Shop Windows of Paris

(Photos taken by Cassandra)

On a recent trip to Paris during “Fashion Week,” I thoroughly enjoyed the many shopping and “window shopping” opportunities.  The French term for window shopping, faire du lèche-vitrine, translates directly as “to go window licking.” Of course the shop windows were filled with fabulous fall haute couture, but I chose to photograph some more varied items during my three days of walking the streets of Paris…

Au revoir!

A Very Special Carousel

This past weekend, while attending an annual folk music festival, I photographed a local treasure situated near my home just outside Washington, DC: the beautiful, almost antique, Glen Echo Carousel.  The carousel is entering its 91st May through September season of delighting young and old at Glen Echo Park.

The Glen Echo Carousel Building

This "menagerie carousel" was created in 1921 by the Dentzel Carousel Company of Germantown, Pennsylvania.  The 28 jumping horses, 12 standing horses,  12 menagerie animals (1 giraffe, 1 lion, 4 ostriches, 4 rabbits, 1 tiger & 1 deer) and 2 chariots - as well as the canopy - in this large three row carousel were hand wood-carved and painted.  Still in its original location, the carousel is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and received the National Carousel Association's Historical Carousel Award in 2005.

A carousel restoration and fairground art specialist, Rosa Ragan, completely restored the aging carousel and its wonderful Wurlitzer 165 band organ to their original beauty and splendor over a 20 year period ending in 2006.  Ragan developed a new process of uncovering the original paint, recording the colors and design, and then covering the original paint with a reversible varnish before giving each animal a white base coat and repainting it in the original colors.  She left a small "window to the past" of the original 1921 paint on the inward-facing side of each animal for riders to find.

Cassandra's Favorites!

The Canopy

Something Old & Interesting: Boot Scrapers

On a recent trip to Philadelphia to visit my daughter, while walking in the antique district, I encountered the wonderful antique cat boot scraper above near 17th & Pine Streets.

Before the advent of the automobile, horses provided most transportation and very few streets were paved, thus all manner of foul substances could be tracked into one’s home. During the 17th through 19th centuries, a common antidote to this unpleasantness was use of a boot scraper (a.k.a. foot scraper or boot cleaner) located on or near a home’s front stoop to clean one’s shoes or boots before entering through the doorway. Most were constructed from cast iron by blacksmiths or, after the mid-1800s, by foundries.

As you can see, boot scrapers can be found in many shapes and styles –some more functional and simple:

and others quite decorative and creative!

I am hoping to photograph more interesting antique boot scrapers during an upcoming visit to historic Charleston, South Carolina…

To see more 18th and 19th century Old City Philadelphia boot scrapers, click here.

Cassandra's Antique Bootscrape, inherited from her Grandmother Lavenua...

Fit for a Poet’s Finest Thought ~ Clouds…

(The YouTube video below by the son
of a dear friend
inspires this posting.

Thank you dear friend and son!)

Low-anchored cloud,

Newfoundland air,

Fountain-head and source of rivers,

Dew-cloth, dream-drapery,

And napkin spread by fays;

Drifting meadow of the air,

Where bloom the daisied banks and violets…

Henry David Thoreau

(Be sure to click on the large circular button on my playlist at the bottom of this webpage to turn off

my blog’s music before watching & listening to this beautiful time-lapse video!)

...frail white lambskins

grazing

on blue meadows

between

sky and earth...

Ursulla Gressmann

Caught by Cassandra on the Ashley River near Charleston, SC

White sheep, white sheep,

On a blue hill,

When the wind stops

You all stand still

When the wind blows

You walk away slow.

White sheep, white sheep,

Where do you go?

Christina Rossetti

Bring the red cloud from the sun

While he sinketh, catch it.

That shall be a couch,---with one

Sidelong star to watch it,---

Fit for poet's finest Thought,

At the curfew-sounding…

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Caught by Cassandra at dusk in Grand Cayman

FLORIDA!

During the past three months my responses to the many lovely blogs I follow, as well as postings on Cassandra Considers, have been substantially lessened due to an exciting new project with which my husband and I were blessed in October: our new winter home located near the Gulf of Mexico in beautiful Florida!

Thus far, I have made three quick trips to our home to oversee renovations and to begin purchasing furniture. It will be a work in progress for months to come, but one that will give us much pleasure and enjoyment as we also take time to explore the historical, natural, culinary and cultural gifts of the Sarasota area.

Please enjoy the photos below, which I have been able to capture so far, of the amazing Florida sunsets (as seen over the lagoon behind our home and from the Gulf shoreline) and the varied flora and fauna of our area.

Oleander

Great Egret on the Lake Behind our House

Coastline View along the Tampa Bay

A Colony of Black Skimmers on the Gulf Coast of Lido Key

Ambling Around Austin...