Video: Weekend at the Farmhouse

Salut mes amis,

I made a video slideshow with more pictures of my visit to the historic farmhouse that I wrote about in my last post. To see it, play the video below:



 Happy viewing!

~Sophie

Weekend at the Farmhouse

Salut mes amis,
                                                                    

On Saturday, November 2nd, I packed my backpack for a special outing to the country! I'd been invited to spend the night in a historic farmhouse from the late 19th/early 20th century, something I've been wanting to do since seeing photos of my friend Violet visiting the farmhouse in her family. 

I'd been itching for weeks on end to get out of the city, breathe in some fresh country air, and admire the changing foliage. So . . . when I was invited on this outing, I sprang out of bed, dressed in an appropriate outfit, and began contemplating the many possibilities of fun that I could have at the farmhouse.

Trees! While we have an abundance of trees on our urban schoolyard, we have no trees to climb! I was so delighted to find this PERFECT climbing tree in front of the farmhouse. I climbed as high as I could, found a comfortable perch, and pretended that I was Katniss Everdeen hiding from the District 1 and 2 tributes. I pretended that I could see my friend Rue in that tree across from mine. I swore that I could see her warning me of the tracker jacker hive . . .

When I climbed down from the tree, I hopped up onto the fence surrounding the yard, and suddenly, I became Anne Shirley walking the ridgepole of the kitchen roof. Holding my arms out for balance, I walked from one end of the fence to the other without falling once!

I hopped down from the fence and decided to run around the yard, looking for signs of autumn. I thought this tree full of tiny red leaves was so pretty! I played underneath it for awhile, dubbing myself the 'Red Leaf Princess.' It was very fitting that I'd decided to wear red that morning! 

There was a little footbridge nearby that was just my size! I plopped down on it and watched the creek run past. I thought about how nice it would be to wade here in the summer. Perhaps I'll just have to make a return trip?

I found a large rock near the creek's edge and opened my backpack. I was glad I'd thought to bring along Abima, my favorite UglyDoll, to keep me company. I stayed here for awhile, pretending that the creek and the surrounding rocks were part of King Abima's kingdom. My backpack became his castle! King Abima ruled that anyone who infringed on his kingdom would be sent to the Bog of Eternal Stench (what I named the creek - yes, a Labyrinth reference!). I wished at this point that I'd brought along Ice Bat or Ninja Batty Shogun, though. King Abima needed someone to capture!

With King Abima safely stowed in his castle (aka my backpack), I went off in search of something else to do. I didn't go far before I noticed this feather on the ground. Isn't it pretty? Does anyone know what kind of bird this is from? When I was just about to play a new game of pretend, in which I was Dancing Butterfly, an Indian Princess, I was called for dinner - shucks! I quickly stowed the feather in my backpack to play Indians at another time. 

After dinner, I changed into my flannel nightgown and decided to explore the inside of the farmhouse. I found a perch on the stairs and stayed there for a while, overseeing anyone who would dare to come into the hallway. Can you see the family photos on the wall behind me? I think they only add to the charm of the historic farmhouse. Looking at the photos made me miss my family back in France! My grandparents in Bourgogne have a wall of old family photographs just like this!

And what's the best thing about stairs? Why, sliding down the banister, of course! 

When I'd had enough of sliding down the banister, I decided to explore the bedroom that I'd be staying in. It's called the 'Yellow Bedroom' because - as you can probably guess - the décor is predominantly yellow! It reminded me of a room that Kit and Ruthie would love, with the metal framed bed and the chenille bedspread.

I waved to my mirror friend, Katie Maurice! There were several mirrors in this room. 

I found another mirror as part of a huge vanity and spent several minutes brushing out my hair in front of it. I felt like I was an elegant young lady of yesteryear brushing my hair 100 strokes before bedtime! 

I'd thought that I'd be staying in this bedroom alone, but after exploring it a little more, I saw that I was mistaken. I met this little blonde girl who told me her name was Anita! Anita and I played for a while, and I introduced Abima to Bobby, her teddy bear.

Anita and I posed for a picture together. Isn't she sweet?

Then . . . I went apple-picking! Well, not really. The fireplace screen in the bedroom looked so much like a backdrop that it was easy to pretend I was Anne Shirley again, picking ever so many apples for Marilla to bake into a pie! 

All too soon, it was time for bed. I read a little bit of Saige before turning out the lights. Bonne nuit!

After breakfast the next morning, I discovered that the farmhouse had a toy room - quel amusement! Inside, I found this antique rocking horse that was just my size. So, what did I do? I pretended to be Felicity Merriman rescuing Penny from Jiggy Nye!

And, before I knew it, it was time to leave! The weekend was ending quickly. So, I packed up my wagon, and headed back to the city. Just kidding! I'm ever so grateful for the modern automobile, but isn't this wagon neat? I felt like Laura Ingalls riding in it! 

I can't wait to get another chance to visit the farmhouse! Maybe I should bring some friends? I know Nathalie would LOVE a place like this . . .

Have you ever visited a historic farmhouse? What was it like? 

Ton amie,  

Sophie

Home again, greeted with presents!

So, I'm home! I arrived home completely exhausted on Halloween. I was so tired and dirty that I just refused to be seen, heading up to my dorm for a much-needed bath.

The following day, I had a thorough medical exam, followed by an emergency eye surgery (I'm good as new now!). I went into the hair salon and had my hair re-conditioned. The ends had gotten quite frizzy during my extensive travels. While I was there, I decided to put some curl into it. I knew the curls wouldn't stay for long, but I think my hair looks better with a little bit of volume to it.

When I was finally feeling up to it, I decided to take a walk around my neighborhood, getting the feel of it again. It felt so surreal to walk the streets I was once familiar with! It was a gorgeous day out, though, and I had fun looking for signs of autumn.




So, here is an up-close look at my hair. I've always wanted to put some curl into it, but I've never been brave enough to do it until now. How my hair looks curly reminds me of my favorite character Angélique in the film À la folie... pas du tout!



When I got back from my walk, I found a package waiting for me, from my best friends, Sora, Lorikeet, Violet, Lyre Chickadee, and Zipporah Valdez! They had been hinting about having birthday presents for me, but they didn't want to send them until I made it home.

When I opened the package, I pulled out a black tee with a jeweled Eiffel Tower on the front. How cute is that?



I also found the book Lassie: Adventures in Alaska (reminding me of my cruise!), a beautiful travel journal, a bottle of my favorite soda, several little Disney toys...



...and, best of all, this wooden Eiffel Tower! The quints obviously know how much I love to be reminded of Paris. I'm going to have so much fun painting this!



Also in the box was a message in a bottle. After carefully pulling the message out with a pair of tweezers, I read what it said:

True friends
are always
together
in spirit.



However nice receiving physical birthday presents is, the best present of all is definitely friendship! In this very modern world driven by individual success, friendship can be hard to come by, so I feel very grateful indeed to have best friends like Sora, Lorikeet, Lyre Chickadee, Violet, and Zipporah Valdez!

Thank you, girls, for the nice birthday gifts, but also for your friendship!

So, to my readers, what is the nicest gift you've ever gotten from a friend?

~Sophie

Visiting Manhattan with Inky!

On Thursday, November 18th, Inky had to go into Manhattan for a Nutcracker rehearsal, and I decided to go with her. While she was rehearsing, I walked around Central Park a bit, taking in the sights and sounds of Manhattan - the crazy cab drivers, the adorable little dogs on leashes, the hustle and bustle of the approaching holiday season.

We planned on meeting on the steps of the Koch Theatre - where the NYC Ballet performs - and there we settled to talk about our day. Inky told me about her ballet rehearsal and how excited she is about being a polichinelle in the upcoming Nutcracker performance. Hearing her talk excitedly about ballet made me long for dear Maman and my twin sister Juliette.

Maman was an esteemed ballerina who performed many times at the Opéra de Paris (now the Palais Garnier) and even at the Lincoln Center here in New York. When she met Papa, Maman started teaching ballet at a private school in Paris. Of course, Juliette lives for ballet just as Maman does, and while I literally cannot dance a step, I've come to appreciate it myself. I guess I take after Papa!

So I was very thrilled to see the Lincoln Center and stand in the same place that Maman did in her youth. I had Inky take a few pictures of me, so perhaps I will send a few copies to Maman and Juliette in my next letter home? I'm sure they'd love that!

I was also thrilled when Inky lent me her fabulous Liberty Jane outfit for the day. Isn't it lovely? It reminds me so much of the wardrobe I left back in Paris. I forgot what it was like to dress so classy, so élégant et à la mode.

Inky and I ended the afternoon in Manhattan at the New York Philharmonic. We wandered around a bit, hoping to spot someone famous (or perhaps a time machine to go back in the past and see Maman?) before heading home on the subway.

Pourquoi est-ce que j'ai une envie subite à danser? Pourquoi est-ce que je manque la vie métropolitaine maintenant? Pourquoi est-ce que je manque mes parents et ma soeur maintenant?

Why do I have a sudden urge to dance? Why do I miss the metropolitan life right now? Why do I miss my parents and my sister now?

New York, je t'aime, mais j'ai déjà la mal du pays parce que tu me rappelles de Paris...où ma famille habite.

New York, I love you, but I am already homesick because you remind me of Paris...where my family lives.

...c'est bizarre parce que je n'ai pas la mal du pays normalement! It's weird because I'm not normally homesick!

~Sophie

Autumn Fun/ Meeting Haley & Ruthie!

While I was in CT, Haley arrived!

Since we've been blog friends for a while now, I was so glad that we were finally able to meet in person. :)

On October 2nd, we spent the day watching some go-kart racing together. We also checked out this pretty beach:

Haley and I also got to meet Ruthie. Ruthie lives on Water St., where I visited earlier this summer. I didn't get to meet Ruthie then because she was out traveling herself - she even visited my school back in Virginia!

Ruthie arrived in time to accompany us on an apple-picking expedition on October 10th. Three traveling girls on an adventure together! How often does that happen? See the apple-picking album HERE.

On October 16th, Molly J., Ruthie, Haley, and I all got dressed up in Halloween costumes to attend the 20th annual Keene Pumpkin Festival in Keene, NH. Haley chose to dress as a 1950s girl in a cute kitty skirt while I opted to dress as a magician. Here we are in our costumes, and behind us, you can see the tall scaffold of lit jack-o-lanterns:

To see more pictures from the Pumpkin Fest, click HERE.

Also, the photo-story from the Star Valley Block Party that I attended is up over at Cherished Playtime! Check it out, if you have the time. Jess also has a web-show episode covering the event.

If you're up-to-date, I suspect you know that I've since moved on to a new host. I'll post about that soon. ;)

~Sophie