Monday, March 25, 2013

A Christmas Romance--Reprise




Good morning, Dear Bettys!
This particular book reminds me of two things:
1) Our heroine is called Theodosia--A name that reminds me that I have to really get on this baby girl naming thing.  The denizens of the Huis van Voorhees are stymied, lost, wandering in the weeds of female monikers.  Theodosia is old, rare and difficult.  Mijnheer van Voorhees likes names that are spellable, semi-pedestrian and classic (Audrey, Abigail, Tricia, Lucy, Ruth, etc.) I like names that are classic, spellable and semi-rare (Mae, Sadie, Miranda, Alice, etc.).  Our Venn Diagram is overlapping with names I am not LOVING.  Your suggestions (real or Betty-inspired or both) would be much appreciated. 
2) Theodosia (whose name I really do adore for the book) shops at a thrift store (Oxfam) for the grey dress she wears to the important dance.  Have I ever mentioned that Betty Debbie and Betty Keira's little sister (Bettty Tia) bought her wedding dress (for a second, low-key wedding) at a thrift shop?  Eight dollars.  It was a practically perfect dissertation on understatement and appropriateness--a lovely white, full-length cotton number with long sleeves and some bodice detail.  But not all ladies would have the chutzpah to follow that lead.
Well, I'm off to the doctor's this morning!  Hope for the best! ("My, what good effacement you have.")
Love and lardy cakes,
Betty Keira    



Dear Family and Friends,

Hugo and I have had the most wonderful year. It's nice to be able to catch up with those of you who missed the happenings of last Christmas. My goodness, we had an exciting time.


We were married just DAYS after Christmas. The special license speeded things up a ton, and a quiet church wedding was just what the doctor ordered. Hugo's sister Rosie was there, along with her husband and children, so we weren't entirely without family.

As many of you know, I don't have any family except for the Great-Aunts. Before Hugo, I was sharing an attic bedsit with Gustavus(my cat) and counting my meager blessings, when Hugo and I met at the hospital. It was sheer chance that Miss Prescott should send me down to Sister's office with some diet sheets at the same time Hugo was looking for them. It was love at first sight for him. I took a week or two longer.

Hugo was sooo adorable. He kept offering me rides in his great socking Bentley - mostly when I needed to visit the Great-Aunts. He even gave me a kiss on the cheek in front of them (he later told me that he often wanted to kiss me, but he held back because he was afraid of scaring me off!)!

The hospital ball was fabulous. I wore a grey dress that was 'new to me'...with a bit of hand-stitching and dim lighting I don't think it looked too bad. At any rate, Hugo wasn't embarrassed to dance with me - he even took me home!

We had a lovely lunch at Fortnum & Mason's. Hugo caught me as I was rushing off to do some shopping for the Great-Aunts. Instead of spending my entire lunch hour picking up all of their Christmas foodstuffs, Hugo simply handed the list to an employee and asked that the lot be ready in half an hour. Gosh, what a fun way to grocery shop! Leave the boring stuff to the experts and have a relaxing lunch. Hugo just barely restrained himself from kissing the tip of my nose when I thanked him for a lovely time.

Of course I needed to take the box of food to the Great-Aunts that weekend, and Hugo very sweetly fibbed and said it just so happened that he was going that way also. I nearly froze to death during my weekend with the aunts...they are enthusiastic environmentalists! They eat much of their food either cold or underdone, not only that, but they keep their thermostat set at a positively glacial temperature. Brrr. Hugo could see right away that I wasn't in good tick, so he very sweetly swung by his home to give me a nice hot dinner and some medication for my cold. When he dropped me off at my bedsit he kissed me. I was concerned that he might catch my cold, but he must have a iron-clad immune system. That kiss is what made me realize I was in love. TMI?


Hugo was out of town for the whole week, and I missed him terribly - I had no idea he was gone until I overheard a couple of nurses talking. He didn't get back until Sunday morning - when he nearly ran over me. That was my fault. I was trying to flag down some help for an old lady who had just been run over. He was marvelous at stopping the bleeding. I did what I could to help - mostly by discussing the elements of a Christmas dinner. I know, I know, I sound useless - but I did keep her calm until the morphine kicked in.

Hugo ran me home to change(I was covered in blood *shudder*) - then we went to his place for a proper breakfast. This was the day we got Maximilian! Hugo saw the look in my eye and that was all it took. He never can resist that look.

The following weekend, Hugo invited me to see his country cottage. It may not be big and fancy, but it is a delightful place to retreat to. Hugo gave me a big scare while we were there - he said that he planned to get married and that the girl he was going to marry approved of the cottage. How was I supposed to know he meant me? This led to a tiny misunderstanding on my part when I saw him with his arm draped across ANOTHER WOMAN(!!!) a few days later. Little did I realize that woman was my soon to be best friend and sister-in-law, Rosie.


Things came to a head for us on Christmas Eve. I was supposed to be going to stay with the aunts - but they sent me a letter that morning telling me not to come because they had given my room to some friends of theirs. Instead of spending Christmas with them, I now faced being alone with Gustavus. Hugo tracked me down, we sorted out my misunderstanding and he proposed!!We really are blissfully happy. Hugo works hard at the hospital, but spends every spare minute he can with me, Max and Gustavus. In other news, we expect a new addition(s) to our little family any day now.

Happy Christmas to you and yours,
Hugo, Theodosia, Max & Gustavus

p.s. Betty Debbie sends her regards along with Lashings and Lashings of Whipped Cream!

62 comments:

  1. Many warm thoughts and prayers traveling along with Betty Keira on her way to the doctor's!

    An ABC roster of Names Betty Would Approve And Keira May Love:

    A: Anne
    B: Blythe
    C: Chloe
    D: Dianne
    E: Ellen or Eleanor
    F: Frances
    G: Gwendolyn
    H: Hannah
    I: Irene
    J: Jane or Joan (as in Joan of Arc, Patron Saint of Women Soldiers)
    K: Kelly (not Betty-approved, but less common than Kate)
    L: Leigh
    M: Margaret, Melanie, Mariah
    N: Nell
    O: Ophelia
    P: Penelope
    Q: Let's not go there
    R: Rebecca
    S: Susan/Suzanne/Susanna/Susannah/Suzette
    T: Thelma
    U: Ursula
    V: Violet
    W: Winnifred
    X: Let's not go here, either
    Y: Yvette/Yvonne
    Z: Zoe

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  2. Quentinette! Xavieriana!

    If you name her Mae, she will forever be spelled May (same with Leigh/Lee). What about Emily? Theodora more spellable than Theodosia. Eleanor is classic, I think spellable, and intermittently classic and pedestrian. Call her Paula and perhaps your knitting friend will feel inspired to keep her in sweaters, socks, caps etc. all her life.

    Lovely review, Betty Debbie. It really captures the tone. One thing I like about this one is that Theodosia really has reason to assume Hugo's sister is his g.f., unlike almost every other phantom-other-woman scenario in the Canon.

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    1. I really like this valuable information and I am waiting for new post here. Thanks for sharing this information and please keep it up.
      Software Asset Management

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  3. Emily is a lovely name, but alas the preschools are crowded with Emilys right now. Evelyn?

    If I didn't like the name Blythe so much, I would have had to suggest Brunhilda. Easy to spell, classic, unusual.....

    I actually know a Grizelda.

    I remain thankful that my mother did not reach back to her German ancestry to name me.

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    1. I always heard that you should stand on the back porch and yell the name 5 or 6 times, then ask yourself if you want to hear that name 20 times a day every day for the next 18 plus years.

      Xavieranda Cinderella Johnson get in this house right now! Tiresome. Everyone's name usually gets shortened and an "E" sound added to the end anyways. I always wished that I had been named after my maternal grandmother. Her dad was Jesse, she was Jessie, I could have been Jessi - Jessica - Jessalyn, etc.

      B von S

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    2. Betty Barbara here--
      And you must always think about nicknames, teasing rhymes of the name, what the initials might spell and does the name go with the family surname. Sigh!
      Turn to Jane Austen for inspiration--Emma (lovely name), Jane, Elizabeth, Lydia, Catherine, Mary, and so on.
      Maybe Amanda?
      Jocelyn?
      Anyway, good luck on finding a name you all like and that fits the baby when she arrives.

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    3. So since Mae and Leigh create spelling issues -- and Margaret has WAY too many diminutives -- must replace L and M.

      Lynn? Louise? Lilibet?

      And forgive me for loving this name -- Matilda? Or perhaps Meredith?

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    4. I have a *lovely* friend named Meredith.

      However, I part ways with Army Betty on the question of multitudinous diminutives. I think an abundance of choice is a real advantage. Hence Elizabeth (Eliza, Liza, Ella, Ellie, Liz, Lizzy, Lisa, Libby, Liddy, Lilibet if you insist, Beth, Betty, Betsy, Zsa Zsa, and the truly classic Lizard Breath), Margaret (Marge, Madge, Maggie, Margie, Meg, Peg, Peggy, Rita, even Megan) and possible Catherine/Katherine (Cathy, Kate, Katie, Kat, Kitty, Trina).

      But that's me.

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    5. BvdB, you have inspired yet another war story.

      Foreign exchange officer from Thailand was in my officer basic course class -- Prapai Meevasana. Nicknamed "Took".

      I ask: "So, how do you get Took from Prapai?"
      Took replies with a very heavy Thai accent: "How do you get Peggy from Margaret?"

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    6. I really appreciate this post and I like this very much. I am waiting for new post here and Please keep it up in future.
      Reprise License Manager

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  4. Betty Barbara again--
    Betty Debbie's review was almost as wonderful as the story itself. This is one of my favorites from TGB. She managed to fit just enough into the short format--nothing felt rushed.
    Happy sighs! And I love Theodosia!

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  5. Quirina Xenia! Stop flinging your porridge on the floor!

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  6. Here are some names I've used for heroines: Sara, Elise, Darby, Jenna, Angela, Juliet, Meghan, Elizabeth, Alice, Christine. You're welcome to any of those...

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  7. I just wanted to add some suggestions:

    Charlotte (my daughter's name) , Grace, Doris, Carolyn, Penny, Julie, Veronica, Madeline, Leah.

    :)

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  8. http://names.mongabay.com/female_names.htm
    1000 Most Common Female Names in the U.S. during the 1990 census

    Betty Anonymous

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  9. As I believe we share many of the same ancestresses, I'm sharing the list of grandmothers starting with the unnamed wife of the Roman Senator Ferreolus who had a daughter named Deuteria. I've left out the titles (Queens, Saints, etc.)
    Thus it starts:
    Blithilda, Oda, Doda, Begga, Alpaida, Rotrude, Berdia, Hildegarde (wife of Charlemange)
    Judidi, Ermentrude, Judith, Alfrithia, Adela aka Alix, Matilda, Susanna, Odgiva, Adele, Maud, Matilda,
    Eleanor of Aquitane, (wife of Richard II, mother of Richard Lionheart and John I)
    her DIL Isabella (who's mom was Alice) Three more Eleanors. (Also my new granddaughter's name!) Joan, Margaret (twice) Mary, Katherine, Joan, Constance, (who's mother and gr-mom were Sancha Ayala and Donna Inez), Elizabeth, Jane, Cicely, Mary, Margaret, Frances, Joanna ... At this point the scene shifts to American 1650ish. Mary Abel marries Samuel Luther and the line continues: Sarah, Mary, Hanah, Eve who is the last great ancestress we share. At this point we share Eve's husband as our at least 4XGreat grandfather named Elisha. They had a son Roswell who was married to Mary Hoover. Roswell & Mary's son Enoch could be the father of your Great Grandma Ida.

    So my favorites for your baby girl would be Adele, Adela, Ayala, Ida Joanna, Joan, Hanah, Cicely, Mary, Eleanor.
    Although Judidi, Blithilda, Oda, Doda and Berdia would be old fashion and way out at the same time. And there a good chance that the blood of these queens, saints, and ladies run in your little princesses' viens right now.

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  10. What about our names? Magdalen has a lovely Biblical reference. (She was NOT the woman about whom Jesus said, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone," although it's likely Mary Magdalen had been to Tel Aviv, i.e., the Brighton of the Middle East.) And I do happen to know what Betty JoDee's real name is...

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    1. I happen to know that Betty Magdalen's real name is Hildegarde....

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    2. What? Magdalen isn't fancy/obscure enough for you?????

      Actually, my big secret is that my middle name is...

      (It starts with S and is a COMMON name, although I don't believe it appears in The Canon. Feel free to guess, or Google the heck out of it and see if you can find out.)

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    3. Sue or Squeezix ?

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    4. Here's another hint: It is a common first name, but not for girls.

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    5. Sean? Shay? Stacey? Sydney? Schrumpelstiltskin? This has been bugging me all day. A riddle that I cannot solve!!! (I will sneakily mail Betty Henry and ask him...)

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    6. Would you be "Magdalen Stuart" ?

      B von S

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    7. Betty von S is the winner! I'm name for my great-grandmother, Magdalen Stuart Robison Reeves. She was the second eldest of ten children born to a bank manager in Christchurch, New Zealand.

      Did you guess that, or were you able to find it on the World Wide Web?

      I'll have to think of a suitable prize! Would you like a copy of my first romance, Love in Reality?

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    8. Your mother sent a letter to the editor of the Schenectady Gazette in 1964, defending your great-grandmother's involvement in the Fabian Society of England. When I saw her name, I knew.

      Prize, hmmmmm, would that be an AUTOGRAPHED copy? By the famous authoress herself? Signed to Betty von Susie, nosiest person I know?

      B von S



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    9. Autographed AND with a special Blackjack Quartet bookmark!

      Send me your address to Magdalen (at) MagdalenBraden (dot) com.

      Now I have to go looking for that letter. Someone in my family has a yellowed clipping of a review of a play where they praised my mother performance over that of a young Spalding Gray, star of Swimming to Cambodia.

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  11. Excuse me BvdB, but Zsa Zsa is Hungarian for Susie, dahlink.
    I offer a selection my ancestral names for your consideration:

    Jessie, Celia, Annie, Emeline, Caroline, Serena, Rachel,Louisa, Amanda.

    I like Rachel Serena or Rachel Rose. Those would both look pretty in script on a wedding invitation (must look ahead).

    B von S

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    1. But that's the thing about nicknames, BvS -- you get to choose them. Your lovely Rachel Rose reminds me of identical twins I know called Rose and Lily. I was very surprised to learn, when Lily was about 15, that her 'real' name is Elizabeth, and Lily is a nickname. Lily and Rose have a friend name Zoe whose nickname is Zadie -- like Zoe needs a nickname?

      Betty Caroline (yoo hoo! in Texas yet?) shared her criteria for kids' names a ways back, and they include minimal nickname-ability. Unlike the Mitford sisters, who got "Susan" from "Nancy" and "Decca" from "Jessica," while Pamela was routinely called "Woman."

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    2. I was reminded of a video clip frequently aired on a late night show several years back (because the names tickled the show host's funny bone) wherein a mother calls her eight children to come on down to the dining room.
      Sylvana, Sarafina, Estefania, Calantha, Loredana, Sarah-Jane, Lavinia, Jeremy-Pascal
      zil-VAH-nah, zah-rah-FEE-nah, es-tay-FAH-nee-yah, kay-LEN-tah, ZAH-rah-jayn, lah-VIN-yah, JERemy-pus-KUL

      You get to choose your nicknames.Yet it is often other people who create them.
      Betty named after one of her stuffed animals with a vowel change Anonymous

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    3. Yes, Betty van den Betsy, I arrived at my new home outside Austin, TX on March 29. I'm still trying to dig out of the boxes whilst starting homschooling. Not ideal for the Type-A mom, not at all.

      I'm surprised you remembered my "criteria for girl names" comment from months ago. I still stand by my opinion of minimal nickname-ability. Of course, our girls still have nicknames, but they're more based on their personalities than their names.

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    4. Sylvana, Sarafina, Estefania, Calantha, Loredana, Sarah-Jane, Lavinia, Jeremy-Pascal
      video

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  12. I had a baby boy last August, but if he had been a girl he would have been Alexandra or Henrietta (I live in the UK).

    Betty-Birgit

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  13. We are missing the most obvious, wonderful name of all: Evelyn Jessy. Perhaps flipflopped: Jessy Evelyn. Another option to go along with another name: Neel. :-) If the baby had been a boy, I would have voted for Hugo Ivo. I would suggest some of my pets'names, but considering I named most of them after hockey players and equipment, perhaps I shouldn't. Lucy is my exception, and I just love that name.

    Speaking of pets, our 17 year old cat died on Saturday. I would appreciate a few good thoughts sent my way. It has been a tough week. Many tears.

    About the book... This is one of my top tenners. It was the first Betty book I read, and I love it dearly. I read it at least three times a year. I love Hugo and Theodosia. Poor Theodosia thinks she isn't good enough for Hugo, but darling Hugo knows better. I always want to cry when those hateful aunts un-invite Theodosia at Christmas. But Hugo comes to save the day. Wonderful story! BTW, it should say "Hugo, Theodosia, George, Max & Gustavus" because we musn't forget George. :-)

    Betty AnoninTX

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    1. Betty AnoninTX

      So sorry to hear about your cat. This is my favorite quote about pets...from an Orvis catalog and slightly modified...

      From time to time people tell me, "Lighten up, it's just a pet," or "That's a lot of money for just a pet." They don't understand the distance traveled, time spent, or costs involved for "Just a pet." some of my proudest moment have come about with "Just a pet." many hours have passed with my only company being "Just a pet," and not once have I felt slighted. Some of my saddest moments were brought about by "Just a pet." In those days of darkness, the gentle touch of "Just a pet" provided comfort and purpose to overcome the day.

      If you, too, think it's "Just a pet," you will probably understand phrases like "Just a friend," "Just a sunrise," or "Just a promise." "Just a pet" brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust, and pure unbridled joy. "Just a pet" brings out the compassion and patience that makes me a better person. Because of "Just a pet" I will rise early and look longingly to the future.

      For me and folks like me, it's not "Just a pet." It's an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment. "Just a pet" brings out what's good in me and diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day.

      I hope that someday people can understand it's not "Just a pet." It's the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being "Just a man or woman."

      So the next time you hear the phrase "Just a pet," smile, because they just don't understand.

      Thinking of you....

      Betty Miller

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    2. Royal Highness by Thomas Mann
      Lovely character in a great book! She boldly walks…
      She is Imma Spoelmann, black-haired daughter of American billionaire Samuel Spoelmann, and destined to save a Grand Duchy from its financial difficulties by marrying lonely Prince Klaus Heinrich who has one malformed hand.

      She is not only American, she is a quintroon. (Huh? A what? Didn’t know what that was, did you? Neither did I. Nor Prince Klaus Heinrich.)

      I think the Great Betty would have enjoyed the descriptions in this book.
      Fashions & Hairstyles
      Interior Decoration
      Pets

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    3. I'm so very sorry to hear about your loss. A priest once asked me why I was so down, and I told him I was mourning a pet. I said I wanted to believe there is a place in the afterlife for our pets, but that it was clear in the Bible that salvation is only for humans. His reply --"Of course salvation is only for humans -- the animals have never sinned. Animals don't need salvation."

      I found that quite comforting, and hope it offers you some comfort.

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    4. Betty Miller and Army Betty, thank you both so much. The house seems so empty.

      Betty AnoninTX

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    5. Betty AnoninTX,
      I am so sorry about your sweet kitty. I lost my little poodle dog after 17 years and I think I cried for a month. She was my only baby, I miss coming home from work and having to stop in the foyer and do the "Happy happy joy joy" dance with her every day. I hope your memories of your little friend bring you some comfort.

      B von S

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    6. My mom lost her last dog after 16 years. She missed her quite dreadfully. Me too. I kept "seeing" her in her usual places... The following year she decided to have a new dog — who has been with us for almost eleven years now and I cannot imagine her not being there. She has a sore paw at the moment and we suffer with her. (Just now when my mom left the room the dog started whining a bit begging my mom's attention.) She is on antibiotics and pain relievers. She has been to the vet three times so far and, especially the second time, she was not happy there. I'll spare you the details. But the last time the treatment was not as gruesome and when she was released on the floor afterwards she was joyfully wagging her little tail and looking up expectently at my mom who, alas, was busy talking to the vet. So I started the first round of petting and praising and eventually my mom joined in. Our Lhasa is such a brave little creature. The vets often praise her for being so good. And yet, our worries about our dog are minor by comparison. A couple of weeks ago, my dad tripped over uneven pavement hidden in the snow and fell. He hit his forehead and the doctor just put a bandage on it – no x-ray, no CT scan... And he fell again, at home this time. The doctor he saw this time sent him to the hospital in an ambulance right away and he underwent surgery later that day. There had been some previously sustained intracranial hemorrhage. The change in him was for the better immediately. But Mr Ross-Pitt/Professor van Taak ter Wijsma/Professor ter Laan-Luitinga was not quite happy with the results and operated again this week. We hope our dad will make a complete recovery.

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    7. Betty AnoninTX, I am *so sorry* to hear about your cat. Our 18-year old Darling Girl was under the covers this morning, and I had a heart-stopping moment of envisioning a future without her. Amazing how seven pounds can take such a big place in our lives. I hope you and the PRT are cherishing the memories while you cope with the pain.

      Betty Anonymous, what a scary story. I wish your father a quick and complete recovery, and you and your family all the support you need in this difficult time.

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    8. Thanks for the kind and understanding thoughts. My cat Rush was white with a black freckle on his head. When I stripped our sheets and took them to the laundry room a couple of days ago, I dropped a white pillowcase in the living room. On the way back through the house, I saw it and for a second thought Rush was sitting behind the couch. Then I got upset. Small things...

      Betty Anonymous, I hope your dad does well and gets back to normal soon.

      Betty AnoninTX

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    9. I completely understand. We took our 13 year old black lab Dusty to the vet two days before DH was taking him in the moving truck to Texas, and the vet said he couldn't make the trip, and if he was to stay in Idaho with someone else, would deteriorate rapidly. Had to make the heart-wrenching decision to put him down one day before moving out of our house. It was traumatic for us and for our girls. Just too much at once. That next day I almost told youngest to go feed him, and caught myself just in time. Still cried, though. It's actually helped being in a new place that has no memories of him, although we think of him often.

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    10. *So* sorry you had to go through this as you were moving, which in itself is so stressful.

      Betty AnoninTX

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  14. Some old-fashioned names I like from my grandmothers, great-aunts, etc. would be Agnes, Helena, Abigail, Gertrude, Matilda, and Maria. My grandmother always used to call me Lucy just because she loved the name and that is what I would have named a daughter if I had been lucky enough to have one.

    Betty Miller

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    1. I go to church with a Charlotte whose father nicknamed her Lucy, just because he liked the name.

      B von S

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  15. Hello Betty Keira - I do agree with your Mijnheer on one of his choices. Audrey has always been a favourite of mine, it's so classic, and combined with the elegant image of the one and only Ms. Hepburn - well! Need I say more? Other favourites: Blythe, Aislinn (pronounced Ash-lin), Deirdre to name a few.

    Hope this is of some help to you
    All the best to you and the new pledge
    Betty Daphne

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    1. I agree: our oldest is Audrey Caroline. :D It's classic, not usually mispelled (the Audrey part, anyway: Caroline is another matter {-lyn anyone? no!}) and not so popular that she'll have to go by her last initial all through school (Emily, Emma, Bella, etc.).

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  16. I still don't have this book. I guess I need to hit Amazon.

    But I'm not sure I can get past the "Theodosia" thing. I can only think of Aaron Burr....

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    1. Betty Barbara here--
      Betty JoDee, I also thought of Aaron Burr's daughter. Fortunately The Great Betty gives us a much happier 'Theodosia' story than Anya Seton did.
      (There's also a Theodosia of Constantinople who was a nun and martyr and now a saint--but it looks like her story is just as depressing as Theodosia Burr's!).

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    2. Sister Mary Theodosia used to tell her patron saint's martyrdom story right before lunch......lots of skinny kids in my class!

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    3. What a wonderful Christmas letter. Clever and true to the book. Thank you.

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  17. We were never able to have children, but I always liked Elizabeth (or the French variant Elyse/Alyse), Anne (but always with an 'e', thank you L. M. Montgomery). I like Bonnie, Isabelle, Angela and Marie (but not Mary).

    Your review was marvelous. I so enjoy your sense of humor!

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  18. Good morning, dear Sleepless in Lubbock!

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    1. Must go buy Horlicks. . . :-)

      Insomniac in Lubbock aka Betty AnoninTX

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  19. Apropos of nothing: Picture of U__h__z_n, 10 April 2011

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    1. Aaaw, thanks for the picture Betty Anon, I'd like to go see it but I think the police are probably still looking for my family there (kidding).

      So sorry about your poppa, that first doctor is definitely NOT RDD MATERIAL!

      B von S

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  20. I vote for Julia just 'cause I like it. (My criteria is that you have to be able to stencil it on the frosted glass of a barrister's door and not have it look stupid. Hence my objection to my uncle's name of "Jerry Joe.") You could call her "Jules" as a nickname without it being a diminutive.

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  21. Nele / Neele is a popular name for girls in the Netherlands and a very popular name in Germany. It's pronounced NAY-luh.

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  22. Be thou comforted, little dog, Thou too in Resurrection shall have a little golden tail.

    Martin Luther said that about pets getting into heaven!

    Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/martinluth385794.html#Qqb8Om4wY5piE5Ck.99

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