Mouse House to be open after Thanksgiving

Mouse House will be open on the Friday after Thanksgiving from 9:30-5PM and Saturday from 10AM to 2PM. All sales of mirrors, prints, Susan's original art work, and framed antiquarian prints will be sales tax free (i.e., I will pay the tax for you). These hours will help make up for the days that we are closed (Wed. Nov.18-Monday Nov. 23) because of our trip to Texas to install Susan's Blues Chapel at the Denton Arts Center. Please visit her blog to find out more about this exciting artistic opportunity.

Twenty-First Anniversary Sale at Terrace Oaks Mall

On November 13-14 (Friday-Saturday), Terrace Oaks Antique Mall will be celebrating their 21ST anniversary sale. All dealers will be offering special sales during this two day event. Mouse House, Inc. is pleased to celebrate this event by offering 21% off on EVERYTHING on our booths this coming Friday and Saturday. There are wonderful bargains to be had, including framed Harper's Weekly engravings from 1861-65, Blackwell's Complete Herbal engravings from 1780, other antiquarian prints (both framed and unframed), large decorative Audubon reproduction birds, linens, mirrors, etc. Mall hours are 9:30-5:30 Friday and Saturday. Susan will probably be there most of Friday afternoon. Come out and take advantage of this unique sales opportunity in Charleston.

Salisbury Cathedral

(click on images to enlarge)




During my last visit to see Mathias, I went on an overnight trip to Bath. One of the English cathedrals Susan and I have wanted to see since our first trip to the UK way back in 2001 was Salisbury Cathedral. However, it is too far away from Birmingham to be a reasonable day trip by train. I discovered, however that it was only 50 minutes away from Bath. So in the morning of my Bath trip I went to Salisbury to visit the Cathedral. What an incredible place! The Cathedral construction began around 1320 and finished approximately 30 years later! This is astounding for cathedral construction and explains why there is so little change from its original structure. I will not ramble about the Cathedral, but please go to this link to read more about the Cathedral. The Cathedral showcases one of 3 original copies of the Magna Carta and a medieval clock that is the oldest operating clock in the world. I spent over five hours during my visit which included a tour of the construction of the spire, which is over 440 ft. above ground. The tour itself lasted over two hours and was by far the best guided tour of a building's history and construction I have ever been on. We even ventured outside the Cathedral at 220 ft above ground for some incredible views of the city. Of course, I had great weather again and took many pictures. Here are a few. Later this week Susan and I leave for Oregon for a long weekend (real cheap airline tickets) and will be spending the nights in very interesting accommodations. These will be posted in Susan's family blog.



A view of the interior of the Cathedral for the organ level. This view is only available for those who go on the tower tour and is a MUST!



This is a view of the Cathedral's spire which climbs 440 ft. above ground. The tower tour takes you to the 220 ft. level.



Here is a picture of some of the support beams used in the construction of the church's upper levels. Many of these beams are over 600 years old



This photo shows the support beams of the spire which extends over 200 ft higher than the point where this picture was taken. Unfortunately we could not go higher which is probably a good thing since all ladders extend vertically and look really scary.



Here is a view of Salisbury from 220 ft above ground.



The picture above is a view of the Cathedral's spire which towers over 200 ft above this position. The walkway outside the church is barely 3 ft wide which makes taking these types of pictures a challenge and not for people that suffer from vertigo.


Please look at my very amateur video of Salisbury.

Bath

A view of a neat old building along the River Avon in Bath (click to enlarge)



This picture is of Bath Abbey taken from the River Avon. What a glorious day! (click to enlarge)

One of the neat things about Mathias living in England is the fact that Susan and I get to travel to many wonderful places in the UK when we visit. I finally got to go to Bath last month and visit Bath Abbey and the Roman Baths. Like Susan did earlier, I stayed at the YMCA in a single shared bath for 20 Pounds with a nice continental breakfast included. What a deal!! The location is great and close to all things to visit. While I was there, I went to the Roman Baths, Bath Abbey, and the Bath Spa. The Roman Bath self-tour is excellent with headphones included in the price. Make sure you listen to Bill Bryson's commentary. The Abbey is almost next door and is quite beautiful. I unfortunately did not take the tower tour (sold out) but saw a wonderful needlepoint and collage exhibit that Susan would have loved. I took pictures for her. Later in the afternoon I went to The Thermae Spa for a two-hour swim and steam adventure. The rooftop pool is quite spectacular when the sun sets (I had great weather.. it never rains in England when I visit! well most of the time). The only thing wrong with this visit is the simple fact that I was by myself. Since I was not there with anyone, I felt like an old creep, trying not to galk at the younger women who were there in pacts of 3 or 4. However, the steam rooms were to die for and worth the visit. Here are a few pictures that I took in Bath. I'm getting better with my hand-me-down camera!



One of the stores in Bath featured some of the best looking sausages ever. Check out the ingredients and different varieties. (click to enlarge)



This is one of the standard views of the Roman Baths that people see in the travel magazines.


Here is a view of Bath Abbey taken from the Roman Baths. (click to enlarge)



Here is another view of the River Avon. You can take boat tours up the Avon from Bath. If I had more time I may have done it since the weather was so good.

Hill Botanicals Framed

The Mouse House is proud to offer a wonderful set of 18Th century botanicals framed and ready to hang. The botanicals are from The Vegetable System by John Hill which were published between 1759-1775. A total of 24 were framed and two sold this past Saturday. All are hang-colored (early) and framed identically with acid-free mats with fillet and acid-free backing. The price for each is $225.00 which is a great price; it is not uncommon to find these prints unframed at this cost or even greater. These botanicals will be at The Mouse House for at least one week and later several will be offered at Terrace Oaks Antique Mall in Charleston. Below are a few sample pictures of three botanicals from this set. The image size measures approximately 10 X 15.5 inches with the frame measuring (outside dimensions) approximately 23.5 X 29.7 inches. Please contact me if interested.


(click on image to enlarge)

Gallery Representation for Susan

(Entrance to the Grovewood Gallery in Asheville, NC. Click to enlarge)

As most of you know, Susan left for Austria last Wednesday to attend an embroidery workshop with her Swedish friends at Sara Lechner's farmhouse north of Vienna. Details of her adventures will be posted on her blogs when she returns on Sept. 28. Approximately 30 minutes before I took her to the airport, she received a phone call from Karen Kennedy at the Grovewood Gallery in Asheville, NC. Susan had been trying to obtain gallery representation with this prestigious fine craft art gallery adjacent to the Grove Park Inn for some time. She had sent up two pieces (a small In Box and an Elements of Architecture example) several weeks ago and was hoping to receive favorable reviews of her work. A promise of serious consideration and representation around November was mentioned. These pieces were not hung in the gallery but were evidently placed outside Ms. Kennedy's office and stirred quite a lot of interest. Needless to say that when she called and asked for more work, Susan was beyond excited! However, they did not want to wait until October, the earliest time Susan could personally deliver pieces to the gallery, so therefore, I delivered a car-load of wonderful images to the gallery on Friday for their perusal. I had not been to this area since our Easter, 1997 visit to the Grove Park Inn with Henry, Linda, Aunt Janet, and the boys. The gallery is visually stunning with fine furniture, glassware, pottery, textiles, etc. Ms Kennedy took 3 large In Box pieces, 6 Elements of Architecture, and 4 smaller In Box pieces. A large In Box sold while I was there to a couple from Oregon who came back after learning that more pieces were being delivered. Mary and Gordon Langston, our friends and long-time framing customers (they own a large piece of Susan's work) were staying at the Inn on Saturday. Mary had no idea that Susan had pieces in the gallery and called me with great excitement when she saw their hanging location. So Susan now has proper gallery representation and is not allowed to show her work anywhere else in the Asheville area!! Yea!! Susan doesn't know this, but we will be going up in Mid Oct. during the Southern Highlands Craft show so she can meet everyone associated with the gallery. Below are some pictures of the gallery.



A view of the Upstairs portion of the gallery with fine hand-crafted furniture (click to enlarge)



Another view of the upstairs with beautiful quilts and furniture. Susan's pieces will probably hand in this upstairs area. (click to enlarge)



A view of a small portion of the downstairs area of the gallery. I purchased a new coffee mug created by Robert Crystal and a cool glass ornament for our wrought-iron Christmas tree. (click to enlarge)

Terrace Oaks Mall Move-in Complete

Above are views of the new upstairs space that we have rented in Terrace Oaks Mall. Yours truly is standing and marveling at the wonderful hanging job by Susan. (click to enlarge)

We have officially moved into our new space at Terrace Oaks Antique Mall. Originally the move was planned in October when I returned from England, but due to a scheduling snafu on my part, we moved in last Friday. We now have a room where we sell framed mirrors, antiquarian prints and linens. The move-in frees up wall space that will allow me to feature more of Susan's artwork. The "sales area" room is to be painted while Susan is in Austria and will be a focal point for her artwork. We will still offer a fabulous selection of framed beveled and unbeveled mirrors, as well as more framed antiquarian prints. Updates on available framed prints will be posted in the next several weeks.



A view of our upstairs former bathroom area. In Susan's former life as a more than full-time framer, she actually took picture framing orders and even had a nice selection of mat corners! Now it is a nice storage area filled with antique framed art.



Above is a view of the stairwell area at Terrace Oaks Mall which is filled with our framed art.