Thanksgiving is past and IMO that means the Christmas season is HERE!!! I can guarantee that over this past weekend we got our tree up and I at least started decorating the house. I simply LOVE, LOVE, LOVE CHRISTMAS! Hands down my favorite holiday season, which is why I shall...
November 26 is an anniversary day in the Lathan household! On this day in 2019, we drove three hours to Illinois, meeting and adopting our second fur-baby. I have previously written two blogs about our first fur-baby, Olivia Marjo, the most recent on October 5 (link below). Today is perfect...
“Thanksgiving is the holiday that encompasses all others. All of them, from Martin Luther King Day to Arbor Day to Christmas to Valentine’s Day, are in one way or another about being thankful.” The quote above is from American novelist Jonathan Safran Foer and struck me as especially profound this...
The day before Thanksgiving here in the US, I know I will be busy and suspect many of my visitors will be as well. So, rather than a lengthy blog, here are two lovely gowns from November fashion magazines during the Regency for your viewing pleasure. This first fashion plate...
About three years ago, on one of those “what to watch” Saturdays, I stumbled across Carrie Pilby on Netflix. The titular star’s face, especially those big blue eyes, are what grabbed my attention. Then I saw that Gabriel Byrne and Nathan Lane were also in it — two actors I...
Because I’ve written so many blogs about this fabulous and unique American holiday, I am not going crazy re-posting them separately. Instead, here are links to those past blogs, which cover everything from trivia, games to entertain during the holiday, recipes, and of course the history of Thanksgiving Day itself....
A Girandole is an ornamental branched candlestick or light fixture consisting of several lights, often resembling a small chandelier. Girandoles came into use about the second half of the 17th century as a luxurious appliance for lighting and were commonly made and used in pairs. A great variety of metals were used (gilded bronze, copper, and...
Today in Part 2 of my favorite literature novels, I am continuing the list begun in Part 1 from last Thursday. In that blog I shared my journey to discovering novels and my favorite titles by Robert Ludlum, James A Michener, Taylor Caldwell, and a few others. Please read that...
“While we are waiting, Lizzy, this is from all of us Bennets. We pooled our resources.” Kitty placed a smallish, but heavy gift on her lap, stooping to kiss her cheek. “Merry Christmas.” The wrapping hid a roughly cigar box–sized, highly glossed, cherry wood musical box! The glass panel in...
We are fully into the autumn season here in the Northern Hemisphere, with winter fast approaching. Thus, as the days grow shorter, the weather becomes increasingly unpredictable. Today, your friendly author comes to you with a word of warning and a visual reminder of the potential hazards to being caught...
The word salon has been around since at least 1664, derived from the Italian salone or French sala, meaning “a reception room or great hall.” The indication was for a particular part of a house, a room or several rooms, where people gathered together. The English equivalent would be the...
Inspired by my post on Tuesday uncovering the history of lemons and limes, I went searching for old recipes and stumbled across a great website: Cooking in the Archives A search of the site revealed no recipes featuring limes but a total of six with lemon as a main ingredient....
I consider myself fortunate in that I have always loved reading books from nearly every genre category imaginable. As to why this is, I am not exactly sure although I suspect living in a population less than 3000 mountain town in California where the only library was the small one...
Dear Tom, this brown jug that now foams with mild ale,(In which I will drink to sweet Nan of the vale),Was once Toby Fillpot, a thirsty old soul,As e’er drank a bottle, or fathomed a bowl….~1761, by Francis Fawkes, a clergyman Toby jugs portray a character whose story is rather...
While preparing the latest Vocabulary Rocks! edition for the letter L — read that blog HERE – I was fascinated by the histories of these common citrus fruits. Rather than go into depth on a vocabulary blog when there are so many other interesting L words, I decided to devote...
