Tag / Pride and Prejudice

by clumpaday

Clutter Cleans and Castle Dreams

Clump #259: Bring bags to Goodwill; day seventeen of National Blog Posting Month.

IMG_9670

I have to confess that yesterday’s clump was a rough one, not only to do, but also to write about in a way that wasn’t a total bummer.  I felt like the pumpkin above.  But prying off such long-neglected clumps has given me a new confidence and toughness. How much worse can it get?  If I can dispense with ancient girl scout relics, I can handle pretty much anything, including a cute toy crane, below, doing its own heavy lifting. This was part of a donation to Goodwill.

IMG_0053

Keeping the endless paper flow under control is relatively easy, even with the holiday catalog blizzard, compared to those bedroom clumps.

I had a funny moment today when looking through this week’s The Week magazine.  One of my favorite sections of the magazine is “Best properties on the market.”  Every week a different category of real estate is featured, such as properties with ponds, or properties in the desert, etc.  This week it was “Castles in Europe.”  Ooh la la!  After perusing the castles and dreaming dreams, I turned the page and thought, ‘No, I’m not interested in any of these.’  Ha!  Like Darcy (who actually lived in a European castle) in Pride and Prejudice, “…not handsome enough to tempt me.”  

IMG_0058

Just think of all the clutter I could fit in one of those things … there would be no end to it.

IMG_0057

by clumpaday

Ironing and Jane Austen: The Perfect Marriage

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

IMG_9694

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.

IMG_9699

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 …

IMG_9712

And those trees!

IMG_9729

Where did they find trees this size:

IMG_9717

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

IMG_9710

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

IMG_9711

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

IMG_9730

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!

IMG_9701

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