"THE FRUIT OF EXPERIENCE FRESHLY GATHERED FROM ELDERLY LIPS"*

One of my favorite things to do on a winter's afternoon is to read. I try to find a warm spot in the house, preferably in some sunlight, get one or all of my six cats to cuddle me and arm myself with a hot cup of coffee and a good old book. Today I came across a couple of olde time alternatives that I just had to share with you. You never know when these might come in handy.

"SUBSTITUTES FOR TEA AND COFFEE: The leaves of currant bushes picked very small and dried on tin can hardly be distinguished from green tea. Peas roasted and ground are an excellent subsitute for coffee and you would hardly know which is best."*

"SHOE BLACKENING: Wash elderberries in a kettle of water. Set them in the shade for a day or two to ferment, then boil it half a day, adding a little water as needed. Strain the liquid and boil it down to the thickness of molasses. It will give a fine gloss with rubbing."*

"TO PREVENT FLIES from injuring picture frames. Boil three or four onions in a pint of water; then with a gilding brush do over your pictures and frames. The flies will not light on them. This may be used without apprehension, as it will not do the least injury to the frames."*

"TO PRESERVE EGGS: One pint of coarse salt, one pint of unslacked lime, to a pail of water. Eggs will keep sound and wholesome for years in this, if kept in a cool place."*

Boy that was a lot of typing and I sure could go for a nice cup of coffee. Oh yeah, I'm out. Guess I'll run down to Starbucks.

*The Pocumtuc Housewife

HERE'S A COUPLE MORE..

JACK PUDDING is not a desert. The 18th century definition is "A buffoon". So the next time you get mad at someone, which I hope doesn't happen too often, call them a Jack Pudding. I bet you will both forget what the argument was about.

IRON RUFFLES are not a fashion statement. The 18th century definition is "Handcuffs". Iron ruffles sounds so much better if that is possible.

JACULATE is a variant spelling for chocolate. For some reason jaculate just doesn't conjure up something sweet in my mind. I suggest you don't use jaculate on Valentine's Day. You might not get the response you thought you would.

A SECRET LANGUAGE

I never gave much thought about a fan. To me it was strictly used to keep one cool in the hot summer months. I did not know a fan was an instrument that was used in a secret language!

Apparently fans have been around since the 6th century in the Far East. The use of fans peaked in Europe during the 18th century adorning both men's and women's fashionable attire. They were elaborately painted and very detailed. Many featured dreamy romantic scences. In the later half of the century women's fans were printed with dance steps, song lyrics and card game rules. How very clever!!! Men's fans had painted bugs, like a beetle or mospuito, on them to distinguish them from women's fans. But the language associated with the fans is even more fascinating.

1. LETTING THE FAN REST ON THE RIGHT CHECK, "YES"

2. LETTING THE FAN REST ON THE LEFT CHECK, "NO"

3. THE FAN PLACED NEAR THE HEART, "YOU HAVE WON MY LOVE"

4. A CLOSED FAN TOUCHING THE RIGHT EYE, "WHEN MAY I BE ALLOWED TO SEE YOU?"

5. HALF-OPENED FAN PRESSED TO THE LIPS, "YOU MAY KISS ME"

6. HIDING THE EYES BEHIND AN OPEN FAN, "I LOVE YOU"

7. SHUTTING A FULLY OPENED FAN SLOWLY, "I PROMISE TO MARRY YOU"

8. DRAWING THE FAN ACROSS THE EYES, " I AM SORRY"

9. THE NUMBER OF STICKS SHOWN ANSWERED THE QUESTION, "AT WHAT HOUR?"

10. COVERING THE LEFT EAR WITH AN OPEN FAN, "DO NOT BETRAY OUR SECRET"

11. PRESENTING THE FAN SHUT, "DO YOU LOVE ME?"

12. TWIRLING THE FAN IN THE LEFT HAND, "WE ARE BEING WATCHED"

13. A FAN IN THE RIGHT HAND IN FRONT OF FACE, "FOLLOW ME"

14. CARRING THE OPEN FAN IN THE RIGHT HAND, "YOU ARE TOO WILLING"

15. OPENING THE FAN WIDE, "WAIT FOR ME"

What a wonderfully covert way to communicate. How flirty and romantic! I know I'll never think of a fan as merely something to use to keep myself cool during the hot summer days.


(information from Amazon Dry Goods)

IT'S COMPLICATED

Sometimes life gets so very busy and complicated that it is hard to keep up let alone to make sense of it all. The Fall and the Holidays went by in a blurrrr. I can't believe it has been such a very long time since I posted a thing to my blog. I must apologize and promise not to neglect it in the future. I have many topics I would like to share with you.
Maybe I am a silly romantic thinking that life in the past was somehow easier and fuller than the lives we are forced to live today. My goal for 2010 is to slow down, pay attention to what is truly important in life; family and friends and spirituality. I wish the following Irish blessing for all of you this new year and for every year.

May you always have these blessings...
A soft breeze when summer comes,
A warm fireside in winter,
And always the warm, soft smile of a friend.

Peace and happiness

Donna

MORE TREATS

1. A set of three dresses: a purple and green striped silk open gown, c 1770 with a light brown quilted petticoat 19th century, a child's ivory satin gown c 1775 and a two piece, bodice and skirt, embroidered outfit with a chemise undergarment. Late 18th century.


2. A late 17th century sweet purse with gilt and silk embroidery.

3. An silk caraco. 18th century. French.

4. A two piece, bodice and skirt, embroidered outfit with a chemise undergarment. Late 18th century.

5. A late 18th century or very early 19th century young man's quilted waistcoat in salmon satin.

ONE DAY I HAD AN IDEA

We all have a passion or passions in life. One of mine is collecting 17th and 18th century clothing and accessories. Another one is American history. I have a long standing relationship with Garfield Farm Inn & Tavern which is a fantastic local living history museum. In the past they have asked me to do presentations. When they approached me this year about doing a lecture I had an idea. Why not do an exhibit? The idea transformed into a vision. Why not exhibit my 17th and 18th century collection? The vision became a project. The project was to decide where to have the exhibit and how to display the collection. The project developed into a partnership. It was decided that the collection would be exhibited in the various rooms at Garfield Inn and Tavern. The partnership produced an exhibit. The exhibit was wonderful. It sounds simple doesn't it? Well there were mailing lists that had to be comprised, a vignette to be photographed, a postcard to be designed and printed, a mass mailing of over 2500 cards, publicity to be set in place, an arrangement to borrow mannequins from the Aurora Historical Society, the pickup and delivery of the mannequins, a three day display setup and a total of 505 miles traveled back and forth between my home and the museum. Somewhere in between all that I think I might have had one or two nervous breakdowns. I'm not sure. The results, however, were spectacular. The early clothing made the tavern and inn become alive. The day of the exhibit was sunny with a bright blue sky. We had visitors from Missouri, Wisconsin and Indiana. A number of people from The Northwest Territory Alliance, which is a re enactment group, dressed up in 18th clothing. How cool! Would you believe some people stayed FOUR hours! The next day I spent a solid 7 hours taking down the exhibit and packing. I was exhausted but oh so happy. I had never seen my entire collection out at the same time let alone on mannequins. WOW! I was even impressed. You might ask if I would do another exhibit and my answer would be not in the foreseeable future. However I did learn one thing. Ideas can be dangerous.

I want to thank everyone who helped with the exhibit. Also a special thanks to the wonderful people who took the time to come and visit me, the exhibit and Garfield Farm.

COME AND JOIN ME !

I have an undeniable passion for 17th and 18th century clothing and textiles. The richness of the fabric, the complexity of the embroidery and the stately elegance of the design is astounding. Take that passion and mix it with a historic site. It's a natural. When I was approached by Garfield Farm Museum's assistant site manager, William Wolcott, and asked to due a lecture about clothing, I said "I'll do one better. How about an exhibit?" Thus the birth of a project that in reality is a labor of love.

I will have the pleasure of sharing my private collection of 18th century clothing and appropriate accessories with you at Garfield Farm Inn Museum, La Fox, Illinois. Some of the examples on display will be open robes, a man's matching frock coat and breeches, various waistcoats, a child's dress, numerous stomachers and stays, caps, shoes and miscellaneous sundries. There will also be a few choice examples of late 17th century items.

Take a trip back in time and get a taste of history. Join me, attired in 18th century clothing, at the picturesque 1840's Garfield Farm Inn Muesum and view my collection in an intimate setting located in the historic inn and tavern. Take a stroll and wander around this fascinating and important living history farm. Garfield Farm Inn Museum is listed in the National Register of Historic Sites.

Saturday, July 25th, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m..
Garfield Farm Inn Museum, La Fox, Illinois
(Just off IL. Route 38, 4 miles west of Geneva)

For more details:
Donna Finegan (847) 991-3911 or website http://www.donnafineganantiques.com/ or email address df@donnafineganantiques.com

Garfield Farm Inn Museum (630) 584-8485 or website http://www.garfieldfarm.org/ or email address info@garfieldfarm.org


Hope to see you on the 25th!

Donna