tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post373605963500236636..comments2024-03-25T09:03:39.020-07:00Comments on The Uncrushable Jersey Dress: An Independent Woman - RepriseBetty Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446092401692468002noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-59276225863776057162014-03-04T17:00:38.003-08:002014-03-04T17:00:38.003-08:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-38879430254878806932014-02-15T17:30:56.640-08:002014-02-15T17:30:56.640-08:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-82474093635525219832013-10-21T21:07:21.643-07:002013-10-21T21:07:21.643-07:00Yes, I believe she would have heard of him. Consid...Yes, I believe she would have heard of him. Considering that she was born in a time when many women did not receive a great deal of education, The Great Neels managed to include a lot of interesting cultural information in her books which I usually read with delight alongside the romance plots (unless I'm too impatient to know what happens to the heroine, in which case, I skim through the wealth of detail). I've learned a lot about the interior furnishings of Dutch and British homes as well as the exterior architecture, tourist attractions and major driving routes of the main cities of England, the Netherlands, and even countries such as Vienna, Portugal. Not to mention the wonderful food details that she lavishes across her books! Is it a British thing to be able to integrate food details so well in fiction? Ian Fleming's James Bond novels also make my mouth water when it comes to Bond's meals.Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11643246605893703193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-82776627876730578142013-10-21T20:46:42.978-07:002013-10-21T20:46:42.978-07:00And knowing my limits, I shall prudently stick wit...And knowing my limits, I shall prudently stick with the English pronunciation for all the above names myself, including dʒəˈra:d juh-RAHD for 'Gerard'! (My guess is Louisa will favour that?)Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11643246605893703193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-44833983847011884132013-10-21T20:40:32.645-07:002013-10-21T20:40:32.645-07:00Thanks! I enjoyed the video of the professor and t...Thanks! I enjoyed the video of the professor and the extract concerning the pronunciation of Van Gogh.Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11643246605893703193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-7253634310676448732013-10-21T12:57:50.202-07:002013-10-21T12:57:50.202-07:00While I was "google-ing" I found a Dutch...While I was "google-ing" I found a Dutch painter<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everard_Crijnsz._van_der_Maes" rel="nofollow">Everard Crijnsz. van der Maes</a>, <b>Everard Crynsz. van der Maes</b> (1577, The Hague – 1647, The Hague), was a Dutch Golden Age painter.<br /><br />There are <a href="http://www.biografischportaal.nl/persoon/49729838" rel="nofollow">various spellings</a> of his name:<br /><br />• Everard Krijnsz. van der Maes<br />• Everard Crijnsz. van der Maes<br />• Evert Quirijnsz. van der Maes<br />• Everard Quirijnsz. van der Maes<br />• Everard Krynsz. van der Maes<br />• Everard Crynsz. van der Maes<br /><br />I have a suspicion TGB knew of him:<br /><a href="https://www.google.de/search?hl=de&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=%22everard+van+tijlen%22+inauthor:neels+inauthor:betty&num=10" rel="nofollow">Everard</a><br /><a href="https://www.google.de/search?hl=de&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=krijn+inauthor:neels+inauthor:betty&num=100" rel="nofollow">Krijn</a>szoon (= Krijn’s son)<br /><a href="https://www.google.de/search?hl=de&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=van+der+Maes+inauthor:neels+inauthor:betty&num=100" rel="nofollow">van der Maes</a>Betty Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15517346001348814015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-53220985987852342232013-10-21T12:53:34.920-07:002013-10-21T12:53:34.920-07:00Speak-Along: Gerard van der Maes
audio: /ˈχeː.rɑr...<b>Speak-Along:</b> Gerard van der Maes<br /><br /><b>audio</b>: <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Nl-Gerard.ogg" rel="nofollow">/ˈχeː.rɑrt/</a> χAY-rart<br /><br />χ = as the <i>ch</i> in <i>Lo<b>ch</b></i> or <i>Ba<b>ch</b></i><br /><br /><i>Gerard van der Maes</i> χAY-rart fun duhr MAHS<br /><i>Professor van der Maes</i> following the word <i>Professor</i> it’s vun duhr MAHS<br /><br />Don’t worry if you cannot get the Dutch pronunciation of <i>Gerard</i> right because, obviously, nobody in the novel uses it. They pronounce the name the English way. Be grateful – <i> he he</i> – I left out the variations in pronunciation for the Dutch but I will not spare you the English variations. Which do you think is the one Louisa favours?<br /><br /><a href="http://books.google.de/books?id=jGSXwqTCwpkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:english+intitle:pronouncing+intitle:dictionary+inauthor:daniel+inauthor:jones&hl=de&sa=X&ei=nqViUquWO8mc0QWJ4YDIDg&ved=0CE8QuwUwAA#v=onepage&q=gerard&f=false" rel="nofollow"><b>Gerard – Pronunciation in English</b></a><br /><br /><b>British: </b><br />ˈdʒer.a:d JERR-ahd<br />ˈdʒer.əd JERR-uhd<br />dʒer.ˈa:d jerr-AHD<br />dʒəˈra:d juh-RAHD<br /><br /><b>US: </b><br />dʒəˈra:rd juh-RAHRD<br /><br />dʒer = as the first syllable in <b>Jer</b>ry<br />dʒə = as the first syllable in <b>Je</b>mima<br />əd = as the second syllable in Jarr<b>od</b><br /><br /><b>video:</b><br />CNN Piers Morgan – <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoqjglC3T5I" rel="nofollow"><b>Gerard</b></a> Butler<br />the name Gerard – spoken with an English, <b>Scottish</b> & imitation American accent<br /><br />And while we’re at it...<br /><br /><b>The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations: The Complete Opinionated Guide</b><br />by Charles Harrington Elster<br /><br />read what he says about the Dutch pronunciation of the name <i>van Gogh</i> - funny!<br /><br /><i>There are three dictionary-sanctioned ways to pronounce the last name of this great Dutch painter</i> [...]<br /><a href="http://books.google.de/books?id=YtojrMr0Ft4C&pg=PA485&dq=%22The+Dutch+pronunciation+is+entirely+appropriate+when+speaking+Dutch,+of+course%22+%22There+are+three+dictionary-sanctioned+ways+to+pronounce+the+last+name+of+this+great+Dutch+painter%22&hl=de&sa=X&ei=f3xlUoT7O4XTsgacpIGAAw&ved=0CDkQuwUwAA#v=onepage&q=%22The%20Dutch%20pronunciation%20is%20entirely%20appropriate%20when%20speaking%20Dutch%2C%20of%20course%22%20%22There%20are%20three%20dictionary-sanctioned%20ways%20to%20pronounce%20the%20last%20name%20of%20this%20great%20Dutch%20painter%22&f=false" rel="nofollow"><i>The Dutch pronunciation is entirely appropriate when speaking Dutch, of course.</i></a><br /><br /><b>video:</b><br /><a href="http://www.boreme.com/posting.php?id=34755" rel="nofollow">How to say Huygens the Dutch way</a><br />(1:07) Professor takes a detour into the pronunciation of 'Huygens' while explaining Huygen's Principle to his physics students.<br /><br />funny!<br /><br />uy = the H<b>ui</b>b sound (<a href="http://everyneelsthing.blogspot.de/2011/10/tulips-for-augusta-reprise.html" rel="nofollow"><i>Tulips for Augusta</i></a>)<br /><br />g = χ = the sound you need for <i><b>G</b>erard</i> and <i>van <b>G</b>o<b>gh</b></i>Betty Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15517346001348814015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-59021558236188991342013-10-21T12:47:38.668-07:002013-10-21T12:47:38.668-07:00Arrrgh. Blogger ate my comment. If only I knew how...Arrrgh. Blogger ate my comment. <a href="http://books.google.de/books?id=5nJymPsWA3IC&pg=PT176&dq=%22if+only+i+knew+how+to+gnash+my+teeth%22&hl=de&sa=X&ei=h4RlUuu-BImatAaBrICYDw&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22if%20only%20i%20knew%20how%20to%20gnash%20my%20teeth%22&f=false" rel="nofollow">If only I knew how to gnash my teeth</a>!Betty Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15517346001348814015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-41515434163124732452013-10-19T13:59:21.273-07:002013-10-19T13:59:21.273-07:00Our work is done. The job is complete. Yesterday, ...Our work is done. The job is complete. Yesterday, around noon, we started moving the furniture back into place. My brother had to leave soon afterwards. Now "all I had to do" was put everything back into its proper place. Thank goodness I had taken pictures or I would have been lost. I set up my laptop so I could view the photos. But first I needed some nourishment,<a href="https://www.google.de/search?hl=de&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=rolls+ham+inauthor:neels+inauthor:betty&num=10#hl=de&q=rolls+ham+inauthor:neels+inauthor:betty&start=10&tbm=bks" rel="nofollow">yesterday‘s roll and some thinly sliced ham</a>. Later, when I was almost finished, I had to stop because my brother had announced he would be back to put the pictures back on the walls. So I had to sort out all the pictures and lean them against the walls or put them on the dining room table in the proper order. And then when my brother came I had to fight him over the exact placement of most of the frames. He was impatient to get the work done, and would have put them up anyhow arguing that our mother had just put them anywhere too. Not so. She used her artistic eye. I told him he didn’t have one. And when he was particularly tiresome I told him that he could just leave and I would finish the job myself. And I meant it too. <a href="https://www.google.de/search?hl=de&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=%22tiresome+man%22+inauthor:neels+inauthor:betty&num=10" rel="nofollow">Tiresome man.</a> Told me it was nonsense or some such but was careful to ask my opinion every time (while still being impatient). But at last, we were done, the last nail had been hammered into the wall, the last frame had been hung. My brother "borrowed" my notebook to look up something he meant to get for my parents then gathered his things, his toolbox, including my mom’s hammer (which used to be his in his youth), which I only noticed today because I saw a glass heart in one of the pictures which should have been hung up next to one of the pictures and the hammer was nowhere to be found. That also accounted for one of the nails that were left over...<br /><br />After my brother left, I prepared my supper. A very Betty inspired meal. Cured ham (in lieu of bacon) & scrambled eggs, fried bread (a Tuscany roll), and some thinly sliced ham.<br /><br />And then , today was the day. My parents came home. I was carrying the dog up the stairs so I didn’t see if my mother noticed anything when she entered along with my brother. From my brother’s conspiratorial laugh when I mentioned the hammer I assumed that she had not as yet noticed the new wallpaper. My brother left, my parents‘ thank yous and good-byes were "ordinary", so they could not have known. My mom started unpacking, carrying things around. At one point, she had entered the dining room, once again, and hesitated. She stared across the room. I had forgotten to take a picture of the top of her glass-fronted bookcase! So I had not got things back where they belonged. I knew there was something missing. But she did not say anything. And it wasn’t until later, about 20 minutes after their arrival, that, suddenly, I heard her astonished and, at the same time, pleased voice coming from the dining room. And then from the hallway. She was happy and very pleased. My dad hadn’t noticed anything.<br /><br />All this time, I had been thinking, how can they miss this? – The smell of paint was still very strong – How can they miss this...<br /><br />Hahaha. Mission accomplished.Betty Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15517346001348814015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-70418299740031620822013-10-17T11:31:37.230-07:002013-10-17T11:31:37.230-07:00Now if I had been a Hannah Betty I would not only ...Now if I had been a Hannah Betty I would not only have done the wallpapering myself, I would have laid a new carpet (wall-to-wall), painted the nonexistent wainscotting, applied stucco to the ceiling <b>and</b> painted a fresco as well to give an added sense of height to the room.Betty Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15517346001348814015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-56642604149829591542013-10-16T14:02:20.026-07:002013-10-16T14:02:20.026-07:00I had to go and lollygag lazily in my linens after...I had to go and lollygag lazily in my linens after reading about all the work you did. Whew.<br /><br />B von SAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-18018147846187680462013-10-16T13:36:41.452-07:002013-10-16T13:36:41.452-07:00These sisters get on my nerves. Monica in particul...These sisters get on my nerves. Monica in particular. Julia had just told her she would not go near Oscar with a bargepole and Monica says, "But you'll marry...?" At that point Julia has no prospect of getting married, she has no "follower". What a silly thing to say.<br />Betty AnonymousBetty Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15517346001348814015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-87031800307125317542013-10-16T11:48:52.298-07:002013-10-16T11:48:52.298-07:00"We have had several lovely days of gentle, s..."We have had several lovely days of gentle, soaking, peaceful rain" too, but it's a little cooler over here. We are further up North than you, maybe that is why. (You would have to go North all the way to, uhm, Canada, past Winnipeg, past the parks into the wild nothingness that is up there and then you would almost be there.) I am "on vacation". I have a couple of weeks off and am, at present, minding my parents home who have been sent on vacation (deported) by my brother who, unbeknownst to them, sneakily behind their respective backs, called in the painters to hang new wallpaper in the hall and dining room, which is why I had to spend all of Sunday removing books, mom's collection of wee little pottery jugs, dishes, glasses (not the <a href="https://www.google.de/search?hl=de&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=weesp+china+inauthor:neels+inauthor:betty&num=100" rel="nofollow">Weesp</a> nor the <a href="https://www.google.de/search?hl=de&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=waterford+inauthor:neels+inauthor:betty&num=100" rel="nofollow">Waterford</a>), and knickknacks from shelves, <a href="https://www.google.de/search?hl=de&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=%22glass-fronted+cabinets%22+inauthor:neels+inauthor:betty&num=100" rel="nofollow">glass-fronted cabinets</a>, one of them a <a href="https://www.google.de/search?hl=de&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=%22glass-fronted+corner+cupboard%22+inauthor:neels+inauthor:betty&num=10" rel="nofollow">glass-fronted corner cupboard</a>, after hauling the dining room table and chairs out of the room and shoving them into the living room, so that, late in the afternoon, when my brother came we could carry the desk, cabinets, bookcases into the other rooms, remove the <a href="http://image01.otto.de/pool/formata/4154194.jpg" rel="nofollow"><i>Garderobe</i></a> from the wall in the hall and carry the tall (taller than the doors), heavy (on account of being full) shoe cupboard into the bedroom. And (is it bad style in English too to begin ever so many phrases with the word <i>and</i>?) after my brother left, I still had to take a myriad of pictures off the walls and stack them neatly against cabinets and wardrobes, since there was no space against any wall left or accessible, and when I ran out of (meanwhile rather cramped) space there I stacked the smaller frames on the shelves of the (non glass-fronted) bookcase. Early the next morning, I had to go over to my parents home to await the painters. – Did I mention this was, technically speaking, the first day of my vacation? And I had to get up when it was still dark out? <i>Ugh.</i> And yesterday and today, I had to get up even earlier, at 5:40 a. m. (which may be early for some of you Bettys, but this Betty had to work the late shift last week and – late shift or early shift – usually gets home late and does not close her eyes before midnight. <br /><br />Hey, I am delicate! I am meant to lazily linger in the linens!<br /><br />Hoorah! The painters have completed their task, gathered their paraphernalia and left! Betty A. immediately did a spot of hoovering, three quarters of a spot for she stopped half-way through the dining room to get some much needed refreshment. All this sitting around while the painters to do their work can be so tiring, I can tell you. A tall glass of Pi Lo Chun, <a href="https://www.google.de/search?hl=de&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=%22lavishly+sugared%22+inauthor:neels+inauthor:betty&num=10" rel="nofollow">lavishly sugared</a>, served as a great pick-me-up. I feel much better now. My brother had mentioned that he wished to move the furniture back tonight but I averted that chore by explaining most emphatically that the walls needed to dry properly first. Removing the old wallpaper had been a very damp business. It took several soakings or whatever you call it and what with the rain and all the humidity outside when it was not raining the damp hung in all the rooms, even behind closed doors.Betty Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15517346001348814015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-6275624579761390762013-10-15T19:09:52.412-07:002013-10-15T19:09:52.412-07:00Hello, didn't see you before I logged off earl...Hello, didn't see you before I logged off earlier. We have had several lovely days of gentle, soaking, peaceful rain. I am dreading going back to work tomorrow, I sat and drank milky cups of Earl Grey all afternoon. Sigh. How are things in your neck of the woods?<br /><br />B von S<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-26223477045434922332013-10-15T12:23:14.264-07:002013-10-15T12:23:14.264-07:00Yoohoo, Betty von Susie! I see you. How are you?Yoohoo, Betty von Susie! I see you. How are you?Betty Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15517346001348814015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-14176096982981570212013-10-15T02:50:01.528-07:002013-10-15T02:50:01.528-07:00If I were really quick
and I could do the trick
I ...<i>If I were really quick<br />and I could do the trick<br />I would fashion a rhyme<br />all during the time<br />I see the person from Limerick.</i><br /><br />Which I do, on the globe widget.<br />Betty Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15517346001348814015noreply@blogger.com