This Old Friend

Recently, I am craving a return to writing more here on this old friend, The Bookish Kind. For many years, it was an outlet for me to express my thoughts and ideas, prose and poems. Then for some reason, it waned as things do.

It's an old fashioned sort of blog and it will stay that way, for I am an old fashioned girl in many ways, and as you know if you ever read this blog in the past, I should have been born in another era. I like the old fashioned ways for many reasons; things were simpler and people got to the heart of things deeply. 

I think that is what I'm craving right now. To find deeper meanings in life, to escape the noise of a modern world that is falling apart in so many ways. Maybe to find myself again, and establish deeper roots of  meaningful and good things. 

I definitely want to read more and maybe explore some books or authors that I have not read before. I could probably look at my own library and find a dozen new to me books to read without trying very hard. A good place to start. That's where my bookish life began years ago in my twenties when I learned that I love all the bookish things so very much. And it all started with picking up those first books, first in my childhood with books like "Little Women," "Trixie Belden," and "Jane Eyre," then devouring and thriving on books like "Les Miserables," "Pride and Prejudice," and "Tennyson's Poetry," in my young adulthood days.

It's time to hitch up the book wagon, retrace my old footsteps, dust off my old book collection
, and write my thoughts down once again. So this new year of 2023, I hope to visit this place more and more. I hope you will join me.

Anne's Puffed Sleeves and More

I came across this online clothes shop that has Anne-inspired gorgeous clothing. You'll need deep pockets to buy much of it, but I think you'll love it as I do. Anne would be thrilled with the ruffles and puffs. I love beautiful things.

All photos by Simply Retro

The Queen Has Died.

Great Britain will never be the same again. Our beloved Queen has died.

Mediocre Tears

My hand extended an offering,
Hoping and waiting,
then knowing it was not accepted,
but brushed off as not good enough.
I did my part,
and waited for yours to impart,
and all I heard was the silence of
a thousand doves fly away,
and their wings beat upon my cheek,
and made me weep a river of mediocre tears that spilled down into nothing.

 

 

A Little Gate

 

Prayers

We often tend to think of our lives, our individual situations here on earth as extended and permanent, until we are facing old age or the unthinkable, .... a crises that changes everything. In reality, our time here on earth is fleeting. Every day is a gift. We have a purpose, whether we are here eight years or eighty. Each breath counts. Praying for the people of Ukraine, and of all peoples everywhere.

To Rest Now and Then

I'm not sure why this little space has gone so quiet as it used to be my wandering place where thoughts and rhymes and ideas escaped into the bigger world, and then became a part of my soul. Perhaps a wanderer has to rest now and then. I honestly forget it's here sometimes waiting for me to find it again. I'm sure that I will when the noise of the world softens, and the Annish girl in me awakens once again.

Duchess

 A beautiful set of portraits of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge to commemorate her 40th birthday tomorrow. These will become standard, iconic photos of her, the future Queen of England, on par with those stunning photos of Queen Elizabeth as a young queen. Catherine has a beautiful character, inside and out. Just a lovely person who has come into her own. Photo is by Paolo Roversi. Very Victorian-esque.

Dresses

Movie stills from different period films show the same dresses worn in different movies by different actresses. Love that someone took the time to notice these! And there are more at this link. These two are my favorites. Margaret Hale (Daniela Denby-Ashe) from North and South and Elinor Dashwood (Emma Thompson) from Sense and Sensibility, respectively.

Colors of Summer

The colors of summer picked by the handfuls long ago then placed in cheap glass vases overflowing with pinks, oranges, and yellows, to sit on the table until it was time for the next grubby handfuls. Because you must recreate childhood summers.

Another Bookshelf?

July 1st at the library sale. Lucky me, look what I found. Looks like we're going to need another bookshelf soon. Oh, dear.

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.