The Solitary Reaper by William Wordsworth

BEHOLD her, single in the field,
Yon solitary Highland Lass!
Reaping and singing by herself;
Stop here, or gently pass!
Alone she cuts and binds the grain,	5
And sings a melancholy strain;
O listen! for the Vale profound
Is overflowing with the sound.
No Nightingale did ever chaunt
More welcome notes to weary bands	10
Of travellers in some shady haunt,
Among Arabian sands:
A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard
In spring-time from the Cuckoo-bird,
Breaking the silence of the seas	15
Among the farthest Hebrides.
Will no one tell me what she sings?—
Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow
For old, unhappy, far-off things,
And battles long ago:	20
Or is it some more humble lay,
Familiar matter of to-day?
Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain,
That has been, and may be again?
Whate'er the theme, the Maiden sang	25
As if her song could have no ending;
I saw her singing at her work,
And o'er the sickle bending;—
I listen'd, motionless and still;
And, as I mounted up the hill,	30
The music in my heart I bore,
Long after it was heard no more.

Waking up

This morning I woke up feeling like I really needed to listen to my Scottish folk songs. So I played "My love is like a red, red rose," and I felt like it was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard until the next song played: "Highland widow's lament." All of my Scottish folk songs are just beautiful though! While I haven't forgotten my folk songs, I haven't listened to them for a while either. I'm not sure what made me want to listen to them this morning except for this weird feeling that I reserve especially for things Scottish, its a nice feeling, similar to the feeling of a sunny day.

So now here I am looking up the highland games for the summer, and wondering how I could get a new iTunes gift card after work (or as quickly as possible) so I can expand my folk song playlist. Vacation isn't vacation without a nice highland games, and music would tied me over. I liked the Glasgow lands festival last year, but I'd like to go to a new one. Too bad for me, I can't go to the one on July 5th, so the Highland games in Maine sound good to me.

What I really want to go to the highland games for is a nice Robert Burns poetry book. I almost got one at the Glasgow lands but my mother talked me out of it. I don't want to order one online or anything. because the book covers you get nowadays seem too shallow/not right feeling for how much the book will mean to me. I also want thistle earrings, but that's not as important.

Anyway, its been a while, but I'm back!

--JSparrow

Crocheting a tartan blanket

Hi!!
I haven't been on for a while, but I promise I haven't given up on this blog! I've been in college, and my friend and I have been thinking about studying abroad. It would be wonderful to go to Scotland, but I think my friend wants to go to Ireland. Either way, it would be amazing to get out of the country. Its funny, because for Christmas my mom got me a passport case, except I don't have a passport! Even funnier, the passport case says "not that I ever go anywhere," which is something I would say.

For Christmas my mom made my family members crocheted tartan blankets. What she did is crochet a grid of colors, then she made chains and weaved the chains in the grid. It came out really cool! I helped her make some of it! I weaved for hours, hoping that I could get them all done in time, but there are just too many people in my family! In the end we got three done, one for each of my aunts. She is still doing another for my uncle, even though its after Christmas. The rest of my Uncles will have to wait, if they get one at all.

We were at a fabric store the other day, and we say the Gordon Tartan fabric. My mom bought some, she says she is going to make pillow cases out of them, which I think is an amazing idea.

In other news, when my mom and I were at the glasglow lands festival, we got these two ornaments for the tree. One is a bagpiper, the other is a highland dancer. I woke up on Christmas to discover a third ornament next to them, full of walker's shortbread cookies. My mom laughed and said "Santa brought them a little treat."

My sister got me a scarf made it Scotland, and a bunch of "what does the fox say?" stuff.

I'll probably write more later today, but for now I am watching a new Korean Drama called "Heirs."
If I'm being honest, I don't think I really understand what is going on in the drama this time, but I still love it!

---JSparrow