Odds and ends

We continue to get the apartment set up the way we want. I regret that I cannot get better photographs, given my limited skills and the limitations of my digital camera, as well as the layout of the place. Anyway, here is a shot of the dining area just off the kitchen.

That is an old gate leg drop leaf table that belonged to Tom's aunt and had come down to her in the family. Tom thinks it dates to the Civil War era or shortly after. This is a cozy spot for the two of us, but last night we had a dinner guest and we managed quite easily.

One of Tom''s paintings hangs above the table. If you were sitting in the chair that is to the left in this picture, looking over the shoulder of the person sitting in the chair on the right, you would see this painting.

This is one of Tom's most recent paintings, and it is displayed on an easel between the living room and the door to the study. When you come around the corner from the entry way into the large space that is kitchen/dining and living room, it strikes the eye. I like that this painting -- much nicer, needless to say, in real life -- is displayed differently that the others in the apartment.

Yesterday the cube/shelves arrived for the entry way, and this morning Tom assembled them while I hauled cardboard and other trash off to the garbage bins. This is a cramped shot of the cubes piled with cushions at the moment, with one of Tom's paintings sitting on top, leaning against the wall. (He put plastic wrap around it to protect it when we moved, and it is still encased.)

The painting on the easel looks formal to me, and in the starkness of the apartment, it works. I think having the one in the entry leaning up against the wall would be a nice casual contrast.

But I suspect it will wind up mounted a few inches above the cubes. Right now, with the shoes in the drip tray in the corner by the door and the cushions heaped up at one end and the painting still in its protective plastic, it probably gives the impression that we just started moving in.