Monday night I was lying in bed reading when I heard a huge CRASH somewhere in the house. Dave was in the living room, so I opened the bedroom door and called down the hall, "Are you OK?"
He said, "What?" (Turns out he had his headphones on.)
I said, "I heard a crash just now, like something falling."
He said, "I thought that was you!"
(Nice of him to make sure I was OK, wasn't it?!)
We had a look around for evidence of what had happened, and having just hung pictures I went to them first. Sure enough, my grandmother's needlepoint -- far right on the needlepoint wall -- had fallen behind the radiator.
Well, you'd think it would be a simple matter to retrieve it, but the back of the radiator includes pipes and maybe valves or knobs or screws or something, because nearly every way I tried to lift out the picture it was blocked. It was ridiculous. Dave and I could only laugh at how stuck it was.
Finally we managed to work it out by me lifting it straight up from beneath enough for Dave to grab it with his fingertips from the top. Fortunately the glass and frame aren't broken. It was hung by an old piece of cotton twine that must have just given way, and one of the little screws holding the twine to the back of the frame also broke off.
Now I'm trying to decide if I should try to repair that screw or just take the whole thing to the frame shop for a new frame. The one it's in now is probably from the 1930s, and probably from Woolworth's or some place like that. It might be nice to get a better one made.
I'm just glad it didn't fall off the wall at 2 a.m. It would have scared us to death!
I am having a relatively boring week at work. But this Friday I'm due to give my final Newbery talk to the entire 6th Grade, and I just realized last night I need to come up with some book recommendations for them. So I guess I'll work on that today. (I tailor the recommendation part of the talk for each grade level, depending on what I think they'd like.)
(Photos: Wild primroses in the cemetery on Sunday.)
43 comments:
Nothing worse but at least the work is intact and I think a new frame might be do it justice.
Experienced exactly the same thing a couple of years ago. It didn't damage the picture but there is still an enormous tear in the wallpaper.
I very much doubt that you would die if you heard a picture frame fall in the middle of the night. Mind you, if you happen to have an undiagnosed heart condition I suppose it is possible.
Go on - splash out! Get that special needlepoint work sympathetically re-framed in honour of your grandmother. After all, it is well-known that school librarians are made of money!
Amazing that neither the glass nor frame broke. I’d probably take it to the frame shop and start fresh. Speaking of which, I’ve a Christmas counted cross-stitch made by SG’s mother that I kept out this year to get framed... finally. It’s in one of those plastic frame boxes and has been for more than 40 years.
The primroses are lovely. They look as if they've hybridized with another flower -- the petals are unusual. One of my favorite flowers.
Dave sounds pretty casual! Thought it was you, indeed!
Our house has crashes in the middle of the night just to scare us! of course, it's usually a cat-involved scare.
We had a huge crash a week or so ago. We still haven't figured it out. Sounded like a huge branch hit the roof but we haven't found it.
Disconcerting.
Pretty sturdy frame. Weird how something can fall like that and easily slip into a space that's impossible to get it out from.
It's good you were able to get the picture out from where it fell. I'd also go for a new frame. Those wild primroses are gorgeous! Enjoy your day, hugs, Edna B.
Glad your needlepoint wasn't damaged. I can't wait to see wild flowers blooming in the woods! I am ready for Spring but I have to be patient...
Primroses are so pretty. We had a loud crash the other day & couldn't figure it out - I'm sure someday we'll move the washer or clean behind the fridge & find whatever it was. Ha!
I vote for the frame shop. Or, possibly you could find a nice ready-made frame at the right size or the kind where you buy the sides separately in pairs of two; then you could re-use the glass if you liked. But hey, it's grandma. She deserves a new frame, no matter how you do it! (I hate it when that happens. I always blame Lizzie.)
A crash like that in the night would absolutely scare me. I'm glad the picture was recoverable. A new frame sounds like a good idea. Lovely spring flowers there.
Loud and unexpected noises are very scary to me since I (mostly) live alone. Glad you could retrieve the photo although it involved your best problem solving skills!
I think Grandma is telling you to get her sampler reframed!👻 LOL
Your flower pictures are always so beautiful!!
Primroses are always so cheerful - suggesting that spring is on the way.
Grandma may be making her feelings known! I'm glad the glass did not shatter and that you were able to retrieve it, Spring has sprung here!
It's a good thing the glass didn't break since it sounds like it might have been a nightmare to clean up from behind the radiator! Where was Olga at the time? Our dog might have started barking at the noise.
I think a new frame might be the best bet.
I love the primrose. When I went to the garden on Monday I was hoping some of the cactus might be blooming but no such luck.
I hate it when things fall and crash for no reason. Especially in the dead of night.
The $8.99 painting in your previous post contains almost all of my favorite colors though I probably would not buy it either...
I'm voting for a new frame too, and a good framer will suggest just the right width of frame and colour too. I had a cheap K-Mart print reframed after it crashed to the floor, glass EVERYWHERE!, and it looks so much better now.
I like the primroses, I thought they were African violets at first.
Yeah, I'm surprised the glass didn't break!
Oh, that's a drag. This didn't damage the wall, fortunately. (It's a small picture.)
Oh yes, I am so highly paid...LOL!
Oh, those lucite frames? Yeah, those are pretty awful. LOL
I know! I was like, "Gee, thanks for thinking of me!" LOL
I remember those from my cat-owning days!
Yeah, that's unnerving! Maybe it's still on the roof? You don't have another cat locked in your upstairs bedroom, do you? :)
It was the strangest thing! Like, what are the odds?!
I like these primroses and look forward to their appearance every year.
It really is coming!
Meanwhile you'll be wondering where that missing "thing" is!
I used to frame stuff like that when I was in college -- but the parallel sides separately. Putting them together was a pain, though, and they never turned out all that well. (I'm sure I wasn't buying the best quality, being a college student!)
I think I'd be afraid someone was in the house!
It was like a puzzle, or like a game of Jenga.
As you'll see in my subsequent post, I managed to salvage the old frame, so Grandmother (we NEVER called her Grandma!) may have to hurl it to the ground again to make her intentions known!
I agree -- those and daffodils and crocuses are always such welcome sights.
I'm glad spring has sprung where you are! That painting isn't terrible, as Goodwill art goes. I could see some college student buying it for decoration. I might have, when I was that age!
Actually, a broken frame might have been easier, because then I could have picked up pieces from the floor. It was stuck because it was a wide, flat object that I couldn't bend to get out the bottom.
It won't be long, though!
It's not a common occurrence, fortunately!
A new frame DOES make a huge difference. I had some old pictures reframed many years ago and was amazed at how much better they looked.
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