Mini-London: a 24-hour course in Best-Friending

Those of you who have been around this blog longer than I care to remember (for posts were not in those days what they are today) might have lived through the days of my Georgia Campaign. On that campaign, I met my "crazy single friend," Katie Frost. Only back then, of course, she was not my best friend. In the two and a half years since Georgia, though, we have grown to be the best of the best sort of friends. Katie is my mainstay and I am hers. She has inspired me in so many ways though our lives run exactly opposite direction most of the time. I'm a nanny, novelist, and blogger while Katie runs statewide campaigns and hobnobs with the rich and famous. She was the main inspiration behind the Cinderella-figure in my contest-winning novella, The Windy Side of Care. In short, Katie's amazing. Which means that when we discovered her family had planned a trip to Washington D.C., it was imperative that I come.

It was the twenty-four-hour trip of a lifetime. We stayed at the Willard Inter-Continental with her family, met oodles of congressmen, pretended we were rich and chic, ran from the Library of Congress to the Rayburn building in high-heels, watched the Government Shutdown vote (and numerous congressmen of interest) from the balcony, rode the little train that is strictly Members Only (with a Member) from Rayburn to the Capitol, went on the Speaker's Balcony and through No Trespassing places, ordered hot cocoa from Room Service at 2 AM, and generally acted as if we were Eloise of the Plaza. A few pictures from the thingamajig:

stalker shot like a pro

Mini-Katie and I on the Speakers' Balcony. DC behind us. Best vantage-point ever.

Lady Alis in the flesh

 

See that tam? It is somewhere on the White House lawn.

The Hill was WINDY the entire time, except for the magical half-hour in which snow fell just for us.

 

Poor lighting, but we had to get a picture on the Congressmen-only train!

 If you ever get a chance to step into the Willard at Christmas, do so. It is beautiful beyond imagining. I was there for under 24 hours and had enough plot material for a novella which I am executing in 12 parts on my other blog. I'm not sure what a week would do for me.

ain't nobody got time for more than some iPhone shots

The Frosts are so involved in politics that they know pretty nearly everyone. Only a slight exaggeration. Though I have been to DC numerous times, I had not gone in the company of a Congressman, which made this a special trip. We saw many lovely hidden places such as the chapel where the Congressmen go to pray. Actually had to wait for one to leave before we could go in. I'm blessed to have been considered an honorary Georgian and a temporary Frost! :D

How beautiful is the Willard, even in a blurry phone photo?

There is one picture that Katie and I snapped of ourselves at 3 AM that night...after hot showers and hot cocoa and getting all the little girls changed and bathed and in bed...and trying to begin watching Decoy Bride. But lest Katie ever marry a famous person and the press comes looking for blackmail photos, I'll refrain. Aren't I a good best friend? Suffice it to say, we looked dreadful.

There was good food, lots of waiting in hallways, crowded Uber (sp?) rides and a hurried, breathless, not-wanting-to-think-it-was-true goodbye at the metro stop where I then ferried myself to the end of the line and was picked up (after some confusion) by my sister-in-law. So many beautiful moments in that too-short piece of wonderful, but my favorite memory has to be the moment of meeting after our terribly long absence. It was exactly like in a movie. I saw Katie in the hall on the far side of the marble plaza, calmly handed off my gloves and purse and we caught each other in a huge hug that was so obviously long-awaited that the hostess grinned. And she's probably used to seeing meetings.

Oh DC, you were beautiful. Next time Charleston. Then London. <3

Long-distance friendships? Yeah they're rough, but being together again is so worth the wait.

Indian-Summer Kiss

"There is something in the autumn that is native to my blood;

Touch of manner, hint of mood,

And my heart is like a rhyme

With the yellow and the purple and the crimson keeping time."

-Bliss Carman

There are so many beautiful things to love right now.

There are maples with veins so red you hold your breath, knowing that soon the red in the veins will spread to the body of the leaves and turn the treetops scarlet as Rahab's thread.

There is a bit of a moon hanging low and copper over the field across the way in the pre-dawn hours, when you stay up too late and ought to be in bed but step out on the porch instead just to look at the majesty for a moment.

There are nights and nights of open-window weather which is enough to set the soul right again. Very little can be all that bad when a dark and beautiful chill is seeping through the screens.

There is the smell of mown grass baking hay-sweet in the riot of hazy sunlight, the aroma rising up to fill your nose when you make the trek, barefoot, to the mailbox.

There are cookies--smacking and powerful and punching with the amount of fresh ginger baked into them--cooling on a rack in sugar-sparkling rows.

There are books on the most fascinating aspects of history sitting on the shelf waiting for the moment in the day when I lay aside everything else and take one with me to the porch.

There are lazy evenings at the county fair in the company of friends, everyone pretending, for this moment, that nothing has changed; that no one has moved on; that we are all children again with nothing to do but squash together on the bleachers and watch bull-riding in almost horrified fascination.

There are free photo-prints arranged in a happy cloud on the wall, summoning un-looked-for memories from the recesses of your brain.

There are dewdrops silvering the roses and kittens squirming wiggly-warm next to their mothers, and late-night Sherlock marathons in the itty-bitty house across the land.

There are cotton-candy-eating sessions and then high-from-cotton-candy sessions afterward where we are much less brilliant conversationalists than we like to think, and we collapse against the counter waiting for the chicken-wings to get out of the oven and then, having seen them safely through the inferno, go straight to bed without eating any.

There are phone-calls after phone-calls, setting the pace for the business as a merciful storm--so much abundance of provision in that respect that Saturdays are work-days.

There are hugs to be given, and back-rubs to receive and dusty country roads to drive with the windows down and the music up.

There is feed to buy, and goats to chase off the berry-bushes, and scuppernongs to pick and suck and eat with the sour-zing running up and down your jaw like a trapped tickle.

It's Indian Summer, y'all, and God is just so amazingly good to me.

The Long-Awaited Coffee-House Part One! :)

I am sorry to have neglected this blog recently, but the truth is that the business of planning, preparing and executing two large fund-raising events within twenty-four hours of each other put quite a damper on all things blog-related. But I DID keep my tablet charged and I DID take pictures so there you go. I suppose I ought to start at the beginning because this isn't a very coherent update for those of you who aren't on Facebook and haven't been constantly told updates about our coffee-house fundraiser event and the following yard-sale.

Wednesday was a prep day with things like making the chocolate chip cookie-dough cheesecake, organizing piles of decor in the four categories: (Hipster, French, Coffee-Shop, and Vintage), and packing all the items for the garage sale in the garage. (A very large feat, that.)

The coffee-house was first. Thursday we spent the day cleaning the house, and in afternoon I swung out of our driveway, picked up Matthew and then drove to Petersburg to meet Josie and her momma. I also wore my awesome but hipster polka-dot sweater and straightened my hair. I look like such a kid when I do that!

We got home, unpacked, and spent the night watching This is the Army which swung us on with fabulous music till midnight. The we collapsed into bed, and the morning came way too fast for anyone's taste.

Friday morning.

I had a slight panic moment seeing how light it was when I woke up--I thought I had slept the day away. Turns out it was only 7:30 and I had nearly 12 hours to pull off my brain-child project. Josie was absolutely invaluable in boosting the skills and things that Sarah and I have in moderation. We would arrange a corner and it would look good, but then Josie would come, tilt her head, furrow her brow, rearrange something and it would look perfect. We totally rearranged the furniture, took down all previously existing decor, and re-did the house. So much so that when one of our team-guys came in he said, "Hey. You guys should keep your house like this. It looks really cool." That made me happy, because this guy is at our house at least every Sunday, and oftentimes in the days between.

Friday we literally spent all day on our feet. We felt like tree-toads, walking all over countertops and table-tops and using tape for everything. I swear tape is a modern miracle. Honestly. Scotch-tape held up 80% of our decorations! I ought to buy stock in the company and then go around demonstrating it as the party-planners best friend. ;) I'm going to do a whole post on the decorations and how we made what we made and how we spent not a red-cent, but I don't want to overload you so today you get the general push through of the weekend. One quick mention of our method, however: we asked for $5.00 at the door, and then priced the drinks and baked goods cheaply. The most expensive item was "The Neverland" which was a coffee milkshake loaded with whipped cream and sprinkles that cost $3.00. Funny thing is, that and the "Poor Edith" (a simple, plain caramel latte) were the most popular items. We made a killer off the Neverlands. Will definitely be selling those again if we do another coffee-house sometime.

The rest of the team arrived at 5:30 and we had nachos and then got down to business. (but we didn't defeat the huns ;) and I trained my team of baristas. There was a vaguely frightening moment when I started to doubt anyone besides the team would show, but then the people started streaming in and the kitchen filled up craziness from Justin, Daniel, Tim, Emma, Sarah, and I, and before I knew it people were leaving and it was 11:00 PM and we had made well over $200.00 from the thing! I was shocked and pleased when I saw how God had blessed our efforts! The whole time it kind of felt like grabbing at the wind because it was Sarah and I planning this thing kind of last minute and not knowing if it would fly, but God gave it wings enough. After everyone had left, Josie and I perched on hard chairs in the dining room (don't ask me why) and talked until at least midnight again. Wow....noticing a pattern here.

We tumbled to bed and were awakened before the sunrise to get the yard-sale set up and together.

It was supposed to start at 9:00, but people started coming at seven-thirty and didn't stop till 1:00. Again, the Lord totally blessed the method of the yard-sale. We stuck all the items in neat rows and told people  to make a reasonable offer and then pay up and take it away. By the end we had made at least $600 which brought our grand total for the weekend up to $870.00 which exceeded (by a bit) the amount we had gone into the weekend needing!

This means our trip is fully funded now! We are going to Romania and it is paid for and we will have an amazing time and we will come back!  Hallelujah, and a huge thanks to those of you who helped us all the long and tedious way to raising our funds! Those of you who came and donated your time and money (Josie! <3) and those who put effort and time into helping with the decor (Jill! <3) and everyone in between! This weekend was crazy and fun and hectic and I am exhausted now on this cold Monday morning, but it worked. To quote a very very sappy movie, "Never despise meager beginnings."

So thanks, ya'll, and stay tuned for a post with more pictures, awesome details, and How-To-Plan-This-Party-Yourself. :D

Operation Graduates Part Six: THE BIG DAY!

The graduation was so great. So wonderfully great.

All that work was worth it.

I only wish I had had a day of rest and recovery beforehand so I could have enjoyed the party a little bit more. See, I'm a social butterfly. But this social butterfly had been handled too much and had too many of her pretty little feather-colors brushed off so she was crippled and limp and had lost a wing or two. :P I was so sleepy! Haha! But it was amazing all the same. Thank you to the 150+ people that came and made it all worthwhile! :)

Isn't she gorgeous?

And him? Suavity. Suavity.

The day began with preparation of people. I did Sarah's hair in a Pinterest-worthy way. But I made it up. Which made me happy. That's not an easy feat, you know? And one of my Pinterest-worthy friends said it looked like movie-star hair, so I totally am happy with that as well. ;) The ceremony was held in a church nearby who were so generous with their time and space! We got there early, of course, and Levi loved watching Paid in Full practicing. 

Daniel wrote a beautiful song for Sarah, and I helped him write a few of the words while cleaning till 10:30 Friday night. 

"You were born with joy inside

You watched the world with smiling eyes.

You found the secret Neverlands

Because you looked for them.

The world obsessed with moving on

Your heart was whisp'ring 'Please look back'..."

I wrote them on my hand and left them in a notebook for Daniel. Daniel finished the song-writing and was all prepared to sing it, but he left the book at home, so I had to dash out, crank up the country music station, and retrieve it. :) 

The ceremony, since it was a double-on, ran a little long, but everyone had a fabulous time, Sarah and Matthew both slammed their speeches, and Sarah sang "Draw Me Nearer" with her classic swag. ;D

We had great worship-time...

And all that great stuff.

We rendezvoused back at the house for cake, punch, and more food as the evening progressed! :D 

I must have been looking tired because so many people smiled that "I totally understand, hon" smile at me, and several people remarked, "Aw, Rachel, you're too quiet tonight." 

What do you think?

Yeah, actually I agree. :P 

Moving onnnnnn....

Awwwwww <3

The cakes were perfection.

I am having a little difficulty getting photos of the decorations, but I'll do a post on those separately! :)

As the evening progressed we had LOADS of conversation...

....eating...

...conversation...

....games....

....eating....

....banter....

....eating.....

.....banter....

....eating....

....banter....

{yeah, you get the picture.}

We had a big bon-fire too!

A certain Farm-boy was our unofficial fire-man and stomped all the creeping flames out as they threatened to burn up the grass. ;) 

Half-way through the evening, I changed into my mulberry thermal-shirt and my flannel-lined pants...

Ah! Here's me! (back there.)

The graduate in her comfy-clothes...

After people left, Wyatt Fairlead and the rest of us stayed awake till one o'clock chatting and sitting on hard metal chairs. He was staying the night at our house while his family was staying with other friends, and we were all getting really kinda crazy. Laughing about nothing and everything, and philosophizing and criticizing literature in between...? :D

We all blame it on the hot chocolate. Seriously. Anyone who drank that stuff was strange the rest of the evening....we make no comment. 

*Happy sigh*

Worth it? I think so.

(By the way, all photos are credit to Matthew's Aunt Cherie Solomon!)

"M-A...Em-ma...." //Conundrums//

There are some things in life (like algebra!) that have no answers. If you like math do not tell me that it does have an answer. It does not. At least, not one that I care about. But there are many other conundrums that I puzzle over now and again in my spare time...

I love baking and I love fashion. Why are they fundamentally opposed to one another in the question of my waistline?

I do not understand what I do. What I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. (Rom. 7:15)

My first impressions of other people are more often than not spot-on...but everyone's first impressions of me are generally incorrect. What does this mean?

Though I'm not a Hunger Games fan, this did make me think very hard and wonder...

I am an extrovert, but I find it hard to approach a new person and strike up a conversation....Meyers-Brigg's mislabel, perhaps?

I blog about time-management and supplement the posts with pictures from Pinterest....the biggest and most fabulous time-sucker EVER! :P

We I always plan to stop procrastinating and get back on shrinkage....tomorrow. -.-

Which came first: the chicken or the egg?

Joanna and I when we get together and discuss our marriage-plots:

Hot chocolate or apple cider? Pity you can't combine the two like, say....hot chocolate and coffee!

Stop for gas or drive and hope the marker being on "empty" isn't a rule...more like a guideline.

Work on editing and pitching three stories at once? Can I? Should I? How?

Write and schedule Meditations of His Love posts well beforehand like the other normal girls, or wait till the bitterest of bitter ends?

Make the dash between two cars on the highway or edge in only after its entirely safe?

Will there be snow?

Masquerade...with pictures! So you'll love it.

It happened. It was wonderful. What, you ask? The amazing Masquerade Ball I fretted over for so long. I ended up painting my mask and forgot to get a picture. *Le Sigh* Oh well. Not that you were overly curious anyway. Since my dress was coppery-gold, I painted half my mask copper and the other half gold, bordered the eyes and edges with silver, and accented by gluing black sequins and red gems along the top. Wow. I really wish I did get a picture. Oh well. I wasn't in the car with the iPhone and that's that. Sarah had the iPhone this time and managed to get a couple pictures of her get-up. I painted "Fanny Dorrit" lips on her (a.k.a. "The Red Queen" lips) and when combined with her black dress and a little top-hat-head-band gave her a singular look. Very playing-card-ish. I liked it. :)

She made her mask out of fabric, then stiffened it and added lace and accents with fabric paint.

Daniel and Abigail went as "Zorro" and his Senorita.

You may ignore the fact that his mask was far too tight for his head. 

 I think she looked like a Spanish rose. :) 

Casey and I were consulting as to how much she looked like a mysterious, alluring, runaway bride when she was dancing The Triumph. (I'll elaborate on that favorite dance later.) Hee-hee, Abigail. Bet you didn't see that one coming, did you? Which, by the way, I was so glad to see you, Casey! :) For the rest of you who wouldn't know, I emailed Casey very late in the game...like two days before the dance...and she ended up being able to get things together and come! And a lovely thing she was too!

Oh dear. I really do wish I'd got a picture of myself. 

But it probably wouldn't have turned out anyhow. 

Pictures of me seldom do. I'm just that way.

******

UPDATE

******

A dear person I know heard that I hadn't got any pictures and sent me pictures her mum had taken as I danced with her brother. Now you can see my mask. :)

Dancing with Wyatt Fairlead...

However, a friend of mine did get some pictures. (don't you love Facebook? It's like digital highway robbery.) Thanks, Stacey! I'll use some of those photos to fill you in... We got there late--an hour late--but the dancing hadn't begun. Hallelujah! Immediately upon our entry though, they did begin....and didn't end till nearly 11 p.m. YEAH! So. Much. Fun. More than I anticipated! Oh. And for the record, I love dancing indoors in November versus outdoors in July. It's just better for a harem of reasons.

Our callers were a brother-sister team: Stacey and Daniel Bradshaw.

Two of the hostess' gorgeous sisters and their dashing brother...

Michelle...

The gorgeous hostess, Miss Joanna T.

Pretty much the highlight of the evening was getting to meet my best friend's new fella: David. I came home from my SAT to find that she'd done gone and got a guy since I'd last seen her. 

Furthermore, a guy I'd hardly heard of, let alone met!

 I had to inspect him, of course. And he passed muster with flying colors. It helped that he was one of the best dancers there...

Maryanna and her darlin' at the front of the line as we begin the Grand March

The Virginia Reel. I love how color-coordinated this photo is. Purple was definitely "in". That's Anna right there on the left in her beautiful gown. She had her 13th b-day party Saturday as well! Oh yeah. And check out the mask--I painted that on her and you can hardly see she has glasses. I loved how it came out.

The Triumph. Such a hilarious dance. The girl ignores her partner and goes to the next fellow down and sashays with him, and her partner has to chase after her....

..

...and she dances saucily back up the line with the both of them before reeling down with her proper partner. This may very well be my favorite of the reels we dance. :)

Our own dear Tim was rather startling as The Phantom...

Another reel...

As if her first ball with her chap wasn't enough, Maryanna's evening was made by winning the "best female costume award" alongside this inventive fellow we fondly termed "two-face." :) Isn't she gorgeous? And isn't he hilarious?

Further questioned about his outfit, he admitted to having gone to several thrift-stores to find enough black and white pieces, and sewing them together himself. Two-piece shirt, tie, jacket, pants, and shoes. I'm glad he won. Such tenacity in a guy in the category of tailoring deserves an award. I know one lady took a lot of video of the dances, so if she ends up sending it to me, would you like me to post it? :) I was so pleased that the Bradshaw's freshened our classic dance-set with some new dances like "The Postie's Jig" (I know it now, Julia!!) "Oh Johnny, Oh" and "The Ship's Cook." I got to help teach the latter, and it actually worked out really well! I would recommend next time, however, not calling it. It's one of those dances that you just need to learn and then dance silently. :)

Like I said, we didn't finish with the last dance--the exhausting, wonderful, giddy "Snowball" reel--till close to 11. Then we stood about and talked for an hour at least before wandering home with Abigail, the Alexander boys, and ourselves. I wrenched my ankle in the last dance but wouldn't stop to molly-coddle it because I wanted to finish the last dance. It was a little sore upon coming home, but nothing too terrible. I iced it and all's well now. :) ....I was sore the next morning though, and my arms haven't recovered! :D Ahhhh me....I was so ready to dance! I hadn't had a good dose since early February! WAY too long, I say. It will go down as being one of the best dances I've been to. There was almost an even split of guys to girls. I got asked to dance every swingin' dance. With a guy. Which is a new record. So all in all I'd say it was a glorious time. Nothing like some good fun with amazing people!