Western Week!!!

I haven't watched a lot of westerns. Wait-- that's a lie, yes I have. When you have three younger brothers, a passel of redneck cousins, and a dad who grew up watching that kind of stuff, you better know who John Wayne is! Westerns are second only to The Andy Griffith Show in our home.

I've always wanted to talk about this show on my blog, and I thought  Western Week would be a great time to do it. (Click the link to participate-- it's not too late to join!) I've never really done anything like this before, but I'm giving it my best shot. So, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you my post!

Despite my upbringing, the only western I ever really obsessed over is Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman. It's a several-seasons-long TV series about a female doctor in Colorado just after the Civil War. She arrives in Colorado almost by mistake: the town put out an advertisement for a doctor, and was expecting a man. When Michaela Quinn (Jane Seymour) showed up in town, everyone was shocked-- they were expecting a Dr. Michael A. Quinn, not a woman! At first the townspeople are wary of her, but they soon learn to trust and even admire her.

Dr. Mike (Michaela) is one of my all-time favorite characters television-wise. She is strong and persistent, while still being feminine, and also motherly to her adopted children. She is skilled in the medical field and saves the lives of most of the cast at least once throughout the six seasons. :)

 

This is a really great show if you like action. Something exciting and usually life-threatening happens in just about every episode. It's full of cowboys and Indians and outlaws, as well as a little romance. While it isn't a Christian show, it does have a lot of good morals and almost all episodes are appropriate for the whole family.  If you're watching from the DVD sets, most versions have a pretty detailed summary before each episode, so you know what's happening.

 

Overall, I give Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman four and a half stars.

I wish I could go more in-depth on this, and maybe talk (or obsess) about Sully, Colleen, Brian, or....  But I have to go help make food for our church's annual picnic tomorrow, so I'm out of time. I'll post tomorrow or Monday with pictures from the picnic.

 

Until then!

 

--Rebecca

 

DIY: Shabby Chic Rag Banner

Good morning all! Today I have decided to show you a craft I love making.

 

 

 

These rag garlands are really cute.  You can hang them over windows or use them as banners at parties.  You can change out the fabrics, too, for the change of season or a redecorating.

You'll need:

• Some type of string. It could be twine or yarn or a shoelace, depending on the design you have in mind.

• Scissors

• Fabric (Mine came with a kit for making these.  I'll put the link here as soon as I can remember the name-- I threw away the paper thing.)

 

 

1. Cut the fabric into strips. Mine were about an inch wide and a foot long, but you don't have to be exact.

 

2. Fold one strip in half, then lay the string on top of it.

 

 

 

3. Bring the ends of the string through the loop at the top and pull it into a knot around the string.

 

 

 

4. Continue tying strips of fabric until the banner is the desired length.

 

 

  I love how flexible this craft is.  You could use ribbons instead of fabric.  You could get a pattern going or just attach them at random.  You could make a fancy one and give it as a gift. You could even country-fy it by using twine with camouflage fabric. :)

 

 I promise I'll do a writing post again soon! :D

Reviewing My Latest Obsession: Christy

Usually when I haven't posted in a while it's because I'm really busy.  But this time it's been my latest media obsession:  Christy. My mom checked it out from the library once and said "Hey, thought you'd like this."  I don't think she was quite prepared for the full-on obsession that followed, though by now she ought to be used to it. :)

 

 

If you have ever heard of the author Catherine Marshall, then you've probably read her most famous book, titled simply, Christy. It's the story of a young woman teaching school as a missionary in rural Tennessee around 1912.  If you enjoy the Little House on the Prairie books, you would like Christy. And my period drama girls, I think you would love this.

 

The book was an immense success.  Soon there was a TV series with the same name.  It's one of the few series aired on television with God as the center of every episode. The original TV show starred Kellie Martin (Christy), Tyne Daly (Miss Alice), Randall Batkinoff (David Grantland), and Stewart Finlay-McLennan (Dr. MacNeill).

 

The Pilot episode stuck to the book practically word-for-word. The rest of the original episodes were loosely-based around the book, and never contradicted it. (The director deserves a HUGE thank you for that!) It's family-friendly, full of action, and funny. Also, as I said before, it's pretty God-centered.

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, there are only two short seasons, and the series ends on a cliffhanger.

Luckily for me (who was panicking:  "Nonononono! No! NO! You can't just do that!") there are three made-for-television movies that finish it up. Christy:  Return to Cutter Gap; Christy:  A Change of Seasons; Christy:  A New Beginning. Only five of the original actors returned for these movies-- Opal and Tom McHone, Dr. MacNeill, Jeb Spencer, and Birds-eye Taylor. There was a new Christy and a new David and a new Miss Alice, which just didn't work for me.

This was probably the biggest mistake in these movies:  poor casting. Many of the new people aren't quite believable as their characters.  For the most part it's no fault of their own, they just don't look the part.

The other reason I didn't enjoy these as much was because they didn't stick to the plot. *SPOILER ALERT* Yes, dreadful Lundy dies like in the book, yes, Fairlight's death causes Christy to question her faith, yes Christy ends up with the same guy as in the book (I won't tell you who).  Other than that the storyline was hardly recognizable.

It also left several unanswered questions. What happened to Margaret? What about Daniel Scott?

 

It was, though, God-centered, full of action, and humorous, so I give it points for that.

 

So, in summary:

+The book was lovely; it was great literature.
+The original TV series was equally awesome.
+The three made-for-television movies that came afterward... not so great.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go find a new obsession....

Hey

I've been reading a lot. And trying to take better pictures.  And gardening. And cleaning. And we went to the Outer Banks last week for our annual family reunion. We had 51 people there this year, and it's amazing that we're all so close.

Yeah, it's been a good, quiet summer so far.

 

 

On our way to the Outer Banks, we stopped by the Green Valley book fair.  They have loads of books in this huge warehouse.  You can't beat their prices.  My family stops there every year.  So if you're ever in Harrisonburg, VA, you should swing by. I had a great time in there, as you can see below. :)

I'll be posting several times a week now, starting tomorrow.  I hope I'll be able to keep that up once school starts next month, too.

 

 

--xoxo Rebecca Jane