What is it about chairs at the side of the road that stops me in my tracks?  I had something completely different to post about today and then I saw the four perfectly good, albeit old, chairs outside the dumpster. A little sanding and paint, new fabric on the cushions, remove the caning and replace it with the same fabric as the new seats…I’M OUT OF ROOM IN MY HOUSE or I would rescue them.  It must be something about bulk trash days that brings all the chairs to the curb as I’m driving by from wherever.  These old chairs are right outside my window.  Aggghhh

I didn’t even know I had a fascination with chairs until Sandra pointed out that nearly every framed photo in my home has a chair in it.  And here I thought I was fascinated with gardens and porches….apparently I was in denial.

The more I think about it the more it rings true.  When I left Oak Tree Road to come to Stowe Lane I brought very little with me.  My spoons, of course, my clothes, some kitchen stuff, some other stuff, my Grandmother’s metal top kitchen table and the following: fabulous blue slipper chair, two folding mahogany chairs that belonged to Grandmamma, a wingback in a subtle oriental floral, my father’s wingback, a 1929 rattan for the porch, two rattan arm chairs from the set left behind on Oak Tree Rd, the reproduction swivel desk chair for my office, hhmmmmm.  Oh yeah and the Adirondack chair I rescued from the dumpster by hauling it in the back of a 750LI.

Ok I love chairs.  Maybe it has to do with a funny saying my mother had when we were kids and only half sitting on the kitchen chair at dinner, “Sit right, the rent’s paid.”  Meaning you didn’t have to high tail it for the door if the landlord came knocking.  Maybe I find it comforting, maybe it’s the style, maybe it’s the design, maybe it’s that its individual meant just for your butt.  Who knows?

I put on an all-out search for two additional dining room chairs to complement my four existing chairs.  Notice I didn’t say match the other chairs, I’m not a matchy matchy kind of girl.  But complement it must.  Lend itself to that collected over time, I’ve got a story to tell, I’ve been here for years vibe of my home it must.

I’ll always take note of an interesting chair, can’t pass it up.  I have a Pinterest board called Something about Chairs.  As do many other people on Pinterest, I’m finding out.  The names vary from “For the Love of Chairs” to “Chair Fetish” (also a group on Flickr), “Chairs, Chairs, Chairs”, “Unique Chairs”… you get the picture.  Point is I’m not alone.

So what’s the attraction for all these people? Unframed is a blog of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art intended to create a conversation about the art and artists of LACMA, Los Angeles, and Southern California.  They recently had a blog post entitled, wait for it, “What is it about Chairs?”  I kid you not.  They asked John Kapel why chairs have such allure. “He gave a thoroughly compelling explanation of why chairs are particularly expressive opportunities for a designer.  According to Kapel, a chair is a showpiece, one that is often positioned in a living room such that it can be appreciated from many different angles – unlike, say, a sofa, which typically sits against a wall. He also explained the complex geometry of a chair, its assortment of lines and angles that invite design innovation. And he made the point that, unlike, say, a table, a chair cradles the human body, and reflects our physicality.”  See…it does come down to “sit right, the rent’s paid”.  To read the entire post, http://lacma.wordpress.com/2011/12/22/what-is-it-about-chairs , it has even more interesting chair masters works and conversation.

To me I think there’s always a story.  An object being kicked to the curb when it still has use bothers me. If something belonged to someone special and you can picture them in it or you can feel their energy when you sit in it that becomes amazing to me.  When you can be enveloped in comfort and wonderful fabric then it’s the tactile nature of it that I love.

Then there are all the chair idioms, grab a chair, pull up a chair, nearly fell off my chair, play first chair, play musical chairs, keep you on the edge of your seat, there’s never a bad thing said about chairs. To sum it up there is a magnet on my microwave from Curly Girl Designs (www.curlygirldesigns.com):  A good cook knows it’s not what is on the table that counts but what is in the chairs.  That’s where I live, mismatched chairs and all. I know like I know I just love chairs.

ps. It’s not just me…Nicole found one she loved too.  It resides in her office, just sayin.

I never thought about chairs before – why would I?

Yesterday I learned that the StriVectin Power to Change grand prize winner is Treva Wynn.  Her goal is to give Guatemalan children a better life by providing them with an education and library.  Certainly an investment in children is never wrong or unwarranted!  So congratulations and good luck to Treva! 

When I discovered that I was not the “grand prize” winner, naturally I was very disappointed and, you guessed it, I cried. According to the contest rules, the grand prize winner was to be determined on or around July 26^th.  So as you can imagine, the weight of not knowing was bearing down on me quite heavily!  I wanted this so badly as a way to honor and keep Jay alive and with me.  But after hurdling the emotional aspect of the news, I realized that the truth is, he will always be alive in me.  Had we not shared our love & our lives, I would not be who I am today. We evolved into the people we were/are because of each other.  I will always carry him in my heart!   

I am filled with “gratitude” toward all of you!  Whatever your contribution to my life whether voting, emailing, calling, including me in activities, sharing stories of Jay, listening to me or crying with me, it does not go unnoticed or unappreciated!  Several months ago I came across an article from “Woman’s Day” on Finding Gratitude by Heather Lende.  She says “Gratitude is not the same as giving thanks.  It comes from a much deeper place that knows the story could have ended differently, and often does.  Gratitude is surviving the worst thing you can imagine and realizing that you are still standing.” 

Our story could have ended differently.  Jay might never have made it out of ICU, but he did.  Jay might never have been able to thank me once again for so many things or give me his blessing on future love for me, but he did. Jay might not have been able to have that much needed time with our boys as difficult as that was, but he did.  Jay might not have been able to say goodbye to so many friends and relatives, but he did. Jay might not have been able to put some financial things in order, but he did.  And most importantly, Jay might not have been able to take his final breath at home with me by his side, but he did.  I will never forget his comment to me that he didn’t know how to do this, he didn’t know how to die.  However, another truth is he knew how to live right up until the very end and dying is a part of life!  It was with such grace that he left this world!  

So I am still standing certainly because of Jay’s & my love, but also due in large part to all of you. You have helped with the ongoing process of stitching together the many fragmented pieces of my heart!  And as people enter my life and new relationships begin, I will be open to possibilities.  I feel a more urgent need to live my life out loud, to dance like no one is watching!  You just never know what the future holds.   

With my deepest gratitude & Love,       

Let me just say that everyone believes they look good driving a convertible.  Let me go one step further in saying that everyone is completely transformed as soon as they get in the driver’s seat of a convertible such is the anticipation of putting the top down, and feeling the sun on your shoulders, smelling the world around you and then…feeling the wind in your hair.

By what unfolding of the universe I wound up with this beautiful and amazing car I don’t know but suffice to say I am enjoying the hell out of it…and yeah I look damn good driving it.  Enough said.

I don’t want to own anything until I know I’ve found the place where me and things belong together. I’m not quite sure where that is just yet. But I know what it’s like…. It’s like Tiffany’s….Holly Golightly, Breakfast at Tiffany’s

I think I’ve found the place.  Me and my things do belong together because almost all of them have come from someone, or someplace or some something with a story.  Walk around my home and there is the gift of art from MJ, there is the pottery from Chatham Pottery, the photographs from several different artists, including me.  There is pre-war Noritake that I use every day from Grandmamma, there is crystal from my sister, and there are books from everyone.  There is my Grandmother’s kitchen table that serves in my office as my inspiration of all things family.

And there are the spoons.  Hundreds of them from all over the world, all over the United States and literally from almost everyone I know.  Each displayed with care in the most beautiful cabinets and lining my dining room.  My collection was started by our dear friend Jeanette over thirty years ago.  She has a cabinet all her own that contains spoons from her mother’s house in Danbury CT.  They are antiques, they are chachkias, they are very expensive and some cost a mere fifty cents at an estate sale.  Each of them has an amazing story and each of them is quite unique.

Most recent addition is from my friend Justin.  It is a wind chime made with antique spoons and forks by his father.  As I understand it his father made them for members of the family and gave them sparingly.  How wonderful that I have this precious gift.  I’m sure I couldn’t have expressed my gratitude and joy to have this addition to my collection sufficiently to Justin, I was that blown away by the thoughtfulness and perfection of it.   The thing that prompted Justin to gift this to me was the Mother’s Daughter Lunch picture taken in my dining room.  I just love that.  If I didn’t say it with enough conviction before, thank you my friend for this wonderful gift from your family.  You can’t know how happy that makes me.