D is for Dublin Castle

A to Z Challenge 2016:  Easter Rising of 1916

2016 is the 100 year anniversary of this important moment in Irish history.  Join me throughout the month of April for an A to Z of the Easter Rising of 1916.

A is About the Easter Rising
B is for Boland's Mill
C is for Cumann na mBan

D is for Dublin Castle

image source:  Easter1916.ie

At the beginning of the Easter Rising, the leader of the rebels intended to use Dublin Castle as a headquarters.  At the time the castle was the administrative center of British Rule and the headquarters of the Irish police force.  

However, much to the rebel leaders' dismay, the attempt to take over Dublin Castle on Easter Monday 1916 was a failure, even though the castle was only lightly guarded.  Once Irish Home Rule was established i 1922, the Irish gained control of Dublin Castle.

ROW 80 Round 2 Goals

A Round of Words in 80 Days is the writing challenge that knows you have a life.

Round 2 of ROW80 is upon us.  Here are my goals:

1.  Read 9 books

I will be trying to read some books from my ever-growing TBR list and to complete some series I have already started.  

2.  Complete the A to Z Challenge on my two blogs/Continue with my blogging schedule

I am a-to-z-ing on two blogs this year.  At loca-for-crafts.blogspot.com, I am creating Zentangle-Inspired art for each letter and on this blog, I am writing about the Easter Rising of 1916.

3.  Edit 5 chapters of ZF

I am setting a concrete goal in the hopes that it will motivate me to actually start editing.

4.  Write daily

I am including all writing in this goal: blogging, journaling, fiction, essay.  I just need to create a writing habit.

5.  Continue my Creative Every Day challenge

I love this challenge and post my progress each day on Instagram.  Every day is something different: photo, drawing, knitting, crochet...  It's nice to be creative every day.

Wednesday check-in: reading details

Sunday check-in: overall progress on my goals

C is for Cumann na mBan

A to Z Challenge 2016:  Easter Rising of 1916

2016 is the 100 year anniversary of this important moment in Irish history.  Join me throughout the month of April for an A to Z of the Easter Rising of 1916.

A is About the Easter Rising
B is for Boland's Mill

C is for Cumann na mBan

Cumann na mBan, also known as the League of Women, was founded in 1914.  The group's members were all women and came from diverse backgrounds

image source:  rte.ie

During the Easter Rising of 1916, the group worked alongside the men.  Although the women were kept away from the combat as much as possible, they performed many important jobs: like manning First Aid posts, preparing and delivering food, gathering intelligence, carrying messages, and transporting arms.

image source:  anphoblacht.com

When the rebels decided to surrender, the Cumann na mBan organized the evacuation of the occupied buildings and destroyed any incriminating papers.  One of their members even made the official announcement of the surrender.

Weekly Wrap-up (April 3, 2016)

Blog Posts

3/30/16:  What I'm Reading Wednesday

3/31/16:  March Book Reviews

4/1/16:  About the Easter Rising of 1916

4/3/16:  Boland's Mill

What I read

Starting a new book #amreading #365frandz #project365 #ced2016

A photo posted by Lisa (@lalocadesigns) on Mar 31, 2016 at 5:00pm PDT

Interesting Stuff I Found on the Internet
I've been researching my A to Z Challenge topic, The Easter Rising of 1916.  I will post all my sources at the end of the month.

Fiction Writing
No writing this week :(

Editing
No progress this week.

How did your week go?

B: Boland's Mill

A to Z Challenge 2016:  Easter Rising of 1916

2016 is the 100 year anniversary of this important moment in Irish history.  Join me throughout the month of April for an A to Z of the Easter Rising of 1916.

Boland's Mill

image source:  wikipedia.org

Boland's Mill was an important building during the rebellion of 1916 because of its location.  The Mill allowed control of both the railroad and one of the main roads leading to Dublin's city center.  

Eamon De Valera was stationed at Boland's with a battalion of troops.  They held the building until Sunday when the rebels surrendered.

A: About the Easter Rising of 1916

A to Z Challenge 2016:  Easter Rising of 1916

2016 is the 100 year anniversary of this important moment in Irish history.  Join me throughout the month of April for an A to Z of the Easter Rising of 1916.

About the Easter Rising of 1916

On Easter Monday, April 24, 1916, a group of Irish rebels took over the General Post Office and other key buildings around the city of Dublin announcing the establishment of the Irish Republic.  Padraig Pearse read a proclamation that declared Ireland a free nation and established a provisional government.  

The rebels knew that Britain was involved in a World War and attempted to use that to their advantage.  Unfortunately the plan backfired, many people died, and the leaders of the rebellion were all executed or imprisoned.  

Initially the Irish public did not support the rebels but over time the leaders of the Easter Rising became known as martyrs and heroes.  Their actions on that fateful Easter Monday eventually led to the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1921.

2016 is the 100 year anniversary of this important moment in Irish history.  Join me throughout the month of April for an A to Z of the Easter Rising of 1916.

March Book Reviews

This month I read 3 books.  Here are my mini-reviews....

The Magician by Michael Scott

  "After fleeing Ojai, Nicholas, Sophie, Josh, and Scatty emerge in Paris, the City of Lights. Home for Nicholas Flamel. Only this homecoming is anything but sweet. Perenell is still locked up back in Alcatraz and Paris is teeming with enemies. Nicollo Machiavelli, immortal author and celebrated art collector, is working for Dee. He’ s after them, and time is running out for Nicholas and Perenell. For every day spent without the Book of Abraham the Mage, they age one year—their magic becoming weaker and their bodies more frail. For Flamel, the Prophesy is becoming more and more clear.
    It’s time for Sophie to learn the second elemental magic: Fire Magic. And there’ s only one man who can teach it to her: Flamel’s old student, the Comte de Saint-Germain—alchemist, magician, and rock star. Josh and Sophie Newman are the world’s only hope—if they don’t turn on each other first."
image and summary from Amazon.com

This is the second book in the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series.  At first I had a hard time getting into this book.  I had previously rented it twice from the library and each time the library got to take the book back before I could even finish chapter 1.  Well, it turns out that the third time is the charm.  

In this book of the series, the twins and Nicholas Flamel continue their adventures in Paris while Perenelle battles for her freedom on Alcatraz.  Once I got into the story, I could not stop reading.  I love the author's take on magic and alchemy and how he mixes mythology and fantastical creatures with historical figures

The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr

Tea and a new book on the porch: the perfect beginning to spring break. #365frandz #project365 #ced2016 #amreading

A photo posted by Lisa (@lalocadesigns) on Mar 19, 2016 at 9:45am PDT

This was a really interesting book about memoir writing.  Mary Karr uses great examples from a variety of memoirs, analyzing the writers' choices and what they add to the stories.  She talks a lot about truth in memoir writing: how much of the writing can be fictionalized, how to deal with those who disagree with your version of the story, how to find the universal truths that are represented in our stories.  It was an inspiring read, and I will use what I learned from Karr to continue exploring the possibility of writing some of my own memoir.  I am also planning to slowly work my way through her extensive recommended reading list.  

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

"Darcy Patel has put college on hold to publish her teen novel, Afterworlds. With a contract in hand, she arrives in New York City with no apartment, no friends, and all the wrong clothes. But lucky for Darcy, she’s taken under the wings of other seasoned and fledgling writers who help her navigate the city and the world of writing and publishing. Over the course of a year, Darcy finishes her book, faces critique, and falls in love.
Woven into Darcy’s personal story is her novel, Afterworlds, a suspenseful thriller about a teen who slips into the “Afterworld” to survive a terrorist attack. The Afterworld is a place between the living and the dead, and where many unsolved—and terrifying—stories need to be reconciled. Like Darcy, Lizzie too falls in love…until a new threat resurfaces, and her special gifts may not be enough to protect those she cares about most"
image and summary from Amazon.com

What can I say?  I know that I have already talked about my love of Scott Westerfeld's writing on this blog.  This book was another winner.

When I started reading this book, I thought I knew exactly what it would be about.  I thought that the writer's world and the world of her characters were going to mix together in a fantasy-type way.  I was very surprised to find that this was not the case.  I still loved the book; it did not disappoint.  In fact I could not put it down and finished the book in just two days.