“I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.”-Noël Coward (born on 12-16-1899)
Noël Coward, circa 1914
“Impropriety is the soul of wit.”-W. Somerset Maugham (died on 12-16-1965)
W. Somerset Maugham
Jane Austen was born on 16 December 1775.
Jane Austen. 16 December 1775-18 July 1817.
“Nothing ever fatigues me, but doing what I do not like.”-Jane Austen
“All the world’s a stage/And all the men and women merely players/They have their exits and their entrances/And one man in his time plays many parts/His acts being seven ages.”-William Shakespeare
Peter O’Toole
Farewell, dear sir!
Goin’ to a holiday party. Be back tomorrow.
Christmas Countdown
“I drink to the general joy o’ the whole table.”-William Shakespeare, Macbeth
CHARLES DICKENS
Charles Dickens
REASON: Is it possible to get through winter without pulling out a volume of Dickens? What a desperate, weary, chilly world his characters inhabit! It is enough to make the pages freeze mid-turn.
“Bleak, dark, and piercing cold, it was a night for the well-housed and fed to draw round the bright fire, and thank God they were at home; and for the homeless starving wretch to lay him down and die. Many hunger-worn outcasts close their eyes in our bare streets at such times, who, let their crimes have been what they may, can hardly open them in a more bitter world.”-Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist
If you missed My Top Six Cold Weather Writers, go here.
For Honorable Mention: Christina Rossetti, go here.
Thanks to Tom Gething for reminding me that Charles Dickens deserves a place on my list!
Happy Birthday, dearest Emily!
Birthday Girl Emily Dickinson (Born 10 December 1830).
FIVE EVERYDAY FACTS ABOUT EMILY DICKINSON:
EMILY ELIZABETH WAS A MIDDLE CHILD, SANDWICHED BETWEEN OLDER BROTHER (WILLIAM) AUSTIN AND YOUNGER SISTER LAVINIA (NORCROSS).
SHE WAS KNOWN FOR HER SIMPLE WARDROBE OF MOSTLY WHITE CLOTHING.
EMILY HAD A PET NEWFOUNDLAND DOG NAMED CARLO.
SHE WAS A GIFTED BAKER.
EMILY WAS A DEDICATED AND WELL-EDUCATED GARDENER.
“I am out with lanterns, looking for myself.”-Emily Dickinson
Edith Sitwell, a most unusual poet and highly colourful character, died on 9 December 1964. She was 77 years old.
Edith Sitwell by Roger Fry, 1915
“I have often wished I had time to cultivate modesty…But I am too busy thinking about myself.”-Edith Sitwell
We are in the midst of an unusual (and heavy) early season snowstorm. I took time out from trimming my tree to do this:
Little Penguin in the Snow
I did a whole series, using several ornaments. My neighbors must think me quite the delight.
“Well, I know now. I know a little more how much a simple thing like a snowfall can mean to a person.”-Sylvia Plath
“Who has seen the wind? Neither you nor I: But when the trees bow down their head, The wind is passing by.”-Christina Rossetti (born on 12/5/1830)
Claude Monet (died on 12/5/1926): Three Trees in Grey Weather, 1891
You can’t see me…
There’s Nothing to See Here
“The greatest pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him, and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself, too.”-Samuel Butler
Busted!
A Small Press Life: Books. Art. Writing. Life. Tea. 