The competition is off and running! Nice to see lots of activity again.

Slightly belated wishes for a Happy Canada Day for johobbit, Nellie of Narnia, Valiant_Lucy, Alyosha, and all our Canadian members!

The weather has actually dried out a bit here, without the heat and humidity of summer (those will return this weekend). So camping - or at least getting outside for a while before winter returns - sounds like a plan.

I tried that today - campfire, cookout, and stargazing at a nearby park - and it was all very nice except for the clouds of flying vampires. (It doesn't help that twilight doesn't end until after 11 pm and the park closes for day users at 10 pm, so all I saw was Venus, Saturn, and the brighter stars).

Popsicles, Mel? Strawberry or cherry perhaps?

Time to go post some more for the competition!

Oh gracious, I have not been in here for far too long! How are you doing, all ye SquareOnions?

*waves HI to Winter, Bartholmew, wolfy (more to say to you in a bit, this being your special day and all ), stargazer, Twigs, Mel-y-poo, Valia, The Gentle Warrior, Varna, Ryadian (nice to see you here again, girl! And a huge congarats on your graduation from university!!!), Bella (who I had the utter privilege of meeting and visiting with twice in a week in June!), and coracle (my dear hobbit cuz who I have finally met!).

Wow, Mel, thanks for linking to that utterly beautiful and poignant "Lady of Shallott" video. Very beautifully portrayed. However, and I think I mentioned this ages ago, I never can help but think of Anne Shirley and her experience acting out the Lady's tragic tale.

And it's so nice how usual worries of shyness never come to fruition: one feels so natural and comfortable in front of Nwers. At least that's how it's been for me, the few times I've been able to meet them.

You folk here have described the Moot and meeting of NarniaWebbers so well and 'tis cool it seems to be rather common that instead of there being awkward silences during first meetings, rather those turn out to be exceptionally positive experiences: real life forum interaction. I can't begin to tell you how special it was to spend time with Bella and her family! And to meet Auntie!

I love sitting and listening to people.

And we love you!

Thanks for the Canada Day wishes, stargazer! It's over for another year. I worked in the garden much of the day. Love doing that!

Glad you got to do a bit of stargazing last night. Yes, I miss those autumn nights when twilight is so much earlier. And what stargazing memories we have from this Moot. I will never forget the unexpected surprise of that meteor!

Popsicles, Mel? Oooh. Raspberry or orange would be my choice. ♥

I had never heard of Mafia before. Maybe it hasn't crossed the border yet. I was weary that first Mafia night, so didn't play, but was very intrigued by the ... intrigue of the game. Next Moot I hope to participate!

Well, a day in advance, a wonderful July 4th/Independence Day to all my dear States' friends. You guys are all so special.

Pardons, I snitched a piece.

And, wolfloversk, wishing a wonderful birthday to our dear wolf!

Top of the mortereve to all of you!

Home-made popsicles, Mel? That sounds delicious! I would ditto stargazer's suggestion, and add "blueberry". (My favorite flavor is blue raspberry, but I imagine you don't have those. )

Hello, Jo! A belated Happy Canada Day!, and thank you for the yummy looking treats! My sister has actually made a cake that looks like that in the past; I hope she plans to again this year! For now, I'll indulge in the virtual kind. *Gets a slice with plenty of strawberries*

And, for the first time in recent memory, I don't work on the 4th of July, so maybe I can actually catch some fireworks! It'll be a nice break after 3 night shifts in a row this week.

But it's great to hear about what you were doing. I don't know that Mafia game - is that where they used all those cards that I've seen pictures of? Or are those for something else?

If the cards you are talking about are the green (and occasionally red ones), then no, those are for apples to apples. Mafia uses a few cards from a regular deck to assign roles. Ace = member of the Mafia, who try to kill off the towns people.
King = detective, tries to discover who is in the mafia.
Queen = nurse or doctor, who can heal people
A non face card = towns person

Everyone closes his/her eyes and the narrator wakes a group of people at a time. The mafia point out someone to kill, the detective points out someone that might be in the mafia, the nurse/doctor picks someone to protect. In the morning there has been a murder (or attempted murder). The towns people have to decide who they think is mafia. If the majority think a person is mafia, that person is "executed."

Mel, I think strawberry banana might be nice for popsicles.

Life is crazy right now. My sister and I are moving in a couple of weeks. My grandpa died on July 25th. I was teaching 2 classes that week. They didn't go as well as I would have liked. I had an interview yesterday. Oh and of course there is the competition.

if any of my Square Onion friends were going to make popsicles, what flavor would you suggest?

Survey says:

Strawberry or cherry perhaps? (gazer)
Raspberry or orange would be my choice. ♥ (johobbit)

I would ditto stargazer's suggestion, and add "blueberry". (My favorite flavor is blue raspberry, but I imagine you don't have those. ) (ryadian)
I think strawberry banana might be nice for popsicles. (Twig's)

Oooooh, nice choices. I hear we're supposed to get a box or so of fresh cherries in a few weeks so I will have to try making some then. Today I attempted rhubarb yogurt popsicles. I have no idea how they'll turn out. The rhubarb was pounded back when a bunch of storms went through and I'm not sure it has that usual rhubarb taste...

I also saw a recipe for watermelon popsicles that mix green and red and use chocolate chips for the seeds. In the picture they looked fabulous. I'm not sure how well I'd manage to recreate them.

Varna, we also play dutch blitz with regular cards in addition to the ones Twig's mentioned.

I hope everyone is having a safe and happy 4th of July!

Riddle for the day: Do they have the Fourth of July in England?

Rhubarb popsicles? Sounds intriguing. As do the watermelon ones, though they must be pretty big popsicles if you can fit chocolate chips in there. Anyways, I hope they turn out well!

Twigs, I'm sorry to hear about your grandpa. (Especially in the midst of everything else you have on your plate.) You and your family will be in my prayers. And I hope all goes well with your moving endeavours!

Well, now that it's nearly midnight my time, I can safely say I hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th of July. I didn't end up seeing any fireworks; no one else in my family was really all that interested. Plus, my mom, brother, and I made the mistake of watching an episode of White Collar, "Just one..." Yeah, just one, right. So yes, most of my day was spent watching TV, admittedly.

All the best with your move, Twigs! And thinking of you in this sad time with your Grandpa's passing.

at Mel's funny. Nellie likes to tell that one too.

Mel, how did the rhubarb yogurt popsicles turn out?

Ryadian, may I say once more how nice it is to have you back in the Town Square again.

So, the heat index is 42C/107.6F here right now. Yeah. Heat really bothers me (*waves at the other polar bears here ), so I am consciously trying to find things to be grateful for today. One can focus so much on the negative, but there are always positives: there is lots of ice-cold water to drink; we have a window A/C in the living room (which is where I sleep these terribly hot nights); we have had plentiful rain this summer, so, in spite of the current heat, everything is very lush and green. So much else too. Yet still I say, I'm counting the days until Autumn!

*leaves a variety of smoothies* Take your pick! It would be fun to taste—or even to guess—the flavour of each one.

I love the rainbow smoothies! It somehow makes them look extra refreshing. *Takes one of the red ones*

And yikes, it sounds like you could use these. It's only been in the 90's (F) here, and even that seems too hot. I don't know how your spring was, but I think in Minnesota, the weather's trying to make up for the fact that we had snow until May. Thankfully, from what I understand of the forecast, it should be getting a little cooler down here soon.

And, the child-proofing has begun! My 8-month-old (well, 8 1/2) nephew has just started to crawl recently, and has now discovered that when we sit him down to play, he no longer needs to stay on the nice blanket we leave for him. It can be an adventure when he decides, "Oooh, let's explore under this rocking chair..." Though it is nice that he can go get the toy he wants now, instead of crying until we figure out which one he wants.... (But he's my nephew, so at this point in his life, he can do no wrong in my eyes. )

Ooooh, those smoothies look delicious, jo!

Since you asked, the rhubarb yogurt popsicles turned out nicely. I thought they could have used a smidge more rhubarb so I'll try that next time. I am not the most enthusiastic popsicle maker in the world. It takes me a few months between batches.

Speaking of food... I saw two of these photos (guess which two ) and was highly amused: Food flags

Hello, everyone! It has been quite a while since I've last been here, but I hope you all have been doing well.

Hello, gazer! How're things going?

TGW, how was the dance class? And did you graduate, or just attend a number of graduations?

Belated congratulations on graduating, Rya! Do you have particular plans for life after college yet?

How'd the book reports go, Bella?
The Lady of Shalott conspiracy referred to a short film that was made back in 2009 for the bicentiary birth of Lord Alfred Tennyson. Mel actually started it; she told me about the film and sent me links to pictures and behind the scenes posts and such, and I thought it was neat, and then I think it kind of snowballed from there. At any rate, it was just fun, though we didn't think we'd ever get to see it since it was just being released in the UK, and mainly for a festival. But they finally put it online for everyone, which was really neat.
Yes, it's hard to find The Shadow of the Bear. The best bet is probably try ILL-ing it; that's how I got to read it and some of the author's other books.
*accepts hugs for being part of the team that made the competition in July, not June*

*enjoys reading all the comments about the June Moot*

I hope you manage to make it to a Moot sometime anyhow, Varna!

Mel, those are neat food flags! I'm not sure which ones you saw, though.

Hi, Jo! How're you doing?

to Twig's. Have things settled down at all?

Things are pretty busy here for me. My summer class is finally finishing up, but that means that our final reports, projects, and presentations are all due on Wednesday, with the final presentations and oral examinations happening Wednesday through Friday. XD I'll be pretty relieved when the week is done.
Our blackberries are still coming in, so I've been going out most evenings and picking them. It actually looks to be a pretty good crop this year; all four patches in our pasture are producing, and I've been getting about 4 or 5 cups each evening. So, we've made a cobbler, given away a couple of containers, and just froze a couple more last night.

Have a great week, Square Onions!

Mortereve, all!

Stopping by on this fine Sunday evening to do some ketchup. Today has been a nice day, for the most part. I spent the afternoon watching some piano technique videos on youtube (and found a very interesting video of a guy playing La Campanella on two grand pianos) and then knitting. My days have been mostly doing things of that sort (Though with all the heat, my knitting streak has faded), though hopefully I can get some creative work like writing done. My sister is teaching my how to draw and that.... that is going.... uh... interestingly. I feel bad for resigning myself to "I can't draw" for all these years, because it's only until a few weeks ago I realized how important non-verbal art would be in conveying my ideas for certain things, like film or being a story artist. And on top of that, I have to work on an arrangement of It is Well, along with using all my spare time to work on my piano pieces.

Last time, you said you had a week of classes left--does that mean you're pretty much to the end now? *Gets the confetti guns ready*

Yes, I'm all done now!! *wallows in the large pile of confetti that she is now inundated in* I have my first semester of college coming up, along with some summer deadlines, but, you know, the feeling is rather summer vacation-y.

I hear you about small Mafia games - my sister and I often run into this problem, as most of the games we want to play (Apples to Apples, Mafia) tend to be meant for more than just two.

Haha, so are you enjoying your new shiny HDTV?

Bella (who I had the utter privilege of meeting and visiting with twice in a week in June!)

Indeed, and likewise! I like your avatar, by the way!

;)) How'd the book reports go, Bella?

They went very good, thanks for asking! I was never fond of them, but I do feel a little sad since they were my last. But only just a little.
Ahh, thank-you for enlightening me on The Lady of Shallot film! I'll have to check it out some day.
Hmm, yes, I have been having some trouble finding the book. I'll look around, though!

*accepts hugs for being part of the team that made the competition in July, not June*

Haha! And I probably should give more grateful hugs to you guys for all your faithful marshalling... that must be a task and a half. O.o
By the by, I have not forgotten about the PM I must send you! I will send it as soon as I can!

'Mortereve, everyone!

Mel, I'm guessing that

Thanks, Valia! At the moment, my plan is "find a job", specifically somewhere in publishing. Admittedly, I'm having limited success thus far. :-/ (Then again, I'm not entirely sure what I'm looking for, aside from "entry level" and "something to do with publishing" ).

Bella, congrats on finishing school!!! (I'm throwing roses, see? ) Ahh yes, summer vacation. Those feel even better when you're in college, in my experience. And yes, we are enjoying the new TV. And good luck learning how to draw!! I'm by no means an artist, but my brother is, so I empathize in that area. I once tried learning how to draw, but it seems like my drawing skills have gotten worse since then.... :-/

My family and I just got back from a weekend with my mom's side of the family. It was so much fun! It seems like we spent most of our time playing games together, but they were fun games. Actually, one that we kept playing was a board game called The Resistance, which is a lot like Mafia with more structure. (Here we go again! ) To top it all off, we had gorgeous, sunny weather which never really went above 75. It was a great weekend.

Hey ho to all ye Square Onions!

I don't know how your spring was, but I think in Minnesota, the weather's trying to make up for the fact that we had snow until May. Thankfully, from what I understand of the forecast, it should be getting a little cooler down here soon.

Same here! Our spring was more like winter, and our summer has been more like the end of August or early fall, for the most part (except for an ugly, excessively humid two weeks in mid-July ). But it's refreshingly cool here now—very unusual for this area this time of year. Not complaining, though, no, not in the least, precioussssss!

Awww, your little nephew sounds like such fun!

Very cool (literally, lol) about the rhubarb yogurt popsicles, Mel! And I love the food flags, wow. Made from relevant food too! However, I fail to see the lovely Canadian flag there. Maybe that Maple Leaf is a bit tricky.

I'll be pretty relieved when the week is done.
Our blackberries are still coming in, so I've been going out most evenings and picking them. It actually looks to be a pretty good crop this year;

Yay, that week is done!

And your blackberry crop sounds amazing. How long would it take you to pick a pint, say? Do your sisters not help you?

Bella, it sounds like you and Ella have been creatively busy, as always. Creativity simply oozes out of your family.

The rest of you may be interested in an unexpected adventure Bella, Nellie of Narnia, daughteroftheKing, and I had in Wheaton, IL last month: we had the privilege of going to the Wade Center together, and upon our reluctant exiting of that beautiful, nostalgic building, we came upon a black dog, whose owner was letting her out for a spell. We asked the name, and the owner stated, "Arwen". "No way", we exclaimed, "Arwen, as in The Lord of the Rings?" The owner looked at us agog, as apparently no one had ever equated the two! And so close to a 'home' of Tolkien too! It was quite the amazing way to wrap up our day in Middle-earth and Narnia. Unforgettable! And to have it happen with fellow NarniaWebbers was .

Thinking of you, Ryadian, as you continue your job search! Your family weekend sounds like such fun! Great memories, eh?

Well, August is nigh upon us. Hard to believe. I can almost smell autumn from here.

In other news, I had a dental check-up/cleaning this morning, and wow, the hygienist does such a thorough job, I almost don't want to eat ever again. But, as anyone who knows me knows, that would be impossible for this hobbit. And for some reason, after a dental cleaning, I get hugely thirsty for milk, so ... *runs to get a glass and offers cookies and milk to all*

Jo, I thought Canada was the fourth picture--to me it looks like a flag made out of salad. Or salsa.

I didn't even notice the flag made out of Turkish Delight. Or maybe my food identification skills weren't up to the job.

Except, Canada's red stripes are down the side, not across the top and bottom. *looks up that particular flag* Ah, it's Lebanon! So, close, but not quite. But that bruschetta sure looks amazing!