A New Home for an Old Chair

When I was born, my grandparents were much older than most grandparents these days. That just seemed to be the norm back then. Their home had a parlor - one of those rooms that was rarely used, but was there. We always sat in the dining room where they had two big leather chairs. They sat there and we just found a place to sit.  It never seemed strange to me. That was just the way it was done. More often than not, my Grampa would take us into the kitchen and give us saltine crackers with real butter.

In their parlor were two very big wooden chairs with upholstered seats and backs. There was an beautiful carving across the back of the chair. I loved to look at the grain lines in the wood. It was very unusual to me. My Mom told me it was rose wood and I thought about what a big rose bush it had to have come from.

Once when a great aunt was visiting, we sat in the parlor. I chose one of the big wooden chairs and was so disappointed. It was scratchy to sit on. I don't remember the color or the type of fabric, but it wasn't fun to sit in. It was far more fun to look at the grain of the wood.


In the very early 60's both of my grandparents died within a month of each other and the house needed to be cleared out. Those two big chairs came to live at my parent's home. The first thing my Mother did was replace that scratchy fabric. They were always in our living room. Since family rooms were not a thing back then, it was a living room. I loved sitting in that chair. It was big, it was comfortable and the arms had a wonderful smoothness to them. 

The little boy who lived in the apartment in our house used to come ask if he could sit in the "King Chair". He would hop up there and just sit like a king on his throne. Just before my husband and I were married, my Mother had the chairs respringed (not sure if that is the correct wording) and covered in a beautiful teal velvet. One of my favorite pictures from our wedding day in that of our two 5 years old ring bearers dressed in their tuxes and sitting together in one of those chairs. They just seemed to be waiting for whatever came next.


In the early 70's my Mom and Dad decided to downsize and build a small retirement home. There would be no room for those two lovely chairs. Anyone who wanted them could have them. Unfortunately, we lived in a small house and only had room for one. My brother and his wife took the other one. And not long after, they got rid of it. But I have kept my chair. I still love the grain of the wood. When we moved to a bigger home, I redid the upholstery to go with our living room. Sadly, early in December I sat in the chair and the webbing beneath the springs gave way. Remember it has been nearly 50 years since my Mother had that spring work done.

So now it is 2015 and we are getting ready to downsize. There will be no room for the chair in our new place. And it grieved me that it had come to the end of a journey. But there is always a light at the end of a tunnel. Recently our daughter asked if she could have the chair. Said she loves the chair, finds it comfortable and wants it in her place. You have no idea how thrilled I was to hear that. My husband and I decided to have the work done on the springs and the chair reupholstered in something she would like. Last week we went fabric shopping. Now she is not a fabric person and I wasn't sure what she would choose. But it had to be her decision. It was her chair now and had to fit into her home. It was a long selection process..........and one I very much enjoyed. Some of the fabrics she liked, didn't do the chair justice. Other fabric was just not to her liking. But finally she had it narrowed down to 3. And she made her selection. And a great choice she made. She told her Dad that the fabric had to honor the chair. And so the chair will live on again in another home. It is going off to the upholster next week and then to its new home.

I am delighted to see the chair be reborn. It will have a new set of springs, new upholstery and a new home. I home that it serves her as well as it has the last three generations.

4th of July Memories

www.FabricGreetings.etsy.com

The 4th of July is just about here. Although Memorial Day heralds the official start to the Summer season, the 4th of July seems to be a bigger celebration. People flock to the beach, have backyard cookouts and scout out a good place to view the fireworks. All rites of the Summer holiday.

I am sure everyone has a special memory of this holiday. Does it involve a spectacular display of fireworks, a great cook out or a sunburn from too many hours on the beach?

In my case it is a memory that spans a decade or more. And it was all done from the comfort of our living room. I absolutely loved watching Arthur Feidler conduct the Boston Pops Orchestra. The Pops always did a 4th of July concert on the Charles River Esplanade and it was broadcast on many PBS stations. Thousands of people would pack picnic suppers, grab a blanket and head to the grassy areas to wait for this free concert. A great display of  fireworks on the Charles River followed the performance.

Arthur Feidler was the conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra for 50 years. That was longer than the 17 previous conductors combined. He is credited with making music fun and interesting. He was known for his popular and light classical programs.  And although I am tone deaf and had no idea what they were playing, watching him conduct was a thrill in itself.

The July 4, 1976 concert is recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest single audience for classical music concert. 400,000 people attended that concert. July 4, 1976 was a very special year.

Arthur Feidler was a spirited little man who always seemed to have a twinkle in his eye. He had a head of white hair that sometimes seems a bit unruly. He just had fun with his orchestra and himself. One of his biggest likes was watching the Boston firemen do their jobs. He often went to see firefighters at work when there was a fire in the Boston area. On his 75th birthday, his family presented him with his very one full sized fire truck....wonder where you keep something like that.

Arthur Feidler died in 1979. A 32 cent stamp was created in his memory. And for me, the music was no longer the same. He was followed by John Williams as conductor of the Pops. Certainly another great conductor, but in my eyes, not an Arthur Feidler. Somehow the 4th of July has lost a bit of its sparkle

2013 National Gingerbread House Competition

The Omni Grove Park Inn

Asheville, NC

This was the twenty first year of the gingerbread house competition. It was started in 1992 with a small group of gingerbread houses built by community members. It was another way to celebrate the holiday season and no one expected it to happen again. Now it has become one of the nation's most celebrated events. The competition is fierce and the caliber of judges is astounding. 

Although it is billed as a gingerbread house competition, the winner this year were animals. A pair of pandas eating bamboo was the grand prize winner. This creation traveled from Wisconsin for the competition. It was very hard to get a good photo as it was in a glass showcase with mirrors on the back.

All items on the entry must be edible except for the base it is built on. Many were made of gingerbread and covered in fondant while others were very much bare gingerbread except for the decorations. So enjoy the show and maybe put it on your calendar for next year. It starts the week before Thanksgiving and runs through New Year's Day. There is a short period of time - I think the week of Christmas - that the top winners are taken to NYC for TV appearances.

Santa is flying in on his Canadian Goose.

Can you see the mice in the clock? The clock weights looked like pine cones.  

This was a very simple A-frame gingerbread house and then they added all the sugar work.  The snowflakes on the roof were a work of art.

And what is not to love about a trip to the amusement park on the boardwalk? 

I think this was one of my favorites. The title was "I Should Have Taken the Sleigh". Can't you just see Santa and the misses zipping around in that sporty red car?

This one was called "Mall Santa". What a familiar scene these days. 

 The details on this piece were incredible. You could stand for an hour and not see everything. Each book on the shelves was individually done. The cards on the mantle painted. There was a worn spot on the braided rug. Look at the stones in the fireplace. Talk about patience!

And one of my favorite. The simplicity of the scene is wonderful. It is called "Gingerbread in G Minor".