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Saturday, October 18, 2014

Autumn Letters (or Random Update)


Dear Readers,
The following are just some letters to and about things that are interesting in my life right now. I haven't been doing much period drama related recently except for catching a few episodes of Lark Rise To Candleford and having an unopened copy of Belle (2014) that I plan to open, watch and review soon. I'm sorry there hasn't been much posting lately as my day to day life leaves little time for much. But I have had lots of time for spiritual growth lately and also personal growth in other areas of my life. I pray you are all doing well and enjoying a rich life (not just financially) with your family and friends.


Dear Benedict Cumberbatch,
I'm very excited to hear that you are playing Richard III in the new The Hollow Crown series! I really enjoyed Ben Wishaw and Tom Hiddleston in Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V and I'm sure you'll be amazing as always!



Dear Season Two of The Paradise,
You have taken away one of my favoritest characters and changed up the story so badly that I almost don't want to continue on. But I am compelled to watch because I liked the first season so much and because it's so fun to IM with my sister while watching together in different states.



Dear Death Comes To Pemberley,
I am so very excited you are coming to Masterpiece Theatre because I really hope all American Janeites will enjoy tuning in! And because the DVD copy will now be available in the USA! (it would make a lovely Christmas gift! *hint hint*)



Dear Into The Woods movie,
I am so intrigued by the photos and trailers I've seen and hope very much to see you in cinemas around Christmas time, maybe with a group of friends when I go home to Kentucky! I'm looking forward to hearing all the actors sing!


British actors in American TV shows,
I know there's a big trend right now of British actors headlining new American TV series. While I am somewhat excited to see you starring in your own shows and being recognized for the brilliant people you are, I am very sad to watch the trailers for these shows and hear you completely dropping your amazing native accents!!! Yes, I'm talking to you Karen Gillan, Jonny Lee Miller and David Tennant (especially you Scots)! Take a cue from Ioan Gruffudd and becoming a murder solving immortal so you can dress in period costumes while keeping your amazing accent!


Dear Doctor Who, Season 8,
I really wish I had an opportunity to watch you but unfortunately you're not available at a time and place I could watch you. I really want to see the Twelfth Doctor but right now I must content myself with previews. 


Dear Driver's License,
I thank the good Lord every time I drive that I was finally able to get you this summer! I enjoy driving myself around much more than I ever thought I would and I'm not sure why I waited so long to get you! (Well there is a whole God's timing part of it.) It's only been about two months since I got you but I've already been to a Weekend Ladies Bible Conference, hayride at church, concert at church, the cinema, lots of shopping, Bible Study every Friday night and to church every Sunday. Not to mention my fun around town with Gram, she loves to get out of the house!



Dear Kittercat,
I know last year I started to get quite annoyed at you for eating off of Gram's plate and being such a pest but I did miss you this summer and that greeting you gave me when I got back stole my heart. I'm learning just what a sweetheart you really are and how much richness you add to our lives. Thank you for sleeping on Gram's bed at night and watching over her till morning. And thank you for posing for so many fun photos!



Dear Psalm 63,
I'm working on memorizing you, little by little, while trying to make you daily the prayer of my heart. 



Dear Crochet & Knitting,
You are quite handy past times! I am so excited to try my new pattern books soon...I just have to finish my scarf first (it's taking so long!). Thank you for providing countless hours of entertainment!



Dear Little Park,
You are so charming and probably my favorite place to drive to! I am so thankful you are close to home and have picturesque views and easy access to park benches for sitting and eating lunch. You are one of Gram's favorite places on earth and you are starting to be one of my favorites too. As a bonus you've been around so long that my mom and her siblings used to visit you when they were all growing up!




Dear Personality Tests,
I've always enjoyed figuring out what types of personalities my friends and family have but since discovering the MBTI (Myers-Briggs) personality tests I have been able to pinpoint what causes such problems between some of my extended family I have to deal with on a daily/weekly basis. It's neat to learn that I am an ISFJ, a personality with characteristics that often contradict its individual part. It's also helpful to know what makes that ESTP cousin tick and how he seems to know what I'm thinking and why I have a hard time trusting him (his unpredictable-ness is aggravating to me). As an Introvert it is exhausting to have to deal with a personality that is directly opposite to mine, but the Lord gives me strength!



Dear Character Back Stories,
You are so very intriguing and distracting! You are the reason why I don't usually get much written on the real story! And when I add in doing the aforementioned personality tests on my characters it helps me know how and why my characters act the way they do but you're both really just rabbit trails! I am determined though that this story will be written! And hopefully other stories about this neighborhood of people will also be written. It's hard putting aside my perfectionism and procrastination and just working on getting the story out of my head and on paper. Trying to do a bit of NaNoWriMo should help (maybe I'll aim for half the amount of words).


Very Truly Yours, 
Miss Laurie

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Gentlemen Of Period Dramas Eyes Quiz - Answers!!!

Finally here are the answers to the Gentlemen Of Period Dramas Eyes Quiz!!! I'm so sorry it took this long to post this, the biggest thing was putting together the video, it's fun but very time consuming. Thank you all for playing!


Emma Jane - 177 points
Miss Sneyd - 174 points 
Birdie - 167 points
Melody - 157 points 
Naomi Bennett - 149 points
Chloe Cruz - 114 points
Austin Wentworth - 107 points
McKenna - 66 points
Larissa - 55 points
Kimberley Grace Bowman - 46 points


Thanks for playing!


Monday, September 1, 2014

Life Update


It has been a fabulously busy summer of working and visiting my family. Now I am making the transition back to caring for my great-gram for the Fall/Winter period. I will be back to posting after a bit, but for now I'm going to leave the Gentlemen Of Period Dramas Eyes Quiz up so if you haven't played you have plenty of time. 
I'll be back soon with hopefully several film reviews!

Very Truly Yours,
Miss Laurie

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Gentlemen Of Period Dramas Eyes Quiz!


Quite a while ago I posted a Ladies Of Period Dramas Eyes Quiz that was well received. I've been working on another video quiz featuring the gentlemen of period dramas.


To Play: Look at the 75 photos of eyes of gentlemen from period dramas in the video below. Leave a comment guessing which Character, Actor and Period Drama each pair of eyes comes from. I'll respond with your score. Guess as many times as you wish. An answers video will be posted next week.

Scoring: 1 point for each correctly guessed Character, Actor and Period Drama. A high score of 225 points can be earned.






Note: If your comment is long, you may want to split up your answers in two comments so that it won't be cut off.

Enjoy!


Saturday, August 2, 2014

Jane Austen Supporting Characters Game - Answers!


These are the answers to the Jane Austen Supporting Characters Game from last week. Thank you all for playing! I'm sorry I wasn't able to score your answers during the week as I have been quite busy lately. Your scores are at the bottom of this post.

Secondary Characters Stories:

#1. He was engaged to a sweet young lady but she dies while he is away at sea. He drowns his sorrows in morbid poetry until he falls for a reckless young lady.
Answer: Captain James Benwick, Persuasion


#2. She is the oldest in her family and soon to be considered an old maid. She accepts the first proposal of marriage made to her, even though he was refused by her best friend first.
Answer: Charlotte Lucas, Pride and Prejudice


#3. Her sister matches her up with the oldest son of a wealthy family but she soon finds that the younger son has a much more noble heart. Strangely drawn to him she considers marriage but is turned off by his chosen profession.
Answer: Mary Crawford, Mansfield Park


#4. On a trip to visit his cousin he rescues a young lady and they promptly fall in love. When his aunt threatens to disinherit him, he gives up any thoughts of love and marries an heiress.
Answer: John Willoughby, Sense and Sensibility


#5. She has had a lonely life living with her eccentric father and has a disappointment when her father disapproves of the man she loves. Life get more interesting when her brother falls for her new friend and her happy ending comes when her love inherits a title.
Answer: Eleanor Tilney, Northanger Abbey


#6. He was raised in a wealthy home and seems to have everything going for him, but behind his easy carefree manner is a life of hardship and secrets that he can't tell anyone for fear of being disinherited. 
Answer: Frank Churchill, Emma


#7. She is the rather spoiled youngest sister in her family and her chief pastime is complaining. She married the eldest son of a respectable family after he was refused by her older sister, but their regard for each other is true.
Answer: Mary Musgrove, Persuasion


#8. He never expected to meet an angel at a country ball but she was so sweet that she stole his heart right away. But when his friends object to the match his courage fails him and he starts to wonder if he was mistaken about her. 
Answer: Charles Bingley, Pride and Prejudice


#9.  She is lively and pretty, friendly and flirtatious but her mind is empty and she cares only for the sensational. When her brother's good friend proposes she is ecstatic until she discovers his lack of fortune. Then it is on to the next young man who pays her attention. 
Answer: Isabella Thorpe, Northanger Abbey


#10. He is a man of the law who marries his childhood sweetheart and together they raise a houseful of lively children. Although he usually dislikes social gatherings he does have a quick wit and is strongly attached to his family and friends.
Answer: John Knightley, Emma


Players Scores:
Livia Rachelle - 20 points
Lizzie - 20 points
Melody - 20 points
Miss Sneyd - 20 points
Robert - 20 points
Some Little Good - 20 points
Hamlette - 18 points
Meredith - 18 points
Vicki - 12 points
Mizzie-Me - 10 points
Ashley - 8 points
Emily Ruth - 8 points
Kelsey Carnes - 8 points
Abi - 4 points


Thanks for playing!


Monday, July 28, 2014

Big Jane Austen Book Giveaway - Winners!


The Big Jane Austen Book Giveaway has ended and now comes the exciting time when I get to post the six winners who were randomly drawn! 

Firstly, thank you all for entering! There was a total of 149 entries from 51 readers! Of those readers there were 38 who picked Jane Austen: An Illustrated Treasury as their first or second choice; 19 chose So You Think You Know Jane Austen?; 15 chose Jane Austen For Dummies; 11 chose Jane Austen: A Biography; 6 chose movie tie-in P&P; and 5 chose The Jane Austen Guide To Happily Ever After

I really wish I could give all 51 of you a gift, but alas I have only 6 books to give. So without further ado, here are the winners!



Jane Austen: An Illustrated Treasury 
by Rebecca Dickson

Winner: Clotilde Zehnder


So You Think You Know Jane Austen?
by John Sutherland & Deirdre Le Faye

Winner: Emily


Jane Austen: A Biography
by Elizabeth Jenkins

Winner: Hamlette


Jane Austen For Dummies
by Joan Klingel Ray

Winner: Miss Dashwood


Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
P&P 2005 film tie-in edition

Winner: Bethany


The Jane Austen Guide To Happily Ever After
by Elizabeth Kantor

Winner: Luthien84


Note To The Winners:
Email your name and mailing address to OldFashionedCharming(at)gmail(dot)com and I'll send your book to you as soon as possible!


Thanks again to everyone who commented and entered! This has been so much fun! :)




Saturday, July 26, 2014

Jane Austen Supporting Characters Game


Today I am trying a new game out on y'all. I will give you the life stories of supporting characters from Jane Austen's six major novels and you have to guess the characters' names and what novel they come from! Some of these stories sound so interesting that it would be fun to read books about them!

To Play: Read the supporting characters' stories and guess the characters names and what novel they come from. Leave your guesses in a comment and I'll respond with your score. Answers will be posted next weekend.

Scoring: One point for each correctly guessed character name. One point for each correctly guessed novel. A total of 20 points can be scored!


Secondary Characters Stories:

#1. He was engaged to a sweet young lady but she dies while he is away at sea. He drowns his sorrows in morbid poetry until he falls for a reckless young lady.

Random Period Drama Screencap Game {5th Edition} - Answers!

These are the answers to the Random Period Drama Screencap Game {5th Edition} from last week. Thanks for playing!


 Period Drama Screencaps:

Screencap #1
Answer: David Copperfield (1999)


Wednesday, July 23, 2014

The Bucket List Tag


Evie at A Period Drama Fangirl tagged me in The Bucket List Tag that was originally created by Elizabethany at An Accomplished Young Lady. I thought this was fun, especially as it is my birthday today and I'm thinking of all the things I still want to do someday.

Tag Rules:

  • List 10 or more items from you bucket list.
  • Tag 5 other people.

I Tag:
and anyone else who would like to do this tag!


My Bucket List 
(well, some items from it!)

That means you my blogging buddy!


Visit Jane Auste's House in Chawton. I'd actually love to visit all the Jane Austen related places in England one day! Bath and Lyme Regis would be grand!

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Big Jane Austen Book Giveaway! - Closed

Update 7/27/2014 - This giveaway is now closed. Winners will be randomly drawn and posted Monday, July 28th!


Here is a special surprise for y'all! 

A couple months ago a reader contacted me to say she was thinning out her Jane Austen book collection and asked if I'd like four JA related books. Since I already own most of the books she kindly sent me, it popped into my head to have a giveaway! 
Add to those four books two books from my own collection and that makes six Jane Austen related books and six winners!


General Rules:
  • Giveaway is open for entries from July 20th-26th!
  • Up to five entries per person (see Ways To Enter below).
  • If you post anonymously please put some name for me to identify you by!
  • Six winners will be randomly drawn and announced on Monday, July 28th!
  • If a winner fails to contact me, after a week, a new winner will be randomly chosen.



A bit about each book:

Jane Austen: An Illustrated Treasury 
by Rebecca Dickson
I already own this book but I'm almost tempted to keep this gorgeous volume! It is in beautiful like new condition, and only one or two of the memorabilia envelopes have been opened! This book is a joy to own and so interesting to read! I am very thankful to the dear reader who sent me this exquisite piece!

So You Think You Know Jane Austen?
by John Sutherland & Deirdre Le Faye
Besides being "A Literary Quizbook", this volume is also as the Sunday Times says "vastly informative as well as entertaining". It is fun to test your knowledge and the answers give tidbits of history and insight into Jane Austen's novels. This volume has a slightly broken-in spine but is in very good condition.

Jane Austen: A Biography
by Elizabeth Jenkins
First published in 1938 but this paperback edition is from 1996. The black cover is a bit worn around the edges but it is still in good condition. I do not own this book and have not read it but I'm sure it is very interesting. 

Jane Austen For Dummies
by Joan Klingel Ray
Of the four books sent to me, this volume is the most worn. The back cover fell off at one time and has been taped back on, also some of the pages are a tad crinkled on the edges. It still has a lot of life left in it, especially for any Janeite who wishes to learn more about their favorite author. My own copy is well loved and I've found it to be highly informative!

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
P&P 2005 film tie-in edition
This Penguin Books edition in in like new condition. I bought it at a yard sale or thrift store for a few dollars and have not read it. It has notes by Vivien James in the back. A very nice edition but I already have too many copies of P&P on my bookshelf. 

The Jane Austen Guide To Happily Ever After
by Elizabeth Kantor
The publisher gave me a free copy to review and I began reading it but never got past the first chapter. It is written from a secular perspective and I found it didn't really interest me very much, self help books rarely do unless written by a Christian author. I can't really recommend this book but if you've had your eye on it here is your chance at a free copy. 


Ways To Enter:
(please leave separate comments for each entry!)
  • First Entry: Leave a comment saying which book you would choose if you won.
  • Second Entry: Leave a second comment saying which book would be your second choice.
  • Third Entry: Post about this giveaway on your blog and leave a separate comment with the link to your post.
  • Fourth Entry: Tweet or Facebook about this giveaway and leave a separate comment letting me know.
  • Fifth Entry: Put the button below on your blog and leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.
Giveaway Button:
Old-Fashioned Charm



Leaving separate comments for each entry helps me when I sort out how many entries each person has.
No anonymous entries, if you do comment "anonymously" please include a name for me to identify you by!

I'm very much looking forward to seeing your entries come in and I can't wait to see who wins each of these lovely books! :)


Saturday, July 19, 2014

Random Period Drama Screencap Game {5th Edition}

Another fun screencaps game for you to enjoy! 

To Play: Rules this time are super easy. Just look at the screencaps below and leave a comment guessing which period dramas they are from. I'll respond with your score. Guess as many times as you like. Answers will be posted next Saturday.

Scoring: Ten points will be awarded for each correctly guessed period drama. A total of 150 points can be earned.

 Period Drama Screencaps:

Screencap #1

Screencap #2

Screencap #3

Screencap #4

Screencap #5

Screencap #6

Screencap #7

Screencap #8

Screencap #9

Screencap #10

Screencap #11

Screencap #12

Screencap #13

Screencap #14

Screencap #15


Have fun!