1949, and a mid-morning in March with a few more dust bunnies to sweep out from under the radiator at the house on Snowdoun Lane.

Oh to be here.

Eagle Lake. Having to clean before the cleaning lady arrives tedious. The children leaving everything in their toy box out in an eternal Noah’s Ark display, like the holiday windows at the big jeweler in Portland, but in plastic and painted wood instead of gold and platinum with diamonded-up hooves. A need to make up for it somewhere, so the lady doesn’t quit like the last three did, announcing that there were tidier families to clean for, even if you have to bring your own broom.

my new short fiction piece published to my Substack at the link if you’d like to read the rest. The image is from Facebook.

https://sarahbguestperry.substack.com/p/1949-and-a-mid-morning-in-march-with

Fans to waft the spring breezes in a bit sooner if only in your mind. The latest fans from Fan d’Eventails, Paris.

Tortoiseshell brisé fan, finely pierced and carved. 19th c. Chinese. Image © Fan d’Eventails, Paris. Fair use license. https://www.fandeventails.fr/en/oriental-fans/4608-chinese-tortoisehell-19th-century-fan.html
Gallantry fan with a painted leather leaf and mother-of-pearl sticks and guards. by Jeanne Cahulle for the fan-maker Alexandre. Late 19th c.French. Signed Jeanne Catulle and on the reverse Alexandre. Image © Fan d’Eventails, Paris. Fair use license. https://www.fandeventails.fr/en/19th-century-fans/4614-gallantry-fan-by-jeanne-cahulle-for-alexandre-late-19th-century.html

Hermes et Herse fan. Tortoiseshell brisé fan, pierced and painted with a central panel depicting an episode from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The gorge is painted with chinoiserie motifs; The guards are carved, engraved, and gilded with floral and bird motifs.circa 1690-1720. Image © Fan d’Eventails, Paris. Fair use license. https://www.fandeventails.fr/en/18th-century-fans/4604-hermes-et-herse-eventail-vers-1700.html
Japanese birds fan. Lacquered Brisé fan. ca. 1900. Image © Fan d’Eventails, Paris. Fair use license https://www.fandeventails.fr/en/oriental-fans/4628-japanese-birds-fan-circa-1900.html

Visions of a dream world that might or might not have ever been. All of these found in Frank Chouteau Brown and other architects’ 1910 work “Architectural Drawing and Lettering.” Published in Chicago Illinois by the American School of Correspondence.

Front cover. Image 1 of “Architectural Drawing and Lettering.” Frank A. Bourne, H.V. Von Horst, and Frank Chouteau Brown, authors. Published in 1910 by the American School of Correspondence, Chicago, Illinois. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/bwb_W7-DDB-713/mode/1up
DETAIL OF GREEK DORIC ORDER: an example of conventional shadows and rendering. Page 17, Image 18 of “Architectural Drawing and Lettering.” Frank A. Bourne, H.V. Von Horst, and Frank Chouteau Brown, authors. Published in 1910 by the American School of Correspondence, Chicago, Illinois. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/bwb_W7-DDB-713/page/n17/mode/1upg
Section Through Vaulted Ceiling, Showing Conventional Shadows and Method of Rendering. Page 56, Image 57 of “Architectural Drawing and Lettering.” Frank A. Bourne, H.V. Von Horst, and Frank Chouteau Brown, authors. Published in 1910 by the American School of Correspondence, Chicago, Illinois. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/bwb_W7-DDB-713/page/n56/mode/1up
Showing Difference in Rendering Stone and Metal. Page 60, Image 61 of “Architectural Drawing and Lettering.” Frank A. Bourne, H.V. Von Horst, and Frank Chouteau Brown, authors. Published in 1910 by the American School of Correspondence, Chicago, Illinois. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/bwb_W7-DDB-713/page/n60/mode/1up

Imagery from “Winnica: miesięcznik ilustrowany poświęcony kobiecie w życiu, sztuce i anegdocie.” (Winnica: an illustrated monthly magazine dedicated to women in life, art, and anecdote. A Polish women’s magazine, published in 1925.

When the bride and groom were alone, Lord Edward Grayton read the Song of Songs to his wife, kissed her cool, waxy neck, and, sitting in an armchair, lit a new pipe. Inhaling the smoke, which carried all the narcotic aromas of the East that had once intoxicated poor Sulamita, the lord gazed with tender satisfaction at Lady Mary, still awake in her pink pajamas, as if waiting for something. Page 34 of Winnica: miesięcznik ilustrowany poświęcony kobiecie w życiu, sztuce i anegdocie N.1. Number 1. Published by the Ateneum Publishing Society in 1925. Contributed by the Library of the Institute of Literary Research PAS. In the public domain. via https://archive.org/details/rcin.org.pl.WA248_24139_P-I-573_winnica-2_o_68204/page/34/mode/1up

Page 20 of Winnica: miesięcznik ilustrowany poświęcony kobiecie w życiu, sztuce i anegdocie N.1. Number 12. Published by the Ateneum Publishing Society in 1925. Contributed by the Library of the Institute of Literary Research PAS. In the public domain. via https://archive.org/details/rcin.org.pl.WA248_87036_P-I-573_winnica-2_o_67928/page/20/mode/1up
Page 23, Image 25 of Winnica: miesięcznik ilustrowany poświęcony kobiecie w życiu, sztuce i anegdocie N.1. Number 4. Published by the Ateneum Publishing Society in 1925. Contributed by the Library of the Institute of Literary Research PAS. In the public domain. via https://archive.org/details/rcin.org.pl.WA248_87039_P-I-573_winnica-4_o_68225/page/23/mode/1up
Page 46, Image 48 of Winnica: miesięcznik ilustrowany poświęcony kobiecie w życiu, sztuce i anegdocie N.1. Number 4. Published by the Ateneum Publishing Society in 1925. Contributed by the Library of the Institute of Literary Research PAS. In the public domain. via https://archive.org/details/rcin.org.pl.WA248_87039_P-I-573_winnica-4_o_68225/page/46/mode/1up

Living a life with entirely different furniture along with entirely new curtains. Rumsinteriör (Room interiors) in Swedish homes. Not much information with these like whose bedroom it was but in the Swedish archives and up on the Internet Archive where lots of interesting pictures live.

Dressing room? leading into the bedroom past the fabric draped doorway with various potted plants and a framed photograph of two women dressed in white standing on top of the desk. One of those fun child motif statuettes, too. 1895-1900. Location not given but presumably in Sweden because it is in Arkivkopia, the Archive of Swedish cultural commons/Stockholm Digital Museum. via the Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/arkivkopia.se-digstad-SSMC003289S-0
Dining room, the chairs having caned backs. Also a clock and marble or ceramic busts on wooden stands on either side of the fireplace with ots mantle covered with various ornaments including? an animal horn with silver mounts. 1895-1900. Location not given but presumably in Sweden because it is in Arkivkopia, the Archive of Swedish cultural commons/Stockholm Digital Museum. via the Internet Archive https://dn710704.ca.archive.org/0/items/arkivkopia.se-digmus-olm-OLM-2008-1-326/032wYWVnnWcU.jpg
Parlor/living room, the sofa, table and chairs with their striped upholstery being antiques along with the paintings. The rug looks later, maybe. So published in 1950 but with the furnishings being much older. Location not given but presumably in Sweden as the photograph is in the collections of the Örebro County Museum and because it is in Arkivkopia, the Archive of Swedish cultural commons. via the Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/arkivkopia.se-digmus-olm-OLM-91-102-3964
Sitting room with the table set for a party with a large potted hyacinth? over on the right. 1909 image. Location not given but presumably in Sweden as the photograph is in the collections of the Örebro County Museum and because it is in Arkivkopia, the Archive of Swedish cultural commons. via the Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/arkivkopia.se-digmus-olm-OLM-92.149.764-1
Parlor with potted palms, at least one ceramic or marble statuette and a few lamps with ruffled silk lampshades.
Also a three piece upholstered parlor set, a settee and two armchairs. 1890-1920 image. Location not given but presumably in Sweden as the photograph is in it is in Arkivkopia, the Archive of Swedish cultural commons. via the Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/arkivkopia.se-digstad-SSMC003274S-0
Rumsinteriör. Fru Åqvist. Lady’s dressing room, the vanity with an organdy? skirt and three lamps with ruffled silk shades. 1957 image. Swedish, exact location not given. Arkivkopia, the Archive of Swedish cultural commons. via the Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/arkivkopia.se-digmus-olm-OLM-91-102-12550
Svartå Herrgård, rumsinteriör. Bedroom. Degerfors Municipality, Örebro County, Sweden. Image published in 1968 with the bed, portraits and the furniture being older. Collections of the Örebro County Museum via the Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/arkivkopia.se-digmus-olm-OLM-91-102-16876

An envisioning. 2020 with the summer sun blazing away at the apartment at Riverslea Bay.

Oh to be here

Marin County. Lunch over, and a couple of hours to do something with ahead of the poodle needing to be picked up from the groomer’s. A work apron needed, then, what with the dog always shedding the minute something comes along that she doesn’t want to do.

my new short fiction piece, published to my Substack at the link if you’d like to read the rest. https://sarahbguestperry.substack.com/p/an-envisioning-2020-with-the-summer

Keys Soulcare Comforting Tinted Lip Balm. Illustration that accompanies an article from Wirecutter ranking the best lip balms. From an email sent out by the New York Times yesterday. Image © Ruthie Darling for the New York Times/Wirecutter. Fair use license. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-lip-balm/?campaign_id=290&emc=edit_wcd_20260228&instance_id=171739&nl=the-recommendation&regi_id=74983616&segment_id=215949&user_id=4c00c56e321c85af6192e44c4d492b60

Up your dining decor potential with silver that looks like it could get up and dance. Imagery from Charles Heathcote Tatham’s 1806 work “Designs for ornamental plate, many of which have been executed in silver from original drawings.”

Title page. Image 11 of Designs for ornamental plate, many of which have been executed in silver from original drawings. Charles Heathcote Tatham Architect; member of the Academy of Saint Luke at Rome, and of the Institute at Bologna, publisher. Printed in London in 1806 for Thomas Gardner, Cavendish Square by John Barfield, Printer to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. Collections of the Getty Research Institute. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/gri_33125012243503/page/n10/mode/1up
The Cup: A Piece of Plate designed and executed for the Earl of Carlisle, in the year 1801 – weight 500 ounces. Charles Heathcote Tatham, invenit. G. Cooper, engraver (I think). Image 23 of Designs for ornamental plate, many of which have been executed in silver from original drawings. Charles Heathcote Tatham Architect; member of the Academy of Saint Luke at Rome, and of the Institute at Bologna, publisher. Printed in London in 1806 for Thomas Gardner, Cavendish Square by John Barfield, Printer to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. Collections of the Getty Research Institute. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/gri_33125012243503/page/n20/mode/1up
A Waiter designed and executed in Silver and Gilt, for the Right Honourable Earl Camden, in the Year 1803: Section of the Waiter, 28 Inches Diameter. Charles Heathcote Tatham, invenit. G. Cooper, engraver (I think). Image 18 of Designs for ornamental plate, many of which have been executed in silver from original drawings. Charles Heathcote Tatham Architect; member of the Academy of Saint Luke at Rome, and of the Institute at Bologna, publisher. Printed in London in 1806 for Thomas Gardner, Cavendish Square by John Barfield, Printer to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. Collections of the Getty Research Institute. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/gri_33125012243503/page/n18/mode/1up
A Lamp and Column designed and executed in the Year 1800, the base being two feet wide. Charles Heathcote Tatham, invenit. G. Cooper, engraver (I think). Image 28 of Designs for ornamental plate, many of which have been executed in silver from original drawings. Charles Heathcote Tatham Architect; member of the Academy of Saint Luke at Rome, and of the Institute at Bologna, publisher. Printed in London in 1806 for Thomas Gardner, Cavendish Square by John Barfield, Printer to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. Collections of the Getty Research Institute. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/gri_33125012243503/page/n28/mode/1up
Designs for Lights to burn oil, after the manner of Italian Lamps. A is the Representation of the Lamp which was used by the Author, at Rome. Charles Heathcote Tatham, invenit. G. Cooper, engraver (I think). Image 32 of Designs for ornamental plate, many of which have been executed in silver from original drawings. Charles Heathcote Tatham Architect; member of the Academy of Saint Luke at Rome, and of the Institute at Bologna, publisher. Printed in London in 1806 for Thomas Gardner, Cavendish Square by John Barfield, Printer to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. Collections of the Getty Research Institute. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/gri_33125012243503/page/n32/mode/1up
A Design for a Branch Light to be Executed in Silver: The End of the Base. Charles Heathcote Tatham, invenit. G. Cooper, engraver (I think). Image 56 of Designs for ornamental plate, many of which have been executed in silver from original drawings. Charles Heathcote Tatham Architect; member of the Academy of Saint Luke at Rome, and of the Institute at Bologna, publisher. Printed in London in 1806 for Thomas Gardner, Cavendish Square by John Barfield, Printer to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. Collections of the Getty Research Institute. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/gri_33125012243503/page/n56/mode/1up
A Design for the Centre of a Table, Ornament for the proposed to be executed in Silver. Charles Heathcote Tatham, invenit. G. Cooper, engraver (I think). Image 71 of Designs for ornamental plate, many of which have been executed in silver from original drawings. Charles Heathcote Tatham Architect; member of the Academy of Saint Luke at Rome, and of the Institute at Bologna, publisher. Printed in London in 1806 for Thomas Gardner, Cavendish Square by John Barfield, Printer to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. Collections of the Getty Research Institute. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/gri_33125012243503/page/14/mode/1up
The Component parts to a larger Scale of the preceding Plate. Charles Heathcote Tatham, invenit. G. Cooper, engraver (I think). Image 81 of Designs for ornamental plate, many of which have been executed in silver from original drawings. Charles Heathcote Tatham Architect; member of the Academy of Saint Luke at Rome, and of the Institute at Bologna, publisher. Printed in London in 1806 for Thomas Gardner, Cavendish Square by John Barfield, Printer to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. Collections of the Getty Research Institute. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/gri_33125012243503/page/24/mode/1up
A Design for a Tureen proposed to be executed in Silver. Charles Heathcote Tatham, invenit. G. Cooper, engraver (I think). Image 85 of Designs for ornamental plate, many of which have been executed in silver from original drawings. Charles Heathcote Tatham Architect; member of the Academy of Saint Luke at Rome, and of the Institute at Bologna, publisher. Printed in London in 1806 for Thomas Gardner, Cavendish Square by John Barfield, Printer to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. Collections of the Getty Research Institute. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/gri_33125012243503/page/28/mode/1up
Outlines of Etruscan Vases now in England. Charles Heathcote Tatham, invenit. G. Cooper, engraver (I think). Image 95 of Designs for ornamental plate, many of which have been executed in silver from original drawings. Charles Heathcote Tatham Architect; member of the Academy of Saint Luke at Rome, and of the Institute at Bologna, publisher. Printed in London in 1806 for Thomas Gardner, Cavendish Square by John Barfield, Printer to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. Collections of the Getty Research Institute. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/gri_33125012243503/page/n94/mode/1up

1998, with spring coming in as the robins sing at the cottage on Maplewood Shores.

Oh to be here.

A tiny bit of ice left up at the top of the elm across the way, so high up the branches are like twigs. Only the tiniest birds having a nest that high up lest their babies tumble to the ground.

my new short fiction piece published to my Substack at the link if you’d like to read the rest

https://sarahbguestperry.substack.com/p/1998-with-spring-coming-in-as-the

Off to study the Esquimaux. Roughing it in the land of snow yes but not the land of igloos. No, the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Alberta, Canada. Every refinement and a boiler in the basement heating the place up to a fare thee well.

Beta Sigma Phi Sorority Inaugural banquet at the Cosmopolitan Hotel, Associations, Clubs and Societies:  Inaugural banquet at the Cosmopolitan Hotel following the first “Ritual of Jewels” ceremony for the Sorority. These ladies are the Charter Members of the Beta Sigma Phi in Medicine Hat. Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. October 1945 image. Photographer not given. Image © 2026 City of Medicine Hat. Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre Archives. vhttps://collections.esplanade.ca/list?q=Cosmopolitan&p=1&ps=20&src_facet=Photograph
The Bachelors of the Cosmopolitan Hotel: portrait of five men, three unidentified, members of the Bachelors Club of the Cosmopolitan Hotel.Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. Photograph ca. 1906. J. E. Miers, Medicine Hat, photographer. Image © 2026 City of Medicine Hat. Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre Archives. https://collections.esplanade.ca/link/images103109

Inside view of the dining room in the Cosmopolitan Hotel. Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. Looks like its set up for a party or banquet. Undated photograph 1890s-1915? partly because of the Victorian/Edwardian planter filled with ferns.
Gainsborough Studio, Medicine Hat, photographers. Image © 2026 City of Medicine Hat. Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre Archives. https://collections.esplanade.ca/link/images71093
Cosmopolitan Hotel, South Railway Street and Fourth Street Southeast. Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. Image ca. 1912. George N. Bartlett, Medicine Hat, photographer. Image © 2026 City of Medicine Hat. Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre Archives. https://collections.esplanade.ca/link/images71445
“Public parlour” of the Cosmopolitan Hotel, showing piano and seating arrangement, and gas light fixtures. Also potted ferns. Taken from hand-tinted original Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. ca. 1900. Image © 2026 City of Medicine Hat. Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre Archives. https://collections.esplanade.ca/link/images107855
Interior view of the front half of the lobby of the Cosmopolitan Hotel. Shows entryway, lobby seating, elaborate gas and electric fixtures, stained glass windows, front registration desk, and stairway to the second floor. Two hotel guests can be seen through the front window seated in chairs outside. Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. Image ca. 1900. Photographer not given. Image © 2026 City of Medicine Hat. Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre Archives. https://collections.esplanade.ca/link/images107856

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, Silver Anniversary banquet in the decorated dining room of the Cosmopolitan Hotel – engineers and their ladies. Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. Loving the ceiling decorations. January 1923 image. Photographer not given. Image © 2026 City of Medicine Hat. Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre Archives. https://collections.esplanade.ca/link/images109638

2022. November turning into December down on the Biloxi shore at the old Sandy Pointe Bungalows.

Oh to be here.

Down for Christmas. All the fancy places taken and a tourist court instead. Better than the Comfort Inn, though. One of those 1930s places with built-in seashell arch-topped niches flanking the living room fireplace, the shelves deep enough for a cat to sleep away two lives if her nap goes on long enough without a grandchild yanking her tail.

my new short fiction piece published to my Substack at the link if you’d like to read the rest. The image is from a 1968 Frigidaire ad campaign –

https://sarahbguestperry.substack.com/p/2022-november-turning-into-december