February Thrifting Haul, Part Two

Hello, Gentle Readers! As promised, here is Part Two of the story of God’s amazing provision in my wardrobe. I’m actually a little embarrassed—and humbled—by all this love He’s been showering on me. I really should never, ever complain!

This is what happened on Saturday, February 2^nd, the day after my birthday….

We stopped by Jo-Ann’s first off, to see if they had any fabric that would match some scraps I had for a couple new projects (they didn't, but that’s OK, as you’ll see in a minute). When we got there, we found out that this Jo-Ann’s was moving from its tucked-in-a-corner location on 4^th Street to a new, bigger store in the Silver Lake Mall—which, consequently, is a lot easier to get to and closer to Post Falls! So they had some major sales going on that enabled Mom and me to get ourselves some pretty fabrics. Here’s what I got:

I’ve had some turquoise poly-cotton in The Stash for over a decade, but not quite enough for a whole dress like I wanted. So I’ve been on the lookout for something to supplement it with. Enter this Kona cotton solid—regularly $7.99 a yard (och!), on sale for 50% off (maybe more)! There were three yards and fifteen inches left on the bolt, so I got it all. I have practically nothing (nothing wearable, that is) in turquoise. Aqua—yes. Blue—yes. But turquoise? Nada. So this will be a great boost to my wardrobe! PTL!

This beautiful seafoam print was also on sale (is that a God-thing, or what?), so again, I got all that was left on the bolt (three yards, ten inches) intending to make a couple blouses—one long-sleeved, one short-sleeved. I was going to make the short-sleeved one as a secondary blouse for my “Sea Breeze” outfit. Turns out it was too greyed/muted and a touch too blue to go with my capris fabric, so I’ll be taking Mom’s suggestion and make meself a nice Summer dress.

I definitely need more green in my life, and this will be a good start. :-)

We then headed to the Goodwill, where I bought this cute little number:

The girls and I actually saw it the day before, but strangely, none of us bought it then. Guess I was supposed to wait until I had a bit of Birthday Money (courtesy of Mrs. S across the street), wot?

Normally I don’t go for pink (especially pale pink) and black, but somehow this micro-dotted twill, with its ruched sleeves and pockets and “lettuce-edge” serging, struck a chord. It was one of those “I don’t like X-Y-Z…except when I do” moments. ;-) It has a very 1950’s vibe to it—just add a circle skirt, cute ponytail updo and an ice cream soda, and voila!

I’ve since altered it to fit a little better, so it’s just waiting for the weather to warm up enough to be worn!

Having finished at the Goodwill, we headed over to the CdA Hospice Thrift, where I hit the jackpot. They have clothing 50% off on Wednesdays and Saturdays, so I was able to get half-dozen new-to-me items for under ten bucks. Awesome!

Remember what I said about being “tall in the saddle” and that it’s hard to find trousers that come up high enough? Enter scrub-pants—they’re high-rise, comfy…and fairly easy to whack off for capris in the Summer. Plus they have POCKETS! Must have pockets, if only to have a place to put my hands in awkward moments. :-P

Lavender has a leg-pocket, too!

 As you can see, I found light pink, lavender and “cool”-green (deep emerald with a touch more blue in the mix), all of which blend nicely with fabrics/blouses I already have.

CU of embroidery

This brilliant-red blouse sports intricate embroidery…and consequently blends with my “Lassie” Skirt. :-) I’m in the process of removing the loops-and-buttons, so’s I can sew up the placket to a little above where the top button was. Haven’t decided whether to leave the placket open or add some lacing. Either way would suit this slightly exotic-styled top.

Speaking of red, “check” out this little micro-gingham blouse (yeah, yeah, bad pun :-P). I normally don’t go for tiny checks, but I just couldn’t resist that embroidered collar! All it needs is to be shortened some, otherwise it fits fine. Yay!

OK, so technically this “blouse” is a scrub-top, but I love, love, love this beautiful pansy-print (apart from the poisonous-looking acid-green, but thankfully it’s not too dominant). Purple is another color sadly lacking in my wardrobe—soon to be remedied! One nice thing about scrubs is that they have those handy pockets in the front (which don’t show in the photograph). A little tailoring will make this one fit nicer, methinks, as it’s a bit shapeless right now.

 

Mom and I were able to go thrifting once a week all through February (plus a few times this month, too), and every time, God blessed us both with at least one or two things we’d been looking for. Because of this, I now have several long-sleeved blouses (my weakest point) for the coming Spring—a couple of which don’t need any alteration!—plus several “new” turtlenecks, and a grey and a cream sweater for the rest of the Winter. The Lord has been filling in my Summer wardrobe, too, so now I’m pretty much set…once I get out there and SEW! ;-) 

I’m still blown away by God’s provision. Yes, it means more sewing added to the towering pile already on my head, :-P but thankfully, very little of it is as complicated as some of my other projects. In the long run, these frocks will give me some nice clothes to wear this Spring and Summer, which will free me up to get the Fall and Winter things ready in the meantime, and tide me over while I work on other Spring and Summer things.

Until next time, Gentle Readers,

God bless,

~“Tom”~

♥

February Thrifting Haul—Part One

A thousand apologies, Gentle Readers, for how long it’s taken me to post this. Like the man said, life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. I’m currently involved in a musical written by one of Mom’s piano students, a talented young lady who recently passed her tenth birthday. I’m also ploughing through the huge bundle of sewing piled on my head, as it’s become a bit of an obsession and is starting to affect my health. :-O Of course, it didn’t help that my hip (the same one I tweaked when I fell on the ice last year) decided to go on the fritz three weeks ago—and is still a long way from recovery—nor was that allergic reaction I had two weeks ago exactly conducive to blogging. (For the record: The reaction was brought on by stress and the mold spores still lurking in all our books, which we couldn’t bear to leave in California…and no doubt aided and abetted by all the refined sugar I’ve been eating since my birthday. *Innocent whistle*)

Anyhoo, I am finally able to share with y’all the wonderful wardrobe pick-me-ups God provided during my Birthday Celebration on the 1^st and 2^nd (of February, that is). We’ll begin with my “loot” brought home after my Birthday Outing with Kellie and Tasha….

I spotted this adorable western-style blouse (by Wrangler, to boot!) at the CdA St. Vincent de Paul, on our way to the back of the store (the girls like to work their way up to the front):

It’s so rare—in my experience, at least—to find women’s blouses with feminine details like gathered sleeves, I simply had to get it. The girls both agreed it was *me* (Kellie said if she’d seen it without my being present, she’d think of me), so that decided it. We poked about the dishes and tins and figurines for a while, browsed the books and videos, and perused the linens, where Kellie scored some lovely finds. As we made our way through the men’s and “Funky, Western and Vintage” clothing, we stopped to paw through their dollar bins of hats and whatnot, where this little number jumped out and declared, “I’m for Tom!”

Y’all remember Wesley the Weasel? No? Well, no matter; it was a long time ago I mentioned him. In a nutshell, I eventually decided that piece of fake coyote fur wasn’t my color, so methought white would be better. And I guess the Good Lord wants me to go ahead with the idea—why else would He have the perfect white “mink” fur waiting for me at St. Vinnie’s? For a dollar, too! *Grin* I must admit, it was a little tempting to keep it as a hat and play Russian Princess…until I tried it on and the thing went down to my eyes. :-P

 Our visit to the Goodwill turned out to be quite profitable, as each of us found some really cute things that seemed to have our names written on them, or that were on our lists. I’ll let the girls speak for themselves, but as for this little wench, I found four things that will fill out my wardrobe nicely:

This fun little number obviously needs a snap or two in the front placket to make it modest (it’s a bit too big, too), but it’s cute and Summery—and turquoise! I have practically nothing in this color, which is one of my best, so it was a real blessing to find it.

I almost left this little sky-blue gingham on the rack, but it simply begged me to take it home! And it reminded me of my aquamarine gingham shirtwaist (purchased last Summer)—which has become one of my favorite blouses—so I gave in. Good thing, too, because it fits perfectly and only needed an extra snap in the placket. My favorite kind of alteration—simple!

This sweater is obviously too big, but the color blends beautifully with a turtleneck I bought last Fall (which has been very hard to match). I suspect it of dating back to the 1980s, when tops were oversized and shoulders were wide. *Snort* I have some ideas on how to alter it more to my liking…but that’s another story. ;-)

I’ve been wanting a pair of black velvet jeans for a while now, for the really cold weather up here that goes right through my black twill trousers. And miracle of miracles, these ones fit like they were tailor-made for me (apart from the slight gap in the back waistband)—even the length of the legs (I like my trousers above the ankle) and the height of the “rise.” Being kinda “tall in the saddle,” if you follow me, it’s sometimes difficult to find even regular pants that actually come up to my natural waist…let alone above it.

And you’ve already seen the copy of Jane Eyre I picked up at Wiggett’s Antiques. So there you have it—my thrifting haul from my Birthday proper. Part Two will detail the goodies Mom and I found on the 2^nd.

Until then, Gentle Readers,

God bless,

~“Tom”~

♥

 

Birthday Bliss

I must admit to being a bit cynical about my own birthday, especially since I crossed the threshold between teens and twenties. In a nutshell, it was a rough transition, and each year has only been a reminder that I’m getting older and older…and I’ll stop there. This is a happy blog, after all.

This year, as January slipped away and my birthday came closer, something changed. Instead of dreading coming that much closer to the Big Three-O, I actually wanted to celebrate, to take advantage of the opportunity to have some fun! So the planning began, and what took place as a result was one of the best birthday celebrations I’ve had in a long time.

Friday, February 1st, 2013 began with the promise of sunshine…and some lovely gifts from Mom and Peter. Namely, a packet of 20 flavors of Jelly Bellies—my traditional Birthday Candy—most of which were flavors I like! Yay! Mom also gave me these pretty “shinies” that I’d been drooling over at Michael’s Crafts for several months. Thanks, Mom!

Oooh...shiny.

 I also got these Crazy Socks from my cousin in California:  

Mom pretty much let me “order” whatever I wanted to eat for the day, which included many of my favorite eatables…plus a few new things I wanted to try.

~Birthday Menu~

Breakfast: Cinnamon-raisin bagels with plain and Mixed Berry cream cheese

Lunch: Pickled vegetables, specialty cheeses, salami, Meatball Minestrone (recipe coming soon!), blood-orange Italian soda

Supper: Tortellini with four sauces (Tomato, Alfredo, Basil Pesto, Garlic-olive-oil), sourdough garlic bread, green salad

Dessert: Ice creams (Triple chocolate, Mint-chip, Mountain Huckleberry) with various toppings (including 12-flavor Gummi Cubs)

Green-and-white stoneware courtesy of "Aunt" Patty

Normally I’m not a fan of orange juice (I’ll drink it, but give me cranberry any day!), but once I tasted a sample of blood-orange Italian soda at Costco, I was hooked. And since the theme for lunch and supper was Italian (ish) this year, it seemed like the perfect accompaniment. Mom even pulled out Grandma Burcham’s crystal glasses to serve it in!

Havarti, salami, Babybel & smoked Cheddar (wood glue NOT on the menu!)

"Humor the shutterbug."

BTW, have I ever mentioned that I love my mother? Well, I do. Especially since she made a special effort to grant a pet wish I’d expressed—without much hope, mind you, due to the iffy weather—namely, having Kellie and Tasha be part of my special day. And by God’s grace—and to my great delight— it worked out perfectly for them to join us for lunch before whisking me off “on an Adventure!” (quoth Tasha)…which in this case included taking me On The Town for an afternoon of thrifting and a peek at the famous (to me) Wigget’s Antiques. I was completely floored when Mom clued me in to what she and the girls had brewing up their sleeves (how’s that for a mixed metaphor?)—clueless! Everyone seemed relaxed and happy, and conversation was natural and entertaining—just what luncheons with good friends ought to be! The pickled veggies were our first attempt at lacto-fermentation (using whey instead of vinegar), so the fact that they were even edible (barring the mushrooms) was a big plus! The pickled peppers were especially good—zingy!

I should mention here that the girls came bearing very nice gifts, although just the pleasure of accompanying them On The Town would have been gift enough. :-D

These are from Kellie (not Booffy, obviously ;-)):

Top to bottom: Hand-knitted potholder/doily & "Jasmine Garden" goatmilk soap, Aunsen Heroines watercolor, "The Cobb" roll-on perfume...and my very own Wall Tent Bunting!

Tasha’s gift—my very own Bow Belt, wrapped in adorable teddy bear paper—as you can see, went very nicely with the outfit I wore:

Photo courtesy of Peter

~What I’m Wearing~

Boots: Black Buckled Boots—Target (resoled-last year)

Skirt: Grey Wool Pleated Skirt—thrifted

Sweater: Lavender Cabled Sweater—thrifted

Shirt: Lavender Turtleneck—thrifted

Belt: Lavender Bow Belt—Wool and Whatnot (gift)

Hairstyle: “Halo” Braid

Better view of Halo Braid (and Snowbunny Hat)

That’s another tradition of mine—wearing purple on my birthday. I usually wear amethyst jewelry, too, but this year I didn’t feel like it.

Kellie wore her new “Amelia Earhart” leather jacket, and Tasha sported striped layered tees with her denim skirt. And God heard Mom’s prayers for good weather that day, because by the time we got to CdA, the sun had broken through the clouds, so heavy coats weren’t necessary.

Side view

I did don my Cream Cardigan (not shown) and “Snowbunny” hat, as it was still barely in the 40s, after all, and this California transplant is still adjusting to the weather up here. Plus my ears get really sore in cold weather—especially if there’s any wind—so a hat was necessary, even if I did feel a little silly wearing a hairy ski-hat on what turned out to be a gorgeous sunny day. I had brought my royal blue wool coat (also not shown), just in case it got cold out, but it ended up sitting in the back seat next to Kellie the whole time, as the weather really wasn’t freezing at all. When Kellie saw it, she declared it to be TARDIS Blue! “But unlike the TARDIS,” quoth I, “it’s not bigger on the inside.” We both agreed that would be kind of a bad thing for a coat, LOL.

Our first stop was an upscale “resale fashion” boutique the girls’ friend Emily told them about, called Dazzle. And what do you know? They just *happened* to be having a clearance sale that day! While most of their prices made my Scotch blood sit up and howl, I had to admit that the quality was probably worth the few extra bucks.

By the time we were ready to go, Tasha found a few really cute things, and I think Kellie did, too.

After a quick meet-up with someone who had something for Tasha’s brother Alex, we headed on over to the CdA St. Vincent de Paul thrift store (there’s a mouthful for ya). Then we dropped by a little used bookstore along 4^th Street out of curiosity…for about five minutes. The books I saw all looked a bit creepy…I might even say some of them had an evil look about them. So we decided to lose no more time and head on over to the CdA Goodwill…after I took care of a minor hair malfunction. >Sigh< The joys of fine hair! (Which led to a discussion of the different pros and cons of our various hair types, and encouraging one another concerning the positive attributes thereof—namely, the fact that Kellie can put her hair up in a fancy vintage or even Edwardian updo and not need any padding, and that Tasha’s hair has natural soft waves that end in little curls. Lucky ducky.)

We had just enough time for a quick trip to Wigget’s Antiques, which I’ve been curious to see ever since Kellie mentioned it on her blog. I had no idea it was so big! And absolutely packed with treasures from the past—and that was just the main level. We didn’t even get to the upper level or the basement, but what we did see quite dazzled me. And we all brought home a treasure or two, mine being my very own copy of Jane Eyre, for which I’ve been looking a long time. PTL! (It was kind of funny, actually—I was browsing the books and came upon one with Jane Eyre in it, but with three other stories I wasn’t familiar with. “If only they had just Jane Eyre by itself!” said I. Another minute or two later, my wish was granted! Awesome!

We all agreed that next time we go out on the town, we should begin with Wigget’s, so’s we’ll have plenty of time to see the whole store. That, or dedicate a whole outing just for that purpose. There’s just so much to see!

And so, loaded down with our lovely loot, tired—a good kind of tired—from shopping and laughing at funny stories shared, commenting on the crazy (and somewhat disturbing) things done by “some people’s kids!”, encouraging Tasha—our designated driver for the day—during our encounters with the idiots who thought they owned the road (“Go, Tasha! You’re the best!”), and enjoying the glorious sunshine still beaming down on us, we bent our steps (wheels?) back to Prairie Cottage. We passed by the Coeur d’Alene resort, marveled at the sunshine on the lake and sighed with regret that we didn’t have “just one more hour” to walk along the beach in the glorious weather God had sent us. So we contented ourselves with enjoying the sunshine that came in the car windows instead.

The girls had just enough time to come and see “Tiger” in his place of honor in the studio before they left, after which time I went in the house and showed the family my loot (post coming soon!)…chattering like a magpie, I’m afraid, due to being still a bit high on adrenaline at that point.

Sneak Peek!

That evening, the H family from down the street, and Mrs. S from across the street, came over to share sumptuous Italian-ish dinner we’d prepared, and the hot artichoke dip Mrs. H brought. Mom decorated the table in my three favorite colors from childhood: Pink, Purple and White:

The pink is in the "silk" flowers

The artichoke dip was a hit, and soooo good on the warm, butter-soaked sourdough bread.

Too. Much. TORTELLINI!!!

After supper, when our guests had gone (leaving me with some very nice—and unexpected—gifts) we wound down the evening by watching the first episode of Emma (2009 miniseries). It had been a long time since we’d seen it, so I figured it was high time we watched it again. For those who haven’t seen it yet, here’s “Elinor Dashwood’s” review.

From the H family: Hand cream, lip balm, embroidery kit and a book!

Mrs. S gave me a card with a $20 bill in it and told me to buy something nice. Which I did...but that’s another story.

But the festivities didn’t end there! I found out the next day that Mom (and Peter, too) had more in store for me than just a Mom And Me thrifting expedition (otherwise known as a MAM outing)! We dropped by Jo-Ann’s to see if they had any fabrics to match the scraps I brought with me—they didn’t, but the trip was still profitable—then re-visited the CdA Goodwill and popped into the Hospice thrift store, where I hit the jackpot…but you’ll have to wait to see what I got. *Evil grin*

When we got home and I saw all the cars parked in our driveway (and on the street), suddenly I realized why Mom had said we needed to be home by two o’clock. Actually, she *said* it was because Aunt B was calling from California…I think that’s the only time my mother has ever lied to me in my whole life! :-P

The cars belonged to several couples from church and Bible study whom we’ve gotten to know a little, plus “Aunt” Patty and “Uncle” Richard, Jordan R and Michelle (who walked down from Jordan’s house). Just like dinner the night before, the table was decked out in Pink, Purple and White, and laden with snacky goodies like Buffalo Wing Bugles and fudge-dipped shortbread cookies—yum!

Mom had said that gifts weren’t necessary, but folks brought some anyway—and very nice gifts, too! 

From Mr. & Mrs. C: A diary with a Psalm on each page, and a kitten bookmark

From Patty & Richard: New PJs--with kitties!

From Michelle (and her mom): A crocheted Flower Headband (pictured with Cream Cardigan)

From Jordan R: Insulated cup & straw, purple loofa, Lilac-scented candle, mint gum & chocolate-covered orange jelly sticks!

And several people gave me more Green Stuff…which later made the offering box at church, my poor starving bank account and my purse very happy. :-D

 I was overwhelmed by all the love and generosity of our friends, and so blessed beyond measure at how many people actually took the time out of their busy schedules to make me feel special. God has put some wonderful people in my life, and I am so grateful for their friendship. I thank God, too, for my mother, who made such a big effort to make my birthday a special one, to show me that I am loved, and that I’m worth it.

~Quotes of the day~

“TOM”: How did you know I like teddy bears?

TASHA: Maybe because I read your blog.

*Laughter*

TASHA: So, how do you like sitting in the back seat, Kellie?

KELLIE: *Pause* I’ll get back to you on that.

“TOM”: Think of it this way: There’s a front seat, and a back seat—

ALL: …and a window in between!

KELLIE: That is seriously adorbs! *Pause* OK, if I say that again, slap me or something.

(She didn’t, so we didn’t.)

(While locking up the truck….)

TASHA: “Lock the door, R2!”

“TOM”: *Whistles*

TASHA: *Chuckle*

“TOM”: That guy was a bit wibbly-wobbly.

TASHA: But not at all timey-wimey.

KELLIE: That house has a rather high opinion of itself…advertising as “the model home.”

“TOM”: La-ti-dah!

TASHA: Ooh, vahz!*

* Vahz = A pronunciation of V-A-S-E, converted by Tasha into an expression denoting something is high-class, or very proper. Usually uttered with dramatic sarcasm.

Until next time, Gentle Readers,

God bless,

~“Tom”~

♥

Hallelujah!

I’ll admit there are times when I don’t understand why God does what He does (or doesn’t), when He seems to be dangling a carrot in front of your nose *just* beyond reach...then snatching it away right as you think you have it in your grasp.   Such a time came for my family—Mom and me in particular—recently. (Quoth I, “Turns out the ‘carrot’ was actually water hemlock, but why entice us with it in the first place??”) But God is merciful and patient, and through this ordeal He taught us a little more about His sovereignty in our lives
—in a very big way!

It all started last Summer, when Mom, Peter and I went to visit an elderly lady from church who was bedridden and not expected to live much longer. We sang some songs for her—which she enjoyed immensely—and sat and talked with her a while afterwards. During the course of the visit, her son asked if we knew anyone who’d like a baby grand piano (namely, his mother’s). Quoth Mom: Yes. ME!” She’d been praying about getting a “real” piano to teach her students on, seeing as the electric Costco special was (and is) out of tune at both ends, doesn’t have any weight to the keys, the foot-pedal is rubbish, and of course there’s no way to tune it. The lady was thrilled at the prospect of her beloved old piano (about a hundred years old, more or less), which she had learned to play as a girl and taught her own children on, would be going to a good home after she was with her Lord. “But you can’t have it till I’m gone,” she said.

Fast-forward to December. The lady went Home to be with Jesus on the 10^th. We attended her memorial service. We waited…not a word from the son about the piano. We waited some more, not wanting to seem vulturish* about it. Still nothing. Finally Mom called him up during a sunny spell in the weather and asked about it. She figured the break in the weather would be a good time to move the piano.
He’d forgotten his mother’s promise and given the piano to his niece. 
My reaction, in pictures:

[source]

* Vulturish = More concerned about things/mementos one will receive upon the death of another person, than with the feelings of the deceased person’s family. Being overly eager to receive same, without waiting a decent interval after the death of the deceased.
Source: The image of vultures or other carrion birds circling around an animal before it’s completely dead.
~Tom’s Dictionary of Whacked-out Terms and Old Family Sayings

  

I’ll spare you the gory details of the upheaval in our household (and my thought process because of it) during the weeks that followed. Let’s just say it’s a wonder I’m not a smoking crater several times over right now. *Sheepish grin* But God is merciful to idiots like me, and sometimes He shows us, in this life, the whys and wherefores of His sovereign plan for our lives…if for no other reason than to remind us Who is the Creator and who are the creation around here anyway.

Shorter than an upright; taller than a spinet

Anyhoo, I should mention that one of Mom’s piano students (a lady whose daughter also takes lessons from Mom) gave her a certificate for a local piano turner/repairman, to have the baby grand all turned and fixed up. Well, obviously we weren’t going to get the baby grand, so Mom was stuck with a valuable certificate and nothing to use it on! So sometime last week—I think it was a week ago today, actually—Mom called the man and asked if he knew of anyone who had a piano for sale, or something like that. He said—and this is where things began to fall into place—that he’d recently bought a console piano from an estate sale that had been refurbished, and he had done some work on it himself. He was charging $800 for it, but that if Mom liked the piano and gave him the gift certificate, he’d knock off $100! Which is a great price for a piano, especially when you consider all the work put into revamping it is a $900-$1,200 job in itself.

Wow.

But wait, there’s more!

Mom told her piano student (Mrs. J) about it, and Mrs. J was ecstatic. Fast forward to Tuesday morning of that same week. Mrs. J had told her husband about the situation, and they both decided to pay for the piano—if Mom liked it—as a gift!

Club me with a feather!

Mrs. J came over in her SUV (better snow-traction) on Wednesday and took us over to the “piano guy’s” house to look at the piano. After examining it and playing on it a bit, we decided it was a good investment, if not quite what we had hoped for. After all, nothing can quite compare to a baby grand, but this one will be a good student-quality instrument for teaching music. Plus the keys, being weighted, will help strengthen the students’ fingers, and if it goes out of tune, Mom can fix it—not so with the Costco special! So that very afternoon, the tuner rented a trailer, we helped him lift the piano onto the dolly and load it in, then we brought it home and installed it in its new home—the front part of the work-building—just as the first flakes of predicted snow began to fall. Awesome!

"Hmmm...."

"A REAL piano!"

"Tiger" in his new home

 The piano was built around 1925 of an exotic-looking wood called “tiger oak” for obvious reasons. Apparently it’s sawn at an angle to get those distinctive tiger-stripes in the wood grain. Some of the black paint has worn off the keys, and the new bushings in the key mechanism make the action a little flaky (some notes go silent when repeated quickly), but overall it’s in good shape, and in time the bushings will settle in and make it easier to play. The tuner will be back next week (Lord willin’ and the snow don’t fly!) to see how it’s settled into its new home, and tweak the tuning and what-not where needed.

Oh yes...and of course Mister Licorice had to check out the piano bench!

"This smells all kinds of interesting...."

I'm not 100% sure the (very dirty) needlepoint seat-cover will come clean. I tried soaking it in the bathtub, but the water got dirty so fast (black tea, anyone?) that I finally had to throw it in the washer to get the majority of the dirt out. That frayed the loosely-woven canvas edges like crazy, but the thing still looks dirty, and it may have shrunk too much to fit the bench, anyway. I may just make a throw-rug out of it.

The bench, on the other hand, is in wonderful condition (apart from the holes left over from the upholstery nails...and the inevitable scuffs Peter and I made removing them). The tuner said a long bench like this—especially with the supports underneath—is an unsuual one to be paired with this type of piano. Usually, he said, a bench like this goes with your Steinways and what-not, and is way up there in price. Score!

So now we see why God didn’t let us have the baby grand. It would have taken up too much space in the room, and we would have had to put out the money for repairs ourselves (the strings on it were the originals, and apparently there was some concern that they’d snap at any moment). Peter said the baby grand “might end up being a money-pit,” and since we just squeak by paying the bills and putting food on the table…yeah. Plus the old lady was a smoker, so the thing might have reeked of tobacco, anyway—not the best for this sensitive family. So as you can see, it makes this piano all the more special. God really does know best!

Until next time, Gentle Readers,

God bless

~“Tom”~

♥