Tag / Jane Austen

by clumpaday

Ironing and Jane Austen: The Perfect Marriage

Clump # 249:  Conquer ironing pile in bedroom…again; day seven of National Blog Posting Month.

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I took the photo above by the roadside on a walk today.  I just googled “large bright green tree seed” and it looks like an osage orange.   I wonder where it came from? Also, I wonder why I can’t keep up with our ironing pile, another wrinkled blob.  (Smooth transition.)  The only way I could face it was by turning to one of my favorite “ironing movies,” Pride and Prejudice.

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I sat the pile down in this rocker and got the movie started. The last big clump of ironing I documented here was sped along by another Jane Austen story, the movie Sense and Sensibility, starring Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet. Fun fact: in real life, Kiera Knightley dated the actor who played Mr. Wickham, the villain; also in real life Emma Thompson married the actor who played Mr. Willoughby, who was the bad apple of that movie. Hmm.

I know true “Jane-ites” disapprove of this movie version of Pride and Prejudice.  Not wearing bonnets in public? Shocking!  Mr. Darcy and Eliza kissing? Scandalous! But I absolutely adore it.  I know Colin Firth is the ultimate Mr. Darcy, but this is a movie I can watch in one sitting, or standing at the ironing board, as the case may be.  The music is sweeping, the photography is gorgeous …

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And those trees!

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Where did they find trees this size:

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Much like the size of my ironing job.  Just the napkins alone.

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This summer we started using cloth napkins for almost every meal.  But they do have to be washed, pressed, and put away.

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So many clothes we’ve lost touch with for so long … welcome back!

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And if that wasn’t cheering enough, I had a “I didn’t kill it!” moment with a pansy orchid that was generously given to me this past Spring, and about which I was beginning to worry.  I noticed a brand new flower!

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And a new, wrinkled leaf that I don’t have to smooth out.

by clumpaday

Coming Back to My Senses and a New Challenge

Clump #205:  De-clump ironing pile.  Again.

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Oh dear!  I thought I was back over a month ago.  Turns out, the hazy, lazy days of summer made it irresistible to take a blogging break.  Can I claim busyness and laziness as excuses?   The resulting build-up of clutter in areas I had previously vanquished is now annoying and discouraging, not to mention downright embarrassing.  Oh, and I forgot: I was really going to try to be more accepting of myself.

It occurred to me this morning that I should start another 30-day challenge.  Two of my husband’s sisters will be visiting in September, which is a wonderful thing.  I blithely thought, “I’ll just start the challenge a month before their arrival date.” Then I realized … uhhh … that would be TODAY.  Nothing like a deadline to snap me out of this rudderless-boat-in-the-middle-of-a-bank-of-fog world I’ve been inhabiting.  I’ve had a particularly bad time with calendars ever since my surgery. I’m afraid the surgeon mistakenly took the calendar-awareness part of my brain out by mistake.

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words:

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I had meant to jot down an appointment, and instead this, above, actually happened.  We wouldn’t want to forget that it’s June 11th on June 11th!  (Help me!)

For those very precious longtime readers of the blog, you might remember a certain struggle with a very large clump of ironing in days of yore.  Well … laundry mountain rose once again:

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To get myself moving, I watched a favorite ironing movie while I worked, “Sense and Sensibility,” starring Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet. Nothing like a Jane Austen story to sooth the raging clump devouring our chair, clothing, and peace of mind. Something was wrong with the movie player/television (????) (technophobe alert!), and for some reason I could only get it to play in black and white.  I ended up really enjoying it, though.  The images of Regency England costumes and countryside were elegant in two colors.

“Judy, dearest, how long has it truly been since you put iron to cloth?”

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I’m always tickled by the look of despair on the faces of this family upon first sight of the house that represents their reduced circumstances:

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Such a terrible pity!  Such a hovel!  The inhumanity!

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At least they could still employ two servants…

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who, presumably, did their ironing.