Romance from the Heartland

During my multiple decades, I’ve lived in a variety of houses and apartments. They ranged in age from built in the 1880’s to new. None of them would qualify as large. In fact, “tiny” would fit one of them.

When selecting and arranging furnishings, I’ve learned to consider size — of the room and the piece of furniture.

What about your home? For example, do you have steps to the backyard and desire a light fixture? I found this one of classic design on vacation one year.

Is it a little large for your space? You need to admit, it is proportional with the backyard. (A space close to our small Midwestern farm.) Perhaps abandoning the idea of bringing this home was a good idea. I rather doubt it’s for sale within my budget anyway.

In frontier America, the size of the cabin was sometimes dictated by the length of the available logs. As sawmills were built, buildings tended toward frame rather than log. But size remained modest for most people. Including the residents of fictional Elm Ridge, Illinois. With a mixture of log, frame, brick, and stone construction, the size and appearance often reflected the income and status of the owner. (Four-story brick hotel excluded.)

When reading the historical romance, New Dreams, think modest for the building size. The bakery is large enough to have a generous workroom — but the sales area and the storage room — with alcove for hired help to sleep — run rather small. Farmhouse kitchens with open dining sometimes occupied half of the house — and the only heating source. Enough space to live, but not much extra, take the messy part — and the laundry — outside.

While I enjoy reading about 19th century America, I’m glad to live in the 21st century. Here’s a link to the past: https://amzn.to/3vWydWE

The settlement on the banks of the Isar River grew slowly at first. However, the location was good and the people persisted. Today, the city of Munich recognizes 1158 as their founding year.

You won’t find buildings from that time as you walk the streets or gaze at a rooftop view from a high point. Actually, many of the structures which look several centuries old date from the mid-20th century. World War II damaged approximately half of the buildings. During the reconstruction in the following decades, the people of Munich rebuilt in the former style.

I should have started European travel sooner. My time in this city was short — a return trip would be good.

Thousands of immigrants from Bavaria and other Germanic States arrived in the United States during the 1850’s. Was it good or bad timing that many of them became established in occupations in time for their new home to suffer a Civil War?

Fictional Elm Ridge, Illinois is on the Mississippi River. The waterway was busy bring supplies and people to settle in this new land. Some continued to the north. Others stayed for varying lengths of time. Always, the most restless moved West.

Readers of wholesome romance will find a story including the clash between American and Deutsch in Stitching a Dream. Who can call themselves American? Follow the link for complete book blurb. https://amzn.to/3VwoeFh

No one disputes that the stone arrangement is ancient. Time estimates may vary. And you’re not going to find written text with an explanation.

One of the many things confirmed by Stonehenge, and other stone circles in Great Britain, is that people lived in this area for a great many centuries.

Beginning in the 17th century, some of these residents adventured and moved to the New World. They started settlements along the east coast of what would become the United States in the latter portion of the 18th Century. Following generations of these settlers, and new arrivals, continued to found trading posts, villages, and towns in a generally westward direction.

In the mid-19th century, much of the land east of the Mississippi River was dotted with farms, towns, and factories. This was a time of steam engines (on boats and rails), new inventions, and much European immigration.

Check out the wholesome, historical romance, Stitching a Dream, to find a story set along the Mississippi River and filled with the tension and questions of who dare call themselves American. Just follow the link for the entire blurb. https://amzn.to/3VwoeFh