We had a splendid weekend enjoying a visit from the Doodle Acres gang. Getting to know this fun and faith-filled family has been one of the greatest highlights of being in this bloggy mom world. We first met Heather and Hope at a FCL conference, and then they came to visit us for the first time about a year ago. I recall being slightly apprehensive back then, wondering how the children would all get along for a whole day as they hadn't even met each other before. Heather and I were just reminiscing about that first visit, how we sat in my kitchen watching the little ones play and hearing constant outbreaks of riotous laughter coming from the bigger kids in the cellar below us.
Indeed they got along. The children all share a great mutual fondness for many things from LOTR and literature to Shakespeare and sewing, thrifting and theater, Latin and music. Josiah filmed some impromptu scenes during that first visit, and in subsequent get togethers they produced a short film with a script written by Hope, directed and edited by Josiah, made complete with a score composed by Jonathan. This time around they started in on a new and larger project, again written by the multi- talented and lovely Hope. It's kind of like Lord of the Rings meets As You Like It, and the mixture of Ganymede and Aliena and Sam and Frodo with a little Aravis thrown in suits them all very well.
At about 11 pm on Friday night, after tidying and cleaning the whole house in preparation for company, I beheld these daunting book stacks. I asked Michael if I should bother attacking The Pile, and he very kindly replied, Nah, they're homeschoolers too - they know about book piles. Isn't he a sweet husband? And upon seeing it dear Heather said something to the effect of, Oh, you left books out for me to look through! Isn't she a grand friend?
Behold the filming crew, from right to left, Arwen, Andrew Adamson, Mr. Tumnus, an Atmospheric Extra, Little Red Riding Hood, and the Macready (those aren't characters in the new film, that's just who everyone looked like at that moment):
Beware the evil Count Brone. You only get a head shot as his surcoat emblazoned with his coat of arms is Top Secret (not to be confused with the chapel in my cellar which is a Deadly Secret). I do love his scruffy villain look:
But never fear, 'Amon' escapes (thank you so much dear Hope, for not breaking your legs or anything whilst climbing out my living room window):
Here we have Lord Thaddeus making applesauce with the help of Eudora (Will she try to steal the apples to feed the horses? Nah, she'll forget.):
This is Radel, the Half Dwarf, obviously quite tired out from a day of forging tools in the mines (or from filming):
These are two of the little people, who played together delightfully all weekend while staging a covert Cuteness Competition (no winner was declared):
This is not Josiah. Nor is it the Ranger Giles, nor the Captain Gorlias, but Nicodemus, son of Lord Thaddeus and brother to Lady Gelasia (even rangers, captains and foot soldiers like to dunk their peppermint sticks in cocoa):
This is the lovely Handmaid Miriam, servant of Lady Gelasia, wearing a lovely gown crafted by said Lady (and everyone knows drippy sleeves are so exciting):
Besides filming, there were also games to play:
And lots of food to eat. Here they are all doing their best Oliver while I serve the soup (this is a merry band of folks, I tell you):
When it got too late at night for eating or filming or playing games we took to singing. We sang Christmas carols in English and the more talented among us sang chants in Latin. Jonathan was pleased they could pull off Lo, How a Rose Ere Blooming in four-part harmony, and he kept our guests from leaving on time Sunday night as they sang the Byrd Kyrie from the Mass for Three Voices.
It was quiet and lonely after they had gone, but we were left with lots of warm, happy and hilarious memories (and lots of film footage as proof).
So you see, Bilbo had come in the end by the only road that was any good.
And a jolly time was had by all, indeed.
