I've learned.... to keep looking ahead. There are still so many good books to read,sunsets to see, friends to visit and old dogs to take walks with.

from LIFE'S LITTLE TREASURE BOOK... ON HOPE. H.JACKSON BROWN JR.

Our local ASO was hosting their annual Chairs For Charity auction in Feb.'97. I felt I wanted to do something in Gordon's memory. So I approached my father-in-law Joe with an idea. He was totally on board .I now needed to acquire a chair we could use as our canvas. Racing up to my parent's home to scrounge around, my mother suggested that there were two chairs in one of the unused back rooms upstairs. Perfect! They had belonged to a set that was from the 1920s. They had a home in my great grandparents house until they somehow wound up in our farmhouse.What a great find! Joe couldn't wait to get started He whisked it off to have it stripped, while Lori, my mother-in-law, and I made plans for our up coming trip to Florida.(I was driving down with her and Joe and flying back in a week.)as they were staying much longer. When Joe returned, off we went to Lens Mills to get some patterned fabric for the seat. It was off-white with red roses and green leaves. It turned out the the chair was walnut and in good shape. Joe stenciled "EVEN HEROES NEED TO REST "on the front of the chair. I was sent out to get varnish, and when I got back he had added something to the back of the chair. I asked why the intertwining roses? He replied, "they represent the love you and my son had for each other." AWWWWWWWWWWWWW. Okay, after I put the varnish on, the chair is ready. One problem: the auction is halfway through my trip to Florida. So my sisters Beth and Val will drop it off and return for the auction. They will take the video camera.

To be continued........