Saturday, March 24, 2012
Bess of Hardwick: First Lady of Chatsworth, 1527-1608
Bridget just woke up so, let me just say I finished reading one of my most favorite biographies to date...this book is worth buying for the shelf!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Counting Bee
Bee just asked for a cookie; yeah, I know it's only 9:40 in the morning but we've been up for a long time so what the heck...especially because she is just to darn cute.
First, she asked for a "cook" and I said that it was too early. She then said "pleeeaase" so I said okay, maybe one. She replied "three" and I laughed and said only one. She looked right at me and said "two." Silly girl, you can have one because you're a smarty pants.
She grinned at said her best version of "smarty."
Love that girl; )
First, she asked for a "cook" and I said that it was too early. She then said "pleeeaase" so I said okay, maybe one. She replied "three" and I laughed and said only one. She looked right at me and said "two." Silly girl, you can have one because you're a smarty pants.
She grinned at said her best version of "smarty."
Love that girl; )
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Erin Go Braugh
I can thank my grandmothers for my redhair - and my grandma Micky for planting the seed that would become my love of being Irish.
When I was just a kid, one year for Christmas, Micky sent me a little white plastic change purse with Erin Go Braugh in script floating over green-leafed clovers on the front. I have no idea where that little change purse ended up but those words have been engraven on my mind since. In subsequent years, I got a green tam (hat with the pom-pom on top) and little cards in the mail on St. Patrick's day.
Irish corned-beef dinners and Irish Soda Bread were staples every year. Working the annual Irish Night charity events at the VBC, with live irish music sung by real irish sounding (and drinkin) groups, brought a different appreciation. Seeing Atwater Donnelly at the VBC over the years and the Chieftains at Jorgenson left an impression on me; as did reading Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes. However, it was going to Ireland on my honeymoon with Matt that changed Ireland in my eyes and my heart. As the plane circled the edges of the land and sea, the quilted pattern of the green fields, stone walls, and roads became clearer as we descended from fluffy white clouds into the morning mist rising up from the dew. It was this dream-like quality that gave way to bright sunny days that lasted and lasted; the sun not setting until after nine in the evening. I didn't feel like a tourist in Ireland, I felt like I was going back home; however cliche that statement has become it is true.
St. Patrick's Day has little to do with the religious sounding name, in our house at least. It has more to do with listening to the music, reading the folklore and legends, talking about what food we want to make, what food we're going to eat, buying little shamrock plants, and getting our Irish on with the rest of the clan. Having children has allowed me to indulge my love of history and my interest in our Irish family heritage -- and presuming that I'm somehow passing all of this Irish-love on to my little lad and lass.
Irish corned-beef dinners and Irish Soda Bread were staples every year. Working the annual Irish Night charity events at the VBC, with live irish music sung by real irish sounding (and drinkin) groups, brought a different appreciation. Seeing Atwater Donnelly at the VBC over the years and the Chieftains at Jorgenson left an impression on me; as did reading Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes. However, it was going to Ireland on my honeymoon with Matt that changed Ireland in my eyes and my heart. As the plane circled the edges of the land and sea, the quilted pattern of the green fields, stone walls, and roads became clearer as we descended from fluffy white clouds into the morning mist rising up from the dew. It was this dream-like quality that gave way to bright sunny days that lasted and lasted; the sun not setting until after nine in the evening. I didn't feel like a tourist in Ireland, I felt like I was going back home; however cliche that statement has become it is true.
St. Patrick's Day has little to do with the religious sounding name, in our house at least. It has more to do with listening to the music, reading the folklore and legends, talking about what food we want to make, what food we're going to eat, buying little shamrock plants, and getting our Irish on with the rest of the clan. Having children has allowed me to indulge my love of history and my interest in our Irish family heritage -- and presuming that I'm somehow passing all of this Irish-love on to my little lad and lass.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Elizabeth I - my current obsession
Let me just say: I typed, but never posted this in October of 2010! At any rate, here it is:
Last year, when preparing for my mini-trip to England, I began reading Tudor history. Yeah, just jumped right in, and when it got a little thick - I'd rent some glammed-up Hollywood version of Tudor history or find a historical fiction novel to read... after a hiatus of sorts, I'm back and absolutely loving the era that I avoided like the black plague throughout college. Granted, there are tons of players, names that change with every royal appointment, or reassignment of land, but the intrigue, love affairs, posturing, and dare-devilry that spans GENERATIONS are intoxicating. Matt reminds me of the filth during those times...it's hard to forget that there wasn't indoor plumbing yet, men might take baths a few times a year and if a lady was lucky, they'd put on clean underwear afterward! I'd like to think there were more than a few who would "wash up" more frequently, but, as it is said, it was a different time.
And therein lies the anomaly of Queen Elizabeth I. While Queen Mary ruled for a period of time prior to Elizabeth's reign, the idea that a woman could rule without a King was paramount, as well as that the Queen's duty to her country was to bear a male heir. For forty years the question of a husband ebbed like the tide and as far a man ruling as consort...why would someone who loved power and attention so much as Elizabeth give up power to a man...who probably loved her more for her throne than for her womanly prowess. As it was, she had William Cecil and her favorite, Sir Robert Dudley, despite his tainted reputation, and for better or worse, her councilors.
The most interesting thing about Elizabeth, is that she had the education of a man of the times. She was intelligent, but more than that, she had a passion for learning that continued throughout her life. She was vain, prideful, arrogant, and witty; she could be ambiguous an procrastinate, almost to a fault. Although, it was the combination of all of these traits that helped her survive from the age of 3, when her mother was beheaded, to the time of her death following the Golden Age.
While always the center of the Court, I imagine that the Virgin Queen was lonely, despite her egomania, which was the result of so much attention. The ability to love and be loved, in the simplest form, was beyond her and while historians largely agree that she was in fact the Virgin Queen, it seems that Robert Dudley was the closest she had to emotional love. Despite his faults and his mercurial popularity in the Court, Elizabeth raised him up and with every fall, she took him back - her devotion, while bruised, was undaunted and spanned thirty years. Later in life, Sir Christopher Hatton won a spot in her heart and while Dudley was the bad-boy, Hatton devoted his life to her, never marrying and remaining celibate. Between these two men, admitted rivals for the Queen's attention who later became friends, Elizabeth, and her ego, were loved.
Interestingly, the Puritans of her Court gave rise to the extremist Puritans who would come to the New World and build a city upon the hill...my connection to Elizabeth and this time period, is not only the love of the attire, the chivalry, the ritual, and perceived excess of wealth (because everyone and their uncle was living beyond their means in actuality), but my ancestors received a charter from the Queen and came to Salem, Massachusetts in order to found a new colony. While I have yet to understand the full connection, this is a start. It is said that the best thing about studying new subject material is that you may learn something new about yourself. Without sounding too cliche, I believe it is true.
Last year, when preparing for my mini-trip to England, I began reading Tudor history. Yeah, just jumped right in, and when it got a little thick - I'd rent some glammed-up Hollywood version of Tudor history or find a historical fiction novel to read... after a hiatus of sorts, I'm back and absolutely loving the era that I avoided like the black plague throughout college. Granted, there are tons of players, names that change with every royal appointment, or reassignment of land, but the intrigue, love affairs, posturing, and dare-devilry that spans GENERATIONS are intoxicating. Matt reminds me of the filth during those times...it's hard to forget that there wasn't indoor plumbing yet, men might take baths a few times a year and if a lady was lucky, they'd put on clean underwear afterward! I'd like to think there were more than a few who would "wash up" more frequently, but, as it is said, it was a different time.
And therein lies the anomaly of Queen Elizabeth I. While Queen Mary ruled for a period of time prior to Elizabeth's reign, the idea that a woman could rule without a King was paramount, as well as that the Queen's duty to her country was to bear a male heir. For forty years the question of a husband ebbed like the tide and as far a man ruling as consort...why would someone who loved power and attention so much as Elizabeth give up power to a man...who probably loved her more for her throne than for her womanly prowess. As it was, she had William Cecil and her favorite, Sir Robert Dudley, despite his tainted reputation, and for better or worse, her councilors.
The most interesting thing about Elizabeth, is that she had the education of a man of the times. She was intelligent, but more than that, she had a passion for learning that continued throughout her life. She was vain, prideful, arrogant, and witty; she could be ambiguous an procrastinate, almost to a fault. Although, it was the combination of all of these traits that helped her survive from the age of 3, when her mother was beheaded, to the time of her death following the Golden Age.
While always the center of the Court, I imagine that the Virgin Queen was lonely, despite her egomania, which was the result of so much attention. The ability to love and be loved, in the simplest form, was beyond her and while historians largely agree that she was in fact the Virgin Queen, it seems that Robert Dudley was the closest she had to emotional love. Despite his faults and his mercurial popularity in the Court, Elizabeth raised him up and with every fall, she took him back - her devotion, while bruised, was undaunted and spanned thirty years. Later in life, Sir Christopher Hatton won a spot in her heart and while Dudley was the bad-boy, Hatton devoted his life to her, never marrying and remaining celibate. Between these two men, admitted rivals for the Queen's attention who later became friends, Elizabeth, and her ego, were loved.
Interestingly, the Puritans of her Court gave rise to the extremist Puritans who would come to the New World and build a city upon the hill...my connection to Elizabeth and this time period, is not only the love of the attire, the chivalry, the ritual, and perceived excess of wealth (because everyone and their uncle was living beyond their means in actuality), but my ancestors received a charter from the Queen and came to Salem, Massachusetts in order to found a new colony. While I have yet to understand the full connection, this is a start. It is said that the best thing about studying new subject material is that you may learn something new about yourself. Without sounding too cliche, I believe it is true.
Elizabeth I vs. Mary Queen of Scotts
The post preceeding this one is a year and a half old and never got posted; what can I say, I've been busy! Bridget is going to be two (!) and Owen is a striking six years old already...time is flying and we're having fun. Obviously, free time doesn't really exist, but when it does I've been reading, reading, and reading:
You can see from my list that I'm reading "all around" Elizabeth at this point. Early on I was in love with her, but the more I read the more I see how she operated and it wasn't all Gloriana after all. She was immensely intelligent, cunning, and she survived; considering her status (ie: woman sovereign) her self-preservation was remarkable. I still love her and her "sweet Robin" - but I guess the rose-tinted glasses have come off and I see her in a much more realistic light.
As far as Mary Queen of Scotts, she is much aligned in history and almost the opposite of Elizabeth in nature. Being brought up in the French Court, she wasn't prepared for the brutal machinations of the Scottish nobles, and without solid guidance from counselors devoted to her or her cause...she made some huge mistakes. Unfortunately her mistakes and naivette landed her in castle after castle where she was an unwitting prisoner. Isolation and lack of communication and guidance resulted in her inability to understand the political, religious, and social changes that had and were taking place during her captivity - resulting in her end.
You can see from my list that I'm reading "all around" Elizabeth at this point. Early on I was in love with her, but the more I read the more I see how she operated and it wasn't all Gloriana after all. She was immensely intelligent, cunning, and she survived; considering her status (ie: woman sovereign) her self-preservation was remarkable. I still love her and her "sweet Robin" - but I guess the rose-tinted glasses have come off and I see her in a much more realistic light.
As far as Mary Queen of Scotts, she is much aligned in history and almost the opposite of Elizabeth in nature. Being brought up in the French Court, she wasn't prepared for the brutal machinations of the Scottish nobles, and without solid guidance from counselors devoted to her or her cause...she made some huge mistakes. Unfortunately her mistakes and naivette landed her in castle after castle where she was an unwitting prisoner. Isolation and lack of communication and guidance resulted in her inability to understand the political, religious, and social changes that had and were taking place during her captivity - resulting in her end.
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