~LL~!!! How are you doing? What's going on with you?

*waves hello to pp, Bella, Mountie, Mel, gazer, and everyone else* How are you all doing?

I know I haven't been here in ages , but since the last time I stopped in, I've graduated with my Bachelor's degree and have started my Master's degree. It's going well, though I'm doing research at the same time, so I'm very very busy.

*is very out of practice with Town Square posts* I know this is short, but I'm not sure what else to say...

Good mortereve, Square Onion!

Aww, familiar faces! *dabs eyes with hanky* I've missed you guys. I remember our long, almost daily posts...

*waves to Mountie, Mel, and Valia*

BELLA!!!! Oh, my! It's been too long! Haha, The Squiggles send their love. I miss you all too. The Square seems to be super dull though. . . Must be because I left.

Yes, it has been! That's the reason the square has been really dull. All of Narniaweb, in fact. The halls were quiet and the rooms like funerals because Lady L wasn't here and the squiggles weren't running up and down the square, sliding down stair banisters and all. We've missed you.

Wow, congratulations on graduating very soon! :O I must have asked you this and I apologize if I have and now I've forgotten, but if it's okay to ask, what degree are you graduating with?

*waves to Mountie and acknowledges awe at her swooshing cape*

Mel, my rhyming, miming friend! How are you doing? I believe I owe you a PM... I will get to that this week, as I'm just on Winter Break.

*waves to Valia* I'm doing good, thanks! How about you?
(and I believe I owe you a PM as well. I just got off of school, so I'll be working on that this week....)
Congratulations on graduating! *throws confetti on Valia*
Oh, by the way! C.S. is asking (and I'm curious, too) - where is your sig from?

Well, nothing has been going on here except for Christmas break and Christmas prep. However! However! A big update since I last posted... did I ever get around to posting this? CSLewisNarnia, my very own big sister, has now joined the ranks of you elite collegians. She finished her first semester with good grades. It hasn't really sunk in and everything, but yeah, big changes!
On the other side, I've been getting a good idea of what I'd like to study, so that's been kind of nice, because I don't have to worry about it this year...and, too, I have a big sister who paves the way for me and everything.

Well, I'm getting rambly, so I'm going to wait by the chocolate tree!

Ditto the not remembering how to start off the posts, but I suppose in answer to 'how am I?' I could say that I am trying to work up the enthusiasm to glue stuff into my scrapbook. I mean, why does the program cover have to be thismuch bigger than the page I have? And it doesn't have a lot of removable border, either. It's a sad, sad thing...

A Masters is the step below PHD, Valia? For whatever reason that came up at church today but I don't know the answer.

Very nice description of the lonely forum, Bella. I should be most delighted to receive a PM from you.

I've missed our rhyming, tis true
And some days it made me almost blue
But at least my brain wasn't in a stew
Thinking of things to rhyme --- boooo!

Wow. That went downhill very fast. I'm so out of practice.

Many congratulations to CSL, by the way!

Bella! It's so good to see you again! Glad to hear you're doing well; I'm doing well, too, thanks for asking.
(No worries! I've got some pms and emails still stacked up even though I've been off for a week. To be fair, I've been working still, and busy around the house, so... )
Thank you! Please pass on my congratulations to CS for her graduation as well! Speaking of which, how long before you'll be graduating as well? And what are you thinking of studying?
My signature is a quote from Waking Rose by Regina Doman; it's the third in a series of modern retellings of fairy tales.
Also, ditto Mel's comment---you had a very poetic description of the forum!

Mel!
There's a reason I never took up scrapbooking (...mainly because it always seemed to take too much work). What program cover are you trying to put in? Is there going to be a spot for your Hobbit ticket, too? At any rate, I hope you can get that all squared away.
Yes, a Master's is between a Bachelor's and a PhD.

So...we're currently painting the downstairs of the building. We primed it all Saturday, and will have to do touch up tomorrow (which I am hoping to get out of most of since I will be making tamales with a friend in the morning, and then plan on cooking for most of the afternoon ), and painting soon afterward. Also, since my sister is working Christmas evening, we're celebrating Christmas Eve. So, my mom suggested that we paint on Christmas Day. XD Winter and I are threatening to revolt, but our revolution may be squashed. *sighs*

Have a good mortereve, all!

Random thought: I was remembering the Lady of Shallot Conspiracy the other day and got a chuckle out of that.

Very nice description of the lonely forum, Bella. I should be most delighted to receive a PM from you.

Well, thank-you, Mel! Aww, I shall be sending it. ^^

Thy poem, O Mel, caused a smile on my face,
And it is true, that was the case -
The rhymes were hard to find,
But they did sharpen my mind,
The amount of rhymes I know is a number low,
Ohohohohooooooooooo!

I've been meaning to ask! How is your knitted sweater coming along?
I will pass your congratulations to CS!

Valia! It's so good to see you, too! (Thank-you for understanding about the PM. Yes, that's how our break has been - I've finally gotten off for school, but there seems to be endless other things to do. )
I will pass the message to CS! I'll be graduating this summer. (which I am bittersweet about...) Currently, I'm thinking of majoring in Chemistry and/or Physics. The main part I'm worried about is the calculus involved, but I'm hoping that works out sooner or later...
Thanks for the information on your sig! =] The name sounds familiar...did she write that one series popular on Narniaweb, the title being of something about a Bear?

Also, ditto Mel's comment---you had a very poetic description of the forum!

Aww, haha, thanks!
Your painting endeavors sound interesting! Speaking of Winter, could you say hello to her for me?

Hi! I know I haven't posted in a million years, but Valia and I were talking and I decided it was high time I got back on. Anyone remember me?

Also, I really wanted to say hi to Bella myself. I've missed talking to you, my friend! How are you?

See y'all!

*follows swiftly on the heels of Winty*

I'm with Winter. Er, that is, I'm also in the club of people who haven't been on here in forever and have randomly decided to pop back in. Anyone remember me as well? I must say, it's endearingly comforting to see usernames that I recognize still on here. I'm always terrified that I'll randomly decide to check in on the Square one day and everyone will be strangers all of a sudden.

I hope you all have had a very Merry Christmas and are a good deal more healthy than I am at the moment. I've been suffering from a cold for the last week and I was sincerely hoping that it would abate before Christmas day, but alas, such was not the case. My family's had to work hard to cheer me up today...I've been on minimal sleep for a while thanks to being sick. Admittedly, I've been somewhat of a Scrooge. Ba hum bug and all that. Nevertheless, the day turned out to be a joyful one. You know, I really love my siblings. My brother saw me this morning and said, "Dani, what's wrong?" After I didn't say anything he said, "Okay, comic relief...here we come." I was laughing by the end of the day and I guess I'm pretty cheerful and feeling much better now.

Granted, it helped that I surprisingly received the piano/vocal scores for all of the music from the musicals "Wicked" and "Newsies". I'm insanely crazy about both of those musicals, especially Newsies ever since it came out on Broadway. I'm hoping to make some covers and sharing them online sometime in the future.

Despite being sick, the rest of my Christmas break has been quite lovely. I got together with some home schooled friends and participated in making this ridiculous short film. Click here to see it. If you haven't had enough of Christmas already...well my character in this movie certainly has. Technically, I'm not home schooled anymore since I'm a college student now. But, let's face it. Once a home schooler, always a home schooler. Or so my friends like to tease me.

Oh, oh, oh! And of course I went and saw "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" just after it was released. It's my most favorite movie in the world right now, but I think I was a little predisposed to love it...I think I've been in love with the production ever since I discovered that Richard Armitage and Martin Freeman were starring in it. I also attended my very first ball, which was rather exciting and immensely fun. I already put a little bit about that on my blog here so I won't annoy you with anymore details here.

I'll be off now, but hopefully I'll be back on here again, at least during break. God bless, you all!

*stomps off all the snow burying her*

Fireflower! How lovely to see you again! I've been busy, but good. And, the holidays can be overwhelming for everyone.

Mel! How have you been?

Valia! I'm doing pretty well. Graduating in May, then preparing for the NCLEX. Conga Rats on graduating! What are you pursuing your masters in? What sort of research are you doing? I know you were studying engineering, but I cannot recall what kind.

Bella, haha, yeah, I'm sure the Squiggles and my absence are entirely to blame. Haha, it's okay to forget! I'm studying nursing. I'll have my bachelors and RN when I graduate and pass boards. And, it's so crazy that Ella is in college! You two were such youngins when you joined. And, ooh, I forgot about the chocolate tree!

Ah, yes, the Lady of Shallot conspiracy. Haha, such an odd thing. ;P

Winter! Look at Sokka! Love that episode. And, oooh! I've just become a Doctor Who fan (seen up to Ten's regeneration into Eleven). Daleks are still weird though.

Ruby! Course I remember you! And, as Cep always said, people come, people go. The Square will always be here. And, how can one not love The Hobbit? It wasn't absolutely perfect, but it really was quite good. And, Martin Freeman is Bilbo. Richard Armitage made a rather good Thorin too.

Here's hoping my coding is all correct!

to all! Take care and enjoy your new Christmas gifts! (My personal favorite that I received was an adorable plush Gandalf! )

*finally has time to come by the square again*
I'm so glad for winter break it's nice to be able to stay home and not have to go out in the cold in the mornings *waves to everyone* I hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas season

congrats on graduating in May Lady L and congrats to Valia for graduating too

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and wishing you a great New Years Eve

I think I've successfully turned down my first marriage proposal, well, it wasn't an actual proposal, but the guy was obviously leading up it and I sort of cut him off, but I don't feel bad, cause it was over the internet (how romantic ) and extremly random, not to mention we hardly know each other . I only hope he gets the point

We recently taught our niece to say 'Thorin' though she pronounces it 'Torin' (at two years she's still battling with the 'th' sound, considering in Russian the 'th' sound doesn't exist ). we started teaching her 'Bilbo' though for not it's 'Boble' I think the Hobbit is having an effect on us, though I'm not sure if it's good or bad I hope to teach her (my niece) the names of all 13 dwarves and have her recoginze them all

Ruby, I loved Richard Armitage as Thorin too, and Martin Freeman is an amazing Bilbo!!! Actually I loved all the dwarves they were all awesome
I'm so dying to see The Hobbit in English, Russian was cool and all (saw it twice already) but the singing is DREADFUL and I miss all the different accents that the dwarves had. I'll have to wait till it comes out on DVD to see it in English oh well, patience is a good thing to grow in

We recenty showed my brother 'North and South' and he enjoyed it, but said he could never watch it again, thought Mr. Thorton suffered too much and he couldn't go through it again

I hope you are all enjoying winter here's to hoping for an early spring

It appears the Square has been bustling to life lately! It's great to see some old faces.

*waves to Lady L* How have you been? Congratulations on almost graduating college!!!! That must be one amazing feeling.

Bella! I haven't talked to you in forever! How have you been?

Mel! I haven't seen you around in a while. How's it been going?

Hey there, Ruby! It's so good to see you again! That's no fun you had a cold on Christmas. I've been sick on Christmas before, and it sure ain't fun!
That's so awesome you went to a ball!! I've never been to one, but it sounds like quite the experience.

Hey Wild Rose! I've been enjoying winter break, too. It's been so relaxing. Wow, you saw 'The Hobbit' in Russian? Can you speak Russian?

It's nice to see all y'all again! I hope everyone had a nice Christmas. Mine was low-key, just hanging out with family, but I like it like that. Now, on to the New Year! Does anyone have any New Year's resolutions? I'm going to try to be more disciplined, especially when it comes to school. I really am such a procrastinator.
Stay warm, Square Onions!

Ruby! Course I remember you! And, as Cep always said, people come, people go. The Square will always be here. And, how can one not love The Hobbit? It wasn't absolutely perfect, but it really was quite good. And, Martin Freeman is Bilbo. Richard Armitage made a rather good Thorin too.

*returns Liln's hug enthusiastically* How have things in general been going for you? Anything earth-shattering happened in your life since I was last on here, or are things still fairly normal?

Alas, no film adaptation of any book ever stays perfectly true to the book or one's imagination. For a fairly mainstream movie, I was so happy that they picked good quality actors for "The Hobbit" as opposed to well-known Hollywood stars that would draw a lot of attention. Or like my sister says, as opposed to crest whitened smiles.

I loved Richard Armitage as Thorin too, and Martin Freeman is an amazing Bilbo!!! Actually I loved all the dwarves they were all awesome
I'm so dying to see The Hobbit in English, Russian was cool and all (saw it twice already) but the singing is DREADFUL and I miss all the different accents that the dwarves had. I'll have to wait till it comes out on DVD to see it in English oh well, patience is a good thing to grow in

Oh, wow! I didn't know you were fluent in Russian. I'm not sure if I would be able to process Richard Armitage talking with a voice other than his own, haha. And that's really too bad about the singing, since it was one of my favorite parts in the whole movie. I feel like the songs and the singing were a key feature in all of Tolkien's books. He worked so hard to create songs for each and every race and type of people and I feel like his creativity doesn't get enough credit in the Lord of the Rings movies.

We recenty showed my brother 'North and South' and he enjoyed it, but said he could never watch it again, thought Mr. Thorton suffered too much and he couldn't go through it again

Aah, I love North & South! But I can definitely relate to your brother. It's hard for me to watch that mini series. It's so long and it's so tragic and I tend to spend the entire time apprehensively waiting for the ending to come around and for everything to be happy. Haha. But it really is such a good story.

Have you seen any other of the BBC adaptations of Elizabeth Gaskell's books? Like Wives & Daughters or Cranford? Both are very good and entertaining.

Hey there, Ruby! It's so good to see you again! That's no fun you had a cold on Christmas. I've been sick on Christmas before, and it sure ain't fun!

It's good to see you too! I'm feeling much better now, thank you, though I'm still slightly congested. Yeah, I think the fact that I was sick on Christmas day kind of made me all the more depressed and worse for wear. But I still had a good break and once I started feeling better, everything perked up.

That's so awesome you went to a ball!! I've never been to one, but it sounds like quite the experience.

It was pretty amazing! I had never been to one before this Christmas either and I hadn't really been planning to go, but some friends of mine were going and offered me a ride and everything just worked out so I ended up going.

One of my friends and I decided that attending a ball is like stepping into a Jane Austen novel...that is, without all of the romantic drama and angst, of course.

Does anyone have any New Year's resolutions?

I've resolved to teach myself to play the accordion. My dad gave me his old accordion and it's loads of fun to play, if not a bit cumbersome. I'm hoping to make it the newest contribution to our home school group's Celtic music group. So far our group consists of fiddles, guitars, mandolins, penny whistles, a bordhan, and even a harp but we don't have an accordion yet so it'll be fun to see how we mix things up.

pogginfan, I definitely understand when it comes to procrastinating with schoolwork! I procrastinate with everything...practicing, home work, cleaning my room, washing my laundry. Haha. It's a miracle I survived this last semester of college...and survived fairly successfully. I'll be praying for you and this upcoming year!

Well, I believe that's it for me. I will talk to you all later! God bless!

What program cover are you trying to put in? Is there going to be a spot for your Hobbit ticket, too?

Of course. Ticket stubs are easy to include. The cover is from the play version of The Hobbit that Twigs, Movie Aristotle, stargazer, Ryadian and myself went and saw back in... October... which just goes to show how on top of things I am, especially since I do the lazy woman's version of scrapbooking which is just pasting the things in semi-chronological order in my journal.

The Lady of Shallot conspiracy was fun. I never did see the film though.

Yo-de-lay-e-ay!
My poems suddenly turned into a yodeling lay
And that's not child's play
Yo-de-lay, yo-de-lee
But maybe someone will come see
Join the fun, wheeeeee!
Yo-de-lee, yo-de-lay, yo-de-he-he-he

(Any moment now, someone is going to say, "Mel, go back to miming. It was easier on the ears." )

The name sounds familiar...did she write that one series popular on Narniaweb, the title being of something about a Bear?

Shadow of the Bear is the first one, yup. Speaking of books, how is Swallows and Amazons coming? Oh, and I need to post the pictures of the sweater in the Needlework thread.

*has fond memories of Newsies* What's your favorite song, Ruby? I'm sorry you were sick over Christmas; that happened to me a few years ago and it was no fun at all. The ball sounds like a lot of fun too. I'd love to go to one someday, but there hasn't been one organized around here and I don't think I know enough people to put one together myself.

Aw, and there's the pretty blue ~LL~ uses for me! I hadn't realized I'd missed it. I'll answer you and Poggy at once since you both ask how I've been... but the answer is rather boring, I'm afraid. I'm still working part time for the local photographer (I guess he's now 'a' local photographer since another photographer has a display window right next to ours!) and I stay nights with an older lady from our church. I did NaNo last November and now I need to edit it so that when people go, "Ooooh, werewolves; interesting..." they can actually read it. Yes. I wrote about werewolves. I'm still not sure how the characters talked me into it...

*eavesdrops on the Hobbit in Russian conversation because it is very interesting and she has nothing to add*

Poke me if I've forgotten anything?

EDIT: Oh, of course! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

*makes a rare appearance in Ditto Town*

Happy New Year all!

Happy 2013 everyone! It's great to see familiar faces, new and old, here in the Town Square.

I'll throw another log on the fire here in the Mansion, since our winter has finally arrived. Even though the temperature has climbed back above 0F for the day, it's still rather cloudy and gloomy outside. But it was clear last night, so I stepped outside to greet the new year under the stars and moon. (I could hear fireworks in the distance, but not see them, thanks to buildings and trees blocking the view).

Happy New Year, everyone!

*trying to write something creative and getting distracted by the Avengers*

My little sister is obsessed with "The Avengers". Every time we watch a movie, she wants to watch it. While I have objections to watching it all the time, I forgot how awesome it was and I'm enjoying watching it now.

*has fond memories of Newsies* What's your favorite song, Ruby?

I like the music from both the original movie soundtrack and the Broadway musical. From the Broadway production, I love the "Santa Fe: Prologue" where Jack and Crutchie sing a duet. I feel like the Broadway musical is a bit more emotion-ridden, which I imagine they add to heighten the overall drama. I also really like the song "Something To Believe In" which is a song exclusively from the Broadway production. The lyrics are a bit cliche and shallow, but it's still a pretty song all the same.

How about you? Any favorite moments or songs from Newsies or any other musical?

I'm sorry you were sick over Christmas; that happened to me a few years ago and it was no fun at all.

Yes, well, I'm feeling a lot better now thank you!!
And I've had a lovely rest of Christmas break as well.

The ball sounds like a lot of fun too. I'd love to go to one someday, but there hasn't been one organized around here and I don't think I know enough people to put one together myself.

This was the first time I'd ever been to a ball and it was incredibly fun. I'm hoping to go again next year, if I can. The kind of dancing was the kind I really enjoy, mostly English folk and contra dancing and a little bit of Ceilidh dancing as well.

*waves to starkat and gazer*

I think that's all for me now...I'm off to finish watching the Avengers. Here's to the new year! God bless!!