adventure

  • Personal reading history

    Happy Valentine’s Day! I’ve been hunkered down at home with a nasty virus, and the wintry mix outside isn’t doing much to make things feel more festive. So instead, I’ve been daydreaming about our summer honeymoon in England. Josh and… Continue reading

    Personal reading history

  • Afternoon Adventure: The Tavern Club

    Happy December! I’ve just returned from a whirlwind trip home to Cleveland for Thanksgiving, and it was wonderful to see family and take long walks and eat lots of delicious (modern) food. Around the holidays we often reflect on the… Continue reading

  • Afternoon Adventure: Servant Life Tour at The Elms

    I want to say something meaningful about all this horrifying news coming out of Boston, but I can’t find the words. There’s only so much sadness I can take in at a time, especially when it’s on such a vast… Continue reading

  • The Ancient Table: Roast boar

    Obelix with dinner I have this habit of getting totally immersed in whatever topic I’m teaching in history. The Declaration of Independence? Let’s watch 1776! Ancient Greece? Let’s check out The Odyssey from the library! The Gupta empire? Let’s eat Indian food… Continue reading

  • Staying warm

    I flew back home to Ohio on Saturday night, and after staying up far too late talking with my parents, we discovered that the house had its own welcome-home present to offer: a broken furnace. Plus, Northeast Ohio was going… Continue reading

  • Valentine’s crafts

    Dispatch from the blizzard: we survived, with nary a power loss! Others in Rhode Island were not so lucky, and I’m thinking of those wrapped up in blankets or staying in emergency shelters. It’s going to be chilly tonight. We… Continue reading

  • Afternoon adventure: Blithewold Mansion & Gardens

    One of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon (especially in the gloomy winter months) is visiting house museums. Typically these are grand old mansions that have been converted into museums for the public, like the mansions in Newport. Lissa… Continue reading

  • Dining at Downton: How to serve plum pudding

    We had a relatively quiet Christmas here in Ohio, seeing family and telling funny stories and going for long, snowy walks and eating good food. As per tradition, we served plum pudding for dessert on Christmas night, along with a… Continue reading

  • Dining at Downton: How to steam plum pudding

    On Saturday we talked about how to make your own plum pudding, the most classic of British holiday desserts. (Yes, I am still wondering where the plums are in the recipe.) Today we’ll discuss the cooking process, which is a… Continue reading

  • Dining at Downton: How to make plum pudding

    This time of year, my family is all about tradition. Previously I wrote about the Brunswick stew we’ve kept from my mom’s side of the family, though I tested out a Williamsburg variation of the recipe. That’s still on the… Continue reading