You are cordially invited to a funeral

Right, the time has arrived. The day has hailed. The time has come. I can not hide it any more. My hiatus has come thus far; my absence in the blogging world has come to the extent that I can't deny its existence. I cannot call it a short break, I cannot brush it off as a holiday hiatus. The excuse of 'I have no time' or 'no inspiration' seem weak, don't they, and you don't believe them, do you. So I will officially announce that... (for the time being, for you never know what the future might hold) (because in fact, deep down I will always love blogging and I may resurrect in double glory one day. So hold your horses for that momentous occasion, peasants!)... I officially announce that... that... (ugh can I say this, can I say this...)

... you are warmly invited to the funeral of Wonderland Creek.

This hurts. Wow, the 15-year-old Naomi would roll in her grave. (Only, she is alive and well, fret ye not.) But 5 years is a long time and I have enjoyed many hours of blogging and I thank you warmly for reading along, commenting, enjoying and making me enjoy. This has given me huge happiness. I have met amazing people. I have gotten ever so much better at writing. You have been darlings and sweethearts and all that jazz.

However, 5 years is a long time and it would be even sadder if a being didn't change a bit between the ages of 15 and 20. So in the post I announce the unavoidable: A human being has changed and no longer has the same particular hobby and no long loves the idea of posting tons online. And that human being is me. And I am the owner of Wonderland Creek and I no longer run it much so I guess... I guess you are cordially invited to a beautiful funeral.

The funeral will go as follows:

1. You are asked all to wear black. We are, after all, in a state of mourning. (Jk, wear whatever colours you want. I am all about spreading a bit of cheer in the midst of turmoil and tears.)
2. There will be tea, coffee and biscuits. Beer (orange juice for the underaged of course) and chips for the after-party. Pizza for breakfast for the devoted fans that stay for the entire night. The money is on me. It's a pleasure, it's a pleasure, you're welcome.
3. You are asked not to cough or clap before, during or after the eulogy. The eulogy will highlight the awkward beginnings of Wonderland Creek. The first post will be read in the honour of a 15 year old's unskilled writing ability. We will then highlight several posts that deserve a mark in the hall of fame. The Pride and Pyjama's post will not be mentioned to avoid controversy and stirring during the afterparty. We ask the guests to remain respectful of each other's opinions. Other memorable events (such as the Emma-Naomi-visit, the first time A Picture Came On the Blog Of Her Face, the Downton Abbey week, etc.) will briefly be touched upon.
4. After the eulogy will come a short speech by myself explaining the reasons for the death of a dearly beloved blog. The reasons are undramatic but will be dramatized for entertainments sake. The reasons are as follows:
a) College really does take over your life
b) Relationships really do take over your life. And I have a whole lot more of them than I did when I was 15.
c) Offline life is so important and online presence just matters so much less to me. (I will dwell upon this one for a while because this is the main reason tbh.)
d) Blogging is not my #1 hobby
e) I LITERALLY HAVE NO TIME

So with that said, you are invited. Hope to see you there.

Bye lovelies. One day, perhaps, I shall return. I do not believe in YOLO. Stay tuned for bloopers. God bless you all. x

*leaves in a dash of smoke*

PS K, this is dramatic. I bet you I'll wake up tomorrow and suddenly I'll want to blog again. :-P

4 fictional characters that may have like 2 things in common with me.

First, here are three random facts I want to share with you: 1. I discovered Jack Johnson yesterday on Spotify and I just love his songs. Better Together is my favourite and I want to dance to it on my potential future wedding because I love it that much right now. 2. My grandma is friends with the film producer of Sherlock. (No seriously.) So my grandma practically hangs out with Benedict Cumberbatch. Guys, beat me. My grandma is the coolest. 3. I was in Scotland for a grand 15 minutes on Saturday. I walked in Glasgow and spotted four men in kilts. I have no pictures to prove it, so you'll have to rely on my word.

(Two sisters. Two very different personalities. I seem to be an odd mixture of both. Although I think more Elinor.)

My dear friend Eva tagged me with the four fictional characters tag (thank you!) and I've been wanting to do this thing for a while now, so here I am. Here I am, I hasten to add, before I start another busy week - this time less merrily occupied; replace spending time with fun-loving Christians with cleaning tables and emptying plates of breakfast in an old people's home - life is life, I shall refuse to complain! - I don't even know what this sentence is; let's just do the merry old tag, shall we. (I don't know why I say 'we' when I am writing this alone. You should not get any of the credit! :-P)

Okay, I thought this would be an easy job, but finding four characters that 'are very much like myself' is no easy feat for me. I told you in this blog post, I am a confusing human being. Extroverted one week; relishing in silence and just-me-and-wifi-and-notebooks-and-my-Bible-in-bed the other. Fond of poetical metaphors and nostalgic whimsies one week, mocking them in a Marilla-Cuthbert-no-nonsense-fiddlesticks way the other. However, of course, some things are generally and all-around Naomi traits (even though even those can differ and disappear for an odd hour or two), so okay. I'll try. But bear with me. I'll probably read this again next week and be like meh NO. :-P

Number Uno! The first that came to mind, in fact...

Jerusha Abbott in Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster

I remember when I read this first I was 100% sure I had found my fictional twin. Of course, Judy is way cooler than I'll ever be and her letters are way more entertaining than mine will ever be, but yah, we doodle odd stuff and we pop random thoughts in random places and we like reading and stuff. Just yeah, she reminds me of me. She's quirky and I want to be quirky. (She probably reminds me of the me I wish I was.)

Secondly, the gal I see myself in muchly is, and has to be, the main character from Lynn Austin's Wonderland Creek. There's reasons my blog is named so, after all.

Alice Grace Ripley from Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin

We're both book lovers. (Although, I have to be honest! I haven't been reading much lately. Eh. I still love it though, okay.) We're both not exactly animal people. We both love the idea of adventure but when it comes to sitting on a horse eh nope that's disgusting no. We both like a bath. We both love seeing people happy. Just... Alice and I are two of the same kind of peas in the same kind of pods. (Only, I'm not blonde. Although I was as a 3-year-old. There's a little tidbit about me.)

Thirdly, my friends, I must slight Celia Garth by suggesting that we have some common traits.

Celia Garth in Celia Garth by Gwen Bristow

I MUST REREAD THIS; it's been way too long, but one thing I can remember is that I wished I was like Celia Garth. Well, I'll never be like Celia Garth. But maybe we have some things in common - maybe the sense of humour, the love of being teased. Also, the things she thinks and says I really, really relate to. Maybe in a wishful way. I don't know. I'm adding her to this list anyways. I flatter myself.

And fourthly, and this is the one I had to brainstorm for for ages - I thought of Elizabeth Bennet (but I'd never go for a quiet guy and oh, I wish I was as well-spoken as Lizzy!) - I thought of Anne Shirley (but I don't talk that much and I'm not that poetical sorry) - I thought of every Montgomery heroine because I feel like I relate to ALL of them - and then I thought, well let's just be boring and go with Jo March because I like writing and... yeah, I like reading. (Lame.)

No. That will not do. I must be original.

Valancy Snaith/Stirling in The Blue Castle by Lucy Maud Montgomery

I alllmost did Rilla of Ingleside but I think I just did that because that book just wrenches the life outta me (I don't relate to Rilla that much actually), but you know what Valancy and I like the same guy. Barney. Kay, enough. (Also, we appreciate nice clothes and quirky outings and views and cosy houses. And we both enjoy a good joke and a tease. I think this gives us enough in common.) (Of course, our situations are very different, so it's hard to weigh.)

Done.

*phew*

This'll have to do. (Maybe I should have said Elizabeth Bennet. We do have the same personality type, according to the Meyes-Briggs Personality test.) (Never mind.)

For those of you who know me better, do you think I chose a good sample of characters to represent me? Who would you have picked? Also. How are you doing, my friends? Tell me something about life. It's so funny, when you grow up, life seems to get harder and harder and better and better. That's because life is super super complex and every day we learn something more about its complex-ness. There, was was your philosophy session.

(Should I tag people? Okay, I tag any of my readers that I've met in real life and that have a blog. Emma, Sadie, Hannah... that's bout it, I think. (And you, Sarah, if you've got your blog yet!))

PS!! Oh, I just thought of a character that I relate to so much! Barbara in Call the Midwife. (Too late. Let's just click publish.)

Fictional Characters

I'd like to be riding a bicycle, doing something important with an undercover spy name, riding through German fields, the long grass whipping my bare legs; bits of past pitter-pattering through my memory as the mauve evening clouds whizz behind me. (Violins of Autumn)

I'd like to be a beautiful city girl, hair blonde, like a doll in a shop, embarking on a forced adventure of horseback rides, squirrel meat, dark mines and little dark bedrooms filled with lotions and herbs hanging down in bunches from the ceiling. I'd like to be in the middle of a dazzling plot; to be the one who knows all the secrets and who has to keep quiet because someone's life depends on it. (Wonderland Creek.)

I'd like to have a long-legged man as a pen-friend, and write down witty, warm words to him after a day of school, random happenings, and a little bit of extravagant shopping. I would sketch some silly things in the letter margins, just for fun and sign off in French to show him how smart I'm becoming. (Daddy Long Legs.)

I'd like to be a poor, grey-eyed orphan with an imagination as brilliant as a thousand rainbows, a tongue with a gracious voice, and a vocabulary to dazzle even Shakespeare. I'd like to be adopted into a red-and-green island, with beaches and birches and ponds and orchards as friends, and enough blossom to fuel the imagination to the next level of brilliance. (Anne of Green Gables.)

I'd like to be the only long-haired girl in a town of fashionably-bobbed girls, and to stand out because of other reasons too; bold faith, bubbly smile; odd potato-sack dresses. I'd like to be someone's best friend, her little rock in her rocky time of life; I'd like to give her comfort and show her hope through God, good people, beautiful photos and melancholy, soul-dripping poems in a queer little book. (The Sweetest Thing.)

I'd like to have a charmingly croaky husband with a mysteriously locked writing room, a small house on an island surrounded by nature-book-worthy scenery, and an old, vulgar car with a Ladies name which, of course, I happily share with the mysteriously lovable husband. (The Blue Castle.)

I'd like to be in a story narrated by an abstract feature of life, a story of books, accordion playing, lists of words, and friends like the schoolmate with the hair the colour of lemons and the friend who painted over hitler to make a book for me; that secret dark-eyed friend in the cold basement. (The Book Thief.)

... This is why I love reading. I can be all these people just by burying myself into the pages and the words and the beautifully woven stories. Magic right there, readers.

Lynn Austin and her novels.

All the Lynn Austin books in our house. (Minus a Dutch version of Hidden Places and another copy of Candlelight in the Darkness, which I've currently lent to twin friends at Church. Woe if they don't love it.)

I... I... I just* finished reading Hidden Places. (For the fifth time or something.) It was even more amazing than I had recalled. I cried and cried over Betty and Lydia, and my heart broke for Luke and Gabriel-when-he-was-a-boy. I turned over the pages just like it was the first time I was reading it; I was riveted and just in awe. I spent the whole morning curled in my bed trying to hide my face in the folds of the cushions and my pullover, so no one entering in my room would see all the melodrama I was experiencing, and when I finished it, I felt like a terrible writer, (which admittedly is the only downside about this book.)

*I wrote the first sentence of this post in the morning, but the rest in the evening. I felt a tad overwhelmed after finishing Hidden Places, to be honest, and wasn't capable of much good-post-writing. :-) It took me ages to write my Goodreads review, but I just about managed that.

Basically, Hidden Places is an amazing book, and Lynn Austin is an AMAZING writer. Message of April 30th, 2016. Lynn Austin's writing never ceases to surprise and amaze me. Almost every one of her books make me read and read for hours in one go, and almost all her books have a big personal value to me.

I suppose we could go way back to when I was about nine or ten or eleven, when my mum read them. She got most of them from her sister, my aunt, who gave them to her for her birthdays or she borrowed them from friends. Now and then a thick, beautiful-covered book would sit on her bedside table, next to her blue pot of Nivea cream and her lamp, and she would tell me it was 'really good' and that 'one day I could read them.' Well, really, I loved them already before I read them. It's like me with Pride and Prejudice 1995 - I loved that before I watched it; I loved it just by looking at the covers and rereading the blurb at the back. Especially the cover of Until we Reach Home, with the three girls looking at the Statue of Liberty in New York really captured my imagination. I looked at the pretty dresses of the four ladies on the cover of A Woman's Place and chose which one was the prettiest. I remember my mum 'fangirling' over them with some of her friends who read them as well, and how the Lynn Austin books kind of travelled around the circle of friends. Oh, and I remember asking several times if I could read them, and Mum said, 'Not quite yet.' (Which, now, I do understand, because it's not really a book for kids of pre-teens, but I did have to wait for these.)

And then I read my first Lynn Austin book, when I was twelve. It was While We're Far Apart, and I loved it. I remember telling Mama, "Lynn Austin's my favourite author too." And she was like, "You've only read one!" Turns out that I didn't really change my mind, ever, because she still is one of my favourite authors ever. I have only ever read one book of hers that I wasn't wildly enthusiastic about.

You know, a lot of contemporary books nowadays are kind of fluffy and... shallow. This includes about 90% of Christian Fiction, sadly enough. But Lynn Austin doesn't do fluffy - she goes to the deep, important, sometimes-gritty, sad, interestingly passionate stuff. Her characters are alive with colours, and her books all create this inner world in my brain which I always want to return to. Her books really are WORLDS. That's how I think about them, and I don't think that about a lot of books, really. There are many books I love as books, but I don't love Lynn Austin's books as books - I love them as... I don't know... whole scopes, whole scents, whole worlds.

Hidden Places and Eve's Daughters are my two favourite of her novels. Both of them kind of tear my heart to pieces - it's ridiculous and terribly wicked of Lynn Austin to do this to me, but oh well, I shouldn't have reread them in the first place, should I? The story of Aunt Batty, with her beautiful and flighty sister Lydia, and her lover, the darling Walter who is dying but who she loves so much she doesn't care. And then the story of Emma and Grace, and the kind-hearted pastor, Patrick O'Duggan. And then we have the stories of Alice Grace Ripley and Violet Rose Hayes, mysterious and romantic mixed with excellent pinches humour. I won't even START talking about The Refiner's Fire Series, because it'll take hours - I love that trilogy a ridiculous amount.

And do you know what else is good about her novels? They are always better when rereading them. I remember loving them on my first re-reads, like a world was opening, and like I just met a good friend. But now when I reread them it's like reuniting with a good friend - and reuniting is better than meeting.

This following month, I'm going to reread a lot of Lynn Austin books. Go through the old favourites, and all that jazz. Feel free to join me on my Lynn Austin marathon, and converse about her books in the comment section anytime! Because they're fun to talk about ammirite?

If Lynn Austin ever ends up reading this (firstly, I'm HONOURED, thank you for reading!) - I would like to thank her for her marvellous stories. I'm not like Matthew Wyatt, who had a terribly depressive life and needed an 'escape' through books - I have a happy family, and good siblings and parents who strongly approve of fictional books (ha!) - but your books have simply given me such inspiration for my own writing, such joy, and such a good view of things. Also, they have given me a nickname - Alice Grace Ripley - and the title for my blog! So thank you. :-)

PS. I hope you don't mind that I stole the name Wonderland Creek for my blog name, by the way. If you do I will change it, as a token of gratitude.

Wonderland Creek ~ Review

Before I go on with my Period Drama Dress colour series, I am going to review 'Wonderland Creek' by Lynn Austin. Of course I SHOULD review this book since the title is the name of my blog! Actually, that's why I named my blog 'Wonderland Creek,' because I like the book so much. Emma Jane also loves this book and she suggested me to name my blog 'Wonderland Creek' (as you know, I agreed whole-heartedly!)

 

"Lynn Austin Will Delight Readers with Her Winsome Heroine Alice Grace Ripley lives in a dream world, her nose stuck in a book. But happily-ever-after life she's planned on suddenly falls apart when her boyfriend, Gordon, breaks up with her, accusing her of living in a world of fiction instead of the real world. Then to top it off, Alice loses her beloved job at the library because of cutbacks due to the Great Depression. Fleeing small-town gossip, Alice heads to the mountains of eastern Kentucky to deliver five boxes of donated books to the library in the tiny coal-mining village of Acorn. Dropped off by her relatives, Alice volunteers to stay for two weeks to help the librarian, Leslie McDougal. But the librarian turns out to be far different than she anticipated-not to mention the four lady librarians who travel to the remote homes to deliver the much-desired books. While Alice is trapped in Acorn against her will, she soon finds that real-life adventure and mystery-and especially romance-are far better than her humble dreams could have imagined."

 

Don't you just love the cover, readers? Don't you just feel like diving into this scrumptious bundle of amazing papers?

The Story:

Alice Grace Ripley (a lady who reminds me a lot of myself, I might add) is very happy with her life. She works as a librarian, she has enough books to live happily (she reads the WHOLE time), she has a handsome, tall boyfriend (Gordon) and nice parents.

This story is set during the Depression, and Alice eventually loses the job she loves. To make everything worse, her boyfriend makes an end to their relationship.

Alice decides to take some old books to a small library in... I forgot the name of the place. Sorry readers (Emma tell me in the comments, please :-) Anyways, she gets stuck there and ends up being forced to stay there for a few weeks. Often in tears, the poor girl has to get used to the primitive circumstances there- no inside toilet, no electricity, no oven, no bath, no hot water taps... Alice is beginning to feel like she's living inside a book (which she is, by the way :P)

All sorts of things happen. The librarian, a man named Mack, gets shot by someone. Mack is not dead, but he pretends to be, because there's someone who wants to murder him. A hundred-year-old negro woman called Lilly, who lives at the house, helps Alice make a fake funeral and hide Mack in the woods.

Alice is also involved in many other people's problems and other things, including an old family problem, a hidden treasure, a panther walking around in the forest during night time, a pregnancy (

her friend- June Ann Larkin) and she even dates with a handsome young fiddler called Ike Arnett.

There are many unexpected twists and turns and the ending is very surprising.

 

I know, the story sounds very weird. In fact, you're probably thinking, 'This book is not for me.' But it is! It's amazing! It's absolutely pulchritudinous!

 

My favourite character is  definitely the main one- Alice Grace Ripley. I'm so much like her: scared of animals, scared of the dark, a book worm, and I'm slightly whiny sometimes, like her :P

 

Lillie is my second favourite character. She's so funny and makes me almost laugh out loud. And I don't laugh out loud a lot when I read, so this means she really IS funny. She is- as I said- 100 years old and a negro. So when she talks about her past, Lynn Austin takes us to the Civil War. At the end of the book she dies, but it isn't that sad, because she's died happily and at such a good age. I could go on and on about all the many, many different characters, but I won't because I don't want to spoil it for you.

 

And you ARE going to read it. (For the seven-millionth time, I am not bossy!)

 

Would I want a movie adaption of this book?

Yes and No. Yes, because it's an absolutely lovely book (definitely one in my top-ten list of books) and it needs, like all the good books, a good movie adaption, so that I can see it as well as read it. No, because it might be badly done, and different than I had imagined. Plus it might be scary (it's okay when reading, but it would be scary when watching!) and I'm not one for scary movies!!  *Hides face in mother's lap*

 

Now for fun, I'm going to make my own dream cast.

Alice:

 Sophie Mc Shera.

Sophie Mc Shera acted as Daisy in Downton Abbey and I think she'd suit Alice. With a yellow wig of course. Alice has to be blonde. Sophie is small and so is Alice, and Sophie just looks "Alice".

(I first thought of Romola Garai, but she's too old for the role now. SOB.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mack:

Brendan Coyle.

I wanted someone not too old (Michael Gambon, for example is too old) but not too young (so not Johnny Lee Miller or J J Field I'm afraid. SOB.) But he must be just not too old to be able to marry Alice.

Oh dear! Now I have told you that Alice ends up with Mack!!!

 

 

 

Lilly:

I don't know. A black actor with a good sense of humour. Oh yes she must be thin and frail and old.

 

Ike Arnett:

JJ Field

Gordon is tall, handsome and has light hair. If J J Field had slightly lighter hair, I think he'd be perfect.

 

 

 

 

June Ann Larkin:

Rose Lesley

Another Downton Abbey star.... Gwen!!!!!

June Anne is a red-head, she's young and she's lonely. I think Rose Lesley would captivate her completely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you have read this book, you can tell me what you think of the cast!

If you haven't read this book you should.

 

I mean it. This book is absolutely engaging and I rate it 10 out of 10!!!