Here's how behind the times I am........

I burned my first CD on my new computer this week! It was so simple -- I just put the CD in, opened my picture viewer and pressed the "burn" button. Now, at least a few of my hundreds of pictures are safely stored on CD. I have a lot more to do, but at least I know how.

Now that I have a good computer and better picture editing software, I hope I can finally put a website together. I have one already, but because it's almost impossible to take a good picture of a square drawing, all the photos look lopsided or have a glare on them. So, I hope I'll be able to get some decent pictures of my drawings and put a website together.

I'm also, after sooooo many years of writing with barely legible cursive in five-subject notebooks, finally typing my novel out. It's so exciting to be able to choose the fonts and see the pages laid out like pages from a real book. Even if no one else ever sees it, if I can just get all typed out and printed for myself, it will feel like an accomplishment.

So, after weeks of complete aggravation trying to get this new computer set up, I am finally beginning to really enjoy it!!

Elizabeth Gaskell

Since I just finished reading one of her books, it seemed appropriate to write my first post about Elizabeth Gaskell. She was born in Chelsea, in 1810, the last of eight children, and the only one, except for the firstborn, to live. Her mother died just three months after her birth and she was sent to live with her aunt in Cheshire. In 1832 she met and married William Gaskell, a minister.

After they married, they settled in Manchester. The industrial atmosphere of the place gave her inspiration for some of her novels. Her first novel, Mary Barton, was published in 1848. I read on one site that though her duties as wife and mother were always her first priority, she threw her herself into her writing after the death of her son, Charles in 1845. After this publication, the family rented a villa in Plymouth Grove, where she remained until her death. Visitors to Plymouth Grove included Charles Dickens, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Charlotte Bronte. Charlotte Bronte was a dear friend of Mrs. Gaskell's. She completed the first biography of this friend. Charles Dickens, also a friend, published her short stories in his magazine, Household Words. Mrs. Gaskell died suddenly in 1865, at only fifty-five year old.

Her writings:

Mary Barton (1848) -- This is a very, very good book. It is set among the working class people, instead of the wealthy as most novels are. The story was so interesting and the characters were believable people. One of my favorites.

Cranford (1851-3) -- This is on my bookshelf to be read. I really enjoyed the Masterpiece movie version, though!

Ruth (1853) -- This is the book I just finished reading. I checked it out without even looking at the back cover. It is the story of a young girl who is led astray by a wealthy man, but afterwards lives a life of repentance and self-sacrifice. There are no inappropriate passages, and the time of her life she spends doing wrong is a small portion of the book. The focus of the book is how she repents, and strives to live a righteous life following her sin. It wasn't really an enjoyable book, like the others, but it was definitely thought-provoking and worth reading.

North and South (1854-5) -- Very good book. Sometimes there was almost too much information about factories and unions, but the story was very good. I loved the characters. The movie with Daniela Denby-Ashe and Richard Armitage is superb!!

The Life of Charlotte Bronte (1857) -- This I started, but didn't finish. It taught me a lot about Charlotte Bronte and her family. I hope to check it out and complete it one day.

Sylvia's Lovers (1863) -- Even though this is easily one of the saddest books I ever read, it is one of the best. It is the story of Sylvia, who can choose either a dashing sailor or plain, but good and steady, shopkeeper. The twists and turns are heart-wrenching, but the final scene of forgiveness at the end made me cry.

Cousin Phyllis (1864) -- I haven't read this one yet!

Wives and Daughters: an Everyday Story (1865) -- One of my favorites. I loved the characters and the portrayal of family life two hundred years ago. It is so sad that she couldn't complete it. We'll never know what the last few chapters would have been in her own words! The movie version with Justine Waddel and Keely Hawes is excellent.

She also completed many short stories and novellas.

One of my favorite aspects of Mrs. Gaskell's writing is the Christianity showed in her books. Particularly in Ruth and Sylvia's Lovers she brings out repentance and forgiveness. I am so glad I found her books!

And the winner of the poll is.........

Jane Austen! Somehow, I had a feeling it would turn out that way. :) The poll and the author meme has given me the idea to post a sort of mini-series about some of my favorite authors/authoresses. The posts might be far between at times, but I think it will be fun to do a little research on my favorite writers. So, we'll see.........

I've been tagged!!!

Kaitlyn Michele tagged me for this fun meme about authors!! I had so much fun reading her answers. Now, I'm going to have to think hard.......

Who is your all-time favorite author and why?
That is such a hard one. I love so many authors. I think I have to say Charles Dickens is my favorite author. His stories can sometimes be sad, but I love the intricate plots, the complicated characters, the historical context, and the bittersweet realities of life that his stories combine.


Who was your first favorite author and why? Do you still consider him/her to be among your favorites?
No contest. Laura Ingalls Wilder was my very favorite author for years. I've probably read the entire Little House series twenty times. Laura seemed so much like me, even though she lived 150 years ago in a little log cabin on the prairie. She is definitely still among my favorite authors.


Who is the most recent addition to your list of favorite authors, and why?
I'm a little torn here. Technically, it should be Wilkie Collins, because I just read The Woman in White and thought it was fabulous, but since I haven't read any of his other works, I can't count him as my newest favorite author. Elizabeth Gaskell fits here, I think. I first read Wives and Daughters last year, and since then have read several of her other works. They are all so good. She is definitely on my list of favorites forever.


If someone asked you who your favorite authors were right now, which authors would first pop out of your mouth?
Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, Charlotte Bronte, Sir Walter Scott

Most of the bloggers I read have been tagged already, so I can only tag one blog:
Elizabeth at http://www.twentythreeandsoaring.blogspot.com/


Rules
Link to the person that tagged you.
Post the rules somewhere in your meme.
Answer the questions.
Tag people in your post.
Let the tagees know they’ve been chosen by leaving a comment on their blog.
Let the tagger know your entry is posted.

Well, let's see........

What have I been up to lately? I have been trying to figure out my new laptop -- and working. Then I come home and try to figure out some more about it. Then I go to work. I write a few sentences before I fall asleep, then my alarm clock tells me it's time to go to work again. I come home and try to figure out my new laptop. Can you tell I'm a computer genius? I have really got to see if there is a Windows Vista for Dummies book at the library, because when it comes to Windows Vista, I'm so lost. I knew our old computer inside and out. It's amazing how just having a different system can throw me for a loop. I had to look in the manual to figure out how to shut it down. *blushes* Anyway, I have the whole weekend off, then I work Monday and have Tuesday and Wednesday off. Yay!! A mini vacation!! Hopefully, during those four days I can get some things done that I need to do and relax a little as well. And come up with something interesting to post. ; )

Yummy!!

Chocolate chip cookies on Sunday afternoon! I made them from the recipe on the back of the Nestle chocolate chips bag. They really grew while they baked though -- the small dollops of dough on the baking sheets turned into monster-sized cookies. They turned out good, I think, but the dough is always the best part of a chocolate chip cookie! :)

Right now I'm posting from........

My brand new laptop!! Thursday, I decided to draw some money from my savings and purchase a very long-wanted laptop. I had to stop by three stores before I made up my mind which one I wanted, but I finally made up my indecisive mind and brought home a beautiful, wide screen, HP laptop. Then the real fun began. My original plan had been to wait a few weeks to purchase the wireless router, but in the store, it made more sense to go ahead and buy it. It made sense until I got it home. The guy at the computer store had told me they would come set it up for me for $300. I thought that for the sake of $300 I could figure it out myself. Let's just say yesterday goes down in history as one of the most stressful days of my life. Though I called every help line, and read every instruction, I could not figure out how to connect the router so that our desktop and my laptop would both have Internet. I was almost hysterical at some points. Thankfully, a guy from our church found out I was having such a hard time and offered to come over and set it up for me. Now, my laptop is up and running -- with Internet!! Yay!!!

I can't wait to get more accessories to go with it. I have always wanted Photoshop, so that will definitely be something to get soon, but I also need a memory stick to save my files on, a carrying case, maybe a printer...........

Anyway, for now I'm just excited to be using my very first laptop!

Irises

A Friend's Wedding

Saturday, I attended the wedding of two friends. I have been friends with the bride for over two years now and the groom was the brother of one of my good friends. I was so happy to be able to go to their wedding.

The wedding wasn't held at our church because it is being remodelled, but a large modern church nearby. Several lighted columns decorated the altar and the flowers were white, green, and pale lavender hydrangeas. The prelude was played on the piano by the groom's sister and on the cello by a family friend. The music was so nice. My favorite part of the prelude was when both the piano and cello played "Moon River." The music seemed to soar to the rafters of the church.

The bridesmaid dresses were so sweet and simple -- sage green, with little ivory jackets, and coming just a few inches below the knees -- and the junior bridesmaid and flower girl wore ivory dresses with lavender flowers embroidered over them. So pretty. Then the ushers unrolled a white carpet and the bride walked in. Her dress was beautiful and simple. She wore her long blond hair up and a veil over her face.

I didn't know this until then, reading the program, that her father passed away when she was fourteen. It amazes me how we can be friends with people for long periods of time and still know so little about them. One her dad's best friends walked her down the aisle and gave her away on behalf of her family. She wrote a beautiful tribute to her father on the back of the program that made my eyes fill up with tears as I read it.

The ceremony was simple and beautiful. This was one of the very few times I have seen two people take their vows so seriously -- the groom promising to love her even as Christ loved the church and live with her in an understanding way, the bride promising to submit herself to her husband and honor him as the head of their home. The song they chose for their wedding was "How Beautiful":

How Beautiful the hands that served The Wine and the Bread and the sons of the earth

How beautiful the feet that walked The long dusty roads and the hill to the cross

How Beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful is the body of Christ

How Beautiful the heart that bled That took all my sin and bore it instead

How beautiful the tender eyes That choose to forgive and never despise

How beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful is the body of Christ

And as He lay down His life We offer this sacrifice That we will live just as He died Willing to pay the price Willing to pay the price

How Beautiful the radiant bride Who waits for her Groom with His light in her eyes

How Beautiful when humble hearts give The fruit of pure lives so that others may live

How beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful is the body of Christ

How beautiful the feet that bring The sound of good news and the love of the King

How Beautiful the hands that serve The wine and the bread and the sons of the Earth

How Beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful is the body of Christ

Twila Paris