Sunrise at Old Hilltop

One of the traditions the week of the Preakness is attending “Sunrise at Old Hilltop”, Old Hilltop being the traditional name of Pimlico Racecourse. While the event begins at 6:00 a.m, we didn’t arrive until about 7:15, which was early enough to watch some of the horses go through their gallops. We listened to some of the trainers talk about their strategies, although there were so many children there, I didn’t pick up any hot tips. We then went to the Jockeys’ Changing Rooms, where a valet walked us through the pre-race process. Jockeys are very small in flat races, and weight is everything. The valet told us about the jockeys sitting in the 160* sauna for several hours, coated in salt and oil, trying to sweat off those last few pounds.    He talked about their helmets, which are covered by nylon caps which match their silks. And the silks are extremely important, as you can see by this notice. The jockeys wear several pairs of goggles at a time, depending on how muddy the course is. As you might imagine, there’s dirt and mud being kicked up by all of the other horses, and so the jockeys are constantly flipping their goggles up. There are dozens and dozens of pairs of goggles everywhere, and we each got a pair.

The valet showed us the saddles which are tiny. They can weigh as little as five pounds and if the jockey needs more weight to make up the handicap weight, they can add pieces of lead to pockets on the saddle. Although you might think the wonderful black jockeys’ boots are of the finest leather, they’re really paper thin, just to save them weight. Each rider also has several whips, some are stiffer than others, and each has a favourite. The valet mentioned that after each race, the jockeys come up to the changing room, get out of their silks, sponge off from the prior race, put their dirty silks in a laundry bag, get dresses again in new silks and head down to mount up again. The time between races is pretty short, so if a valet has several jockeys, it’s a real challenge.

After that, we headed over to the barns to see some of the contenders. The Preakness stalls are set up especially for the big race, and on Saturday, the stalls will be filled with straw and hay, and the horses will be saddled here and then taken out to the course.

The barns are all freshly painted and have loads of hanging baskets, flowers and plants to cheer the place up. We had a chance to see Goldencents being washed down after his workout by his groom. There was a nice piece in the New York Times today about the life of a groom – particularly this groom, Dagoberto Lopez. Here. We also had a chance to meet Goldencents’ jockey, Kevin Krigger, the first African-American jockey to have a chance to win a Triple Crown race since 1902. Kevin’s a pretty incredible jockey, and has been aboard Goldencents on all of the horse’s seven wins. Kevin has won 937 races, with earnings of nearly $18 million! He was the most charming man, and answered our questions easily and patiently.   There’s a great story about Kevin here. I wish him all the best, preferably second place, mainly because I want the hometown-ish horse, Orb to win!

It was a great morning and I managed to get to the office before 8:45 .m. I will look forward to watching the race on Saturday afternoon!

Oh, Darling

One of the most gratifying and amazing things about writing this blog is the people whom I have met through it, not to mention some of the adventures I’ve had. One of those amazing things started almost a year ago, when I received an e-mail from a fellow blogger, telling me that he would be visiting Baltimore and that he’d like to get together.

So I threw a small party for him and his partner, and we all got along famously. We drank. We talked. We laughed. We ate. We drank, talked, laughed and laughed and laughed. It was a brilliant evening, just full of love and admiration. So now I am headed up his way this weekend, and the timing is quite fortuitous.

The house where I will be staying has just been published in Architectural Digest. And Boy, is it gorgeous!Simply incredibly gorgeous. I haunted the shops until the June issue of Architectural Digest arrived and then tore through it in the check-out line.

The colours are beautiful. Soft where they should be soft and vibrant where they need to be vibrant.

Pattern, prints, stripes and colour all play well together.

A stunning, classical house, a perfect setting and a wonderful couple who own it.

It’s just darling… Reggie Darling.

Wander on Over

My friend David at McLain-Wiesand  has been doing some interesting work at his furniture shop, and I thought you might head over to his blog and show them some love!

This is their PXE (say it like pixie) table. Three layers of glass, and lots of pixie sticks to make the base.Dering Hall featured it as one of their May PX (say it like picks).

A new addition to both the furniture line and the family is Lillian!It’s a take on a conventional Parsons table, but with curved ends and hand-printed marbelized paper, and finished in gorgeous gold leaf. The best thing is that this table can be customized in any shape.

A new favourite of mine is this dresser, done in a stained parchment, with bone handles.

When you take a good look at it, it’s really quite a classic style.

Several of McLain-Wiesand’s custom lights were used in a show-house in Atlanta recently.

This is how the lights look at regular scale.

Go on over and check out their blog, here and see how talented this group is!

Tell’em I sent you!

The {Not So} Great Gatsby?

Two years ago, on this blog, I questioned the wisdom of filming The Great Gatsby in 3D, and further, having Cary Mulligan as Daisy. Check it out here. Now that the film is in theatres, and has received less than positive reviews, I feel that my original apprehensions have been borne out. I have heard a bit of the soundtrack from the film, and think that having Jay-Z doing some of the music is rather discordant. I can get behind Bryan Ferry, ex of Roxy Music, doing some of his old songs like “Love is a Drug” as well as “Back to Black” by Amy Winehouse, as jazz standards, since he’s done that before.

Have you seen the new Great Gatsby? What did you think? I might go see it, but I have to find some time!

I’ve Got a Secret!

A Trade Secret, that is!  I am heading north this weekend to attend the annual Trade Secrets show in Sharon, Connecticut with some amazing friends I met in Blogland.

If you don’t know Trade Secrets, it’s the brainchild of the fabulous Bunny Williams. It’s a rare plant and garden antiques sale, followed by a day of garden tours, that benefits Women’s Support Services, a non-profit organization founded in 1981 that provides services to persons in the northwest corner of Connecticut who have experienced domestic violence or abuse.

It’s the go-to place for everyone in the trade this weekend, from Martha Stewart to… well, to me!My hosts have advised me to check the weather carefully, and come prepared for a warm and sunny day with a big hat, or a chilly and wet day with a jacket and rain boots, like those gals pictured above.

More than 60 vendors are represented at Trade Secrets, which started 13 years ago as a small plant sale at Bunny Williams’ house.

Some old favourites, like Pennoyer Newman are going to be there, and lots of new vendors that I don't know, and can’t wait to see!

I am packing up the car, charging my camera batteries and heading north and I can’t wait!!!

10 Buildings That Changed America

If you’ve read this blog for more than a week, then you know I am fascinated with architecture. So this new PBS offering “10 Buildings That Changed America” has me intrigued. Luckily, PBS sent me a preview copy, and I can highly recommend it.

Some of the buildings they’ve chosen are surprising, and might not be the ones I’d have chosen. First up is the Thomas Jefferson-designed capitol building in Richmond, Virginia. This wasn’t an obvious choice. That would have been either Monticello or the University of Virginia’s main campus. The building was modeled on a classical temple and was a huge departure from English architecture of the day.

Another surprising pick was the Ford Plant, now derelict, in Highland Park, Michigan. The space had to have the room for an assembly line,

and this Albert Kahn-designed building, filled with light and air, was the model for thousands of other buildings just like it. I am sure you’ve seen one or two.

Of course, there had to be a Frank Lloyd Wright house on this list, and the one they chose was the Robie house outside of Chicago. The flat roof and long low look was a huge departure from the Victorian houses of the period.

To see the rest of the buildings, or to watch the show, check your local PBS listings.

Pagoda House

There was a house listed in the New York Times’ real estate section that no fewer than five people sent me the link.

It’s called the Pagoda House and its main feature is a pagoda-like roof on one of the wings. The house is in Blackheath, a village in southeast London and is nearly adjacent to 200+ acres of parklands.

The designer was Sir William Chambers, the architect to King George III; the earliest part of the house, dates to the late 1760s, and was used by Caroline, Princess of Wales, the estranged wife of George, Prince of Wales.

The paneling in the entry hall is English oak in the arts and crafts style. I love the orange sofa and the ginger jar pillow. Looks like it’s Scalamandré's La Dame Aux Camelias print. 

In the drawing room, the paneling is Western Red Cedar and the floors are English oak. I am not quite sure what to say about the ceiling, and neither, it seems, is the New York Times.

Another oak floor, with paneling from the early 20th century, and pray to god, another odd ceiling. It’s almost too smooth and too white to be the original plaster. The dining room table looks like it belongs in a conference room, and the chairs are too low for it. 

I must say, it’s not too often that you see both an Aga stove and a disco ball in the same kitchen! Great built-in Asian influenced closets and drawers. Great Manuel Canovas wallpaper. Not great together.

I love the pale pink walls, the crown moulding and the coved ceiling. I think I would pick out the detail in a nice bright glossy white paint.

Seriously, if this was my house, this would be my bedroom. It’s got views over London and amazing windows. I wouldn’t care if the loo was all the way down the hall! And it’s got hand-painted Chinoiserie wall paper!

I love the little canal water feature in the back garden. The house is on the market £2.975  million.

The Portraits

I have a new job and part of what I am doing is writing the history of medicine in Maryland.  As you might have noticed, I like history, historical houses, antique furniture and old things. So this job is perfect.

I work in a building built in 1909 specifically for our organization. I am surrounded by old books, including the four-story “stacks” library. Old books are everywhere, in fact. I found several books printed in 1724 on the shelves in my office.

Our CEO found this topper in a box in his closet and now it’s in my office. It fits perfectly!

But the one project that’s taking most of my time right now is matching the dozens of portraits of former presidents of our organization with their biographies, which I am also researching.

Some bright spark decided to remove all of the name plates and plaques from the portraits, which number more than 100. While we do have an inventory and appraisal of the portraits, it’s not illustrated!

Many of the plates were hand-painted, either on brass or on wood. Even though the brass ones have tarnished over the years, you can still read the names on them, and you can see where the paint is flaking off some of the brass ones. The John Archer plate is just beautiful, isn’t it?

I thought I’d show you a small sample of some of the men that I work with!  This is who shares my office. He’s probably been dead for 100+ years, so he’s a good mate to have around.  Nice and quiet.

Here’s another one near my office.

He’s kind of sad, but I am sure he was a lovely man!

This is one of my favourites.

Lest you think it’s only a men’s club, there are some gals… mostly wives and daughters.

Very strong jawline!

I am kind of fond of this guy…  I see him on the way to and from the loo!

Apparently, this chap has quite the collection of early 19th century furniture in the Met in NYC!

Poor thing, the gash in the painting’s not doing him any favours.

Very prosperous looking, this one!

I can’t decide which is scarier – the eyebrows or the hair!

I am a big fan of this guy!

As I move forward with this project, I will be updating you about it, and about our amazing links to Baltimore’s, Maryland’s and the nation’s history!