Austenland was so much fun!

Tonight we went out to Seattle to see Austenland. Based on the book by Shannon Hale, directed by Jerusha Hess. I went with a couple of friends, my sister, and two of us had our husbands along. After all the lukewarm reviews I wasn’t sure what to expect.

I will start by saying my husband just sighed and said “Oh, man. I wish we could see that show again.”

Rave reviews from the husband of a Janeite.

I am sure the theater was filled with hardcore Jane Austen fans, and a few husbands sprinkled in, but everyone loved the show. I expected some quirky Jerusha Hess humor but didn’t know quite how it would play out in a show like this. We had so much fun at this show from beginning to end. It was silly and delightful, and better than I thought it would be. The cast really made the show with great comic timing. J J Field was so cute as Mr. Nobley. Keri Russell was very sweet.

And boy were there some funny moments. There were many times we missed a funny line because we were still laughing from a previous line. By twenty minutes into the show I had tears in my eyes from laughing so much. I don’t want to give anything away for my Austenesque friends, but just go see it.

I have loved many Austen adaptations striving for accuracy and period authenticity, but this one was definitely one for the Janeites. And yet something tells me that anyone who has dragged their significant other to a chick flick, or anyone who’s ever been dragged to a chick flick would love this show.

-Lynnae

P.S. We loved the musical number at the end credits!

Wedding Joy

Hello my blog friends!

I know I’ve been missing from the blogosphere lately, but last month my daughter got married, and it has been all consuming! I have been busy sewing and crafting, but it has all been for the wedding, and therefore under wraps until the big day.

Then the wedding date came and went, and I have been in RELAXATION and DECOMPRESSION mode for the past few weeks. But I have not forgotten you, so the next couple posts will be about this BIG DAY!

So stay tuned for more wedding goodness!

-Lynnae

Update May 2013

I’m a little late….. My husband’s deployment ended in February. I know I’m very behind in blogging, but I am so thankful that he is home. Since he’s been home we’ve taken a romantic trip to Las Vegas, a spring break trip to Utah to visit our daughter and son-in-law, and our other college daughter has been here to visit us.

My husband also had two months of vacation- a month from the Army, and a month from his job here, before he had to go back to Microsoft. I loved spending so much time with him every day. We ran around town together, eating at restaurants that he had missed while he was away, we even joined a gym and started going together. I love my sweetie!

I have a list of ‘deployment thank-you’s"’ for all the help I received during the time he was gone.

I am very thankful to friends, to my family, daughters, and siblings and all the good times we had together, and for my youngest daughter who was a great companion every day, laughed at my silliness, and was perfectly willing to have a frozen burrito any night I didn’t feel like cooking.

Thanks to those who helped with yard work, visited my sick doggie at the kennel while I was out of town, brought me soup on a sad day, looked at broken cars, sent a cake through the mail, climbed a ladder, tried to help me break into my own house after locking myself out, took me to dinner, or movies, or just were there for me.

  Mostly to my Father in Heaven. For keeping us safe, for giving me strength, for protecting our home and protecting my husband. Knowing that the Lord was mindful of me and my needs is humbling and overpowering. Thank you is not enough.

-Lynnae

Happy 200th Birthday Pride and Prejudice

January 28th Marks 200 years since the publication of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. I decided to commemorate the day by inviting a bunch of my Austen loving friends over for a Pride and Prejudice-athon, watching the entire 1995 BBC A&E classic six episode mini-series in one fabulous night (yes, of course the Colin Firth version).

My sweet husband, who is currently deployed overseas, sent me flowers for the occasion. But of course. Doesn’t everyone’s significant other send them flowers on the anniversary of their favorite author’s most famous publication???

But wait, there’s more. My soldier composed a poem on the occasion. How romantic!

Here’s a little decoration

For your Pride and Prejudice celebration

I hope it brightens home and heart

While you spend the day with your friend Jane’s art.

             To my own Liza, love Jon

 

Everyone brought snacks or treats and I made a big slow-cooker full of winter squash bisque with a side of crusty asiago bread.

Attire was comfy clothes or sweats, and we all got comfy on my big leather couch for the show. It was really a lot of fun and I’m thankful for my friends for sharing my passion.

-Lynnae

PS, My husbands deployment is almost over. Yay!

PPS, This is my first entry for the Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice Bicenteniary Challenge.

Click on the picture to learn more about the challenge.

The Spoiled Janeite

Wait until you see what Santa brought this Janeite!

My Santa of choice is currently deployed with the Army in North Africa, but he has been spoiling me big time. Look what he gave me for Christmas.A production script from Sense and Sensibility 1995 signed by Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Robert Hardy, Alan Rickman, James Fleet and Tom Wilkinson. Can you believe that? It comes with a certificate of authenticity too. I admit I did run my hand across the signatures a few times. Time to watch this show again!

I was blessed with many gifts that I am thankful for, not all of them Austen related, but here is another one that is.

My daughter and her husband gave me this adorable board book Pride and Prejudice by Cozy Classics. I haven’t even seen this one advertised yet. I love dolls, and have been caught out in the neighborhood doing a Barbie photo shoot or two, so I loved seeing the earnest look of emotion on the faces of the soft felt characters. Can Pride and Prejudice be told in 15 words or less? I say, YES!

-Lynnae

Basildon Court

Known as ‘Netherfield’ to fans of the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice, Basildon Court is a lovely building inside and out.
The setting is beautiful. I enjoyed our little drives so much my sister at one point called me a Hampshire girl. I felt a certain thrill going out on the highway and seeing names of places that Jane Austen knew and was familiar with. I couldn’t ride past the Basingstoke exit without thinking of a young Jane and Cassandra preparing for a dance at the local assembly room. One thing I learned about this countryside is that, like in the old days, most of the roads are tucked into a thick growth of trees and hedges, making a glimpse of the gently rolling countryside a rare treat. You can imagine me craning my neck to catch a glimpse of an old church or fine country home briefly visible through the trees.
But back to Basildon- here are my pictures of that lovely mansion.

Beautifully restored ceiling in the entrance.

There were lovely patterns on the wall. These are seen in the background in Pride and Prejudice when Mr. Bennet consoles Mary after the ‘piano incident’.

More lovely ceilings.

The dining room.

This is the room where Miss Bingley and Elizabeth Bennet take their infamous turn about the room, but the directors wanted a lighter color for the room. In order to protect the historic red silk walls, artificial walls were created to go in front. Decorative pillars were also added, their real purpose was to hold the walls so nothing would be affixed to the delicate walls of the home.

This was an original ceiling that hadn’t been replaced or restored. It was absolutely lovely. The guide was trying to direct me to take my photo in another area because of the watermark here. I felt like saying “I’m from America and we like old stuff!”

This bathroom had it’s last update after WWII.

One of Basildon Court’s lovely bedrooms.

1940’s style servant’s bells.

A fun surprise in this house- the state of the art (1950’s) kitchen, complete with volunteers making cookies for the visitors to sample.

Another view of the cute kitchen.

The entrance to a walled garden.

There is a room dedicated to the houses role in the 2005

adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.

Wouldn’t you love to receive notice for this casting call?

One of the lovely statues on the grounds at the rear of the house.

A view of the back face of the house.

My daughter sits at the edge of the garden with a new little friend. Small children were attracted to my daughter throughout our trip, which made for some fun moments, including one little girl who wouldn’t let go of Jordan’s hand on the underground, and screamed when her parents had to pry her away at the exit.

A little picture I hobbled together of me and my daughter living in the world of Jane Austen.
Cheers!
-Lynnae

Jane Austen Society in England

Since I am here in England at this time I thought it would be great to attend the 2012 Jane Austen Society Annual General Meeting with my daughter and my sister (in addition to taking us into her home, Julianna and her husband have been driving me all over the English countryside these two weeks. I could never could do it without them. These roads are CRAZY! -and I could go my whole life without using another roundabout!). I was not the only JASNA member there, but the other group seemed to all be from Canada, so I may have been the sole representative from the USA.

The AGM was held at the Chawton great house, which is now a museum and library of sorts. This was once owned by Jane Austen’s brother Edward Austen Knight, though it is doubtful he ever lived here, preferring the more stately mansion of Godmersham (how would it be!). There was food, speakers, and displays from the various Jane Austen Society regions.

The main speaker was Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles former British ambassador to Israel, Saudi Arabia, and then Afghanistan. His lecture was very interesting and fun. His parents were members of the Jane Austen Society and he remembers as a boy romping on the hillside with his brothers while everyone was in the tent listening to a lecture much like the one he was giving. His talk was very nice and in a few parts very touching. Definitely one of the most enjoyable lectures I’ve been to.

We were permitted to tour the ground floor rooms at the Great House, walk along the garden, and sit to eat on the steps of the walled garden.

I walked down to the church of St. Nicholas, not to be confused with the church by the same name in Steventon, and took pictures of the gravestones of Jane Austen’s mother and sister.

As I walked back up the hill, my daughter was still perched where I had left her, on the steps to the house deeply engrossed in the book she was reading. She had the air of Catherine Morland caught up in an exciting novel. (I have to smile because if she turns to me in a gift shop asking for a souvenir, it’s usually a book).

I wanted to take a picture of this bus, because the owner donated the use of his bus fleet in driving attendees to and from Winchester. His father, now passed on, was another JAS member and supporter, and his vintage bus fleet is charming and perfectly restored.

We left Chawton with the bells tolling for evensong, having visited the great house here, and the Jane Austen House that I wrote about in my previous post. What a lovely place.

-Lynnae