The Oriental Desk.

One of the antique shops in Bryan has had an Oriental secretary-desk in one of the dealer booths for just about four years now.  We don't go into that shop every time we drive into Bryan, but I think I had seen that desk about three times in the last two years. 

The first time I saw the desk, I think I gasped at its height and its uniqueness... the curved wood top, little cubby-holes in the cabinet above the writing desk, all the original hand painting on the top, bottom, sides, drawers..... it was just a beautiful piece of Oriental workmanship. 

The second time, I think I said out loud: "Why hasn't anyone brought you home yet?" Then I opened one of the smaller top drawers (lots of dust), peeked into a few of the cubby-holes (so perfect for a porcelain collection), and ran my fingers across some of the paintings (very dusty).

The third time we went into that shop, I looked at that desk and said "I can't believe you're still here." Once again, I peeked into the cubby-holes (more dust) and ran my fingers across the paintings of Geisha girls and Oriental children.  "Look at this, just look at this," I said to my husband.  "How can something so beautiful still be sitting here?"

And where would I put such a big piece of furniture.... that's what I was thinking that last time in the shop.  I could hear my husband's mother saying "Buy what you love, honey, and you'll always find a place for it."  But I didn't buy it, didn't even ask for a better price, didn't even think about it after we left the shop.  We have a house filled with furniture, I didn't need another desk, no matter how old and unique and beautiful it happened to be.

My husband came home from work last week and gave me a little red gift bag. He told me to open it up.... which is unusual for him, to say the least, because he's a firm believer of never opening gifts until the very day of the holiday, birthday, whatever it happens to be.  He stood there holding that little red bag, insisting that I open it up.  Inside the bag was a cell phone.  "You bought me a new cell phone?"--- then I realized that it was his cell phone inside the bag.

"What do you want me to do with your cell phone?"  My husband took the cell phone out of my hand, pressed one of the buttons, and there on the little screen was that Oriental secretary-desk.... sitting in that same booth in the antique shop. I looked at my husband and he said "Merry Christmas.... I'll pick it up on Tuesday."

Speechless.  Totally speechless.... something that doesn't usually happen to me.  My husband had gone back to that shop on his way home from work one day, talked to the dealer, and got a fantastic price on the desk because it had been sitting in the shop for so long.  He did indeed pick up the desk this past Tuesday, and now that beautiful Oriental piece of hand painted furniture is sitting in the main hallway of the second floor...... looking gorgeous as you walk up the staircase, and I can see it right here from my little desk in my sitting room as I type. My collection of porcelain ladies (mostly vintage  Josef Originals) now sit in each one of those little cubby-holes.

I was going to put that Oriental desk in my room here, but it's massive, and it just needed a much bigger space...... our second floor hallway is a huge rectangle-shape..... there's other furniture in the hallway as well, and that one spot that you can see as you walk up the staircase seemed to be the perfect place for such a substantial piece of unique furniture.  I had a smaller curio cabinet in that spot, which I moved into my room here...... the bookcase that was in my room is now in the TV room downstairs. ("Buy what you love, honey..... you will always find a place for it.")

The Oriental desk has been polished with orange-oil furniture wax............. all of the dust is gone, the paintings are more beautiful than ever, and the desk looks like it was made for the spot it's sitting in. The walls of the hallway are white....... they will soon be painted a soft beige, which I had wanted to do anyway, but now that the Oriental desk is there, even my husband noticed that the walls needed to be something other than stark impersonal white.

I have walked up and down the main staircase over and over... just to look up at that desk.... to see the little porcelain ladies protected in their individual cubby-holes of the upper part of the cabinet...... one door of the upper cabinet is open, one door is slightly closed..... the porcelain ladies peek out at you as you walk up the stairs.  On the writing desk, I have placed a small vintage Oriental lamp which I found at a thrift store last month.  A Japanese vase of flowers sits on the floor at one side of the desk; a gold and burgundy chair sits on the other side.  As with all of our vintage furniture, this wonderful old Oriental desk looks as if it was always meant to be right where it is, in this 1907 house.

Truly a Christmas surprise.... even before Thanksgiving.  I'm guessing that my husband's mother is sitting on a cloud somewhere, smiling, smiling, smiling....

Thanksgiving Day +1

My husband and I had Thanksgiving dinner yesterday afternoon, and we did the same thing today with friends J&J.  All of yesterday's 'left-overs' came out of the fridge and made another performance, and after a day of getting happy in the roasting pans, today's lunch was just as delicious as yesterday's.   I don't know why that is, but holiday foods just stay delicious until they're all gone. And it just isn't a holiday without all the potatoes and dressing and the turkey and the pies.

I would imagine that a lot of families along the east coast didn't have much of a holiday after all the storm damage they had up there last month, but I hope they found something to be thankful for, in the midst of all that madness after the hurricane.  We're still looking at pictures and video clips of that storm, and it's just so hard to believe that a storm of that strength hit so many parts of Long Island that we're both familiar with.

We usually get our big Christmas tree right after turkey-day, but being that Thanksgiving is a week early this year, we're going to wait another week to get the real tree.  I'm hoping that the trees that are sitting in the lots of Home Depot and Lowe's are being kept watered and safe so they're not filled with flying and crawling critters when we go to pick one out.  I was surprised to see that both stores already had some Christmas trees last week, and I'm hoping that they will get newer and fresher trees by the time we're ready to buy one.  It's been so warm here.... nearly 80 degrees last week.... not exactly Christmas tree weather. 

"Why did the turkey cross the road?"

---- "Because it was the chicken's day off."   

And that was one of the silly riddles that went into a Thanksgiving card for one of J's grandchildren.  We had another card-making afternoon today, me and J and J.  Surrounded by boxes of Thanksgiving papers and pictures, double-sided tape, fancy scissors, and slices of dessert made by Paula Deen, courtesy of the local supermarket.

Last month, the three of us made Halloween cards... both J and J sending handmade cards to their grandchildren, and me sending cards to my cousins.   We had talked about getting together for Thanksgiving cards earlier this month, and somehow, turkey-day just crept up on us and before we knew it, next week is Thanksgiving already.

So there we were, sitting around my dining room table, with J asking silly riddles that she popped up on her iPhone, and J and I laughing at the answers.  After a Paula Deen sugar buzz, it doesn't take much to make us laugh.  "When was the first time the pilgrims said God Bless America?"  --- "The first time America sneezed."  Well, it was funny this afternoon.  I guess you just had to be there.

What was also funny was the intense quiet that existed in that dining room after we had laughed at the riddles.  All three of us looking through the box of Thanksgiving papers and embellishments, deciding what paper to use for which card, which stickers looked best--- the scarecrow or the pumpkin, the leaves or the acorns?  You would think we were all helping Michelangelo design the Sistine Chapel.

I look at card-making as very relaxing..... if I'm not making cards or reading, then I'm on my feet in the kitchen or going up and down the stairs in this big old house.  So making cards or reading a book forces me to sit down for a while, and it's like taking a deep breath and just letting the time pass.   

We started making cards at 3:00 this afternoon...... before we knew it, the clock said 5:30. How could that be? What happened to the afternoon?  Did the husbands want dinner?  Again?  Didn't they all eat yesterday?!  Does anyone ask Hallmark what time dinner will be on the table???

November.... already....

.... and 'Let the merry-making begin!' (as Mary Engelbreit would say).

The house is all decked out for Christmas, with Santas and Christmas trees in all of the rooms.  Just a few unbreakable Santas in the TV room where I keep the cats... this way, if anything gets knocked to the floor, I don't have to worry that the cats will get hurt.  Cats... kids.... same thoughts about safety.

Every room has a Christmas tree... two and three trees in some of the rooms, depending on how big the trees are.  I had a great idea for a little table-top tree for the library upstairs.... a small tree decorated with miniature books.  I already have a very tiny copy of 'The Nutcracker,' so I'm sure to find other miniature books along the way..... I also have to find the perfect tree to put them on.

We're still not finished with the library.... the painting is all done, except for all the tiny triangles of window panes.  We're still talking about carpeting the staircase or sanding and finishing the wood steps........ my vote is for carpet, just for the sake of time.  Getting the carpenters back here will be another three weeks, and I'm tired of waiting for this project to be complete.  Really truly complete, as in bookshelves with books on them.

Patience..... in all things.

Speaking of patience...... friends and family in NY have let us know that everything up there is still not back to normal yet.  Some are still without power, without heat.... and the weather has not only turned cold but there's snow on the ground up there.  Another Halloween (second year in a row) had to be cancelled due to a storm. 

Thankfully, none of our friends or family found their homes and cars flooded..... the worst that happened was loss of power and heat for a week or so, which was bad enough.  My friend Fran's grandbaby-girl was all set to wear her pumpkin costume for Halloween, but that never happened, so she had to be content with wearing the pumpkin outfit around the house for nearly a week.  Sweet little girl..... when I see her smiling in pictures, I think of Fran...... the baby has Fran's smile.  Life goes on......... no matter how terrible, how awful.... life does indeed go on in a sensible way (as my husband's mother always used to tell us).

But.... Christmas aside, and Halloween a memory now, Thanksgiving is coming up.  My husband and I volunteered to serve Thanksgiving dinner at the local food pantry...... we don't know if that will happen........ they told us they usually get more help than they need. So we'll see if they call.  I've got all the fixings for our own Thanksgiving dinner, and whether we have that on turkey-day or the day before or after, we'll have the usual feast with sweet potatoes and oyster dressing and homemade cranberry sauce.  And I also see a pumpkin pie in our future.......