Something New or Saving Ms. Lizzie, Part 1
By: Corrie Habib
12/6/21: Sitting forlornly in the driveway, with her parts all askew, Ms. Lizzie called out to me to rescue her. Her maidens were pointed to the ground, her spindle hanging from a loop of ancient leather, and her wheel on the axle backward. She had painted details and elaborate carvings all over her. The seller reassured me after my first Marketplace contact that the wheel “went around straight” and she said she never remembered any parts that went in the table where the hole is…I assume that hole was once home to a rolag pin. I tried in vain to get this wheel out of my mind. Thoughts like, “Corrie, you do NOT need another project when you have a thousand that you haven’t finished.” Those delicately turned legs tap-danced in my daydreams. Pesky little sensible synaptic firings did nothing to assuage the excitement of Something New. Oh y’all, the allure of the possibilities from Something New has always led me astray. I swear that I have adult-onset ADD but apparently, I don’t have the test results to support that. I think anyone that knows me or has been to my house would take issue with that non-diagnosis, certainly, my poor husband knows my inability to say “no” to a new artistic/creative endeavor. I’m like a trout in a stream that can’t resist investigating that flashy, yummy-looking piece of corn that’s just appeared…
12/7/21: Facebook negotiations ensued.
“All I know about the wheel is that it belonged to my great grandmother Lizzy VanZandt. She lived in Dial, Ga. Today it is considered a part of Blue Ridge, GA. I do know that they were very wealthy people. Sorry, that’s all I have.”
There’s been far too much looking at this wheel today. I am thinking the wonky look to the wheel is due to it being put on the axle backwards. I’m Google mapping the distance to pick up this wheel that I have now named Ms. Lizzie in my mind. OMG. Mid-life dudes look at hot cars and I’m such a dork that my mid-life irrational purchases have to do with wood, wool, and the pursuits of long-gone old women.
12/15/21: I have succumbed…I went to Acworth. I did the deed. Ms. Lizzie now lives in my work shed. Thank goodness they took my incredibly lowball price because she’s a hot mess. The wheel is warped in multiple ways. The wood is dry and filthy. The paint is incredible, and the decorative elements of the wheel are more beautiful in real life…but will she ever spin again? Will I be able to get her all cleaned up without damaging her more? I can’t even get the legs and removable parts apart! I think I need to begin speaking sweetly to her and let her know that I’ll do my best to get her singing again. This is a completely illogical and irrational project and I’m smitten. What. Is. Wrong. With. Me?