Tag: furniture

  • The Chair redux

    Those of you who have read my blog from the beginning may remember a post called “The Chair.” Because of the loss of the archives, I can’t provide a link to it for you to read, so here is a brief summary. Many, many years ago, maybe 20, hubby fell in love with a huge chair in Sams Club. Every time we went to shop, he looked to see if it was still there and sat in it for a bit. Near Christmas, daughter and I set out to buy that chair and bring it home, hide it, and put it in the house for his Christmas present. It didn’t fit in my car in the box, so daughter and I unboxed it, loaded part of it in my mini van, I left her standing in the parking lot with the rest and the box while I took it home and returned to get her and the remainder of the chair and the box. We hid the chair in a neighbor’s garage until closer to Christmas, recycled the box and got it in the house as his gift. That chair moved when we sold our house to build this home to the rental we were in for a year. Then I moved here to a new job, into an apartment, and “the chair” moved to an apartment until hubby retired to move here. He and our youngest son lived in that apartment for 2 years then moved to a better apartment for 1 more, then hubby and “the chair” moved to the mountains to sit in our loft in front of the TV. His chair.

    Eight years ago this December, our mastiff was born, 8 weeks later, we drove to Pennsylvania to get him. As he grew, as mastiffs are prone to do, he would back up to “the chair” when hubby was sitting in it and sit on the edge, eventually getting big enough that he would manage to curl up in hubby’s lap.

    That chair as you can see from the arm, was failing and shortly after this photo was taken, it gave up and we bought a “new chair.” The “new chair” as we discovered was pleather, and not very good quality pleather. Where “the chair” lasted about 15 years and 4 moves, the “new chair” failed after about 4 year and the “new chair” wasn’t big enough for the beast and his master to share. Now understand, our dogs do not get on furniture, except the beast and his master’s chair. Because Ranger couldn’t get on the chair with hubby, he would try to sit on the edge, finally pawing at hubby’s leg to get him to come down on the floor with him. This is another mastiff trait. By this morning, there was no pleather on the seat, the back of the cushion had come unstitched and the stuffing was coming out, the chair has been covered with a fitted sheet for a month and hubby showed signs of allergy every time he sat in it.

    He has been promised a better chair for Christmas, but the old one needed to go now, and the loft thoroughly cleaned of the pleather dust, stuffing, dog hair bunnies, spill stains under furniture. The loft also contains my chair, various spinning and weaving tools, a desk, a file cabinet, a love seat, and two small tables. It was decided that the “new chair” now old and decrepit was headed to the dump and he would use the love seat until Christmas. With much effort, it was gotten down the steps, into the back of the SUV and hauled away. The loft has been vacuumed, dusted, floor hand washed, and rearranged as the love seat was not where he could see the TV.

    It isn’t the best arrangement, making it difficult to get behind the seating to the desk and printer, but it will do for a few weeks.

  • The Chair

    Years ago, we laughed at episodes of the TV show Frazier, with “the chair.”  The chair belonged to his father, a ratty, striped recliner with duct tape holding it together.  In one episode, Frazier, bothered by the look of the chair in his very modern svelte apartment, removed it to the building’s storage room and replaced it with a new leather version.  Dad was not happy and the episode revolved around the search for the taped up old chair to return to the apartment.  The story line going much deeper, but for my purposes, we will leave it here.

    About 16 or 17 years ago, while still living in Virginia Beach, Mountaingdad found a ginormous rocking recliner in Sam’s Club.  Every time we went to shop, he went to see if the chair was still there, sitting in it and wishing.  Daughter and I decided that it would make a great Christmas present for him, drove my minivan to Sam’s Club and purchased the last one, a hulking leather monstrosity and wheeled it out to the car.  It wouldn’t fit in the van in the box.  We unpacked it and with much Tetris like activity, got it into the van, but didn’t want to abandon the box in the parking lot as that went so totally against my hippy, you must recycle it mindset.  I ended up leaving the box and my 16 year old daughter in the parking lot, drove the chair home and unloaded it in the garage, drove the few miles back and picked up daughter and box and drove to the recycle center to leave the box.  Back home, we approached a neighbor about storing it in their garage until Christmas Eve.  On Christmas Eve early in the day, we removed it back to our garage and covered it back in an area in front of my mini van, hoping that Mountaingdad would not spot it.  That night, it was hauled into the house, set in place and a big bow taped to the back.

    That chair has been his favorite.  It moved from that house to the rental we took after selling the house to build this one.  Moved again to two different apartments that he occupied after I moved up here to work and supervise the construction of our new home.  It moved again to our log home upon his retirement and continued to be his favorite spot to use his laptop, watch TV and recuperate from surgery then a broken humerus.  After all of the years and all of the moves, the chair’s leather began to split.  We tried Frazier’s Dad’s approach and bought some dark brown duct tape to try to repair it.  It held for a little while, but not for long.  It became a place where Mountaingdad and Ranger shared time at night.

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    But alas, it was just falling apart.  About a year ago, I started suggesting it was time to replace it, but he wasn’t ready.  A week ago, I received a coupon for 20% off a furniture item from Grand Furnishings as we have bought several mattresses and the grandkids bunk bed from them in the past couple of years.  The end of last week, he admitted that it was time.

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    The seat and arms of the chair as it awaits disposal.

    Sunday, we used the coupon to buy him a new leather recliner.  Large and comfy, but not quite as massive as The Chair.  Today it arrived at the local Grand and was picked up.

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    I don’t know if Mountaingdad and Ranger will both fit in this one.  I hope it provides at least Mountaingdad comfort for as long as The Chair did.