For a Dear Friend

Two years and two months ago, I received an email from Miss Laurie, requesting I do a review of the Anne movies on my blog to link to for the Period Drama Film Tournament that was about to go on.  I was rather thrilled and flattered.  Miss Laurie was the authoress of Old-Fashioned Charm, the largest blog I frequented!  At the time I had less than twenty followers, and I guess I felt a little like Mr. Collins being patronized by Lady Catherine de Bourgh. ;)  Although that's a bad comparison, considering Miss Laurie is nothing like Lady Catherine, and one must hope that I am nothing like Mr. Collins. :P  But nevertheless, I felt quite gratified.

Miss Laurie had been one of the first people to follow my blog, but up to that point I hadn't really heard anything from her personally.  After that we continued to keep in contact about the review, and a month or two later I was asking her for advice about the content of a certain period drama.  From there we went to discuss other period dramas, and in the autumn I remember frequent discussion about what the cast for Mansfield Park should be if a new movie was made. 

By this time we were learning about each other more personally and I was experiencing my first-ever 'real' friendship with someone I met through blogging.  It was delightful!  I'm happy to still call Miss Laurie my friend today, and that we have kept in contact all this time.  She's been there for me during a lot of Life Stuff, always ready to offer comfort, congratulations, and prayers.  The latter has really meant a lot to me, too; it's so lovely that whatever's going on, I can send her a quick email and know she'll be thinking & praying for me, even when there's a lot of stuff going on with her, too.  There have been times when she's been rather like a big sister to me and I'm very thankful for it.

Miss Laurie is one of the sweetest people I know.  I have so often been touched by her kind attentions, and I hope that today, on her birthday, she'll get plenty from everyone else. :)

Love you, Ladybird!  To risk sounding cheesy and unoriginal... thanks for being you. :)

~Melody 

"Well, I'd like to fly and spit diamonds, but that don't make it so."

Annnnnnd we're back!  Here to tell the tea shop story, as requested.  This is our last day together (SOB)-- in point of fact, we have but forty-five minutes remaining before we have to leave for the airport--so we shall make this snappy and try not to weep and wail too much.  (This is Amy.)

Well, then, tell the story. And don't forget the goatee. (This is Melody.)

I'll begin if you want me to, but I make no promises about shoving the laptop at you and saying, "Your turn."  :D

So it all happened on July 10th, when we went to the Pemberley Mall together to do what teenage girls do at malls (and a great deal that most teenage girls don't do).  We call it the Pemberley Mall because that was not actually its name, and we happen to like naming things after Jane Austen Stuff.  Let's see, what all did we do at the mall? *shoves laptop*

Heh, heh, well, SOME of it I think should stay 'tween you and me.  Muwahahaha. *wink wink*

Oh very well, but we can at least tell some of the less embarrassing stuff.  Like making faces to match that Grumpy Cat t-shirt?  And the old coot who walked by while you were making your grumpy face and told you to smile? 

Oh, good grief. Apparently old coots have a habit of saying that to me. :P

Okay, well, we were walking by this shop that had a really dumb name regarding teas, which we won't share here in case it's not a chain and some of you might look it up and figure out where Melody lives.  Heh heh heh.  Anyways, they had some free samples on the edge between the store and the mall hall or whatever you call it, and so we decided to sample some, and THEN....

THEN he was like the Spirit of Christmas Present except more quiet. You know, "COME IN AND KNOW ME BETTER, MAN!"

Okay, that's a little freaky sounding.  It wasn't quite that bad.  More like, "Pleeeeeeease come in and sample more teeeeeeeeeeea."  This dude was an employee, by the by.  Whom we suspect strongly of working on commission.

Indubitably.  He had all the sales lines down, too. "This is our most expennnnsive teeeea. Connoisseurs think it quite diviiiine." *strokes little goatee on tip of chin*

Wait, you have a goatee, Miss M????

Not me, silly. Him.

"Him?  Who him?"

Okay, so when we were still standing kind of outside the shop (he came along and decided to assist us with sampling the two teas by the doorway) and after giving us some, he looks us over and says "Hmmm, you girls seem very conservative."  And we were like... o.O

I can't decide which of our multiple body piercings, tattoos and dyed hair gave him that impression... anyways, we said, "And you look like a weirdie."

Thought. She means thought. :P

Technicalities, technicalities.

You know I like to be technical when it suits my purposes. ;)
Anyway, after those two samples he kept taking us in farther, crisscrossing back and forth along the two tables and giving us more tiny samples of tea. Which tasted quite expensive.  However, Amy rather liked the tea (as did I, but she is more of a tea person than I am), and wanted to know how much it was. Heh, heh, heh. 

"No, don't ask," said I.  "There aren't any prices anywhere. That means it must be ridiculously expensive." 

But I do not listen to reason, at least not when it suits me not to, and I asked the dude how much the tea cost.  After all, I am more adventurous than my friend.  (Ha... that was another strange remark he made, when I tried this Strawberry Champagne stuff [IT WAS NOT ACTUALLY CHAMPAGNE] and Melody primly refused.)  As it turns out, the cheapest kind was $64 per pound.  "Oh dear saints above, I shall swoooooooon."

And I just kind of stood there like "I told you sooooo." Then we fled out as soon as possible. 

And giggled about it as we moved through the rest of the mall.  We're still giggling about it, in point of fact.  Giggling is what we do best.  Poor fool, he makes us laugh.

Ha-ha-ha-ha-haaaaa....

Um, we've been singing that line ALL WEEK.  Like, every few minutes.  And everything fits that tune, too. 

We must wrap this up so that we can spend time together other than tapping and sniggering. Which is of course fun, but you know. THE TIME IS RUNNING DOWWWWN.  
So here. Wrap it. :P

You peoples reading this must understand that this has been the best week of our lives.  I don't think I exaggerate, and if I do, it is not my own fault, is it, Mrs. Allen?

My dear, you tumble my gown. (But you do not exaggerate. :D)

We have had so much fun and done so many things, which we hope to tell you about in the near future, but we have not the time today.  For instance, the tale of being on the trampoline after one AM last night (er, this morning) when Melody's papa came downstairs and nearly locked us out of the house...

Hahahahaha. More on that later. ;)

But for now... we shall have to say farewell.  So long, farewell and all that jazz.  GOOOOOO! GO NOW AND LEEEEEEEEAVE MEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Let us not have tears. Partings are a natural part of life.

To ease the pain of this news, I have glad tidings. We shall adjourn early this afternoon, make our way to the Spurgeon farm, where Moody's parents have consented to host a celebration in honor of my departure.

...Nobody told ME.

P.S.  The post title is a quote from the Road to Avonlea episode "Hearts and Flowers," which we watched together, and the quote has nothing to do with this post but we found it funny.  :D

So, about that during-the-visit post we promised you....

*watching Emma 2009 last night*

Mr. Weston: Which two letters of the alphabet express perfection?

Emma: Two letters...? I am sure I do not know!

Mr. Weston: M and A! Do you understand?

Melody: *squeals* MELODY AND AMY!!!!!

How shall we begin?  Which of our important nothings shall we tell you first?

Well, first of all, we have met in real life and are together at long last.  And in case you couldn't tell, "we" refers to Amy and Melody (Miss Dashwood and Miss Marianne).   Okay, Melody, it's your turn to talk now. 

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

Um... that's all I can think of. :P

You goose.

I am NOT a goose.

Of COURSE you are.

If I am a wild Beast I cannot help it. It is not my own fault. (Is it, Mrs. Allen?)

My dear, you tumble my gown.

We're nuts. But y'all knew that, right??

Two nuts in a case.  Indubitably.

Okay, we should probably write something of substance now instead of quoting at each other.

But... oh, fine, if you insist. Okay, by the way, everything in green is Amy and everything in purple is me. Er, Melody. 

Here, YOU say something of substance.

Perhaps we should tell you all what we have been doing.  Well, giggling has been first and foremost.  Melody is snorting even as I write this.  Er, snicker-snorting.  Which is more interesting.

If you sy so. :D

I didn't sy so, Eliza; I didn't even SAY so.

Um... we're doing it again. Naughty us.

You promised me a jig, you NAUGHTY boy!

Just don't know where to stop, do ya?

If I am a wild Beast... oh, right, you said that before.  

Yup. Hush up, can't you? ;) ;)

This is beginning to look like a gmail chat.  Our readers will be bored to death with it.  Bored to death with the rain, bored to death with their lives, bored to death with themselves.  How about we show them some pictures and tell them about what we've been doing?

Pictures! Good plan. Go ahead.

Very well, I shall do all the work and you can sit there and snigger at me.

I was just going to say "and I can just sit there and giggle," but you sort of beat me to the general idea. (HOW MANY TIMES HAS THAT HAPPENED.)

Really, it's unbelievable how many times we've said the same thing together already.  :D :D 

So.  Let's see.  Well, we've gone out for a walk and listened to music together on dual headphones, which was kind of hilarious (wait, what do I mean "kind of"?) because we kept lip syncing along to various songs and acting all dramatic.  "Pitiful creeeeeeature of darkness, what kind of life have you known?  God give me courage to show youuuuuuuu, you are not aaaaaaalooooooooooooooone!!!!!"  

She just shoved the laptop at me again. Well well. Yes, that was just the first evening. We can't possibly cover everything right now... although I'm thinking we'll probably give you another rundown after the fact. (Only I would prefer not to think of after the fact. :P "If I could, I would tell you how I wish our time together could go oooon and oooon and neeeever eeend..." Um, that's from the S&S musical...)

We've also been watching period dramas.  Emma first, now we're on Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel.  And I just said that for an excuse to include this picture 'cause it's purty.

We went to the mall and goofed around a lot... as teenaged girls are supposed to do-- only, um, our own take on it. ;D (We would tell you about the weird guy in the tea shop but we probably don't have time.) And yesterday a dear friend of mine (who lives near me) came over and we had a delightful time, quite delightful indeed, and then after she left we went to a water park and yelled songs while coming down the slides. The way my voice sounds today proves this fact. :P

Haha, yeah, the Lark Rise to Candleford theme was the best, I think, but we did a pretty good job with "Just You Wait," too.  And of course we had way too much fun making fun of the people around us wearing spandex underwear.  Well, hey, they asked for it.  And we did it quietly.

We've been doing this too. :D

And a great deal of this... we're good at this one.

*Amy shoves laptop at Melody*  Take it.  

I'm not feeling creative, ma'am. 

She's got a proud something-or-other, this one.  (Brain?  Fingertips?)  Give 'er a meal of chaff, I say.

Um... ew.

Yes, Auntie, I'll give her a meal of chaff... come along, Arthur...

My name isn't Arthur.

Well, we seem to be running out of sensible things to say (um... have we actually said anything sensible? ... o.O) so here's another picture.  Worth a thousand words and all that.

We're hiding our faces so the world will never find us.  One must be careful on the Internets, you know.  :D 

On rereading this before publishing.. all I can think of is that we're pretty amusing.

But no one will ever be as entertained by us as us.  :D

I mean, here we are singing "Six Little Ducks That I Once Knew"... yep, we're crazy.  We're all mad here.

Indubitably. :D

Wonderful Giveaway!

...if I do say so myself.

You see, there is a giveaway going on over at The P&P95Forever Club.  I'm rather sad I can't enter (since I'm co-hosting it), because there are some very lovely things! Including a box of tea from Bingley's Teas, and a few delights from two Etsy ladies! I highly recommend you go take a look.

That's all for now. ;)

There's always tomorrow for dreams to come true...

Believe in your dreams come what may...
There's always tomorrow for dreams to come true,
Tomorrow is not far away!

Amy is probably dancing about HER house singing "One Day More," and here I am singing a song from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Whatever. It suits my purposes.  Because today, there really IS tomorrow for dreams to come true.  You don't know how many times I've dreamed and daydreamed about it. Countless.

AND IT'S REALLY GOING TO HAPPEN TOMORROW.

We intend to do a lot of this. :D

Have I grasped this fact? I hardly know. It seems half strange and half normal.  I mean, I've been waiting this long... it SHOULD be happening. But... I've been waiting this long, but NOW it is really GOING to happen. That makes all the difference. I'm staring at the countdown on my bulletin board (yes, I have one... :P) with its "1 day, 0 weeks, 0 months" like, O_O.

Tomorrow happens so quickly. Tomorrow is only as far away from today as today was from yesterday... which is not long. Not long at all. IN FACT IT'S TINY.

I think we'll be doing a lot of this, too...

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.  Shall I swoon, do you think?  If only I were the swooning type...
Kidding.  I wouldn't want to go unconscious. I want to savor every single moment.
And I intend to. :D

So, farewell, everybody. When you hear from me next... you-know-who will be with me. :D :D :D :D  Now, now, try not to be TOO jealous. Hahahaha. ;)

We'll TRY to keep this in mind...

So... goodbye... I need to get going on the great number of last-day things to get done before her arrival. But one last

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!