Random Quotes from Crocodile on the Sandbank.

The following, mostly random quotes are from Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters.

"{I am informed, by the self-appointed Critic who reads over my shoulder as I write, that I have already committed an error. If those seemingly simple English words do indeed imply that which I am told they imply to the vulgar, I must in justice to Evelyn find other phrasing.}"

"I sat up and, with a shout, reached out for the thing. I do not believe in apparitions. I wanted to get my hands on it, to feel the warmth and solidity of human flesh. Unfortunately, I had forgotten the confounded mosquito netting."

"My parasol was standing in the corner. I went and got it." Next page - "He was an agile fellow; he jumped nimbly back as I tried to bring the parasol down on his head, and when I raised it for a second attempt, Evelyn caught my arm. 'Pray don't break a good parasol,' she said, with a curling lip. 'He is not worth it.'"

"She was too kind, and too truthful. Both, I have found, are inconvenient character traits."

"His brother's danger and Evelyn's unexpected appearance had turned the poor boy's brains to mush. I realized that I must take charge.... I jabbed him with my parasol. He started, turned, and began to run back in the direction from which he had come."

"'There is absolutely no limit to this man's arrogant stupidity,' I exclaimed, as Walter came rushing to us. 'Fetch Michael and help your brother back to bed, Walter. And for pity's sake,' I added angrily, as Emerson's unconscious head rolled against my breast and bristly black hairs scratched me through the fabric of my bodice, 'for pity's sake, get rid of this beard!'"

"'That is the most ridiculous remark you have made as yet,' I said. 'And many of your remarks have been extremely silly.'"

A Round of Interesting Blog Posts 15.

I had a busy, rather stressful day yesterday so this is only twenty-four hours late. *rolls eyes* Anyway, let's see what you've all been blogging about!

Ruth over at Booktalk and More has a fun movie review to share with us.

Jane over at Reviews by Jane has a fun book review up.

Casey over at Writing for Christ ~ The Audience of One also has a book review up.

Rachel over at The Inkpen Authoress has a wonderful short story to share.

Katie over at Maria Shiphrah Dalton Publications has a new blog for college-age readers!

The gals over at Young Ladies Christian Fellowship have a thoughtful post on our influence over brothers.

Holly over at In The Bookshelf has a grand book review.

My friend Gabrielle over at Hellwig Family Blog shares her brothers' reactions as hurricane Irene rolled in.

Ashely over at The Epic Reader has a wonderful review on a Joshua Harris book.

Jody over at The Corner Bookblog has a lovely book review to share with us.

And there ya are my fine people! Keep blogging!

Monday Blurbs ~ Seventh Edition.

Today is Monday, isn't it? Oh well, doesn't matter. My family and I watched an unusual low amount of movies/shows this past weekend so this'll be a short {ish} post.

On Friday we watched....nothing. On Saturday we watched a re-run episode of Psych. In it Shawn and Gus take a missing person's case as a favor to Juliette and go to a Comic Con where they run around tracking down the missing guy's two buddies and talking about a random movie one of the participating speakers made and which received a lot of bad reviews. On Sunday we watched another re-run episode of Psych in which a tennis player turns up missing so Shawn and Gus go bouncing around looking for her and then, when they can't find her, go tracking down her mystery boyfriend. Meanwhile, Shawn's dad and the head detective what's-his-name go fishing together which gets Shawn all distracted. In short, two random episodes from a show I rather like.

Now, what I would have enjoyed watching this weekend is still waiting to be picked up from the library. I hope we get it tomorrow cause I so want to watch it! A friend recommended it to me. *winks* It's North and South. Starring Richard Armitage {way cool!} and made in 2004, this mini-series looks grand and is based off of Elizabeth Gaskell's book by the same title. I intend to read that as soon as I get hold of a copy.

Catch ya later!

Matthew 24, NKJV.

"Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.

And Jesus said to them, 'Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.'

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, 'Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?'

And Jesus answered and said to them: 'Take heed that no one deceives you.

For many will come in My name, saying "I am the Christ," and will deceive many.

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.

All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.

And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.

Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.

And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Therefore when you see the "abomination of desolation," spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place' {whoever reads, let him understand},

'then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.

And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.

But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!

And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.

For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.

And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.

Then if anyone says to you, "Look, here is the Christ!" or "There!" do not believe it.

For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

See, I have told you beforehand.

Therefore if they say to you, "Look, He is in the desert!" do not go out; or "Look, He is in the inner rooms!" do not believe it.

For as the lightening comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.

So you also, when you see all these things, know that is it near - at the doors!

Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.

But even as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,

and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.

Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.

Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.

But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.

Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?

Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.

Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.

But if that evil servant says in his heart, "My master is delaying his coming,"

and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards,

the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of,

and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"

The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck Book Review.

Title: The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck.

Author: Kathleen Y’Barbo.

Genre: Christian, Historical Fiction, Romance, Sequel.

Plot: Eighteen year old Charlotte Beck is in London with her stepmother Gennie preparing for her New York début. She’s spent the majority of her life trying to convince people {mostly her father} that she’s a mature grow-up young woman while her actions speak otherwise. At a formal ball hosted by the wealthy Earl Hambly, Charlotte manages to nonchalantly fall out of a window and land in the arms of the Hambly heir. She doesn’t learn till later that there are two Hambly sons, twins; Martin is the heir but his time in the war so marred his mind that he is incapable of succeeding. Thus the burden of heir and firstborn falls on Alex’s shoulders. He didn’t want it, he didn’t ask for it and he’d much rather study the stars than play the role of his brother at social meetings but he accepted it without compliant.

That is, until Charlotte Beck landed in his arms late one night when he was escaping from the stifling atmosphere in the ballroom. His meetings with Charlotte soon lead to a black eye, a stack of ruined research notes, a bent telescope and an arrangement of marriage with the wild girl in question that he can’t refuse. Charlotte, ever the schemer, gets a shock when Alex declares he doesn’t want to break off the marriage and she sets about to find a way out of the inconvenient marriage.

Likes/Dislikes: The beginning half of this book was delightful, with a humorous undercurrent to the story. From one misadventure to the other I felt I was enjoying a real treat. And then the second half came along; I was hoping for the same bouncing, happy undercurrent but it wasn’t there and I quickly lost interest after the wedding. I really lost interest when Alex and Charlotte got caught in a snowstorm and had to take shelter in an abandoned cabin. I knew where that scene would go {thankfully the father bounced in before it got too far} and I was mentally screaming, “No! Don’t do that, don’t go into that cabin! What’s wrong with you people?!” I really didn’t enjoy the second half; the first half was grand though. And then the whole hinted conspiracy concerning Charlotte’s mother was a deflated balloon.

Rating: PG-15 and up for suggested suggestive content and reading level.

Date Report Written: August 27, 2011.

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed in the above review are my own.

1,000 Blessings: 136-185.

1. Windows Media Player.
2. Playlists.
3. Favorite songs.
4. Scriptural songs.
5. Dish soap.
6. Rubber gloves.
7. Laptops.
8. Wireless internet that actually works.
9. The ability to send things lightening fast.
10. Peppermint leaves.
11. Peppermint tea.
12. Fun phone calls.
13. The joy of crafting a new story.
14. Inventing characters.
15. Microsoft Word.
16. Automatic spell checkers.
17. Dictionaries.
18. Encounter Magazine.
19. Fun movie lines to quote.
20. The simple joys of life.
21. My siblings.
22. My Dad’s wisdom.
23. Headphones.
24. A fondness for organizing.
25. Bookshelves that don’t break.
26. Chris.
27. Weather reports.
28. Crackers.
29. Chips.
30. Sourdough bread.
31. Pasta.
32. Apples.
33. Fingernail polish.
34. CAKE!
35. Giggling.
36. The anticipation of getting a letter in the mail.
37. The words “The End.”
38. Denim.
39. Ankle length skirts.
40. Long sleeved shirts.
41. The ability to rhyme.
42. Poetry.
43. The ability to write poetry.
44. Aspirin.
45. Word count counters.
46. Hot water.
47. Showers.
48. A working sink.
49. Bales of straw.
50. Bloggers.