Saturday Book Hunting :)

Good afternoon. As you can see, Kristina and I didn't make it to Louisiana this weekend. The weather decided to conspire against us and the entire Gulf Coast for that matter. So she went on the hunt for yard sales this morning despite the rain and I went to the library (yes, I know I said I was going to read what I have at home....and I have...but I was looking for craft books.....I have excuses for everything!! LOL).

After spending some time at the library, I drove over to Springhill College to the Book Nook to browse. I wasn't expecting to find anything, but imagine my surprise when they had a small selection of books by Sidney McCall (real name Mary Fenollosa).

I ended up buying Truth Dexter, her first novel and The Breath of the Gods, her first book set in Japan. Both books are published by Little, Brown & Company. Truth Dexter was originally published in 1901; the book I bought was published in 1907. The Breath of the Gods was published in 1905 and I was lucky enough to buy a first edition of the book :) 110 and 112 year old books in decent condition!!

I absolutely LOVE the decorative covers on these books. I consider it a shame that you don't see that type of workmanship on modern books unless the company puts the effort into presentation of their books or a company is making a 'special' or anniversary editions of a book.

For those of you that don't know Mary McNeil Fenollosa was quite the character. She ended up getting married three times (first husband passed away, second husband divorced her, but kept their child, but the third and final time was true love). Her last husband was Ernest Fenollosa, who she worked with at Boston MFA. He was married at the time, but divorced and married Mary. It was quite the scandal....so much so that he was asked to leave Boston MFA!

They spent a few years in Japan and eventually came back to the United States. Fenollosa was quite influential in people's perceptions of Oriental art. He and his wife were friends with a circle of Western scholars in Japan, which included Lafcadio Hearn, Edward Morse, and others.

Mary began writing novels under the name Sidney McCall in 1901. Her first book Truth Dexter was about a southern woman whose marriage is threatened by a Boston socialite. (Interesting subject matter considering the origins of her marriage to Fenollosa). She would continue to write books until 1919. Several of her books were made into films or plays.

Not bad for a woman who grew up in Mobile, AL. Alabama Heritage magazine has a great article on Mary Fenollosa that they published recently.

Hope you liked learning a little literary history of Alabama.

Until next time >___<

Conde Charlotte House and Port City Craftsmen Show

Today my friends and I met up this morning to tour the Conde Charlotte House beside Fort Conde in downtown Mobile.

We were going to tour it earlier in the fall, but when we stopped by that time, it was closed for a wedding. Luckily we were able to tour it today.

Sadly, photography is not allowed, but it is a beautiful house built in 1850. Each room is decorated according to different styles of the countries that occupied Mobile during its history (except for the Spanish which is illustrated by the courtyard) and different time periods.

The lady who gave our tour was quite nice. We spoke more of the styles, furniture, antiques, etc. than anything else.

The back of house had a courtyard with fountains and a cistern. The family who lived in the house added on to the back of house with a kitchen and other rooms.

Overall, it was a great way to spend an hour especially if you like period houses. My only complaint would be the lack of history. Surely the owners of the house could be researched more in depth and added to the tour information.....but that's just my history degree coming out to grumble! LOL

Earlier this morning I stopped by the Port City Craftsmen Show at the Abba Temple. They hold it every year on the weekend prior to Thanksgiving. One of my favorite vendors was there, Mrs. Daphne Larsen. She is a wonderful lady in her 90s who has been hand painting porcelain for a number of years.

I usually buy something from her and this year I decided to buy one of her small Christmas brooches for my collection. I chose one of her candy cane designs as it is one of my favorite flavors during the holiday season.

There were a lot of great vendors there this year. Surprisingly, there was a knitting vendor there this time. I know that sounds weird, but most of the time it is always crochet vendors so it was a pleasant surprise to see a knitter.

I really wanted to take a photo of her booth and her creations, but I know sometimes vendors can be hesitant about it so I didn't take a photo.....though I regret it now.

She had some lovely sweaters and longer coats in various cable patterns along with scarfs, mittens, and hats. I wish I could have afforded one of the sweaters, but they were about $120, which really it a great deal considering you can spend that much on a catalog sweater that isn't handmade. Sadly, bills come first....lol...fun things later. Isn't that always the way?

I hope you guys are enjoying your weekend! If I don't write later, I hope everyone in the US has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Until next time ^___^

Mobile's A&M Peanut Shop

While I was on jury duty earlier in December, I was tempted by the A&M Peanut Shop on Dauphin Street which is a few blocks away from the Govt Plaza. Everyday I would walk past the shop to go for lunch and was assaulted by a delicious aroma of nuts and sugar! Finally I stopped in the shop and bought a small bag of chocolate covered mixed nuts. It was so delicious that I decided to stop again on my last day of jury duty and buy two tins full for my coworkers as Christmas presents!

The shop is housed in one of the older narrow buildings downtown. Despite the lack of room, the shop is full of bins of delicious nuts and candies.

The highlight of the shop is a beautiful 100 year old Planters peanut roaster! The smell of nuts in this contraption is heavenly!

If you are ever in downtown Mobile you should stop by the A&M Peanut Shop for homemade treats!