Winipo75

I think Perley Day did appear in the series. Wasn't there something about him coming to town to visit Almanzo and Eliza Jane, and Pa was hoping Laura would become interested in the younger brother and forget her lust for Manly? I'm going purely on memory here. I haven't watched the show in awhile. I really need to dig out those DVDs!

When Bjorn promised to always take care of Torvi and his children, I felt like screaming, "Yeah, you did a great job of that with Little Siggy, didn't you?" I'm still mad at him for the way he discarded his daughter. For all his faults, Ragnar never turned his back on any of his kids. Even when his feelings for Aslaug took a nosedive, he was still a good father to their boys.

Laura with her hair in a Ma-bun always creeps me right the hell out! At least she didn't try to offer Pa any popcorn, because I think I would have died on the spot.

That's exactly what I was wondering! It's not like anyone in Kattegatt knew exactly where he was going (or how to get there). I actually did a double take when I realized his ships were approaching Kattegatt. Did Lagerthe send him a telepathic message? Or a text? I'm also starting to worry that Bjorn might develop a complex about going on Mediterranean adventures. I mean, the first trip was interrupted by Ragnar's death and he had to rush back to Kattegatt. This time, Lagerthe is in trouble, and he has to rush back to Kattegatt. Maybe he should just stay in Kattegatt. (I jest. I'm looking forward to more of his crazy adventures.)

Give it a few more seasons, and instead of finding homes for orphans, Pa will just start taking them in himself.

My turn! "Love Yourself" -- Justin Bieber Real lyrics: Was I a fool to let you break down my walls? What I heard (and still sing) Was I a fool to let you break down my balls? Hey, it still makes sense! "I'm a Believer" - The Monkees Real lyrics: When I needed sunshine, I got rain. What I heard (and what a childhood friend and I sang for years and years): When I needed sunshine at my brain. "When I Grow Up" - Pussycat Dolls Real lyrics: When I grow up I wanna see the world Drive nice cars I wanna have groupies. What I heard: When I grow up I wanna see the world Drive nice cars I wanna have boobies. Well, what little girl wouldn't want those when she grew up?

Agreed, the grasshoppers are disgusting and creepy! Laura paints such a vivid picture, that you can practically feel them crawling on our own skin. Ew! The description o the bare, dead prairie is depressing, too. The stifling head just made everything that much worse. No wonder the kids danced for joy when it finally rained and cooled the air!

Is it just me, or did Mary's prisspot level increase up to 11 in this book? She didn't bother me in the previous books, but I'm starting to find her annoying. It's odd, she didn't bother me when I read them as a child. I guess that's probably because I was the one that would say, "No, we can't do that! We're not allowed! I'll tell!" I guess I've loosened up in my old age, because now I find it irritating. Also, when I read the chapter "Wonderful House" as a child, I was in awe. It truly did seem wonderful, and it was an enjoyable chapter to read. Now all I can think is, "Yeah, now you've got this beautiful house that you haven't paid for, and when your wheat crop fails, you'll end up buried in debt!" Charles really should have waited until he had the money before he built a house. I mean, they were getting along alright in the soddy. They could have stuck it out awhile longer. "I want to play Uncle John!" "Ring around a rosy!" "Uncle John!"

This is my favourite LH book, despite Pa's general stupidity and Ma giving away Laura's doll. That chapter still rankles to this day! She did try to make it better later by fixing Charlotte, but she shouldn't have given away one of Laura's few possessions to begin with. The kid had so little to call her own! Let her keep the damn rag doll! Upon re-reading, I was struck by a poor disciplinary decision Pa made. When Laura goes into the deep water after she's told not to, he dunks her. Problem is, she likes getting dunked, so she does it again and again! Um, dude, if you really want to keep her from drowning in the deep water, don't you think trying a different form of discipline might have been called for since she ENJOYED the method you were using? Tell her she has to stay with Ma and Carrie on the bank. That would be more incentive to keep her away from the deep water! I also enjoy Laura sticking to the letter of the law when her parents tell her not to do something. "Don't you girls slide down that stack of straw." O.K. Sure. We won't slide down it. We'll ROLL down it instead! I have to admit, that gave me a good laugh (and Pa, too, apparently, though he had the good sense to try to hide it). Wasn't Jack sold with Pet and Patty in real life? I'm finding that I can't forget that upon reading through this time. Every time Laura brings up Jack, I can't help but think, "But he wasn't really there, because Pa gave him away with the horses!" Apparently you need a good guard dog in Kansas, but not in Minnesota.

Hm, that's a very good point. I overlooked the part about the cakes being wrapped in paper. I'd still like to believe that Ma made them, just as I'd like to believe that Ma and Pa had the foresight to plan for Christmas! However, re-reading the scenes and taking part in this discussion, I have my doubts. Oh, the disillusionment! It makes one wonder if Ma was just going to sprinkle white sugar in their stockings. "Merry Christmas, girls! White sugar!" Double, triple thank God for Mr. Edwards!

Ah, yes, I think Pa and Rupert were separated at birth. I'm far from an outdoors-y type, but many things he chose to do on Survivor and many decisions Pa made in the books, I think "What? That can't be a good idea." Some of the descriptions of how they did things appealed more to me than others. Things involving food and animals certainly rank much higher than building a door. Making the maple syrup candy is a big one. I also enjoy some of the descriptions of planting and harvesting crops at that time. My father lived on a farm as a kid, and it's fun to ask him how they milked cows/harvested wheat and compare that to the LH methods. Considering that they were expecting nothing, I think Mary and Laura would have been thrilled with just the cakes. It's sad that they expected so little, something so small would have exceeded their expectations. Of course, thanks to Mr. Edwards, they got a windfall! A cup AND a cake AND candy AND a penny! I believe there is a line where the narrator comments that it was almost too much! Seriously, this turned out to be a great Christmas for them! (Too bad they couldn't have kept their own personal Santa Claus, Mr. Edwards, with them after they left Kansas). Billina, that scene you wrote is one of the funniest things I've read in awhile. I also agree that's EXACTLY how it would have played out! I can just see Carrie gumming her cake, while Laura silently seethes. I also can't stop picturing them "oohing and aahing" over loose white sugar in their stockings! Laura would have been licking it up, but I'm sure Mary would have to put her precious sugar under glass or something so that she could continue to appreciate it forever.

Now that I know Carrie was born in Kansas, I suspect that having her own tin cup was completely made up. She didn't have her own cup because she wasn't even born yet! Why Laura would specify that Carrie had her own cup while she had to share with Mary, I'm not sure. My roommate had another take on the situation. She asked me: "Who would you rather share a cup with? The sister near your own age, or a slobbery baby?" She has a point. I think this is an option. I came up with another theory the other day. Perhaps Pa got the gifts when he went to Independence (since he knew he wouldn't be going back before Christmas) and decided to hide the gifts at Mr. Edwards house so the girls wouldn't find them in the little house. Since Mr. Edwards was supposed to come for Christmas dinner, they could pop the gifts in the stockings and all would be well. Of course, then the creek went crazy. At any rate, I think Mr. Edwards is to be admired regardless of whether he delivered gifts that were being stored at his house, picked up the gifts in town and delivered them, or took the initiative to get gifts for two poor little girls because their own parents didn't have the foresight to plan for Christmas! I also thought it was sweet that Ma was determined to give them something for Christmas, even if it was a just a couple of little cakes. White sugar was seen as precious, and usually reserved for company, so the fact that she used it for the cakes shows that she was determined to make that Christmas special.

I find that I'm not enjoying this book as much as I did when I was younger. I never really enjoyed the descriptions of building a roof and doors, etc. (I call those "watching the paint dry" chapters). But now I'm finding other things that bother me and mar my enjoyment. I was bothered that Baby Carrie wasn't mentioned during the malaria episode. Couldn't she have briefly mentioned that she was at a neighbour's house, or something? I also had trouble with Ma falling for the "watermelons did it!" hypothesis. Clearly, they had NOT eaten any watermelons before they all got sick. So, if watermelons caused it, how did they get sick in the first place? I can understand believing old wives' tales, but they had direct evidence from their own experience that contradicted it. One thing I am enjoying are the little lovey-dovey scenes between Ma and Pa. I didn't remember them from before. When they are moving things into the house, he hugs her "quilts and all." Later, when he is working on the roof, she runs her fingers through his hair to make it stand up on end. Little touches like that make me believe that she really did love Pa, despite his faults.

That is so cool! I love the covered wagon idea! Sometimes we used a broom for a horse, but the rest we imagined. In our version, Pa and Ma always died in a tragic wagon accident, leaving the girls on their own. My youngest cousin was Carrie, and since I was the oldest, I was Mary. (I was also a bit prissy like Mary, too, so the role fit). I was actually a bit upset when I read about the County Fair. Royal was off with his friends, Father and Almanzo were looking at horses and other livestock, but the girls were stuck in the big kitchen with their mother making an enormous meal for everyone. County Fair time! Fun for all! (Well, unless you were a woman and had to feed everybody!)

How did he stuff all that food into him at one sitting? I know there was more manual labour back then, and he was a growing boy, but still, the size of the meals was enormous! There were often multiple dishes, and then Almanzo would have three or four pieces of pie! Then after supper in the winter, they had popcorn and apples! Did they really need an evening snack after eating a 12-course meal? I'm sorry, but the contrast with the Ingalls is making me sad. Even in the Big Woods, when times were good, they never ate like that! I enjoyed the part where Almanzo and Alice snuck into the parlour and slid off the furniture. It reminded me of sliding down a mattress against the wall in my Grandmother's house with my cousins. We also used to play Little House together.