ALL THINGS "BELLE"

NOTE: Dim Sum Sunday is here




Folks send me "Belle" thangs...

Here's a few:


I never heered of her, but there's a a pop singer named "Lady Antebellum" (she doan look a thang like me!)




--Moi, be sure to notice the shoes at 56 sec on the video.




Next, for Fishy, is Belle Decor, a southern viewpoint on domestic arts and fashion



I'd so totally wear this:




an of course thar's the Disney version of Belle, the Beauty half of Beauty & the Beast

reckon y'all woan be surprised to learn that I doan look a thang like her either--

But doan she sorta look like a cartoon version of the singer up top of the page? I will admit thar wuz a time when this Belle's hairdo mighta been on mah own haid.

Seems thar's a shoe designer, Siger Morrison, who has a line of shoes named Belle. This heah contraption ain't remotely "belle" an' I would never peel off 250 fer 'em:




But THIS? quintessential modern Belle! Oooh la la!!



Y'all know thar's a steamboat named Belle? Let's git us up a poker game on board this beauty , sip some juleps an' listen to Antebellum. (tip: Aunty ain't poker faced enough to bluff--if I bet, ya best bet is to fold)

For a pastoral gustatory experience, we might visit Lille Belle Farms in Oregon--or jes' order their raspberry filled organic chocolates! Yeeees, they DO grow their own organic raspberries.
Shamu--heh--they have chocolate covered BACON:

"Chipotle and brown sugar crusted bacon hand dipped in milk chocolate and sprinkled with a dash of smoked sea salt."

Is ya surprised to learn how many design firms is name Belle Maison? Here's a link to a young sprite with a current theme of Transition into Fall.



What about wine?

Belle Vallee Cellers in Oregon would be delighted to have ya make an electronic visit.

So would Belle Pente another, Williamette Valley Oregon vineyard.



Reckon we might expect a covey of plantations named Belle this or that




At Belle Grove Plantation in Virginny they hold the National Sheep Dog Trials




Belle Meade in Nashville is content to be on the Historic Register


Some will recall Belle Watling, the flamboyant but soft hearted madame in Gone With the Wind--she consoled Rhett Butler when Scarlett (the idiot!) rebuffed him. I think thar's a race horse this year named fer her. (Belle, not Scarlett)


Belle Watling wuz played by actress Ona Munson,


who got the role when Tallulah Bankhead dismissed it as too minor fer her considerable talent.


Natcherly, we have to give mention to Belle Starr, the notorious woman outlaw. Born MayBelle Shirely to a well off family, Belle wuz educated an' known to be a fine pianist. But after her Pa' moved the family ter Texas, she took up wif' the James menfolks--led by Jesse hisself--an' developed a taste fer naughty boys.



Onc't when the law couldn't catch her outlaw hubby, Jimmy Reed, they arrested Belle-- who rode side saddle in a velvet habit, plumed hat on head, wif' two pistols... fashion bein' essential to outlawism. However, she behaved herself in prison, winnin' the admiration of the warden an' an early release. After marryin' up wif' that Indian horse thief, Sam Starr, Belle's life continued on daring style.

Thar's a heap more--but mebbe it's best to conclude wif' Belle Boyd. She wuz a Confederate spy who led a most colorful life.
"Belle Boyd played the role of spy as if the war were a lighthearted game of charades...Belle Boyd was above all overwhelmingly feminine; she made good use of her womanly appeal, of which she had an enormous amount. Unlike others who impersonated the inconspicuous female and made themselves up as a drab housewife or dowdy traveler, this spy played her own personality to the hilt, with a dramatic air and sweeping gestures, wearing rich reds and greens and feathers in her hat. Belle had a "joyous recklessness," as one reluctant admirer phrased it. She looked at men through her long lashes, assuring them that she had no intentions hostile to the North, while she stole whatever secrets were at hand and filched others practically from their pockets. Belle possessed at least one additional asset--perhaps the best pair of legs in the Confederacy. Even a lady must get in and out of a carriage or with a flurry of petticoats dismount from a home; at such times Miss Boyd showed a pretty confusion, and very fine ankles."

Well, a Belle has to do what a Belle has to do.