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A French-Inspired Garden and Home by Judith Stringham

Whisper Mountain ~ Life Is Good, Part 1

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Whisper Mountain - Part 1

Outdoor Spaces


Life is good.  Summertime in Alabama with rain, evening breezes, and homegrown tomatoes whispers quietly about living unhurriedly with time for friends, family, laughter, and reflection. 
However, mid-August is humid from the summer rains and makes one long for cooler weather. As my sister, my brother, and I spent time together this August, we found ourselves talking about a short trip to the mountains. 

Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina has been on my sister's list of places to visit for many years.  Each time we were at home in Alabama she would ask, "How far is it to Biltmore?  How long does it take to drive there from here?  Do you think we could go while we're here?"  Then we would get caught up in visiting with Mother, with our brothers' families, with extended relatives, and then find ourselves short of time to do all we wished before rushing home to Texas and California to our jobs, to our responsibilities, and to our decidedly even more hurried lives. 

This summer, however, found all three of us siblings retired, with schedules that could be rearranged.  Found us living unhurriedly and listening to quiet whispers of life.  With just a week's planning, my sister-in-law found, on the internet, a mountain rental house with handicapped accessibility.  We packed our brother's van and along with some of my brother's and sister-in-law's friends, headed to Whisper Mountain, North Carolina, thirty minutes from Biltmore Estate.  



Our three-bedroom rental house was high up on Whisper Mountain.  Temperatures were in the low 80s as we began our ascent at the base of the mountain, and a cool 72 greeted us as we stepped from the van onto the rental house's driveway, six hours after leaving north Alabama.  Smiles and laughter all around.... deep breathing of cool mountain air. 



Four sitting areas under two covered porches ran the length of the house overlooking the mountains and valleys below. 



Far below us we could see only one other house, and we found ourselves on a hushed mountain rustling with whispers of late summer. 



Before even unpacking our vehicle and before going into the house, we sat on the porches, staring into the quiet beauty surrounding us, each of us lost in our own thoughts, and then collectively, marveling at how lucky we were to find such a fantastic house to rent on such short notice. 




Out of sight from the long main covered porches is yet another outdoor sitting area, located outside a first-floor guest bedroom.  


After rain during our first night, we awoke to fog rising and looked DOWN on it from the covered porches.  None of us were disappointed about the rain and fog.  Instead, we LOVED it! 



Rain fell off and on, and the fog grew denser and higher, all during our first day there.  



The covered porch outside the living room had comfy chairs and a long sofa with deep cushions grouped around a gas fire pit.  No gathering firewood, struggling to light the fire... no, just turn on the gas.  With soft throws to snuggle in around the fire, everyone was contented to visit with one another as we snacked and enjoyed the soft summer rains that fell straight down. 



That is, until someone found the dominoes.  Then it was round after round of dominoes at the outdoor dining table until late in the afternoon with the sun peeking out.  



A couple of people gathered green twigs to make holders for roasting marshmallows and for making s'mores as night fell.  Temperatures in the 60s, good friends and family, and beautiful surroundings...  Can't get any better than that.




Or so we thought.  Then one day, we saw the sunshine and were eye-level with the clouds!  



What an incredible view of the valley.  Temperatures in the 70s and crisp, clear air... 




L I F E   I S   G O O D 


This was just the outside of the Whisper Mountain rental house.  Of course, it's hard to beat the location, but the inside of the house is also stunning.  

Come back next time for 

Whisper Mountain - Part 2 

Interior Spaces

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Anyone interested in visiting Luck House, Whisper Mountain, North Carolina 
can find detailed rental information at 
New Mountain Craftsman Home Near Asheville, North Carolina

 I did not receive compensation in any form from anyone for writing about Whisper Mountain.
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Branding Irons and Hyacinths

Thursday, July 23, 2015



Branding irons and hyacinths? 
What prompted this post? 
  1. Use what you have.
  2. Honor your heritage.
  3. Recognize beauty in design.
  4. Celebrate success.
  5. Promote worthy endeavors. 
The Clay Pigeon is a relatively new restaurant in Fort Worth, Texas.  When the new owner/executive chef leased the vintage building on White Settlement Road, the previous tenants left behind a collection of old, maybe antiques, but probably not, branding irons. 



The kitchen in the background is state-of-the-art where the staff creates delicious meals using fresh ingredients and mouth-watering combinations of flavors.  But the view that greets patrons as they enter is this stunning display of old branding irons that reflect the history of Cowtown, USA... Fort Worth, Texas is the beginning of the Wild West known for cattle drives and BIG ranches. 



What a great combination of textures!  White painted brick wall to showcase the irons, a partially wainscoated wall with molding to frame the irons above, an old weathered wooden table, a rustic basket, a trio of hyacinths...   Yet not cluttered... 



There is a lot to learn about design from this simple showcase of branding irons including...  
Symmetry in the placement of the irons and in the vases of hyacinths... 
Contrasting wall paint colors with white to highlight the branding irons... 
Overhead spotlight that creates a focal point on the branding irons... 
Filling the vertical space so the tall ceilings are grounded...  




How did I discover this restaurant with its eye-catching display of branding irons?  A former colleague organizes periodic lunch outings for 8-10 of us retirees who worked in administration over the years at a high school in nearby Arlington, Texas.  She discovered The Clay Pigeon and suggested one of our lunches be there.  When we learned that the Executive Chef/Owner graduated from the high school where we all worked, we all wanted to eat at The Clay Pigeon to help celebrate the success of a former student that most of us knew when he was still in high school. 



Marcus Paslay, Executive Chef/Owner, studied in well-known culinary schools and had been an assistant chef in very successful restaurants from New York City to Alaska, before deciding to open a restaurant in Fort Worth.  He returned to his roots in North Texas to raise (rear) his children near his extended family and to offer "the best from scratch dining in the Fort Worth metroplex".  

If ever you are in the Fort Worth area, I recommend eating at Marcus' restaurant. 

The Clay Pigeon
2731 White Settlement Road 
Fort Worth, Texas 

Visit The Clay Pigeon website for more information, 
including Marcus' personal journey to become a chef. 
http://www.claypigeonfd.com/


Celebrating success and promoting a former student who recognizes his heritage... 

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On a personal note...  
Thank you to all my readers who 
have written such comforting words at the loss of my mother. 
Your comments and emails have been such a blessing to me at this time.

As we work to settle Mother's affairs in Alabama, 
I will once again be without Internet access for an extended period. 
Thank you, dear readers, for understanding. 
I look forward to returning to blog writing late this summer. 

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Wild Alabama Blackberries

Tuesday, June 30, 2015


Wild Alabama blackberries ready to give to friends



A tribute to my mother 

Annie Elizabeth
1930 - 2015 

Wild Alabama blackberries ripen in the warm June sunshine and have been part of my life as far back as I can remember.  My grandmother, then my mother, were the true blackberry pickers in our family.  With nimble fingers stained purple, they picked the berries each summer, filling bucket after bucket, while keeping a wary eye out for hornets and snakes that also were attracted to the wild tangled thorny bushes found in the hedgerows that separated cotton fields. 


fresh wild Alabama blackberries were made into cobblers, were made into jam, were canned for the winter months

Summer dinners and suppers sometimes included fresh berries in milk or sometimes just simply a bowl of fresh berries dusted with sugar that formed a sweet syrup.  

In the South, dinner is the midday meal, and supper is the evening meal. 


Wild Alabama blackberries burst with flavor

Wild berries are small and packed with intense flavor not found in the large cultivated blackberries sold in grocery stores.  Just as you've never tasted a real tomato until you've eaten a home-grown one, you've never tasted blackberries until you've tasted ones growing in the wild. 


Wild Alabama blackberries ripen at the same time hydrangeas burst into bloom

Hydrangeas grown in my mother's flower beds bloom during blackberry-picking season.  Hydrangeas and blackberries... one tame in the yard and lovingly tended all year; the other wild and lovingly harvested in June.  Both staples of my mother's southern home and hospitality.  


Wild Alabama blackberries were always shared with family, friends, neighbors

There were always more than enough berries to share generously with extended family members, neighbors, fellow church members, or "anyone who slowed down long enough" to receive some. 


Wild Alabama blackberries covered in sugar make a syrup

None went to waste.  What wasn't eaten, was canned for the dark winter months.  Some jars were filled with berries in sugar syrup for cobblers; other jars were filled with sweet blackberry jam to spread on homemade biscuits for breakfast. 


My mother made a delicious simple cobbler made from fresh wild Alabama blackberries

Most of the time, blackberry cobbler was how we ate the fresh blackberries.  Mother made a simple cobbler.  First, butter melted in the pan, followed by a batter of flour, milk, and sugar, and then topped with blackberries in a sugar syrup thickened by boiling.  The batter rose through the berries as the cobbler baked, creating a browned crust on top of the juicy berries. 


Wild Alabama blackberries were examples of my mother's loving Southern Christian hospitality

This June was Mother's last blackberry season, but she did not pick any.  Rather, after a full week filled with puttering in her garden, planting yet another hydrangea to fill a bare spot, going out to lunch every day with me visiting from Texas, celebrating her 85th birthday with her favorite coconut cake made by her sister-in-law, visiting with her three brothers, having her last supper with my brother's family and me, and going to bed upbeat, happy, and feeling good, she passed from this life as she wanted... peacefully in her sleep.

The loving southern Christian hospitality she exemplified and taught all of us lives on.


Wild Alabama blackberry picking now falls to my sister-in-law

My sister-in-law is the keeper of the family tradition of blackberry picking now.  As she picked wild Alabama blackberries growing on her farm this June, she shared them with everyone "who slowed down long enough" to receive them in the true southern-generosity tradition.  

These two jars are ones I gave my dear friends who lovingly cared for our cats while we were in Alabama saying our goodbyes to Mother. 

Blackberry Winter now includes another dimension to its definition for me. 

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Thank you for reading my tribute to my mother. 
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Wish for a White Flower

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Sometimes I think I may have a fairy godmother, 
or perhaps, a tender-hearted angel, who watches over me 
and hears my heart's wishes. 



With all the unusual amounts of rain in May, 
the roadsides are still green into June and, for us in Texas, 
even could be called lush with blooms. 
For the first time, I noticed a large wild shrub 
with graceful fronds loaded with white flowers 
all along the roadsides and near wooded areas. 

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Homestead Heritage Birthday Outing

Tuesday, June 2, 2015


There are times that a wave of nostalgia rolls over me, and I long for simpler days.  Like days when watching television was easy, no monthly fee for service, and no antenna dish needed to pick up the high definition signal.  A time when television programs were paid by commercials, a time when the three major channels offered more than reality shows, and a time when I wasn't embarrassed to watch a show with my mother.  A time when the story did not need detailed sexual scenes, coarse language, or graphic violence to be entertaining.  Television producers left something for our active imaginations. I do use my remote control as needed. 


A good friend in repose at the herb garden house could be a Monet painting.    
Instead of lamenting things I cannot change, I enjoy visiting sites and shops that continue to offer quality goods and services created with craftsmanship developed with care and concern. Places that offer beautiful, useful objects built to last, things not found in every store. 

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