Boy2's Baptism!

Fun facts

Courtesy of cla3rk, here are some fun facts about the 1500s:

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water..

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying “it's raining cats and dogs.”

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, “dirt poor.” The wealthy had slate floors that would get sppery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until

when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance way. Hence the saying a thresh hold.

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes the stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old.

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, bring home the bacon. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat.

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning and occasionally death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer.

musings

When I grow up, I want to be elected Bishop of my Synod.

That way, I get the cool (+) in front of my name, the shepherd's crook that I can use to work on my vaudeville act, and a nice cope to keep my warm (you have noooo idea how cold my office at the church is).

Note: a 'cope' is a cape that Bishop's wear over their vestements (holy dresses) when they're at worship. It could just be called a cape, but at some point in time in the past the church realized that if you're going to have fancier clothing than anyone else, you'd better come up with a fancier name.

+Michael Hugh Macintyre, Bishop.

It kinda sings, don't it?

Of course, somewhere back in the highlands of Scotland my Presbyterian ancestors (many of whom are ministers themselves) are now anticipating the Resurrection as a time when they can rise up and lynch me.

But hey, you've got to have a dream, right?

Like, I have this theory that if I can collect enough letters after my name (BA, MA, MDiv, STM, PhD, DDS, LLB, ETC.), I can actually form them into a cool anagram.

Observation

When The Boy was six months old and under, anything he dropped whilst chewing was immediately and irrevocably verboten.

It would be recalled by one of us; tossed into boiling water for at least two steady minutes, and then dosed liberally with a baby-safe degerming product before tentatively being resubmitted for The Boy's enjoyment. He was then watched carefully for the next three days for signs of measles, mumps, and/or scurvy.

But as he got a bit older and didn't die from some rare and virulent disease transmitted through a dirty soother we relaxed a little bit. Actually, we became rather careless about the whole situation. If he dropped his soother, we would rinse it off under a tap for a couple of seconds. If no tap was available, the co-Director or I would pop it in our own mouths for a few seconds. At least, then The Boy was getting family bacteria. Certainly better than strange bacteria.

But as we've aged as parents, I've noticed, for example, that we've become less concerned about our children catching other germs than we are about transmitting them to other people.

So now, if Boy2 drops his soother in mixed company, we're more likely to rinse him off under a tap. When he picks up the dog's toys at his grandmothers' house, we watch the dog closely for signs of infection upon their return.

Really, we're just concerned about the welfare of others. Apparently, our children grow fast enough that if they don't catch a childhood disease or two to stunt their growth, they will, in fact, become the next army to invade France.

I mean, we should harbour dreams for our children, right? But I'm concerned that France might not be a good place for them.

and more...

More boys!

in keeping with the current trend....

Boys!

Some pictures of the Boys for everyone to enjoy.