When Provence Became a Love Story

Katharine was plotting another stop on the Floofy Newfie World Tour.

The original plan sounded almost reasonable: lavender, a picnic and an aspiring young artist searching for something beautiful to paint.

Then Katharine created a watercolor. Tony acquired an entire French wardrobe. Fine linen and tatted doilies appeared. The picnic grew to include enough pastries for a small Provençal village.

By the time we arrived at Wayward Lavender, this was no longer simply another destination on the tour.

We were producing a love story.

Building Antonio

Tony arrived at Wayward Lavender as the same innocent Oregon farm dog we first met in Before Antonio, There Was Tony. Katharine, however, had other plans.

His proper artiste wardrobe included a striped shirt, jaunty red scarf and beret, all handcrafted by the finest couturier in France—or so the official story goes. A fresh spritz of Dog of the Wood completed the transformation. Ooset arrived in a wide-brimmed boater hat trimmed in blue, looking every bit the seasoned world traveler.

There was nothing subtle about any of it, which was precisely why it worked.

The moment the beret was tilted into place, Tony disappeared. Antonio looked toward the watercolor he most certainly had not painted and prepared to accept full credit for his masterpiece.

And Then There Was Ooset

Antonio required an entire costume and a French alter ego. Ooset needed only a hat.

Her wide-brimmed straw boater, trimmed with a navy ribbon, looked as though it had been chosen for an afternoon drifting along the Seine. Against her black coat and the lavender, it was perfect.

She was elegant, beautifully composed and every bit the seasoned world traveler.

The leading lady had arrived.

The Masterpiece Antonio Did Not Paint

Before we ever reached the lavender, Katharine had already painted a watercolor of Ooset surrounded by purple blooms.

Antonio’s contribution to the masterpiece was considerably less demanding. He stood beside the easel, looked appropriately artistic and accepted full credit for Katharine’s work.

Ooset wandered into position behind the canvas as if inspecting the likeness. Antonio posed proudly beside it.

And just like that, the entirely fictional artist had painted his muse.

Antonio the Silken Windhound wears a red beret while sampling homemade dog biscuits at a Provençal picnic.

French pastries, bread, fruit, wine and dog biscuits arranged with a vintage picnic basket beside the lavender.

French fruit pastries and a bottle of Bordeaux wine arranged beside a wooden picnic basket in the lavender.

Antonio the Silken Windhound and Ooset the Newfoundland share a French picnic beneath a small French flag.

The Picnic Katharine Built

Calling it a picnic feels like an understatement.

Katharine began with fine French linen, then layered in tatted doilies, a wooden picnic basket and a tiny French flag. She added fresh fruit, croissants, a crusty baguette, three different French pastries and a bottle of wine.

And because the guests of honor were dogs, there was an entire plate of bone-shaped biscuits.

Nothing had been added casually. Every color, texture and tiny detail had been considered before the first photograph was taken. By the time Katharine finished arranging it all, the picnic had become a portrait set of its own.

Antonio immediately volunteered to confirm the authenticity of the biscuits.

When the Dogs Took Over the Story

We had the wardrobe, the watercolor, the lavender and a picnic assembled down to the last tatted doily.

Then Ooset and Tony leaned toward one another.

In reality, it was one small moment between two dogs standing together in the lavender. Through the camera, it became a kiss.

Suddenly, the costumes were no longer costumes and the picnic was no longer simply a beautifully styled set. Ooset and Antonio had taken over the story.

That was the moment Provence became a love story.

The Story Wasn’t Finished

Provence began with lavender, couture and a picnic built down to the last tatted doily. It ended with one quick kiss—and an entirely unexpected love story.

You can read Ooset and Antonio’s complete Provence dispatch, meet the innocent Oregon farm dog Tony was before Paris, or return to the beginning and follow the Floofy Newfie World Tour from its first stop.

Visit Provence

Follow the World Tour

I thought Ooset’s departure marked the end of their story.

It did not.

There were letters. A missing muse. And a long-distance romance that became considerably more serious than anyone had planned.

Provence may have ended.

Ooset and Antonio’s story has not.

It appears Provence was only the beginning.

Terri
Official Pupparazzi
The Floofy Newfie World Tour

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When Provence Became a Love Story

When Provence Became a Love Story

Building Antonio

And Then There Was Ooset

The Masterpiece Antonio Did Not Paint

The Picnic Katharine Built

When the Dogs Took Over the Story

The Story Wasn’t Finished

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