The Nose

During the summer break of 2013, Ace bought a car (well, two cars--long story--for another day) at an auction in Oregon.  We made the trip to not only pick up the car, but also to visit his sister and her family who were living there at the time.

In one of the cars, we found this hideous wooden thing.  It's hard to tell exactly what it is, but I'm sure it's a fine piece of art.  I just started referring to it as a nose, because that is what I saw.

Anyway, I thought it would make a nice gift, so as a thank you to Cherlyn (Ace's sister) for her hospitality and as a little house warming favor, I left the nose as a little knick knack on her shelf in the dining room.  I thought it really added some real character to the nook.

Unfortunately, Ace left his shoes in Oregon, so Cherlyn had to mail them to us.  I was shocked to find my generous gift hiding inside one of the shoes.  Silly Cher.  She thought I left the nose on accident.  The good news at the time was, we had her name for Christmas.

When December of 2013 came, I knew I had the perfect gift to give the Jewkes family.  To eliminate any confusion, I put the nose in a glass dome and added some tulle (a representation of all the crafts we did together while we were neighbors in Blanchard).  I also wrote a very heartfelt poem that everyone "nose" was inspired.  ;)  It brought tears to Cher's eyes, so I knew she would take special care of this gift.

All this time I'm pretty sure it's been sitting on her mantle, under a gentle spotlight.

I should have known I was in for a treat when I found out she had our name this year for Christmas.  I was eager to unwrap the beautifully wrapped box she handed to us while we were together for Thanksgiving.  Of course it was the nose--this time adorned with little horses--another memory we share.  (We decorated her daughter's bedroom with a cowgirl theme, complete with a poster size picture of her daughter on a horse.  Sounds fine, right?  Um, the adventure to find the horse, and the experience of meeting the owner of the horse, was something that can never be typed into words).

I have this on display in my home--not only for its beauty, but as a reminder that I have it, and I really shouldn't.