I know, I know, I haven't blogged a lot lately... I'm suffering from both writer's block and a lack of readily available information on life on the homefront - particularly the Midwest - before and during the Civil War. More to the point, it's 43° and cloudy here and now in New Jersey, so I'm kind of grumpy. And the woman who has the "shift" after mine, such as it is, where I work is sick, so I've been working hers, too. Not a lot of extra hours, but it throws my whole mind off when my schedule is different. So, eventually, I'll get to 1861, but it's going to take a while... Sigh....