So, it is party time again, folks!

[wiseheart]

Each year this time, we launch my virtual birthday party, which starts on October 1 and ends on October 9 at midnight, sharp. The goals of the party are to post as many comments and collapse as many threads as possible, on as many new pages as we can. It is always great fun, as you can see if you check out the similar entries of the last few years.

This year, I'll also throw the real party at mid-time - and post the recipes of all the food that will be there for you, so that you can all participate if you want to. Virtual food has no calories.

Fandom-related discussions are as welcome as the ones about coffee or chocolate (just to name a few favourites from previous years), and, of course, pictures and recipes of birthday cakes. ;)

So, drop by, tell your story, post your pics or silly poems, ask questions you always wanted to ask and have a good time!

Soledad, in excited expectation




Oh, and by the way, to provide birthday gifts hobbit-style, I've got a revived story and a Kansas 2 update for you.

Enjoy!

Comments

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

Mum always made us honey water with lemon for sore throats; it really works, both hot and cold! For those of us, like me, who don't like honey adding lots of lemon is the key to mask the taste. I keep a jar of honey in the house for the sole purpose of making the honey-lemon water when I have a cold.

[rcfinch.livejournal.com]

The Canterville ghost is one of the things I didn't read. What is it about?
I had no idea there was an opera version of The Importance of Being Earnest - it strikes me more as an operette play, or even something for a musical.
Though Stephen Fry seemed a bit old at first, he filled the role well in the end, and I can recommend the film.

[rcfinch.livejournal.com]

P.S. I forgot to mention The Picture of Dorian Gray! One of my favourite Wilde stories.

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

Oooh! A fellow Swallows and Amazons fan! My Mum read the whole series to my brothers and sister and me, after breakfast on weekends when we were young. It was technically part of her teaching us English, but it was never, ever a chore! I am slowly collecting all of the books in the series, in lovely hard-bound copies with paper covers; re-reading them is a real treat! Who is your favourite character?

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

The Picture of Dorian Gray is very well written, but I find the moral of it rather disturbing. On the other hand, I seem to remember Wilde commenting on that and saying it was art, and shouldn't be judged on its moral...

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

It has been quite some time since I read it, but the main plot is that there is this American family that moves into the Canterville stately home which is being haunted by an old Canterville. Most of the family either ignore or make fun of the ghost, which the ghost finds very upsetting, but the daughter tries to understand him. One of the things I remember very clearly from my first reading is about a blood stain that always reappears on the floor of (I thing) the dining room; the parents make the house keeper scrub it away each morning, but the ghost puts it back every night. Eventually it appears all sorts of weird colours, because the ghost has run out of blood (or things like it) and uses one of the children's colouring boxes instead...

[sammydragoncat]

I had no idea Oscar Wilde wrote The Caterville Ghost - I have never read it, have only ever seen the movie

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

I do believe I have seen the film, but I found it a bit too different to the book to properly like; I find that when I have read the book first, I can be quite judgemental about films deviating from the 'true' story...

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

Page 4 \o/
and it looks like we are well on the way to 600 comments :)

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

ooohhh... I had totally forgotten that film - I remember it as being fun. I'll have to try and see if it on dvd or anything here.

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

Getting there on the comment count, if not the page count.

[sammydragoncat]

My Mom likes the movies, so I first saw it when I was really young. Generally speaking - the book is better than any movie version of it.

[rcfinch.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I may give this a try someday.

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

Thanks. There were a lot of people helping - I mostly ended up doing the easy bits, and then helping make the decisions when we got down to the borderline and problem cases.

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

*nods* Tea with honey and lemon is what I'd usually have (need to get more lemon), although as an adult I've come across several versions including alcohol of some sort which can be good for morale, even if it doesn't help directly.

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

Nancy! As she always makes sure things happen. Although one of my favourite things is how every character has their own strengths (and weaknesses) and these fit into the plots.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I only see the version with Patrick Stewart and I quite liked it. But it was because Patrick Stewart, mostly.

There used to be a hilarious theatre version in Hungary, with a female ghost. Poor thing was biting her long fingernails in frustration and kept repeating: "They are insane! They are all insane!" There was also a nanny who kept fainting whenever the ghost appeared. It was a great performance, with the best comical actors of the capitol playing in it, so even if it wasn't always true to the original, it was amazing.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Indeed, we are doing great this year. :)

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

We still have four days for the page count, so no worries. And even if we don't get there, the main thing is to have fun, right?

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

It is fantastic how they all are proper people, isn't it? While, yes Susan and Peggy do the cooking, the boys help, and nobody would tell Nancy girls can't sail!

Titty is my favourite; I think part of that is that she is the one I most identify with. She is the middle girl, like me, and a day-dreamer, like me, and I just love her. Having said that, there isn't a single character I don't like, except the great-aunt, and we don't really get to meet her, do we?

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

With a dead computer at home and an insane working schedule, it is a necessity.

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

The one I got last year was exquisite!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I've updated Kansas 2, too. And put up the next part of "Prophecy and Change". So you can prepare yourself for a long ride. :)

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

I meant to respond to the comment about the stitches not going where they are supposed to, that I usually try to convince myself that the little imperfections in my sewing (and baking) are what shows they are hand-made originals, rather than factory made copies. I do also find that I am far more critical of my own sewing, seeing slight misalignments, when other people just see the overall effect and tell me it looks perfect.

[sammydragoncat]

I have seen that one too - but I like the 1944 version best (mostly because it's the first one I ever saw).