Music Monday: I Don’t Dance

Yesterday afternoon, I was creating this graphic…

TT- Tolerable to Lovely(it’s a pinned tweet on my twitter profile this week)

…and the song that kept going through my head was…

(This song has always made me think of Mr. Darcy. 🙂 )

I often use music when writing:

relaxation music that helps me focus

upbeat motivational songs (played at a high volume) that get me going

and of course….

songs that evoke emotions and ideas inspiring some part of a story.

Since this blog is about following my imagination….I thought I would start sharing some songs that I find spark that imagination.  Unlike those that are often a part of Wordless Wednesday, these songs will probably have words (though maybe not always).  And just as Wordless Wednesday has a connection to a story, these may also have a connection…just like today’s.

Enjoy your Monday!

 

 


Just Three Words

Sometimes a short story begs for a sequel.  Well, at least in my writing world it does.  A while ago now I wrote “A Change of Heart,” a story which takes place just after Darcy’s disastrous first proposal, but before he leaves the parsonage.

This story takes place shortly after that one, when Elizabeth arrives in London.

Just Three Words“Please, Brother?  If I am to spent the whole of tomorrow afternoon sitting with Great-Aunt Margaret, might I not have a bit of new ribbon or lace in my work basket.”  Georgiana peered out the window of the carriage as they traveled the streets of London.  “It would make the task ever so much more enjoyable.”

Darcy chuckled.  “Spending time with Lady Margaret is hardly a thing to be endured.”  He noted the small pout that formed instinctively on her lips.  It was not an attempt to procure his favour, but rather a small twinge of disappointment which would soon be replaced by a smile and accompanied by a ‘very well.’

Continue reading Just Three Words


Percival the Frog

Here is a throw back to last year.  This story was written when I was feeling nostalgic about my eldest son’s birthday. I find I am feeling that way again and to perhaps a greater degree, since today, he is reaching that magical age of eighteen–the gateway between youth and adult.

5dda7815-b2ff-4c52-9878-8432de211aef_zps98084422This mucky, muddy little boy was the inspiration for this story.  You see, when this picture was taken, he and his cousin had just captured a frog.

This story can also be found under the Tales from Pemberley tab in the menu.

Percival the Frog

Bennet scampered into the room.  “Mama, Mama.  Look at the frog, Mama!”  He shoved a muddy, wiggling creature under his mother’s nose.  “I found him near the pond. He was hard to catch.”  His small face shone with triumph.  Globs of mud dripped from his hands unto the floor.  His feet were shoeless and a trail of muddy prints formed a trail from the door to the sitting room.

“Marie, there appears to be no need for the search party; the young master has found us. Please, instruct someone to draw a bath.”  Elizabeth spoke to the nurse maid who stood at her side, mouth agape.  “Bennet, do not move.”  She gave him a stern stare.  “Roger, a container with a lid, please.”  The footman quickly fetched a small lidded crock.  She pointed to the frog.  “I believe, Bennet’s new friend would much rather be back at the pond with his family instead of in my house.” The footman carefully placed the crock under Bennet’s hands and the lid above.  With a pout, Bennet released the frog, and Roger secured the lid before the frog could make an escape.

Continue reading Percival the Frog


My Story…in Art

Business card artJust stopping by today to show you a piece of artwork.  My friend Kathleen over at Kitty’s Daydreams printed out a page of Oxford Cottage and created a custom piece of art for me.  Isn’t it lovely?  Not only is it in my favourite colour…pink, but it also contains a found poem just for me.

I believe

courage, 

my dearest, 

was in her 

nature. 

What to see some of Kathleen’s other work?

Hop on over to her facebook page (here) or her Society 6 store (here).  


Elizabeth’s Gift to Lady Matlock

In For Peace of Mind, the Gardiner and Bennet families have a tradition of giving gifts at the end of each year.  As Elizabeth explained to Georgiana,

“The gifts must show thankfulness for and give blessing to the receiver.  Uncle says that is the most important part of the tradition.”(For Peace of Mind, Chapter 9)

I wanted Elizabeth to give  a gift of homemade sweets to Lady Matlock.  This sent me wandering around the internet in search of information about sweets in Regency England.  Happily, I stumbled across the third edition of a cookbook published in London, England in 1827 which contained a recipe for chocolates!  Below is that recipe.

Conserve of Chocolate—Conserve de Chocolat.

Boil-down two ounces of chocolate de santé or of vanille, in a quarter of a glass of water; have ready half a pound of sugar on perlé; mix it with the sugar, and work as the other: or all sorts of wet conserves, follow the directions given for cherries, currants, gooseberries, raspberries, oranges, lemons, &c. &c.

Of course, my research could not stop there. I had to try it. I needed to know how hard it might be for Lizzy to make her gift.  So, I read the recipes for the other types of conserves as listed and gathered my tools.  The results were edible, but not very good.

After a bit of thought, I decided perhaps I could find a similar recipe in my grandmother’s cookbook (printed in 1934)and use those instructions.  This is the recipe I found.

Cocoa Fudge

1/2 cup cocoa

2/3 cup cold water

2 cups sugar

2/3 cup milk

3 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

nut meats

 Place the cocoa and cold water in a sauce pan.  Stir over low fire until chocolate is melted.  Remove from fire and stir until smooth.  Stir in sugar gradually and add milk.  Then stir over fire until sugar is dissolved.  Boil over medium flame until it reaches 226 degrees F. or until a soft ball will form when a teaspoonful of syrup is dropped in cold water.  When test is obtained place pan in cold water to cool for a few minutes.  Add butter and vanilla.  Remove pan.  Beat until it begins to thicken and lose its shine.  Add nut meats.  Pour at once onto a damp cake pan (greasing is unnecessary). 

Marjorie M. Nelson

I gathered my tools again and began my second attempt.  In this second attempt, I used 1/4 cup of cocoa, 1 cup of sugar, 1/3 cup of cold water, and a 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla.  I followed Marjorie’s directions as written omitting the information about the milk, butter and nut meats; making sure not to stir while the mixture boiled; and pouring it not into a damp pan but into a pan lined with wax paper. The results were not only edible but declared good by my teenage son!

Next time, I think I might try adding dried fruit or nut meats, or perhaps I will pour the chocolate into some pretty moulds, or….

 

Sources:
The Art of French Cookery by A.B. Beauvilliers, Restauranteur, Paris, Third Edition, printed for Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green, Paternoster-Row.
Friendship League’s Book of Tested Recipes (Swedish Tabernacle Church, Minneapolis, MN published by Independent Press.