Friday 9 May 2008

Just thinking

Neighbor Bob was talking to the children yesterday, while Bob and I were inside, listening through the open window. He asked, "Do you like living in England?" They all responded with an enthusiastic, "YES!" Pleased, he said (more of a statement then a question), "Better than America." To which the children chorused, "NO!" Bob and I cracked up. Neighbor Bob reminds me a lot of my dad in the way he teases the children.

I was reading on a blog about a daughter becoming engaged. This family has such a romanticized view of life that they even staged the proposal to match a scene from Pride and Prejudice. I wonder if they are out of touch with reality, and the daughter will be in for a rude awakening, or if they have somehow managed to create a lovelier world (and if so, how?).

On a similar note, my friend Ganieda has been talking about beauty in literature. And I wonder how much beauty is necessary. Don't I encourage the girls to wear cotton dresses instead of fluffy fragile things, so they can play and not tear them up? But isn't one of the reasons we wear dresses in the first place because they are lovelier and ore delicate than jeans?

Are beauty and romanticism unique to the feminine nature? Is a dreamy and soft spoken man effeminate? Is a strong, not-afraid-to-get-dirty woman masculine?

I think about the "plain" folks - Amish, quaker, etc, who all dress simply, with the same style and color in each community. But then they make those lovely quilts... Are beauty and usefulness at odds with each other? Where do we balance? Or is simplicity beautiful in itself?

Anywho, just thinking.

The weather remains absolutely gorgeous. It is 78* now, at 2:30pm, and sunny.

Saturday we are going to Snailwell's Medieval Fayre - about 5 miles from here. And Sunday Cheveley church is having a family fete. Hopefully they will be nice.

Yesterday Bob ran out of Nutella, so we went to Tesco, and I got some groceries. It's fun to go in a store by myself, but I guess I miss the company because I talk to myself.

Need to get Taryn on her school.

5 comments:

Ganeida said...

The Celts had such a sense of *beauty in the mundane* they decorated utilitarian things like buckets & buckles & men as well as women ornamented their personage. (Isn't that a lovely pompous sentence? Sorry)I think beauty is necessary ~ 's why God made a beautiful world. Without it something within us dies but I do find it hard to find a comfortable middle ground as nothing drives me battier than something lovely hampering me in my work.

MamaOlive said...

Thanks for thinking with me.
One good example (and you know I have to have an example) is long hair. My hair is past my bottom, and it would be lovely hanging loose, but I keep it braided 99% of the time so it's "out of the way." (Never mind the bandanna.)

BTW, I tried to comment on your last post, but it booted me off. :-(
Sounds like lots of fun at your house!

Anonymous said...

Gods world proves that there is glorious beauty and total usefulness we may not be able to have the total effect that God has but surly a happy medium. The worst is when God makes something and we make it useless for human beauty. Like a young lady that can't accomplish any thing for the fear of man's judgment.

Ganeida said...

oh, I know about hair! Mine's to my waist & super fine ~ impossible to have loose when I'm working. I wear it out sometimes when I'm just lugging Ditz around.

S.A.M. said...

Happy Mother's Day!!!