The Wondrous St. Anthony

Why am I posting about St. Anthony? Because yesterday he found stuff for me, so I'm thanking him this way.

St. Anthony is widely known as the patron saint of lost articles.  Ever seen the acronym S.A.G written on envelopes and such?  That stands for St. Anthony Guide.  And he does.  The things we've found after praying to him!
So.  Yesterday I lost my American Literature notebook.  About a week before that I lost the USB cord for my beloved iPod.  (It's a shuffle - nothin' fancy, but it's still my preciousss.)  I was all mad about losing them, so I finally remembered to pray to St. Anthony.  So I'm sitting there rummaging through my bookbag, and I say, "St. Anthony?  Could you please find my American Literature notebook?  And...if you don't mind...my iPod USB cord is missing too.  I know it's not important, but still.."  The second I'm done praying, guess what?
I pull the American Lit. notebook out of the bag!
I'm positive it wasn't in there before.  So I say a quick thanks to St. Anthony.  I realize that the bag is all slumped over (I like things to be just so), and I straighten it up.
And there's my USB cord!
At that point I totally lost it.  I sqealed "THANK YOU, ST. ANTHONY!" and hugged my precious USB cord.  Then - and I blush to admit it -  I started babbling to heaven about how awesome St. Anthony is.  They don't use slang like "awesome" in heaven, I'm afraid.   I could probably have expressed my admiration in more elegant terms...
See, the thing is, that's not the only thing that St. Anthony has found for me and my family.  Drivers' licenses, keys, ID cards, blouses, books, spill-proof attachments for sippy cups...the list goes on and on.  But you know what?  I think St. Anthony has a sense of humor.  Meaning no disrespect, but sometimes I think he's almost mischievous.  If you don't specify when you need something, you're liable to get it back as soon as you don't need it anymore.  Or maybe a year later.  He always finds things, but sometimes he makes sure you exercise the virtue of patience first.  Also he likes to make you feel silly, because he puts things right in front of your face, and when you've been complaining that the thing is lost for a week and then you see it right in front of you, your family tells you to go get your eyes checked.
He's a wonderful saint.  His life was very interesting, too.  You can read it here.  Be forewarned: the article's pretty long.  New Advent articles generally are...
Next time you lose something - anything - ask St. Anthony to find it for you, and I bet it'll pop up in no time.

St. Anthony of Padua,
Pray for us!

Oh, and sorry for the slight jumpiness and randomosity of this post. :p

Song Saturday

I've decided to do Song Satuday every other week instead of every single week.  See, I feel like I'm posting more songs than anything else. (Even I only have....three.) :p  

So after this week I'll post songs twice a month.  (Of course, now that I've decided that, I'll probably end up doing two songs in one post because I suddenly got ideas for songs to post. Oh well!)

Anyway.  This week's song is Caribbean Blue by Enya.  If you like it, it's on the CD Shepherd Moons.  I don't own the CD, but I'm sure the rest of the songs are pretty, too. :)  Enjoy!

P.S. - if you have any suggestions for music, or ideas for topics you'd be interested in seeing covered on Raindrops and Moonlight, comment and tell me!  Ideas are always welcome.

Gone with the Wind - Rhett

Again, I will be typing all sentences containing spoilers in this green color.  Enjoy! 

Everybody loves Rhett Butler, despite his being such a scoundrel.  For my part, I feel quite sorry for him.  He had a lot of potential, but he never lived up to it.

Everyone knows that Scarlett has a lot of bad qualities, and many dislike her for them.  But everyone seems to ignore Rhett's numerous bad qualities.  He was not a good person, my dear!  True, he had some nobility (which I'll discuss in a minute), unlike Scarlett, but he was still very immoral.

There would have been some hope for Scarlett if it weren't for Rhett.  True, her selfishness and her pettiness would still be there, but I doubt she would have been so wild without Mr. Butler's influence.  The Scarlett-Rhett relationship shows that "little things" really can lead us to worse things.  Rhett encourages Scarlett's skepticism, bad temper, and flouting of rules.  At the ball Scarlett goes to after Charles Hamilton's death, Rhett dances with her even though she's supposed to be in mourning.  He then gets her out of mourning.  In his conversation with her, he sneers at the Confederacy and agrees with her selfish views.  Making Scarlett even more of a monster isn't his only fault, either.  I could almost forgive him that if it weren't for his complete lack of contrition for his immoral life!  He is openly a speculator, a drunkard, and an adulterer.  And he doesn't care.  

All that shows Rhett's bad side.  But what keeps us (most of us, anyway) rooting for him is his oft-hidden and repressed nobility.  Yes, you read it right.  This profligate, immoral, irreverent man is noble, too.   Under his crust of evil, he has many truly good qualities.

One of Rhett's best qualities is his generosity.  Though he's unbelievably rich (according to Wikipedia his fortune would equal $7,475,000 in today's currency), Rhett is very generous with his money.  When Scarlett, in desperate need of money for Tara, marries Frank, he tells her that he would have given her all she needed, without payment, as soon as he got out of jail.  He gives Scarlett expensive presents, and after they're married lets her spend money like a queen.  He builds her a huge, elaborate house and lets her give lavish parties.  Rhett is also generous in the sense of sacrificing something for one he loves.  He wants his daughter Bonnie to grow up in the well-bred, moral society of the "Old Guard", so he temporarily reforms his entire life, becoming a perfect gentleman in order to win the approbation of the staunch Confederate nobility so that his daughter can one day be well-respected.  


Rhett's generosity is also shown in his rescuing the gentlemen of Atlanta during the Ku Klux raid.  He could have gotten into a lot of trouble doing that!

 Another of Rhett's better qualities, (thought not really a virtue), is that he truly loves Scarlett.  One of the hardest things for me in the novel was to see Rhett's true (though hidden) love for Scarlett and her blindness to it and continual wounding of it.  This really isn't a good quality at all though, now that I think of it, because - Scarlett being such a brat - she was not worthy to be loved, and Rhett's love for her actually shows an unfortunate weakness on his part.  His love for his stepson Wade and his daughter Bonnie, as well as his friendship with the gentle Melanie Wilkes, are much better examples of love.

Rhett understands people, almost too well. He knows that he is a scoundrel, and he can recognize a person who is not.  He is painfully aware of the fact that Scarlett's Carpetbagger friends are morally and intellectually inferior to the "Old Guard" Southern families, for example.  He's extremely intelligent, and his education is shown in his references to history and literature.

Rhett's friendship with Melanie is, to me, one of the sweetest things in the book.  Other than Ashely, he is the only one who recognizes her worth.  He knows that she is truly good, gentle, and kind, and he treats her accordingly.  When he is with her we see what he could have been. 

Another paradox in Rhett Butler's character is shown by his last-minute joining of the Confederate Army.  After all his sneering and disgust at the Confederacy, he finally breaks down and joins when he sees how much they need help.  Of course it's too late fore the Confederacy, but it was a good - and puzzing - act all the same.


Rhett Butler is truly a tragic character: he had a noble heart hidden by his cynicism and immorality.

Sorry Scarlett's in that picture.  I had a hard time finding photos of Rhett that I liked, and anyway, Scarlett got rather entwined in my post, so it's only fitting that she gets entwined in the photo as well. :p

So what do you think of Rhett Butler?

A Shortcut to Mushrooms

I love mushrooms.  It's one of two characteristics that I share with hobbits, and therefore I'm quite proud of it.  (The other characteristic is my height.  I'm very short. :p)  But mushrooms are more than just pizza toppings and casserole fillers!  They're one of my favorite things in nature, because a) they're cute b) they're fascinating to study, and c) they make awesome pictures.  So today I'm going to share with you, my dear readers, some pictures of mushrooms that I took yesterday, along with any mushroom-ish thoughts that come into my head. 

Before I show you the pictures, let me just say that I am by no means a talented photographer.  The only camera I own is the dreaded point-and-shoot - This one.  (Mine's blue, though. And really, it's a good camera.  Just...not professional.)

Aren't they cuuuuute?

This is the same clump, only viewed from the top.  Notice the reddish splotches that weren't in the other picture.  Kinda weird, no?

I know, I know.  "What?  That's not a mushroom!"  Yes...but it is a sprig of orange leaves.  That's very important, you see, because orange leaves = autumn.  I'm quite ready for autumn, and even though it's only August, I was super excited when I found this bunch.  It's strange...I've always loved summer.  This year though, I wasn't interested.  It's been "ohhhhh, I wish it were fall!"  since June.
Anyway.  Mushrooms.

The cap of this one is a little bit out of focus.  You do know which part is the cap...right?
Just in case, here's a diagram of a mushroom.  I wish the ones in textbooks looked like this!

There we go.  Now you know all about mushroom structure.  End of science lesson.

Speaking of science lessons, I'd like to point out that children love learning about fungi.  If your children/siblings/small neighbors/cousins are ever bored and you're supposed to entertain them, take them on a mushroom hunt.  Show them all the different parts and admire the pretty colors and textures.  (Just don't let them touch the mushrooms.  Some parents - like my dad - tend to freak out over their children touching mushrooms.  It's understandable because they're potentially poisonous, but personally I don't think it's a problem.  Just make sure the little ones don't put them in their mouths.)  If the children are a bit older, "pick" a couple mushrooms, take them home, and have the children sketch them.

The above mushroom is my mom's favorite.  She majored in photography, so I'm very flattered when she likes my pictures.

I took that one and uploaded it to Picknik, where I had a blast editing it up in different ways.  Editing tools are fun.  So  I will proceed to bombard you with some of my edits.

I love that one.  It's so fairytale-ish!

My mother didn't like this one much.  She said it wasn't happy looking. It isn't, really, but I think it sort of fit the "earthiness" of mushrooms.  And it looks cool.

I made one hot pink, just because.

And I finish with a happy one - literally!  The credit for this goes to my 5-year-old brother, who told me to put a mustache on the mushroom.  I didn't put the mustache, but I did put the rest of the face!

One last thing.  I do not mind if you use my pictures, as long as you credit me!  Please do not try to pass my photographs or edits off as your own.  Also, I'd appreciate it if you told me that you're using one of my pictures, but that's not obligatory.  I'd be happy to know that people like my things.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my shortcut to mushrooms!  

Not my picture - Google Images

Song Saturday

Hello again!
Today's Song Saturday features one of my favorite artists: Orla Fallon.  I own her CD Distant Shore, and it's one of my favorites.  She has the loveliest voice!  And she plays a harp.  I like harps. 
Anyway.  So, today our song is Dancing in the Moonlight, written and performed by said Orla.  I have never met anybody (*ahem* except my father) who didn't like this song, so tell me what you think!

Not until I started posting songs to this blog did I realize how much "Celtic" music I listen to. It makes it hard to find things to post, because I know not everybody enjoys Celtic music....