purr.                      

              “What is its name?” 

The cat didn’t flinch as the automaton stretched out and rubbed a metal finger between it’s ears.

 “Her name is Gypsum…she was mother’s.” 

Cecile laid her cheek against Gypsum’s fur and pushed the door open with her foot. She stepped into the imposing room, the automaton right behind her. 

Into Thornwood || Chapter Ten

By Becca

( Disclaimer: This chapter has some violence relating to a death ) 

Chapter Ten

                  Cecile slipped through the door and hurried up the stairs, retracing the steps from last night. The glass greeted her with strong light at the final landing, a view of the forest spread out below. She turned down the hall and paused at the reading nook. Kneeling on the cushions, she put her ear to the wall and heard movement on the other side, then a shuddering breath.

                  “Hello?” She ventured.

                  “Hello, Cecile.” His voice was low and husky, twined with sadness.

The little boy’s face came back to her. How old was he now?

                  “Well, I said I would tell you everything, didn’t I?” He sighed heavily. “I should have done that from the start…this may take awhile.” 

Into Thornwood || Chapter Nine

By Becca

Chapter nine

          Thornwood was far grander than she had imagined. 
          She must have looked like a fool, wandering through each room as if in a dream. If this was her prison, she could not have asked for a more luxurious one. 
          With a smile she opened the French doors to a sea of sunshine. It came pouring in though the rows of tall windows and filled the ballroom with brilliance.  A childish impulse drew her out onto the dance floor. She twirled and danced with an invisible partner to imagined music.  Her skirt unfolded and billowed, fluttering like wings with the movement.
          But then she stopped short, the room still whirling. Caprice’s scolding voice, very clear, came to her mind. “You are acting like a silly little girl. You are far too old for such nonsense and should be conducting yourself with propriety.”
          She would not say that now, would she? 
          After father’s death, Caprice changed. Cecile once hated the way Caprice spoke to her. Now, after these months of silence, she only wished that Caprice would speak.

"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. :)