Tuesday, September 15, 2020

SPENDING TIME WITH JANE...

WELCOME...

If you have a little time to spare,
 I would love for you 
to come over to the Cottage today.
 
 The smoke
 from the fires around California 
has driven us inside once more
 so I thought it would be 
a pleasure to spend some time 
with Jane Austen.


"You cannot imagine 
- it is not in 
human nature to imagine- 
what a nice walk we had 
round the orchard".

May 31, 1811


I am hoping 
that you will find this little visit
 of interest to you.
 
 Jane was a woman 
who knew the meaning of a good word and 
she traveled in 
comforting but exciting 
circles.




"We dine at
 Chilham Castle tomorrow and 
I expect to find 
some amusement".

November 3, 1813


Friends were very important 
to Jane and her way of life, and 
she also knew 
what it meant to keep
 a happy home and 
to enjoy the time 
that she spent there.





"The Milles of Nachington 
dine here on Friday and
 perhaps the Hattons".

June 26, 1808

Jane would have been a terrific blogger. 
 What she could have told us
about her travels and her way of being. 
 I wonder how she 
would have decorated 
her home for fall.



The last paint by number painting finally finds a place.



"There are more 
gooseberries and fewer currants
 than I thought at first. 
 We must buy currants 
for our wine".

June 6, 1811


I have gotten a bit more energy 
these last few days.  
I have been cleaning and 
polishing bits and pieces 
in the sitting room. 
 The thought of Jane, 
and all of you, 
coming to pay your respects 
was just too much
 for me to ignore.






"They say that 
there are a prodigious number 
of birds hereabouts 
this year".

September 1, 1796


The blue jays 
that spend time 
in the old walnut tree above the Secret Garden
 have been beside themselves 
this past week.  
When our power was turned off,
 we used our generator for the first time.
  It sits right below 
the tree and makes quite a racket, 
but the birds squawking
 could be heard
 over it all.






"For elegance and 
ease and luxury, 
the Hattons and Milles 
dine here today, and
 I shall eat ice and
 drink French wine".

June 20, 1808


All our ice melted 
during the black-out and 
it sure would have been nice
 to have some of 
Jane's French wine.






"We drank tea again yesterday 
with the Tilsons, and 
met the Smiths. 
 I find all these 
little parties
 very pleasant".

April 18, 1811


If this cool weather
 that we are now having keeps up, 
I think we will be serving tea 
in front of 
the fire soon.






"The widgeon and
 the preserved ginger 
were as delicious 
as one could wish".

December 27, 1808


I have to admit
 that I looked up 
the definition of widgeon. 
 I would be too embarrassed 
to show my ignorance to Jane,
 by asking it to her face, 
 so I googled it. 
 I had never heard the word before.
 As it turns out, 
Jane and company
 had duck with preserved ginger for tea.
 All I could come up with
 was oatmeal raisin cookies,
 store bought even!







"We have got 
the second volumne of
 Espriella's Letters, and 
I read it aloud 
by candlelight".

October 1, 1808


In just a few short weeks 
it will be 212 years 
since Jane lit that candle.





"Yesterday was
 a very quiet day with us,
 my noisiest efforts
 were writing to Frank, and 
playing shuttlecock 
with William".

August 24, 1805


As I mentioned earlier, 
the weather these last few days 
has been very strange.
  The skies are filled with smoke and
 the temperature went from
 high 90's down to the 60's. 
 I am not complaining at all,
 except for the unsettling reason being
 the destructive fires all over. 
 We are not that close
 to any one of them,
 but it is amazing 
how far the smoke
 can travel.







"I do not know
 what is the matter with me today,
 but I cannot 
write quietly".

June 11, 1799


We switched chairs 
from the parlor and the sitting room.
 I really like 
the blue ones in the parlor and 
the flowered burgundy ones
 fit nicely into the fall scheme 
in the sitting room. 
They are especially better
 when our poor backs
 need a straighter
 sitting position.







"You often wore
 a white gown in the morning
 at the time of all 
the gay parties 
being with you".

January 3, 1801







I hope you enjoyed 
your visit here 
at the Cottage with Jane.
  I wish we could always 
have a guest like her. 
 I feel so fortunate
 that she had time 
in her busy schedule to spend with us, and 
it was just the experience I needed 
to get the sitting room 
all done up for fall.
 
 Now
 that the excitement is over and 
we go back to our "normal" lives,
 Jane leaves us 
with a parting comment:






"There is nothing like 
staying at home 
for real comfort".

Jane Austen



I second that.



Stay smart, 
stay well,
and 
in case you hadn't heard...
 
Last week I told you 
that one person had died 
as a result of that wedding 
in the small town in Maine.

 The number now stands at five dead.

As I reported at the end of July, 
our little county had 242 cases, 
we are now 
topping out at 500.

Wear your masks, please.



...Judy...



All quotes from Jane Austen came from my old copies of Victoria magazine, way back in the 1900's!
All other nonsense is my own.





Who can answer this question:
Where did my header photograph go?
Who had permission to change it without asking?  If you can answer this please do.

At some later time, I will let you know if I like it!!


Sharing today with:








30 comments:

  1. How nice of you to share Jane Austin with us today, totally charming. You might enjoy a new book out, The Jane Austin Society, Natalie Jenner - a lovely, happy read.

    The fires here are terrible. I live very close what they have been calling the Bobcat fire. I haven't been outside for almost a week, the air quality is so bad. Poor California and it's people.

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    1. Thanks so much, Adrienne.I will certainly check out that book. How horrible all these fires are. The air quality is so poor. Not only is California burning, but Oregon and Washington too. Now the hurricanes and flooding elsewhere. This is as bad as I have ever seen it and with the current outpouring of all the misinformation and the outright lies, it is only getting worse..Stay well and stay in (now we have to add that)..XXoJudy

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  2. I love Jane Austin and glad you could share her with us. The smoke from the fires has traveled far. Yesterday it looked like rain all day from the haze and smoke in the air from California. It has really traveled far. I know what was here for us to see and it was a lot so I can only imagine what the smoke is like you. Glad you can be indoors and reading Jane Austin. Have a great rest of the day. xoxo

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    1. Thanks so much, Kris. I can't believe how far the smoke travels. It is not healthy to go outside anywhere. I have to thank Jane for her visit and she was masked up! Beautiful damask material her mask was made of, not the flimsy old cotton that mine is.. Stay well and stay inside..xxoJudy

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  3. Loved this with all the Jane quotes. I know you said you are not that close to the fires but I am here in Maryland and today, it is hazy and they say it is from the fires out west. My heart and prayers go out to all that are affected by these horrible fires. :-(

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    1. Thanks so much, Lynda. It is really amazing how far the smoke will travel. I guess the way the wind blows makes a big difference. We feel so fortunate that we only have to contend with bad air. Pictures coming from the hot spots are just devastating. Not only the people and their homes but the beautiful trees and the animals that are all caught up together. So sad and overwhelming..Stay well..xxoJudy

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  4. Judy, I enjoyed visiting today. I was happy to know you are safe. I worry for all of you out west...just please never take a risk, promise. I loved how your cottage is always so cozy looking and inviting. Love the flowers. Blessings, xoxo, Susie

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    1. Thanks so much, Susie. Don't worry, I am the least risk taker you would ever want to meet. These fires are just terrible all along the west coast. Seeing the pictures on the news is devastating. We are so fortunate that we only have the smoke to deal with, I feel so sorry for everyone. Thanks for your sweet words. It really is so comforting to know that we have homes that we can play with. I just can't imagine all the sadness there is in the world now..Stay well..xxoJudy

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  5. Such a wonderfully creative post, I had a huge smile the entire time! I am a huge reader and I love photos, a prefect combo! I am waiting for Oct to decorate for fall, between heat, smoke and just plain old muggy afternoons I can't be lulled into leaves and pumpkins quite yet, but I look forward to change... And blue skies with fresh air!

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    1. Thanks so much. Blue skies and fresh air would be ideal. The colors of fall just make me feel better for some reason, but I am not doing as much as I usually do..Stay well and take care..xxoJudy

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  6. Hi Judy... so glad Jane came to visit you today! She is quite the talker isn't she??? I LOVE your living room/sitting room... with all the lovely Fall colors, and paired with the blues, it's just wonderful and lively! I'm sure Jane enjoyed it.. and even the tea and (storebought) cookies! I love your finished paint by number painting on the mantel. Glad you found a little motivation to tidy up... with Jane coming and all! xooxo Marilyn

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    1. Thanks so much, Marilyn. You can't try to hide from me, I saw you there! So glad the fires are not too close to you but an evacuation box is a really good idea. You never know. With the blue walls this autumn, it does seem to have more color than usual but the fall colors just make me feel good and if they go with the blue, the better..Stay well my friend..xxoJudy

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  7. What a fun and delightful post. Thank you for sharing Jane's visit with us, though I'm very sorry about the ice melting! You set my brain on a whole different tangent with the thought of Jane Austen as a blogger -- oh, wouldn't she be fabulous?

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    1. Thanks so much, Jeanie. I am so glad you could attend the affair. The colors of autumn are starting to close in on me and that makes me feel good. I have always felt warmly about earthy colors. Wish it could stay fall forever..Stay well..xxoJudy

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  8. Beautiful pics and post. Hope the fires dont get near you. We had hazy skies from them here in our neck of the woods for a few days. Janice

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    1. Thanks so much, Janice. I hope it doesn't get too smoky around you. It really is amazing how far that stuff will fly. So far we are in good shape, nothing that blue skies and fresh air won't help..Stay well..xxoJudy

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  9. I'm so sorry about the fires and the smoke. It must be terrible to have to deal with that. I hope it passes quickly and the fires are put out soon. Can you believe that I've never read a Jane Austen book...or even seen a movie?? I think I may be the only one who can say the in blogland. Then again, I've never seen an episode of Fixer Upper. Joanna who? I need to get with it, huh? Please take care!! xo

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  10. Thanks so much, Kim. I know you are not really odd but I'm glad you didn't say that to Jane's face at the party and embarrass yourself! Like I almost did with the "widgeon". Adrienne told me about a Jane Austen book called The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner. I just ordered it from Amazon last night.You should order it and we can read it together while we sit in a Joanna Gaines style setting! I cannot believe that you haven't at least seen one "Fixer Upper".. (I love you anyway)..Stay well..xxoJudy

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  11. The smoke is terrible Judy. I find each day, it does seem to get better. This year has been awful between the covid, fires and hurricane, we need a do-over. Spending time with Jane is wonderful. lots of time on our hands to catch up on reading. Remain safe and hopefully smoke free.

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    1. Thanks so much, Linda. The smoke seems to get worse in the later afternoons. We can't hardly spend any time on our screened porch. I am so glad you enjoyed spending time with Jane. Linda, I don't know if you, or anyone else, for that matter, comes back to see my comments. If you do, and I have always asking you for help, but where did my header photo go? Does Blogger have the right to change something without my consent?..Stay well..xxoJudy

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  12. Judy,
    What a Lovely and entertaining post!! Your home looks lovely as always!! The smoke from the fires got caught up in the jet stream and had clouded over our skies here in NEPA all week...It made the Sun look like the moon to me!! You are very lucky that your County only has had 500 cases.....Ours has had 3877 cases as of yesterday with 189 deaths....We average about 10-15 new cases per day which is so much better than it was in March and April...Hospitalizations though remain very low here ...
    Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and for letting me know that you did by leaving a comment!! Stay safe, healthy and happy!!
    Hugs,
    Debbie

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    1. Thanks so much, Deb. It is unbelievable how far the smoke can travel. Heard on news today that it probably will travel to Europe if it goes on much longer. Our county includes Grass Valley and on up into Truckee. There are approximately 99,000 people. I guess 500 is a small amount in comparison with only 5 dead, but it is still way too much. Too bad it wasn't handled better from the very beginning, we wouldn't be in quite such a sorry state. Hopefully, we won't send you too much smoke..Stay well..xxoJudy

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  13. I enjoyed your post. I love Jane Austen. Did you ever read, A Jane Austen Christmas, celebrating the season of romance? I am reading again. Lovely read.
    The cuppa and that oatmeal cookie would not be sitting there long. Looks so good.
    I have read about the fires there. A darn shame that you have to suffer with that smoke. Terrible!
    Your bowl of colorful lantern looking pieces, are they old christmas light covers? Very pretty. I would never think of sitting things out like this.

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    1. Thanks so much, Betsy. I haven't read that but I will get it. Adrienne told me about The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner, she said it was very good so I ordered it for my Kindle. I have it now but am waiting to finish another book before I read it. I will order your recommendation too.. I hate having the smoke around but am so fortunate that that is all we have. Oregon, Washington and California are over run with fires and the losses of homes and property is overwhelming. Anyone who doesn't believe in Global warming should be made to take a tour of all the devastation. Those are patio lights that were on the screened porch a couple of years ago. They burned out and I couldn't find them again, so thought just the bulbs were kind of interesting..Stay well..xxoJudy

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  14. What I meant by never sitting things out like the plastic pieces is that I don't have the flair like you do for vignettes. I wish I did.

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    1. Oh, Betsy. You do too. Everything you do looks so pretty. I wish I had your expertise out in the garden..Stay well, my friend..xxoJudy

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  15. Hi,

    I am at a loss...it seems I can no longer switch back to classic blogger. I presume that you have been using the new version, have you had many problems, I beginning to wonder if it is all worth it. One problem, my reading list isn't coming thru, and now it is hard to follow other blogs. Have you had this problem? I haven't yet tried to put up a new post but I am sure that will be a struggle too. Any tips would be appreciated.

    Yesterday was such a sad day loosing RBG and then to top it off we had an earthquake! Sometimes I wonder what will be next.

    Thanks!

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    1. Yes, Adrienne, it has finally gone away after a couple of months of threatening! E-mail me and we shall see if we can work it out together. I will e-mail you because it is gonna be a long one!!..Can you believe what is now happening. It was so sad to hear about RBG and now the fight is on before she is even cold in her grave. What a bunch of crap..Stay well..xxoJudy

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Your comments are so special to me...Judy