Eggnog – A Christmas Tradition

Americans have always loved their eggnog. Although the egg and milk-based punch actually originated in Britain where it derived from a medieval beverage called “posset,” it was brought to the American colonies where it remained popular. Thanks to the numerous farms...

Dec 9, 2014 | 8 Comments

Christmas Decorations in Colonial Williamsburg

  Last year, my husband and I celebrated Thanksgiving Day in Colonial Williamsburg. We were delightfully surprised to find many doors and windows already adorned with the town's famous Christmas decorations.       After admiring the many...

Dec 5, 2014 | 2 Comments

Old Fort Niagara’s Colonial Trading Post

As part of the research for the colonial historical novel I'm writing, I recently visited Old Fort Niagara near Youngstown, New York where the mouth of the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario.   In 1726, the French military force in North America desired to build...

Nov 11, 2014 | 12 Comments

A Revolutionary War-era Cemetery Inspires

The colonial historical fiction novel that I’m currently writing is set in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania during 1777. It was a frightening time for this county's settlers, many of whom were Scot-Irish Presbyterians, on what was then part of the American...

Sep 4, 2014 | 4 Comments

The Warrior Run Presbyterian Church in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania

The colonial historical fiction novel I’m currently writing is set in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania in 1777. Because I want my book to accurately reflect the Scot-Irish Presbyterians who lived in that area during the colonial time period, I have visited a...

Jul 9, 2014 | 14 Comments

Life in a 1779 Pennsylvania Farmhouse

Apr 2, 2014 | 12 Comments

How Can Tea Cause Such A Stir?

During the French and Indian War (1756-1763) and Pontiac’s Rebellion (1763-1766), England’s national debt skyrocketed—in part, from the high cost of supplying its military to the American colonies to fight these two wars. After these wars ended, England recognized...

Mar 5, 2014 | 7 Comments

My Favorite Gingerbread Cut-Out Cookie Recipe

I recently attended a Christmas tea party at Christiana Campbell's Tavern in Colonial Williamsburg. One of the dining room decorations used gingerbread men, and these sweet little cookies reminded me of the gingerbread men that I've made with my son and daughter...

Dec 5, 2013 | 4 Comments