Inklings // April 2024

Happy April everyone! Spring is springing on every hand and -- what with all that excitement in the air -- I decided I should just go for it and try to revitalize our Inklings here. We had a good run with it a number of years ago and it was such fun. Can't wait to see if anyone else wants to do it as well and what you come up with!

Rules:

1. At any time during the month, on your own blog post a scene from a book or film that matches the prompt, including a link back here in your post.

2. Leave a link to your entry in the comments section on this post and I'll post all your links with the next prompt. That's it!

~

April's prompt is:

A scene with a cake in book or film

My entry comes from Louisa May Alcott's An Old-Fashioned Girl -- literally the first grown-up-ish classic I ever read, at the tender age of eleven or so. So many fond memories.

"It was a most delectable cake, with a nosegay atop, and round it on the snowy frosting there ran a pink inscription, just as it had been every year since Tom could remember...

"Whose doing is that?" asked Tom, surveying the gift with satisfaction; for it recalled the happier birthdays, which seemed very far away now.

"I didn't know what to give you, for you've got everything a man wants, and I was in despair till I remembered that dear Grandma always made you a little cake like that, and that you once said it wouldn't be a happy birthday without it. So I tried to make it just like hers, and I do hope it will prove a good, sweet, plummy one."

"Thank you," was all Tom said, as he smiled at the giver, but Polly knew that her present had pleased him more than the most elegant trifle she could have made.

"It ought to be good, for you beat it up yourself, Tom," cried Maud. "It was so funny to see you working away, and never guessing who the cake was for. I perfectly trembled every time you opened your mouth, for fear you'd ask some question about it. That was the reason Polly preached, and I kept talking when she was gone."

"Very stupid of me; but I forgot all about today. Suppose we cut it; I don't seem to care for anything else," said Tom, feeling no appetite, but bound to do justice to that cake, if he fell a victim to his gratitude." 

~

Have you read An Old-Fashioned Girl? Or seen the 1949 musical film? I haven't seen the film and curious... Part of me doesn't like the idea at all, but then, one never knows.

Would love to see your Inklings entries as well -- have fun!

Sunshine Blogger Award || March Edition

Way back in August, I was tagged by Lizzie Hexam of Starlight & Saucepans with the Sunshine Blogger Award (thank you, Lizzie! :)) and she's came up with some really original questions. So let us to it.

You have the opportunity to invite over a fictional character for a day and show him/her around your neighborhood. Which character do you choose?

There are so many I want to choose! But... today we'll go with Chloé from Caroline Dale Snedeker's Forgotten Daughter (which has finally been able to be reprinted by Bethlehem Books!). (Note: the artwork doesn't look like at all like the hardcover edition of Chloé I grew up with ;/ *boo*, but I'm still excited it's now more widely available.)

What kind of weather do you like best? What weather makes you happiest/saddest?

I love the relief and contemplative feel of a clear fall day after a hot summer (or, most of all, a more temperate summer day in the high mountains). For the deep down thrill, probably a sunny day in spring. A heavy gray day (not raining) does kind of drag things down a bit sometimes. 

If you had to move to a foreign country, which one would it be?

I like the "had to" wording, because I really do love where I am. That said... oh boy. There are so many different places that would be amazing to see. But for practical, everyday living, I love the idea of somewhere in the French countryside... the slow living of going to the bakery for daily bread, lots of cheese around, a potager garden, and a few roses. It's very similar to the rhythms we tend to have in our home as is, so seems like it would be a natural fit. (Says the woman working really hard to create those relaxed rhythms... In all seriousness, it is very much how we generally operate, just still working on making it look as poetic as it sounds. xD)

A functional time-machine has just been invented! You can go to any time and place in the past that you like. When and where do you go?

Ancient time periods aside (total choice paralysis there, so don't know how I'd even begin to choose), anywhere in the Edwardian period: England... India... even New York. It's been my favorite time period since I was little.

You get to choose one book to be perfectly adapted into a movie/mini-series/TV show/musical. Which book do you choose, and which kind of adaption do you think it would work best as?

Persuasion. (I'm fairly happy with the available versions, but definitely wouldn't turn down the opportunity to do it perfectly). Mansfield Park would be a runner up. Both as films or mini-series. 

Do you prefer pens or pencils?

Pens.

What’s your favorite genre of music?

I listen to a smattering of different genres, but have particularly been enjoying orchestral music lately. (I watch a lot of ballet so the two go hand in hand for me. ;))

Do you use bookmarks? If so, do you use actual, nice-looking bookmarks, or do you just grab the nearest small flat object and use that?

50/50. I like nice bookmarks (and have a large collection), but they're not always to hand so I end up using ragged strips of paper. That said, I have long had a strong aversion to using anything thicker than said pieces of paper (in fact, if an innocent person inadvertently uses some such thing in my presence... well, let's just say unfortunate drama may ensue. *face palm*)

What kind of aesethetic do you/would you like to decorate your home?

Rustic lodge style. <3

Suppose you had the opportunity to do a good deed, but knew beforehand that it would fail and be misinterpreted. Would you still do it or not?

Well, I hate hate confusion and misinterpretation (one of the areas where I need to learn to rest, as such uncertainties are part of our fallen world; it's still just really stressful sometimes), but if the good deed was going to succeed in spite of the misunderstanding, I should hope I'd be strong enough to do it anyway. I would say the focus is to have our eyes on Christ, determining from His word what He's commanded us to do (i.e. show love and kindness, etc. and what that love and kindness should look like in a given situation). Good deeds are like planting seeds and we often won't know how fruitful or effective they are anyway till years in the future sometimes. (In some cases, maybe not till the resurrection.) And doing a good deed always bears witness to our King, no matter how it's taken on the other person's part. (Not that we go in like a bulldozer, wisdom is paramount, of course.) I'm just saying that, because we're doing it as unto our King, however it appears in the moment, we can know it hasn't really failed and will bear some sort of eternal fruit. 

That said, we don't want to be sanctimonious and obnoxious. That's not showing real charity and love.

So yeah, tough question, and sorry if I strayed into the weeds in my answer.

Which form of art do you think is inherently the most expressive: music, literature, or art?

Ooh! Hard one!! (Can I  opt out and say dance?) 

Hmm... When done with skill, I genuinely think all three are about equal. (As a writer, I was going to say writing is harder to actually capture the essence of the beautiful thing in your mind you're trying to express in the first place, but then realized the same could be equally said of the other two.)

I think... if push came to shove, because of how it more easily connects with the intended audience, I'd have to say music, in the end. But as far as value to the artist and the creative process itself (i.e. exhilaration of creation and frustration in honing the chosen craft), I consider all three equal. 

~

Thanks again for the tag, Lizzie!

Regarding thoughtfulness, thankfulness, & jollity

I've revamped (as in, removed a bunch of posts from ;)) my other blog, which is specifically a spot to put slightly more journal entry type material, and also share ideas about education, building a nurturing environment, etc., including some non-fiction book reviews. (Possibly also behind the scenes randomness and adventure ideas... we'll see.)

But I don't expect everyone here to be interested in the above topics(!), so don't feel obligated. That said, I decided to put the promised Advent and Christmas activities post over there, so here's the link, if you're interested in that. :)

Along the Brandywine here is -- as always -- the spot for more active blogger-y things (movie reviews, blogathons, tags, parties, etc.) and yes, occasionally random life ruminations. <3

Hope you're all having a lovely evening!