“Whan zephirus eek with his sweete breeth Inspired hath in every holt and heath Tendre croppes…” – The General Prologue of the Canterbury Tales, ll. 5-7. [When Zephyrus (as well) with his sweet breath has brought forth life in the young crops of every wooded grove and open tract of land…][1] The breath of life. […]
‘ Many Historians use the poem now known as Twas the Night Before Christmas to mark the point where American Christmas began. Christmas has been celebrated in North America since Europeans began to arrive, but it was in the 19th century that uniquely American innovations and combinations of older European traditions can be clearly demarcated. […]
“I had not been seated many minutes by the comfortable heath … before I found myself as much at home as if I had been one of the family.” Old Christmas, Washington Irving 1819-20 For me, one the most enduring enticements of the year, stretching all the way back to my childhood, is the enjoyment […]
“I mean, that’s why they put in extras.” – An explanation I was once given as to why having multiple broken trusses wasn’t a problem. When I write a home inspection report, most of my recommendations are limited to a sentence or two – maybe three of four if especially egregious damage was found. My […]
“The silence, which again reigned, made her ashamed of her late fears, and she believed, that her imagination had deluded her, or that she had heard one of those unaccountable noises, which sometimes occur in old houses.” – The Mysteries of Udolpho, Anne Radcliffe Historic Homes: When I write a blog, it is often the […]
“The cold night will turne vs all to Fooles, and Madmen.” – William Shakespeare, King Lear Has anyone coined the phrase, Low-No? As in low or no cost. You know, like Bo-Go (buy one get one free). If this isn’t a thing, it should be. Maybe a catchy spelling like Lo-No will help it gain […]
Language presents puzzling paradoxes. A statement like, “It’s raining” is, in many ways, totally inadequate. Rain covers everything from a short shower to storms so strong they change people’s lives forever. The simple noun belies a broad breadth of weather with the simple common denominator of precipitation. Not surprisingly, English has an almost endless array […]
“And, with the dark, the Forest came up boldly and pressed against the very walls and windows, peering in upon them, joining hands above the slates and chimneys.” – “The Man Whom the Trees Loved” by Algernon Blackwood I love the woods – always have. Though I don’t want to be confused with the creepy […]
“The agent kicked aside some garbage with his shoe and, after a quick look around, stepped up to a solid oak door set into deep shadow beneath the porte-cochère. It seemed to Nora as if Pendergast merely caressed the lock; and then the door opened silently on well-oiled hinges. They stepped quickly inside. Pendergast […]
Virginia Dwelling has no mission statement. Sadly, we lack the water coolers, coffee-stained carpets, and cubicle-to-cubicle quarreling to support one. One day, perhaps, we’ll gather around a worn-out conference room table and spend hours hammering out a phrase that has all the appearance of meaning but is also conspicuously void of it. Virginia Dwelling: Improving […]