Ball Preparations :)

"Bed, bed, I couldn't go to bed,

My head's to light to try to set it down,

Sleep, sleep, I couldn't sleep tonight,

Not for all the jewels in the crown!

I could have danced all night,

I could have danced all night,

And still have begged for more.

I could have spread me wings,

And done a thousand things,

I've never done before....."

Around here, we love dancing. And we have a pet peeve: DANCING WITHOUT MUSIC!!!!!!! You really will end up gallumphing if you don't have some sort of something to help you go along gracefully! :) But since most of the time we don't like having to drag a c.d. player into the front yard, we just sing the music. True, we sound choppy since it is hard to keep a steady voice, sing "The Port Royal Gallop" and do a polka all at the same time, or to dance the "Ship's Cook" and sing "The Maid That Sold Her Barley", but we do it all the same! Waltzes are easier- Sarah and I simply start into "Ten Minutes Ago I Met You" from Rogers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella".

"Ten minutes ago I met you,

I looked up as you came through the door-

My head started wheeling

You gave me the feeling,

The room had no ceiling or floor.

Ten minutes ago I saw you,

And you murmured a `how do you do?'

I wanted to ring out the bells

And to....(I forget the words)"

It's alot of fun really! :) So, another thing we have been doing, (and this for brushing up before the ball) is asking eachother for a dance, and practicing accepting and refusing partners graciously. Sarah finds excessive amusement in dumbfounding me. Last night, she came up and said, "Do you have a partner?", with an air of expectant gallantry. I modestly said, "No." and then, instead of asking me, she walked away!!!!! I didn't know what to say, and pretty soon she fell on the ground laughing at me. We are constantly quoting the scene from "The Sound of Music"

"Leisl, who are you dancing with?"

"Nobody..."

"Oh yes you are!"

"May I have this dance?"

"I would be delighted young man!"

The reason we are practicing refusals, is because we have decided that we don't want to do the Waltz (the Spanish waltz is fine) or the Polka with any young men except for Daniel or Matthew. They are rather close-ish dances to do without some embarassment and uncomfortableness on the girl's part at least. Yes, Sarah is quite a clown about it all- she has set up every swingin' scenario you could imagine- she went down on her knees and asked me, she grabbed my shoulder and asked me, she tapped me on the shoulder, she bowed, she chased me around on her knees like some very short and scary man....she really is very inventive. You know me! I make an elaborate bow to Sarah and ask her for a dance in the most correct and pretty language. But when she asks me, she pretends she is chewing on a straw and says, "Ya' wanna dance?" What would we do without personalities?

All around our house we are buzzing about the ball. Last night I set to putting a French tuck (by hand- reenactor fashion you know ;) into my skirt with as much goodwill as any young woman ever has when preparing her finery for her first ball. I only hope that I get asked to dance, because I would rather dance with a blind mule than sit and watch people doing it when I can't! The King's Daughter and I have already pledged each other that if we both are left to dry-rot along the side, we'll dance with each other! :) Well, I had better go! -Rachel

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