Since finishing the patio, and since purchasing an affordable piece of patio furniture, I have begun the habit of sitting in the shade and reading while the cats play outside. It has been an exceedingly pleasant way to unwind, especially considering the amount of stress I've been under of late.Today, after studying for some hours, I took a break and took a book outside with a cup of tea and a block of Monterey Jack cheese and a jar of fig jam. It was so nice and so photogenic that I was moved to take a picture. I couldn't pick between two of the pictures, so in a burst of extravagance (completely in character, of course), I am including both.
I am also including a paragraph from Persuasion that struck me in quite a new way this time:
"Mr. Elliot was rational, discreet, polished, but he was not open. There was never any burst of feeling, any warmth of indignation or delight, at the evil or good of others. This, to Anne, was a decided imperfection. Her early impressions were incurable. She prized the frank, the open-hearted, the eager character beyond all others. Warmth and enthusiasm did captivate her still. She felt that she could so much more depend upon the sincerity of those who sometimes looked or said a careless or a hasty thing, than of those whose presence of mind never varied, whose tongue never slipped."
I know that I ought to appreciate the emotionally reserved personality more, but it is so much easier to be with the unreserved.
6 comments:
Thought for a moment your plate might be Spode or Blue Willow, that would be most appropriate to the overall scene and choice of reading material. I love the feel of your patio, haven't seen the new furniture .. must rectify that =)
Both photos are lovely and both convey a different, but complementary, picture of the day. I'm curious as to why you think you 'ought' to prefer the emotionally reserved? In any event, I think I'm relaxing just "looking" at your afternoon. :-)
You're right, Gregg. Spode or Blue Willow would be perfect. As it was, the blue and white china that came with my wok filled the role of faux Blue Willow beautifully. I have you and Amy to thank for that! :)
Aileen, I didn't mean that I ought to *prefer* the emotionally reserved, rather that I ought to *appreciate* their company more than I currently do. As to why -- I think it a bit unfair of me to prefer one type of personality simply because thier upbringing and childhood allowed them to develop a more open manner. My thoughts arose from reading that passage and thinking how much I agreed with it, then stepping back and saying to myself "in this fiction, Mr. Eliot turned out to be a very selfish man (if sincerely attached to Anne), but that cannot always be so. Sometimes a person might be emotionally reserved, but still deserving of friendship, at least." And before someone else points it out, yes, one should take caution when entering into a marriage with someone who is so reserved that thier true nature is in doubt (as it was in Anne's case). I was talking of friendship and appreciation only.
Ahhh! I read "appreciate them more" to mean 'more than the other kind of person'. I can tell you've been reading Jane Austin because you are taking on her style of writing in your blog and response.
It's funny when I do that, isn't it?
exceedingly! :-)
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