It must have been around 25 years ago. I came home one evening to find my parents entertaining one of their friends, while my faithful dog ZARA gnawed on a piece of wood at the side of my father's chair. It turned out to be an ornament from the foot of the fireplace, and it was now in splinters. I took it off her and let her out in the back garden, whereupon she had one long wee. Obviously she'd needed to go, but my parents, engrossed in conversation, hadn't noticed (or ignored) her, so she'd started to gnaw on the ornament as a distraction.
This had been one of three ornaments, given to my parents by my grandparents for Christmas back in the mid or late '70s. Truth to tell, my mother wasn't too impressed by the present, as it had been acquired from someone in their Darby and Joan club. Considering my mother visited them more often than any of her siblings and did their shopping for them, she felt it was a bit of a slap in the kipper for her devoted efforts. Not that she was looking to be rewarded, but the ornaments had been bought out of convenience and with not much thought.
Sometime around the mid-'80s, one of the ornaments got broken and, though I fixed it several times, it was eventually dispensed with when it got beyond a viable point of repair, leaving only two survivors. So when I saw the remnants of the second of the three to fall foul of an unfriendly fate, I decided to call in INTERNATIONAL RESCUE. Er, no, I didn't, but I was determined to do my best to restore it. I glued it all back together, applied copious amounts of wood-filler, then sanded, stained and varnished it 'til it was once again presentable.
It's darker than it was, but at least it's in one piece again. One day I may do some further work on it and restore it to a more faithful representation of its original appearance, but it'll do for the present. It probably now reminds me more of my dog than my grandparents, but either way, it's a memory that I'm reluctant to relinquish. There was another broken ornament I managed to salvage from the bin (quite literally) and restore, which I'll maybe bore you with tell you all about another time.
(Oh-oh, there go another five members.)
OF COURSE it has sentimental value if your doggie gnawed it! And you've done a lovely restoration job!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't half have done with your skills a few weeks ago when I broke one of the missus's glass ornaments, whilst playing rough games with our dog! I STILL owe her a replacement, but cannot find one!
What I need to get now, JP, is a replacement for the other ornament that was eventually thrown out. I'll keep my eye out for one in charity shops. Have you still got the pieces of that broken glass ornament?
ReplyDeleteNah, the missus chucked them away in anger! I was in the doghouse with the dog!
ReplyDeleteThat's a shame, 'cos I might have been able to rescue it. What was it an ornament of?
ReplyDeleteIt was a spun filigree glass tree with a bird table c/w bird and 3 hanging baskets on the top, - very fine and fragile. Trying to find anything even remotely similar on the internet has proved impossible!
DeleteDon't give up looking, JP, and don't forget charity shops and jumble sales.
ReplyDeleteThe missus says it was made of glass fibres which splinter and are impossible to re-stick!
DeleteIt was my fault, I'm such a clumsy klutz, I turn into a great big kid again when playing with the dog. - She's bonkers, just like her old Dad and is GREAT fun! Love every hair of her!
Well, hopefully you'll be able to find a replacement someday, JP. (For the ornament, not the wife.)
ReplyDelete