At times, I feel as if I am stuck in a hole with only Jane Austen and a cup of tea to keep me company. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not complaining. If I have to be in a hole, I’d rather have Jane Austen and a cup of tea than nothing at all.
Life comes at one with its arms full of machetes, battle-axes, and iron maidens, and one really should be quite grateful for the occasional hole to fall into. The hole can be quite nice, really. Lovely brown earthy walls make decorating a cinch, and I have always wanted to paint the ceiling to look like the sky. So there you have it: me, Jane Austen, a cup of tea (caffeinated, of course), and a possible pocketful of chocolate somethings-or-other inside my delightful hole with the blue-and-white sky for a ceiling.
When I’m down in the hole, I am free to let my hopes and dreams wander down paths that are simply unimaginable when above ground. For instance, perhaps a young and unbelievably handsome prince will come by one day and stumble into the hole. (At this point, I would knock back the rest of my tea, hide the chocolate somethings in the convenient dirt, and tuck J.A. in my back pocket for safekeeping.) The young and unbelievably handsome and possibly wealthy prince will most likely say something to the effect of:
“Tally Ho, you simply enchantingly posh princess-wannabe, today happens to be Impossible Wishes Come True Day.”
And he’ll let me stand on his unbelievably handsome head whilst I climb out of the hole only to find myself beneath the silvery walls of the prince’s castle.
Of course, the prince can’t be completely perfect. He will have to have some minor flaw so I will have something to think about while I ramble among the castle gardens and panda-bear-shaped hedgerows to pass the time. He might be stricken with the inability to tie his cleverly tailored shoes, for example. Or perhaps he might have an unreasonable detestation for Wednesday afternoons. Whatever his minor flaw might be, I know I will be able to overcome it because of how much I really love him.
Real love. Pardon me, but I should have said how much I make-believe love him. Someone pulled me out of the hole just now, so please excuse me. I really must get back to battling the mosquitoes.
In Love With Britain 
I thought you should know this is my favorite blog. Not that I’m so very in love with England, but I love the wit, thought, charm, and style of how you write. I’m always excited to see what’s new here.
Also, this article is perhaps one of the best I’ve read. I say “one of,” because I can’t actually remember all of the best of what I’ve read… So to be fair… But either way. I loved this :)
Wow, Rachel! Your comments mean a lot, coming from you. “One of the best” is high enough praise for me ;) This is just a place where I feel at home, so it’s fun for me. Thanks so much for reading, as always!