The Dignified Rant

THE DIGNIFIED RANT

My Art Tour

Conservatory

Ok, this is really the stairwell leading upstairs. But it is really tall (and when one of the bulbs high up on the wall blows, I simply cannot reach it...) with a large window on the west wall that lets in sunlight in the afternoon. I have a book shelf here and a corner with plants and a fountain, and several little decorative things. Like candles Mister has given me, some small kiln-fired pieces he made, and other little bits including a small Russian-themed vase I picked up at the art fair. This always seems like a nice place to plop a beanbag chair and read. I don't have the time and Mister has yet to do it, but it could be done.

I have a number of pieces here. From the bottom leading up, you can see a plate stripped from a book showing a distant view of the Battle of Gettysburg. I really like the frame I chose, too:

Further up is another plate from the same book, this time showing "the defence of Champigny" in the Franco-Prussian War. It has the same gold-leaf frame as the Gettysburg picture:

The third plate I stripped from the book is one of the Battle of Solferino in 1859 between Austria and the French and Piedmont:

At the landing, there is the bookcase with candles on top and a picture of a reception at George Washington's Mount Vernon. It is a color plate from some book and completes the gold leaf frame series. The flags were captured from the British at Trenton in the Revolution:

The corner of the landing is water-themed. There is an original painting by Jack Shoemaker that I picked up at the Art Fair. It is the only original (well, there is one more ...) that I own. It is very soothing. I like his stuff. I actually used to have a couple of his pieces but they are at Mister's mom's house now. Anyway, I like it:

In the corner, I have a corner stand and three small tables. The tables have plants on the flanks and a little rock and wooden ship piece in the center. The ship and rock piece is made from rocks that Mister and I collected from the island that his mom's dad owns in Canada over a base of gravel that Mister "collected" from his school playground. Boy was I glad to find a use for this "collection." Add blue aquarium rocks for the water look and the wooden crafty ship and voila. A small fountain and another climbing vine plant are on the corner shelf unit with decorative stuff strewn about. The fountain completes the water theme with appropriate sounds and movement:

Finally, we have a classic Monet print of a Japanese garden featuring a foot bridge over water lillies:

I hated to waste all this space and I like what I did with it.

From here you can go to the first floor entry to see the main areas or up to the second floor. If you go up you may first go to my room. If single and female, I have an almost uncontrollable urge to announce that we can see my "etchings." And what are "etchings" anyway? For all I know, I have some. Or you can head to Mister's bedroom or his bathroom first.

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