Lazy Girl Blog, Episode 5

 Inspiration Monet
Today we drove to Southold in search of a good restaurant for lunch. We passed Port of Egypt, which is a marina and also has a few restaurants and motels. We decided to stop at Allure, and found a table on the outside deck overlooking the water and boats.

I am wearing my hat from Rite Aid, vintage

green beads and vintage wood bracelet

which belonged to Richard's mother, Mildred.

It was a delightful al fresco lunch, a highlight of which was a watermelon, corn and feta salad. When we returned home, I continued to read and look at a fabulous book that I found in my landlady's library: Monet's Table - The Cooking Journals of Claude Monet.

The dining room at Giverny, Monet's home.

I love the yellow and blue motif.

The sun porch in our house was the ideal place to recline on the white wicker sofa and look at this book while dreaming of the beautiful food prepared in Monet's house. The farms and flowers of the North Fork offer a similar experience, but I will probably not tackle the recipes in the book although I may try Chicken in White Wine Sauce (Poulet à la périgourdine). It's simple enough.

 Flowers and zucchini at an Orient farm stand.

 Monet's tea table.

The Monet family loved to eat outside in fair weather.

 An Orient garden.

 Banana Ice Cream

La glace à la banane

This ice cream was served after the huge Christmas lunch.

It is turned out in a napkin on a serving plate.

 My favorite from the book --

Green Cake or

Vert-vert (green-green)

The two greens are spinach coloring for the fondant frosting

and pistachios for the cream filling.

Wild Sweet Pea on an Orient roadside.

I love the combination of green cake and pink flowers.

 A page from Monet's recipe journals.

Monet's decor would today be called "style".

A butterfly bush on an Orient farm.

If you want to make the Vert-vert cake,

I will send you the recipe.

(But you have to save me a piece.)

À Bientot!

Lazy Girl Blog, Episode 4

David's Sculpture Garden
My brother David is a talented guy. He's an actor, singer and director. He also paints. And he make found-object sculptures. One of my first stops on the North Fork was his barn on Horton's Lane in Southold. The barn itself is chocked full of furniture, antiques, paintings, bric a brac and what-have- you. People love to stop by and walk through. Looking at all the stuff can produce a trance-like state.

But it's outside, in the fields next to the barn, where one can wander among David's unique, found-object sculptures and truly become mesmerized.

David and one of his works.

The rusted aesthetic meshes with

the scruffy nature of the fields,

filled with weeds and stones.

 There is a desultory effect to the decor.

 "Cat on a Pedestal"

Found-object cat on logs surrounded by a

stone garden and Queen Anne's Lace.

 Front view of "Cat on a Pedestal" with

other small sculptures in the foreground.

 "Cat on a Pedestal" has a voodoo quality.

 "Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man"

 David did this sculpture in collaboration with his nephew,

Jack Wedge.

Tin Man looks out across the neighboring potato fields.

 A view of the park in its entirety.

 David's business affords him ample raw material 

to create his sculptures.

 "Double Faucet"

 "UFO Signal Receiver"

David told me that he has not as yet received

any signals.

"UFO Signal Receiver" detail.

The skies are very clear over Southold, so David

could get a message at any time now.

A concrete cylinder hangs from a

work to balance it.

 Believe it or not, this ball was a wedding gift to

Ibrahim and Eileen.

The fact that David has it now, does not

bode well for the marriage.

Guess it was the proverbial ball and chain.

Resource material awaiting inclusion

in a work of art.

 Wild raspberries in David's field.

The Landing.

Markel Estate Liquidators (MEL)

If you got an antique that you want to sell,

Just call MEL...

765-1973.

And don't miss --

David's Sculpture Garden!

À Bientôt!

Lazy Girl Blog, Post Three, 2014

The Flower Thief
She started thinking about it on the first afternoon that she was in the village. What if I sneaked into a neighbor's backyard and cut some flowers from their Hydrangea bush. It did not look like anyone was home. But then, the people in these small villages all have eyes in the back of their heads. It would be inevitable that she would be seen. And there would be consequences. Maybe even the police called.

So she tamped down the idea, and thought, "I will just write a story about it. I will be a virtual flower thief."

On a hot July morning, after a storm had blown through in the early hours, and the breeze was still cooling, she took a walk through the village. "I will photograph the flowers and have a record of them for my story," she thought. Of course, all of this was just thinking. Just like the fantasy romance that her friend, Cordelia, was having in her head. A real romance was out of the question. Cordelia was married. But who could stop her from having a fantasy romance? Exactly no one.

The first flowers that attracted her were pink roses against a white fence along the bay. She liked the faded ones as much as the one in prime bloom.

She usually had to buy roses from a florist. These would make such a luxurious addition to her bouquet. "Let's see," she thought, "what was it that Cordelia told me she did this past weekend with X. Ah yes, they went sailing."

She knew a short cut to the beach. The tall grass was newly mowed. It was easy to walk that way and quite pleasurable.

The wind was blowing and the air was fresh.

 "How wonderful," she thought.

She headed down the path to the beach.

 Now flowers were not on her mind. Only enjoying the moment.

 On her way back to her cottage she finished her bouquet.

 Yellow trumpets...

 Blue Chicory...

 Rose of Sharon...

Beach Plum blossoms...

and Hydrangeas.

After all, there were more than enough

 Hydrangeas to go around in the town.

À Bientôt!

Lazy Girl Blog, Post Two, 2014

Barn Style, Vineyard Style
and Vintage Style
I apologize, I did not do a post yesterday as promised. But we were very busy buzzing around Southold and Greenport all day. Our first stop was my brother, David's, barn on Hortons Lane. We were lucky to find him playing chess with a friend. David is organizing the barn so that all the interesting things he has collected over time from his estate-sale business are well displayed and accessible to visitors. I found a few things that I liked which David graciously gave to me.

 A tiny toy baby carriage made

out of metal.

A 1920s Art Deco

painting on leather.

A 1950s Mad Man style Dobbs Fedora

made of "Hankachif" (not a spelling error) felt.

I will have it cleaned and blocked for Richard.

After the barn, we drove to

Croteaux Vineyards in Southold

Croteaux is the only vineyard in the United States 

dedicated exclusively to Rosé.

I had seen their beautiful bottles at Noah's Restaurant in

Greenport

And of course, since we have visited Provence

and had marvelous Rosés there, I wanted to taste the Croteaux

Vineyard's wine.

I bought two bottles of their 2013 

Merlot Rosé.

It's an extremely charming place, with a tasting

garden and a boutique with French-themed beach clothes.

I wish I could have shown you some pictures,

but the owner would not me allow to take any.

Then it was back to Greenport for a visit

to Times Vintage...

 Times Vintage is housed in the 1886

Suffolk Times newspaper building.

Elizabeth, the shop's owner.

 Love hat boxes...

 A cute child's suitcase.

In the garden of Times Vintage

ready for Ascot.

Important announcement:

Coming soon...

David's sculpture garden.

À Bientôt!