Because I can’t wait to share what I’ve learned about the history of pins and needles.   It’s hard to pin down when people first began to use pins and needles. As a matter of fact, it’s rather like looking for a needle in a haystack.   Archeologists have found pins from the Paleolithic era that were made from bone and thorns. Bone needles from 61,000 BC have been found in South Africa. Tiny fish bones were used by...

Evidently, many people avoid artichokes in grocery stores because of the mystery of how to sit down with one of these vegetables and actually eat it. In this short film, my mother, who was born and bred in California (the state where all American artichokes are grown) explains how to eat an artichoke. And, since I can never resist doing some historical research, viewers will also get some tidbits (tidbites?) about artichokes in days of...

When did hats become a fashion statement for women? From the beginning of hat-wearing history, women were expected to have their heads covered by veils, kerchiefs, hoods, caps and wimples, but it was not until the end of the 16th century that structured hats were worn. The styles were based on the hats worn by the male aristocracy. In the late 17th century, women’s hat fashions finally came into their own. Just as hemlines have gone up...

In my novel, ASTOR PLACE VINTAGE, the story hinges on a journal that is found sewn inside the lining of a fur muff. So it seems only right to present some background about fur muff fashion. Muffs were mentioned in text from the 1400s, and one of the earliest images of one is in an engraving from 1588. In the 1600s both men and women used muffs. Since fur was not as easily attainable, they were more typically made out of silk or satin and might...