it was Community Day
we thoroughly enjoyed a guided tour
of the gardens, including the hothouse!
i do not possess a green thumb...
so i sure do admire those who do!
& the products of their labor!
^^^i generally manage to keep these kinds alive ^^^
or anything that can be fairly self-sufficient in the ground
oh, hey!
but anything in a pot
that requires some responsive watering...
forget it.
i, over time, inevitably cause it to perish.
generally, it seems, i overwater. i am too attentive, perhaps.
but, then again, other plants seem to have dried up
due to my inattention - so, who knows?
so far, my longest lived potted plant is a peace lily.
it simply must be indestructible.
i was given it by a person who
(surprise was mine)
considered me a boss.
i was in my mid-twenties and had risen to the exalted
(and highly stressful) position of 'personnel specialist'
and the filing of all the accompanying paperwork
finally necessitated
the hire of a temporary worker,
of whom i was (it turned out) the boss
my two recollections of her were that alphabetizing
(i later discovered)
was not a completely mastered
and her presentation to me of a tiny peace lily plant
on Boss's Day -
prior to which i had no idea
she saw me as her boss
(though it was, i realize,
my filing she was doing...)
other than the peace lily,
i have an aloe plant and another kind of succulent.
they, too, seem resistant to the ill-effects
of my eternal puzzlement over watering.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
we were led about the gardens by a very enthusiastic employee
who, upon request, took us inside the "dollhouse"
i was most impressed by the cedar shingled roof!
the roofers cut each shingle by hand
then warped them with a special heating machine
to fit the precise curve of the roof
it was so-named the 'dollhouse'
because it was the Reynolds' girls' domain.
& all the kitchen and bathroom features
are sized for children!
the House was open, as well - we've toured it once before -
and these were the highlights for me...
view from RJ Reynold's home office
& interesting to read the history behind
our obsession with white bathrooms...
in the attic...
oh, these shoes!!!
lots of art throughout!
"Take something; do something to it; do something else to it..."
this artfully-placed decorative item
reminded me of the work of Eric Wert
whom we admired at an NYC gallery
precursor of an egg chair?
however i can't imagine it is very comfortable...
cooked food was sent up from the main kitchen
via a dumbwaiter, then plated from this smaller kitchen
next to the dining room
you rang?
itty bitty electric stove in the family kitchen,
where they could make toast
(the primary item made by the family,
as recited by the kitchen tour guide)
i took the stairs down to the basement...
a veritable wonderland of entertainment!
shooting gallery, ping-pong room,
bowling lane, roller skating surface...
squash court, billiard table,
and a wine safe (with multiple locks)
plus this rather spectacular lounge area
and....a swimming pool!
all made possible by the Reynolds family tobacco
and all the many people of color
who ensured the Reynolds
did not only eat toast
the end
