Chapter-by-Chapter: Twilight, Chapter 19

I ran out of time to get this posted last week so to save myself from rushing, because I'm lazy and this is my blog so I can kind of do what I want, I decided not to worry, shared a random knitting-related post and held off posting this until this week.

It does mean there's been a bit of a gap since the last Twilight post, suffice to say it was a relatively short chapter with a plan being formulated to evacuate Bella from Forks with some help of the Cullens (some were more helpful than others). If you remember, the local tracker has taken a fancy to our favourite whiny, clumsy teenager. I'm sure he'd soon come to regret that.

So now we're finally on to Chapter 19 of Twilight: Goodbyes.

What Happens?

The plan is put into action with Bella packing, faking a break up and yelling at her dad to let her go. Bella, Edward and the others reconvene at the Cullen's house. The tracker is determined to get Bella so they divide up; a couple of them are accompanying Bella while the others are off to kill the tracker.

Thoughts as I read:

This chapter is called 'Goodbyes' so I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that Bella will say goodbye in this chapter. Probably to Edward and Charlie. Maybe to someone else.
Charlie's been waiting for Bella but before they get out of the car Edward has to mentally check that the tracker's not anywhere close by. Luckily for them, he's not.

I felt moisture filling up my eyes as I looked at Emmett. I barely knew him, and yet, somehow, not knowing when I would see him again after tonight anguishing. I knew this was just a faint taste of the goodbyes I would have to survive in the next hour, and the thought made the tears begin to spill.

This means Bella is sad.

They've got fifteen minutes for Alice and Emmett to help get Bella out of there. Of course, first Bella has to waste some time telling Edward how much she loves him. Jeez Bella, get a move on, you're on the clock here! It turns out she's doing this because it's a ruse to make Charlie believe that the reason she's leaving is because she's having a raging argument with Edward. She does it wonderfully loudly so Charlie can't help but overhear.

Bella then storms into the house, starts packing her things and yelling that she's leaving. I guess this kind of works although I still can't imagine Charlie is going to let his daughter just drive off into the night in that state. Of course, Charlie immediately suspects that Edward did something to her. Bella's quick to disabuse him of that notion and announces that she has broken up with him.

Meanwhile, Edward's zoomed up the stairs to help her pack before zooming back out via the window to wait for her downstairs. That's definitely a handy skill to have in a pinch.

Right about now, Bella realises that I was right. Charlie might be a somewhat unconventional parent but he's not a terrible father. He's definitely not going to let Bella go like this, so first she has to break his heart:

"I do like him – that's the problem. I can't do this anymore! I can't put down any more roots here! I don't want to end up trapped in this stupid, boring town like Mom! I'm not going to make the same dumb mistake she did. I hate it – I can't stay here another minute!"

Nicely done, Bella.

It's not enough though. Charlie's obviously hurt by what she's said but pleads with her to wait a week. Renee's not having such a good time in Florida and so she and Phil will be heading home soon. Bella can go back to them then. Perhaps Bella would've known this if she ever actually made contact with her mother.

But Bella's not going to take no for an answer. She's got a key to the house in Phoenix. She doesn't need an adult to be waiting for her, so she's off. Having probably totally destroyed any ground she'd gained in her relationship with her father.

With that out the way, she gets in the car, crying. Edward's pleading with her to pull over. That's a bit of a role reversal, isn't it? Except, unlike previous journeys where Bella's been begging Edward to stop the car, Edward somehow manages to pull Bella out of the driver's seat and takes over driving, all without stopping the car. That's impressive.

Alice is following them. As is the tracker. That's a bit of a pain. At least it appears that the tracker has heard what Bella said to Charlie, meaning that it was a definite case of being cruel to be kind; Bella's broken his heart but saved his life.

There's a bit of a scary moment when a dark shape jumps on the truck. It's okay though, it's Emmett.

On the rest of the journey Edward tries to make small talk, attempting to reassure Bella that Charlie will forgive her for what she said. Bella's still worrying about the plan and Edward's blaming himself for putting her in danger. It's actually more than partially Bella's fault. It's just that she smells so good. Then again, Edward didn't exactly help matters by getting all Alpha and defending her. We do get a brief lesson in smelly humans. In short, Bella appeals to Edward but she smells like a nice roast chicken dinner to most other vampires.

It's bad news for the tracker though. Now he's after Bella, Edward's going to have to kill him. Does this mean we'll find out just how vampires die? Edward actually seems pretty sad that having to kill another vampire means he'll disappoint Carlisle.

I can't feel too sad about this though because Bella asks the very question I want to know the answer to:

"How can you kill a vampire?"
He glanced at me with unreadable eyes and his voice was suddenly harsh. "The only way to be sure is to tear him to shreds, and then burn the pieces."

That's… nice.

Unfortunately the woman is very likely to defend the tracker, James (I'm so glad he's finally been mentioned by name because I completely forgot his name). So while Edward's trying to kill James, his companions are likely to be trying to kill him right back. Bella freaks out a little at this.

At the house Bella is hustled inside where the Cullens are waiting with Laurent. He's dismayed to learn that James is after Bella. There's a little revelation here; James is actually Laurent's leader and nothing will stop him once he's got his sights set on something.

Laurent was shaking his head. He glanced at me, perplexed, and back to Carlisle. "Are you sure it's worth it?"

Eh, tough call.

Laurent is tempted to stay with Carlisle but he can't do battle against James. So he's offski. He's just not wanting to get involved, but I suppose it's something that he's not wanting to get involved with the whole trying to kill Edward thing.

Esme's activated the security barriers on the windows. The tracker's still hanging around with Victoria. The teens fill in Carlisle on the plan. They have to help hide the (irresistible) smell of Bella, so Edward tells Rosalie to go trade clothes with Bella. Rosalie refuses:

"Why should I?" she hissed. "What is she to me? Except a menace – a danger you've chosen to inflict on all of us."

I don't really blame her.

Esme does it instead. Why do they have to keep carrying her everywhere? At least swapping clothes will help confuse the Bella-scent and so keep the tracker at bay a little while longer. After this has been done Bella's 'half-carried' downstairs.

And despite Rosalie's hatred of Bella, she's taking the truck with Esme, so at least she's still happy to help. Alice and Jasper are taking Bella in some sports car (fast getaway), while Carlisle and Edward are in the Jeep. They're off hunting.

There's a brief moment with Bella and Edward and then they all separate. We get to see a sweet little moment when Jasper knows what she's feeling, apparently that's a sense of not being worth all this trouble. And then Alice shows up to carry Bella to the car.

They're all off.

This has been a short but fairly busy chapter. Bella's plan to get away from Charlie was obviously way more effective than I was expecting. I couldn't imagine Charlie letting her go so I'm expecting him to try following her. I'm curious about what will happen next because I'm not sure three teens can escape in a sports car without arousing suspicion.

Questions raised today:

• Are we really supposed to believe that Charlie is going to just let his daughter drive off after an argument?
• Just how is Edward able to swap seats with Bella without stopping the car?
• Why does Bella smell so good to vampires?
• Will we find out how vampires die soon? Yup.
• Why do they all keep carrying Bella everywhere?

Knit-tivity Progress

I know, I've fallen behind on my Finish This Book and Wreck This Journal so I'm kind of using my Thursday posts for sharing my progress on my Christmas Crib. Part of the reason why I'm getting through this so quickly is that I've been neglecting my books in favour of playing with a couple of sticks at some string.

My third Wise Man is coming together really well. At the moment I'm finishing up the decoration on his robe before moving on to the other essential bits, like arms. I like it when I reach this stage because all the big bits are done, everything that follows is a little more fiddly but it knits up fast and the character of the figure really comes out.

That's how he looked at the weekend, before I finished the robe. I didn't quite follow the instructions which tell you to work for 30-something rows or until it's 1cm shorter than your figure. I just knit the suggested number of rows on each Wise Man so their robes are a little longer than they should be. I think it just makes them look more regal.

I've also really cracked Mattress Stitch now:

It's a little wonky at the top and bottom of this picture but I love that you can barely see the seam. It's like magic!

Hopefully by this time next week Melchior will be well and truly finished and I'll be onto my shepherds and their flock.

Wordless Wednesday: Tiny

Book 61 of 2014: A Christmas Faggot by Alfred Gurney

As you probably saw yesterday, I'm preparing for Christmas a little bit early. I've not gone as far as reading Christmas books yet (give me a little more time) but I have officially started Christmas shopping now! So it's kind of fitting that today's book review is the charmingly titled A Christmas Faggot by Alfred Gurney.

It's a very short (roughly 69 pages in my free ebook edition) of poems with a decidedly Christmas feel. They tend to focus on the religious aspect of the season, particularly dealing with the Nativity story; this was unsurprising given the time it would've been written.

I read this in less than an hour, the day before Mr Click's birthday, last thing at night. It's very festive-flavoured and it's a fairly easy read if you just need a little poetic Christmas boost.

Some of the poems include a mention of where they were written and I noticed that a couple of them were written in Ballachulish. That's a teeny village in the Scottish Highlands where I did a teaching placement. The school is lovely and I have many happy memories of that place so it was nice, if unexpected, to see it get a mention.

The poems had some nice rhyme schemes and metre. I find that I pay more attention to that sort of thing since I studied it with the OU. It's useful because before I used to find poems that I didn't particularly like but couldn't put my finger on exactly why; now I can recognise that I'm particularly drawn to certain metres.

I also feel like I should maybe explain the title as it's explained in the book. A faggot is a bundle of sticks which are used for heating and this is a bundle of heartwarming poems. It's not a title that has aged well, but it's charming in its eccentricities.

Getting Ready for Christmas?

So we've just started August and I'm already thinking about Christmas. This is probably a little bit crazy, but that's only five paydays until the big day (and the last one doesn't really count because it's right before Christmas so you've not got time to get anything).

I used to pride myself on the fact that I would get most of my big Christmas shopping out of the way in October, then I could enjoy December's Christmas shopping time by just picking up odd bits and pieces without the stress and hassle of the season. I think that's one of the reasons why I really enjoy the run up to Christmas; it's kind of entertaining watching everyone else get so wound up when I don't feel the need to myself.

Of course, Mr Click had to go one better than me and started getting Christmas presents for me last month. I mean, there's being organised and then there's being ridiculous, right? Then again, I think I started it when I cast on for my Nativity figures.

Remember when you were little and used to write a letter to Father Christmas?

I was a very helpful child. I used to pore over the Argos catalogue, carefully listing line description, item number, product code, page and price of the things I really wanted (read: anything that caught my attention).

Nowadays, Mr Click and I keep a somewhat regularly updated wish list on Amazon. I'll admit, he's been better at keeping his up to date than I have with mine, mainly because I nag him about it and then never get around to doing it myself when I'm online.

On the one hand, some might think this will take a bit of the fun out of Christmas shopping. Half the fun of buying Christmas presents is thinking of things that a person will like. Just because I buy a few things off of Mr Click's list doesn't mean I don't come up with a few little gifts myself. But it's also good to get things you know that person will like. There's nothing worse than looking at a gift under the tree and hoping it's that box set/top/piece of jewellery/whatever and then unwrapping it on Christmas Day and finding it's something you're never going to use.

I'm also using the Amazon Wish List feature to keep track of things I want to buy but haven't yet. I recently discovered you can make private wishlists so I'm happily pinching stuff from Mr Click's list and sticking it in a private one that he can't see. There are some things there which are dead cheap, which I'm planning on using to make up orders for free delivery when I'm ordering things for myself; there are things which are really expensive, which I'm watching in the hopes they'll come down in price or that when I've got some HMV vouchers I can pick up there; and there are some things which I don't really want to get him, but which he really wants so I just have to summon up the motivation to buy them.

I'm having quite a lot of fun getting organised for Christmas.

I just need to remember to actually buy stuff as well, otherwise I might get carried away and spend the next few months just playing musical wish lists!

We're Going to the Zoo

Isn't it typical? You don't go to the zoo for six years and then you go twice in less than a year!

Yup. No proper blog post this week because I'm off to Edinburgh Zoo today on a trip with work.

I know I've shared this before, but I like this version and it's the perfect fit for today.

I'll tell you all about it next week.

Film Review: The Two Towers, Part 2

Last week's post saw us dipping into the beginning of The Two Towers. It's a middle film so it's pretty much all action from the go, since they figure you've seen the first one already and know who everyone is.

We've already been introduced to the gang in Rohan so now it's time to come face to face with another new character; Treebeard! As well as a reunion with a familiar face, who's had a costume change.

66. So we can assume that Merry and Pippin are inside Fangorn Forest.

67. We get confirmation of this as we flick back to the previous night when Merry and Pippin entered the forest, followed by an Orc.

68. The forest looks quite creepy, but I suppose I'd probably run in there too if there was an Orc after me.

69. It's not looking good for Merry, until the tree Pippin is clinging to suddenly opens its eyes. Wait. What?

70. And then the tree grabs Pippin, stands on the Orc and saves Merry. Unfortunately he thinks they're 'little Orcs'.

71. Hehe, Pippin's 'It's talking Merry, the tree is talking' and 'Don't talk to it Merry, don't encourage it'.

72. Whenever I read the books now, Treebeard's voice is John Rhys Davies's voice. He's got it perfect.

73. Treebeard gets riled quite quickly, considering what a slow race he comes from.

74. And so they come face to face with the White Wizard.

75. And another cliffhanger because we're back to Frodo and Sam now. Just like in the book I can't help but feel a bit annoyed, I want more Merry and Pippin.

76. Gollum's brought Frodo and Sam to the Dead Marshes. This is what bits of the Estate look like after a few days of heavy rain (minus the dead bodies, of course).

77. Poor Gollum's feeling a bit peckish right now. He's found a nice worm though.

78. He does not appreciate Lembas though.

79. Gollum's quite the dramatic little guy, isn't he: 'We must STAAAARRVE!!!'

80. Having Frodo, Gollum and the Ring together is kind of like having a couple and one of their exes on a road trip; Gollum's longing to get back together with the Ring, but Frodo's not going to let that happen.

81. The dead faces in the water is superbly creepy.

82. It's cool how Frodo just falls straight in, like a log going down.

83. The dead things under the water are even creepier when viewed in the water, rather than just above it.

84. And that's why pitying Gollum is a good thing, because he might just save your life. Once or twice.

85. Frodo, stop stroking the Ring.

86. I like Gollum's little rhymes. I've got one of the talking Gollum figurines and he says his little rhymes too. I used to press the button over and over to get him to say them.

87. Frodo's just reminded Gollum that he used to be Sméagol. It's almost a nice moment, until they're interrupted by Black Riders flying overhead and Frodo collapses, having a little fit.

88. Gollum seems to know a bit about the Black Riders. Insider knowledge, perhaps?

89. Now it's back to Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, they're in the forest and they're not happy at Gimli waving his axe around.

90. Hehe, Gimli's not sure why the Elves would go to the bother of teaching trees to talk.

91. And now there's a White Wizard approaching. That can only be one person, right?

92. Oh look, it's... Gandalf?

93. I wonder if the glowing thing is something he acquired when he became 'the White' or if he's always been able to do.

94. So he has to fill us in on what he's been up to while he was away. Battling a Balrog in a fight to the death, until he was sent back because his task in Middle-earth has not been fulfilled.

95. I like his little smile as he remembers that he used to be known as Gandalf.

96. The trio don't seem to be too concerned about the Hobbits now they've met Gandalf. He's obviously given them a job.

97. Gandalf is really like a cunning chess player, moving players around the board of Middle-earth to make things happen the way he thinks he should.

98. He's full of reassurances. Merry and Pippin are safer than the rest of them. Well, that's something.

99. And now Gandalf's got an all white look, he needs a matching horse. It looks like a unicorn, sans horn. I clearly know nothing about horses.

100. Off for another ride now. This time to Edoras. More beautiful scenery and stirring music.

101. Back to Merry and Pippin who are being uh... entertained... by Treebeard's poetry.

102. Merry looks thrilled.

103. Few more shots of pretty forests. So, so pretty.

104. He's sent the Hobbits off to sleep, so he puts them to bed quoting Tom Bombadil as he does so. I love these little Easter Eggs for people who have read the books.

105. Gandalf and the others haven't reached Edoras yet. They're camping out and Gandalf is feeling smug about how Sauron must be feeling, knowing Aragorn is alive and what he's capable of.

106. This basically means that Sauron will attack Men, which means they have to recruit Rohan to the cause. That doesn't seem like something to be smug about.

107. Oh, he's smug because Sauron doesn't know they're trying to destroy the Ring. But there are so many things that might go wrong!

108. Gandalf has just now learned that Sam went with Frodo. Does that mean no one's told him about what happened to Boromir yet?

109. Meanwhile Gollum has led Frodo and Sam to the Black Gate. Sméagol's Middle-earth Tours, always gets you to your final destination!

110. I have no idea how practical it is, but I love the way the Gates open. They clearly put a lot of thought into how things work in these films.

111. And then Sam goes over the edge. What was it Gandalf was saying about it being crucial that the Ring remains hidden?

112. Magic Elven Cloak that also doubles as a boulder disguise? Everyone will want one.

113. They don't wait very long for those two people to walk away, do they?

114. Gollum might not be acting for the right reasons, but stopping Frodo from trying to stroll in through the front door is actually a really good thing. They'd probably have made it about ten paces before they got caught.

115. Gollum does have a good point. They asked to be taken to the front gate, and he took them there. Frodo should really have been more specific.

116. I do wonder what way Gandalf would've led them into Mordor if the whole Bridge of Khazad-Dum thing hadn't happened.

117. Sam's feeling a bit jealous that Frodo is trusting Gollum more than him. You need to learn to share, mate.

118. Back to Merry and Pippin. Merry's just woken up and Pippin's having a drink.

119. As if the strange noises coming from the forest aren't bad enough, Merry suddenly notices that Pippin keeps saying things in 'Treeish'. This prompts an argument about who is tallest, since Pippin appears to have grown.

120. The ensuing squabble seems to wake up one of the trees whose roots sort of swallow up the pair of them. That is, until Treebeard comes back and rescues them by channelling his inner Bombadil again.

121. Treebeard gives the duo a little bit of information about Fangorn Forest. This leads to a history lesson about the loss of the Entwives.

122. It really was rather careless of them to lose their entire other gender. I wonder if they've tried looking where they had them last.


Next week we'll continue with the film, when we'll see Gandalf curing Theoden of old age, the evacuation of Rohan, and yet another new character showing up on the scene.