An inquisitive figure pokes her head 'round a corner and gazes curiously into the Square. After a few moments, she makes her way towards the Fountain.

Hello everyone! I've been meaning to get over here for awhile now but haven't had the time. I hope to pop in regularly, but I'm in summer school right now so it probably won't happen as often as I would like. Anyhow........

I don't think I know everyone here, but I'm sure I will before long.

*waves to all*

The not-quite-as-inquisitive figure gracefully exits the Square and goes along her merry way trying to remember all of the various organelles of an animal cell and their many functions.

Mortereve, all! I'm doing well. A friend dropped off her dog tonight for me to 'babysit' for two weeks, so now we have a houseful of pets: Big Cat, Little Cat (which finally has the name of 'Sofie'), and the Dog -- neither of which like each other. It'll be interesting.

The weather is so... nasty here. It's either hot and sticky, or else thunderstorming (and I do like rain, mind you, just not so much so often). Anyhoo.

Ah, I see, Ben. Well, that's pretty cool! I guess we ended up naming her 'Sofie', because my sister hated the name Momo. Oh well.

*waves to Becca* Hullo!

I love the cover of your book, Betsie! It's so pretty; Djaq did a fantastic job! Oh, and I'd love to own have one of your nicknames. (I do wonder how you manage to come up with them all!) I'm afraid I haven't heard of any of those books, except Persuasion (which I read several years ago) and Stepping Heavenward (only heard of it; never read it).

My mom wanted me to spend my energies on deeper literature. Not sure that I did....

Haha, same here. I read so many different styles of books, though, so she eventually learned not to mind as much.

"I did pretty well on my overalls?" I like overalls. But I don't like to wear them. I like them best on other people.

*waves to daughter of the King* Hullo, welcome to the Square! Eh, and you're going to summer school? Eek.

I don't think I know everyone here, but I'm sure I will before long.

No problem! I didn't know a soul when I first came. You'll fit in perfectly in no time!

Hello all! *Waves*

Ok, so I haven't been in here in along while.. *hangs head* But I'm back now, and that's what counts, right?!

Anyways, life's been crazy. What with, retreats, company, summer classes, yellowbooks (I hate yellowbooks, I really do...) piano, horseback riding, and all. Not to mention, we have two weeks of VBS coming up, and my parents are traveling twice this summer...

Oh, and we're going to show in the county fair this September! Well, if we can get everything together by then... The only classes in my age level are walk-trot-canter, and I can't canter, yet, so... Also, we have to find show clothes... I know I can borrow my instructor's trousers, and most likely her boots (they don't fit quite right) I have a helmet and another instructor has connections, so can get us show coats. If she can't, I could wear a polo instead.

Enough about me, how are all of you? Please don't be cross with me for not trying to do the 30+ pages of catchup... To ya'll!

See y'all!

*comes in yawning and humming Skillet's song "Alien Youth"*

hi! I am so tired because I was up til 2 am last night! I was a a concert for the Christian celtic/rock band Iona with my family. I am not a huge fan of their music, so I almost fell asleep during the 3 hour concert. if it had been Skillet, it would have been nice.....

I must dash!

*pokes head in and showers s on all the Square Onions*

to Winter. (And hurray about showing! When can you learn to canter?)

Awwww!! You got to see Iona and you almost fell asleep, Liberty? I love them! They must've been playing some of their quieter songs, for I don't see how you could be sleepy otherwise. Why don't you like their music? I didn't even know they were touring... Count your blessings---I've never been to a single concert of the sort you're talking about.

At any rate, hope everyone is doing well! I'm interning again this summer and taking an online writing course, which is why I've not posted---it keeps me very, very busy---but I do follow the thread.
And my essay calls, so I must away!

*leaves hugs and hellos for everyone*

Hello everyone! Wow, I'm back and it's only been a day.

Hullo to you to Miss Rosario! Thank you very much for the welcome. Yea, I'm in summer school. It's next to impossible to get through college in four years without doing at least one summer session. Biology isn't my favorite, but two lab sciences are required so I'm stuck with it. At least this way I'll get it done faster. Ooh, I noticed you have cats. I love cats, but we don't have any because my sister is allergic.

*waves*

Hi hi !

Today I discovered that we are getting two different exchange students this summer- a 16 year old boy from Spain and a 12 year old girl from Japan. They'll be here at different times- the boy will be leaving the same day the girl comes actually . So we'll probably be having a busy summer. I know we're going to NYC with the girl but the boy is going by himself with another group. It's a little upsetting b/c I really wanted to do alot of school this summer and get (even more ) ahead so I can graduate this spring but I'll just probably have to settle. I'm sure this will be a nice experience anyways. A few years ago we had a 15 year old girl from Spain and it was nice so I'm not very worried, just a little nervous b/c I'm a very shy introvert who hates meeting new people. But I'll be ok .

Your welcome! I'm glad you had a wonderful birthday! But oh no!!! The dreaded fondant! I feel your pain. My Mom took cake decorating classes and had to learn fondant. By the time her three cakes had been made we hated the stuff! *giggles* anyway! I hope you have an awesome day!

. Yes fondant is very gross. To me at least- my sisters love it . It's so sweet and thick and yuck .

*waves to Libby and Valia*

I hope, GtG, that you are one of the last set, because I give you very happy birthday wishes in a pot, nine days old!

hehe thank you !

TTFN

*Sneaks in quietly after lurking a little* I'm with you Betsie! The last time I was in here was December too And I missed you all a ton!

My brother was laughing at me and trying to get me to calm down but it was impossible. Me and my best-friend talked in caps through our chat the whole time.

Haha, that happened to me too! (even though I was on the disappointed side of the trailer) I was pacing for a good 20 minutes just thinking over everything in it What were your favorite parts? I loved Coriaken (especially with the whole invisible thing near the end) and the Book of Incantations.

*waves to Betsie * It's great seeing you again! You're book looks beautiful, what's it about?

*waves to DaughteroftheKing and Miss Rosario* How are you doing?

Good luck in the Fair Winterlife! (btw, I've finally gotten to see Merlin, it's GREAT! ) Oh, and /random, but I love your location!

*waves to Libby and Valia* How have you been?

That's really cool GtG! It sounds busy, but really fun

Sorry I only really "caught up" (because a real ketchup would probably take weeks! ) on the last page But apologies and greetings to anyone I missed! Have a great mortereve!

ValiantArcher: yes, Iona is touring. ok, maybe I exaggerated when I said I almost fell asleep, but I was already tired and so.....well, they did some jiggs and reels, but otherwise it was quiet. Iona is doing a USA tour http://www.iona.uk.com/newindex/2004_pages/links.htm

*waves to Ali*

I must dash!

Hello all! *Waves*

I got my braces off!!!!

to Winter. (And hurray about showing! When can you learn to canter?)

back! We're tripling the amount of time we spend at the barn to get ready to show, so I'll probably learn between now and September.

Good luck in the Fair Winterlife! (btw, I've finally gotten to see Merlin, it's GREAT! ) Oh, and /random, but I love your location!

I think you mean WinterStar? (Unless Winterlife is showing in their local fair and I will go hide) Yeah, Merlin's really awesome, isn't it?! That's not random, after all locations are displayed on every post.

See y'all!

*believes she owes Matette cookies for identifying the mangled rhymes on pg 175* What kind of cookies do you like? I suggest peanut butter. Or a soft and chewy chocolate chip. Or maybe a lemon shortbread?

Mel! *squeezes her a little too hard* I've missed my dear auntie. However, I have been spending a little time with the Auntie Mel in my novel. But that's nothing like the real thing.

*squeezes Betsie's stuffing out in return* I'm quite sure that Auntie Mel is very little like myself. For one thing, she has a better developed fashion sense.

I think I have my priorities straightened out, but some days it's hard to tell. I heartily agree with you on the awkwardness of "What's new?" because one never knows exactly what will be of most interest to the person asking the question. I look forward with great interest to seeing pictures of the cloche hat and the red brick Galena sounds perfectly delightful.

The really exciting part of my summer will happen in the next two months. One of the exciting events I will be attending is a polo match, and one of the things they do at the game is to give a prize to the most outrageous hat. I don't wear hats as a rule, but I am toying with the idea of researching what fashionable ladies might have worn to a polo match in the early 1900s and that would include a hat... Artistically, I've been working on 54 portraits of Narnian characters. I'm... a third done? I did a bunch and then kind of lost interest.

Welcome, daughter of the king! I am Mel, and while I think I've seen you around, I don't always remember usernames... I'm also not all that great at starting conversations because, like I told Betsie, I hate answer vague questions but I always think that the most interesting answers people can give are the ones for questions I wouldn't think of asking. Anyway, may I ask what you're going to school for? And what sort of interesting questions should I ask?

Winter! You get to show horses at the county fair? How exciting! I did that once. I participated through 4-H, so we got a larger selection classes. The games were fun, though I couldn't get Lex to break a trot.

greenleaf! You've been missed here. (I love the bit in your sig pertaining to your LJ. So funny.)

And Valia! *returns the hug* Did I know you were taking a writing course? I don't think I did... so what kind of writing are you learning about?

Hello all-who-apparently-are-not-here-at-the-moment!

*waves back to greenleaf* Hello I'm doing well. How about you?

I'm not all that great about starting conversations or remembering usernames either, Mel. I am currently working towards either a drama major/communications minor, or a communications major/drama minor, or interdisciplinary studies so that I can do both. Clear as mud? At the moment I'm just trying to get the required two lab sciences out of the way. Summer school is super fast and super hard, but in the end it'll be worth it (if I can keep my grade up!). Interesting questions to ask me, hmm....I'll have to think of some.

Hey ho, SquareOnions!

PrinceCor and Vern, thanks so much for opening the Ditto Pool. I believe I could use an early morning swim right now. *dives in with one fluid motion* (pun intended) Mmmm, that's lovely!

*Too much protein and stingers.

Oh, right. Many humble pardons, dear Dragon.

On the subject of the VDT trailer: I neither love the trailer nor despise it. It served it purposes, gave us a bunch of random scenes to speculate over and raised some questions about the adaptation. For me, I'll hold on judging the film until I've seen it. I really don't see any reason to jump to conclusions on the adaptation based entirely on the teaser trailer...

My sentiments right on, PC. Well said! Good, balanced view.

malkah, congratulations on your graduation! I hope it was a memorable party?

Have you ever had a peach milkshake?

Trouble is, I dislike anything peach-flavoured, even though I love peaches, themselves. Here's a solution: you can have my peach milkshakes, and I'll nab your vanilla ones.

*enjoys reading malkah's thoughts on the possibly skewed statistics of left-handers*

Ditto. Their version of "In Christ Alone" is pure gloriousness.

And I heartily Ditto that!

Haha, those wee peas are quite square, aren't they? *adores eating peas like that, fresh out of the pod*

Whew, that's quite the impressive ketchup post, malkah.

Louise the First, how wonderful about your new kitten. Little baby anythings are just way too cute! Oh my, a tad scary, though, when you came home and found Sophie had escaped and encountered Big Kitty.

I'll be writing you and PR about a Lion Party in the next while, plus your big sis and I can talk about it at the Mod Moot.

*finds it fun that Louise has an animal named "Momo" (fictitious, though, yes?) and Ben's family calls his nephew the same*

Re crying at the idea of Narnia movies: I remember tearing up when LWW came out, and the words "Based on the book by C.S. Lewis" came on the screen (the kids were on the train by then). It was like "wow, here is one of my most beloved books being translated to the big screen". Having said that, I did not feel the same way about Disney's version of Prince Caspian.

Glad your sewing projects are going well, Queen Susan! I admire anyone who can sew well, because I can't (plus I have no desire to, but don't tell anyone that ).

Lady A!!! Oh my, I do think a Narnian trailer/RV would be quite something. What would make it Narnian, though, I wonder? It could have lampposts and snow painted all over it, as well as fauns and wardrobes, ships and dragons, Marsh-wiggles and Lions. And inside? The entrance to Narnia, itself.

A rumor got out that they were roasting marsh wiggles,

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! *she wails* Do assure me this is a rumour? *loves Marsh-wiggles (but not to eat)*

*gathers some extra chocolate up in her apron in order to pass more on to the Lady*

GtG, 93% is excellent! Is that your average? And interesting to read your thoughts on the Voyage trailer. Many of your points are similar in my mind as well.

*is curious to see the tapestries Louise the First saw in town that would suit Archenland's castle so well* But Vern might have to be put under some kind of restraint if the Royal Family decides to purchase these.

Ben, "CGI" is "Computer-Generated Imagery", I believe. And "LotGK" is "Lady of the Green Kirtle" from The Silver Chair (my favourite of the Narnian Chronicles, btw). Oh, I see GtG responded to you on this, as well.

Where we got the name from was a series called Avatar: The Last Airbender (My Avvie). I have never heard of it till I watched that series.

Are you looking forward to the upcoming movie? It releases July 1, and I am quite eager to see it. I've watched a few episodes, but the DVDs are hard to come by up here, it seems. Thanks to stargazer and Aravanna for getting me on to the series.

Hello, lover or narnia! I'm a big water person too, but pools and the sea/ocean, rather than lakes.

Betsie, good to see you. And a hearty congratulations on the proof copy of your novel. What a thrill that must be for an author to see their work ... in print! Excellent job, Djaq!
*chuckles respectfully at the placement of Alberta* You are quite forgiven, m'dear. I would do similar things if I drew a map of the States, not being as familiar with the mid-western States as I am with the east.

daughter of the King , welcome here! Are you enjoying your summer job? May I ask what it is? Wups, I just saw now that you said "summer school", not "job". How is your course going? In Ontario, summer schools run for the just the month of July. Is this the same in your area?

Oh my, Louise the First, could be quite an interesting time at your place with the visiting dog! Have, er, FUN!

WinterStar!!! How exciting about you showing at the fair in September. Do you have your own horse? And another question: will you be traveling with your parents when they go away on their trips, or staying home with your sisters to 'hold the fort' there?

And there's one sis right now! Valia! Good to see you in the Square. I'm thankful we see each other elsewhere, as well *coughmodchatcough*, otherwise connecting with you would have been too few and far between. But if that was the case, I would have made a point of emailing or something. Anyway, what a ramble.

daughter of the King, we can't have cats in our home either because my hubby and one of our sons are allergic, although the latter seems to be gradually growing out of them.

GtG, how exciting about your exchange students! I hope you make new friends in these two people. May it go well and smoothly. Also, just think how they're feeling, coming to a new country and living with an unfamiliar family. I'm sure you will all make them feel very welcome. And wow, one of them is only 12 years old! That's quite young for an exchange, I would think.

greenleaf, ahh, it's lovely to see some familiar faces returning to the beloved Square. And I ditto your question to Betsie as to what her plotline is about ...

Liberty, I think you meant ValiantArcher, not Valiant_Lucy. No worries, though, many people get them mixed up. You should see in the modchat when they're both on at the same time: it can be hilarious the mix-ups that occur.

Hurrah about your braces coming off, WinterStar! It's such a free and unencumbered feeling, is it not?

Coooool-o about the Polo Match, Mel. Do let us see what hat you decide upon. *thinks this is a really fun idea*

*would dearly love to see some of Mel's Narnian character portraits*

*giggles also at greenleaf's bit in her sig that is very chuckle-worth* Also at daughter of the King's "Ding-dong" bit in her sig. YES!!!

*wonders where Aiden/NN has got off to* Probably just really busy ...

*gets tired of talking in third person and shuts up*

Good and safe weekend to all!

Hello all! *Waves*

Winter! You get to show horses at the county fair? How exciting! I did that once. I participated through 4-H, so we got a larger selection classes. The games were fun, though I couldn't get Lex to break a trot.

Mel! Yup. Our instructor was trying to convince us joining 4-H for the sake of showing with them would be fun. She wasn't terribly successful, we're all so terribly busy. I take it Lex was the horse you were showing? It could have been worse, he might've taken off and you could have fallen. Just saying...

WinterStar!!! How exciting about you showing at the fair in September. Do you have your own horse? And another question: will you be traveling with your parents when they go away on their trips, or staying home with your sisters to 'hold the fort' there?

Jo!!! No, we'll be showing the barn horses. We'll be staying here. My dad left today, my mom will leave Sunday, as will MeadowMaid. (On two separate trips) With them out of the house and Valia gone, there'll only be three of us!

Hurrah about your braces coming off, WinterStar! It's such a free and unencumbered feeling, is it not?

*Smiles a big white smile* It is, it is! Until you put your retainer, on anyway...

See y'all!

-Well, I'm rather excited for the Reading Group--"Til We Have Faces"! Haven't read that book in a few years... And I've never taken part in the discussion or reading before really... So I've decided to this time. I think.

I'll try to convince Destined to come around, but I'm not sure how much real influence I have....

Hehe, that's ok.
And ooh, your book looks so lovely!!! (And so does the rest of your blog)

Winter! Hello! So nice to see you again. Sounds like your summer has been busy! So has ours. And we're leaving on vacation in 2 weeks or so.
(And ooh, hooray on getting your braces off!)

*waves to greenleaf*

Glad your sewing projects are going well, Queen Susan! I admire anyone who can sew well, because I can't (plus I have no desire to, but don't tell anyone that ).

Sewing isn't something I really, really, REALLY love... Usually I only feel an urge to actually do it if I'm near the end of a project. Or maybe starting. In the middle it can drag for me... But I finished a blouse yesterday! So I'm happy.

Talk to you all later! *must practice piano and work on writing and, and--etc.*