May 2, 2001
Dear Everyone:
It all began (sort of) last year when “Jeannie” decided to replace her kitty-ravaged sofa and chair with new (less-ravaged) ones. That started me thinking about the sofa that I had in my living room. The sofa-bed that we bought together when we moved into the apartment in Walnut Creek. Around 1980. Which would put this particular sofa-bed in the same vintage as macramé plant hangers.
Yes, that old. And in excellent condition, when you consider the number of opportunities I’ve had for spilling things on it. Nevertheless, it’s old. And my back is getting old. Too old to put up with the “support” provided by this old, but in excellent condition, sofa. Time to replace it.
Not one to hurry these things along, I have been thinking about replacing the sofa since last November. This gave me plenty of time to look around and decide that, rather than getting a new sofa, I would be better off getting a pair of chairs instead. And, having ample opportunity to “test drive” “Jeannie’s” new sofa and chair, I decided that I liked the style that she had. I even liked the slip-cover fabric, if it came in a lighter color.
So, two weeks ago, “Jeannie” and I stopped at the “hole-in-the-wall” furniture store and ordered two new chairs and an ottoman to match. They will be ready around the beginning of June, which gives me time to find someone to take the sofa, coffee table and rocking chair off my hands. (I decided if I was going to redo the living room, then redo all, or at least most, of the living room.) I have a particular charitable organization in mind. If that doesn’t work out, there’s always eBay.
So now “Jeannie” has decided that getting rid of the furniture means getting rid of the artwork on the living room walls, too. In particular, a painting that I bought 12 years ago. It seems she’s never liked it. I’d picked it up at Costco one day because I had a wall that desperately needed something and the painting went with my décor, such as it was.
But now, “Jeannie” says the painting has to go (presumably the charitable organization can find a home for it as well) and I have to find new artwork. And guess what? Last weekend, there was a sidewalk art fair in Walnut Creek.
And that’s where I found the waterfall.
We spent several hours wandering up and down the streets of Walnut Creek, looking at paintings, prints, photos, really strange metal sculptures, and the obligatory ceramic and stained glass offerings. There were even some framed prints that I considered, but “Jeannie” said they were “too Thomas Kinkade”, whatever that means.
But what I really liked were the waterfalls. These were cold-chiseled glass sculptures with small water pumps inside, forming a fountain very much like a waterfall. They came in two sizes and two color schemes (blues and greens or russet and frosted white). I really liked the small blue ones. And they were on special (almost 20% off the regular price). So I dragged “Jeannie” back to the booth when we were about ready to leave and bought one.
Not for the living room, you understand. For my office. OK, cubicle. I’d decided that the waterfall would make a perfect addition to my work décor, as soon as I got rid of all those ARMA framed certificates and various cartoons that were stuck to the cubicle walls. I boxed up everything that I no longer wanted to have on hand and stashed them in a (semi-) secret place in the warehouse. (One of the advantages of working in a warehouse: You can almost always find a place to store things.)
Then I cleaned the desk off and set up the waterfall. The central piece is all fused together, but you can arrange the outer pieces however you want. And the pump comes with four settings ranging from gentle murmur to basic car wash. For an extra $25, the artist threw in (figuratively speaking, of course) an underwater light. Depending on how you arrange the loose pieces, you can get a lovely, constantly-changing pattern of light and shadows around the waterfall.
So far, everyone at work has liked it. And I just love it, so there.
No movies this week as “Jeannie” and I were too busy spending money on hairdressers and art, plus we didn’t see anything in the paper that we wanted to see. But the summer blockbuster season starts in a few weeks, just in time for my new furniture to arrive.
Love, as always,
Pete
| Previous | Next |