Emily English's Blog, page 4
October 20, 2019
Reminiscing Skye
October 2019 marks three years since Mark and I visited the Isle of Skye in Scotland. Without a doubt, it’s the most magical, ethereal place I have ever visited, and I can’t wait to go back.
Three years ago, I had to go on a work trip to Germany. I’d never been, and I was excited to visit, but at the same time my head was swimming with the possibility of visiting other countries in Europe I hadn’t yet seen. I had studied abroad in London, but that was 1995, and things change. Mark had don...
October 11, 2019
4 Reasons You Should Throw an Axe
Post-axe throwing grins, all limbs intact!
A few weeks ago, Mark and I went out with our very lovely friends Bri and Ken. Per usual, our evening was filled with much hilarity. We started our night at the back bar at Patsy’s. (I’m going to take a moment here to point out that we LOVE the Great American Restaurants. If you want consistently good food and the best customer service, you cannot go wrong with any of their restaurants.) We eat, drink, recount completely inappropriate stories, pract...
September 12, 2019
9 Reasons to Attend the Virginia Scottish Games and Festival
The Virginia Scottish Games and Festival held in The Plains, Virginia during Labor Day weekend have been going on since 1974 in celebration of Alexandria’s Scottish heritage. It moved out to Fauquier County in 2007 and expanded to celebrate all of the Commonwealth’s Scottish heritage.
When we realized it existed in 2018, we made plans to attend straightaway, and we returned again this year because it’s such a good time. If you haven’t gone yet, go ahead and plan for next year. If you’re stil...
August 1, 2019
Hair We Are
I do not know how to style my hair. I shower at night before bed (I hate going to bed feeling dirty, and I hate waking up early). I towel dry, comb, then go to bed. In the morning, I brush out the tangles, gather my hair and twist it into a folded(?) sloppy mess tied into a scrunchy at the base of my head. Throughout the day, I’ll release the “bun” because I get a headache when it’s pulled back for a long time. Then, at some point, I’ll tie it back again because it’s a mess that gets all over...
July 10, 2019
Summer Camp 2019
We live in the Washington, DC area, and summer camp is pricy. I don’t fault anyone for this, nor am I angry about it. If you want to send your children to a place where you can trust the people watching them, then that kind of peace of mind is worth the money. Additionally, it’s not easy to watch children. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: teachers deserve more pay and more respect.
We did two weeks of full-day camps and one week of a half-day camp last year (that’s 3 weeks out of a...
June 6, 2019
The Water Beneath You
I can’t write while listening to music.
Actually, I can’t write while listening to music with lyrics. I can have classical, swing, jazz, world beats, or techno playing in the background, but if someone starts singing words, my mind gets distracted. I find this a little strange as I used to do homework in front of the tv growing up, and that wasn’t only an audible distraction, but a visual one as well. Maybe it’s a side-effect of growing older.
Music Growing UpMy dad was in the US Navy Band, so...
May 2, 2019
Book Review: The Corgi Chronicles
The Corgi Chronicles by Laura Madsen is a charming children’s chapter book which tells the story of Pippin, a Corgi who lives somewhere in or around Montana (I think…). Pippin leads a double life: part time domesticated, tv-watching doggo and part time fairy steed.
When we aren’t looking, our dog Pippa is reading the adventures of Pippin.
That’s right. The fluffy-butt Corgi make perfect transportation for fairies. According to Welsh mythology, the Corgwyn have been used by the Fay to pull c...
April 16, 2019
Book Review: The Night Circus
I loved The Night Circus.
Sometimes, I judge a book by its cover, and this cover is lovely!
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern has been on my TBR list for a long time, and I finally got around to reading it last month. It’s a story that takes place in the Victorian era, and it’s about two schools of magic: one based on natural gifts for physical manipulation, the other based on years of study of ancient practices—charms and spells and such. These two schools of thought, each led by its mas...
February 26, 2019
Character Names in Uniting the Heavens
I answered a question on Goodreads a few months ago, and I figured I’d share it here as well for those of you who don’t use Goodreads. The question was: How do you decide the names of your characters?
I love names, and I've always been intrigued by meanings behind names, as well as their origins. It's fun to learn how parents name their children—do they blindly pick a name out of a book? Is there a family name that just gets passed on? Do they name their kid after a person? A place? A specific...
January 20, 2019
FaerieCon East 2018 in the Books!
Mark and I still haven’t fully recovered from FaerieCon. It’s taken me this long to fully reflect on the experience in order to properly write about it, and between the day job and life in general, catching up and getting myself more organized and on a schedule are some of the things I plan to do better in the new year. But more on that next time…
FaerieCon East was an amazing event—three days packed with magic, music, heart, story, and so much creativity! For those who don’t know anything a...
