Shelter for Haiti

It's 4:30 AM, pouring with rain and the dog (Polly) refuses to leave the shelter of the big conifer to come inside. I'm about to lose my patience when Laura reminds me that millions in Haiti are still homeless. I feel ashamed.
Go visit Laura who is actually doing something to help in the way of another fabulous bag-of-goodies auction while I try and entice the dog indoors with a snack...

House Art

We are celebrating 2010 with some new art. The Homes for the Holidays show at Ripe Art Gallery finished so these two pieces, House in Flight and Anthill we had purchased by artist and author Nadine Bouler came home to The Cool House just before the work week started.



And with them these two images of The Cool House. I asked Nadine to paint one, and got a bonus picture full of surreal imagery to display with it.

At the moment they are leaning gracefully against the walls in the great room and the dining room but hopefully Nadine will stop by in a week or so and we can decide on a permanent place to display all four as a group. They are very detailed works and the two Cool House paintings are full of wit and symbolism specifically about the house, The Guy and me - they need to be viewed close up. But even in their less than ideal locations you can see what drew me to Nadine's work. Click to embiggen and enjoy!

By Land or By Sea*... with the help of a glass of Pinot Noir

A couple of creative bloggers and their significant others joined The Guy and me on an international voyage with an American twist at CREW Kitchen* in Huntington Harbor (Halesite) last night. An evening of hilarity and great food with a glass or two of wine (and beer) ensued, followed by a quick trip to Holland and the Scottish Isles back at The Cool House. I didn't take my camera with me (bad, bad blogger) so you'll have to rely on the photo essays of the Fabulous Graphic Designer and the Amazing Artist and Author for the fully illustrated version. Did we have a good time? Today I'm making restorative Chicken Soup while my liver has a chance to recover, so yes I think it was simply splendid evening...
*Five course tasting menu - choice of all meat or all fish, or do what the renegades do and mix and match; there's also a wine flight pairing. As always, the staff are super-accommodating - and the crab balls come highly recommended!
*Decor at CREW by the Awesome Designer, Julie Napoleon Brown

Hah!

So with The Great Interview Experiment comes the payback - the bit where someone interviews me. That sorry task fell to the very thoughtful and amusing Ozma whose blog title sums it all up: Hah!. You should check out her blog - you never know who you'll run into in the comments section...

Homes for the Holidays

I couldn't leave the whiney, moaning post up front any longer - on to brighter, more positive topics. The wonderfully creative author and painter Nadine Bouler of Bouler Design Group dropped in to The Cool House yesterday bringing an invitation to the opening of her latest show Homes for the Holidays at The Ripe Gallery on December 5th.


Her last show explored houses as emotions and the new works are also house-themed. The paintings are intricate, atmospheric, whimsical in a good way, with just a hint of danger. Almost as soon as I saw the butterfly landing the aqua villa I said "I should ask you to paint this house", and as simply as that a project was born. I can't wait to see what Nadine has in mind for this house - which angle she'll choose to portray, if it will be a night painting and which animal or insect will find it's way into the frame. Whatever she decides I know we'll be able to see in it far more than just a house... which is, perhaps, just a little disconcerting.

Tomorrow

Maybe tomorrow we'll see Connecticut but today we just have to believe it's there.

If You liked KC You're Gonna Love Kansas

So by now you have realised that I was in Kansas City for a couple of days. The raison d'etre for the midwest excursion was a little business and a visit to the renowned Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art but I grabbed the chance to take a side trip into Kansas to meet with home builder and food blogger Marilyn of Simmer Till Done in the "coolest college town in the US".
I've been following Marilyn since her house blogger days, admiring her design aesthetic and vicariously enjoying the thrill of the chase as she tracked down plumbing fittings, vintage hardware and decorative items on ebay. What kept me reading was her writing; her turn of phrase and wry humor that permeated every post. Towards the end of construction she began to post the recipes and mouth-watering photographs of food that eventually became Simmer Till Done.
Let me tell you that in real life she doesn't disappoint. Meeting Marilyn was like catching up with an old friend; so many stories to share, experiences to expand upon, blogs we love and bloggers we know. We talked as we toured the town, I learned the history and fun facts (the town grid is made up of numbered streets crossed with states in the order they joined the union); we chatted as I explored her beautiful house and met her lovely family including the famous Cleo and wandered back into town for coffee. Five hours later we were still talking. Here's just a taste:


Perfect bites of happiness: She baked Rugelach and sent me home with a doggy bag full.


She's a bit of an alchemist, turning simple ingredients into homemade Limoncello and other flavored liqueurs - smooth and sweet with an unexpected kick at the finish


She showed me this breadboard in real life


and took me to a bank to eat artisanal antipasti and salad. A side note: Do you know how difficult it is to eat when you just can't stop talking?
Another fun fact to finish? Her town has some 90,000 residents. Marilyn seems to know each and everyone personally - either that or it is also the friendliest town in the midwest!

Reading about blogs and more pink..

A while ago I challenged six bloggers to write about Six Uninteresting Things That Made Them Happy. Let's check in and see what they are up to.
From ThirteenEleven: I learned something today about Pink. Like who is responsible for those pink 50s bathrooms? Mamie Eisenhower, that's who... Who knew?
Over at the House on Red Hill S has been catching up on her blog reading but hasn't yet throught of 6 things that make her happy...
Just Off the Taconic did post her list and some pretty photos to go with it
Nadine at Bouler Design Group got her 6 things in early and is now having literary thoughts
Heidi at faboolosity is having an existential moment
Kathleen is beautifying the yard over at House Things I Like
What are you up to today?