February/March 2001

Dear Readers,

It's hard to believe that Spring is on the way--but there's a Cardinal singing his head off from the treetops who seems to be convinced of it.

In the meantime, the dog days of winter were brilliantly broken up last week with one of our periodic Authors' Breakfasts. (Well, years ago they started as breakfasts. Nowadays, breakfast is only the kickoff meal to a day of intense chatter, laughter, food, show-n-tells, and lately a spontaneous dash (preferably during rush hour) to the nearest antique emporium.)

What a great time we had. All of you fans of Patrica Coughlin out there, can you imagine how blessed we were to get to listen to her steady stream of quips and one-liners all day? She's as sparkling in person as she is on the page. And Kristine Rolofson, another master of deadpan delivery, is no slouch, either. Dee Holmes was there; she's the only one who's steady enough to calm everyone down when things get a little too-o-o giddy.

Here's a shot of (left to right) Dee, Kristine, and Pat admiring a recent acquisition of Kristine's. All of us are huge fans of vintage fabrics, but it's Kristine who has V.I.P. status at e-Bay.

Three Authors(23K)

Here's Kristine, our hostess, whose house is masterfully done in Shabby Chic. Vintage panels hang over the windows and doors; cranberry glass and a vintage tablecloth adorn a painted Empire table. (Okay, I made that last thing up. I don't have a clue if the table is Empire or not, but it's old.)

Kristine(29K)

Antoinette (19K)

Here's a shot of me in front of the fireplace that Kristine's husband Glen (hi, Glen!) fabricated out of old porch pillars. Spectacular, no? I'm sitting in a Louis Hooey chair, one of a pair done up in pumpkin velvet. Kristine saw the exact same pair in Newport for five times the price. (Here's the really scary thing. I shop in Newport all the time because I can't stand driving and can walk to all the antique stores. You'd think I would just do the math.)

And, finally, the pets. Kristine has three dogs: a tiny dustmop, a medium-sized dustmop, and a regular-sized dustmop. This is the tiny dustmop, Pookie (left), who appears on this site at the express insistence of my Tommy (right), who as an animal equal-rights activist believes that dogs should have fair representation (but not too fair) on this website as well.

Pokie the dog(11K) Tommy the cat(11K)

Be of good cheer, everyone; Spring is surely coming. (In my next newsletter, I'll tell you what a foolish, foolish, foolish thing John and I did this winter.)

Love to all,

Antoinette Stockenberg

TIDEWATER, June 2001

Read Chapter 1 of TIDEWATER

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