December 14, 2014

During the Victorian age there was a surge of interest in the Celtic queen Boudicca. Boudicca led a British uprising against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire in A.D. 60 or 61. Boudicca’s name means “victorious,” or Victoria, and Queen Victoria was keen to associate herself with her heroic namesake. Queen Victoria’s Poet Laureate,…

November 30, 2014

Thanksgiving is my favorite American holiday. With an emphasis on sharing quality time with family and friends, the holiday is an opportunity to relax and be grateful for all the good things in our lives. This year I traveled with my husband to Charleston, South Carolina to spend Thanksgiving with my in-laws. The experience was…

November 17, 2014

Did you know that in 1864 it was possible to build a home with central heating, indoor plumbing, a geo-thermal air conditioning system and a burglar alarm? These futuristic marvels are not the imaginings of a steampunk author. Two years before the birth of H. G. Wells, the residents of the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion embraced the very…