A Doozy, A Doggy, and a Grand Old Chair

Some Mondays are better than others. This one is pretty darned good.

Well, it wasn't so good for poor Dion, our dog, who got one of those dreaded baths.

But Howard and I had a very successful Craigslist weekend, and this Monday I am enjoying the fruits of our hunt.

For our front porch we found this lovely old wicker rocker:

It is large, and heavy, and very sturdy.
Love the woven-in designs.

Its issues are minor ones -- a little paint wear but nothing loose --

-- and a very small bit of unraveling. Nothing that affects its usefulness.
This is the strongest, sturdiest wicker piece I have ever met.

Ain't it a peach? I am almost embarrassed to tell you what we paid, but I will: $35.

It has a label underneath. We peeked. We give our furniture no privacy.
It was made by the Debski Furniture Company in NYC, probably in the 1920s.

Howard took a lovely nap in it yesterday, before I hauled him off to do more Craigslist-ing.

Now, what do you think?
Obviously, new cushions are in order, but should we paint this fabulous old rocker,
or should we leave it in its rather charming mildly-chipped creamy white?

I vacillated all day yesterday. I finally decided . . . no, I'm going to see what you think!

We made 3 other Craigslist stops on Sunday.
Among the finds was something I just could not turn down:

Can you guess? Hint: it is not for the front porch!

Sorry for the blurriness! (Drinking too early in the day, I guess. Yep, that's me all over. . . . )

If you guessed a chair, you would be . . . wrong.

Question: does anyone know the best way to clean a few decades of
normal household schmutz off a good painted finish?

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On Sunday, we had planned to paint Lucy, the metal lawn chair we bought back in June. (Story here.)
But rain intervened; no painting!

We do love Lucy's funky green finish, but after some wire brushing and sanding, we found that in her checkered past Lucy
has been a host of colors, a veritable rainbow of hues, including our current porch favorite, red!

So red she will be again.

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The rain was welcome in a little part of the lawn we have allowed to run wild:

You can't see it from the street, but we can see it from the porch,
and I love the Queen Anne's Lace and the Black-Eyes Susans, and some unidentified volunteers.

On the porch, the asparagus ferns are fulfilling their destiny, and growing in all directions at once!

Really, they are so much more reliable, and easier, than Boston Ferns for summer porches. They thrive on benign neglect!

Well friends, your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to tell me if you think we should paint the new (old) white (sort of) rocker. It has been several shades of green, and I think yellow, in its past. Judging from my getting fresh and peeking under the bits of chippiness. It's current white is somewhat yellowed with age.

Your other assignment? Have a lovely Monday, and if you are curious -- stop back Tuesday,
to find out what the not-a-chair really is, what else we got on Sunday's Craigslist jaunt, and what is inside this:

It's a doozy.

Now for my Links this Monday:




Rhoda at Southern Hospitality
hosts Today's Thrifty Treasures,
every Monday.
You just have to buzz over
and see her lime green wedges!






At The House In The Roses,
Cielo is the hostess for
Show Off Your Cottage Monday.

She's celebrating her own outdoor
living room today -- her beautiful garden!




I hope to see you tomorrow! -- Cass