Feathering My Nest

One thing I wanted from the lump-sum retirement money was some new furniture. With the exception of a kitchen table I purchased about eight years ago, I have never bought new furniture for my house. George and I pretty much lived with family hand-me-downs. (The only exception was the fully furnished house trailer George and I bought in 1980, but still, I didn't get to pick the furniture and it didn't hold up to the test of time.) Pat and I had to decide how to merge two households of stuff! (We're still doing that.) Of course, most of the hand-me-downs were antiques, so I can't complain, but there is something to be said for getting to pick it out yourself.

The first picture is one of the hand-me-downs. It's the Grandpa Herron rocker that came from my Grandmother's father. Joseph Creighton Herron was a farmer, a school teacher, and he served one term in the Kansas House of Representatives about 1901. He raised seven children. When his first wife died in childbirth, he went "back East" to find his high school sweetheart and bring her to the Kansas prairie to help him raise his children. She was the only mother my Grandmother ever knew. Grandma loved her fiercely. It's really cool to have his rocker. I also have his Barrister bookcase/desk. (You can see it in and archway shot in Evolution of a Kitchen.) These are antiques I cherish.

For all of that, I still want some good furniture that I can pass along myself someday. I'd like some grandchild to be proud to have my chair, or bed, or piano.

Pat and I found some pieces that could become antiques. The furniture is solid oak, not particle board. We bought matching recliners, a table and bedroom furniture. We also purchased a futon for the guest room. Yes, they are mission style, just like the Grandpa Herron rocker. See my taste for all things Bungalow started early.