Last weekend I was having trouble using both my blogs. Loading either the publishing pages or the public site was a very slow process. It took several days before everything was back to normal and then more days before I managed to get back to the post I started below, so this news is a week old now.

My friend N and I were privileged to have a night away with our older girls, L13 and P13. We had been hoping to do this for a while, but Saturday music commitments made it hard to find the time. Last Friday afternoon Andrew was off work and on Saturday there was not a single rehearsal so we booked a B & B and off we went. N and I had a bit of trouble finding a suitable destination; there are many Bed & Breakfasts, but not all are affordable. And more importantly not all have tv and dvd provided. The one we settled on an hour out of Ottawa and was a two room suite complete with large tv and dvd player. I know many people choose to go away and enjoy life without the distraction of tv, but our part of our plan in going away together was to introduce the girls to the classic BBC version of Pride and Prejudice, all five hours of it!

About half way to our destination we stopped in an attractive little town and wandered in and out of the interesting shops. The most intriguing by far was the vintage clothing store. I could not believe the huge range of clothing in the store. It was amusing that none of us liked the same things. I found a beautiful dress from the fifties, a deep blue and green tartan silk organza over a shot silk underskirt. Unfortunately the pleated skirt was beginning to split on the folds and would probably have fallen apart the first time I tried to wear it. We browsed in a couple more shops, had a bite to eat and then drove on to the B & B.

Our hosts were very welcoming and suggested we take the snow shoes and go for a short hike through the woods and down to the river, which was running, not frozen over. As they pointed out the route we looked across to the river and saw a deer walking along the waters’ edge. When we approached the river the deer was long gone, but on the bank opposite us was a huge beaver nibbling a stick. We stayed and watched for quite a while, taking pictures, which unfortunately do not do him justice. On returning to our rooms we pulled out our vast array of snacks and prepared to begin the marathon.

N and I felt it was almost a rite of passage for our girls to be watching Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy for the first time. And we thoroughly enjoyed watching it with them. L13 had read it late last year. P13, who has not read the book yet, was not even sure she would like it. We all assured her she would love it and were very pleased to see her enjoy it as much as the rest of us. Mr Collins made our skin crawl, Lydia made us angry, and of course Mrs Bennett disgusted us and made us laugh at the same time.

We had arranged with our hosts to have breakfast at about 9:30am, which was just as well after finishing P & P at 1:30am. We were served fruit smoothies, a fruit platter, eggs benedict and coffee, which were all delicious. L and P decided, after breakfast, to totally change the tone of viewing by squeezing in a Mr Bean before we set off again. On the way home we were able to chat about our favourite scenes and lines from the night before. It was interesting to hear the girls’ impressions and listen to them repeating bits of dialogue which had long been favourite passages of mine. We were all commenting on the very proper and polite way everyone spoke to each other even when they were in violent disagreement. We thought it would be a very good habit to cultivate.