First, I must ask for your prayers for my dear friend LeeAnn. She learned on Father’s Day (which was also her husband Mark’s birthday), that her daughter, Christin, had been shot and killed in Virginia..  The circumstances of how this happened are under investigation; the original phone call suggested that it was suicide, but that notion has been dispelled, I think.

This incident is particularly painful, since Christin, whose past problems necessitated the removal of her children to foster care, seemed to be getting her life back in order.

On Monday, on the trip to Virginia to claim her daughter’s body, LeeAnn felt ill (difficulty breathing, and a weight on her chest!), and had to be rushed to the hospital when they arrived at the hotel.  Thankfully, her son and his family were with her!

Everyone thought it was a heart attack, and she was scheduled for stent surgery.  However, it was determined that she was suffering from “broken heart” syndrome, as well as pneumonia, so no surgery was performed. She was released from the hospital today, and is on her way back to Elllijay.

The funeral will be held on Sunday.

Love you, my friend…

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Speaking of Ellijay, we hit the big time!  “Garden & Gun” magazine (one of my favorite publications!) listed Ellijay as one of the South’s best small town escapes, in their June/July issue. If interested, check out the following article:

http://www.gardenandgun.com/article/small-town-escapes-ellijay-ga

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Have you ever wanted to replace an item in your home, but were unable to find anything you liked, or could afford?

For months, I have been shopping online for arm chairs for our living room. Should be easy, right? Not at all! If you have priced chairs lately, you know how expensive they are.  $700-1000 per chair is not uncommon for the really quality pieces. That might be do-able for a single seat, but I need a matching pair!

If I found a style I liked and could afford, the wood and/or upholstery colors were not suitable.  If style and color were ideal, the price eliminated the possibility.

Ideally, I wanted small profile chairs, that are styled with exposed wooden frames and arms. Since we use the living room constantly, the chairs get a lot of use; the upholstery takes a beating, especially the arms. When I couldn’t find anything affordable that met my criteria, I ordered a pair of leather chairs from Grandin Road:

I loved the size and color of these, but was very concerned about the leather holding up to dogs’ toe nails!  When the shipping date of my order was delayed from July 13 to August 10, I canceled it, and went back to the drawing board.

On Tuesday of this week, I spent the entire day shopping for chairs. I looked at 5000+ chairs, and finally found one on Overstock.com that fit the bill:

However, there were no reviews available for this item (and I definitely rely on reviews from other customers, before I place online orders). The cover is white, which is far from practical. But I went ahead and placed my order for a pair, with the hope that the frames are sturdy; they can be easily reupholstered.  UPS delivers them on Monday…

I guess you wonder how a French-y style chair fits into a mountain home. Well…I no longer even pretend to decorate to fit the style of my house. It is what it is, and my taste, clearly, is not going to change, at this late date!

We ordered a 7×10’ rug (polypropelene, this time, instead of wool!) to replace the one that Bear chewed up. It is a very bright color and pattern.  Also, I am going to undertake my first attempt at re-upholstering anything.  After calling the pros and being told they might be able to work on my loveseat in January or February, I ordered a pneumatic stapler, and 12,000 staples (hope that’s enough! ;>) I also have, as reference, a couple of video tutorials that explain all.

Pictures of the new living room will be forthcoming shortly. I still have to order a replacement seat cushion to replace the one that Bear ate. Instead of the 2 cushions that the loveseat originally sported, I will use a single one. That way, no one has to sit on “the crack”, and (theoretically), a single cushion will be more difficult to “attack”, than smaller ones.

It is pretty sad to have to think about such things, but such is life with a Bear! ;>)