New Chair

Well, the picture is blurry because I clicked before the zoom was ready----but this is a new chair I bought a week or so ago with money I got for selling a painting. I have begun to feel claustrophobic in my house because there is so much STUFF everywhere. I decided first to move an enormous plant that seemed to be taking over the house. Then there was so much light coming through the windows that my couch and love seat showed off their shredded apholstery and dog-filthy colors. So I decided to get rid of my sofa and love seat and replace them with the kind of chair I have wanted for a long time. I thought this would make the living room look bigger. Of course I couldn't afford the kind of chair I have wanted for a long time, so I settled for this one. It is close to what I wanted, but I was hoping for more comfort and a matching ottoman. I rarely seem to find just what I want, and even when I do it turns out to be less than I thought it would be. So I'm not unhappy with my purchase. I put the sofa and love seat outside with a sign that said "free" and it was gone the second day.

There are a couple of problems associated with this chair. One is that there is not really enough room for me and all three dogs to fit without some jostling for position. Usually Benny ends up looking for an in while Patrick and Lytton settle themselves on either side of me. He paces for awhile, watching for an opening. Eventually he jumps up on the chair nearby, then slinks onto the table between the two chairs. He sits there nonchalantly, hoping for no consequences. When it looks like he is safe, he slowly puts one front foot and then the other on the arm of the new chair. If the dog nearest that arm doesn't chastise him, he jumps onto the back of the chair and lays down behind my head.

At this point another problem surfaces in that I can not get out of the chair without disturbing everyone. The seat is so long that only my feet hang over the edge of it. Therefore I have to heave myself forward until I can reach the floor. Since I have to get up and down several times in the course of an evening for one reason or another, the dogs all jump down and the same ritual of finding a spot has to take place again.

As for the claustrophobia, I have achieved a sense of more space by moving some big funiture around to different rooms and putting a lot of plants out in the studio. That meant totally rearranging the studio. I put a lot of the stuff that was out there up in the spare bedroom, along with a bookcase and a bureau. I have achieved a more serene atmosphere, especially in the dining room, which was the most crowded. The added bonus is that I had to wash the floor in places that had been covered with furniture. Therefore all the floors got washed, giving an unusual sense of cleanliness to the place.

It's amazing how one thing like moving a plant starts a chain reaction that ends up changing the whole house. I could describe a whole existential philosophy that is illustrated by this simple fact, but I guess I won't.