Craft

I love Craft and here is a great blog which I saw when I was blog skimming, which features some great projects to make.

http://cornerstonelae.blogspot.co.uk/?expref=next-blog

Here is another one:

http://luvtostamp.blogspot.co.uk/?expref=next-blog

Near and Far

This is a challenge set by my teacher to make me think about perspective.

The thing I am writing about is going to be a secret and you have to try and guess what it is.

?????: To close for comfort

Cracks and marks

Ovals, spirals and swirls

Many years hard work

Pen marks and pain

Unmoveable strength and loyalty

Tears and time

Eyes watch from every surface

Reddish brown and varnished to a finish

Dents, dashes and who knows what

Every centimetre battered

Seen it all

Keeps just sitting there forever more

I will write that in a easier way to understand now. 

All over it are cracks, dents and bruises. It holds secrets and valuable items. It has lived through an awful  lot, but is strong enough to still be here today.

????: I can't quite catch a glimpse of that.

This is still about the same thing.

Its big

Bigger than a pig

Piggy not at all

All is what it sees

Sees through brown eyes

Eyes and swirls are what it has

Has many dents

Dents and dashes

Dashes are also on a screen

Screen rests on it

It is what I am looking at now

Now I am touching it

It holds what I am using

What is it???

This is a clue:

Highlight it to read it.

To work out what it is look at the first letter on each line of the first poem.

I hope you like them. They are more of puzzles than descriptions and are quite hard, sorry about that.

Deadra xxxx

Reading Diary 27/05/2012

I am getting really bad at publishing these, although I have had a lot of homework.

I have read some more books by Jeremy Strong in the past few days, and to tell you the truth they can't have been that good because I can barely remember what they were.

After racking my memory I have come up with these:

My Mum's going to explode
My brothers famous bottom
My brothers famous bottom got pinched

And another book by Jeremy Strong which I cannot remember the name of to save my life, although I know it had something to do with Christmas puddings.

I started reading Lament again yesterday because I am in love with it and all the books by Maggie Stiefvater. After not reading any books by her for more than a week I began to get withdrawal symptoms and had to read them again. That reminds me, I must order the rest of the Shiver series from the library.

Sorry that you have to read all my ramblings about nothing imparticular.

Deadra xxxxx

Reading Diary 21/05/2012

I have now finished 
Private Peaceful
By Michael Morpurgo

It was sad at the end as I expected, but not as sad as I thought it would be. If I was to make one improvement, I would really like to find out more about Molly and Tommo Jr. and what happened to them. Maybe Michael should write a sequel as it is a great book and, like all great books, they can always be continued. 


I then read 
My Granny's Great Escape
By Jeremy Strong

Here is the blurb:


'Do you think I should ask him out, Nicholas, or is that a bit forward?' 
'Granny!'
We all stared at her. dad had to sit down.


Nicholas's granny has fallen in love - with the elderly Hell's Angel next door! Yurrrgghhh. Nicholas's dad isn't happy about it - but Granny won't let him get his way. She has a few tricks up her sleeve...and Granny on a motorbike could be a very dangerous thing...


I read this because I wanted a quick read which was easy and relaxing. I love Jeremy Strong's books because they always make me laugh!


After this I read
My Dad's got an Alligator
Also by Jeremy Strong

Here is a blurb I found on the internet, but it is different to the blurb on the back of my book:


Nicholas is used to his loopy father's antics. But it looks like dad has finally flipped when he brings an alligator home to be the family pet - with Crunchbag around there is never a dull moment. This riotous reptile is soon eating the Sunday lunch, in mum's bath, in the neighbours' pond, on the roof rack, and on the loose...


I read this for the same reason as the above.


Thanks for bothering to look at this, I really am grateful.


Deadra xxxxx

Reading Diary 20/05/2012

Today I finished reading Cathy Cassidy's 
Marshmallow Skye

I really like this book and am pleased that everything ends on a good note.


The only annoying thing is that the next book in the series is not out yet, so I am looking at a long and agonising wait.


However, the next book
Summer Dream
looks really good and I have managed to find out some information about it. Here is the blurb:

Summer has always dreamed of dancing, and when a place at ballet school comes up, she wants it so badly it hurts.

Middle school ends and the holidays begin, but unlike her sisters, Summer has no time for lazy days and sunny beach parties. The audition becomes her obsession, and things start spiralling out of control . . .

I am really looking forward to this and finding out more about the Tanberry girls and what happens to Summer. If anyone sees this in the shops please let me know as I really want to read it. Here is a picture of it.

Well the cover certainly looks good and I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover but just this once I think I will, for now.

I then read

The Truth About Celia Frost

by Paula Rawstone

Here is the blurb:

Celia Frost is a freak. 

At least that is what everyone thinks. Her life is ruled by a rare disorder that means that she could bleed to death from the slightest cut, confining her to a gloomy bubble of "safety". No friends. No fun. No life.

But when a knife attack on Celia has unexpected consequences, her mum reacts strangely - and suddenly they're on the run. Why is her mum so scared? Someone out there knows. And when they find Celia, she's going to wish the truth was a lie...

I read this book in record time because it was such a page turner, I would recommend it to all readers as it is a spine gripping, thrilling novel. I am so pleased I decided to pick it up from the library! 

Here is a picture of the front cover:

I then started

Private Peaceful

by Michael Morpurgo.

Here is the blurb:

As the enemy lurks in the darkness, Thomas struggles to stay awake through the night. He has lived through the terror of gas attacks and watched friends die by his side. But in the morning, Thomas will be forced to confront an even greater horror. As the minutes tick by, Thomas remembers his childhood spent deep in the countryside with his mother, his brothers, and Molly, the love of his life. But each minute that passes brings Thomas closer to something he can't bear to to think about--the moment when the war and its horrific consequences will change his life forever.

I am halfway through it and to tell you the truth I would much rather be curled up reading it than on here writing this. It is a great book, but that is what is expected of Michael Morpurgo. The book has everything a good book has, excitement, tension, fear, sadness, pain, happiness, longing and of course romance. I am gripped by the tales Tommo tells and the way Michael writes shows the story through his eyes. I love it and would recommend it any day. I must admit I am quite scared to see how it will end, as I have no clue what will happen, only a feeling that it won't be good. 

Here is a picture of the front cover:

Thank you for reading my rambles and I will be back when I have finished it to tell you what I thought about the end.

Deadra 

Reading Diary 19/05/2012

Today read I Cathy Cassidy's 
Cherry Crush.
I finished it and really enjoyed it. It was a book that I have read before but I love revisiting books I have already read and enjoyed, especially when parts of it become more and more shadowy in your mind as you forget.


Here the blurb:

Cherry Costello's life is about to change forever. She and Dad are moving to Somerset where a new mum and a bunch of brand-new sisters await. And on Cherry's first day there she meets Shay Fletcher - the kind of boy who should carry a government health warning. But Shay already has a girlfriend, Cherry's new stepsister, Honey. Cherry knows her friendship with Shay is dangerous - it could destroy everything. But that doesn't mean she's going to stay away from him...

Cathy Cassidy wrote her first picture book for her little brother when she was eight or nine and has been writing fabulous stories ever since.

Cathy is the bestselling author of Dizzy, Driftwood, Indigo Blue, Scarlett, Sundae Girl, Lucky Star, Gingersnaps and Angel Cake. The Chocolate Box Girls is a sumptuous series starring sassy sisters, super-cool boys and one of Cathy’s biggest loves – chocolate.

Cathy lives in Scotland with her family and of all the jobs she’s had, writing has to be the best - it's the perfect excuse to daydream, after all!

I really liked it!!!!

I also started reading the second book in the Chocolate Box girls series:

Marshmallow Skye

This was again a book I have already read but seeing as I had just read the first book, I knew I would have to read the second book.

Here is the blurb:

SKYE TANBERRY is an identical twin, and she loves her sister Summer more than anyone else in the world. They do everything together, but lately Skye's been feeling like second-best - it's the story of her life. And when her friend Marley confesses he's fallen for Summer, she pretends it doesn't hurt.

Skye wants to be her own person; but with an effortlessly cool twin, how can she?

Will Skye ever step out of Summer's shadow and find her own chance to shine?

However, I did not finish it today...

Impossible Questions ( But does that mean impossible answers?)

I have attempted to answer some inpossible questions, here are my answers.

What is the sound of silence?



The sound of silence is a pin drop, and the sound spreads and fades like ripples on a pond.



           It is the sound of a feather dancing in the wind.

Its tears dripping off a face, or the happiest smile.

The end of the world, or a new beginning.

The pain when your daddy hits you, the grief when your mother dies. The love when your baby is born, and the joy and the love in your eyes.



What shape is Infinity?

Infinity is a great wall, which you can see going off into the horizon. It goes the whole way round the world in a straight line and in the end it makes a circle. However, it is identical the whole way round. A mirror, jigsaw, puzzle. Its a circle which works any way up and down, round and round, in and out. Infinity is infinite and infinately is in the shape of the one thing on the planet that everyone has, must have or will die. It's in the shape of love and grief and pain and happiness and is unique to everyone and belongs to no-one apart from us all.
What colour is fear?

I have only one way to answer that and that is: what are you scared of?

Fiction in a Flash: Stuck

Here is my attempt at writing a Flash Story in less than 100 words. Here goes:

She was alone in a room. And locked in. She scanned the room, all she could see was a piano. That was all she needed, she unlocked the door with the keys and walked out. Into another room. She took the feather out her hat, pricked her finger and made it sore, then used the saw to cut the feather in half. Of course 2 halves make a hole. She slipped through the hole and came to a blue paint pot and a wind turbine. She used to blue and blew wind turbine, which blew her away to safety.


That was in 99 words and it is based on a riddle my brother told me about.

I am proud of that.

☺☻☺☻☺☻

If you don't understand the end this is it. She comes into a room with a wind turbine and a blue pot of paint. She uses the blue in the paint to blow the turbine which blows her away to safety. It is quite confusing. Sorry. It is a homophone of blue and blew.

Kindle V Book

I don't have a Kindle and I can truthfully say that I don't want one and have no intention of getting one. I think that they take the books out of reading and although they are practical, I wouldn't want to read without the feel of a book in my hand. What about turning the page? What about all the cool bookmarks you can get? Personally, I think that books beat kindle's any day.

What about you???

Only the good read young

The first books I remember reading by myself are 'The Magic Key' with Biff, Chip and Kipper and ' Mr Men and Little Miss'. However, I know that I used to be so excited when it came to story time. Some of my favourite stories where (and still are) 'Guess how much I love you' and 'Up to the skies and down again' (hence the title).

Although I am way too old for these, I often have a 'reading moment' and pull them all out again.

My Mum told me that she started reading to me when I was 2 weeks old and a lot of people laughed but I've always loved reading so maybe they shouldn't have.

In Infant school I was obsessed with horses and animals, and read all of Lucy Daniels' books in a frenzy. I also read 'Sheltie the Shetland Pony' and with my friend we used to take it in turns to play a game at break. I always wanted to play Sheltie and she always wanted to play Cops and Robbers.

In fact, the book Cops and Robbers, by Janet and Allen Alburg was always a favourite too. My brother and I had it memorised before he was even at school.

When I got into year 3, we had to write a set of rules about coming into the classroom. The teacher said we had to be bossy, and trust me, I had absolutely no problem with that. We then wrote a Halloween poem and I was so proud of a story I wrote about a man who went out in the middle of the night and found a horse, which he rescued. Another thing I remember is we wrote a Greek myth of our own and I had a competition with a boy about who could write the most. I won with 21 pages to 17 pages!!!

From then on I have always enjoyed writing, but that is what i best remember from my writing experiences.

At the moment, favourite books are by Maggie Stiefvater:

Shiver, Lament and Ballad.

I have got Ballad which I am just about to read and I would recommend theses books to anyone.

I also love Malorie Blackman's books:

The Nought's and Crosses Series