Happy Birthday, Frederic!

Tomorrow is Frederic's birthday. He's turning 39, which is still pretty young considering the fact that he was born in 1856.

As Rapunzel said, "That's the funny thing about birthdays - they're kind of an annual thing." However, Frederic's birthday occurs less often than Rapunzel's (or most other people, for that matter). Poor guy - he was born on February 29th, which is a fact that plays a key role in his story, the light opera The Pirates of Penzance.

The story centers around young Frederic, who, at the opening of the opera, is celebrating his 21st birthday. This event frees him from his indentures as a pirate, which as we soon learn, was an accidental apprenticeship. Long story short, he is later approached by the Pirate King and his nurse, Ruth, who tell him that since he was born on February 29th, he isn't actually 21 yet. Poor lad.

The Pirates of Penzance is one of me and my sister's favorite light operas, with the others being other Gilbert and Sullivan operas such as The Mikado and Patience. That's the reason that I'm writing a happy birthday blog post to this young man, who is a slave of duty. I mean, what is there not to like about light operas? (Unless, in fact, you don't like musicals or something crazy like that....) Light operas are the exact same thing as musicals except that there's more music!

The following are a few of our favorite videos. (A slight caution, though - the Jon English version of The Pirates of Penzance is not totally clean. It's funny and some of the videos are hilarious, but there are a few inappropriate things sprinkled throughout that keep us from buying it.) These are taken from the movie version with Angela Lansbury (Mrs. Potts from Beauty and the Beast), Rex Smith, and Kevin Kline (Phoebus from The Hunchback of Notre Dame).

'With Cat-Like Tread'


'The Pirate King'


'Paradox' (or 'It Really Doesn't Matter')

This is the song when they explain the paradox of Frederic's birthday and age. (As a side note, aren't Frederic's pants AWESOME?! I keep on asking Arwen to make me some, but she's too busy...)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FREDERIC!!!

~Eowyn~

Edit: Sorry the videos are off! I can't figure out how to make that work. If anyone knows, please comment. : )

You Love Me Anyway

I got the WOW 2012 CD for Christmas last year and have loved listening to it in my free time. (It's a must-buy if you like Christian music!)

Anyway, I have quite a few favorites and this 'You Love Me Anyway' one of them. I absolutely love this song!! It's so true and more theologically correct than a few other songs I've heard on the radio lately (such as the one that goes "I'm someone worth dying for..." I'm like, "Nope, you're not! It's called grace." That song drives me crazy....)

The question was raised
As my conscience fell
A silly, little lie
It didn't mean much
But it lingers still
In the corners of my mind

Still you call me to walk
On the edge of this world
To spread my dreams and fly
But the future's so far
My heart is so frail
I think I'd rather stay inside

But You love me anyway
It's like nothing in life that I've ever known
Yes, You love me anyway
Oh, Lord, how You love me
How You love me!

It took more than my strength
To simply be still
To seek but never find
All the reasons we change
The reasons I doubt
And why do loved ones have to die?

But You love me anyway
It's like nothing in life that I've ever known
Yes, You love me anyway
Oh, Lord, how You love me!

I am the thorn in Your crown
But You love me anyway
I am the sweat from Your brow
But You love me anyway
I am the nail in Your wrist
But You love me anyway
I am Judas' kiss
But You love me anyway
See now, I am the man who yelled out from the crowd
For Your blood to be spilled on this earth shaking
ground
Yes, then, I turned away with a smile on my face
With this sin in my heart tried to bury Your grace
And then alone in the night, I still called out for You
So ashamed of my life, my life, my life...
But You love me anyway!
It's like nothing in life that I've ever known
Yes,You love me anyway
Oh, Lord, how You love me
You love me, yes, You love me

How You love me
How You love me
How You love me

*sigh* I love this song... Hope that blessed your day! Now go listen to it on YouTube. : )
~Eowyn~

A little late, but still funny...

Poor Jason... he doesn't know anything about football!

Random Silliness...

I came across this blog post a while ago and nearly laughed my head off. Being a huge fan of The Scarlet Pimpernel and Sir Percy in particular, I decided to share it with you guys. Enjoy!

"When you connect an iDevice to your iTunes account, you have to give it a name. Well, my iPod has always been called "[Miss Dashwood]'s iPod" on my iTunes account, but today I decided to rename it. I've heard of people calling their iPods "Titanic", so that the pop-up message says "syncing Titanic". I always thought that was a little morbid, but a much funnier idea occurred to me today.

My iPod is now called "Sir Percy Blakeney," and my little pop-up message now tells me that iTunes is "syncing Sir Percy Blakeney."

Yes, I am far too easily amused, what?"

- Miss Dashwood, Yet Another Period Drama Blog

Christmas Pictures

I just realized I never posted pictures of my little brother from Christmas! Whoops. Major fail on my part - I mean, what's the point of having an awesome camera and taking adorable pictures of him if I forget to post them and share them with the entire world?! : )

Let me first tell you that this little boy loves guitars. We had a little electric one that looked and sounded fake, but he loved it and played with it nearly every day. Well, we all got tired of that guitar pretty soon. A friend suggested we get him a real accoustic guitar for Christmas. So that's what we did. When we gave it to him, still wrapped, he took one look at the shape and said, "Prob'ly bylin," which is his word for violin. He started unwrapping part of it, saw the tuning pegs, and gave us this reaction:
"Prob'ly guitar!!!" he shouted, banging on it in his effort to get the wrapping off as soon as he could.

Love at first sight - just look at that smile!!

We shouldn't have worried about him playing the little electric guitar any more. He's obsessed with this one, and plays it every single day - no kidding!

Telling us something about it. (See his pick? He insists on having a pick, even though we all tell him Maria [from Sound of Music] doesn't use one.)

A once-in-a-lifetime picture of my little brother and two cousins!

And my all-time favorite...

Until next time...

~Eowyn~

Poll

Hey, everybody!

Just in case you didn't notice, there's a new poll on the side of the blog. I couldn't decide which review I wanted to do next, so I decided to do the obvious thing - let you guys decide! : )

The choices are:
A movie review (probably Jane Eyre, but comment if you want a different movie reviewed)
A book review (The Errant King by Wayne Thomas Batson)
A music review (WOW 2012 or the Little Women musical soundtrack that I listen to very often)
or...
A light opera review. : ) Arwen and I discovered Gilbert and Sullivan a few years ago and have fallen in love with light opera since then. Light operas are basically the same thing as musicals, except there's a tad bit more music, and the singers have a wider vibrato. (Not particularly my cup of tea, but hey...) Oh, yeah... and they're really, really funny! In the review, I'd tell you which ones we've seen, which we prefer, and which versions to look for. (Hint: The newer versions have more language.)

FYI, the poll closes on February 1st.

~Eowyn~

Hello Again!

It's been a while since I posted last. Whoops! I've been busy with a lot of things - particularly school. I've been doing a lot of new subjects this year (including learning Greek as my second language and a writing curriculum called 'One Year Adventure Novel' that I adore!), but I won't tell you about all of my school woes, such as the 16-page history test I had to do today or how I had to re-do two math lessons.

Instead, let me tell you a conversation I had with my adorable little brother the other day. I was pretending to be asleep and Arwen was asking me a question. My little brother had to serve as a sort of middle man - Arwen would ask him a question, then he'd ask me, I'd answer, and he'd tell her what I said (usually...). It was late at night and I was bored, tired, and going insane from lack of sugar (I've been off it for about two weeks now... ugh!), so I decided to have fun with them. : ) The conversation went something like this.

Arwen - Can I have some of your strawberry shortcake? Hello...?
Little brother - She sleepin'.
Me - Uh, huh.
A - Well, ask her if I can have some strawberries.
LB - Strawbusies?
A - Yes.
LB - 'Kay. Can she have some?
Me - Have some what?
LB - Strawbusies.
Me - Yes.
LB - (to Arwen) She said yes.
A - Ask her how many.
LB - How many?
Me - How many what?
LB - Uh... strawbusies.
Me - She can have as many as she wants.
LB - (Putting up his little finger and accenting each word with it) She say only one, then that bees it.
A - I don't think that's what she said. Ask her about the shortcake. How many little cakes can I have?
LB - Who many can she have?
Me - (Laughing - he usually mixes up words like that and says, "Where are her?" instead of "Where is she?") Who many what?
LB - (Struggling to find the word) Who many... Georgia Techs? (I promise, that's exactly what he said!!)
Me - You mean 'shortcakes'?
LB - (Nods his head, then turns to Arwen with my answer) She say no more. It dark-time - nigh-nigh time.
Me - That's not what I said! She can have as many as she wants.
LB - She say yes.

Isn't he adorable?! (Please say yes so I know it's not just me!)
~Eowyn~

Literary Tag

I saw this tag on a blog I read, and decided to do it! (If you want to, I'll tag you, too!) To begin, you must choose twelve literary characters. Choose the characters first, then proceed to answer the questions.

1. Percy Blakeney (The Scarlet Pimpernel)

2. Emma Woodhouse (Emma)

3. Laura Timmons (Lark Rise to Candleford - yes, I've only seen Season One, but it's a book!)

4. Mac Campbell (Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom)

5. Mr. Knightly (Emma)

6. Jo March (Little Women)

7. Rose Campbell (Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom)

8. Paul Chauvelin (The Scarlet Pimpernel)

9. Bella Wilfer (Our Mutual Friend)

10. Theodore "Laurie" Laurence (Little Women)

11. Eustace Scrubb (Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, etc.)

12. Aiden Thomas (The Door Within Trilogy)

Now, answer the questions by putting the correct characters instead of the numbers.

1. Who would make a better college professor, 6 (Jo March) or 11 (Eustace Scrubb)? Oh, dear! I think Jo would, because she's smart and a good writer, and Eustace, well... as we read in Dawn Treader, he hadn't read "any of the right books."

2. 12 (Aiden Thomas) sends 8 (Paul Chauvelin) out on a mission. What is it? Does it succeed? Aiden, how could you?! Oh, well.... I guess he'd send Chauvelin to do something the King. Chauvelin would accomplish the task because he's stealthy and has his ways, but wouldn't actually bring Aiden the needed thing because he would join Paragor's forces. (Villain that he is!!)

3. What is, or what would be, 9 (Bella Wilfer)’s favorite book? Well, it depends on how far she is into the book - how far her character is developed. I'd say something about love. (Something which Julius Hanford/John Rokesmith/John Harmon would know nothing about....)

4. Would it make more sense for 2 (Emma) to swear fealty to 6 (Jo) or the other way around? Um... Probably the other way around. Jo seems more like the person that would swear fealty to someone, not Emma.

5. Number 5 (Mr. Knightly) is looking for a roommate. Should s/he room with 9 (Bella Wilfer) or 10 (Laurie)? Laurie, no doubt about it.

6. 2 (Emma), 7 (Rose), and 12 (Aiden) are going out to dinner. Where are they going, and what do they discuss? Emma would want to go somewhere where she could see people (for her matchmaking purposes), Rose would want to go somewhere that reminds her of her voyages around the world with Uncle Alec, and Aiden would probably just want a cheeseburger. They wouldn't be able to decide and would eventually go to Rose's house so Aunt Plenty could make them a meal. Emma would want to know all the juicy details about "Charlie + Rose" and Rose would change the subject and talk to Aiden about drawing. A boring evening all around.

7. 3 (Laura) challenges 10 (Laurie) to a duel. Who wins? Seriously?! Laurie would obviously win because he's probably a lot better at sword-fighting than Laura, but he'd be a gentleman and let her win.

8. If 1 (Percy) stole 8 (Chauvelin)’s most precious possession, how would s/he get it back? (Cool, they're actually in the same story!!) Well, Chaubertin - Odd's fish, excuse me - Chauvelin would try to get it back, but wouldn't because Percy is too ingenious and cunning to let him get it back!

9. Suggest a story title in which 7 (Rose) and 12 (Aiden) both attain what they want. A Novel's End. (Seriously, though, Rose and Aiden have nothing in common!!)

10. What kind of plot device would you have to use to get 1 (Percy) and 4 (Mac) to work together? Hmmm.... They're both very intelligent. I think Percy would help Mac convince Rose to marry him. : )

11. If 7 (Rose) visited you for the weekend, how would it go? Wonderfully!!! We'd talk about her cousins and which one I thought she should have married since Eight Cousins. (And my absolute favorite scene from Rose in Bloom - "Polishing Mac"!)

12. If you could command 3 (Laura) to perform any service or task for you, what would it be? I think I'd have her NOT kiss Philip, and definitely not marry him. (Everyone knows Alfie is for her!!!)

13. If 2 (Emma) had to choose sides between 4 (Mac) or 5 (Mr. Knightly), what side would s/he choose? Mr. Knightly, without a doubt!! He's her friend, and Mac is too unsociable for her.

14. What might 10 (Laurie) shout out while charging into battle? "FOR JO!!!"

15. If you had to choose a song to best describe 3 (Laura), what would it be? Deary me... Laura doesn't seem to be the singing type! Well, after she met Philip, she'd probably sing "Ten Minutes Ago" from Cinderella. (Even though I don't think he's the one for her....)

16. 1 (Percy), 6 (Jo), and 12 (Aiden) are having a dim sum at a Chinese Restaurant. There is only one scallion pancake left , and they all reach for it at the same time. Who gets it? What's a dim sum? lol Percy is too much of a gentleman to keep going for the scallion pancake, so he'd let Jo or Aiden have it. Aiden would reach for it, then stop because it wouldn't be as good as the food in The Realm and start wishing he was back in The Realm. Jo would get the pancake.

17. What would 5 (Mr. Knightly) most likely be arrested for? Perish the thought! But if I must.... If there was ever a law for being too awesome of a hero, Mr. Knightly would get it. ("If I loved you less, I might be able to speak about it more!" would be Exhibit A.)

18. What is 6 (Jo)’s secret? The first time she met Professor Baer, she instantly thought, "Ahh, a perfect tutor for my school at Plumfield - if I can ever get it going. And a perfect real-life model for Rodrigo!!"

19. If 11 (Eustace) and 9 (Bella) were racing to a destination, who would get there first? Bella, because Eustace would drag his feet, whining at how far it was and how there was no point, etc.

20. If you had to walk home through a bad neighborhood late at night, who would you be more comfortable walking with, 7 (Rose) or 8 (Chauvelin)? Chauvelin from a more protective standpoint, but he would creep me out so much that I'd choose Rose and hope she brought Mac or even Charlie along!

21. 1 (Percy) and 9 (Bella) reluctantly team up to save the world from the threat posed by 4 (Mac)'s sinister secret organization. 11 (Eustace) volunteers to help them, but it is later discovered that s/he is actually a spy for 4 (Mac). Meanwhile, 4 (Mac) has kidnapped 12 (Aiden) in an attempt to force their surrender. Following the wise advice of 5 (Mr. Knightly), they seek out 3 (Laura), who gives them what they need to complete their quest. What title would you give this fiction? Sir Percy Wins Again, A Novel. (Bella and Percy are perfect for each other, by the way! Yikes, something must have happened to Mac... poor Mac!! Eustace is just the sort of person who would give up such a secret as him being a spy... lol! And poor Aiden - where was Son of Fury?! Yes, the wise advice of Mr. Knightly - always follow Knightly's advice! Laura would probably give them a letter or something, lol! A wonderful novel, really.... someone should write it.)

~Eowyn~

The Dixie Ball!

Finally, it's the post you've all been waiting for!! : )

I'm dreadfully sorry I haven't done this post sooner! I've been just swamped with work (both hard work like reorganizing about six years worth of piano sheet music, and fun work like five hours of writing earlier today. {Ahh, bliss!}) Well, I'm finally here again with the few dozen pictures from the Dixie Ball on New Year's Eve. (Speaking of a few dozen pictures, silly Blogger would only let me upload five at a time. Five!! *shakes head*)

The first thing I'd like to say was just how much FUN it was! I haven't been to a ball in about three years, and I was really, really excited when our friends told us there was going to be one on New Year's Eve. Arwen and I started working on our dresses almost immediately, and got them (nearly) finished in time for the ball. (Yeah, don't look too closely at my dress... the front was held together with safety pins!)

Let me also say that I was a little worried about it being on New Year's Eve. How romantic, right? That's exactly what I was nervous about! Well, I'm pleased to announce that there was no such silliness at the ball, and everything was done in good, proper, and clean order! (More on that later...)

I'll keep you in suspense no longer. On with our dresses!


Voila!! This is Arwen's dress that she made - very gorgeous, no? (What she would call gorgemous, lol...) I realized I didn't have a head-to-toe picture of her in it, so this will have to do. (Pardon our messy room!) This picture was taken with the hoop under it. I think it's beautiful with the hoop, but, as we only had one, Arwen was sweet and let me wear it while she wore a crinoline.

Me in my "gorgemous" dress! (In the hoop, too!) Ain't it purdy?! Arwen and I were trying to decide what character we'd try to be for the ball and I couldn't decide between Jo March and Rose Campbell (Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott - a great book if you haven't read it!!). I'm more like Jo - second born, a writer, independent spirit, and all! - and I eventually decided on her because Rose is a little too perfect for me. I have way more faults than her!! (It was weird, though, how things worked out that it was as if I'd chosen her...) : )

At the Ball

The back of our dresses and our pretty hair. This is us trying to figure out how to do the Posties Jig. (A really fun dance, and we were fortunate that all four of the guys in our group knew how to do it!!)

Ick, my dress was gorgeous, but it was a pain to move around in! (Also, not ten minutes after we got in there, someone stepped on the train in the back, popping all of the hooks and eyes. We fastened it together again and put a big safety pin on it. I'm pleased to tell you it only happened three times throughout the evening!)

Arwen in her beautiful dress and gloves... *sigh*

My younger sister in my old Brattonsville dress. She looks so carefree!! : )

Me and the friend that told us about the ball - thank you!!! - and our dancing cards. This is part of the clean and proper way things were done. We all got dancing cards when we came, but only the young men had the pencils. They would ask the ladies for a dance, then write their name in the lady's dancing card, then the lady would write her name in the man's card, both on the space for whichever dance they'd asked for. It was really exciting to see how that worked in a real ball - things like that are spoken of so much in Louisa May Alcott or Jane Austen books, but I never knew how it really worked. It was an interesting experience!

Arwen dancing with my dad

The friend who invited us and one of the friends we invited!

This one was hard! (Especially when a girl was supposed to 'be the guy.' That was confusing!)

Me and my younger sister

The Grand March! This was one my little brother could do because we just wove through people and grabbed hands and eventually wound up in a big circle. (Hard to explain...) Doesn't he look adorable?! He stayed with the girl in the plaid dress for almost the entire evening. (He had quite a few girls wrapped around his little finger! And I'm one of them!! HA!!)

Me and my "supportive" younger brother. LOL!! No, it just looks like I'm leaning on him because the camera is crooked and my hoop is sticking out. We danced nearly the entire second half of the ball together, which was a lot of fun! Thanks, Bubby!

Me and my dad doing that confusing dance... Fun once you knew what to do, but confusing until then!!

My little brother and the other little girl he stayed with. (I think this was the one who helped him move a chair back and forth across the room....)

Friends!!!

All of the girls we knew at the ball - and it's only girls from four families!! (Don't you love big families?!)

Yup, he's got me wrapped around his little finger, sweetie precious baby!! Love him to death!!

Hope you enjoyed reading about the ball!

~Eowyn~

Looking Ahead to 2012

Here are a few things I'm looking forward to in 2012...

• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey coming out December 14th... : D



• Brave coming out some time in June



• For my birthday, I got a ticket to go see Les Miserables with Arwen and my grandma in April. Can't wait!!!!



• My senior year of high school! Yahoo!



• Whatever I write... : )

That's all I can think of right now... Ha!

Here's something you can look forward to - pictures from the Dixie Ball we attended last night! Here's a sneak peek of what you'll see....

2011 In Review

WOW!! Is it just me, or has 2011 flown by?! Goodness gracious me, I feel like it was just a few weeks ago that we were watching An American in Paris and paused it to watch The Ball drop.

2011 has been a mixture of good and bad, and I can safely say that it was mostly good! Here are a few highlights of my year...

• January - The Ice Storm - how could I forget it?! We were at a funeral in Mississippi when it hit and came home right in the middle of it. We visited my grandparents and, on the 15th, got to see Beauty and the Beast at the Fox Theater in Atlanta! Whoa... what a good musical. I absolutely loved it!
  


• February - I attended TeenPact for the first time, and boy, was it an experience! I got to spend time in the Georgia State Capitol, interview lobbyists, and talk with a lot of my friends! Yes, there was a lot of homework before the four-day class (including writing a bill and analysing a bill that was pending at the time), but I had a great time!



• March - My younger brother turned eleven, a friend got married, and I went to a one-day conference called Passion for Jesus, which was very good. I also started a house-cleaning job with Arwen, which has proved to be a very well-paying but tiring job! : )



• April - A good friend had a birthday and we visited them, which was a blast! Arwen and I also played in our 2nd Spring Concert with the Reinhardt University Orchestra. (Please don't ask what we played... I can't remember.) April also ushered in a loooong journey to yard perfection as we prepared for Arwen's graduation in June.



• May - My adorable little brother turned two! He's getting cuter every day! My sister turned thirteen, which is a big birthday for us. We celebrated with a tea party and a lot of her good friends.



• June - Party of the Century!! (Oh, and Arwen's graduation...) We also had our annual Camp GrandmaHoney with our grandparents and cousins on my dad's side. It was so much fun, and something I look forward to every year.



• July - My mom and dad celebrated their birthdays and had a getaway vacation at St. Simons. Also, my aunt and cousin came to babysit us while they went away again later in the month.



• August - We visited North Carolina twice, having an awesome time with friends on both trips. A friend got married (one of the reasons for our visiting NC) and a few good friends celebrated birthdays (another reason to visit NC). I also got my permit... look out, world!! : )



• September - We had our late summer vacation at Laguna Beach and enjoyed time with friends there! Also, Arwen celebrated her 18th birthday and we had some friends over. Courageous came out, too, which we saw and loved.



• October - A very full month, looking at my calender! Some friends from NC came and we went to the Passion for Jesus Retreat at a camp nearby and learned a lot. I also found out I had hypothyroidism and was sick for a good two and a half weeks. : P We also participated with a conference that our church was hosting, and Arwen and I helped lead worship for it. (We still haven't stopped practicing with the 'Worship Team,' I joke, because now we're regularly leading worship on Sundays!) We also went over to some friends' house every Sunday after church to prepare for the same conference and found time to play football or Ultimate nearly every week... good times. : )



• November - Compared to October, November was pretty bleak and boring. It gave me some time to catch up on most of my school I'd missed in October. A friend, who is eleven days older than me, celebrated her birthday and I tried to call her but forgot. : D



• December - We had our 3rd round of Reinhardt Christmas Concerts - four in three days - and had a blast. (My favorite song is still 'Celtic Christmas,' even though they've played it every year!) I turned seventeen... and still haven't gotten over it. It seems so old! (Half of thirty-four - yikes!) I played piano and violin at Belk for the first time, which was great but nerve-wracking! I also finished my third short story and it turned out a lot better than I expected (and a lot longer)! CHRISTMAS!!! So much fun, and I had a good time visiting family members I see once a year.
  

Wow, that was a lot. I've truly been blessed this year! Can't wait for next year!

~Eowyn~

The REASON for CHRISTmas...

I was going to write this post on all the Christmas movies I've watched in the past month or so, with a little blurb on what I thought of them, but decided there was a much more pressing issue I needed to discuss.

A few months ago, my family found out that some friends of ours didn't celebrate Christmas. It's given my family a lot to think about. Although I wasn't there when they gave their reasons, I can think of a few reasons why I wouldn't want "do Christmas" - in the modern way it's being celebrated, that is. Just look at how big Santa Claus has gotten over the past century or so, then add that with the big push for marketing. All that, plus the general selfishness surrounding December, makes me pretty angry. What must God think of how we've warped this holiday - one that's supposed to be sacred and set aside to celebrate Jesus' birth?

I encourage you to turn off the computer or cell phone or whatever and think about the reason you celebrate Christmas. Then wish Jesus a happy birthday. : )


Merry Christmas!

~Eowyn~

Jane Austen Questions

In honor of Jane Austen's birthday last week, someone at a blog I read had a few questions she wanted people to answer. I'm a little late, but I still wanted to answer them. : )

1 - What was the first JA novel you ever read, and who introduced you to it?
Wow... let me think. I believe it was Love and Friendship. I know that's not one of her most popular novels, but it's really funny and when Arwen suggested I read it (and read me little bits), I just couldn't say no! Jane Austen wrote it when she was about twelve, so it's written in the way people talked back then but with a 12-year-old's point of view. (Meaning, the main character and her husband get married literally ten minutes after they meet each other! Too funny...)

2 - Which is your least favorite JA novel, and why? (Everybody posts about their favorites... I want to know what's at the bottom of your list!)
Hum... I don't know! I haven't really read any of her books (shocking, I know!), so I can't exactly say which is my least favorite. I'll go with movies. I think Northanger Abbey was my least favorite movie. (Just too many parts we couldn't watch.)

3 - Who do you think is the funniest character JA ever created?
Mary Bennet. She makes me laugh every single time we watch the 2005 Pride and Prejudice. "Misfortunes, we are told, are sent to test our fortitude." Thanks a lot, Mary.

4 - Which JA villain[ess] do you love to hate?
Ooh... Do I have to say villainess? How about villain? I think Willoughby from the 2008 Sense and Sensibility is my favorite villain. He's so creepy, and the way he ignores Marianne at the ball is so awful!

5 - What's your favorite JA quote?
Oh, deary me! I can't pinpoint any one favorite, so a few top ones will have to do.
- "To be fond of dancing [is] a certain step towards falling in love." (Goodness gracious - I'm DOOMED!)
- "My characters shall have, after a little trouble, all that they desire."
- "I will not say that your mulberry trees are dead; but I am afraid they're not alive." (Jane Austen's Letters)
- "If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more!" (Mr. Knightly from Emma)

6 - If you were to "start" someone on JA, which book would you recommend to them first and why?
Pride and Prejudice because it's a Jane Austen classic! If you don't like it, you might not like any of her other books.

7 - What is your absolute favorite JA film adaptation and why?
Hands down, the 2010 Emma! I love that movie! Every single thing about it is just great - the acting, the costumes, the characters, the plot development, everything! Ramola Garai (Barbara Spooner from Amazing Grace) does an amazing job as Emma Woodhouse, and Jonny Lee Miller as Mr. Knightly is now probably my favorite JA movie guy character. *sighs* I need to watch that again. (Ahh, yes, and I could listen to the music for hours!!!)

8 - If you could authorize a new film adaptation of one of JA's novels, which would it be and why?
Northanger Abbey. It's Arwen's favorite book and I couldn't see why when we watched the movie because I just couldn't get into it. (But if I had money, I personally wouldn't be authorizing a Jane Austen book - I'd be making someone make Eight Cousins a movie!)

9 - Which JA character do you most identify with?
Marianne Dashwood. She's second oldest and has a romantic outlook on life, just like me, which often gets her in trouble. She plays piano - like me - and has an older and a younger sister - like me. (I just hope I skip the whole Willoughby thing!)

10 - If you could have lunch with JA today, what question would you most like to ask her?
"Why didn't you finish Sanditon?!"

11 - Is there any one thing that you think could have been improved upon in one (or all) of JA's books? What is it and why?
I would have liked to see Margaret Dashwood's character fleshed out a little more. I mean, after her sisters go off and get married, what happens to her? Yes, at the time of Sense and Sensibility, she is a little young to get married, but I want to know what her story is.

12 - If you could have lunch with one of JA's characters today, who would it be and why?
Emma Woodhouse so I could ask her which of the movies she thinks did the best job with her. : )

~Eowyn~

A Little Note...

Hello, dear readers!

Let me introduce myself. My name is Elizabeth and, as of right now, I am eighteen years old. I cannot disclose my last name because that would ruin a surprise. (It's been a great secret for almost a year now and I'm afraid of what Lady Eowyn would do to me if I told you. Kill me off, no doubt. Wouldn't want that!)

I have been asked to write a guest post by my lady, who says she has no time for blogging. She regretfully admits that two of her last few posts have been scheduled because she can't find time to "sit down and write a post." So she sits and writes a half dozen to post later. (Her reasoning is beyond me...)

Lady Eowyn has been swamped with work (her words, not mine) on her newest short story. She is trying to finish it for a few friends and thinks it would make a wonderful Christmas present for them - that is, if she can ever get it done. (I hope she gets it done soon, for I wish to see what she does to me.)

All that to say, my apologies, dear readers. Lady Eowyn will be back soon with either a Christmas post or a New Year's post, whichever one she can write in time.

- Elizabeth

EDIT: Wow, Lizzie, it's good to see you here! I guess that since you were such a big part of my life for the past few days and consuming nearly all of my free time writing your story, you decided to visit my little world here on Blogger. No prob. Your story's done, by the way. Longest short story I've written, which makes me happy and means that you've been through a lot. I can't help it, though; it's what writers do! : )
~Eowyn~