Visiting with Jane Austen's Family in Chawton, Hampshire

It's hard to believe a whole year has gone by since Lynzie and I got back from England! Now that I'm preparing to go again here in a few weeks, it's occurred to me that I've never shared much from our trip! Today I'll give you a little peek at our visit to Jane Austen's home in Chawton, Hampshire.

Jane Austen's House Museum is full of items that belonged to the family, as well as pieces that are similar to what they would have had in their home. This is Jane's writing desk---probably the most photographed item in the house!

Jeremy Knight, fourth great nephew to Jane Austen, is usually on hand to answer questions and tell stories. He was delighted to see Lynzie dressed as "Aunt Jane" and even had a staff member come in to listen to her play piano in the parlor.

After we'd finished visiting the house, we took a walk up to the Chawton Manor house. On the way, we passed these men replacing the thatch on this house. I'd never seen this process before so we stopped for a couple minutes and my friend, Frances, explained it to me. Look how sweet the trim is along the top!

Here's Lynzie with Chawton Manor in the background. They weren't open for tours that day, but Mr. Knight called ahead to give permission for us to tour the grounds. 

On the way back down, we stopped at the church on the estate and visited the cemetery. Some people are uncomfortable in graveyards but Lynzie and I think they're beautiful and peaceful. Doesn't she just look like she totally belongs there?

Here are the gravestones for Jane Austen's mother and sister. Jane is buried in Winchester Cathedral. She was moved from Chawton Cottage to Winchester shortly before her death, in hopes that doctors in the city could provide effective treatment.

I won't be going back to Chawton this year, but my husband has agreed to (finally!) come with me next year so I'll be sure to make Hampshire a priority stop on the tour I set up for us!

Hope everyone's having a great week. I'll be back with more England photos, as well as an update on my dress-making progress, tomorrow!

The Homemaking Party

Hello from (finally!!) rainy NW Arkansas! 

On Father's Day, we discovered our cat, Guinevere, was pregnant---and in labor! (Observant bunch, we are...) She had her kitties the next day, but we had no idea where she hid them. Well, early last week Selah discovered one who had come up to eat with mama. A few days later, Michael and Selah discovered there were actually two! The next day---four!! Ha! 

The kids are wanting to keep them all, of course. I'm considering maybe ONE. We'll see...

Thanks for stopping by The Homemaking Party!

In Which Steampunk Alice Hosts a Book-Themed Tea Party #MadTeaParty

As a child, Alice had her fill of adventures in Wonderland. Now that she's all grown up, she's ready for more excitement, traveling through time and space.

For this year's Mad Tea Party, Time-Traveling Steampunk Alice traveled through history to gather her best literary friends and brought them all back to 2016 for a book-themed summer tea party.

The friends all sat down to sweet treats, tasty drinks, and some fun reading. I think Alice had a little too much fun when choosing book selections for her friends. Prissy Charlotte Bronte was absolutely scandalized when she read the details of Jane Austen's Letters!

Jane, never one to worry much about what people think of her, just shrugged it off saying, "Hey, it was the 90s!" 

Miss Austen did get nostalgic when she noticed her tea cup featured the same Blue Willow pattern that her family used in their home in Steventon when she was growing up. "How thoughtful, dear Alice," she remarked.

When Alice asked Miss Jo March of Little Women fame if she was enjoying the party, she said, "Of course! There's books!" Rebel Jo asked for lemonade over tea---and Alice was happy to oblige.

She was especially interested to browse what Ms. Alcott had written about her future in, Jo's Boys, but she was careful not to read too much---spoilers!

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz's Dorothy Gale amused herself at this corner of the table with a copy of Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales.

Bookish Belle spent the entire time just like this---with her nose in a book. Belle is somewhat of a time-traveler herself as some researchers believe the Beauty and the Beast story to be over 4,000 years old! No wonder she's such an avid reader---she's had a lot of time to enjoy the best works throughout history!

Sweet Laura Ingalls was the youngest at the party---I'm surprised Pa and Ma let her come along. I guess Time-Traveling Alice can drop her back into history a short time before she left and they'll never know she was gone!

After the party, the girls gathered outside for a group photo before Alice took them all home to their proper places in history. What a lovely idea for a tea party, Alice! Goodbye, friends!

**Would you like to see more from Steampunk Alice? Visit my daughter (and character model) Lynzie's blog for her Mad Tea Party featuring several Steampunk friends!

Be sure to check out my parties from previous years:

Mad Tea Party 2015
Mad Tea Party 2014
Lynzie's Steampunk Alice Party 2016

This is just one of many Mad Tea Parties going on this weekend in Blogland! Check out the whole list at A Fanciful Twist to see what else Alice has been up to!