DUSTING

My previous house in Texas was huge and I kept it immaculate. I dusted, vacuumed, and scrubbed several times a week.

Here in the Tennessee wilderness, my house is nearly three times smaller and is a complete mess. Dust, dirt, and cobwebs are ubiquitous and seem to keep reappearing out of nowhere.

Last week I took some interior photos that I planned to use on this blog. When I looked at them closely, thick layers of dust were embarrassingly apparent everywhere. I put down the camera and spent the rest of the afternoon dusting and cleaning the house. 

Fortunately, I have less to dust here than I did in Texas. With far less space, there's not much to clean - - and (possibly??) less clutter. Half of my antiques are packed away. And most of my antique art collection is in storage because there's no room to hang it.

For no discernible reason (except perhaps to show off) I took more photos after cleaning.

 I love colored glass in the sunlight and have a lot of it. A few of these belonged to my mother.

 Some of the frames on my antique paintings are so heavy that I'm hesitant to hang them on the walls. The old gilded frames are hard to keep clean and crumble easily.
This Venice scene is an early work by the Italian artist Enrico Paulucci. 

My cat Scratch is saying "What the hell did Jon buy this for?"

 When I assess my antiques, I often ask
"What the hell did Jon buy this for?"
These charming German mutter und vater figurines were made circa 1850.

 This Japanese vase isn't an antique, but it's one of my favorites. It looks much nicer in real.

Speaking of large paintings (was I?),
this old Austrian plein-air is five feet long and one of my favorites. I have to stand on the sofa to dust it.

More antiques to dust. I love the porcelain shepherd with the dog (left), which is circa 1790 and in surprisingly good shape.

English cup, bowl, and dishes from the 1820's. The little guy on the left is a creamer (I think).

My antique Russian wolfhound, alongside a lithograph of Napoleon from the early 1800s and an original photo of Prince Albert Victor (Victoria's grandson).

Couldn't let this go without showing off my prized antique desk, which is a pain to dust.

 I love this Edison-Mazda poster by Maxfield Parrish. I purchased it in a shop in Hollywood when I was 20 years old. It's presently hanging above my bed - and for a good reason:

When I lived in Texas, I had a very heavy oil painting hanging above my bed. One night it fell down while I was sleeping and landed right on my head! I almost sustained a concussion.

Ever since then, I always hang LIGHT things above my bed. I figure that if I get clobbered with a Parrish poster, it won't kill me.
(that thing below the poster is part of the bed headboard)

Here's another item that's a pain in the ass to dust (it's not an antique).
I never particularly liked it, but somehow I'm reluctant to get rid of it.

When I moved from Texas to Tennessee, the movers "lost" (or stole) a lot of my things and also broke many other things.

Strangely enough, this fragile collection of birds arrived in perfect condition.
Go figure.

I have many more photos, but I'll spare you. Too much of a good thing can be excruciating.....