Good Night, Little Women--Including the Feisty One Under Our Roof

Emma Watson as Meg March in pink dress.

Dan, Sis, Figgy, Punch and I went to see "Little Women" at 7:10 tonight, sitting in cushy, heated, reclining seats.

Sadly, though Dan bought five tickets in a row, Punchy, 12, didn't sit with us. She sat in the row behind us. This is not the first time she has done this, though I had high hopes since she sat right between Dan and me at this same cushy theater when we saw "Knives Out" last month.

This is called having conflicts "bonding." I kept turning around to be sure she was still there, and still safe, not somehow kidnapped. Swiveling my head from Marmee to Punch, Jo to Punch.....Concord to Punch, Paris to Punch. Gentle coaxing did not work. So after trying a couple times at first, I stopped.

I loved the movie. I regret to say I have never read the book--though I learned now that Sis did. I think she took it out of the Dixon Homestead Library in Dumont.

I am going to get my hands on it soon. Yay.

When Dan and I drove across America in the summer of 1990, we took two weeks to get to L.A. I then had to fly back and get to my job at Good Housekeeping. As a freelancer, he took another two weeks for the return drive. He stopped in Concord, where Louisa May Alcott and famous male writers had lived. He was writing 60-Second Novels all across, and for, America.

Concord is now on my bucket list. I am going to see this author's house.

And when Jo takes Beth to the sea, I think that was beautiful Chatham Bars Beach, on Cape Cod. I'm about to Google that now. Dan thought it looked like Chatham, too. I'm back and I'm wrong. It was Crane Beach in Ipswich, a coastal Massachusetts town--not on my beloved Cape.

It's late, 11:24 pm, so I think I will list what I loved:

• The candy-colored fabrics and rich textiles. The beautiful lace curtains, as lovely as bridal lace [I want those and I know a source in Cape May]. The slippers Beth embroiders, the full skirts, the brocade, the men's wool trousers, the long jackets Marmee wore with cord belts. The beading, the ticking, the nubby wools and colorful socks. The hats. The velvets. The men's white poet shirts. The costumes in the attic.
• The fanciful feasts. The Christmas breakfast, and the touching scene in which Marmee and her daughters pack it all up in baskets for the family in need down the road. The replacement feast from the wealthy neighbor. Those colors, textures.....so lush. I also like the scene in which cloves are inserted into tangerines [or clementines].
• The pure outdoors. The pond for skating....the snow to trudge through.....the wooden bridge Jo leans on when she tears up a letter....the fences. The bouquets of flowers Beth and Amy tie to the fence on Meg's wedding day. The letter box nailed to the tree in the woods.
• The sisters. They love, compete, encourage, play. They share and laugh and steal. And they have aspirations.
• The exploration of women's roles and choices then. Well, this is everything.
• The writing and book printing process! And the editor! And Jo's negotiating with him, meeting his gaze, calm and steady. His insights about what sells books. And his daughters' insights about what sells books, too. Also, above all: Jo dipping her pen in the inkwell, writing by candlelight.....
• The directing [go, Greta] and the acting.....especially captivated by Laura Dern as Marmee, Emma Watson as Meg, Saoirse Ronan as Jo [loved her in "Brooklyn," too], Florence Pugh as Amy, Timothée Chalamet as Laurie and Meryl Streep as mean Aunt March.

I hope the little woman snug asleep upstairs will sit with us at the next movie.

Good night.

TCOY

1. Mass. Church was still decorated with trees, manger, wreaths.
2. Nap.
3. Clementine.
4. Made good coffee.
5. Healthy Sunday dinner with Sis--salmon, broccoli, baked potatoes.

$ MONEY SPENT OUT OF POCKET

• Bagel shop after church with Punch and friends, with tip, $7.
• Vineyard Vines, had my eye on this Velvet Plaid Blackwatch top in person all season; now it was on sale. With shipping, $55.85.

LINK.

Total daily spend: $63.85.
Running monthly spend as of Jan. 5: $678.08.
Avg daily spend: $135.62.