Having Fun With Anne

Yesterday I picked up (one of) my copies of Anne of Green Gables and started reading it. Then, during Bookworm nap time I thought it might be fun to pull out my copy of The Anne of Green Gables Treasury (click on the title to see my review of it from last October) and see if there were any tasty treats I could cook up while reading the story again.

I decided when I was reading Anne again, by the way, that I really need to have a girl. Who else am I supposed to share this with? And I don't want to just borrow someone else's daughter now and again. I want my own. That would be fun. I was thinking in exclamation points (just like Rachel Lynde, of course!) when I went into the kitchen and gave my hand a try at the recipe for Lemon Biscuits. I opened the page to the recipe and read the following introduction:

"There's a hot chicken pie for supper and I made some of my lemon biscuits for you." (Anne of Ingleside, I)

Here we believe Mrs. Rachel Lynde used the term "biscuit" to mean "cookie" rather than a scone-type biscuit."

All I can tell you is that they have a lot of sugar and butter and despite the fact that I didn't follow the recipe exactly (because, quite frankly, I wasn't paying close enough attention like some other red headed girl I know!) they gave me the appropriate sugar high. And I know I did them wrong! They came out dreadfully flat! But I'm showing a picture anyway in case any of you feel led to tell me what I did wrong! =O! Do!

Anyway, I ate my lemon biscuits and went and pulled out my Anne doll that I had tucked away for awhile. Bookworm 1 stumbled upon her and asked what (on earth) this was.

Bookworm1: "What is THAT, Mommy?"
Mommy: "That's mommy's doll."
Bookworm1: Mommy's doll? Who is it?
Mommy: "It's Anne of Green Gables."
Bookworm1: "Can I play with it?"
Mommy: "Never in a million years No. Dolls are for girls.* Mommy's a girl so I have a doll. Mommy needs a girl so she can play with dolls. Do you think we should have a girl so that we can have girl toys and play with dolls?"
Bookworm1: "No."

*Yes, I did SO say that 'dolls were for girls.' (Don't let this be the only thing you comment on around here, ok? Heh.)

Well, well. Me and my doll, I guess! For now. This doll is particularly special to me because my grandmother gifted it to me after she went to Prince Edward Island. See, my grandmother had invited me to go on this trip with her to P.E.I. but at the time I had to choose - I could start my college education or go on this trip. (Finances pressed in on the decision making process.) Maybe to you the choice would have been easy but I admit to agonizing over it. In the end, I did the sensible and responsible thing and started college. I was so disappointed not to go to the Island though and my grandmother knew that. For Christmas that year, I found this doll under my tree. Yes, that would be me. The college student. With the doll. Bliss!

My story did have a happy ending in that I met a girl at college who I absolutely adored and we got along great together! We both wanted to go to P.E.I. and ended up getting to go with each other and another couple of girls. It was a special trip and a really fun time with my friend, exploring the Island with one another. All's well that ends well. (Except when we were on the Island I told my friend that the only way that the trip could be topped would be to come back on my honeymoon or with my husband. So. That hasn't happened. One day I would like to go with Jonathan.)

Moving on . . . I was poking around online. Want to get your Anne on? Oh yes, that's right! There's a cute little etsy shop that will help you deck out as Anne of Green Gables if you'd care to do so!

The shoes!

The hat!

The carpet bag!

And even a locket. But! It's not an Emma Parker locket so look away, folks, look away! ;)

(By the way - as a reminder and a note of clarification - for each review or post you put up on your site regarding the L.M. Montgomery Reading Challenge, you can leave an additional comment on the START POST for an extra entry and extra shot at winning the sterling silver locket!)

**Or, if you are feeling lazy about reading, you can go to THIS POST at 5 Minutes for Moms and simply leave a comment as to your favorite piece of Emma Parker jewelry for a chance to win one of five lockets. No obligations other than seeing what Emma Parker has to offer (but time on this particular contest is limited so hurry, hurry)!**

Lastly, Amber at the Book Basket let me know about Literature for the Young Lady (click on the title to learn more about it). Here is a short description, taken from the blog post about the curriculum:

Literature for the Young Lady is a curriculum that offers a young lady (of approximately 7th grade – 9th grade age) a guide for studying and immersing herself in the virtues of femininity, the domestic skills and arts, literature and history of the Victorian Period, Natural History with a particular emphasis on Botany and Victorian naturalists - all while following along with a most faithful companion well suited to our young ladies as they develop into spirited but gentle young women – Anne of Green Gables.

So go forth, have fun, explore and try new things around Anne. Bake cookies (that will hopefully look better than mine)! Wear a hat! Win a locket! Study, think, imagine, dream!

Yes! I'm going overboard with the exclamation points!

!!!