new rocking chair with a history

I went to Goodwill today on my way home from my walk, because I needed a couple of dishes to replace ones I'd broken. I checked out the furniture section, hoping there might be a rocking chair... and there was. This weathered beauty was on sale for $15.



When I got it home and was wiping off years of accumulated dust and grime, I noticed some writing on the underside of the seat.



The metal tags below the writing identify the chair as the former property of St. Joseph's Hospital, which has a renowned obstetrical department. Now I can't stop wondering how many mothers and nurses have sat in this chair rocking babies over the years.

(And BTW, Laure - this is a Laurie-sized rocking chair, with a seat very low to the ground...)

yard sale-ing

Went out yard sale-ing with Laurie this morning. Both of us were mostly brain-dead from lack of sleep (unfortunately due to insomnia in both cases, not anything more exciting). We knew of some neighbourhood sales in Old South and Woodfield, and Laurie said there was a rummage sale at St. Peter's, too, so I let her set the agenda and basically just worked as a loot mule and chauffeur. (I'm teasing, Laurie.)

I didn't intend to buy anything because I'm experiencing a temporary dearth of monies in my bank account, but I couldn't resist these shoes at our first stop - on Elmwood Ave. in Old South. I'm not a shoe nut, but it's so rare for me to find yard sale shoes (never worn, either!) in my size that I couldn't resist. Plus they only cost a dollar. Enough said.

Not quite sure where I'm going to wear these "f*ck me" wedges that add at least five inches to my height, but anyhow...



At another house on Wortley Road I found a card box full of stamps. I need more stamps like I need a hole in the head, but anyhow...



After making the rounds of Old South (where I'm pretty sure Laurie bought stuff too, but I don't remember what), we headed to St. Peter's. The St. Pete's sale was pretty dismal - both in content and attendance - but I did find this gorgeous blue mug for 25 cents. Enough said.



They were also selling baked goods at St. Peter's, and I couldn't resist one of these cupcakes-in-a-cone. I'm not even PMS'ing, so don't ask. Anyhow, it looked pretty in my hand for the 30 seconds or so it took me to eat it.



Walking back to my car I glanced over at Laurie and decided to take a picture of her. Which I don't think I've ever done before, ever. Anyhow, she looked beautiful in the sunshine and I knew it would make a good picture, plus she wants pics of herself for some kind of nefarious purpose that I don't really feel entitled to discuss, so just enjoy this pic of my beautiful BFF.

(I just noticed there's a kind of white mark below her nose that kind of resembles a drip of snot... if she complains, I guess I'll PhotoShop the pic for her. Sorry, Laure.)



The neighbourhood yard sales in Woodfield were the best of the day. Early on I found two baskets (above and below) for $5 and $2. I need more baskets like I need a hole in the head, too, but anyhow...





Yeah, I have absolutely no idea what this thing is. It's some kind of carved wooden foot that's been fastened to this kind of stand, and there are these dowel-y things at the top... my mind hurts just looking at it. I asked the woman whose home it was sitting in front of what it was, and she said, "Honey, if I knew what it was it wouldn't be sitting there."

(If you think you know what it is, please let me know. I'm afraid I won't sleep well until this is settled. Shyeah right, I know - I probably won't sleep well after you tell me, either. Nevermind.)



Awesome house in Woodfield (which is full of awesome houses). I loved this window - it seems very European. There was a tiny little al fresco cafe set up in front of this house, and Laure and I might have stopped to rest if I hadn't bought an awesome table for my kitchen, and wanted to go pick it up and get home for a nap. Which didn't happen (the nap), but anyhow...



Found four palm fans at another house in Woodfield. These could come in handy in church sometime this summer. Except I'll probably forget to bring one with me to church. Sigh.



Picking up the table I bought for $5 from a friend of Laurie's who lives in Woodfield. The table wasn't even for sale, but I asked if she was interested in selling it, because I coveted it for my kitchen. Laurie and Margot were suitably amazed at my organizing skills when packing everything in my hatchback. Just saying.



The table in its new home - with my kitty preparedness items (cat basket and food bowls) underneath. I bought the basket in Woodfield for $1, BTW. I wish I could take a good picture of the top of the table, because it's been painted with this gorgeous sponged-blue effect. Anyhow. I love this table. The legs kind of smelled like cat pee when I wiped them off at home, so I'm hoping either 1. it's not really pee, or 2. my new kittens have no sense of smell.

new rocking chair

I'll admit it, I have a rocking chair fetish. This is my latest (not so new, now - I think I got it two weeks ago) acquisition: A bentwood rocker found at the Rotary rummage sale. It cost me $15. I sit in it every day.



Bentwood curlique. I like furniture that is useful AND looks beautiful. And that totally makes me wonder how they got the wood to bend like that.

sunday night curb surfing

I love curb surfing. Tonight's score was a dining room chair picked up right outside my front door - a match for another chair I'd rescued a few months ago. I think it belonged to the cute guy with the kids who just moved out - the seats on both had been recovered with a disgusting dusty rose fabric that was filthy with children's paint and greasy blotches. But as with the previous chair, when I removed the fabric, the original pleather upholstery was in great condition, and all it needed was a wipe with a damp cloth.

Above is the frame with the seat removed. I have to apologize for the really lame how-to instructions on this project: Basically I just turned the chair upside down on my work table and unscrewed the seat from the frame. But I didn't take a picture of that part. Sorry.

Nor did I take a picture of how disgusting the chair looked before I cleaned it up. Nor did I take a picture of the tools and screws I used to put it back together. Luckily I had a spare wood screw in my toolbox, since this chair was missing one of its seat screws.



The finished, reassembled chair is on the right, beside the aforementioned mate that I rescued during the winter. I love their simple lines, and the black seats and dark wood look really great in my front room. Oh - forgot to mention that I also waxed the chair backs (the part that would touch the back of someone sitting in the chair), because the wood finish had weathered off both, and they looked a bit dodgy.



Today's find in its (temporary?) new home - at one end of my front room. I need to get some felt pads for the chair legs, so that they won't scrape against the floor whenever I lazily slide it around my apartment. Right now it's serving as an ersatz side table for the chair beside it.

rocking chair

I have loved rocking chairs since I was a kid. Their soothing action always calms me. It wasn't until I saw contemporary remakes of traditional designs, however - with 21st-century proportions and finishes - that I began coveting a rocking chair (or seven) for myself. I still have this dream of filling my living room with no other seating but rocking chairs, so all my guests can comfortably rock away the hours whenever they came to visit. (Or get suitably seasick. Which might also be fun.)

East of London there is a farmer's market called Trail's End, where a furniture seller carries finished and unfinished oak rockers that would look at home on any gracious country veranda. I visit them every once in a while, sitting in the generously-sized chairs and dreaming of a day when my budget will allow me to purchase one of my own.

Today my friend Laurie suggested an impromptu visit to Goodwill to find a single dinner plate to replace one I'd broken earlier this morning; while in the store, I saw a gorgeous wooden rocker with simple lines and a wide seat, and I was smitten. It was marked $49.99, and I decided it would be my birthday present from my family. When I took it to the cashier, she informed me that it was 50% off! Whoo-hoo! - a rocking chair in perfect condition for 25 bucks.

The sturdy chair (pictured above) is now in my middle room, where its simple wood finish blends perfectly with my bookshelves and floor. A little piece of heaven. Doing a little happy dance about my rocking chair right now...