Franklin Delano Roosevelt died in office on 12 April 1945, just a few months before WWII ended and during a time of great economic recovery. The reason America was doing so well, in spite of being in a horrific war, was FDR’s New Deal and its three ‘R’s (Relief for the impoverished, Recovery of the… Read more FDR and a New New Deal
My eldest daughter, whom I call Blossom for the purposes of blogging, turned 11 years old early this morning. I’ve been a mommy for 11 years. Huh. That sure went by fast. Blossom wanted to dye her hair red as her birthday present. Since we are hard-asses about everything else, we give her autonomy over… Read more Happy Birthday Blossom!
I had a wonderful Easter weekend, and I hope you all did likewise! My daughters were delighted with their Easter Baskets, and looked super-cute in their flouncy, sparkly, tulle-rich dresses. We had friends over to do a massive egg hunt in our back yard and the weather was absolutely perfect; sunny and warm without being… Read more Hoppy Easter!
I thought Good Friday would be an excellent time for this guest post by Kathryn Claahsen. I hope you all find it as thought provoking and interesting as I did! Two years ago I was taking a painting class at the Art Institute in Chicago. It was a class which involved copying the original… Read more Art is Meant to Disturb, by Kathryn Claahsen
Queen Elizabeth I died on March 24, but she was not the only English monarch to die on this day. George V’s queen consort, Mary of Teck, died on March 24, 1953 — exactly 350 years after the death of Queen Elizabeth. Coincidently, Mary’s death occurred in the first year in the reign of her… Read more Mary of Teck
If you are one of the many, MANY people celebrating St. Patrick’s today – either from genuine Irish pride or because you are using your great-grandmother’s potential 1/8 Gaelic heritage as an excuse to get wasted and party this weekend – you will be enjoying the festivities because of all the Irish who strove and… Read more Happy St. Patrick’s Day
I recently wrote about Joan of England, Queen of Scotland, who is little known because she was a quintessentially nice young lady. Her mother, Isabella of Angoulême, was not such a nice young lady and as such she is a much more intriguing historical figure – albeit more famous in France than in England. Why… Read more More Jezebel than Isabel
This post is by guest-blogger Heather R. Darsie, who went to see the Basilica of San Clemete al Laterno (the lucky duck) and will tell us all about it. During my visit to Italy back in November 2015, my Travel Buddy and I had our longest stop in the Eternal City, Rome. Rome was different… Read more Adventure in History: Basilica of San Clemente al Laterno
I have written about Donald Trump, the buffoon campaigning for the Republican nominee as President of the United States, on multiple occasions. I have written about how he is uses nativist fears of the Other to scapegoat immigrants for societal ills they did not create. I’ve written about Trump’s breathtaking hypocrisy and lies. I’ve mentioned… Read more Fear and Far Right Populism
Joan of England, was born on July 22, 1210, the oldest daughter of King John (John Lackland) and Queen Isabella of Angoulême, and she died at the tender age of seventeen on March 4, 1238. We don’t know that much about her, historically, because she was a mere female and a well-behaved one at that,… Read more Joan, Queen of Scotland