Photoessy #1582 - Good news/Bad news

I know this format can be irritating but it just fits in so well with my experience today.

I already featured this image Oct 16. It's a pastel from the mid 1890s of my grandfather and great aunt. My cousin asked who wanted it. I raised my hand first me, me, me

But then maybe my second cousin Flash might want it because it's a childhood picture of her grandmother. But my other cousin Mal came to the rescue and made a high quality photo and Flash will make it up for her mother.

When I was in New Haven, we looked at it and the big ugly ornate broken frame. We decided she would send me the picture without the frame.

So now we start

The good news is that I received the picture safe and sound yesterday.

More good news is that I can bring it to the art restoration/framing place that's right in my neighborhood. I have time today. I better get it over there before something happens to it. I wrap it carefully in a towel.

The bad news is that I pick it up incorrectly inadvertently putting some pressure on the paper and I hear a very bad popping ripping noise. Did NOT sound good

More bad news, I go by the restoration place and it's NOT THERE! Vacant storefront. Yikes, and I just checked their website out too. I'm near the library so I stop and look for a book, get their number from the website.

Good news I call them, they answer. They've moved just across the street. Oh! I go over, they're in this nice big space where the goodwill used to be about a million years ago.

Bad news I carefully unwrap the picture and there's this big ugly rip in the top part of the background. The rip extends into my grandfather's red hair

Good news I'm in the exact right place, I'm at the restoration place where they know how to fix this sort of thing. These people are not cheap but they do good work. I work with Sharon who I've worked with before. We decide to make it more horizontal rather than vertical. Which means we can ignore most of the rip. The restoration person says she can fix it for $160. Oh well, charge it to the Maier Zunder account.

More good news I have a great time with Sharon picking out frames, mats and sizing that are going to really improve this picture. Don't ask what it's costing.

So it all worked out in the end. I had my challenges and setbacks. But I have overcome!

With the attendant bill.

Isn't it great that I'm working so much with my cousins? It's fun; we've never done it in all the decades that we've been cousin.