Chairs

A few weeks ago I was waxing my dining room floors. (I have never gotten back to that project and the living room floors still look scruffy.) As I moved the dining room table and chairs, I decided I was fed up with the chairs. Nearly twenty years ago some foreign friends returned to America and left us with most of their furniture. (Closets, refrigerator, sofa set, bookshelves, curtains and dining room set.) We had just moved into this house and had spent our savings. It looked like we were going to live furniture-less until these generous friends relocated their furniture to us. But after twenty years, the dining room chairs have seen better days.

Years of cat wear have taken their toll. The cats found the cushioned part of the chair very nice as scratching posts. And twenty years of sitting had flattened the cushions down to the springs and was very uncomfortable to rear ends. I blame Takumi for the creaking and definite rocking motion of the chairs because he used to lean back on the back legs. My dining room chairs were dangerous and ugly and uncomfortable! Every week I had ladies coming to English and I was punishing them with my treacherous chairs.

I have talked about the need for new chairs with Tetsu numerous times. Unfortunately, Tetsu rarely sits in the dining room. He eats alone most nights (10:00) in front of the TV. He didn't notice ugly chairs nor feel springs sticking into his behind. Buying new chairs was not high on his priority list. And wonky carpenter that he is, he claimed that he could fix and recover the chairs. Yeah! Let's see you do it! But Tetsu doesn't have much free time and that priority list didn't have "chair repair" on it.

While waiting for the waxed floors to dry, I grabbed an Exacto knife and ATTACKED one of the chairs! Let's see what is in this cushion! Is this going to be repairable? As disintegrating foam clouded the air I determined that these chairs were not salvageable! The springs were rusty, the fabric was embedded in the wood, I couldn't even figure out what joints made the chair shake and creak. That's when I decided I'd had it with the chairs.

So after my dining room floor was dry I went off to the furniture store and BOUGHT new chairs! ALL BY MYSELF! Tetsu was so shocked when I told him. Usually I am the quiet wife that lets him make major purchases. The dining room is MY territory and I want NEW CHAIRS!

My chairs were delivered last week and they look very, very nice in the dining room. Even Tetsu admitted that I'd made a good choice. And I think Tuesday ladies were happy to sit back without fear of a chair collapsing under them. I kept one old chair for memories' sake. It is serving as a bedside table and the cats are welcome to sit there!