A Christmas Eve Surprise

My, My, My....how time does fly! Here it is Christmas Eve and it seems like forever since I wrote to my friends! Christmas Eve it is indeed...a soggy, wet Christmas Eve. Rather dreary really. As I sat staring out the window, I thought I heard a gruff voice calling, "Hello? Hello? Is anyone home?" It seemed to be coming from the dolly door.

I went to investigate and to my surprise, I found a little bear....well, half of a bear....hanging out the door.

"Hello there! My name is Pooh. I seem to have lost my way. I saw your cozy little house and just wondered if you might happen to have a jar of honey about? And, if you did have a jar of honey about, I was wondering if you might be about to have some honey and tea? And if you were having honey and tea, I was wondering if you might be thinking it would be nice to share it with unexpected company?"

I was rather startled by this little bear and all his questions.

"Well, yes, we do have honey. And, we could have tea and some crumpets and honey. And, we never mind sharing. Do come in out of the rain!"

Pooh seemed to think a minute. "Well you see, that is the problem. I seem to be stuck in your doorway."

"Oh dear! We've never had anyone stuck in the door! Well, let me see if I can pull you out!"

It turned out, I couldn't. Poor Pooh was quite stuck. I told him to wait just one minute while I called for help.

Help arrived and together we all tried to pull Pooh from the door.....

And we all ended up in a heap on the floor....

I decided to call for even more help in the form of our resident Elven wizard. I went to fetch Master Allanon and explained the situation to him. For some odd reason, I had the distinct impression he was smothering a smile at our predicament, but surely our Elven wizard was above such frivolity.
It took Master Allanon no time at all to dislodge Pooh from our doorway.
We all gathered round to greet our Christmas Eve guest properly....and invited him home for tea and honey.
Our house has moved since I last wrote...into the living room during the "Great Re-arrangement" that recently happened in our person's home. The Christmas tree took up residence right beside the house. It is crowded, but rather nice to look out your door and admire the Christmas tree.
Master Allanon kindly gave us all a boost up so we could climb back to our home with our new resident.

Up....

Up we went....

All in a line for our Christmas tea....

And we wish you and your household a Merry Christmas as well!

Hitty Rowan

A September Update

Well, time for another update. Our magic door brought an unexpected resident to our humble home....a certain Lady Ginerva Gwendolyn La'Belle. It is really not supposed to go around picking up strangers and depositing them on our doorstep, but that door really does have a mind of its own sometimes. In this case, a good mind. Lady Ginerva was living with her little Mistress in France at the time of the revolution. Her family, including her little Mistress, were forced to flee their home from an angry mob one night. In the frenzy to escape, Lady Ginerva slipped from her little Mistress' hand. The angry mob burned the house and Lady Ginerva thought her end had come. As she lay there sobbing and calling hopelessly for help, our magic door must have somehow thought she was calilng it and popped in just in time to rescue her.
The poor dear was quite distraught, with losing her Mistress, her home, and even her own century. She has since taken over the upstairs room of the house, however.

She is slowly adjusting to our way of life and has taken to journaling all her adventures.

Speaking of adventures, our Mistress asked for volunteers to go on a mountain hike with her this weekend. I volunteered, along with tiny Hitty Penny.
I ended up being toted along in a little bag tied to my person's wrist (you can see my little bag in the picture). As we ascended up the mountain trail and people were few and far between, she tied my little bag to her walking stick and I could stick my head out and see the scenery. Too bad I don't have a picture of that...but my person's husband was laughing too hard to take one. I don't see why...travel dolls have to adjust to all sorts of situations and I thought it was quite a GOOD idea. Anyway, along the way, I looked for toadstools to sit on, as I have heard one can make a wish when sitting on a toadstool and it will come true. I decided it was worth a try. Many were too small for me to sit on.....

But I at last found one ample enough to accomodate me with no harm to myself or it.
I had quite a nice view of the mountain stream from this bridge...the ledge was quite large and safe enough to sit on.

We got closer to the water and my person's husband suggested a picture of me on a rock quite close to the river. Given the swift moving nature of the water, my person thankfully declined.

Along the way, we visited more lakes that were of a calmer nature.

As always, however, I was glad to return to my own little home at the end of the day.

Hitty Rowan

Unexpected Surprises

We received a very kind and unexpected surprise this week from a fellow friend of companions! For the academy older girls, there was a new cauldron with a stand, potion bottles, and best of all...a cat sleeping in a box!
The younger girls enjoyed a treat of "Bott's Many Flavored" jelly beans....
and some delicious hamburgers and french fries (which is a real treat since those items are not included on the Elvish academy menu!)
For Bitty Hitty, there was a new bathing suit! She couldn't wait to try to get a sun tan...she decided to pretend she was a flower fairy and lay down in a bed of roses. Unfortunately, the rain (a common occurance lately) started up again and that was the end of sun tanning. Perhaps later she can play in some puddles since she is appropriately dressed for it.

We send many heartfelt thanks to our companion friend!

Hitty Rowan

First Trip Out

Our new arrival, who we still have no name for, took her first trip to the park today. It wasn't a long trip since it started raining. The park is quite overgrown and swampy due all the rain, but at least our new little one had her first outing.

Another new arrival

Today we had yet another new arrival. We don't have a name yet for this one either. Since she is too young to select a name for herself, we older companions and our person will have to select one. It will require some thought, however, as naming is serious business. Here is our newest arrival enjoying herself in the yard:

The Magic Door

Greeting Dear Readers! I have yet another update. I am "on a roll" with my journal as they say!

Well, there was even more excitement around here today involving the Academy.

Our day started quite ordinarily enough. The academy has just been re-arranged and the residents were enjoying the changes.

The younger girls' dorm has been re-wallpapered. It was also decided to simply create a "classroom corner" in the dorm for Professor Arthur to teach the younger girls. The furniture is just their size, they can take naps when needed, and they are not so distracted by hearing the middle girls at their lessons. Nim and Nissa also now have a little cozy cradle to sleep in which they like much better than their old iron bed.The middle girls have the original classroom to themselves now. Master Elrond and Celebrian have moved into the classroom to help out with our most active age group. Everyone is most pleased with this new arrangement.
Amberle's room has become the older girls' dorm. They all "hang out" there all the time anyway and Amberle got lonely having the room only to herself.
The older girls now also have a classroom of their very own with Master Allanon as their teacher. Master Elrond takes over when Master Allanon is out on "official Elven wizard business." A desk will be arriving for Master Allanon later this week so he will also have his official "space" in the academy. So, everyone has a spot in the academy and everyone was enjoying a quite peaceful day. Everyone except our person that is.
She was minding her own business hard at work...uhmm....well...fixing supper of some sort anyway.

All of the sudden there was a flash, a pop, and....a little door appeared on the kitchen counter.Our person shrieked in shock! Just as suddenly as it appeared, the little door disappeared. But, our person heard another "Pop!" nearby...and there it was again!

Again it disappeared, only to reapper somewhere else!

Quite puzzled and more than a little startled, our person did the most logical thing a person could do in such a situation. She came to me for advice."Uhmmm...Rowan," she began unusually unsure of herself. "Have you by any chance seen a door today?"Unsure of this rather unusual question, I answered as best I could. "Well, of course I have mistress. I have seen several doors today. They are rather common aren't they?"

"Yes....yes...they are. But...I mean have you seen a little door today?"

"Well mistress, errrr....there are several little dolls living here in little houses. We uhmmmm...have several little doors around here."

My poor mistress sighed in a rather frustrated manner.

"No Rowan...I mean an unusual little door...it has red trimming and it, well, it appears and then disappears. "

"Oh! You've met our magic door! Isn't it wonderful!!!!"

"I've met....wait a minute...there is a magic door here?"

"Well, yes, Mistress. Of course it is magic. You wouldn't expect a normal door to behave that way would you?"

"No...but...."

Before she could finish her sentence another "Pop" sounded and the door appeared in our house.

From upstairs I heard my sister Mehitabel say, "Oh, there you are at last! I called for you a good 10 minutes ago and I know you weren't busy with anyone else. Whatever were you doing? Loitering around again I suspect. I'll tell Master Allanon if you don't behave yourself!"

My person witnessed this exchange with a rather shocked expression.

"Mehitabel, what in the world are you doing talking to that door!"

"Oh...I was just on my way to Cranberry Isle in Maine to visit the home of my esteemed ancestor, Mistress. So sorry I can't stay and chat, but I can't keep the door all to myself for too long, can I? After all, someone else may need it. "

With that, Mehitabel whispered a mysterious word to the door...

And my sister and the door disappeared with a "pop" and a flash.

Our poor person was frantic...

"Where...where did Mehitabel go??????"

"Why, she told you Mistress. She went to Cranberry Island."

"But....but......"

Our poor person looked rather shaken. I suggested she go visit Master Allanon or Master Elrond for some type of calming potion.

Our person crossed the room to the academy and Master Allanon just in time to see the door appear in his classroom.

"That door! It's...it's everywhere....." stammered out our poor person.

"Oh, greeting dear Mistress!" Master Allanon called out. "You look rather pale....what is the matter? Oh my...I do hope our door hasn't startled you..."

"Your door?" Our person asked confused. "YES it startled me! I was in the kithcen and it just APPEARED and then DISAPPEARED! Of COURSE it startled me! One doesn't expect a little door to just APPEAR in one's kitchen!"

Master Allanon nodded wisely. "Yes. So many thing are unexpected aren't they? Why when one thinks about, everything that happens during the day is unexpected. We really have no idea what will happen to us in reality when we wake up and the whole day is quite an unexpected adventure isn't it?"

"Master Allanon....one absolutely DOES NOT expect little appearing and disappearing doors on ANY day! What is GOING ON?" Our poor person had quite reached her wits end by this time I am afraid.

"Oh, don't worry Mistress. I assure you the door won't bother you again. It is just young and a bit mischievous at times but I am working hard to train it properly. It means no harm. "

With that, Master Allanon turned to the door and gave it quite a scolding, "Naughty, naughty door! You know better than to go about popping in and out and frightening people! You only come when your called...you don't just wander off like that!" I must say, the door looked quite contrite.

"Now, you see Mistress, it won't bother you again." Master Allanon again assured our mistress.

"But I want to know WHAT it IS and WHY it is HERE!!!!!" our person finally stammered out, rather exasperated at this point.

"Well, I would be happy to discuss that with you a bit later. Right now, I am in the middle of a potions lesson and I can't leave the girls unsupervised with THAT kind of potion now can I? We wouldn't want THAT kind of mess if something went wrong, would we? I know...come back for tea in an hour and we'll have a nice little chat."

With that, our person returned to the kitchen to find an aspirin.

She returned later, tea cup in hand and much calmer after an aspirin and a nice door-free nap.

"Master Allanon, please, tell me about this door."

"Of course my dear Mistress. I made it and enchanted it just yesterday. Like I said, it is very young and just needs a bit of training. But, it is already quite useful. You see, any companion...well any adult companion--not the girls....can simply call the door when they want to go somewhere. Not all of us can apparate anywhere we want to go like I can, you know. So, the others can simply call the door, whisper the password in Elvish, tell the door where they want to go, and off they go. They can visit anywhere inside the house or outside the house."

"But you can already visit anywhere in the house by walking there and there is already a 'dolly door'....you know, the mail slot...leading outside." Our person observed, still confused.

"Yes, there is. But we can't walk to visit each other just anytime...not when company is here or in front of anyone besides you, can we? This way, we can visit between households at anytime. And when I say we can visit outside, I mean anywhere outside. Why, just this morning Miss Merriweather went to England to attend the '100th English Companion Doll Proper Victorian Governess' Convention', Mehitabel went to Cranberry Isle, and Professor Arthur went to Camelot."

"Uhhmmm...Camelot doesn't exist anymore."

"It doesn't exist in your world anymore you mean. Lots of things exist in our world that don't exist in your world. Anyway, we can even visit other companions across the world and even from other times. So, you see why we needed such a door?"

"Well, yes, I suppose I do. I don't suppose those doors come in my size do they?"

Master Allanon smiled sadly, "No, I'm afraid they don't. But, you are welcome to hear about our adventures at anytime and of course to join us on what adventures we can have around the house. And, we are always willing to join you in your adventures."

"I suppose my outings will be quite boring for all of you now. I mean, I can't take you to such places. The park perhaps, and occasionally to another state...but not to another country or time."

Master Allanon simply smiled. "All the adventure in the world can't compare to a single outing with a person one cares about. I don't think there is any worry...we will enjoy our outings with you just every bit as much as we ever have. And, you can enjoy hearing about all the new adventures too. We will have many new stories to tell.

Our person smiled at that. "Well, then let the new adventures begin!"

And so they have!

Yours Truly,

Hitty Rowan

Another Rainy Day

It is another rainy morning here at the academy. And again, some of the academy girls are in the basement. This trip, however was fully authorized and well supervised. The girls are in need of new clothes so they are getting to visit the sewing area in small groups to select fabric. Some of the girls still do not have a doll of their very own either, so our person planned to correct that woeful oversight immediately.
As the girls, under the careful oversight of Miss Merriweather, begin selecting materials,Master Allanon went to inspect the "Haunted House" that caused the girls so much trouble yesterday.

As Master Allanon began his own "ghostbusting" expedition, Claire...and Menolly...selected fabric for a new dress and tried to decide on a color for their dolls' eyes. Menolly was formerly known as "Marley." Unfortunately, there are a quite a few "Marley" dolls around and Menolly wanted to have a name of her very own.

Dolly thought hard about a name for her own...dolly....

Our new resident, Princess...who was supposed to be Princess Arwen but ended up being an unknown princess (it is a long story involving a slight mix up in who actually arrived at the academy) and only goes by the name "Princess" should have been thinking of a proper name for herself, but instead dreamily thought of pretty names and trims for a doll.

The girls were actually happy to be thinking of lovely things like fabrics and dolls instead of scary things like haunted houses and ghosts. In the meanwhile, Master Allanon spoke with one of the residents of the "Haunted House." Although he sensed no ghosts anywhere about the premises, a little squirrel who lived in the house insisted there WERE ghosts in the basement.

She rather fearfully told Master Allanon that yesterday, she and the shy mouse family living in the house heard fearful whisperings and even some gigglings. Then, the doors of the house mysteriously opened. The little residents went into hiding and heard even more whisperings. The little squirrel tried to just peek out from behind a chair to see what was about when suddenly a bright light flashed and then everything went dark!!! With that, the residents fled to the attic and hid there in terror. They only came out when they heard Master Allanon calling to them just now. They were most happy to see the famous Elven Wizard and hoped he could do something about the ghost.

"My dear Ms. Squirrel," Allanon gently replied, "I assure you the 'ghosts' will never trouble you again. In fact, let me introduce you to your 'ghosts'. Oh Claire, Menolly...would you come here for a minute?" Claire and Menolly had no real desire to see the house again so soon, but decided they had best listen to Master Allanon. He magically transported them to the doors of the house.

"Girls, meet your 'ghost', and Ms. Squirrel, meet your 'ghosts'." Allanon said to the confusion of all. After he explained, the girls apologized for frightening the house residents so. Ms. Squirrel was actually quite enchanted with the young girls and told Allanon sometimes the house residents were a bit lonely in the quiet basement. She asked if the academy girls might visit on occasion. Master Allanon agreed they could...with permission and supervision.

So ends our "ghostbusting" caper (for now....who knows when the girls will get such an idea again). But for now, all is well that ends well.

Hitty Rowan