Sewing and Miss Austen!

I'm such a hopeless Jane Austen Fan.  I don't think I can quite get enough of anything Austen related.

I can sit for hours and watch documentary after documentary,  watch and rewatch the movies, the sequels, the prequels, the adaptations and anything that remotely relates to her books and her life.

Everyone that knows me, knows that I am totally irrevocably in love with Jane Austen.  In a non creepy way, of course.

Today was one such day.  I just couldn't get her off my mind, and so,  while I went about my business, I had a number of documentaries playing on the laptop.

The Many Lovers of Miss Jane Austen, was a documentary that played on BBC back in 2011.  Amanda Vickery takes a look back at Austen's life, at her fans and what exactly makes everyone love this author so much.

Funny thing, if you had to ask me for the one reason why I am so obsessed with her, I wouldn't be able to answer.  There isn't just one single thing that stands out, other than the fact that I find her to have been such a brilliant writer.  I guess in a way, every single novel reiterates the beauty of love, and the fact that you CAN find that amazing connection without it having to resort to sexual connotations to get the point across.

Source

She has the knack to draw you right in, to make you feel a part of the story, to root for the characters, to dream about that Mr. Darcy.  And don't pretend you haven't, I know you have.  LOL

The second documentary I watched was The Real Jane Austen.  This one is presented by Anne Chancellor who played Caroline Bingley in the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice, who so happens to be her great aunt from 8 generations ago.  How amazing is that???

Fascinating documentaries which only served to bring forth a renewed craving for anything Austen related, which means pulling out some of my favorite books.....

IT is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.

Oh just to read those first few words send joy through me, like nothing else.

I can't possibly be the only one who feels this way, I'm sure many of my blog readers share this love for Jane Austen.

But let me show you what else I did today.....

Worked on some new sheer curtains for the living room, they are hung up but are far too long for my liking, so tomorrow I'll be measuring, pinning and hemming the curtains so that they don't pool on the floor.

Sewed a little more on my new quilt, and I'm not being very strict with this one, I'm basically just sewing strips and adding them as I go and letting the pattern work itself out.

And as I add a few strips, I hang it on the clothesline so that I can see how it's coming along, and because I love seeing it flutter in the wind, if nothing else.

Tended to the garden and harvested a little more parsley which I used for dinner. If you don't grow your own herbs, you have no idea what you're missing out on. Truth be told for many years, I didn't either, and now I just couldn't imagine cooking any other way.

You need parsley, basil, or thyme or rosemary or mint or whatever, just step outside the back door and pick some fresh. It makes a world of difference.

I needed some for tonight's dinner, which was another old favorite, Smothered Pork Chops. So yummy.

and to make my boy child happy???? Stuffing. He LOVES this stuff.

Even though it's now 8:40pm, I think I'm going to go watch Pride and Prejudice or maybe Mansfield Park.....hmmmm decisions, decisions.

What is YOUR favorite Jane Austen book or movie adaptation?