A little more Jane

There’s this scene in Becoming Jane, when the neighborhood rich lady strongly suggests that Jane marry her uptight nephew.  She tells Jane that she doesn’t have children and it has caused her a lonely existence and she didn’t want Jane to suffer the same pain.  The directors point out of course that’s just what happened to Jane.  She never married.  That she did suffer the pain of not having children… but also the freedom; the freedom to write her books and not be burdened by children.

So I was thinking about that… the relationship between pain and freedom.  I think that you can’t have freedom without pain of regret.  Because when you can choose to go down one road and not another there’s always the thought about what could have been.  And you don’t have anyone to blame but yourself.  You don’t generally regret the things that you are forced to do because you didn’t have the choice, you weren’t free.  And maybe that’s why we are sometimes reluctant to make choices. We’re afraid to miss something good.

Movie Night: Becoming Jane

I rented Becoming Jane to watch again.  And since I had the DVD at home I went ahead and watched the commentary track.  It was pretty interesting, especially the parts that they told you how they had changed the real known history of Jane Austen to make a more entertaining movie.  In fact they used many of the plot points of Austen’s novels to flesh out the story lines, like how Mansfield Park was supposed to be based on Jane’s brother’s romance with their cousin.  I think that my favorite part was how there is record of the Austen family staying on a certain street in London.  There were only five houses on that street and no inn and the only people that the Austens would have know would have been Judge Langlois, Tom Lefroy’s uncle and benefactor.  So that’s how they deducted that Jane and Tom’s relationship continued past the two meetings that there is direct evidence for; that trip was about a month after they first met.

What else… the cousin (the one who married the brother) was the widow of a French Aristocrat.  And one of Jane’s other brothers was adopted by like the third riches man in England.  And Tom Lefroy became the Prime Minister of Ireland during the potato famine.  Oh and then we have Jane Austen, inventor of the omniscient narrator.  All these fancy people hanging out together.  So what’s the difference from today?  How come pastors’ daughters don’t move in the upper realms of society?  It’s the rise of the middle class.  The fact that so many more people can afford to keep themselves in a comfortable manner.  So in Edwardian times connection and family were almost everything… you could be struggling to get by and still be seen as high society.  In fact that conflict between money and status is a major theme of all of Jane Austen’s novels.   Because she was witnessing the first time when money could buy the entry ticket to a respected life.  Now that’s about all you can do is buy your way in.

Save Pushing Daisies

Kristin at E! says the ratings are bad… here’s her suggestions:

• SIGN UP: Sign the Save Daises online petition.
• TURN ON: Go to ABC.com and play old episodes. If you have some spare change, download a few from iTunes. If Daisies brings in enough digital dime, that revenue might offset the on-air losses.
• REACH OUT: Contact ABC online or use the quaint ol’ post office to send a letter explaining, in your own passionate but polite words, why and how Daisies is the birdhouse in your soul. The address for ABC is 500 S. Buena Vista St., Burbank, CA 91521-4551.
• PUSH THOSE DAISIES: There are 23,000 species in the daisy family of flowers, including marigolds, coneflowers, sunflowers, chamomile, chrysanthemums, dahlias and zinnias. Send a bunch of your faves to ABC, or better yet, send flower seeds. They’re light and therefore cheap to ship. Seeds last for years and won’t go bad or go to waste, and they could be planted to grow into something beautiful in the spring. Don’t forget to include a note explaining that this is for the love of Daisies!

I used to be a Haute Head

The booth next to mine at the craft fair was selling tie dye tee shirts.  The guy running the booth is also the owner of a hair salon in town.  He had his mom and a couple of his hair dressers to help him. So I got to talk a about the hair business.  Some one asked him about his prices and he said they were reasonable, not “200 dollars for highlights like Haute Heads.”  He said they people that work there “go to the gym and eat right and look a certain way and they think that gives them the right to overcharge people. But most people just want a good hair cut.”  And he made the point that they have people there with barely any experience that are charging more than his stylist with 20 years experience do.

I went to Haute Heads about three time a few years ago.  I started going there because the outside of the building was cute, and I continued to go there because it was cute on the inside.  It has jewel toned walls with gold scroll work and mirrors with fancy frames.  The sitting room has these big purple poofy chairs.  And they sell beaded jewelry that’s a lot like the kind I make.  It’s great.  It reminds me of the set of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella… my kind of place.  But I quit going mainly because of the cost.  It was about double the cost of a mall hair cut.  And I didn’t like the fact that the girl kept saying that may hair was mousey brown and that I needed to dye it like chestnut brown.  But I like being a blonde, dark blonde, but blonde none the less.

Anyway I was more taken in by the beautiful decor rather than the beautiful people.  But it gave me a different perspective.  I would rather just get a good hair cut.  And you know what really impressed me?  All of the customers who came down to the craft fair just to support their friend.  I think that’s priceless.

No one here fits that description

I got called by a political poll tonight, which is exciting to me…but they only wanted to speak to a boy.  Yeah thanks for rubbing it in, people.

My sweet puppy

My weekend at the church

I spent more time at church this weekend than I did at home or at least that’s what it feels like.  On Friday and Saturday I was pedaling my wares at the craft fair.  I did about as much business as I did last year.  But besides just the bracelets I sold one scarf, the tutu I made, and one of the ribbon necklaces, and two pairs of the watermelon earrings.  I decided I was going to reduce my prices from last year hoping to be more attractive so I did, by about 33 percent on everything that I had there last year.  But I think that the plan did not work.  I guess there’s like this tipping point where you are willing to buy something just because it’s a good deal, but beyond that if your price is reasonable people just decide if they want it or not. I have this magnet that I got which is cute but that I got mainly because it was a dollar fifty. But I also got this wall hanging for my mom that was no deal for sure but it was so perfect that I could not let it go.

This morning was Laity Sunday again so I got to help lead worship again this year.  I was much less nervous.  And I also got to do the children’s sermon.  That was too much fun; I loved it. I had a couple of laugh lines even.  And the preschool choir sang so we had a bunch of takers.  I think next time I am going to pay more attention to my tone of voice because I found myself talking in that “I’m talking to a kid voice.”  I also think that I needed to engage with the kids a little more.  I was a little over eager about getting the word out that I neglected to look and see if I was getting a reaction and that the kids were understanding.  But over all good and practice makes perfect, right?  Luckily I remembered to do all my parts this year.  And I got lots of compliments on the prayer that I wrote.  So I thought I’d give you all an excerpt.

“…and we also give thanks on this special Sunday for the ministry of the laity.  Those who respond to God’s call on all Christians’ lives, who choose to take time to offer God’s love in action through teaching and speaking and singing and witnessing and serving. Today we ask you to renew us all, to give us a clearer vision of the ways we can give sacrificially.  Help us to leave what is comfortable to meet you challenge.  Let us be the voice of peace in a warring world.  Let us be the ones who are generous even in difficulty.  Let us be a welcoming face to the stranger.  We ask this all in true sincerity and with the confidence of children of the Lord of the universe. Our God who created all things from the tiniest bacteria to the greatest mountain.  Who continues to do great works even in our own lives and will still be comforting and protecting our great-great-great grandchildren….”

My favorite story… apparently one of our medical doctors appreciated the fact that bacteria got a shout out in church.  Happy to oblige.

It’s quiet around here…

I think there’s been a dirth of substantive posts here on my corner of the internet.  I can tell by my list of topic ideas that are piling up.  So I’m gonna try to go back to 300 words everyother day.  Ok… just after i finish my children’s sermon… peace.

“Let’s celebrate the grace we’ve been given”

What’s the one musical act that will help us get over our depression from the plummeting economy?  That’s right… Il Divo. Everyone’s favorite quartet of overly polished European Tenors. Thanks Oprah for bringing us what we need.

It’s been a long day

How about a cute puppy?