Flat Richie: Around the World in 309 Days (and counting)

See the market place in old Algiers
Send me photographs and souvenirs
Just remember when a dream appears
You belong to me

It was on an unseasonably warm day in the beginning of October that I found an unexpected visitor at my door, Flat Richie from the Richard Armitage fandom!

oh, I’m Richie, by the way. sorry! all over the shop today.

I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I forgot he was coming. you see, he didn’t give me a set date that he would arrive nor did I press him on the issue, just an invitation of ‘when you come through Indiana, you can stay at my place!’ Richie has been on a once in a lifetime trip around the world, stopping for short stays at fan’s houses, exchanging gifts and then moving on to the next destination. he’s been at it since November!

[I apologize in advance for my less-than-stellar photos. I still can’t work my phone]

I was excited to receive the unexpected visitor but my house was a mess

I’m still waiting for that fairytale scene where the animals clean everything for me

and our plans for the weekend wouldn’t afford any fun trips downtown to see the sights. sorry, Richie, you’re stuck spending time inside my house with me and the cats!

I dug into the box of mystery straight away and got to work unwrapping all the colorful tissue wrapped gifts. so many unique and pretty things to choose from! I made a pile of things I wanted to pick from, taking things out of the pile and putting them back in again. back and forth, back and forth, how was I going to choose?! I gave up and waited for my daughter to get home from school, hoping for her input.

Richie, watching me ‘work’

In the meantime, I opened up the log book and was suddenly transported to far away lands, like any good book will do. I really enjoyed reading all of the entries and turning all of the beautiful handmade pages. I’ll even admit that I read the pages about pine trees that were taken from a real book and used for decorative purposes. it taught me the names of the different pine trees that I have in my back yard, which I didn’t previously know. so not only is the log book fun but it’s educational too! once my daughter arrived home, we spent the evening going through the gifts and matching them up to their entries in the journal. she thought the whole concept was really fun, plus she fell in love with a pair of giraffe earrings and claimed them as her own. my husband was impressed with the fact that Richard himself signed the journal, and so was I! I forgot that he had signed the book until I ran across it and gasped in surprise, then I reverently touched it with my fingers, and then laughed at my own reaction!

the next evening, after I had finally made my choices, I switched out the box because it was looking a little worse for wear (I went a little crazy decorating it with some of my daughter’s decorative tape). then Richie was out the door and on to his next destination. my picks from the Richie booty were a pen and dust cloth set from Australia, a pretty ornament and key chain from France, and a magnet highlighting historic architecture from Germany, along with the funky earrings my daughter loves.

Thank You to all who have taken part in this traveling project, it was a memorable experience! I wish Richie well on his continuing journey. stay safe, Richie! oh, and Thorin wants me to tell you to not be as stubborn as him and just accept help from the GPS…

so he lost his way twice, what of it?

Flat Richie is a fandom endeavor organized by RA Fandom’s Guylty, from the Guylty Pleasure blog. go check out her posts to track Richie’s journey

 

Fly the ocean in a silver plane
See the jungle when it’s wet with rain

Just remember ’til you’re home again
You belong to me

~*~*~*~

 

[song lyrics from You Belong to Me by Dean Martin]

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