Guest Post by Jenna: Thanksgiving

Happy Late Thanksgiving, everyone! :)  Jenna here, and I'm majorly excited to be doing my very first post ever on "Jane Austen and Unicorns". :D

As Tess mentioned in her earlier post, Mama chose me to go with her to her in-laws' for Thanksgiving.  I can't even begin to describe how thrilled I was.  This is really the first time I've gone somewhere with Mama all by myself.  We haven't really had as much of a chance to bond as some of the other dolls and Mama have, so I was ready to have some time with just Mama and me (and Papa and the girls, too).

When we first got there, we were instantly hit with the delicious smell of the turkey cooking in the oven.  Yum!  I've never had Thanksgiving turkey before! :D 

Mama took a picture of me beside the centerpiece of the table and then spent some time visiting with her mom-in-law.  I had to just stand there, since Mama's in-laws don't know we're alive yet.  It's hard to keep up the illusion when you're just bursting to explore the house and you have to stand stiffly on the table. 

Finally, Mama decided she wanted to do a photo shoot, so off we went to the front yard to look for some great photo spots.  

Now, I know that a lot of the other gals complain when Mama gets into her photo mode, but I LOVED it!!  I felt like a celebrity or something, posing for the camera over and over again.  And, you know, I really should get some practice in just in case I ever become famous on the stage someday. ;)  That's my ultimate dream. :)

Here are a few of our favorite photos from the shoot:

After the pictures were over, Mama let me wander and explore for a bit.  She knew that once all of the guests arrived, I'd be cooped up in one spot.  I jumped at the chance to wander through the crunchy fall leaves and enjoy the beautiful greenery around me.  Mama said that we'd had just enough rain lately to make things green and beautiful.  Once the colder winter weather hit, everything would be brown and dead.

I felt like Anne of Green Gables, or perhaps Marianne Dashwood, or maybe even Princess Buttercup.  All I needed was a fancier gown.  Most of the other dolls don't understand this fascination I have with pretending to be characters from stories or movies.  Thankfully, Hayden is exactly the same way.  We're true "kindred spirits". ;)  I wished that Hayden could be with me...I knew she'd love this place as much as I did.

I especially loved this spot, where the sunlight filtered through the trees.  It felt almost magical. :)

All too soon, it was time to go back inside.  The rest of Papa's relatives had arrived, and Mama thought it would be too risky to continue our photo shoot while they were here.  I might forget myself and start moving on my own, or talking!  Heavens, that would give them a fright. :}

On the way to the guest bedroom, I noticed this sign that Mama's daughters had taped up in the hallway.  A puppet show!  That sounded interesting.  

Mama let me take a quick peek into the empty room her girls were talking about.  What a wonderful place!  I could just imagine the fun that all of us dolls could have in a space this big and open. :)  Mama said that it's only temporary.  Her in-laws are getting the carpet replaced in here, so they had to move everything out.  Eventually, it will be the master bedroom.

I noticed that Nicolette, Britt, and Addison were all set up in their own spots in the room.  I haven't seen them much since Mama gave them to her daughters.  They are most definitely NOT in mint condition anymore, but they seem to be happy.  The girls love them very much. :)

Mama got me all settled in the guest bedroom.  It was very pretty, all decorated in soft whites and yellows.  I had fun just looking around and enjoying all of the decorations.  

As time went on, I amused myself by making up stories in my head.  I wondered how long I would be sitting there.

At last, Mama came in with a small serving of turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing.  We didn't get a picture of it, but it was delicious!!

And then came the real surprise of the evening:  the power went out!  It was quite shocking...none of the humans were expecting it.  But without much ado, they grabbed some candles and flashlights and made the best of it.  From the chatting and laughter I heard from the other room, they didn't seem too miserable.

Before too long, I heard everyone heading for the empty room to see the girls' finger puppet show.  While that sounded interesting, I decided that I'd rather take this opportunity to help myself to some of the yummy pie Mama had told me about.  I sneaked out to the dark kitchen, climbed up on the table, and settled myself in front of one of the pie dishes.  I sampled a little of all three kinds:  apple, pumpkin, and berry.  They were all scrumptious, but the berry was my favorite.

It was rather fun, sitting on the table at my own little candlelight dinner. :)  I only wished my sister and my friends could be there to share it.  Maybe I could convince Mama to let us have a candlelight dinner for one of our Literary Ladies Society meetings!  Wouldn't that be elegant?

I managed to sneak away, wash up, and get back to my post before anyone noticed me.  (The finger puppet show was very long!) ;)  The rest of the night passed calmly, and before too long it was time to return to our home.  

I'm so thankful that Mama invited me along.  I had a wonderful time.  I hope I get to travel with Mama more in the future.

Oh, and I nearly forgot...Tess asked me to update all of you on the Literary Ladies Society since I'm kind of heading it up.  We are planning our first meeting for early December.  We'll be sure to document everything for all of you.  We decided to make joining the group optional since not everyone (Maggie especially) is interested in period drama.  So far, we have 4 members:  Tess, Emma, Hayden, and myself.  We hope to get the others interested, too, but it may just take some time. ;)

Thanks for reading my post.  I hope you enjoyed it!  Hmm, this blogging thing could come in handy.  I mean, what if I'm asked to write a script for a Broadway play, or perhaps a screenplay for a famous period drama adaptation?  Maybe I'll see if Tess and Maggie would let me guest post a little more often. :)  What do you think?