Wednesday, July 31, 2013

"Nothing lovely is over and done with until the last person who remembers it forgets."

Well, I'm back.

Back from Melody's house, that is.  Back from eight glorious days with my best friend and one rather stressful night spent in a strange city due to flight delays.  Back from giggles and nonsense and serious late-night conversations and more strawberries than were good for me.  


I'm really not sure how to describe the visit, to be honest-- the picture above is worth a thousand words.    In fact, the thing that's coming to my mind at the moment is (surprise, surprise) a song lyric.  

It well may be that we will never meet again in this lifetime
[but I certainly hope it's not!!!]
So let me say before we part-- so much of me is made from what I learned from you
You'll be with me, like a handprint on my heart.
And now whatever way our stories end, I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend.

"So much of me is made of what I learned from you..." that's the bit that sticks out to me at the moment.  What did I learn on this trip? A lot.   

For starters, I learned...

... just how short eight days can be, especially when you've been anticipating them for about two hundred.


... how much fun it is to do mundane tasks when you're with your best friend.  Setting up a bed for yourself on her bedroom floor is the greatest thing ever, and drying dishes is the best pastime you could imagine.

...that no matter how self-conscious you may normally be about Causing Scenes in a Public Place, you will drop everything and run through an airport terminal to meet your Tween without caring what people think of your crazy, laughing, spinning, crying, tripping-over-luggage, absolutely swelliferous first hug.

... that little things will be the ones that stick in your memory the most.  Like the way Melody brought the pocket dolls I'd sent her last year to the airport with her to meet me, and how squealy and delighted I was when she pulled them out of the side pocket thingy in the car.  {side note: isn't her purse adorable?  That's what they're sitting on.}


... to be careful about laughing too loudly or appearing to be enjoying oneself too much when one is in an antique mall.  Otherwise the employee who comes to unlock the ladies' room for you might be prompted to mournfully observe that "you girls are having way too much fun."  Yes.  Yes, we are.  Is there a problem.

... that when two people are as close as Melody and I are, their minds tend to work in the same wondrous ways.  Which is why I should not have been surprised when we opened presents from each other and discovered that each had given the other a white teacup and saucer with pink roses on them.  They're not identical... but they're similar enough to give us a good laugh.  Plus the fact that we both thought of teacups, of all things we could have given... yep, it was amusing in the extreme.  (I love my teacup muchly, by the way.  I wish I'd gotten a picture of both of them together but alas, I forgot.)

... that burritos can be reheated nicely and tacos can't.  Therefore...
"Amy should eat her taco tonight and save the burrito for tomorrow since she doesn't want both at once."
"Wait, no, she's never had a burrito so she should have the burrito tonight."
"But the taco will get rubbery if it's reheated."  
"Okay, so she should eat the taco... wait, what about the burrito?  She'll probably like the burrito better."
"If she doesn't eat the burrito, someone else can eat it." 
"Why doesn't someone else just eat the taco?"
"What if she DOESN'T like the burrito?"
"Why doesn't she just eat the taco and cut off a bite or so of the burrito so she can see what it tastes like, and then if she doesn't like it someone else can eat it?"
(This was, in fact, the final outcome.  And I did like it.  But someone else ate it anyway because I'd already had the taco.)


... that the wake-up alarm on my cell phone is annoying to other people.

...that frightfully hot weather can keep one in a continual state of inelegance.

...that apple-carrot-ginger juice is really gross.  (Yes, Tween, I know you told me so. What can I say? I'm adventurous.) 


...that the danger of an open fire pit in the backyard can be minimized by the presence of a working hose and a glass of milk.

...that everything is funny when you've had too many shmoes.  ("They're called s'mores, Buzz.")
"You know what?  The wooden soldiers."

...that the best time to jump on the trampoline is when daylight dissolves into darkness... DARKNESS...

...that everything can be turned into a Phantom quote.  "Poooooor fool, he makes me laugh!"

...that when one is telling spooky (okay, not so spooky) stories around the campfire, there is no reason to jump and half-shriek when Melody's mom innocently opens the kitchen door and comes outside.  Because I was the one telling the story, therefore I should not have been scared.  Logic.


... that you are not supposed to say "go fish" when you're playing Authors.  Also, it is more important to collect all four Jane Austen cards than to actually win.

...that when you are playing ImaginIff, it's tremendous fun to put fictional characters' names into the mix if you don't have enough players to make all eight.  "If Mr. Collins were an annoying habit, what would he be?"

...that you can have fun at a water park even if it's only 85 degrees out and you're beginning to turn blue after getting dunked at the bottom of a slide.

.
..that you don't lay on mats to go down a slide.  You lie on them.  (Listen and learn, O Peoples Who Write Directions on Signs at Water Parks.)

...that the game Password is fiendishly hard but delightful nonetheless.

...that it is a Federal offense to record people's conversations without their knowledge.  (Okay, well, I already knew that one... but I was REMINDED of it.  And no, I wasn't the guilty party in this episode.  For once.  :P)

....that sleep is for the weak and caffeine is for the courageous.  You can sleep when you're dead.


...that Melody is really good at doing people's hair.

...that it makes them sound so much more sophisticated when you say "squares de lemoooooon" in a French-ish voice rather than just boring old "lemon squares."

...that when you make gingerbread for a party, you need to tell people ahead of time that it's gingerbread and not brownies so they don't bite into it thinking it's a brownie and then wonder why it's molasses-flavored.

...that if a trampoline MUST be in the way during an Old-Fashioned Elegance Tea, you can make the best of it by draping said trampoline with artificial flower garlands.


...that the best nicknames are the ones people don't know they have.  We are good at making up names for people, we are.  :D

...that it's really fun to whistle Blandois' little tune from Little Dorrit when you're in an echo-y place so you can (hopefully) scare the wits out of your Tween.  It doesn't always work but it's still fun.

...that if you're going to read aloud to each other by candlelight, you have to have fire extinguishers handy.  If the fire extinguishers come in the shapes of Dixie cups full of water from the bathroom sink, so be it.  (Stop laughing, Melody, your bedroom could have burned down if those candles had fallen over.  BURNED.  DOWN.   To the GROUND.)

...that it is quite easy to communicate with just a look when Melody is the person I'm communicating with.  A wink, a smirk, a raised eyebrow, whatever... if someone says something funny, all we have to do is glance at each other.



...that "if there's anything worse than a young girl making goo-goo eyes at a young boy, it's some old bat making a fool out of herself for some old geezer!"  (It's a quote, guys.  Now, if you know what it's from, you'll get imaginary squares de lemoooon.)



...that it is hard to write in a journal when you're on a twisty, bumpy dirt road.  (Thank you for pointing that out, my dear.)

...that mountain lakes are gorgeous, gorgeous things of gorgeousness.

...that you are never too old to write your name in the dust on your friend's car after you've traversed fourteen miles of twisty, bumpy dirt road.  (It says "Melody and Amy were here, 7/15/13," in case you couldn't make it out."




...that it's really hard to find cute matching pajamas for a good price at Walmart, but it IS possible.  (and no, there will be no pictures of Melody and me in our matching pajamas.  sorry.)

...that whoever invented subtitles for movies is a genius, because how else could you talk and giggle through every scene in Emma and still be able to follow what's going on? Well, unless you'd seen the movie 4 and 12 times respectively.  That helps too.

...that if you're going to jump on the trampoline at one o'clock in the morning (of the day you're supposed to go home), there is a slim chance that you might get locked out of the house.  Melody's dad (haha, first I typed "Mr. Melody'slastname" and then had to erase that...) came downstairs at one point to get a snack or something, noticed that the porch light was on, and came over to turn it off.  Then he must have gotten suspicious as to why it was on in the first place, so he poked his head out the door to see what was up.  We, of course, were lying flat on our stomachs on the trampoline stifling giggles.  He must have heard our muffled laughter, because he looked around, shook his head, left the light on and went back into the house without locking the door.  Thankfully.  Though we did have backup plans in case we DID get locked out for real.
"Let's dig a hole under the foundation of the house and get in from below!"
"Or we could just throw rocks at [Melody's brother's] window until he wakes up and lets us in."
"Or we could just spend the night on the trampoline."
"It's gonna get cold out here..."
"I don't think it's really locked."
"Yeah, we're good.  Let's bounce some more.  Quietly."
The door was not actually locked, though I did (unsuccessfully) try to convince Melody that it WAS since I reached it first when we were done bouncing.  But she's not so easily fooled.


...that "one AM, two AM, three!" are the best times of night (er, day) for baring your soul and telling your most appalling secrets.

...that there is a My Fair Lady quote for almost everything.  Aoooowwwwww.  (We didn't do that one enough, Tween.  I can only think of two instances.  Sad, that.)

...that Eliza Doolittle and Freddy Eynsford-Hill are the ideal roles to play if you ever get an opportunity to be in MFL.   I mean, seriously, you get to scream your head off and throw temper tantrums like a crazy person or run crazily around the stage and smack into fences like a complete dork.  What's not to love?

...that cute little tea shops are way. too. much. fun.  And Cherry Rose Festival tea is delicious.  And it's actually not bright yellow like it appears in the picture.  More of a transparent beige.


...that acting out the Haunted Wood scene from Anne of Green Gables while up in the mountains is tremendous fun, but it won't take long before your mothers figure out what you're doing ("well, you went off into the woods alone with a script and were giggling your heads off...") and are heartily amused by it.

...that the only way to eat an apple properly is to say "Really?" in a Katherine Brooke voice before taking your first big chompy bite.  Precede all following bites with quotes from other books and movies, if possible.  If not possible, just giggle and eat the apple normally.

...that "Winifred" rhymes with "empty head."  (Okay, now you get to name THAT quote.)

...that if you try too hard to make sense of a time-travel movie, your brain will hurt, so just watch the movie and sigh over the romantic parts and cry over the sad parts and eat strawberries and don't worry about logic.


...that if it hadn't been for Jane Austen, Melody and I never would have met.  We owe a lot to that woman, we do.

...that it is never a bad time to spontaneously break into Christine's part from the Final Lair.  "Pitiful creature of darkness, what kind of life have you known?  God give me courage to show you, you are not aloooooooooone!"  *loudly hums orchestra's part*

...that we ought to be thankful that Sarah Brightman's style of singing is so personalized, because we can recognize that it is she who is singing and promptly turn it off.

....that if you serve chocolate raspberry sticks at a party, they will get eaten much faster than you think.


...that parting is not sweet sorrow, it's just sorrow.

...that there comes a time when hiding in the closet so you don't have to go home ceases to be an option.  "I shall not leave... but shall hi-ide... over THERE."  (Seriously, if you get all these quotes, you are either Melody or a very smart person.  The two are not mutually exclusive.)

...that there is no shame in crying in a busy airport.

...that "no matter where our stories end, I know you have rewritten mine by being my friend."


Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
I do believe I have been changed for the better
And because I knew you
I have been changed for good.

17 comments:

Bella said...

Aw glad you guys had a good time! And glad your back blogging! Missed ya! Hehee, I laughed at about eveything you said on here, sounds like so much fun!

-Belle

Emma Jane said...

Ohhh, you don't like Sarah Brightman's voice?!?!? *Gasp* I am shocked. APPALLED. :[

May I ask what the book you are reading (the one with Romola Garai's Emma Woodhouse on the cover) is called? Is it actually Emma by Miss Austen or is it a book about the making of the miniseries? Because if it IS a book about the miniseries I must get myself to the library and see if I can interloan it from one of those distant libraries that always seem to have better things than the one in my town. : P
Yes, frightfully hot weather can most certainly keep one in a constant state of inelegence. Don't I know it. : P
What adorable dolls!!!! Although one of them seems to be missing her legs...?
There is a Dr. Quinn quote for almost everything too, it seems. : )
Unfortunately I didn't get many of the quotes you used...*hangs head in shame*. But that does not neccessarily mean I am not a very smart person, does it now? : p
I've already said this before, but once again, I am so glad that you both had such a wonderful time! : )

Blessings,
~Emma

Melody said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Melody said...

Good grief, my comment is obnoxiously long. I'm deleting it and making this one without spaces so at least people won't have to scroll as far. :P
Squeee! :) Loved this post. Must say some things. :D
And it's way too much fun to make a scene with you. Hahaha. I'm generally self-conscious too, but I always knew I wouldn't care what people thought when I was with youuu. I love it that the things like that that I "knew" proved to be correct. ;D
I don't think it even matters what the teacups look like. It's just hilarious that we both had teacups to give each other. Hahaha. :D
Seeeeee? There are downsides to being adventurous, m'dear. Down. Sides. :P I am not unadventurous; I am practical.
*I* did not have too many shmoes. (Or chocolate and marshmallows, as the case was.) But everything is funny when I'm with YOU, that's what.
You and your lay and lie. :P (Haha, to anybody who happens to be reading this long thing... I was sadly unsympathetic when she was annoyed about that. Probably only because it's a mistake I tend to make. Not anymore, though. *cough*)
Somebody said t'other day that it's not actually against the law to record people without their knowledge, only if you use or intend to use it for something. :P Whatever.
And thanks for the compliment about the hair. :D Should I open a salon for old-fashioned hairstyles? :P
A picture of the trampoline... oh DEAR. We were supposed to be IGNORING it. Haha.
But the candles did NOT fall over. And even if they had, two candles is really not that much of a fire hazard. A fire caused by that is easy to put out if it's caught right away. See, my version of taking precautions is to try to prevent it to begin with, rather than having something ready to fix it afterwards.
Not that I object to cups of water. I'm just sayin'. ;D
I'm glad you liked my mountains. Heehee. (I don't care for the ugly bits that seemed to fascinate your mother, but once we actually got there... YES. :D)
HA. And your mom. Oh my word. I'm still laughing over that.
"ANNE AND DIAAAAAANA! IT'S TIME TO LEAVE!"
We already knew about had-it-not-been-for-Jane-Austen, but it doesn't hurt to be reminded. :D :D
Anyways. I shall treasure this post forever and ever.
And mine shall come. Sometime. I'll probably start it today. But who knows when I'll actually finish it...

Anonymous said...

This sounds like a simply splendid time!
And eerily similar to me and my friends!

Eliza said...

I'm older than you girls but I really enjoy your blog and some of the other period drama blogs in your group of friends. I don't comment a lot but I've been following some of these period drama blogs for over a year.

That said-- I'm so glad you found a kindred spirit in the blogging world!

Although I didn't "get" all the references you made in this post, I got some and I have to say...

I absolutely cracked up and I'm still chuckling over this one and probably will still laugh when I think of it for days and days and probably years to come:

"...that the only way to eat an apple properly is to say "Really?" in a Katherine Brooke voice before taking your first big chompy bite."

Hahahahahahaha! I totally get that-- I know that scene you are referring to like the back of my hand for I have watched and re-watched Ann of Green Gables ever since I was a little girl.

P.S. I am really enjoying my Regency Reticule from Miss Dashwood's Historical Clothing =)

Hamlette (Rachel) said...

I LOVE IT!!!!

I love that you had such a fantabulous time.

I love that you shared so much of it with us.

I love that you quote old movies to each other constantly. And old books. And new books and new movies when absolutely necessary.

I hope you remain bosom friends for as long as you both shall live!

Elizabeth said...

Oh, you girls must have had SUCH a fun time!!!! I love seeing all the pictures! :P

Lily said...

Amy, what a divine post! You are incredibly good with words m'dear, and you expressed such beautiful things about friendship.
I had such a swelissimus time with you both. Shall I be your Louly now? However, I promise not to act too grown up *shudders* And I likely won't tell a stranger on the phone that I love them. = ) And I won't leave with a boy after a parade and desert you. I PROMISE. Hehe.

Jessica said...

I love the wooden soldiers quote. The funny thing is, my two little boys keep watching that movie over and over of late. ha
And I win the square de lemooon. hehe The quote was from Mrs. Lynde on Road to Avonlea. ;-) She's hilarious.

Anonymous said...

You have a nice best friend. I am glad you got to go and see her and have fun. That is what best friends are for. (I'm going to do that too, someday.)

S'mores are good things to do with best friends. Did you catch the marshmallows on fire and wave them round and round in the air?

Miss Dashwood said...

Belle,
Thanks so much! Awww, I missed you guys too... I'm really hoping to get back into semi-regular blogging now. :D

Emma Jane,
Haha, sorry, nope. I don't like Sarah Brightman's voice very much at all. I'm okay with her early work in POTO (though she's definitely not my favorite Christine) but after that she tends to annoy me excessively. The book we were holding actually is Jane Austen's Emma-- it just features a picture from the miniseries as the cover.
The doll in the white dress DOES have legs, but her dress is so long that it covers them. Heehee.
And goodness, no, not getting all of the quotes does not reflect on your level of intelligence at all! Not in the least! I only meant that in order to get all of them you would have to either be familiar with all the movies and books or else just really really intuitive. :D

Rose,
Hahahahaha, I didn't think your comment was obnoxiously long... but then I am prejudiced in favor of very long comments.
I know, it was indeed fun to be proved right so many times about things we anticipated... I would so much rather be merry AND right. Heehee.
Your "I am not unadventurous; I am practical," cracked me up. You are the very essence of practicality and convenience. Ehehehehehehehehehe.
Hahahaha, okay, you didn't have too many shmoes... and I don't think I really did either, unless you count two as "too many." But yep, everything's funny when it's Us.
All right, fine, as long as the illegal recording isn't used for something, we won't press charges. :P You could, in fact, use sisterly influence to see that it isn't deleted, because I would like to hear it again sometime. We didn't record enough of us talking and doing stuff, we didn't. I have a total of five videos on my camera and that includes the skits from the party. Sigh. We'll know for next time-- RECORD MORE.
Truuuuuue, the candles did not fall over. But it is better to have the safety than the sorrow. :D
Hahahahaha, Mamma did indeed seem fascinated by the ugly bits... but I didn't think them ugly either. Just inTEResting and Different.
Awww, I'm glad you'll treasure this post forever and ever... I shall do the same with yours when it appears. Not that that was a hint or anything.

Beth Claire,
It was indeed! Times with friends are swelliferous, yes?

Miss Dashwood said...

Elizabeth,
Thanks so much for commenting (and for patronizing my shop! :D) I'm so glad you "got" the Katherine Brooke reference... that movie is a real gem, isn't it? :D

Hamlette,
Awww, thank you! I love all those things too. And I heartily second the hope that we shall remain bosom friends forever. You should know that your anecdotes of times with your friend-who-is-far-away gave us much hope about future visits, so thank you VERY much for that. :D

Molly,
We did indeed and I'm so glad you liked the pictures!

Lily,
I had SUCH a swellissimus time meeting YOU at last! I do hope there will be many more times in the future. :D And I think you'd make a swellacious Louly--and of course you would't be a dastard and go off with a football player after a parade. Heeeheehee. Can you do a Southern accent? :D Gah, we had so much fun. I just want to do it all over again. I owe you an email, too...

Jessica,
Heeheehee, I somehow thought you'd recognize the wooden soldiers quote. I haven't even SEEN that movie though. Sad, isn't it. And you do indeed win the square de lemoooooon-- or you would if peeps hadn't finished them. They're all goooooone. :( I shall just have to have Melody over to my house and make more. We'll send you one. ;)

John,
I do indeed have a nice best friend. I happen to think she's the nicest there is. And s'mores are excellent things to do (and eat) with best friends. I'm afraid I didn't catch any marshmallows on fire and wave them around, but Melody's brother did (not intentionally) and it was most entertaining.

Emma Jane said...

Heehee, yeah, I suppose Sarah Brightman can be a teeny bit annoying. : P Although I really love her version of Memory from Cats, and I like her versions of Nessun Dorma and O Mio Babbino Caro. : )
My sister assured me that OF COURSE it was actually Emma that you were reading and that it was ridiculous that I should think anything otherwise. Heehee. : P
I really like your new profile picture! : )

~Emma

Melody said...

Okay, so I've been wondering--what do the little letters/initials in the corner of each Saturday on your calendar signify? ;)

Miss Elliot said...

I DON'T want to be sentimental, BUT I almost cried over this post. ("Winifred, please don't be emotional." Yes, I know where Winifred comes from.) Along with laughing, of course. Just at how beautiful life can be with a friend and fun times and how sweet it all is!
*snaps out of sentimental mode*
What a beautiful post, Miss Dashwood. You are quite a genius, m'dear.
P.S. Is it a coincidence that Emma looks like Mrs. Hurst from P&P95??? (Not that I don't like Romola Garai's Emma).

Anonymous said...

Hahaha you guys sound like you had so much fun!
Soooo... I love naming quotes!!
The one about old geezers making eyes was Rachel Lynda in Road To Avonlea, and the " Winnifred rhymes with empty head "(XD hahaha LOVE THAT QUOTE) That my friends is from Larkrise to Candleford.
Lovely post Miss Dashwood. I enjoyed it muchly.