New Rocking Chair

Last Monday at my lunch hour I ran over to Rabbit Creek, a great new antique mall in Tallahassee, and bought a rocking chair and footstool I’d had my eye on for a while. The owner of the booth where I found the chair was sitting in the store doing some paperwork when I came in to make my purchase.

He said, “That chair was sold to me by a 76-year-old lady, and it’s got its original upholstery.”

“I’ll take it!” I said.

And I hauled the chair and footstool to my car and raced back to work. (I’m always rushing now that I’m in the office five days a week once again and have such a long commute. I feel like a hamster stuck in a wheel.)

I couldn’t wait for the weekend to come so I’d have time to arrange my new finds in the back bedroom. On Friday night when I got home from work, I was ecstatic. I love being at home—and I had a precious, rare, wonderful three-day weekend ahead of me! That evening I merrily cleaned the back bedroom, preparing the way for the new rocking chair. I scrubbed the floor and waxed the furniture and removed unbelievable amounts of cat fur from the premises.

The cats were having fun too, because I was moving furniture around and they found all the action very exciting. To make room for the rocking chair, I moved the ugly old chaise lounge out of the bedroom and into the hall temporarily. June, Carl, Tellie, and Frankie thought this was an awesome home improvement and spent the whole evening scratching the chaise and snuggling on it.

I quit cleaning at eight so Rob and I could watch The Pale Blue Eye, a mystery thriller involving a fictional version of the young Edgar Allan Poe when he was a student at West Point in 1830. The movie was beautiful to look at, with most scenes taking place in snowy woods, and shadowy interiors lit only by candles and glowing fireplaces. Becky slept on my lap, and Buntin bathed herself on Rob’s lap as we sat in our chairs in the cozy living room.

“This is so great,” I said to Rob. “Sitting here with you and the cats. Eating popcorn. Wearing my pajamas. I’m really loving everything about it. I just wish it wouldn’t be over so fast.”

The next morning I was up long before dawn, cleaning the back bedroom again. I cleaned it from top to bottom, then got the new rocking chair and footstool into their proper positions.

“They look perfect,” I said to myself, admiring my new additions.

I took some quick pictures. Ha! But then, immediately, I had to completely cover/smother the chair and footstool in quilts to protect them from the cats, whose favorite hobby is, of course, destroying everything in the house.