Sunday, July 20, 2014

Lissie & Lilly: Episode 12 - What is Debauchery?

Lissie & Lilly: What is Debauchery? (Photostory)


Lissie: Cecile! I’ve been looking for you! What are you doing? Let’s go do something terribly exciting and moderately dramatic!
Cecile: Bonjour Lissie, I’ve been reading all day. This book is just so interesting I couldn’t put it down.
Lissie: Really? What is it about? Is it more interesting than uncovering the mysteries of why water is wet and fire is hot?


Cecile: Hahaha, non Lissie, it is about a girl who has the same name as me, Cecile, see? She lives in New Orleans and I am reading about the Mardi Gras celebration.
Lissie: Mardi Gras? Is it delicious?
Cecile: Ah, it seems like it is more like a day filled with debauchery.
Lissie: Debauchery? What’s that? It sounds even more delicious!
Cecile: I think it means une grande fête, a giant party, where –


Lissie: PARTY! That’s a fantastic, super wonderful idea Cecile! Let’s have a Mardi Gras Party with lots of debauchery! I’ll go tell everyone! Meet me in the parlor!
Cecile: Wait Lissie! But we do not know what a Mardi Gras party is! Lissie!


MG: Can we begin from here again? It still sounds strange.
Lydia: I agree, perhaps if we slow down, we can hear where the cello and your voice are not harmonizing. Ready? Here I go –


Lissie: Lydia! Marie-Grace! Hurry, party in the parlor!
MG: Party? Why are we having a party Lissie?
Lissie: Because we’re going to celebrate Mardi Gras and debauchery! Hurry, no time to waste! Do you know where Samantha and Lilly are?
Lydia: I do believe they are going to the park but –
Lissie: Thanks Lydia! I’ll see you all soon!
MG: Mardi Gras? But that was several months ago? My Maman always said it was very improper pour les mademoiselles.
Lydia: Well, knowing Lissie, I shouldn't be surprised if she thinks it means something tasty.


Sam: Good job Sawako Lilly! Look how far we have come.
Lilly: Thank you! I still feel unsteady though. If I let go of you I think I will fall.
Sam: You will be fine. All you need is some more practice! Until then you can hold on to my shoulder.
Lilly: And when we get to the park, I can help you practice your tennis swings!


Lissie: GOT YOU!
Lilly: Ahhhh! *oomph!* Lissie! You startled me! And I was doing so well too.


Lissie: Oops, sorry Lilly! I’ll give you a hand. There we go! Now you and Samantha must hurry and come back! We’re going to have a party!
Sam: What are we celebrating?
Lissie: Debauchery! No, Mardi Gras! No Mardi Gras AND Debauchery! Either way just come back and be prepared for excitement galore.
Lilly: Lissie, you do know debauchery isn’t a good thing right?
Lissie: Oh don’t be silly, it has 4 syllables! Of course it’s a good thing! Now let’s go!


Lilly: Oh Lissie wait! Ahhhh! *OOMPHHH*
Sam: Are you alright?
Lilly: Samantha, I didn’t know you had a twin…
Sam: Sawako Lilly! Hang on!


MG: We’re all here Lissie. Now what’s this about a party?
Lissie: Everyone, I hope you’re prepared, because today we are going to celebrate fantastically and debauch in all the right ways for Mardi Gras!
Lydia: I don’t believe I have ever heard of such a holiday. What is it about Lissie?
Sam: Yes, what exactly do we do to celebrate Mardi Gras?
Lissie: I have no idea!
Lilly: Oh Lissie…
Lissie: It’s all good though, because our Mardi Gras debauching expert Cecile here can tell us!
Cecile: Eh? Moi? But I only read a little about it Lissie!
Lissie: Just go with your gut Cecile! It’s a party! Nothing can go wrong!


Cecile: Well, from what I remember, everything is purple, gold, and green. The purple is for justice, gold for power, and green for faith. Everyone dresses up in costumes, and there are lots of beads, masks, food, and merrymaking.
Lilly: What is the debauchery part for then?
Cecile: The book wasn’t very clear about that so I’m not certain.


Lissie: Debauchery is debauchery! You guys just leave that to me! Let’s all go get changed. You guys get the food and decorations up, and just prepare to debauch for your life.
Lydia: Really Lissie, I really don’t think you know what the definition of debauchery is.
Lissie: Definitions are for banana peels! Onward soldiers!


Lydia: Everything looks lovely!
Lilly: I agree! I’m getting hungry just looking at the food. I hope everyone hurries up so we can start eating.


Sam: Lydia, Lilly the food looks marvelous!
Lilly: Samantha, your costume is so cute! A fairy princess?
Sam: Cecile did say there were many costumes so I thought it would be appropriate.
Lydia: Absolutely appropriate! You look magical.
Sam: I also found this disco ball in the back of the closet when I was searching for the costume. I thought it would add some sparkle to our party.
Lilly: Spoken like a true fairy princess! Let’s clear a space and you can set it on the table.


MG: Aidez moi, s’il vous plait, can some one please help me? This bag is très heavy.
Sam: Let me give you a hand Marie-Grace. What did you bring?
MG: Well, I remember our Big Person saying that she had a bag of beads from her “Night of Repressed Memories and Insane Shenanigans” so I searched until I found them! Lucky for us they are already in the colors we need. What should we do with them?
Sam: Let’s hang them up and decorate the room with them!


MG: Hold it…. There! C’est merveilleux! It’s wonderful!
Sam: These beads are perfect! The mask decoration is just what this room needed.


Cecile: I’m so sorry for taking so long! My costume took a long time to put on.
Lilly: You look amazing Cecile!
Sam: Fantastic! Your costume is astounding!
Lydia: I can certainly see why it took so long to put on, Cecile. I adore it!
MG: Incroyable Cecile! Incroyable!
Cecile: Merci, merci mes amies! I wanted to be La Papillon Reine, The Butterfly Queen. And that’s not all, look who I brought with me!


Cecile: Voila!
Lydia: Dr. Dow! Oh Cecile! You brought Dr. Dow with you!
Sam: You even gave him a costume too! He looks so dashing with his golden locks!
Cecile: I saw him sitting, very lonely on our Big Person’s bed so I brought him with me, but of course he must have a costume! It is for Mardi Gras!


Lilly: Hahaha, that’s wonderful! Now everyone, including Dr. Dow can enjoy the party!
MG: Well, everyone except Lissie. Where is she?
Lydia: I would have expected her to be the first one here. She was so excited for this.


Lissie: Ladies and bear-tlemen! Rest ye concerns, for the Genie of Perpetual Debauchery has arrived!
Cecile: You’ve arrived at last Lissie! But what are you pushing? That looks awfully heavy.
Lissie: I have come to make all your wishes come true. Prepare to be debauched! HI-YAH!


Lydia: Oh my goodness!
Sam: Lissie! How did you? What? Lissie!
Cecile: All hail the genie! Lissie! You are a hero!
Lilly: Why there’s candy here from all over the world! Red bean jelly from Japan, chocolate from England, truffles from Croatia, sweet plum candy from China… Why I don’t even know where half of these things are from! Where in the seven Arabian deserts did you find this Lissie???


Lissie: Hehehehe! Oh, just a little something I pulled out of my lamp. After all, it’s not debauchery unless there’s candy right?


And by magic lamp, Lissie means my secret stash of emergency sweets for the nights before exams. XD I hope everyone enjoyed this episode! I grew up looking forward to the yearly Mardi Gras parades, catching (fighting to the death) for beads, doubloon coins, candies, and other treats thrown from elaborately decorated floats with people dressed in the most topsy turvey costumes. The parades at night were the best, when everything was lit up like a carpet of brilliant fireworks down the streets (though it took me many more years to understand why my parents wouldn't allow me to go to the festivities downtown after the parades, talk about debauchery!).

Although I haven't been to one in several years now, I found my beads while cleaning and thought the L&L co. would have fun celebrating their own day of debauchery. To be honest, I keep using that word simply because I like the way the sounds and flows off my tongue. ^_~ This took a long time to set up and photograph with all the set pieces and costume changes, but it was really fun to make! I am especially happy I was able to pull out some new accessories I recently acquired and put them to good use.

Dr. Dow is a stuffed bear a good friend working on her PhD at John Hopkins gifted me. I named him after a professor I had at college who was always well spoken, eloquent and had the uncanny knack for motivating me to study simply because he believed in me so much I was terrified of letting him down. :D Which is why he simply had to come with me to medical school. ^_^ When my good friends came over one day for a visit, I went to the restroom and returned to see they had dressed him with Caroline's wig (which is currently hanging on my lamp waiting for me to customize). I would have been upset at the danger of messing up her curls, but Dr. Dow looked so comical that I ended up really wanting to recreate that look for a photostory.

As always, thank you for reading L&L and I hope this is little treat from our lamp starts off your week on a fun and happy mood! ^_^