http://drmudd.org/2015-victorian-christmas-december-5-6

I will be there December 6. I hope to see you there!

Would love to go there someday- having never been. I assume there are many relics there? Really the while whole is probably a relic!

(11-29-2015 04:11 PM)LincolnMan Wrote:  Would love to go there someday- having never been. I assume there are many relics there? Really the while whole is probably a relic!

Yes - you sure won't regret it. The original couch where Booth sat to get his leg dressed, and a lot of others (the rest being contemporarly furnished). Authentic, very atmospherical. Breathing views from the window of the room where Booth and Harold slept. And due to it being such a secluded, idyllic place you can feel the original time and can imagine the happenings. The idyllic atmosphere has something threatening to it (like in "High Noon") and you almost expect desperados to appear on horseback.

Along the way Thomas, stop in for a tour at Surratt House. We stopped doing candlelight tours (three nights of them) after about 35 years, but we now decorate the house and show it off for two weeks before Christmas. Our schedule this year starts this Wednesday, December 2, and runs through Sunday, December 13. (Wed-Fri, 11am to 3 pm with last tours at 2:30 and Sat-Sun, noon to 4 pm, last tours at 3:30).

We try to stay to more traditional decorations of the mid-1800s, but naturally we have to throw in a little glitz! This year, our emphasis will be on antique dolls and toys. We will be "All Dolled Up" for the holidays, with such displays in nearly every room of the house to delight young and old. We also have a wonderful Christmas booklet on traditions from that era. It just seems to get thicker each year. It is a gift to all our visitors.

What is your favorite tradition from that era?

It used to be making the Christmas fruitcakes well in advance. And yes, I'm one of those people that other people make fun of because I like fruitcake (as long as you leave out the citron and the currants!). One of my Virginia aunts used to make a batterless fruitcake. That "part" of the cake was a graham cracker mixture. No bake and delicious.

My mother and grandmother would also make steamed puddings, and my favorite was persimmon pudding - made with persimmons from a huge old tree in our backyard. They would also make locust blossom wine in the late-spring when the trees bloomed. It would be stored in a cool, dark place until the holidays, but was really better the next year. It was called the poor man's champagne.

Guess I'm just a diabetic wino when it comes to Christmas traditions.

I love fruitcake, and my family makes sure I get one every Christmas, though they kid me about it.

If you search "Claxton" on this forum, you can find my tale of touring a Georgia fruitcake factory!

--Jim

I well remember with great fondness the Candlelight tours at Surratt House - I would sometimes drive up for all three nights just to give tours in the house at night by candlelight! It was grand! Good memories -

   

I'm also a fruitcake fiend! LOVE it and could eat my weight in fruit cake. My mom makes a wonderful fruitcake - and when I can't get hers, my favorite is the Claxton! The're in the store now....you're making me hungry!

Laurie and Jim - why would people make fun of fruitcake lovers???

Is this "yours"? Looks good - so colorful and juicy!!! What is the green ingredient?
   
We have a traditional fruitcake (since 1474), too, Stollen, and I love it, especially with additional marzipan or poppy seed (which is not original). The main filling is dried fruits that have soaked in rum before, almonds, and spices (cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla, etc.). Despite the sealed original which only Dresden bakers are allowed to produce since Augustus II the Strong, a lot of variants have developed (and each baker his own creation).
   

(11-29-2015 06:23 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Along the way Thomas, stop in for a tour at Surratt House. We stopped doing candlelight tours (three nights of them) after about 35 years, but we now decorate the house and show it off for two weeks before Christmas. Our schedule this year starts this Wednesday, December 2, and runs through Sunday, December 13. (Wed-Fri, 11am to 3 pm with last tours at 2:30 and Sat-Sun, noon to 4 pm, last tours at 3:30).

We try to stay to more traditional decorations of the mid-1800s, but naturally we have to throw in a little glitz! This year, our emphasis will be on antique dolls and toys. We will be "All Dolled Up" for the holidays, with such displays in nearly every room of the house to delight young and old. We also have a wonderful Christmas booklet on traditions from that era. It just seems to get thicker each year. It is a gift to all our visitors.

I'll be there on the 12th!

---

(11-30-2015 05:27 AM)BettyO Wrote:  I well remember with great fondness the Candlelight tours at Surratt House - I would sometimes drive up for all three nights just to give tours in the house at night by candlelight! It was grand! Good memories -



I'm also a fruitcake fiend! LOVE it and could eat my weight in fruit cake. My mom makes a wonderful fruitcake - and when I can't get hers, my favorite is the Claxton! The're in the store now....you're making me hungry!

Nice throwback Betty! I'm also not a huge fan of fruitcake and treat it like a little kid treats veggies. Bummer Roger doesn't have a Mr. Yuck emoji!

---

(11-30-2015 10:56 AM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  Laurie and Jim - why would people make fun of fruitcake lovers???

Is this "yours"? Looks good - so colorful and juicy!!! What is the green ingredient?

We have a traditional fruitcake (since 1474), too, Stollen, and I love it, especially with additional marzipan or poppy seed (which is not original). The main filling is dried fruits that have soaked in rum before, almonds, and spices (cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla, etc.). Despite the sealed original which only Dresden bakers are allowed to produce since Augustus II the Strong, a lot of variants have developed (and each baker his own creation).

I take back what I said about all fruitcake. That German fruitcake looks good Eva!

---

(11-29-2015 06:33 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  What is your favorite tradition from that era?

Probably going door to door and singing Christmas Carols! I do a killer rendition of "O Holy Night".

Rock the chapel! My favorite Xmas music is a record of Bing Crosby - so lighthearted in this dark time.

(11-29-2015 04:50 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  

(11-29-2015 04:11 PM)LincolnMan Wrote:  Would love to go there someday- having never been. I assume there are many relics there? Really the while whole is probably a relic!

Yes - you sure won't regret it. The original couch where Booth sat to get his leg dressed, and a lot of others (the rest being contemporarly furnished). Authentic, very atmospherical. Breathing views from the window of the room where Booth and Harold slept. And due to it being such a secluded, idyllic place you can feel the original time and can imagine the happenings. The idyllic atmosphere has something threatening to it (like in "High Noon") and you almost expect desperados to appear on horseback.

Eva:
I love how you paint the feel of being there with a High Noon quality. Being a big fan ofvthat movie I instantly get it!

(11-30-2015 09:41 PM)LincolnMan Wrote:  

(11-29-2015 04:50 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  

(11-29-2015 04:11 PM)LincolnMan Wrote:  Would love to go there someday- having never been. I assume there are many relics there? Really the while whole is probably a relic!

Yes - you sure won't regret it. The original couch where Booth sat to get his leg dressed, and a lot of others (the rest being contemporarly furnished). Authentic, very atmospherical. Breathing views from the window of the room where Booth and Harold slept. And due to it being such a secluded, idyllic place you can feel the original time and can imagine the happenings. The idyllic atmosphere has something threatening to it (like in "High Noon") and you almost expect desperados to appear on horseback.

Eva:
I love how you paint the feel of being there with a High Noon quality. Being a big fan ofvthat movie I instantly get it!

I love the movie, too - IMO the modern ones despite all the technical tricks don't come up to the charming atmosphere of the old ones (same in music).

And IMO there are no actresses anymore with the aura of a Grace Kelly, MM, or Claudia Cardinale. (Did you know she is Tunisian btw?). The same goes for actors.

Bill, I posted one relict - a dresser made by Spangler (as I was told, or Mudd according to Laurie - and she has the greater knowledge) on the trivia thread here:
http://rogerjnorton.com/LincolnDiscussio...l#pid54106
...and the sofa where Booth sat here:
http://rogerjnorton.com/LincolnDiscussio...l#pid47237
This is if I remember not the original bed where JWB and Herold slept at the Mudds', but similar and in the same place:
   
...And this is what they could see from the bedroom window:
   
(and imagine it was deadly quiet outside).

---

Forgot: The Mudds' bedroom, and the clothes were allegedly original theirs.
   

Just to clear possible confusion, I said that the bureau was built by Ned Spangler. I then went on to say that other items in the house that supposedly were made by Dr. Mudd while in prison may well have been made (or started) by Ned also.

As for what Booth could see from the Mudd bedroom, I thought that they were "housed" in the front bedroom of the house. The picture of what they could see from their window is of the well in the backyard (rear bedroom inside), which I thought was the children's bedroom.

Ops, thanks, Laurie - in my memory the entire environment/landscape looked like that, I am sorry I lost my orientation.