Telex from Cuba

As a young child growing up in southern Miami during the 60's, many of my schoolmates were Cuban refugees whose parents had fled their homes following Castro’s uprising.  The Cuban culture and mystique has fascinated me as a result of this association earlier in life for me.  So, I recently read Telex from Cuba by Rachel Kushner. Ms. Kushner tells the story of American families living in Cuba prior to the takeover by the Castro brothers in the late 50’s.  Told through the eyes of a young boy and the son of an American executive in Cuba, Ms. Kushner tells the story of the sugar cane and nickel mining industries in Cuba and the Americans who manage the operations there.   Worth a read, for sure.

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lemon & line

Love, love, love this bracelet from lemon & line.

Suzanne Rheinstein

This past week, I attended a lecture at the Jacksonville Arts and Antiques Show presented by Suzanne (the a in her name is pronounced with the schwa sound) Rheinstein.  Prior to her lecture it was announced that she would be donating her entire speaker's fee to the benefitting charity: a charming gesture from a gracious woman. Suzanne was, of course, promoting the sale of her fabulous and recently published book,

At Home: A Style for Today with Things from the Past

 

which was available for purchase and signing directly  following her presentation. I did not bring along my copy as it is a quite large book and I am not sure how a previously purchased book is handled when it comes to a signing.  A world traveler, Suzanne told the tale of her life which began in New Orleans where she was greatly influenced by the architecture and gardens there, especially  Longue View and the works of Ellen Biddle Shipman, the landscape architect. A slide show of her house in Los Angeles and her

pied-a-terre in NYC was shown, which included many glimpes of additional works, most of which can be found in her recent book. 

Tidbits gleaned from her words:

~The coir rugs in her houses are layed over, not glued down to existing flooring. They are edged in leather. They keep her rooms "grounded".

~Suzanne uses slipcovers to change out for the summer months, and they are gorgeous.

~Suzanne is fond of fabric applications to walls. No padding is used underneath, though often the fabric is painted with a latex, to give it shape and body, I suppose.  The transistions or edges are finished with tape, often fine grosgrain ribbon used by milliners.
 To learn more about Ms. Rheinstein, have a look at the 1st Dibs piece on her and her shop, Hollyhock.

~Happy Halloween~

Yesterday, I read aloud to young people at the Udvar-Hazy Center, Smithsonian during the
Air&Scare event. 

Dressed in character, I read

By The Light of The Halloween Moon.

cheers!

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...well said

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...been to Bermuda

Bermuda is a beautiful location for some golf.

Charming bits and pieces...

I have just recently completed the Encyclopedia of the Exquisite: An Anecdotal History of Elegant Delights, by Jessica Kerwin Jenkins. I compare this account to a walk through a fabulous museum and reading every single description under every article of interest. Ms. Jenkins presents something for everyone here: art, cuisine, fashion, phenomena, history, phrases, language, personal situations and more, with provenance all over the world. A lovely book with snippets of out of the ordinary information, it is worth a read. As well Ms. Jenkins maintains a blog, where the stories from within her book continue on.

Mushrooms

Warm and damp conditions have proven to be perfect for fungi formation in the woods behind my house.

Addendum: Please, do not put these little lovelies in a fry pan with some olive oil! They are not edible as one can see here.  

a glimpse of Florida...

I have recently returned from the condo in Florida where it was warm and lovely, sans hurricanes and tropical storms, oddly enough. 

Built in the Spanish Mission Style, the building has a stucco surface with a clay barrelled roof as well as arches, balconies, wrought ironworks and an irregular roof line.

While I was in Florida, I was the keeper of Izzy, the wonder dog, the dau's fabulous pooch, while she was away for a bit. 

 small wrought iron, glass-topped  side table on the lanai

French apothecary jar

 My Grandmother's desk

 Wrought iron lantern with seeded glass panes suspended in the entryway.

 The Colonel's parent's desk

Giant custom made curtain

 which covers the extremely large sliding glass door.

wine enjoyed...

We have recently subscribed to Laithwaites Wine Club and are pleased with the selections which are arriving.  The delivery is so much easier than lugging the bottles home from the shop yourself. 

Sticklers unite!

Just finished this easy-to-read treatise on punctuation.  Worth a read, for sure.

I bet Aunt Josephine did as well.