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

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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 work} Photo 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: 

 

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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. 
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• 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.
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• 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. 
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• English and Scottish country dancing almost every night.
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• Watching The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and Prince Caspian with a room-full of armored, sword wielding homeschoolers {at midnight}. 
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• 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.
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• Standing outside in 90 mile per hour wind. 
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• 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.  
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• Completing my petticoat, stays (curse those wretched things!) and shift. 
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• 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. 
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• 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!)  
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• 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! 
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• Stopping every couple of minutes while sewing to ask "how do I do this again"? 
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• Forgetting to pack ones toothbrush. Serous panic-time.
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• 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.

"further up and further in!"

 "Then Aslan turned to them and said, "You do not yet look so happy as I mean you to be." Lucy said, "We're so afraid of being sent away, Aslan. And you have sent us back into our own world so often." "No fear of that," said Aslan, "Have you not guessed?" Their hearts leaped and a wild hope rose within them. "There was a real railway accident," said Aslan softly, "Your father and mother and all of you are--as you used to call it in the Shadowlands--dead. The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the new morning." And as He spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion, but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever. In which every chapter is better than the one before."

And so I finished the very last chapter of the very last book in the Chronicles of Narnia. I cried. Though I can't say I'm into all the mythology and weirdness that comes with fantasy, this was one of the most beautiful, spellbinding, gripping series I've ever read. I could read those last few paragraphs over and over, forever--just drooling over the words--thinking of the deeper meaning. 

"Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see."  — C.S. Lewis

Queen Susan the Gentle // photoshoot

In this post  I asked you to guess which character I portrayed at my friends Literary Ball (English Country Dancing). . .yes, I was Susan from Narnia, wearing a "mock" version of the Archery Dress.  Nooo, the movie dress isn't made with satin fabric, and of course a few minor details are "missing". However! I LOVE my gown (which a friend of a friend made for me.) Normally I like to make my own messes - I mean dresses - for Balls, but felt I lacked the experience, and *definitely*  the time to dabble with the project. Funds were limited, (go figure,) but even sooo . . .like I said, the dress is magnifique. . .simply because it is oh-so feminine.

 If I could wear a medieval-style gown each and every day I more then happily would. I'd spend endless  hours in open, flowered-sprinkled fields; drinking in the sun, wishing the earth always sang of spring, feeling a gentle breeze on my cheek - loving life and the Lord's beautiful creation.

My bestest friend and lovely sister Anna  recently bought a beauteous camera  that she is getting rather incredible at using. She has been *wanting* to use it. . .constantly. Perfect timing for the photo-shoot I've been scheming up! I can now proudly check  "Susan photo-shoot" off of my need-to-be-posted list. Could this mean Michaela ceases at last to be a procrastinator? I only wish. :P 

First we headed to the backyard. We have a lovely "wooded" area that is very nice for pictures. . .but something was missing. This is when we opted for one of our local parks - a favorite place of our family, and just gorgeous with its "lake of shining waters", country air, and foresty paths that open into little grotto's of dead fir trees. Footsteps are whispered away when one melts from the bustling park onto a carpet of needles so thick and soft it is possible to walk without shoes. The outside world vanishes under a canopy of semi-gloom. . .it isn't difficult to imagine small men in pointed caps peeking through the brittle branches . 

"It was when I was happiest that I longed most...The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing...to find the place where all the beauty came from."  — C.S. Lewis

It is just magical. A Susan-inspired dress, talented budding-photographer sister, and Picnik bring to life all the emotions of the day. It was perfectly overcast, slightly chilly, the lake was slivery, and I felt in an extra-exuberant mood. Be grateful that I chose to leave some of the photos out. Like the one of me running full force up a hill, right into the mouth of the camera (while my mouth gaped open.) Would have ruined the "Susan-ish" feel, you know. These pics are a testament to the fact that I am capable of being mature. :P

"Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again." — C.S. Lewis

Susan, little men in caps, shining waters and whatnot aside, the photographer and I needed *one* picture together. . . this was the result. No, I didn't just post that on my blog. You didn't see it, k? 

"To the radiant southern sun, Queen Susan the Gentle. . .Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen of Narnia. May your wisdom grace us until the stars rain down from the heavens."  

— C.S. Lewis  (somehow that line seems dreadfully misplaced. ;) )