Music, Orphans and the United Nations

Birdy is at it again. Now that I am in school many opportunities are floating around, just waiting for me to grab hold. Because of Birdy's artistic and musical abilities, enthusiasm to help and willingness to brave public speaking, three week-long trips have come up.

The first will be the trip to the Hague (in the Netherlands) for Model United Nations. My MUN class will travel there at the end of this semester to a beautiful 4 star hotel on the beach. The only thing is we have to come up with the money for everything because the school will not pay for us to go. We done a few fund raisers to help lower the cost but I still had to pay about 360 euro for the hotel room.

However, I'm sure the money will be worth it. MUN is a simulation of the UN run entirely by high school students. I am in the ECOSOC committee which stands for Economic and Social Council. My class's country was given to us in the beginning of the year and unfortunately happens to be the Democratic Peoples Republic of North Korea. So in my committee I will be representing North Korea in all of the Economic and Social resolutions that come up.

The next trip will be to Oberwesel, Germany to participate in Creative Connections. I was chosen to be one of the 15 students to be in the Strings class. It will only be 200 euro to spend 5 days in an advanced arts activity with other musicians as well as 135 other artists. We will, then, perform or showcase what we have prepared during the week. This is a great opportunity that will help take my violin to the next level.

In April, I've signed up for a Service Project to Poland. This will cost $365 but will be so much fun and very fulfilling. We will help an orphanage there by building a playground, teaching children baseball and cooking meals, among other things. Lauren and I can't wait!

All this, plus graduation and college, is coming up soon but not coming cheap. However, these are wonderful opportunities I feel like I cannot miss!

My Journal: Switzerland

During our trip to the Swiss Alps, I kept a little notebook to write down the things I did. I'll write down the best parts for you. It started with a ride at the front of a double decker bus:

Day 1

"The green wild hills unrolled like a handmade quilt. The chattering of small children was droned by the rattling of the windows as the road rolled under the two decker bus. Thus, begins my trip to Switzerland.

Sitting at the very front of the top deck of the bus was like being on a wooden roller coaster. The road rushed beneath making it seem as if it was going very fast. The whole bus rattled and shook jostling us into each other. Going up hills drastically slowed the bus while going down you would wonder if the driver could ever stop the momentum."

Day 2

"The town is wonderful. Not only is the ground covered in snow but the houses, shops and hotels are so quaint and whimsical, it's exactly how you would imagine Switzerland to be. We are in a town called Zermatt settled sweetly in a valley. Mountains are on every side including the famous Matternhorn. One thing that we found odd is that there are old crude wooden cabins and barns scattered throughout the village. They look like they would be very cold, especially the ones alone in the middle of the snow.

We got to our apartment late last night, so I woke up to the most amazing sight of my life. Majestic snow-tipped mountains against a vivid blue sky surrounded me. All the houses were covered with snow at least a foot deep. It had snowed for a few days back in Germany. All the farmland around our area was lightly covered with snow; I kept saying how that was the most snow I had ever seen. But, now the snow absolutely amazes me. This is nothing like the German slush I'm used to; this beautiful powdery Swiss snow perfect for skiing.

Skiing is hard work. We woke up early in the morning to eat breakfast then picked up our skis and boots from the hotel. Now, one would expect that skis would be light, but in fact they are very heavy. And hard to carry. It took at least twenty minutes for us to lug all our stuff up to the lift. When we finally got there we had to put on our boots on which we found to be quite challenging. Then, getting on the ski lift was crazy, especially with mom and my little sisters. But, after we finally hopped onto the gondola; the view was spectacular. You could see the town nestled in the snow, almost camouflage, and it was also neat to see the little animal footprints below us. We tried to figure out what kind of animal made what print but there were so many different kinds.

After we got off the gondola we had two choices, we could go ski to Italy or take another larger gondola to the lodge on the very peak of the mountain. Though Italy would have been awesome, we needed a little practice first. The new gondola was very big and stuffed with people, we were squished up against the windows. I found it amazing, how that big thing, so crammed with people, could be lifted up the entire mountain by two wires. While we were on the gondola, we were able to see the source of three sets of footprints in the snow. Three black and white mountain goats dared the cliffs below us. I know what stuffed animal I'll get here as a souvenir!

Today was the perfect day for skiing;

the snow was packed, but not icy, the sun was out, and the air was crisp, but not windy. It was a great idea to get an instructor, because skiing is no simple task. Lauren picked it up really quick, but I had troubles keeping my knees straight. Though, we were all doing well at the end of the lesson. I didn't fall until the day was almost over, when I braved the Bunny Slope. (The first slope we were on was so easy I called it the Chicken Slope.)

The Bunny Slope was really fun because it was long enough to actually enjoy the ride down. The moving rope you had to hold onto in order to get back up, however, was frustrating. It was hard to get a grip of it; its burned holes in you gloves; it was hard to keep the skis straight; in some parts there was too much slack which made you wipe out and it took an amazing amount of upper body strength, not good for us ladies.

Anyway, after we had our fill of going up and down the mountain side, we had to climb up the Chicken Slope. It was steeper than we thought. I never want to climb anything like that mountain again."

Day 4

"The next two days we hung out at the slopes. It was really fun and of course we still had to climb up the Chicken Slope which I vowed never to do again; on the bright side, it was the best workout I've ever had in my life. I wanted to go up the big slope, the Lion Slope, the Monster Slope, the Slope of the Howling Wolves. (definite over exaggerations) But, I knew that, with my lack of experience, the long hill would be very tiring. Not only that, but I would be falling down every 10 seconds.

After skiing for a couple hours on Saturday, Lauren and I took a walk around Zermatt each with 20 francs from mom.

It really is the cutest town! Sand is poured on the streets to keep it from icing. There are no cars in sight except for and few electric taxis and pick-up trucks; gas cars aren't even allowed in the town. Despite the many tourists, everything is very authentic like it had been there for centuries. Most of the houses and hotels are large wood cabins, each beautifully carved, painted and decorated.

Since the Matterhorn is such a big tourist attraction, everything is Zermatt is expensive. We were only able to buy a few things. But, we needed to spend all of our left-over francs, so we got a few small souvenirs as well as a stuffed animal goat, St. Bernard and marmot (which is a very popualr animal in mountain villages) and some Swiss chocolate."

Day 5

"Sunday is our last day. After some last minute shopping, we got on the train and 10:20 and from the train we got back onto the bus. This time, we get to drive through Switzerland in the daylight. The scenery is amazing. Mountains loom over us on all sides everywhere we turn. This is what I thought Germany would look like whne we moved here, but we live in the country, full of rolling hills but very lacking in mountains.

Soon the snow-capped mountains began to shrink into hills. They are the biggest, greenest hills you will ever see. The bus has gone through so many tunnels under the hills that I wonder how they manage to stay up. Jurni, Kitty's friend, just described this place as 'Narnia'.

Our trip to Switzerland was awesome, thats the only word I can think of to describe it. Skiing was more fun than I imagined it to be and the town nad apartment we stayed in was wonderfully whimsical. Overall, it was a very exiting trip that I'm definitly going to go on again. Now, its time to go someplace opposite of the Alps such as... the Bahamas!

Snow

Exploring the Germany Country Side

Side Tracked

I wrote this for the Bravewriter class I took online over the summer but only remembered it until just now... Sorry 'bout that, I get side tracked and it's totally not my fault! I was cursed at birth by an evil fairy. It's true.

Ms. Rachel's Instructions: This week, chase down a memory in writing. Keep it very simple--only choose one tiny part of a memory, if you need to. Keep yourself writing about it for no more than twenty minutes.

Here are the things to look for in a memory:

1. Who was there? Were you with someone else? Were you alone? Were you there with a haunting presence (like being sent to your room alone but your father's voice keeps echoing in your thoughts)? Were you in a crowd but horribly alone? Were you wanting to be alone but caught in a crowd? Were you in the presence of reassuring friends or family?

2. Name the place. Name it as accurately as you can: Disneyland in Tomorrowland in front of the line for Space Mountain near the two hour marker...on a white cot with wheels in a pink hallway at St. Michelle's hospital in Spokane WA...in the port-a-potty near a creek just past the jr. high baseball field. If it is ambiguous in your memory, describe it--"can't remember the name of the building, but I was in a tiny white room, next to a waiting area that had a Coke machine."

3. Name the time. An exact date is good (May 21, 1996). A day of the week is good (Monday). Seasons are good (end of Spring before the blistering heat of summer).

4. Identify your most powerful emotion. Self-doubt, shame, satisfaction, boredom, fear, anxiety, excitement, energized, puzzled...Take that emotion and allow yourself to reenter it. Close your eyes and allow yourself to feel it again. Then write down what it felt like. Was it a color? Did you get chills, hot flashes, waves of anxiety, tension? Describe what happened to your body. This shouldn't be a lengthy process unless there is a lot to write. Just jot it down as it first comes to you. Even if it seems unrelated.

5. The memory. Now write out the event. This may well turn out to be the shortest part of the writing. You can include the narrative, just don't let it overpower you--forcing you to take it chronologically, or through every boring meander. Smells, odors, textures, sounds--these are more important half the time than the order of the event.

My Memory:

The rain drizzled drearly on the large window obscuring the beautiful but grey Germany landscape. I stood in the chapel annex at Bitburg and tried to remember what the sun looked like. Execpt for me, Lauren, Amanda, Sabrina, Adam and Mr. James, a piano, a few tables and chairs the room was wide and empty. We all were gathered around a lone table where Mr. James had set up a speaker and an i-pod. I was feeling very reluctant; the task he had for us made me want to scowl. But, as always, I kept my straight face and took the sheet of paper he handed to me. We began to practice singing the song "You are My All in All" even though only a fraction of the Youth Group showed up.

I felt very disconnected. My imagination was pulling me away from reality and everything I was doing seemed to be happening in slow motion. When someone said something it would take me a few minutes to actually grasp what they said. (this happens to me quite a lot) And, not only did I not enjoy singing in front of everybody but all the girls were a lot younger than me, and standing next to tall Adam made me feel very short.

Mr. James had us sing twice then said something like, "Since there are only five of you this time, lets go get some ice cream." Well, I was thinking wbout something else at the time (I can't remember what ) so the only thing that really sunk in was "ice cream". We left the building and walked along the wet sidewalk, the rain had recently stopped. "Why are we leaving?" I thought to myself, lost in space as usual. I could only think that Mr. James had some ice cream in his car, we were right next to the grocery store after all. I continued to wonder why everyone was going to get it.

I felt a chill through my sweater and finally asked, "Wait, where are we going?" Mr. James looked puzzled, "Going to get ice cream." Then, I realized that we were going to the Baskin Robins across the street. I was the only one who hadn't figured it out sooner. "But, " I said, "I left my purse and jacket inside." Everyone looked surprised, we all knew that the door locks behind us. I felt like getting angry and laughing at the same time.

Luckily, the front door was open even though Andrew told us specifically that he locked it. I rushed in to get my stuff as quickly as a could in my heels. Things like this happen to me very often. Sometimes I'm very observant and sometimes I'm totally detached and lost in my daydreams.

Homecoming Dresses

They're finally done!!!!! We had a little more than a month to make these dresses before the dance one Oct 4th. Ms. Kari was nice enough to come and help us even though we were totally not ready for making a whole dress. With only the fabric we got on sale about a year ago in the states, a zipper, matching thread and a sewing machine as old as I am, we got to work!
We started with ideas, we drew what we wanted and got a rough idea of what we were in for. Then we went to a wonderful secret fabric shop that Kari knew of and got patterns that closely resembled our ideas. Laurens was exactly what she wanted but I had to alter mine a lot to get the ruching on the bodice and the two tiered skirt.
Of course, we were busy with guitar and violin lessons and part time schooling and homeschooling. We barely made it on time. We didn't get to go to the homecoming game because we were still making alterations. (But that's okay because later I heard we lost. Can you believe we lost our homecoming game???) These dresses are our blood, sweat and tears (with Lauren around, that's literally true! jk)

Election of 1800

(Click to see larger image)

This is a campaign flyer I made for Thomas Jefferson in the Election of 1800! (It was a project for my AP US History class) I take the side of Republican Thomas Jefferson rather than Federalist John Adams.

There are a few things you should know about this campaign;

• Republicans back then were not the same as they are now, they actually are more parallel to modern day Democrats (but not very close), Federalists are about the same as modern day Republicans.
• Neither Jefferson nor Adams actively campaigned, it was conflicts between the two parties and very biased newspapers that influenced the election.
• Adams had already served two years as president, and during that time he allowed the Alien and Sedition Acts to be passed. They were very un-constitutional that effected free speech so that nobody could critize elected officials and their party (Federalist) without risking imprisonment. Imagine how full our jails would be if the government passed a law like that today!
  

I am very biased towards Jefferson and the Republcans. They believed in smaller governments closer to the people where an individual's voice can be more easily be heard. That is exactly what I have believed for a very long time. I don't see my self as being a modern day Republican or Democrat but as an 18th century Jeffersonian :)

One More Week of Summer

I'm really sorry about the very sparse posts these last two months. It's so weird that in the summer you're actually busier than during the school year!

I start my Senior year on the 25th! It will be my first time ever in public school. It's only going to be every other day but I should still be nervous, right? Well, I'm not. I've only just begun to count down; there are only 7 days until school starts but I'm still not nervous. A little excited, a little reluctant to go but not nervous. I wonder why?

Anyway, this was just a little post to say that after a few days of school [I hope] I'll have more time to do more projects and posting. Thanks, as always, for reading :)

String, Wood and Stones

I love to wear things that look natural and rustic like my two lastest neclaces.

I began with this necklace:










I found some square wooden beads and hemp string and used that necklace as a visual to make a flower. Its really fun and looks great!

I love this necklace because it looks really professional. I used crimping links (I don't know the real name...) to connect the suede lace to the string of beads instead of knots. That really made a huge difference. I'm glad I was able to find those 'crimping links' here!

This one actually is a gift that I gave to Bethany for her birthday. I was a little sad to part with it but I know that she really likes it, so I'm happy!

Wait 'til you see the other piece I'm working on; it's inspired by Lia Sophia!

My Super Alter-ego

I've been working on changes for my blog. Sorry about the web address, I changed that too...again. It's now: http://www.samandbirdy.blospot.com/ so be sure to add it to your favorites :) I just wanted to give a little credit to Birdy, you see. Here's the story I wrote one night that inspired all this change:

"Every single day of my life has been different. But, everything I did was pretty much the same. Usually I'd finish school then do a mixture of watching TV, babysitting, playing on the computer, shopping, going to the movies, having slumber parties, cleaning my room. You know, normal stuff. I was used to change, we had moved at least 4 times, and for the most part I enjoyed change. Little did I know something big was going to happen.

In the month that I turned 16, I found myself being bustled into Germany. Everything was different; the language, the customs, the weather. Furthermore, there was absolutely mothing to do. Even TV channels were limited. For a long time it felt like I was in a state of nothingness.

This story does have a happy ending. Someone came to rescue me. An amazing superhero: my alter-ego. Her name was Birdy. She was a jewelery maker, a refashionista and a writer. She cleans, cooks and crafts; she puts Kitty into naps, washes dishes and much more. I don't know how she does it all but I'm glad she does! With her around Im never lonely or bored. My life is no longer dull and meaningless. "

Birdy told me that everyone has a super alter-ego but sometimes it takes something like a big move to set her (or him) into action. Have you found your alter-ego? I'd love to hear your stories!

Write them as a comment and I'll post them!

A Precious Gift from God

I made this card for an old friend in the states who has a new baby girl. (Her name is Gianna, isn't that cute?)

The Psalm 127:3, "Children are a gift from God; they are his reward." Reminded me of something Obama recently said about abortion. He said that he wants to take the power away from the states to make abortion illegal because he thinks that if one of his daughters were to make a mistake, he wouldn't want them to be punished with a baby.
Punished???
No matter what happens, mistake or not, a baby is a living, breathing gift. Nothing less. What a horrible, horrible thing for him to say! :(

Scrounged Poetry

The next assignment was my favorite!

Find a picture that interests you then look at it for a few minutes. Notice the colors and the mood, see what is happening and whats in it and just let it soak in. Then take words from your list that you think could go with it. Put the words in a sequence that makes at least a little sense and then change it around. Keep moving the words around, taking some away, adding in more. Soon you will have a poem, it may make sense or it may not. What ever you do is right!

I used a postcard of the Charleston Battery. Here is a picture that looks just like it:

"valiant oak trees are a disciplined regiment
their regal power supersedes the sunshine
spanish moss are honored to be among the foliage

the oppressed humidity cries out for freedom
but all insurrections are overwhelmed
honor the oak trees; fearless and foremost "

(I added the words their, among and cries out)


I also did another from a picture of British soldiers crossing a bridge.

"honored discipline
regal power
crimson regiment
awaiting insurrections
across the restless bridge

valiant minority
dare freedom
muster courage
against the depredations
the victorious make history"

(I added the words across, bridge, and against)

Hawaiian Homicide

I promised that I would post the murder mystery I wrote for Lauren's party (which turned out to be a hit, thank goodness! Whew!) but I'm not sure how to do it. You see, there were seven guests at the party which means there are seven different manuals full of clues. It will be very confusing to everybody so I will just post one to give you an idea of what we did that night :)

KAMANAKA

(The Hawaiian name for Samantha)

The Setting

You are in Hawaii ready for Lalena’s party to begin. Tomorrow is her birthday so, to celebrate, your teacher, Ms Kapine, is going to show you what dance you will be doing in the competition which is only three weeks away.
While you were waiting for Kapine, you hear a scream from Lalene.

RULES OF THE GAME

The object of this game is for you to figure out who is Kapine’s murderer while keeping your own innocence.
This book includes many clues known only to you that are vital to solving the mystery. You must not show it to another of the other suspects but communicating is necessary to succeed in the game.
Begin each page by reading it all and then use the lines to start a discussion and ask or answer questions. (Do not turn to the next page until the host tells you to) You must not lie about anything in this book; you may evade questions or try to change the subject but, when pressed, you must tell the truth.

Here are the steps you’ll take:

Plead: Plead innocent by stating your alibi and what you witnessed.
Gossip: Talking about others will draw attention away from yourself.
Vindicate: Clear your name by revealing the truth about yourself.
Accuse: After hearing what everyone has to say, you must choose who you think murdered Kapine.

Remember, you’re trying to solve a mystery. Be suspicious of everyone! Be curious; ask questions even if they seem kind of…weird…

HINT: You may go around and look at any part of the crime scene (especially people’s bags!!) to see if you can find any clues! If you do find a clue, be sure to pass it around to all the guests!

Scene 1

Introduction:

I either like or hate you, nothing in between. I come from a very humane family. I eat healthy foods, never use any electricity or gas that pollutes the air and never purposely kill bugs or animals and especially not humans!


Alibi:

You were bringing drinks to the guests.

Witnessed:

Lalena didn’t just walk in on Kapine when she died. She was gone the whole time and was never seen in the dance room.

Scene 2

Gossip:

Lalena is the best dancer, got special treatment from Kapine and brags a lot

You heard that Kapine was leaving and also heard that Lalena would become the next instructor.

Pekani has private tutors teaching her at home. She never leaves the house except for dance class. You’re sure she has a lot of time to hold grudges and formulate evil plans.

What you know:

You asked for the lead part in the competition dance but, of course, Lalena got it.

You admit that you joked about poisoning Lalena.

Sweet and talented Lalena is your mortal enemy. She beat you out for homecoming queen and became best dancer in all of Hawaii last year. You wish she was the one who was poisoned!

Scene 3

Gossip:

Pekani came from a rival dance school. She probably hated Kapine whose class always won competitions.

Amapele has been acting strange. In fact, last night you saw her hanging upside down from a tree like a bat in front of Kapine’s house.

What You Know:

Now that Kapine is gone, Lalena is to become the next hula instructor.

You would never want to make it so Lalena is your teacher!

You are not so sure if the murderer actually meant to kill Kapine…

Solution

Kamanaka knew that Kapine was getting ready to move to the main land. She also knew that Lalena was to become the new instructor. Kamanaka was so angry that she would do anything to keep Lalena away as long as possible.
It was Kamanaka at the kitchen door that Kelikei saw. She was searching Kamala’s back pack for the Yellow Oleander she picked. Kamanaka took a few leaves, put them in Lelana’s boiling water and stained them out after a few minutes. She did not mean to murder anyone, just take revenge on Lalena.

Collecting Words

I recently joined a new forum on bravewriter.com that has really expanded my scope in writing. I'm very excited with the new activities Rachel has shown to me.

One of the things is Word Collecting, something I wcould not have ever thought up on my own. Throughout our everyday lives we are confonted with new words. New ones, old ones, descriptive ones, cliches...but some words strike us more than others. Even words like "simmer" and "yeast" are enough to spark your imagination.

To begin word collecting, you carry a notebook around with you (unless you are not like me and you remember things easily) Everytime you hear a word that you feel is worth writing dow, you do it. No matter how silly it seems. Soon you will end up with pages full of word columns. Some will relate to eachother somehow or sound the same or have the same first letter, but most are just completely random. Thats when it gets the most fun.

Then you take the very best words and put them on strips of index cards. The words are then sorted into any way you like and put in envelopes. The freedom of word collecting is very refreshing!

Here are some of my favorite words. They were collected in a very short period of time so my list needs a lot of restocking :)

insurrection

misinformed

supersede

comradery

depredations

weightless

diversity

provisionally speaking

woe is me

overwhelmed

sizzle

slightly

staircase

simmer

ruins

lovelorn

twinkle

strawberry-blonde

Happy Birthday:Hau 'oli la hanau (Hawaiian)

Frohe Geburtstag (German)

Feliz cumpleaños (Spanish)

Charleston

Spanish Moss

oak trees

letters to home

colonelcy

sacrifice

abolitionist

sheltered

comfortable

restless

assumptions

onliest

states rights

humid

fear of failure

factoid

frivolity

fidelity

fearless

freedom

Forward Fifty Fourth!

flag bearer

foremost

ultra-violet

fun, wild and untamed

cosmic pond

Land of the Phoenix Part 10 The End

At the Phoenix’s touch, she jolted awake in her own bed. Gasping, she looked around her room, confused. Had she been asleep the whole time? That can’t be possible, she went through the attic door to the Phoenix’s land and had been gone for days! She threw her blanket off and ran to her little sister’s room

“Michelle, Michelle! Wake up!” she whispered as she shook her awake. Marie groaned, “Mmmm, go away, it’s Saturday…”

“Michelle!” Anne cried in disbelief, forgetting to check her voice, “I’ve been gone for days! Haven’t you been wondering where I’ve been?”

“What are you talking about?” Marie yawned.
Anne stopped, had it all been a dream? It can’t have been… She ran back to her room, the sun was just barely tipping its hat to the world as she searched her desk. There it was; her little black book. She flipped through the pages until she found the picture of the puppy she had drawn just before she went up to the attic.

She held her breath and turned the page. There it was; the red flowers, the blue flowers, the little bugs and half of a bird. She ran back to her Michelle’s room and shook the notebook in front of her face.

“See, here’s the proof! I was gone!”

Michelle rubbed her eyes and looked at the drawings. “This doesn’t prove anything, you could have drawn these anywhere”

“But it’s true, listen…” Anne excitedly reminisced her adventure to her sister. Later that day, as soon as Michelle started to gather interest, they went up to the attic to find no hook or key (which Michelle had seen before) and no keyhole behind the panel.

A while after that, Anne told her story to her friend Rosevita who did not believe her at all but did share in her excitement. As they walked along a pier over the nearby lake, Rosevita said, “Too bad this ‘lion-man’ doesn’t exist cause maybe you’d finally get a boyfriend. Imagine you, 18 and still never had a boyfriend!”
“Oh stop, Rosie!” Anne replied irritably, Rosevita made a habit out of reminding her about that. “But still,” she continued, “I can’t stop thinking about him…”

“Thinking about who?” came a deep voice from next to them. Anne and Rosevita, surprised, turned to see a young man holding a fishing pole and tackle-box; a man with a handsome face, wavy strawberry-blonde hair and deep blue eyes.

Anne was stunned at how much he looked like the lion-man. Rosevita squealed as she ran up and hugged him, “Yay, you’re here! Anne, this is my cousin, Toby!”

“Oh, we’ve met already.” Toby said as he smiled teasingly and winked.

***

A Queen for a Day

This is not the first time I've tried to make cards, and I really enjoy it. This one my sister and I made for my mom's birthday. I drew and cut out the crown for the front so we decided to have something having to do with a queen in the message.
This part worked out very well because we got her a nice new computer desk chair as a present. "So, set your royal hiney down and let the eat cake." We thought it was kind of funny...of course, it was really late...at time when we would've laughed at anything...

Sunset over Germany

My own sunset picture, as promised! I actually alomst forgot that I was going to take the picture when suddenly I noticed the walls in the hall turning orange. I rushed downstairs to get the camera then had to rush back up. I barely caught it before the sky turned dark and you wouldn't be able to see the town.

Land of the Phoenix Chapter 9

The Sorceress

The lion-man just so happened to be close by, he had been wandering around aimlessly, regretting his treatment of Anne. Now, he was sitting on a fallen tree, flipping through Anne’s drawing book and thinking about the way she seemed to love or want to love everything, even if it was bad.

Suddenly, his lion ears tingled at the sound of a faint far away scream and immediately knew that it was Anne in trouble. He got up on impulse and ran towards where the sound came from faster than any lion ever could.

***

It wasn’t long before the crow-men stopped at a huge and magnificent but terrible castle. Anne knew that this was probably where the Sorceress lived and her heart sank. The door stood like the mouth of a dragon, its portcullis teeth opened and the bird-men took her inside to her doom.

Their footsteps echoed in the hollow throat of the dragon as the headed towards the dark stomach. There she was sitting on a blood red throne, the very person Anne had feared to meet since two days ago. The evil unfeeling witch who had haunted her as she followed the lion-man across this strange country.
The witch had a long glittering grey dress, white wolf ears and flaming white hair that seemed to have no definite end as floating snowflakes issued from the end. She leaned back smugly in her throne as Anne was dragged in before her and propped her wolf paws on a red velvet stool.

With enormous surprise, Anne saw her friend the stag-fly buzzing around the queen’s throne. It’s tiny hooves clicked as it landed on the handle of the throne. Anne realized that this bug was not her friend but had told the Sorceress where the bears and crow-men could find her.

The Sorceress moved slightly in her chair, drawing Anne’s attention back to her as she spread a horrible smile across her pale face.

“So you are the young witch who has been ruining my kingdom with your unwanted feelings.” She said n a deep menacing voice which reverberated against the stone walls. The crow-man pushed Anne farter into the room and knocked her cruelly to the ground.

“But, I don’t worry. Nobody cares about you, nobody wants you here, nobody wants your feelings and soon you’ll be gone and nobody will have to worry about you. You’re witching days are over!” She stood up proudly and stepped down from her throne and raised her staff at the girl kneeling on the floor.

***

The lion-man had just arrived at the castle when he heard Anne being thrown t the floor. He slid under the portcullis which, conveniently, had not been closed all the way (it turns out that fate placed a knot in the rope that lowers the portcullis and it got caught, and the guard had not cared enough to fix it.) His padded lion paws made it easy for him to sneak through the hall. Sunlight, streaming through a stained glass window in the throne room, lit magnificent colors over the room.

The lion-man saw Anne lying at the feet of the Sorceress, her doom written on the point of the queen’s magic staff. He sneaked further into the room, the blood-thirsty crows oblivious to his presence. The Sorceress raised her wand; Anne covered her head and the lion-man, against his whole being yet unable to control himself, stepped in front of the wand point. The earth quaked harder than ever as the Sorceress, angry at his interference, stabbed at the lion-man. She screamed, when the wand stopped short and shattered into tiny glittering pieces.

Another howl came from the Sorceress as the crows standing nearby were suddenly knocked to the ground and vanished. A glowing light passed over them and hit another crow next to Anne. When it passed over the lion-man and the girl they felt its warmth flow through them. As the wave of light approached her, the Sorceress’s eyes grew wide with terror, with her dying breath she whispered “The Phoenix”

The room grew brighter as the center of the light came closer, the lion-man helped Anne up from the ground and embraced her. They both realized that the curse of the Sorceress was over and the world was returning to its natural state full of feeling and meaning. The Phoenix was released because the lion-man preformed the ultimate sacrifice. He was willing to give his life for Anne who taught him to love.

Soon the Phoenix arrived, its bright flaming feathers omitted the light that destroyed the Sorceress and gave light to the dismal throne room. Then, the majestic bird let out a beautiful call and flew over them, touching Anne with its long red tail.

Our Lady of the Snows Rosary

I've been wanting to make a rosary since the first time I started beading. But, Germany is very low on any craft supplies. Fortunately, my grandpa sent me a fifty dollar American Express gift card for Christmas and I was able to search the internet and buy craft supplies to my hearts desire! Well, not quite...actually the beads to make this rosary cost $42 exactly, leaving me with only $8. But, thats okay because I'm very glad of how well my rosary turned out!

Because I picked the white howlite gem stone beads, I decided to devote this rosary to Our Lady of the Snows. Here's the story that I got from,

http://www.snows.com/

Devotion to Mary under the title of Our Lady of the Snows is one of the oldest devotions to Mary. It has direct ties to the legend about a marvelous snowfall in Rome in 352 A.D. Mary had indicated in a dream to a wealthy, childless Roman couple that she wanted a church built in her honor and the site for this church would be covered with snow. On a hot, sultry morning on August 5, Esquiline Hill was covered with snow. All Rome proclaimed the summer snows a miracle, and a church to honor Mary was built on the hill in 358 A.D.

Traveling Gear

I made this handy backpack and water bottle holder out of an old t-shirt. They were perfect for sightseeing in Prague!

The water bottle holdre may seem a little, well...useless. But I must say, it was much better than walking around for hours holding the bottle by its cap! I was thinking that since they so cute and handy that I might try selling them sometimes. But, people couldn't order more than two matching ones since they're made from shirt sleeves :)

Wallet Tutorial

Savings Wallet

I’m making this for my saving money but I’m sure that it can be used as a regular wallet if you want.

You need:
1/4 yard Solid Fabric
1/4 yard Complimenting Patterned Fabric
1/8 yard Contrasting Fabric
Medium to Heavy Weight Double-Sided Fusible Web (you might want to get a lot while you’re at it because it comes in very handy!)
Velcro or Snap (if you use a snap you’ll need the tool also)
Matching and Contrasting Thread
Fabric Glue (optional)

Make the pattern:
I used a plain sheet of paper from my printer as a pattern piece
Fold the bottom of the paper up about 3 inches
Fold the top down over the bottom flap about ½ from the bottom edge
Open the paper back up and fold in all the edges about ½ for seam allowance (this will help to lessen your trips to the ironing board)
If you want pockets, decide how many, what shape and what size (you can use the measurements for the pocket I made below if you like)
Draw them on your pattern

Cut the pieces:
Open the paper all the way and use it to cut one rectangle out of your patterned fabric, one out of your solid fabric and one out of the fusible web
With the contrasting fabric cut out your pocket and the flap, with a ½ inch seam allowance. (on the flap add about an inch to the length if you’re using your own pattern not mine)
For my pocket I cut two rectangles, one 4in by 3in and the other 4in by 2 1/4in.
Now, iron all of the pieces flat
And, using your pattern as a guide, iron down all the creases and seam allowances in both large rectangles and the pocket pieces

Cut embellishments:
If you want some decoration on your wallet, like flowers leaves, circles, swirls or anything else, then be sure to draw it on you pattern to see how it looks
Measure and make a stencil of your design if you need to
In center creased rectangle of the fabric for the outside of the wallet (the solid fabric), carefully cut out your design.
Cut and pin a rectangle of contrasting fabric to the backside of the solid fabric, completely covering the cut-out
Now comes the most difficult part; sew along the edge of the cut-out (for beginners with the sewing machine, I suggest making and embellish with no round edges)
Trim any excess of contrasting fabric around the sewn edge

Sew on pockets (instructions for my measurements):
On the flap piece of your pocket, sew down all seam allowances (along two sides and the top edge) then sew (or glue) on the velcro
On the main pocket piece, fold in the two sides and hem along the top edge
Lay the large solid rectangle face down and fold up the bottom edge along the crease
Layer the pocket flap with the main pocket on top (all its seam allowances should be tucked inward) where ever you want it on that flap
You’ll have to keep pinning and un-pinning both pieces and move them around to get them in just the right place
Sew the pocket down along the side and bottom edges

Front side:
Back side:
Sew on velcro:
To sew (or glue) the velcro in the right place, layer the two rectangles right sides out
Fold it up so it looks like it will when it’s finished
Sew (or glue) one or two pieces of velcro to the top of the patterned fabric and one or two pieces on the bottom of the flap of the solid fabric

Sew the rectangles together:
Lay the two rectangles on top of one another and make sure they’re the same size; trim if necessary (that really helps keep the finished edges straight)
Layer the pieces like this: Fusible web, solid piece facing up, patterned piece facing down
With the seam allowances un-tucked, sew along the edges uses the creases as a guide
Remember to leave about a 3 inch gap.
Now, turn the wallet right side out and very carefully iron flat (also it’s a good time to iron the pocket flap down also)

Finish the wallet:
Fold the bottom edge up (this is the pocket for the money so make some last minute adjustments and make sure its tall and short enough. Also make sure the velcro matches up)
Then, sew along the very edges of the wallet (careful while closing up the gap make sure the side stays straight)
Now, fold the top flap down and iron it all to get the fusible web to stick.
Yay! You’re done!

Land of the Phoenix Part 8

The Trees

The flying animal took her over the forest, in which the lizards had chased her out of, and past the lion-man’s mansion. Soon afterwards, her savior slowed and gently plopped her on the ground. It then swooped around and lightly landed in front of her.

It was a tall slender dog with golden fur and huge wings which she tucked regally to her side. She had a sweet, small head that she held erect with large, knowing eyes. Her ears which were long and covered with soft feathery fur hardly matched her skinny head, long neck and short hair. Her long tail’s feathery end also seemed out of place. But, it was her ears, tail and slender body that made her the most elegant creature Anne had ever seen.

The golden dog waited patiently while Anne caught her breath. Soon, the dog started to speak, “I have been sent to you by the great Phoenix himself. You have a job to fulfill.” Her voice was powerful and harmonious and her words echoed in Anne’s ears.

After a long pause Anne finally asked, “Well…what am I supposed to do?”

“Not to worry dear human, the dog’s marvelously black eyes sparkled, “You have come as the prophesy says: ‘A woman will take this land into her greedy hands and mold it so love may not grace it. But, be not afraid, another woman, whose innocent love knows no bounds, will come from foreign lands to save this one.’ Only your sweet presence is needed. All you have to do is be yourself and the rest will fall into place.” Anne was utterly confused.

“Do not be afraid, young one, although you are not welcomed because the prophesy has been twisted by the Sorceress. But, the Phoenix is on your side.” The slender dog smiled and let Anne scratch her soft ears. Then, she leapt up on her thin but strong legs, flew into the air and disappeared into the horizon.

***

Almost as soon as the dog left, it started to rain. First it drizzled lightly but the drops quickly grew to the size of golf balls. Anne ducked under a tree near another forest with lots of foliage to keep her dry and she waited, wet and exhausted. Soon, she fell asleep, leaning against the tree trunk.

When the rain stopped, she jolted awake, suddenly she had lost her support and had almost fallen over. She turned at looked at the tree she was leaning on. It was moving! She watched it slowly move, and when it got far enough away it shook its leaves. Water spray everywhere but, the tree had gotten out of range so Anne did not get wet. Anne gaped for a moment then suddenly realized that it was a polite tree!
Then, she heard a noise behind her, the whole forest was moving. As she watched in awe, the huge tree trees aligned themselves so they made a wide path straight ahead. Maybe this land was not as evil as she thought and the trees were showing the way home. Then again, she thought that maybe this was the work of the Sorceress.

Then she thought remembered the golden dog; she had said the Phoenix was on her side. And, though the trees seemed large and intimidating, she held her breath and plunged into the forest.

The path twisted and turned and seemed to go on forever. Finally, Anne lay down in a sunny spot to rest. While she lay there, her stomach growled and ached, begging for food. It’s probably almost four o’clock, she thought as she clutched her stomach. Just then, the forest in front of her parted to make way for a much smaller tree.

To Anne’s delight, it was an apple tree. It came close to her and bowed its branches low enough for her to take some of its large red fruits. She could now no longer doubt that the trees were her friends. “Thank you!” Anne said shyly, not knowing if it could actually understand her. After resting and leaving five apple cores on the ground, Anne got up and continued down the path.

Finally she could see the end. She smiled widely and started to run in excitement and hopefulness. As she got closer she saw a red glowing light trapped in a jar set upon a intricately carved golden pedestal. The red light reflected beautifully off of the crystal arch and covered it. An inscription was etched into the crystal which read: Ultimate Sacrifice. The light in the jar entranced Anne, she started towards it through the crystal tunnel and reached out to open the jar.

Suddenly something whizzed passed her ear and distracted her, it was the stag-fly she had chased when she first came here. She watched the bug buzz around her head. It hovered for a moment then pranced off towards the setting sun. She stood watching it when an enormous thump landed above her on the arch. She looked up as the large black thing crawled to the edge and jumped down between the girl and the jar.

The creature had big black wings, horrible yellow eyes, an ugly crow’s beak and stood up straight like a man. It squawked at her as she turned and ran from it. But the way was blocked by two more of the creatures who had snuck up behind her. She screamed as one of them grabbed her with hands that extended out of its wings and threw her over it’s should like a sack of potatoes.

T-Shirt Tote

NO, its not a bag to tote around your t-shirts :) Its a bag made out of a t-shirt! I took one of my dad's old KISS shirts (with his permission of course), cut two rectangles and two straps out of it, sewed it together, and thats it! Yay!

Reversible Wrap Skirt

One of my favorite magazines is Craft. It has so many wonderful ideas, its very free and whimsical and full of great projects. I loved this skirt, mostly because it's reversible (thats two skirts in one!) so I decided to make one. My craft store has a very poor selection of fabric and I was not too excited about the ones I picked but I still think it turned out very nice!

Ooh, Shiney!

My beautiful beaded bookmark and earrings :) I ran out of ideas for necklaces so I decided to think of extra things to make with beads! I made the bookmark on my own but I combined the ideas from two different books to make the earrings. I absolutely love them! And I can take the kidney earring hook off of one of them and put it on a chain for a necklace :P