This is the end of an era my friend, only rare people buy rare books.
Books Have Their Own Destiny: The Margaret Tarrant Christmas Book
There is a stack of books in my study catalogued as "books that I want to read." This stack of books has existed as long as I can remember - as a young girl it was a mental list - over time, the stack of books has steadily increased. After all , the more we…
Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly
More than any other time of the year, this is the time when we throw open our doors to welcome friends and family . . . with cookies, spirits and other fancies. This generosity of spirit is the very essence of the yuletide season. The traditions of Christmas have changed over time, ever since young…
Reading the Cover of the Book
There are books and then, there are covers or dust jackets for hardbound books. I recently came across quite a few books published in the late 1940s with dust jackets intact. They are intriguing, interesting and nice to behold. Can we judge a book by its cover, maybe not. But we can quickly get an…
Dickens, Coal Miners and The Spirit of Christmas
Lately, I have wondered about the life of a miner. This comes as no surprise since Putnam and Speedwell occupies a house that was once a home for a miner and his family at Eclipse Company Town. The houses are cute; but they are small, it seems to me, for a family. I wonder about…
Easter Eggs
Easter Morning. After a long winter, it feels like spring. The sky is blue bright blue. The birds are back - even a heron - and they are happy because the cat is very busy with her new brood. There is an Easter Egg hunt going on at the neighbor's pond down the road. The…
IN THE GARDEN
I grew up in a city but we had a garden. Next to our garage, there was a five foot wide strip of land. My father planted tomatoes and lettuce - maybe there were other things like peppers. But tomatoes grew there abundantly. The very best tomatoes cannot be had at a grocery store -…
Cookbooks in the Internet Age
I am a historian and so, I truly understand that the internet is the greatest tool for any kind of research - including recipes. I was delighted to actually find a recipe for authentic Italian Roast Beef á la Marnell's (Chicago Heights, Illinois). Italian Roast Beef is such an extraordinary culinary treat that an…