No. 39

I got a lovely email this morning from the owner of an American LaFrance roadster that is pictured in an earlier post in this blog. The car in question is labeled on its yellow petrol tank with a number 39, and it is, in my humble opinion, the best looking LaFrance roadster that I have ever seen. This car is no museum piece, however: It gets 10,000 miles of road work per year traveling across Europe. It has the home-craft quality that makes the LaFrance vehicles stand apart from other Edwardian vehicles, but the craftsmanship appears to be first rate. It is a truly beautiful expression of the Edwardian cult of technology, and it reaffirms my desire to own such a car myself one day.

As a point of interest, the Spitfire in the photos was flown by the LaFrance's owner's father during World War II.

Viva LaFrance!

My New Toy

I picked up a terra cotta garlic baker today. Now this is the kind of kitchen toy that I generally ridicule people for buying because it takes up space and it is a task that can be just as easily accomplished in any other small baking dish that you already own, but it was half price day at the thrift store, and for 75¢ I simply could not pass it up. The great thing about this particular garlic baker is that it was in brand new condition – no stains, no chips. It looks as though Aunt Faye got it for Christmas; she unpacked it and put it away around 1985. Then, when it was time to move to Florida, she sent it off to the thrift store, and from there to my kitchen.

Tonight dinner is pizza with baked garlic, wild mushrooms, whole milk mozzarella and Italian sausage! The garlic already smells wonderful.