Real Quick

Not really going to post today - and I don't know what will end up happening tomorrow. I have a really close friend in the hospital dealing with seizure like symptoms that are getting worse...and the doctors don't know why it's happening. So between that and my own health problems I'm exhausted. Hope all is well with you guys. 

*hugs*

~ Ruthie ~ 

Aria's Quest - Pub Hopping

Welcome to Aria's Quest! If this is your first time here this is what you need to know. Aria is a young woodland fairy on a quest in the big city to find a human she can help. If she's successful she can return to her tribe as a full adult. Aria's chosen to look for a true believer (one who already believes in magic and fairies) because she thinks that will make her quest easier...but finding a true believer may be harder than she thought! Read the rest of the story here. 

Section 2

Searching

Part 9

Pub Hopping

Robyn and Aria stayed to have dinner with Darryl and Gina before they went out for the evening. Darryl approved of their plan to hit some of the more Irish-style pubs, and Gina just shook the spaghetti spoon at Robyn and said, “Don’t you be getting the lassie drunk! She’s a nice girl and you’re a nice boy! Don’t forget it!”

“Yes ma’am Mom!” Robyn said with a mock salute. Gina sighed and went back to serving them dinner.

The two young fairies visited three different pubs that night.  The first, O’Malley’s, was the most traditional of the three. It was full of old timers and they both thought it would be the most likely place to find a true believer. Sadly, though they heard haunting songs played about fairies, everyone was too deep in their Guinness to notice the fairies sitting on the edges of their cups.  Robyn was a good host and made sure that Aria got her first drink of Guinness before they left. She’d had ale before, and while she liked the Guinness, she’s wasn’t overly impressed. Something that Robyn had to tease her mercilessly about.

The next pub, O’Shannon’s, had more of a mixed crowd. There were some older clients sitting in a cluster in the back, a crowd of business men off to one side, and on and near the dance floor a younger crowd had gathered.  Aria and Robyn spent time in each of the crowds, doing their best to be noticed, but once again failed miserably. 

It was getting pretty late by the time they got to the last pub on their list, The Irish Lassie, and Aria wanted to go home, but Robyn convinced her it was worth one more shot.  This was the youngest and hippest of the crowds that they had seen that night, and Aria fell in love with the music that was playing.

“You like it do you?”

“Yes!”

“It’s a punk band called ‘Flogging Molly.’ They’re quite popular.”

“I can see why!”

“Oh hey, there’s another drink you have to try before the nights out, and it looks like someone just ordered it.  Follow me.” Robyn flew over to the bar where the bar tender was smoothly pouring order after order.  Aria’s eyes lit up when she smelled coffee and she followed him enthusiastically over to where the bar tender had just gotten done messing with a mug. 

“What is it?”

“It’s called Irish coffee, quick, take a drink before they take it to the customer!” Aria perched on the edge of the cup and started to take a cautious sip - that turned into a long drink. She just barely left the cup in time to avoid getting knocked off balance by the server who was taking it to its rightful drinker.

“That was good! What makes it different from normal coffee?”

“Whisky my dear girl, whisky!”

“Hmmm…I think I like whisky, and I definitely like Irish coffee!”

“I thought you would!”

The two of them managed to sample a couple more Irish coffee’s before they finally gave up on The Irish Lassie. Yet again, no one had noticed them, but neither of them really minded. They’d had a lot of fun, and they decided that was more than worth it. 

Aria also decided she was going to sleep in the next day.

We have a Winner!

Woohoo! I started up a Top Commentator contest on my blog this last month...and we have a winner! Congratulations go to...

Theresa of

TiLT Creations

She has won a $10 gift certificate to either of my shops! Theresa is a great friend and I'm very excited to be able to give her this gift! 

I want to say thanks to everyone who left comments on this blog :) I've had plans for changes and improvements and just not been able to get to them. I'm hoping this will be a better week and I'll get to work on some of those though. Thinking positive! 

Now for my geeky moment:

~ Top Commentator had 12 comments (runner up had 10, thanks Eclectic Element!) 

~ 100 comments total for the month.

~ 32 individual commentators.

I look forward to seeing what this next month holds and who the contest winner is! 

6 Things That Make Me Happy

I've been tagged! Now I don't pass tags on that often (too much else to write about!) but this one is just perfect! Why? Because this is basically the topic I was going to post on today anyway! How cool is that? It's a slightly different approach, but hey, that just meant I had to reorganize my brain :P Probably good for me I'm guessing right? 

First I would like to say a huge THANKS to my dear friend Kayla over at the Eclectic Element for tagging me. She's a constant source of sunshine in my life and today is no exception :) 

6 Things That Make Me

HAPPY!!!!!

Sunshine and Dragonfly's

Seriously - I love the sun! And I live in the great Northwest where it rains all the time. 

Go figure eh?

Ps. Click on the picture to go to it's listing!

Books and the Library

I love books! They are my escape, my passion, my pleasure. I also love living close to a well stocked library! I mean, every once in awhile they disappoint me, but I'm able to find so many books! With out the local library this poor girl would be in dire straights indeed.

Wonderful and Crazy Artist Friends

Seriously - you guys keep me going! When I'm having a bad day I know I'll be able to come on-line, find one of you, and you'll cheer me up! Even if I don't tell you I'm having a bad day :P I also love all the crazy and awesome things you come up with. Like this sock monkey by my friend Amy. Isn't he cute? His name is James :) Click on the picture to go to it's listing!

Fresh Fruit!

Ok, so the picture below is for a candle (how cool is that? click on the pic to go to the listing) but I LOVE fresh fruit! I love this time of year for that reason :) Fresh berries, fruit salads, PINEAPPLE! Ah...life is good :)

Jewelry

Not so much the owning, but the creation of it. I love coming up with new designs and I love that it's something I can do to feel my days when I feel utterly rotten. And yes, you guessed it, clicking on the picture will take you to the listing ;)

Hulu.com

If you've never been to hulu.com - your missing out! Hulu hosts a variety of tv shows and movies for FREE. Can you guess what I'm often doing while bead weaving? That's right, catching up on my favorite shows on hulu :) Which is extra nice because we don't get tv reception in my apartment! I'd go crazy (erm, crazier?) without hulu!

Now I'm not much for passing these on - so if you feel like doing it go ahead!

Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara

Buy It Now!

Cast in Shadow (The Chronicles of Elantra, Book 1)

"Cast in Shadow" is a fast paced fantasy that keeps you turning pages and wondering what's going to happen next! In this story we follow Kaylin Neya, a girl who grew up in the fiefs, but escaped and now works of  branch of the law known as the Hawks. Kaylin's history is complicated, and forever marked by the killings that happened 7 years ago. Now, similar killings are taking place, and Kaylin's heart is breaking.

Kaylin knows that somehow these killings are connected to her because she's known every single victim and because of the strange symbols that connect them. Each victim is found, disemboweled, with their arms and legs covered in symbols that look like tattoos, but weren't formed in ink. Kaylin bears the same symbols on her body, and no one knows why. 

Now, the Hawk Lord is sending her back to the fiefs to discover why the killings are happening, and he's saddled her with some unusual companions. One, Severn, is a man from her past. Someone she tries to kill on sight, but it takes a long time for us to learn why. Their other companion, Lord Tiamaris, is of the rarely seen dragon race. Each of these strange companions has their own secrets to keep, and each holds a piece of the puzzle. Will they be able to trust each other enough to reveal their secrets? Before more deaths occur?

I found this book to be fascinating. I love reading fantasies that explore their own set of races, and there are many in this book! It was definitely a page turner, but it was also confusing at times. The quality of writing wasn't super-high and it depended more on the action that it's literary quality. Having said that, I'm curious to see what else the author puts out and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel! 

Aria's Quest - Robyn has an Idea

Welcome to Aria's Quest! If this is your first time here this is what you need to know. Aria is a young woodland fairy on a quest in the big city to find a human she can help. If she's successful she can return to her tribe as a full adult. Aria's chosen to look for a true believer (one who already believes in magic and fairies) because she thinks that will make her quest easier...but finding a true believer may be harder than she thought! Read the rest of the story here. 

Section 2

Searching

Part 8

Robyn has an Idea

It was tempting to head back to “Brew it Up” again to watch the people, but Aria knew she’d become too fascinated and forget to work on her quest again. So she flew in the opposite direction today; looking for anything that might catch her eye. It was hard to know what to even look for. How do you identify a place a true believer would hang out?

True believers really weren’t that different from regular humans. They ate the same food, lived the same lives, they simply also had a belief in magic and all that accompanies that. If anything their lives were richer and full of wonder, but they still had the same needs for food, shelter, and security. 

It was a long fruitless day for Aria. She was feeling slightly discouraged by the time she got back to Gina and Darryls, but she quickly perked up when she saw who was sitting on the breakfast table. “Robyn! How are you?” She exclaimed.

“I’m doing great! How’s your quest going?”

“Well…” Aria tried frantically of a way to put a positive spin on the situation.

“That well eh?”

“Well it’s not that it’s really going bad, I just haven’t found anyone yet.”

“And that’s not bad?”

“Well, ok, yeah it is, but I’ve been learning a lot and figure that has to be good right?”

Robyn laughed, “That’s a great way to look at it! What have you learned about?”

“Coffee!!!”

Robyn started laughing so hard he fell from the edge of the table and hovered next to it, still shaking with laughter. “And what did you learn about coffee?”

“Oh it’s wonderful! Your Mom made me some for breakfast this morning. Well not for breakfast, there was food too, I think.” Aria broke, off slightly confused, “I know I ate something! Anyway, it was really good, and humans drink it all the time! I don’t know why we don’t drink it back home.”

“Coffee’s a good thing to learn about I suppose. I certainly enjoy my coffee! So what are you going to try next?” Robyn asked as he settled back down on the table.

“I don’t know. I flew all over today and tried so many strange buildings. No one noticed me though. No matter what I tried. I know I should have some sort of plan other than just flying aimlessly, but I just don’t know enough about the city, so tomorrow I guess I’ll just look for more places I haven’t been.”

“Have you gone to any of the pubs?”

“What’s a pub?”

“Well you woodland fairies have ale right?”

“Of course!”

“Pub’s are places humans get together to drink ale and other strong drinks.”

“Why would I find a true believer there?” Aria asked with her nose wrinkled up in confusion. Robyn paused for a moment, distracted by how cute she looked when she did that, and then answered her.

“Well some of the pubs are designed to reflect the old countries, like Ireland, and the Irish are famous for their belief in the ‘wee folk’ as they like to call us. So stands to reason that you might find someone there.”

“Oh, well, can you tell me where some are? I’ll check them out tomorrow!”

Robyn shook his head at her. “Not tomorrow, tonight. Pubs aren’t open during the day. And I’ll do you one better than telling, I’ll take you myself.”

Little (Grrl) Lost by Charles de Lint

Buy it Now!

Little (Grrl) Lost

In this "Little (Grrl) Lost" by Charles de Lint we enter another modern fantasy world. This story focuses on T.J., a normal teenage girl, and Elizabeth, a not so normal teenage girl. You see Elizabeth is a Little, a race of human-like beings that only reach 6 inches high. The Little's refer to normal humans as Bigs, and normally do everything they can to hide from them.

Well, Elizabeth is accidentally "seen" by T.J., and two slowly become friends. Then Elizabeth gets lost, and T.J. becomes frantic trying to find her. Along the way they both make some new friends, and get into some sticky situations! Both girls learn a lot and grow up a lot in this book.

Most of Charles de Lint is meant for adults, but this is actually written for young adults. If the plot sounds similar to Mary Norton's Borrowers series, it's because it is. He even mentions her books! It's a totally unique story though, and the only thing it has in common with the Borrower's series is the size of the characters and their mistrust of the bigger humans. Well worth the read and great for any younger readers in your house.