on the 66th day of Christmas....

Are you kidding me?

GS and I aren't into looking for the perfect gift for one another each year. The fact is it might just be some kind of gag gift or novelty.

This last Christmas we determined to fill in the spot where the spinet piano with the cracked sound board used to sit (just inside the front door, if you walk straight ahead toward the hallway to the bedrooms). The space has been vacant (with a few exceptions) for the past couple of years.

Let me backtrack. We really decided to fill it even before we sent the piano north. We just hadn't decided with what. We only knew it had to be skinnier (narrower?) than the piano. In fact we wanted something a lot smaller than any piano... and we wanted it to fit the decor of the living room, whatever it is.

We looked at bookcases. We looked at small sideboards. We checked out all kinds of things That are about 30 inches high, no more than 48 inches wide, about 15 - 20 inches deep and not modern. The search could have gone on forever. It was a case of, "We'll know it when we see it."

Now bear in mind that the living room has seen little use... other than as a traffic area between the kitchen & family room and the back of the house (where the bedrooms, bathrooms and den are)... since we remodeled almost 20 years ago. The most it is used is when we have the carpet cleaned in there.

So, anyhow, GS happened across just what we were seeking on the inter-tubes sometime last October. We discussed it some and she placed an order. There's more to the story but I don't want it to become one of those shaggy frog duck stories I've been known to tell. This was our Christmas gift to each other.






It arrived this Tuesday morning





(click the image for a more detailed view)

but shipping was free
.