Tuesday 16 August 2011

A Picnic with Jane

Another lovely day, another picnic. Northshore is a lovely place to sit under the shade and read for hours on end. Mum, Mel and I drove up on Saturday for the second time this month to have a beautiful, relaxing picnic by the shore. I just love the sound of the waves lapping against the sand and the grass waving gently in the breeze. We have our own little spot to sit now and it's a really relaxing and lovely thing to do on a Saturday afternoon. We just sat there for hours; reading, listening to music and munching on my own homemade chocolate cake. I hope to have more of these precious moments, where we are all together, happy and relaxed. I think that people make too much of the big 'in your face' moments, and don't cherish enough the 'boring' ones; the ones that don't shout 'I'm so amazing!'. The ones that pass you by without you even really noticing they had even taken place. Or when you just think too much about the little negative things and don't focus on the big picture. I mean, I will probably cherish this moment right now in about 50 years time. And all the times I've walked to school with my sister in the morning, which now appear to me such a chore, will probably seem so pleasant and lovely to me in the future.
Jane Eyre; a fantastic novel by a wonderful author. I went to see the movie on the weekend. I must say I was a little disappointed by it. I mean, I didn't really like it as much as I thought I would and ... get this ... I didn't even CRY!!!! IT'S A MIRACLE!!! I cry in EVERYTHING. But, it was almost as if it didn't give me enough time to work up an emotion and tear up. The moments moved by so swiftly that I found myself getting rather annoyed. I wanted to feel more emotion and attachment to the characters. But I just couldn't! I don't really think it was a movie for people who had not read the book or did not know the story because it wasn't exactly very clear. I read the book about two months ago and absolutely loved it but the movie didn't quite exceed my expectations. The characters were portrayed poorly I must say and I just didn't buy it. It's really a great shame, because I wanted to be able to say how amazing and enthralling it was. But I speak only my opinion, the rest of my family thought it was great. So I shall just leave it at that then. I am seeing it again this weekend anyway, so hopefully I will grow to like it more the second time.
I just bought the Julia Child 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking' two book set! I'm so happy! Ever since I saw the movie Julie and Julia I have been just itching to buy the cookbooks. I suppose now this means I shall have to be more inventive with my cooking and broaden my horizons to something more advanced than spaghetti bolognese and chocolate cake. Well, bring it on I say!
I now have a lovely two day holiday ahead of me and I am exceedingly glad of it. I think I needed a holiday, which is an absurd thing to say as, compared to most adults, I have far too many. But still, I am very happy about it and shall relish in the much needed rest!

Much love,
Miss Aalyn xx


Friday 5 August 2011

Curious Imaginings

Last night I had a dream. Not a particularly good dream, but not a bad one. I was running. Somewhere in the countryside, probably in England. Hills were surrounding me. I was running with another person. It was my future husband. I never saw his face (woe is me). We were running across the countryside and then through a great mound of snow and under a bridge. We came to a pile of material. Plastic mainly; huge sheets of it. They were all different sizes. Most of them were probably as big as a small tree and as wide as two cars. Massive! There were two other people there also. It was another couple. For some reason we were trying to steal the sheets of plastic and glass off them. It was materials for a house. We wanted them for our house but they had got to them first so we tried to steal as much as we could. It was kind of a race to see who could get the most material. But before we could haul the first sheet, the image faded and another segment of the dream took place. All I remember from this is a mountain and a huge house, and a lot of running and snow. But the snow wasn't cold. It was just ... there. I also remember vaguely something to do with a cup of tea. But that is all. Very strange indeed.
Miss Aalyn xx

Stuff and Nonsense

10 reasons why I love food:
-It satisfies hunger
-It comforts one when in times of trial
-You don't need to have a reason to eat it
-It is highly enjoyable to prepare
-It relieves tension during an awkward moment
-It is different where ever you go but, at the same time, never changes
-It provides a topic to blog about
-To prepare it requires love and attention
-It tastes good!
-It draws people together
Yes, as you can probably guess, I LOVE IT!!! I mean, really, I absolutely adore it. But I hate it at the same time. Isn't that funny? Well, talking about food, tonight I cooked a most delicious Chinese dish called 'Garlic and Ginger Chicken'. Yummo! I also prepared some of my 'famous brownies' for a birthday party this Sunday. They were even better than usual, if I do say so myself. I'm sure my cousins will most enjoy them. Well, that is, if they actually eat anything, which is seldom the case, with two of them at least.
I am determined to learn French. Just putting it out there, not that you will care most likely. But I do so love it and wish more than anything to be able to speak it. Sigh, imagine speaking in French! How I would love to babble away to someone in French and for them to not understand a single word I was saying. As it is, I can hardly say a single word myself. Well, apart from bonjour and au revoir. But, then again, who can't?
Au revoir pour l'instant, mes chers!
Mademoiselle Aalyn xx

ps. And yes, I did use google translate. So nobody correct me if there is anything wrong with what I have said. Goodness, translator does do strange things to phrases. Once I typed in 'best friend' and it translated back into English as 'fluffy duck'! How my best friend must have laughed when she read it!