Welcome back to Austen Promises!
Here’s a link to last week’s post, in case you missed it. 🙂
Today’s purple item was inspired by this excerpt from Darcy’s Perfect Present:
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As the meal commenced, the conversation turned to the coming holiday and the traditions each family kept.
“In Derbyshire, there is often a deep layer of snow on the ground on Christmas Day, and we take the sleigh out. There is nothing quite as thrilling as speeding along on top of the snow. Being on horseback is not the same experience.”
“My father owned a sleigh; he often took us out in it when we were children. It was quite enjoyable.” The soft smile on Bingley’s face informed his listeners of the level of his pleasure at the memory. “We took yours out at Pemberley, Darcy, do you remember? I think it was the year before your father passed.”
Darcy laughed. “I do remember! I also recall someone falling out of it when he stood on the seat and flapped his arms like a bird’s wings.”
His countenance suddenly turning bright red, Bingley laughed. “I did do that, did I not?”
Jane gasped. “Charles! Why would you do such a thing! That was dangerous.”
Bingley reached his hand out to cover hers as it lay beside her plate. “The snow was deep enough to cushion my fall.”
Darcy snorted. “That and your state of relaxation from an overabundance of brandy.”
Elizabeth laughed aloud, while Bingley’s face became even redder and Jane’s mouth fell open. “
Ah, yes,” Bingley mused, “we were rather foxed that day, were we not?” He looked at Jane and squeezed her hand. “It was simply a youthful folly, my dear. Neither Darcy nor I were prone even then to much drunkenness, and as you see, I am perfectly well and healthy. Though I must say, Darcy’s father was none too pleased with us.”
“No,” Darcy ruefully agreed, “he was not.” Shrugging, Darcy continued. “I was upset that I had disappointed him, but it rarely happened. Would that he was still here to be disappointed.”
The room was silent for a few minutes. Darcy’s wistfulness for his father’s presence was felt by all. It was Elizabeth who finally broke the silence.
“I have often longed to experience a sleigh ride. Here in Hertfordshire, we do not often get enough snow to make owning a sleigh practical.”
“There was one time, though, do you remember, Lizzy? We were small at the time, perhaps eight and ten, and Papa took all of us out in someone’s sleigh for a long ride.”
Elizabeth thought for a few seconds before she replied. “I think I do remember! I remember all of us laughing and Mama complaining.”
“She did. I do not recall the reason, though.”
“Mama hates to be cold; I would imagine that was it.” Turning to Darcy, Elizabeth continued. “You will miss your sleigh ride this year, I fear, as well as your sister.”
“So it seems, but I assure you the company I am keeping makes up for the lack.”
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I confess it seems rather odd to me to be talking about sleighs on such a warm and sunny spring day following an extremely mild winter during a pandemic, but here we are. LOL I didn’t pay much attention to what story was being shared on what weeks. I just sort of plopped them into the calendar. Which, of course, is how we ended up this way. LOL
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I began my search on Google using the search term “purple sleigh.” What I got was a bunch of links to a cannabis product. <insert shocked face> So, I clicked on the images search results, because I could see what I actually wanted in the pictures presented.
There were a lot of things in the search results that were not what I was looking for. To be honest, none were the specific item I wanted – an actual purple sleigh. There were many sleigh beds, some of them making me think seriously about giving up my headboard for a sleigh bed. LOL
The first think I clicked on in the search was this 3D printed purple sleigh. Actually, as I look at it, it’s instructions for making one and not the actual item. Still, I think it’s way cool.
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The next item I looked at was this Christmas ornament, with Santa in a purple sleigh. It’s gorgeous! It is, however, pricey at $40. Since it’s out of my price range, I’ll have to pass on it, despite how good it would look on my purple-themed Christmas tree.
The last item I looked at was this purple sleigh for toddlers. I don’t have any of those (meaning toddlers) in my life, but at $15, the sleigh is reasonably priced. Of the items I looked at, the ornament was my favorite.
Which did you like best?
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