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[Henk]

There were some replies in the "Wanted Spin -Offs" topic.
Katherine Brooke's traveling is an inspiring thought indeed.

Using the timeline on Bets' website, Katherine Brooke' s will have started to travel after let's say 1890 ?
Was Katherine Brooke a bit older as Anne, about 25 at that time ?
If her health has allowed her to travel till age 60, that would cover the period between 1890 and 1925 ?
Interrupted by WW1.
In the Anne books are reports of Katherine sending letters and postcards from far-away destinations.
She did really travel and fulfill her dreams.

From the somber "einzelganger" as she was, she will not have turned into a Miss Charm.
She knew how to behave in the "higher circles" . With another hairdo and outfit, she was not an ugly woman at all. Her sharp tongue and forbidding eyes will have kept unwanted male attention on distance.
But she will have had her talks in hotels and trains.

My old company Wagon Lits had its glory-days in that period, running Orient Expresses and other great trains from Scandinavia till Egypt. That is also a reason why this idea  inspires me.

I have not the gift to write one long story, but I like to come up with random thoughts and images that can add to Katherine's travel-stories.

Feel free to add to this topic, if you want.


Added: A beautiful site, full of vintage images  http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/

[Henk]

"Katherine Brooke would never give the steering-wheel away "


( Harry Grant , 1900 )

[Henk]

( Letter from Katherine to Anne )

"Dear Anne,
Congratulations with the birth of your daughter Bertha Marilla ! I received your letter a little bit late. It must have been laying around  in some dusty corner of a postal office .

I still have not been to the Taj Mahal yet, it is such a long journey from London to India .
And there is so much to see here.
I have been travelling on so many trains now. And still, when I hear a conductor blowing the whistle for departure, I see myself again standing there, to whistle those girls back to the class.

Guess what I read in the newspaper yesterday ?
A man named Marconi has invented a way to send "waves" through the air. I don't know what that means, but they say that we can send send letters by telegraph without a cable. Do you think we can do that, one day ?
I guess it is not your idea of a romantic letter, to send a letter using "beeps".

Hereby I send you a photo of the Covent Garden market. What a crowds, how busy ! It is hard to understand the English dialect they speak. Maybe I can earn some money here to become a tutor for somebody who needs to speak good English. Plenty of fruit on this market, but none of the apples are as sweet as the ones I tasted at Green Gables.

Bye for now, hope to see you soon !
Your's
Katherine"

[muppets123]

Those are Priceless!   Keep going you are on a roll

I may add my own touch this week-end.

[hannikan]

I love your letter to Anne! I agree you are on a roll!!

[HistoryMiner]

Great picture and letter, Henk.  I really liked Katherine Brooke in Anne 2, and would have loved to hear about her travels.

[Henk]

"Katherine needed some time, to make a choice between the trunks shown to her in the trunk-shop "



"Finaly she did buy a good solid trunk, that would carry all her Earthly possessions along with her.
In a moment of unexpected  cheerfulness, a sensation that was still strange to her, she bought a piece of clothing that marked the beginning of a new life ".

[Bets]

lovely images!  you make Katherine Brooke intriguing, even a little glamourous.

[Henk]

"In the beginning, Katherine often regretted to have started her journey.
Questioning eyes in trains, hotel-receptions and other public places.
Women would examine her within a few seconds, men would look longer. Sometimes friendly, and sometimes with a look she could not define.
Her forbidding eye would show fear, and her sharp tongue would fail her on the moments she needed it most.
Staying inside and avoiding places where many people gathered would rob her from her new freedom.

There was only one way out.
As a decent woman, she knew a few basic things. A decent woman does not drink , smoke or show parts of her petticoat.
But she was a free woman !
She dressed for the occasion and went to the nearest pub, She ordered a pint of ale, a cigarette was given  to her by a surprised gentleman.
Using her forbidding eye with a faint smile worked !
Down she sat, and for the first time in her Life, she was Free !





( Taken from " The Frances Benjamin Johnston Exhibit" . Here

[muppets123]

Paris Postcard from  Katherine:





Dear Anne,

Went to Notre Dame, St Chapelle & Versailles today. They are very beautiful but they were  right to behead Louis & Marie.  Such extravegance is  digustusting and very Un-Christian like.   I simply will not tolerate it.

I have taken to reading along the Seine and walking during lunch.  I cannot be idle for two hours in the middle of the day the way the Parisians are.

I am  going to take in an opera and a ballet this week-end. 
Will give you a full report.
Sincerely,
Katherine.

[hannikan]

This is fun. It is wild to think of Katherine Brooke in a pub!

[Henk]

"Katherine got used to the repeating,  soothing sound of the wheels on the rails"

[muppets123]

Paris Postcard #2


Dear Anne,

The ballet and the opera were wonderful.  I  truly admire the grace and discpline of the dancers, although I am not sure I approve of the costumes.  Still, there is something to be said for the artistry  of the dance and it is not vulgar like that notorious Can-Can.  The opera house is magnificant and though I am not entirely sure  the patrons were trying to outshine the singers in terms of  dress.

I have become friends with Henri and Claire Boncoeur.  I met them on one of my walks through the Jardins  Des Plantes.  He is a  university botany professor  and  she is a seamstress and piano teacher at home.  They have a 10 year old daughter,  Colette.  You would like them Anne, but I am not sure yet if you would find them to be one of your " kindred spirits". 
They have  invited me to go with them to vist Henri's mother,  at her  farm outside of  Marseilles.   So I will be taking the train south to Marseilles.  Why spend all this time and money in France  if I am never going to go anywhere or do anything?  You taught me that.

Take care and my next card will be from the sunny south.

All my best,
Katherine

[Henk]

Great, Muppets !

[Bets]

the images and bits of text in this topic is so lovely!

[Henk]

                                             

Katherine's life had been rolling along straight lines as long as she could remember.
And it still did in fact. She looked at the railway tracks often, while waiting for a train.
Two bars of steel coming together in a Vanishing Point.

"That is where I am heading for, the Vanishing Point. And I will never reach it, neither will I disappear behind the Horizon", she would think.

Not too long, She had learned from Anne to look around and watch. To stop thinking, and only look, and watch.
Anne had send her a letter, which reached her in time before she left her last lodgings.

"Dear Katherine,
It is so nice, that you are enjoying your journey.
I am glad you gave me that small picture from the Taj Mahal, to keep it for you.
Sometimes I watch it, and I imagine seeing you walking in that picture, entering the Taj Mahal and showing me around.
Everybody here is doing fine, the kids are having their little adventures, I will tell you all about it one day, I keep a diary for it, to remember.
You will be the only one who will ever read it, I think.
Who wants to read about the adventures of a housewife with her beloved husband and children ?
Or her past as a dull poor orphan ? Nobody !
I envy you for that !

You must have so much to tell by now already, I am sure you will be able to write a book about it !
I will send my next letter to the post-office of ..., where you can collect it when you arrive.
I have to finish this letter, because I promised my family to make a cream-of-onion soup, my speciality.
Bye for now, I am looking forward to your letter,
Your's sincerely,
Anne"

Katherine folded the letter carefully, and put it in her handbag.
"Yes", she sighed, " I go beyond the Vanishing Point, I am sure there is a bend in the road after it"

[Henk]

"Dear Anne,
This will be a short letter. I will be able to post it before I board my night-train down South.
There is a buffet in the station, but the cafe where I am now is much cosier. Some local farmers, a couple and they serve nice drinks !

I have been studying my French a lot, but some local dialects are really hard to understand. I spoke a little French with that French hired boy from New Brunswick sometimes.
The New Brunswick and the Quebecan dialects seem to be more like the Bretagne dialect here, is that true you think ?
But I am learning !
I have to go now, I hear my train in the distance, it will stop for fifteen minutes.
All my Love to you and your family !

Your's, sincerely,
Katherine"



"Night Cafe", Vincent van Gogh

[Bets]

Dear Katherine,

I have news for you: Gilbert and I are going to a medical congress in London, for a "second honeymoon".  We plan to do a jaunt of the "old world" - the lochs that Tennyson wrote of, the field of the Battle of Hohenlinden, perhaps the little town of Bingen on the Rhine, and the castles where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned... how my heart has always thrilled to her story!  I imagine you must thrill so, every day, at the sight of something you have always wanted to see in your wanderings.

Will we be able to meet, I wonder?  We will be there in February.

And yet though I long to see the Old World, I hate to leave the Island... even for only a few months!  We are down in Avonlea for a week, and Davy snapped this with his new camera.  Tell me, Katherine, will anything in Europe really be lovelier than an island sunset in Lover's Lane?

Anne


Lover's Lane, photo by L. M. Montgomery http://images.ourontario.ca/uoguelph/details.asp?ID=27220

[muppets123]

 
Dear Anne,
 
The south of France is glorious, although I have made it  quite clear to the Boncouers  that I will not attend the bullfights next week in Arles.  Really!  I sometimes wonder why the New World thinks of the French as civilized!
 
On the other hand I am having a grand time.  The farmhouse is located about 20 miles NE of  Cassis, not too far from Marseille and was built in 1780.  Henri's mother, Gabrielle,  is 75 though one would never guess from the way she looks or works.    They have a grape vineyard, an olive grove, a small orange grove and a lavender field that they own and cultivate.  Gabrielle makes orange and lavender honey to sell at the local markets and some of the restaurants in  Marseille.  I miss the apples of  Green Gables, but a  cool, juicy  orange on a hot day is quite refreshing.  The  fragrance from the orange and lavender blossoms is almost intoxicating.  Speaking of which,  I supspect Henri and his mother might dabble in winemaking too; as there are a great many men who come to the farm to buy things--- and  I don't believe it is just for the honey.
 
 My days are filled with working in the vineyard, orchard or  flower fields;  reading;  wandering about the local markets with Claire and Gabrielle; or  helping Colette with her English.   Colette has shown me how to make lavender sachets, so I will send you a few with my next card.  Our stay has been extended for a few more weeks  as Gabrielle twisted her ankle climbing up a ladder to  pick olives.  Honestly-- she is about as incorribible as you and Emmeline Harris when you went to retrieve that confounded  bicycle from the shed.
 
Claire has promised to take me to Avignon and Arles to see where Van Gogh and Gauguin  lived and painted.  I suppose we will go when Henri, his male cousins and some companions attend the bullfight. Colette and Gabrielle want me to see the high hills and endless meadows in Grasse.  I sometimes feel I as if  I am being pulled in 20 directions but it is a good feeling.
 
After a long day of work  or wandering in the sunshine and fresh air,  good hearty meals and lively conversation;  I drift off to a peaceful sleep on lavender scented pillows.  Perhaps there is something to this lifetyle and being a kindred spirit afterall.  No one has ever wanted me to be with them before or really talked with me or listened to me. With the exception of you of course, dear Anne.  However I fear in my heart  it cannot last.  But until then,  I shall try to remain content and hopeful.


A Bientot,
Katherine.

[Henk]

Katherine read the letters over and over again.
Anne's letters first, and the letters from "Him" after.
They warmed up every evening, and made her fall asleep, dreaming of her destination she always dreamed of,  while denying dreaming it to herself.

As if Anne had spoken to the Sun himself, to shine into her secret garden. Where dead, dried twigs and leaves had changed into  fresh grass, bushes and trees.

"He even called me his Angel. Me, an Angel ?" , she thought.
It made her laugh...



Anne did not even know. How long would she be able to keep the secret to her dearest friend ?
Together they had agreed to stay silent about it,till they would meet again. Even to Anne.
She imagined the small picture of the Taj Mahal hanging in Anne's house.
And she imagined two people walking in it.
Hand in hand.

[Henk]

"Dear Anne,

Did you ever smell a real French cheese ?
My host had a little joke about it.
He said, a good French house always smells after dirty socks or cheese.
And it can be one or the other, or both at the same time !
It made me think of Marilla or Rachel. A French cheese would have no chance at Green Gables.
But neither would dirty socks.
 
This journey is doing well for me !
The weather here in the South of France and the food, it is all so good.
Please don't tell anybody: The wine is very good too, I have the habit of drinking a glass with diner, like the French do.

There was a friend of Claire and Gabrielle, who is a painter. He wants to come back and paint me.
He has to be quick, because I will not stay here forever .
I promised to help Gabrielle with cleaning the house, I will write you again soon !
Bye !
Your's
Sincerely, Katherine "

Yes, that one glass of wine with diner had made her feel warm, but that was not the only reason.
Imagining the sunset on Lover's Lane made her fall asleep.

[muppets123]

Dear Anne,
 
I am continuing to make new discoveries about Provence and about myself.  I have included two lavender & a wild rose sachet that I made for you and hope you will enjoy.  Keep them in your bureau or under you pillow to induce sweet dreams.... or at least that's what they say.  Also included  some post cards of the work of Van Gogh and Gauguin.
 
Arles & Avignon were  thoroughly enjoyable, and no, I did not attend the bullfight.   However the coliseum is quite impressive from an architectural and historical aspect.  While Henri and his friends went to the bullfight, Colette, Claire, Gabrielle, David and I  went to see where Gauguin & Van Gogh lived and painted.  Their artworks are beautiful yet the stories behind them are quite tragic.  There is something almost Providential  that such beauty can come from such tragedy.  I also received lessons in architecture, the aqueducts and the history of the geothermal baths in the area.  Gabrielle's ankle is on the mend ( she says partly due to the baths  although I still find it a little shocking that men and women  are allowed to soak  in the many public beaches and baths together.)  Proper swimming attire is required.... but  none the less  it seems a little too heathen, as Rachel Lynde would say,  for me.  Claire says there are places reserved for women only should I desire to partake in the healing properties of the hot mineral waters.  I tell you .... I might just be tempted.   David and Gabrielle insist that the hot mineral waters along with the  scents and oils from  lavender, roses, peppermint,  orange blossoms, sage, lemongrass, and other  plants can cure the body, mind and spirit of  all sorts of  ailments.   David has promised us a picnic and botanical tour in the high meadows of Grasse as soon as Gabrielle is up to it.  He has also promised me a guided tour and lecture of  the castles and gardens of Chenonceau and Chambord in the Loire Valley  before we return to Paris.
 
I may be able to meet you and Gil in London, but  am not sure yet.  I am torn between going south to Tuscany and  going to the  Loire valley.  David says both are  breathtaking in their own unique way and if at all possible I should do  both.  Oh, I suppose   if I delayed  my return to  PEI,  I could manage both.  I have entertained flights of fancy of never coming back at all, but that is just nonsense.
 
Goodness, I have been prattling on like a schoolgirl that I quite forget to tell you who David is.  He is a junior colleague  of  Henri's from the university  botany department.   He is an expert botanist and  horticulturalist as well as having a solid knowledge of  architecture and landscaping.  He also paints and has a rich, jolly, yet gentle baritone singing voice.  I have heard him sing work songs with the field hands.  Also,  sacred works with the friars from a local monastery at church services last Sunday.  Gabrielle is  Catholic.  However, I am not at all sure Henri and Claire are raising Colette as such.   While David likes the formal gardens of Versailles, Chambord and Chenonceau; he prefers to spend time in the fields of Grasse and along the Brittany( Bretagne as the French call it) coast.  He has done much research on edible and medicinal herbs & plants.
 
His father is a fisherman off the coast of Brittany and his  late mother was from Grasse.  She passed 5 years ago of an illness and David was very close to her.   Believe it or not, his maternal grandmother  came from Tuscany,  Italy.  It does get a little confusing  but since many of the European countries are in such close proximity, I suppose there is bound to be intermarriage.    David is about 32,  tall and muscular with a easy , long legged  gait and a smile that would light up a rainy day.  His  hair is sandy brown and his eyes are the dark bright blue of the provencal sky.  There is usually a sparkle  of merriment and mischief in his eyes and smile, like  Davy alone in  a candy store.  But sometimes they  behold a look of longing and dreams for him that goes right into my heart.  He says in winter he sports a well groomed  beard,  almost the color of the PEI red soil, but he prefers to be clean shaven in summer or when he is in the south like now.  I like him this way, although I suppose a beard would make him appear  older to the university  administrators or more experienced with the village fisherman other coastal residents.
 
Anne I must be out of my senses thinking like this.  How can I give up everything I have worked for at that school?  And yet,  what is keeping me there?   If I can teach/ administrate in Summerside,  surely I can teach and run any English speaking school.  Or,  I could hire myself out as a private tutor and set my own hours.  I would have my vocation and a means to support myself, and still have the freedom to be able to do what I  want.  This is madness.  Why am I thinking this way?  And yet,  look at all I have missed---  and I haven't even seen  half of seen of Europe yet.  Dare I be so bold?  Don't I deserve to think of myself for once instead of everybody else?  Don't I have the right to be happy?

Stop It Katherine, You are just being childish and selfish.   Oh Anne,  how can I be so happy and so miserable at the same time? 
 
All right I am going to post this before I lose my nerve;  take a long walk in the twilight; have a glass of wine on the porch and  then go to sleep.  Maybe things will be clearer in the morning light.
 
As always,
 
Katherine.

[Henk]

Sublime, Mme Muppets !
Quelle joie de vivre !

 

[Gilsgirl]

Hehehe I've really enjoyed reading the postcards! Well done everyone! Oh my goodness just what would the Temperence Society have to say about Katherine Brooks drinking wine with her meals.

[Henk]

Every week, when his busy schedule permitted, he would make the walk to the post-office.
He did not want to have these letters posted to his house. Word would spread very fast if somebody would see them.

They had to wait, till she would be back.
Both had agreed to do it like that.
How strange things had worked out, after that dramatic event, when his whole world seemed to become cold, lacking a fresh breeze that always carried Spring in it.
And how he discovered what he did not expect at all.
Neither did she !

But they both found it at the same time, and they knew this was real.
Life had taught them a lesson.
Sometimes, when sitting at home in his comfortable chair, he would look into the fire.
"What if ?". he would think, only for half a second.
Something gave him the confidence.

"It will !", he knew.
______________________________________________

"What if ? "

Yes, Katherine had her moments, when she discovered some facts of life that were not mentioned in any book in the old school.
It puzzled her sometimes, but she would always remember what the gipsy-lady said to her: "It will !"

[muppets123]

Dear Anne,
 
This card will be  rather short as I am awaiting a thunderstorm to pass. I thought you would like to know I have taken the  plunge, in more ways than one.   As you can see from the picture above I did decide to go to one of the ladies only thermal baths.   Tell Rachel to put her eyes back in her head dear girl, the  post card is of the bathing costume on a mannequin and not  me.
 
I will tell you more about the thermal bath experience in my next card as I am still trying to sort it all out. It was quite an experience.   While I am relaxed and rejuvenated in some ways  it has also  been unsettling.    Ironically, it has left me with more questions than answers at the moment.
 
The weather here the last week has been  turbulent.  However,  there is  often new life,  I have learned after the storms, as  long as they don't destroy a crop completely.  Colette has me running out with her after the rains to pick oranges, olives and grapes while they are still cool and wet.   There is something  wonderfully sweet and delicious about them then.   We usually pop a few in our mouths on the way back to the house.  Sometimes I feel guilty that they survived the storm, only to end up on the dinner plate or in my mouth before we even make it back to the house.  David and I have taken walks after the storms as well.  The way the sunlight, clouds, water droplets  play against the sky & the plants is magical.   It is perfect colors and canvas for an artist or botanist.  He thinks he would like to paint me in the fields or orchard after a rain.
 Unfortunately, he is not sure if he will have time before he goes back to Paris.  Thus,  he is going to come out tomorrow and do a few preliminary sketches in either pastel or charcoal while we work in the  fields.   We have taken several walks together to discuss it and have even been caught in a  rainstorm or two.

I have two other letters  on the table,  staring me in the face, dearest Anne.  Both are to KLC.   One is merely requesting an extension of my sabbatical for 6 more months.   The other is a letter of  resignation.  I am in a bit of a quandary  trying to decide which letter to send, or if I even have the courage to  post either.   Protocol dictates that I should send the sabbatical request first.  That would be proper.  If they don't accept my proposal, I can always submit my resignation at a later date.... if necessary.
 
Henri & David will be heading back to the university in Paris in 8 days.   David still wants to  give me the Chenonceau and Chambord tour and says if we cannot make it before he must be back in Paris; we can go during the Spring recess.  I am not sure I want to wait til then.  I also am determined to see Italy and Greece before it gets too hot.  So many options  yet if I don't make a move to choose something..... I feel all will be lost.

I must close now Anne as the storms have subsided, revealing the start of a lovely sunset that I don't want to miss.  Take care and all my best to Gil .

Warmest Regards,

Katherine.

[muppets123]

 Later, upon returning to her room.....





Katherine  re-read the letters to the school. Put them back in the envelopes,  and tossed them back on the wicker table. Then she picked up the  letter from " him" again.

"What would he think of me  now?", she wondered as she read his precious words again. " Would he be proud of of the strides I am making?  Or would he think I have gotten too far out of control?"

She flipped through a  magazine  next to the  settee . " I would  never wear that" she  laughed as she  took a sip of her glass of wine.  And what would " he" think of David?



Then she got up and headed off to draw herself a bath....

 "I will think about it  tomorrow.... maybe",   she  sighed as she poured the lavender scented bath salts under the tub's running water; arranged her towels;  and adjusted the lighting in the bathroom to a soft glow that reminded her of the fading sunset.

[Henk]

"Dear Katherine,

 How glad I am to see, that you are having such a good time in France.
Gilbert asked me why I was giggling in myself, while I was reading your letter.
I mentioned that you wrote  about a certain David.
Ofcourse I have no other thoughts about that, my imagination would run away with me, if I did.
Gilbert looked at me, with that look on his face, that makes me laugh out loud, when he does that too long.
Saying something by not saying anything.

Miss Cornelia was coming in unexpected, and perked her ears: "Who is David ?" , she asked.
Gilbert saved me, by saying " David is the litte boy from a family in Cavendish. He has recovered after a flu, no more fever" .
I am glad Una came in at that moment !

The voyage to London was so nice !
Yes, like you said, the Cockney accent is not easy to understand for us.
What a busy city it is, I thought Kingsport was big, but this beats all.
I was glad to be back, but we probably have to travel again soon.
Maybe we can meet each other on that occcasion.

Gilbert has learned so many new things in London.
He is taking part in a research at the moment, by doing experiments.

Nan and Diana are very willing to help, but poor little Walter says he gets a bit seasick hanging there.
I have absolutely no idea what the experiment means.
Bye for now !
Your's, Anne"

ps: Please say Hi to David, will you ?

ps:I don't mean anything with that !

ps: I could not resist !

[Fire Djinn]

These are great! Some are hilarious. It's nice to see Katherine's attempting to find out who she is and how she fits into the world.

[muppets123]

Bonjour Anne,
 
It is been a long  but very remarkable day.  We were out in the olive groves shortly after sunrise.  I can see why the French like strong coffee.  The grass felt cool and damp; the breeze,  fresh.   David came out and did some preliminary sketches and  while we worked.   Yours truly  climbed ladders and filled two baskets worth of olives.   David and Colette even got me to pose sitting it the crook of a nearly  barren tree,  barefoot, when we took a short break.   Colette,  Claire, Henri and I picked olives. Gabrielle packed up crates of honey jars, oranges,  and  loaves of homemade  herb & olive bread to sell at the market in town.   The wagon and motor car were loaded and we  went to market.  Henri drove the motor car and  Grabrielle and a neighbour, Jacques,  drove the horse wagon.  Dropping  Gabrielle & Colette off with the  goods, Claire and I took in a little shopping.   Brace yourself dear girl.  I bought two bathing costumes!





 Well, if I am going to be in  Italy and Greece when it is warm, I will need proper  swimming attire, won't I?    Also, if I ever come back to PEI, it will be useful to have them there as well.   The tapered, light blue striped one with the shorter legs is well suited for the warmer Mediterranean climate  and offers a bit more freedom of moment.  The dark, fuller, plain one, with the longer legs one will be good for  cooler waters and the more conservative eyes of the old gossips in PEI.   The Pringles and Mrs. Harris would certainly have something to say, I am sure .  Oh,  I so wanted to buy one of the new stylish, sleeveless ones  as seen in this  magazine picture I am enclosing.   The cape makes it chic, yet conservative and the legs are more than  adaquately covered....  but I could  just see what Mrs. Harris would say about the neckline, the cinched waist and the  bare shoulders. Well, maybe next year ( sigh).


 
Next time I will send you a picture of the latest in men's swimwear fashion.  Perhaps you will want to get one for Gil. ( giggle)

 After shopping, we met Gabrielle & Colette at a soda fountain for light lunch and and ice cream soda.  It was  wonderful. All the  pretty  glasses and the  variety of  flavors  and ice cream confections.  Such a treat!  This is what the store looked like... but we sat at a table and not the counter.





 Anne---I posted the request for the sabbatical extension today while we were in town.    I have to start taking charge of my own destiny and happiness.  I am not ready to come back to PEI yet.  There is too much life to experience.   Do you realize this is the first trip I have taken outside of Canada?  Worse yet,  all  I have seen of  Canada  is PEI and Halifax. There is so much in our own  fair country to see as well as  the United States.  Oh I know some people speak poorly of the Americans, but there is so much to see and experience there as well.They are not all bad.   Being in Eupope has really opened my eyes to all that is possible in the world.  While I  still emphasize the importance of reading,  I  am finding out very quickly that you can't learn everything about history and civilization from books. 

 The Sunday before Henri and David take the train back to Paris,  Gabrielle and Claire are going to host a large outdoor picnic and ice cream social at the farm.   I am very happy to be a part of it.  All the neighbours from surrounding farms and village  have been invited and  there is going to be some sort of entertainment.  They say there is a good chance of rain in the morning tomorrow so I will  stay indoors and help  Gabrielle and Claire plan for the picnic.  David said if the rain ends early enough  I can start sitting for him in the afternoon.  I am very excited, but I confess, a little nervous.  I never thought I had much to offer the world in terms of beauty or soul,  or anything one finds important.  I am learning now, through others( you included of course), how misguided I was.

We had  a marvelous  dinner  tonight of  ratatouille,  poached  fish,  salad, cheese  and lavender flavoured  ice cream.  It was heavenly.  I must ask if I can copy  some of the recipes to take with me.  Well Anne, It has been a long day. I am going to relax in a hot bath and make a list of all the questions I have for Gabrielle and Claire about Provencal cooking.
 
A Bientot,
Katherine


--  Katherine addressed the envelope,  went to draw her bath and smiled to herself as she thought of the  two completely  different men interested in her.  Both intelligent and caring, with  charming smiles and  eyes that held  the joie de vivre but also secrets.  One completely at home in the business world and one, an educator and  completely at home in the world of nature.  As she drifted off to sleep on  lavender scented pillows, she smiled to think that two such men wanted to be a part of her life, and wanted her to be part of their lives.....and wondered  happily what the future would bring--

[Henk]

Katherine could not believe her eyes, when she finally had opened them.
Where was she ?
She sat upright in her bed at once: At home ?
A room that had banished all colors except some dull brown shades.
Had it all been a dream ?

No, it was not her old room. There was not any painting in her old room, the bed she was laying in was very soft.
And when she opened the curtains to let the daylight come in, she knew she was not at home.
But where was she ?
She saw one of her small trunks standing in a corner. In a hotel ?
She heard people walking at the other side of the door. Laughing, giggling. The delicious smell of fresh bread entered her nose.

Footsteps approached, and stopped at her door.
After a few knocks,  she heard the  very familiar voice of David: "Darling, are you awake ?"
How sweet that sounded, the word "Darling", nobody had ever called her like that.

"Yes, I am !", she replied.
"Breakfast will be served when you are ready", said David.

She wanted to hurry to rush down, but she did not. She took care of preparing herself. Nothing had to be rushed now, it was all good.
Too good ?
She heard another voice talking sweet to her. Between her and the one who spoke was an ocean.
But the voice was very real to her.

She looked at herself in the mirror.
Next to the mirror she saw a small painting.
It was a ballerina, with male dancers around her.
"Is that me? ", she wondered ?
"Am I the flower that blossoms only once, or will it continue ?
I did not look for anything, but things seem to happen by themselves now. I cannot help it .
Oh, if only Anne was here, who I could explain ..."

She could not find any mistake in her appearance, and went downstairs.

Gabrielle and Claire were sitting at a table, David was already walking towards her.

"Oh please, forgive us ! We should have know that you are not used to the wine like we are !"
Katherine's memory came back. They were at a New Year's Eve party, and it was cosy.
Very cosy.
She remember chatting with Claire, and the popping sound of Champagne -bottles being opened.
While she had had a few glasses of a delicious, mildly spirited drink.
She remembered how she had toasted with the Champagne, and how the sparkling liquid went straight to her head. The rest was very vague.

"We had put you in my new automobile", David said," to drive home . But that would have taken too long. Gabrielle knew a good hotel nearby, and that is where you are now. They have put you in bed "

"That is what I assumed", Katherine thought. Some other thoughts came up in her mind, only for few moments.

" The landlady has prepared a good breakfast for us"
Gabrielle and Clair were joining them.
"And we are going to enjoy that, but first I wish you all

Happy New Year ! "

After kissing each other they sat down at the table to start the petit dejeuner.

"Bon Appetite !", David said.

Katherie smiled in herself. She knew that some European countries had strange habits, like kissing each other on many occasions. And she remembered how it disgusted her.
But the warmth she had first felt at Green Gables was as real, with or without kisses.
She loved Avonlea, and she loved France. It was hard to separate from Avonlea, and in France she was now.
Would she ever reach the Taj Mahal ?"

[Gilsgirl]

Eek you would probably sink like a tonne of bricks if you wore one of those swim suits, I wonder however they managed to swim in them?

Katherine is so scandalous, stringing no less than two men along...whatever would Mrs Lynde say?

[Charlaya]

As far as I know most "sea baths" then had only a rather small, fenced and not deep portion of water that the women could go in and then they were bathing more then swimming, I guess...

This is a great topic! It's like a round-robin fanfiction with pictures. Thank you all for doing this!

[Henk]

Katherine needed some rest. So many impressions, after she left Prince Edward Island.
To get away from it had always been her dream.
While Anne was always dreaming of coming back.

She was away now, a pary of her dream had come true.
But what was the other part ?
She had not reached the Taj Mahal yet. She was not in a hurrry, it was the jouney that mattered as well as actualy getting there.

Dealing with the Pringles and other families had learned her to move in all kinds of circles, without getting involved in it. In the evening always back to her dull, dark but familiar room.
A straight line, drawn from her own schooldays.

Anne had broken that routine, and had showed her the ways to go after a dream.
Anne always knew what she was dreaming.
Katherine had stopped dreaming too long ,to remember what it was.

She sat back in the comfortable chair. She would go downstairs soon, to join the party.
A little rest was all she needed.
The thinking did not stop, even when she closed her eyes.

There had been other times, when she played those warm and funny games with Little Johnny, the boy next door.
He was full of fantasy, and when playing with him , there was always the same ending, before they were called inside.

[Bets]

I like the little girl in the photo - she looks very Katherine-esque.

[Henk]

Katherine  opened her eyes in a shock, and the dream was gone at once.
Where was she now ?
The dreadfull years that followed her young years, the cold reality that came into her life.
Learning to handle emotions actualy meant shutting them all out .

And now, when at last she had let the world into her life, she was overwhelmed by it.
There was too much coming to her, that she was not used to deal with.

"I made a promise, a vow in Canada. I cannot play with that. If I do I will lose everything again, and will be thrown back into the old ways. I am on a queste, and not ready yet. Decisions have to be made "

She looked at her bed. How many more nights would she sleep there ?

[muppets123]

 There had been an afternoon rainstorm when she came up to rest and collect her thoughts.  Katherine got off the bed, walked over to the window and looked out upon the late afternoon. She stared out the window at a beautiful rainbow that shone upon a wet field and the farm.


 
 
This journey was part  of her rainbow, she thought.   She couldn't  give it up and go back to PEI now.  She watched as the pale light washed  the  storehouse stones in a warm golden glow.   The sky was still dark in places as the sun slowly pushed though.  Katherine thought of all her dreams about rainbows as a child and wondered if it was too silly or too late to be following them now.   They had been squashed out early in her young life.  Replaced by ridicule, self doubt and lonliness.  Tears started to roll  down her cheeks as anger, sadness and determination took hold.  She also thought of the recent  stories that David had told her during  their "painting sessions", as she called them.  She couldn't bring herself to say that she was posing for him, or that she was  his model.  That sounded either too scandalous or  too pretentious.  In some ways she was still plain, sensible,  scared  Katherine.  But in other ways she was  transformed into a graceful seabird, ready to  soar the warm air currents and ride the waves of the Mediterranean and beyond.  She continued to stare out at the rainbow and the wet, fresh fields.
 
The was a light knock at the door . " Mademoiselle Katherine.... Are you not coming down to help make zee lavender ice  cream?",  Colette asked  joyfully  through the closed door. " Grandmere Gabrielle makes zee best and we will teach you how to make eet."
 
Katherine turned her head from the window; went to the mirror; checked her hair and brushed a tear away from her cheek.   She picked up the catalogue picture of the man in the bathing costume that she was going to send Anne.   She had so much to tell her.... but was unsure of  how much to say or how to say it.  She was afraid that if she talked about it too much, the dream would  evaporate into thin air, like the fading rainbow.   She set the  picture down quickly.  "This  can wait a little longer",  she  told herself.  "Right now I am going to learn something new and have fun."  She  put a smile on her face.
 
"I'll  be right down.   Please don't start without me."  she called.  She straightened her dress and walked across the room, opened the door and  went downstairs determined and cheerful.


 
 

 


 

[Henk]

( this one is inspired by recent tattoo-posts. The tattoo in the picture is made by an online tattoo -generator)

Exerpt from a letter from Katherine to Anne.
"Dear Anne we went to Marseille yesterday. We were are at the harbor, where many ships arrive from Africa.
What a variety of people I saw there. And how many man carry tattoos !"

katherine dreamed that night, of having a tattoo of her most beloved friend...

[muppets123]

Dear Anne,

As promised, here is a picture of some of the current trends in men's  bathing costumes .


I think the solid coloured  one would look quite handsome on  Gil.

However, could you see ther heads and eyes of all the Pringles if you, Gil and I were to show up at the KLC summer picnic sporting these swimming  togs?



I dare say half the Pringle clan would either die of a heart attack or choke on  their watermelon.   Well, that may be one way to get rid of the suffocating, pretentious lot.   However, I wish no ill will on KLC and I know they need the Pringle's money.   The question of the century is do I need the Pringles? 

I must go dear as I am having a cooking lesson on ratatouille.  It has become one of my favorite dishes, along with lavender and rose ice cream.

All My Best,
Katherine

[Henk]

"Dear Anne,

I don't miss my old room for a minute, and I am not homesick . The weather is what they call "un peu froid".
Honestly, I think the French are a bit spoiled.  I imagine you now looking through the window, making a poem about the snow. Your children playing in it. Gilbert  heating up at the furnace,  throwing some more wood in the fire . I even start missing the snow.
People tell me, that Spring arrives here a bit earlier, maybe in only four weeks we can have some nice days.
I am looking forward to that !

I realize I have taken a lot of warm, solid clothes with me, but I am not prepared for Spring.
Neither am I ready to continue with my journey to India, yet.
There is so much, what you would call "scoop for imagination" !
In more than one way !
Please forgive me for not telling all about that, I will tell you all when we will meet again.
There is nothing happening yet, but I feel it will not stay like that.

I am looking forward to your letter, and I hope you are all doing well.
Love you !

Your's

katherine "




( Claude Monet, "Printemps" )