Un, Deux, Trois... Moi

A very long time ago, Lady Coveted tagged me with a "1, 2, 3" request. Since then, I've been slack with my getting to it! Of course, right now I'm using my Kindle, so I don't really have page numbers. Although I did pull out the Simplify Your Christmas book for it's annual pre-seasonal review - but that would be awfully boring (I have issues with doing too much and getting stressed out during the holidays).

Instead I'll use the book that's been sitting on my nightstand for months waiting for me to finish it - Antonia Fraser's Marie Antoinette biography.

Sadly, I have the cover with Kirstin Dunst on it rather than the lovely portrait of Marie. I hate when they do that to books when a movie comes out. I'm not buying the book because of the movie - ick!

Anyhow, what I am supposed to do is this -

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.

Okay -

1. Book has been lifted!

2. Page is open!

3. The pages starts out describing reports of Marie's beauty around the time of her coming to the throne following Louis XV death and how, even though folks could have been exaggerating since she was royalty, given the large number of reports, her beauty cannot be disputed.

4. The words:

The result was a plethora of comparisons to goddesses and nymphs - much as had been made on her wedding journey, the difference being that Marie Antoinette was now a visible woman, rather than an unknown girl. Madam Campan compared her to the classical statues in the royal gardens, for example, the Atalanta at Marly. There was the story of the twelve-year-old boy, educated in the classics, who flung himself at the Queen's feet at court, seeing in her the embodiment of "all my father's goddesses."

Poor pretty Marie. She tried very hard but was trapped by the circumstances of her family, her husband and her times. I think she tried to cope with a bad situation and wasn't as frivolous as she's been made out to be.

What I like best about the period is seeing how a culture, reaching it's pinnacle of excess, falls in to decay. Like the fading bloom from a rose. The materials and detailing and fabrics are amazing... and inspirational.

I'm bad about giving out tags, if you're interested, let me know.

Now, I should go finish this book so I can put it on the bookshelf!

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

Tags by Ti.mo

I've been a bit slow on the uptake on getting this done. Miss Katie at Breaking Curfew tagged me to tell six habits or quirks about myself that, I'm assuming, no one knows. Since you already know I'm a big city girl who now has three chickens, I'm sure everything else will less odd in comparison, but here we go:

1. My minor in college was Early British Literature. That means I read Beowulf, the Mabinogian and Sir Gawain and The Green Knight... for fun. I also "collect" stories about the Arthur legend and fairy tales.


2. I grew up in South Florida and volunteered at Miami MetroZoo for over five years. Consequently I'm not afraid of any bug, spider, snake or animal and have been bitten or scratched by everything from parrots to wolves to hedgehogs. Heck, I've rescued and relocated coral snakes from my front yard. Plus I don't mind getting messy when it comes to taking care of an animal.


3. I'm a not-so-closet geek. I was doing science fair competitions and reading fantasy/sci-fi in high school, not cheerleading or reading fashion mags. And I still want that darn Kindle!


4. I love really esoteric Victorian silver serving pieces like baked potato and lettuce forks. They come in handy when we have a tea party.


5. We don't watch a lot of TV, especially not reality TV but we'll have movies on all day long. Althought we thought this show was high-larious!


6. I don't like sugary candies but I love to bake and love love love dark chocolate, especially the Black Pearl and Naga truffles from Vosges, Scharffen Berger 77% (even though they sold out to Hershey's - blech!) and the Godiva Key Lime truffle.
   

So there you go! Interesting, who knows. I'm not the greatest on giving out tags, so I'll take a cue from Miss Wendy B. - if you want a tag, just let me know!