Tuesday's Tea

Tea at the Ritz

I saw a delightful article on the CNN Website the other day. (How often do you get to say that?) It was all about taking tea in England. Sigh. How I'd love to be the reporter with that assignment! I followed a few of their links and thought I'd share a few here.

So pour your cuppa and enjoy the virtual tea tour with me. I have my Earl Grey poured in my favorite bone china cup right beside me ready to enjoy.

Here is a quick article on various tea traditions in England describing what to expect for an Afternoon Tea, as well as High Tea and "Elevenses". (Think: a pretty tea party, dinner, and a coffee break with tea instead.)

This is the link to the article itself listing several popular places for tea. I find it a bit funny that it's from Budget Travel, but lists teas from some of the most expensive places in England, upwards of 92 pounds. I guess we all have different budgets.

Let's stop off at The Ritz, shall we? Here's their Menu for Afternoon Tea. Remember ladies to make those reservations at least a month in advance!

Afternoon Tea Sandwiches

Smoked Salmon

Egg Mayonnaise with Cress

Ham

Chicken and Mayonnaise

Cucumber with Cream Cheese

Freshly Baked Raisin and Apple Scones with Devonshire Clotted Cream and organic Strawberry Preserve

Assortment of Afternoon Tea Pastries with English Cream

Fruits of The Forest Compote with English Cream

Ritz Selected Teas or Ritz Blend Filter Coffee

The Ritz's Tea Menu looks wonderful. I think I would request a pot of the Rose Congou/Pouchong myself. Here's its description:

Rose Congou / Pouchong

A China black tea from the Guangdong province enriched with rose petals & flavoured with rose aroma, very gentle, light, a delicious tea.

Of course, it would be hard to resist this Darjeeling. I often will order a Darjeeling when I am out to tea as they are usually a more expensive tea to buy on their own. Doesn't this description sound delightful?

Darjeeling First Flush

Truly the Champagne of teas, a rare & wonderful experience, this Black tea, from the first tender new shoots grown between February and April on the foothills of the Himalayas, producing a wonderful light liquor with a delicate flavour of green muscatel.

The Dorchester reminds you to dress accordingly:

The Dorchester has grand dining, less formal eating, award-winning afternoon teas and a variety of distinctive private dining rooms. Expert service and elegant surroundings ensure a memorable experience.

The dress code at The Dorchester is smart casual, however we do request that guests refrain from wearing baseball hats, shorts and training shoes.

Yes, let's not wear our training shoes to tea, ladies.

Claridge's Afternoon Tea

This looks like where I'd like to stop in with a fun friend and laugh together enjoying our tea after a delightful time shopping, or visiting a museum. It doesn't appear stuffy, or intimidating at all. The stripes add such an element of fun to the table, don't they?

Well, I hope our little tea trip has refreshed you. Thanks for joining me! Have a tea-lightful week!

Classic Dame

Your Score: Katharine Hepburn

You scored 11% grit, 23% wit, 47% flair, and 26% class!

You are the fabulously quirky and independent woman of character. You go your own way, follow your own drummer, take your own lead. You stand head and shoulders next to your partner, but you are perfectly willing and able to stand alone. Others might be more classically beautiful or conventionally woman-like, but you possess a more fundamental common sense and off-kilter charm, making interesting men fall at your feet. You can pick them up or leave them there as you see fit. You share the screen with the likes of Spencer Tracy and Cary Grant, thinking men who like strong women.

Find out what kind of classic leading man you'd make by taking the
Classic Leading Man Test.

(DISCLAIMER FROM KIMBERLY: I found this link somewhere. All I did was this test. I have no idea what else maybe on the site. As always, proceed with caution. This posting is not an endorsement of the site.)

Link: The Classic Dames Test

Psalm 139

O LORD, you have searched me

and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise;

you perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue

you know it completely, O LORD.

You hem me in--behind and before;

you have laid your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths,you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me

and the light become night around me,"

even the darkness will not be dark to you;

the night will shine like the day,

for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place.

When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me

were written in your book

before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

Were I to count them,

they would outnumber the grains of sand.

When I awake,

I am still with you.

If only you would slay the wicked, O God!

Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!

They speak of you with evil intent;

your adversaries misuse your name.

Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD,

and abhor those who rise up against you?

I have nothing but hatred for them;

I count them my enemies.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.

Carrot Cake Recipe

Jewel was looking for Carrot Cake recipes last night, so I thought I'd post mine here.

I never really liked Carrot Cake until I made this recipe. This is the best Carrot Cake ever! It's three wonderful layers chock full of so many delicious things.

Because it is three layers, I used to only make it for company, or group gatherings. However, I've discovered that the unfrosted layers freeze great. So now we can have just a layer at a time. I just whip up enough frosting for each layer after it's defrosted and it works out great.

This recipe is from Susan Branch's Heart of the Home, a delightful cookbook full of great recipes and her signature illustrations. Go check out her site and get her book. It's a lot of fun!

THREE-LAYER CARROT CAKE

4 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp nutmeg

3 cups grated carrots
1 cup coconut
1 8 oz can of crushed pineapple
1 cup raisins (The recipe says golden, but I only ever have regular.)
1 cup walnuts, chopped (We use pecans as Sweetheart is allergic to walnuts.)


Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Oil three 8" cake pans. (I only have 9" and they work fine.) Set out 1/2 cup butter and one 8 oz cream cheese to soften (for frosting). Put pineapple in sieve to drain. Beat eggs in large bowl. Add sugars and beat till light and fluffy. Add oil and mix well with whisk. Put in the dry ingredients and beat till smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients and pour batter into oiled layer pans. Bake for 40 minutes or until knife comes out clean when inserted in the center of cake. Cool slightly and frost.

FROSTING

1/2 cup butter
8 oz cream cheese
1 one pound box of powdered sugar
3 tsp vanilla

Mix together till smooth. Frost between layers and on top. Try toasted coconut for decoration. (Or Jewel's carrot flowers!)

I'm off to go get that last layer out of the freezer...

Peace

Pumpkin is playing with all his toys quietly.
There are no errands to run today.
No laundry to do.
The house is clean (enough).
I spent several hours on my projects last night.


I'm enjoying the sounds of peace.
Little noises from Pumpkin
as he talks to his bear and plays with his bus.
Gentle music plays in the background.
Life is good.


It's so wonderful to just take a few minutes and enjoy it all.
To notice it happening.
To feel the peace unfold.
Thank you, Lord.
May I seek these moments everyday.
May I seek Your face
and listen to Your still small voice,
even when it's not quiet and peaceful.


Soon, it will be time for lunch.
The phone will ring.
Pumpkin will tire of playing alone.
But for now,
just sitting here listening to the sounds of my own breathing,
feeling the gentle, and not so gentle, nudgings of this new life inside,
is enough.


I smile and breathe deeply.
Thank you, Jesus, for being
the Prince of Peace.




Selah.

Tuesday's Tea of the Week

We're having a bit of a heatwave here in Denver.
(I know, it's summer. It's supposed to be hot. I was born and raised in Phoenix, so I've had many a hot summer. Somehow, being almost nine months pregnant, makes it all seem hotter.)
With the temperature hovering around 100 degrees, I am trying to stay inside and keep cool. It's days like this I really enjoy a good glass of iced tea. I still drink my hot teas in the mornings, but switch to iced later on.

I received my newsletter yesterday from Prettywood Tea. They had a lovely article on Iced Tea, so I wrote and asked if I could share it with you. They said that would be fine, so here it is. Enjoy! (I've not personally bought anything from their website yet, but I do enjoy their newsletter and browsing the site.)

How to Brew The Perfect Glass of Iced Tea

Iced tea is one of the most popular beverages in the US! You can stay cool and refreshed this summer with a nice tall glass of ice tea. Here are your four easy steps to brewing the perfect cup:

1. Start with ice. You'll need to fill your glass about ¾ of the way.
2. Brew your tea. Boil 4 oz. of water, then add 1 teaspoon of loose tea leaves, or one tea bag. Use the normal brewing time, or the tea may become bitter. Now, you have a strong, concentrated tea. Let the tea cool down a little.
3. Pour the warm, concentrated tea over the glass of ice.
4. Add a slice of lemon and sugar to taste. Relax and enjoy!

And don't forget these helpful tips:

• To make an 8-glass pitcher, simply increase the amount of water to 32 oz., and use enough ice to fill the pitcher ¾ full. Use 2-3 tablespoons of tea.
• For best taste, we recommend a fruit-flavored black tea or a fruity herbal blend.
• Use large ice cubes, not chipped or crushed ice. Ice cubes are slower to melt, and will cool tea more without adding excess water.

If you want to make authentic Southern sweet tea, try this recipe, which substitutes cold water for ice:

Mix 1 cup of sugar with 4 cups of water, and chill in refrigerator until cold. Bring 4 cups of water to boiling. Remove from heat and add 2 tablespoons of loose black tea leaves. Steep for around six minutes, then strain to remove loose tea leaves. Mix the tea with the cold sugar-water mixture. Chill in refrigerator again until cold. Serve plain or over ice!

1 Timothy 6:11

"Pursue a righteous life-

a life of wonder,

faith,

love,

steadiness,
courtesy."

Images: Allposters.com

Shave and a Haircut--2 Bits

Breakfast Wednesday Morning


*
Breakfast Thursday Morning


I think I'll vote for a little more length next time! Of course, his hair grows so fast that by next week it'll look fine. He looks a little too freshly-shorn this week for my tastes, but Daddy sure can use those clippers!

Reflections on Life in the Middle of the Night

Oh, the many joys of pregnancy! I am wide awake wishing I could work on stuff around the house that it's been hard to get to during the day, but I doubt Sweetheart and Pumpkin want to hear me vacuum at 3:45 in the morning. Sigh. Most of the things I'd like to do right now require too much noise or brain power.

Of course, I am thinking about how Jewels is getting up for the day in fifteen minutes. Actually, since I have no idea where she lives, she's probably been up for a while. I am trying to get up earlier (not THAT early) myself so that I can exercise and have my quiet time before the guys are up. I find it very difficult though when I am up throughout the night on nights like tonight.

I am sure part of the up all night thing in pregnancy is to help us get used to getting up at all times of the night once the baby is born. However, as Pumpkin was sleeping through the night at five weeks (Blessed Child of Mine!) I think I slept better after he was born than before.

I am not particularly good on minimal sleep. I tend to get grouchy. Good thing we have nothing planned for tomorrow, but cleaning and laundry. It'll be a relaxed day. Of course, I'll need to work on packing away about 1/2 of the things in the dining room and living rooms.

Pumpkin has not shown any interest in all the treasures I have around the house. Until today. Of course, he's really not just roamed free. I've been able to keep him in the area I am in so that he's always in my line of sight. Now, as he's becoming increasingly mobile (Hallelujah!) he's become a real go-getter.

I had him in the kitchen with me while I was preparing dinner; just playing with plastic containers and spoons on the floor. At least that was the plan. A few minutes though, he would take off around the island sending me scrambling after him. I watched as he toodled around the dining room, explored my basket of devotional stuff, and headed off to the living room. Luckily, he hums as he moves so he's easy to track!

What I never saw was him crawling with my Grandmother's Spode dish that was on a table in the living room. I only discovered it later on the floor (unharmed) in the dining room. Granted, it's a long, thin dish and the same color as the carpet, but how he crawled with it is beyond me. Good thing we don't have tile or wooden floors!

What we do have in a very open floor plan where you can see the entire first floor from the kitchen. It's one of the things that sold me on the house when we were first looking. I knew I want to be able to keep an eye on all the kiddos. It's an "L"-shaped design where you come in the front door and are in the family room. Keep walking and you're in the dining room. Then you come to the kitchen with its island and turn left into the living room. There are no doors, or walls at all. It's good in a lot of ways, but tough to keep little monkeys corralled in!

I must have had a rather bewildered look on my face when Sweetheart came in the door from work. He took over at that point so that I could finish dinner. (Actually, I think my exact words were, "If you what dinner, you'll need to watch him. He's turned into a madman tearing through the house in the last half hour!")

Since it looked like ToysRUs had exploded in the kitchen and Pumpkin was hauling all around, Sweetheart laughed and scooped him up. Dinner was soon served without further incident. I think I grab the Crockpot and get that going for tonight!

It's so exciting to see Pumpkin starting to walk. He's able to go pretty far now, just holding on to one of my hands. His balance is pretty good and he definitely has the strength in his legs now. I think it's mostly a confidence thing at this point. I really need him to be able to walk on his own before this next one arrives. He seems to be warming up to the idea, so hopefully he'll be on his way in no time! Once he puts his mind to something, there is no stopping him.

Well, I think I'll try to go back to sleep for a little while now. I may just get up for the day if I don't fall asleep soon. Have a wonderful day!

Good Morning!

Before

I happened upon Jewel's blog, "Eyes of Wonder"via a link from Brenda's blog, "Coffee, Tea, Books & Me"recently where Brenda highlighted Jewel's journals. Amazing. Now, I stop in and visit Jewel's world regularly.

The other day she had a post on quiches and asked people to comment on their own. I was up early enough this morning to exercise and make a quiche. As it was baking, I had my cup of tea and read my devotions. What a nice morning!

I liked how Jewel's described assembling her quiches. Of course, her quantities are much larger as her family is much larger! I really measure anything myself, unless I'm baking, so I just rummaged through the fridge for ingredients and adjusted accordingly. It all went to together quickly, especially without worrying about a crust. I love quiches, but rarely make them unless it's for company since Sweetheart always eats the same. exact. thing. for. breakfast.everyday. Simply skipping the crust made it a lot faster to assemble and bake, and since most of the fat is in the crust, it's healthier, too.

I mixed five eggs with 1/2 cup of half and half and a half a cup of milk. Then I sautéed about a teaspoon of onion with a handful of spinach leaves and two diced mushrooms. I remembered I had bacon, so I microwaved two slices of that and added it to the veggies. I then spread the veggies and bacon around in my greased pie plate and poured on the egg mix. I topped it with swiss and cheddar cheeses and some spices, then popped it into the oven at 365 degrees for about 25-30 minutes. I stuck a fork in it and it came out clean, so I decided it was done.

During Baking

I served myself a slice with some cinnamon bread I made the other day, and gave Pumpkin a sliver to try. Surprisingly, he didn't like it even though he likes everything that was in it. He ate just a few bites and let me finish it off for him. Trust me, it didn't go to waste. Oh, how I wish you could pull up a chair, pour yourself a cup of tea, and join me!

Yum! It's finished! Time to eat!
http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/2136984/19977256

Swimming

Yesterday I took Pumpkin swimming for the first time. I'd visited one or two of the pools in the area a few years ago, but they weren't very nice and didn't seem too clean. I didn't know the one we visited even existed until we were invited to join in the fun with some friends.

We had so much fun! Pumpkin LOVED it. I just tried to ignore the fact I was in a swimsuit 81/2 months pregnant...Ugh.

He floated around the baby pool in a tube, played with the balls and toys and generally had a blast. I sat in there with him and had all the kiddos surround me chatting away. It was fun. It was only later that I realized why I was probably the only adult in the baby pool. (No noticeable accidents, but still...)

At one point I took him into the big pool and we just floated around together. We laughed and kicked and played. It was so much fun. It was really funny at one point when a big duck flew overhead and decided to land in the pool. She swam around for a few minutes and Pumpkin quacked at her. She eventually flew off into the area with all the grass and trees. All in all, it was a lovely time. I just wish I'd thought to take my camera.

* I've not posted much recently as I've been battleling with keyboards and other technical difficulties. Also, I was given a Reflective Blogger Award last week from Brenda at Coffee, Tea, Books and Me and it's really had me reflecting on blogging in general and what I want it to be. I wrote a lot this weekend on the laptop and will try to transfer and post it to this computer in the next day or two. Blessings to you all!

**The picture above is of Pumpkin cruising up the stairs with Daddy standing on the steps below him to make sure he doesn't fall. He just discovered them last week and is racing up them already. Now, we just have to work on the going down part. Man, is he fast!

Porch

Sitting in the rocker on the porch stoop, holding my sweet boy~
The smell of lavender mixed with rain,
the soft scent of my sweet one.
The feel of the breeze and gentle raindrops on our skin.
Listening to the laughter of mother and child
with the wind chimes making sweet music in the background.
Just rocking.
Cuddleling.
Tickleling.
Laughing.
Enjoying a cool breeze.
Sweet summer afternoons.

Nine Years Ago Today

This woman,

and this man,


were joined in Holy Matrimony


surrounded by family and friends.


I love you, Sweetheart, more with each day and passing year.
Happy Anniversary.


*
"I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine."
Song of Solomon 6:3
*

Projects

I am busily creating a few special projects that I'm attempting to finish before the baby arrives. I am hoping to get Pumpkin's first year scrapbooked, but have stall around month five. I really need to get going!
I am also working on a special project for my mom. I put so much effort into my stepmother's memory book of her mother, that I've burned out on finishing the project for my mom. Sigh. I've gotten back in the groove and am hoping to finish her project in the next week. Maybe then I can reclaim the surface of my desk...

This book is my journal of sorts. I got tired of not finding a book I liked, so I finally decided to just scrap a cover of a black book. Inside are writings, to do lists, prayer lists, book quotes, and an assortment of odds and ends I don't want to lose track of. Not as pretty as Jewel's Journals, but she has inspired me to do more inside the book now and not just the cover. We'll see what happens.

Birthday Tea

I've been meaning to write about the Birthday Tea I did two weeks ago for a friend, but projects and computer issues have made it challenging. Since I've got my glass of iced tea ready and Pumpkin is sleeping, now is the time!

Roisin is one of the first ladies I really had a chance to visit with at church. We met up several Sundays in a row in the ladies room. I was very pregnant with Pumpkin, and she had just had her second son Trenton. I was unable to sit through the entire service and he usually needed a new diaper at the same time. It was she who invited me to MOPS. I thought your kids had to be in preschool to attend, but she informed me that it was for mothers of all kids first grade and under. Her sweet spirit and kindness in reaching out to me, in the ladies room of all places, led me to sign up for Mops after Pumpkin arrived. I am so glad that I did.

We visited a few times that first part of the year I joined up, but really didn't get to know one another until we both became Discussion Group Leaders this last year. The more I've gotten to know her, the more I like her. She has become a friend, something I've been desperately longing for.

Last month I was talking to another mom for Mops, Wendy, and mentioned Roisin's birthday was coming up. Wendy said that we should take her to a tea restaurant. I suggested we just have tea at my home as I have all the stuff and love a reason to have a tea party. The three of us set a date, but unbeknownst to the birthday girl, we invited several other ladies to join us.

As I called the ladies to invite them, I was overwhelmed by the responses of the ladies. Everyone wanted to come. She was special to so many ladies that each wanted to honor her special day.

We had set it for seven in the evening on a weeknight so that everyone could come without their kids. (That sounds mean, but isn't. My house couldn't hold the 35+ kids represented by these ten mothers. Besides, we all thought being able to spend time with just other women sounded like a wonderful break.)

I started baking a few days before the tea, freezing bread for sandwiches, the ginger cookies, and tea breads as well. The day before the tea I made the lemon bars and chocolate pecan toffee. I already had a cake in the freezer for the trifle, as I had baked a cake for company before that wouldn't come out of the pan except in bite-sized pieces.

The day of the tea I tidied up the house, prepared the sandwich fillings, and scones. Late that afternoon my mom came over to watch Pumpkin so I could do all the last minute little things. Thank you, Mom! Wendy came by about a half hour before the ladies and assembled sandwiches with me and everything came together so well. One of the ladies had volunteered to bring a quiche that was such a delicious addition to our meal.

At seven all the ladies, but Roisin arrived and started talking. We moved into the family room when she drove up so that she wouldn't see anyone. She came in a visited with Sweetheart, Wendy and myself, not noticing the group of ladies frozen around the corner. When she finally turned around, she was quite surprised!

We had such a lovely time. Everyone ate and visited and laughed together for hours. We all had such a delightful time that we've decided to make our own Bunco group so that we can get together each month. I am so excited about that. It was such a nice group of ladies. We talked about everything under the sun and ate. A lot. My only regret was in not taking any pictures.
It was quite late before the ladies began to leave. Sweetheart escorted everyone to their cars as they left. That's just his way. It was almost eleven as we help Roisin to her car with all her things. A truly wonderful time was had by all.

We cleaned everything up after they left and chatted until midnight when I finally wound down and let Sweetheart go to sleep. It did take me about two days to recover physically from all the standing and lack of sleep, but it was so worth it.

Here are some links to past postings for helping you to plan a tea. Enjoy!

Tea Time Planner/Countdown
Types of Tea Times
Types of Tea
HospitaliTEA
Tea Etiquette
A Short History of Tea

Recipes:

Tea Sandwiches
Scones
Pumpkin Bread
Ginger Cookies

Picture from Allposters.com

Tuesday's Tea of the Week

It's been quite awhile since I've listed a tea. As it is quite hot out here, and I am quite pregnant, I am enjoying iced tea during the days and reserving my hot teas for mornings and evenings. This morning I made a lovely blended iced tea. I used a large, quart sized tea bag of just regular decaffeinated tea and added to it two regular Republic of Tea Ginger Peach tea bags.

I put them in my giant Pyrex measuring cup with a few cups of water and microwaved it for five minutes. Then I let it steep for 10 minutes and removed the tea bags. After that it was off to the fridge to cool down while I prepared the rest of lunch. Then I added more cool water to taste. I just filled my glass with ice and poured it on over. It's so refreshing and has just a wee bit of caffeine. I may not end up with my afternoon nap today!

Since we stopped drinking soda a little over a year ago, I enjoy having iced teas more, as well as my 1/2+ gallon of water each day. I make lemonade or limeade probably about once a week, especially if we're having company. I really enjoy it, but the cost can really add up, as does the sugar. Otherwise, it's milk or an occasional juice around here.

I love the pitcher in the picture (say that fast a few times!) above. I've been waiting to get a pitcher like that do make brewing iced tea easier with all my loose teas instead of the bags. Someday...

progress

a weed patch that grows things

here's a picture of an amazing dragonfly sweetheart found on the fence the other morning. it was the largest dragonfly i've ever seen.

pardon the lack of capitals. i am not trying an e.e. cummings sort of thing. it is simply that the shift key on my keyboard now longer works. i think sweetheart's ordered a new one. hope so. this is annoying to me. back to the post...


i do not have a garden this year. i merely have a weed patch that grows things. there is a difference. once the robins were done nesting on the rototiller, sweetheart discovered the tiller was dead anyway. sigh. meanwhile the weeds grew taller. they are now so far beyond my pregnant self's ability to pull them all that i have resigned myself to seeing what i can do this fall after the baby arrives to have it in better shape for next year. (i'm not expecting much.)
luckily, we have some perennials and some things that just reseed themselves so there are a few things alive out there besides weeds. i've tried keeping the raised beds clear of weeds, but that's all. the free-growing areas that are usually filled with wonderful squashes, sunflowers and wildflowers are just a disaster. i've lost all hope of installing the brick path i'd hope for as well. all the bricks are piled up where sweetheart put them after salvaging them from an old, condemned house last year.
my thyme, cilantro, savory, and dill are alive. i've a bunch of lettuce that somehow appeared and a bunch of old carrots. most of the strawberries croaked, but a few pulled through. remember the adorable robins sweetheart was helping to raise? now he just wants them dead as they are stealing all his berries. oh well. good thing we're not farmers. still, i can dream of a beautiful garden, a restful retreat on a summer's day. maybe next summer.

My Year of Dickens

Like many of you, I was required to read at least one Charles Dickens novel for English class. We read Great Expectations one year. It was not very interesting to me at the time. I was completely grossed out by Miss Havisham and her home. I couldn't seem to get past my revulsion at her way of life to notice the rest of the story.

I know I also read A Christmas Carol somewhere along the way as well. I enjoyed that story more, but still wasn't too interested in Dickens as an author.

I think part of the problem was that we read the stories aloud as a class. So much is lost in a story to me that way. I would get caught up and distracted by how others read aloud, usually poorly, and certainly without expression. If I tried to ignore my classmates and read ahead on my own, I would be totally off track if I was called on to read, so that didn't work too well. All in all, I read what was required, but no more.

That recently changed. Sweetheart and I bought the DVD of Nicholas Nickleby awhile back. This was the 2002 version. We loved it. It is a wonderful movie that, while not including all 800+ pages of material, does a fine job as a feature film. Of course, I also like the 2005 Pride & Prejudice film which may make my opinion suspect to some of you. :) see my thoughts here.

It was probably a year or so after watching the movie several times that I decided I should read the book. I read it last fall and enjoyed it tremendously. It is quite long and contains an amazing amount of detail, but was an enjoyable read none the less. I highly recommend it!

Reading Nicholas Nickelby led my on to reread A Christmas Carol last December. I took a few months off of Dickens, but then reread Great Expectations. This time through I loved it! I am sure that it was due in part because I was reading it for my own pleasure and not as an assignment. I was amazed at how little I remember. Of course, high school was a long time ago for me...

I then jumped in and read Oliver Twist and A Tale of Two Cities in just a few weeks. We had seen a recent movie version of Oliver Twist on sale at Target, but didn't purchase it. This motivated me to read the book to see if I'd want to get a movie version.

While I was reading Oliver Twist and ATOTC, I discovered a set of 1874 editions of all of Dickens' writings on ebay. I was so excited when we won the auction for such a low price. It's a lovely set, well-worn, but so neat to own. Besides, I think most books that are over 130 years would be pretty worn, don't you?

I was in for another surprise, though. Sweetheart mentioned he found a copy of the BBC version of Oliver Twist and ordered it. I was so pleased when it arrived, all 12 episodes! Imagine my surprise though when Sweetheart informed me that it came with a two box set of ALL the BBC movie productions of Dickens. We now have about 10 different movies to enjoy. Of course, it took about two weeks to get through watching Oliver Twist a bit t time every few evenings, so I think this is a set that will keep us busy for quite some time!

I absolutely adore Dickens now! His wit and attention to detail is masterful. How he kept track of so many characters and plot twists astounds me, especially when you note that most of his writings were done as serials in monthly installments. While he made a few editorially changes in some of his works as they were printed in novel forms, he was basically publishing his stories while he was still writing them.

The history contained in his writings is fascinating to me as well. I feel as though I have learned so much just from reading his novels that I never knew before. It is quite an education.

It is neat to know that his writing was more than just entertainment. He actually championed a lot of needed reforms at that time through his writings. His descriptions of conditions in both schools and poor houses led to much needed change. How wonderful that he could both entertain people and lead them to fight for reform!

I've just started the copy of The Pickwick Papers from my wonderful old set. I look forward to discovering what awaits between the covers of this story. I am planning to read through the entire set. It will take some time, but I'll keep you posted.

Apparently, I'm not the only fan of Dickens. Mrs. Wilt has some ideas and links on him as well on her new blog. I look forward to checking them out as well.


Why don't you join me in revisiting some of the old classics, and see if you too enjoy them more the second time around? Let me know what you're reading.

****Question: Usually movie titles are in quotes while book titles are listed in italics, what does one do for a book that's been made into a movie?

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Sweetheart has been working on installing ceiling fans and has been playing with electricity for the last few days. :) He's testing something right now, so he flipped the breaker on for a few minutes. Meanwhile, I've dashed on here to check email and leave a little note.
I'll be back to regular posts once the power is back on permanently. It may be a few more days. I look forward to posting on the tea last week, Pumpkin's latest tricks and my Year of Dickens.
Have a lovely week!