Christmas Eve

After baking 115 cinnamon rolls, 100's of cookies, fudge, Christmas bread and candy. 

Making button Christmas tree ornaments and my husband making spicy dill pickles, we were ready to celebrate Christmas Eve with my family. 

It is always such a wonderful time spending it  with the people you love. This year without my Dad made it hard. Not one of us was looking forward to Christmas Eve. But something interesting, something that 
can only be explained as supernatural happened. Being together somehow made it easier.             

Count it all joy, my brothers when you face trials of         various kinds. James 1:2   

Berkeley Square lined with plane trees

Berkeley Square houses a great many ancient plane trees. They actually line the square.

Not a native tree, it is very distinctive by its khaki camouflage-patterned bark.

It was first discovered in Vauxhall in the mid-17th century. Interestingly the plane tree is a mix of the American sycamore tree and the Oriental plane tree

These two trees making voyages from opposite sides of our earth came to England but at distinctly different times. The Oriental Plane arriving near or before the mid 1500's whereas the American Sycamore tree did not enter London until the late 1600's.

But the two trees planted side by side created the London plane tree. And now it accounts for over half of all trees in London.

   

Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live peacefully with each other.  1 Thessalonians 5:13

Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Red Rocks Amphitheater 10 miles outside of Denver was opened in 1906 by a man named John Brisben Walker. It is a natural rock formation with perfect acoustics. From there the City of Denver bought it from him in 1927 for $54,133 which doesn't seem like much. But for the time it was close to what would be just under a million dollars. Using the Civilian Conservation Corps, the mayor at the time Benjamin Franklin Stapleton commissioned the new stage to be built over Walker's original stage. Building began in 1927 and finished in 1936. It was opened to the public in 1941.

My husband and I went up there this weekend. So much going on. Exercise groups. People working out. Friends and families walking the steps. Dogs and owners enjoying the sunshine.  

Just being outdoors helps me to focus on writing when we return.

His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue 2 Peter 1:3

Kensington Palace

The Unicorn and Lion on the gates of Buckingham Palace 

Kensington Palace was first a Jacobean mansion built in 1605, then it became the home of  the 1st Earl of Nottingham and was known as Nottingham House. 

When William and Mary became joint monarchs in 1689 they searched for a home away from the Thames due to William's frail health and asthmatic condition. They bought Nottingham House from the 2nd Earl of Nottingham for 20,000 pounds and began renovations. Of course, Christopher Wren was the architect. 

Next Queen Anne lived there. Then King George I and George II took up residence there. Each monarch added wings and structural changes, paintings and remodeling. 

George III did not live at Kensington Palace but a few of his sons did. 

At the conclusion of the 19th century the Palace's State Rooms had been neglected. The brickwork held decay and the woodwork had infestations of dry rot. But Queen Victoria rallied Parliament in 1897 to pay for the restoration. The State Rooms were opened to the public in 1899. Thus began the dual role of the Palace of being a private residence and a public museum. 

During World War II the Blitz of 1940 took out the north side of Clock Court and damaged the Queen's Apartments. Repairs were not completed for many years and then the palace entered a neglectful time.

But in 1981 it became the home of the Prince of Wales, Charles and Princess Diana. Even after their divorce, Princess Diana and her sons Prince William and Prince Harry called Kensington Palace home. However, after her death the Palace lay vacant for ten years.

But in 2011 it was announced that Prince William and Princess Kate would make Kensington Palace their home. After renovations of 7.6 million dollars, it now has electricity, plumbing and all the modern conveniences. And now their children Prince George and Princess Charlotte are growing up in Kensington Palace. 

He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. Psalm 23:2

Colorado is truly the best place to live

From the rivers to the reservoirs of Colorado, there is always a picture perfect moment.

If only I could capture the hearts of my readers with a picture of where my characters live, and who they are. That is the goal of every writer. Some can do it very well. And others of us try and try and try again.

 

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14

Coal Creek Arena

When I had exhausted all my energy of writing for the day, my husband and I decided to go for a hike.

As we started our hike near Coal Creek Horse Arena and Open Space, it was as if I were a child once again trudging home from school through a field on a fall day. Leaves beneath our feet as well as fallen branches, uneven ground and wind in our faces, hot sun on our backs. While I was thinking how miserable it was, we came upon a small pond, and it somehow made it seem all better.

Then we came across a large pond with two bald eagles perched in a tree high in the sky.

 My husband and I began talking about playing in Sand Creek as kids. The paths became wider.

I heard a rustling and then my husband said, "Look!"

There leaving a tree only a few feet away was a huge owl. The span of his wings had to be more than 3 feet. Gorgeous light brown feathers carried him away.

Further on we went, and then hidden in the amber cover we spied a deer. She stayed where she was keeping an eye on us. When I got closer to take her picture, she didn't move an inch. We walked a few more yards, she thought it safe to leave and bounded as deer do in their bouncing way in the opposite direction.

What a marvelous walk on a beautiful fall day.

Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us, for we have endured no end of contempt. We have endured no end of ridicule from the arrogant, of contempt from the proud. Psalm 123:3-4

Reticules and Pockets

Covent Garden Market was a haven for shopping and reticules

     could be found here as well as ready-made pockets. 

When the large hoop dresses of the 18^th century were discarded and the high-waisted gowns of the Regency era became fashionable, reticules (small purses) came into fashion.

Unfortunately some of the most fashionable reticules could only carry a handkerchief and a coin.

Before reticules, women wore pockets that they tied underneath their gowns, in between their chemise and petticoat. But with the straight skirt of the empire waist, pockets would ruin the line of the gown. Pockets were accessed through a slit in the side of the gown. These pockets could be quite deep and a woman might be able to put her hand into the pocket all the way up to her elbow. Often these pockets were ornately embroidered. 

It was where you could carry a pincushion, a pair of scissors, a snuff box, smelling salts, thimble, pencil, knife, a coin and maybe a biscuit.  

Some made the transition easily not wanting the pockets of their grandmothers. The working class wore pockets to keep their valuables safe even during the Regency era. Some even put their pockets below their pillows when they slept for safekeeping.

In the country, one could wear pockets. But once you entered London you would need to adopt the fashion of a reticule, a decorative pocket with fringe and a tie to close it at the top.   

Jane Austen and Writing

Jane Austen was such a great wit in her day and still in ours. I can’t help but read quotes from her letters to her sister Cassandra and laugh. I wonder if she was pleasant to be around seeming to say one thing and then twisting it to say another.  

One of my favorite quotes from her is when she was arriving in London.  “Here I am once more in this scene of dissipation and vice, and I begin already to find my morals corrupted.” 1796

Christmas Eve of 1798 she wrote, “You deserve a longer letter than this; but it is my unhappy fate seldom to treat people so well as they deserve.”

Once when she was in London, she had reason to visit a fashionable girls’ seminary. She writes to her sister, "the weather...left me only a few minutes to sit with Charlotte Craven. She looks very well, and her hair is done up with an elegance to do credit to any education. Her manners are as unaffected and pleasing as ever... I was shewn upstairs into a drawing-room, where she came to me, and the appearance of the room, so totally unschool-like, amused me very much; it was full of modern elegancies, and if it had not been for some naked cupids over the mantelpiece, which must be a fine study for girls, one should never have smelt instruction."

I can't even begin to imitate and so I appreciate what she has written and press on to try and find another way to make my writing amusing. The quote below is wonderful. Anyone who writes about cake I have a natural affection for. 

“You know how interesting the purchase of a sponge-cake is to me." 1808

(On buying a "sprig" for her sister's hat)] "I cannot help thinking that it is more natural to have flowers grow out of the head than fruit. What do you think on that subject?" 1799

My vote is for flowers.

At that time your mouth will be opened; you will speak with him and will no longer be silent. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord.  Ezekiel 24:27

The Secret of Words

The Regency language is for those who know how to unlock its encryption. Some of the words used during that time are quite humorous.

Inexpressibles – Pants 

Necessary - the bathroom

Maggot Pie – the lowest form of human         

Deuced - screwed over, damned

Imp - devil    

Dad shamed - shamed by God 

Dickens - hell or damnation      Dafted – dumb                          

Redneck - a poor person in the country

Dun territory – in debt                

Tarnation - a popular sub for damnation      

Abigail – lady’s maid                    

Contemptible - terrible, looked down upon  

Sit down upons - underpants

Strumpet - a lady of the night

Ape-leader– old maid or spinster

Affair of honor – a duel.

Apoplexy – stroke

Batman- an orderly assigned to a military officer

Blue ruin - gin                             

Blue-stocking – a derogatory word for intelligent women. Originally used to describe a man who wore blue stockings and who was a great conversationalist.

Bow Street Runner- a precursor to policemen

Chit – a young girl                        Cut direct – a public snub

Follow the drum – follow the army         

Foolscap – writing paper

Foxed - drunk                              

Hell- a gambling establishment

High in the instep – snobbish    

Hoyden – a girl who is boisterous and tomboyish

Laudanum – a small bit of opium used as a painkiller or sedative

Mayfair – the most desirable neighborhood to live in, reaching Piccadilly on the south, Oxford to the north, Park Lane on the west and Regent Street on the east. It includes Berkeley Square, Grosvenor Square and Hanover Square.

Rake – is somewhat of a libertine.

Rout – A crowded cocktail party often in homes where all the furnishings have been removed in order for more people to fit in. No cards, entertainment, food or conversation.

Season – A time in early spring lasting until the end of June. It coincides with Parliament meetings.

At sixes and sevens – a state of confusion

Special License – A license obtained by the Archbishop of Canterbury granting the right to marry. Otherwise marriages could take place only between 8:00 a.m. and noon where one of the parties would have lived for over 3 months and the banns had been read in church for three consecutive Sundays.

I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart. Psalm 40:8

A place for contemplation

We, my husband and I, went up to the mountains to see the colors change this weekend. It was beautiful—gold, red, orange and green.

The air was crisp and there was snow on the ground in places. Especially on the tops of the mountains and the trails through the forest. 
But what really got my attention was the small bench against the rocks. A place to rest. It called to me then, and it calls to me now.
I have lost someone very dear to me this year. I find myself eager to sit and watch and enjoy everything around me. Things that are hard, don't seem as hard. Things that are wonderful seem less so. It is probably the melancholy that I wear as a cape over everything I do, see and say.



The dark days of winter are coming and I know in advance, I will be more downhearted than usual. I know it will pass. But the truth is I don't want it to. I don't want to forget the person I loved and is no longer on this earth. I want to remember him always and I want others to remember him too.

Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit away from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain. Psalm 51:11-12

Castlewood Canyon State Park

Hiking in Colorado is amazing. Castlewood Canyon State Park. We took a moderate loop hike. It was cold in the mountains and so it was perfect for an overcast day just outside the city. We should have taken a longer path, but hadn't picked up a map. Thought the trail maps would be enough. We will definitely be back.    

Regency fare

The Prince Regent indulged in food and it was said of him that he never restrained himself from any table. In one month’s time at Carlton House the household used 5,264 pounds of meat excluding sausage, pork and poultry. Those items were also consumed in varying amounts. At any given time there were close to 120 people eating at the Regent’s table. But that means that each guest had to eat at least more than a pound of meat a day. Any of the left-over dishes the servants ate and they were also given their own “joint of meat”.

In January 1817 at the Brighton Pavilion, the menu consisted of over a hundred dishes for the Regent and his guests. The dishes were placed in the middle of the table and servants would bring each dish to guests to serve them. Conversation was continually interrupted by guests asking servants for certain dishes.

One guest complained that the servants always offer the ladies the dishes first and some guests are offered the same dish 2 or 3 times while some unhappy fool sits without any options at all.

In smaller households hostesses began putting the dishes in the middle of the table and letting the guests serve themselves as they passed it along the table. It was more harmonious. But in order for this to work you could not have as many dishes otherwise you would be passing dishes all night and never have a chance to eat.

The working class’s main staple, you would think would be bread. However, bread cost a schilling, the same price for 20 pounds of potatoes. So they more than not survived on potatoes. If they received a higher wage, they would add tea, sugar and bread to their diet.  

So working as the staff of a grand home was desirable as it provided better food and often lodging. 

What's in a Title

What is in a title? It turns out during the late 1700’s and early 1800’s . . . a lot. Men’s titles dictated what the women in his family would be called. 

For instance if your father was a Duke, the highest rank under the King, both he and his wife the Duchess would be called Your Grace, though people close to them would be able to call them Duchess or Duke. All of the Duke’s daughters are given the title Lady, then their first name and then their surname. These titles continue to all daughters who have  fathers that are either a Duke, Marquess or Earl.

The Earl of Mistlewatch is then shortened to Earl Mistlewatch, his wife would be the Countess. So any one calling on him would call him the Earl of Mistlewatch or Lord Mistlewatch or Mistlewatch. His wife would be the Countess of Mistlewatch or Lady Mistlewatch, and sign letters to her closest friends, Constance Mistlewatch. His daughter would be called for instance Lady Helen Mistlewatch.

To make matters more interesting if Lady Helen Mistlewatch marries a commoner, she retains her title but if Lady Helen marries the Earl of Heinrich she becomes the Countess of Heinrich, Lady Heinrich. If she marries the holder of a courtesty title, then she may use his title or her birth title as she wishes.

So the Duke of Edinburough’s daughter, Lady Mary Edinburough will never be called Lady Edinburough. That is her mother’s title. The only exception being if her father has no sons and she marries the heir to his title. Then she will be Lady Edinburough. But if that does not occur she will be called Lady Mary until she marries.

To complicate matters the son of Earls, Marquesses and Dukes will take the title the father had before he became the higher title. So your father may be called Duke and the son from infancy would be called the Marquess of another property/land that the family holds. ie Marquess Somerset.  

It is great to keep a chart of who is who and what they should be called for it can be very confusing even within a family of who is who.    

Springtime Means the Season

My crocuses have bloomed. Which means spring is on its way. Which of course has me once again thinking about Regency England.

The end of April marked the beginning of the Season.

Roads were dry enough for horses and carriages to travel upon. The weather was warmer making it easier for whole families to accompany their father, son, brother or husband as they made their way to the city of London to take their seats in Parliament. If you did not have a home in the city, one could be rented.

Evenings were filled with entertainments. Mornings were filled with visits from friends and, of course, shopping.

The Season was rightly called the "Marriage Market" where young women of 17-25 were adorned in the finest gowns to attract husbands. Social gatherings to bring young people together, still done today.

Dancing was a way to meet prospective husbands. A "dance" could last up to an hour. So you had some time to converse. It was similar to line dances except that the women were in one line and the men in another. They promenaded between the two lines and held gloved hands lightly.

If you did not want to dance with a partner there were ways to avoid the encounter.

1. You can hide from him, but then you might not be seen by the partners you do want to encourage. Probably not wise.
2. You can pretend not to hear him, when he asks for a dance. He may be persistent.
3. You could say you have promised all your dances to others. But if someone comes up and asks you to dance, you can't dance with that man either.
4. The best way is to bite the bullet and get the dance over with. Be a boring partner and talk about silk and satins. He may get the hint.

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and don't forget Tea Time

For the wealthy in the Regency period, life was wonderful. Or was it? Sure you didn’t have to worry about where your next meal was coming from and if you would have a place to sleep at night. But there were rules. Rigid rules. Rules for everything and everyone to live under.  Perhaps that is how Society everywhere is run.

Living in a wealthy home the order of meals were ruled by what could be eaten and what time they could be eaten. You had a cook, she had to know what she was to prepare and when. It makes sense.

Breakfast seems to be of an incredible poor quality. Around 10:00 a.m Toast or bread with tea, coffee or a chocolate drink. Sounds good. But the chocolate beverage was a thick dark chocolate and not sweet but bitter. Maybe lunch will be hardier.

Lunch/Nuncheon was served in the middle of the day. Cold meat, cheese and bread. I guess a sandwich. Not bad. But you would be out making morning calls and would be served at your friend’s house. As a woman you were expected to eat light, so now it seems you would be starving. Tea was served with small cakes and fruit. I suggest making friends with the cook.  

Dinner – You’ve made it to 3 - 5 o’clock depending when the lady of the house has ordered this meal to be served. (In the country it was early, in town it was 6 - 7 o’clock.) Finally you get to eat. There could be hot pudding, hot meat, soup, and bread. This is where you will need to fill up. Put something in your pocket for later.

Tea time – an hour after dinner. Tea or coffee is served and maybe a small piece of cake.

Supper was served between 9-10 o’clock. Depending when dinner was served it could be a hot meal. Yes!!! Or if dinner was at 7 and finished at 8, you might get nothing more than tea and bread and butter. Maybe an English muffin, coffee or some wine and water mixed as an aid to sleep.

I'm starving but it's time for bed. Maybe tomorrow will be better.