I was in the middle of working on a Les Miserable paper for my literature class, when I suddenly came up with this list.

Hillary Hints

• Listen. To both other people and the world around you.
• Live in the moment. Be aware.
• Love. How would you wish others to react to you?
• Think. Is that the nicest way to say something? How does your tone sound?
• Excuse. If someone sounded rude, they are probably preoccupied or upset. There is always a reason.
• Honesty is the best policy. Be yourself.
• Uniqueness. Don't fear the quirkyness.
• Obey.
• Be carefree. If others don't rush to talk to you, don't sell yourself short. Look for someone who needs you, and don't over think it. 
• Understanding is all-important when if comes to people. If you don't understand something, don't fear asking.
• Imagination is an indispensable part of your existence. Keep it alive.
• Recognize the good in people, even when you don't see it all the time. Have you ever seen that person do something kind or loving? Treat them like they did it just a moment ago. Look at them with new eyes. Appreciate them.
• Be natureal. Don't cater to the expectations of others.
• Enjoy life. Do you adore the sunshine? The flowers? The raging thunderstorm? Share that joy with the people around you.
• Trust. No matter what argument you just had, whether people ignore your opinions, or whether you're stressed with schoolwork, God has it under control. If he takes care of the birds and lilies of the valley, how much more will he take care of you?

It was relaxing to write myself a sort of to-do list of what I need to change, or what bothers me. I hope it helps other people besides me.

~The Dryad

Valentine Deliciousness

Happy Valentine's Day, everybody! To commemorate the beheading of St. Valentine, I made cookies and meringues. Weird, I know.

Acrostic: Valentine
Veritably, I love you
All quite a bit. The
Longer I know you, the more
Excited I get about how
Neat y'all are. I love you,
Though
I might
Never
Ever say it.

These meringues were supposed to be a light pink, but I misjudged the amount of food coloring necessary. :P Oh, well, they're still yummy. They're just plain vanilla meringues.

This one is huge...

 Aaand cookies!! Recipe here. It's brown sugar free, because I didn't have any.

 ~The Dryad, with love and cookies

Journalist, Poet, Writer, Man

G. K. Chesterton is amazing. He was not only a great theological writer, but also a writer of mysteries, both humorous and serious poems, and an artist. He wrote about four thousand essays in his lifetime. He also advocated fairy tales, which makes him that much more fantastic.
In fact, he was pure nonsense mixed with a knowledge of what life is really about.
He said that angels could fly because they took themselves lightly. (His pun, not mine) I don't know about  you, but I wish I could fly. You can easily find quite a few of his quotes on love, including this one.

 

He was extraordinarily large, but that never bothered him. He often made jokes about it, and drew a few cartoons about his girth. Reportedly, a lady once asked him during World War I why he was not out at the Front. He replied, "If you'll go 'round to the side, you will see that I am." 

He wasn't afraid to make a fool of himself to make others laugh. He believed in dragons. He wrote books on theology. Could there be anything better??? Well, yes, Jesus, but that's true no matter what. 

~The Dryad

Are you better than a book character?

It's amazing to me how we simply fall in love with people in books, but we (me at least) aren't nearly as quick to find good in the real people around us. One Year Novel  producer Daniel Schwabauer says that we like book people because we see how they react to stress. Through the course of a book, they are put in uncomfortable situations, and their virtues are shown in how they act in those situations.
Do we act as nicely as our protagonists when we go through troubled times? I believe that most of the time we do not. Occasionally we may meet someone who really can handle hard times, but I, for one, don't do very well with day-to-day life, much less real difficulties.
:) Just a thought that I had.

"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." Romans 12:12

~The Dryad

DIY Postcards

I made some postcards the other day with some friends.
You can find the tutorial here.

~The Dryad

Book Spine Cuff Bracelets

I saw a picture on Pinterest of these bracelets made from the spine of a book, but the link didn't work. I was really bummed.
Some of you may hate me for doing this to a book. I'm sorry. I do love books, but I think the purpose of books is to bring joy to people, and to teach them things, so these bracelets are like I'm advertising a book and saying how good it is. The beauty of a book is not in the bright new cover, but in the wisdom it conveys.

Let us begin. All you need is a hardback book, and a knife, and a bowl...and water...but hopefully you all have water at your houses.

First cut the book back off of the book. Before doing this, make sure that your book is really hardback and has cardboard on the spine. The Reader's Digest books do not. Their spines are just fabric and glue, so you can't use them for this craft.
To cut the back off, you need to take a knife and slice between the first page and the paper glued to the front cover of the book. Do the same on the back, and then cut the spine from between the front and back covers.

Then you trim any little bits off of the spine, and dip it in water, making sure it is fully soaked.

Now wind it into a circle, preferably smaller than your wrist. It will expand as you wear it, so you want to teach it to be small.

Blow it with a hairdryer until it dries and keeps its shape. If there is glue on it, make sure that the glue doesn't get too warm and start sticking it together. Otherwise, the glue is not a problem.

Bum ba dum! Wear that bracelet, people. Tell all the world of your beloved books.
By the way, you may want to store it curled, with a rubber band around it. That's what I do.

~The Dryad

These are a couple poems I wrote after reading a bit of a book about a schizophrenic over my mom's shoulder.

The Man and His Shadows

The man swept away silence

As he chomped his dinner

Thinking over the day's work.

He thought of the shadows

He saw hovering there

They curled around him to lurk.

Maybe he imagined it

Perhaps they were not there

He held his warm mug closer.

He didn't doubt they were real

Of course, they had to be.

Alone..he needed a hug.

Petrol

Blue petrol splashing

In waves away from my feet

It spilled

No use crying now

It will be expensive

My mind slowly reverts

Back to the real world

Away from the splashing petrol.

They aren't my normal style, especially 'Petrol.' I rarely write free verse. The influence of the book was upon me, I believe. 

~The Dryad