Into the Woods

Hello, my dear friends. :)

  I hope you all had a wonderful Independence Day. Whilst you were having fun lighting off fireworks and barbecuing hamburgers, I hope you took some time to think about our country. I hope you took some time to think about how great it is, but to also think about how deeply in need we are. Most importantly, I hope you took some time to pray. Because oh my, do we need it, as I'm sure you are aware.

Our camp from a distance

   What did you do to celebrate the holiday? This year, my family and I decided to take a camping trip up a river not too far from where we live. We decided to go the week before the 4th, so that we could avoid the crazy holiday traffic. Which was both a good and bad idea. 

   It was good because it worked. 

   It was bad because it was so. Stinking. Hot. 

I wasn't too overjoyed at the prospect of camping, I must admit. I like to get outdoors and go up in the mountains, and I like the concept of camping out in the woods, sleeping under the stars, etc. But it's everything else that deters me. Everything else, as in, I hate not having my own space/room to sleep in. I don't know, there's just something about sharing my sleeping space with someone else that really freaks me out? Is that just me? I also enjoy being clean, and when you're out in the woods for a week with no running water available.... I'm sure you can put the pieces together. Not to mention there's the constant thoughts going through my mind of everything that could go wrong and how far away from civilization we are which also means that we are far away from a hospital if something were to happen, yadda yadda ya, you get the point. 

   But there are a few things I do like about camping. One of which is that it forces me to actually go outside and enjoy some of God's beautiful creation. I love being able to go and breathe some fresh air, open up my mind a bit. I love being able to spend some time with my family, making new memories, creating new inside jokes. (*Fondly remembers a certain "passing babies" joke that will always make me laugh*). I love being able to set aside some time to draw and read a LOT. I like to take pretty pictures, I like to take walks, I like to relax, I love to look at the shining beauty of the stars at night. So yes, there are plenty of things about camping that I do enjoy.  

I was hoping to get a lot more work done on this camping trip than I did. But, as previously mentioned, it was just too dang hot. The thought of picking up my yarn and actually making something was too much for my poor sun-baked brain to handle. So instead I drew a lot...

Although, I didn't draw quite as much as I would have liked. Though I always feel like I could do more, so that isn't anything new.

          

I took plenty of pictures too. I really liked the one directly below of the sun and the river and the trees. It was so pretty, and I'm glad I could capture it.

                                                                

I also drank an unholy amount of coffee, but again, nothing new there, since I do that on a very regular basis.

Due to the warm weather, I did a lot of swimming. Well, I mostly put my feet in the water a lot and read, but it was still nice.

This is a terrible picture, but there were a ton of animals that came down by our camp to get water. There was one night where a herd of about 13 elk with little tiny babies came down in the meadow. I got it on film, so that was neat. :)

I did a lot of thinking and writing on this trip too. Which, yet again, isn't anything new for me, but getting out in the woods away from everything can be a good way to sort through some stuff. Which is why I think this picture to the left might be one of my favorites. Last year in the area we were at, there were some pretty big wildfires. Nothing to damage the woods too severely, just enough so that you could actually see three feet in front of you in the trees, haha. We were camped really close to the river, but about 200 yards or so away from our camp were two big trees that provided some shade in an otherwise shade-less meadow. I went over there a few times, and was met with this view. Now, I'm the kind of person that will find analogy and symbolism in everything. Don't question my abilities, because I genuinely can and do. And the instant I saw this, it got me thinking. Isn't life a lot like this? Part of it can be beautiful and full of like, flourishing and happy. And the other part can be dead and twisted, burnt and broken. When you look at them separately, one is obviously more desirable than the other. But together, it creates a contrast that is startlingly beautiful, something that you wouldn't have if you took either side away. Both parts of life are there for a reason. Sometimes we just need to take a step back and realize that the dark parts make everything a little more beautiful.

So yes. I hope you enjoyed that bit of analyzing of the day and this blog post. Do any of you have a love/hate relationship with camping like I do? I'll be back next week (hopefully) with another blog post, so see you then.

Have a wonderful week, dear readers.
MR

Botanical Buddies

Hello dear readers. :)
   I hope you've had a wonderful week. I hope someone was kind to you, and that you were kind to someone else. I hope that you're enjoying your week and that you're looking forward to the next one and the exciting opportunities it will bring.
    This week I thought I'd blog about some of my "botanical buddies", as the title suggests. In the past few months, I've really gotten into houseplants. I feel like they can really brighten a space up, and there's just something about nurturing something and watching it grow that makes me feel so happy. But due to my current living situation, I didn't really know how a houseplant would fare. And by current living situation, I mean I live in my parent's basement and I have a itty-bitty teeny-tiny window that doesn't even provide enough sunlight to keep my whole room lit.
   But my grandma was moving from her old house and wanted to get rid of (what I believe, though I'm not sure. I'm not a plant specialist, okay?) is a ficus plant. So I accepted it. And took the plunge.
   Sounds dramatic, but it really just means that I bought some plants.

Aren't they purty? 

So let's talk about these little guys. Remember that post I did awhile back about flowers and playing in the rain and coffee? The one where I showed you my one teeny-tiny shamrock growing?? Remember that one??? Well, this is how they're doing! I'm actually really surprised and quite impressed that they're doing this well with me as a caretaker. :P

And here we have the succulent from WalMart that has no name. Seriously, I have no idea what kind of succulent this is. It had no label or anything. But it's doing great, so... *shrugs*. I really love this one, though. It such pretty. If you any of you all know what this is, feel free to let me know.

Hello, my supposed-ficus.  Is this a ficus?? I don't know. It's not really vine-y, soooo.... I have no idea. Again, if you know, let me know! Please. :)

Oh, dis one is maybe my best plant fren. It sits by my desk and keeps me company, It's so pretty and it's growing well, in spite of the nearly complete lack of sunshine it receives this far from my tiny window. I believe it's a pink vein fittonia. And I. Love. It. 

And finally, a bit of an extra. I picked some sweet pea flowers the other day, so they're also keeping me company. They are also very pretty. :)















That is the extent of my collection at the moment. I have some supplies that I want to use to make a moss terrarium, but I have no clue how to make one of those. One day soon that will happen.
   Hope you enjoyed this post. Do you have any plants? Do you also live in the basement? Do you have any tips for growing moss terrariums? What the heck are all of these plants called? Feel free to comment and share your advice/knowledge. Thanks for reading, my frens. See you next time.

MR

Yarn Stash Favorites

Heyloo, wonderful people!

   Here I am, kind of a bit late, BUT I HAVE AN EXCUSE!! I needed my camera for this post, but I kept draining the battery because I'm in the process of filming my art video for Monday, so I didn't have a chance to get pictures until tonight!! So there!
   Now before I get started, I have a few things to share with you...

   1. These pretty flowers

Aren't they pretty? They're sitting on my brand new and totally wonderful drawer set that makes me feel so organized, I can't even tell you. 

We went on a little fun adventure to one of our local parks to a.) get out of the house and b.) so I could pick these flowers. It ended up pouring on us after I had picked all of these and the brakes on my brother's bike also ended up breaking (or should I say BRAKEing, hehheh), and then we ended up going to Walmart and getting munchies for dinner (along with some watercolor paintbrushes and yarn for me) and also the movie In the Heart of the Sea. So, it was a pretty fun evening. :D 

 
   2. Update on my prayer request
So, the sweet girl from my church with cancer was supposed to have surgery today/yesterday/this last Friday to get rid of the cancerous lumps in her face. But due to some complications, they had to move the surgery to Monday. I'm not sure what those complications are, but I just wanted to share that with you all. Thank you so much to those of you who have been praying, and I will be sure to keep you updated. And also, I haven't shared her name with you all yet, because I'm not entirely sure if her parents are alright with that. So for now just keep praying for her anonymously! :D

   3. I'm applying for.... A JOB?!??!?!??!?
Guuuyyysssss, okay! So, aside from being an artist/writer my dream job is to be a librarian. And my local library is hiring!!! And I'm applying!!! And I've never had a job before so I am extremely nervous and also very excited?!?!!! So yeah! I'm planning on maybe taking in my application tomorrow, if my mom is willing to take me, heehee. I just wanted to share that with you all, because it will be a major-huge new and awesome step in my life and I'm pretty excited and very scared, but that's how I feel about most things in life, so it's pretty normal. :P

   4. New watercolor stuff!!
I got some Daler and Rowney watercolors, a Strathmore watercolor sketchbook, and some new paintbrushes and I am so excited!! I've really enjoyed doing watercolor, and this step-up has got me so pumped, I CAN'T EVEN TELL YOU!!

   But, how are you? Enjoying springtime? Getting outdoors and breathing in the fresh air? Or are you locked in your room whittling away at whatever it is you happen to be whittling away at? 

   I must admit, I'm actually a bit of both. I try to go outside in the evening and draw/crochet/read, but otherwise I mostly stay inside. I JUST REALLY MISS WINTER, OKAY??

   So yes. Here I am, inside, blogging. 

   This week I decided to delve into my yarn-y side a bit. As you probably know by now, I crochet  A LOT. I enjoy making things, making my own patterns, hoarding yarn, yadda-yadda, you've heard all of this before. I've done a few posts on some of my crochet patterns and such, but I've never actually spoken very much about my extensive yarn collection/hoarding issue. I seriously have tons of yarn that I always want to use but never do because I usually get stuck making the same things over and over again for orders. Not that I'm AT ALL complaining about said orders, but the yarn hoard beckons me constantly and I must constantly tell it to wait. I shall get to it one day!!
   For now, I thought I would share some of my favorites with you all and tell you what I would like to do with them. However, before I do that, I need to kind of explain to you how I have my yarn organized.

   I have two organize-y things and a basket. The organize-y thing on the left is an open metal rack that holds all of my blue and green yarn, because I have a TON of blue yarn and just enough room to put my green yarn there. The other organize-y thing is a drawer set that holds the rest of my yarn as follows: scrap yarn/felt/materiel in the two small top drawers, whites/grays/blacks/browns in the third drawer, pinks and purples in the fourth drawer, and yellows/oranges/reds on the bottom. And that basket just has a bunch of crochet-y junk. So basically, I will pretty much just be choosing yarn from each of those color choices from the drawers. I don't know if that makes sense, but hopefully the post kind of explains itself.

So here we go!

Favorite grey/black/white yarn

This right here. This multi-colored stuff is my favorite from the first drawer. It's quite soft and the colors are just so pretty and I just love it! There isn't much of it though, which is very sad. :( But I think that there should be enough to make some wristlets/fingerless gloves, and I also happen to think that would be the perfect match for this yarn. :)

Favorite Brown yarn

I included this one because I quite like it, even though it's technically from the same drawer as the above yarn. But it's this wooly, thin, gray-ish brown yarn (thus the reason for the question mark in the label) that I really love! Again, there isn't enough to make much out of it, but I'm thinking some kind of a beanie would be fun, even if I had to use more than one color to complete it. 

Favorite pink yarn

Another multi-color one!! This one has some browns and grays with the pink, and I love the color combination. I think it would make a nice cuddly scarf, even though (again) there isnt' really much of it. Maybe some cuddly pink and grey mittens instead?

Favorite purple yarn

Aggghhhh, this one!! It's this really lovely rich, satiny purple yarn that is so soft you guys. I mean, incredibly soft!! And it's just so lovely!!!!!! I think with this one I'd have to make some kind of a neckerchief/scarf. Once again, there isn't much of it so it'd have to be something pretty small.

Favorite red/orange/yellow yarn

I'm going to be honest and say that I'm not really sure if this yarn belongs in this section, because it pretty much has every color. But it's mainly yellow/orange, so we'll roll with it. So, I'd originally bought this yarn to make this TOTALLY ADORABLE CROCODILE STITCH BABY HOOD. I mean, so cute and fantastical, I had to make it. I keep thinking that I want to use it for something for me, but I think I'm going to stick with its original purpose. Because that hood is just too cute, dang it. 

Favorite green yarn

   I reeeaallllly love this one!! It's this pretty sport weight yarn, and I actually have enough to really make something with it I think! I'm leaning towards some kind of a hooded scarf kind of thing?? It's just the perfect color, and it's so soft too. :D 

Favorite blue yarn

   So first of all. Blue is my favorite color. I love it. It's gorgeous. And second, this picture does not do the yarn justice. It's this lovely mint/teal color that reminds me instantly of sea foam and the ocean and aaaggghhhh, I really love this yarn! And I'm not really sure what I want to do with it. I want to make something that reminds me of the ocean with it. Maybe I'll pair it with some white and gray and make a cardigan of some kind? I don't know. We shall see, one day. 

And we have finally reached the end of this unnecessarily long post! I hope you enjoyed reading my crazed ramblings and taking a peek into my yarn collection. I'd like to make a post on each of the things I end up making with this yarn, so keep an eye open for that. It probably won't happen for a good long while, but *shrugs*. Who knows? ;)

Have a wonderful week, and I'll see you next time!

MR

P.S. Yup, I changed my blog background again. I think I'm content with this one, so it shouldn't change for awhile, hehheh. 

Spring is in Ze Air

Hello, dearest readers!!
   Here we are, on my new posting schedule. So, happy Friday!! This is by far my favorite day of the week, the day that I live for. There's just something about it that feels so good, and we usually go out and do something fun instead of doing school, and I get to stay up late. Of course, I stay up late every night, buuuttt......
   What's your favorite day of the week?
   Well, since I'm suddenly a bit busy again, I'm going to try and keep this post pretty short. And, since it has been so incredibly lovely as of late, and everything is starting to come out after winter, I thought I'd post some springtime pictures of all the pretty flowers and things in our yard. :)

This first one is just a picture of some tamarack buds my mom found lying on the ground when our family was out on a disc golf adventure. 

My favorite flower in the yard is all bloomed out! 

One of our many pretty daffodils 

My violas under our cherry tree that I thought were dead, BUT APPARENTLY THEY'RE ALIVE?! They didn't bloom last year, but they're back this year. So I don't know, is that just how violas work?? 

A yellow one

The bleeding heart is just starting to bloom! Actually, this is probably my favorite flower in the yard. :)

Here come the tulips!

You're a cherry blossom, you're about to bloom. You look so pretty but you're gone too sooooon..... 

(I'm sorry, I'm done now)

Pretty purple flowers that always grow in our grass. We used to have a kitty that would lay in them when they bloomed. :) 

Little white weeds/flowers that are currently growing in my flower bed. 

Flower close-up. Kinda....

Sun through the trees. :)

Raspberry leaves. :)

   And that's it for this week! I hope you enjoyed looking through my pictures and thinking about springtime. :) Is your area this bloomed out and warm, or are you all still drowning in snow and rain? 

   Have a great week everyone! Until next time. 

MR

#goodbyegravityfalls

Hello, readers.
   Well, I'm back again a little bit later than promised, but oh well, you probably expected that, didn't you? But here is the Gravity Falls post I told you I would share. This is the last one I will (probably) be putting up for awhile, since my last few have been pretty Gravity Falls oriented. :P Also, I will have pictures of my Mabel cosplay throughout instead of the spoiler-y images I really want to post...
   It turned out that I was able to watch the Gravity Falls finale on Monday after all. And I'm kind of going to talk about that, in a completely spoiler free way. Maybe... (I'll put up spoiler warnings if I have any)
   Monday was a holiday, so my brother and I didn't have school and my dad had the day off. So we took a day and went on the town. It was a lot of fun! We went and looked at some shops filled with stuff I loved but couldn't afford, probably got a few weird stares from people about the full-on Mabel cosplay I was wearing, but I was totally fine with it. We were out for the majority of the day having fun and hanging out and didn't get back until about 4:00.


   All day I was rather excited about the impending Gravity Falls finale that I didn't think I would be able to watch that day. But when I got home, I just had to see if there was some way I could.
   And what do you know.
   I find a livestream of the show. Which was great, right? Except I was halfway through the stream. In the middle of the blessed episode.
   I was more excited than words could fully express. So I squeal and exit out before I see any spoilers and tell my brother. After a bit more careful searching, I figure out that the episode is airing two times back to back. We still had some time before the second stream, so my mom and I went to the playground across the street and took some pictures of my Mabel cosplay and then went to the grocery store.
   Which ended up being a ginormously-huge-vast mistake.
   'Cause we missed the second stream by, like, 10 minutes. That was a low point of the day.
   After about another hour of stalking and searching for an online sight where I could watch the new episode, my search is unsuccessful and I am just a bit upset.
   But I still cling onto hope.
   So I hop in the shower, thinking that something will be up by the time I'm out.
   There wasn't.
   So I continue to desperately search for another thirty minutes or so. And  then, finally, I find it and my brother and I grab a blanket and my tablet, settle down on our desk chairs, and watch it.
   In the end, I should have just had more patience and waited another few hours after I missed the livestream instead of stressing about how I could find it. But lemme tell you.
   That finale was completely worth all the searching.
    It was perfect. I mean, seriously, it was perfect. 
    It was so emotionally driven, the characters had some very real high and low moments, the animation was spectacular as it always is, the music was amazing, the plot was everything you'd want from a Gravity Falls episode. There were some heart-wrenching moments where I had the burning desire to chuck my tablet across the room as hard as I could, find Alex Hirsch, punch him in the face, and then fall to my knees and sob like an infant. I ended up just sticking to sobbing like an infant for nearly the entire second half of the episode. Actually, if I think too much about the episode I'll start crying. I'm going to try and avoid that, so let's move on.
   The best word I can think to describe the episode is... Perfect, really. It was perfect.
   Everything came together and tied itself up, while still leaving enough loose ends to leave the story alive in our hearts and possibly keep things open for the future?????? *Throws violent hints to Alex Hirsch*
   And that ending scene. Man, if you've seen it then you know what I'm talkin' about. Yeah, that scene.
   It broke me. I am broken from that scene. That sequence of scenes. The entire finale broke me, okay?!
   But the worst part of all of it is this.
   It's over. Gravity Falls is over for what might very well be for good. And I've only been in this fandom for a few months, but I've become so attached. I mean, I JUST JUMPED ON THIS CRAZY BANDWAGON AND NOT IT'S ROLLING TO A STOP!!!!!! WHY?!?!?!?!??!
  Seriously, guys. If you haven't seen this episode, if you have yet to watch this show, what the heck are you doing still sitting here reading this post???? Go now! Go now and watch it, right now, now NOW! Then we can all talk and cry about the glorious story that is Gravity Falls.
   So, yes. The episode was phenomenal, the entire show was, and I'm not giving up on some kind of continuation in the future.

   See you next summer!

MR

FALL IS HEEERRRREEE!!!!!!!

Hello my readers!!
   'Tis I again! :D How has everyone's week been? Anything exciting? :)
   Well lemme tell you. I have been waiting. Waiting for fall. We have had a hot, horrible, endless summer. Very unlike Northern Idaho where I live. And I love cold weather, so this has been hard on me, I'll admit.
   But I see a light at the end of the tunnel.
   It's finally been cooling down to mid/low seventies. I think the high for today was 65!! HALLELUJAH AMEN!! I am so relieved.
   Friday and Saturday, my family and I went up into the woods. Well, we went camping/hunting. Ahem, rephrase again. My mother and I went camping and the boys went hunting. And since I am still writing on my book (Update time: 192 pages, 28 chapters, 125,979 words) I thought I'd post some of the pretty fall pictures I've gotten.

Outside of our church

Leaves! :)

Sunset over the mountain

Firrreeeeeee

Tamaracks and sunlight

The trail

Another trail picture

Trees!

Tamaracks and the Trail!

A pretty little gazebo surrounded by golden leaves. :)

More trail

A home and the luscious mountains

The old bridge we were walking to

The river

Close-up of the bridge

From the other side

Bridge and river... 

Pretty river and golden trees

More river

I do believe this is my favorite picture from this walk.

Bridge

Old cabin and the bright sun.

   And there you go! Some fall-y pictures for all of you fantastic people. :) Have a great week everyone!!!

MR

.......

*Bonus Beagles*

Buck

Beulah

Look at these little sweeties!!!!!!! :D:D:D