September Sights & Sounds

Wouldn't you know - the longer you look at the word September, the odder it looks! I was poking around the internet to find a September banner and I just thought that it looked so weird, ha-ha!

Books I Read

The Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon - The fourth book in the Outlander series; this was a re-read for me after watching the first three seasons of Outlander with my Mom. It was just as good as the first time I read it and made me so excited for the upcoming fourth season of Outlander!

Books on the Shelf

I have absolutely nothing on my shelf that is currently begging to be read - so any and all suggestions are appreciated! I have several books that I "could" read but none are just tempting me at the moment. *sigh*

Must See TV/Bingeworthy

The Mindy Project - I started watching this show on the recommendation of my sister and I could not love it more! The show is funny, heart-warming and wonderful and of course...I pretty much immediately fell in love with Danny Castellano, ha-ha! I just finished the third of six seasons, so I've still got a bit to see with this show but I can't wait to see how it plays out!

Escape to the Country - I could not love this show more if I tried! It's like House Hunters but in the English countryside and every single thing about it fills my soul with absolute joy and happiness! A couple looking to escape the the country view three homes, the third being a "mystery house" and it's interspersed with interesting lifestyle tidbits from the area of the English countryside that the home owners are looking to move to. It's such a delight and you can find this on Netflix if you fancy checking it out!

Movies of the Month

I have not gone to see a single movie this entire month. Not a one. Now - I did see Beauty & the Beast as part of a re-release on September 15th but I'm not going to count that here because I think it's well documented that I've seen Beauty & the Beast many many times and you don't need to know from me how wonderful it is - yet again, ha-ha!

Tasty Treats

I started the month with some tasty chicken stew that turned out really well in the crock pot - so good that I even blogged about it! I also tried a recipe for Sweet Corn Pasta that used corn kernels to make a sauce and it was divine - just typing about it makes me want another bowl. I had yummy pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls and tried some haggis at the Scottish Heritage Festival - I can't say I'd eat it again, but at least I tried it!

The end of the month brought the delicious Limoncello Tortufa that was some sort of lemon and vanilla miracle in the shape of food! I also had Duck Donuts for the first time and tried Peanut Soup (yum!) and Syllabub (yum!) for the first time at King's Arms Tavern!

Tunes & Talking

I've kept busy this month listening to some of my favorite podcasts: The Big Boo Cast, The Popcast with Knox & Jamie, Lore and Cabinet of Curiosities and when I wasn't listening to a podcast I was probably listening the soundtracks from Game of Thrones and Outlander. I've also been frequenting a station called New Age Instrumental on Pandora, ha-ha! All the instrumental music for me please!

What I'm Looking Forward To

Happy Birthday to Me - I'm not sure how I'll be celebrating my actual birthday (I'm in Asheville celebrating this weekend) on the 6th but I'm always glad to celebrate another year of life. Shortly before I turned 30, I really got into a funk about...turning 30...but I've come to realize that the alternative to celebrating another birthday is pretty grim, so I should celebrate life - regardless of my age. So here's to 34! Yikes!

I've got some get togethers with friends planned, two different Bible studies/ladies groups to attend all month, a ladies conference at church, hopefully taking in some gorgeous leaves as they turn and of course...at the end of the month is Halloween! October is sure to be a wonderful month!

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September was pretty slow and steady but Autumn is ramping up to be fun and I can't wait!

Game of Thrones - Live in Concert

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Five on Friday for this post about the Game of Thrones concert that I went to on Tuesday night in DC! The tickets were my Christmas present last year, so I'd been patiently waiting for the concert to make it's way from the UK and arrive stateside - and the stop closest to me was DC, on September 25th!

I attended the concert last March as well and had such a wonderful time. I've mentioned before that I listen to a lot of instrumental music and the score for Game of Thrones is absolutely beautiful and provoking - I'm slightly inclined to think that Ramin Djawadi is something of a genius - he scores some of my favorite music to listen to (he not only scores Game of Thrones, but also does a fantastic job on the very different Westworld.)

The seats I was gifted (my Mom is the best at picking out seat y'all - the best) were on the second row and so close to the stage that when it snowed or leaves fell (we'll get to that), they floated right over my friend Jennie and I. The seats were - in short - spectacular and I could not wait for the concert to start! Game of Thrones is currently in between seasons and as they make the final season (tears) with 6 episodes that will likely each be the length of a short movie, the break between last season and this season has been LONG.

 

Now - if you've never watched Game of Thrones then this post may not be too fascinating for you - but if you are a Game of Thrones fan, well I tried to include as much as I could! I took so many videos and I don't want to overwhelm the post with videos, ha-ha!

One of the first pieces to be performed was Winterfell - the theme of House Stark. A violinist was suspended in the air as she played the piece, being drawn into place to represent a Weirwood Tree - a symbol that is central to the faith that the Starks adhere to in the North. The song is beautiful and of course, I took video! How could I not?

The show is incredibly large and the cast is...generous, to say the least. Two of the characters who have spent earlier parts of the show far apart are Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen - but in the seventh season their stories; which have often mirrored each other, finally merged. But before we could get to that - they showed the first love of Jon's life - Ygritte... A fun fact for you? Kit Harrington and Rose Leslie, who play the characters Jon Snow and Ygritte were married this past summer - so I think that makes their portion of the show a little more touching, no?

The percussionist played numerous instruments throughout the show. I loved watching him play the didgeridoo but I do think the giant horn - called the wildling horn - was my favorite. As promised, after Jon's story line...we got some of Daenerys' story line as well!

I couldn't not include this amazing video with Ramin just wailing on the guitar - this scene is one of my favorite scenes from Game of Thrones. If I'm being honest, all the scenes from Game of Thrones are my favorite scenes...ha-ha!

Following intermission, we picked back up with Jon Snow's story (he's become something of a central character) with the all important resurrection and the ensuing Battle of the Bastards - what may be the largest battle sequence ever filmed for television - as of right now. Apparently a battle in season eight will top that...

Another scene that was beyond memorable is also from season 6 - and the song that goes along with it; The Light of the Seven, is an almost ten minute marvel of music that builds and scales it's way to a thundering conclusion. The show then moved on to moments from season seven - including the reunion between the Stark siblings, which was one of the most touching moments for me to watch.

The show moved on to one of the big battles from season seven - I call it the Field of Fire but I don't think that's what it was called in this particular episode. It was yet another moment in the show when favorite characters...after seven seasons...begin to collide and you aren't really sure who you should cheer for! I was thrilled to get such a good shot of Drogon from the battle - this whole portion of the show, with the lights and music - just incredible!

The show was absolutely so amazing - I hope they do a third tour, because I'll be more than happy to get tickets again. The eighth season is not set to premiere until the middle of 2019 and there will be plenty more footage to score with excellent music.

Game of Thrones is so much more than a TV show and besides the incredible story that the show is telling, I know the music is one of my favorite things to come from the show. I am both looking forward to and dreading the final season - because all good things must end and that will be the end - but at least there will always be the gorgeous music to listen to!