Birthdays and Bugs

Blerghhhh. I had my birthday this week. It was nice. We had chocolate cake (I managed to blow out all the candles but one) and homemade butter pecan ice cream that was a pain in the neck to make but tasted fabulous.

I got lots of nice gifts, and am awaiting the big one. (I won't tell you what that one is, I won't get it 'til June sometime, so y'all will give to wait.) Most of the gifts were small, practical gifts. Hobbi gave me chapstick, Krisbie gave me some peppermint tea, Pippin gave me a candle. I was also given some double pointed knitting needles. I won't tell you who gave them to me, but I will say that my Esteemed Father has been begging for a pair of handmade socks and bought me a skein of sock yarn not too long ago...

So yeah, it was a nice day.

But now I'm on the tail end of a shower of birthday cards and well wishes and I'm sitting here on my bed reading them and crying and eating lemonheads (also a birthday gift). Some of them are from friends back West. They miss me. I miss them.

I kinda hate living here. I hated it worse two months ago, but no matter how long I'm here I can't get used to it. Maybe it's because I'm not letting go of my old home. I try, but I lived out West for thirteen years. I loved it. I loved the hills of golden grass and I loved my mountains and the everblue sky and the scraggly junipers and the dry air that you didn't need gills to breath. I miss how clean the grasslands were. No bugs. You saw a grasshopper or cricket every now and then. Sometimes a centipede or a rollypolly. Miller moths would come out in the summer in droves, and you had to shake out your clothes if you hung 'em on a line, but the bugs out there were large and not particularly gross or bloodthirsty.

Moving East was a nightmare for a bug-hating person like myself. THERE ARE FLEES IN THE GRASS!!! And ticks! And all manner of evil bloodsuckers. And so many other creepy crawlies. June bugs. Boxelder bugs. Asian lady beetles. Slugs and snails. All manner of wicked, plant feeding garden monstrosities. Giant grey ants. Horrendous xylophagous larvae that turn into hideous abominations of wretchedness. Horse-flies! The list doesn't end. It doesn't end! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Actually, you know what, I was gonna make a much longer post complaining about how utterly depraved the East is, but honestly, need I say more? I had a bit of fun bashing insects and if I keep on complaining I'll depress myself.

In summary: I miss the West and my old friends, this desolate mitten is home to faaaaaar to many evil devil horrors, and if I eat another lemonhead I will become exceedingly ill. That's all for now folks.

The Simple Questions Tag

              

I got tagged! Yay! Thank you Rachel! (You can find her blog at A Girls Place. It's super cute, she likes period dramas, and has lots of pretty pictures.)

Here be the questions and answers:

1. How does your morning start?

I usually wake up at seven thirty (shameful, I know) and start my day by checking my email, looking over the blogs I follow and watching a video on YouTube, then I put on some music and read my bible. That done, I get dressed and wander out into the kitchen to see if breakfast is ready. It isn't, (Hobbi gets up at six, but she insists on doing all her school before she makes breakfast. *sigh*) so I come back to my room to wait for it. I generally try to write something, but I usually end up on Goodreads instead.

2. What's your favourite colour?

Grey-blue, to match my eyes. 

3. What book are you reading right now?

The Fellowship of the Ring, by J. R. R. Tolkien. It's super good. ;) Sam and Pippin are the best. (Pippin Took, not to be confused with my brother Pippin, who is also the best, but is not a Took.)

4. What is your opinion about having a mobile phone?

If you're older than sixteen it can be a useful tool. If you're younger than sixteen it's probably not so useful and is more of a distraction than anything else and you should probably be spending your time on other things. Cellphones aren't bad but they've become semi-problematic, as young people have started using them constantly. I'm not against people having or using them, but I think this addiction many children have is an extremely bad thing. 

5. Your favourite actress? (Pick at least two)

Oh dear me. I don't really keep up with who's who in Hollywood. I guess I'd say Emma Thompson and Audrey Hepburn. They appear in some of my favorite movies.

6. What's your favourite movie right now?

Um...oh dear. Probably The Two Towers, 'cause Rohan! But can I also say that my favorite TV series is Little Dorrit? They stayed remarkably close to the book. I was impressed.

7. Snow or rain?

Snow. Rain is muddy right away, snow gets to be pretty first. Also rain can't be made into snowballs and dropped inside Kennedy's collar. 

8. What's your favourite ice cream flavour?

Butter Pecan. Somebody is having a birthday soon and is requesting this as a dessert. ;)  

9. To which country's have you been?

Canada. That's it. I live in America and I've been  Canada. I'm boring like that. 

10. What are you doing mostly in the evening?

I read and watch movies with Dad. Usually I read and he watches the movie, but if the movie's any good I'll set aside my book and embroider or knit instead.

11. How old are you?

I am not one-and-twenty (I'm not! That leaves lots of other ages to guess. For all you know I could be two hundred and seventy-seven, that's not one-and-twenty.)

12. Which country's do you really want to visit?

Wales. Or Italy. I've got lots of Welsh in me and a smidgen of Italian. Nothing like getting back to your roots, eh? Besides, both countries are beautiful. 

13. What's your dream career?

Librarian, though I'm considering midwifery. 

14. If you where casted in a movie, which character would you love to play?

If they would make a movie of The Secret School by Avi, I would love to play Ida Bidson. I love that book. I think it'd make an absolutely adorable movie.

And there you have it. My first tag. That was fun! Thanks again for tagging me Rachel!