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Thursday, July 12, 2012

For sewing and Narnia!--an Awkwardly Awesome week {#4}

Chronicles of Narnia
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aka--the adventures of returned warriors. Get ready--this is going to a huge, information-packed post. Have fun. ;) Note that all the pictures (unless otherwise specified,) were taken by my highly-talented photographer friend, Brandon Pieplow

 
{part of the Beyond the Mask costume production team hard at workPhoto courtesy of Brandon

As my sister Anna said in her facebook status: we went. we saw. we SEWED. Yes folks, I have returned from one of the most beautiful "retreats" ever--in all my 21 years. Sorely missing my long morning walks. . .I'm convinced it's impossible not to feel spiritual in the country. Go ahead, laugh--country is in my soul. I realized that all the more when I was alone; me, my prayers, my voice, and my God. Corn fields hedging me in on every side, open skies, a huge, over-grown puppy of a lab for company, a house full of amazing young people, and costumes waiting to be sewed. Oh, yeah. Remember my fears? Point made--the dresses weren't completed, but that may have to do with all the breaks Anna and I took--I mean, it was perfect outside--and there were kittens. Hey, there is more then a month more of costume production--so, even though we can't get the time off (for another week-long trip,) we should be heading back a couple of weekends. 

{gorgeous countryside--I so miss my morning walks.} Photo courtesy of Brandon 

So I'm turning this post into a review-of-the-trip AND Awkward and Awesome Thursday, since there were thousands of Awkward (some Awful) and Awesome  moments. Which, btw, before I continue, we finally--finally--saw all three Narnia movies. :gaspanddoublegasp: The books are great--the movies. . .are incredible. Except for The Dawn Treader--sorry to any fans out there--that is probably one of the worst movies I've ever seen. It reminds me of a computer game. But to quickly sum up--(this is going to be hard)--Prince Caspian was by far my favorite. Detest the romance to every degree possible--but the movie had just the right amount of dark and dramatic and suspense and reality and more dark and some funny. . . to make it reach into the depths of my soul. Which means it was good. ;) I need dark. Not gross dark--tragic, beautiful dark. :cue Les Miserables: 

 kings and queens of old
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Aslan was terrific--really loved putting the allegory into visual-perspective (though I have very mixed feelings in that department). He gave me the same choked-feeling I get whenever his name appears in the books. Very powerful character. Ok, now that I think about it, Eustace made The Dawn Treader. . .digestible. Best casting EVER. (quick, quick Michaela, sum up--get to the point!) Caspian's accent was AWESOME. Much approved. Reepicheep--"You people have no imagination!" Anna and I should have never heard that quote. ;) Lucy is adorable. . .but here's the big question: who was my all-time favorite character (next to Aslan, of course) ? So hard for me not to spill it all over this post. But this character belongs in a post of it's own. Loved this character in the book--loved this character before I saw the films--and loved this character ever more after watching the films. Just GUESS. Shouldn't be too hard. 

Awesome

  
Photo courtesy of Brandon

  • Finally knowing where The Vacation will take place--North Carolina. And my beloved Tennessee. The Lord worked the details out so perfectly--and gave us a completely new route/destination. I can hardly wait--2 days exploring NC beaches, a longish drive up to Pigeon Forge, then a few more days in a Smokey Mountain cabin. Hopefully I'll be able to recruit those guest posters this time. 

  • Spending time with old friends--and bonding with several new ones. 9 days sewing together will do that to people. And yes, there was massive sewing--the basement was crammed full of machines, racks of historically accurate clothing, conversation, teasing, and MUSIC. Soundtracks, The High Kings, and Les Miserables reigned. I was satisfied.

  • Instantly connecting with someone then being asked, "do you know each other?" Kindred spirits!

  
Photo courtesy of Brandon

  • Getting caught in an "almost tornado". Frightening while driving through wind and flying debris, but incredible to see our God's mighty hand! The long, wet walk in the woods that followed was magical--I loved discovering a civil-war era cemetery, piecing together the lives of a man who had 2--or was it 3--wives? o.O That and ice cream totally made up for the storm. 

  • English and Scottish country dancing almost every night.

  • Watching The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and Prince Caspian with a room-full of armored, sword wielding homeschoolers {at midnight}. 

  • Random bursts of  "Onnnnneee daaaayyyyy moooorrreeee!" 

 
Photo courtesy of Brandon

  • "Adopted brothers". The Lord has really blessed us as we've gotten older--with male friends who treat us as sisters, with respect and brotherly love. It's a special thing.

  • Standing outside in 90 mile per hour wind. 

  • Cheesy-bread-pizza-and-pop night around The Guns of Navarone. I forgot how much I liked Gregory Peck. Acting just isn't acting nowadays.  

  • Completing my petticoat, stays (curse those wretched things!) and shift. 

  • Being called "a little girl" by a 4 year old, then later told, "you aren't my friend, your my family!" Our "secrets" every afternoon (aka my precious strawberry-cool mints. . .I was nice and offered the "to share" side :P ) were really special. . .to both of us. 

 
{yes, there's a sneak peek of Anna and I!--watching the Ultimate game. Told you I'd bow out. ;) } Photo courtesy of Brandon

Awkward

  • Announcing "yeah, I started crying when Andrea Bocelli SPOKE" {at the concert}--to be met by blank stares. 

  • Finding ones hosts cleaning spilled coffee--overflowed from the full pot YOU made. (totally hooked on Hawaiian and Peruvian coffee, btw. Yes, the fast is broken!)  

  • Waking early for my morning walk. . .this time with Anna . . .only to be chased by a stray dog. (mind you, this is a very abbreviated version.) We walked three miles barefooted--fleeing for ones life and flip-flops don't mix--in 100* weather with no cell phones. Lovely. Thankfully an older woman stopped us from her porch (I could hardly walk at this point--literally,) offered us water, then drove us the rest of the way back. The Lord is so good! 

  • Stopping every couple of minutes while sewing to ask "how do I do this again"? 

  • Forgetting to pack ones toothbrush. Serous panic-time.

  • Random cries of "ow!" when ANOTHER person stepped on a needle, punctured a limb with pins, or sliced into an exposed finger. {battle-wounds of sewing}   

haha. . .sorry, had to include that above pic. ;) This post is awkward enough with sewing and Narnia all mixed together. Two huge highlights of the week, obviously. :sigh: These aren't half the pictures or half of what we did--the baseball game and fireworks and out-doing a poorly done "comedy" act. . .and musket demonstrations and trying to get ready before 7:30 AM. Talking to oneself in an otherwise quiet room. Going completely off my diet and not caring. Stealing (ok, I had permission) a friends book light for late-night reading purposes. Hymn-singing in the van. The M&M party. But I shan't bore you any longer. 

I probably won't be "seeing" you again for the next week or so. Be good, and keep a look-out for guest posters.

18 comments:

  1. My favorite of the Narnia movies is the first one. To me it really captured the spirit of the books. I felt the second one tried for more of a Lord of the Rings feel, which is not what C.S.Lewis was going for...and like you said, the third one was a bit to computerish...like a cartoon. I wish they had more money to make it. Bad Disney for quitting on them:) Okay, I will be quiet now;-)

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    1. Ok, so I haven't seen LOTR's--but, from what little I know, I'm not sure I'd say Caspian had the same flavor. It wasn't exactly fairy-tale "Narnian"--more realistic and "rough", which I really liked. What makes you compare it to LOTR's? Really, I'm curious. :)

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    2. Really just the rough and dark aspect I think. Lord of the Rings has a lot of darkness because the world is being controlled by evil for most of the series, and Prince Caspian had a similar feeling to me. Not nearly as brutal, of course. And of course all the darkness is gone when Aslan shows up! :) I always pictured Narnia as a fairytale and LOTR as a series for adults, so I guess I just don't think Prince Caspian seemed like a children's fairytale, if that explained anything to you...sometimes I don't even understand how I think!:-)

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  2. For Narnia! :) I like all the movies...I don't think I could pick a favorite. :P

    Looks like you had a great time! I'm trying to learn how to sew--I still haven't gotten very far yet. :P

    God bless you!
    Joy :)

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  3. So good to have you back --I've been missing your colorful posts and unique, intriquing and perfect way of writing:) But it sure does sound like you had a L.O.V.E.L.Y. fun-filled time! Ohio is gorgeous!!! Early morning or late evening walks are beautiful.
    lol. Reepicheep is. terrific.:D prince caspian is probably my favorite too --except for the fact that its the last time Susan and Peter can go to Narnia *sobs*=( yeah, the dawn treader was too much like a computer game -- but i'd happily watch it a second time just to see Eustace again, lol:)

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    1. Awww. . .thank you, Rachel. o.O That's really an encouragement to me--sometimes I re-read my posts and think, "wow do I sound immature!" I'm truly glad you enjoy my blog. :)

      Agree agree agree 100% with everything Narnia-related, btw.

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  4. Random bursts of One Day More sound dee-lightful. :)
    When is Behind the Mask going to be filmed? Do you have a speaking part or are you in a crowd scene?

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    1. I believe filming begins in September--I don't have the exact dates. Anna and I are in the ball scene. . .so we'll be dancing. Really excited! o.O

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    2. Oh my soul, SO COOL! Now I want to see this movie. :D *trots off to find the details on the web site*

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  5. Wow, what a week! I didn't know you hadn't seen Narnia before! My favorite (I know, I know) is The Yoyage of the Dawn Treader. Prince Caspian irked me*, but the movie was pretty good. And the first one is just dabomb{dot}com. :)
    Okay, is your favorite Edmund? (cause he's my favorite...shh, don't tell. ;D) Or Reepicheep? Or Peter? Okay, that wasn't fair...:D

    *I didn't like the rivalry between him and Peter. And I didn't like the romance between him and Susan...
    {{hugs}}, bree

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    1. haha. . .Bree, you crack me up. I had to re-read your comment like 6 times before getting the "okay, that wasn't fair". Do you mean my hint? :P

      That's all I'll say for now. ;) Anna is much opposed to my opinion (that is, she's on a different "team"). Team---

      Oooh. . .and totally agree. The romance was AWFUL. Plus it wasn't built on at all. . .you'd see little glances here and there (they obviously liked each other, but nothing significant,) then all of a sudden everything's mushy and un-Narnia-ish. So wrong.

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  6. I loved this post to itty-bitty bits. You, my dear, are amazing. :D

    That sounds like a very busy, amazingly fun week. And I didn't know you hadn't seen the Narnia movies before! I love those movies . . . they make me feel all warm and happy for sentimental reasons. :) The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe will always be my favorite, though . . . Prince Caspian comes second, despite the romance between *cough* certain *cough* characters. :P I kind of agree with you about Dawn Treader looking like a video game, which is a shame, because it was one of my favorite books in the series. I also thought the acting wasn't quite so good. :/

    I would guess that your favorite character is Susan, because she looks almost exactly like you, but something tells me that wouldn't be quite right. Edmund? Peter?

    You're coming to TN again? It would be absolutely amazing if we could meet up somehow . . .

    Random bursts of One Day More? That just made my day. :)

    Love and hugs,
    Elizabeth Rose

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    1. Well I'm glad you liked it! It took me forever to write. Thankfully most of the fam are out today, so I had plenty of time to type, listen to music, and laze about. ;)

      You know, I actually didn't mind the added rivalry between Peter and Caspian as much as the romance. It was so wrong on multiple levels. Thank Hollywood. See why they shouldn't tamper with things? (yes, I'm thinking of Les Miz. ;) )

      Not saying who my favorite is yet--but. It's not Susan.

      YES we're going back to TN!! It would be sooo neato to meet up--I'm not sure what our schedule is right now. . .I'll get back to you on it. :)

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  7. But....deaaaar....I thought you were so anti-trends. Narnia is the trend to end all homeschool trends. Except LOTR, of course.

    Hehehe. Just kiiiiiiidding. You know I am. :) But in my mind you no longer have any right to bash my Doctor Who trend following. So there.

    Sounds like a blast! And Guns of Navarone is awesomeness. I didn't realize you were into war movies. :-P Heehehehe. I'm so full of it tonight. :-P We always end up stopping the movie at the falling-off-the-cliff part for one reason or another and never getting back to it, so we've seen the first half-hour a million times and then it's like, when we do watch the whole movie it's like, wow! That was a great movie! Anyway.

    I love your awkward and awesome posts. And *I* understand about Andrea. *Hugs*.

    Miss you like SO MUCH, deariest. Sigh. Life is so busy. :)

    And you finally got to see Your Brother! I forgot about that. :-P (note to anyone reading: it's an inside joke. :-D)

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  8. Ooooh, all that sewing looks like a lot of work, but fun! I love to sew. (minus the battle wounds, haha)
    Anyways, looks like you had a blast! Oh, I would have cried if I just heard Andre Bocelli speak, too.<3

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  9. Hmm..is it Caspian?? Hes my favorite after Aslan, and then its Reep, and Lucy.

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  10. Bur I do gave a MASSIVE crush on William Moseley (Peter)...;p

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  11. Cool!
    I love the Narnia movies.The books are even better;they have more Biblical parralles and humor.

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