Welcome to The Daisy Shop on Oak in Chicago
women's couture resale

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Volume 10:Number 6 February/March, 2010 Published by The DAISY Shop, women's couture resale (15 years of operation) 67 East Oak Street, 6th Floor, Chicago, IL 60611 USA (001 International +1) + (312) 943-8880 FAX: (001 International +1) + (312) 943-6660, a secure line for ordering by credit card (VISA, M\C, Disc) To “Reserve” merchandise (24 hour hold), e-mail us. E-mail address Head Daisy
Publisher: Barbara, Head Daisy Feature Writers: Ms Terry; Ms Romance Foreign Correspondent: Rym Daisy Critic Emeritus: The Daisy Mother, Bea Daisy Godmother: Marie Daisy
All prices shown $US. All sales are final sales. All merchandise is authentic, 2nd hand couture.
Our popular historical articles have been compiled into an e-book, An Interpretive History of Sorts. If you have Microsoft Reader software, you can download the e-book and read the compilation to your Aug2006IssueSubscribersPage_files's content. Click here to go to the e-book: An Interpretive History of Sorts© If you have Adobe Reader, you can access the articles in .pdf format at this link: An Interpretive History of Sorts©
By popular demand, an archive of past issues of The Perspicacious Woman OnLine is available in .pdf format. Click here to obtain any of the past three issues: Archives of The Perspicacious Woman OnLine© THE PERSPICACIOUS WOMAN ONLINE© BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY: If you have perspicacious friends, send us their e-mail address. We’ll put them on our fashion ezine subscription list, and let them know you referred them to us. E-mail us at Editor. All email addresses are held in privacy. None will be released, distributed, sold, or traded. We thank you for your referrals. Be sure to add editor@daisyshop.com to your "Permitted" list of e-mail addresses on your e-mail program. LAY AWAY AVAILABLE AT THE DAISY SHOP! No service charge. Minimum of 30% deposit. Maximum of 4 months to pay! E-mail us at Customer Service with your FAX number and we’ll send you a form to complete and return to us via 1st Class Mail. ADVERTISING NOW ACCEPTED IN THE PERSPICACIOUS WOMAN ONLINE© Have a product or service that perspicacious women might be interested in? Perhaps, an ad in our fashion ezine might be good for you. Here’s some information: * Our proprietary, opt-in subscribers list exceeds 1,000 email addresses * 86,198 unique visitors come to our website in a two month period * 1,649,472 hits occur from these unique visitors * These website visitors spend an average of 6 minutes, 26 seconds on our website * The fashion ezine is the 2nd most popular web page on our website * Google has 483 listings for The Perspicacious Woman OnLine© At publisher’s discretion, advertising will be accepted in this fashion ezine. No adult content products or services, financial schemes and offers, work-at-home offers, religious, political messages, philanthropic requests will be accepted. Should your advertising contract be accepted and your payment information verifiable, the advertising contract constitutes a 2-month agreement between The Daisy Shop and you in exchange for $100 flat for the following advertising: * A text ad containing no more than 50 words (spell check, please) * A .jpg format image (72 or 96 resolution), sized 200x200 pixels * A link to your website, should you have a website; other wise, address information (part of the 50-word text) The text ad, image, and link will be published in The Daisy Shop's bi-monthly fashion ezine, The Perspicacious Woman OnLine©, located at http://daisyshop.com/newsletter.asp, at various ezine directories, various search engines, and sent one time to subscribers of The Perspicacious Woman OnLine©, a private, opt-in subscribers list, owned by The Daisy Shop, which will NOT be made available to advertisers. Deadline for text, image, and link information is 15 days prior to the publication date: April publication - March 15 June publication - May 15 August publication - July 15 October publication - September 15 December publication - November 15 February publication - January 15 Should you miss the deadline, your ad will be published in the next bi-monthly issue. The Daisy Shop, The Perspicacious Woman OnLine©, and all parties involved in these two entities are held harmless for any and all malfunctions of the Internet which prevent a two month display. No refunds or accommodations will be given in compensation. GoTo http://daisyshop.com/AdContract.htm for a printer friendly contract. FAX this to The Daisy Shop, (312) 943-6660. [February10Newsletter/Nav/DropDownVertical.htm]
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VALENTINE'S DAY REDS!
To our visitors who came a far piece (Canada, Japan, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Australia, Great Britain, Poland, Austria, Brazil, France, Mexico, India, Hong Kong, Greece, Thailand ); to all the friends and suppliers and customers who sent cards wishing the Daisies Happy Holidays, a thank you; to Sid, who went the extra half block a couple of times, a thank you; to Sani & Roy from Compuaction\Chicago for their quick servicing on our printer, a thank you; to the Daisy Brother for his deliveries and pick ups, a thank you; to Helen and Bill, who keep track, a thank you.
Congrats
To the Spears family on the new baby; to Chuckele on his birthday; to Sharyl, hubby, and their respective families on the forthcoming birth of twins; to Dr. P, who's recovering nicely; to Rebecca on her first Chanel and first Miriam Haskell find.
MONEY MATTERS by frugal Barbara Daisy If your finances are simple, use one of the freebie tax programs to create your 1040. I've been using TaxAct for years and it's real fine. (See below, "Did You Know?" for more info.)
January Sales are the very best time to buy Christmas gifts for next year.
What to do with the fruit cake you never want I like fruit cake very much, wait every Christmas for my annual gift from same friend, who knows I like fruit cake very much. Often eat it, plain, thinly sliced with a hot cup of Orange Pekoe teach, and it's good.& nbsp; You can ease into this savory cake by wrapping each thin slice in a plastic bag and heat them in the microwave for about 10 seconds. Remove, unwrap, serve in a bowl with a dollop of vanilla ice cream. It's yummy, Dear Reader.
Vanity at frugal pricing is good: Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion and Walgreen's Gentle Skin Cleanser ($7.99 & $6.99, respectively) work very well for skin 'of a certain age' without dematologic problems. Can be purchased at http://walgreens.com. These, along with Witch Hazel as an astringent and baby oil to remove mascara and eye liner are a fine skin care regimen.
Old washcloths and fingertip towels make good service kitchen cloths and kitchen towels. Okay, so they don't match. When company comes, truck out the 'good fancy ones,' and everything will be nice, After kitchen usage, these make good cleaning rags. What? You don't use cleaning rags! Paper towels are not a substitute for cleaning rags, Dear Reader. It's not frugal.
Once a fresh banana is too ripe to eat don’t throw it out, you can freeze it and make banana bread when you have enough (about 4-6).
Re-use the pickle brine, after the pickles are gone. Take the seeds from a cucumber, slice it into sticks, and put it in the pickle brine. Store in the fridge for a few days and you'll have another jar of pickles for the cost of the cucumber. Pickled celery can be made this way, too.
Aunt Bessie's frugal tip: Use the back of envelopes for your lists. I thought it was peculiar when I was growing up, but when I got my own place, I began to do it, too. I still do it. I don't think it's peculiar any more.
Any brand of bottled Italian Salad Dressing makes a good marinade for meat. (I buy the least costly on sale.) Can be re-used as a marinade only for no more than a month, if stored in the 'fridge.
An old toothbrush (washed many times in the dishwasher) and a denture brush are good grime fighting utensils in your kitchen.
Chicago Green City Market, a good place to find local, fresh grown fruits and vegetables during the Winter months 2010 Saturdays: Feb. 13, Feb. 27,
Mar. 13, Mar. 27, Apr. 10 and Apr. 24 Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
(1750 N Clark St. Chicago, IL 60614)
CUSTOMERS’ POLL Question: “Where did you meet your love?”
We ran in the same crowd in High School. He was my brother’s\cousin's\uncle's\step-brother's boyfriend. Eharmony.com, jdate.com, italiansingles.com, myspace.com, match.com, plentyoffish.com On an airplane in the Smokers’ Section. At a convention. In a fender-bender, my fault. He was our next door\across the alley\across the street neighbor. He was a high tenor in Choir; I was a low alto. We stood next to each other and I helped him on the high notes for tenors. He was my client. I was his office assistant. We worked in the same office. At Alcoholics Anonymous. Our mothers fixed us up. We were camp counselors. It was an arranged marriage. I was the Nanny. He was a widower. He was my sister's friend and would come around our house...always at supper time. At Harrah’s Joliet Casino. The first husband, I was fixed up; the 2nd husband, I met at a fund-raiser; the 3rd husband, I hired him to do consulting work; the 4th husband, I met on an airplane in the smokers' section. The first husband, my cousin fixed me up with her husband’s accountant; the 2nd husband, my sister fixed me up with her Mah Jong partner's recently widowed brother; the 3rd husband, mutual friends fixed us up; the 4th husband, I found myself…we were neighbors in a condo. At a tailgate party. The first husband we ran in the same crowd; the 2nd husband, my Father brought home from the synagogue during the High Holidays when he noticed a soldier sitting alone. I fell off a bar stool. He caught me. He was my night school college instructor. He was my divorce lawyer. At Orientation week in college. He was my room-mate's Pledge Brother. He was my girlfriend’s brother. At the Union at the University of Illinois, Champaign campus. At the Library at the University of Illinois, Champaign, campus. When I was waitressing. He was a dinner regular. On the 136 bus (CTA route). He owned a hardware store in my neighborhood. We were standing in very long line waiting to pay tuition at Roosevelt University’s summer session. I slipped on the ice and sprained my ankle. He helped me get to the ER (and stayed with me). We played bridge as occasional partners, occasional foes. He kept channel switching at a Sports Bar. I got mad at him. He was my dentist. He was my student’s widowed father. At Parents Without Partners. My father brought him home from the synagogue. I got sick at a bar. He held my head in the women's washroom while I vomited and drove me home.
The American Film Institute, the non-profit organization which preserves America's film heritage, has created a list of 100 'films of passions,' which is quite interesting for most of the films chosen are of unrequited love. All can be rented for a nice Valentine's evening amusement, if you're so inclined. Here's the list:
BOOK WORM CORNER
The Corrections (2001) by Jonathon Franzen ISBN:
0374129983 592 pages
It's a 5 character book with a long story: (1) Alfred Lambert, the ordered and ethical patriarch of a classically repressed Midwestern family, is suffering from Parkinson's and mental delusions as well as physical aging. His three kids have tried to escape the foibles and control of their parents, and have both succeeded and failed. (2) Oldest son Gary is a successful businessman teetering on the edge of a breakdown. (3) Chip lost his college teaching job after getting involved with a student, and has run off to Lithuania to make easy but dishonest money with former politico-soldiers. (4) Daughter Denise has been a successful chef at a number of places but juggles a bewildering array of romantic and sexual relationships. Everyone seems to be about to crack up, including (5) mother Enid, who is a master at ignoring unpleasant realities, rewrites situations, judges everything, and wants only to have her kids and grandkids return to the Midwest for one last Christmas. It's written unevenly; some parts are stilted, other parts glow with word imagery and humor. It's worthwhile to keep reading. It's a good book when all is said and done.
A False Sense of Well Being (2002) by Jeanne Braselton ISBN-10: 0345443128 Publisher: Ballantine Books
Although the reviewers all said the book was about a middle-aged wife having a midlife crisis, it's not. I don't know how they all got it wrong. Don't believe them. There's a crises that causes the main character to go bonkers and it's a sad event that triggers the crises to be sure. But, this doesn't mean it's a good book. It's not. Only the first sentence of the book draws you in, but once you get there, there's no there. I was disappointed and I think this book had far too much ballyhoo. Pass this one, Dear Reader.
by Ann-Marie MacDonald ISBN: 0-7434-6652-7 Publisher: Simon & Schuster 508 pages
This is a long, good, complicated book about abhorrent subjects and nasty people. It's about 4 sisters living on Cape Breton Island in Canada. The sisters’ parents regret their marriage. The book begins in 1898 and follows the family as they deal with secrets, betrayal, and tragedy. If you were raised Roman Catholic, you'll get more out of the book than if you weren't. I wasn't, so I know things slipped by me. No matter. Read the book slowly and value it. Periodically, recap in your mind what's going on with this character and the situation that's being described. You'll have to revise the situation many times because each character has their own take on the situation. It's a worthwhile, slow read.
CONSULTATION & COMMENTARY
Just got a new desktop and high resolution monitor and I have to tell you, your photos are wonderful! Carol Why does it take so long to see your Magazines? A couple of folk (I don't know. I have an up-to-date desktop and IE7, and it takes a while for the Magazines to load on my computer, too. Cordially, Barbara The Daisy Shop) I received at least 10 emails about your sale. Clean your list, Barbara. You're getting sloppy. A bunch of folk (Well, here's what happened. In mid-December, I affiliated with a new bulk mail utility and was plunking around, learning it. As I was editing the Winter Season's End Sale email, making it spiffy and spiffier, I saved each successive edit, not knowing it was sending each successive edit. Sorry to clog up your mail boxes. Won't happen again. Cordially, Barbara The Daisy Shop) Merchandise Related Yelp has a bunch of non-flattering comments about The Daisy Shop. I've been to your shop and none of them ring true. What's going on, Barbara? (Yelp is a good website for true, accurate problems that people have with shops and repair places and things like those. It serves a good purpose. On the other hand, bellyachers using hyperbole have access to vent and rave, too. I used to check out these bellyachers and respond to them. One in particular vents and raves about places all over the US. I doubted if she visited all these places; rather, I think she liked to see her ID in print. I stopped checking them out and responding to them. The bellyachers have calmed down, I notice. Thanks for calling this to my attention. I don't intend to do anything about this. Cordially, Barbara The Daisy Shop) Do you know about ruelala and giltgroup? Susan (Yes, I'm a log in member. They're both good websites for merchandise that didn't sell in the original store (for whatever reason). That's right, they're both outlets. They either buy from the original store in bulk quantity at either per pound cost or some such low, low cost, warehouse the merchandise, and drop ship it to you, the customer, when it's sold OR they obtain the merchandise on consignment. I don't know which. In any case, you can get marvelous bargains, if the assortment pleases you. Cordially, Barbara The Daisy Shop) General Eleven City Diner You spunky thing, you. DeeDee I applaud you. I've been in situations similar and froze like a deer in the headlights. Annoys me no end that I consistently do this. Tyler Where can you get good Jewish deli in Chicago? A couple of folk (I like pastrami on an onion roll, mostly. So, I go to Ashkenaz (12 E. Cedar Chicago); Manny's (1141 S. Jefferson Chicago); the Bagel (50 Old Orchard Skokie). I make my own chicken soup and it's real good, so I don't order it out. I've ordered the cabbage soup once at each of these places, but they subscribe to the fast recipe, which I don't like much. Occasionally, I've ordered calves liver with onions or chicken livers with onions, and each have done them okay, usually too well done, but when I send it back, they redo it well. I like pickled fish and matjes herring, but none have them any more. None do potato latkes as good as I do, so I don't order these out. Cordially, Barbara The Daisy Shop) One Drop Would make a better movie. Didn't care for the book. Diane
Hearts, Flowers, Lace...the language of Romance
COUTURE SCRAMBLE
ANSWER
acme, acute, adult, aloe, alone, aloud, alto, alum, amen, amend, amount, annal, anode, ante, atom, atone, aunt, auto, cadet, calm, came, camel, cameo, canal, cane, canon, cent, clam, clan, clean, cleat, clone, clot, cloud, clout, clue, coal, coat, coda, cola, cole, colt, coma, come, comet, cone, could, count, cult, cute, dale, dame, damn, dance, data, date, datum, daunt, deal, dealt, dean, decal, delta, demo, dome, dote, dual, ducat, duct, duel, duet, dunce, dune, dunn, elan, lace, laden, lame, lance, land, lane, late, laud, lead, lean, load, loam, loan, lome, lone, loud, lumen, lute, mace, made, male, malt, mane, manna, mate, maul, mead, meal, mean, meant, meat, meld, mend, menu, moan, moat, modal, mode, model, modulate, mold, mole, molt, oatmeal, octal, omen, once, ounce, taco, talc, tale, talon, tame, teal, team, toad, tome, tonal, tone, tuna, tune, uncle
Valentine's Day didn't become associated with love until the 14th century, when Geoffrey Chaucer, who later wrote Canterbury Tales and acquired the sobriquet of first English author hundreds of years later, linked the two together in a poem he wrote to commemorate the engagement of King Richard II of England and Anne of Bohemia, an arranged marriage (which was unusual; it became a love match), which was announced on May 3, 1381, while Chaucer was a diplomat and poet in Richard's court and before he wrote Canterbury Tales. It so happened that May 3 was in the Christian calendar as the feast of St. Valentine in Genoa. With that as a guideline, Chaucer made up a story that birds chose their life mates on this day also. It didn't matter to anyone that it was made up. (After 1400, the date of Valentine's Day got pushed back to February 14, but the idea of Valentine's Day and love was set.) The people liked the idea of changing this Christian holiday of a martyr to something more palatable. It's possible those that were literate began writing poems to each other decorated with pictures of doves, cupid, cherubs, hearts, and roses, symbols of love handed down from ancient times on May 3, then, February 14. I guess those who weren't literate (and could afford it) had literate people write poems on their behalf. The remainder of the people, the impoverished, did romantic things for their beloveds on this day, I'm sure, but no one's sure exactly what they did because they didn't leave much behind them (because they didn't have much to begin with). This poem custom amongst the wealthy went on for hundreds of years.
Gift giving became customary at some point in time, but there's no direct tracing line of what we give now, roses, chocolates, diamonds, or commercially made Valentine cards; rather, there are bits and pieces of information about roses, florists, gift boxed chocolates, and commercially made Valentine's Day cards.
Here's what I found:
Roses, especially red roses, are an ancient symbol of love, so rose bushes have been around a long, long time. Greek mythology associated red roses with the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite. The Romans liked this idea and incorporated it into their mythology, attributing the stories about roses and love using their Goddess of Love, Venus.
Roses grew in Egypt as early as 2,600 BC, that's 4,610 years ago, Dear
Reader, and the flowers were imported into Rome by the shipload and used for
bunches of things, including carpets for banquets, perfume, jellies, tea,
cosmetics, and food flavorings. Newly married couples were crowned
with rose wreaths, but I don't know if roses were cultivated in Rome. It's
possible they were. China grew roses also, but no one knew what was
going on in China after the Great Wall was built beginning in 1388 (which
was the intention of the Great Wall). During the Dark Ages, it was the monks
which kept alive the love concept (chan
My guess is those who could afford to buy rose plants, did so, harvested the crop, and gave roses to their beloveds or failing that, those who could afford to buy cut roses, did so somewhere, and gave them to the beloveds on Valentine's Day where ever they were.
I could not find any information on the Internet about when florists were invented, but it would be interesting to know, doncha' think? The best I could come up with is this: In 1623, the word, fleuriste, was first used in a French document (but the Internet doesn't describe the document), and its contextual meaning was a purveyor of flowers. So, I guess florists were around in France in the 17th century. It was probably Paris where they'd be located, for that was the largest city in France. It's possible they sold the roses which had come to France in 1250 and it's possible the roses were grown in the rural areas of France and trundled into Paris.
On August 18, 1910, fifteen American retail florists agreed to exchange orders for out-of-town deliveries. Originally called "Florists' Telegraph Delivery," FTD was the world's first flowers-by-wire service. There's no information about how much business this group did 7 months later on Valentine's Day, 1911.
Legend has it that chocolate is a gift from the gods, but no one knows who invented this sentence. Since I believe in magic and gifts from gods, I'll go with this legend.
Chocolate was first associated with male virility, not love, and it was
Montezuma who told Cortez about this in 1519, while Cortez was visiting
Mexico from Spain, just before Montezuma retired for the night with some one
from his harem, the story goes. Cortez liked this idea, the one of
male virility, it's said, but not the one of the harem, and told King Carlos
V, a lusty guy who became lustier, I guess, once he started drinking the
Mexican chocolate drink, which was peppery. Carlos married his first
cousin, Isabel of Portugal, and they (only) had 3 children...so much for
chocolate and virility. He's known for a few things: The
Alhambra, his wonderful castle in Granada; his big bottom jaw; his gout;
Cortez and chocolate; and his many mistresses. I guess chocolate
worked for him in another way. Eventually the cacao bean was imported from Mexico and grown in Europe, became a sweet drink, not a peppery drink and sweet confection, transmuting from an aphrodisiac to what we know it to be today.
Okay, the facts aren't romantic and none gibe well with one another, but I
like romance, so we searched our inventory and found lovely Romance-Speak
garments and accessories for you, Dear Reader, to wear to set the mood or to
tell your Beloved your heart's desire, using our Gift Certificate. All
photos can be downloaded and printed out or sent in an email, along with a
copy of our Gift Certificate photo, shown at right. How easy is that?
For a gift for your male beloved, we have a selection of marvelous Vintage ties that just might fit the bill. All are described and priced in the Merchandise Grid at the bottom of the ezine. Our Men's Vintage Ties Album can be accessed at the following text link: Vintage Men's Ties.
Can't make a decision? We have Gift Certificates in multiples of $100. Click the photo to take you to our Order Form.
COMFORT FOOD Sweet Nothings
SUGAR FREE
APPLE CAKE
SUGAR FREE
APPLESAUCE CAKE
EASY CHEESE
CAKE (DIABETIC SUGAR FREE)
SUGAR-FREE
BANANA CAKE
SUGAR - FREE
CHOCOLATE PECAN COOKIES
SUGAR FREE
CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
A STORY FOR VALENTINE’S DAY© Bonne and Charles
Possibly Bonne and Charles’ Betrothal, from a Calendar commissioned by Charles’ uncle, the Duke of Berry, long after their betrothal. Les Tres Riches Heures Musée Condé, Château de Chantilly, France
The general word on the Internet is the first Valentine card was sent in 1415. It’s not accurate and it’s not true. The particular Valentine was written in mid-February of 1416; it was on vellum, not card stock; it’s not the first Valentine card; and no one knows if it was sent.
Charles, Duke of Orleans, who was in England, wrote the poem(s) that all of the Internet declares a Valentine, and that fact, he wrote a poem, is true. He had a wife, Bonne, who was in Paris, France or somewhere in France. If it was sent to her, and no one knows if it was sent, it traveled a far distance on foot and on horseback and on ship. Pagan Valentine’s Day had been celebrated in Western Europe for centuries, and romantic, oftimes coded erotic, messages, had been exchanged for about 100 years by then between educated men and women who ran in the same crowd and lived in close proximity. So much for general information on the Internet...More specific information was found on special websites dealing with Medieval times.
Here’s what I found:
It is possible that Charles was lonesome for Bonne, while he was in England. He (and his brother, John, Duke of Angouleme) had just been captured (on October 25, 1415 specifically) by the English on French soil and each was being held prisoner in separate homes of English nobles, probably in the country outside of London. Charles and John were lucky. Just about every other French noble and aristocrat were killed in the Battle of Agincourt during the 100 Year War between the English and the French for land in France dowered to Eleanor of Aquitaine (former Queen of France) when she married Henry II, the English King. Charles and Bonne hadn’t been married long, about 5 years by 1415. He had been soldiering a lot during those five years, so they didn't see much of each other. A 100 Year War preoccupies a lot of generations of men folk.
There are three curious things, though, about these two you should know: (1) It was an arranged marriage whose purpose was to avoid further bloodshed between their families; (2) Bonne was 11 when she was engaged to Charles, who was 16 (and already widowed and with a child); and (3) his father-in-law, Bonne’s father, had assassinated Charles’ father, Louis. Talk about dysfunctional families.
Maybe they loved each other; maybe not. I don’t even know if they ever lived together as man and wife, for she was only 11 when they married, 16 at the time he wrote the verse. In any event, Charles penned a poem on Valentine’s Day in 1416 and it has been retained for almost 600 years.
You may not know that a Duke is a Prince, and noble, highborn prisoners were prized when captured in battle. They were ‘cash cows,’ held for ransom by the opposition, until their families could raise and pay the money for their release. At that time, although most men folk fought for the French King, France wasn’t exactly a country, and the King didn’t assume any responsibility for ransoming his patriotic nobles or aristocrats. (No one cared much for non-nobles or non-aristocrats, except their families. But, they were never captured and held for ransom. More often than not, they were killed. They're the enormous body counts in battles of old, the serfs and servants.) This ransom was up to the noble or aristocratic prisoner’s family, if they wanted their relative back home. (And they did want their men folk back.) His ransom in today’s money could be as much as $500,000 ($US). The actual amount in Medieval English crowns was 150,000 crowns. This sounds like an enormous sum. What with the French loosing the war, their King’s reoccurring madness, Joan of Arc’s triumph, then ignominy, a subsequent economic depression, the Black Plague, and Charles’ family having to pay his upkeep all those years, (plus lots of other things) it took his family 25 years to get the money and treaty agreement together to turn him over.
Bonne died while Charles was held prisoner in England, and they had no children. (She falls from the written record because she did not produce progeny, and the dates of 1419 (or 1435, which must be wrong) are now accepted as the years she died, but no one knows exactly when she died or where she was when she died. Actually, no one is exactly sure where she was living and with whom while she was married to her incarcerated husband, Charles. It's probable she was transferred to Charles' family estate at the time of the betrothal and raised by Charles' family until the wedding, remaining there until she died. That was a common thing with children brides and grooms. There’s one more tidbit about poor Bonne, and that is this: Bonne may not have been her name. It’s really an adjective in Old French, and merely means “good girl.”
A manuscript of this poem and the many others he wrote is in the British Library. I don’t know if it’s the original. It’s named by the scribe, Harley, in the archive, and scribes’ copies were often rewritten and rewritten and passed around for years and years amongst wealthy families. If it is the original, it was not unusual for scribes to assist in Valentines, for they made a living writing fancy script and making pretty pictures. (Apparently, Charles’ family sent him enough money to pay the scribe, so he and his brother didn’t live too badly while they were prisoners.) How the manuscript got to the British Library after 600 years was by bequest, but I was unable to check out the provenance. The BL was willing to describe the manuscript: There’s a Cupid image and a 3-part verse. The verse they have is in Old French, not English. There is no version of the poem on the Internet.
I was able to find a description by A.E.B. Coldiron, who says it’s an appeal to Cupid with Charles as a servant of Cupid (Lust imagery, I think.) but no one is named and there is no heading. Charles says he admires this person (Bonne?) and despairs of seeing her again. He is frustrated (which is what all noble men were required to express in Chivalric code), but Coldiron doesn’t say what he’s frustrated about. He promises to be faithful and praises her beauty, virtue, and honor. He may describe intimate moments they’ve shared, a custom in Valentines, but I suspect not. She was simply too young to have been expected to cohabit with her groom and when she was old enough to cohabit, he was away fighting battles, then captured.
A non-academic source has published the following verse on a website, http://www.homespunpeddler.com and has attributed this verse to Charles in a collection called “Romantic Valentines.” It doesn’t read anything like Coldiron’s description, so I doubt if it’s the one he wrote to Bonne. I offer it to you, so you know what a translated from Medieval French into modern English 15th century Valentine would read like.
"Wilt thou be mine? dear Love, reply
Frankly, the above verse is not that terrific, is it? I would call it doggerel. Maybe something is lost in the translation. If not, I think he could have done better. He had a lot of time on his hands.
I’d like to believe that Charles and Bonne did love each other, but don’t know for certain. (The glimmer of hope I entertain that Charles loved Bonne is an anecdote about him reading a love poem he composed to her at their wedding ceremony. Some scholars believe he was showing off his poem prowess, but some scholars are without a scrap of romance in their souls.) Things were different six hundred years ago: love and marriage didn’t intersect amongst nobility and aristocrats. Children were pawns and shuffled around to do smart things for their families. Duty to family superceded love and children dutifully married other children. Romance was in the chivalrous code, hence, unrequited. Sexual congress was for procreation, a duty, and family lineage promulgation was its purpose. Lust was with wrenches, when they could be found. If Bonne and Charles loved each other, it’s a sad story of 2 children from good families. If they didn’t love each other, it’s a jailhouse reverie of a young man who burns. I don’t want to leave you on either note. So, I’ll go for this: go get some vellum (stretched goat skin), pen a personal message of your feelings to your love, make it pretty and fancy all over, and hand it to your love. Maybe your message will be memorialized until 2610, when someone like me comes around to figure what happened then.
GRATIS PUBLICITY
Museum of Contemporary Art 220 East
Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611 312.280.2660 Free Tuesday night events in the cafe Production
Site: The Artist’s Studio Inside-Out
The exhibition is accompanied by
numerous educational programs. The exhibition is organized by MCA
Curator Dominic Molon.
1601 N. Clark
St.
chicagohistory.org Shared History (Reservations required. https://services.chicagohistory.org/daily_events_list.asp)Sunday, February 7, 1:30 p.m. Shared History is the intimate story of the relationship between families whose connection, forged in slavery, has endured to the present. The filmmaker, a great-great-granddaughter of a slave owner, and two descendants of enslaved families, seek to understand and reconcile the shared lives and affections between families in the context of slavery. 60 minutes
Chicago
Cultural Center Sunday Salon: Chicago Chamber Orchestra (Free admission.) Call 312.744.6630 for more info. "The Eyes of Me" Film Screening presented by ITVS Community Cinema (Free admission.) Saturday, Feb 20, 2 pm Classical
Monday: Chicago Chamber Musicians
The Newberry
Library
Calendar of Events Admission is free. No reservation is required, but seating is limited. February 2010Saturday 6 Genealogy and Local History Tour and Orientation Wednesday 10 6:00 pm Meet the Author: Linda Matthews, Middling Folks: Three Seas, Three Centuries, One Scots-Irish Family Monday 15 Honest Abe of the West Spotlight Exhibition Closes Tuesday 16 The Play's the Thing: 400 Years of Shakespeare on Stage Spotlight Exhibition Opens Tuesday 16 Winter/Spring Seminar Term Begins Tuesday 23 6:00 pm Lyric Opera Lecture: Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro Saturday 27 10:00 am The Shakespeare Project of Chicago: The Rivals
CHOCOLATE, THE FLAVOR OF ROMANCE
When it comes to chocolate, I'm not a gourmand; rather, I'm a (plebian) Hershey fan. Their dark chocolate suits me just fine whether it's a bar or Kisses. I just never got into Godiva, Ghirardelli, etc. They're good and tasty, but I just don't buy them when I'm in the mood for chocolate. Other people buy these for me and it's much appreciated. But when I buy chocolate for myself it's always Hershey brand. (By the way, Hershey now has sugar-free chocolate, and it's mighty fine.) One of the nicest gifts I ever received for Valentine's Day was a badly wrapped shoe box filled with Hershey kisses. My love, Ben, was a gift-giving kind of guy and thought it up. It was touching and I loved him more for it.
I believe chocolate is the flavor of romance and I'm all for romance, Dear Reader. It's one of the things that makes life worthwhile. I've found two simple chocolate recipes for you to make your love, both from http://chocolate.com, a real nice website. Happy Romance, Dear Reader.
Mexican Coffee
Fudge
No-Bake
Happiness Cookies
RESTAURANT REVIEW
Ditka's Chicago
100 East Chestnut Street
Lunch: Monday - Friday: 11:00am - 4:00pm
Friend Chuckele encouraged the Daisy Brother and I to go to Ditka's for supper and that's what we did one blustery cold cold Wednesday evening in January. I was prepared to be dismayed at the excess of food presented (Who on this earth needs to eat a 30 ounce steak in one sitting?) and the high prices ($50 for an entree? $7 for a side?). Not a good attitude, I know, but that was my mindset.
It's a big place with lots of eating rooms. None were bustling that evening. Could be the Recession; could be just a cold cold Wednesday in January in Chicago. The wait staff was attentive. Ditka wasn't there. We ate upstairs in a tavern setting. They have an elevator. The TV was a tad too loud for conversation. Sometimes, the TV was turned off, and Vincent, a good old fashioned crooner, sang mighty good. I ordered da Pork chop, a salad side, and smashed potatoes instead of sweet potatoes; Brother Daisy ordered a martini, then a glass of wine, the 10 ounce filet mignon, and asparagus with Hollandaise. We split the romaine salad, whose portion was big. Da pork chop was tough, both versions, unfortunately, the salad was nice and fresh, and the smashed potatoes were strange, bumps of potatoes in potato glue. Brother Daisy's filet was delicious and the asparagus was done just right. Neither of us had desert. Could have been a bad day for pork chops. Ditka's is a nice, clean, good smelling, well run, well decorated restaurant that's pricey. I would return for a steak.
DID YOU KNOW?
COMIN' DOWN THE PIKE...SPRING PREVIEW
Pantone
Splashes of Sunshine for Spring 2010
My favorite couture trend info website, http://style.com, has their take on Spring Trends from the couture fashion shows held months ago. Their word wizards have named the couture trends: Depression Chic; Geometry Lessons; Goddess Worship; Marrakech Express; Sporting Goods; and Trash & Vaudeville, none of which sound or look very good to me. I don't like costume clothing and never have.
Couture Ready To Wear shows were less costumey but all over the board in silhouettes. It'll be interesting to see what buyers from Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, etc. will select for their shops. I suspect none will select much, if any, outré stylings; all will select middle-of-the-road stylings and stylings that worked well last season. These shops are suffering from the Recession and buyers are wise people.
My preference, every season, is for wearable clothing, not make a statement clothing. My work wardrobe is much larger than my casual (run errands and knock about my house) wardrobe and my go out somewhere real nice wardrobe. I rely on pants, skirts, blouses, sweaters, and dresses for my work wardrobe. Since I am a small, lean person, I look carefully at proportion and silhouette. Both must enhance my frame in order for me to reach into my pocket. I never subscribed to the tight tight, low down, belly showing look of pants and low down, short skirts. They never suited my frame. (I stopped wearing jeans when the look went tight, tighter, and tightest.) The lo-rise look and short skirts made me look as if I were walking in a hole, Dear Reader. About 2 years ago, softly styled pants and full skirts were shown in couture stylings. I jumped on these trends and haven't looked back since then. I'm not yet sure what I'll buy to fill in my Spring\Summer wardrobe, probably a couple of dirndl skirts and soft blouses, for I look precious in these. I'll wait and watch for now.
Having said that, I'm delighted to tell you that The Daisy Shop's Spring Collection has arrived. It's marvelous couture, gleaned from the closets of the best dressed women all over the world. Click the text to view our Collection: Spring has Sprung! Here's a taste:
MARCH HOLIDAYS
March 17 - St. Patrick's Day
March 21 - The First Day of Spring (74 Days as of this writing, Jan. 06, 2010) March 30 - Passover
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All prices quoted are $US. All sales are final sales. All merchandise is 2nd hand, authentic couture.