Life Lately

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that the sale our house has officially closed, I can update you on what is happening with our move. We have about 10 days until the movers arrive. They will finish up the packing ( all the breakables) and move everything out and put it in storage. Then, it's off to a temporary condo here in Michigan for a couple of months until our new house is ready. It has been a whirlwind of activity with a lot of packing, organizing, donating and selling furniture. The house sold in 3 days, thank goodness, because being out of the house for house showings (with a dog in tow) is not fun.

We are in constant contact with our builder in Florida and he sends us photo of the progress, along with our real estate agent. The photos I am showing you are a few weeks old, so there has been even more progress since they were taken. We just heard that the tile in the master bath shower is in and I can't wait to see that. We picked everything out so long ago, it's hard to remember what it is supposed to look like, but I am looking forward to seeing it all come together.

Once we are out of our house here and basically living out of a suitcase, I will be so ready to finally be home again. We are having incredibly dreary weather here too and I am longing for sun and warmth. Thankfully it won't be long until those sunshiny Florida days will be the norm. I can't wait to take you along.

Have a wonderful weekend!

 

The Bronte Sisters

 

 

Masterpiece Theatre and period dramas based on English literature have a special place in my heart. Downton Abbey, Poldark and Pride and Prejudice (with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy) are all wonderful examples of the beauty of quality television with acting, writing, costumes and locations that transport us to a different time.

I was excited to see that here in the United States, PBS was finally going to air the television movie about the lives of Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte. It got very good reviews on its showing in England last year and it is sometimes hard to wait for these highly anticipated shows to make it here to us.

It was very much worth the wait and I was enthralled with the sisters portrayal, as well as the story of how their literary masterpieces came about. My book club read Jane Eyre last year, so it was fresh on my mind and it was fascinating to see Charlotte Bronte writing those beautiful words by candlelight with only pen, ink and very small sheets of paper.

 

 

The main story of this movie explained the background of the sisters decision to use a male pseudonym when writing their novels. It is hard now to understand how such a thing was necessary in order for a woman to be published, but this movie made the point very well. It also delved into their relationship with their troubled brother Branwell and how their decision to keep their writing secret, also protected his fragile ego.

They were portrayed as smart, talented and strong women whose novels are still considered some of the greatest of all time.

Happy Monday!

 

March Book Club

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another month, another lovely book club. Our hostess recently downsized and moved to a beautiful lake house and this was my first time seeing her new home. Everything about it was stunning, but the sunset view over the water, post dinner, was something I could definately envy.

The meal she served had ties to the book we read which is always a fun touch. The main character in the book (The Rosie Project) has Asperger's Syndrome and one of his coping mechanisms is a weekly meal plan with an entree for every night, exactly the same each week. We had leek and potato soup and a lobster and shrimp salad as a homage to the book's Tuesday night menu. Served with two types of crusty bread, it was beyond delicious. Later, during our book discussion, we enjoyed the perfect light dessert; peach and mango ice cream, topped with Creme de Cassis.

 

 

More on our book: The Rosie Project is a quick, but touching and funny read about Don, a high functioning college professor with autism and what happens when a women called Rosie shakes up his well ordered life. Our discussion touched on many subjects, but one of the most hilarious was about the bad dates we have experienced. There are many hilarious ones in the book, but some of our memories were quite funny too. We are always learning new things about each other through our book discussions and that is what makes our book club so fun.

Have a wonderful weekend.