remembrance

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"As you ask me about the dogs, I begin with them. The two Newfoundland dogs coming to meet me, with the usual carriage and the usual driver, and beholding me coming in my usual dress out at the usual door, it struck me that their recollection of my having been absent for any unusual time was at once cancelled. They behaved (they are both young dogs) exactly in their usual manner; coming behind the basket phaeton as we trotted along, and lifting their heads to have their ears pulled,—a special attention which they receive from no one else. But when I drove into the stable-yard, Linda (the St. Bernard) was greatly excited, weeping profusely, and throwing herself on her back that she might caress my foot with her great fore-paws. M.'s little dog, too, Mrs. Bouncer, barked in the greatest agitation, on being called down and asked, 'Who is this?' tearing round and round me like the dog in the Faust outlines."' Charles Dickens 1868

every thing that lived must be remembered

Moses collar stands in the hall on an urn

Bonham's auction here

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Millay on dogs

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photograph by Berthold Litjes

Parrots,
tortoises

&

redwoods 

live a longer life than men do; 

Men 

a longer life than dogs do; 

Dogs 

a longer life than love does.

edna saint vincent millay

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.                        

Moses circa 1823

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an Aesthete's Lament's latest post Cut and Paste-(here) marking the opening of Met's "Playing with Pictures: The Art of Victorian Photocollage, prompted me to post this little gem.

Though my little treasure is circa 2000-it still maintains a touch of the sentimental attachments that are characteristic of the Victorian photocollage. My treasured friend-Dorothy- who has done some extraordinary collages on this order presented this to me-it features my MOSES circa 1823.

here are delightful photographs of some of the works on display at the Met show from the NYTimes article Playing with Pictures here.
.

Queen for a Day, begging your Indulgence

we don't receive wisdom:

we must discover it for ourselves
after a journey
that no one can take for us
or spare us

PROUST

MY FAMILY TREE
A SWEETENED CONDENSED VERSION

THE LITTLE TUDOR
HOLIDAY 2008

MY BELOVED DADDIE
SUMMER GARDEN FROM THE PAST

MY ELDEST SIBLING PNT
SONGWRITER

LIZ MY NIECE
GRAPHIC ARTIST

JT MY NEPHEW
STUDENT & RAPPER

LIZ & JT

LIZ & PGT
NEW YORK TRIP

KCT BROTHER 2
CREATIVE DIRECTOR

JRG, BCT, KCT
FAMILY at an OBAMA Event 2008

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
SANDFORD PEELE & PGT

requiescat in pace 2008

ZETTA
GYPSY QUEEN

REMUS-THE CAT

MOSES WAITING
2008

my 50th

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Gucci Chew

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Gucci Chew

a tail of shoe woe

with Little known of dogs living in houses-
as I grew up they were housed
in dog houses.
Moses came my way-
not by bull rush,
but from a life unknown
that He wasn't spilling.

Your little inched tail fits well-around the porcelain
I suppose that you do Too-you Staffordshire Bull,
You do.

There is something undeniably compelling about Us 2
we'll have to adjust to things about which you
Must know-
You Must Not
Do.

I never dreamt there would be such losses-
little bits
but big bites,
a sweet little chair leg
a Bit of mohair- now less hair-there.

What got chewed- alas, was a shock none the less.
One pale pink Gucci shoe- Now a chew.
That "G" got chewed ragged, its mate spared somehow-
The bull didn't care.

Oh Moses!
"G(ee)"
Did you have to ?
Just 1 shoe chewed?
what did that shoe ever do
to You?

Did it have to be the newest of my new shoes
you took as your chew?
What do I do with just 1 good shoe-
Un chewed?

Both shoes were tossed in a basket
Could they be worn at dusk ?
in a crowd?
in a hurry?

Maybe on dog walks-
just us 2.
Tugging along both
victim and thief.
Guilty of dog Love
that would be
Me.

Moses- dog gone October 9, 2008.

this delightful photograph "slipper thief" by Susan Mac.

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my other Library...

now I know- it is a Bedroom, but as you can see it is my library too, and No- I don't have any trouble sleeping in this stimulatingly book heavy environ.


This Headboard has been around.


The wooden chandelier has too.


A slight nod to Pauline de Rothschild's pillow shams in one of her guest rooms, these via my own Guest Bedroom because Zetta likes to lounge in that room and has a slight fetish for silk satin ribbon. In here- less so- because typically the bed doesn't get made up quite so pretty like.


My current reading list spread around a bit. Right now I am reading EF Benson's Lucia surprise! to le style et la matiere).


Studying an interesting color scheme for an equestrian client. Surprise!


Yes, it's a little disheveled, but so is my desk- I am consistent anyway.


It can't all be books.


In fact, I keep my Fortuny in the bedroom.



My Fortuny etching, that is.



& of course my Reading companions.

Zetta.
Loves DRAMA.


Zetta wanting to be alone in the Guest Room.


Remus, tends to like SUSPENSE, especially when leaping off the headboard at 2 a.m.


Moses -aged and departed scholar, slept through most novels.


He also had the bedroom, minus the bookcases, moved down to the Dining Room- his last year and a half of life- since he could not make the steps. I always thought He must have been tuned in and came to this idea from one of my favorite novel's The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. Wharton's Mrs. Manson Mingott, could no longer climb her stairs and lived on the main floor of her New York mansion. Visitors of the dowager tried not to notice- though it shocked- there sat the lady's bed in plain view. Things have changed since the Age everyone seemed to understand Moses presence here.

He indeed slowed , But still slept in the middle of the bed, He did, however, know how to keep a secret.

lingering near

place of honor near my working desk -Moses- by Patricia van Essche

corner of the gardens at Melbourne Hall-photographed by Tobias Harvey

What thou lovst well remains.

The rest is dross-

What thou lovst well shall not be

reft from thee-

erza pound

TOP DOG

We all have favorites. I have always loved magazines- a favorite thing and a favorite thing to take up for a nap or to go through a stack by the couch on a Sunday afternoon. As a child, I remember going through my grandmother's House and Garden's and watching her dog ear the pages with her "likes." I can not imagine my world without books or magazines- and I have a horde of both-to the extreme- of them to prove it. I am slowly going through each one. "Oh! I can't get rid of that one, this one can't be defaced"- it is a painful, painstaking task. What's worse is the lost copies- being neglected for month or two and discovering it or remembering something great I've seen and loved and not being able to find the magazine I saw it in. I can always remember what magazine it is in- it's just finding it that is HARD. I think I am making strides in editing my collections and then I look in the lower bookcases or elsewhere and it doesn't appear so. In starting this blog though and pondering doing it for a year- I have been preparing.

My FAVORITE HG cover is this one from November 1996 . The gorgeous creatures posing belong to John Rosselli, well known antiquarian in the design and antique world.

I agree with Rosselli- give your dogs free range in the house. You can't expect dogs to know it all- so you have to show them the ropes, let them know what's expected and they usually won't disappoint. To make life easier for both me and Zetta, she has inherited "fur" throws, several paisley stoles, two toile fabric throws and a number of Indian cotton bedspreads from my "gone to heaven" dog- MOSES. Forgiving oriental rugs and sisals help with the daily appearance of those dog hairs- of course a vacuum is ideal- but not for everyday living.

my new dog Zetta


Rosselli and whippet Elizabeth




Objet' dogs in Rosselli's home


Rosselli's Dogs-what a terrific picture!



Little Pink and Silver Dog Card:

One of my cards listed on etsy featuring pink flocked leaves on a silver ground and gray ribbon. Inside the card says:
"The dog was created especially for children. He is the god of frolic." Henry Ward Beecher