Backwoods Wife

Royal Watching

 

 Photos by Pearl Leishman

 

This is a scream...if only I knew how to knit!

You can find a copy of the book here at Amazon.ca or here at Amazon.com.

Photo via the Ivy Press Bookstore (for those of you in the U.K.).

Cardboard boxes are the best!

The kids have been having so much fun with cardboard boxes lately.  They all try to squish in together, regardless of the size of the box, with mixed results.  Sometimes the pile up brings on hysterical laughter, other times annoyance.  No matter the reactions though, imaginations are in full swing.  Recently a moderate size box has served as a bed, a car, a boat (complete with a hat-wearing captain), a home, and I'm sure several other things that I haven't quite caught in passing.  The aforementioned box bit the dust on Saturday though.  It could only survive so many days of 3 children and many of their worldly goods packed into it.  Two of the ends burst and that was the end of the box.  Dwayne has another box at work to bring home that is both larger and stronger.  He plans to cut windows and a door in it.  I'm sure it will be a big hit!  Throw in some crayons and Riley and Abby will likely be entertained for a full day of "decorating". :)   

The Globe

One of my favourite outings of the entire tour was the optional trip to the reconstructed Shakespeare's Globe to see "The Merry Wives of Windsor".  It was FABULOUS!  I wasn't familiar with this particular Shakespeare play and didn't know much aside from the fact that it was a comedy.  I enjoyed it thoroughly!  Playing the lead of "Sir John Falstaff" was none other than Christopher Benjamin - "Sir William Lucas" from the 1995 version of "Pride & Prejudice".  For those needing their memory jogged, this quote may help, "Capital!  Capital."  The theatre is open air so you have to keep that in mind while dressing for the play.  I originally had a ticket for the groundlings, which is the area directly in front of the stage where you stand for the majority of the play.  Thankfully, there was an extra regular ticket (read: a seat with a cushion) as my ankles were swelling from all of the walking I had done earlier in the day.  The play was delightful and the 2 1/2 hours passed very quickly.  I would go back in a heartbeat! Photos were not allowed during the play itself but I can give you a feel for what the theatre was like.

This was my view from my seat.  I was right at the front edge of the second level of seating, so I had a nice wooden rail to lean on if I wished.

 

The second floor of the stage (the area that looks like a balcony) was where the musicians sat.

 

Here you can see where the groundlings "seating" is located.

 

The centre part of the walkway extension of the stage rotated throughout the play to swap out different sets.  It was a garden at one point, a walkway at another, etc.

 

The theatre is full and the musicians are announcing the play before settling above the stage.

A Sweet Dollhouse

I am in the midst of trying to clean and organize our living space at the moment.  As my house is a disaster, and I won't be posting any photos of it until I am done, I thought I'd share a very well kept little house I found in England.  Please pardon the glare and blurriness in some of these photos, flash photography was not permitted and the lighting was quite low.

Not for everyone...

Disclaimer: This may not be appreciated by those over the age of say, 12, or those who do not find bodily functions occasionally funny.  However, although I am not 12, I found it highly entertaining. It may just be that the +30 degree weather has fried my brain.  It also didn't happen to me! Overheard: Loud "THWACK" from the direction of the black leather couch where Dwayne has been sitting reading. Me: "What was that?" Dwayne: "A big beetle. It was crawling into my butt crack." Me: Hysterical laughter. Warning: This could happen to you if you sit around in only your shorts on a hot day.

Some new things to read!

Yesterday I received a box in the mail from Mary Janes Farm. I ordered a set of 5 back issues of Mary Janes Farm magazine. I recently bought the book "Mary Jane's Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook" by Mary Jane Butters. It is a fascinating read about self-sufficiency and being a farm girl at heart whether you live in town or country. I thought the magazines would be nice to curl up with during this crazy cold snap we've been having.

I think I will go and pour myself a cup of tea, curl up in a comfy chair with a blanket, and think about something other than cold and snow!

You don ' t have to be crazy but it helps!

Today is the first day of NaNoWriMo 2007. I have been following this site for a few years now and have contemplated participating several times but never quite got up the nerve. This year I decided to give it a go. I think I may have completely lost it! We are hoping to move to our new house in the very near future, I have 2 little people to chase after, and a to do list a mile long but I'm really feeling the need to do something somewhat creative. This involves no cost, no time consuming set up or take down every day, no safety risk to the kids or to me, and allows me the chance to let my imagination run wild without having to worry about someone grading my work. I don't know if I'll actually make it or not but it's worth a shot!

For those of you who are wondering, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month (say NAN-no WRY-mo)and it is a self-induced contest with one's self (and others if you choose) to see if you can write a novel in the month of November. To qualify you must have written 50,000 words at the end of the 30 days. The novel is never read or judged by anyone on the site, you simply submit your document to a verifying word counter on the site. There is no official prize.

I honestly don't have a plot so I am just winging it. I don't know what the finished product will look like. It will probably never be reread by me or by anyone else. I by no means consider myself to be anything resembling a writer, it's just something new for me to try.