Thursday’s Tale: The Tulip Fairies

by Carol1 Comment
Tulip time has passed here in Ohio, but it is still spring, I can tell by the cool dreary, rainy weather outside today. I though I'd share this short tale from England. It's a bit bittersweet. Once upon a time there was an old woman who lived by herself in a little house. She grew a bed of beautiful multi-colored tulips in her garden, which she would cut and bring into the house, to cheer herself up. One night she was woken up by the sounds of sweet singing and of babies laughing. She looked out of the window and the sounds seemed to be coming from the tulip bed, but she couldn't see anything. The next morning she walked among her flowers, but there were no signs of anyone having been there the night before. On the following night she was woken up again by sweet singing and the sound of babies laughing. She rose and stole softly through her garden. The...
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My Favorite . . Food

by Carol8 Comments
My Favorite.. is a weekly meme hosted by Maureen’s Books. In this meme we share every week something we love with each other. Because let’s face it.. The world can be a dark place and it’s time to share something positive. For more info: My Favorite Meme. My favorite food has been the same since I was a kid - spaghetti and sauce. Specifically my mom's spaghetti and sauce, although I will settle for others. I don't want meatballs though. What's your favorite food? Join in at Maureen's Books....
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Readers’ Workouts – 5/9

by Carol4 Comments
I made my weekly goal, just barely.   FitBit's running a 30-day spring challenge that I'm participating in. For the burpees, I'm just doing a stand up at the end, as described in the challenge, not a jump. I'm modifying the push-ups by keeping my knees on the floor. FitBit May Challenge Day 1: Done (7687) Day 2: Done Day 3: Done Day 4: Done (10849) Day 5: Done Day 6 Done Day 7: Rest Day 8: Done (7763) This week: I was not very active this week. It was rainy and dreary. Thursday - Elliptical Sunday - Walk with the dog Meal plan: Spaghetti with tomato sauce Buffalo chicken frites Roasted garlic-crusted chicken Strawberry French Toast Casserole Chicken Scaloppine Year Fitness Goals: - Lose weight. Goal - Lose 26 lbs. I haven't weighed myself. We're working on the bathroom, so our scale is hanging out somewhere in the living room underneath the boxes, etc. And I am getting very tired of the mess.(starting 141.6) - Run 2 5ks, 1 10K and 1 half. Completed - 1 10K - Hit my weekly step goal (56,000 steps) for 48...
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The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

by Carol4 Comments
Yeah, so I'm not a fan of The Picture of Dorian Gray. I'm sorry, but it was kind of boring and I knew how it was going to end. The idea itself is interesting; Dorian doesn't age, but his portrait does and it shows all the signs of his downfall instead of him. Of course, it takes almost half the book to get to that part. it's a much more philosophical book than I though it would be. It touches on the nature of art and on society's adoration of youth and beauty. Sin is obviously important to the story  and what a person will do if they are free from consequences, but I think even more important is the dangers of truly influential people. Dorian wasn't the star for me, his "friend" Henry was. It's Henry who leads him down the hedonistic path. Henry is charming and witty, he theorizes and shocks people. He encourages Dorian, even though he himself seems to...
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Thursday’s Tale: The Three May Peaches

by Carol1 Comment
  Today's tale is very similar to one I shared a couple of weeks ago, The Rabbit Herd, but it has May in the name, which is how I found it. "The Three May Peaches" was collected by  Paul Delarue in The Borzoi Book of French Folk-Tales, 1956. A king of Ardenne had a beautiful daughter who was sick. A doctor declared that the three finest May peaches would save her, but then she would have to marry within a week or fall sick again. Many men came with peaches, but none saved the princess. A woman had three sons, and the oldest set out with the finest peaches from their orchard. He met an old woman who asked what he had; he claimed rabbit dung, she said that so it was, and when he got the castle, that was what he carried. When will fairy tale characters learn to be nice to old women? His next brother set out next, told the...
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My Favorite . . TV Show

by Carol7 Comments
My Favorite.. is a weekly meme hosted by Maureen’s Books. In this meme we share every week something we love with each other. Because let’s face it.. The world can be a dark place and it’s time to share something positive. For more info: My Favorite Meme. There are four tv shows that I watch regularly: Survivor, Amazing Race, Elementary and The Librarians. I don't know that I can really pick a favorite. I love seeing the different places in the Amazing Race. I love Elementary's take on Sherlock. Survivor is always fun to watch, between the people and the challenges, and The Librarians does a great job at combining adventure and fantasy with literature, mathematics, science and mythology. What's your favorite tv show? Join in at Maureen's Books....
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