Greetings from the cave!
*sees a sea of disorientated faces*
Eh heh. I've been decorating...again. For any visitors that happened to drop in between 11 pm and 3 am last night....I do apologize for the mess you saw.
You may be wondering...why did I do this? Especially after such lovely feedback about my previous design not too long ago?
The fact of the matter was...I got tired of the three different body fonts appearing for no reason and the images being out of focus. There were so many coding screwups that it was just beyond my patience to deal with anymore.
So I went searching for a template that was *similar* to the old one, but fixed a lot of the problems. I'm happy to say that this one - which is called Rosemary - not only fit the bill but installed so much easier than Splendid did. In addition, many of the features that I was forced to sacrifice with Splendid have been reinstated - including my blog roll, which you can check out below! I'm sure as the months progress that I will be adding in some of my old widgets and maybe adding a new one here and there.
But this is the least of what has been happening in my corner of the blogosphere this month. Shall we take a look?
- I finished Kidnapped and have now started on Catriona by Robert Louis Stevenson. I do like Kidnapped, but found the plot a little hard to follow sometimes. So far, I'm actually liking Catriona better. You can tell that Stevenson refined his writing craft in the decade that passed between writing the two books but the events of the first and the second are tied so beautifully in the beginning that you can't tell that they were in fact written a decade apart....if that makes any sense.
Because we're still in Lent, I've been only watching religious movies and Catholic documentaries. Among several other films and TV shows in March, I watched:
- Pius XII: Under the Roman Sky
I HIGHLY recommend this mini-series. It is an Italian film dubbed in English, but you can hardly tell that - the dubbing is that good. I came in with the expectation that it was going to be like Scarlet and the Black and got a much deeper experience. The only thing that I will say is that the film focuses more on the 'subplot' of Miriam, Davide and Marco's "experiences" more than Pius XII's. Just saying, you may need to have a tissue box handy for the second episode....(still crying over Marco....).
- Tudor Monastery Farm
This was technically a re-watch, but from years ago. I LOVE this and all the other living history documentary series that Ruth Goodman and Peter Ginn do. This series focuses on medieval Catholicism in England and how the monasteries provided so many of the goods and services before Henry VIII destroyed them.
- Secrets of the Castle
This was partially a re-watch because I don't think I could access the full series before. This one is a bit of a departure from the other Ruth Goodman/Peter Ginn series in that it was more of an experimental archeology project than an actual living history experience. But it was still really cool to follow the building of the castle and how it was constructed.
- Unplanned
I finally watched it! I had borrowed a DVD copy back in January and held onto it so my brother Anthony could see it.
I'm going to tell you this right now, it was like watching The Passion, except with less crying and more gut-wrenching. As much as some conservatives really harped on the R rating for this movie being undeserved...Anthony and I felt that it absolutely deserved it. There was more blood and gore than either one of us were expecting (though I wouldn't have it without it).
More than anything, this movie points out the self-delusions and lies that many abortion workers and clients are fed about abortions. It also shows just how many chances God can give a person before they finally listen to what's right. PERSISTENCE is the key to winning this fight!
- The Assisi Underground (1985)
This film was a'ight. The storyline was really interesting, but the execution was a little less than desired. The film looked like it was a lot older than 1985, not gonna lie. The other thing is that while I like Fr. Rufino's character, there were a couple of moments where his actions would raise modern eyebrows.
- TWR's "editing break" ended up being extended by an extra month. Magda was being a rather obstinate little ninny - I tell you, she doesn't tell me anything...she confuses even me sometimes. But I *think* I got her sorted, at least for the time being.
Now that Camp NaNo is upon us and school is slowing down, I'll be working on this piece again with more vigor. And hopefully, more than the 20k goal will be accomplished.
The White Rose, Draft 4:
Edited Word Count: 10053
Chapters Edited: 5.5
I'm adding a new section to my wrap-ups because I'm CONSTANTLY finding new music to listen to either through Spotify or YouTube. And since I know you guys are avid music listeners and love music suggestions, I'll make some here too! If you'd like to access my full library, check out my Spotify profile, which is now linked in the social media section.
Recently, I've created several playlists, some by genre and some by nationality. I'm a huge international music fan, in case any of you were unaware of that, lol. My next project is to break up my Celtic playlists into my Irish and Highland Bagpipe playlists. That's going to be a chore...
Now for music recs!
For Catholic/Christian music lovers...
I recommend a new album by Fr. Maximilian M. Dean called "You Walk on Water". Now, just a disclaimer, this isn't exactly your typical "praise and worship" album. The lyrics may be Christian but the music style is...unique. Some feature a wee bit of rock, some feature a bluesey style, some feature a slow jazz, others are more folksy. My favorite from this album is "Eternity" but I also love the title song "You Walk on Water".
In addition, Clamavi de Profundis has also released a new original Catholic song, Viriliter Agite, which is super epic.
For instrumental/writing music fans...
I recommend checking out an artist called Adam Young. His albums include The Endurance, Voyager, Miracle of the Andes and many more. My favorite album of his is Corduoy Road, which is in reference to the Deep South, but my absolute favorite track of his is called "Construction", which is off of his Mount Rushmore album.
Other artists that I've discovered this month include Libera, John Doan, Chris Tomlin, and Peter Roe.
For Working by Candlelight, I published one post: The Aida Opera Dress, An Introduction. Upcoming posts will include one on my braided rugs and....who knows what else.
For the Rebelling Muse, I published 2 posts: I Learned 3 Tips about Using Instagram and The Evolution of a Scene in TWR. Upcoming posts will hopefully include a least one post about the use of dragons in Christian literature (if not a whole series).
For The History Cat and Maidens for Mary, I wrote no posts. Though I hope to change that fate for the former in April, when I finally publish that Titanic post that I've been putting for two months now!
1. Edit (and maybe publish) The White Rose
Slowly, but surely, the edits are coming through! Still only about midway through Chapter 6, but things are about to get easier, I think.
3. Continue professionalizing things (email, blog, Insta, etc.)
With this latest redesign, the blog has a few more "professional" aspects to it, including the link pages in the menu bar that can be updated with publishing information later. I've also edited some of the pages and widgets to be a little more professional looking too.
Still toying with the email list. I hate my Feedburner thing and would like to get some branding or maybe a newsletter going, but that is a lot of work.
And that's a wrap! Now, I'd love to hear from you! How has your March been? Any music recs for me? Chat with me in the comments below!
Oh and one more thing: I wish all a very blessed Triduum and a Happy Easter!
Scribbingly yours,
Catherine
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