Emma 2009

I won't lie. I think this is my favorite version of this story! Goodness knows I've watched the ending hundreds of times!

Emma

Mr. Woodhouse and Emma

Mr. Knightley - I really like Johnny Lee Miller as Mr. Knightley. He has just the right balance of charm and sternness.

Front row: Mr. Woodhouse, Emma and Mrs. Weston. Second row: Mr. Knightley and Miss Bates

Isabella, John and Mr. Knightley. I love how the boys call Mr. Knightley Uncle George. I've never really like that his name was George, but the boys calling him that really endeared the name to me.

Hartfield. The gardens alone make this a beautiful estate!

Donwell Abbey

Mr. Martin

Harriet

Mr. Elton and Harriet. I love how Mr. Elton is portrayed. He's so conceited and full of himself. I love how Mr. Knightley says "That man is so full of himself, I'm surprised he can stay on his horse." A perfect description of him.

Emma, Mr. Elton and Mrs. Weston

Mrs. Elton. She was well cast. She plays such a good nasty character!

Emma and Mr. Knightley

I love the dance scene. It's where you can really tell that Mr. Knightley is in love with Emma. Their conversation before they dance shows how Emma has matured from the beginning of the movie, which I think is what Mr. Knightley was waiting for her to do.

I love that their dance isn't the usual period romance song that the hero and heroine always seem to dance to. I like how lighthearted and fun this one was.

Part of me wonders if Mr. Knightley was testing the waters (so to speak) with Emma when he says, "You look so at home here, you might be be mistress of this house." It's certain that he'd like her to be, but isn't really sure of her affections.

Emma and Frank Churchill at Box Hill. I think they portrayed this scene well. I liked how when everyone left Frank let show his true feelings of discontent, so different from the face he showed everyone else.

One of my favorite things they did at the end of this movie was focus on Emma and Mr. Knightley's hands. In this scene he is leaving to go to his brother's house (to forget Emma). I think this is the first time that he's taken her hand and bowed over it as a suitor would. Which totally flusters Emma and starts her thinking down the right path of her own heart and its' desires.

Harriet telling Emma of her love for Mr. Knightley

The proposal. I think the lead up to this moment is great. The range of emotions they both go through to get to this moment is amazing. There's wonder, hope, despair, disbelief, concern and ultimately love. I love how open and vulnerable he is during his proposal. It makes her acceptance even more wonderful!

And this scene. How I wish all period romances had such a scene where the hero and heroine dissect when they first fell in love with each other or how it all came to be. I love this!!!

Maybe the funniest scene in the whole movie to me. Emma saying "You know I love you, and I always will, but we can never marry. That is all!" Then his utter disbelief and confusion at her bizarre outburst. Classic!

I loved the show of unity and support that their holding hands shows here, when they're telling her father of their newly formed engagement.

Holding hands in church during Harriet and Mr. Martin's marriage.

John and Isabella. I love this scene between the two of them. He always seems such a stick in the mud and here you can really tell that they're still in love with each other.

Off on their "mysterious honeymoon."  The contentment between the two of them. I love how excited he is for her to see the sea. He knew exactly what she most wanted to see.

I really love this version. I think it's mostly due to this last episode. They really complete the story to my satisfaction. I don't feel left wanting, like I do in many of the great period romance movies. I think I watch the ending like twenty times after I finish the movie. Not all at once, but over the next week or two. I just love it! And I highly recommend it to anyone who likes Jane Austen and period romances!

So, How Was Your Morning?

Oh it was quite the day at the library, to put it mildly. I will try to put the events as they occurred.

A man came up to the desk and asked if it was ok if he talked to his computer. We said that if bothered other patrons the answer was no. He said it was bothering other people, but he really needed to contact someone (who? I don't know!) and let them know about the UFO above the library that was going to blast us any second. Since I'm writing this post several hours later, the 'blasting' never happened. Too bad. The funny thing was, was that he wasn't the only person raving about UFOs and aliens at the library during that time.

A little while later another man came up to the desk complaining about something. We couldn't really understand him because his teeth were mostly hanging out of his mouth. The librarian at the desk asked him to put his teeth back so we could understand him. Instead, he spit them out into the middle of the welcome desk area on the floor. The other librarian goes and grabs like 10 Clorox wipes to pick up the teeth. While she's doing it the guy says he can just come get them. We say that that's fine. He comes in and before he picks them up he beats them with the umbrella he's holding. It was like he was trying to hack them. Pieces of the denture broke off. In the end he picked them up and cussed his way out of the library.

The other librarian, when the man started beating his teeth went to get security, but he was gone (hallelujah!) before they arrived. As we was leaving we notice a man laying on the ground outside of the library and we ask the security guard if he knows anything about that. Both the librarian and the guard go to investigate. A few seconds later, the librarian comes back saying, "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, holy crap." (I toned down the language a little.) Evidently the man out there had jumped from the emergency stairs four or five floors up. He was dead. Oh, did I mention that it was just 10:15 am?

So, then the police come and investigate for the rest of the morning. There were all sorts of rumors and speculation as to the circumstances. I can't wait to go back next week and get the rest of the details filled in. The crazy thing was that there was only one or two witnesses. I mean this guy landed right outside the front entrance to the library. Several people even walked past him without saying anything.

In the meantime the police secure the area which means there's no access in or out of the library through the front door. One man in a wheelchair started harassing the police officer saying that he couldn't tell him what to do. That lasted until the police officer said "Sir, we're dealing with a dead body. You'll have to exit through the other doors."

Then there's the lady that said she lost her phone in the library. She gives us her number and we call it to see if we can hear it ringing. No luck. So, then she just starts pacing around the library. She wasn't doing anything wrong, but she was making us a little anxious. A different librarian asks her is she needs some help and she says that she needs to leave the library, but she can only leave through the front door. She was shown the other doors, but said it had to be the front doors. With the amount of pacing she did, she could have walked around the perimeter of the library at least 17 times! When the police finally open up the front entrance, she is the first person out the door.

And last, but not least, (although it seems rather anticlimactic now) were the two people walking around with tails hooked to their body. One was a fox, the other a wolf. I think. Just odd!

So, how was your morning?

The New Millcreek Library & Community Center

Today was the grand opening of the new Millcreek Library and Community Center. My mom and I went up after lunch to take a tour around the building. It wasn't super crowded because most people were still at school or work. I was glad I took the camera because it was amazing!

The East Entrance (closest to the library entrance)

An interesting piece of art with a bench right outside the East Entrance.

The Young Adult section of the library. Isn't that a cool booth?

Also in the YA section. These chairs form to your body when you sit in them. They were super comfy!

I loved these book displays that were scattered throughout the library.

The Children's section was pretty amazing. I mean check out these 'tree' seats.

I just had to take a picture of the keyboards for kids. I love the colors.

A fun seat with a bookcase. Awesome!

The entrance to the library had a fireplace, much like the downtown library. The books on those shelves are some of the new and most popular. I have to say that most of the books in that library seemed brand new.

Outside of the library

The walls are decorated with some of the gymnasium flooring from the old Community Center. I absolutely loved it!

Part of the upstairs walking/running track

The gym

My favorite lights in the whole building!

They have a game room - ping pong and pool

The dance and aerobics room. They even have a teen/adult tap class. I'm seriously considering it.

The workout room

Views from the workout room

This was a great art installation. It is shoes and sneakers on the wall. This picture is from beneath it.

On the second floor looking at it

The senior lounge. They even have a cafe for the seniors. They play canasta on Thursdays. I'm pretty sure you'll see my mom up there from time to time.