Cloche Call

The small Cloche was recently found at EPO (Electronic Parts Outlet...of all places) here in Houston for $4.99! The taller cloche was found at Beadboard UpCountry in Brenham, Texas.

The wonderful reproduction milk bottle by the French company Comptoir de Famille is also from Beadboard UpCountry and is a recent find.

My favorite time of day is early morning, just as our day begins. In the pale morning light, with a hot cup of coffee in hand, anything seems possible...the world is mine. I sip my coffee and chat with Tall Husband, either in bed or on the front porch, about what the day may bring. Tall Husband wants plans and schedules, but I again remember that no matter how we plan, the day will be what it wishes to be. So, I shiver and wonder what stories this day will bring to us.

What's your favorite time of day?

You Might Think These Are Pecans

These appear to be Texas pecans, still in their green husks, don't you think? The squirrels living in our pecan trees believe that they are really weapons this time of year...a time when these nuts are at their heaviest. One male squirrel at the bungalow is always right on target. The target? My head or the neighbor cat. The first time one of these babies hit my head, I thought someone was throwing rocks.

Well, this is war...I'm getting suited up. I'm off to search the Internet for a pith helmet! Kitty's on her own.

White Wednesday #5

The life-size marble sculpture is by Lance Letscher...his four-year-old daughter was his model.

A casting of an ancient piece of sculpture...found at Astier de Villatte in Paris.

The Star Fish is actually a resin casting from Pottery Barn.

The Sea Biscuit is a treasure from my daughter.

This White Wednesday's theme is Hard Whites found around the house.

White Wednesday is hosted by Faded Charm Cottage, where you'll find links to more white stuff.

Surprises: Garden Variety

We had been watching the plant for more than three years. It had luxurious leaves that came out each spring and lasted through the summer, except that second summer when a substitute gardener mowed them down. This summer, all the leaves withered and died. Then surprise: this week, one lone stalk appeared out of the bald ground...pale pink flowers began to show their faces! Tall Husband discovered the blooms early Saturday morning.

Another surprise: we have raised jasmine for years and these are the first beans we have ever seen.

And this Hydrangea is supposed to be white!

Who would have thought that I could bring Lavender to bloom in Texas! Me...Annie Brown Thumb (So it's only one scraggly bloom but for me that's a miracle.)

And this sweet surprise visitor watched the photo shoot from a safe distance while a resident squirrel pelted my head with huge green pecans, as payback for invading his turf.

Other People's Trash

The Bunny Bungalow is located on a corner and seems to attract an unusual assortment of trash. This is a note I found in the grass when Tall Husband and I were picking up OPT (other people's trash) last weekend (click on the photo to read.) Some other trash we have found: a pile of raw potatoes...one of which had a human bite taken from it; half empty Thunderbird bottles; evidence of Golden Arches picnics; a huge pile of crawfish shells with empty beer bottles nearby...a cocktail party and we weren't invited?

When our neighbors go for their daily walks, they take bags with them and pick up trash along the way. So do we. It seems that it takes three-fourths of us to pick up after the other one-fourth. So, to you one-fourthers: if you are bent on leaving trash around the neighborhood, please make it as entertaining as the above note.

And Peaches, I hope your mother reads this!

Note Reads: "Come to Big Mary's Hotel ask for peaches paid $300 already 2525 Trade Rd."

French Garden House at My Doorstep

I have discovered French Garden House. O.K., so you all knew about the on-line shop long ago. Perhaps I've just been under a mushroom.

When I clicked onto to their beautiful website, I couldn't resit these tiny, natural quail eggs.

Aren't they precious? And don't you just love that tissue paper?

And as if the charming quail eggs weren't treat enough, French Garden House included yet another treat...a teabag in a beautiful paper cup.

Well, I'm off to have a cup of tea!

White Wednesday #4

Child's antique British chamber pot.

Replica of an antique stone bunny.

Antique wool baby sweater.

This White Wednesday is dedicated to the old child in each of us. Who among us doesn't find the antiques of childhood charming?


White Wednesday is hosted by Faded Charm Cottage, where you'll find links to more white stuff.

Magic on the Mountain

Tall Husband and I found this French Antique Horse at Thompson + Hanson last weekend. Knowing all my horse stories, he went back and bought it to take home to our bungalow.

This is a true story which took place during a former marriage.

We left Houston on our Harley one morning in early May. It was a ride to try to recapture the romance that had somehow faded from our marriage. Our route would take us to California with a detour through Colorado to spend a few days at a friend's ranch. Our friends had sent instructions ahead for our stay, so when we arrived at the ranch late one night, our guest cabin was waiting for us, with beds turned down and a fire in the fireplace. We unpacked our bike and after a bath we fell into bed.

The only other people at the ranch were Larry, the foreman, his assistant, and a cook, all of whom we met after breakfast the next morning as we were given a tour of the ranch. Larry, having been told that I knew my way around a horse, invited me to accompany him up the mountain to fetch a small herd of wild horses. The horses had just been delivered to the ranch the previous day and at dusk they had managed to break out of the corral. Larry and his assistant had repaired and improved the corral, which left no time to hunt down the horses.

After breakfast, S.H. and I climbed into Larry's Jeep and he began the steep drive up the mountain, stopping now and then to look for signs of the horses. As we ascended, the mountain changed seasons...it was summer at the ranch, spring up higher, then fall and then we were in late winter, with patches of snow in the deep shade. We all slipped into warm jackets and began our search on foot. We heard a soft snort and as I looked through the trees, I saw them...the small herd of beautiful, wild horses. The scene felt quiet and magic. I walked silently toward the horse that appeared to be the lead. I put my hand out and softly said, "Here horsey," motioning for him to come.

"Here horsey?...That's not how you wrangle wild horses," S.H. said mockingly.

I put my hand up to silence him. Then the lead horse came to me as we kept our eyes locked. When he reached me, I put my hand out and he placed his head against my opened hand. I patted his head, then scratched behind his ear, as I told him how beautiful he was. I reached behind me and Larry placed a rope halter with lead in my hand. The horse stood like an obedient puppy and let me adjust the halter on him, then he followed me down the mountain with all the other horses trailing after him. As the small herd and I followed the slow-moving jeep down the mountain, happy tears ran down my cheeks, for I knew this was a magic moment.

Later that night, after S.H. had gone to bed and I sat by the fire reading, there was a soft knock at the cabin door. It was Larry. "I just wanted you to know, that in all my years of working horses, I've never seen anything like what happened up on the mountain today."

"Thank you for telling me, Larry."

He turned to go, then he said over his shoulder, "It's not any of my business, but anyone who can capture wild horses with soft words...well she can do just fine on her own."

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to a toad catcher extraordinaire. May this Great Toad bring you great luck.

Note: When Tall Son was a boy, he loved toads. I would find live toads in his sock drawer, in the tub, under his bed, swimming in the toilette bowl...you name the place, there was a fat toad there, hopping around. To this day, Tall Son believes that toads bring good luck, though in the past, all that his toads brought were squeals and frantic hopping from this frightened Mom. Happily, he settles for one large bronze toad next to his front door these days.

White Wednesday #3: Books on White

The Color Garden (White), Text and Photography by Elvin McDonald

At Home With White; Atlanta Bartlett with words by Karena Callen; Photography by Polly Wreford.

White by Design by Bo Niles; Jacket Photograph by Keith Scott Morton.

White Rooms by Jordi Sarra Aran.

Here are some of my favorite books on all things white, from the garden to every interior room. What are your favorite books on the White theme?

Go to Faded Charm to participate in White Wednesday.

New Blog: Beadboard UpCountry

Photo by Maryanne Flaherty of Beadboard UpCountry, Brenham, Texas.

Great News! Maryanne Flaherty, owner of Beadboard UpCountry in Brenham, Texas, has entered the blogosphere. We are all in for a great ride, as Maryanne is a wonderful photographer with an eye for all things French and chic. Also into the delicious mix...she and her husband Peter have great stories to share about their lives, including their buying trips to Paris.

Go sign on as her follower at: http://beadboardupcountry.blogspot.com and hang on for the ride.

Fly Me to the Moon

Painting, The Prodigal Dress, is by Linda Hofheinz; Photo of the painting is by Annie.

It was our first trip together and we were flying to Paris. We had just eaten and had champagne before settling back in our seats to listen to music through the airline headsets. I was listening to the French music channel, enjoying an old Edith Piaf tune when suddenly her song was interrupted by a male voice, speaking English with a heavy French accent. What that voice said, I cannot repeat here; suffice it to say, that he wanted to do all sorts of things with me.

I was so startled, I took off the earphones and thrust them at Tall Husband, explaining, "Some Frenchman is talking trash to me---listen." Then I looked around the cabin for the culprit.

It was then that I noticed Tall Husband had the business end of the earphones to his mouth and was using it as a microphone...he was my French trash talker.

Who said engineers aren't fun?

Technical Note: Tall Husband says that the trick with the earphones no longer works, as the old earphones were air-tube coupled and the newer earphones are hardwired.

White Wednesday # 2

I'm enchanted with the colors one can see in white walls and white flowers as the light of the day changes.

Go to Faded Charm to participate in White Wednesday.

The Strange Life of an Old Leather Club Chair

This is Lynn, whom we met at Behind the Garden Gate last Saturday. This is not Isabella Rossellini.

And this is our 1930's leather club chair who was found at the wonderful Installations Antiques here in Houston.

How does this woman, who looks like Isabella Rossellini, figure into the life of an old vintage leather club chair? Here goes:

Last Saturday evening, we happened onto our friend Becki, owner of Installations Antiques. She was with the Isabellaesque stranger whom she introduced as Lynn, the previous owner of your old leather club chair. Now this is the very same chair whose ample arms hug you warmly as you read a book or sip a cup of hot brew...the same chair who beckons to anyone who happens by The Bunny Bungalow...the very chair who invites you to put your feet up and linger awhile and tell your best stories.

It seems that Lynn had inherited the old chair from her grandmother, Myrtle. Lynn had lived with the chair for a time but came to realize that she had little room for such a large piece. She gave the chair to Becki, whom she trusted to give it new life. Well, Becki had it reconditioned and covered in fine leather then placed on display the very day Tall Husband and I walked into her antique shop. It was love at first sight, even though we knew something would have to go, to make room (does anyone have room for an old creaky Boston rocker?)

Lynn tells us that the old chair was upholstered in a striped fabric and stuffed with horsehair when it resided at her grandmother's house. It had been Myrtle's favorite chair. When Lynn inherited the chair from Myrtle, she had it covered in a canvas fabric.

She was pleased to learn that her chair has a new life and is so treasured. Thank you Myrtle and Lynn for handing forward such a warm and welcoming piece of your past. Anyone who sits in that chair feels its fine history.

White Linen Night in Houston Heights

The old Heights Theater showed off its magical neon lights for White Linen Night.

White Linen Night in the Houston Heights is a big deal in this tiny town in the Big City. So, as dusk began to fall, along with the heat of the day, Tall Husband and I headed for the Houston Heights historic downtown for the celebration.

This is our third year to experience White Linen Night and we are here to attest: this year's attendance outdid all the others. The sidewalks, streets and stores were packed with a wonderful melange of happy people.

We dove into our favorite shop, Behind The Garden Gate, on 19th Street. With Smith & Hawken closing its doors nationwide, this is everyone's go to place for all things wonderful for the home and garden. Besides, they also do weddings and other special occasions.

Felix Hernandez, owner and designer at Behind the Garden Gate, keeps the place filled with his wonderful flowers and antiques for the house or garden. The Bungalow is filled with his lavender, in antique bags and in small bouquets.

He has a great collection of unique, primitive wood and metal accessories, like the antique industrial scale, bucket and basket, above.

I've got my eye on that old mirror and some unscented candles.

Behind the Garden Gate
355 W. 19th Street
Houston, TX 77008
713-864-1679

felix.flowers@yahoo.com
Website to come later.