Our surprise, distinguished guest ...

We had an unexpected guest move in today ...

How funny is this?!! A Jane Austen action figure!! She comes complete with a quill pen, a writing desk, and what appears to be an original (and, I'm sure, signed) publication of "Pride and Prejudice"! Too funny!

The mysterious package was delivered by our postman and was addressed to "The Worley Girls". There was no return address, although it was surely a dear friend who knows how much Jane Austen fever that has currently gripped this household! Even our 4yo will sit through the 2-hr. Keira Knightley of "P&P", the 4-hr BBC "Emma" and most of the 6-hr BBC "P&P", which we just borrowed from the library yesterday.

I won't go into the details of the mania, but we have all noticed lately that 95% of our dinner conversations revolve around the author, characters, plots, scripts, costumes, etc. We're dragging Mick along through all of this. Grant is blissfully unaware at this point, but I have a feeling he will be growing up with an unusual appreciation for all things Jane Austen. :-D

For those who may be concerned that we're feminizing Grant too much, no worries. Right after I took the last picture of him, he threw the doll at Claire!

:-D

As you can see, there's lots of excitement about our new houseguest. I have a feeling she's not going to be getting a moment's rest for some time! In fact, within the first half hour, she already been given a wardrobe update. It seems her lovely early 19th century gown had been covered by a Barbie outfit! Horrors! It was a most unforgiveable crime, perpetrated by one of the younger ones, who hasn't developed a mature fashion sense yet.