Meetings with Old Friends

This weekend, I saw the place that Harley was buried. I had hoped that Mike (my cousin) would bury Harley at the farm, and I was very happy to hear that he did. My family has been creating what we call "a memorial grove" and it is already the resting place for the ashes of my grandmother and my aunt. It is now also home to my beloved Harley. Mike came out on his bike, and showed my mother, my aunt Mary, and myself where he and his family has buried him. He's resting underneath a large spruce tree, covered in grape vines. It's a lovely spot. And there is a large, natural stone marking where he rests. I walked back to the gardens alone, and this is when I cried. I guess it finally sunk in, made itself real. When I got out of the car after we first got to the farm, I half expected Harley to coming running up to my door, as he did so many times. It was strange not having him there. But now, whenever I take walks out on the South 80 (southern 80 acres of our farm) I'll be able to stop and spend a little time with my favorite of all dogs. My puppy.

Oh my, I almost made myself tear up again there, just thinking about that. *shakes it off* I have good news! This weekend, I went to the greatest art exhibition ever known to have graced the halls of Wisconsin art galleries. It was called Fashion in Film, and it was at the Paine Art Center in Oshkosh. It had a collection of costumes worn in some of my favorite movies. The real star of the show was the famous dress that Drew Barrymore wore at the end of the movie Ever After. I have been watching that movie since I was six years old, and when I heard that I could see the actual dress, the actual dress, that was an opportunity I could not pass up. It was beautiful. They had the area around it roped off, and I stood and stared at it for about 10 minutes. I looked at from all angles. It is almost impossible to describe how exquisite it is. I could have stood and looked at it all day, but my mom and Mary were already moving on to the next room, and I hadn't even looked at the other dresses in the room I was in yet. The experience was unreal. It was, as I sort of mentioned in the title of this post, like a meeting with an old friend. I felt as though it was completely right, me standing there, longer than any of the others who stood for a fleeting glance. It was more than an art show to me. Deeper, somehow. To say it was like a spiritual experience would be cheesy off the charts, but that's what it felt like. It was so special. Nothing else has ever had that much of an effect for me. I know that dress. Almost as though I had made it myself.

But that was not at all the ends of the delights. It was only the beginning. I can now say that I have stood in a room with clothes that have touched COLIN FIRTH!!!! Ahhh!!! In this same show, that had costumes from the first scene that you see Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. His suit. His real suit! I was so excited. I wanted to kneel down in front of it and bow. Oh my goodness gracious. It was sooooo cool. And in the next room, they had Mairanne's wedding dress and Colonel Brandon's regimentals from Sense and Sensibility! Alan Rickman! I was in heaven. There were two ladies in there who voiced my exact thoughts:

Lady 1: "So this is Colonel Brandon's wedding suit...

Lady 2: "So you're telling me that this touched Alan Rickman?!"

Lady 1: "Yep."

Lady 2: "Omg, can I rub my face in this too?"

See what I mean? My thoughts exactly. Squeeee!

And besides these absolute wonders, they had outfits worn by Helena Bonham Carter, in Room with a Veiw (which I also used to watch all the time), Madonna in Evita (which I adore), Nicole Kidman (in several movies), and Gwyneth Paltrow in Emma. I love that version of Emma. It is by far the best. Mr. Knightly is my man is that movie! It was her wedding dress. Oooh. This was the best art show eva! Forget Picasso. When did he ever make a beautiful dress? (Or a suit that Colin Firth wore for that matter?)