Page 49 of Authentically, Izzy
Brodie,
Costumes have been the topic of many a conversation lately. I’m trying to encourage Luke to be more inventive in his costumes, especially for the Book Parade next week.
As for your request? I’ll dress in costume if you will! Are you up for the challenge? We could have an entire video chat in character, which should be pretty entertaining if you pull out the Yoda mask again. How long can you keep up the grammar of Yoda-speak, I wonder? I don’t know, though, hearing your Andy Griffith impersonation may be more entertaining. What a conflict!
Our conversation aboutJane Eyrelast night has me contemplating whether Jane struggles a little with self-righteous pride. I’d never considered it before, so now I must reread the book to sort it out. I suppose you have stimulating conversations like this all of the time, but they’re relatively new to me. The last invigorating bookish conversation I had was with a six-year-old who actually took Goldilocks’s side in the Three Bears story. What are parents teaching their children nowadays? So what if there are talking bears who built a house and cooked porridge! It’snever a good idea to break into someone’s house! (I take serious book talk when I can get it.) That is why our conversations have been so refreshing! (BTW, whose side do you take in the Goldilocks story? Think very carefully before answering.)
Luke can be an excellent book conversationalist, but he’s not very talkative, so as good as the conversations are, they’re usually short.
How do you manage such positivity in a single person? I can feel Brynna’s joy glowing through my computer screen with each message! And oh, how she loves Skymar! You’ve certainly shared so much about it, but I think Brynna is trying to convince me to visit. LOL.
I’m so glad some of my ideas have been helpful. It really is all due to Brynna, though. Her incorporation is what makes the difference and she’s such an eager learner. I sent her to a few online sites to help with creating social-media graphics and banners. With a few tweaks, her ideas shone! She’s a wonderful person to have on your team, Brodie, and so easy to work with.
As far as the library goes... I love working there, especially with the children, but to be perfectly honest, I’ve always dreamed of something else. I’m not really sure exactly what, though. I’ve contemplated opening my own bookshop or... some place I could cultivate an atmosphere to bring people together through books and stories? Well, that sounds about as wonderful as finding Aladdin’s lamp, and though the library has the books, there’s something about it that lacks the... I’m not sure. Magic? Connectivity? Something that used to fit isn’t fitting anymore, I guess.
So . . . I have a meeting with a man next week who plans to lease (or sell) his antique shop in a few months. It’s a fairly good location, but the building needs some work. The idea is a little daunting, to say the least, and perhaps I have a rosy view of itin my mind, but I’ve been collecting ideas for over eight years and they’re nearly bursting to get out. We have an excellent bookshop in town, but she’s already encouraged me to open another, especially since I have a different spin on my shop idea than she does. And it doesn’t hurt to just dip my toe into this idea and see if it’s the right one.
Blossom Festival? Ditheanfest? What a wonderful idea! I can’t wait to see the photos. We have a large festival that happens in Mt. Airy, but it takes place in the fall. The Autumn Leaves Festival. Just before it we have Mayberry Days—a celebration of all things Andy Griffith. What does your spring look like? I’m imagining fairies and pink blossoms floating on an ocean breeze.
Speaking of festivals, on a much smaller scale our library is having its third annual Book Parade this Saturday (thus the costume talk). We build up the excitement (through the winter) by discussing characters from books, and each child chooses the character they’re going to dress up as. Then we march down Main Street in our fashionable best (according to characters, of course). The shops down Main Street all get involved by making special treats and crafts of a bookish nature. We have characters from Laura IngallsWilder to Hercules to Arthur Dent marching with literary pride down the sidewalks. I’ll see if Luke is willing to video some of it. Maybe even video live? Do you think you would be available around six o’clock-ish your time? (We usually start it at noon.) It really is worth seeing in real time.
And the King and Queen Festival? Just the idea of it makes me smile. What an excellent combination! Royalty and the arts!
I have our video chat schedule marked in purple on my calendar three times a week. Same days and times as last week? If you need to change them, let me know. My evenings are fairlyflexible, except for Thursday evenings. I’m helping Josephine with housekeeping on Thursdays.
Thank you for these bookish conversations and the buds of a beautiful friendship. You’ve saved me from a life comprised solely of deep conversations with elementary school children. Imagine that! I am an expert inMinecraftandThe Legend of Zelda, without having ever played either one. (Though I’m excellent atMario Kart.)
Gratefully,
Izzy
PS: Wodehouse sounds like a very clever man.
PPS: Do you know what bluegrass music is?
From: Josephine Martin
To: Izzy Edgewood
Date: March28
Subject: The Book Parade
Izzy,
Where did Eli go? I thought he was joining you in the Book Parade. He promised me he would dress up as Clark Gable. It wouldn’t take much. I told him you already had a top hat he could borrow.
You really outdid yourself with the Book Parade, Izzy. I was so proud of you! And dark blue is a lovely color on you. Who were you supposed to be? I’m so glad you chose to go withyour natural hair color rather than the ghastly blonde wig you wore last year to be . . . who was it? Some elvish princess who handed out flashlights to small people? I’ve always preferred your brunette hair color. It’s so unique with those tiny hints of auburn. Now if you’ll stop adding teal streaks every once in a while . . .
But speaking of the parade... I think it’s the largest procession you’ve ever had! I can’t wait to have my babies join the parade. Are there any twins in literature? And don’t you dare remind me of the ones fromAlice in Wonderland. It’s bad enough you’ve already bought them the Tweedledee and Tweedledum hats.
I hope to see you and Eli at church tomorrow. Isn’t it nice to have Luke back in town? I didn’t have to wait three days for a repairman to finally respond to my phone calls. Luke came after the fourth one. Patrick is excellent at changing light bulbs and trash bags, but that’s about as far as it goes.
Want to get coffee Monday morning before work?
Josephine
PS: And why don’t you bring a list of questions you could ask Mr.Fisher. We can go over them together.
