It must be September....in Vietnam
 |
| Rain over Saigon |
It must be September...
for it is raining in Saigon...again.
Dark clouds approach in the early evening
with great thunderous demonstrations.
The late afternoon light dims and then it happens...
shake, rattle and roll..the rain comes.
The gentle rains of our days living in England are long forgotten..
for in Saigon they only know torrents of rain.
But...who am I to complain?
I secretly like this time of day.
I crank up the AC, take in the tropical storm light,
brew tea, light a candle, play music, grab a book,
Mr. H is travelling..and Mrs. H has taken over
the television with Jane Austen.
I am having a Jane Austen movie fest..
Pride and Prejudice (both versions), Northanger Abbey,
Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, Mansfield Park,
Emma and Becoming Jane for good measure.
Pride and Prejudice (both versions), Northanger Abbey,
Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, Mansfield Park,
Emma and Becoming Jane for good measure.
Call me a romantic?
Ok..I admit it.
 |
| Pride and Prejudice Blog |
Are you a fan of Jane Austen? If the answer is yes,
you might enjoy taking a peak at these....
The Book of Love- Jane Austen films...
encapsulating the movie world of Jane Austen.. here
Lost in Austen (Full miniseries)...
I watched this on You Tube recently and enjoyed it.. here
I have to ask...
Which Mr. Darcy do you prefer?
Can't decide? Have a look at
Mr Darcy..who is the best? here
I say Matthew MacFadyen here
and Colin Firth (lake scene) here
both do 'Mr. Darcy' proud.
I watched Emma last night..
and laughed at Emma's thoughts on Mr. Knightly
“Dear Diary,
Today I tried not to think about Mr. Knightly.
I tried not to think about him when
I discussed the menu with Cook...
I tried not to think about him in the garden
where I thrice plucked the petals off a daisy
to his feelings for Harriet.
I don't think we should keep daisies in the garden,
they really are a drab little flower.
And I tried not to think about him when I went to bed,
but something had to be done.”
Hopeless romantic? You betcha and...
good looking male leads don't hurt either.
It must be September..
because I started listening to Joni Mitchell again.
There is just something about Joni and September,
they go hand in hand for me.
 |
| From Offshore here |
The song I always play first... 'You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio' here
I wonder what Jane Austen would think of the lyrics here
More favourite Joni Mitchell songs here
If you listen to Joni the way I listen to Joni... you will enjoy this
recent interview, 'Portrait of an Artist', with Jian Ghomeshi.
If you haven't seen it...you can watch it. here
 |
| CBC Music |
It must be September..
for I read an entire book this weekend.
I am a romantic who loves a good mystery.
I can't tell you how long it has been since I read
I am a romantic who loves a good mystery.
I can't tell you how long it has been since I read
a book for hours on end. Too long....and I loved it.
If you enjoyed the mystery of The Shadow the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
and the Cemetery of the Forgotten Books..you will be intrigued by this
1920's tale set in the heart of Barcelona. I could not put it down.
You can read about it here
So far..September in Saigon
is looking and listening pretty good!
How is your September going?
Sending you Jane, Joni with a touch of Carlos
vibes for a fabulous week!
:)
gues who else listens to joni like you do?
ReplyDeleteMEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!
oxo
So glad Renee...Joni is the best!
DeleteRain in Saigon, rain in England...I too love the rain... and Jane Austen? Well at this very moment, with grey skies outside and candle lit inside, I am watching Northanger Abbey. Really enjoy your travels from Saigon to New Hampshire and back.
ReplyDeleteSmall world! Such a great film. So glad you are enjoying my posts on Saigon and New Hampshire and even happier that you understand them. The whole thing confuses me...often!
DeleteSo funny, Jeanne. I'm reading Jane Austen with my students just now, so I'm also emerged in films, books etc. about Austen.
ReplyDeleteI also love Joni Mitchell.
Looks like September in Saigon is going to be lovely despite the rain.
Jeanne, touched on so many things dear to my heart. Your day of rain sounds glorious. I almost picked up "The Angel's Game" recently, but opted for another title. It is still of my always expanding "to read" list. I hope you are settling back in after your summer at the farm. Always enjoy reading your posts. Bonnie
ReplyDeleteSeptember for us means lots of great hiking now that the heat is gone. We're stacking firewood this weekend for the coming winter. And would you believe we're still planting? The nurseries are all having sales and great time to bring home a new tree or shrub. With winter coming I'll have plenty of time to relax later with a good book or movie but your weekend sounds a lot more fun then stacking wood.
ReplyDeleteXXX
Debra~
September is an AMAZING time of year, as is October, I can't get enough of either of them, we had a serious rain last night here in Austin and it actually felt a bit "cooled off" for about 15 seconds... there is that hint in the air that autumn is around the corner!
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful fall.. xx
OH and ps... I love love love love Jane Austin!
Tammy x
Sounds like you have your rainy days all planned out!My September is tooting along A-OKAY!It is very warm here in the SAN FRANCISCO BAY area and we are enjoying eating outside.The AMerica's Cup is happening in our backyard and there is a new Bay Bridge to drive across!I attended the opening night of the Opera with the Italian husband and was invited to see the SON's new loft in the city!So, not a bad start for September!Beats scrubbing my kitchen floor brick by brick which I did yesterday all day and am not even finished!Had to have this floor after living in ITALY.Love my floor but twice a year I cannot stand it anymore and have to do my own version of CINDERELLA............which is okay because I have discovered some PATINA!More on that later........
ReplyDeleteThe perfect way to enjoy those torrential downpours Jeanne... wish we were watching Darcy together... :) Happy September... xv
ReplyDeleteHi Jeanne. what a wonderful post. I love September for similar reasons...lighting the fire and having no need to leave my nest (aka daybed!). I graduated with a degree in English Lit. because of my love of Jane Austen. I will check out your recommendations on her. AND!!! Jian Ghomeshi, he is iconic in our fair country of Canada. That interview might just be my favourite. Mitchell is brilliant, and Ghomeshi was able to work around her "cranky" bits which made the interview spectacular. So glad you listen in:) You hit big Miss Jean. Thanks for your thoughtful posts. xob
ReplyDeleteI love a rainy day also, Jeanne, but we had enough rain in Atlanta (and the entire Southeast) this summer to last us all a long, long time--the greenest summer in many years. So far, September is proving to be great dining-outdoors weather. Will look into Carlos Ruiz Zafon, but for a good crime-who-done-it, I found the new J.K. Rowling book (written under pseudonym Robert Galbraith), "The Cuckoo's Calling," very much to my liking. The detective protagonist is a very savvy character, and I understand she already has the next book in the series ready to come out in 2014.
ReplyDeleteah how I do love Joni. One of my fa a from 70s. River is my fav of her songs. You've provided loads of inspiration for reading and movies in this post. Enjoy you rains and please send it my way!
ReplyDeleteYou have just described the perfect day especially if you live in a warm climate, as I do, and wish you lived in a colder one:) My daughters and I make real occasions out of our viewings of Jane Austen movies and other great period dramas from the BBC! Your blog is such a great place to visit.
ReplyDeleteI love this post! I am longing for cooler weather here on St. Simons Island, GA. It's hot, muggy and, yes, we have our rain as well. It doesn't refresh the air, but rather leaves it feeling like a sauna bath that one must muddle through. I dare not complain since we only experience about 2 1/2 months of this sweltering weather...the rest of the year is perfection. I'm making a list of the movies, book and everything you've shared today! Many thanks!
ReplyDeleteAs for September, this die hard romantic is tied up with college football........it always delights me to find countless and passionate "mini cultures" and communities swirling about our everyday lives.....and how totally disparate the ones we count ourselves part of can appear. As for Mr. Darcy.....Laurence Olivier will forever own my heart of hearts, sigh....
ReplyDeleteHi Jeanne,
ReplyDeleteYou are starting with a rich September. I enjoyed all those 3 books by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.
I still have to read Jane Austen.
It's harvest time in Napa Valley and really warm.
Best regards,
edgar
I share so many of your September sentiments:favourite Mr. Darcy is Colin Firth, favourite Joni Mitchell song is Free Man in Paris,
ReplyDeletebook I read this weekend is Crusoe's Daughter by Jane Gardam. I don't know Carlos but I love Barcelona. I like the change of seasons.
I arrived in Saigon for the first time in September. Having come from southern California, I could not get over the rain. I can still hear it pounding on the tin roof where I was staying. That time was long ago and not as idyllic, but a heavy rain always conjures up an image of Saigon in September in my mind. I am adding Angel's Game to my reading list.
ReplyDeleteSeptember is OUR month since we were married on September the 23th 35 years ago ! You could have been a great DJ you know ? I enjoyed reading this post. My maternal language is French but I have read the Jane Austin romance books i. english and, believe me it was not so easy. i do enjoy reading books of that era. Rain drops keep falling on....tha da tha...
ReplyDeleteI just downloade the Angels Game to my Kindle! Thank you Jeanne! Have you read the "End of Your Life Bookclub"? It sounds depressing but it really is a mother/son story.
ReplyDeleteHello Jeanne, Jane Austen and Carlos Ruiz Zafon are my favourite Authors. Although they wrote from different genre, they are both so talented and their books are so engaging. I enjoyed reading their books tremendously.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post. I enjoy Joni Mitchell now and then, too, mostly in winter. Saw a pilot the other day for a Jane Austen related movie and I can't think of what it was called - Austenland? About a girl who goes to a JA theme park. Looked cute.
ReplyDeleteoh do i love a good thunderstorm. and a good book. huge J.A fan here! i have mansfield park on my bedside table...just finished Ian McEwan's Atonement and then watched the movie. i love when the movie is just as good as the book!
ReplyDeleterainy and cool day here in paris..enjoy jeanne! xo
Jeanne, I too love a good grey and rainy day. I think they are the perfect excuse to stay in bed a little later, with a cup of cocoa and a good book!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Jane Austen! There are so many great films that you listed here! A few I had forgotten about, now I will have to find them.
Have a great week Jeanne! Enjoy the rain, your movies, books and a little down time!
I did love The Shadow of the Wind and enjoyed The Angel's Game too, although I wasn't quite as swept away with the characters as with 'Shadow' although I adore Zafron's writing. I've lost track of how many times I've seen Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility and I vote for Matthew MacFadyen's Mr. Darcy hands down. I love his painful, brooding expression and that fight between him and Keira Knightley in the rain oh my goodness, pure romance! Yes, it is September and I'm looking forward to the wonderful changes that are in the air....What a wonderful post Jeanne.
ReplyDeletexo
Leslie
Not much rain in S Ca + Fla had such fabulous rain storm + I miss the rain. Sept finds summer having its last hurrah. love jm. + lost count of the number of times I have watched Pride & prejudice + sense and sensibilty + Love your blog. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com
ReplyDeleteSeptembers are humid here and the rain can be torrential too. But not as bad as Saigon, I am sure, though we do get bad floods sometimes. We just got back from 4 weeks in the US. Had a fabulous time. Getting back into the daily routine has not been so easy ... but I am doing my best. I am very thankful that summer is slowly on its way out.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a beautiful calm post Jeanne - your writing is so evocative - I am there with you with a cup of tea and Mr Darcy and a single candle flame in the rain. Thank you. Fxx
ReplyDeleteYou fit so much that is romantic into this post. . . . it's even a bit romantic to think of our own Jian Gomeshi (yay CBC! says this Canadian) emerging from your speakers in the tropical rain. . . .
ReplyDeleteI don't know why, but I'm one of perhaps 3 people who couldn't get into Zafon's Shadow of the Wind, so I suspect I'd better not even try Angel's Game. I did love Barcelona, though, this past spring. . .
Yesterday I had the same wonderful dramatic rainy scene on my little island and I like it. It always reminds me to Europe in the late autumn, X-mas forthcoming, candles, fire,warm light, classic music and much more. Sentimental or romantic?...we are women.
ReplyDeleteMy September is lovely...a family wedding in Minneapolis gave us an opportunity for a family reunion of hubby's siblings. We spend weekends at grandsons' football games. I grieve over the turning leaves and we turn our energies toward moving to our winter home where everything is still green and we can gaze over the gulf at the peaceful horizon. Just watched Jean de Florette/Manon of the Spring...a wonderfully classic story of redemption on the glorious hills of Provence. Today's docket: The Reader is coming on Netflix as I find myself reading the novel from my little paperback. Tomorrow is dinner at Landon's house...and so it goes :) Lovely times with family
ReplyDeleteit must be September...
ReplyDelete1.because i am staring to wear beautiful scarves in all colors, textures and lengths.
2.because John Mayer is on my playlist 24 hours.
3.because i started the knitting season.
4.because the kitchen smells of sweet cinnamon.
4.because the sky is full of fluffy clouds that i love to look at for hours.
i loved this post <3
and i loved your list....Jane Austen and Joni Mitchell are timeless.
Maria