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Frolic Friday – Curious Case of King Henry’s Wives : Wife # 3 – Jane

King Henry VIII, was the second Monarch of Tudor dynasty. He was King of England from 21 April, 1509 until his death by 28 January 1547. King Henry was famous for two main reasons – one for separating Church of England from Roman Catholic Church; and second reason, he was most notoriously famous for, was his Six Wives and their fate bestowed by King Henry. These posts are dedicated to Six Wives of King Henry VIII. It’s not a historical fact or document, rather a conversational satirical viewpoint of ill-fated Queens.

Curious Case of King Henry's Wives - Jane Seymour
King Henry VIII With Jane Seymour

Wife # 3I am Jane Seymour, Third wife of King Henry VIII

A Perfect Wife??? 

If you can, then do ask that man, who had the privilege of having the company of six wives and numerous mistresses; what is a Perfect Woman? Who is your Perfect Wife?

Jane Seymour.

This is what my husband and King of England, The Henry VIII, would have said.

Now, if you want to know, what exceptional quality I possessed to become the perfect wife of a tyrant King, then do read on. :developer:

Curious Case of King Henry's Wives - Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour

I, Jane Seymour was born to Sir John Seymour and his wife, Margery Wentworth, in 1508, at Wittshire. I did not had, as high and royal lineage as of Henry’s previous Queens, but it was sufficient enough to bring me to court as maid of honor to Queen Catherine of Aragon and of Queen Anne.

I was not educated, or to say in modest terms, I was educated in fulfilling the roles desired from a woman of my time, i.e. doing housework and some needle work. By the way, my needlework and embroidery was quite famous, you know. 😎

Curious Case of King Henry's Wives - Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour

I was not beautiful, atleast not as beautiful to become a Queen. Just a Plain Jane. You must have guessed this now, from some of my portraits. LOL. But who needs beauty when a king is looking for a lamb, as his wife? ^^’

Curious Case of King Henry's Wives - Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour

Ladies, always remember one thing, that men like change. So, they will look out for the complete opposite of what they currently have. That’s how I got lucky. 💡 My predecessor, both Queen Catherine and Queen Anne, were beautiful, educated, and strong ladies with vibrant personalities. In contrast, I was a docile woman, always obedient, of few words, no temper, and certainly no opinion of my own. I was a lamb, you see. 😐

Curious Case of King Henry's Wives - Jane Seymour
Wax Statue of Jane Seymour

This is what attracted King Henry to me. I didn’t thought of it, not even in my dreams, that King of England would fall for me. Actually, he didn’t fall in our very first meeting, but it was a step. He first took notice of me when he visited my home, and got smitten by my simplicity and quiet nature. I could have been his next mistress, only if I was not self trained by the tactics used by me predecessor Queen Anne. 😉

Curious Case of King Henry's Wives - Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour

So when King Henry laid his eyes on me and started showering me with expensive gifts, I declined his favors. Resisting his attempts saying that ‘I would rather die a thousand times, than tarnish my honor‘. It worked. Henry thought of me as a modest woman of honor. See ladies, don’t be easy. Maintain your class and virtue, and you will be respected.

Curious Case of King Henry's Wives - Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour

Soon Queen Catherine died, and Anne got executed. Poor Anne!! 😥

I got married the very next day. 😛 Lesson ladies – grab the opportunity as soon as it knocks at your doorstep.

Curious Case of King Henry's Wives - Jane Seymour
King Henry with Jane Seymour

I was The Queen. Didn’t got the chance of coronation, but still, I was the Queen of my King Henry. I loved him, but I was also scared of him. Seldom in our marriage, I have opened my mouth. Never want to displease a king who can behead you in matter of seconds. I did tried to persuade him to make peace with his daughters Mary and Elizabeth. Succeeded too, for some extent. Nothing more than that. I was too docile to change anything else in my realm. Let alone realm, I was not even able to stop Henry from having new mistresses. It’s easier to tame a wild horse, than to bind Henry to a single woman. 😮

Curious Case of King Henry's Wives - Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour

Still, Henry loved me. For Forever. As, I gave him what he desired most – his heir – his son, Edward.

Now, you see, why I was a perfect wife? ⭐

  1. I never spoke. I was a lamb.
  2. I never resisted him having other women in his life.
  3. I gave him his heir, Edward.

I died in few days, after delivering my baby boy. I didn’t gave Henry any chance (actually not enough time together), to fall out of love from me, and thus, I was his favorite Queen. His most beloved wife, with whom he took rest in the grave.

Curious Case of King Henry's Wives - Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour

To tell you frankly, I don’t think Henry had the capabilities to love anyone, other than himself. I was just lucky, that he didn’t hated me. 😐

 

Thursday Treats – Crocheted Flowers In My Hair

This week something flowery for my kiddos – A Crocheted Flower Headband/Tiara. 😎

Tisha Singh - Flowers In My Hair
Tisha – Flowers In My Hair
  • Do you know that Flowers did not always existed? They appeared 140 million years ago and before that, ferns and cone bearing trees dominated the earth. 😕
  • Do you know that Several centuries ago in Holland, tulips were more valuable than gold?
  • Do you know that the largest Flower in the world is the flower of the Puya raimondii, which has a flower stalk 35,000 feet tall and bears over 8,000 white flowers? 🙄
  • Do you know that Bamboos produce flowers once every few years. And when they do, all flowers of the same species bloom at exactly the same time?
Flowers In My Hair, Tisha Singh
Tisha Singh – Crocheted Flowers In My Hair

We all love flowers. Didn’t we? They are weird and cool at the same time… just like us. 😛

 

Wednesday Words – Playing Mom

My Kids love role playing, but it’s always hard to catch them in action. Remember they are smarter than me. 😕

Playing Mom, Abhishek, Tisha, Otu, Renne
Playing Mom

Yesterday was different. I had a Spy.  😈

Everytime they are playing in their room, and I would happen to visit, they will go completely quiet on me. You must think that they are scared of me??? Nope. Not in any dimension, of any world. 🙄

They use to enact me. My every word, every move. :mrgreen: That’s why they go quiet with a sheepish smile on their face. Specially Otu. He repeats every word coming out of my mouth, with the same tone, like making a joke of me. Devil!!! The moment I’ll come out of their play room, they will laugh out loud, as if they have succeeded in their small mission of hiding their naughty plans from me. 😐

Coming to yesterday’s events. My Spy…. Yes, I was coming to that. My dear Hubby. He obliged me this time, by intruding into the enemy lines and bringing me back, important strategic information from across the border. 😉

These were the observations….

Tisha: Boys (talking to her two naughty brothers), sit properly. Renne, don’t move.

Renne: Okay.

Otu: OK. Mamma.

(OMG, Tisha was playing MOM. Tisha was playing Me.) 😆

Tisha: Boys. Mamma is cooking food. Don’t cry. Renne, what do you want?

Renne: Chicken.

Tisha. Otu, what do you want?

Otu: (long pause) Egg. No. Ice cream. 🙂

Tisha: Ok, baby. (seeing her Papa also sitting in the corner), boys, I am making tea for your Papa. Okay Boys…. Renne….. sit properly.

Playing Mom, Abhishek, Tisha, Otu, Renne
Playing Mom

Swirls water in her glass, and serve tea to Papa and boys. Papa Happy.

Papa so proud, as if telling me, look my daughter makes tea better than you. 😎

Tisha: Ok boys, get ready. Pick up your bag. Go to school.

Boys obediently took their bags. Stock it up with all the toys they found lying around.

Otu, Renne: Bbye Mamma (to Tisha).

Tisha: Bye baby. Bye. I love you. See you soon.

Playing Mom, Renne Singh, Otu Singh, Tisha Singh
Playing Mom

If you are thinking, Oh! how cute. How sweet?? How nice your kids are???

This sweetness is all for role play. Once real food is served, you won’t find a single one of them, sitting peacefully at one place, including their father.  😛

 

Tuesday Text – The Story Of Philosophy

 

The Story Of Philosophy
The Story Of Philosophy

The Story Of Philosophy‘, is a book by Anne Rooney, illustrating the advent of thinking Philosophers and the evolution of Philosophy over the time. This book traces it’s Philosophical roots from ancient Greeks to the modern thinkers.

Beautiful illustrations with side notes, and related short stories embedded in the text, enhances the whole experience of reading and learning. It won’t make any point in reviewing this book, as it actually is a journey of the philosophical ideas of various philosophers. So, I would rather present to you some snapshot, or shall I say intellectual words deserving a good sharing with wider audience.

When Rene Descartes said, ‘I doubt, therefore I think, therefore I am‘, he put forward a very good reasoning, that I reason, that is why I am into existence, but what am I? What is I? This is the difference between Being and Knowing.

Another riveting topic is, should we believe in God, or not? Or, why should we believe in God? Pascal’s wager gave us a solution about the existence of God. He said “If God does not exist, we lose nothing by believing that he does – death brings annihilation whether we believe or not. But if he does exist, then we stand to gain everything (salvation) by believing that he does, and to lose everything (damnation) by thinking that he doesn’t.

Thought proving discussion has taken place among philosophers of various centuries to understand, what are we? What is Human Being? Is he mind, or matter, or soul? Where does our soul go when we die? Where do we go, when we die? Is there a heaven and hell? What is Self? What is consciousness? As Searle, put it, “Consciousness is an emergent property of the brain”. But, is it, only that?

Most fascinating thing that happened in the history of Philosophy is the relationship that three of the world’s greatest Philosophers have shared with each other. Great Philosopher Aristotle, was a pupil of Plato, who was actually a devoted pupil of Socrates, the great thinker of his time. What an amazing Philosophical lineage?

Socrates has once stated that “man cannot search either for what he knows or for what he does not know. He cannot search for what he knows – since he knows it, there is no need to search – nor for what he does not know, for he does not know what to look for.”

How should we live? If everything is predestined by God, how does it matter? How can we judge action of others, if every one of us is behaving the same way as God has destined us to do? What is a free will? If there is a free will, what will we choose, good or bad? How will we choose? Can we ever live in a perfect ethical and morally good society? What is good?

At the end, a Quote by Bertrand Russel, summarize it all by stating “The point of Philosophy is to start with something so simple as not to seem worth stating, and to end with something so paradoxical that no one will believe it.”

Mouthwatering Monday – Boondi Raita

 

Boondi Raita
Boondi Raita

So far I have shown you recipes which my kids prefer to eat. Now, just for a change, and for a very special request, my husband’s favorite Raita Recipe – The Boondi Raita.

Boondi Raita is a side dish served with Indian Meal. It can also be used as a dip or salad, or as salad dressing too. Raita can be prepared with different ingredients like, cucumber (my favorite), tomato, onion, pumpkin, mint, pineapple etc… here, I have made one from Boondi, which is a Rajasthani food item, prepared from chickpea flour, with spices added to it before frying.

Boondi Raita
Boondi

Let’s go and make ourselves a bowl of Boondi Raita, now.

Ingredients

Method

  • Soak Boondi in warm water for 15 -20 Minutes.
  • Drain the Boondi gently, without mashing them. Keep aside.
  • Whisk curd in a bowl. Add water if desired for the desired consistency.
  • Add all the spices along with chopped Mint leaves.
  • Mix well.
  • Add Boondi to curd mixture. Mix it gently.
  • Sprinkle with fried Cumin.
  • Garnish with Mint Leaves, and serve cold.

Best thing about Boondi Raita, or for the matter any other kind of Raita is that, it’s ingredients can be replaced with so many available variations.

Boondi Raita
Boondi Raita

Like, you can use Coriander leaves instead of Mint, or you can use green chilli instead of red chilli powder, black salt instead of normal sea salt. You can totally ditch Cumin if you are not a fan. Even chaat masala is upto your taste buds. So, even if you will just have curd and Boondi mixed together, with some salt, you will have a Boondi Raita. 😀

That’s easy, right???

 

P.S. My cooking is experimental. You will find many similar and different recipes, but the idea is to explore your food and do experiments with it. Enjoy Cooking Experiments and Experiences 🙂