Inspiration for the Modern Revolutionary
We’re gearing up for a week of feasting, courtesy of our Colonial Williamsburg chefs, and we’d love for you to pull up a seat and join us. Each day we’ll bring you a new recipe. From healthy, hearty soups to indulgent Super Bowl appetizers, all of these dishes have one thing in common: FLAVOR. Check out the line-up and be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss out!
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As a little girl who grew up in the 80s, I can remember playing with my Barbie “Dream House” for hours. I would carefully place Barbie, Ken, and Skipper around the table to eat with their tiny plastic forks, then sit them on their red velvet couch to watch their make-believe television. Yep. Those were the days. So imagine how my inner child did backflips when I learned about the dollhouse exhibit inside our Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg. I just had to see it for myself. I just had to.
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They say the English language is one of the toughest to learn. Making it even more difficult is our use of idioms—common expressions that have inserted themselves into our everyday conversation. When you stop to consider the literal definition of those words, well, they usually don’t “make a lick of sense.”…
Ebola quickly became the “buzz word” of 2014 but in the 18th century, smallpox was Public Health Issue #1. The disease was highly contagious, disfiguring, and often deadly. There were four known outbreaks of smallpox in the colonial capital during the 1700s as well as documented cases of malaria, dysentery, whooping cough—even scurvy. And you can bet that almost all of those patients turned to the apothecary for treatment….
Earlier this week, we showed you how our interpreters layer up and bundle up before making their trek down Duke of Gloucester Street in the winter. But what about the horses, sheep, cattle, and chickens? For the most part, their bodies naturally adapt to the colder temperatures, but we learned they also get a little TLC from our coach and livestock crew!
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Many of us who live in Hampton Roads woke up to a winter wonderland this morning—complete with icicles and a thick coating of ice on the trees and power lines. In authentic 18th-century fashion, the Historic Area also had to forgo electricity for a couple hours when a transformer blew. But by lunchtime, it was business as usual for just about everyone. So we bundled up, grabbed our cameras, and captured some pretty amazing images to share with you.
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The third president of the United States loved wine so much he reportedly spent $10,000 on it during his administration. He kept his collection in a deep pit adjacent to the President’s House (currently known as the White House). There, the bottles were protected from the weather and racked on a platform floor above a bed of ice (replenished monthly) buried in sawdust. But which wine was his favorite? The answer may surprise you!…
Winter isn’t a season most of us probably associate with gardening but the truth is, after the first frost, many leafy vegetables and roots are ready to be picked, roasted, and added to all those hearty soups and stews….
It’s hard to believe our blog has only been up and running for three months! It’s been so rewarding meeting people who love, cherish, and appreciate Colonial Williamsburg as much as we do. I mentioned in my bio that I’m a former television news producer. That experience makes me appreciate all the hard work-the writing, research, photography, and editing that goes into each new assignment. You’ve seen our finished, polished posts. But today we thought we’d let you in on some of the behind-the-scenes action-all of it caught on camera….
As we ring in a new year, our Making History team would like to extend a very special “thank you” to all of you who have made this blog such a continued success! In 2014, we interviewed our chefs, gardeners, and artisans. We took you along for a carriage ride, introduced you to our colonial animals, and provided important travel tips-all while sneaking in a little 18th-century history along the way….