I noticed Kristy's latest post and couldn't resist.... This goes out to Fifi who has secretly harboured a desire to be black.
Now you too can bring out the Israel in you:
And just for kicks...
The best year ever! (1984)
(2000)
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Some people quote the Sound of Music as being their ultimate movie, others are into Pollyanna, and still others frequent the channels of Discovery & read Geographic Magazines as their favourite past-times... So I thought, that it was time I let the geek in me come out and share my love of Jane Austen films with the world of Renewal Youth. A few of us girls have started this movie club of sorts where we pick out a different movie each week to watch while the men go off and do their thing; although secretly we know they are dying to watch it with us.
So far on our list we've seen:
- Pride and Prejudice (Old school BBC version)
- P & P (Modern version with Keira Knightly)
- Bride and Prejudice (Bollywood version)
- Emma (Modern version with Gwyneth Paltrow)
Still to come we've got planned:
- Emma (old version)
- Clueless (based on modern day Emma)
- Sense and Sensibility (BBC version)
- S & S (Modern version with Hugh Grant)
Jane lived a really bizarre life...
She was born in Steventon, Hampshire, where her father was a reverend at the local parish and was the second daughter and seventh child in a family of eight. The Austens did not lose a single one of their children, which was very unusual in those days. Cassandra Leigh, Jane's mother, sent them all to a wet nurse in a nearby village a few months after birth to be looked after for another year or longer.
Her mother was a hypochondriac (or had a 'health phobia'): basically a person who tends to exaggerate their symptoms no matter how insignificant or excessively worries that they have a serious illness . Many people suffering from this disorder focus on a particular symptom as the catalyst of their worrying, such as gastro-intestinal problems, palpitations, or muscle fatigue, rapid heart beat, sweating, muscle tension, stomach discomfort, and numbness or tingling in certain parts of the body (hands, forehead, etc.). This explains why in Pride and Prejudice, Mrs. Bennett is always complaining about her 'poor nerves' and her 'palpitations & flutterings'. Jane obviously based this particular character on her own mother.
She published her works anonymously and only really became famous after she was dead.
She first started to write for family amusement as a child and was very shy about her writing; she wrote on small pieces of paper that she slipped under the desk plotter if anyone came into the room.
The theme that prevails in most of her works is that the young heroines must marry in order to secure social standing and economic security; yet Austen herself never married and was considered by society to be an old maid at the young age of 25!
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." (from Pride and Prejudice, 1813)As she grew into adulthood, she still lived with her parents (I told you she live a bizarre life) carrying out those activities normal for women of her age and social standing: she practiced the pianoforte, assisted her sister and mother with supervising servants, and attended female relatives during childbirth and older relatives on their deathbeds. Austen was particularly proud of her accomplishments as a seamstress. She also attended church regularly, socialized frequently with friends and neighbours, and read novels - often of her own composition - aloud with her family in the evenings. Socializing with the neighbours often meant dancing, either impromptu in someone's home after supper or at the balls held regularly at the assembly rooms in the town hall. Her brother Henry later said that "Jane was fond of dancing, and excelled in it".
So we got this indoor bowling set for Christmas 07 (don't ask why, just accept it ok) and hadn't really used it. Mum had told us she wanted to do something super exciting for her birthday and thought it would be great to go out bowling. That didn't happen however, so we ended up setting up the indoor bowling set in Jeni's lounge and having a game with the five of us.
Now having not played the game that much & not really paying that much attention either, I'm not too familiar with the scoring, but decided to just make it up as I went along. Well, after 10 frames, I ended up with a grand score of 105! For those who know me, would know I don't generally get that type of score when bowling :) usually no more than 80 haha. So yup I think the scoring was a bit out. But we had fun anyway and I'm keen to do it again sometime! Check out the shibby pics below for inspiration on having a good time...
You know, this past year for our family has been one of the hardest years in the whole of all of our Christian walks. We've been through so many changes and hard times, it's just been nuts! But anyway, at family night last night, we were talking about the whole depression thing and how it's sweeping, not just over our family, but over the whole church. Pretty much everyone I know has been battling with the spirit of oppression, heaviness or something similar. And that's just what it is. A spirit. We have so much, yet we still get down. And not just a little bit like happens to most people, but it becomes really dark and heavy. It's a sure sign that we're living in the last days. God is teaching his church to be strong now so that we can have the strength to fight in the hard times that are to come. He is calling us to be warriors; to fight the good fight of faith and learn how to war against the principalities and powers that rule the earth. We must put on the garment of praise for heaviness. The oil of joy for mourning. Learn how to rebuke the evil one off our lives and the people we love. So we had this upbeat song playing in the background while we were all sitting there feeling a bit gloomy. Anyway, I made dad get up and dance for me (now you can understand why I'm a little bit mad - it's in my genes). The following is a little taste of the Garton dance routine...
Hope it makes your day! Sure made mine...
6 o'clock. He was late. I had waited for Stephen for about 45 minutes, to finish packing for his snowboarding trip which should have happened the night before, so we could leave to set up mum's surprise birthday dinner. Needless to say, I left without him and Jeni & I proceeded to set stuff up by ourselves. We arranged the barn perfectly with everything that was needed for a bbq at the beach. It was a great night for it: Wet, dark & on a farm with no waves! But Jeni came up with an absolute brainwave - she simply painted a mural of some sand and water & hung it on the back of the barn! Added to this a few hay bales, bucket and spade, jandals, sunblock and you're all set.
So when the others finally arrive and we get to eat (it's now about 7:30) I find surprisingly, it actually tasted ok. It wasn't burnt, under-cooked or too well-done! So thanks Stephen, for allowing me to have this experience of a lifetime, just please don't do it again anytime soon!
A couple of weeks ago, I did this job for a customer. It involved scanning some old Christmas cards, cropping, resizing, printing and laminating them. A simple enough job, but one that takes quite a lot of time. I had a deadline of 4 pm that day, but as there was a huge volume of customers, I didn't get it finished on time. This was on a Thursday afternoon and she wanted it for the weekend but decided to come back the following week. So I eventually finish the job and Tuesday rolls around. In she comes and lo and behold, she comes bearing a gift! Beautifully wrapped and everything. Now I work in an industry where people can be very demanding, ungrateful and impatient when things don't go to plan. They expect you to pay for the fact that they are unorganised! But anyway, this lady comes in with a present. I was so shocked I didn't know what to say. She was so grateful that I had done her job. Didn't care that it wasn't done on time or that it wasn't perfect, she was just so happy that she could now stick her photos onto felt for whatever weird and wonderful creation she was making. I was so blessed. I didn't care that the only use I have for her present is to put it in the bathroom and use it as an air freshner/toilet spray - I don't think I would ever have the guts to wear it as a perfume as it was a bit of an odd smell! But the simple fact that she took the time out to think about me was enough to make my day. See blessing others doesn't have to be expensive, it doesn't even have to involve something they would actually have a use for (although it helps), it's more about the thought. So I dare you, take some time out of your busy day to think about someone and bless them. And sometimes, a smile and some cheap perfume is all it takes.............
