The Art of Gentle Domesticity Week 5

It's week 5 of Jenny's The Art of Gentle Domesticity Book Study wherein we read pages 34-43 of Jane Brocket's book.

The topics of these pages on creating a domestic life of beauty and love included: playtime, movies and tv shows that show domestic scenes, and the beauty of Stockholm.

So I want to tell you about a few movies and tv shows that have encouraged me to keep on loving creating beauty in my home and environment as much as possible.

Right at the top of the list is a touching, hilarious, maddening series called Cranford starring Judi Dench. You also get to see Tom Hiddleston at a younger age than when he portrayed Loki. The story is of a fictional English town at the cusp of the Industrial Revolution. This town is primarily governed by the old "laws" of the gentry, kept firmly by the older society ladies who have to come to grips with the changes coming in their world. I love the cozy homes, the deep friendships, the every-present cup of tea, the humor, the music, the respect for others, and the self-sacrificing care for others.

Jenny's post lists a lot of other that I have not yet tried, so those ones went on my bullet journal page of movies/tv shows to try. I also agree with lots of the others that she and commenters suggested, including the Waltons, Little House on the Prairie (though I just couldn't continue with the series when it shot so far away from the books, and I got tired of the motionalism), Anne of Green Gables with Megan Follows, Little Women, and the first season or so of Downton Abbey till it became even more of a soap opera. 

I would also add The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society movie (and especially the audio book) for it's scenes of quaint English village homes and love of books. The audio book that I first listened to allows you to realize that the book is actually a series of letters between the various characters, and the British reader's rendition of a Texan accent when portraying an American just sent me into fits of giggles, as I'm sure my attempts at a British accent would do to a native speaker.

I also recently discovered a fun British Netflix show called "Find It, Fix It, Flog It" (wherein flogging is kind of the equivalent of the American term "flip").  The two main guys find "junk" in barns and sheds, take them away to restore or repurpose the items, and then get resale values on them or resell them. It has inspired me and my daughters to think of ways to upcycle stuff for our home or reselling. And the guys are quite funny.

And here's what I've been working on while watching Netflix:

Now and then I just feel the need to crochet. It's a kind of therapy, I guess. So I started a baby afghan, using a Project Linus pattern. I hope to be able to donate it (and others) to the local hospital even though they don't have a Linus blanket program set up. If I can't, then I'll mail it to some place that does.

So, I hope you have a chance to enjoy some of the shows Jenny lists and some of the ones I've added and that they inspire creative and beautiful domesticity.