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Monday, September 6, 2010

A Trio Of Pears And A Pair Of Enfilades


It's nice to know people who have have their own fruit trees . . .
and like to share.

Did you know that pears don't ripen on their trees?
They need to be plucked, hard and green, and left to ripen all by their little old lonesomes.
Howard and I learned that from our friends who gave us these:
These chubby little beauties are almost ready to meet their fates.
I think they are going to be delicious, but right now I think they are pretty darned photogenic.

I spent way too much time rearranging them and snapping pictures.
The pear on the left got tired, and lay down -- poor little thing.
 Hey, what's the guy in the middle doing?
Is he turning his posterior to us?  How rude!
Okay, now this guy really is being quite fresh.  Fresh pear.
(Don't you just want to draw a bikini bottom on the pear, below? Am I confessing to something disturbing?)

But in the end, I win.  I have the fruit knives.
Yum.
**************************************************************************
 And now for something completely different.

Last spring, daughter Anne took an architecture course,
which inspired me to brush up on architecture terminology.

So I didn't stare blankly at her when she described buildings to me.

Words like pilaster, architrave, caryatid, fenestration, cartouche, entabulature, and enfilade.
Enfilade. 
Doesn't that sound like a good cut of prime beef?  Mmmm. . . enfilade au poivre.
Just kidding!  I looked it up, and enfilade means a series of rooms, aligned so that you can look through the doors from one room into another, very popular in European palaces and manors -- one room opening into another.
So, I had to look for some enfilade at That Old House.
Not exactly palatial.  And not exactly planned to give pleasing vistas,
as it's just the view from the front hall into the dining room, and then into the butler's pantry area.
And, from where I sit at my desk, I see this:
 From the corner of the study, through the center hall, and into the parlor.

In our 5th home together, Howard and I lived in what's called a railroad flat in New York City, where the rooms were lined up one after the other, and opened into each other.  Railroad flats also have narrow hallways along their sides, so you can access some of the rooms without going through others.  It was a wonderful quirky place to live --  big, with high ceilings and two fireplaces -- no central heat! -- and, yes, enfilade views.

Can you find an enfilade vista in your home?
So I am guessing that I'll be the very last blogger to join Cielo's
You know the Craigslist tables I showed on Friday?  Haven't bought any yet!  Craigslist can take time and patience. -- Cass

21 comments:

  1. We don't have any really downtown -- well, maybe we do -- the view into the breakfast room (see my sidebar) but the real ones are upstairs!

    What a great word!

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  2. Cute post on your pears! They are very photogenic...delicious, too!
    Thanks for teaching us new terminology tonight! We curently live in a square box and no Enfilade here! Enjoyed your pictures :)
    Wendy

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  3. HI Dear Cass! Oh, what lovely pears! I love me some soft juicy pears! I'm sure those will be so good.
    I've heard they do get tire pretty fast! :)
    Now I'm so glad you're so knowledgeable on these terms! I know nothing and have never heard of them! :)
    But I love the last word you've worked on in your house! Love seeing the pretty views!
    Hope you've had a great Labor Day and didn't have to labor! :)
    be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  4. I don't think we have such a thing.

    Happy Tuesday.

    Melinda

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  5. What beautiful pears...I love pear salads! Yum. Well I learned a new word today..I've never heard the word enfilade before! Very interesting..my entry hall opens straight back to my family room and out to the patio...I guess that would be a enfilade! I know in feng shui that's not suppose to be a good thing when your front door is lined up with the back door! Who knows! LOL

    Hope your weekend was great!

    Miss Bloomers

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  6. I love pears, but don't eat them that often. Wow, those were some words you threw at us. I had never heard of them. I guess that is why I am not an architect. I enjoyed learning the meaning of that one word. Thanks for sharing. Love & blessings from NC!

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  7. Cute post on the pears! :-D
    Hope you have had an enjoyable weekend.

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  8. I like the sound of "enfilade au poivre", even if it's not food, it should be!! :)

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  9. Great post! I love pears, all pears real or not! As for enfilades, we sort of have this in our house. Two rooms on either end of a long hall. Does that count? :-)

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  10. We didn't get a single pear from our trees this year - may have something to do with the lack of bees.

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  11. Great photos Cass!
    And your home, which is so gorgeous!
    Hope all is well,
    Cindy

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  12. Enfilade, enfilade, just getting it in my ol' memory bank! Could the term apply to a series of garden rooms, i.e. Enfilade Garden? I certainly don't have a house big enough for an enfilade, but it sure sounds neat! Your home is gorgeous, That Old House is a true beauty!

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  13. Great pictures of your home,i like the fabric pics. Your grappe looks good so are the pears!
    Catherine

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  14. my neighbor had a plastic bag full of un ripe pears and was headed to the garbage with them! What?? I shared with her that if she put them in a brown paper bag they would ripen. Fortunately she gave me a big bag full. Yay! My pears are shy though and refused to take a picture, kept hiding behind the peaches.

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  15. Love, love, love pears. I even like the colour of them. I'll see if I can take a pic to show Enfilade in ours. That is a weird sentence. I love your home, Cass. It is a dream. Hugs, Deb (Ottawa, Canada)

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  16. Your house is so lovely, and ohhhhhhhhh, those floors!

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  17. What a fun post! The pears were great, but scrolling down to the house part - so nice to see your beautiful home from such a Enfilade view. Hmmm I'll have to look for some.

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  18. Oh you always make me giggle! Love the post about the naughty pears!!! I also love your views into other rooms. Beeeeeeutiful! **blows kisses** Deb

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  19. I love pears. And I love the views of your rooms. I will never remember what it is called but love it.

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  20. So enjoyed looking around "That Old House" from new angles. Wow, the floorboards in the entryway are of all different widths - what a wonderful feature and happy quirk of your beautiful home. For yours is a house that is so much a home, such a happy home that that I can visit thanks to your generosity.

    Sending care and huggles, plus loving pats for Dion,

    Michelle and Zebbycat, xxx and, sigh, nose down in a fluffy scarf snoozing (he pinched the scarf from me))

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  21. I guess if I close the doors to stop the view into those other rooms there is a French word for that. Le blockagerie??

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