Reading Diary A for Week 12: More Celtic Fairy Tales

The unit I chose for this week is More Celtic Fairy Tales.  My favorite story is The Fate of the Children of Lir.  This was a three-part story in the weekly readings.

This story was quite different than all the previous stories I have read from the earlier weeks in this class.  I like how the story was written in regards to the chosen King wanting to keep peace with Lir even though Lir wanted to become King and was upset about not being chosen as the new King.  Instead of fighting and/or killing Lir, the new King chose to keep the peace with Lir by offering him one of his daughters to be his wife.

Lir had a happy life with many children born to them until his wife died after having his last child.  Both Lir and the new King were devastated by her death, but the Kind wanted Lir to have happiness again so he gave him another one of his daughters to marry.  They were all happy for a while, but then the story takes a dark turn with the new wife becoming jealous of Lir's children.

The new wife takes the children to a lake and casts a spell on them to turn them into swans for 500 years.  This is where the story starts to remind me of the story and movie called The Swan Princess.  An evil sorcerer turned her into a swan.  The new wife reminds me of the evil sorcerer and the children remind me of Odette, the Swan Princess.

Even though the story started out very happy, it ended in a very sad way with Lir's children never seeing their father again.  It wasn't until 500 years later when a man from the North married a woman from the South that the spell was broken.  After the spell was broken, the children turned back into humans, but they were no longer children anymore.  Lir's children were very old, fragile humans who ended up dying just a day or two later after the spell was broken.

I really enjoyed the story overall even though it had a very sad ending for everyone.  I tend to enjoy stories with a happy ending better though.  I probably would have preferred that the children be reunited with their father, but that is not the way the story was written.  Maybe I'll retell this story and put it as my next retelling of a story in my Portfolio.  I could change it to have a happier ending.

Lir's Children

Famous Last Words; Week 11

I have been MIA for a while.  Sorry for that, folks!  Between my husband having some medical issues (surgery), my own personal battle with a stomach bug and my teenager dealing with bleeding ulcers and anemia...I've been emotionally and physically tapped out.

We are all back on track now, so I am back to writing my blog posts again!  Yay, for me!  I've ben trying to play a little bit of catch up in all of my classes and this class is no exception.  This class is hard work, but I love it nonetheless.

After being away from posting for about 2 weeks, it was definitely hard to get back into he swing of things again, but I persevered.  I'm looking forward to getting everything done for this class this week and doing ALL of the extra credit.  Ambitious, I know, but most definitely doable!

As for my other classes...well, I had to drop a couple of them so I won't be graduating this May.  I'm a little bummed about that, BUT the feeling of being overwhelmed and stressed is gone and that makes me happy.  I will still graduate, but I'm going to take it at a much slower pace.  I'm planning on taking one class at a time, so I can concentrate on each one and get the best possible grade in each of them.  This will be the best scenario for me because...wait for it...we will be adopting a newborn in August.  Yes, we are crazy and crazy excited to be adopting my grandchild.  We have no idea if it's a boy or girl yet, so I'll probably update with that information later on in this course. (We're hoping it's a girl though!)

My kids will give me the extra energy to get through it.  Lord knows...they are full of energy!  Lol

Here's to another week FULL of writing and other assignments!  

Cheers!

I hope everyone had a Happy Easter yesterday!  My girls were able to color Easter eggs, visits with their grandparents and hunt Easter eggs!  It was a great day for them.  Since my kids were at the grandparents, my hubby and I got to spend the day relaxing at home with some much-needed peace and quiet.  It was a good day for us as well.  Lol

Personal photos of all 3 of my beautiful girls!

Storytelling for Week 11: The Man Who Lost His Wife

There once was a man and woman who lived in a small, provincial town where work was very scarce.  They did everything they could to put food on the table and clothes on their backs, but their effort was still not enough.  The couple was slowly starving to death.

One day, the husband decided to talk to his wife about leaving the town to find better work elsewhere.    He said, "Dear wife...we have very little food and no way to make a better life for ourselves.  I must leave this town to find better work."  

"My dearest husband, you must leave at once so that we might be saved from starving," she said.

So he began his journey that very afternoon with what little food they had left for the day in search of someone who would give him a job to support his faithful wife.  Her husband came upon a farmer who took in the man and gave him plenty of work and advise as well.  The farmer warned the man that when he finally returned home that unless his wife was truly faithful and loyal, the man might find that his life might be completely different than before.

After her husband had departed, the woman became very depressed but decided to continue plowing the fields and tending to her animals like she always had in the past.  After a few days had passed, a prince was on his way to see the king of the land.  His carriage had to pass through the area where the poor were tending the fields and animals.  The prince happened to glance out at the people and laid his eyes upon one very hard-working, beautiful woman.  He told the carriage driver to stop and he beckoned to the lonely, beautiful woman tending to the local animals and crops.

The prince said, "Oh most beautiful woman, why are you in the fields performing such harsh duties when you are as beautiful as you?  Why don't you come live with me and receive anything and everything your heart could ever wish or dream of?"  The woman was surprised and excited all at the same time because the prince had chosen to speak to her.

"I will come with you, my dear prince, and take you up on your offer," said the woman.  Even though she knew her husband was off working hard trying to provide a better life for them, she couldn't resist the charms and promises from the prince.  The prince lived up to his end of the bargain and gave the woman anything she asked of him.  She now had the life she had always wanted even though it was at the husband's expense.

The woman ended up marrying the prince and forgetting about the man who left to provide a better life for her.  When the man came back to surprise his wife with all that he had accomplished, he was shocked to see that his wife had left him and married another man.  He begged and pleaded with her to come back to him, but after a while his attempts fell upon deaf ears.  After the initial shock had worn off and numerous attempts of trying to win back her affections had failed, he realized that the farmer was telling him the truth when he warned him about his life possibly changing upon his return home.  The man could no longer take the rejection and fell sick from being heartbroken.  Less than a week later, the man died of a broken heart.

The End

Prince and the Beautiful Commoner

Author's Notes:  I retold the following story, The Tale of Ivan, from the Celtic Fairy Tales unit.  The story was about a husband and wife who were so poor that the husband decided to leave his home in search of work that could support his family better.  He did find work and after three years returned to his loving wife and they ended up living a very happy, blessed life.  While working abroad for those three years, the farmer that took him in gave him advice in place of wages, but that turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  Because he listened to the farmer's advice, he was blessed with riches and a wonderful life in the end.

I changed the story quite a lot.  I chose to focus my writing on the wife and what she did after her husband left in search of work.  In the original story, she was faithful and waited those three long years for her husband to return.  In my version, she fell for a prince and they ended up being together while her former husband was working elsewhere.  Also in the original version, there was a happy ending for the man and wife.  In my version, the man returns and find his wife living with another man, a prince, and has forgotten all about him.  He ends up dying in the end.

This story is part of the Celtic Fairy Tales (1) unit. Story source: Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1892).

Reading Diary B for Week 1: Celtic Fairy Tales

I chose to finish off the Celtic Fairy Tales unit and my favorite story was The Tale of Ivan.  This tale was a similar story to ones I've read in the past where the man goes on a journey to find better work, so that he can better support his family.  He does find work, but also learns quite a few life lessons as well.

As he is applying those life lessons on his way back to his wife, he learns a lot about the people around him and about himself too.  He holds steadfast to what he was informed to do and finally finds his way back to his wife, who is very happy to see him again.

This story also makes me think about my own life and how my husband would do anything he needed to support his family.  He also has very strong beliefs and morals and would have down exactly as the man in this story did on his way home.  The male character in this story reminds me a lot of my husband.  I can also relate to the wife character because I would have been loyal and waited for my husband to return like she did.  I have very high standards and morals as well.

I also like how the family was rewarded for their good deeds in the ending of the story.  The husband not only received his wages for the 3 years he worked for the farmer, but also was rewarded for doing exactly as he was advised to do.  He and his wife ended up living in a nice place and having money to support them.  It makes me think of the saying, "A good deed shall not go unrewarded".  I firmly believe that and try to do a good deed everyday at the minimum.  I love stories with a good moral and a happy ending. 

Ivan

Reagan Diary A for Week 11: Celtic Fairy Tales

I chose to read the Celtic Fairy Tales for my Reading Diary "A" submission and my favorite story was The Horned Women.

This was a story about a woman who was approached by twelve witches each with a different amount of horns on their foreheads.  They bewitched the woman and tried to get her to do their bidding for them.  As she was trying to perform some tasks for them, she heard a voice that told her to say and do certain things to make the witches go away.  She did as the voice had told her by putting feet water around the house, making a cake with blood from her family members and other things like that to save her family from the witches return.

When the witches returned, they weren't able to reenter her home because she had performed the tasks that the voice of the Spirit of the Well had told her to do.  The witches finally went away and left her family alone for over 500 years.  Her family kept the traditions alive so that their family would continue to be safe from the witches (horned woman).

I really admire the woman's tenacity and willingness to do whatever it took to save her family from the witches.  She was a mother of young children and good mothers will do anything in their power to protect their children.  She showed a great strength even though she was originally overcome by the witches spells in the beginning.  She believed that her family would be safe if she listened to the voice and did what it said.  Because of her actions, her family remained safe for many hundreds of years.

I can relate to how the character felt about her family because I would do anything I could to keep my family safe.  I think that is why I liked this story so much because I can see myself in this story's character.  We can all be fooled by false or bad people at times, but once we figure out they are trying to hurt people we love, then that's when the "momma bear" personality in me comes out.

The Horned Women

Commenting Review Week

STEP THREE: Write up a blog post where you share some thoughts about the commenting in the class so far. You can write about anything you want; the following are just some prompts to give you some ideas to think about as you write your post:

• Do you feel like you are making good connections with other students in the class at the blogs?

Yes, I think I am making good connections with the other students in the class.  I like how you put us in different groups sometimes, plus I like to choose people at random to comment on their posts.  I hope to eventually comment on at least one post from each student int he class.

• What kinds of interactions do you think are most helpful in creating good connections online in a class like this?

I definitely think that having us comment on other students Introductions has helped us get to know each other better.  Also, commenting on other student's writings has helped me get to know other students personalities better.

• What kinds of comments have been most useful to you so far on your blog posts?

To me, both the constructive criticism comments, plus the positive affirmations have been extremely helpful to me.  Sometimes I need to know what's wrong with my story and other times I need that pat not he back & "good job" comment to help keep me going.

• If you have received Project comments, have those been useful so far? (Not everyone has gotten Project comments yet.)

Yes, one person helped me with grammatical errors and some sentence structure issues, while others told me they were inspired by my story and they remained engaged in my story because of the way I write it.

• When you are leaving a short comment, what do you usually focus on?

I try to focus on the positive parts of their posts like keeping me engaged in their story, the way they write their character dialogue, and overall storytelling techniques.

• When you are leaving a long comment on a Project, what is your focus?

My focus is both positive affirmations, plus constructive criticism on grammar, sentence structure and paragraph lengths.  

• What is the easiest part for you about writing comments? What is the hardest part?

The easiest part is to write what is good about a story.  The hardest part is writing the constructive criticisms without sounding judgmental or snooty.

• Do you do a lot of commenting on other students' work in your other classes? Is your major one in which peer comments are generally an important part of the classes you take?

Writing comments on other students work has never been a part of my college experience so far.  The only times I have ever had to make suggestions before was when I attended University of Phoenix and we did A LOT of group work.

• How do you make use of comments when you revise your writing?

I read each comment and make the adjustments to my story.  I try to incorporate everyone's suggestions into my writing.

• Are there comments people have given you about your writing that have really made a difference for you in your writing overall?

Yes, one student commented that they would like to see more character dialogue in my stories.  I plan to incorporate that into my next story.  The sentence structure & paragraph comments have been helpful too.

• Do you have any suggestions for improving the commenting component of this class? 

I really can't think of anything to make it better at the moment.

Inspirational Quote

Writing Review Week

STEP THREE: Write up a blog post where you share some thoughts about the writing in the class so far. You can write about anything you want; the following are just some prompts to give you some ideas to think about as you write your post:

• What have been your greatest writing successes in the class so far this semester?

I think my most successful writing successes have been my storytelling assignments: Pat-A-Cake, Christine the Faithful and The Psychic and the Leopard.  I'm including this picture from my Pat-A-Cake story because it has been my most favorite story to write so far.  The story was inspired by my daughter, Mary, and her desire to bake all the time.

(Image information: Pat-a-Cake by Mary Brigid Barrett and Illustrated by LeUyen Pham)

• What writing goals do you have for yourself in the second half of the semester?

My writing goals are to complete more of the Reading Diary Assignments and spend more time on my Storytelling Assignments.

• As you look at your Storytelling posts, what do you think are some good strategies for coming up with good stories?

The best strategy for me is to use some ideas from my own life.  I always seem to write better when I have a personal connection to the story.

• Have you been able to get some good writing ideas from looking at the writing other students are doing?

I have been able to get some good writing ideas from other students, especially Stoffel, Allison, and Bria. They use a lot of actual character dialogue in their stories and I haven't quite perfected that technique yet.  I plan to use their techniques in the future.  I'm in no way saying that I'm not influences by the other students int he class.  I'm just saying that those students have made the biggest impression on me and my writing so far.

• Is the feedback you are getting from me and from other students helping you to improve your writing?

Yes, the feedback has been quite helpful in revising my stories.  They notice my grammatical and sentence structure errors when I don't.  I have also used suggestions about creating smaller paragraphs and will be adding character dialogue in my stories in the future.

• What kind of feedback is most helpful for you in your writing?

Any kind of constructive criticism is helpful to me.  I'm not a writer and I know it.  Any comment makes me into a better writer.

• Have you learned anything useful about yourself as a writer, about the writing process, about writing techniques, etc. from your work in this class so far?

Yes, I have learned that although I have more years under my belt in college than almost everyone else in this class, I am no where near as good a writer as some of the younger students in this class.  I'm learning a lot from everyone else in this class including the instructor.  

• What do you feel are the biggest challenges you face as a writer? What do you think could be most helpful to you in facing those challenges?

My biggest challenge I face as a writer is my own mind.  I tend to tell myself that I don't write well or I don't know how to put a creative spin on a story.  Sometimes I over-analyze myself and my ability to write.  The thing that has been the most helpful is seeing all the positive comments on the stories I have written already.  That helps a great deal.

• What do you find most inspiring as a writer? What do you find most rewarding? 

The most inspiring things to me are reading other people's stories and incorporating their writing styles into my own writing.  When I do incorporate other student's writing styles into my own, I get a lot more positive feedback.  That is definitely a huge reward for me.