Memories so thick.
Over lunch, today lily562e and I left campus to go window-antiquing. We are finally looking to replace the butcher-block dining room (just post-college) that we purchased from a now defunct Home Depot like store with a real, honest to goodness dining room table.
Since, after transforming the dining room into a library by installing built-ins, space is at a premium we decided that a nice leaf expandable round table would do the trick. This is the same sort of table my parents had when I was growing up and I knew that you often could find such in antique shops as well as from new furniture stores. Round one saw me at the computer examining several furniture lines. In searching I discovered a wonderful mission variant Boyhill's Mission table. Not only is it a leaf expandable round table, but it has storage built into the pedestal. All for only around $439.00! Today was round two. We went to a recommended shop and quickly found a round table that was simpler in design than the Broyhill but had a solid top instead of the more standard veneer. Comparable price of $450.00 but I would have to make new leaves as some were missing. Thursday, I will venture to a local new furniture store to see the Broyhill one up close. We should have a decision Friday.
All this is not what was most exciting about our efforts today, however. In the course of looking through the little store Er stumbled across a small microscope! Not one of the modern ones you can find made of plastic with rotten optics, but one of the old school ones made of metal with real ground glass optics that actually work really well! It turns out that both Er and I had variants of this when we were young and we couldn't resist taking a look at this one. Thinking of my old microscope brought back almost painfully sweet memories of my childhood. Examining pond water; playing "Medical Center" (those of you who are old enough or watch TVland may remember that old precursor to "ER". Imagine our amazement when we found it to be in mint condition! All parts in perfect condition, even down to the little bottles of Methylen Blue, slide glue and pure EthOH. It even had slide covers and slides!! Our best guess is that this one had stayed on some store shelf until the store had closed its doors. The microscope purchased in a liquidation sale to finally end up in the antique store.
Well you know we had to purchase it for the KG. Yes, yes, I know that even if she is quoting Voltaire she isn't ready for a fancy microscope yet. But someday she will, and when she is, we'll have one of laboratory quality waiting for her. Did I mention that it cost all of $35.00? [smug smile]...
Since, after transforming the dining room into a library by installing built-ins, space is at a premium we decided that a nice leaf expandable round table would do the trick. This is the same sort of table my parents had when I was growing up and I knew that you often could find such in antique shops as well as from new furniture stores. Round one saw me at the computer examining several furniture lines. In searching I discovered a wonderful mission variant Boyhill's Mission table. Not only is it a leaf expandable round table, but it has storage built into the pedestal. All for only around $439.00! Today was round two. We went to a recommended shop and quickly found a round table that was simpler in design than the Broyhill but had a solid top instead of the more standard veneer. Comparable price of $450.00 but I would have to make new leaves as some were missing. Thursday, I will venture to a local new furniture store to see the Broyhill one up close. We should have a decision Friday.
All this is not what was most exciting about our efforts today, however. In the course of looking through the little store Er stumbled across a small microscope! Not one of the modern ones you can find made of plastic with rotten optics, but one of the old school ones made of metal with real ground glass optics that actually work really well! It turns out that both Er and I had variants of this when we were young and we couldn't resist taking a look at this one. Thinking of my old microscope brought back almost painfully sweet memories of my childhood. Examining pond water; playing "Medical Center" (those of you who are old enough or watch TVland may remember that old precursor to "ER". Imagine our amazement when we found it to be in mint condition! All parts in perfect condition, even down to the little bottles of Methylen Blue, slide glue and pure EthOH. It even had slide covers and slides!! Our best guess is that this one had stayed on some store shelf until the store had closed its doors. The microscope purchased in a liquidation sale to finally end up in the antique store.
Well you know we had to purchase it for the KG. Yes, yes, I know that even if she is quoting Voltaire she isn't ready for a fancy microscope yet. But someday she will, and when she is, we'll have one of laboratory quality waiting for her. Did I mention that it cost all of $35.00? [smug smile]...