3 am

I have been renewing my friendship with the wee small hours of the morning. It is amazing what can go through your head at 3 am when you are up for the 2 time with the baby. I think I have actually had dreams while half awake and feeding said baby. I just wish that I had a little more say in what I dreamed about. This morning I was at an NFL football game. I mean really! Football!?! I can barely tolerate college football (and only from my Alma mater) let alone the NFL. I would rather dream about doing my laundry than football. Obviously I am not fully responsible for the nonsense my sleep deprived brain comes up with but still, football? Maybe tonight I will have better luck. I do know that I will have plenty more 3 ams to work on it.

Progress Update

Believe it or not I have made some progress on my corset. It has been slow going. It doesn't help that my sewing machine broke on me either. I have borrowed one from a friend and hope to be able to finish before Thanksgiving. We shall have to see. I thought I would include a picture of the first layer to be finished. I have two more to make before I can start to put in the bones.


I have been working on another project as well. A good friend of mine wanted to be Belle from Beauty and the Beast for Halloween. So I made the dress and apron for her. Here she is looking pretty darn good if I do say so myself!

Literature?

I have been discussing literature with two people whom I consider very knowledgeable on the subject. My brother is currently finishing his Masters degree in English at BYU and Michelle did her undergraduate in English and is writing a novel. I on the other hand have a degree in Humanities. Which basically means that I dabbled in English among other things (mostly art) and could never really commit to one subject.
The main thread of our conversation ultimately came down to the idea that the only good literature is depressing literature. Of course it was the two English majors who felt this way. As the only sensible person in the group I argued most strongly for the happy ending. Well, this continued for several different conversations. My brother ultimately claimed that depressing literature was the only literature with depth and intellect. Michelle, of course, agreed completely with him! I finally did what I always do when I seem to be at a conversational loss, I quoted Jane Austen. I think that her philosophy of literature is one of the finest. She begins the final chapter of Mansfield Park with this delightful thought:

"Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery. I quit such odious subjects as soon as I can, impatient to restore everybody, not greatly in fault themselves, to tolerable comfort, and to have done with all the rest."

Of all of her novels, I find that Mansfield Park is one of the most moralizing. I feel it is a tale of meekness and weakness and the vast difference between the two. There is great depth in her characters and the struggles they face. Yet ultimately, there is a happy ending. As Mary Poppins says, "A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down." Hooray for the optimists in literature! Thank heavens for Jane Austen!

Frankly my dear, I don't give a ...

This is a companion piece to a post on Michelle's blog (The Innocent Flower) called "Top 10 reasons a best friend hates my novel". Some of you know Michelle and some of you don't. She is a dear friend of mine who has been working on her first novel for the last six months. I have been doing all that I can as a friend to support her in this. It has led to some very weird conversations and weeks that go by when we seem to have the exact same conversation every time she calls, usually beginning and ending with the phrase "No you are not a bad writer..." or "No I mean it, it is a great story. I am sure it will be published". Some days it is like having asking my children to do something, they just don't listen to me. So here in all its glory is my top 10 reasons why I hate Michelle's novel:

Number 10:
When she sent me the first draft after 3 months of writing: "I have not finished reading it yet! stop calling me!"

Number 9:
Can you say baggage?

Number 8:
I have spent the last six months telling her she is NOT a lousy writer! And I'm still telling her . . .

Number 7:
Poor, poor, poor Adam (her abandoned husband)

Number 6:
It used to be that I could have a crisis!

Number 5:
She even writes when she's at my house

Number 4:
If your name isn't Karen, Eric, Naomi, or Jesse, you don't matter

Number 3:
All of the emotional trauma of a real-life crisis - none of the resolution

Number 2:
If I have to talk her down off the ledge one more time, I will jump!

Number 1:
Michelle who?


Heather, I know you are reading this and you better comment!

Just a little rant?

Any one who knows me knows that I do not like the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice (the one with Kiera Knightly). Well some how on Saturday night I got sucked into watching it. It started out innocently enough. I would just flip to it during the commercials of the show that I was actually watching. Well that show ended and there was nothing else on (and I mean nothing!). So, Justin and I watched it. I spent the whole movie explaining in great detail what was wrong. It didn't help that every few minutes Justin would look at me and say "That can't be right."

Of all of the things that bug me (and trust me there are plenty). I think the thing that drove me crazy was the costuming. The extras were better dressed than any of the principle actors. I am no expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I have spent a great deal of time researching regency costuming. Like I said in the title I am trying to keep this rant on the small side (too late I know). I will conclude with a shout out to Caroline Bingley at the Netherfield ball "Woman go back to your room and put you dress on!!!!!!"

Jane Eyre

I have always said that I did not like this novel. I never liked it. From the first time that I read it in High School to the last time I read it in college I hated it.

Now I will be the first to admit that it is a well written novel. It deserves its place in classic literature. It is one of many classics that I have grown to hate. Again just because I hate them doesn't mean that they are not good. It just means that I don't like the story, characters, etc.

With Jane Eyre my biggest problem is with Rochester. From the first he lies. He lies to the community and he lies to Jane about the fact that he is married. I am sorry that a mistake in his youth has tied him to a mad woman. That makes his situation very difficult and he does not deserve his fate. I feel that he should not use that as an excuse. If he truly loved Jane as much as he said he does his first concern would be for her. All he thinks about is what he wants. If he wants her happiness, he would know and understand that she could not live a lie and still be the person that he fell in love with. He never seems sorry that he has lied. He is only sorry that he got caught.

I hope that I have explained myself well. I really tried not to rant and I am not responsible for what Michelle my say about it ;).

Progress

I am making progress on my corset. It goes slowly. There are three of us working together so we have a hard time getting together. I will take pictures when I have something interesting to show.

In other news I went with a group of girlfriends to go see Pride and Prejudice the musical. We had a great time together. The musical was fun too. I am not sure that a musical was the way to go with this particular Austen novel. P&P is a dialog driven novel. That is where most of the action happens. It looses something when you take out the verbal fencing and replace it with song. I also came to the conclusion that Mr. Darcy should NOT sing. My favorite tall, dark and broody character can not burst into song. I really believe that it violates some cosmic law of broodiness. I could keep going but I don't want to get violent. I am just a little obsessed with the topic.