Real-life Jane Austen

After my last post praising Jane Austen, this entry is extremely well-timed, for I had occasion this weekend to dress like one of Jane's characters in real life!  One of David's friends threw a masquerade ball for New Year's Day (it was supposed to be New Year's Eve, but they couldn't get the hall that night).  The attire was formal.  David work a Victorian tuxedo, and I wore a Regency gown, much like something that one of Jane's characters might have worn.

I don't have many good pictures from the event, but here you go:

 

(The husband and I are to the left.  In the center and to the right are other party-goers)

I (rather stupidly) forgot my contact lenses, so when I wore my mask I couldn't see.  Fortunately, the masks stayed on for only the first hour or so, and then we took the off to eat dinner and socialize.  I have one other picture of me and David.

(I look like a MASSIVE tool in this picture, ugh)

It was a lot of fun, but I'm really exhausted from staying up late two nights in a row, and my weekend out did not bode very well for relaxing or getting anything done.  Fortunately, I discovered that I can read in the car on the Kindle and not get carsick!  This is great news, because I love reading in the car, and did so until about two years ago, when I started getting carsick while reading.  But I read for two hours (as we drove from Connecticut to MA on Friday), until it started to get dark, and didn't feel remotely ill afterward.  Great.

What am I reading as my first "official" book of 2011?

Traitor's Wife by Susan Higgenbottom.  I first read about this somewhere online (and of course I can't remember where), and I downloaded it for free on Amazon.com.  I started reading it on Friday evening, and I've barely put it down since.  Unfortunately, not because I'm really into it, but because I really want to finish it at this point.  It's okay, not the best book I've ever read, but pretty decent so far as historical fiction goes.  Most of what is written is unproven historical rumor, so it's accurate, but not necessarily true.  It's well-written, but there's a LOT of backstory, and the book is just starting to get really interesting...now that I'm 54% into it.  Not my favorite thing ever, but at least I'll be able to finish it.  Full report when I do, of course.

And now it's back to the grindstone.  Post-holiday work is quiet, but blissfully normal.  As much as I wish I could stay home and just relax, it's good to be back to whatever "normal" was, before Christmas.  

Happy reading!