Various and Sundry

 Easter dress shrug.  A bit small, but pretty.

 I really liked the design.  I thought it would be tricky, but it was actually the easiest lace pattern I have tried thus far.  I couldn't decide if the pattern looked like flames, trees, leaves, or peacock feathers.

 A bit of embroidery.  This was for my committee chair--the poppy motif seemed to suit her.

 I wasn't too sure about the frame at first--I was afraid it was a bit frilly, French country.  But I like it.  I took the glass out so it wouldn't smoosh the embroidery.

Flowers for Momma and my mother-in-law for Mother's Day.  Flower arranging is a lot harder than it looks!  Especially if you do something silly, like try to use a planter with a drainage hole as a vase.  As it turns out, I couldn't just tape it up and expect it to stay water-tight.  So I ended up using the ubiquitous Mason jar as the actual vase and packing plastic grocery bags around it to keep it from bumping the ceramic planter.  Classy, right?  Anyway, the flowers were pretty, coral and yellow striped tulips and light orange roses.

Wham, Bam, Strawberry Jam

 Freezer jam is quite possibly the easiest thing in the world to make.  No kidding.  Making a sandwich involves more skill.

 First, I picked the berries.  I love the pick-your-own farm just up the road.  My bucket was so full that berries kept jumping out.  Back home, I sliced off the tops and hulled them.  Spread them on a baking sheet and mashed them with a potato masher until they are nice and pulpy.

 In another bowl, I mixed sugar and pectin, then mixed in the mashed berries.  This mixture gets poured into half-pint jelly jars, leaving a half-inch head space (the jam expands when it freezes).  Leave it for thirty minutes and then freeze or refrigerate.   That is it.  No fancy equipment, no boiling water--I didn't even turn the stove on. (Specific measurements are listed on the pectin container; I used Ball Instant Pectin).

 I gave a jar, along with a loaf of homemade Victorian Milk Bread, to my committee members as a thank you for helping with my dissertation.

We kept several jars for ourselves, and Jordan has been eating it straight out of the jar with a spoon.  I prefer mine on toast.  It is so delicious and tastes nothing like store-bought strawberry jam--it actually tastes like strawberries, even after it has been frozen.  We tried some last night on croissant bread pudding that I made with some very stale croissants: shazam.

Whole new possibilities have opened up: blueberry jam, blackberry jam, peach jam, quince jam.  Forget ice cream and frozen peas.  Our freezer will be stocked with jam!

A Moveable Feast

In my family, holidays (and combined birthdays, celebrated quarterly) are marked by a dinner at my grandmother's.  All the grown-up women bring a dish.  I think I am a grown-up woman now, so I want to bring something to these dinners.  But, there is a problem: I live 2 and a half hours away from Granny's.  And we arrive typically two days before the dinner.  So this Easter, we will have a dinner, but we will be getting into town the Friday before.  Thus, my dilemma: I need something that can be made well in advance and can be transported (and won't melt in the car).  I'm thinking some kind of bread.  I am also thinking I just need to live closer to home.

Fukunaga's Jane Eyre: An English Teacher's Perspective

Jane Eyre is quite possibly my favorite book ever (I say possibly because, really, who can pick a single favorite?)  I have read it at least half a dozen times since the fateful first encounter when I was sixteen and absolutely riveted by Jane and Rochester, the breath-catching romance and the flesh-creeping spookiness.

I was, however, rather nonplussed when I first heard that a new film version was coming out.  I have seen several different renditions of the novel in film and am unimpressed with all of them, except for the 2006 Masterpiece Theatre miniseries.  That version, starring Toby Stephens and Ruth Wilson was quite good, so much so that I didn't think there really needed to be another version already.  After seeing the film on Saturday, however, I feel that Fukunaga's version has definite merit.

There are a few problems, the most significant being length.  It is just too problematic trying to cram a 500+ page Victorian "loose baggy monster" into a 2-hour feature film format.  Several scenes that I found important (though, admittedly, not essential) were cut, in particular the ones in which Mr. Rochester attempts to deck his fiancee in finery, which she is having none of.  Of course, this is no doubt due to my interest in fashion in literature, but I see these scenes as important in establishing Jane's resistance to attempts to manipulate her sense of self and identity.  The other significant scene cut is Bertha ripping Jane's veil and blowing the candle out in her face the night before the wedding.  I was particularly shocked that this was eliminated, since from the trailer it looked as though the film was going to play up the Gothic elements.  However, Bertha actually gets very little screen time at all.

Also, while overall the casting was quite good (and excellent in Mia Wasikowska as Jane, but more on that later), I was a bit dissatisfied with Michael Fassbender's Rochester.  He's just a bit too....mean.  Particularly in the earliest scenes, he is vicious.  Which doesn't match the Rochester of the book, where he is stern and gruff and commanding, but also funny and tender; Fassbender seems to forget the latter in his efforts to convince us of the former.  Jamie Bell's St. John Rivers is also problematic, but for the opposite reason: he is too nice.  The film insinuates that St. John is actually attracted to Jane and wants to marry her for romantic, as well as evangelical purposes; we have none of the St. John of the book's icy "you were formed for labor, not for love" pronouncements.  And there is, of course, no Rosamund Oliver.  Oh, and Jane being a cousin to the Riverses is not mentioned at all....

But, enough with the problems.  First, the film is gorgeous.  It opens with Jane's flight across the moors as she leaves Thornfield, a red sky with rain in the distance behind her, and it just gets better from there.  There seems to have been a commitment to authenticity in many of the details.  For example, the scenes shot in those dark corridors of the Thornfield appear to be lighted by only the candle the actors are carrying--no mysterious, bright-as-day "moonlight" creeping in--you actually see what it might have been like to live in a pre-electric time.  The clothes are also wonderful, from the chemises, petticoats, and corsets outward.  Jane appears in her blacks and greys of course, but with subtle plaids and stripes.

And, then, Jane herself.  Mia Wasikowska is fantastic.  She looks like Jane, who is described as small and plain.  The plain part is easy: even the prettiest woman stripped of her make-up and forced into that distinctive 1840's hairstyle with that severe center part and braids looping around the ears is going to look plain. But Wasikowska is able to pull off expressions that convey the sense of passion being forced back by reason.  It's all about restraint.  I like Ruth Wilson's Jane, but she is a bit too jolly, smiles a bit too easily, and cries a bit too heartily.  Wasikowska is more subtle: a flicker of flame hinting at (but neither revealing nor hiding) the inferno beneath.

There were so many really good scenes, but I'll just mention two that were particularly memorable--the proposal beneath the oak tree really demonstrates Wasikowska's restraint.  I have told my students that I think the most important lines in the novel are probably the ones where Jane says "Do you think that because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little that am soulless and heartless?"  And Wasikowska nails it.  It was during this scene that my husband, who has never read the book and does not profess any great interest in classic British literature, looked at me and announced, "This is good."  The other scene that is particularly well-done is the one where Rochester is trying to convince Jane to stay after the discovery of Bertha.  Oh, the agony.  But, oh the restraint.  You can see Jane struggling, not allowing herself to touch Rochester, literally crying out to God for help.  It's breath-taking.

If you haven't seen the film, it is definitely worth watching (and I would love to know what you think).  Good luck finding it in a theater near you: we drove to the next county to find it in a small, artsy theater.  But it was certainly worth it!

Snow and Scripture Memorization

First, it is snowing.  On March 28th.  In North Carolina.  Looks like I will get to try out the mittens after all.

Second, I will be attempting to memorize more Scripture.  This is something that I was forced to think about as I was doing some work on our Youth study for church.  I memorized some Scripture when I accepted Christ as a teenager, but I haven't done much since.  I will remember a phrase or two, but I am particularly awful with remembering the reference, so I'm usually going, "yeah, I'm sure that's in there somewhere."  So here's the verse(s) for this week--something from a recent lesson I taught the girls' class.

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." ~Romans 12:1-2

I like the idea of being constantly renewed and transformed--especially if it means revealing the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.  Also, the phrase "reasonable service" doesn't mean "what is expected of you" like I at first thought.  It means spiritual worship--I talk to the youth about what the word "worship" means, trying to get them to think beyond the "worship service," the sermon and singing.  Here, our dedication of our selves to God is an act of worship.

The Knitting Back-Log

Here are the things I have been working on lately. And by lately, I mean since September. I am really behind. But there was that whole dissertation thing in there somewhere, you know.

The Villette Vest: Purply corset-type vest in a tiny wool-silk blend that took a loooong time to finish.

Linville River Mittens: Super-thick, super-warm, double-stranded with 100% wool worsted and wool sock yarn. I named them after the river that I visit often on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The dark gray mixed with flecks of blue, green, and brown, with the pebbly texture of the moss stitch made me think of looking into a mountain stream with its clear water and rocky bottom. These are lined with fleece for extra-warmth. Hopefully I won't get to test their abilities until next winter!

Rivendell Gloves and Hat: I love coral. I should not wear it. Shades of orange are dangerous with my complexion, but I can't resist. I made the hat first. I love the leaf lace pattern, that also looks (in this shade) like tiny flames. It is a bit long, and therefore a bit lumpy, but, no matter. The gloves reflect another of my obsessions: cables. This is the most complicated cabling I have done, and one glove (the second attempt) came out a bit better than the other. I named them after the elven city in The Lord of the Rings because both leaves and delicate Celtic knotwork seem to belong there. The book I am holding (getting a bit ambitious with our photo-staging, huh?) is David Day's Tolkien's Ring, a really cool study of the various world myths and stories that may have inspired Tolkien.

Catching Up

So, it's a bit sad that my first post of 2011 is in March, but I think that should be a fair indication of what the last few months have been like around here.  So, here, in no particular order, are things I have been doing:



1) Dissertation Updates: I passed my defense last week!  It was tough and exciting in equal parts, but it's over.  I am now in the process of editing/formatting so I can submit to the graduate school.  Graduation is set for May.  Which leads me to...

2) The job search: I have nothing to say on this besides a plea for prayers.  I am hoping for a lecturer/adjunct position somewhere in the general area.


3) On being sick: I have had 2-3 colds, a mild case of flu, what was possibly a sinus infection, and a round of stomach virus in the last few months.  My doctor had told me back in August that there really wasn't any need to take my multi-vitamins since there hasn't been any proof that they do anything.  I'm thinking that they do something for me, so I'm taking them again.

4)  New Computer: After more than six years of excellent service, my laptop finally gave up the fight.  I spent more than a week computerless, which actually taught me that the world will not leave me behind if I don't check my email every five minutes and that Facebook really isn't a life necessity.  Nevertheless, I am very happy with the new laptop, and my ability to get online without a drive to the public library.

5) On books and travel:  I never thought I would say this, but I have been devouring Jan Karon's Mitford series.  I always assumed that these would be beyond cheesy and trite, but they are actually quite good - nice, peaceful, before-bed-reading.  I have also been reading Great British Walks and feeling that pit-of-the-stomach, achy, love-sick feeling I get when I start thinking too hard about England.  I want to go back sooo bad.  I actually got out the Fodor's again, just for fun, to start thinking about where we would go the next time - I'm thinking fly into Manchester, hit either the Lake or Peak District, go through Yorkshire, then north into Hadrian's Wall country.  Sigh. Oh, I listened to the audio book of Sarah Rose's For All the Tea in China: How England Stole the World's Favorite Drink and Changed History , an historical account of Robert Fortune's theft of tea production from China in the 19th century - very interesting.

6) Projects: After a mad flurry of knitting (I finished the Christmas gift shawl, the Villette vest, a pair of mittens, and a hat (pictures to follow)), I am taking a break from needlework.  Instead, I have been breaking out the old colored pencils.  For Christmas, Jordan got me a certificate for an art class on colored pencil technique which I very much enjoyed.  Then, on the new bookshelf at the library, I saw Wendy Hollender's Botanical Drawing in Color.  Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

6) On working out and goals:  Since January, I have been working out fairly consistently at the gym at school.  I was doing a program that Jordan found for me, that involved actually going in the weight room, where I was invariably the only girl.  I was actually impressed with what I was able to do - I finally figured out that the weights are supposed to be heavy (duh).  I had always picked light weights (like 5lbs.) because I thought that was what I was supposed to lift, because I am a little girl.  Then, I realized that you don't get stronger if you lift what it already pretty light.  I quickly moved up to the 15lb. dumbbells, which are almost too heavy.  I'm not sure that they are actually having the effect that I wanted - I think I am stronger, but my arms are still fairly stick-like.  I've been running on the treadmill too, and as soon as it gets sufficiently warm outside, I am going to start training for another 5k.  I ran one in 2009 in 32:10.  My new goal is to run in under 30 mins.


I hope to blog with something approaching consistency;  I also hope to learn how to end posts.  They always seem abrupt or weird.