Thursday, December 02, 2021

Out of it

I am playing carols on my sax in a combo on Saturday in aid of the local hospice, and when I went for a practice yesterday, my teacher Mel said 'Are you ready for Christmas?' and I said 'I don't get ready for that until December,' and she said 'But it is December.'

I have been out of it.

This time, jet lag lasted a week - so much longer than usual. I'd been puzzling why, when Chrissie pointed out that the lack of daylight in late November was probably to blame.

During this last comatose week I have been listening to an audiobook and watching television to a degree that a non-comatose Sue Hepworth would be ashamed of. But I must just tell you that Eleanor Bron reads The Enchanted April so superbly that when the book was finished and I wanted to choose another, I searched for books read by her, rather than by author or title. That's how good she is.

And I discovered that the 2019 version of Little Women is now on Netflix - oh joy! - so I watched it twice and fell in love with the clothes all over again.

Why can't I find any like them to buy? I want that waistcoat Jo wears and that deep blue blouse with the very full sleeves she wears under it. 



I want her knitted waistcoat and her brightly coloured pantaloons! And I want this jacket!




With the exception of Kettlewell, the catalogues arriving in the post are full of dreary clothes in muted tones. Yukh. And they're boring.

That's all I have to say. My brain is empty. 

But now I am awake again I need to get back into my painting, cycling and I think I'll look on Ravelry to find a knitting pattern for a waistcoat. I might start thinking about Christmas...but don't ask me if it is ON or OFF this year because after the ravages of the last two years I have absolutely no idea.



3 comments:

Sue Hepworth said...

Just found Little Women clothes - including a waistcoat- on Etsy, but boy are they expensive.

Anonymous said...

I watched Little Women twice this week and I loved it but I was confused about the time lines which is why I watched it again, maybe I should read the book? I’m not sure if I have read it before or not, I’m confused and sincerely wondering if I’m loosing my marbles. I watched The holiday as well this week and am sure I had read the book only to find it isn't based on a book - so have I watched it before and forgotten? Is this what growing older is?
Re ON or OFF, I got THE boxes down from the loft, wore a silly hat for our church table top sale today and now I want to put it all back up in the loft and skip the decorating and all the fuss this year and fast forward to Christmas Day, have family together, eat too much and move on. Its been a weird year all together. And I usually love the decorating bit. So many people have their trees up already and we’ve received 3 Christmas cards already.
Back to Little Women (and a number of other recent finds) is it me or is there more mumbling and more darker lighting these days ? I have started to use subtitles to catch everything. Women’s rights aside there is something very appealing about the era in which it is set as presented by the film - all those log fires, meals around long tables and yes wonderful clothes.
Jenetta
It also occurs to me you don’t have to be jet lagged to feel December has arrived without noticing - it just doesnt feel right that its December already. I want to stamp my feet and turn back the clock!

Sue Hepworth said...

Hi Jenetta,
1/ I love this adaptation of Little Women - I think it’s a masterpiece - but I do think you need to know the story well in order to be able to understand the time lines. Maybe you should read the book - or alternatively watch the 1994 adaptation which is good, and with a more accurate/convincing ( and incidentally more yummy) Professor Bhaer.

2/ I find I need subtitles too, even with the sound turned up. Yes - productions seem darker and muddier to me too. The one criticism I would make of this adaptation, though, is the background music, which is frequently unnnecessary and muddies the clarity of the speech.

3/ Christmas - I feel the same. I will bring in the tree which I dug up and potted up on Friday, but I can’t be bothered with anything else. This year, I am invited to Zoe’s house, which will be wonderful - in fact, everything - as last year I only saw local family outside on a cold hike.