I have contacted “Mrs. Madison” from Montpelier and she was so kind as to get me in touch with two curators from Montpelier. I was looking for a list of books that Mr. Madison would have owned for our library. Here is the list they were so kind as to send me. If we could get these for the “James Madison” section of our library, we would be most grateful.

 Books owned by Madison

Author	Title
Adams, John	Defence of the Constitutions
Burns, Robert	Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect
Crevecoeur, J. Hector St. John de	Letters from an American Farmer
Filson, John	Discovery, Settlement, & Present State of Kentucky
Gibbon, Edward	History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
A. Hamilton, J. Jay, and J. Madison	The Federalist
Jefferson, Thomas	Notes on the State of Virginia
Ledyard, John	Journal of Captain Cook’s Last Voyage to the Pacific Ocean
Locke, John	Treatises on Government
Longacre, James Barton	National Portrait Gallery of Distinguished Americans
Montesquieu	The Spirit of the Laws
Morse, Jedidiah	Geography Made Easy
Shakespeare, William	Hamlet
Plato	The Republic
Raleigh, Sir Walter	History of the World
Ramsay, David	History of the American Revolution
Vattell, Emerich de	The Law of Nations
Warville, J.P. Brissot de	The Commerce of America with Europe

 Books about Madison

Ketcham, Ralph	James Madison: A Biography
Banning, Lance	The Sacred Fire of Liberty: James Madison and the founding of the Federal Republic
Brookhiser, Richard	James Madison
Burstein, Andrew and Nancy Isenberg	Madison and Jefferson
Madison, James	Notes of Debates of the Federal Convention of 1787
Mattern, David and H. Schulman	The Selected Letters of Dolley Payne Madison
Mattern, David B.	James Madison’s Advice to My Country
Rakove, Jack	James Madison and the Creation of the American Republic
Stagg, J.C.A.	Mr. Madison’s War: Politics, Diplomacy, & Warfare in the Early American Republic
Wood, Gordon	Empire of Liberty

Our “Virtual Housewarming Party” is to stock Belle Grove Plantation’s library.

We have five sections of shelves with five long shelves each. This is allot of book to find and buy. And personally we would like to have a good mix that are recommended reading from others.

So this is where you come in.

We would like to break each section down to catalogs.

Here is what they are:

Books that James Madison would have had in his library – These are books that James Madison would have had to read in his personal library. Or it could have been books that Thomas Jefferson would have allowed him to borrow. Here is a link of reading material Thomas Jefferson wrote about : http://www.john-uebersax.com/plato/reading2.htm

Books on the Founding Fathers (and Mothers) and the Constitution – These are books that are about the great men and women who help form America. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, George Mason, Martha Washington, Dolley Madison and on. We would also like to have books on the Constitution or the Bill of Rights.

Books on the military events and American History – Since Belle Grove’s history spans every period in American history, we would like this section to have books about the periods in American History. Of course the American Revolution and Civil Wars touched Belle Grove because they happened here, we would like to have several on these. But we would also like to have the rest too because it would have touched each family in some way.

Books on Virginia and American Life – These books would talk about life in Virginia and in America. Send us a book about your great state or your favorite Virginia sights.

General Interest Books – These can be of any interest. Fact or Fiction. Good stories that you think people would like to read. You may also like to send us a copy of a book you have had published.

A Couple of Requests

Because these books are going to be placed in this historic home, we would like to acknowledge you for making this donation to our library. In the front of the book, we ask that you place the following information:

“This book was donated to Belle Grove Plantation by (your name) from (City, State and Country) on (date) to help complete their library.”

This will help us preserve your place in our history.

We would also like to request that your book be a hardback book that isn’t too large. If the book is too large, it may not fit on the shelf. Paperback books are nice and inexpensive, but as people read them, they get worn over time. We would like your book to last as long as possible.

Books we already have

So we don’t get repeat books, once we receive a book, we will list it on our a blog page. Look on our left column under “About Us”. It is listed as “Housewarming for the Library”

Here is what we have picked up so far:

The Asent of George Washington – John Ferling

Madison Writings – Jack N. Rakove

A Slave in the White House – Elizabeth Dowling Taylor

The Debate on the Constitution – Bernard Barilyn

James Madison – Garry Wills

War at Our Doors – Rebecca Campbell Light

Images of America Virginia Presidential Homes – Patrick L. O’Neill

Places I Have Known Along the Rappahannock River – Beverley C Pratt

Come Retribution – William A Tidwell

A Perfect Union – Catherine Allgor

Gordonsville Virginia – William H.B. Thomas

Orange Virginia – William H.B. Thomas

Dearest Friend  A Life of Abigail Adams – Lynne Withey

Patriots of the UpCountry – William H.B. Thomas

The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas

Dolores Claiborne – Stephen King

The Dead Zone – Stephen King

Pet Sematary – Stephen King

The Tommyknockers – Stephen King

To get your books to us, please ship them to the following address:

Belle Grove Plantation Bed and Breakfast

9221 Belle Grove Drive

King George, Virginia 22485

Brett and I would like to thank you so much for supporting us throughout this last year and continuing to follow along with us as we reach that all important Opening Day. We look forward to see each of you at the plantation and sharing this beloved plantation with the rest of the world!

To see more of Belle Grove Plantation, please view our virtual tour at 

http://virginiaplantation.wordpress.com/2013/02/19/take-a-tour-with-us/

Keep up with us on our Facebook Fan Page

Please “Like and Share Us” with your friends!

Yesterday was a great adventure! I was back in Chesapeake Friday night so we could head to Richmond on Saturday to meet with our design team. We decided to make a day of it and headed up Surry, Virginia to eat lunch at the Surrey House Restaurant and Inn. We have been following them on Facebook for awhile and have seen some of the awesome dishes they make.

https://www.facebook.com/SurreyHouseRestaurant?fref=ts

As soon as we sat down, Jennifer (one of the owners) pops out of the kitchen to say hello and asked about my finger. The restaurant is wonderful. They have such a “homey” feel when you come in. They have some sayings framed around the place and I loved the one that said:

“Unattended Children will be given Expresso with an Energy Drink and a Puppy.”

Lunch was great too! I started with something I have never had before but wanted to try – Virginia Peanut Soup. This area around Suffolk, Smithfield and Surry is a large producer of peanuts. And I have to tell you, I LOVE Peanut Butter. But the soup must be an acquired taste. The waitress asked me if I had ever had it before and I said no. So she suggested that I take a sample first. It was awesome! So I asked for a cup.

It was like drinking warm, liquid peanut butter! It is even had bits of peanuts in it. They served it with crackers which was just perfect! When I was young, my grandmother, Nannie, would always make me an afternoon snack of peanut butter on crackers. What a great memory it brought back! I tried very hard to get the recipe, but it is a closely guarded secret. (Time to start experimenting!)

Brett ordered a Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich and I got a Cheeseburger. Instead of fries, we both got an Apple Fritter. He had his without sugar, I had mine with sugar. They were heavenly! I could have made a meal of just them!

After we finished, we headed out to go to Richmond. Just as we started to pull out, Sam, Jennifer’s husband flagged us down to say good-bye. What a great couple! You must stop here and grab a bite! Make sure you say Belle Grove said “Hello!”

We arrived in Richmond at Gates Antiques for a day of reviewing and approving new purchases. It is such a “hard” thing to do… not! Here are some wonderful things we saw yesterday.

You  may remember this Federal Linen Press from a recent post. It was in pieces as they were working on making some repairs for us. Well, it’s done and will be making it’s way to Belle Grove on Monday!

They also have the English Slant Top Desk ready to head to Belle Grove!

They have started work on a Settee that we are planning on placing in the Grand Hallway upstairs. Look at this carving repair they have completed! It is hard to believe that it wasn’t part of the Settee to start with!

I finally got to see in person the Sideboard we picked for the Formal Dining Room!

It is very more beautiful in person than in the photographs!

We selected these two Victorian Chairs for the Parlor!

One has a Fruit Detail at the head and the other has a Rosewood Detail!

We also selected a matching Settee to go in the Grand Hallway downstairs! It looks allot like the one they just started working on, but has just a very differences. We won’t be using this leather covering. We are going to do both in a gold fabric with a diamond pattern and light blue accents in the fabric to match the wall color in the Grand Hallway.

You can see here that similarities with some of the carvings.

But this inlay is different on this one. It is in the head rail at the top.

And this carving in the foot rail.

We selected this Corner Cupboard for the Parlor too. Can you see the tea cup collection in this?

And of course the best for last!

This is the Egyptian Black Marble Serving Table that will go in the Parlor beside the Corner Cupboard.

The marble has white and gold veining in it! It is amazing!

We returned to Chesapeake last night completely happy with all the selecting and repairs being made!

Our design team is doing an awesome job and working very hard to get us ready to open soon!

This morning, I head back to Patients First here in Chesapeake to see my long time primary doctor, Dr. Mansfield. I have been seeing her for years now and its almost like seeing a friend when I come in. I wanted her to follow up on  my broken finger to make sure it was looking good. I had gotten a call just two days after my accident (three weeks ago) from Patient First telling me that it was in fact broken. They had advised me to go to an Orthopedic Surgeon to have it looked it. Thinking that it was just a hairline fracture, I declined the referral and said I would just splint it and watch it.

Thursday this week, I got a second follow-up call from Patient First. They again asked if I had gone to the Orthopedic Surgeon. I reminded them that I had declined, but then it got me to wondering why a second call. So I asked the nurse for a little more detail about the break. Come to find out, I didn’t have a hairline fracture. I had a compression fracture and she told me that I broke part of the finger tip off!

So today, I thought it wise to follow up with Dr. Mansfield to make sure I really don’t need to go. When she came into the room, she sat down and said that after reading the notes from the two follow-up calls, all she could say was, “That’s Michelle.” I guess you can say I get pretty involved in my own medical care. She had them take a second set of X-rays to review the finger.

After the X-rays came back, she said, “I have to say, you don’t do anything half way do you?” I kind of laughed and asked what the results were. She told me that I did have a compression fracture and that I did break the tip off. But that the break was in eight pieces!

Good news – I don’t have to go to an Orthopedic Surgeon! There is really nothing they can do but splint it and let it heal. She said it should heal nicely. The two cuts (one on top and one of the side) are healing good with no infections.

Bad news is that it is going to take longer to heal. But I have been using my hand and there really isn’t any pain unless I hit it or touch it. The splint is pretty much keeping it from that.

She did tell me that the reason they followed up twice was more because of the cuts. That it could have had some of the bone coming out! Yikes! But thankfully that didn’t happen either.

So splint, clean dressing and no dirt or water and I should be good. Typing has taken some getting use to, but its not really slowing me down.

I do want to thank everyone for the kind words and the gifts that I have gotten since it happened!

It means allot to me!

We have such great supporters!

Don’t forget our Virtual Housewarming Party

Help Us Stock Our Library!

Click below and read how you can help us and

become part of the history of James Madison’s Birthplace – Belle Grove Plantation!

https://virginiaplantation.wordpress.com/2013/06/07/housewarming-party/

Help Us Spread the Word!

Like and Share Us on Facebook!

As we draw closer to our opening, we are finding some needs that we would like to ask your help on.

So we have decided to have a “Virtual Housewarming” Party.

For those of you that are not familiar with a housewarming party, here is a little information about it from Wikipedi:

“A housewarming party is a party held within approximately 180 days of moving into a new residence. It is an occasion for the hosts to present their new home to their friends, and for friends to give gifts to furnish the new home. Housewarming parties are generally informal; usually there are no planned activities besides a possible tour. 

It is considered proper etiquette to invite guests at least a few days, and up to three weeks, in advance.

Gifts are customary but not necessary. They usually consist of something for the new house (such as a potted plant, a vase, or a picture  frame) or something to be enjoyed during the party (such as a bottle of whiskey, a bouquet of flowers, or a gift basket of foodstuffs). Bluebirds are often given as they are believed to bless the new house with happiness and good luck. In modern day it is also customary to provide bluebird-themed paraphernalia such as china. Pineapples are also common housewarming gifts and the pineapple has served as a symbol of hospitality and warm welcome through the history of the Americas.

In East Lancashire as in parts of Scotland (particularly Ayrshire and Banffshire) a frog is seen as a giver of good luck. A gift of a frog is often made as a wedding or housewarming gift for good luck and fertility.

The term “housewarming” is descended literally from the act of warming a new house, in the days before central heating. Each guest would bring firewood, and build fires in all the available fireplaces, offering firewood as a gift. Aside from warming the house, this was also believed to repel evil spirits by creating a protective atmosphere of warmth. Uninhabited houses were considered targets for vagrant spirits, and therefore required a certain level of cleansing before a house was safe to be occupied by young children.”

What we would like to ask is your help in stocking our library. We have five sections of shelves with five long shelves each. This is allot of book to find and buy. And personally we would like to have a good mix that are recommended reading from others.

So this is where you come in.

We would like to break each section down to catalogs.

Here is what they are:

Books that James Madison would have had in his library – These are books that James Madison would have had to read in his personal library. Or it could have been books that Thomas Jefferson would have allowed him to borrow. Here is a link of reading material Thomas Jefferson wrote about : http://www.john-uebersax.com/plato/reading2.htm

Books on the Founding Fathers (and Mothers) and the Constitution – These are books that are about the great men and women who help form America. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, George Mason, Martha Washington, Dolley Madison and on. We would also like to have books on the Constitution or the Bill of Rights.

Books on the military events and American History – Since Belle Grove’s history spans every period in American history, we would like this section to have books about the periods in American History. Of course the American Revolution and Civil Wars touched Belle Grove because they happened here, we would like to have several on these. But we would also like to have the rest too because it would have touched each family in some way.

Books on Virginia and American Life – These books would talk about life in Virginia and in America. Send us a book about your great state or your favorite Virginia sights.

General Interest Books – These can be of any interest. Fact or Fiction. Good stories that you think people would like to read. You may also like to send us a copy of a book you have had published.

A Couple of Requests

Because these books are going to be placed in this historic home, we would like to acknowledge you for making this donation to our library. In the front of the book, we ask that you place the following information:

“This book was donated to Belle Grove Plantation by (your name) from (City, State and Country) on (date) to help complete their library.”

This will help us preserve your place in our history.

We would also like to request that your book be a hardback book that isn’t too large. If the book is too large, it may not fit on the shelf. Paperback books are nice and inexpensive, but as people read them, they get worn over time. We would like your book to last as long as possible.

Books we already have

So we don’t get repeat books, once we receive a book, we will list it on our a blog page. Look on our left column under “About Us”. It is listed as “Housewarming for the Library“

Here is what we have picked up so far:

The Asent of George Washington – John Ferling

Madison Writings – Jack N. Rakove

A Slave in the White House – Elizabeth Dowling Taylor

The Debate on the Constitution – Bernard Barilyn

James Madison – Garry Wills

War at Our Doors – Rebecca Campbell Light

Images of America Virginia Presidential Homes – Patrick L. O’Neill

Places I Have Known Along the Rappahannock River – Beverley C Pratt

Come Retribution – William A Tidwell

A Perfect Union – Catherine Allgor

Gordonsville Virginia – William H.B. Thomas

Orange Virginia – William H.B. Thomas

Dearest Friend  A Life of Abigail Adams – Lynne Withey

Patriots of the UpCountry – William H.B. Thomas

The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas

Dolores Claiborne – Stephen King

The Dead Zone – Stephen King

Pet Sematary – Stephen King

The Tommyknockers – Stephen King

To get your books to us, please ship them to the following address:

Belle Grove Plantation Bed and Breakfast

9221 Belle Grove Drive

King George, Virginia 22485

Brett and I would like to thank you so much for supporting us throughout this last year and continuing to follow along with us as we reach that all important Opening Day. We look forward to see each of you at the plantation and sharing this beloved plantation with the rest of the world!

To see more of Belle Grove Plantation, please view our virtual tour at 

http://virginiaplantation.wordpress.com/2013/02/19/take-a-tour-with-us/

Keep up with us on our Facebook Fan Page

Please “Like and Share Us” with your friends!