PUTTING ON THE GLAD RAGS

This splendid lady is Mrs. Christian Kerr of Chatto. She was born in the late 1600s and is my husband's great-great-great-great grandmother. She lived at Sunlaws in the Scottish Borders.

This painting is a large miniature, just a little smaller than the photograph above. I have admired her blond curls, her froth of lace and red shawl for years. I cannot, however, imagine wearing her portrait-worthy clothes. We know little about her except that she kept an "arithmetic book," and account of the books she owned. This can be seen here: ARITHMETIC BOOK

It's cold and pouring with rain today, not a day to venture out.