not very quickly, but school starts in a week. What I am doing is taking a story I started a few months ago (turmoil in Louis XIV's France) and then got stuck on. I have plotted it out now, moving the existing scenes around within the first half and then making notes on missing scenes and thinking it through from there.
I started this because I know the story is in there, I just have to get it out of my head and on the screen. Maybe this way, I'll have fewer useless scenes to cut. Maybe.
I also started to get serious about it because I had a new idea come to me, a sort of vision of the heroine's brother as he is confronted by his late wife's cousin at a siege in Franche-Comté.
(commence eye-glazing) It was a rather quick campaign in 1668 related to the War of the Succession between France and Spain. See, Louis married his 1st cousin (on both sides - they had all their grandparents in common. ew.) a Spanish princess who had a claim to the throne. They signed away the right to the throne in return for a huge dowry from Spain.... which was never paid. Nothing like cheating your own nephew for kicks! Louis then went and started conquering a bunch of Spain's possessions, like the Netherlands and Franche-Comté. Which happens to be the part of France that my husband's from. (/eye-glazing)
Anyway, he's there on a mostly useless, marginalized campaign, and his dead wife's cousin shows up, saying someone tried to kill his daughter. Oh, and she's so myopic, she's practically blind, back then when they didn't have eyeglasses. And I plotted it out after writing a couple of scenes and then figured I should really finish this other book first...
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Friday, September 11, 2009
And of course
A moment of silence for the lives lost on Sept 11, 2001.
We lived in London and I was at the park with DS1 who was about 1 1/2. I overheard someone on a cell phone saying something about people jumping from buildings on Wall Street and was confused. When I got home, the phone was ri nging and it was my MIL asking what I thought and I said I didn't know.
I went and tuned the TV on and watched the towers collapse.
We lived a mile or so North of the Thames, which is one of the main flight paths for the approach to Heathrow. We could go out to the park and watch - and hear the roar - the Concorde land. For the next week or so, they diverted the air traffic over our house and then had it make a sharp right at the river for the rest of the approach so that they didn't have 100 planes a day flying over Parliament.
An English friend's husband worked as something financial in an insurance company and they lost just about everyone from their New York office. An American friend was in the airport in Portland, Maine and saw the terrorists - made eye contact with Mohammed Atta who looked pretty angry - before they got on their planes. The same friend lost a friend in one of the planes. My mother was flying home from Alaska where my sister was stationed in the Army and instead of changing planes in St Louis, she stayed there while my dad drove out and picked her up (about a 5 or 6 hour drive and one he knows well, since he's from St Louis). My brother sent me an email that said, in its entirety, "holy shit."
We lived in London and I was at the park with DS1 who was about 1 1/2. I overheard someone on a cell phone saying something about people jumping from buildings on Wall Street and was confused. When I got home, the phone was ri nging and it was my MIL asking what I thought and I said I didn't know.
I went and tuned the TV on and watched the towers collapse.
We lived a mile or so North of the Thames, which is one of the main flight paths for the approach to Heathrow. We could go out to the park and watch - and hear the roar - the Concorde land. For the next week or so, they diverted the air traffic over our house and then had it make a sharp right at the river for the rest of the approach so that they didn't have 100 planes a day flying over Parliament.
An English friend's husband worked as something financial in an insurance company and they lost just about everyone from their New York office. An American friend was in the airport in Portland, Maine and saw the terrorists - made eye contact with Mohammed Atta who looked pretty angry - before they got on their planes. The same friend lost a friend in one of the planes. My mother was flying home from Alaska where my sister was stationed in the Army and instead of changing planes in St Louis, she stayed there while my dad drove out and picked her up (about a 5 or 6 hour drive and one he knows well, since he's from St Louis). My brother sent me an email that said, in its entirety, "holy shit."
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving!
I made about three tons of food and that was with just making a turkey breast and not a whole turkey. There were only 4 of us eating and we now have vast quantities of leftovers.
I was just reading last night about dîners à la russe as opposed to dîners à la française in one of my research books on the Victorian Era. A la russe was where the servants brought the food to each person and held the serving dish for them, à la française was where they had everything on the table and servants who would take it all off and replace it with more food as the next "remove." A la française was more fashionable at the beginning of the nineteenth century, but à la russe overtook it by the end of the century.
Anyway, either way, they were impressing their guests with their vast quantities of the best food, but apparently when serving à la française they would have so much food and huge joints of meat and so on and would be eating leftovers for two weeks (without refrigeration. Oh the good old days!).
And no, I don't know what the French or Russians had to do with it, especially because the book also said that they adopted the à la russe service from the French...
So anyway, we only had one "remove" with only one cut of meat (and we had vegetables, which, as you know, are bad for you. Unless you boil them for three hours. At least they were in the nineteenth century...) and then dessert, but it was definitely à la française and we'll be eating leftovers for a week (with refrigeration, thankfully).
And my stuffing still isn't as good as my mom's, though it was pretty darn good. I need more of the saucy stuff, maybe.
I was just reading last night about dîners à la russe as opposed to dîners à la française in one of my research books on the Victorian Era. A la russe was where the servants brought the food to each person and held the serving dish for them, à la française was where they had everything on the table and servants who would take it all off and replace it with more food as the next "remove." A la française was more fashionable at the beginning of the nineteenth century, but à la russe overtook it by the end of the century.
Anyway, either way, they were impressing their guests with their vast quantities of the best food, but apparently when serving à la française they would have so much food and huge joints of meat and so on and would be eating leftovers for two weeks (without refrigeration. Oh the good old days!).
And no, I don't know what the French or Russians had to do with it, especially because the book also said that they adopted the à la russe service from the French...
So anyway, we only had one "remove" with only one cut of meat (and we had vegetables, which, as you know, are bad for you. Unless you boil them for three hours. At least they were in the nineteenth century...) and then dessert, but it was definitely à la française and we'll be eating leftovers for a week (with refrigeration, thankfully).
And my stuffing still isn't as good as my mom's, though it was pretty darn good. I need more of the saucy stuff, maybe.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
The horror! The horror!
My mom sent a stack of genealogy things (Thank you! Most of these are originals, Mom, is that what you meant to do? And is this David's handwriting?). Woohooo!
And ancestry.com goes to a blank screen when I try to sign in and flashes like it's busy, but nothing ever comes up. Augh!
Oh sigh.
Good news is that this morning, I wrote a new scene of about 1500 words.
The boys have watched hours and hours and Rocky and Bullwinkle and we went to the grocery store for the second day running. Different store, different items. More bananas. I bought 8 yesterday and there was one left.
Later, we're going to something about masks at the library. I'm not sure if they're making them or what. Probably. Could be entertaining.
DH has been working at home today and I have to go to work at the fabric store this evening.
That's about it for all the news. I need to go finish quilting that butterfly quilt I have had lying around for a couple of months. I'd better email the person I'm doing it for, because I bet it's due yesterday.
And ancestry.com goes to a blank screen when I try to sign in and flashes like it's busy, but nothing ever comes up. Augh!
Oh sigh.
Good news is that this morning, I wrote a new scene of about 1500 words.
The boys have watched hours and hours and Rocky and Bullwinkle and we went to the grocery store for the second day running. Different store, different items. More bananas. I bought 8 yesterday and there was one left.
Later, we're going to something about masks at the library. I'm not sure if they're making them or what. Probably. Could be entertaining.
DH has been working at home today and I have to go to work at the fabric store this evening.
That's about it for all the news. I need to go finish quilting that butterfly quilt I have had lying around for a couple of months. I'd better email the person I'm doing it for, because I bet it's due yesterday.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Ooooooh! Aaaah!
I emailed Dh's dad and uncle, asking if they had done any family tree work or knew of any. Onkel Walter very kindly emailed me back, attaching the tree and data following their mother's side of the family with her siblings and their kids. I'll be busy transferring them to my tree now! Interesting to find out if anyone has done the same for their dad's side.
Monday, June 11, 2007
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
The horror! The horror!
My mom went out of town *gasp* BEFORE sending me the genealogy stuff! She won't be back until Thursday! My head may explode!
OK, OK, deep calming breath.
I have decided to mess around with my mom's dad's dad's side of the family tree, looking up siblings and cousins and such of Victor E., since it was through him that we are related to the Wright brothers. The link's probably in the stuff my mom will send, but the sense of discovery is fun, too.
So my sticking points right now are:
The L_____ that came from Pomerania - date, boat, family brought and left behind, etc;
my dad's grandma's maiden name; and
if there was another Victor E. M_____ in Central Ohio at the same time as my GG-father in NE Ohio, or if there was something fishy going on (my mom said "I wouldn't put it past him" - this was not a terribly nice man, by most accounts, but I hadn't heard bigamy mentioned before)
Oh, and by linking up with someone else's family tree, I have found some ancestors who were in Maryland for the American Revolution. Quick. Call the DAR.
My mom went out of town *gasp* BEFORE sending me the genealogy stuff! She won't be back until Thursday! My head may explode!
OK, OK, deep calming breath.
I have decided to mess around with my mom's dad's dad's side of the family tree, looking up siblings and cousins and such of Victor E., since it was through him that we are related to the Wright brothers. The link's probably in the stuff my mom will send, but the sense of discovery is fun, too.
So my sticking points right now are:
The L_____ that came from Pomerania - date, boat, family brought and left behind, etc;
my dad's grandma's maiden name; and
if there was another Victor E. M_____ in Central Ohio at the same time as my GG-father in NE Ohio, or if there was something fishy going on (my mom said "I wouldn't put it past him" - this was not a terribly nice man, by most accounts, but I hadn't heard bigamy mentioned before)
Oh, and by linking up with someone else's family tree, I have found some ancestors who were in Maryland for the American Revolution. Quick. Call the DAR.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Geneology and history
Just thinking I should get into it someday. I was a History minor in college and frequently thought I should have dived into it more deeply and double majored.
Mom also brought up my German grandpa's grandpa, who is the [hard to spell last name here] who came to the US from Germany. She said early 1800's, but I thought it was more like 1870 (which would fit better with Grandpa's age, Mom). Anyway, they were having themselves a war and my Deutsche ancestors wanted out. 1870-ish was the time of the Franco-Prussian war, but in spite of having a few history classes that focused on France, I don't remember a whole lot about it.
Wikipedia: Franco-Prussian_War
Ah, learning lots of stuff. Various German states were annexed by Prussia in the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, then Bismarck wasn't getting along with Napoleon III (not many people were, and Nap3 wanted a war to try to rally France behind him, so was trying to start a fight.) (I remember from French Lit classes that Victor Hugo had his finger in the anti-Nap3 propaganda. And weren't they making a total colonial hash of Mexico at the time?).
Basically, the Germans won and united Germany, Nap3 was captured early on and a new French Republic was declared, then the Germans laid siege to Paris and the Third Republic lost. Alsace-Lorraine went under German control again. The French wanted it back, which helped lead to WWI, then the humiliation of the Germans at the end of WWI helped lead to WWII, which led to the Cold War and the division of Germany. Etc etc.
And maybe I'll go back and read the whole Wikipedia article someday. It's heavy on sieges and dates. Anyone know of good historical fiction or even a readable history of this time and place? Then if I could place my ancestors - dates, places, times, etc - we could find out better if my brother's facetious claim that they were Prussian draft dodgers was true or if they were getting out because they were tired of getting blown up, or if it just seemed like a good idea at the time.
Mom also brought up my German grandpa's grandpa, who is the [hard to spell last name here] who came to the US from Germany. She said early 1800's, but I thought it was more like 1870 (which would fit better with Grandpa's age, Mom). Anyway, they were having themselves a war and my Deutsche ancestors wanted out. 1870-ish was the time of the Franco-Prussian war, but in spite of having a few history classes that focused on France, I don't remember a whole lot about it.
Wikipedia: Franco-Prussian_War
Ah, learning lots of stuff. Various German states were annexed by Prussia in the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, then Bismarck wasn't getting along with Napoleon III (not many people were, and Nap3 wanted a war to try to rally France behind him, so was trying to start a fight.) (I remember from French Lit classes that Victor Hugo had his finger in the anti-Nap3 propaganda. And weren't they making a total colonial hash of Mexico at the time?).
Basically, the Germans won and united Germany, Nap3 was captured early on and a new French Republic was declared, then the Germans laid siege to Paris and the Third Republic lost. Alsace-Lorraine went under German control again. The French wanted it back, which helped lead to WWI, then the humiliation of the Germans at the end of WWI helped lead to WWII, which led to the Cold War and the division of Germany. Etc etc.
And maybe I'll go back and read the whole Wikipedia article someday. It's heavy on sieges and dates. Anyone know of good historical fiction or even a readable history of this time and place? Then if I could place my ancestors - dates, places, times, etc - we could find out better if my brother's facetious claim that they were Prussian draft dodgers was true or if they were getting out because they were tired of getting blown up, or if it just seemed like a good idea at the time.
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