March Is Women's History Month

Jane Austen

What is your favorite Jane Austen novel?

What is your favorite movie?

Emma?

 Pride and Prejudice?

Sense and Sensibility?

I would have to say that I have

never read any of Jane Austen's novels!

I know, I know... I should  read the

whole collection someday

But...

I do have a favorite movie!

It's Pride and Predjudice! 

 I love Mr. Darcy! 

Who wouldn't!

I just loved the whole movie! 

Emma takes a close second  because

I love the storyline, it is so sweet, 

and  Gynweth Paltrow did a great

job playing Emma! I love to watch the movies

because I love looking at all of the beautiful dresses. 

These movies are so well produced and directed,

staying true to that time period in set and costume design. 

 You feel as if you are being taken back in time,

watching the characters as Jane must have

 imagined them when first writing her novels.

Here are some lovely pictures from the Jane Austen movies!

Emma 

Pride and Prejudice

I just had to get one in of Mr. Darcy!

Sense and Sensibility

to see more of the gowns go to this web site:

http://www.janeausten.info/

After watching the movie about fifty times,

I found the Emma dress patterns on the web and

ordered them for myself and my little girls! 

Of course, you know that I haven't made them

yet but the  material and patterns is in safe keeping..

and maybe one day soon...maybe for Easter!!

Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of

romantic fiction earned her a place  as one

of the most widely read writers in English Literature.

Jane lived her entire life with her close-knit family

and they strongly supported her dream

to become a professional writer. 

She was educated by her father and two brothers

as well as through her own reading.

 She tried several  literary forms and then

wrote extensively, revising three major novels. 

 From 1811 until 1816,

she had written and pulished four novels 

and achieved success as a published writer.

 In 1818, she had two more novels published and a

third novel but she died before it was completely finished.

                    1811:    Sense and Sensibility

                1813:    Pride an Prejudice

            1814:    Mansfield Park

                 1818:   Northanger Abbey

      1818:    Persuasion

Title pages and illustrations

 from  these novels:

Sense and Sensibility

PRIDE  AND  PREJUDICE

No Illustrations

EMMA

NORTHANGER  ABBEY

PERSUASION

Illustration from Northanger Abbey

Illustration from Persuasion

 Jane Austen wrote about the dependence

 of women on marriage to secure a

social standing and economic security.

All of her writing was strongly

 influencedby moral issues of the day. 

During Austen's lifetime,

because she chose to publish anonymously,

her works brought her little personal fame

and only a few positive reviews.

Through the mid-nineteenth century,

her novels were admired mainly

by members of the literary elite.

The publication of her nephew's

A Memoir of Jane Austen in 1869,

 introduced her to a far wider public

which became more interested in her novels.

By the 1940s, Austen had become widely

accepted as a "great English writer".

 In popular culture, a Jane Austen fan culture

 has developed, centered on her life,

 her works, and the various film

and television adaptations of them.

Thomas LeFroy

When Austen was twenty,

she met and fell in-love with Tom Lefroy, 

who visited Steventon from

 December 1795 to January 1796.

He had just finished a university degree

 and was moving to London

to train as a barrister.

Lefroy and Austen were probably

 introduced at a neighbourhood

social gathering and  spent a

considerable amount of time together.

The Lefroy family intervened and

sent him away at the end of January.

 Lefroy and Austen must have known

 that marriage was impractical..

Neither had any money, and he was

dependent on a great-uncle in Ireland

to finance his education and

establish his legal career.

 If Tom Lefroy later visited Hampshire,

 he was carefully kept away from the Austens,

and Jane Austen never saw him again.

This dramatic event in her life inspired 

Jane to write  the novel "Pride and Prejudice".

A watercoler of Jane with her sister, Cassandra

In December 1802,

Austen received her only proposal of marriage.

 She and her sister, Cassandra, visited Alethea and
Catherine Bigg, old friends who lived near Basingstoke.

Their younger brother, Harris Bigg-Wither,

had recently finished his education at

 Oxford and was also at home.  He was the

 heir to extensive family estates located in the area

where the sisters had grown up. With these resources,

Austen could provide her parents a comfortable

old age and assist her brothers in their careers.

By the next morning, Austen realised

she had made a mistake and withdrew her acceptance,

stating that she could  not marry without affection.

Stevenston Rectory

where Jane Austen was born

Early in 1816, Jane Austen began to feel unwell.

She ignored her illness at first and

continued to work and to participate

in the usual round of family activities.

By the middle of that year, her decline was

 unmistakable to Jane and to her family,

and Austen's physical condition began a

long, slow, and irregular deterioration

 culminating in her death the following year.

Jane's home in Chawton where she spent her adult years writing

                                             

Jane  continued to work in spite of her illness.

She  made light of her condition to others,

describing it as "Bile" and rheumatism,

but as her disease progressed

she experienced increasing difficulty walking

or finding the energy for other activities.

By mid-April, Austen was confined to her bed.

In May, their brother Henry took Jane to 

 Winchester for medical treatment.

Jane's Brother

Henry Austen

She died in Winchester on

 July 18, 1817, at the age of 41.

 Henry arranged for his sister to be

 buried in the north aisle of the

 nave of Winchester Cathedral.

The epitaph composed by her

 brother James praises Austen's personal

qualities, expresses hope for

 her salvation,and mentions the

"extraordinary endowments of her mind".

Jane's Brother

James Austen

Black silhouette of Jane Austen

A black silhouette of Cassandra Elizabeth Austen

Jane Austen's Sister

 

A black silhouette of  Cassandra Leigh Austen

Jane Austen's Mother

***Quotes***

A lady's imagination is very rapid;

 it jumps from admiration to love,

from love to matrimony in a moment.

Friendship is certainly the finest balm

for the pangs of disappointed love.

If things are going untowardly one month,

they are sure to mend the next.

It sometimes happens that a woman is handsomer
at twenty-nine than she was ten years before.


Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery.





Selfishness must always be forgiven you know,
 because there is no hope of a cure.


There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart.


 There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.


Those who do not complain are never pitied.
 
 
To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love.
 
 
 What is right to be done cannot be done too soon.





Vanity and pride are different things,
though the words are often used synonymously.
 A person may be proud without being vain.
Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves;
 vanity, to what we would have others think of us.



***credits****

The 30 free images are in
public domain and offered
at these links:

http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Emma

http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Pride_and_Prejudice

http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catergory:Sense_and_Sensibility

http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NACatherinereading.jpg

http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PersuationIlliustrationChapter1.jpg

A "BIG THANK YOU"!! I 've just got to brag about "Just Another Volunteer's" amazing art work!

Isn't this beautiful!

This piece of wonderful art work was created by

 Linda at http://justanothervolunteer.blogspot.com

We both create art for the Soartful Challenge 

each Saturday and when I posted my entry,

 I saw this amazing postcard! 

I went over to visit her site and  found

the sweetest post about my free images

and the story I wrote about  Alice Paul! 

Didn't she do alovely job with the photos

from that post!?! I was just tickled to death

 when I her entry !  I love seeing something that

 someone else has created with my free images! 

 It's just Fab-u-lous!

You must go over and visit her site !  

Her digtal art work will amaze you!  

I wish I had her talent to create digital art! 

Maybe someday I will find the extra time

to try to learn the tools in the Photoshop program ! 

 Creating beautiful digital art like this, also

requires more than just learning the technical part!

It  takes a good eye for coordinating

the right colors, good depth perception,

and a great imagination! 

  

Just Another Volunteer

 has all of this and more!

Thank you, Linda, for a job well done!  

***Just a reminder***

Please do not take this image for your

 art work or copy it to sale or distribute for

commercial or personal reasons!!!

This altered art postcard is owned by Linda

and is not a public domain image! 

Thank you!

March is Women's History Month

Mother Teresa

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.

 Life is beauty, admire it.

Life is bliss, taste it.

Life is a dream, realize it.

Life is a challenge, meet it.

Life is a duty, complete it.

 Life is a game, play it.

Life is a promise, fulfill it.

 Life is sorrow, overcome it.

 Life is a song, sing it.

 Life is a struggle, accept it.

 Life is a tragedy, confront it.

Life is an adventure, dare it.

Life is luck, make it.

Life is too precious,

do not destroy it.

Life is life, fight for it.

--A Quote from Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa was an

Albanian Catholic nun with

 Indian citizenship who founded

the Missionaries of Charity

 in Calcutta India in 1950.

 For over 45 years she

ministered to the poor, sick,

orphaned, and dying, while guiding

the Missionaries of Charity's

expansion, first throughout India

and then in other countries.

 Following her death,

 she was beatified by

 Pope John Paul II

and given the title

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.

By the 1970s, she was

 internationally famed as a

humanitarian and advocate

for the poor and helpless.

 She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979

 and India's highest civilian honour,

the Bharat Ratna,in 1980

for her humanitarian work.

 Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity

continued to expand, and at the time

 of her death it was operating

 610 missions in 123 countries,

including hospices and homes for

people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy

and tuberculosis, soup kitchens, children's

and family counselling programs,

 orphanages, and schools.

Even though Mother Teresa was

praised for the work she accomplished

with the down trodden of this world,

she was also subjected to huge amounts of  

criticism from various groups and organizations

 that were against the focus of her work!

She was against abortion and contraception

and  she believed in the spiritual goodness

of poverty and alleged baptisms of the dying.

Many medical journals also criticised the standard

of medical care in her hospices and concerns

were raised about the opaque nature in which

donated money was spent.

Who could critize such a kind, spiritual woman, 

 who practiced the perfect example of

"unconditional Love" towards everyone she meet?

I now understand why this poem, the

 Paradoxical Commandments by Kent Keith 

 is on a plaque  outside of the orphanage at Calcutta...

People are often unreasonable,

illogical, and self-centered;

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse

 you of selfish, ulterior motives;

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some

 false friends and some true enemies;

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank,

people may cheat you;

Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building,

someone could destroy overnight;

Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness,

 they may be jealous;

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today,

people will often forget tomorrow;

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have,

and it may never be enough;

Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis,

it is between you and God;

It was never between you and them anyway.

 "The Paradoxical Commandments" by Kent Keith

****JUSTY MY PERSONAL THOUGHTS***

How many of us throw up our hands and quit

when times get too tough because we

cannot endure the harsh criticism of others? 

The hardest thing in the world,  when you are 

burdened with a heavy load, is to do GOOD anyway!!

When I am down, I am consumed with

only thoughts of myself and my suffering! 

 It has been a struggle my whole life 

NOT to let my thoughts gain complete

control over my emotions! Slowly,

 I  discovered that the more you do for others--

the more you do for yourself! 

 This past year, if it had not been

 for this blog and all of the wonderful

people who contact  me daily with so many

 kind words, I might have drown in my

own misery!  But... I knew that it would

be of no benefit no anyone if I gave

 in to that kind of thinking, so

 here I am making altered art,

 blogging, and enjoying life everyday!!!! 

Yes , I battle depression on a daily

basis but I also have a beautiful family

with four healthy children and a

 wonderful loving husband! 

Plus, a  Heavenly Father who does give

 me relief from my "dark days"!

 Hey, I'm no saint...but all I can do

 is try to give it my best!  Right?

*****************

 I am sure  that Mother Teresa could

 have let the horrible contentions of other

people get in her way of what she

strongly felt she was lead by God

 to do for others!  She could have

given in to the persecution,

depression, and  frustrations she  felt

 daily  but she didn't...she got up every

morning and left "self at the doorstep"

and extended her hands out

to anyone who was in need ! 

A letter that Mother teresa wrote

 to  Father Gerard Rogowski

I've been told that death, disease,

and poverty smells...

it isn't pleasant...

it's something we all avoid! 

 But this tiny, little  woman

went into the dirty streets of Calcutta,

 in search of death, Leprosy, Aids, T.B.,

orphans, drug addicts, and alcoholics.

Statue of Mother Teresa in her hometown of Albania

How many  streets in  other countries

did she walk through filth 

to "seek and to find" the ones

she knew that needed

her care and God's love!

  Her strength  and courage amaze ]

me, and yet,  at the same time,

make me ashamed of what little I

actually do for others. 

A Statue of Mother Teresa in Mexico

She has been quoted as saying:

"If you cannot feed a million

 people, then feed just one!"

I'm going to keep that in mind!

Memorial Plaque  to Mother Teresa

***Quotes***

Spread love everywhere you go;

first of all in your house.

Give love to your children,

to your wife or husband,

to a next door neighbor.

 Let no one ever come to you without

better and happier.

Be the living expression of God's kindness;

kindness in your face,

 kindness in your eyes,

kindness in your smile.

Our Lord wants me to be a free nun

covered with the poverty of the cross.

Today I learned a good lesson.

The poverty of the poor must be so

hard for them. While looking for a home

I walked and walked till my arms

and legs ached. I thought how much they

 must ache in body and soul,

looking for a home, food and health.

I was to leave the convent and help

the poor while living among them.

It was an order. To fail would have been

to break the faith.

Kind words are short and easy to speak,

but their echoes are truly endless.

 

We can do no great things;

only small things with great love.

We need to find God,

and he cannot be found in

noise and restlessness.

 God is the friend of silence.

See how nature -

trees, flowers, grass -

grows in silence;

see the stars,

the moon and the sun,

how they move in silence…

We need silence to be

 able to touch souls.

We, the unwilling,

led by the unknowing,

are doing the impossible

for the ungrateful.

We have done so much,

for so long,

with so little,

we are now qualified

to do anything

with nothing.

***Credit***

11 free images courtesy of

http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/CategoryMother_Teresa