SALVAGED

I remember when I was a kid how the time between Halloween and Christmas was an eternity. I remember when summer holidays lasted so long that I became bored somewhere in the middle and longed for school to start again.

Time stretched so far in front of me back then.  It was like a road disappearing in the distance.  I knew that I could walk it forever before I reached that tree at the far horizon.


Upon reaching adulthood, however, life began to blip by - picking up speed until everything began to blur around the edges and I was not always sure I was on the right path. And sometimes I wasn't.

 

BLIP - I was working, BLIP - I got married, BLIP - I had a child 

BLIP, BLIP, BLIP - My child is grown and I'm a grandparent!

 

My whole world has become a Tilt-A-Whirl ride. Stop! Time to put on the brakes and get off this thing! The next BLIP is the grave, and I'm not ready for that!

 

That tree on the horizon is only a few feet away now.  It's so close I can see each individual leaf.  Hell, I can see the ants crawling on the leaf.  If I could just pause a moment here before getting back on that crazy carousel, I'd like to say a few things:

 

First - I LOVE MY FAMILY.

My husband:  a handsome devil, the rough and tough "bad boy", mechanically inclined who also reads poetry, draws and plays guitar - ever gentle and kind with our daughter and now with our grand-daughter, his little dog by his side.

 

 

My daughter:  a beautiful gift. We were blessed later in life with this special girl who created so many warm and happy memories for us all.  Sweet and shy and magically possessed; she has become a true friend I enjoy spending time with.

 

My son-in-law: a strong, handsome military man who has stepped up to his responsibilities and who has an open, cheerful sense of humor.

 

 

My grand-daughter:  Well, who could do anything but love a little baby girl?  So much promise ahead of her.

 

Second - I AM CONTENT WITH MY LIFE.

I'm doing a job I like, I have co-workers who I'm happy to see each day, I don't owe anyone money and my health is still good.

 

So now I'll step back up on the dance floor with all the other whirling dervishes who are watching their life spin away from them in little fragments - and I'll just ask the conductor for a slower tune, please.  I'd like to savor the time I have left before the clock strikes midnight.

Thanks!

BOOKS THAT MAY INTEREST YOU: Click on the links below for more info

Wishes fulfilled: Mastering the Art of Manifesting by Dyer, Wayne W.
     

Naomi's Guide to Aging Gratefully: Facts, Myths, and Good News for Boomers by Judd, Naomi
 

Spilling Open: The Art of Becoming Yourself
 

Soloing: Realizing Your Life's Ambition by Rubin, Harriet
   

Recreating Your Self by Stone, Christopher
 

What Your Mother Should've Told You: And Nobody Else Will by Reilly, Natalie
    

Happer at Home: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon a Project, Read Samuel Johnson, and My Other Exeriments in the Practice of Everyday Life by Rubin, Gretchen Craft

 

Choose the Life You Want: 101 Ways to Create Your Own Road to Happiness

How Will You Measure Your Life by Christensen, Clayton M.

Spontaneous Happiness by Weil, Andrew

I Am The Earth

Earth Day     By Jane Yolen

I am the Earth and the Earth is me

Each blade of grass

Each honey tree

Each bit of mud

And stick

 

And stone

Is blood and muscle, skin and bone.

 

 

And just as I

Need every bit

Of me to make

My body fit,

 

So Earth needs 

Soil

Water

 

And tree

And things that grow here

Naturally

 

I am the Earth and the Earth is me.

 

 

 

Recycling Jane

Jane Austen wrote six novels that have captivated the world for 200 years.

They are:

EMMA



NORTHANGER ABBEY

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
 

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY

MANSFIELD PARK



PERSUASION

 

These books have been made into plays, shown as movies and TV productions and had many spin-offs and look-a-like books written as well. Here are a few that are available at Chespeake Public Library. (Click on the links to learn about them.)

 

Suspense and Sensibility by Bebris, Carrie

 

The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by James, Syrie

 

Jane and the Barque of Frailty by Barron, Stephanie

 

Mr. Darcy Presents His Bride by Halstead, Helen

 

Letters from Pemberley by Dawkins, Jane

 

Pemberley Manor by Nelson, Kathryn

 

Possibilities by Smith, Debra White

 

Enthusiasm by Shulman, Polly

 

By A Lady: Being the Adventures of an enlightened American in Jane Austen’s England by Elyot, Amanda

 

Vanity and Vexation by Fenton, Kate

 

The Jane Austen Book Club by Fowler, Karen Joy

 

The Exploits and Adventures of Miss Althea Darcy by Elizabeth Aston

 

Some of the above authors have created book series, not just stand-alone novels using Jane Austen's works as a springboard for their imagination. In addition to the above books,

 

Carrie Bebris has written:

Pride and Prescience

North by Northanger

The Matters at Mansfield

The Intrigue at Highbury

The Deception at Lyme

 

Stephanie Barron has written:

Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor

Jane and the Man of the Cloth

Jane and the Wandering Eye

Jane and the Genius of the Place

Jane and the Stillroom Maid

Jane and the Prisoner of Wool House

Jane and the Ghosts of Netley

Jane and His Lordship's Legacy

Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron

Jane and the Canterbury Tale    

 

Debra White-Smith has written:

First Impressions
Reason and Romance
Central Park
Northpointe Chalet
Emma

Some authors try to "finish" her uncompleted works. (Pfff!)
Jane Austen's Charlotte: Her Fragment of a Lost Novel Completed by Barrett, Julia
 

Some"Janite" authors have become the darlings of various Jane Austen Book Clubs.

See Kathryn Nelson's Interview here.

The one book we don't have is this: ( SOMEBODY, QUICK PUT IN A REQUEST !!! )



Do I need another craft book?

Take a look at Pemberly Digital's "Welcome to Sandition" - a YouTube Series that is attempting to finish Austen's last unpublished work. Click on link below.  It's pretty cool!

Bringing Jane Austen to YouTube

 

Here is a link about some movies that have been made from her novels.
I'm sure there are more.

 

Have you seen these movies?

 

 

My favorite Austen novel is Pride and Prejudice. .

 

 

The two most recent film versions of it are both great!

SERIOUSLY though, how could you not choose the Colin Firth version?

Remember the famous scene where Colin Firth, as Mr. Darcy, wades into the water in his white silk shirt?  See what those crazy Brits have done to memorialize it.

Mr. Darcy Rises Again

  

 

August 16th is the opening for the movie "Austenland" based on the book by Shannon Hale and produced by Stephenie Myers, the author of the Twilight series. 

I enjoyed reading this book (and it's sequel) awhile back, and have been waiting for the movie to come out! The story is about a unmarried woman with an unhealthy obsession with Jane Austin's works. She is unhappy with her own life and hopes to find her own Mr. Darcy by traveling to a resort which caters to Austen lovers Regency-style. See the trailer below.

 

  

I don't know of any other author whose books have been so widely "recycled".  It must be because the stories are so well-loved that people can't bear to think that there are only six. 

 

If you'd like to read more about Jane Austen herself or about the times she lived in check out these books below at any Chesapeake Public Library.

Jane Austen: Real and Imagined Worlds by MacDonagh, Oliver
 
A Walk With Jane Austen by Smith, Lori

Jane Austen and the Province of Womanhood by Sulloway, Alison G.

Romance, Language, and Education in Jane Austen’s Novels by White, Laura Mooneyham

Tea With Jane Austen by Wilson, Kim

Jane and Her Gentlemen by Hawkridge, Audrey

 





There is nothing she can't do!

There is no product she can't sell.

There is no genre that defines her fans.

 



I am hooked forever on Jane Austen !



Deja-Vu Recycling

I've noticed that everything is beginning to look the same.  The whole world seems to be growing increasingly generic.  Is there no originality left?  Or is it that items which are at first unique, are copied over and and over until they become commonplace?

 

Or....is it me?

I'm all for recycling items to prevent waste, but some things can only be repeated so many times before they become insipid.  I work at a library, so of course one of the first things I noticed was book covers.  Pick a theme - any theme- and I'll show you a jillion copies of the same thing.

Take the original book cover for Twilight by Stephenie Meyers for instance:

 

The popularity of this series has spawned endless copy-cats. This theme is used to sell new books as well as revamping (pun intended) the look of older classics.

 

It's even used to sell products and services.

 

 

But, wait a minute...did this theme really originate with Twilight?

 

 

Pick another book cover theme...

 

BUTTERFLIES

 Girls in Beautiful Dresses

 EYES!!!

Doesn't matter what book cover you choose, there are a thousand others that look virtually the same.

 

 

Everything is similar.  Look at these new cars. 

Can you tell the BMW from the Honda from the Mercedes from the Subaru?

 

Hard to do, isn't it?  Now look at the cars from the 50's below.

 

You may not know which is which, but you can tell a Ford from a Maserati from a Chevy from a Lincoln from a Cadillac.

We weren't so bland back then.

We eat the same things too - and at the same places.

 

The Five Major Food Groups seem to be Burgers, Chicken, Sandwiches, Donuts and Pizza.

 

Where do we go to eat them?

Burgers:  Burger King, McDonalds, Hardees, Wendys

Chicken:  KFC, Chick-Fil-A, Bojangles, Popeyes, Churchs

Sandwiches:  Arbys, Subway, Blimpie, Quiznos, Jersey Mikes, 5 Guy   

Donuts:  Dunkin Donuts or Krispy Kreme

Pizza:  Dominoes, Pizza Hut, Papa Johns

 

Someone comes up with a sucessful business model and it is copied endlessly.

 Our neighborhoods all look the same.

Notice how much the site map looks like a computer circuit board?

 

We work in the same places, doing the same things.

We wear the same clothes.

 

 

 

 

 

 I want to be around individuals

who are not afraid to be themselves.

Who live an independent life.

Who can provide for themselves.

Who take pride in their abilities.

Who can express themselves creatively.

Whatever else you are, you are unique.

Don't blend in.

 

BOOKS AVAILABLE AT CHESAPEAKE PUBLIC LIBRARIES - Click Links Below

Green Equilbrium: The Vital Balance of Humans and Nature by Wills, Christopher

Tree of Life: The Incredible Biodiversity of Life on Earth by Strauss, Rochelle

Front Cover: Great Book Jackets and Cover Design by Powers Alan
 

Hottest Muscle Cars by Woods, Bob

The Visual dictionary of Cars by Dorling Kindersley

Guide to Wild Foods and Useful Plants by Nyerges, Christopher

    

Dangerous Garden: The Quest for Plants to Change our Lives by Stuart, David C

 

Design and Landscape for People: New Approaches to Renewal by Cumberlidge, Clare

 

Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream by Duany, Andres

 

Living Large: From SUV's to Double D's, Why Going Bigger isn't Going Better by Wexler, Sarah Z.

 

Unbuilding: Salvaging the Architectural Treasures of Unwanted Houses by Falk, Robert H.

                      

Junk Jewelry: 25 Extraordinary designs to Create from Ordinary Objects by Elershaw, Jane

 

Sewing with Fabulous Vintage Fabrics by Franklin, Arden