Downtown and Writing

My niece finished "A Series of Scandals". It was incredibly nice for her to agree to read it. She first wrote that she enjoyed it and that any questions that she had were answered by the end. I sent her back an e-mail asking if there were certain parts where she was confused. There were a couple of places. So now, I need to go back into the book and clean it up. I hate cleaning.

This weekend my husband and I decided to go downtown. The weather was perfect for a walk and so after we parked and put money in the meter, we headed toward the 16th Street Mall. But before we were even a few feet away from the car two women, one black, one white started yelling at each other. From there it went to fists. Pulling each other's hair and name calling. I kept thinking why?

What was so heinous that these two felt compelled to put the other in her place using punches. Neither won and to make it worse, the boyfriend of one joined in a few minutes later. Eventually, they finished and then went on their way. Very unsettling. But downtown is downtown and with its coolness comes its underside.

The rest of the day was beautiful. We walked into the Holy Ghost Catholic Church built in 1943. Utterly, beautiful. Went to Coors Field and then to Union Station.

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How was Christmas time celebrated in Regency England?

Titled lords and ladies as well as the gentry would spend Christmas at their country estates/homes. Christmas trees were not a part of the celebration, not until the middle of the 1800’s, so how did they decorate?  The servants brought in boughs of greenery and draped it throughout the house.

The Christmas holiday stretched from December 21^st , the winter solstice through January 6^th, Epiphany (when the three kings came and offered gifts to Jesus and his family). There was Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve and day within those days. So there was a lot of celebrating.

Let’s start with the first celebration

Dec 21^st – The outdoor servants would bring in a Yuletide log. The word Yule comes from a Nordic tradition celebrating the winter solstice. So Yule tide means the time of the winter solstice–the shortest amount of daylight or day of the year.

The Yuletide log in England was usually a whole oak tree that had been cut down previously and dried out. Its bark would be removed and the whole tree would be brought inside with great ceremony. The largest part of the tree would be placed in the fire, leaving the large log sticking out into the room. The log would be fed into the fire until New Year’s Day.

The ashes would be removed and sprinkled around plants. This potash helps plants to flower. However, it was considered bad luck to throw out the ashes on Christmas Day.

Gown and Writing

In looking through the gowns my daughter made for me, these are my favorites. Along with the one below.

Looking for test readers for my book. My sister/editor thought since I had already used the pool of my other sisters, maybe my nieces would read it. So I approached one and it is in her hands (computer) as we speak. Looking for a couple more nieces to read it. The problem is that the nieces that are not in college, work alot. So I hate to ask. I'll keep you updated.

What does franking a letter mean?.

The two Houses of Parliament were and are the House of Lords (the Upper House) and the House of Commons (the Lower House). The House of Lords include, bishops, peers of the realm (friends of the King, landowners). 

During the Regency period the lords decided the laws of the land and those laws had direct benefits for their small kingdoms.

So commoners began showing up at Parliament to voice their concerns, grievances, etc. Eventually, they began meeting and in time became the House of Commons.

So back to franking. When one sent a friend, family member a letter, the recipient paid the cost for the letter to have been posted. So if you were able to, you put a half crown under the wax seal to defray the cost. Or even better if someone you know was going by a town where you had relatives or friends they may ask if they can take your letter with them. (It was considered rude to ask them to take your letter.) 

Now if you knew someone in Parliament in either house, they could frank (sign) a letter—then the recipient did not have to pay for the letter. They were also supposed to write the name and address of the person who was to receive the letter. But in truth their signature was enough.

Remembering the Louvre

Just one year ago, my sister Marla and I were in France. We got up early and took a taxi to the Eurostar. After a 2 and 1/2 hour trip, we arrived in France. Found a bus and began our sightseeing. The whole day was amazing with us not really knowing what to expect or what to see. I guess our preparation stopped at getting there. The bus stopped at the Louvre and we got out. We aren't really museum kind of people and couldn't decide if we wanted to go in or not. But eventually, said, as we did all day long, "Well, we're here, why not." It was an amazing experience. One of the neatest and opulent places I've ever been to. We saw the old fortress that the Louvre Palace was built over. We saw the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Napoleon's Rooms and so much more that I can hardly remember everything unless I look back at pictures.

As I think over this last year, I am so glad that I was able to start the year traveling with my sister to London and Paris. It was magical and amazing and I've found that words sometimes aren't enough to describe the feelings and wonder of all the things we saw and did while we were there.

Sewing projects for the nobility and gentry

Tapestry on canvas was another type of sewing that the women of Regency England did. It could be geometric or a colorful scenery. Once finished it would be stretched over a footstool or the seat of a chair. For the nobility and gentry alike, there were many types of fancy needlework that you could employ several hours a day working on.

A design was drawn on a white piece of muslin with pencil or a very light charcoal and then the pattern was embroidered. A gown or shawl could be enhanced with a colorful design using every single type of stitch. French knots, running stitch, chain stitches or satin stitch could be used.

Another type of fancy needlework would be netting. You could make a purse using this method. Basically it is similar to macramé with knots and a particular type of shuttle, but used fine smooth yarn, silk or cotton thread. Sailors used this same type of netting knots to make fishing nets.  Once done this could be embroidered onto material and then it would be very fine sewing.

Coyote at Cherry Creek

Out at Cherry Creek yesterday. It is so beautiful in its starkness. We stopped when my husband saw a coyote. With its thick winter coat, he blends in with his environment.                                                              

Tomorrow, I'll post the next installment of "Out of Focus". There have probably been numerous books with this title. However, this is the only one that will be posted each Monday on this blog. I would have put Lol there, but have been told by numerous people Lol is no longer used. 

  

Correspondence writing during the Regency Period

In Regency days, correspondence was very important. It was how friends and family kept up on each other’s lives. Now the problem with so much letter writing was that it cost. The further your letter went the more it cost not to mention the cost for the weight of the letter. So as always, letter writers not only used the one sheet of paper but also used it multiple times.

At the top of the letter they would pen the date and their current address. And then write a very neat letter. If they weren’t finished they would turn the page upside down and write in between the lines they had just written. If they still had more to say they would turn the page 90 degrees and write through the other lines of the letter.

It was a great feat to not only write your letter but also to be able to decipher a letter sent to you.  Then you would take the single page and fold it into three columns the long way, and then the short way. Now you have 9 squares. You fold those on themselves to make three squares. The top and the bottom edges are open, so you would slip the top square into the bottom square and then seal it with a drop of wax or a wafer made of flour and gum on paper. When moist it would adhere just as well as wax and it did not melt in hot temperatures.