Bring.... me... to... life!

I've been in an Evanescence mood the last couple days... not sure if it's because Halloween is tomorrow or if it's just me.  Speaking of Halloween, I've been saving my graveyard photos, from our trip to Fairhaven, MA earlier this month, to post this week.  Thought I'd take a minute to put all together along with the lyrics to the Evanescence song, 'Bring Me To Life'.

 
How can you see into my eyes like open doors 

leading you down into my core 
where I’ve become so numb without a soul my spirit sleeping somewhere cold 
 until you find it there and lead it back home 

Wake me up 

Wake me up inside 
I can’t wake up 
Wake me up inside 
Save me 
call my name and save me from the dark 
Wake me up 
bid my blood to run 
I can’t wake up 
before I come undone 
Save me 
save me from the nothing I’ve become 



now that I know what I’m without 
you can't just leave me 
breathe into me and make me real 
bring me to life

 Wake me up 
Wake me up inside 
I can’t wake up 
Wake me up inside 
Save me 
call my name and save me from the dark 
Wake me up 
bid my blood to run 
I can’t wake up 
before I come undone 
Save me 
save me from the nothing I’ve become
 
Bring me to life 
I've been living a lie, there's nothing inside 
Bring me to life

frozen inside without your touch without your love darling only you are the life among the dead

all this time I can't believe I couldn't see 
kept in the dark but you were there in front of me 
I’ve been sleeping a thousand years it seems 
got to open my eyes to everything 
without a thought without a voice without a soul 
don't let me die here 
there must be something more 
bring me to life  



Wake me up 
Wake me up inside 
I can’t wake up
 Wake me up inside 
Save me 
call my name and save me from the dark 
Wake me up 
bid my blood to run 

I can’t wake up 
before I come undone 
Save me 
save me from the nothing I’ve become 



Bring me to life 
I’ve been living a lie, there’s nothing inside 
Bring me to life

Akron Falls Cache Log

At home, looking out the skylight... planning the day ahead

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Posted to GCZWFW: Akron Falls Earth Cache

We couldn't pass up an opportunity like today - it was sunny and warm (for late October) and with all the fall leaves, we had to do some caching.  We also have a book of the "200 Waterfalls of Central & Western NY" which lists Akron Falls. 

 

SO, we put those two things together and here we are!  (Seems a lot of other people were thinking the same thing, because the trail was packed.  Families, photography buffs, dogs, ... everybody!)

Will post pictures soon, but this was a wonderful little hike.  The large part of the Lower falls was really flowing, bubbling whitecaps crested here.  Plus, there had to be 8-10 small rivulets on the left side of the falls.  It's hard to put the entire falls into perspective and guess the width... I'll just have to look that up.

We walked up to see how much of the Upper falls we could see, but trees/branches made it tough.  It looked to be rather impressive, so maybe we'll have to make a trip up this way in the spring.

We'll also need to make a 2nd trip because we didn't have a chance to find the bonus cache.... there were just too many people.  Oh well.  This is definitely a spot we won't mind visiting again.

  Thanks for the cache!

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At home, after the cache... Swept leaves off the driveway (so you could see it) & found these five beauties while working... they needed a spot on the blog. 

 

Tricks & Treats

Look at this!  I've been tricked!

Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater has found my pumpkin.

Click on the photos to see a bigger shot of this little stinker.

 

The Jack-o-lantern's AND the Chipmunk's smiles have gotten a LOT broader since Sunday.

... hope he's enjoying his TREAT.

Too many books!

I've been meaning to post reviews/comments about the books I've been reading - both for Book Club and for fun - but I've been procrastinating.

Maybe it's just not that important to me?
Maybe I'm just lazy?
Maybe I'm preoccupied?
I dunno.

Here's a list of recently read books and a note or two about each (finally)...

The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society -  M.A. Shaffer & A. Barrows

  What a fun book!  You wouldn't know it from its setting - post-WWII Europe (1946); Guernsey had been occupied by the Nazis for 5 years during the war.  It's written entirely by letter (correspondence between the characters) and describes the wonderful connection people have with books & each other.
  This was a "quick read" for Book Club - I rated it a 4 (out of 5) while the average among the members was 4.33.  Probably the only reason why I didn't rate it higher was because that the ending was rather predictable.  I still enjoyed it very much.  If you need a light read with a happy ending, read this!

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - J. Austen and S. Grahame-Smith

  If you haven't ready P&P before reading this book, stop right now.  Read Jane Austen's book first.  Pride & Prejudice is AWESOME!  It definitely rates in my top-10 favorite books of all time.  The "play" between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy fascinates me.  In fact, all the characters keep my attention, no matter if I like them or not.  I heard in an interview (I think it was A.S. Byatt who said it) that Jane Austen makes the reader feel clever.  I agree.  As the story unfolded, I had many an Ah-Ha! moment when I, cleverly, figured out the latest twist.
  P&P&Z, on the other hand, felt slightly forced.  I definitely enjoyed it (this was a "for fun" book).  I liked the Ninjas and the references to fighting skills in the women as a positive trait in a mate, but much of the "zombie mayhem" the book promised was lack-luster and not very clever. 
  If this was a Book Club book - the group would never go for it - I'd probably give it a 3.  I don't know if I'd recommend it to others, but I wouldn't discourage people from reading it.  It has its merits.  P&P, on the other had... BIG 5!

Possession: A Romance - A.S. Byatt

  This was a Book Club book.  I recommended it as our "light summer read". Boyyyyyy, was I WRONG!  Let me explain...
  Each summer, we hope to get an author to come to Book Club to discuss her book and writing process.  If we don't get an author, we nominate "lighter" books to read since it's summer and everything is supposed to be light & fun in the summer.  :)
  This summer, the author visit fell through (or didn't get started, I'm not sure).  Either way, in May, or there-about, the group was asked to nominate books for the 2009 summer gathering.  The day before the nomination meeting, I got a flyer in the mail from the Just Buffalo Literary Society about their reading program - they promote 4 books in their "If All of Buffalo Read the Same Book"series.  In it, was what sounded like an action-packed, romantic novel about people who love books.
  "Great!" I thought, "This will be perfect for our group!"
  If you have read Possession by AS Byatt, you know this is NOT a light read.  It's incredibly dense, highly literary, and totally big-brained... so much so that only 6 out of 20+ Book Club members finished it (and we have some smart cookies in the Club).
  I learned after I was about 1/2 way through that there is a READER'S GUIDE to the book... not Clif Notes, but kind of a "how to read Possession" guide.  On Amazon, one of the Guide's reviewers said "It's more like if you invited a person who was way "too" smart and "too" informed to your book club discussion." You needed this to get all the subtle references that Byatt includes in the book.
  Since I was the one who recommended the book, I was asked to lead the discussion.  This was the only reason why I didn't give up on the book, too.  By page 200, I was wondering where it was going and if it would ever pick up.  It finally did, in Chapter 12, and in the end I was glad I finished it.  The story is wonderful... sadly, tho, it's so tedious (in my humble, not-so-literary opinion) that much of the joy of reading was bogged down.
  The group never rated it because so few people actually complete the novel.  But I would have given it a 3.5.  A great story, but tough to get through.  I might try reading it again 5-10 years from now... we'll see.  I would highly recommend the movie (with Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart), however, it was everything I was hoping for in the book.


I'm currently reading two new books... one for Book Club (A Confederacy of Dunces, J.K. Toole), and one for fun (Book #2 in the Sookie Stackhouse-Vampire series by C. Harris).  I'll save my comments about those for another time.

What are YOU reading?

A final Faire-well

Our last full day in Massachusetts... Saturday, the 10th. 
I spent most of it at King Richard's Faire in Carver, MA.

The times, they were wondrous well!

Jousters... and ligers... and fire, huzzah!

Drink thee an ale with me, my merry fellow!

We're back in the real world now... but it was fun to spend a few hours "going medieval" while away.

To see the entire album, click here.

a WHALE of a HISTORY lesson

Day two of our trip to Fairhaven & New Bedford was an amazing tour through colonial New England.

We started in Fairhaven, at Fort Phoenix... a stronghold that rose from the dead after destroyed by the British in 1778.

It sits, overlooking Buzzards Bay - next to the Hurricane Dike that protects New Bedford Harbor.

 

From here, it's off to "The Center" - Downtown Fairhaven.
First stop, the Millicent Library (named for the daughter of Henry Huddleston Rogers).

Isn't this place GORGEOUS!?!

Not only was the outside amazing, but look at these stacks!

I wanted to move in!

Such elegance!

Next stop, Town Hall!

My favorite feature of the outside was this coral gargoyle!

I LOVE his squiggly body!

The stained glass windows in both of these historic building were awesome.  Check these out...

 (click on the image to get the full-effect)

We made one quick stop before Elizabeth treated me to an mouth-watering lunch at The Waterfont Grille in New Bedford.  You've already seen the picture of the succulent shrimp scampi... but you haven't seen pictures from the in-between stop.   Hahaha, you'll have to wait, again, before you can see those.  ;)

Before popping into the Whaling Museum, we visited the Seaman's Bethel.  Here, I was introduced to a scene from the movie Moby Dick and cenotaphs... memorials to seamen lost at sea or who died while on ship.  To see photos of these, click here.

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Time to swim with the "fishes"... well, actually, some massive whales and a replica of a whaling ship.

These guys were HUGE!  30+ feet of sea mammals hanging from the ceiling.

If you look close at the shot on the right, you can see the baby whale, he/she has got to be at least 10' long.

To put this all into perspective... our lovely model, Elizabeth, shows how tiny we are compared to these beasts.

Here's my foot with a whale's vertebra... looks more like a step-stool.  Oh, and behind the vertebra is a rib bone. (mmmmmm, ribs!)

On to the Ship!

Literally.  The Lagoda, in the Museum, is a half-scale model of the original whaling ship.  We had a chance to climb all around it, peek down into the hull and up to the crows-nest.  Below is a view of the ship's bow & sails.   Isn't it wonderful?!?

To learn more about this exhibit & the ship, visit the Museum Website.

Finally... I love, love, love the architecture that surrounded me today.  This shot is the epitome of quaint... I wish I had another week to see it all.  But since this was all I time I had for this visit, it was enough.

What a great day!

12-of-12: October 2009

Is it the 12th already??? Wow, time is flying.  Here's my set for the October 12-of-12.  Created by Chad Darnell, the 12-of-12 is a photo project where participants post 12 photos from their day on the 12th day of each month.  Enjoy!

It's Columbus Day here in The States, so a number of people have a holiday/vacation day today; I didn't.  BUT, I took the day off to recover from our 4-day trip to Fairhaven/New Bedford, Mass.  It was a wonderful relaxing, slow-moving day.

10:00AM:  We started the day off right with a breakfast of Massa (Portuguese Sweet Bread) French Toast - the bread came from an amazing little bakery down the street from our friends' home in New Bedford, MA.

Heavenly!!

I enjoyed the warmth from the fireplace and spent some time correcting a major boo-boo in my knitting project afterward.

3:00PM:  We need a walk & pumpkins!

This week, we start up our exercise routine again.  The weekend was full of food, food, food, so it's time to get back on the wagon and back into shape.  The Forestry is just the place to start...

Mackie asks Daddy for a cookie.

Please, Daddy?

4:00PM:  On the way out, I notice a few things that I've never paid much attention to during our walks here (which are at least once a week).

A soft-leaf plant; today holding a fallen Maple leaf.

How impressive the ends of the logs look today... so much activity on what should be such an inert piece. 

C'mon, TaterBug!  Time to go.

Today was also PUMPKIN day.  We stopped at a local farm to grab a pumpkin and some gourds for the start of our fall decorating.

6:00PM:  We'll get another pumpkin on Saturday, and carve it up for Halloween.  But for today, we tried out something new... making Spiders out of gourds!  We found this cool little kit while shopping at The Sea Witch Gifts in Fairhaven, MA.

Here's the before:

... and the after!

7:30PM:  As I type, the pups and I are relaxing by a lovely fire (again).  There's been talk of a marshmallow or two in a bit.  Gotta finish posting, first.  I'd hate to get marshmallow goo all over the keyboard.  So, to sign off, I'll share our fire with you.  Can't you just feel the happy warmth radiating through the monitor?  :)

Cheers!  See you next month!