A series of essays....
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| OUR 'PETITE SLICE OF PARIS' ON NORTH LIMESTONE IN LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY |
....as seen through my eyes!
By: Jacqueline E. Hughes
What goes up will come back down, eventually....at least for a few more road trips, anyway!
We’re heading back to our Florida home after spending two cold, snowy weeks of Winter in April up in Kalamazoo! Some highly productive work accomplished on the inside of the house with enough demolition to fill a ten-yard dumpster! That was a very good thing. Anything that needed to be done on the outside was a distinct impossibility, and this set us back on our time schedule a bit, unfortunately.
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| A SCENE DAN AND I DON'T EXPERIENCE EVERY DAY! |
Months ago, Dan’s initial demolition of the back of the house was shared by the highly capable hands of our son-in-law, Matthew. Ripping out the existing three-season room was their specialty. I admit it; I played ‘voyeur’ by observing some of their hard work via the security camera we’d installed in the dining room, located in a window just off of the back deck. I remained in Florida for the long weekend while all of this was taking place.
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| POOR GUY IS STUCK IN DEBRIS TWO RUNGS DEEP |
During a subsequent trip we both made up to Michigan, I watched Dan and his brother, Leo, level out and finish the new floor deck, build the new portion of the kitchen’s side walls, and construct its vaulted beams and plywood clad roof. I was in heaven! We were making progress towards a new kitchen, as well as a new life, eventually, up in Kalamazoo!
This recent go around afforded us a two week span for completing kitchen demo, placing the new windows and doors that, also, needed to be stained, and figuring out electrical placement and heat runs.
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| "HEY! WE REALLY DIDN'T NEED TO SUPPORT THE SECOND FLOOR!!" |
The demo of most older houses can be tricky to quite difficult at best. You just never know what you’re going to find! Knowing all of this going in helped to ease some of the pain as Dan discovered floor joists cut in half, large notches cut out of studs to make way for water pipes, and the fact that one corner of the old, existing kitchen was so rotted from years of water intrusion that it had to be framed-up again before it came crumbling down on our heads. You know....the typical stuff, and all very frustrating and time consuming.
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| A SPIDER FROM HELL; A DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN! |
In taking down some of the drywall in the garage ceiling to try and make sense out of the current pipes and electrical positioning, Dan discovered the quintessential outlet from hell. There were thick, black wires coming out of this ‘monster’ that traveled every point of the compass throughout the house and resembled a large, mutant spider that had been unleashed after many years of captivity. Always good for a laugh or two, right?
While Susie, Leo’s wife, thoughtfully brought a large pot of her delicious, homemade ham and bean soup which provided the four of us with two amazing, healthy meals, she and I made miraculous headway towards keeping dishes clean by utilizing the bathroom sink. Marsha had brought over a 'right out of the oven' quiche that we, gratefully, called breakfast the next morning. Delicious! Also, it was openly and gratefully discovered how productive Susie can be on a construction sight. Never afraid of getting her hands dirty or ignoring what needs to be done, she wields a mean trash shovel and is wicked when it comes to pulling a million staples and nails from the old kitchen flooring with a hammer in one hand and a crowbar in the other!
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| ONE OF MY FAVORITE PICTURES OF LEO AND SUSIE: SKYPE SESSION WITH THEIR GRANDSON... |
After attending a highly productive writer’s workshop by the author and poet, Jack Ridl, with my dear friend, Marsha, spending sweet, quality time at dance and gymnastic classes with two of our five grand babies, and going out to dinner with several of our good friends....our amazing neighbor, Ginny, sent us off last Saturday morning with a goody bag of rich, delicious homemade Michigan brownies layered with dark, sweet cherries. Yum! All in all, Dan and I felt very well taken care of and, of course, loved!
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| MR. JACK RIDL: TEACHER, POET, AUTHOR, AND A MOST DELIGHTFUL HUMAN BEING! |
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| ADMIRING THIS WEDDING GOWN IN A SHOP WINDOW |
Deciding to spend the night in Lexington, Kentucky, we consciously shortened the first day of driving in order to relax and enjoy seeing this clean, beautiful city from a daytime perspective. “Where should we have dinner?” was the important question of the evening and we just took off heading downtown with the element of surprise in mind. Dan’s eye caught the green of an Irish Pub and took a right turn onto N. Limestone before realizing that we’d landed in the famous historical section of Lexington. Driving slowly by the Irish Pub, Le Deauville Bistrot, beautiful old storefronts and shops, and architecturally brilliant, restored, two-story walk-ups, we decided to park and walk this historic portion of Lexington while taking it all in slowly and methodically.
Le Deauville Bistrot was our dining place of choice. Just like its namesake located on Av des Champs Élysée near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, Le Deauville Brasserie, it offered late-night food in a cozy and casual atmosphere.
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| WAITING FOR THEIR TABLE |
Crowded with couples and small groups either already eating and drinking or waiting their turn at a table, the maître d managing the ‘front of the house’ asked if we had a reservation! What were we thinking? It was a Saturday evening at this intimate French Bistrot in major downtown U.S.A. and we thought we’d be able to be seated! Bon chance, my friends....
Well, good luck is exactly what we had because, you see, after a moment or two, he came back to us and said, “If you would like to wait, a couple will soon leave a small (as to verge on insignificant) round table that is positioned near the back of the bar area.” The hustle and bustle of wait staff and all of the warm bodies pressed up to the small bar before being taken to their reserved tables offered us a unique challenge but one we were happy to accept if it meant being fed. Since Dan and I are devout ‘people watchers,’ we felt we had nothing to lose. That is, of course, if you don’t count stepped-on toes and feeling quite exposed along with six to eight others brushing arms together by the curtained-off front door.
With patience can come great rewards. After a ‘loud’ span of around thirty minutes, our smiling maître d leads us towards a cloth covered table for two within the main dining area while explaining that we had been so patient and the couple at the tiny table had taken so long to wrap up their dessert and pay their bill. We were delighted, of course, and celebrated with a glass each of fragrant, Provençal Rose, a cheese and fruit board to share, and small loaves of crusty French baguette. Pure heaven!
The table for four near us was, eventually, vacated just about the time our entrées arrived and the staff was elegantly clearing away dishes and exchanging soiled cloth for clean, pure white linens. Each movement was orchestrated right down to the tinkling of the new glassware and spotless flatware being inspected and set out for four new guests.
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| THINLY SLICED ROASTED DUCK |
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| DAN'S FILET MIGNON |
As I am taking pictures of my thinly sliced duck with seasonal vegetables and sweet potato purée, I hear Dan saying, “We know the gentleman they just seated at that table. He’s a news or sportscaster but, I just can’t place him right now.” Sneaking subtle peeks at his table and peering out through the bottom of my tilted wine glass, I felt I had a good idea about who the man was seated only several steps from our table.
His name I could not connect with and I reasoned that we only saw him upon certain occasions as a broadcaster for the Peacock Station. Sitting in the heart of horse country, we associated him with the Derby and proceeded to Google him for a name. Tom Hammond was staring back at me from across the short distance as he drank his white wine. I didn’t have the heart to share with Dan, at the time, all of my thoughts about this man, a University of Kentucky alum who lives in Lexington (thank you, Google!) and has broadcast basketball, football, and the Olympic Games. After all, I couldn’t even remember his name a few moments ago!
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| TOM HAMMOND AND FRIENDS |
This chubby man with his thick, salt and pepper mane and strange, overly made-up eyes was now staring at me because I was the only person directly within his line of sight in this small, three room maze of a French Bistrot that is so wildly popular with many Lexington locals. Instinctively, I did what anybody with an i-Phone would do and took his picture! Granted, Dan was intended to be the main subject but, I was pleased by the results. I am hoping that Tom Hammond was flattered because you couldn’t put much past anyone in such small quarters.
No dessert, coffee, or brandy for us after such a great meal. We had a long day of driving the following day and wanted to get enough sleep that night.
What a wonderful date with my husband on a Saturday night in Lexington! It almost felt like being in a small bistrot on a side-street in Paris with delightfully anticipated food and wine to tantalize the taste buds and get the blood flowing. Perfect!
Oh, and when we sit down to watch the 2018 Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 5, and listen to the dulcet tones of Mr. Tom Hammond serving as NBC’s main host and broadcaster, I’ll be sure to tip my lavishly eccentric, wide-brimmed, beribboned, “Southern Belle” inspired hat while raising a frosty mint julep his way. Cheers! And may the best horse win!!
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| MY SWEET GARDENIA PLANTS GREETED US HOME IN FULL REGALIA ~ HEAVILY LADEN IN SOFT, CREAMY FLOWERS... |
Copyright © 2018 by Jacqueline E. Hughes
All rights reserved
Photo Copyright © 2018 by Jacqueline E. Hughes
All rights reserved
