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

A Rainy Day at the Academy

It was a dark and stormy day at Rivendell Academy. The students in the academy were hard at work with their lessons. Well, some of them were anyway. Lady Celebrian was giving the middle grade girls a lesson in Elvish history.

Professor Arthur was attempting to teach the little girls a reading lesson. I am afraid our resident pixie and fairy were rather distracted with whispering to each other during the lesson.

The should have known better than to behave in such a manner with Miss Merriweather so close by. When the girls heard an "ahem" right behind them, they decided it was best to save their conversation until later. However, it was terribly hard to concentrate with the gloom of the rain dampening everyone's spirits.

Master Allanon was teaching the older girls a lesson in basic elements. The girls were given an assignment to collect and write a report on a mineral they found outside. The going outside after the rain and finding a mineral they were rather excited about. The writing the rather lengthy report required they were rather dismayed about. The were all silently thinking about exactly how long they could put off the writing part and knew they would compare procrastination strategies later.

Finally, lessons were over for the day. The younger girls, and sweet, obedient little Betsy went back to their dorm to play.The older girls and...err...not always so obedient Merilwen...went upstairs to Amberle's room. Since the rain prevented them from beginning to find and collect minerals, they discussed alterate entertainment ideas.

Merilwen was the first to propose an idea.

"I know...we can go find the haunted Hitty house!!!"

"Hanted Hitty House!!!" The other girls exclaimed in unison.

"Yes....the Hittys all used to live in a big, pink mansion. But then, there was no room for it upstairs and it was moved into the basement. The Hittys moved into the smaller cabinet they live in now, since nobody wanted to live in the basement. The house has been down there empty for quite sometime. But....I heard Hitty Rown saying that a cricket who came upstairs from the basement told her that there were often strange noises coming from the house. Like rustlings. I bet a ghost has moved in there and now the house is haunted! Maybe we could be like that movie we saw with our person on television a few weeks ago...you know...Ghostbusters!"

"Well, I don't know Merilwen," Claire hesitantly replied. "If there is a ghost, we should tell Master Allanon what we suspect. I mean, how would we get rid of it anyway?"

"Well," Amberle thoughtfully replied. "I have a potion that might get rid of a ghost. It makes a bright light, anyway. I originally made it for the fourth of July, but didn't get a chance to use it. Shouldn't a bright light scare away a ghost?"

"Uhmmm..Amberle...does Master Allanon know about that potion?" Marley tentatively asked.

"Nooooo....not exactly...but he doesn't have to know everything does he?" Amberle replied.

"Well, I think he pretty much knows everything anyway...or finds out what he doesn't know eventually. You know he will catch you sooner or later." Claire warned.

"Oh...he won't catch us. Come on, let's have an adventure for once!" Amberle exclaimed excitedly.

Soon enough, somehow or another, the girls found themselves staring down the rather shadowy basement steps.

"Uhmmm...you know, we are forbidden to go in the basement. Master Allanon and Miss Merriweather said the stairs are dangerous, the dangerous dogs are often down there in their beds, and it is no place for young ladies to be wandering alone." Claire said as they sat at the top of the steps trying to gather their nerve.

"Well," replied Merilwen, "The dangerous dogs aren't that dangerous anymore since they have gotten older. They just ignore us now and never chase us. And, if we go slowly and carefully, we can handle the stairs. Don't be such a worry wart, Claire. "

Before they knew it, the girls actually stood in the forbidden basement. The first thing they saw was....

The cords to the video games.

"Ohhh....I know what these are!!!!" exclaimed Merilwen. "Mr. H used to have this upstairs!!! It's VIDEO GAMES! Oh, I've always wanted to try them! They looked like such fun!! Miss Merriweather forbid it...she said there are more productive uses of a young ladies' time than playing a 'Rocky' boxing game and it was an uncivilized game anyway. But, it looked like fun to me, uncivilized or not!"

It didn't take the girls long to figure the games out....in the manner of pre-teenage youngsters everywhere, video games seemed to come naturally to them. They were happily playing the games when all of the sudden, the power flickered and the games went out.

"Oh look!" Amberle suddenly rather shakily whispered, "Is that...is that the haunted Hitty house?"

"Oh....yes...yes it is." replied Merilwen, rather unsure of herself about the whole Ghostbusting mission now that they were standing on its threshold.

However, not wanting to look like cowards, the girls decided to proceed with their mission.

With great effort....and much pulling.... And pushing...all of them were standing at the doors of the house before they knew it.
They hesitantly opened the door to find.....
Nothing...nothing but an old mansion with a few scattered pieces of furniture. They rather quickly forgot about ghosts and enjoyed exploring the old house.
That is, until the lights flashed again and they heard a rustling sound coming from behind a chair. In a panic, the girls began to flee. Remembering her potion, Amberle raised the bottle and threw it at the rustling chair.
There was a brilliant flash.....
Then darkness! The girls shrieked as they were caught in darkness just as Marley was crossing the gap between the house and the couch. It was quite a long way down and suddenly she felt herself slip from Claire's helping hands....

The girls screamed in horror as their dear friend fell.....

Suddenly the lights came on and they almost sobbed with relief to see Marley had been saved from terrible bruises or worse by an unexpected source. Just as quickly as their relief came, it vanished as they realized fully just who had come to their rescue.

I am afraid the trip back to the academy was not near as much fun as the adventuring forth from the academy.

The arrival back at the academy was an adventure of a different sort, although not one the girls would have wished for. After they told their story, Master Allanon assured the girls there was no ghosts living in the old Hitty House and that the power flickering was quite common in the basement area. There were however, a family of mice living in the old house quite contentedly that the girls had likely disturbed.

After the girls made their way back to Amberle's room, the rain had stopped and the day ended much like it started, with the girls contemplating what minerals they might find in the hour they would be allowed outside...under strict supervision. They would need to gather their minerals as quickly as possible. After all, they would have to work extra hard now to finish their paper on minerals....and their newly assigned...very, very long paper.... on ghosts and how to get rid of them. Somehow, ghostbusting really didn't seem to be such an interesting subject anymore.

As they sat contemplating their fate, Merilwen again was the first to speak.

"How long exactly do you think 'grounded indefinitely' means?"

The other girls replied in unison,

"Oh, be QUIET Merilwen!"

And so ended the saga of the Rainy Day at Rivendell Academy.

Hitty Rowan