Betty and the Real World

The Silver Thaw:
Two perfumes are used by Amelia. Miss Dior (sage and gardenia with floral rose and jasmine accents, and is given a more complex note with patchouli) and L'Air Du Temps (gardenia, musk, rose, carnation and sandalwood). These sound perfect for a feminine single gal who is also on the mature side.

When Gideon and Amelia travel to Tromso they visit the cathedral; 'just like a mountain'. References say it seats 720 people. (whistle)

Cousin Babs' wedding is one great whacking cliche after another. The guests sing The Voice That Breathed O'er Eden. This is not one I'm familiar with (though have read of it being sung a lot) so ask, is this a Protestant thing, a Brit thing or an old people thing? Here are some lyrics:
Be present, loving Father,
To give away this bride
As Thou gav'st Eve to Adam,
A helpmeet at his side.
Be present, Son of Mary,
To join their loving hands
As Thou didst bind two natures
In Thine eternal bands.

Also at Babs' reception Amelia sees 'a modern painting which looked like the enthusiastic efforts of a very small child'. For a woman who had spent years of her life soaking in the museums of Holland (a lovely kind of afterlife to me), Betty must have had very little patience for drips and drops.

When Amelia has her dawning realization she thinks of the lyrics from Some Enchanted Evening. As they are in a crowded room and their eyes meet, Gideon is thinking the same thing. Here's the pertinent part:
Some enchanted evening
You may see a stranger,
you may see a stranger
Across a crowded room
And somehow you know,
You know even then
That somewhere you'll see her
Again and again.
South Pacific is not one of my all time faves. (Though the music is gorgeous.) I don't think it's aged really well. Nellie is supposed to be a racist for discovering that her Frenchman has a couple of island children but I contend that at least 35% of her disillusionment has to do with finding out He. Has. Children....And. Didn't. Tell. Her...And. She. Didn't. Sign. Up. For. Motherhood. But she's the bad guy.

Heaven Around the Corner:
The movie shown in the community center in Norway is The Sound of Music...Louisa had seen it more times than she could count. I adore thinking of movies (in the time before VHS and basic cable) touring movie theatres for years after their original release date. I have read at least two other authors (Dingwell and Summers, I think) who mention heroines heading off to see TSOM for consecutive times. And can you blame them?

After the movie, it's time for dancing. Dancing to ABBA!!! Betty Debbie is some years older then this Betty but she was glad to inculcate me with a love for the wonderful world of ABBA. Did you know that the couples were married (Benny to Anni-Frid, Bjorn to Agnetha) and that after they divorced, Anni-Frid went on to marry a German prince of the former sovereign house of Reuss--called Her Serene Highness Princess Anni-Frid Synni Reuss, Countess of Plauen. Now, let's Waterloo, just because we can.