Many of us are eagerly awaiting 2014, ready to implement those resolutions and goals. I’m with ya on those, too, but there’s another event I’m looking forward to this week: the start of Season 4 of Downton Abbey! In our neck of the woods, the first episode of the new season airs this Sunday, January…
Imagine young ladies, away from home with the holidays approaching, during a time when it was unconventional for women to undergo such a separation. In the 19th century, home was a woman’s sphere, the domestic realm over which she ruled. She didn’t stray far from it. Around the 1880s/1890s, however, some of the well-educated daughters…
Happy Holidays, everyone! Last week we talked about great gifts for mystery lovers, but we only scratched the surface. And since I know that some of you live for the thrill of last-minute gift-hunting, here’s a second installment of ideas for the mystery lover in your life. I also have a special announcement to share at…
With Thanksgiving behind us (although the expanded waistlines and fridge leftovers linger), we find ourselves immersed in the gift-giving Christmas season. Yes, we want to ignore the drumbeat of crass commercialism and avoid getting sucked into the spending frenzy. But most of us want to get at least a little something for those closest to…
Now that’s a blog post title I never imagined writing! I’d been researching this last installment of the “Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving” series (the subject today is 19th century Thanksgiving food) for y’all when I ran across this: Once I got past the “Master of Hypnotism” ad…ooh, those spooky eyes…the term “Kalamazoo celery” just jumped right out…
We’re another week closer to Thanksgiving! Time for more historical Turkey-Talk. Last week we looked at the surprisingly old-fashioned Thanksgiving tradition of merchandisers peddling anything and everything to the American consumer via sales and giveaways. Click here to check out that post. Today we’re looking at another “old-fashioned” Thanksgiving tradition: football! Yep, even way back in the…
Happy Tuesday, everyone! I’m sure most of you are aware that Thanksgiving this year falls on the latest date it can possibly be, much to the hand-wringing dismay of Christmas retailers. And we’ve all been getting the “early Black Friday” emails and advertisements to prove it. Have you ever noticed that when life gets hectic,…
Halloween is almost upon us, so it’s time for part 2 of Trick or Treating, 19th century style. To read about the Halloween “tricks” pulled in the 19th century, click here for last week’s post. Today, it’s all about the treats! What kind of fun did Victorians have at Halloween? The Entertainment: The Victorians bobbed for apples, carved pumpkins,…
