Tag: history

Christopher Columbus… 1492!

On By Barbara StroudIn THOUGHTSLeave a comment

Image: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3b51259/

Today is the celebration of Christopher Columbus arriving in America on October 12, 1492… 520 years ago today!

Here’s a blip from History.com

Columbus Day is a U.S. holiday that commemorates the landing of Christopher Columbus in the New World on October 12, 1492. It was unofficially celebrated in a number of cities and states as early as the 18th century but did not become a federal holiday until the 1937. For many, the holiday is a way of both honoring Columbus’ achievements and celebrating Italian-American heritage. Throughout its history, Columbus Day and the man who inspired it have generated controversy, and many alternatives to the holiday have appeared in recent years.

History.com has some fascinating articles… here’s one of them, check out their site for more, video’s too!

Christopher Columbus

The explorer Christopher Columbus made four trips across the Atlantic in search of a water route from Europe to Asia. He never found it, but he did accidentally “discover” the Americas along the way.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Photos: Doors in Charleston, SC…

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME6 Comments

Fred and I took a walk around downtown early one Saturday morning and I brought along the camera (of course!). You can loose yourself taking photos downtown. THERE IS JUST SO MUCH TO SEE! For the most part it was a cloudy morning, but the sun peeked through for a few shots… I love how the sunlight hits this beautiful wooden door. The quality of the homes downtown just cannot be beat. They are absolutely gorgeous!

I love the newspaper still on the step… and the carriage step from days gone by… it was a nice quiet morning… then the sun stayed out and it was a tad humid (understatement of the year)… it was nice while it lasted!

Everything is just. so. GRAND. Lovely!

Stay cool and I’ll catch you back here tomorrow!

Charleston Photo: St. Phillips Episcopal Church…

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME3 Comments

Here’s a photo of St. Phillips Episcopal Church (founded in 1680!) located in downtown Charleston, SC. It’s a gorgeous church, one that has been photographed and painted oh so many times. It’s in the heart of the city, near the market and all the other happening locations.

Hope you are all having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! Wow, Memorial Day… ALREADY!?

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Dogwoods blooming in Charleston, SC…

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME3 Comments

I’ve heard this story and I think it’s so interesting! {Source info here}

Many Christians consider the flowering dogwood’s showy cross-like inflorescences (“flowers”) to be religious symbols, due to their four white petal-like bracts bearing red dots on their tips; these trees are often in flower during the springtime Easter season in the Northern Hemisphere. Christian tradition claims the dogwood as the tree used to make the cross on which Jesus was crucified, and further, that dogwoods grew taller and broader until the 1st Century AD, making them suitable for use as crosses. In response to Jesus’s death on one, God permanently stunted the growth of the dogwood species to prevent them ever again being used for the same purpose. Today, very few dogwood specimens would provide sufficient wood to manufacture a cross by the primitive means of the 1st Century AD.

Ok, so I couldn’t decide which photo to use, so here’s another one… from our tree in the front yard… and the last one… love the Spanish moss! Catch you back here tomorrow!

Ahhh, the history of leap year… explained here!

On By Barbara StroudIn THOUGHTSLeave a comment

Haven’t you wondered what leap year was all about? I never really thought much about it, but I can say I’m a better person for having read this… after you read it you will be fully informed and will never have to wonder again!

Found this great info from Inventor.About.com (click HERE to see the full page)
THE HISTORY OF LEAP YEAR…
Leap years are years with 366 days, instead of the usual 365. Leap years are necessary because the actual length of a year is 365.242 days, not 365 days, as commonly stated. Basically, leap years occur every 4 years, and years that are evenly divisible by 4 (2004, for example) have 366 days. This extra day is added to the calendar on February 29th.

However, there is one exception to the leap year rule involving century years, like the year 1900. Since the year is slightly less than 365.25 days long, adding an extra day every 4 years results in about 3 extra days being added over a period of 400 years. For this reason, only 1 out of every 4 century years is considered as a leap year. Century years are only considered as leap years if they are evenly divisible by 400. Therefore, 1700, 1800, 1900 were not leap years, and 2100 will not be a leap year. But 1600 and 2000 were leap years, because those year numbers are evenly divisible by 400.

 Julius Caesar, Father of Leap Year… read more HERE

So now you know! Catch you back here tomorrow!

[Image: ThemesBank]

Fenwick Hall, a gorgeous plantation in Charleston, a plantation with a history!

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME, THOUGHTSLeave a comment

Fenwick Hall, a gorgeous plantation that is also referred to as a castle. We drove by this the other day on the way to daycare for Charlie (woof)…

A pretty impressive place, wouldn’t you say? This is a true southern plantation… look at those beautiful old live oak trees, they’re so graceful and stately. I ran across the most interesting website about this wonderful place called FENWICK HALL… It’s been around since approximately 1730. It has wonderful stories! Hidden tunnels, secret rooms, ghosts, you name it! Read about the history on the website… it’s fascinating to say the least. What I’ve heard about this place was that it used to be a drug and alcohol treatment center for the wealthy. When reading the history it looks like that began in the 1980’s, the  history is a must read!

This is now a private residence, and the writer of the Fenwick Hall Plantation website cautions you not to trespass, because the owners will prosecute. So warning warning… unless you’re looking to visit the big house (and I don’t mean Fenwick) some time soon? Hee.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

The great escape on our wedding day… 19 years ago…

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME, THOUGHTS3 Comments
Run baby run! 8/22/92

Ohmygosh, we had the time of our lives on our wedding day! This is us, big hair and all, NINETEEN YEARS AGO today! Whew does time ever fly. Right when you decide to forget about finding the one true love in life do you happen to walk a friends dog right up to their very feet. What a happy day that was. I knew almost immediately that Fred was THE ONE. It was his gentle demeanor, the way he listened when I talked, the way he was truly HAPPY to see me. Fred is everything in the world to me, he’s my ONE TRUE LOVE, and I will be forever grateful!

Happy 19 years Fred! I love you!! More happy days to come… xoxo barbara

Catch y’all back here tomorrow!! I believe we have some anniversary cake to eat, ha ha…

Olson House depicted in Christina’s World now a national landmark…

On By Barbara StroudIn ARTLeave a comment
Image: Maps.Google.com

News from the art world… if you’ve missed the paper the past few weeks, here’s an update… as reported by AP.

 An old weather beaten farmhouse that sits in Cushing, Maine, the scene of one of Andrew Wyeth’s most famous paintings, and one of the most famous paintings of the 20th century is now officially a national landmark.
 
The Olson House is where Andrew painted CHRISTINA’S WORLD (among others) back in 1948.  He painted Christina Olson (who lived in this house), who suffered from some sort of muscular disease thought to be polio, she was unable to walk and had resorted to crawling at times. There are so many interesting stories that go along with Christina’s World, I will save for another post… You can visit the Olson house via the Farnsworth Museum. The house is open June – October.
 
Catch you back here tomorrow! If you get a chance, check out my photo blog at http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com !

Funny sign Saturday…

On By Barbara StroudIn ARTLeave a comment
"The Mona Lisa" by Leonardo da Vinci. Painted c.1503-6. Oil paint on wood. Size: 30x20" (77x53cm). This famous painting is now in the collection of the Louvre in Paris.

 Here are some fun facts from www.socialstudiesforkids.com regarding Mona Lisa:

The famous painting done by Leonardo Da Vinci that everyone calls the Mona Lisa is not really called that. Its real title is La Gioconda.

The woman in the painting was the wife of a man named Francesco del Gioconda, and so the painting was titled, by its creator La Gioconda. It was known for a time as the Madonna Lisa, which probably explains why it has its present name.

Leonardo created this painting over many years, beginning in 1503. When he finished it is debated by historians. During this time, he also was painting many other things, building sculptures, and making new inventions.

As for her famous smile, art historians still debate why she is smiling and what that smile represents. Everyone who sees the painting probably has his or her own ideas.

One last thing: Did you ever notice that the woman in this most of paintings has no eyebrows? It’s true. Look closely. Women at that time were considered more beautiful if they had their eyebrows shaved.

Catch you back here tomorrow!!