Gareth

Meaning: Gentle

Origin: Welsh, Arthurian

Pronunciation: GAR-əth

Gender: Male

I saw this a few weeks ago in an article and I really came to like it. It looks cool and the meaning is nice. It’s a bit different than the more common Garret but not completely out there and crazy or anything.

On the Edge of the End…. An update since it’s been a while

So a lot of us were impacted in one way or another by the pandemic. It was a shock for sure. I had so many plans for 2020 as we all did most likely and in a moments time it all just came to a halt. When the whole world locked down me and my husband and countless others fortunate not to lose our essential working jobs kept working draining ourselves and in no way am I counting myself anywhere near the nurses and doctors on the front line as they were impacted far worse.

 

By May of 2020 I had to take a leave of absence from my job to work on my mental and physical wellbeing. It’s hard to work in a place when the world had seemed to have gone crazy and people all around you could be sick and you’re trying to keep shelves packed and the carts you bring out are swamped by desperate people and you are caught in the melee. The greed and desperations running rampant drained me a lot so I took a small break.

 

By June of 2020 I was back to work but still feeling the strain of things. My husband Anthony got covid in November of 2020. Two days later I got it even though I tried to quarantine separate after we found out he had it but I got it anyway. We tried to do the right thing mask, sanitizer, wash hands ect but somehow it wasn’t enough and we had got it. At the highest my temperature reached 102.9 and it was just awful, but we pulled through. The aftereffects are just as crippling at times including the fear of crowds for me and I often just can’t concentrate or stay to doing the same thing for long periods of time and exhaustion as well. As well not taking care of my health by eating properly and exercising.

 

The desire to craft, blog, read or write just went away most likely from burn out and stress. We still hadn’t seen family except quick socially distanced stops for a few mins and they were rare and our Christian meetings up until early 2022 to protect everyone had been on Zoom. So March 2020 to April 2022 it was all done on zoom.

 

Then came the vaccine and it’s a personal choice and after some talk my husband and I got the vaccine in the end of April 2021 and it affected Anthony pretty bad and he wound up in the ER with 103 temp that was not budging. Finally, with that under control we got back to life. I think the vaccine was a good idea for our family I just wish Anthony hadn’t gotten so sick the first day. Then in 2021 the cat I rescued when he was a baby, Tommy, suddenly passed away from a heart attack at the age of 14. He was with my parents. 

 

Now here we are April of 2023, vaccinated and boosted, and roughly 3 years from the first lock down and I’ll say I really do hope things go back to normal soon, most have but not everything. For the first 2 years it was scary hearing of the new variants popping up and equally scary hearing of people that just have so much hate and anger that fills the news feeds more and more. You would think after a tough few years of reflection one would come out with a better attitude toward life and the people around you but it’s not. I deal with the nastiness on a daily basis at work and it had made me so sad and weak its hard at times, but I know a better future is ahead and we are just on the edge of the end. However, more was still to come…

 

                                                ***

 

That leads me to the saddest of updates and it’s taken 14 months to be able to really come on and say it. February 27^th, 2022 my dad, Leonard Fred Coker, died at the age of 86. He had dementia and other health problems for over 5 years but late 2021 and early 2022 he was getting progressively worse. He was falling more and going to the hospital more often because of the falls. After one of the falls he went on hospice care and was on hospice for 3 weeks before he passed away. I kept telling him he had get better but he couldn’t stand and didn’t want to eat or drink much. My mom Linda did a great job as his nurse and taking care of him 24/7 during those 3 weeks well more than just those 3 weeks but taking care of all his needs while he physically couldn’t. To protect the dignity of him and my mom I won’t go into details on the struggles those 3 weeks.  

 

The Saturday before he passed my mom called and said we needed to get over there he was getting worse. I had that day off from work but Anthony didn’t but he didn’t want to miss seeing my dad if it was his last day so we called work and waited forever before we got ahold of the only manager on duty who didn’t work on our side of the store but after we explained she said take the day and she would email our manager and the day would be cleared, she was kind and accommodating, a rarity where we work. We got there and my sister, brother-in-law and nephew who had come down a few days before were there to see my dad as well. We spent the day and night there with him. When Anthony leaned over to talk with my dad, my dad held his hand up to Anthony’s face and we knew he remembered us. That day there were times like in the last weeks that he seemed somewhat normal like during the super bowl and playing with a squeezy ball and pop it we bought him to fidget with but he was getting weaker. That night we told my dad we knew he was tired and if he needed to go, we understood, and we’d see him again.

 

I thought I would be ok writing this but its so much harder than I thought it would be.

 

Sunday the 27^th arrived and we came over. The day was normal enough. We were watching my dad’s favorite channel, the weather channel, I laugh thinking about it, he loved that channel. We all sat around talking about anything including the shows on the weather channel. We each checked on him through out and talked to him. I didn’t think it would be that day. I silently prayed I wasn’t the one to find him but I stood up that day around 4 and I walked over and his chest wasn’t moving. I stood there scared to say anything. I looked to my sister who sat on the couch, and I whispered I don’t think he was breathing but I wanted to be sure before we told mom who was sitting on a bar stool in the kitchen. However, mom heard me and came over along with my sister and it was, he was gone.

 

I’m sorry I can’t finish the update, it hurts too much.

 

I love him so much and I miss him even when people don’t know and they think I don’t morn like them, I do.

 

Its taken years to write this update even the last part. I start crying and I can’t see to finish. There is more but I can’t.

 

Thank you for reading this and I hope that your well and I hope anyone that’s lost someone knows Jehovah God has given a beautiful promise to see them again and I know ill see my dad again.

Achilles

Meaning: (Pain, Greek legend character from Homer's 'Iliad,' killed by an arrow to the heel. ) 

Origin:(Greek) 

Pronunciation: (a-KILL-eez) 

Gender: Male 

I am quite surprised I haven't added this name before. Its definitely an oldy but a goody. Its not a name you probably would hear often anymore but would be a good ones used in wide variety of settings and genres. It would be fun to see it cause you wouldn't really think much of this being used apart from the Iliad but I oddly like the look and sound of this name. 

For Anyone Interested in Minecraft

 Hi All in the blog-o-sphere, I promise to post some new character names soon, I've been on too long of a hiatus and I miss blogging very much. I am here though to tell everyone about a new blog that was set up by my husband, his first experience with blogging. 

It is easy to follow tutorials about making custom blocks, items and entities in Minecraft and how others can make them as well. He has 2 posts up so far with several more to come in the coming weeks. So if you are interested in custom items for Minecraft and or just wanna pop over and see what it's all about here is his blog name and address:

Custom Minecraft Creations with Lunarain

https://customminecraftcreations.blogspot.com/

Edit 04/23/2023:

So a few weeks ago my husband Anthony created a YouTube Channel for his Let's Play Minecraft and has been putting up videos every other day. If anyone is interested I'll put a link here to his channel, he has regular videos, shorts and tutorials so far! He is Ivyman1992. 

Ivyman1992 - YouTube

Indigo

Meaning: (Blue Dye, Blue Dye from India)

Origin: (Greek, English, English Nature Name)

Pronunciation: (in-dih-goh, in-di-goh)

Gender: (Uni-Sex)

I have a novel idea for a few years now that has a main character named Indigo and when I was thinking of a name to add I realized I haven’t added Indigo and I wondered why because it is such a cool name. It has a nature based meaning and honestly the color itself is a beautiful blue purple so it would be a cool name if associated with a character based on a physical attribute like indigo colored eyes or hair or something, not to say that a name has to be based on a physical attribute but it could. A fun thing would be to pair it with other color/plant names like Periwinkle *see on list of posts*, Lilac *see on list of posts*, Lavender *see on list of posts*, Rose ect. All in all I like this name and can’t wait to bring my edgy girl Indigo to the page, she’s going to be a fun one, lol!

Laureline

Meaning: (Laurel, Noble)

Origin: (Germanic, Latin, French)

Pronunciation: (Lor-uh-leen, Lor-ah-lina)

Gender: (Female)

I was watching a movie a few months back called Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, from 2017, which the movie is based on the comics which I don’t have much knowledge of but I do have to say that I really loved the main girls name Laureline. It sounds adorable and fresh and so cute! I honestly would love to use this name in a novel. It seems to look and sound old fashioned yet on the flip sounds modern at times so all around I love it.

Bianco

Meaning- (White, Bright, Shining, Beautiful)

Origin- (Italian, Old High German)

Pronunciation- (bee-ANG-ko, bee-AHNK-oh)

Gender- (Male, Uni-Sex)

Here is a seemingly male version of the name Bianca *see on list of names* which is an alternative to Blanche *see on list of names* so all would do well male and female on a character. I really think Bianco is kind of a rugged name with nice meanings and a nice older history. All in all I really do like this name and would love to see it used.

Cato

Meaning- (Intelligent, Shrewd, All Knowing, Wise, Good Judgement, 2^nd Century Roman Statesman)

Origin- (Latin, Ancient Roman)

Pronunciation- (cah-toe, kAI-toh)

Gender-(Male, Uni-Sex)

So I was looking for more unique names and came across this rather old but still very unused and unique name of Cato. Then I remembered I had heard this in the Hunger Games movies and was like well might as well add it. I do like the meanings and the age of the name but it’s a little too short and harsh sounding for me to want to use it in a novel or to even see it much in a novel. It would maybe do well as a secondary characters name or even a surname. I do think it would be cool paired with a surname ending in O I have one in mind but keeping to myself incase I decide to use it, lol!  

Darby

Meaning- (Deer Farm, Deer Settlement, From the Deer Estate, Free from Envy, it is a place name and surname)

Origin- (Old English, Irish, Norse)

Pronunciation- (DAR-bee)

Gender- (Female, Uni-Sex)

I was looking up unique girls names and came across this one. It reminds me of Derby and or Derbyshire but it is a cute name and seems unique having once been a place name and surname. The meanings are sweet and the over all looks is nice. I can see preppy character being named this, think Buffy and Darby lol!

Cassia

Meaning: (Cinnamon, Cassia Spice which is a variety of Cinnamon)

Origin: (Greek, Latin)

Pronunciation: (cas-ee-uh, KAH-sha, KASS-ya)

Gender: (Female, Uni-Sex)

I have seen this name used a bit more of late and I really do like it. I have used the other variant Keziah *see on list of posts* before which I love but this version seems more feminine and softer in its look. Either way I love the meaning and the all around look and it fits in the past and present and future so it is versatile.

Aelia

Meaning: (Solar, Sun, Helios, Feminine form of Aelius which was the family name of the Roman Emperor Hadrian)

Origin: (Greek, Ancient Roman)

Pronunciation: (IE-lee-a, ai-eh-l-y-ah)

Gender: (Female)

I was looking up sun related names of the past and came across this one and I like how it looks with the Ae at the beginning as I tend to see these names being almost alien looking lol. I love the history of this name and how it can fit in different eras. I can see a beautiful dark beauty being named this. I also love the way it sounds when said, just so beautiful.  

Aeliana

Meaning: (Sun, feminine form of Aelianus)

Origin: (Latin, Ancient Roman)

Pronunciation: (ee-lee-AHN-a, ie-lee-AHN-a)

Gender: (Female, Uni-Sex)

I have the name Eliana *see on list of posts* already on here and actually love it a lot and Anthony and I would love Eliana to be the name of a future daughter we hope to have some day. Now when I saw Aeliana I think it is lovely and very much fits in a historical novel. Its really pretty. I prefer Eliana but I like Aeliana for a character lol.

Cassian

Meaning: (Empty, Hollow, From the Roman family name Cassianus, which was derived from CASSIUS. This was the name of several saints, including a 3rd-century martyr from Tangier who is the patron saint of stenographers and a 5th-century mystic who founded a monastery in Marseille.)

Origin: (Latin, English, Ancient Roman)

Pronunciation: (KASH-ən (English), KAE-SH-ahN )

Gender: (Male)

I saw this name the other day and I think it is a very attractive rare name that has great possibilities and I’d love to see it used a bit more often. The meanings are interesting and its history is very old and so this could be used in virtually any era which I love as well. It would make a great alternative to the female Cassia which I have seen of late and like as well.

2019 International Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses “Love Never Fails”

August 16-18 2019 in St. Louis Missouri we attended a very special convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses, it was an international convention which had in attendance 5,000 international delegates and in total we had 27,000 to 28,000 which included the international and local state wide delegates and had over 8,000 to 9,000 others patched in from other conventions in the united states and abroad during certain talks at our convention!

The theme was “Love Never Fails” from 1 Corinthians 13:1-8. It was such an uplifting convention and we all spent over a year preparing to attend and volunteer, which me and Anthony did volunteer. Usually we have smaller conventions of 5,000 closer to home but this year was an international in our state of Missouri and we were all invited and it was the first international convention we have been able to attend. There are other international conventions worldwide and several more smaller conventions still occurring. 

https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/conventions/2019-convention-video/#?insight[search_id]=62e74994-4bb3-4afc-b259-034e0b11a4ad&insight[search_result_index]=0

Me and Anthony and my parents when they could made gifts for the delegates and they did likewise. We made marble magnet bags. So we got little green, blue and off white with blue or green string mesh bags which we put the marble magnets in. We used clear and sometimes mottled flat back marbles and printed out in different fonts JW.ORG for the one set of marble magnets. The second set had galaxies and I got those pictures from scrap book paper at a local scrap booking store. The 3^rd set was small animals (hummingbird, lion, wolf, turtle, sloth, fox, skunk and a few others), again from scrap book paper at a local scrap booking store. Each bag had one of each of the marbles.

They were made by putting mod podge on a foam brush and applying to the back of the marble and then the marble was pressed to the image. Once the image was dry, using scissors or an x-acto knife we cut it out and then using scissors we cut around to make sure no excess image was sticking over the edges. Then we applied another layer of mod podge to the back of the marbles. Once the second layer was dry we took a roll of self adhesive magnets and cutting pieces down to size applied to the back of the marbles and voila marble magnets.

We placed one of each set per bag and then added a message for the delegates. Each message we wrote we then used mod podge and placed different color and designed scrap book paper to the back and then placed the messages inside the bags. 

We met different people from Sweden, Canada, USA, Japan, all over. During breaks for lunch and before and after the convention sessions we saw the international delegates dressed to represent each of their countries and it was pretty cool. I was taking it in and didn’t get any pictures of them in dress but my mom did and one is below, though in one of my pics you can see the back of two women with outfits that look German kind of.

The last day we all waved cut out hearts and sang Kingdom songs and didn’t want it to end. The programs themselves were full of so many things to help us show love more and to endure. The drama video was about Josiah and that was very good. This convention was so wonderful and everyday since then I wish I could be back there. 

https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/conventions/story-of-josiah-trailer/#?insight[search_id]=20fcd8fa-4297-4595-af5d-53b0de2e4682&insight[search_result_index]=0

That Saturday my Nephew Jakob, 12 years old, was one of 224 who got baptized.

Here is a link so you can read about the convention:

https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/region/united-states/St-Louis-United-States-2019-Love-Never-Fails-International-Convention/#?insight[search_id]=fef62a1a-bc9c-42e5-a2c8-4a50838ac4fe&insight[search_result_index]=0

Eirlys

Meaning: (Snowdrop)

Origin: (Welsh, English) 

Pronunciation: (EY-RLihS) 

Gender: (Female, Uni-Sex) 

I was looking for a snow related name to change one of my characters last names to in an already finished novel from a few years ago. I found this one and it fits the theme of the name and it fits the origin of the fantasy nation they are from as they have many Welsh and Old English names. I think this name reminds me of another character in the novels name Eirwyn *see on list of posts* and both I love the look and meaning and pronunciations so much! I intend to look into more welsh names soon. This name reminds me of a beautiful maiden bright and crisp as her name sake.

Rysa

Meaning: (Laughter, variant of Risa)

Origin: (Latin)

Pronunciation: (RihSAH)

Gender: (Female, Uni-Sex) 

I have the variant Risa *see on list of posts* already on this blog but I came across this variant and I think I almost prefer it better. They seem with the change of one letter to be different names all together and I like that. Plus one seems when looked at more masculine and one more feminine, to me anyway. I think the meaning is very lovely and beautiful. It is a short and sweet name and not too hard to wrap your mind around when read. 

Melyonen

Meaning: (A modern Cornish vocabulary name meaning Violet, Born of the Sea)

Origin: (Cornish, Old Welsh) 

Pronunciation: (mel-YON-en, mel-YONN-en) 

Gender: (Female, Uni-Sex) 

I think of a maiden that lives in a sea side village in the middle ages or a fantasy realm being named this. It is very pretty and seems to roll well off the tongue when said or at least for me. The meanings are pretty and I think it would be cute if the character was nicknamed Mely or Melly kind of like Nelly. I have a story I think this would be absolutely perfect in! 

Emi

Meaning: (Blessing, Picture, Beauty, A Smile, Blessed with Beauty)

Origin: (Japanese) 

Pronunciation: (EH-mee, EHM-iy) 

Gender: (Female) 

This is a short but beautiful meaning name but I can’t remember where I first saw this but I think is very lovely and makes me think of a Japanese beautiful warrior like character. This would be cute as an animals name as well.

New Crafting Blog: Relaxing Crafts with Cass!

So I am super excited to bring my blog readers and followers to my newest blog: Relaxing Crafts with Cass! I’ve added quite a few crafts to my Bookworm blog over the last few years but finally decided to create a blog exclusively for my crafts. I’ve added my crafts from my Bookworm blog over to my new blog Relaxing Crafts with Cass and will use that blog exclusively for my future crafts from now on so that my Bookworm blog can be used for all things book and lifestyle related.

My crafts aren’t the best like many YouTube and bloggers that have many viewers and make such wonderful things but I try my best. I began to craft more some years ago mainly hair accessories at first. It was a way at the time to use my creative juices aside my writing. As you all know as I’ve put up here I got into a serious courtship in 2017 and got married but also that year I got a first time real job not just here and there job and with it came many stresses. Since then maybe almost 2 years I haven’t written but a few sentences for my stories and it plagues me very much but because of a busy life and working I haven’t had much time for writing but I miss it. But beyond deep down that creative part has been squashed in a way and so crafting has helped me still be creative in another way.  

When I craft it allows me to get out of my head or rather only focus on the creative part of my mind and not the bad things that happen. I’ve been on the same job 2 years now and its been not so good for a long while. There have only been maybe 3 or 4 times in that span I was happy while there. More times than not I am anxious and stressed. I don’t trust anyone apart from my husband up at our job, he works there too just a different department. Many mangers mainly those there in the beginning but are gone now were extremely cruel and admitting it is hard employees, customers and some managers had me in the bathroom in tears after a hard day and mean treatment. I used to and sometimes still do still get physically sick before, during or after work because of the stress and its hard but the hours and money are the only reasons I stay right now but I might be forced to change jobs soon as its just too much. Anyway crafting helps me to step away from it and be creative and just make something that makes me smile. 

So please feel free to stop by my new blog and check out some of my new and old crafts on my new crafting blog! 

Oh and by the way only ones moved over from my Bookworm blog will have the label originally posted year for reference but new crafts won’t, it will be from then forward already there on post date. 

https://relaxingcraftswithcass.blogspot.com/

Or you can find my new blog by going to the About Me page and clicking on my new blog Relaxing Crafts with Cass!

Reginald

Meaning: (Powerful Ruler, Advice, Counsel, Decision, Ruler)

Origin: (German, Latin)

Pronunciation: (R-JH-ih-NahLD, REJ-i-neld) 

Gender: (Male)

To me Reginald is very regal and dignified even before I knew the meanings. Its an older name but still a good one. Last year I tried to save a bird up in the lawn and garden department of our super center Walmart where I work, it was a sparrow that got clipped by a fan and I took care of him over the weekend while looking for someone to take him and I named him Reginald A.K.A Reggie but sadly he passed away early the next week. So to me this name seems fit for a King or General someone in a seat of power.