I So Liked Spring

I so liked Spring last year 

Because you were here;- 

The thrushes too- 

Because it was these you so liked to hear- 

I so liked you. 

This year's a different thing,- 

I'll not think of you. 

But I'll like the Spring because it is simply spring 

As the thrushes do.

Charlotte Mary Mew

Book Tour!! Life Unstuck Book Review

Title: Life Unstuck.

Author: Pat Layton.

Genre: Christian, Nonfiction, Self-Help, Spiritual.

Plot: Drawing upon her own experiences, Mrs. Layton delivers a book to help women in all walks of life to become unstuck and live life to the full potential God wants you to have. Divided into three sections, this book focuses on how to accept your past, thrive in your present and look forward to a passionate future.

Likes/Dislikes: To be entirely honest, I haven't finished this book and there's a good chance that I probably won't. It looked interesting but once I started reading it, my interest level evaporated. The target audience seems to be older fear-bound women and the writing style is very devotional, pep-talky and not engaging enough for me. It's just not my cup of tea. I do find the personal stories at teh beginning of each chapter to be interesting.

Rating: PG - 16 and up, mainly for reading level and content {nothing graphic}.

Date Review Written: March 17th, 2015.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion and participation in a book tour. I wasn't required to write a positive review and the opinions expressed above are my own.

The Winter's Spring

The winter comes; I walk alone, 

I want no bird to sing; 

To those who keep their hearts their own 

The winter is the spring. 

No flowers to please--no bees to hum-- 

The coming spring's already come. 

I never want the Christmas rose 

To come before its time; 

The seasons, each as God bestows, 

Are simple and sublime. 

I love to see the snowstorm hing; 

'Tis but the winter garb of spring. 

I never want the grass to bloom: 

The snowstorm's best in white. 

I love to see the tempest come 

And love its piercing light. 

The dazzled eyes that love to cling 

O'er snow-white meadows sees the spring. 

I love the snow, the crumpling snow 

That hangs on everything, 

It covers everything below 

Like white dove's brooding wing, 

A landscape to the aching sight, 

A vast expanse of dazzling light. 

It is the foliage of the woods 

That winters bring--the dress, 

White Easter of the year in bud, 

That makes the winter Spring. 

The frost and snow his posies bring, 

Nature's white spurts of the spring.

John Clare

The Big Bang Theory 8.18

Howard and Bernadette discover that a power outage has occurred at his mother's house where Stuart is still currently living. All of the frozen food - the last his mother ever cooked - is in danger of going bad, so they decide to invite everyone over and have one last dinner cooked by his mother. But the fact that Sheldon and Leonard's theory was mentioned in Scientific America but didn't mention Leonard at all casts a shadow over the group. And Sheldon and Leonard end up fighting over the meal, to the point that Bernadette pulls them both aside and sternly scolds them. This was a funny episode!

Dust of Snow

The way a crow 

Shook down on me 

The dust of snow 

From a hemlock tree 

Has given my heart 

A change of mood 

And saved some part 

Of a day I had rued.

Robert Frost

Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life Book Review

Title: Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life.

Author: Marta McDowell.

Genre: Nonfiction, Gardening, Biography, Plants, Historical, Photography, England.

Plot: Beatrix Potter is best known for her Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny tales {among others}, but what some people might not know is that she was also a gardener and a country girl at heart. McDowell takes us along as she dives into Potter’s life, looking at her through the eyes of her gardens as they shaped and changed her, influencing Potter’s famous stories. We tour her gardens ourselves, spending all four seasons in them – particularly her famous Hill Top Farm. We admire her gorgeous array of flowers; her carefully tended vegetable garden and her orchards. We learn new depths to Potter’s character and we fall in love with the outdoors, with gardening, with trees, flowers and the lush countryside all over again, inspiring us anew to step away from our screens and take a deep breath.

Likes/Dislikes: This is a wonderful little book. I love it! On almost every page is a glossy beautiful picture of a plant drawn by Potter herself, one of her beloved characters, or gorgeous photographs of her gardens. I can’t wait to add this book to my personal library and share it with my daughter as she grows up in our garden.

Rating: G- all ages. Highly recommended!

Date Review Written: February 23^rd, 2015.

The Big Bang Theory 8.17

Sheldon and Amy gleefully announce that they are starting a family by adopting a turtle jointly. At the pet store, Sheldon mentions that he applied to go to Mars without Amy's knowledge. They end up not getting the turtle and having a big fight instead. Meanwhile, Raj is over visiting Emily and snoops around, breaking a drawer in her room. They have their first fight while Howard and Bernadette eavesdrop via video chat. And Leonard went to the dirty store by himself!

Forever 1. 17

This latest murder is supposedly an accident but when Dr. Morgan investigates further, he learns that it was really a clever murder. A member of a "hacktivist" group is dead and somebody wants the dirt to stay where it is. Threatened with having his secret exposed, Dr. Morgan makes a crucial decision that says a lot about his character. While interesting, this episode wasn't really popping for me.

Against Winter

The truth is dark under your eyelids. 

What are you going to do about it? 

The birds are silent; there's no one to ask. 

All day long you'll squint at the gray sky. 

When the wind blows you'll shiver like straw. 

A meek little lamb you grew your wool 

Till they came after you with huge shears. 

Flies hovered over open mouth, 

Then they, too, flew off like the leaves, 

The bare branches reached after them in vain. 

Winter coming. Like the last heroic soldier 

Of a defeated army, you'll stay at your post, 

Head bared to the first snow flake. 

Till a neighbor comes to yell at you, 

You're crazier than the weather, Charlie.

Charles Simic

Downton Abbey 5.9

In this final episode of Downton Abbey for this season, we have a lot going on. Rose's new parents in law invite everyone but her parents over for grouse hunting. The pompous butler irritates everyone so Thomas takes him down a notch and then tries to take down Lord Sinderby when he insults Thomas. But Rose coolly handles the situation and keeps the potential scandal contained, earning her Lord Sinderby's affection and gratitude. Meanwhile, poor Anna and Bates are stressed out trying to poke hole sin the police's case. Bates now finds himself in Anna's shoes having to comfort her when she had previously been the strong one for them. Bates then writes a confession and vanishes to Ireland, ripping a giant hole in the case and causing the police to release Anna on bail. A new footman is hired and an event that I've been waiting for ever since the show first started finally, finally happens! The end was so funny, touching, sad and happy all at once. Nothing can quite move one like the ups and downs on this show. I do wish they weren't sending Bronson off to America though; he's one of my favorite characters!