Doctor Thorne

 

Do yourself a favor and watch Doctor Thorne on Amazon Prime. It is based on the novel by Anthony Trollope. Here are some one word reasons to watch:

Brilliant

Exquisite

Light

Wholesome

Deep

Once Again, It's May

 The older I get, the more I realize I love the days of May. The world awakens and beauty springs forward. May always feels old fashioned to me because it brings the old world's dearest things to the front again. Things like picking flowers from the garden into a vase and hearing new birdsong and thinking of rhymes. Taking long walks when it warms and opening back doors to let the fresh air come in. I rather like old world things because they are simple yet profoundly beautiful and meaningful. The old world saw such things and embraced the loveliness they brought, turning these simple things into deeply loved practices to adorn our days.

Book Illustrations of Anne

 I came across these stunning images by artist Ji-Hyuk Kim this morning. These are beautiful interpretations of Anne's story that I am thrilled many children will come to know Anne by. Anne's story needs to be handed down to the next generation and it's wonderful to see that she still inspires us today. Honestly, I have been thinking about her era and the simplicity and beauty of it. Lucy Montgomery has captured the magic of the time and the island and also the nuances of the natural world that she noticed in her lifetime in Green Gables. Life wasn't perfect, in fact, it deals with many hard things such as being an orphan. But life is meant to be experienced deeply and Anne did. So should we.

“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.”― Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Ji-Hyuk Kim

Ji-Hyuk Kim

Ji-Hyuk Kim

Gazebo TV

 How wonderful, I've discovered Gazebo TV. 

I Aspire To Anne-Inspired Living

 What can be said about dearest Anne?

She introduced me to Tennyson, rambles, and Avonlea.

Her era was simple and beautiful. Life was drunk deeply and lived eloquently.

The Highwayman recited before a gathered audience, picking apples in fall, reading lines between work. 

She noticed beauty in the White Way of Delight, in fact, she noticed, everything around her, from the smallest flower of Queen Anne's Lace to The Lake of Shining Waters.

I aspire to Anne-Inspired living.

Start With Love

 

Happy New Year

 

Suddenly I feel Like Lizzy and Jane Bennet

 

I suddenly feel like Lizzy and Jane Bennet and want to be accomplished at many things. Too many things are calling out to me and I hardly know which to start first. Today my mind was going in several different directions and I finally had to tell myself to stop wanting to do everything at once. Rome wasn't built in a day remember. I think wanting to do so many things has to do a little bit with the pandemic situation. I'm sure I'm not the only one!

What You Bring

 

Some are compelled to tell stories, some to make rhymes. Others gather to listen. All of us revolve around each other and need each other. We are not complete without each other. For if there is no one to listen to the story, does it matter? If no one reads the written word, is it silently whispered or does it just fade away and become forgotten. Does the spoken word echo out into the trees if no ears will listen? So I cherish what you bring, and I hope you can understand my thoughts. Together we are writing our individual stories that stretch out through a lifetime, but somehow woven together.

A New Leaf

Recently I've been reading quite a bit more than is usual for me these days. I happened to pick up a vintage paperback copy of Silas Marner and read the back story which intrigued me, and so began reading it. It didn't hurt that I was given a hug light that allowed me to read laying flat in bed with tiny lights shining up at the words to urge me on through the book. So I began.

The story unfolded gently and I was thankful for this since George Eliot is not one of my favorites particularly. In fact, the volumes of hers that I have read could only be called slim. I am pleased to say that Silas Marner is now one of my favorite classic books.

It worried me that his story would remain sad and end badly. But, I read on, and was again pleased with the story and his growth as a character. Pleased that Effie, his daughter, was loyal to him to the end. Being that Jean Valjean and Michael Henchard are two of my favorite book characters, I feared that Silas' story would rank among these, but the ending came together happily for once. 

I recommend this book if you are looking for something new to read. My reading habits used to be insatiable and have slowed as I've gotten older, but I'm turning over a new leaf (pun intended).

I Know Your Story

Fleeting thoughts today.

Bronte Parsonage Donations

We did it for Jane, now it's time for the Brontes. To keep this amazing place open into the coming year, they need our help. If you love Emily, Charlotte, Anne, and Branwell, their books, art, poetry, etc. Please consider donating!

DONATE TO THE PARSONAGE

There Was No Possibility of Taking A Walk That Day

This is a book of poetry composed during Covid 19 pandemic and all about the Brontes. Each poem has something to do with the Brontes and also experiencing a pandemic. You will find my poem called, "Homebound," in this collection. Available as a paperback book or Kindle versions.

Jane Austen House - Donate!

Jane Austen's House Museum needs our donations!
Please visit this link and help get it to 100%. 
Help future generations know and love where Jane wrote.

Hymns

I was listening to church hymns this morning, but when I heard the hymns of God outside, I turned off the church hymns to listen more thoughtfully. It is pouring outside, one of my favorite sounds hymns. I hear all of the nature hymns and they are beautiful to me.

Some keep the Sabbath going to Church

I keep it, staying at Home

With a Bobolink for a Chorister

And an Orchard, for a Dome

Verse by Emily Dickinson