Happy (Almost) Halloween!

Labor Day weekend in this house means that it's time to get out the boxes of Halloween decorations. And that's what I've been doing for most of the day.

Except for the larger decorations that come out at the beginning of October, the living room and dining room are screaming out "It's time for Halloween!" and the kitchen, breakfast room, and the foyer are merely whispering "It's too early for witches and pumpkins but here we are!"

I used to wait till the beginning of October to start decorating for Halloween, but then I quickly realized how an entire month can speed by in a heart-beat, so I decided that September 1st was Halloween decorating day.  We don't usually do anything for Labor Day anyway... holiday weekend crowds are not our cup of tea, so we stay close to home.

Every year when I unpack holiday decorations, I end up with a basket of things to bring to the antique shop. (Just who bought all those purple candlesticks and ghosts anyway?)  This week, my booth at the shop will be ready for Halloween.

And every year, I tell myself not to buy more Halloween decorations... but I know I'll find a carved black cat or a folk art witch or two along the way. More decorations to find just the perfect spot for, more things to pack away in the boxes, and then next year, more things to bring to the antique shop.

Miss C was hoping to find Halloween decorations for her little rented house at the yard sales next month. I told her to forget the yard sales and just come here and pick out whatever Halloween things she would like.

I have pumpkins and witches and black cats to spare and to share. (And if C would like the orange stray cat that's still hanging around our porch, she's welcome to him as well.)

Pots and pans...

I got over half a dozen text messages from 'our' Miss C today, along with a phone call this morning. She loves her new pots and pans, and she's been cooking up a small storm with them since she took them out of the box.

After we made her favorite Zucchini Pie this past weekend when she was here, I gave her the recipe and that was the first thing she made with her new pots, pans, and pie plate.  She invited two of her girlfriends over for a zucchini pie dinner and they loved it so much that they asked her for the recipe. I had to laugh at C's decision to not share the recipe. C shares everything, but I guess the zucchini pie will remain her secret for a while.  I'm sure the zucchini pie recipe is on the Internet somewhere because it was a big winner in the Pillsbury Bake-Off contest some years ago.

C's first on-her-own zucchini pie was made two days ago. I guess her girlfriends ate more of the pie than C had planned..... when she sent me those text messages this afternoon, she had another zucchini pie baking in the oven.

Dress shopping...

I haven't bought a dress in the longest time.... at least a couple of years, when friend V's daughter got married. And the time before that was when another friend's son got married. When I was working, I bought dresses and skirts all the time, and heels to go with them. Shoes.... so many shoes filled my closet when I was working, all of them heels. City dresses, city shoes. Those were the days...

Two things coming up that are calling out for a dress.... our Halloween party--- I intend to wear a Downton Abbey-style dress.... and a friend's daughter is getting married early next summer.  The wedding will be Gatsby-ish.... which screams out for a Gatsby-style dress. And shoes.... shoes for both dresses, unless I can possibly find a dress which is appropriate for both occasions.

With that in mind, I went to one of the local shops on Main Street this morning. Every little town must have a Main Street... it's in the rule book somewhere.  Friend C told me about this particular shop a while back, and I just never got around to going in there. Today was the day... I was in town early to do other errands, and as I drove on Main Street, there was an open parking space right in front of that store. Being a small town with small streets, those parking spaces fill up quickly after 10:30 each morning.

The clothing store was larger than it appeared from the outside, and very well organized... skirts and tops, slacks and jackets, suits and dresses, and lots of accessories... everything in its place and a place for everything. Even the dressing rooms were nicely decorated and had chairs to put your clothes and purse on, instead of just hooks on the walls.

I found a two-piece outfit that is definitely Gatsby-ish, and almost Downton Abbey-ish, and with their half-price sale that was going on today, I couldn't pass it up. If I don't wear this dress to the wedding in June, I can certainly use it for the Downton Abbey outfit in October.  So that dress is hanging in the closet, but I intend to keep looking for other options for the wedding.

I was so impressed with the store that I asked the manager for business cards to give to the 'Waldorf Wednesdays' ladies, so they could come and check out that store as well, if they hadn't already been there.  The manager gave me a stack of 50%-off coupons to give to my "group of tea ladies," as she called them, so tomorrow I will have those coupons on the dining room table.

Gone back to Galveston....

Miss C left this afternoon.... home to her little rented house near Galveston, and to her horse Tallahatchie. She had arranged for someone to feed and walk Tallahatchie while she was up here visiting with us, but today it was time to go back home so Hatch (his nick-name) wouldn't forget who his mama is.  She just loves that horse, and the pictures she showed us proves that Hatch loves her also. Tallahatchie knows C's voice, runs up to her to nuzzle his huge head into her tiny shoulder, and he follows her around the stall and the corral like a puppy. That's one huge puppy... he weighs about 800 pounds now and he's not yet full grown.

Trying to fit a few months of visiting into a few days, C and I did all her favorite things.... from cooking together to having afternoon tea, and going to the thrift stores, and we even found a new local Flea Market that's open here every weekend.  I bought an antique Oriental bureau with lots of tiny drawers... it was dusty and sad looking at the Flea Market, but we bargained with the seller and got it for $35, carried it to my car and managed to fit it into the trunk, and then I got a bottle of "Old English" and rubbed that furniture polish into every bit of that wood and now it's shining and beautiful and I could probably sell it at the antique shop for more than two hundred dollars. However... it's in my living room, looking as if it's been there for over a hundred years, so that's where it will stay.

C left here with her new set of pots and pans that we bought yesterday.... now she says she has no excuse about not learning how to cook.  I also gave her some of my dishes, because she thought it would be nice if we both had the same cups and saucers and plates for afternoon tea.... plus I gave her an antique porcelain teapot, to replace the little-girl teapot that I gave her so many years ago. I suggested that she save her little-girl teapot so she can give it to her own little girl one day.

The house seems too quiet again without C here.... it was nice to stay up late talking, to walk around the shops and the outdoor market with her, to laugh at silly things and discuss serious things.... and she gave me three hugs before she got into her car and drove off down our hill.  C didn't want to leave, and I didn't want her to leave, but she's 23 now, no longer that little second-grader that I tutored in reading all those years ago. Time is flying by, C has graduated college, has a big-girl job (as she calls it) and she owns a horse and rents a little house near Galveston Bay.

And every evening, we will both make a small pot of tea, and pour the tea into green and white cups, and think happy thoughts and celebrate a very special friendship.

Miss C on Board...

Our special Miss C has been here for the past couple of days... after not seeing one another for a few months, she has been trying to pack everything she can think of into this weekend.  We've gone to the local thrift stores, we've been shopping for kitchen things for the little house that she's renting near Galveston, we've gone to the grocery store to buy ingredients for the zucchini pie that she loves, we've had afternoon tea in the breakfast room and dinner in the dining room. And we have talked and talked.... until way past midnight last night.

When I went downstairs this morning, C had already been up and dressed and she walked out of the door of the guest cottage and straight out into one of our fields, looking at the wildflowers and the pond, watching the clouds, searching for armadillo holes, and being careful of the thorny weeds and nettles. She is a country girl if ever there was one. And a braver 'girl' than I could ever be, out in these Hill Country pastures.

C's visit was a last-minute impromptu arrangement.... she discovered she could take the time from her job to drive here for a visit, and she also had someone to take care of her horse while she's up here. When she called on Thursday to ask if she could come up here this weekend, my immediate answer was "You don't even have to ask and just be careful driving."

So until C goes back home to Clear Lake, everything else here is on hold. I haven't had time to read, haven't had time to price items for my booth at the antique shop, and I haven't had time to even think much beyond what to cook for dinner. Life is very good.

45 miles.

That's how far we drive to have a nice meal in a really good restaurant... 45 miles. Isn't that the most ridiculous thing you've heard today?

In this little town of ours, we have a few cafes, one of which we go to on a regular basis because their lunch menu is eclectic and ever-changing, and most of their foods are freshly made and good. However, they close their doors at 3:00 and call it a day, which means they're not open for dinner.

There are Mexican restaurants all over this town and the surrounding smaller towns.... we've been to just about all of them since we've lived out here, and only two of them are worth the time to drive there and the money you spend there. Even at that, the quesadillas that I make at home are much better than those offered in both of those restaurants. (I can't make the other items on the Mexican menu, but I've got the shrimp and chicken quesadillas down pat.)

We had high hopes for a very small restaurant that opened up in town last year.... fresh food, a different non-country-style, non-Tex-Mex menu.... but as the restaurant got more popular, the prices went up and the portions went down, and suddenly we were paying for frozen food cooked to order, and desserts that had been sitting there days too long.  We even gave that place another try a couple of months ago..... nothing had changed, so we're not going back.

So we drive 45 miles to College Station, which is the largest town around here, and that's not saying much at all because College Station is still a small town. However... they do have some very nice restaurants that remind us of the places we miss in Houston and Clear Lake. And, wonder of wonders, the restaurants up there are even open for dinner.   We drive up there and take care of some errands (the stores and shopping centers are similar to those in Clear Lake, plus they have a real bookstore).... and then we go out for lunch. Not only do we eat lunch, but we bring home some to-go orders... and then we can have real Chinese food at our own table during the week without having to drive the 45 miles again.

There is not, however, a Greek restaurant in College Station. Closest Greek restaurant is in Houston, I guess, which is nearly two hours away. Give me a blessed break.  During our driving trip last week, we found Greek restaurants in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. You would think that at some point in Greek history, at least a few of those wise old Greeks would have found their way to the Hill Country of Texas....

Trip notes...

There is a diner in Edison, New Jersey that was fantastic--- "Pantagis Greek Diner."  Delicious food, wonderful desserts (which we didn't have because we were too full after dinner).

Left turns seem to be against the traffic laws in New Jersey.... can't tell you how many No-Left-Turn signs we saw while driving there.  However, the Jersey traffic gods did come up with a solution.... you make a right turn on a cup-handle shaped road which allows you to make a safer left turn, with a traffic light instead of on your own discretion.

The Thomas Edison National Historic Park in West Orange, New Jersey should be on everyone's must-see list. Edison's laboratories were fascinating, and his library was beyond description. I bought a book about Edison there..... "The Wizard of Menlo Park," by Randall Stross.  We couldn't tour Edison's home because it's only open on certain days.... the photographs of that wonderful old house make me want to go there again when the mansion is open for visitors.

We stayed at B&B rooms all along the way during our trip. My advice is to get to your B&B before dark.... most of those rural roads are not brightly lit, tree branches obscure the street signs, and it's hard reading the directions with a flashlight or the little teeny light above the rear-view mirror. (Obviously, our rental car didn't have a GPS.)

In Downingtown, PA, we found "The Olive Tree," another Greek-owned restaurant. Honestly, you can't ever go wrong with Greek restaurants, cafes, diners... the food is always fresh and homemade, the service is usually very good, and they're more than happy to welcome you because they "get it"---- they want you to enjoy your meal, remember their restaurant, and come back the next time you're in town.

We went to The National Christmas Center (somewhere in PA)..... didn't take the tour of the decorated rooms because from the photographs we saw, it wasn't anything so outstanding to merit the cost of admission. Our own home is over-the-top decorated for the holidays, and there's no admission charge.

In York, PA.... another Greek-owned restaurant: "The South York Diner."  Delicious foods, outstanding service, beautiful just-baked desserts that we didn't try--- too full from the meal, plus we had miles to drive to get to Maryland. One of these days, I'm going to just bite the bullet and order a dessert instead of a meal. (Maybe that should have been "bite the cake" instead of the bullet.)

Whenever we travel, I call my husband "The Great Santini."  He prints out a meticulously planned itinerary that includes interesting places to see, highly recommended restaurants for good food, and there's always a surprise or two along the way--- like all the independently owned bookstores he found in the Baltimore
area.

One of those bookstores had two cats, by the way--- one named Sinclair (Lewis), and the other named Pierre (Salinger).  You just can't have a really good nostalgic bookstore without a cat. It's in the rule book somewhere, I'm sure.

Maryland

We drove to Maryland to see my friend V, whom I've known since high school. We were best friends way back then, all through high school and a few years beyond, but then lost touch when we both moved out of NY state.  With the magic of computers, we re-connected some years ago, picked up right where we left off, and we've been constantly in touch and best-friends-again ever since. Last week's visit was the second time my husband and I have gone to Maryland to spend time with V and her husband and daughter.

We had dinner one night at a Greek restaurant owned by friends of V and A's, we spent some time at the local shopping centers, we drove to nearby parks which have vintage carousels, and spent a lot of time around their kitchen table just talking and laughing and enjoying ourselves.  As the husbands talked and laughed, V and I kept looking at one another and we were both thinking "This is great... this is just great!"

On Sunday, we spent a gorgeous day in the town of Kensington, which hosts "Antique Row"--- streets filled with shop after shop offering antiques of all kinds, at all price ranges. Of course, I found an antique volume of etiquette, which I'll read cover to cover and then add to my shelf of vintage etiquette books.

My husband had compiled a list of independently owned bookstores in the Baltimore area, and we went to five of them... I had to re-arrange my suitcase drastically to accommodate the twelve books that I bought during our seven-day adventure.  I can collect books more quickly than I can read them, but I do intend to read them all.

There was one morning at V's house that she and I both walked into her kitchen wearing nearly identical tops with our Capri-style slacks... we looked at each other and laughed out loud. The same thing happened the last time we visited there..... and we just smiled and laughed because all through high school, we'd buy clothes that were often similar or identical to one another's choices. Some things just never change, and that's comforting.

It was great to see V again....... and I'm hoping that next year, she and her husband and daughter will come down to Texas to spend some time with us here.  V's daughter C is so similar to our own special Miss C... same personality, same enthusiasm, same sense of fun, and they're even the same age. I just know that both girls will get along so well once they meet.

Pennsylvania

We drove into Pennsylvania to see The Mercer Museum in Doylestown.... one man's extraordinary collection of artifacts.... hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of items that he amassed in his lifetime are now on display.  Henry Chapman Mercer set out to collect artifacts which depicted every-day life in America before the industrial revolution.  By the time you get through that museum, your head is just spinning and you're thinking it may be time to clean out your garage.

Fonthill Castle was built by Henry Mercer.... the entire castle is built from concrete and tile (he was a designer and manufacturer of decorative tiles). We toured the castle, which is a labyrinth of rooms and stairways... and I'd say 85% of it all was concrete studded with beautifully painted and decorated tilework. The castle itself sits on park-like grounds, which gave me a different viewpoint for our own house, which sits on 23 acres. I need to think of this house as being in the middle of a big park, and then maybe I won't be so focused on the surrounding woods and the wildlife it contains.

In Columbia, PA, we went to the National Watch and Clock Museum..... beautiful museum filled with every sort of watch and clock you can think of.  The famous Engle Clock is there... it is eleven feet high, eight feet wide, three feet deep. It was built in 1878, after 20-years' worth of craftsmanship. Bells chime, music plays, figures move... a very inspiring and extraordinary endeavor in clock-making.

In a town called Oaks (near Valley Forge), there is the "American Treasure Tour," a guided-tram tour of over 100,000 square feet of space filled with nickelodeons, band organs, music boxes, classic automobiles, motorcycles, dolls and doll houses, animated store displays, circus and carnival memorabilia, patriotic and holiday decorations, toys and games......... you name it, it's probably in that building. And everything in there was collected by just one person, who prefers to remain anonymous. Once again, when we left that museum, our heads were spinning from everything we had just seen. The amount of stuff on display is mind-boggling, to say the least.

We drove through the Amish farm country, stopped at two general stores and had breakfast at a country-style buffet. And of course we bought a jar of Pennsylvania-Dutch style apple butter, to bring to our friends in Maryland. (Can't go near Lancaster without buying apple butter... it's the rule there.)

New Jersey

We were up in Montclair, NJ last week.... street after street filled with old and lovely Victorian homes. We stayed at a B&B in that town, a beautiful home built in 1895.  The view from the balcony on the second floor staircase was worth the price of a night's sleep there, and the home's owner reminded us of our friend V who lived next door to us in our Clear Lake house. Gorgeous vintage home, and staying there made us feel right at home during our stay.

We toured the Thomas Edison National Historic Park in West Orange, NJ.... my husband was over-whelmed with Edison's workshops and I was enthralled with Edison's three-story library. I stayed in that library for nearly an hour, just soaking up the ambiance in that beautiful room and looking at the books, the sculptures, the paintings, the extraordinary woodworking.

In Morristown, we went to The Morris Museum... beautiful displays of vintage music boxes (furniture-sized mechanical music boxes). One of the docents there played some of the music boxes not offered on the usual tours... which was a special treat.  That museum also boasts a very large display of animated musical figures, mostly made by the Swiss, the Italians, the Germans, with a few of them being American-made. Lovely museum.

We were lucky enough to find a Greek diner along the way, and we stumbled onto Cliff's homemade ice cream in Ledgewood.  Temperatures were in the 80s there... much more comfortable than the 100+ degrees we left here in Texas.

If we ever were to move to New Jersey, I'd be heading straight to the town of Montclair, and looking for a "For Sale" sign in front of one of those vintage Victorian homes.

Here's looking at you, kid...

We found out late last night that Lauren Bacall has passed away.  She was always one of my Aunt Dolly's favorite actresses, and between Bogart and Bacall, my Aunt Dolly has seen all of their movies countless times over the years, and never gets tired of them. (At 101 years old, my aunt is still watching those movies.)

How could anyone 'get tired' of Bogart and Bacall anyway?  I loved watching all those old black/white movies with my Aunt Dolly when I was a kid, and then again in my tiny NY apartment when I was working at the library years ago. Bogart, Bacall, and popcorn... a good mix, with beautiful memories.

Just as Bogart was one-of-a-kind, so was Lauren Bacall. She was "a class act," as my dad would say.

"Here's looking at you, kid."

Robin Williams

We've been out of town for a week, and on our last day away, we heard about Robin Williams. So very sad, to lose such a talented man at such a young age. My husband and I saw Robin Williams' one-man show in Houston a while back, and he was just terrific, as he always seemed to be.

When we got back home tonight, we heard that Robin Williams had been depressed, and he killed himself by hanging..... what an awful, and probably slow, way to end his life. Your heart just has to go out to his family, his children, his friends.

Just goes to show you.... no matter how happy and smiling and talented and successful a person seems to be on the outside, you just never know what's happening on the inside.

Robin Williams will be truly missed... he was a one-of-a-kind talent.

Be nice. Be kind.

I don't often write about political things here, or current horrible events that we can all see on CNN....... this blog is not a town-hall, political-minded page. However, there is more than enough nonsense going on around the world these days..... every night while listening to O'Reilly, I sit there and shake my head at the senseless and thoughtless acts of different groups of people who are living on this planet.

Note to everyone:  We are all sharing this one planet. And it isn't as huge as you think. Whatever you're doing on one side of the world will sooner or later make waves on the other side of the world.  And just what kind of world would you like your children and grandchildren to live in?  One filled with hatred and apathy?  Or one filled with tolerance and empathy?

Note to everyone: PLAY NICE!!!!

Be kind. Be nice. Be thoughtful. Be tolerant. Be accepting. Just BE.... and let everyone else BE.

Instead of trying to get everyone in the world to believe as YOU believe, just be content with your own beliefs, and that should be enough for you to enjoy your own life without trying to manipulate everyone else's lives.

This planet has had more than its share of war, fighting, hatred, bigotry, arrogance.  We all need to remember history, and to learn NOT to repeat certain actions that can wipe out a country and its citizens.

Note to everyone: PLAY NICE!!!!!

Be kind. Be nice. Be thoughtful. Be tolerant. Be accepting.

Please, people. Please think of what kind of world you want for your children and your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren.  How you are living today will be the legacy you give to your family, your friends, your country, your world.

Play nice. Please. Just play nice.

The third floor....

This old house has three floors..... we turned the third floor into a library last year, and it's filled with bookshelves that line the walls, a small sofa and comfy chairs, and a few tables that hold open books, like my vintage volume of the Sherlock Holmes stories. How can you have a library without Sir Arthur Conan Doyle? Or Charles Dickens? Or Edith Wharton?

When I was eMailing my cousin F the other day, we got to talking about childhood memories, which made me remember the house I grew up in.  That particular house also had three floors, and the third floor was my playroom. I had bookshelves lining one wall, a play-kitchen on another wall, and Lionel trains set up on tracks in the middle of the floor.

In this house, I go up to the third floor library and dust the shelves, select books to read again, look through my journal of books that I've read, skim through the shelf of books that are waiting to be read, and re-arrange the mementos on the top of the shelves. I sit in the soft and cozy chairs that once were in my grandparents' enclosed porch, and I truly enjoy that room.

In the house I grew up in, I would go up to my third floor playroom and play library with my books, play teacher at my desk, play fashion designer with my dolls and their clothes, and wait till my father got home so we could play with the trains and make believe we were traveling out of Queens. ("All aboard for France!" my dad would say.)

When we moved out of that big old childhood home of mine, I missed the third floor of that house so much that it made me cry.

It has not escaped me that I've gotten back that third floor..... it's just bigger, in a bigger state, and it's filled with just books.  And I'm older. Oh well.

My dad would have loved the third floor of this big old house.