SUNDAY MEMORIES
Judy Wills
I’ve never thought I would be particularly interested in wood, types of wood, or just about anything related to wood. I guess the first time I really became interested was when I was graduating from high school and a local furniture store gave a Hope Chest to every graduating girl in my class. Now, I must say that the chests were VERY MINIATURE!! More like a keepsake box. But they were made of cedar, as a real hope chest would be, and finished beautifully. After all these 50+ years since that time, my miniature hope chest still smells wonderfully fragrant. That’s probably why I love the fresh smell of cedar so much.When we were stationed in Germany in the late 1960’s, we came across some wood inlay pictures that really caught our eye. The intricate “jigsaw puzzle” work of the artist…and the different color of the woods used…were fascinating. We purchased just one picture, thinking that was all we could afford. And while we cherished that picture, we couldn’t help but wish we had purchased more.
Back to Germany we went in the early 1980’s – and we began our search for more of those wood inlay pictures, and especially by the same artist. And we found them! We snapped up two more. All of the scenes are of places in Germany that were important to us and our memories. We treasure them. And we learned that this particular artist had cut enough puzzle pieces to make pictures for up to five years after his death! Amazing.
But we’ve found other wood inlay that intrigue us, as well. While visiting in the Chicago area, we stayed in a great old house that is now a Bed & Breakfast. It is situated on a lake that is reported to have been a playground for the likes of Al Capone and his cronies. As a matter of fact, the room we stayed in was dubbed the “Al Capone Room,” and had pictures of him, one of his famous cigars, and two bullets he might have used.
But what interested us the most was the dining room and sitting area. When the new owners purchased the house, most of the rooms had wall-to-wall carpet. When they pulled it up, thinking to replace the carpet, they found the most beautiful wood inlay floors imaginable! So they left them uncarpeted, and open to admiration. We most certainly admired them. Just think of the imagination and planning that went into putting these floors down. Beautiful!
Our favorite Mexican Restaurant in town has a gorgeous wood inlay Aztec calendar hanging at the front of the restaurant. I’ve seen quite a few calendars before, but none this beautiful.
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I’m still a carpet girl – and here in Florida, we have either carpet or tile. But that doesn’t stop me from admiring the craftsmanship of those artists from long ago.
Old Things R New 
You wrote that blog so well it pulled me right along and the pictures are delightful.
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This is very cool 🙂 Being a carpenter by trade myself, I know just how much work that must go into these! Amazing!
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Exquisite detail! Thanks for sharing, Judy. SO interesting!
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