Essay Week 2: The Golden ASSess

For this unit I read "Cupid and Psyche", which is part of the story, The Golden Ass, by Apuleius and translated by Tony Kline. This was a very good unit to have put into the choices for this week. There was a lot of information to work with, the characters were developed very well, and it was very easy to follow.

One think that did make me sad as I was reading it was the fact that I felt like I was missing some information. The information wasn't necessarily important to understand the story, but I felt like things were resolved too quickly or it just didn't make the story flow as smooth as it should have.

I enjoyed the first few chapters being from the main story, The Golden Ass. I felt like it gave a purpose to the story being told. It was as if the old woman was telling the captured woman the story, not only to calm her down, but also to show her that even when life throws you all sorts of curve balls, if you love someone bad enough, you will do anything to be by their side again. I don't know if that is actually what she was trying to say to the woman since she didn't want the woman to go and escape, but I felt like that was the moral that would have been conveyed to the woman.

After the story of "Cupid and Psyche" was over, I felt that the continuation of The Golden Ass was a little unnecessary. When I was reading "Cupid and Psyche", I was pulled into their world and I enjoyed that. When the story was over and it shifted back to the original story, I was pulled from that world and thrown back to the other one. I still enjoyed the story of The Golden Ass and would love to go and read the entire story one day, but I would have been happy if it had just ended with "Cupid and Psyche", not because it would have made the read shorter, but because it disrupted my involvement in the other story.

This reading choice was easy for me to choose because of my love of Greek and Roman mythology stories. If there is an option to read that type of a story for the unit, it is almost guaranteed I will choose it. The Gods and Goddesses, what they rule over, who they are related to, how they act with each other, how they act with humans, it is all so fascinating to me and I love the fantastical world that the story are usually set in.

(Psyche Honored by the People

Luca Giordano, c. 1695-7

web source)

Week 2 Storytelling: Cupid and Psyche

Once there were three daughters born to a simple farmer. The eldest two were very beautiful and were wed and sent off to begin their lives. The youngest of the three, divine in beauty, wasn't wed as easily. The father thought long and hard of ways to see his youngest married off so she too could begin her life away from home. One night, the farmer had a dream. It wasn't pleasant by any means but it was so powerful he knew he couldn't disobey. In the dream, he was told to take his daughter out into a cave near the foot of the mountain. He was to leave her and with enough provisions for a single night. In five days, a gentleman of noble blood would sweep her away, rescuing her from starvation, but the father would never see nor hear from her again. It tore the poor man's heart to pieces, but he knew from his dream that it was right.

The following morning he woke his daughter and told her to dress in simply. Confused, but willing to obey, she did as she was told. In the cool, crisp hours of the morning, the two set off for the mountain. The farmer was sullen and the daughter knew not what to say to cheer him up. They made it to the base of the mountain as the sun began to set back into the horizon and the moon began to peak out.

"Now my dear Anima, you are to stay here until I return for you. Don't leave or you might be crushed by falling rocks or attacked by murderous robbers. I will be back in a few days. This satchel has enough food for you until I return. I love you dearly my child, as you have always known." He placed a gentle kiss upon her forehead, embraced her in one last hug, and then departed. Three days passed and she began to feel her father wouldn't return to her. As the sun of the fifth day began to rise into the sky, Anima simply laid on the cold damp floor of the cave. She had disobeyed her father the previous day to search for food. The mountain was empty of all life though and all she had managed was fresh water. The hottest part of the day reached her and she could feel the life slowly ebbing from her bones. Sounds of a horse reached her ears but she paid it no attention. She closed her eyes, and waited for the sweet salvation of death.

The prince of the nearby city trotted by on his horse. He stopped when he spotted young Anima laying still in the cave.

"Madame, are you alright?" He called softly into the cave. He could see that, though she was covered in dirt, she was very beautiful. "Madame, are you alright? Do you need any assistance? I am Prince Erinos of Caelum, and will not harm you m'lady." He crept closer, quickly realizing that she was unconscious and in need of care. Erinos rushed over and picked her up, amazed at how incredibly light and fragile she was. He mounted his horse and gently cradled her in his arms. Erinos raced back to his castle and quickly delivered Anima to his doctors.

Erinos's mother was always the jealous type. When she saw the beautiful girl cradled in her son's arms, she scowled, "Take this creature back to where you found it and leave it to die. It does not belong with us!" She turned her back and left her son. Erinos knew he couldn't disobey his mother, but he also couldn't leave this girl to die. He took Anima to his secret hut he'd built in the nearby forest. Erinos nursed Anima back to health, visiting her every day for several months. He soon realized he was falling in love with her. One day, he begged Anima to marry him. When she agreed and they held their ceremony in secret, Erinos became very happy.

Anima's two eldest sisters were walking in the woods one day when they stumbled across the hut. Erinos recognized them from Anima's many detailed descriptions. He gave Anima several warnings about them, to not let them fill her head with silly notion of him. However, Anima was still young and naive. When she took her sisters in and showed them all of the glorious things Erinos had brought her, the sisters became jealous and told her to follow him when he left the hut. They knew who he was, but they wanted their sister to suffer. Their marriages weren't happy, so their sister shouldn't be allowed to have one either.

Anima did as she was told and followed Erinos one night as he traveled back home. She finally realized that he was not a merchant of fine goods, as he had told her, but the prince! He caught her staring at him around the corner and grasped her as she tried to run. "I warned you! I always told you to never follow me after I depart! If you are found it will mean both of our heads! You did not listen to my warnings and those nasty harpies filled your head with muck! Leave me and do not return!" Anima left, heart burning with pain. She didn't return to the hut but to the mountain instead.

The wicked sisters went to the queen and told her of her son's disobedience. The queen grew furious and sought out Anima. Finally she found the girl, "If you wish to live and remain by my son's side, there are four tasks I ask of you." Anima listened closely as the queen instructed her of the treacherous trials. Meanwhile, Erinos searched for his dear bride, agonizing with a broken heart. He found Anima in tatters as she attempted to complete her fourth and final task.

"Finish your task with my mother, I will take care of the rest." Anima obeyed and brought the last requested prize to the queen while Erinos went to his father, the king, to beg forgiveness and to allow Anima to remain his wife at the castle. The king always had a soft spot for his son, so he obliged. An official wedding ceremony was held and though the queen was still bitter towards Anima, she eventually forgave her son and they all lived happily ever after.

Author's note: This story is inspired by the story of Cupid and Psyche by Apuleius and translated by Tony Kline. I chose this style of writing because it was easier to jump from plot point to plot point quickly while still maintaining the fairy tale like quality of the original story. The original story is about the beautiful young sister, Psyche, being compared to Venus (Aphrodite). People stopped worshiping the goddess to worship Psyche and that made Venus very angry. She sent her son, Cupid, to make Psyche fall in love with the most hideous man alive. But Cupid fell in love and married her himself. He kept his identity hidden from Psyche and warned her to not try to find out who he was. Psyche's sisters put wicked thoughts into her head and caused her to find out who her husband was. Eventually, her sisters die because they are harpies and only wanted Cupid for themselves. Venus finds Psyche and make her perform four horrible tasks. Cupid finds Psyche as she is trying to complete the fourth one and tell her he is going to make everything right. He does, they have an official marriage, and they live happily ever after. I changed the names, setting, and social rank of the characters and made the gods mortal but I kept true to the basic plot of it because I really liked it. Anima means 'soul' in Latin and Psyche became the Goddess of the Soul in the Greek myth, so I tried to tied the names together. Another name for Cupid was Eros, which sounded like Erin to me and then I just made it sound like a royal name.

Bibliography: Original story source: Apuleius's Golden Ass, as translated into English by Tony Kline (2013).

(Cupid and Psyche, by Stanhope)

Week 2 Reading Diary: Cupid and Psyche

Cupid and Psyche

1. The Captive Woman
I was confused at first who was narrating until I remembered that our main hero, Lucius, was turned into a donkey. I think it is interesting how he remembers being human and compares being a donkey to being a human. The captive woman irritates me greatly so far. I am with the old woman in being annoyed with the excessive amounts of tears and wailing. Do something about the situation if you are that upset! I am already feeling emotions towards the characters introduced so I know I am going to like this story.

2. Her Dream
I want to know how close of cousins the captive woman and her betrothed were... It may have been a good thing that the wedding was stopped if they were particularly close cousins, which, knowing what went on in that time period, wouldn't surprise me if they were first cousins. I would also like to know who Cybele and Attis are. I am guessing they are a reference to different Greek gods or some important Greek story. I can understand how such a traumatizing dream of your lover being brutally murdered would cause one to wake up very upset.

3. Psyche's Beauty
Obviously there is going to be some sisterly jealousy just by reading the first paragraph. The foreshadowing of it is almost suffocating. Anytime there is a character with divine beauty, either the Gods or the family turn on the divinely beautiful. Greek Gods and Goddesses are known for their tempers so it doesn't surprise me that Venus had her wrath invoked because of what was going on with Psyche. When the Gods get involved, you know it is going to be a great story!

4. The Oracle of Apollo
I find it interesting that Psyche is referred to as "that wretched girl" just because she isn't married yet. I really appreciate how noble Psyche is as she is escorted to her unfortunate wedding. She may be suffering from the turn of events but she doesn't want her parents to suffer. She still wants her parents to be happy for her even though she knows that her fate is not a very good one.

5. The Magical Palace
I love when stories go into such great detail about magnificent houses and structures. I am a very visual person so the more description, the more I can be pulled into the story and enjoy it. The image of Psyche at the table, being served by invisible servants, having entertainment provided to her by whispering musicians, reminds me so much of Beauty and the Beast. When Belle decides she is hungry so she goes to find food and ends up being served by dancing silverware and plates and things like that.

6. The Mysterious Husband
I think it is interesting how such a magnificent palace is compared to a prison for Psyche. I am confused and frustrated that Psyche still doesn't know what her husband looks like or who he is even after they have consummated their marriage. Wouldn't she have felt his wings? That is something I think you would notice...

7. The Jealousy of Psyche's Sisters
I KNEW IT! I knew there was going to be a clash between the two older sisters and Psyche! With a sister as beautiful as Venus, how could there not be clashes of sisters? I am starting to be able to make out a moral of this entire story but I don't think I will be able to verbalize it until I know what the outcome of everything is.

8. Psyche's Husband Warns Her
I am still confused and frustrated that Psyche doesn't know who her husband is. She even describes some of his features! How could she know the color of his hair if she doesn't know what he looks like? I can tell that the sisters are going to do something very bad to Psyche just based on how harshly Cupid is describing them. I am so in love with this story! Action, romance, betrayal, everything a good story needs! And Greek gods and goddesses!

9. Fears and Doubts
So far through the entire story I have gotten the impression that Psyche really and truly loves Cupid (even if she didn't know it was him), but with how easily she forgets his warnings and easily lets her sisters make horrible images of him in her head, I'm not so sure if she loves him or the wealth and lavishing environment that came with the marriage. Also, I agree with Cupid. Psyches sisters are she-wolves/Furies/harpies/sirens. They are awful.

10. Psyche's Husband Revealed
I am mostly curious about what Cupid will do to Psyche as well as her sister and what Venus will do to Cupid when she finds out he disobeyed her. Goddesses always find out when they have been betrayed and from what I have seen they don't really like it.

11. Psyche's Despair
I am confused about Psyche telling her sisters the story about Cupid throwing her out and going to take her sisters as his wives instead. I understand that she is very upset with them for giving her horrible advice, but she has always seemed so innocent and not capable of causing her sisters to plummet to their deaths.

12. Venus and the Goddesses
I know that Cupid is a god but he is acting like a baby with the burn on his shoulder. They say he is in, "doubtful health" but he just got some hot wax on his shoulder. I am not sure someone can die from that especially a god. Also, I knew that Venus was going to find out that Cupid betrayed her! She is going to be one angry mama! I am very interested to see what is going to happen to both Psyche and Cupid. Psyche is still pregnant I think and the part of the prophecy where she is supposed to birth a winged-serpent baby hasn't happened yet that I know of. I have been captured in this story the entire time but now things are starting to heat up and get even more exciting!

13. Psyche's Prayer
"Not wishing to miss any path, however uncertain, that might lead to better expectations and happy to seek help from any deity, she approached the sacred doors."<-- this is the reason I respect and like Psyche. She isn't going to let being turned away by one deity stop her from trying to find help. This is how the captive woman should act, if you want or need something bad enough, you will do what is necessary to obtain it. Maybe that is one of the reasons the old woman is telling the captive woman this story. Another thing that I love about this story is getting to learn about all of the family ties between all of the gods and goddesses and what they are the deity over. It has always fascinated me.

14. Venus and Mercury
Psyche is one brave pregnant woman! She is planning, I think, to go to Venus's temple to face Venus and see if Cupid is there as well. I think it is funny that the prize for finding Psyche is making out with Venus for a bit. Even back then there was only one thing on a man's mind (I am completely joking and mean no offense to anyone who reads this. I just think it is funny)!

15. Venus and Psyche
Stuff is about to go down! Psyche is about to be in the presence of Venus I am guessing, I am writing this part just based off of the title. Venus is taking this situation to heart a little too much I think... She is threatening to kill her own grandson just to prove a point. At this point, when Venus has given Psyche the task to sort the pile of stuff, I feel like it is a battle between Earth and Heaven, mortals and gods. The task also reminds me of the girl in Rumplestiltskin who has to weave all of the hay into golden yarn.

16. Psyche's Next Task
There wasn't much to this chapter. I enjoyed seeing how she would get around the task of the evil golden sheep even though there wasn't a lot of detail put into it.

17. The Third Task/Task Accomplished
I am confused as to why Jupiter/Zeus's eagle is indebted to Cupid. I will need to read up on that later I guess.

18. The Jar of Beauty
I recognize some of the images referred to in this part. I think it is creepy that the ferry driver has to take the directly from her mouth, but anything in the underworld would be creepy probably. And I am going to be very impressed if she remembers all of the traps that are set for her along the way! I am so curious to see if she makes it and if she does manage to get the bottle, whether or not she will be tempted to look into it. If she does look into it, I wonder what will happen then! GAH! She made it through that entire ordeal and then decides to take some of the divine beauty. WHY? DON'T DO IT!

19. The Sleep of the Dead
Definitely getting the "Pandora's Box" vibe from the situation with the jar. I am surprised there wasn't a more dire consequence for Psyche when she opened the jar. Jupiter's word to Cupid when being asked for help crack me up! So, even though you are a horrible, rotten, spoiled, ungrateful, rude, and ill-behaved little brat, I did hold you in my arms when you were a baby and I am a bit of a pushover when it comes to you so sure, I will help you.

20. The Wedding Feast
Somehow I don't think that Venus would let the issue drop that easily. I am a little sad that the ending was so anti climactic. I enjoyed the entirety of the story of Psyche and Cupid, but I feel like there are parts missing. I should go and see if I can find the entire story somewhere and see if there is more to it.

I had almost forgotten about our donkey friend! I hope they don't kill him. I wonder if he will turn back into a human by the end of this story or not. I also wonder if the story of Psyche and Cupid had any effect of the captive woman.

21. The Escape
I am so happy that Lucius and the girl escaped, i am sad that the old woman was dragged behind the donkey but I will get over that. The ending however is the most frustrating kind of ending ever because now I have to go and read the rest of the story to find out what happens to Lucius and the girl! Over all I loved this story and I don't think I would have a problem reading the entire story!

Week 1: Famous Last Words

So this week was the first week of classes. It isn't too hectic yet but I can tell things are going to explode soon... I am hoping that, since I took anatomy last semester and most everything is still fresh in my mind, all of the exams and practicals and quizzes will be much easier. So far I am doing really well and I am feeling good about the upcoming semester in anatomy.

My very first writing was quite a hit I think. I took one of Aesop's fables and completely changed the environment and relationship of the characters. I put them in space! How can it be better? I was very proud of it and I think I will try to change as much about the stories that I can while still being able to connect back to the original.

I read a story about Humpty Dumpty by one of my classmates and I absolutely loved it! The student had taken the nursery rhyme of Humpty Dumpty and some of the history of Isaac Newton and combined them. It was one of the best stories I have read so far. It made me laugh throughout the entire story, I noticed connections to both stories throughout and I just really enjoyed how the stories were changed and worked into each other!

Another story I read that I really liked was another Aesop's fable, I believe, and it was about a peacock. There wasn't anything too fancy about the story, but the way it was written was very impressive to me. I was pulled in right away and I instantly made a connection with the main character. I was sad when the main character traded in what he loved most for what he wanted most and I felt anger for the birds who ignored him when he could only fly. I want to try and write more like this so that I can really engage my readers!

I think for my next story I am going to make it longer. I really liked reading the longer stories and imagining backstories to all of the characters and situations and I think there could be a lot of potential in making the stories longer and more in depth.

(Photo source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Author: George Fyler Townsend

Date: 1867)

Week 1:Introduction

Hello everyone!

My name, if you haven't noticed, is Sage Harper. I am 20 years old and currently a junior at OU. I am majoring in Health and Exercise Science to become a personal trainer and then one day a Physical Therapist. If I can really accomplish my dream I will be a PT specifically for dancers. Why only dancers? Well, I am a dancer myself and have been for the better part of my life (14 or 15 years now) and I have also torn my PCL and meniscus so I know how much it sucks getting back into dance after such an intense injury. I want to work with dancers and teach them how to stretch and train properly so that they can minimize the amount and severity of injuries and can continue to follow their dreams!

I am currently a member of a dance company in Tulsa, Oklahoma called Portico Danse Theatre and have been for about a year and a half now. However, I am not just a dancer with the company but also one of their aerialists! What on earth is an 'aerialist'? Well, it is this:

(Personal photo. 

Taken July 19th, 2014 in the Williams theater at the Tulsa PAC. 

Performing "911" in "Mob Mental.Ity" by Portico Danse Theatre.

I am the one on the right)

That's right, I dance on silks 20-30 ft in the air, only locked in by my feet and sometimes not even that. I have been performing aerial for almost two years now. I have also done modern, lyrical, jazz, contemporary ballet and a little hip hop (poorly).

I was born in Santa Barbra, California but raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Both sets of my grandparents along with most of the rest of my family lives in Tulsa as well so it makes it nice to have such a strong support system. 

I am incredibly obsessed with dragons. I love to draw them, read about them, have stuffed animals of them, watch movies and shows that have dragons in them, I even have a Game of Thrones dragon egg canister that was given to me as a christmas present. Someday, I will have a dragon tattoo on my leg or on my back or behind my ear. No, I have not seen the movie "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" nor will I. I already have two tattoos. I have a feather tattoo on my back and a little blue dove tattoo behind my left ear and they both hold a lot of meaning to me.

 
(Photo info: Personal Photos. Left, my first tattoo. I got it in San Francisco in August of 2010.
Right, second tattoo. The blue dove. The three droplet things are the tail, then the wing is hollow then the beak is facing my hair line. I got this one in June of 2014 in Tulsa.)

I have two cats named Koko and Marie. I love cats and I have always had cats. I had a dog once for about two weeks but he ate the couch in my backyard so my mom and I gave him to a friend with ten acres of land. I used to have a bearded dragon (again, obsessed with dragons) named Oliver and he was pretty much the coolest thing ever. 

I love to read fantasy books more than any other kind of book. Young adult books about vampires and werewolves and witches and all of that sort of stuff are my guilty pleasure books. That is excluding the Twilight series though. I cannot stand those books or the movies. If there is anyone else who reads the House of Night series by P.C. Cast, then you are awesome and we need to gab about them together because none of my other friends read them... 

Finally, I am a HUGE SuperWhoLock nerd! Mostly the WhoLock part, I don't really watch Supernatural (yet), but I am a pretty huge Doctor Who nerd. I am actually going to the Doctor Who mini-con in Tulsa in April, I will be going as Amy Pond and I am so excited and not even remotely ashamed about that. The 9th Doctor is my most favorite but I do enjoy Tennant and Matt Smith and I am very excited to see what the new Doctor will be like! River Song is my favorite character in the entire show though.

That is most of the information I feel like is important to know to understand how I think. I can't wait to read about what everyone else is like! Maybe I will find a few more Whovians! 

Have a great day!

Week 1: Storybook Favorites

The first storybook that caught my eye from the long list provided was Lions of Aesop's Fables. This caught my attention initially because, not only do I really like lions, but I also really enjoy the Aesop's fables stories. When I clicked on the link, the design of the sight wasn't too flashy but I was curious about the different titles. I clicked on one and only skimmed the story, but the style of storytelling was very enjoyable. I really liked that it is told as a set of stories within a larger story. I also like how each section of the story are separated into tabs, as if they were chapters of a book. I could definitely see myself using that technique!

The second storybook that I really liked was Deeper into the Forest of the Brothers Grimm. I enjoy the Brothers Grimm tales, which is what made me click on the like. The design of the first page could have the picture be larger or even be made into the background, but even so I liked it enough to continue on and read the introduction. I skimmed through the actual introduction and read the author's note, where I became completely hooked. The way they describe their reasoning for how their storybook is set up and how it is sort of like a movie makes so much sense to me! When I read a book I imagine it as a movie going through my head, which is why the movies are almost never as good as the books.

The third storybook I found was Asian Fox Stories. I took Japanese in my high school for four years and also went on an exchange trip there for two and a half weeks one summer. Because of this, I know a lot about the foxes in Japanese myths and folklore. I personally loved the foxes in those stories. I thought that they were super cool and, though they were tricksters, they had it goin' on! Some were shape-shifters, some had magical powers, most could cause others to see illusions. I don't know a lot about foxes in other Asian myths but, knowing what I do about the Japanese myths, I would definitely love to hear how they are portrayed in the other cultures.

Week 1:Un-Textbook

Here are 6 different reading units that grab my attention and a little bit about why each one interests me.

1. The Brothers Grimm (Ashliman) - I have always, ALWAYS, loved the Grimm Brother's stories and versions of the fairy tales that I grew up with. I also have a little bit of a dark side and so reading their dark and twisted stories just makes me so very happy!

2. Ancient Egyptian Myths and Stories - Egyptian history fascinates me. I have no connection to Egyptian culture whatsoever, but the artwork and history and stories of their Gods is inspiring to me.

3. Faerie Queen - Britomart - In the description it says if you like Shakespearian comedies or Arthurian romances then we would enjoy this unit. Well I happen to be a fan of both so I think this unit is calling my name!

4. English Fairytales I - I read the first story and it is pretty much the same thing as our Rumplestiltskin. I love the classics and so hearing other versions of them would be interesting as well as reading other fairy tales of the same style.

5. Alice in Wonderland - This was my favorite Disney movie as a child and I always wanted to read the actual story. Now I suppose this is my chance! It is such an odd story that I wanted to know what else was to it other than what I was seeing in the movie.

6. Through the Looking-Glass - Okay so if I am going to read Alice in Wonderland it is necessary to read Through the Looking-Glass as well. There is even more to the Wonderland world in this story and I love it. I haven't ever read it but I have always wanted to!

Week 1 Storytelling: The Travelers and the Purse

In a distance section of space, far from our Earth, brother and sister bounty hunters made their way to a distant planet supposedly littered with criminals and spies. Sarah and Gregor Strike always knew where the best places to pick up the best bounties were. They were one of the most well known bounty hunter groups in the galaxy. As they traveled they ran across the wreckage of a smaller money transport ship.

"Woo! Sarah get up here and look at what your big brother just found!" Gregor shouted over the intercom system.

Sarah shot up the levels of the ship until she made it to the cockpit with her brother.

"This had better be good. I was just getting ready to clean my wea-... is that what I think it is?" Sarah's mouth dropped as she realized what she was staring at.

"Damn straight it is! And I found it!" Gregor boasted. He worked the ship slowly through the debris from the mangled ship. It looked like the ship had been blown up from the inside, which was odd. 

"You may have found it, genius, but we are both part of this team and therefore we both get the spoils from this find." Sarah punched her brother in the shoulder. Gregor grumbled under his breath as he rubbed the new injury. Sarah was a lot stronger than she looked and had a habit of using that lovely talent to keep her brother in place. Gregor remembered the last time he had tried to keep a bounty to himself. He had gotten caught in a shootout with the target in a public place and ended up getting arrested. Sarah stood back and watched as he was dragged away by officials. She had bailed him out eventually, but he knew that if he wanted her to help him later on with something, he should be smart about sharing with her. Besides, he hated it when Sarah was cross with him. It made traveling with her almost unbearable. 

Author's note: 

This story is based off of the Aesop's fable The Travelers and the Purse. Two travelers are walking down a road when one finds a purse filled with gold. The traveler who found the purse says that it is his since he is the one who found it. The other traveler tries to make the point that they are lucky to have found the purse because they are traveling together. When villagers see the travelers with the purse and start accusing them of thievery, the traveler who found the purse tries to say that they are in trouble and that they are lost. The other traveler tells the one with the purse that he wouldn't share the findings before so he shouldn't even now that he is in trouble. The moral is to not expect to share misfortunes if we don't share our good fortunes either.

Bibliography:

"The Travelers and the Purse." By Aesop and illustrated by Milo Winters from Aesop's Fables. 1947. Web Source The Project Gutenberg.

Author: Unknown

Date: c. 1880

Web source Wikimedia

Source: Library of Congress

Week 1: Favorite places. Oregon and California!

My first experience in Oregon was at a family reunion at an ADORABLE little bed and breakfast! We were in Ashland, Oregon with several members I my family I hadn't ever met before. I am not a fan of cold weather but I think I would be okay with it if this was my view every morning!

(Image information: Personal photo taken from the balcony of the bed and breakfast I stayed at in Ashland, Oregon. Photo taken March 2011)

Santa Barbra is my home away from home. I was actually born there and lived the first year and a half of my life there! I still have a lot of family there and in cities surrounding (mostly Sacramento) so I go and visit at least once a year for a week at a time. I love walking along the beach and eating a little sea food restaurants along the way. 

Sandpiper Golf Club, Santa Barbra, California

Photographer: Dan Perry

Web Source: Flickr

Test Blog

Okay, so this is new... I have several friends and family members who blog and I have always thought about making one. Soooo, here I am! It may be for a class, but it is a start!