Sunday, June 19, 2005

Of Fancy Coffee and Seussian Houses

Thank you to those who commented on the sisters quilt, either here or via email. I've answered those I could privately and to the ones who have comment replies blocked, I'll just say thanks here. It's always encouraging to hear a little feedback. My day trip to Cincinnati yesterday was a lot of fun. The older I get, the more traveling takes out of me, so I'm feeling a little draggy today, but it was well worth it. I had a great time visiting with Sally Anne, Jim, Ron, and Becky. The promised trip to The Coffee Emporium was lovely and I was every bit as UNvirtuous as I said I would be. I had a medium Glacial coffee (I think that's what they called it...a blended iced coffee drink) called an Ohio River Mudslide, which involved adding chocolate and caramel to the coffee and milk and ice. Yum! The girl who made it was very artistic with the chocolate squiggles too. It was PRETTY. AND...I ate a lemon cupcake. That cupcake and drink probably made up about a week's worth of calories, but it was worth it. One of my favorite things about the trip to the coffee shop was that I got to see what Sally Anne calls The Mushroom House, which is across the street from the shop. And for once I actually had my camera at the right moment. Yay me! Take a look --- The Mushroom House After we got our coffee, Sally Anne drove around the block so we could get a closer look and I, acting every bit the tacky tourist, hung out the windows to snap some close-ups. Here's the FABULOUS window toward the back of the house. This shows the staircase and front door. Here is the amazing little sunroom that juts from the top of the "mushroom" in the front of the house. Isn't it wonderful?? Did you notice how the pair of window in the "mushroom" part looks like a pair of sunglasses? I love all the stained glass and I love the weirdly organic way the shingle siding has been applied. I love the strange angles and the mosaic covering on the chimney. I would SO love to see inside this place!! Just think how much more interesting the world would look if more houses had this sort of unique personality. The world would look kind of like a Dr. Seuss book. And in DebWorld, that is a Good Thing.