When I am working on window treatments, the most important thing is their function. How much privacy is needed? How much flexibility in the light control? What is the best style for the architecture? What is the best style for the decor? And then comes the beauty, the fabric color for the draperies, the color and material of the blinds, vertical or horizontal, and foremost the favorite look of my client. Window treatments should provide all three: privacy, light control and great looks!
STORY OF THE WEEK:
"TALES FROM TWIN CHIMNEYS - TALE PIPES"
Part Two
by: Beverly Anderson
I arrived on Thursday morning to find a small garage with a sign on the door "OPEN 8-2 DUE TO SCHOOL AND MY CHILDREN". A young, pretty blonde woman with goggles on the top of her head said, "Hi, pull your car up on the ramp." I negotiated it nervously, got out of my car, and she raised it up high into the air. She didn't ask me to stand under it's belly and stare at it again. She pulled down her goggles over her eyes and went right to work. She lighted a big welding torch and began to cut away the rusty pipes. She works alone. She measures by sight, aligns the new pipes, welds them on and so on. I watched fascinated. She is a metal sculptor at work. Very talented. Very competent. Very carefull. Her blonde hair and feminine physique did not hinder her even a little bit. A true craftswoman.
I watched a while longer and said "I think I'll walk down to the crafts/antique shop/restaurant down the road". "OK, she said, "I'll be a little while".
The restaurant looked deserted. I walked around the side where there was a small lawnmower repair shop. A man called out to me, "You can come on in the restaurant from this end." He and his wife have officially closed down, but he was cooking fried pies. His specialty. Peach. Freshly made pie crust. Hot grease. Delicious smells. I ordered one and he said, "Sit down, make yourself at home." His wife came over and sat with me. "He does all the cooking now, " she said. "I quit cooking when I got the girls raised". Her husband said he would be glad to take a look at my ailing John Deere mower, too. We visited and talked and discovered that I know some of their friends. She said they made her so welcome when she went to their church. We exchanged stories of these lovely people. I finished my pie and got up to leave. "Where do you work?", she asked. I told her and we found out we had another friend in common. More conversation. More visiting.
I finally left and walked back to the muffler shop. She has just selected a long silver pipe from the assorted oddly shaped pipes that line the walls. She has it braced in place with long metal stands and she uses two small rocks to wedge it into the right spot while she is welding. Goggles down. Sparks flying. Happily soldering and hammering. She tells me the only worry she feels about this work is when she has to weld directly to the muffler. "One backfired once." "It was very loud, and I had to close the shop and go to the doctor." "Now I'm nervous when I get to that part". More sparks fly. She approaches the new muffler with the torch. I go back outside.
She finishes up. I watch her carefully check every weld and pipe to be sure everything is secure. She apologizes for taking so long. I assure her it is just fine. She says she likes to be careful. She doesn't want her work to be brought back. I appreciate that very much. She washes up. She figures up my bill and says, "$130 is enough for a muffler and tail pipe out here in the country". I am very grateful. I have saved a lot of money and spent a very interesting morning.
I watched two artists at work. I received a new muffler from a woman and a delicious fried pie from a man. I met new friends and shared stories of old ones. I learned a lot. I have "tale-pipes" to tell.
PICTURE OF THE WEEK:
"Scene on the River", oil pastel
by Heide Browne
$450
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