Author Archives: smellincoffee

Unknown's avatar

About smellincoffee

Citizen, librarian, reader with a boundless wonder for the world and a curiosity about all the beings inside it.

Tuesday Teasings with a bit of Christmas cheer

Posted on December 12, 2023 by smellincoffee

First, a tease from God Rest Ye Merry Soldiers: A True Civil War Christmas Story. The book itself quotes a little poem published in a December 1862 paper. This happened one Christmas, I’m sorry to writeOur ports are blockaded, and … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | 10 Comments

TW on the Road: saying hello to Santa at a retirement community for Civil War veterans

Posted on December 11, 2023 by smellincoffee

In years past I’d heard of a Confederate Memorial Park somewhere in Marbury, but assumed it was something like we have in Selma: a place where the dead were buried and a placard or statue put up. After the tornado … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

A Tudor Christmas

Posted on December 11, 2023 by smellincoffee

Alison Weir’s A Tudor Christmas is a short social history of how Christmas was celebrated in the days of Henry VIII and his daughters. (And, ever so briefly, his son.) After some background information on the different cultural traditions that … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Could it be luck? Only heaven knows — seems we’ve found ourselves under the mistletoe

Posted on December 9, 2023 by smellincoffee

Allison Young and the Bygones are appearing in my music end-year wrapup, but they did an original sound that’s right out of the 1940s so I wanted to share it for those who might appreciate it. Stumbled on Allison in … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Diary of a Psychosis

Posted on December 8, 2023 by smellincoffee

Tom Woods is a historian and podcast host with a daily newsletter which (in part) analyzes issues of the day from a libertarian point of view. From February 2020 forward, both the podcast and the newsletter were largely oriented toward … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Long & Short Reviews: Traditions

Posted on December 6, 2023 by smellincoffee

Today’s blogging prompt from Long and Short Reviews concerns Christmas holiday traditions. Christmas, for me, always began the day either after Thanksgiving, or when I came home from school, and saw the shed door open. Although it was a lot … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Hitlers amerikanische Freunde

Posted on December 5, 2023 by smellincoffee

Years ago when the History Channel was more interested in Hitler than aliens and ice road truckers, I happened upon a documentary there about German-Americans in the United States who supported the “New Germany” from their adopted country. I was … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

On the first tease of Tuesmas, my true love gave to me

Posted on December 5, 2023 by smellincoffee

Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive GOLD-en RIIIIIINGS! (ahem) Sorry. ‘Tis the season. Here’s a tease and then the top ten. In order to become a swordsmith, Kevin had to be something of a Renaissance man: equal parts historian, artist, scientist, mathematician, and detective. Some … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

November 2023 in Review

Posted on November 30, 2023 by smellincoffee

If October was a fun month, November was more of a …work month, as I was focused either on school projects (powerpoint presentation done tonight, final paper due Tuesday, yaaay) or tackling TBR titles. Presently, I need twelve more TBR … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged | Leave a comment

Uncensored Memoirs of a Trailer Park Refugee

Posted on November 30, 2023 by smellincoffee

Ahh, boyhood. A time for digging out forts in the sides of hills, running from water moccasins at the creek, and repeatedly bashing .45 ACP rounds to see what’s inside. I stumbled upon this book while researching a Selma suburb … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments