Hipy Papy Bthuthdth Thuthda Bthuthdy

Pooh looked on admiringly.

"I'm just saying 'A Happy Birthday,' said Owl carelessly.  

"It's a nice long one," said Pooh, very much impressed by it.

"Well, actually, of course, I'm saying 'A Very Happy Birthday with love from Pooh.'  Naturally it takes a good deal of pencil to say a long thing like that."

"Oh, I see," said Pooh.

~In Which Eeyore Has a Birthday and Gets Two Presents

Today, ladies, is my sister Anne-girl's eighty-first birthday.  It seems like just yesterday we were little girls playing dress-up and cavorting around in the imaginary lands she dreamed up.  It seems like just yesterday we were... oh, you're not even paying attention, are you?  You're still staring at the first sentence in this paragraph and scratching your head.  What on EARTH is bothering--oh, is it the eighty-one thing?  Sorry, I've never been good at math.  Eighty-one or thereabouts, give or take sixty-six years.  Don't quibble about details.


I was two years and five months old when Anne-girl was born, and though I can remember things that happened before the advent of Her Sisterliness, I honestly don't remember what life in general was like without her.  She's the Marianne to my Elinor, the carefree to my cautious, the chocolate to my peanut butter, the Bertie to my Jeeves, the figmentation to my imagination (um... don't ask), the other half of me.

When we were little, it was Anne-girl who orchestrated our pretend games, who created the imaginary countries we'd travel to daily.   She spun adventures, created characters (and acted out most of them), invented political turmoil and intrigue and mysteries, designed elaborate costumes and towed me along with her wherever she went.  Sure, I was queen in name when we went to Jewelbank (the longest-running fantasy land, spanning me-at-nine-and-her-at-six to me-at-twelve-and-her-at-ten) but she was the puppeteer pulling my strings.  And I loved almost every minute of it.

I can hardly remember a time when we didn't play pretend games, but as we got a little older, our ways of entertainment began to vary a bit.  Winter evenings were frequently spent in the basement, lying on our stomachs on the cold cement floor as we crafted a never-ending story with our plastic Disney princess castle and its miniature figurines.  (American Girl paper dolls enjoyed their own flash of fame soon after that, and to this day we still burst into giggles when one of us innocently mentions something about Stirling Howard and a teddy bear.)  Summer evenings flashed by out in the backyard, playing runandhide (yes, it's one word) or abstractedly swinging on our creaky old swingset, watching fireflies and giggling about nothing.

Now that we're older, our tastes have changed.  Obviously.  We still gab, we still giggle, but instead of enacting talent showdowns between Cinderella and Princess Aurora, we challenge each other to writer wars.  American Girl books have been shelved and replaced with Pride and Prejudice and The Scarlet Pimpernel.  Little Bear is a thing of the past-- North and South has taken its place.  Winnie the Pooh, of course, remains the same, because nobody ever outgrows Winnie the Pooh.  (See quote at top of post.)

A decade and a half has passed, and a lot has changed, but it's been for the better.  We're closer now than we've ever been, and that makes me so happy.  Here's to the next fifteen years, sister o' mine.  Please continue.

Anne-girl at age 3 and Amy at age 6

Much love,

your Elinor

P.S.  Turnips care deeply about many things.  Turnips are strongly emotional vegetables.  Never forget that nugget of truth.

Pulling Out All the Stops

Now some may say all [daughters] just exaggerate, that every [father's] great...

Every daughter tends to say her father's tops. She pulls out all the stops to praise him... and quite rightly!

~"No Matter What," Beauty and the Beast

Mr. Knightley is my ultimate literary hero.  Y'all know that, right?  And if you didn't, you do now.  (I guest posted about Mr. Knightley over at Eva-Joy's blog, by the way--check it out here.)  I went into some detail (I elaborated, Millicent) about why Mr. Knightley is my favorite literary hero in that post, so I won't rehash it all here.  But to put it all in a nutshell, Mr. Knightley is my favorite because he's the kind of man I want to marry someday.  He embodies all the qualities of a wonderful husband and a man of character and integrity.

It's been said, you know, that girls tend to marry guys who are like their fathers.  And if that's true, then I will definitely end up with a Mr. Knightley.  Because my dad is like Mr. Knightley in many ways (except for the fact that he's even better).

Mr. Knightley's good points (heh... like he has bad points) include his sense of honor, his gentlemanliness (yes, it's a word, I made it up) his kindness, his generosity, his thoughtfulness and his amazing sense of humor.  Each and every one of those qualities can also be found in--wow, you guessed it already, how brilliant--my dad.

My dad runs a home business, preaches at two nursing homes every Sunday, leads a Bible study and prayer meeting each Tuesday, runs a book program at a nursing home every Wednesday and still makes time for his family.  All my life, he's taught me by example how important it is to do things together, to spend time with the people you love.  The result: hundreds of wonderful memories.

Daddy fostered my love of reading when I was really, really little--he was reading the Little House on the Prairie series out loud to me when I was four.  By the time I was five, he was encouraging me to read the first few verses of the Scripture passage each night in our family devotions (a tradition he's carried on as each of my siblings learned to read).  He introduced me to Mark Twain, encouraged my reading of Dickens (we're beginning Dombey and Son together) and we've had many long talks about one of our ultimate favorites, The Yearling.  Reading aloud together as a family has been a biweekly tradition since I can remember, and it's been the means of introducing me to the vastness of classic literature.

Yes, that is I on the Upward Climb in the year of grace 2000.
Notice the pink "hiking" shoes.  Also the pink backpack.
I was muchly proud of them.

When I was five, Daddy took me on a mountain hike, my first really-truly-grown-up expedition.  I still vividly remember the thrill of standing on the flat top of the mountain, exhilarated with the feeling of having accomplished something big (after which I took a half-hour nap before we descended the mountain).  The hike was exciting and memorable, but what I cherish most is the memory of my wonderful time with my dad.  Sure, I was little and couldn't go very fast, but Dad didn't mind that and instead took the time to give me an incredibly special day with him.

Since then we've gone on bike rides together and many more hikes, visited historic sites (we're both history buffs) and planned surprises for my mom's birthday.   When I competed in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 2009 (heh, that's the first time I've ever mentioned THAT on here), didn't make the cut to the semifinals and was pretty much devastated as a result, my dad was there to hug me and let me know how proud he was of me no matter how I placed (again, because he'd told me that before I even went to Washington for the competition).  Just as Mom was my coach throughout my journey to the national competition, Daddy had been the head of the cheerleading section and the first one to hug me when it was over.  My dad held me when I was born, baptized me when I was fourteen and will (I hope) be the one to perform my marriage ceremony someday.  Because he's been there for me through everything in my life.

(I was so determined to get through writing this post without tearing up, but that just flew out the window...)

What I'm trying to say here is that my dad is my hero.  Yes, Mr. Knightley's great and all that, but he's fictional.  (Somebody give Melody some smelling salts.)  My dad is a real person, the most wonderful man in my life.

Even Jane Austen can't trump that.

Happy Father's Day, Daddy, from your perpetually late daughter,

Amy

Family Tag!

Rachel and Sarah are hosting a delightfully fun blog event over at Our Family View from Us Two.

1. What are some of your family's favorite phrases, exclamations, or sayings?

We have a LOT of these.  Movie lines predominate, of course, and some of our favorites include...

"Why do I not have a surprised feeling?'
"SQUIRREL!"
"Nobody told ME..."
"I'm packing you your angry eyes. JUST IN CASE."
"But it's a TALKING DOG!"
"Eh, at precisely 8:32 AM... ish..."
"...my esteemed patroness, Lady.  Catherine.  de Bourgh."
"Somebody pinched it, and what *I* say is, them as pinched it done her in."
"Just a little too... ah... pink."
"Uncle Ned.  Is dead."
"Sparkler? BE quiet."
"Sha-ZAY-um."
"Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya.  You killed my father.  Prepare to die."
"Fly! Fly! We must fly! -No, no, DON'T fly!"
"You know what that means! -Yes, it means I'm free... -NO."
"AND there's a DOOR PRIZE."
"I may be mean, but I make up for it by bein' real healthy."
"Ooh-OOOH-ooh."
"Hold my fin, HOLD MY FIN... -Amy, you're not going to freak out like you did at the petting zoo, are you? -Hey, that snail was about to CHARGE."
"Have fun stormin' da castle! -Think it'll work? -It would take a miracle.  -Bye-byyyyyeeee..."

(Now, can you identify all those quotes? :D Family members of Miss Dashwood aren't allowed to play.)

2. What's the number of boys to girls in your family?

One boy, four girls.  He holds his own quite nicely, thankyouverymuch.  Or perhaps I should say we hold our own...

3. What is your favorite tradition your family has?

We like going for long bike rides in the summer--we have a bike rack that we attach to the back of our 12-passenger van and put four bikes on that and three in the back of the van.  We also have a habit of singing (loudly) on long (or short) car trips.  "Shall we dance? (ONE TWO THREE AND!) On a bright cloud of music shall we fly?"

4. What do you call the midday meal at your house?

Food.

5. Is the majority of your family morning people or night owls?

Heehee.  Depends on who you're asking.  I sometimes think I would rather be a night owl, but in general we are a set of early birds.

6. What is your favorite vacation location?

We like Disney World. :P  As far as realistic goes, we often take day trips to a lake an hour away in the summer (I'm not being too specific here because I don't think the Internet needs to know where I live).

7. Are your family's weekends usually full of activities such as sports, parties, and outings, or are they more of around the house, fix-it-uppers?

It really depends on the weekend.  I'd say it's an even distribution of both.  We do a lot of cleaning on Saturdays, plus cooking and preparing for the Lord's Day, but we often do have other stuff going on.

8. What is the nationality/ies your family comes from? (i.e. Scotch, Russian, etc)

Irish and German predominantly, with some English, possibly Scotch and Lithuanian thrown in the mix.

9. Do you go away for holidays, or celebrate at home?

We traditionally go to my paternal grandmother's for Thanksgiving and my maternal grandmother's for Christmas, and frequently have a New Year's get-together at our house for my mom's side of the family.

10. How did your parents meet?

In high school-- they had mutual friends, and sang in the choir together and participated in the school's theater group.  They dated all through college and graduate school, got married in 1991, and as they say the rest is history.  Today happens to be their 21st wedding anniversary, so it's quite fitting for me to answer this question.  :D Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad!

Caroline Ingalls and My Mom

I have a habit of referring to my family members (on this blog, at least) by literary or movie nicknames.  The sister next to me in age goes by Anne-girl, as many of you know, and I've tagged my three other younger siblings with the names of Molly (from Wives and Daughters), Laura (from Little House on the Prairie) and Jerry (from So Dear to my Heart).   I do this because I want to be able to refer to my family members on my blog, but when I first started blogging, I didn't want to use anyone's real names.  Since then, I've started using my own first name on this blog, but I kept the other pseudonyms because they're fun to use.  But I never gave my parents any alternate names, simply because it's easy enough for me to refer to them as Mom and Dad without worrying about privacy. :D

If I were to give my mom a name from a period drama/historical movie, however, I'd most likely refer to her as Caroline Ingalls, because personality-wise, that's who my mom reminds me of...not to mention the fact that Mom bears a startling resemblance to Karen Grassle on the TV series.  :) Now, before I get into my explanation of all the reasons why Mom is like Ma Ingalls, I'd like to just point out that I'm referring to the Ma of the books and not of the TV show.  Because Ma in the TV show is, to put it bluntly, a  bit of a wimp.  (Apologies to all fans of The Michael Landon Show--er, Little House on the Prairie.)  And my mom, peoples, is not a wimp.

The real Caroline Ingalls (it's CaroLINE Ingalls, Michael Landon, not CaroLYN Ingalls) was an incredibly strong woman.  She moved practically all over the mid-and-north-western United States with her family, raised four daughters on the frontier, lost a baby son, held her family together through malaria and scarlet fever, survived prairie fires, river crossings and blizzards, scrimped and saved to send her eldest daughter to a college for the blind and did I mention that she moved about a dozen times?  In a covered wagon? I told you she was amazing.  

My mom has also moved many times in her life (though not in a covered wagon) and is currently raising four daughters and a son, gave up a career in malaria research to homeschool her children, is active in nursing home ministry, supports her husband (my amazing dad) in everything he does, is halfway through a rather arduous teaching career (anyone else who has attempted to explain math concepts to yours truly will understand), is one of my two constant examples of how to lead a Christlike life, and has been there for me, listening, understanding, hugging, advising, correcting, disciplining, teaching, encouraging, inspiring and loving for seventeen years.  

Maybe she's not fighting prairie fires or building a log cabin in Wisconsin, but my mom has that kind of inner strength exemplified in women like The Real Caroline Ingalls.  My mom has the kind of ladylike grace that I want to have someday.  My mom is not afraid to get her hands dirty, to do the unpleasant tasks in life.  My mom has taught me more things than I could possibly count, starting with "how to eat with a spoon", continuing through "how to do long division" and is currently working on "how to plan a meal and give yourself enough time to plan it so you're not rushing around to serve a very late dinner to your family."  (Ahem.)  My mom has been there for me during the happy times and the sad ones, encouraged me through thick and thin, devoted countless hours to Extra Tutoring Time (she knows what I'm talking about) when I was in middle school, listened to my hopes and dreams and aspirations (yep, there she is the expert), showed me by example what it is to dedicate one's life to Christ and what it means to truly give of yourself to your family.

Also, she introduced me to Jane Austen.  (I had to stick that in there, you KNOW I did.)

Happy Mother's Day, Mommy.  I love you so much.

From my first moment you gave me wings
Helped me fly and believed in my dreams
From my first moment you changed me so
The journey through life would be hard without you.
You gave me all I have and all I know.
From my first moment you were there
In your arms lay the strength I now bear
From that first moment each day I have you
The seasons, they change, but the heart stays the same
You gave me all I have and all I know.
~S. Babenia

Love,
Amy

Anne of Green Gables Week: Kindred Spirit Guest Post

I am extremely pleased to present to you all a guest post written by the most kindred of all my kindred spirits-- my amazing sister the Anne-girl.  Anne and I have known each other for fourteen years now, and I honestly don't know what my life would be without her.  She's hilariously funny, possesses great dramatic flair, is a Shakespeare nut, writes beautifully (go read her blog if you haven't already) and has the best imagination I've ever met.  She's also head-over-heels-in-love with Sir Percy Blakeney (go figure) and is even more of a TSP fan than I am.  Which is saying a lot.

I asked her to write a guest post for Anne week (because you can't have an Anne week without a few words from the Anne-girl herself, right??), and she very generously agreed to do so... without further bleating from me, here you go.

"If a person sorter sees eye to eye with you, and has pretty much the same ideas as you,and the same taste in jokes-why, they belong to the race that knows Joseph."

~Captain Jim, Anne's House of Dreams

The race that knows Joseph. Kindred Spirits. Bosom Friend. Aren't those just deliciously-icious phrases? In the Anne books one finds many and many a kindred spirit. There is Rebecca Dew, Little Elizabeth, Phillipa Gordon, Aunt Jimsie, Mathew, Gilbert, Captain Jim, Miss Cornelia, and Leslie Moore. 

All of these belong to the race that knows Joseph. Anne loves them all and they all love Anne. But I have in mind a certain character who on the surface does not belong to the race that knows Joseph. Who does not appear a kindred spirit.

I speak of Diana Barry. I mean seriously, who would have thought that clever imaginative Anne would love practical not so clever Diana?  And yet they are the most loyal friends you would ever hope to find.

Oh Anne! We thought you were drowned! And Ruby's  having hysterics., and..oh Anne!

 ANNE: Your mother hasn't relented?

DIANA: I told her it wasn't your fault, and I cried and cried, but it's no use, Anne. We can't ever be friends again.

ANNE: Diana, will you promise never to forget me, no matter what other friends come into your life?

DIANA: I could never love anyone as much as I love you, Anne.

ANNE: Do you really love me?

DIANA: Of course I do.

ANNE: Nobody's ever loved me for as long as I can remember, except for Matthew and Marilla. Will you swear to be my secret bosom friend?

DIANA: But isn't it wicked to swear? We're in enough trouble already.

ANNE: Not when you're swearing a vow.  I solemnly swear to remain faithful to my bosom friend, Diana Barry, for as long as the sun and the moon shall endure. Now you say it.

DIANA: I solemnly swear to remain faithful to my bosom friend, Anne Shirley, for as long as the sun and the moon--

ANNE: Shall endure.

DIANA: Shall endure. And as long as my mother doesn't find out.

ANNE: Oh, she mustn't.

DIANA: I have to get back; she'll be suspicious.

ANNE: Wilt thou give me a lock of thy jet black tresses?

DIANA: But I don't have any black dresses.

ANNE: Your hair.

DIANA: Alright. I have to go.

ANNE: Farewell, my beloved friend.  Henceforth we must be strangers living side by side, but my heart will be ever faithful to thee.

What inspired that kind of loyalty? As far as I can see in the books at least Diana never made an amusing or intelligent remark in her life you're overdoing it Anne. Er, Diana is just not the brightest light bulb ever. 

It is a little different in the movie. Diana is much more interesting in the movie. 

Josie Pye: Hey, Anne, how do you spell freckle? 
Diana Barry: Hey, Josie, how do you spell ugly?  

See? OK maybe that wasn't the sweetest remark in the world or the most brilliant retort but it brings me to my next observation. Or remark or question if you want to be technical.

Diana Barry is the most loyal girl in the world. Even when Anne gets all the attention, all the praise, and Gilbert sorry but I had to stick that in somewhere, Diana is never jealous. Never. She always supports Anne builds her up never criticizes her.

Is this why Diana is such a good friend? Because she is so loyal? Does Anne love her because she can never do wrong in Diana's eyes?  I hope not. That would like totally ruin my image of Anne, making her extremely self centered. And besides, Diana is loyal because Anne is her friend not the other way around.

So what is it?

I don't know. 

Yup that's what I said. I don't know. I have no clue why Anne and Diana love each other so fiercely from the beginning. All I know is that they do.

Now before I go any further let me say that I do not believe in love at first sight. I do not think that dancing dreamily with a cute guy once and exchanging three words with him (see Cinderella) is a good basis for a happy marriage. However I do believe in kindred spirits at first sight.  For some reason unknown to us certain people belong together. And when they see each other (or read each other's blog posts) something happens. 

And I'm not talking about this.

Sorry but I couldn't help it. Hey at least I haven't mentioned Sir Percy yet! Give me some credit. OK back off the rabbit trail to the main road. 

Anne met Diana and knew that they were destined to be friends. 

And friends they became. Their friendship lasted. Through a separation. Through a jump on a bed. Through a wedding. And through a haunted wood.

 

The End

Introducing My Family

I love little details. Do you? I also love people. (I'm not even going to ask if you do, too, because I'm sure you do.) When I read someone's blog, I like to read posts that are personal. Unfortunately, in this crazy world, it isn't safe for me to post freely (on a public blog) about myself and my family. For this reason, I haven't told you my real name, nor where I live. You know me as Miss Dashwood, and frankly I find that fun. It's like having an alter ego. :P

Anyway, I'd like to be able to tell you about things that happen in my life (with discretion of course) but since I'm still living at home with my family, my family is naturally going to be a central part of what goes on in my life! And since it's awkward to be constantly referring to "my sister--no, not that one, the other one", I've decided to nickname each of my family members. My parents I can refer to as Mother and Father (or Mom and Daddy) without worrying about their privacy :), but my siblings are another matter. So I have chosen some names for my siblings that, I think, fit them very well.

I should tell you that I, Miss Dashwood, am the eldest child in my family. (Any other firstborn ladies out there?) Now that that's out of the way, I can share a little about my siblings.

"Anne" is next in line after me. She and I are as close as sisters could be: she tells me everything and I tell her everything. This sounds cliche, I know, but we literally are best friends. Anne is romantic and passionate, dreamy and imaginative, unbelievably funny, tenderhearted and caring. She is NOT a redhead, but she would very much like to be one. :)

"Molly" is gentle and sweet, conscientious and fun-loving. She likes to be outdoors and she loves animals of all shapes and sizes. She and I are very much alike and share many common interests. Molly is a real bookworm and has been known to bring home stacks of 15 or 16 books from our local public library, fully dedicated to the "improvement of her mind by extensive reading". :)

"Laura" is our family imp--mischievous, cute and with a rather unfortunate talent for drawing painfully accurate caricatures. :) Tenderhearted and caring for all living creatures and small things, she loves just about anything that crawls, creeps, flies or swims. Artsy and creative, Laura isn't too fond of schoolwork, but she plays the piano, sings, draws, covers screens and I know not what.

(Note: It isn't at all difficult to describe my one and only brother; the difficult part of this post was finding a period drama character to which I could compare him! I finally settled on Jeremiah Kincaid from the lovely old family film So Dear to My Heart. Technically that's not a period drama, but have you ever considered how few little boys there are in period dramas? I'm not about to compare my brother with Mary Musgrove's little terrors, after all!)

"Jerry" is the youngest member of our family, the only little guy in our girl world. He doesn't mind, though--being the youngest has its benefits. Jerry is fast developing a love of books, and I'm delightedly encouraging that as much as possible. He loves being outdoors, getting dirty, eating, singing (loudly) and watching Disney movies--in short, he's all boy.

I couldn't possibly close this post without mentioning my wonderful parents. They share my love of reading, my passion for music and the outdoors, and my fascination with history. My mom introduced me to Jane Austen when I was fourteen, and my dad has diligently fostered my love of Dickens. I don't have pictures to share with you, because honestly my parents are incomparable--there are no two people in my knowledge of period drama as special as they!

So, that's my family. I'm looking forward to sharing more family-oriented posts with you as this blog develops!