Magnolia

[Rachel-K]

What is their new home on Magnolia like? How is it different? Are they different as a family there?

[vivico1]

Compared to the houses of their parents, I think this house is what the garden Meridia plants is refered to as, "a quiet retreat from all of the hullabaloo". Meridia decorates it up in pretty colors and happy things. And the garden is planted with pretty flowers. There is light in this house, just as there is for them now. This is a house where they can flourish, if they stay together and don't let their families tear at it and bring it down with their attitudes and feelings towards one another. They are starting to thrive here.

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rkubie wrote:
What is their new home on Magnolia like? How is it different? Are they different as a family there?

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[Shapatm]

Magnolia is the home that fits Daniel, Meridia and Noah.  They're more relaxed there and have room to entertain and receive company.  It also has room for the jewelry business to grow.  The family is more relaxed because they know that there will do no one looking over their shoulders, or even if Eva is she'll only be able to complain about it.  She can't take her frustrations out on Daniel and Meridia's pocketbook anymore.  Willow to me was that first crappy apartment or home that you had because its what you could afford until you had enough to get a place that really worked for you.

[dhaupt]

I think their home on Magnolia reflect well the family, it's two story but plain, filled with light and Meridia and Daniel make it their own from the start y filling it with things they want and show pride in it as well. The family is very different there they no longer have to hide the fact that they eat out or that the afford themselves little niceties that Eva would have had a fit knowing when they lived on Willow.

I think they are very different there, more themselves 

[Shadowwolf36]

I think it is like any of us when we finally cut the apron strings and move out on our own. We finally get a space and can make it completely ours. Yes we may have influences of our parents but we can take what we like from those influences and leave what we don't. I think any home would have reflected them perfectly because they are finally out from underneath their parents influences both good and evil. They are finally making it out on their own under their own steam and that will eventually reflect in their personalities.

[CathyB]

Yes, the house on Magnolia Street is a home for the young family. The house is a blank slate to start - they fill it with love, laughter and create their own happiness. They learn to live life - with its ups and downs. It is a chance to grow and make their own decisions.

[Sassy398]

Magnolia is a place where a young family needed...the other homes was filled

with doom and disaster, not to mention under some type of horrible posessions or spells.

[emmagrace]

Their new home on Magnolia is a brighter; happier place. We see them happier here in the beginning. They entertain their friends and seem to be doing really well for themselves. I am sure Eva will make sure their happiness is short lived!! AAAAHHH! I hate her! I hope Mr. Setiawan kills her off soon! (I guess every good story needs a villain).

[booksJT]

The house on Magnolia is a safe haven for the new family. Here Meridia is free to express herself and be more relaxed. Daniel will become more of man to his family. They are free to have indulgences when they want.  Meridia and Daniel are now able to save for the future. As long as they keep Eva at a distance they will thrive and flourish in the future.

[nlsamson]

I stronly dislike Eva, too.  But I have to say, this story would be much different without her.  She helps to show us how strong the other characters are (or aren't).  I love the house on Magnolia, and what Meridia and Daniel make it. 

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emmagrace wrote:
Their new home on Magnolia is a brighter; happier place. We see them happier here in the beginning. They entertain their friends and seem to be doing really well for themselves. I am sure Eva will make sure their happiness is short lived!! AAAAHHH! I hate her! I hope Mr. Setiawan kills her off soon! (I guess every good story needs a villain).

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[libralady]

The home on Magnolia is the only "true" home either Meridia or Daniel ever lived in. The house on Willow Lane did not really belong to them and it was in constant need of repair.  Absent from the Magnolia  house are mists, moving staircases, trick mirrors, the cold, bees and the warring marigolds and roses.  The home on Magnolia was a house that Meridia could decorate as she pleased.  As mentioned in other posts, this house was a reflection of its occupants.  A place where Meridia, Daniel can live mostly in peace.

[Tarri]

The house on Magnolia was a home.  It was a place where the young family could be a family, without being beholden to anyone. 

[emmagrace]

nlsamson wrote:

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I stronly dislike Eva, too.  But I have to say, this story would be much different without her.  She helps to show us how strong the other characters are (or aren't).  I love the house on Magnolia, and what Meridia and Daniel make it. 

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You are right of course! This story would be boring without her!!

[vivico1]

Whoever mentioned that hag of a gossip and pain to her hubby on Little House on the Prairie, I am sorry I forgot your name, but i meant to say, yes I know who you meant and yes Eva reminds me of her but the one on Little House on the Prairie usually got her come uppence by the end of each show. I just thought of that again here because while I agree with you that of course this book would not be the same without Eva, she is an interesting character to read about but I really am soooo tired of her "bees"! Just say what she is saying or thinking or meaning or doing. It is getting watered down by phrases, that while visual have lost their mystique to me and are starting to feel like a bit of a cop out for expressing what is really happening, being felt, in words to touch our hearts, now our eyes.

The story moves along at a good pace and you really want to hear what it is people are feeling but then wham, its bees, or mists or cold, or birds, or flowers. I could say, well, it really made me feel like a "stick" that day, and you could draw your own conclusions, like oh she felt breakable, or she felt stiff and I could say, whatever you get from it, thats what I want you to feel. But actually, it could have just been me using any word because I don't really show how to express it in a way you will feel what I am feeling, or in this case the characters. Its becoming very frustrating because the story is very good other than that! I am so sick of the bees and how more of them represent how much is going on that when they didn't work and she got Noah the bird instead, I thought OH NO, please, not another "symbol" of what she is doing to him! I was so darn glad when that bird came up dead before someone said, well just as the bees are what she whispers in their ears all the time, the bird is like the phrase....."a little bird told me"! If it was Noah who killed it, you go Noah!

This is like a real story, with realism about these families and all their dynamics that when the hard stuff to talk about comes up, it switches to a fantasy story, a children's story where all the bad things they have no words for, are represented by monsters and fairytale creatures and I get ready to give up and then there is another really good section told in more realistic terms, even to the point of often now explaining what the mystical things are! Well, leave them out and you don't have to come back to explain them. Tell us in human terms to start with, in the middle of the episodes what is happening to these people. Ok, my frustration rant for the day lol, but if it wasn't a good book beneath all that, i wouldn't be so frustrated! lol.

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emmagrace wrote:

nlsamson wrote:

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I stronly dislike Eva, too. But I have to say, this story would be much different without her. She helps to show us how strong the other characters are (or aren't). I love the house on Magnolia, and what Meridia and Daniel make it.

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You are right of course! This story would be boring without her!!

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[pen21]

Eva could definitely use a come uppance. The bees are not only an annoyance to the characters in the book, but are annoying me. The bees have lost any mysticism to me. Eva is a very strong character. I think Elias was worried about Eva when he was dying. I think Eva should have a very strong part for the end of the book. This book has involved me with its characters and its story. But I hope the last section pulls the mysticism in to the reality of the strength of the characters that the book has built thus far. I will be expecting a lot out of the last quarter of the book. I think the book did a good job with the fragrances of Ravenna and Eva, because for me a fragrance can evoke strong memories and feelings when it reminds me of an event or person. But some of the other mystic or magic is not done as well at this point of the book.

I have to say I was glad when the bird died. I immediately felt that Noah killed the bird and if Noah did kill the bird, all I can say is good job, good riddance.

pen21

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vivico1 wrote:

Whoever mentioned that hag of a gossip and pain to her hubby on Little House on the Prairie, I am sorry I forgot your name, but i meant to say, yes I know who you meant and yes Eva reminds me of her but the one on Little House on the Prairie usually got her come uppence by the end of each show. I just thought of that again here because while I agree with you that of course this book would not be the same without Eva, she is an interesting character to read about but I really am soooo tired of her "bees"! Just say what she is saying or thinking or meaning or doing. It is getting watered down by phrases, that while visual have lost their mystique to me and are starting to feel like a bit of a cop out for expressing what is really happening, being felt, in words to touch our hearts, now our eyes.

The story moves along at a good pace and you really want to hear what it is people are feeling but then wham, its bees, or mists or cold, or birds, or flowers. I could say, well, it really made me feel like a "stick" that day, and you could draw your own conclusions, like oh she felt breakable, or she felt stiff and I could say, whatever you get from it, thats what I want you to feel. But actually, it could have just been me using any word because I don't really show how to express it in a way you will feel what I am feeling, or in this case the characters. Its becoming very frustrating because the story is very good other than that! I am so sick of the bees and how more of them represent how much is going on that when they didn't work and she got Noah the bird instead, I thought OH NO, please, not another "symbol" of what she is doing to him! I was so darn glad when that bird came up dead before someone said, well just as the bees are what she whispers in their ears all the time, the bird is like the phrase....."a little bird told me"! If it was Noah who killed it, you go Noah!

This is like a real story, with realism about these families and all their dynamics that when the hard stuff to talk about comes up, it switches to a fantasy story, a children's story where all the bad things they have no words for, are represented by monsters and fairytale creatures and I get ready to give up and then there is another really good section told in more realistic terms, even to the point of often now explaining what the mystical things are! Well, leave them out and you don't have to come back to explain them. Tell us in human terms to start with, in the middle of the episodes what is happening to these people. Ok, my frustration rant for the day lol, but if it wasn't a good book beneath all that, i wouldn't be so frustrated! lol.

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emmagrace wrote:

nlsamson wrote:

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I stronly dislike Eva, too. But I have to say, this story would be much different without her. She helps to show us how strong the other characters are (or aren't). I love the house on Magnolia, and what Meridia and Daniel make it.

---

You are right of course! This story would be boring without her!!

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[DSaff]

The Magnolia house had room for the family and business. It was theirs! For the first time in their married life, Meridia and Daniel had to stand on their own and sink or swim. This house was made for them and their business. It doesn't feel cramped at all to me, even when Eva visits. While still trying to put money away, they are able to furnish the house with the things they like and dress in the style they want. This is the house I would have expected for Meridia given the house she was raised in. With the shop attached, they are able to stay connected throughout the day.

[Zeal]

Daniel and Meridia are finally FREE...on their own!!  The Magnolia house has everything they need, yet it is simple.  Meridia can finally make a home for her family and establish a new beginning.  There is room for the business, and it is easier to deal with Eva's visits because Eva has no control here.  Meridia and Daniel must feel relieved and proud to finally have achieved their dream.  They can now concentrate on the future.

[Deltadawn]

I agree - Magnolia is their first true home where they can be themselves and grow and thrive as their own family unit.

[LoBugs]

I like it because it becomes Daniel and Meridia's sanctuary from all the people and situations trying to come between them. It is also their first taste of independance.

[LoBugs]

It is also nice that they are able to seperate the business life as well as the personal.