Thoughts of a Grasshopper

I was looking forward to another round of King Henry VIII with his wives and this didn't disappoint. The story is told through three viewpoints: Jane, Lady Rochford, widow of the executed George Boleyn; Anne, King Henry's 4th wife; and Katherine, King Henry's 5th wife. After reading this book, you come away with a respect for Anne of Cleves, as you would have for Katherine of Aragon. Anne was most proper and didn't want to do anything that would be disgraceful. Kitty was quite annoying with her self-indulgent behavior and attitude. The complete opposite of what Anne was. It was something when Jane was confronted by the Duke on why she would never be married again and how she served only herself and didn't care for her husband. It seemed it was at that point that Jane could no longer justify what she had done to her husband and sister-in-law. Of all the books by Phillipa Gregory relating to King Henry VIII and his wives, I would say this The Other Boleyn Girl...

I participated in the challenge on SCS today. It took several attempts to even come close to what I visualized. I like this one, which was my last version the best. It was funny because when I looked at the challenge last night, it did nothing for me and I decided not to do it. At some point today, it came to me to use this set and to give the challenge a go. I was going to use DP, but it seemed to detract from the main image so I ended up stamping my own backgrounds. Stamps: Hearts & Roses (Kitchen Sink) Ink: Rose Red, Real Red, Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Opalite Crystal Blush CS: Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Old Olive, VV Misc: Slider, Choc. Chip ribbon, dimensionals

This week on SCS, my cherry card that I posted in January, was picked for a sketch challenge. The challenge was to make a card using scallops. I got to choose a card for this weeks challenge, which took some time to do as I looked through all that was uploaded. My challenge was to make a card that used stitching, a button or a pin. This was my take on the challenge. Stamps: Bird Notes (Crafty Secrets) Paper: Artichoke, Cosmo Cricket Dutch Girl, Watercolor, Soft Sky, Real Red, River Rock Ink: Stazon, Basic Black, River Rock, Soft Sky, So Saffron Misc.: Punches, thread, dimensionals button

Having read The Other Boleyn Girl , The Virgin's Lover and The Queen's Fool last October, I enjoyed getting back into the Tudor court. It wasn't as quick of a read as the first two I listed, however, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The book, The Constant Princess , delves into Katherine's life at Infanta Catalina, Princess of Spain and her parents crusade against the Moors. It talks of how she was raised as princess of Spain and England since she was betrothed to Arthur and would one day be Queen of England. It was lovely romance between Katherine and her first husband Arthur, which lasted less than a year. She made a death bed promise to him that she would marry his brother Harry (Henry VIII) to be Queen of England. To take us through her time while she waited for Harry to come of age and ultimately it was the death of his father that allowed them to get married. In this book, she endured much and was graceful and determined. Her strength and power were wonderfull...

Last Friday night was a Pinewood Derby and there was a cook-off using food storage. I had no idea what to make. It was sort of early enough it could have been dinner items and yet 7 p.m. is late enough that you most likely had dinner so I opted for a bread. If I went the dinner route, I was going to cook rice and have a tuna/pea sauce to put on it. It is a recipe that my grandmother made, my mother and now I do. It was sort of a backwards compliment but I won "The Golden Can Award for Best Dessert". I was the only dessert. It makes my think of when my father-in-law tells me I'm his favorite daughter-in-law - I'm his only daughter-in-law. Here is the recipe: Chocolate Applesauce Bread 2C sugar 3/4C butter 3 eggs 1 (25 oz.) jar apple sauce 4C flour 2-1/2t baking soda 3/4t salt 3/4t cinnamon 4T unsweetened cocoa 1/2C chocolate chips Preheat oven to 350 o . In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, then the app...

This is one of the first cards I ever made when introduced to Stampin' Up! I've always thought it had a clean and simple, yet classy look to it. I made a dozen of these cards tonight for some teachers at school. I love the set as much now as I did in the beginning. Stamps: Fabulous Fruit CS: Naturals Ivory Ink: Summer Sun, More Mustard, Old Olive Misc.: Classy Brass Stencil, stylus, sponge, dimensionals, rust marker You need to stamp off the summer sun and old olive before sponging on the more mustard.

This is one of the books I bought last fall and I never read it. Recently I loaned several books to a friend and this was one of them. Oddly, it bothered me that she had read books of mine that I hadn't read, so I began reading. Yet another book that you have to adjust to the writing style initially but it is an easy and good read. There are several parts that I couldn't help but laugh out loud. I noted pages to share with my husband when he came home because I thought they were so funny. I even called a friend to read a couple of things to her. I would love to have an Elner Shimfissle in my life. At least I think I would. Perhaps it would get tiring with the questions, or excitement of things we tend to overlook in our busyness, but she seems like she would be a hoot and bring a lot of laughter and fun stories to share and treasure. The main part of this book is Elner, climbs a ladder for some figs, gets stung by wasps, falls and dies (or does she?). It goes through f...