Saturday, June 30, 2012

More About Chairs

Many of you know that I am best friends with Roche and we have been pals for over 40 years.  
Her family is from Waumandee and over the years I came to her know her parents and family very well. 
I called Betty "My Other Mother" and the brothers "My Other Brothers".
We have always teased (well was I really teasing?)  about me getting into 'the will'.  
gh
After I moved to Wisconsin, I made several visits to see Roche's Mom, Betty, and on one of those visits we stopped at Paul's house to see his remodeling progress.  During my stay, Rochelle's brother, My Other Brother Paul, asked if I wanted 3 old chairs that he had no use for.
I thought Betty told me that those chairs belonged to her Mom, so I scooped them up.  
Then, I hung them up in my garage as they needed repair and refinish.
And there they hung for almost 4 years.
gh
This spring, when I was cleaning and organizing the garage, 
I decided it was time that those chairs came out of the light of day.
I brought one into the house, but since it was not strong enough to sit on, 
I used it just for display.
The chairs were very dark, with an uneven finish.
Each of the 3 chairs had at least one broken or missing rung.
Then, I found a furniture restoration expert in Siren, Wisconsin
Not only are Jeff and Dawn Richter very nice people, but his work is quite remarkable.
gh
I wish I would have taken more 'before' pictures, but here are a couple of 'during' pics.

Jeff put a little sample stain on the chair on the right so I could pick a color. 
Each chair had been completely disassembled, sanded and re-glued / re-assembled.

A week later, Dawn delivered the chairs to me.
She said she is always looking for an excuse to come to Rice Lake, so pick up and delivery is certainly an option for customers in this area.
 These are the finished chairs.
 Just beautiful.
Sweet!
The chairs are solid now and very charming

The backs of the chairs had that old fashioned painted on fake grain.
After stripping, the beautiful grain of the ash came to light.

At my dining room table, these chairs look great.
Betty's chairs at home in Rice Lake
The only chair with any damage that was not repaired, is this one with the burn.
We left it alone, it adds character.
Jeff Richter told me that the backs of the chairs are made of ash, the seat pans maple and there is some oak as well.  
gh
As to the story of the original owners of the chairs, Roche's brother, Paul, sent me this note.

Wanda,

As far as I am concerned other sister, the chairs were gifted to you and they are yours.

I want to let you know I still have the dining room table and had it completely refinished and you ate Thanksgiving dinner on it in 2010 with Mom. The table has double family lineage to it since the table came from Jacob & Lydia Senty (double relatives: Senty brother and sister married sister and brother Rosenow). Jacob Senty is our grandmother Anna Rosenow’s brother and Lydia is our grandfather Louis Rosenow’s sister ) who lived next door to the Montana Church (still do - but in the cemetery).

As mother told the story to me, all my older siblings sat around that table when they were young for Sunday School and/or catechism classes before the church basement was usable for anything besides storing wood for the church furnace. Mom said I may have sat at the table on her lap when after church our family would stop in to visit.

But I agree with John that you should maybe go to the Antique Road Show to find out their value. More importantly, I want to see you on the TV show as you explain to the show’s curator of antique chairs the story behind them starting with how you met the girls 40+ years ago!

Sincerely,
Your Other Brother,
Paul

Post Script:  While chatting about these chairs with Paul, LeAnna and Rochelle, Paul remembers getting the 3 chairs at the same time he got the table, so we all agreed that likely they were with the table all along.

So, while I may not have made it officially into 'the will', 
I did receive a very nice inheritance!
gh
Thank you to the Rosenows, 
these chairs are now part of the Johansen family and will be heirlooms for generations to come.
gh

Friday, June 29, 2012

Lois's chairs

My sister in law, Lois, had this great idea about painting old chairs and using them to hold plants on the deck or in the garden.
We ran across a really excellent bargain on old chairs.
Now she has a spray paint addiction!
But these are too cute.
(Lois took these pictures with her cell phone.)
Are these cute, or what!
Strawberry chair
This might be my favorite

One thing leads to another of course.

What used to be a green plastic love seat that was oxidized, turned into a very fun blue place to relax.
White plastic deck chairs get a new look and the details on the backs really stand out.

This little kids park bench went from rusty and weathered to red and cute.
I hope we don't have to do an intervention to pry the spray can out of her hand, ha!
Lois's shade garden has benefited from a few spray painted plant holders

Her back deck is a container garden spot and of course her plants all look great.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Lunch with Anders

On Tuesday I met Lora and Anders is Chippewa Falls for lunch.  
They were headed to Anders' dentist appointment and I wanted to pick up tickets to the Eau Claire Express so it worked out great.  We had Subway and then headed to Irving Park.  
They have a small zoo there but we mostly were interested in the playground.
I took a few pictures of my pal Anders.
 First it was the swing.



Then he checked out the slide.
 He's getting to be such a big boy
 Of course you have to climb up the slide first
 He looks so tall here.

This pictures just reminds me of his Dad when he was this age.
Kris and Anders have the same stance, genetics are pretty amazing and entertaining.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

The Lone Ranger rides again

These birds always remind me of the Lone Ranger with their fun masks.
When I got home from breakfast with Krista Sunday morning, these two Cedar Waxwings were snacking on the berries of a bush right next to the driveway.
I have heard that they do a mating thing passing a berry back and forth.
Named a Cedar Waxwing for those red wax like feathers
A little hard to see in the shadows
High in an elm tree
Watching the action at the tree tops
He sees me
He sees one more berry
He really is a beautiful bird
Two-gether
It was exciting for me to see them, it had been 2 years since I had observed them in my yard.
My pictures are okay, but not tack sharp.
Sometimes when I get excited about the subject matter, I forget some of the steps to taking really good pictures, like checking your camera settings.
O well, I'll do better next time.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Jackson is 7

Sunday was Jackson's 7th birthday and he had his party that day too.
As always, Erin and Dana had a very nice themed party planned.
Delicious fish caught by and cooked by Erin's Dad, Steve.
Yummy cake and goodies.
Cold beverages and good conversation.

The Cousins
Top to bottom, left to right:
Bryce, Jordyn, Breanna, Wynni, Alexis,
Linsey
Milli, Jake, Jackson, Charli
Vinny
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*'•.¸[̲̅̅H̲̅][̲̅̅A̲̅][̲̅̅P̲̅][̲̅̅P̲̅][̲̅̅Y̲̅] [̲̅̅B̲̅][̲̅̅I̲̅][̲̅̅R̲̅][̲̅̅T̲̅][̲̅̅H̲̅][̲̅̅D̲̅][̲̅̅A̲̅][̲̅̅Y̲̅]•.¸*

'•.¸'•.¸☆☆'•.¸'•.¸☆☆'•.¸'•.¸☆☆'•.¸'•.¸
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Among other fun gifts, Jackson got a box of money for his birthday.
$20 in quarters but when he opened the box he saw nothing, Mike and Kaija were teasing him.

 He is missing his two front teeth but still has a great smile.
Super Bait from Grandpa Steve, now he can catch the huge fish.
Alyxis made a card for Jackson, very creative
Brother Jake and cousins Wynni and Breanna watching the gift opening
Watching someone else open presents is pretty serious stuff I guess...
Cousin Charli
Great Grandma Eileen
Cousin Linsey
Grandma Kathy is enjoying the fun
Jake was modeling his new goggles, what a crazy kid
I did not get any pictures of the birthday cake and candles,
but CLICK HERE for a short video of the blowing out of the candles.

Bryce and Jordyn
Kaija is giving someone the eye
Wynni is getting to be a big girl
Vinny is also getting to be big and brave
He is talking more and more too
Milli in her shades and loving the swing
What a character
Sometimes when you are taking party pictures, you get an odd shot.
I guess there were guns at this party.
I had to snap a shot of this beautiful hibiscus too

Bryce and Aunt Krista fighting over a balloon.  Bryce wanted to bite it.

My niece Breanna never wants me to take her picture, she's a beauty, so I have to be sneaky

Armed guards at the party?
A very fun family gathering
and I had a nice drive home as well.

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