Southern Hot Pepper Vinegar

Bumper Crop Leads to Beautiful Vinegars

We had a bumper crop of peppers this year -- jalapenos and chiles as well as milder banana peppers.

We made a hot pepper vinegar.  It's very easy.

Simple Ingredients

In a saucepan start with 4 cups of white vinegar.  Add 2 tablespoons of course salt and 1 tablespoon of sugar.  Bring to a boil for two minutes. Let mixture cool.

Fill sterilized bottle with a combination of fresh peppers, with stems trimmed.  Use a chopstick to position them in the bottle and to poke neat holes in the peppers in order to bring out their heat and flavor.

Putting it together

Pour vinegar over peppers and allow a few minutes for it to "settle," before adding more. Place stopper in bottle and wait a week or so before using.

We used blackboard paint on each bottle to add our "brand" in chalk.

Bon appetit.

A Hearty Collard Dip -- Yes, As In Collard Greens

Greens for Luck

Along with most everyone, we cooked collard greens and black-eyed peas to welcome the New Year.  The peas will bring us luck, we hope, and the greens will bring us wealth.  However, we had more greens than we could conveniently prepare on New Year's Day -- so we made them again on January 2 and Steve ( @SteveMoffett ) transformed them into a hearty dip.

How We Cook Greens

We start with two slices of diced bacon, half an onion thinly sliced, some green bell pepper, also sliced -- and let the ingredients slowly saute in two tablespoons of olive oil.  We season this mixture with sweet basil, salt and pepper before adding the greens and allowing them to sweat. (The hosts of "Posh Nosh" would say perspire or be humiliated.)

Our 2014 greens were excellent -- we actually cooked a generous portion of kale with the collards -- and were quickly consumed with our homemade hot pepper vinegar as well cornbread and black-eyed peas.

Next Day Dip

On Friday, we cooked our remaining collards (no kale this time) in the same manner, and Steve decided to use them to make a hearty dip.  

First, after they were done, we allowed the collards to thoroughly cool in the pan. 

Then, we put them in the processor and added one teaspoon of mayonnaise and one tablespoon of olive oil.   Steve added two or three shakes of Cholula Hot Sauce.

Serve on Saltines and with Cheddar Cheese

The results were flavorful -- with a little kick from the hot sauce. 

We served this humble dip on an equally humble saltine -- with a sliver of cheddar. 
 

No Partridge in this Pear Pie -- Just Pears

 

My Grandmother Lottie Epperson Griffith was famous in several counties for her piemaking abilities.  She was perhaps best-known for her pecan pies, but she made many different kinds and I've never been afraid to experiment with pie.

My Mom and my Dad were also great in the kitchen.  My Mom, Betty Jo Boyd Griffith, could create anything and make it beautiful.  My Dad, Bob Griffith, wasn't afraid to experiment and combine unlikely ingredients.

We had some gorgeous Riviera Pears from Harry and David that were ripening too quickly for us to enjoy so I decided to make a Pear Pie.

A few weeks ago my sister gave me a 58-year old Dormeyer mixer that had belonged to my mother who passed away last year.  It seemed only logical to use that mixer-- and it still worked!
Ingredients include

Pastry to make 9-inch pie crust
2 pears sliced (I don't peel -- peel adds interest and texture)
1 cup white sugar plus 1 tablespoon of sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
Preheat oven to 350-degrees F.
Slice and arrange pears -- slightly-layered like cards -- in bottom of pie plate.
Sprinkle pears with tablespoon of sugar and set aside while you make filling.
Mix butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs. Add vanilla and flour and beat until mixed.
Pour mixture over arranged pears.
Bake at 350-degrees for 1 hour.
Allow to cool completely before slicing.
Serve with a slice or perhaps just a shaving of extra sharp cheddar cheese.

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

In our family, homemade pimiento cheese and ginger ale punch are part of the Christmas Eve tradition. Aunt Grace started that, declaring that it was rich, but not too filling; "save those calories for Christmas Day Dinner."
But, we loved this  Texas Monthly story about the King Ranch casserole (thank you, Sara Ivey) and wanted to share this on our blog.
http://www.texasmonthly.com/story/king-ranch-casserole#.Uq0r0alOEj5.facebook
The King Ranch Casserole didn't originate on the King Ranch; more likely, according to this article, it was a Junior League take on Chicken A La King.
Aunt Grace also had a wonderful Chicken A La King recipe, which we'll share soon.
In the meantime, this could become our new Christmas Eve dish.  Thanks, Sara.

King Ranch Casserole

Grace Alice Boyd

Nigella's Chocolate Cherry Trifle -- Great Downton Abbey Dessert for a Holiday Party or Ice Party

After four days of being ice-bound, we're ready to reembrace our healthy eating.  But, there was one last gasp yesterday as we created a chocolate cherry trifle.  We couldn't find our trifle bowl, so we improvised.  Husband Steve Moffett (@SteveMoffett) put this together twice yesterday -- once for our friend Christine and her family for so generously hosting our son during this ice-mageddon and once for a family dinner last night with Aunt Barbara Anne and Uncle Doug who braved their way through the ice and snow all the way from next door.

We've made this dessert several times for parties and it's always a palate-pleaser and an eye-catcher (especially if you can find the trifle bowl.)  There's about 15 minutes of prep, a half-hour execution -- but the secret is to let it chill for several hours, even overnight, before serving.

As for calories, don't ask.  With apologies to Pamela Foster, whose Twitter account I follow (@Downton Cooks,) this dessert is -- in my American perception, at least - definitely "Downton Abbey Edwardian" in richness and presentation. Plan to eat fruit and Tracy's Tacos for several days afterward in order to compenstate.

Here's a link to Nigella's original recipe.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nigella-feasts/chocolate-cherry-trifle-recipe/index.html

Tracy's Table -- Low-Cal Taco Salad

My sister Tracy -- through healthy eating and sensible exercise -- has improved her health immeasurably in the past year. 

She's also "invented" a number of wonderful recipes that are tasty as well as healthy.  I've been so impressed with her cooking I asked if I could share a few of her recipes.

Here is 

Tracy's Table Taco Salad

You'll need

3-4 cloves fresh garlic
1 large onion
Bell peppers
coconut spray or organic coconut oil
1 lb ground chicken
taco powder seasoning
1 can Rotel tomatoes
Fresh chopped lettuce
Salt and pepper to taste

Chop fresh garlic, onions and bell peppers and saute in skillet, using coconut spray or 1-2 Tb of organic coconut oil (we use Spectrum brand, but there are several fine products.)
As onions become "glassy," add
1 lb ground chicken and cook very well.
Then, add taco powder seasoning -- as much as 1/4 cup -- thoroughly incorporating the powder and making sure all ingredients are "chopped" finely.
Finally, add one can of Rotel tomatoes.
Arrange meat dish over plate of finely-shredded lettuce and serve.

You can store/refrigerate this mixture in one-cup containers and reheat (for approximately 1 minute) in the microwave.

Each serving is approximately 230-245 calories.

Legendary White House correspondent Helen Thomas Dies at 92

Pioneering journalist Helen Thomas has died.  This Associated Press obituary shares the highlights of a persistent nature that tormented presidents -- and delighted the rest of us.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/pioneering-journalist-helen-thomas-dies-was-an-irrepressible-white-house-correspondent/2013/07/20/80f2dce8-f146-11e2-b2e0-0ecd9d3227c0_story_1.html

A and E Series is Just -- Well, Ducky

A few days ago, my family -- after an unexpected trip home to Tennessee - -introduced me to a TV show called "Duck Dynasty." The A and E reality series chronicles the adventures -- and misadventures -- of the Robertsons, a Cajun country family who own a multi-millionaire dollar duck call business. It's all a huge put on but it's great fun as these faux country folk pretend to be the 21st century edition of the Beverly Hillbillies. However, there is nothing even remotely ignorant about these people. The men may sport ZZ Top beards and speak in over-the-top drawls but it's very clear, from the first scene to the last, that they are laughing all the way to the bank. The tipoff is their vocabulary. Their sentences are punctuated with multisyllabic words and they speak in ways carefully cultivated to get the laugh. Another clue is their wives -- all immaculately groomed and standing on the periphery of most scenes, with indulgent half-smiles and hands on hips, as if to say "Hurry up, guys. Finish this TV project and let's get to the country club. We're meeting Thurston and Lovey Howell for bridge." Lastly, and most importantly, it's very clear that the family themselves are in charge. Okay, yeah, we'll do your reality TV series, one imagines them saying to the folks at A and E, but WE will call the shots and y'all can just show up and follow our lead. And, we may make up part of the storyline. In fact, we may make up ALL of the storyline. Though it's clearly a farce, it's also highly addictive. Like the time one of the bubba brothers brought a winery on line. Or when another challenged the town troublemaker to a riding lawnmower race. Or, when the grandpa agreed to put together the newly arrived life-sized playhouse for his female grandchildren ("the yuppie girls," he calls them) but used his chainsaw to turn it into a modified duck blind. By the way, the little girls loved it and Pappaw announced "There's hope for you yuppie girls yet." In an era of Honey Boo-Boo and the Real Wives franchise and even HGTV's Love It or List It, all of which rely heavily on TV producer-induced drama, Duck Dynasty isn't that different --- but it's certainly more entertaining when the subjects themselves seem to be in charge.

A & E Reality Series is Just -- Well, Ducky

A few days ago, my family -- after an unexpected trip home to Tennessee - -introduced me to a TV show called "Duck Dynasty." The A & E reality series chronicles the adventures -- and misadventures -- of a Cajun country family who own a multi-millionaire dollar duck call business. It's all a huge put on but it's great fun as these faux country folk pretend to be the 21st century edition of the Beverly Hillbillies. However, there is nothing even remotely ignorant about these people. The men may sport ZZ Top beards and speak in over-the-top drawls but it's very clear, from the first scene to the last, that they are laughing all the way to the bank.

The tipoff is their vocabulary. Their sentences are punctuated with multisyllabic words and they speak in ways carefully cultivated to get the laugh.

Another clue is their wives -- all immaculately groomed and standing on the periphery of most scenes, with indulgent half-smiles and hands on hips, as if to say "Hurry up, guys. Finish this TV project and let's get to the country club. We're meeting Thurston and Lovey Howell for bridge."

Lastly, and most importantly, it's very clear that the family themselves are in charge. Okay, yeah, we'll do your reality TV series, one imagines them saying to the folks at A & E, but WE will call the shots and y'all can just show up and follow our lead. And, we may make up part of the storyline. In fact, we may make up ALL of the storyline.

Though it's clearly a farce, it's also highly addictive. Like the time one of the bubba brothers brought a winery on line. Or when another challenged the town troublemaker to a riding lawnmower race. Or, when the grandpa agreed to put together the newly arrived life-sized playhouse for his female grandchildren ("the yuppie girls," he calls them) but used his chainsaw to turn it into a modified duck blind. By the way, the little girls loved it and Pappaw announced "There's hope for you yuppie girls yet."

In an era of Honey Boo-Boo and the Real Wives franchise and even HGTV's Love It or List It, all of which rely heavily on TV producer-induced drama, Duck Dynasty isn't that different --- but it's certainly more entertaining when the subjects themselves seem to be in charge.

Texas Gardening and Beans

It's been a while since I've posted but I'm going to try to do better (I wonder how many intermittent bloggers routinely begin their entries this way?)

After what may be the earliest and most temperate spring I've experienced in Texas in years, I am proud to report my garden is doing VERY well.

I've planted tomatoes and bell pepper -- and, for the first time ever, beans.

My Uncle Basil tried to get me to plant beans years ago, but I never wanted to try. I never realized how foolproof they are.

Our beans are growing like you would not believe. I planted them just a week ago and now it's almost like something out of Little Shop of Horrors. We first noticed them popping up a couple of days ago and saw they'd really made progress yesterday.

This morning they had grown in stature overnight and I watered them very early. Then, a few minutes ago Steve checked them again, and said "Oh, my gosh, come look. I think they've grown since this morning!"

And, he was right, they had.

So I flew to Home Depot and bought bamboo and twine and found this instructional video online. Steve and I disagreed over which approach to use. He favors the ridge support method, I like the wigwam. But I think I am going to defer to his engineering genius because I think he is probably much smarter about these things than I.
In the meantime, please watch these videos. I think you will find them as diverting as we did.
http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-build-a-ridge-support-for-runner-beans
http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-build-a-wigwam-support-for-runner-beans
Once we resolve the ridge support v. wigwam decision, we may post our own video, with Steve narrating.

I've also posted photos of my basil (wouldn't Uncle Basil be pleased?) and the tomatoes, as well as the beans (I got the idea for the plant marker from Pinterest.)

Yours for horticulture (and we all know what Dorothy Parker said about horticulture, right?)

Jan Brewer and Dick Nixon

Governor Jan Brewer got a lot of attention for her posturing on the tarmac when the President of the United States visited Arizona.

How Nixon-esque.

There's a well-known story about how Richard Nixon did this to Jack Kennedy during the photo opp before the 1960 debates. Reporters couldn't hear his words as Nixon wagged his finger in JFK's face and looked stern, but they snapped away. It was later revealed Tricky Dick was saying something innocuous like "You take care of that beautiful wife and child of yours, you hear?"

Nixon knew the visual takeaway would be that he looked like he was lecturing Kennedy on the evils of communism.

Memo to Jan Brewer: do you really want to borrow a page from Dick Nixon's playbook?

A Murder Mystery That's Right At Home

When I heard Paula LaRocque had written a novel, I knew it would be technically perfect, crisp and full of one-of-a-kind metaphors. Chalk Line is all of that and a finely crafted narrative that held my interest from the first page to the last.

Full disclosure here: as a news manager at WFAA-TV, I was fortunate enough to call upon Paula’s skills as a writing coach. She’d similarly helped reporters at the Dallas Morning News, showing them more effective storytelling ways.

Second disclosure: I lived for several years in North Arlington, within jogging distance of the neighborhood where the crime occurs. I worked and played in Dallas where much of rest of the action takes place. I’ve stayed in a certain downtown Dallas hotel (during snowstorms when the news department put us up for the night) that I suspect was the inspiration for the hotel in Chalk Line. I even worked for a couple of years in a Midwestern city similar to Kalamazoo.

Paula’s vibrant descriptions of North Texas places and people are worth the price of admission. But, even better, she spins a great yarn. And, when the action shifts to the Midwest, the story takes on an intensity and emotional depth worthy of the most discriminating reader.

I heartily recommend this book. If there is a mystery lover in your life, this is your Christmas purchase.

I want to read more. Please, Paula, may we have another?

Brooke. A Tribute.

Some people go to school for years and years to earn degrees. Brooke Winslett’s entire life was defined by the pursuit of an advanced degree – in life.
I could easily talk for hours about Brooke – and still only scratch the surface of this wonderful complex, gifted and blessed young woman.
Over the past few days our family has been comforted by many thoughtful tributes – on Facebook, on websites and in e-mails and notes. However, in almost all of these tributes the same words appear again and again.
Kindness
Perseverance
Courage
And, in a way we cannot adequately convey, these three attributes were so strongly combined to make up Brooke’s character that it was difficult to discern where one ended and the other began. First, let us talk of her kindness.
One friend described her loving nature as being like a ray of sunshine in all of our lives.
Brooke had as pure a heart as anyone I ever knew. She was a straight shooter and could be plain spoken, but I never knew Brooke to be deliberately unkind to another human being.
That’s not to say she couldn’t become indignant when she believed someone was behaving badly toward someone she loved and had no compunction about telling you exactly what she felt.
Brooke also had a tender heart, especially for the very young and the very old.
She was a deeply spiritual person. She, more than anyone I have ever known, understood and took as her personal charge the words of Jesus, “Whatsoever you do to the least of my people that you do unto me.”
Brooke couldn’t abide injustice of any kind and was a kind of Joan of Arc of uneven relationships. But there was nothing calculated about her response and she never used guile or pretended an emotion she didn’t feel in sharing her point of view.
Brooke was, instead, the eager dispenser of affection and appreciation.
A lifelong friend who knew Brooke all the way from their days at McConnell Elementary to shared classes at Chattanooga State said “My memories of school all have Brooke in them so picking out one is a very difficult task. However, there is one thing that stands out that I loved about her – and that is her hugs. A hug from Brooke spoke a million words and melted all your worries away.”
Brooke loved Facebook because it kept her in touch with everyone she loved. One of our cousins wrote of Brooke, “I never knew when you were going to pop up on my chat line but when you did, I felt a surge of joy. That is the effect you had on me.”
That is the effect she had on us all.
Brooke gave perfect Christmas gifts. That’s because she spent time and energy thinking about such things all through the year, not just in the frantic weeks before December 25. A chance remark you may have made years earlier planted a seed in Brooke’s mind. She researched your personal interests just as thoroughly as she studied our family tree and then looked in stores or online until she found the very item that would produce an amazed reaction from the recipient on Christmas morning.
Brooke was the heart and the center of all of our family gatherings. She had a sense of fun and appreciation for fun that surpassed all of us. She was never happier than when surrounded by her kin and she worried about keeping us all together as much as possible. She also worked hard to honor those who had gone on to Heaven and she fretted about the upkeep of the Caroline Chapel Cemetery – named for Brooke’s great-great grandmother and where our Griffith and Francis and Knox ancestors are buried. Because Brooke didn’t drive, she had to ask others to take her there, and she led us in placing flowers on the graves and paying our respects. She kept us mindful of the ties that bind and she was the self-appointed and carefully placed knot.
Perseverance: Brooke’s tenacity was legendary. She was a lifelong learner and nowhere was her stick-to-it- iveness more evident than in the classroom.
One of her earliest teachers wrote this week “I worked with Brooke when she was in 3rd grade one on one, my goal was for her to, write her spelling words neatly, after over 2 months of having her write and rewrite her words, I was feeling that we would not reach that goal. Just as I was giving up I turned to hear Brooke's teacher give the next assignment, I turned back to see Brooke's spelling words written PERFECTLY, I was so proud of her, and she was excited!”
Another teacher wrote that Brooke was one of those students you never forget and “there hasn’t been a year that has gone by that I haven’t used Brooke as an example of perseverance for my students.”
And someone else said she remembered when the other children got off the school bus in the afternoon they would go to play but Brooke would head directly inside to get started on her homework.
So many times Brooke became frustrated with her struggle to succeed. She was her own toughest critic. Yet, no matter how tough the circumstances, she always picked herself up and started once again.
She trolled the Internet for information about our ancestors and developed a proud and encyclopedic knowledge of her family’s 250-year history as pioneers in Tennessee, Alabama and Virginia.
Brooke was an avid student of history and literature. Her depth of understanding always surpassed the expectations of others. And, like any scholar, she was always actively making connections. One of her favorite books was the best-selling novel of a hundred years ago, “St. Elmo,” by Augusta Evans. Just last week she excitedly text messaged me from Italy: “I now see why Augusta Evans said the view from the hills of Rome reminded her of the view from Lookout Mountain.”
She said she loved visiting the Vatican and was overwhelmed by the beauty of the Sistine Chapel. She added that the tour guide said she – Brooke – had the strongest Southern accent she had ever heard. That tells me that Brooke – tenacious, questioning, challenging Brooke--- did as much talking as she did listening.
She was fearless in asking as many questions as it took to receive the answers she sought.
And, that brings us to the final attribute with which many of us associate our Brooke: her courage.
Courage. Or, as Ernest Hemingway once described it, grace under pressure.
One of her professors at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga made the comment that Brooke – in the tradition of Henry David Thoreau—lived and lived deliberately. His words comprised of one of the most beautiful and true observations I have ever heard of Brooke’s life. She lived deliberately.
Brooke’s heroes weren’t rock musicians or movie stars or the faux celebrities of our brittle age. Her heroes were real people who overcame real challenges to teach and inspire others. She was an advocate for the “handicapable” and counted as the highlights of her life her work as a docent and student speaker during a 2007 exhibit on the Holocaust. During her time at UTC, she loved meeting actress and advocate for the deaf Marlee Matlin and reality TV icon Amy Rolloff and proudly displayed photos made with each of them on her Facebook page. And, she loved Princess Diana – but not because of her beauty or her glamorous clothes. Brooke loved Diana because she was “the people’s princess.” Brooke admired Diana’s compassion for others and her refusal to quietly accept the dictates and restrictions of a royal life and, most of all, how she used her status to gain attention for the underserved and underrepresented.
She didn’t realize it but that is precisely what Brooke did. She inspired others by refusing to be defined by the so –called limitations of her life.
One of Brooke’s lifelong friends wrote: “Brooke, I admired your courage as a young girl, and continued to do so later in life. You had the strength and determination to conquer your goals that many others would have failed to pursue in light of the slightest adversity. You gave hope to so many --both capable and handicapable.”
Brooke’s courage was singular: a hearing-impaired young woman who treasured gospel music and its promise of a heavenly reunion with beloved family. A vision-impaired girl who looked beyond the obvious and saw things many of us with 20/20 vision missed.
A physically challenged human being who refused to be constrained and insisted she would be a world traveler.
I will end these remarks with the same words I used to begin them. Brooke Winslett’s entire life was about the pursuit of an advanced degree – in life. But she wasn’t the student. She was our teacher.

Mrs. Frances Wilson, an appreciation

This week, we suffered a profound bereavement. We lost our beloved neighbor, Mrs. Frances Wilson.
Mrs. Wilson was the mother of another lovely neighbor, Rebecca, who lives with her husband Dan across the street. Mrs. Wilson lived next door to us. From the day she moved in, we knew we were blessed to have her.
First of all, by her actions, she reminded us to be grateful for whatever life brings our way.
Mrs. Wilson never let a day go by without expressing appreciation of her surroundings: the trees, the weather, the laughter of children. She loved to sit outdoors on the small, leafy terraced area in her front yard and enjoy all of those things, drinking them in with unbridled joy. She told us time and time again how much she liked to watch the youngsters –including our son – at play. We breathed a little easier knowing she was there.
She also taught us that every moment, every place in life brings compensation.
She was from New Mexico. She knew and appreciated the beauty and vivid colors of that state. But she also took delight in her new environs of North Texas. She loved the trees and the birdsong and the –mostly --temperate days that allowed her to sit outside every evening and drink in nature’s beauty.
Without realizing it, she reminded us, by her history, that everyone has a story.
Although in our conversations she kept the focus on us with her polite and interested questions, little by little, we learned about her. Answering the call for women to work on the home front during World War II, she was a member of the Greatest Generation. She had helped build battleships in Washington state. She fascinated us her with her detailed recollections of how women of her era discovered they were capable and, indeed, made the difference in quickly arming a nation that was not quite prepared for world conflict.
But, she was also an accomplished and skilled artist. Her home was filled with her bright, sunny canvases -- the products of her skilled observations and talented hand. Although she was very modest about her efforts, we felt incredibly privileged when she allowed us to view her work.
She taught us to appreciate anew our own blessings.
Mrs. Wilson never failed to comment on the “kindness” and “intelligence” of our son and she expertly engaged him in conversation from the time he was a small child through his growing years to adolescence. She admired the “elegance” and “manners” of our Standard Poodle and the “impishness” and “energy” of our not-so-well-behaved Shih-Tzu. She laughed mischievously as we literally chased both son and dogs through our yard to her yard and back to our yard, again. Need I add her laughter eased our frustrations and helped us see the humor of the moment.
Finally, she defined the word neighbor.
Through the years, when we were on vacation Mrs. Wilson collected untold pieces of mail , watered plants, and kept a watchful eye for unfamiliar vehicles in our driveway. She always had the perfect word of greeting, no matter the hour or day or how brief our encounter. She waved to us in our comings and goings, a cheery, optimistic wave that said “I am your friend and I am looking out for you.”
We shall miss her.

Abbey arrivals

It's fun to watch the arrival of the guests at Westminster Abbey.
Mr. Bean and the Earl Spencer have arrived -- although not together.
Becks and Posh are there, looking particularly beautiful.
BBC is now interviewing Sam Waley-Cohen, William and Kate's friend credited with getting them back together following their much-publicized split.

Chelsy Davy

Prince Harry's girlfriend, Chelsy Davy, arrives at the Abbey.

The 25-year-old Zimbabwe-born blond is wearing an aqua green bias reverse satin short dress with a faille silk jacket of the same color.

Queen Bestows Royal Dukedom on William

As predicted by many, HM the Queen has bestowed the title of Duke of Cambridge upon Prince William. Following her marriage, the bride will be known as HRH Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_of_Cambridge

http://www.officialroyalwedding2011.org/blog/2011/April/29/Titles-announced-for-Prince-William-and-Catherine-Middleton

Prince William Greets Visitors

Tonight, Prince William had dinner with his father, brother and stepmother at Clarence House, while Kate Middleton spent her wedding eve with her family at the Goring Hotel.

Will you be rising early to watch the festivities?

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-32917_162-20058414-10391716.html

Tiara for a 21st Century Princess

Which tiara will Kate wear when she walks the aisle of Westminster Abbey tomorrow?

Will she don the Cambridge tiara? Or, perhaps she’ll wear the diadem known as the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland? Or, maybe even -- as a tribute to her mother-in-law, the late Diana, Princess of Wales -- the Spencer family tiara?

Most likely, she’ll wear The Fringe Tiara.

Also known as the Russian Fringe Tiara, the King George Fringe Tiara and the Princess Elizabeth wedding tiara, the dramatic headpiece is a powerful style statement. And, for all its modern, clean lines, it’s nearly two centuries old.

This impressive circlet of diamonds – a gradually increasing line of vertical rows of diamonds -- was made in 1830 of brilliant cut stones belonging to King George III. It first gained fame the evening it was worn by George III’s niece, Queen Victoria, on a visit to the Royal Opera in 1839.

The tiara was inherited by Queen Victoria’s daughter-in-law, Queen Alexandra, who, in turn, gave it to Queen Mary when she became Queen Consort in 1910. Queen Mary gifted it to her daughter in law, Queen Elizabeth, (you know her as the Queen Mother and mother of the present queen) in 1937.

The Queen Mother loaned it to her daughter Princess Elizabeth as “something borrowed” for her wedding in 1947. The Queen Mother also loaned it to her granddaughter, Princess Anne, in 1973 for her marriage to Captain Mark Phillips.

It is now part of Queen Elizabeth II's collection.

There are a bevy of tiaras from which Kate could have chosen. But smart money is on the Fringe Tiara. I think the grapevine is right on this one – and here is why:

Catherine is a very modern lady with very conservative tastes. The sleek lines of the Fringe Tiara complement both her forward-thinking ways and her Jane Austen sensibilities. And, as such, it will complete what is rumored to be a Renaissance-inspired wedding dress, which the bride herself designed.

We’ll know for sure in a few hours.

Lady Betty

Before there was Kate, before there was Lady Diana, there was Lady Betty.

You all know her better as the Queen Mother.

Lady Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes Lyon was the youngest daughter of one of the oldest of Scottish nobility, the fourteenth Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. As a dark-eyed, self-assured debutante, she caught the eye of Prince Albert -Bertie --the second son of King George V.

There's much evidence Elizabeth's heart may have been engaged elsewhere, to a young man named James Stuart. Stuart later claimed that he and Elizabeth were in love, but that Queen Mary --Bertie's mother-- had intervened and friends of the Royals offered Stuart a lucrative position in the oil business --in Texas!

The rest of the Royal family and their courtiers, realizing the depth of Bertie's devotion to Lady Elizabeth -- swung into action. Princess Mary, Bertie's sister, asked Elizabeth to be one of her bridesmaids. Queen Mary enlisted her ladies-in-waiting to sing Bertie's praises to the young Scottish aristocrat.

After several rejections, Bertie finally won Elizabeth's consent to be his bride. He sent a coded telegram to his parents, sharing the news of Elizabeth's "yes."

Prince Bertie was never meant to be King – he was the spare to the heir. But, the heir -- Edward, Prince of Wales, showed no signs of settling down. Therefore public attention upon Lady Elizabeth was relentless. From January 16, 1923, when the engagement was announced, until the wedding in late April, the newspapers were full of every kind of information and misinformation about "Lady Betty."

The bride-to-be herself -- who initially received no guidance from Buckingham Palace -- was so well-mannered and obligingly kind that she gave two interviews to reporters, before realizing this was not in her best interest. (They were the last interviews she was to give for 80 years.)

Elizabeth was never known as “Betty” to any of her family or intimates– but that didn’t stop the broadsheets from portraying her that way. They couldn’t resist shortening her name to the popular diminutive. And, the British public began a lifelong love affair with the woman who eventually became known as "the Smiling Duchess," "Our Brave Queen," and, finally, "The Queen Mum."

However, her first sobriquet was "Lady Betty."